Image forming apparatus and authentication method
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorShohhei Moroi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An image forming apparatus including applications and system side software for providing system side services to the applications is provided, in which the image forming apparatus includes: an authentication module for displaying an authentication screen on an operation panel of the image forming apparatus, wherein the authentication module allows the image forming apparatus to display a screen for using the image forming apparatus instead of the authentication screen if authentication data input from the authentication screen satisfies an authentication condition, and wherein the authentication module is provided in the image forming apparatus separately from the system side software.
Claims12
An image forming apparatus, comprising:
- hardware resources including at least a scanner and a printer;
- a memory storing platform software that controls the scanner and the printer;
- a user interface including a display;
- and
- processing circuitry configured to
- activate the platform software, and
- when software having at least an authentication function that performs user restriction is installed into the image forming apparatus respectively from the platform software, the software including authentication screen data to display an authentication screen,
- activate the software,
- cause the display to display the authentication screen based on the authentication screen data at a predetermined timing,
- determine, in response to receiving authentication information, whether the received authentication information satisfies an authentication condition, and
- control the display, after an authentication based on the received information is successful, to display a copy function screen in response to receiving a selection to use a copy function, of a plurality of image processing functions, via the user interface.
A method for an image forming apparatus that includes a scanner, a printer, and a user interface including a display, the method comprising:
- activating, by processing circuitry, platform software that controls a scanner and a printer;
- and
- when software having at least an authentication function that performs user restriction is installed into the image forming apparatus respectively from the platform software, the software including authentication screen data to display an authentication screen,
- activating, by the processing circuitry, the software,
- causing, by the processing circuitry, a display of the image forming apparatus to display the authentication screen based on the authentication screen data at a predetermined timing,
- determining, by the processing circuitry, in response to receiving authentication information, whether the received authentication information satisfies an authentication condition, and
- controlling, by the processing circuitry, the display, after an authentication based on the received information is successful, to display a copy function screen in response to receiving a selection to use a copy function, of a plurality of image processing functions, via the user interface.
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including computer executable instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by an image forming apparatus that includes a scanner, a printer, and a user interface including a display, cause the image forming apparatus to perform a method, the method comprising:
- when software having at least an authentication function that performs user restriction is installed into the image forming apparatus, the software including authentication screen data to display an authentication screen,
- activating the software,
- causing a display of the image forming apparatus to display the authentication screen based on the authentication screen data at a predetermined timing,
- determining, in response to receiving authentication information, whether the received authentication information satisfies an authentication condition, and
- controlling the display, after an authentication based on the received information is successful, to display a copy function screen in response to receiving a selection to use a copy function, of a plurality of image processing functions, via the user interface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.