Service providing system, service providing device, service providing program, and system

Abstract

This service providing system that provides a specific service to an image forming apparatus as an electronic apparatus registered in the service providing system itself registers the image forming apparatus in the service providing system itself (S243) if a direct registration request as a request for registration of the image forming apparatus is received and the same tenant name as a tenant name included in the direct registration request is managed in advance in association with the service providing system itself (YES in S242).

Description

Service providing system, service providing apparatus, service providing program, and system

[0001] The present invention relates to a service providing system, a service providing apparatus, a service providing program, and a system that provide a specific service to an electronic device registered therein.

[0002] Conventionally, there has been known a system including: a plurality of service providing systems that each provide a specific service to an electronic device registered therein; and an electronic device that transmits a request for registration of the electronic device itself to a service providing system (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2022-019444

[0004] However, in conventional systems, there is a problem that it is difficult for a user of an electronic device to operate the electronic device such that the electronic device is registered to an appropriate service providing system.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a service providing system, a service providing apparatus, a service providing program, and a system that allow an electronic device to be registered to an appropriate service providing system even when a user of the electronic device does not recognize that the service providing system is appropriate as a registration destination for the electronic device.

[0006] A service providing system according to one aspect of the present invention is a service providing system that provides a specific service to an electronic device registered therein, and is configured such that when a registration request as a request for registration of the electronic device is received, if information identical to specific information included in the registration request is managed in advance in association with the service providing system itself, the electronic device is registered in the service providing system itself.

[0007] With this configuration, when a service provision system according to one aspect of the present invention receives a registration request as a request for registration of an electronic device, if the service provision system has already associated and managed in advance the same information as the specific information included in the registration request with itself, it will register the electronic device with the service provision system itself. Therefore, even if the user of the electronic device is unaware of which service provision system is appropriate for registering the electronic device, the electronic device can be registered with the appropriate service provision system.

[0008] A service provider according to one aspect of the present invention is a service provider that provides specific services to electronic devices registered to itself, and when it receives a registration request as a request for registration of the electronic device, it registers the electronic device to itself if it has already associated and managed in advance the same information as the specific information included in the registration request with itself.

[0009] With this configuration, when a service provider according to one aspect of the present invention receives a registration request as a request for registration of an electronic device, if it has already associated and managed in advance the same information as the specific information included in the registration request with itself, it registers the electronic device with itself. Therefore, even if the user of the electronic device is unaware of which service provider is appropriate as the registration destination for the electronic device, the electronic device can be registered with the appropriate service provider.

[0010] A service provision program according to one aspect of the present invention is a service provision program that causes a computer to implement a service provision system that provides specific services to electronic devices registered to itself, wherein when the service provision system receives a registration request as a request for registration of the electronic device, and the service provision system has previously managed information identical to the specific information included in the registration request in association with the service provision system itself, the service provision program causes the service provision system to register the electronic device to the service provision system itself.

[0011] With this configuration, when a service provision system, which is a computer executing a service provision program according to one aspect of the present invention, receives a registration request as a request for registration of an electronic device, if it has already associated and managed in advance the same information as the specific information included in the registration request with itself, it will register the electronic device with itself. Therefore, even if the user of the electronic device is unaware of a service provision system that is appropriate for registering the electronic device, the electronic device can be registered with an appropriate service provision system.

[0012] A system according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a first service provision system that provides a specific service to an electronic device registered therewith, and a second service provision system that provides the specific service to the electronic device registered therewith, wherein when the first service provision system receives a registration request from the electronic device as a request for registration of the electronic device, it registers the electronic device with itself if it has previously managed in association with the specific information included in the registration request, and when the first service provision system receives a registration request from the electronic device, it transmits the registration request to the second service provision system if it has previously managed in association with the specific information included in the registration request, and when the second service provision system receives a registration request from the first service provision system, it registers the electronic device with itself if it has previously managed in association with the specific information included in the registration request.

[0013] With this configuration, in one aspect of the present invention, when a service provision system receives a registration request as a request to register an electronic device, if the service provision system has already associated and managed the same information as the specific information included in the registration request with itself, the service provision system registers the electronic device with itself. Therefore, even if the user of the electronic device is unaware of which service provision system is appropriate for registering the electronic device, the electronic device can be registered with the appropriate service provision system.

[0014] This is a block diagram of an example system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This is a block diagram of an example service provision system shown in Figure 1 when it is configured with one computer. This is a diagram showing an example of tenant management information shown in Figure 2. This is a diagram showing an example of system management information shown in Figure 2. This is a diagram showing an example of device management information shown in Figure 2. This is a block diagram of an example image forming apparatus shown in Figure 1 when it is configured with an MFP. This is a diagram showing an example of device user management information shown in Figure 6. This is a block diagram of an example user terminal shown in Figure 1 when it is configured with a PC. This is a sequence diagram of the operation of the system shown in Figure 1 when a provider-side user logs in to a provider tenant in the service provision system via a user terminal. This is a flowchart of the operation of the service provision system shown in Figure 2 when creating a customer tenant. This is a flowchart of the operation of the service provision system shown in Figure 1 when the service provision system requests a response from the service provision system asking whether or not a tenant with a specific tenant name is included in the tenant management information. This is a sequence diagram of the operation of the service provision system shown in Figure 2 when activating a customer tenant. This is a flowchart of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in Figure 6 when a device user logs in. This is a flowchart of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in Figure 6 when a service utilization program is activated. This is a flowchart of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in Figure 6 when it is registered in the service provision system. This is a diagram showing an example of the device registration screen displayed in the operation shown in Figure 15. This is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the service provision system shown in Figure 2 when a device registration request is sent. This is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the service provision system shown in Figure 1 when an indirect device registration request is sent. This is a block diagram of an example of a system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. This is a block diagram of an example of a service provision system shown in Figure 19 when it is configured by a single computer. This is a diagram showing an example of past registration destination information shown in Figure 20. This is a flowchart showing part of an example of the operation of the service provision system shown in Figure 20 when a device registration request is sent. This is a flowchart that continues from the flowchart shown in Figure 22.This is a block diagram of an example system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. This is a block diagram of an example service provision system shown in Figure 24 when it is configured with one computer. This is a block diagram of an example image forming apparatus shown in Figure 24 when it is configured with an MFP. This is a flowchart of the operation of the service provision system shown in Figure 25 when a customer tenant is created. This is a flowchart of the operation of the service provision system shown in Figure 25 when information of an image forming apparatus belonging to a customer tenant is input. This is a diagram showing an example of a device information registration page displayed on a user terminal by the operation shown in Figure 28. This is a flowchart of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in Figure 26 when it is registered in the service provision system. This is a diagram showing an example of a device registration screen displayed in the operation shown in Figure 30. This is a flowchart of an example of the operation of the service provision system shown in Figure 25 when a device registration request is sent. This is a flowchart of an example of the operation of the service provision system shown in Figure 24 when an indirect device registration request is sent.

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0016] (First Embodiment) First, the configuration of the system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0017] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an example of the system 10 according to this embodiment.

[0018] As shown in Figure 1, System 10 includes a service provision system 20 that provides specific services to image forming apparatuses registered with it, and a service provision system 30 with a configuration similar to that of Service Provision System 20. System 10 may also include at least one additional service provision system with a configuration similar to that of Service Provision System 20 and Service Provision System 30. Services provided to image forming apparatuses by the service provision system may include, for example, a service that causes the image forming apparatus to perform printing based on print data on the cloud, and a service that saves images read from originals by the image forming apparatus to the cloud. The service provision system may consist of one computer, such as a PC (Personal Computer), or it may consist of multiple computers. The service provision system may be configured on the cloud. For example, one service provision system may be deployed for each specific region, such as Japan, Europe, and America.

[0019] System 10 includes an image forming apparatus 40 as an electronic device that performs printing. System 10 may also include at least one other image forming apparatus with a configuration similar to that of the image forming apparatus 40. The image forming apparatus may be, for example, a dedicated printer or an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral).

[0020] System 10 includes a user terminal 50 used by users and a user terminal 60 having the same configuration as user terminal 50. System 10 may also include at least one other user terminal having the same configuration as user terminal 50 and user terminal 60. The user terminal may consist of, for example, a PC, tablet, or smartphone.

[0021] The service provision system and the image forming apparatus can communicate with each other via a network 11 such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet. The service provision system and the user terminal can communicate with each other via the network 11.

[0022] Figure 2 is a block diagram of an example of a service delivery system 20 that is configured with a single computer.

[0023] As shown in Figure 2, the service provision system 20 includes an operation unit 21, which is an operation device such as a keyboard or mouse into which various operations are input; a display unit 22, which is a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) that displays various information; a communication unit 23, which is a communication device that communicates with external devices via a network such as a LAN or the Internet, or directly via wired or wireless connection without going through a network; a storage unit 24, which is a non-volatile storage device such as a semiconductor memory or HDD (Hard Disk Drive) that stores various information; and a control unit 25 that controls the entire service provision system 20.

[0024] The storage unit 24 is capable of storing a service provision program 24a for providing specific services to the image forming apparatus. The service provision program 24a may, for example, be installed in the service provision system 20 during the manufacturing stage, or it may be additionally installed in the service provision system 20 from an external storage medium such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, or it may be additionally installed in the service provision system 20 from a network.

[0025] The memory unit 24 is capable of storing tenant management information 24b for managing organizations to which users of the service provision system 20 (hereinafter, users of the service provision system are referred to as "system users") belong (hereinafter, organizations to which system users belong are referred to as "tenants").

[0026] Figure 3 shows an example of tenant management information 24b.

