Timestamp administration system and image forming apparatus

• US 20060117185A1
• Filed: 11/21/2005
• Published: 06/01/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kyocera MITA Corporation (Kyocera Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kyocera MITA Corporation (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoshida, Toshinobu, Oguri, Satoshi, Mizusu, Kenichi, Kawamoto, Manami
• Application Number:
  US11/284,316
• Publication Number:
  US 20060117185A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/178
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32

Abstract

A timestamp administration system includes: a timestamp information acquiring section which acquires timestamp information via a network from a timestamp organization of verifying the time; an approval requesting section which requests approval of acquiring the timestamp information by the timestamp information acquiring section; an approval party information storage which stores information relating to a party to which the approval is requested by the approval requesting section; and a controlling section which causes the approval requesting section to request the approval party stored in the approval party information storage of the approval, and causes the timestamp information acquiring section to acquire the timestamp information if it is judged that the approval requesting section has received the approval from the approval party.

Claims

1. A timestamp administration system comprising:

a timestamp information acquiring section which acquires timestamp information via a network from a timestamp organization of verifying the time;

an approval requesting section which requests approval of acquiring the timestamp information by the timestamp information acquiring section;

an approval party information storage which stores information relating to a party to which the approval is requested by the approval requesting section; and

a controlling section which causes the approval requesting section to request the approval party stored in the approval party information storage of the approval, and causes the timestamp information acquiring section to acquire the timestamp information if it is judged that the approval requesting section has received the approval from the approval party.

2. The timestamp administration system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a data input accepting section which accepts input of data;

a data storage which stores the data accepted by the data input accepting section; and

a designation accepting section which accepts designation relating to processing of the data, wherein

the controlling section causes the approval requesting section to request the approval, causes the timestamp information acquiring section to acquire the timestamp information in response to receiving the approval, and causes the data storage to store the data with the acquired timestamp information being attached thereto if it is judged that the designation accepting section has accepted the designation to store the data in the data storage.

3. The timestamp administration system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a confirmation message outputting section which outputs a confirmation message indicating that the data with the timestamp information being attached thereto is stored in the data storage, wherein

the controlling section causes the confirmation message outputting section to output the confirmation message if it is judged that the data with the timestamp information being attached thereto is stored in the data storage.

4. The timestamp administration system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a data storage which stores data;

a data outputting section which outputs the data stored in the data storage; and

a designation accepting section which accepts designation relating to processing of the data, wherein

the controlling section causes the approval requesting section to request the approval, causes the timestamp information acquiring section to acquire the timestamp information in response to receiving the approval, and causes the data outputting section to output the data with the acquired timestamp information being attached thereto if it is judged that the designation accepting section has accepted the designation to output the data stored in the data storage by the data outputting section.

5. The timestamp administration system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an ID information acquiring section which acquires ID information for identifying a user based on an external output and

an ID information storage which stores the one or more ID information for which request of the approval by the approval requesting section is required, wherein

the controlling section causes the approval requesting section to request the approval, and causes the timestamp information acquiring section to acquire the timestamp information in response to receiving the approval if it is judged that the ID information acquired by the ID information acquiring section is stored in the ID information storage.

6. The timestamp administration system according to claim 5, further comprising:

a granting number counting section which counts the number of times of acquiring timestamp information by the timestamp information acquiring section with respect to each of the ID information acquired by the ID information acquiring section, wherein

the controlling section causes the approval requesting section to request the approval, and causes the timestamp information acquiring section to acquire the timestamp information in response to receiving the approval if it is judged that the number of times of acquiring timestamp information counted by the granting number counting section is smaller than a predetermined number.

7. An image forming apparatus comprising:

a timestamp information acquiring section which acquires timestamp information via a network from a timestamp organization of verifying the time;

an approval requesting section which requests approval of acquiring the timestamp information by the timestamp information acquiring section;

an approval party information storage which stores information relating to a party to which the approval is requested by the approval requesting section; and

a controlling section which causes the approval requesting section to request the approval party stored in the approval party information storage of the approval, and causes the timestamp information acquiring section to acquire the timestamp information if it is judged that the approval requesting section has received the approval from the approval party.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

a data input accepting section which accepts input of data;

a data storage which stores the data accepted by the data input accepting section; and

a designation accepting section which accepts designation relating to processing of the data, wherein

the controlling section causes the approval requesting section to request the approval, causes the timestamp information acquiring section to acquire the timestamp information in response to receiving the approval, and causes the data storage to store the data with the acquired timestamp information being attached thereto if it is judged that the designation accepting section has accepted the designation to store the data in the data storage.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

a confirmation message outputting section which outputs a confirmation message indicating that the data with the timestamp information being attached thereto is stored in the data storage, wherein

the controlling section causes the confirmation message outputting section to output the confirmation message if it is judged that the data with the timestamp information being attached thereto is stored in the data storage.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

a data storage which stores data;

a data outputting section which outputs the data stored in the data storage; and

a designation accepting section which accepts designation relating to processing of the data, wherein

the controlling section causes the approval requesting section to request the approval, causes the timestamp information acquiring section to acquire the timestamp information in response to receiving the approval, and causes the data outputting section to output the data with the acquired timestamp information being attached thereto if it is judged that the designation accepting section has accepted the designation to output the data stored in the data storage by the data outputting section.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

an ID information acquiring section which acquires ID information for identifying a user based on an external output by the user; and

an ID information storage which stores the one or more ID information for which request of the approval by the approval requesting section is required, wherein

the controlling section causes the approval requesting section to request the approval, and causes the timestamp information acquiring section to acquire the timestamp information in response to receiving the approval if it is judged that the ID information acquired by the ID information acquiring section is stored in the ID information storage.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising:

a granting number counting section which counts the number of times of acquiring timestamp information by the timestamp information acquiring section with respect to each of the ID information acquired by the ID information acquiring section, wherein

the controlling section causes the approval requesting section to request the approval, and causes the timestamp information acquiring section to acquire the timestamp information in response to receiving the approval if it is judged that the number of times of acquiring timestamp information counted by the granting number counting section is smaller than a predetermined number.