Information processing system, server device, and method for processing information

• US 10,673,833 B2
• Filed: 08/05/2016
• Issued: 06/02/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Kashiyama, Shigeki, Ohzaki, Hiroki, Nakajima, Masato, Fukuda, Yasuharu
• Primary Examiner(s): Potratz, Daniel B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Straub, D'Arcy Winston
• Application Number:
  US15/229,381
• Publication Number:
  US 20170063871A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,397 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0884 by delegation of authentication, e.g. a proxy authenticates an entity to be authenticated on behalf of this entity vis-à-vis an authentication entity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities

Abstract

An information processing system includes a client device and a server device. The client device includes a transmitter that transmits, to the server device, a request to acquire information for connecting to an external device that provides an external service. The server device includes a storage that stores attributes of accounts of the external service, and the information for connecting to the external device by using the accounts; a receiver that receives the acquisition request from the client device; an identifier that identifies candidate accounts to be used when the client device receives the external service, the candidate accounts being identified based on information elements and the attributes, the information elements being included in the acquisition request and identifying the accounts; and a transmitter that transmits, to the client device, the information for connecting to the external device by using the identified candidate accounts.

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising:

a client device; and

a server device, wherein

the client device includes;

a first transmitter configured to transmit, to the server device, an acquisition request to acquire information for connecting to an external device that provides at least one external service, said acquisition request including authentication information for the server device; and

the server device includes;

a storage configured to store one or more attributes of each of one or more accounts of the at least one external service, and the information for connecting to the external device by using each of the one or more accounts, in association with each other;

a receiver configured to receive the acquisition request from the client device;

an identifier configured to identify one or more candidate accounts to be used when the client device receives the at least one external service, the one or more candidate accounts being identified based on one or more information elements and the one or more attributes of each of the one or more accounts, the one or more information elements being included in the acquisition request and identifying the one or more accounts of the at least one external service; and

a second transmitter configured to transmit, to the client device, the information for connecting to the external device by using the identified one or more candidate accounts,

wherein the server device belongs to a first service provider configured to provide a first service including an image processing by itself and the external device belongs to a second service provider configured to provide the at least one external service in conjunction with the first service provider, and

the server device includes an external cooperation information table that manages a plurality of accounts including the one or more candidate accounts with attribute information indicating whether each of the plurality of accounts is shared within an organization to which a user of the client device belongs.

2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein

the one or more information elements include a first organization identifier indicating the organization to which a user of the client device belongs,

the one or more attributes include a second organization identifier indicating an organization to which a user of the one or more accounts belongs and a setting of whether the one or more accounts can be shared by users belonging to a same organization, and

the identifier identifies, as the one or more candidate accounts, the one or more accounts for which the first organization identifier indicating the organization to which the user of the client device belongs matches the second organization identifier indicating the organization to which the user of the one or more accounts belongs, and also for which the one or more attributes include the setting that the one or more accounts can be shared.

3. The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the client device further includes an inputter/outputter configured to display information of the one or more candidate accounts received from the server device, and accept a selection of an account selected from among the one or more candidate accounts by the user of the client device.

4. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein

the one or more information elements and the one or more attributes respectively include an application identifier that uses the at least one external service, and

the identifier identifies, as the one or more candidate accounts, the one or more accounts for which the identifier of the application included in the one or more attributes matches the identifier of the application included in the one or more information elements.

5. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein

the one or more information elements and the one or more attributes respectively include a device identifier of the client device, and

the identifier identifies, as the one or more candidate accounts, the one or more accounts for which the device identifier of the client device included in the one or more attributes matches the device identifier of the client device included in the one or more information elements.

6. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein

the one or more information elements include a first organization identifier indicating an organization to which a user of the client device belongs,

the one or more attributes include a second organization identifier indicating an organization to which a user of the one or more accounts belongs and information indicating that the one or more accounts are common accounts for the organization to which the user of the one or more accounts belongs, and

the identifier identifies, as the one or more candidate accounts, the one or more accounts for which the first organization identifier indicating the organization to which the user of the client device belongs matches the second organization identifier indicating the organization to which the user of the one or more accounts belongs, and also for which the information indicating that the one or more accounts are the common accounts is set.

7. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein

the server device further includes an authenticator configured to authenticate the client device in response to the acquisition request, and

the second transmitter transmits the information for connecting to the external device by using the identified one or more candidate accounts, when the authentication is successful.

8. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition request also includes an application identifier of an application in which the one or more candidate accounts of the at least one external service is used.

9. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the server device is configured to directly receive the information for connecting to the external device from the external device.

10. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the external device is configured to directly provide the information for connecting to the external device to the client device in response to receiving the acquisition request, and the client device is configured to transmit the information for connecting to the external device to the server device.

11. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the external cooperation information table includes an account that cannot be shared within the organization.

12. A server device comprising:

a storage configured to store one or more attributes of each of one or more accounts of at least one external service, and information for connecting to an external device that provides the at least one external service by using each of the one or more accounts, in association with each other;

a receiver configured to receive an acquisition request to acquire the information for connecting to the external device, from a client device, said acquisition request including authentication information for the server device;

an identifier configured to identify one or more candidate accounts to be used when the client device receives the at least one external service, the one or more candidate accounts being identified based on one or more information elements and the one or more attributes of each of the one or more accounts, the one or more information elements being included in the acquisition request and identifying the one or more accounts of the at least one external service; and

a transmitter configured to transmit, to the client device, the information for connecting to the external device by using the identified one or more candidate accounts,

wherein the server device belongs to a first service provider configured to provide a first service including an image processing by itself and the external device belongs to a second service provider configured to provide the at least one external service in conjunction with the first service provider, and

the server device includes an external cooperation information table that manages a plurality of accounts including the one or more candidate accounts with attribute information indicating whether each of the plurality of accounts is shared within an organization to which a user of the client device belongs.

13. A method for processing information performed by an information processing system including a client device and a server device, the method comprising:

transmitting, by the client device to the server device, an acquisition request to acquire information for connecting to an external device that provides at least one external service, said acquisition request including authentication information for the server device;

storing, by the server device, one or more attributes of each of one or more accounts of the at least one external service, and the information for connecting to the external device by using each of the one or more accounts, in association with each other;

receiving, by the server device, the acquisition request from the client device;

identifying, by the server device, one or more candidate accounts to be used when the client device receives the at least one external service, the one or more candidate accounts being identified based on one or more information elements and the one or more attributes of each of the one or more accounts, the one or more information elements being included in the acquisition request and identifying the one or more accounts of the at least one external service; and

transmitting, by the server device to the client device, the information for connecting to the external device by using the identified one or more candidate accounts,

wherein the server device belongs to a first service provider configured to provide a first service including an image processing by itself and the external device belongs to a second service provider configured to provide the at least one external service in conjunction with the first service provider, and

the method further includes managing, in an external cooperation information table, a plurality of accounts including the one or more candidate accounts with attribute information indicating whether each of the plurality of accounts is shared within an organization to which a user of the client device belongs.