[0027] As shown in Figure 3, the tenant management information 24b includes, for each tenant, the tenant name, the email address of the tenant's representative, the tenant type, the tenant names of subordinate tenants, the language used for the tenants, and information regarding licenses for the tenants (hereinafter referred to as "license information"). The tenant management information 24b shown in Figure 3 is depicted with some information omitted. The tenant types include provider tenants, which are tenants of providers as providers of the service provision system 20, and customer tenants, which are tenants of customers as recipients of services provided by the service provision system 20. Customer tenants are placed under provider tenants. The license information may be, for example, information indicating the number of image forming machines that can be registered in the service provision system 20.

[0028] As shown in Figure 2, the storage unit 24 is capable of storing system user management information 24c for managing system users of the service provision system 20.

[0029] Figure 4 shows an example of system user management information 24c.

[0030] As shown in Figure 4, the system user management information 24c includes, for each system user, a system user ID as identification information for the system user, a system user password as the system user's password, the tenant name of the tenant to which the system user belongs, and the system user's role. The system user management information 24c shown in Figure 4 is depicted with some information omitted. Examples of system user roles include a tenant representative (hereinafter referred to as "tenant representative"), a tenant administrator (hereinafter referred to as "tenant administrator"), and a general user managed by the tenant administrator. The tenant representative is also a tenant administrator.

[0031] As shown in Figure 2, the storage unit 24 is capable of storing device management information 24d for managing the image forming apparatus.

[0032] Figure 5 shows an example of device management information 24d.

[0033] As shown in Figure 5, the device management information 24d includes, for each image forming apparatus, a device ID as identification information for the image forming apparatus, the tenant name of the tenant to which the image forming apparatus belongs, the host name of the image forming apparatus, the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the image forming apparatus, the version of the program installed on the image forming apparatus for using services provided by the service provision system (hereinafter referred to as the "service utilization program") (hereinafter referred to as the "program version"), the identification information of the administrator of the image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as the "device administrator") (hereinafter, the identification information of the user of the image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as the "device user") is referred to as the "device user ID"), the password of the device administrator (hereinafter, the password of the device user is referred to as the "device user password"), and a PIN (Personal Identification Number) for logging into the device administrator menu in the service utilization program. Some information is omitted in the device management information 24d shown in Figure 5.

[0034] The device ID can also be the serial number of the image forming machine.

[0035] The hostname shown in the device management information 24d is used, for example, to resolve the IP address of the image forming apparatus.

[0036] The IP address shown in the device management information 24d is used, for example, by the service provision system 20 to communicate with the image forming apparatus.

[0037] The program version shown in device management information 24d is used, for example, to be displayed on the customer tenant's website, which is provided by the service provision system 20.

[0038] The device user ID and device user password of the device administrator, as shown in the device management information 24d, are used to change various settings of the image forming apparatus from the service provision system 20 by logging into the image forming apparatus from the service provision system 20 with the authority of the device administrator.

[0039] The PINs shown in the device management information 24d are used by the service provision system 20 to change the PINs stored in the image forming apparatus.

[0040] As shown in Figure 2, the storage unit 24 is capable of storing other system domain name information 24e, which indicates the domain names of service provision systems other than the service provision system 20 itself, for each service provision system.

[0041] The control unit 25 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores programs and various data, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) used as a working area for the CPU of the control unit 25. The CPU of the control unit 25 executes programs stored in the storage unit 24 or the ROM of the control unit 25.

[0042] The control unit 25 realizes a service provision unit 25a that provides specific services to the image forming apparatus by executing a service provision program 24a.

[0043] Figure 6 is a block diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus 40 that is composed of MFPs.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 6, the image forming apparatus 40 is a computer comprising: an operation unit 41 which is an operation device such as a button for inputting various operations; a display unit 42 which is a display device such as an LCD for displaying various information; a printer 43 which is a printing device for printing an image on a recording medium such as paper; a scanner 44 which is a reading device for reading an image from a document; a communication unit 45 which is a communication device that communicates with an external device via a network such as a LAN or the Internet, or directly by wire or wireless without going through a network; a facsimile communication unit 46 which is a facsimile device that performs facsimile communication with an external facsimile apparatus (not shown) via a communication line such as a public telephone line; a storage unit 47 which is a non-volatile storage device such as a semiconductor memory or an HDD for storing various information; and a control unit 48 that controls the entire image forming apparatus 40.

[0045] The storage unit 47 can store an operation control program 47a for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 40. The operation control program 47a may, for example, be installed in the image forming apparatus 40 at the manufacturing stage of the image forming apparatus 40, may additionally be installed in the image forming apparatus 40 from an external storage medium such as a USB memory, or may additionally be installed in the image forming apparatus 40 via a network.

[0046] The storage unit 47 can store a service use program 47b. The service use program 47b may, for example, be installed in the image forming apparatus 40 at the manufacturing stage of the image forming apparatus 40, may additionally be installed in the image forming apparatus 40 from an external storage medium such as a USB memory, or may additionally be installed in the image forming apparatus 40 via a network.

[0047] The storage unit 47 can store device user management information 47c for managing device users of the image forming apparatus 40.

[0048] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the device user management information 47c.

[0049] As shown in Figure 7, the device user management information 47c includes the device user ID, device user password, and device user role for each device user. The device user management information 47c shown in Figure 7 is depicted with some information omitted.

[0050] Device user roles include, for example, device administrators who manage image forming equipment, and general users.

[0051] As shown in Figure 6, the storage unit 47 can store destination information 47d indicating the destination of the image forming apparatus 40. The destination indicated by the destination information 47d is, for example, a region such as Japan, Europe, or America. The destination indicated by the destination information 47d may be set by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus 40 before the image forming apparatus 40 is shipped, or it may be changed by the service person of the image forming apparatus 40 after the image forming apparatus 40 has been shipped.

[0052] The memory unit 47 is capable of storing regional correspondence information 47e that indicates the region where the service provision system is installed and the destination for each region where the service provision system is installed.

[0053] The memory unit 47 is capable of storing system management information 47f that indicates the region where the service provision system is installed and the domain name of the service provision system for each service provision system.

[0054] The memory unit 47 is capable of storing communication destination domain name information 47g, which indicates the domain name of the service provider system to which communication is initiated by the service utilization program 47b.

[0055] The memory unit 47 can store tenant name information 47h, which indicates the tenant name of the tenant to which the image forming apparatus 40 belongs.

[0056] The control unit 48 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM that stores programs and various data, and RAM as memory used as a working area for the CPU of the control unit 48. The CPU of the control unit 48 executes programs stored in the storage unit 47 or the ROM of the control unit 48.

[0057] The control unit 48 implements an operation control unit 48a that controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 40 by executing an operation control program 47a.

[0058] The control unit 48 implements a service utilization unit 48b that utilizes services provided by the service provision system by executing a service utilization program 47b.

[0059] Figure 8 is a block diagram of an example of a user terminal 50 that is configured with a PC.

[0060] As shown in Figure 8, the user terminal 50 includes an operation unit 51 which is an operation device such as a keyboard or mouse into which various operations are input, a display unit 52 which is a display device such as an LCD that displays various information, a communication unit 53 which is a communication device that communicates with external devices via a network such as a LAN or the Internet, or directly via wired or wireless connection without going through a network, a storage unit 54 which is a non-volatile storage device such as a semiconductor memory or HDD that stores various information, and a control unit 55 that controls the entire user terminal 50.

[0061] The memory unit 54 is capable of storing a web browser program (hereinafter referred to as the "web browser program") 54a. The web browser program 54a may, for example, be installed on the user terminal 50 during the manufacturing stage, or it may be additionally installed on the user terminal 50 from an external storage medium such as a USB memory, or it may be additionally installed on the user terminal 50 from a network.

[0062] The storage unit 54 is capable of storing an email client program (hereinafter referred to as the "email client program") 54b. The email client program 54b may, for example, be installed on the user terminal 50 during the manufacturing stage, or it may be additionally installed on the user terminal 50 from an external storage medium such as a USB memory, or it may be additionally installed on the user terminal 50 from a network.

[0063] The control unit 55 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM that stores programs and various data, and RAM as memory used as a workspace for the CPU of the control unit 55. The CPU of the control unit 55 executes programs stored in the storage unit 54 or the ROM of the control unit 55.

[0064] The control unit 55 implements a web browser 55a by executing a web browser program 54a.

[0065] The control unit 55 implements the email client 55b by executing the email client program 54b.

[0066] Next, we will explain the operation of system 10.

[0067] First, we will explain the operation of System 10 when a system user belonging to a provider tenant (hereinafter referred to as "provider-side user") logs in to the provider tenant in the service provision system via a user terminal.

[0068] The following describes the operation of System 10 when a provider-side user logs in to the provider tenant in the service provision system via a user terminal, using the operation of System 10 when a provider-side user logs in to the provider tenant in the service provision system 20 via a user terminal 50 as an example.

[0069] Figure 9 is a sequence diagram of the operation of System 10 when a provider-side user logs in to the provider tenant in the service provision system 20 via the user terminal 50.

[0070] A user on the provider side can instruct the user terminal 50 via the operation unit 51 to access a web page for logging into the service provision system 20 (hereinafter referred to as the "login page"), specifically the login page for the provider tenant to which the user belongs (hereinafter referred to as the "provider login page"). The provider login page is provided by the service provision unit 25a of the service provision system 20. When the user terminal 50's web browser 55a is instructed to access the provider login page, it accesses the provider login page as shown in Figure 9 (S101).

[0071] When the service provision unit 25a of the service provision system 20 receives an access in S101, it transmits the data of the provider login page accessed in S101 to the web browser 55a of the user terminal 50 (S102).

[0072] When the web browser 55a of the user terminal 50 receives the data transmitted in S102, it displays the provider login page on the display unit 52 of the user terminal 50 based on the received data (S103). The provider login page allows the user to enter their system user ID and system user password, or, after entering their system user ID and system user password, to be instructed to log in to the provider tenant in the service provision system 20.

