Image forming apparatus and address information processing method

• US 7,589,857 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2004
• Issued: 09/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Oe, Takayasu
• Primary Examiner(s): Haskins; Twyler L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Beckley; Jonathan R
• Application Number:
  US10/832,283
• Publication Number:
  US 20050002057A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,967 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/3.28, 358/1.13, 358/1.16, 358/440, 358/1.14, 370/401, 370/392, 370/389, 370/215, 370/252, 709/201, 709/228, 709/225, 709/206, 709/218, 709/229, 709/217, 709/247, 709/224, 709/248, 379/242, 379/88.14, 379/88.11, 380/255, 707/3, 707/7.8, 700/223, 710/33, 705/8, 705/34, 705/1, 713/176, 209/217, 715/739
• US Class Current: 358/1.16
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/502 relating to the structure of the control menu, e.g. pop-up menus, help screens
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5091 for user-identification or authorisation
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00109 Remote control of apparatus, e.g. by a host
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1458 by checking the subject access rights
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99938 Concurrency, e.g. lock management in shared database

Abstract

An image forming apparatus and an address book process request processing method are disclosed to improve access security to an address book. The image forming apparatus include an information storage part, a request receipt part and a request processing part. The information storage part stores an address book on users. The request receipt part receives process requests for the address book together with user identification information from users. The request processing part authenticates the users based on the received user identification information and performs operations corresponding to the process requests on the address book in accordance with access authority permitted to the users. The address book includes address information for transmitting data to the users via a network and management information having user identification information of the users.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus, comprising:

an information storage unit configured to store an address book of at least one user;

a request receipt unit configured to receive a process request for the address book and user identification information from the at least one user;

a request processing unit configured to authenticate the at least one user based on the received user identification information and perform an operation corresponding to the process request on the address book in accordance with access authority granted to the at least one user, when the request receipt unit receives the process request and the user identification information from the at least one user; and

a request control unit configured to queue the received process request, when the received process request corresponds to an edit operation on the address book and is received during execution of an operation corresponding to another process request on the address book, and to merge a plurality of process requests for multiple users when the plurality of process requests are related to the edit operation on a same address information and are queued, wherein

the address book has both address information for transmitting data to the at least one user via a network and management information having user identification information of the at least one user, and

the another process request corresponds to at least one of a view operation, a reference operation, an edit operation, and a delete operation on information stored in the address book.

2. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the access authority comprises view authority, reference authority, edit authority and delete authority for at least one of the address information and the management information of the address book.

3. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the request receipt unit comprises a Web server for providing a Web page for allowing the at least one user to view and/or input information.

4. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the request receipt unit includes an operation unit for allowing the at least one user to view and/or input information.

5. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user identification information of the management information comprises an ID number and a password of the at least one user.

6. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the management information further comprises available operation information and charge information for the at least one user.

7. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the address information comprises at least one of an email address, a FAX number and a URL of the at least one user.

8. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information storage unit has an access authority table indicating access authority to a data category of the address information and the management information for a user category of the at least one user, and the request processing unit authenticates the at least one user for the process request based on the access authority table.

9. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the access authority table is configured to have a plurality of user groups having different access authority to at least one of the address information and the management information.

10. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the process request corresponds to at least one of a backup operation and a restore operation for at least one of the address information and the management information, and the access authority comprises at least one of backup authority and restore authority for at least one of the address information and the management information.

11. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the at least one of the address information and the management information is encrypted, and the at least one of the encrypted address information and the encrypted management information is backed up or restored.

12. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the request processing unit displays an error message to the at least one user when the at least one user is unsuccessfully authenticated for the process request.

13. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the request control unit is further configured to integrate multiple modification operations for a same destination during the period between overlapping process requests.

20. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the address book includes a registration number, a name, an e-mail address, a FAX number, a Uniform Resource Locator, ID numbers, an ID password, a login password, a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol authentication user name, a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol authentication password, a Light Weight Directory Access Protocol authorization user name, a Light Weight Directory Access Protocol authentication password, a user name, and an available operation information.

21. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the address book is configured to have at least one link-connected table having data categories including at least one of general data, personal data, and management data.

14. A method of processing an address book for an image forming apparatus, comprising:

receiving a process request for an address book and user identification information from at least one user;

authenticating the at least one user based on the user identification information supplied from the at least one user;

performing an operation corresponding to the received process request on the address book in accordance with access authority granted to the at least one user; and

queuing the received process request, when a process request related to an edit operation on the address book from the at least one user is received during execution of an operation corresponding to another process request on the address book, the queuing including merging the plurality of process requests from multiple users when a plurality of process requests are related to the edit operation on a same address information and are queued, wherein

the address book has both address information for transmitting data to the at least one user via a network and management information having user identification information of the at least one user, and

the another process request corresponds to at least one of a view operation, a reference operation, an edit operation, and a delete operation on information stored in the address book.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the access authority comprises view authority, reference authority, edit authority and delete authority for at least one of the address information and the management information of the address book.

16. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the process request and the user identification information are received via a Web server or an operation unit of the image forming apparatus.

17. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the authenticating is performed based on an access authority table indicative of access authority to each data category of the address information and the management information for each one of a user category of the at least one user, and the operation corresponding to the process request is performed with accordance with access authority granted to the at least one user with reference to the access authority table.

18. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the process request corresponds to at least one of a backup operation and a restore operation for at least one of the address information and the management information, and the access authority comprises at least one of backup authority and restore authority for at least one of the address information and the management information.

19. The method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising:

displaying an error message to the at least one user, when the at least one user is unsuccessfully authenticated for the process request.

22. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the merging the plurality of process requests further includes integrating multiple modification operations for a same destination during the period between overlapping process requests.