SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THIRD PARTY AUTHENTICATION OF WEB-BASED PRINT-ON-DEMAND REQUESTS

• US 20130003103A1
• Filed: 06/28/2011
• Published: 01/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Laboratory U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Laboratory U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Barber, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 8,593,659 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/41 where a single sign-on provides access to a plurality of computers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6263 during internet communication, e.g. revealing personal data from cookies
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2115 Third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1204 resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1222 Increasing security of the print job
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1238 Secure printing, e.g. user identification, user rights for device usage, unallowed content, blanking portions or fields of a page, releasing held jobs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• 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 63/126 the source of the received data

Abstract

A system and program implement a process for allowing users of third party vendors to access print shop applications without separate authentication. The process includes the steps of creating a query-string having identification information of a third party vendor and authentication information of a user of the third party vendor. The query-string is created in response to the user'"'"'s access to the third party vendor'"'"'s web-site, and is contained in an inline frame and encrypted. Upon receiving the encrypted query-string sent from a third party vendor server to a print shop server, the query-string is decrypted. It is then determined whether the user has an existing account on the print shop server. If the user has an existing account, the user is automatically logged into the print shop server so that the user may access and use any print-on-demand applications on the print shop server without manually inputting user authentication information on the print shop server.

Claims

1. A method for allowing users of third party vendors to access print shop applications without separate authentication, comprising the steps of:

a. creating a query-string having identification information of a third party vendor and authentication information of a user of the third party vendor, the query-string being created in response to the user'"'"'s access to the third party vendor'"'"'s web-site, the query-string being contained in an inline frame and encrypted;

b. upon receiving the encrypted query-string sent from a server of the third party vendor to a print shop server, decrypting the query-string;

c. determining whether the user has an existing account on the print shop server on the basis of the decrypted authentication information of the user; and

d. automatically logging the user into the print shop server when the user has an existing account so that the user may access and use any print-on-demand applications on the print shop server without manually inputting user authentication information on the print shop server.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identification information of the third party vendor in the query-string is encrypted with a master key.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the decrypting step further comprises a sub-step of decrypting the query-string with the masker key to identify the third party vendor.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the authentication information of the user of the third party vendor in the query-string is encrypted with a private key associated only with that third party vendor.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the decrypting step further comprises a sub-step of decrypting the second part of the query-string with the private key associated with the identified third party vendor to ascertain authentication information of the user of the third party.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of creating an account for the user on the print shop server with the authentication information of the user if it is determined in step “

c”

that the user does not have an existing account on the print shop server.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of automatically logging the user into the print shop server after the user has a newly created account so that the user may access and use any print-on-demand applications on the print shop server without manually inputting user authentication information on the print shop server

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of receiving a print-on-demand request from a user of a third party vendor at the third party vendor server.

9. The method according to claim 2, further comprising a step of sharing the master key with a multiplicity of third party vendors.

10. The method according to claim 4, further comprising a step of assigning a unique private key to each third party vendor.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the inline frame contains a uniform resource locator (URL).

12. A system for allowing users of third party vendors to access print-on-demand applications without separate authentication comprising at least one data processing apparatus having a non-transitory memory storing a computer software program and a processor executing the computer software program, wherein the computer software program includes program code configured to cause the at least one data processing apparatus to execute a process which comprises the steps of:

a. creating a query-string having identification information of a third party vendor and authentication information of a user of the third party vendor, the query-string created in response to the user'"'"'s access to the third party vendor'"'"'s web-site, the query-string being contained in an inline frame and encrypted;

b. upon receiving the encrypted query-string sent from a server of the third party vendor to a print shop server, decrypting the query-string;

c. determining whether the user has an existing account on the print shop server on the basis of the decrypted authentication information of the user; and

d. automatically logging the user into the print shop server when the user has an existing account so that the user may access and use any print-on-demand applications on the print shop server without manually inputting user authentication information on the print shop server.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the identification information of the third party vendor in the query-string is encrypted with a master key.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the decrypting step further comprises a sub-step of decrypting the query-string with the masker key to identify the third party vendor.