[0073] When the web browser 55a is instructed to log in to the provider tenant on the provider login page, it requests the service provision system 20 to log in using the combination of system user ID and system user password that was entered on the provider login page at the time the instruction to log in to the provider tenant was given (S104).

[0074] When the service provision unit 25a of the service provision system 20 receives the request in S104, it performs authentication of the system user that is the target of the request in S104 (S105). Specifically, the service provision unit 25a determines that authentication of the system user has been successful if the combination of system user ID and system user password included in the request in S104 is included in the system user management information 24d. On the other hand, the service provision unit 25a determines that authentication of the system user has failed if the combination of system user ID and system user password included in the request in S104 is not included in the system user management information 24d.

[0075] If the service provider unit 25a determines that the authentication performed in S105 failed, it notifies the user terminal 50 that login is not permitted (S106).

[0076] When the web browser 55a of the user terminal 50 receives the notification in S106, it displays a message on the display unit 52 of the user terminal 50 indicating that login is not permitted (S107).

[0077] When the service provision unit 25a of the service provision system 20 determines that the authentication performed in S105 was successful, it notifies the user terminal 50 that login is permitted (S108).

[0078] When the web browser 55a of the user terminal 50 receives the notification in S108, it displays permission to log in on the display unit 52 of the user terminal 50 (S109).

[0079] Next, we will explain how the service delivery system works when creating a customer tenant.

[0080] The following explanation describes the operation of the service provision system when creating a customer tenant, using as an example the operation of the service provision system 20 when creating a customer tenant in response to instructions from a provider-side user who has already logged into the provider tenant in the service provision system 20 via the user terminal 50.

[0081] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the service provision system 20 when creating a customer tenant.

[0082] If a provider-side user is logged into the provider tenant in the service provision system 20 via the user terminal 50, the user terminal 50 can be instructed to access a web page for creating a customer tenant (hereinafter referred to as the "customer tenant creation page") via the operation unit 51 of the user terminal 50. The customer tenant creation page is provided by the service provision unit 25a of the service provision system 20. When the user terminal 50's web browser 55a is instructed to access the customer tenant creation page, it accesses the customer tenant creation page. When the service provision unit 25a of the service provision system 20 receives access to the customer tenant creation page from the user terminal 50's web browser 55a, it transmits the data for the customer tenant creation page to the user terminal 50's web browser 55a, as shown in Figure 10 (S121). When the user terminal 50's web browser 55a receives the transmitted data in S121, it displays the customer tenant creation page on the display unit 52 of the user terminal 50 based on the received data. The customer tenant creation page allows the user to input the tenant name of the customer tenant to be created, the email address of the representative of this customer tenant, the language to be used for this customer tenant, and the license information of this customer tenant. Alternatively, the user can be instructed to create the customer tenant after the tenant name, email address, language, and license information have been entered. When the user's terminal 50's web browser 55a is instructed to create a customer tenant on the customer tenant creation page, it requests the service provision system 20 to create the customer tenant using the tenant name, email address, language, and license information that was entered on the customer tenant creation page at the time the instruction to create the customer tenant was given.

[0083] When the processing in S121 is completed, the service provision unit 25a of the service provision system 20 determines whether or not a customer tenant has been requested to be created until it determines that the creation of a customer tenant has been requested from the user terminal 50 (S122).

[0084] When the service provision unit 25a determines in S122 that a customer tenant creation has been requested, it determines whether the tenant with the tenant name entered on the customer tenant creation page at the time the customer tenant creation was requested (hereinafter referred to as the "target tenant name" in the operation description shown in Figure 10) is included in the service provision system 20's own tenant management information 24b (S123).

[0085] If the service provision unit 25a determines in S123 that the tenant with the target tenant name is not included in the tenant management information 24b, it targets only one service provision system other than the service provision system 20 that has not yet been targeted in the operation shown in Figure 10 (S124).

[0086] When the processing in S124 is completed, the service provision unit 25a requests the current target service provision system to respond whether or not the tenant with the target tenant name is included in the tenant management information of the current target service provision system (S125). Here, the service provision unit 25a creates the destination URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the request in S125 using the domain name shown in the other system domain name information 24e.

[0087] The following describes the operation of a service provider when another service provider system requests a response from service provider system regarding whether a tenant with a specific tenant name is included in the tenant management information. Specifically, the operation of service provider system 30 when service provider system 20 requests a response from service provider system 30 regarding whether a tenant with a specific tenant name is included in the tenant management information is explained as an example.

[0088] Figure 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the service provision system 30 when the service provision system 20 requests a response regarding whether or not a tenant with a specific tenant name is included in the tenant management information.

[0089] When the service provision unit of the service provision system 30 receives a request from the service provision system 20 for a response regarding whether or not a tenant with a specific tenant name is included in the tenant management information, it performs the operation shown in Figure 11.

[0090] As shown in Figure 11, the service provision unit of the service provision system 30 determines whether or not a tenant with a specific tenant name is included in the tenant management information of the service provision system 30 itself (S141).

[0091] If the service provision unit of the service provision system 30 determines in S141 that the service provision system 30's own tenant management information includes a tenant with a specific tenant name, it responds to the service provision system 20, which is the source of the request for a response on whether or not a tenant with a specific tenant name is included in the tenant management information, that the tenant with the specific tenant name is included in the tenant management information (S142).

[0092] If the service provision unit of the service provision system 30 determines in S141 that the tenant management information of the service provision system 30 itself does not contain a tenant with a specific tenant name, it responds to the service provision system 20, which is the source of the request for a response on whether or not a tenant with a specific tenant name is included in the tenant management information, that the tenant with the specific tenant name is not included in the tenant management information (S143).

[0093] When the service provision unit of the service provision system 30 completes processing S142 or S143, it terminates the operation shown in Figure 11.

[0094] As shown in Figure 10, when the processing in S125 is completed, the service provision unit 25a of the service provision system 20 determines whether or not a response has been received from the current target service provision system regarding whether or not the tenant with the target tenant name is included in the tenant management information of the current target service provision system (S126).

[0095] If the service provision unit 25a determines in S126 that it has received a response from the current target service provision system regarding whether or not the tenant with the target tenant name is included in the tenant management information of the current target service provision system, it determines whether or not the tenant with the target tenant name is included in the tenant management information of the current target service provision system based on the response received from the current target service provision system (S127).

[0096] If the service provision unit 25a determines in S127 that the tenant with the target tenant name is not included in the tenant management information of the current target service provision system, it determines whether there are any other service provision systems besides the service provision system 20 that have not yet been targeted in the operation shown in Figure 10 (S128).

[0097] If the service provision unit 25a determines in S128 that there are service provision systems other than the service provision system 20 that have not yet been targeted in the operation shown in Figure 10, it executes the process in S124.

[0098] If the service provision unit 25a determines in S123 that the tenant with the target tenant name is included in the tenant management information 24b, or if it determines in S127 that the tenant with the target tenant name is included in the tenant management information of the current target service provision system, it notifies the web browser 55a of the user terminal 50 of the failure to create the customer tenant (S129). Therefore, the web browser 55a of the user terminal 50 displays the failure to create the customer tenant on the display unit 52 of the user terminal 50.

[0099] When the processing in S129 is completed, the service provision unit 25a terminates the operation shown in Figure 10.

[0100] If the service provision unit 25a determines in S128 that there are no other service provision systems besides the service provision system 20 that are not yet targeted in the operation shown in Figure 10, it creates a customer tenant identified by the target tenant name by storing the combination of target tenant name, email address, language, and license information entered on the customer tenant creation page at the time the creation of a customer tenant was requested in the tenant management information 24b (S130).

[0101] When the processing in S130 is completed, the service provision unit 25a sends an email (hereinafter referred to as "activation email") containing a link to the activation web page (hereinafter referred to as "activation page") for the customer tenant identified by the target tenant name to the email address stored in the tenant management information 24b in S130 (S131). The activation email contains the URL of the login page for the customer tenant identified by the target tenant name. The activation page and login page for the customer tenant identified by the target tenant name are each a single web page on the website of the customer tenant identified by the target tenant name. Here, the service provision unit 25a creates the URLs of the customer tenant's activation page and login page using the domain name of the service provision system 20 itself and the tenant name stored in S130. For example, if the domain name of the service provision system 20 is "example.com" and the tenant name stored in S130 is "abc", the service provision unit 25a will create, for example, "http: / / abc.example.com / login" as the URL of the login page for the customer tenant identified by the target tenant name.

[0102] When the processing in S131 is completed, the service provision unit 25a notifies the web browser 55a of the user terminal 50 that the customer tenant has been successfully created and that an activation email has been sent (S132). Therefore, the web browser 55a of the user terminal 50 displays on the display unit 52 that the customer tenant has been successfully created and that an activation email has been sent.

[0103] When the processing in S132 is completed, the service provision unit 25a terminates the operation shown in Figure 10.

[0104] By creating all customer tenants in system 10 through the operation shown in Figure 10, it is prevented that different customer tenants in system 10 will not be assigned the same tenant name.

[0105] Next, we will explain how the service delivery system operates when activating a customer tenant.

[0106] The following explanation describes the operation of the service provision system when activating a customer tenant, using the example of the operation of the service provision system 20 when the user terminal 60 receives an activation email via its email client.

[0107] Figure 12 is a sequence diagram of the operation of the service provision system 20 when activating a customer tenant.

[0108] A user who receives the activation email via the email client on their terminal 60 can interact with the link contained in the activation email. When the link in the activation email is interacted with, the web browser on the user terminal 60 accesses the activation page identified by this link, as shown in Figure 12 (S161).

