Management device

Abstract

To enable efficient updating of authentication information (authentication password) in image forming machines. [Solution] The management device 2 for centrally managing multiple image forming machines via a network comprises a communication unit 24 that communicates with the outside via the network, an acquisition unit 211 that acquires a group of combinations (e.g., a CSV file) having at least one unit information set consisting of a combination of identification information (serial number) and authentication information (authentication password) that identifies the image forming machine, and a control unit 210 that extracts authentication information combined with the identification information based on the group of combinations acquired by the acquisition unit 211, transmits the extracted authentication information to the image forming machine corresponding to the identification information via the communication unit 24, and requests the image forming machine to update the authentication information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a management device for centrally managing a plurality of image forming apparatuses.

Background Art

[0002] A system for managing image forming apparatuses such as a plurality of multifunction printers via a network using a management device is known. Since the management device can centrally manage the image forming apparatuses on the network, it becomes possible to efficiently perform settings of each image forming apparatus, ordering of consumables, inventory management, and the like.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When an image forming apparatus uses a function of a management device, authentication information (authentication password) may be required. However, an administrator has been operating the management device to perform work necessary for updating the authentication password for each image forming apparatus one by one. Therefore, if there are a large number of image forming apparatuses to be managed, the working time of the administrator becomes long, the burden on the administrator is large, and the efficiency is poor. Although the above Patent Document 1 describes data rendering, the invention described in the above Patent Document 1 is not an invention for efficiently updating an authentication password.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to efficiently update authentication information in an image forming apparatus.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A management device according to one aspect of the present invention is a management device for centrally managing a plurality of image forming apparatuses via a network, comprising: a communication unit that communicates with the outside via the network; an acquisition unit that acquires a group of combinations having at least one unit information which is a set of identification information and authentication information that identifies the image forming apparatus; and a control unit that extracts the authentication information combined with the identification information based on the group of combinations acquired by the acquisition unit, transmits the extracted authentication information to the image forming apparatus corresponding to the identification information via the communication unit, and transmits an instruction to the image forming apparatus to update the authentication information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] This invention makes it possible to update authentication information in multiple image forming apparatuses simultaneously, thus enabling efficient updating of authentication information in image forming apparatuses. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This figure shows the overall structure of an information processing system that includes a management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a functional block diagram schematically showing the main internal configuration of a control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is an example diagram illustrating a CSV file. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of the operation screen displayed on the display unit. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of the operation screen displayed on the display unit. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of the operation screen displayed on the display unit. [Figure 7] This flowchart shows an example of the process for updating authentication passwords by the management device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Hereinafter, a management device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a diagram showing the overall information processing system which includes the management device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] An information processing system 11 according to one embodiment comprises a plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 and a management device 2, which are connected to each other via a network such as the Internet. The image forming apparatus 1 is, for example, a multifunction device that combines multiple functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a fax function. The management device 2 is, for example, a computer, which centrally manages the plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 via the network.

[0011] Figure 2 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the main internal configuration of a management device 2 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The management device 2 comprises a control unit 21, an operation unit 22, a display unit 23, a communication unit 24, and a storage unit 25. Each of these components is capable of sending and receiving data or signals from each other via a communication bus.

[0012] The operation unit 22 consists of a keyboard, mouse, etc., and is used to input commands and characters to the control unit 21, and to operate the pointer on the screen of the display unit 23. The operation unit 22 accepts user input based on user operations. The display unit 23 consists of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), etc., and displays responses and data results from the control unit 21.

[0013] The communication unit 24 communicates with the outside world via a network. For example, the communication unit 24 is a communication interface that sends and receives various data with external devices such as the image forming apparatus 1 within the local area network or on the internet.

[0014] The storage unit 25 is a high-capacity storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores various control programs and the like. The storage unit 25 also has a device information storage unit 250.

[0015] The device information storage unit 250 is an area for storing the device information of the image forming apparatus 1 that is the management target of the management apparatus 2. In the device information storage unit 250, as the device information of the image forming apparatus 1, identification information (for example, serial number) for identifying the image forming apparatus 1, destination information (for example, IP address) indicating the destination of the image forming apparatus 1, and authentication information (for example, authentication password) for using the functions of the image forming apparatus 1 are stored in association with each other.