15. The system according to claim 12, wherein the authentication information of the user of the third party vendor in the query-string is encrypted with a private key associated only with that third party vendor.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the decrypting step further comprises a sub-step of decrypting the second part of the query-string with the private key associated with the identified third party vendor to ascertain authentication information of the user of the third party.

17. The system according to claim 12, wherein the process further comprises a step of creating an account for the user on the print shop server with the authentication information of the user if it is determined in step “

c”

that the user does not have an existing account on the print shop server.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the process further comprises a step of automatically logging the user into the print shop server after the user has a newly created account so that the user may access and use any print-on-demand applications on the print shop server without manually inputting user authentication information on the print shop server

19. The system according to claim 12, wherein the process further comprises a step of receiving a print-on-demand request from a user of a third party vendor at the third party vendor server.

20. The system according to claim 13, wherein the process further comprises a step of sharing the master key with a multiplicity of third party vendors.

21. The system according to claim 15, wherein the process further comprises a step of assigning a unique private key to each third party vendor.

22. The system according to claim 12, wherein the inline frame contains a uniform resource locator (URL).

23. A computer software program product having a computer readable program code embedded in a computer usable non-transitory storage medium for controlling at least one data processing apparatus, the computer readable program code configured to cause the at least one data processing apparatus to execute a process which comprises the steps of:

a. creating a query-string having identification information of a third party vendor and authentication information of a user of the third party vendor, the query-string created in response to the user'"'"'s access to the third party vendor'"'"'s web-site, the query-string being contained in an inline frame and encrypted;

b. upon receiving the encrypted query-string sent from a server of the third party vendor to a print shop server, decrypting the query-string;

c. determining whether the user has an existing account on the print shop server on the basis of the decrypted authentication information of the user; and

d. automatically logging the user into the print shop server when the user has an existing account so that the user may access and use any print-on-demand applications on the print shop server without manually inputting user authentication information on the print shop server.

24. The computer software program product according to claim 23, wherein the identification information of the third party vendor in the query-string is encrypted with a master key.

25. The computer software program product according to claim 24, wherein the decrypting step further comprises a sub-step of decrypting the query-string with the masker key to identify the third party vendor.

26. The computer software program product according to claim 23, wherein the authentication information of the user of the third party vendor in the query-string is encrypted with a private key associated only with that third party vendor.

27. The computer software program product according to claim 26, wherein the decrypting step further comprises a sub-step of decrypting the second part of the query-string with the private key associated with the identified third party vendor to ascertain authentication information of the user of the third party.

28. The computer software program product according to claim 23, wherein the process further comprises a step of creating an account for the user on the print shop server with the authentication information of the user if it is determined in step (c) that the user does not have an existing account on the print shop server.

29. The computer software program product according to claim 28, wherein the process further comprises a step of automatically logging the user into the print shop server after the user has a newly created account so that the user may access and use any print-on-demand applications on the print shop server without manually inputting user authentication information on the print shop server

30. The computer software program product according to claim 23, wherein the process further comprises a step of receiving a print-on-demand request from a user of a third party vendor at the third party vendor server.

31. The computer software program product according to claim 24, wherein the process further comprises a step of sharing the master key with a multiplicity of third party vendors.

32. The computer software program product according to claim 26, wherein the process further comprises a step of assigning a unique private key to each third party vendor.

33. The computer software program product according to claim 23, wherein the inline frame contains a uniform resource locator (URL).

34. The computer software program product according to claim 23, comprising a third party vendor module installed on a server of the third party vendor for executing step “

a”

of claim 23.

35. The computer software program product according to claim 34, further comprising a print shop module installed on a print shop server for executing steps “

b”

through “

d”

of claim 23.