[0109] When the service provision unit 25a of the service provision system 20 receives an access in S161, it sends the data of the activated page accessed in S161 to the web browser of the user terminal 60 (S162).

[0110] When the web browser of the user terminal 60 receives the data transmitted in S162, it displays an activation page on the display unit of the user terminal 60 based on the received data (S163). The activation page can either prompt the user to enter the system user ID and system user password of the representative of the target customer tenant, or, after the system user ID and system user password have been entered, prompt the user to register the system user ID and system user password of the representative of the target customer tenant.

[0111] When the user's web browser on the user terminal 60 is instructed on the activation page to register the system user ID and system user password of the representative of the target customer tenant, it requests the service provision system 20 to register the system user ID and system user password that were entered on the activation page at the time the user was instructed to register the system user ID and system user password of the representative of the target customer tenant as the system user ID and system user password of the target customer tenant (S164).

[0112] When the service provision unit 25a of the service provision system 20 receives a request in S164, it activates the target customer tenant of the activation page by registering the system user ID and system user password included in the request in S164 as the system user ID and system user password of the representative of the target customer tenant of the activation page in the system user management information 24c (S165).

[0113] A representative of a customer tenant can instruct the user terminal to access the login page for the customer tenant to which the representative belongs, via the user terminal's control panel. The process of a representative logging into a customer tenant is the same as the process of a provider-side user logging into a provider tenant, so the explanation is omitted.

[0114] If the representative of a customer tenant is logged into the customer tenant to which they belong, they can add the combination of the system user ID, system user password, and role of the system users of that customer tenant to the system user management information 24c via the website of that customer tenant.

[0115] A system user in a customer tenant can instruct their terminal to access the login page for their respective customer tenant via the user terminal's control panel. The process of a system user logging into a customer tenant is the same as the process of a provider-side user logging into a provider tenant, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0116] Next, we will explain the operation of the image forming apparatus when a device user logs in.

[0117] The following describes the operation of the image forming apparatus when a device user logs in, using the operation of the image forming apparatus 40 when a device user logs in as an example.

[0118] Figure 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus 40 when a device user logs in.

[0119] The device user can instruct the image forming apparatus 40 via the operation unit 41 to display a login screen for the image forming apparatus 40 (hereinafter referred to as the "login screen"). When the operation control unit 48a of the image forming apparatus 40 is instructed to display the login screen, it displays the login screen on the display unit 42 as shown in Figure 13 (S181). The login screen can either allow the user to input their device user ID and device user password, or it can instruct the user to log in to the image forming apparatus 40 after the user has entered their device user ID and device user password.

[0120] After the processing in S181 is completed, the operation control unit 48a determines whether or not login to the image forming apparatus 40 has been instructed on the login screen until it determines that login to the image forming apparatus 40 has been instructed on the login screen (S182).

[0121] If the operation control unit 48a determines in S182 that login to the image forming apparatus 40 has been instructed on the login screen, it performs authentication of the device user (S183). Specifically, if the combination of device user ID and device user password entered on the login screen at the time login to the image forming apparatus 40 is instructed is included in the device user management information 47c, the operation control unit 48a determines that authentication of the device user has been successful. On the other hand, if the combination of device user ID and device user password entered on the login screen at the time login to the image forming apparatus 40 is instructed is not included in the device user management information 47c, the operation control unit 48a determines that authentication of the device user has failed.

[0122] When the process in S183 is completed, the operation control unit 48a determines the result of the authentication in S183 (S184).

[0123] If the operation control unit 48a determines in S184 that the authentication result in S183 is a failure, it displays "Login denied" on the display unit 42 (S185).

[0124] If the operation control unit 48a determines in S184 that the authentication result in S183 was successful, it displays "Login permitted" on the display unit 42 (S186).

[0125] When the processing in S185 or S186 is completed, the operation control unit 48a terminates the operation shown in Figure 13.

[0126] Next, we will explain the operation of the image forming apparatus when the service usage program is installed.

[0127] The following explanation describes the operation of the image forming apparatus when a service utilization program is installed, using the operation of the image forming apparatus 40 when the service utilization program 47b is installed as an example.

[0128] If the device administrator is logged into the image forming apparatus 40, they can instruct the image forming apparatus 40 to install a service utilization program via the operation unit 41 of the image forming apparatus 40. When the operation control unit 48a of the image forming apparatus 40 is instructed to install a service utilization program, it installs the service utilization program to be installed as service utilization program 47b into the image forming apparatus 40.

[0129] Next, we will explain the operation of the image forming apparatus when the service usage program is activated.

[0130] The following describes the operation of the image forming apparatus when a service utilization program is activated, using the operation of the image forming apparatus 40 when the service utilization program 47b is activated as an example.

[0131] Figure 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus 40 when the service utilization program 47b is activated.

[0132] If the device administrator is logged into the image forming apparatus 40, they can instruct the image forming apparatus 40 via the operation unit 41 of the image forming apparatus 40 to start the process for activating the service utilization program 47b. When the service utilization unit 48b of the image forming apparatus 40 is instructed to start the process for activating the service utilization program 47b, it performs the operation shown in Figure 14.

[0133] As shown in Figure 14, the service utilization unit 48b displays a screen for activating the service utilization program 47b (hereinafter referred to as the "activation screen") on the display unit 42 (S201). The activation screen includes an activate button as a widget for executing the activation of the service utilization program 47b, and a cancel button as a widget for canceling the activation of the service utilization program 47b.

[0134] When the processing in S201 is completed, the service utilization unit 48b determines whether or not the activate button was pressed on the activate screen (S202).

[0135] If the service utilization unit 48b determines in S202 that the activate button has not been pressed on the activate screen, it determines whether or not the cancel button has been pressed on the activate screen (S203).

[0136] If the service utilization unit 48b determines in S203 that the cancel button has not been pressed on the activation screen, it executes the process in S202.

[0137] If the service utilization unit 48b determines in S203 that the cancel button has been pressed on the activation screen, it terminates the operation shown in Figure 14.

[0138] When the service utilization unit 48b determines in S202 that the activate button has been pressed on the activate screen, it activates the service utilization program 47b (S204) and terminates the operation shown in Figure 14.

[0139] Next, we will explain the operation of system 10 when an image forming apparatus is registered in the service provision system.

[0140] The following describes the operation of system 10 when an image forming apparatus is registered in the service provision system, using the operation of system 10 when an image forming apparatus 40 is registered in the service provision system as an example.

[0141] Figure 15 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus 40 when it is registered in the service provision system.

[0142] If the device administrator is logged into the image forming apparatus 40 and the service utilization program 47b is activated, the device administrator can instruct the image forming apparatus 40 via the operation unit 41 of the image forming apparatus 40 to display a screen for registering the image forming apparatus 40 with the service provision system (hereinafter referred to as the "device registration screen"). When the service utilization unit 48b of the image forming apparatus 40 is instructed to display the device registration screen, it displays the device registration screen 900 (see, for example, Figure 16) on the display unit 42, as shown in Figure 15 (S221).

[0143] Figure 16 shows an example of the device registration screen 900 displayed during the operation shown in Figure 15.

[0144] The device registration screen 900 shown in Figure 16 includes a text box 901 as a widget for entering the tenant name of the tenant to which the image forming apparatus 40 is to belong, a text box 902 as a widget for entering a PIN for logging into the device administrator menu in the service usage program 47b, a device registration button 903 as a widget for registering the image forming apparatus 40 with the service provision system, and a cancel button 904 as a widget for canceling the registration of the image forming apparatus 40 with the service provision system.

[0145] As shown in Figure 15, when the processing in S221 is completed, the service utilization unit 48b of the image forming apparatus 40 determines whether or not the device registration button 903 has been pressed (S222).

[0146] If the service utilization unit 48b determines in S222 that the device registration button 903 has not been pressed, it determines whether or not the cancel button 904 has been pressed (S223).

[0147] If the service utilization unit 48b determines in S223 that the cancel button 904 has not been pressed, it executes the process in S222.

[0148] When the service utilization unit 48b determines in S223 that the cancel button 904 has been pressed, it terminates the operation shown in Figure 15.

[0149] When the service utilization unit 48b determines in S222 that the device registration button 903 has been pressed, it identifies the region associated with the destination shown in destination information 47d in regional correspondence information 47e (S224).

[0150] When the processing in S224 is completed, the service utilization unit 48b sends a request for registration of the image forming apparatus 40 (hereinafter referred to as the "device registration request") to the service provision system identified by the domain name associated in the system management information 47f with the region identified in S224 (S225). The service utilization unit 48b includes the tenant name entered in the text box 901 when the device registration button 903 was pressed, the PIN entered in the text box 902 when the device registration button 903 was pressed, and information about the image forming apparatus 40 in the device registration request sent in S225. The information about the image forming apparatus 40 includes the device ID, host name and IP address of the image forming apparatus 40, the program version of the service utilization program 47b, and the device user ID and device user password of the device administrator shown in the device user management information 47c.

[0151] The following explanation will use the example of a case where the service provision system identified by the domain name associated in the system management information 47f with the region identified in S224 is the service provision system 20.

[0152] Figure 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the service provision system 20 when a device registration request is received.

[0153] When the service provision unit 25a of the service provision system 20 receives a transmitted device registration request (hereinafter referred to as "target device registration request" in the description of the operation shown in Figure 17), it executes the operation shown in Figure 17.

[0154] As shown in Figure 17, the service provision unit 25a determines whether or not the target device registration request includes a tenant name (S241).

[0155] If the service provision unit 25a determines in S241 that the target device registration request includes a tenant name, it determines whether the tenant of the tenant name included in the target device registration request is included in the tenant management information 24b (S242).

