Management device, medium for the same, and management system

• US 8,291,217 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2007
• Issued: 10/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Miyazawa, Masafumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Shiferaw, Eleni
• Assistant Examiner(s): FIELDS, COURTNEY D
• Application Number:
  US11/727,958
• Publication Number:
  US 20070234057A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,028 Days
• Field of Search: 713/158, 713/156, 713/175, 726/6, 709/227, 709/206, 399/8, 358/1.15
• US Class Current: 713/158
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/166 at the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823

Abstract

A management device configured to communicate with at least one second management device and at least one terminal device via a network includes an acquiring system configured to acquire first management information managed by the management device, a receiving system configured to receive second management information managed by each of the at least one second management device from each of the at least one second management device, a management information request receiving system configured to receive a management information request for the first management information and the second management information from the at least one terminal device, and a sending system configured to send, to the at least one terminal device, the first management information acquired by the acquiring system and the second management information received by the receiving system in response to the management information request being received by the management information request receiving system.

Claims

1. A management device configured to communicate with at least one second management device and at least one terminal device via a network, the management device and the at least one second management device being multi-function peripherals, the management device comprising:

an acquiring system configured to acquire first management information managed by the management device;

a receiving system configured to receive second management information managed by each of the at least one second management device from each of the at least one second management device, the second management information being different than the first management information;

a management information request receiving system configured to receive a management information request for the first management information and the second management information from the at least one terminal device; and

a sending system configured to send, to the at least one terminal device, the first management information acquired by the acquiring system and the second management information received by the receiving system in response to the management information request being received by the management information request receiving system, the first and second management information indicating which of the management device and the at least one second management device the management information is associated with, respectively,

wherein the second management information is received and stored by the management device prior to reception of a management information request by the management information request receiving system.

2. The management device according to claim 1, further comprising a storage configured to store the second management information received by the receiving system,

wherein the sending system is configured to send, to the at least one terminal device, the second management information stored in the storage along with the first management information in response to the management information request being received by the management information request receiving system.

3. The management device according to claim 1, further comprising a broadcasting system configured to send the first management information acquired by the acquiring system to each of the at least one second management device and the at least one terminal device.

4. The management device according to claim 1, further comprising a storing system configured to store a first electronic certificate required for encrypted communication performed by the management device, the first electronic certificate including information on an expiration date thereof until which the first electronic certificate is valid, and

wherein the acquiring system is configured to extract the expiration date of the first electronic certificate from the first electronic certificate stored in the storing system and to incorporate the extracted expiration date into the first management information in response to the management information request being received by the management information request receiving system regardless of whether encrypted communication is performed.

5. The management device according to claim 1, wherein the first management information includes information on an expiration date of a first electronic certificate managed by the management device, which is a certificate required for encrypted communication performed by the management device and valid until the expiration date thereof.

6. The management device according to claim 5, wherein the second management information includes information on an expiration date of a second electronic certificate managed by the at least one second management device, which is a certificate different from the first electronic certificate and valid until the expiration date thereof.

7. The management device according to claim 5, further comprising:

an encrypted communication request receiving system configured to receive a request for encrypted communication using the first electronic certificate;

an expiration date judging system configured to judge whether the first electronic certificate is expired based on the information on the expiration date of the first electronic certificate that is included in the first management information, in response to the request for the encrypted communication being received by the encrypted communication request receiving system;

an encrypted communication performing system configured to perform the encrypted communication with a requesting source that has issued the request for the encrypted communication received by the encrypted communication request receiving system when the expiration date judging system does not judge that the first electronic certificate is expired; and

a communication forbidding system configured to forbid the encrypted communication with the requesting source that has issued the request for the encrypted communication when the expiration date judging system judges that the first electronic certificate is expired.

16. The management device according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring system acquires the first management information when the management request receiving system receives the management information request from the at least one terminal.