[0016] The control unit 21 is configured to include a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a dedicated hardware circuit. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), etc. The control unit 21 includes a control section 210 and an acquisition section 211.

[0017] The control unit 21 functions as the control section 210 and the acquisition section 211 by the operation of the above-mentioned processor according to the control program stored in the storage unit 25. However, the control section 210 etc. can also be configured by hardware circuits respectively without depending on the operation according to the control program etc. by the control unit 21. Hereinafter, unless otherwise particularly mentioned, the same applies to each embodiment.

[0018] The control section 210 is in charge of the overall operation control of the management apparatus 2. The control section 210 is connected to the operation section 22, the display section 23, the communication section 24, and the storage unit 25, and performs drive control etc. of these respective sections.

[0019] The acquisition unit 211 acquires a combination group having at least one combination of one piece of identification information (e.g., serial number) for identifying the image forming apparatus 1 and one piece of authentication information (e.g., authentication password). Such a combination group is acquired, for example, as a CSV file. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the content of the CSV file.

[0020] As an example, the CSV file shown in FIG. 3 includes six combinations each having a set of two data items, namely, the serial number "Serial_Number" of the image forming apparatus 1 and the authentication password "Password" necessary for using the functions of the image forming apparatus 1. The first row, which is the top row, is a title row, and the data items are separated by commas. The serial number and the authentication password are specifically described in the rows after the second row.

[0021] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen for the acquisition unit 211 to acquire a file. On the operation screen G1 displayed on the display unit 23, a drop area A1 for dropping a file, an operation button B1 marked with "OK", and an operation button B2 marked with "NG" are displayed. When a file as shown in FIG. 3 is dropped in the drop area A1 by an operation of the operation unit 22 or when an instruction to specify a file is input to the operation unit 22, the control unit 210 accepts the file as an acquisition target and displays an image indicating the file as the acquisition target in the drop area A1. The acquisition unit 211 acquires the file that has been set as the acquisition target.

[0022] When the acquisition unit 211 acquires the combination group, the control unit 210 causes the display unit 23 to display a confirmation screen in which the identification information and the authentication information of each combination included in the combination group are arranged and displayed. This enables the user to confirm the authentication information to be updated. When, at the time of this display, the operation unit 22 receives a permission instruction from the user to permit the update of the authentication information, the control unit 210 transmits an instruction to request an update of the authentication information to the corresponding image forming apparatus 1 via the communication unit 24.

[0023] Figure 5 shows an example of the confirmation screen displayed on the display unit 23. The confirmation screen, operation screen G2, displays the message M1, "The device password will be updated with the following information. Is this OK?", combo boxes CB1 and CB2, as well as an operation button B3 labeled "OK" to accept an update instruction from the user to authorize the update, and an operation button B4 to accept a disauthorization instruction from the user to deny the update.

[0024] Under the control of the control unit 210, the serial numbers are displayed in combo box CB1 in the order they appear in the CSV file, and the authentication passwords are displayed in combo box CB2 in the order they appear in the CSV file. When a user inputs a change instruction to the operation unit 22 to change the serial number and authentication password, the control unit 210 changes the serial number and authentication password displayed in combo boxes CB1 and CB2, respectively, according to the change instruction.

[0025] Figure 6 shows another example of the confirmation screen displayed on the display unit 23. In the operation screen G2, which is displayed as a confirmation screen by the control unit 210, the serial number and authentication password are displayed separately and side by side. However, the operation screen G3, which is a confirmation screen as shown in Figure 6, differs from the operation screen G2 in that it displays the serial number and authentication password side by side as a set of combinations.

[0026] When the user operates the operation button B3 on the operation screens G2 and G3, and the update instruction is input to the operation unit 22, the control unit 210 extracts the combination of identification information (serial number) and the authentication information (authentication password) associated with it from the group of combinations contained in the file acquired by the acquisition unit 211. The control unit 210 transmits the extracted authentication information to the image forming apparatus 1 corresponding to the extracted identification information via the communication unit 24, and also sends an instruction to the image forming apparatus 1 requesting an update of the authentication information. However, when the user operates the operation button B4 on the operation screens G2 and G3, and a non-update instruction is input to the operation unit 22, the control unit 210 does not perform the process of extracting the above combinations, deletes the acquired file, and terminates the process.