[0156] If the service provision unit 25a determines in S242 that the tenant of the tenant name included in the target device registration request is included in the tenant management information 24b, it registers the image forming apparatus 40 by writing the combination of tenant name, PIN, device ID, hostname, IP address, program version, device user ID, and device user password included in the target device registration request to the device management information 24d (S243).

[0157] If the service provision unit 25a determines in S242 that the tenant of the tenant name included in the target device registration request is not included in the tenant management information 24b, it targets only one domain name from among the domain names shown in the other system domain name information 24e that has not yet been targeted in the operation shown in Figure 17 (S244).

[0158] When the processing in S244 is completed, the service provision unit 25a sends a request for registration of the image forming apparatus 40 by the service provision system 20 to the service provision system identified by the current target domain name (hereinafter referred to as the "indirect device registration request" in this embodiment) (S245). The service provision unit 25a includes the tenant name, PIN, device ID, host name, IP address, program version, device user ID, and device user password combination included in the target device registration request in the indirect device registration request.

[0159] The following explanation uses the example of a case where the destination of the indirect device registration request is the service provision system 30.

[0160] Figure 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the service provision system 30 when an indirect device registration request is received.

[0161] When the service provision unit of the service provision system 30 receives an indirect device registration request (hereinafter referred to as the "target indirect device registration request" in the description of the operation shown in Figure 18), it executes the operation shown in Figure 18.

[0162] As shown in Figure 18, the service provision unit of the service provision system 30 determines whether the tenant of the tenant name included in the target indirect device registration request is included in the tenant management information of the service provision system 30 (S261).

[0163] If the service provision unit of the service provision system 30 determines in S261 that the tenant of the tenant name included in the target indirect device registration request is included in the tenant management information of the service provision system 30, it registers the image forming apparatus 40 by writing the combination of tenant name, PIN, device ID, hostname, IP address, program version, device user ID, and device user password included in the target indirect device registration request to the device management information of the service provision system 30 (S262).

[0164] When the service provision unit of the service provision system 30 completes the processing in S262, it responds to the service provision system that sent the target indirect device registration request that the registration of the image forming apparatus 40 is complete (S263).

[0165] If the service provision unit of the service provision system 30 determines in S261 that the tenant of the tenant name included in the target indirect device registration request is not included in the tenant management information of the service provision system 30, it responds to the service provision system that sent the target indirect device registration request that it will not register the image forming apparatus 40 because it does not manage the tenant name included in the target indirect device registration request (S264).

[0166] When the service provision unit of the service provision system 30 completes processing S263 or S264, it terminates the operation shown in Figure 18.

[0167] As shown in Figure 17, when the processing in S245 is completed, the service provision unit 25a of the service provision system 20 determines whether or not the completion of registration of the image forming apparatus 40 has been responded to by the recipient of the indirect device registration request in S245 (S246).

[0168] If the service provision unit 25a determines in S246 that the completion of registration of the image forming apparatus 40 has not been responded to by the recipient of the indirect device registration request in S245, it determines whether or not the recipient of the indirect device registration request in S245 has responded that the image forming apparatus 40 will not be registered (S247).

[0169] If the service provider 25a determines in S247 that it has not received a response from the recipient of the indirect device registration request in S245 indicating that it will not register the image forming apparatus 40, it executes the process in S246.

[0170] If the service provider 25a determines in S247 that the destination of the indirect device registration request in S245 has responded that the image forming apparatus 40 will not be registered, it determines in S248 whether there are any domain names among the domain names shown in the other system domain name information 24e that have not yet been targeted in the operation shown in Figure 17.

[0171] If the service provision unit 25a determines in S248 that there are domain names among the domain names shown in the other system domain name information 24e that have not yet been targeted in the operation shown in Figure 17, it executes the process in S244.

[0172] If the service provision unit 25a determines in S241 that the target device registration request does not include a tenant name, it responds with an error to the image forming apparatus that sent the target device registration request (S249).

[0173] If the service provider unit 25a determines in S248 that there are no domain names among the domain names shown in the other system domain name information 24e that have not yet been targeted in the operation shown in Figure 17, it responds to the image forming apparatus 40 that it will not register the image forming apparatus 40 because there is no service provider system that manages the tenant name included in the target device registration request (S250).

[0174] When the service provision unit 25a determines in S246 that the processing in S243 is complete or that the registration of the image forming apparatus 40 has been confirmed as complete by the recipient of the indirect device registration request in S245, it responds to the image forming apparatus 40 with the completion of the registration of the image forming apparatus 40 and the domain name of the service provision system to which the image forming apparatus 40 is registered (S251).

[0175] When the processing of S249, S250, or S251 is completed, the service provision unit 25a terminates the operation shown in Figure 17.

[0176] As shown in Figure 15, when the processing in S225 is completed, the service utilization unit 48b of the image forming apparatus 40 determines whether or not an error has been responded to from the destination of the device registration request (S226).

[0177] If the service utilization unit 48b determines in S226 that no error response has been received from the destination of the device registration request, it determines whether or not the destination of the device registration request has responded that the image forming apparatus 40 will not be registered (S227).

[0178] If the service utilization unit 48b determines in S227 that the destination of the device registration request has not responded that the image forming apparatus 40 will not be registered, it determines whether the destination of the device registration request has responded that the registration of the image forming apparatus 40 is complete and the domain name of the service provision system to which the image forming apparatus 40 is registered (S228).

[0179] If the service utilization unit 48b determines in S228 that the registration of the image forming apparatus 40 has been completed and that the domain name of the service provision system to which the image forming apparatus 40 is registered has not been responded to from the destination of the device registration request, it executes the process in S226.

[0180] If the service utilization unit 48b of the image forming apparatus 40 determines in S226 that an error has been responded to from the destination of the device registration request in S225, it displays on the display unit 42 that the image forming apparatus 40 cannot be registered with the service provision system because the tenant name has not been entered on the device registration screen (S229).

[0181] If the service utilization unit 48b determines in S227 that the destination of the device registration request has responded that the image forming apparatus 40 will not be registered, it displays on the display unit 42 that the image forming apparatus 40 cannot be registered with the service provision system because there is no service provision system that manages the tenant name entered on the device registration screen (S230).

[0182] When the service utilization unit 48b determines in S228 that the registration of the image forming apparatus 40 has been completed and that the domain name of the service provision system to which the image forming apparatus 40 is registered has been responded to from the destination of the device registration request, it sets the domain name responded to from the destination of the device registration request and the tenant name included in the device registration request to the communication destination domain name information 47g and the affiliated tenant name information 47h, respectively (S231).Therefore, the service utilization unit 48b communicates with the service provision system using the domain name shown in the communication destination domain name information 47g and the tenant name shown in the affiliated tenant name information 47h.For example, if the domain name shown in the communication destination domain name information 47g is "example.com" and the tenant name shown in the affiliated tenant name information 47h is "abc", the service utilization unit 48b uses, for example, "http: / / abc.example.com / login" as the URL of the login page.

[0183] When the processing in S231 is completed, the service utilization unit 48b displays on the display unit 42 that the image forming apparatus 40 has been registered with the service provision system (S232).

[0184] When the processing of S229, S230, or S232 is completed, the service utilization unit 48b terminates the operation shown in Figure 15.

[0185] In the above, the service utilization unit 48b performs the operations shown in Figure 15 in response to operations by the device administrator of the image forming apparatus 40. However, the service utilization unit 48b may also perform the operations shown in Figure 15 in response to operations by the service person of the image forming apparatus 40.

[0186] As explained above, when the service provision system receives a registration request for an image forming apparatus, if it has already associated and managed the same tenant name included in the registration request with the service provision system itself (YES in S242 or YES in S261), it registers the image forming apparatus with the service provision system itself (S243 or S262). Therefore, even if the user of the image forming apparatus is unaware of a service provision system that is appropriate for registration of the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus can be registered with the appropriate service provision system.

[0187] When the service provision system receives a registration request from the image forming apparatus, if it has not already associated and managed a tenant name identical to the tenant name included in the registration request with itself (NO in S242), it will send the registration request to a service provision system other than itself (S245), thereby improving convenience.

[0188] When a service provider receives a registration request from a service provider other than itself, if the service provider has not pre-managed an association with the same tenant name as the tenant name included in the registration request (NO in S261), it will respond to the service provider that sent the registration request to itself that it will not register the image forming apparatus (S264), thereby improving convenience.

[0189] In this embodiment, when the service provision system receives a registration request for an image forming apparatus, it registers the image forming apparatus with the service provision system itself if it has already associated and managed in advance a tenant name identical to the tenant name included in the registration request with the service provision system itself. However, when the service provision system receives a registration request for an image forming apparatus, it may also register the image forming apparatus with the service provision system itself if it has already associated and managed in advance information identical to specific information other than the tenant name included in the registration request with the service provision system itself.

[0190] (Second Embodiment) First, the configuration of the system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0191] The configuration of the system according to this embodiment is the same as that of system 10 according to the first embodiment (see Figure 1), except for the configuration described below. Hereinafter, for components of the system according to this embodiment that are the same as those of system 10, the same reference numerals as those of system 10 will be used, and detailed descriptions will be omitted.

[0192] Figure 19 is a block diagram of an example of the system 310 according to this embodiment.

[0193] As shown in Figure 19, the configuration of system 310 is similar to that of system 10 (see Figure 1), which includes a service provision system 320 that provides specific services to image forming apparatuses registered to it, a service provision system 330 with a configuration similar to service provision system 320, and at least one other service provision system with a configuration similar to service provision system 320, in place of service provision system 20 (see Figure 1) and service provision system 30 (see Figure 1), and at least one other service provision system with a configuration similar to service provision system 20, in place of service provision system 20 (see Figure 1). A service provision system may be composed of one computer such as a PC, or it may be composed of multiple computers. A service provision system may be configured on the cloud. A service provision system is deployed one by one in specific regions, such as Japan, Europe, and America.