17. The management device according to claim 2, wherein:

the at least one second management device is configured to periodically broadcast the second management information, and

the storage stores the second management information received by the receiving system in association with second-management-device information specifying a sending source device of the second management information,

the management device further comprises a determining system configured to, when the receiving system newly receives second management information, determine whether the storage stores earlier-received second management information in association with the second-management-device information specifying the sending source device of the newly-received second management information, wherein

when the determining system determines that the storage stores earlier-received second management information in association with the second-management-device information specifying the sending source device of the newly-received second management information, the storage stores the newly-received second management information in association with the second-management-device information specifying the sending source device of the newly-received second management information, to replace the earlier-received second management information.

8. A management system, comprising:

a plurality of management devices, the plurality of management devices being multi-function peripherals; and

at least one terminal device configured to communicate with the plurality of management devices via a network,

wherein each of the plurality of management devices comprises;

an acquiring system configured to acquire first management information managed by the management device;

a receiving system configured to receive second management information managed by each of the other management devices from each of the other management devices, the second management information being different than the first management information;

a management information request receiving system configured to receive a management information request for the first management information and the second management information from the at least one terminal device; and

a sending system configured to send, to the at least one terminal device, the first management information acquired by the acquiring system and the second management information received by the receiving system in response to the management information request being received by the management information request receiving system,

the second management information being received and stored by the management device prior to reception of a management information request by the management information request receiving system, and

wherein the at least one terminal device comprises;

a requesting system configured to issue the management information request to each of the plurality of management devices;

a management information receiving system configured to receive management information including the first management information and the second management information from the sending system; and

a management information list generating system configured to generate a list indicating the received management information of each management device in association with each management device.

9. The management system according to claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of management devices is configured to incorporate, into the first management information managed thereby, time information on a time when the sending system thereof sends the first management information managed thereby.

10. The management system according to claim 9, wherein the at least one terminal device further comprises a management information list displaying system configured to display a list generated by the management information list generating system, the management information list displaying system displaying, when the management information receiving system has received a plurality of management information managed by a same management device, the list containing only management information including the latest one of the time information included in the plurality of management information managed by the same management device.

11. The management system according to claim 8, wherein the first management information acquired by the acquiring system includes information on an expiration date of a first electronic certificate managed by the management device, which is valid until the expiration date thereof, and

wherein the second management information received by the receiving system includes information on an expiration date of a second electronic certificate managed by each of the other management devices, which is valid until the expiration date thereof.

12. The management system according to claim 11, wherein the sending system of the management device is configured to send the management information with sending source information attached to each of the management information, the sending source information specifying a sending source device of the management information, and

wherein the management information receiving system of the at least one terminal device is configured to receive the management information with the sending source information attached to each of the management information.

13. The management system according to claim 12, wherein the at least one terminal device further comprises:

a management device judging system configured to judge whether a management device specified by the sending source information attached to the management information received by the management information receiving system is a management device that manages the management information as received;

an expiration judging system configured to judge whether an electronic certificate, of which the information on the expiration date is included in the received management information, will expire within a predetermined period that depends on the judgment by the management device judging system, based on the expiration date, of the electronic certificate that is included in the management information; and

a certificate update control system configured to perform a process for updating the electronic certificate when it is judged that the electronic certificate will expire within the predetermined period.

14. The management system according to claim 13, wherein, when the management device judging system judges that the management device specified by the sending source information attached to the management information received by the management information receiving system is the management device that manages the management information as received, a first period is employed as the predetermined period, and

wherein, when the management device judging system does not judge that the management device specified by the sending source information is a management device other than the management device that manages the management information as received, a second period longer than the first period is employed as the predetermined period.

15. A computer-readable storage device having computer readable instructions stored thereon, when executed by a computer configured to communicate with at least one second computer and at least one terminal device via a network, the instructions causing the computer to perform steps of:

acquiring first management information managed by the computer;

receiving second management information managed by each of the at least one second computer from each of the at least one second computer, the second management information being different than the first management information;

receiving a management information request for the first management information and the second management information from the at least one terminal device; and

sending, to the at least one terminal device, the first management information as acquired and the second management information as received in response to the management information request being received, the first and second management information indicating which of the computer and the at least one second computer the management information is associated with, respectively,

wherein the second management information is received and stored on the computer prior to reception of a management information request by the computer.