Information equipment management system, information equipment, personal identification apparatus, and recording medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017366708-A1
Application number	US-201715624131-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 15, 2017
Priority date	Jun 16, 2016
Publication date	Dec 21, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

An information equipment management system includes a personal identification apparatus which is portable and capable of acquiring biometric information of a carrying person thereof and thereby identifying the carrying person, an information equipment, and an information equipment management server for managing use approval/disapproval information which is management information on approval or disapproval of use of the information equipment. The personal identification apparatus includes an acquisition part for acquiring use approval/disapproval information of the information equipment relating to the carrying person, which is use approval/disapproval information managed by the information equipment management server, from the information equipment management server and a storage part for storing therein the use approval/disapproval information acquired from the information equipment management server. The information equipment controls an operation of the information equipment by using the use approval/disapproval information stored in the storage part of the personal identification apparatus.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An information equipment management system, comprising:
a personal identification apparatus which is portable and capable of acquiring biometric information of a carrying person thereof and thereby identifying said carrying person; an information equipment; and an information equipment management server for managing use approval/disapproval information which is management information on approval or disapproval of use of said information equipment, wherein said personal identification apparatus comprises: an acquisition part for acquiring use approval/disapproval information of said information equipment relating to said carrying person, which is use approval/disapproval information managed by said information equipment management server, from said information equipment management server; and a storage part for storing therein said use approval/disapproval information acquired from said information equipment management server, and wherein said information equipment controls an operation of said information equipment by using said use approval/disapproval information stored in said storage part of said personal identification apparatus.

2 . The information equipment management system according to claim 1 , wherein
said personal identification apparatus invalidates said use approval/disapproval information stored in said personal identification apparatus when said personal identification apparatus determines that said carrying person does not wear said personal identification apparatus.

3 . The information equipment management system according to claim 1 , wherein
said personal identification apparatus deletes said use approval/disapproval information from said personal identification apparatus when an alternative management of said use approval/disapproval information by said personal identification apparatus is ended, when said carrying person exits a predetermined space, when a predetermined time has elapsed since acquisition of said use approval/disapproval information, or when the number of failures in an authentication operation using said use approval/disapproval information reaches a predetermined number after acquisition of said use approval/disapproval information.

4 . The information equipment management system according to claim 1 , wherein
said personal identification apparatus temporarily stores therein use history information relating to said information equipment during an alternative management of said use approval/disapproval information by said personal identification apparatus, and transmits said use history information during said alternative management to said information equipment management server when said alternative management is ended, when said carrying person exits a predetermined space, when a predetermined time has elapsed since acquisition of said use approval/disapproval information, or when the number of failures in an authentication operation using said use approval/disapproval information reaches a predetermined number after acquisition of said use approval/disapproval information.

5 . The information equipment management system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a room entrance/exit management apparatus for managing entrance and exit relating to a predetermined room, wherein said personal identification apparatus acquires said use approval/disapproval information of said information equipment disposed inside said predetermined room, which is use approval/disapproval information for a user whose entrance into said predetermined room is confirmed by said room entrance/exit management apparatus, from said information equipment management server.

6 . The information equipment management system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a room entrance/exit management apparatus for managing entrance and exit relating to a predetermined room; and a room entrance/exit management server for managing said room entrance/exit management apparatus, wherein said personal identification apparatus acquires said use approval/disapproval information of said information equipment disposed inside said predetermined room, from said information equipment management server via said room entrance/exit management apparatus and said room entrance/exit management server, when said personal identification apparatus makes access to said room entrance/exit management apparatus as said carrying person of said personal identification apparatus enters said predetermined room.

7 . The information equipment management system according to claim 6 , wherein
said personal identification apparatus deletes said use approval/disapproval information of said information equipment from said personal identification apparatus when said personal identification apparatus makes access to said room entrance/exit management apparatus as said carrying person of said personal identification apparatus exits said predetermined room.

8 . The information equipment management system according to claim 6 , wherein
said personal identification apparatus encrypts said use approval/disapproval information stored in said storage part on exiting said predetermined room, and said personal identification apparatus decodes said use approval/disapproval information which is stored, being encrypted, in said storage part, on reentering said predetermined room.

9 . The information equipment management system according to claim 1 , wherein
said personal identification apparatus acquires said use approval/disapproval information of said information equipment from said information equipment management server via said information equipment when said personal identification apparatus makes first access to said information equipment after a predetermined point in time.

10 . The information equipment management system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
another information equipment other than said information equipment; and another information equipment management server other than said information equipment management server, wherein a plurality of information equipment management servers including said information equipment management server and said another information equipment management server manage respective use approval/disapproval information which are management information on approval or disapproval of respective uses of a plurality of information equipments including said information equipment and said another information equipment, said acquisition part acquires respective use approval/disapproval information relating to said plurality of information equipments from said plurality of information equipment management servers, respectively, said storage part stores therein said respective use approval/disapproval information acquired from said plurality of information equipment management servers, and at a timing of using specific use approval/disapproval information corresponding to a specific information equipment among said plurality of information equipments, said information equipment controls an operation of said specific information equipment by using said specific use approval/disapproval information stored in said storage part of said personal identification apparatus, instead of said specific use approval/disapproval information inside a specific information equipment management server corresponding to said specific information equipment.

11 . The information equipment management system according to claim 10 , further comprising:
a room entrance/exit management apparatus for managing entrance and exit relating to a predetermined room; and a room entrance/exit management server for managing said room entrance/exit management

Assignees

• Konica Minolta Inc

Inventors

• Yamaguchi Takehisa

Classifications

• G06F3/129

  in server-printer device-client configuration, e.g. print flow goes from server to printer and then bidirectional from printer to client, i.e. the client does not communicate with the server · CPC title

• G06F3/1238

  Secure printing, e.g. user identification, user rights for device usage, unallowed content, blanking portions or fields of a page, releasing held jobs · CPC title

• G06F3/1273

  Print job history, e.g. logging, accounting, tracking · CPC title

• G06F3/1222 Primary

  Increasing security of the print job · CPC title

• G06F3/1289

  in server-client-printer device configuration, e.g. the server does not see the printer · CPC title