[0194] Figure 20 is a block diagram of an example of a service delivery system 320 that is configured with a single computer.

[0195] As shown in Figure 20, the configuration of the service provision system 320 is similar to that of the service provision system 20 (see Figure 2), which is equipped with a service provision program 324a for providing specific services to the image forming apparatus, instead of the service provision program 24a (see Figure 2), and which is equipped with past registration destination information 324b indicating the domain name of the service provision system that registered the image forming apparatus when the service provision system 320 previously received a device registration request.

[0196] The control unit 25 realizes a service provision unit 325a that provides specific services to the image forming apparatus by executing a service provision program 324a.

[0197] Figure 21 shows an example of past registration destination information 324b.

[0198] As shown in Figure 21, the configuration of the past registration destination information 324b includes, for each tenant name, the tenant name and the domain name of the service provider system in which the image forming apparatus was registered when the service provider system 320 previously received a device registration request. The past registration destination information 324b shown in Figure 21 is depicted with some information omitted.

[0199] Next, we will explain the operation of system 310.

[0200] The operation of system 310 is the same as that of system 10 according to the first embodiment (see Figure 1), except for the operation of the service provision system when a device registration request is received.

[0201] The following describes the operation of the service provision system when a device registration request is received, using the operation of the service provision system 320 when a device registration request is received as an example.

[0202] Figure 22 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation of the service provision system 320 when a device registration request is received. Figure 23 is a flowchart that continues from the flowchart shown in Figure 22.

[0203] When the service provision unit 325a of the service provision system 320 receives a transmitted device registration request (hereinafter referred to as "target device registration request" in the description of the operations shown in Figures 22 and 23), it performs the operations shown in Figures 22 and 23.

[0204] As shown in Figures 22 and 23, the service provision unit 325a executes processes S401 to S403, which are similar to processes S241 to S243 (see Figure 17).

[0205] If the service provision unit 325a determines in S402 that the tenant of the tenant name included in the target device registration request is not included in the tenant management information 24b, it determines whether or not there is a domain name associated with the tenant name included in the target device registration request in the past registration destination information 324b (S404).

[0206] If the service provision unit 325a determines in S404 that there is a domain name associated with the tenant name included in the target device registration request in the past registration destination information 324b, it determines whether the domain name associated with the tenant name included in the target device registration request in the past registration destination information 324b is the domain name of the service provision system 320 itself (S405).

[0207] If the service provision unit 325a determines in S405 that the domain name associated with the tenant name included in the target device registration request in the past registration destination information 324b is not the domain name of the service provision system 320 itself, it targets only the domain name associated with the tenant name included in the target device registration request in the past registration destination information 324b (S406).

[0208] If the service provision unit 325a determines in S404 that there is no domain name associated with the tenant name included in the target device registration request in the past registration destination information 324b, or if it determines in S405 that the domain name associated with the tenant name included in the target device registration request in the past registration destination information 324b is the domain name of the service provision system 320 itself, it executes the process in S407, which is the same as the process in S244 (see Figure 17).

[0209] When the service provision unit 325a completes processing S406 or S407, it executes processing S408 to S411, which is the same as processing S245 to S248 (see Figure 17).

[0210] If the service provider unit 325a determines in S411 that there are domain names among the domain names shown in the other system domain name information 24e that have not yet been targeted in the operations shown in Figures 22 and 23, it executes the process in S407.

[0211] If the service provision unit 325a determines in S401 that the target device registration request does not include a tenant name, it executes the process in S412, which is the same as the process in S249 (see Figure 17).

[0212] If the service provider unit 325a determines in S411 that there are no domain names among the domain names shown in the other system domain name information 24e that have not yet been targeted in the operations shown in Figures 22 and 23, it executes the same process as in S250 (see Figure 17) in S413.

[0213] When the service provision unit 325a determines in S409 that the processing in S403 is complete or that the registration of the image forming apparatus 40 has been confirmed as complete by the recipient of the indirect device registration request in S408, it overwrites the domain name of the service provision system, which is the registration destination for the image forming apparatus 40, in the past registration destination information 324b as a domain name associated with the tenant name included in the target device registration request (S414).

[0214] When the processing in S414 is completed, the service provision unit 325a executes the processing in S415, which is the same as the processing in S251 (see Figure 17).

[0215] When the processing of S412, S413, or S415 is completed, the service provision unit 325a terminates the operations shown in Figures 22 and 23.

[0216] As explained above, when the service provision system receives a registration request for an image forming apparatus, if it has already associated and managed the same tenant name included in the registration request with the service provision system itself (YES in S402 or YES in S261), it registers the image forming apparatus with the service provision system itself (S403 or S262). Therefore, even if the user of the image forming apparatus is unaware of a service provision system that is appropriate for registration of the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus can be registered with the appropriate service provision system.

[0217] When the service provision system receives a registration request from the image forming apparatus, if it has not already associated and managed a tenant name identical to the tenant name included in the registration request with itself (NO in S402), it will send the registration request to a service provision system other than itself (S408), thereby improving convenience.

[0218] When the service provision system sends a registration request to a service provision system other than itself in S408, if the service provision system to which the registration request was sent has registered the image forming apparatus (YES in S409), the service provision system manages the destination in association with the tenant name (S414). When the service provision system receives a registration request from the image forming apparatus, if it has not already managed the same tenant name as included in the registration request in association with the service provision system itself (NO in S402), it prioritizes sending the registration request to the destination service provision system that is managed in association with the tenant name (S406 and S408), thereby improving efficiency.

[0219] When a service provider receives a registration request from a service provider other than itself, if the service provider has not pre-managed an association with the same tenant name as the tenant name included in the registration request (NO in S261), it will respond to the service provider that sent the registration request to itself that it will not register the image forming apparatus (S264), thereby improving convenience.

[0220] In this embodiment, when the service provision system receives a registration request for an image forming apparatus, it registers the image forming apparatus with the service provision system itself if it has already associated and managed in advance a tenant name identical to the tenant name included in the registration request with the service provision system itself. However, when the service provision system receives a registration request for an image forming apparatus, it may also register the image forming apparatus with the service provision system itself if it has already associated and managed in advance information identical to specific information other than the tenant name included in the registration request with the service provision system itself.

[0221] (Third Embodiment) First, the configuration of the system according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0222] The configuration of the system according to this embodiment is the same as that of system 10 according to the first embodiment (see Figure 1), except for the configuration described below. Hereinafter, for components of the system according to this embodiment that are the same as those of system 10, the same reference numerals as those of system 10 will be used, and detailed descriptions will be omitted.

[0223] Figure 24 is a block diagram of an example of the system 510 according to this embodiment.

[0224] As shown in Figure 24, the configuration of system 510 is similar to that of system 10 (see Figure 1), which includes a service provision system 520 that provides specific services to image forming apparatuses registered to it, a service provision system 530 with a configuration similar to that of service provision system 520, and at least one other service provision system with a configuration similar to that of service provision system 520, in place of service provision system 20 (see Figure 1) and service provision system 30 (see Figure 1), and at least one other service provision system with a configuration similar to that of service provision system 20, in place of service provision system 20, and service provision system 30 (see Figure 1). Additionally, system 10 includes an image forming apparatus 540 as an electronic device that performs printing, and at least one other image forming apparatus with a configuration similar to that of image forming apparatus 540, in place of image forming apparatus 40 (see Figure 1), and at least one other image forming apparatus with a configuration similar to that of image forming apparatus 40, in place of image forming apparatus 40.

[0225] The service delivery system may consist of a single computer, such as a PC, or multiple computers. The service delivery system may also be configured on the cloud. For example, one service delivery system may be deployed for each specific region, such as Japan, Europe, and the United States.

[0226] Figure 25 is a block diagram of an example of a service delivery system 520 that is configured with a single computer.

[0227] As shown in Figure 25, the configuration of the service provision system 520 is the same as that of the service provision system 20 (see Figure 2), which is equipped with a service provision program 524a for providing specific services to the image forming apparatus, instead of the service provision program 24a (see Figure 2).

[0228] The control unit 25 realizes a service provision unit 525a that provides specific services to the image forming apparatus by executing a service provision program 524a.

[0229] Figure 26 is a block diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus 540 that is composed of MFPs.

[0230] As shown in Figure 26, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 540 is the same as that of the image forming apparatus 40 (see Figure 6), which is equipped with a service utilization program 547b for using services provided by the service provision system, instead of the service utilization program 47b (see Figure 6).

[0231] The control unit 48 implements a service utilization unit 548b that utilizes services provided by the service provision system by executing a service utilization program 547b.

[0232] Next, we will explain the operation of system 510.

[0233] The operation of system 510 is the same as that of system 10 according to the first embodiment (see Figure 1), except for the operations described below.

[0234] First, we will explain how the service delivery system works when creating a customer tenant.

[0235] The following explanation describes the operation of the service provision system when creating a customer tenant, using as an example the operation of the service provision system 520 when creating a customer tenant in response to instructions from a provider-side user who has already logged into the provider tenant in the service provision system 520 via the user terminal 50.

[0236] Figure 27 is a flowchart showing the operation of the service provision system 520 when creating a customer tenant.

