Image forming apparatus, method for controlling image forming apparatus, and storage medium therefor

• US 9,306,923 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2013
• Issued: 04/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Matsugashita, Hayato
• Primary Examiner(s): Jhaveri, Jayesh
• Application Number:
  US14/038,570
• Publication Number:
  US 20140090028A1
• Time in Patent Office: 922 Days
• Field of Search: 726 1- 10, 726 27- 29
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/121 Restricting unauthorised execution of programs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/41 where a single sign-on provides access to a plurality of computers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/608 Secure printing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/00 Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00; network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00; security arrangements for protecting computers or computer systems against unauthorised activity G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0807 using tickets, e.g. Kerberos cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using tickets or tokens H04L9/3213
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations

Abstract

When a request for acquiring authorization information is received from a resource service application that is a request source, an image forming apparatus transmits a request for further delegating an authorization delegated from a user to the resource service application to an authorization server system together with first authorization information, and acquires second authorization information issued based on the first authorization information from the authorization server system.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus connectable via a network with a server and configured to provide a resource service to an external apparatus connected via the network, the image forming apparatus comprising:

one or more processors and a memory storing one or more applications executable by the one or more processors, the one or more applications including;

a first application configured to acquire first authorization information issued by an authorization server approving delegation of a user'"'"'s authorization for using the resource service;

a resource service application;

a second application configured to, in a case a request for acquiring authorization information is received from the resource service application, transmit the request to further delegate the authorization to the authorization server together with the first authorization information, and acquire second authorization information issued based on the first authorization information from the authorization server; and

a framework application configured to manage a life cycle of the resource service application that operates in a resource service application execution environment provided by a virtual machine by managing a resource service application ID of the resource service application in a case where the resource service application is installed while confirming that the resource service application is not altered;

wherein the second application acquires the resource service application ID via the framework application, and the resource service application requests an object of an interface for calling the second application to the framework application, acquires the object of the interface to which the resource service application ID is set, and transmits the resource service application ID set to the interface to the second application together with the request for acquiring the authorization information defined in the object of the interface.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resource service application is installed on top of an operating system of the image forming apparatus.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second application automatically acquires the second authorization information from the authorization server.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein information associated with the first authorization information and the second authorization information are managed while being associated with each other, and

wherein the resource service application acquires the second authorization information from the second application and uses the resource service by using the acquired second authorization information instead of the first authorization information.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second application acquires a resource service application ID of the resource service application and transmits the request for further delegating the authorization delegated from the user to the resource service application to the authorization server system together with the first authorization information and the resource service application ID, and the second application acquires the second authorization information managed in association with the resource service application ID from the authorization server.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in a case the resource service application acquires the second authorization information from the second application and receives the resource service using the acquired second authorization information, and if a resource service application ID managed in association with the second authorization information transmitted from the resource service application is set to the server in advance, the resource service application receives the resource service.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resource service application transmits a request for acquiring the authorization information to the second application in a case where a function required to use the resource service is requested by the user.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, if an expiration date of the first authorization information has been passed already, the second application transmits reissue information required to reissue the first authorization information, acquires newly issued first authorization information, and further acquires second authorization information issued based on the newly issued first authorization information from the authorization server.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the server is a server configured to provide at least one of image processing services including a print service and a form service, and

including at least one image processing unit of a print unit and a scanner unit.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is controllable by a smart-phone.

11. A method for controlling an image forming apparatus connectable via a network with a server configured to provide a resource service to an external apparatus connected via the network, the method comprising:

acquiring, via a first application, first authorization information issued by an authorization server approving delegation of a user'"'"'s authorization for using the resource service;

transmitting, via a second application and in a case where a request for acquiring authorization information is received from a resource service application, a request for further delegating the authorization to the authorization server together with the first authorization information, and acquires second authorization information issued based on the first authorization information from the authorization server;

managing, via a framework application, a life cycle of the resource service application that operates in a resource service application execution environment provided by a virtual machine by managing a resource service application ID of the resource service application in a case where the resource service application is installed while confirming that the resource service application is not altered,

wherein the second application acquires the resource service application ID via the framework application, and the resource service application requests an object of an interface for calling the second application to the framework application, acquires the object of the interface to which the resource service application ID is set, and transmits the resource service application ID set to the interface to the second application together with the request for acquiring the authorization information defined in the object of the interface.

12. A non-transitory storage medium storing at least one application that, when executed by one or more processors causes an image forming apparatus to perform a method, the method comprising:

acquiring, via a first application, first authorization information issued by an authorization server approving delegation of a user'"'"'s authorization for using the resource service;

transmitting, via a second application and in a case where a request for acquiring authorization information is received from a resource service application, a request for further delegating the authorization to the authorization server together with the first authorization information, and acquires second authorization information issued based on the first authorization information from the authorization server;

managing, via a framework application, a life cycle of the resource service application that operates in a resource service application execution environment provided by a virtual machine by managing a resource service application ID of the resource service application in a case where the resource service application is installed while confirming that the resource service application is not altered,

wherein the second application acquires the resource service application ID via the framework application, and the resource service application requests an object of an interface for calling the second application to the framework application, acquires the object of the interface to which the resource service application ID is set, and transmits the resource service application ID set to the interface to the second application together with the request for acquiring the authorization information defined in the object of the interface.