[0027] For example, the control unit 210 refers to the device information storage unit 250 to read the IP address of the image forming apparatus 1 corresponding to the serial number, and sends an instruction to the image forming apparatus 1 indicated by the IP address via the communication unit 24 to send the authentication password corresponding to the serial number (combined with the serial number) and to perform a process to update the previous authentication password with the newly sent authentication password.

[0028] The image forming apparatus 1 performs a process to update the existing authentication password with the newly transmitted authentication password in accordance with the instructions of the management device 2 (control unit 210) as requested above. For example, the image forming apparatus 1 performs data verification to determine whether the new authentication password received from the management device 2 is valid, and if it determines that it is valid, it updates the authentication password by rewriting the existing authentication password with the newly transmitted authentication password. Furthermore, if the authentication password update is completed properly (i.e., successful), the control unit (CPU, etc.) of the image forming apparatus 1 sends a notification indicating "success" to the management device 2 via the communication unit provided in the image forming apparatus 1. On the other hand, if the authentication password update is not completed properly (i.e., failed), it sends a notification indicating "failure" to the management device 2.

[0029] Next, an example of the process related to updating the authentication password by the management device 2 will be explained using the flowchart shown in Figure 7.

[0030] When the acquisition unit 211 acquires a file as shown in the example in Figure 3 (S1), the control unit 210 displays an operation screen G2 as shown in the example in Figure 5 on the display unit 23 based on the combination group contained in the file acquired by the acquisition unit 211 (S2). This allows the user to confirm that the authentication password has been updated.

[0031] When the user presses the operation button B3 and the update instruction is input to the operation unit 22 (YES in S3), the control unit 210 extracts the combination of identification information (serial number) and the authentication information (authentication password) associated with it from the group of combinations contained in the file via the communication unit 24, transmits the extracted authentication information to the image forming apparatus 1 corresponding to the extracted identification information, and also sends an instruction to the image forming apparatus 1 to update the authentication information (S4). On the other hand, when the user presses the operation button B4 and the non-update instruction is input to the operation unit 22 (NO in S3), the control unit 210 deletes the acquired file and terminates the process.

[0032] After S4, the control unit 210 performs processing in response to the "success" or "failure" notification transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1 (S5). For example, if the control unit 210 receives a "success" notification from all image forming apparatus 1 that requested an authentication password update, it displays a message on the display unit 23 indicating that the password update has been successfully completed. On the other hand, if the control unit 210 receives a "failure" notification from one or more image forming apparatus 1, it displays a message on the display unit 23 indicating that the password update was not successfully completed, and also displays the serial number of the image forming apparatus 1 that sent the "failure" notification on the display unit 23 based on the contents stored in the device information storage unit 250.

[0033] In the above embodiment, it becomes possible to update authentication information (authentication passwords) in multiple image forming apparatuses 1 simultaneously, thus enabling efficient updating of authentication information in the image forming apparatuses 1.

[0034] The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiments and various modifications are possible. Furthermore, the configuration and processing shown in the above embodiments using Figures 1 to 7 are merely one embodiment of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention to such configuration and processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1. Image forming apparatus 2 Management device 22 Control section 23 Display section 24 Communications Department 210 Control Unit 211 Acquisition Department

Claims

1. A management device that centrally manages multiple image forming machines via a network, A communication unit that communicates with the outside world via the aforementioned network, An acquisition unit that acquires a group of combinations having at least one unit information set consisting of an identification information for identifying the image forming apparatus and an authentication information, A management device comprising: a control unit that extracts the authentication information combined with the identification information based on the combination group acquired by the acquisition unit, transmits the extracted authentication information to the image forming apparatus corresponding to the identification information via the communication unit, and transmits an instruction to the image forming apparatus requesting an update of the authentication information.

2. The management device according to claim 1, wherein the group of combinations is a file in CSV (Comma Separated Value) format.

3. Display unit and It further includes an operating unit that receives input instructions from the user, The control unit, Based on the combination group acquired by the acquisition unit, the display unit displays a confirmation screen in which the identification information and the authentication information are displayed side by side. The management device according to claim 1 or 2, which, when the operation unit receives a permission instruction to allow the updating of the authentication information displayed on the display unit, transmits an instruction to the image forming apparatus via the communication unit to request the updating of the authentication information.

Images