[0237] If a provider-side user is logged into the provider tenant in the service provision system 520 via the user terminal 50, the user terminal 50 can be instructed to access the customer tenant creation page via the operation unit 51 of the user terminal 50. The customer tenant creation page is provided by the service provision unit 525a of the service provision system 520. When the user terminal 50's web browser 55a is instructed to access the customer tenant creation page, it accesses the customer tenant creation page. When the service provision unit 525a of the service provision system 520 receives access to the customer tenant creation page from the user terminal 50's web browser 55a, it executes the process of S601, which is similar to the process of S121 (see Figure 10), as shown in Figure 27. When the user terminal 50's web browser 55a receives the data transmitted in S601, it displays the customer tenant creation page on the display unit 52 of the user terminal 50 based on the received data. The customer tenant creation page allows the user to input the tenant name of the customer tenant to be created, the email address of the representative of this customer tenant, the language to be used for this customer tenant, and the license information for this tenant. Alternatively, the user can be instructed to create the customer tenant after the tenant name, email address, language, and license information have been entered. When the user terminal 50's web browser 55a is instructed to create a customer tenant on the customer tenant creation page, it requests the service provision system 520 to create the customer tenant using the tenant name, email address, language, and license information that was entered on the customer tenant creation page at the time the instruction to create the customer tenant was given.

[0238] When the service provision unit 525a of the service provision system 520 completes the processing of S601, it executes the processing of S602 to S603, which is the same as the processing of S122 to S123 (see Figure 10).

[0239] If the service provision unit 525a determines in S603 that the tenant with the tenant name entered on the customer tenant creation page at the time the creation of a customer tenant was requested (hereinafter referred to as the "target tenant name" in the description of the operation shown in Figure 27) is included in the tenant management information 24b, it executes the process in S604, which is the same as the process in S129 (see Figure 10), and terminates the operation shown in Figure 27.

[0240] If the service provision unit 525a determines in S603 that the tenant with the target tenant name is not included in the tenant management information 24b, it executes the same processes as S130 to S132 (see Figure 10) in S605 to S607 and terminates the operation shown in Figure 27.

[0241] By creating all customer tenants in the service provision system 520 through the operation shown in Figure 27, it is prevented that different customer tenants in the service provision system 520 will not be assigned the same tenant name.

[0242] Next, we will explain how the service provision system operates when information about image forming machines belonging to a customer tenant is entered.

[0243] The following describes the operation of the service provision system when information about an image forming apparatus belonging to a customer tenant is input, using as an example the operation of the service provision system 520 when information about an image forming apparatus belonging to a customer tenant is input in response to instructions from a tenant administrator who is logged into the customer tenant in the service provision system 520 via a user terminal 60.

[0244] Figure 28 is a flowchart showing the operation of the service provision system 520 when information about an image forming apparatus belonging to a customer tenant is input.

[0245] If the tenant administrator is logged into the customer tenant in the service provision system 520 via the user terminal 60, the tenant administrator can instruct the user terminal 60 via its control panel to access a web page for registering information about image forming apparatuses belonging to that customer tenant (hereinafter referred to as the "device information registration page"). The device information registration page is provided by the service provision unit 525a of the service provision system 520. When the user terminal 60's web browser is instructed to access the device information registration page, it accesses the device information registration page. When the service provision unit 525a of the service provision system 520 receives access to the device information registration page from the user terminal 60's web browser, it transmits the data from the device information registration page to the user terminal 60's web browser (S621), similar to the process in S121 (see Figure 10), as shown in Figure 28. When the user terminal 60's web browser receives the data transmitted in S621, it displays the device information registration page 910 (see Figure 29) on the user terminal 60's display based on the received data.

[0246] Figure 29 shows an example of a device information registration page 910 displayed on the user terminal 60 as a result of the operation shown in Figure 28.

[0247] As shown in Figure 29, the device information registration page 910 includes a text box 911 as a widget into which the device ID of the image forming apparatus is entered, a text box 912 as a widget into which a PIN for logging into the device administrator menu in the image forming apparatus service usage program is entered, a text box 913 as a widget into which the device user ID of the device administrator of the image forming apparatus is entered, a text box 914 as a widget into which the device user password of the device administrator of the image forming apparatus is entered, a cancel button 915 as a widget for canceling the registration of the image forming apparatus information, and a register button 916 as a widget for executing the registration of the image forming apparatus information.

[0248] When the cancel button 915 is pressed, the web browser on the user terminal 60 requests the service provision system 520 to cancel the registration of the image forming apparatus information. On the other hand, when the registration button 916 is pressed, the web browser on the user terminal 60 requests the service provision system 520 to register the device ID that was entered in text box 911 at the time the registration button 916 was pressed, the PIN that was entered in text box 912 at the time the registration button 916 was pressed, the device user ID that was entered in text box 913 at the time the registration button 916 was pressed, and the device user password that was entered in text box 914 at the time the registration button 916 was pressed.

[0249] As shown in Figure 28, when the processing in S621 is completed, the service provision unit 525a of the service provision system 520 determines whether or not it has been requested to cancel the registration of the image forming apparatus information (S622).

[0250] If the service provider 525a determines in S622 that it was not requested to cancel the registration of the image forming apparatus information, it determines whether or not it was requested to register the device ID, PIN, device user ID, and device user password (S623).

[0251] If the service provider unit 525a determines in S623 that registration of the device ID, PIN, device user ID, and device user password was not requested, it executes the process in S622.

[0252] If the service provision unit 525a determines in S622 that it has been requested to discontinue the registration of information about the image forming apparatus, it terminates the operation shown in Figure 28.

[0253] When the service provider 525a determines in S623 that registration of the device ID, PIN, device user ID, and device user password has been requested, it registers the requested combination of device ID, PIN, device user ID, and device user password in the device management information 24d, associating it with the tenant name of the target customer tenant on the device information registration page (S624), and then terminates the operation shown in Figure 28.

[0254] In the above, the service provision unit 525a performs the operations shown in Figure 28 in response to instructions from the tenant administrator. However, the service provision unit 525a may also perform the operations shown in Figure 28 in response to instructions from the provider-side user.

[0255] Next, we will explain the operation of system 510 when an image forming apparatus is registered in the service provision system.

[0256] The following describes the operation of system 510 when an image forming apparatus is registered in the service provision system, using the operation of system 510 when an image forming apparatus 540 is registered in the service provision system as an example.

[0257] Figure 30 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus 540 when it is registered in the service provision system.

[0258] If the device administrator is logged into the image forming apparatus 540 and the service utilization program 47b is activated, the device administrator can instruct the image forming apparatus 540 to display the device registration screen via the operation unit 41 of the image forming apparatus 540. When the service utilization unit 548b of the image forming apparatus 540 is instructed to display the device registration screen, it displays the device registration screen 920 (see, for example, Figure 31) on the display unit 42, as shown in Figure 30 (S641).

[0259] Figure 31 shows an example of the device registration screen 920 that is displayed during the operation shown in Figure 30.

[0260] The device registration screen 920 shown in Figure 31 includes a text box 921 as a widget for entering a PIN to log in to the device administrator menu in the service usage program 47b, a device registration button 922 as a widget for registering the image forming apparatus 540 with the service provision system, and a cancel button 923 as a widget for canceling the registration of the image forming apparatus 540 with the service provision system.

[0261] As shown in Figure 30, when the processing in S641 is completed, the service utilization unit 548b of the image forming apparatus 540 executes the processing in S642 to S645, which is the same as the processing in S222 to S225 (see Figure 15). When the service utilization unit 548b determines in S643 that the cancel button 923 has been pressed, it terminates the operation shown in Figure 30. When the device registration button 922 is pressed, the service utilization unit 548b includes the PIN entered in the text box 921 and information about the image forming apparatus 540 in the device registration request sent in S645. The information about the image forming apparatus 540 includes the device ID, hostname and IP address of the image forming apparatus 540 and the program version of the service utilization program 47b.

[0262] The following explanation will use the example of a case where the service provision system identified by the domain name associated in system management information 47f with the region identified in S644 is the service provision system 520.

[0263] Figure 32 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the service provision system 520 when a device registration request is received.

[0264] When the service provision unit 525a of the service provision system 520 receives a transmitted device registration request (hereinafter referred to as "target device registration request" in the description of the operation shown in Figure 32), it performs the operation shown in Figure 32.

[0265] As shown in Figure 32, the service provision unit 525a determines whether the device ID included in the target device registration request is included in the device management information 24d (S661).

[0266] If the service provider 525a determines in S661 that the device ID included in the target device registration request is included in the device management information 24d, it registers the image forming apparatus 540 by associating it with the same device ID included in the target device registration request from among the device IDs included in the device management information 24d, and writing the combination of PIN, hostname, IP address, and program version included in the target device registration request to the device management information 24d (S662).

[0267] If the service provider 525a determines in S661 that the device ID included in the target device registration request is not included in the device management information 24d, it targets only one domain name from among the domain names shown in the other system domain name information 24e that has not yet been targeted in the operation shown in Figure 32 (S663).

[0268] When the processing in S663 is completed, the service provision unit 525a sends a request for registration of the image forming apparatus 40 by the service provision system 520 to the service provision system identified by the current target domain name (hereinafter referred to as the "indirect device registration request" in this embodiment) (S664). The service provision unit 525a includes the combination of PIN, device ID, hostname, IP address, and program version included in the target device registration request in the indirect device registration request.

[0269] The following explanation uses the example of a case where the destination of the indirect device registration request is the service provision system 530.

[0270] Figure 33 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the service provision system 530 when an indirect device registration request is received.

[0271] When the service provision unit of the service provision system 530 receives an indirect device registration request (hereinafter referred to as the "target indirect device registration request" in the description of the operation shown in Figure 33), it executes the operation shown in Figure 33.

[0272] As shown in Figure 33, the service provision unit of the service provision system 530 determines whether the device ID included in the target indirect device registration request is included in the device management information of the service provision system 530 (S681).

[0273] If the service provision unit of the service provision system 530 determines in S681 that the device ID included in the target indirect device registration request is included in the device management information of the service provision system 530, it registers the image forming apparatus 540 by associating it with the same device ID included in the target indirect device registration request from among the device IDs included in the device management information of the service provision system 530, and writing the combination of PIN, hostname, IP address, and program version included in the target indirect device registration request to the device management information of the service provision system 530 (S682).

