JP2016004348A - Information processing apparatus, program, information processing system, and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus, program, information processing system, and method for presenting candidates for user identification information to a user.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus includes: acquisition means S104 for acquiring identification information on the body of a user; calculation means S106 for calculating the similarity between the acquired identification information on the body of the user and identification information on the bodies of a plurality of users stored in storage means; display means S112 for displaying, on a screen, one or more pieces of user identification information stored in the storage means in association with the identification information on the bodies of the plurality of users according to the calculated similarity; and execution means for executing log-in processing using user identification information specified from one or more pieces of the displayed user identification information.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a program, an information processing system, and an information processing method.

  In order to use various systems, authentication for distinguishing users is often required. At that time, a technique for authenticating a user by inputting a user ID and a password is already known.

  For example, when printing a document such as an electronic document being viewed on a personal computer (PC) with a multi-function printer (MFP), the user prints after logging in to the MFP. This work is performed on a daily basis in companies that have introduced MFPs.

  In Patent Document 1, for the purpose of detecting “spoofing” at each input terminal, a user's face image authenticated based on ID information is captured, and a user who is authenticated by face matching using the face image is detected. A method of confirming the identity is disclosed.

  However, recently, the number of systems used by users has increased, and it has become difficult to accurately store and manage which user ID and password the user himself / herself has set for which system to use. Yes. As a result, there is a problem that the user ID set for the system that the user wants to use is forgotten from the plurality of user IDs set by the user, making login difficult.

  Also, depending on the user interface, the input of the user ID may be troublesome. In particular, it is difficult to input a user ID using a software keyboard installed in the MFP, and an input error may occur. On the other hand, in order to simplify input, it is conceivable to introduce an authentication process using an IC card. However, it is necessary to carry the IC card, and the introduction cost of the system using the IC card is increased. Get higher.

  In addition, the technique of Patent Document 1 has a problem of detecting “spoofing” of a user who uses an input terminal, stores a user ID accurately in order to detect “spoofing”, and appropriately uses a large number of user IDs. It is necessary to select a user ID, and it is difficult to solve this problem.

  Therefore, an object of one aspect is to present a user identification information candidate to a user.

One idea is that
Obtaining means for obtaining identification information about the user's body;
Calculating means for calculating the similarity between the acquired identification information relating to the user's body and identification information relating to the plurality of user bodies stored in the storage means;
Display means for displaying on the screen one or more user identification information stored in the storage means in association with identification information related to the body of the plurality of users according to the calculated similarity;
Execution means for executing login processing based on user identification information specified from the displayed one or more user identification information;
An information processing apparatus is provided.

  According to one aspect, the user identification information candidate can be presented to the user.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an MFP according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional configurations of an MFP and a server according to an embodiment. FIG. The figure which shows the other whole structural example of the information processing system concerning one Embodiment. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional configurations of an MFP and a server according to an embodiment. FIG. The flowchart which shows the selection processing example of the user ID candidate concerning one Embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the similarity calculation of the selection process of the user ID candidate concerning one Embodiment. The figure which shows the sequence of the selection process example of the user ID candidate concerning one Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of a screen which presents the user ID candidate concerning one Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the example of a data update process concerning one Embodiment. 2 is a diagram showing an example hardware configuration of an MFP according to an embodiment. FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, the duplicate description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

[Entire configuration of information processing system]
First, the overall configuration of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment. The information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment includes an MFP 10.

  The MFP 10 is an example of an information processing apparatus that can be used by a user. The number and model of the information processing device are not limited as long as the information processing device is an electronic device having an imaging function and a display function. As an example of the information processing apparatus, a PC, a tablet-type terminal, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a projector, an image forming apparatus, office equipment, a household appliance, a portable music device, a game device, or the like may be used.

  The MFP 10 includes a camera 10a and a display 10b. As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the camera 10a is attached to the MPF 10 at a viewing angle capable of photographing the face of the user who is in the vicinity of the MFP 10 and wants to operate the display 10b. An example of the camera 10a is a USB camera.

  The user approaches the display 10b of the MFP 10 to perform login processing. The camera 10a can photograph the user's face at the login processing execution timing, periodically or periodically. Thereby, the MFP 10 can acquire the face image data of the user.

  The user's face image data is an example of identification information related to the user's body. Other examples of the identification information related to the user's body include image data of all or part of the user's body. For example, an image such as the user's iris or fingerprint may be acquired from the user as identification information relating to the user's body, or a still image or a moving image such as the user's motion or gesture may be acquired.