[0274] When the service provision unit of the service provision system 530 completes the processing in S682, it responds to the service provision system that sent the target indirect device registration request that the registration of the image forming apparatus 540 has been completed (S683).

[0275] If the service provision unit of the service provision system 530 determines in S681 that the device ID included in the target indirect device registration request is not included in the device management information of the service provision system 530, it responds to the service provision system that sent the target indirect device registration request that it will not register the image forming apparatus 540 because it does not manage the device ID included in the target indirect device registration request (S684).

[0276] When the service provision unit of the service provision system 530 completes processing S683 or S684, it terminates the operation shown in Figure 33.

[0277] As shown in Figure 32, when the processing in S664 is completed, the service provision unit 525a of the service provision system 520 determines whether or not the completion of registration of the image forming apparatus 540 has been responded to by the recipient of the indirect device registration request in S664 (S665).

[0278] If the service provider 525a determines in S665 that the completion of registration of the image forming apparatus 540 has not been responded to by the recipient of the indirect device registration request in S664, it determines whether or not the recipient of the indirect device registration request in S664 has responded that the image forming apparatus 540 will not be registered (S666).

[0279] If the service provider 525a determines in S666 that it has not received a response from the recipient of the indirect device registration request in S664 indicating that it will not register the image forming apparatus 540, it executes the process in S665.

[0280] When the service provider 525a determines in S666 that the destination of the indirect device registration request in S664 has responded that the image forming apparatus 540 will not be registered, it determines in S667 whether there are any domain names among the other system domain name information 24e that have not yet been targeted in the operation shown in Figure 32.

[0281] If the service provider unit 525a determines in S667 that there are domain names among the domain names shown in the other system domain name information 24e that have not yet been targeted in the operation shown in Figure 32, it executes the process in S663.

[0282] If the service provider 525a determines in S667 that there are no domain names among the domain names shown in the other system domain name information 24e that have not yet been targeted in the operation shown in Figure 32, it responds to the image forming apparatus 540 that it will not register the image forming apparatus 540 because there is no service provider system that manages the device ID included in the target device registration request (S668).

[0283] When the service provision unit 525a determines in S65 that the processing in S662 is complete or that the registration of the image forming apparatus 540 has been confirmed as complete by the recipient of the indirect device registration request in S664, it responds to the image forming apparatus 540 with the completion of the registration of the image forming apparatus 540 and the domain name of the service provision system to which the image forming apparatus 540 is registered (S669).

[0284] When the processing in S668 or S669 is completed, the service provision unit 525a terminates the operation shown in Figure 32.

[0285] As shown in Figure 30, when the processing in S645 is completed, the service utilization unit 548b of the image forming apparatus 540 determines whether or not the destination of the device registration request has responded that the image forming apparatus 540 will not be registered (S646).

[0286] If the service utilization unit 548b determines in S646 that the destination of the device registration request has not responded that the image forming apparatus 540 will not be registered, it determines whether the destination of the device registration request has responded that the registration of the image forming apparatus 540 is complete and the domain name of the service provision system to which the image forming apparatus 540 is registered (S647).

[0287] If the service utilization unit 548b determines in S647 that the registration of the image forming apparatus 540 has been completed and that the domain name of the service provision system to which the image forming apparatus 540 is registered has not been responded to from the destination of the device registration request, it executes the process in S646.

[0288] If the service utilization unit 548b determines in S646 that the destination of the device registration request has responded that the image forming apparatus 540 will not be registered, it displays on the display unit 42 that the image forming apparatus 540 cannot be registered with the service provision system because there is no service provision system that manages the device ID of the image forming apparatus 540 (S648).

[0289] When the service utilization unit 548b determines in S647 that the registration of the image forming apparatus 540 has been completed and that the domain name of the service provision system to which the image forming apparatus 540 is registered has been responded to from the destination of the device registration request, it sets the domain name responded to from the destination of the device registration request and the tenant name included in the device registration request to the communication destination domain name information 47g and the affiliated tenant name information 47h, respectively (S649).Therefore, the service utilization unit 548b communicates with the service provision system using the domain name shown in the communication destination domain name information 47g and the tenant name shown in the affiliated tenant name information 47h.For example, if the domain name shown in the communication destination domain name information 47g is "example.com" and the tenant name shown in the affiliated tenant name information 47h is "abc", the service utilization unit 548b uses, for example, "http: / / abc.example.com / login" as the URL for the login page.

[0290] When the processing in S649 is completed, the service utilization unit 548b displays on the display unit 42 that the image forming apparatus 540 has been registered with the service provision system (S650).

[0291] When the processing of S648 or S650 is completed, the service utilization unit 548b terminates the operation shown in Figure 30.

[0292] In the above, the service utilization unit 548b performs the operations shown in Figure 30 in response to operations by the device administrator of the image forming apparatus 540. However, the service utilization unit 548b may also perform the operations shown in Figure 30 in response to operations by the service person of the image forming apparatus 540.

[0293] Unlike the device registration request in S225 (see Figure 15), the device registration request in S645 does not include the device user ID and device user password of the device administrator shown in the device user management information 47c. However, the system 510 according to this embodiment may include the device user ID and device user password of the device administrator shown in the device user management information 47c in the device registration request in S645, similar to the system 10 according to the first embodiment, so that this device user ID and device user password are written to the device management information of the service provision system.

[0294] As explained above, when the service provision system receives a registration request for an image forming apparatus, if it has already associated and managed a device ID identical to the device ID included in the registration request with the service provision system itself (YES in S661 or YES in S681), it registers the image forming apparatus with the service provision system itself (S662 or S682). Therefore, even if the user of the image forming apparatus is unaware of a service provision system that is appropriate for registering the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus can be registered with the appropriate service provision system.

[0295] When the service provision system receives a registration request from the image forming apparatus, if it has not already associated and managed a device ID identical to the device ID included in the registration request with itself (NO in S661), it will send the registration request to a service provision system other than itself (S664), thereby improving convenience.

[0296] When a service provision system receives a registration request from a service provision system other than itself, if it has not already associated and managed a device ID identical to the device ID included in the registration request with itself (NO in S681), it will respond to the service provision system that sent the registration request to itself that it will not register the image forming apparatus (S684), thereby improving convenience.

[0297] In this embodiment, when the service provision system receives a registration request for an image forming apparatus, it registers the image forming apparatus with itself if it has already associated and managed a device ID identical to the device ID included in the registration request with itself. However, when the service provision system receives a registration request for an image forming apparatus, it may also register the image forming apparatus with itself if it has already associated and managed a specific piece of information other than the device ID included in the registration request with itself.

[0298] In each of the embodiments described above, the electronic device of the present invention is an image forming apparatus. However, the electronic device of the present invention may be an electronic device other than an image forming apparatus.

Claims

1. A service provision system that provides specific services to electronic devices registered to itself, and when it receives a registration request as a request for registration of the electronic device, registers the electronic device to itself if it has already associated and managed information identical to the specific information included in the registration request with itself.

2. The service provision system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device manages tenants to which it belongs, and the specific information is the tenant name as the name of the tenant.

3. The service provision system according to claim 1, wherein the specific information is the identification information of the electronic device.

4. The service provision system according to claim 1, which, when it receives the registration request from the electronic device, transmits the registration request to another system, which is a service provision system other than itself, that provides the specific service to the electronic device registered with it, if it has not already associated and managed the same information as the specific information included in the registration request with itself.

5. The service provision system according to claim 4, wherein when the registration request is transmitted to the other system, and the other system to which the registration request is transmitted registers the electronic device, the service provision system manages the destination in association with the specific information, and when the service provision system receives the registration request from the electronic device, and the service provision system itself does not have the same information as the specific information included in the registration request already managed in association with the service provision system, the service provision system prioritizes transmitting the registration request to the other system to which the destination is managed in association with the specific information.

6. The service provision system according to claim 1, which, when it receives a registration request from another system that is a service provision system other than itself, which provides the specific service to the electronic device registered to itself, responds to the other system that sent the registration request to itself by saying that it will not register the electronic device if it has not already associated and managed the same information as the specific information included in the registration request with itself.

7. The service provision system according to claim 1, which, upon receiving a registration request as a request for registration of the electronic device, determines another service provision system identified by a domain name associated with a region stored in the service provision system, in association with the destination information of the electronic device contained in the specific information, as the destination of the registration request.

8. A service provider that provides specific services to electronic devices registered to itself, and when it receives a registration request as a request for registration of the electronic device, it registers the electronic device to itself if it has already managed in association with the service provider itself the same information as the specific information included in the registration request.

9. A service provision program that causes a computer to implement a service provision system that provides specific services to electronic devices registered to itself, wherein when the service provision system receives a registration request as a request for registration of the electronic device, and the service provision system has previously managed information identical to the specific information included in the registration request in association with the service provision system itself, the service provision program causes the service provision system to register the electronic device to the service provision system itself.

10. A system comprising: a first service provision system that provides specific services to electronic devices registered to itself; and a second service provision system that provides the specific services to the electronic devices registered to itself, wherein when the first service provision system receives a registration request from the electronic device as a request for registration of the electronic device, it registers the electronic device to itself if it has already managed in advance by associating it with the specific information included in the registration request; when the first service provision system receives a registration request from the electronic device, it transmits the registration request to the second service provision system if it has already managed in advance by associating it with the specific information included in the registration request; and when the second service provision system receives a registration request from the first service provision system, it registers the electronic device to itself if it has already managed in advance by associating it with the specific information included in the registration request.

11. The system according to claim 10, further comprising the electronic equipment.

Images