  The MFP 10 selects a user ID according to the acquired face image data based on the master DB (database) 40 (see FIG. 2). For example, face image data is stored in the master DB 40 as information necessary for face recognition in association with the user ID. In this case, the MFP 10 selects the user ID based on the similarity between the face image data acquired by the camera 10a and the face image data in the master DB 40.

  The master DB 40 may store the feature amount extracted from the face image data in association with the user ID instead of the face image data or together with the face image data. That is, the feature amount extracted from the image data is an example of identification information regarding the user's body. In this case, information (for example, feature amount) necessary for face recognition is extracted from the face image data acquired by the camera 10a, and the similarity is calculated by comparing with the feature amount of the face image data stored in the master DB 40. The

  As a result, when the server 20 determines that the similarity is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold, the server 20 selects a user ID stored in the master DB 40 in association with the corresponding face image data. As another example of the selection method, the server 20 may select the top several user IDs in descending order of similarity.

  The MFP 10 displays the selected user ID on the screen of the display 10b as a user ID candidate at the time of login. FIG. 1B illustrates an example in which the user ID candidates at the time of login are displayed as “Sample”, “Tanaka”, “abcDefGh”, and “Suzuki” in descending order of similarity.

  The login process is executed using the user ID selected by the user among the user IDs displayed on the screen. The user inputs a password for the user ID selected from the user ID candidates via the user interface (UI).

  After successful login, the user ID candidate selection process according to the present embodiment is not performed. After the logout, the user's face image data that has entered the field of view of the camera 10a is acquired, and person recognition is performed as described above to obtain the similarity. And candidate user IDs may be selected in descending order of similarity.

  Heretofore, an example of the overall configuration of the information processing system 1 according to an embodiment has been described. Next, functional configurations of the MFP 10 and the server 20 in the information processing system 1 having such a configuration will be described.

[Function configuration]
Next, a functional configuration of the MFP 10 of the information processing system 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows a functional configuration example of the MFP 10 according to an embodiment. The MFP 10 includes a login execution unit 11, an image acquisition unit 12, an image analysis unit 13, a similarity calculation unit 14, an ID suggestion unit 15, an input / output unit 16, a storage unit 17, and a master DB 40.

  The login execution unit 11 determines whether the user ID and password selected or input by the user match the authentication information registered in advance in the information processing system 1. The image acquisition unit 12 acquires an image captured by the camera 10a.

  The image analysis unit 13 extracts information necessary for face recognition from the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 12. Information necessary for face recognition refers to feature quantities (SIFT, SURF, HOG, etc.) extracted from face image data. Hereinafter, a feature amount extracted from face image data as information necessary for face recognition is also simply referred to as face image data.

  The similarity calculation unit 14 acquires face image data accumulated from the master DB 40 that accumulates face image data (including the feature amount of face image data) for each user ID. The similarity calculation unit 14 compares the acquired face image data with a plurality of face image data stored in the master DB 40 to calculate the similarity.

  The ID suggestion unit 15 selects a user ID candidate to be presented to the user (hereinafter also referred to as “suggest”) from the output result of the similarity calculation unit 14.

  The input / output unit 16 receives an input by a user operation and displays an output from the information processing system 1. The input / output unit 16 accepts an input by a user operation and displays a user ID candidate on the screen.

  The master DB 40 stores one or a plurality of face image data in association with each user ID. The storage unit 17 adds image data for a new user ID to the master DB 40, and updates (including addition, change, and deletion) data stored in the master DB 40.

  Note that the units constituting the MFP 10 do not need to be separated in terms of hardware, and each unit can be processed in units of functions as software.

  The master DB 40 is not necessarily stored in the MFP 10, and may be stored in the server 20 as illustrated in FIG. 3, for example. The server 20 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes a storage unit 17 that updates data in the master DB 40 together with the master DB 40. In this case, the MFP 10 receives the data in the master DB 40 from the server 20 and selects the user ID according to the face image data included in the received data.

(When the server has main functions)
Another overall configuration example of the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The information processing system 1 includes an MFP 10 and a server 20. The MFP 10 and the server 20 are communicably connected via a network 30 such as the Internet.

When the server 20 has a function of selecting a user ID candidate (for example, the ID suggestion unit 15 in FIG. 5), as shown in FIG. 4A, face image data photographed by the MFP 10 is transferred from the MFP 10 to the server 20. Sent. The server 20 selects a user ID according to the similarity between the acquired face image data and the face image data in the master DB 40 based on the data in the master DB 40. The selected user ID is transmitted from the server 20 to the MFP 10 and displayed on the screen of the display 10b of the MFP 10 as a user ID candidate at the time of login. FIG. 4B illustrates an example in which the user ID candidates at the time of login are displayed as “Sample”, “Tanaka”, “abcDefGh”, and “Suzuki” in descending order of similarity.
(Other system configuration examples)
Furthermore, another functional configuration example of the MFP 10 and the server 20 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, the MFP 10 includes an image acquisition unit 12 and an input / output unit 16. That is, the MFP 10 has a function as an input / output terminal. On the other hand, the server 20 includes a login execution unit 11, an image analysis unit 13, a similarity calculation unit 14, an ID suggestion unit 15, and a storage unit 17. In the example of FIG. 5, the master DB 40 is stored in a storage area of a device other than the MFP 10 and the server 20. For example, the master DB 40 may be stored in a storage device provided by cloud computing that can be connected via the network 30.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, by providing the master DB 40 in a device different from the MFP 10 main body, when the amount of data stored in the master DB 40 increases, the influence on the MFP 10 main body can be reduced. The functional configurations of the MFP 10 and the server 20 according to the present embodiment have been described above.

[User ID candidate selection processing]
Next, an example of user ID candidate selection processing according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of user ID candidate selection processing according to an embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the similarity calculation in the user ID candidate selection process according to the embodiment.

Note that, in the user ID candidate selection process illustrated in FIG. 6, the photographing of the face image data and the display of the user ID candidate are executed on the MFP 10 side. Selection of the user ID candidate is executed on the MFP 10 side in the functional configuration of FIGS. 2 and 3, and is executed on the server 20 side in the functional configuration of FIG.
(Assumption of selection process)
As a premise, in the user ID candidate selection process, it is preferable that the user ID candidates are automatically presented on the screen even if the user is not particularly conscious. For example, the user ID candidate selection process is performed in the background by the MFP 10 or the server 20 based on the user's face image data captured by the camera 10a, triggered by the user's proximity to the MFP 10 to operate the MFP 10. It is preferable to carry out. According to this, the user ID candidate is automatically suggested on the screen without triggering a special operation by the user coming near the MFP 10 and without the user being particularly conscious. Here, an example of a method for determining that the user has come close to the MFP 10 will be described below.

  As a premise for the determination, the camera 10a previously captures an image without a user (hereinafter referred to as “reference image”), and the reference image is held in the MFP 10. The camera 10a periodically takes images. The reference image is used to determine whether the user is near the screen for a predetermined time or more. When this determination is “Yes”, it can be determined that the user has come close to the screen of the display 10b, and this can be used as a trigger to start the process of selecting a user ID candidate. Here, as an example, a method of determining whether “the user is close to the screen for a predetermined time or longer” based on the image captured by the camera 10a and the reference image is given.

Specifically, it is determined in advance which region of the reference image changes when the user approaches the MFP 10 in an attempt to operate the MFP 10. For example, the position of the user standing near the screen may be specified from the reference image, and the specified humanoid area or the peripheral area of the humanoid face may be determined as the change area. Since there are individual differences among users, the change area to be defined does not have to be exact, and it is only necessary to define an approximate area. In the change area, if the portion of the image taken by the camera 10a is different from the reference image by a predetermined ratio or more, it is determined that the user has come close to the screen. A threshold A indicating a predetermined ratio used for this determination is set and stored in advance. With this threshold, it is possible to absorb determination errors due to individual differences among users. In addition, a threshold value B for determining whether the user is in front of the MFP 10 and wants to perform an operation is set by the same method.
(Start of selection process)
After the above settings have been made in advance, the user ID candidate selection process in FIG. 6 is started, and the camera 10a periodically takes images (step S100). The image analysis unit 13 compares the captured image with the reference image, and determines whether the user is close to the image for a predetermined time or longer (step S102).

  For example, the image analysis unit 13 analyzes how many percent of the difference between the image captured in the change area and the reference image (for example, the difference in color components of each pixel in the set change area) exists. When the image analysis unit 13 determines that the difference is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold A, the storage unit 17 holds an image compared to the reference image (hereinafter referred to as “estimated image”).

  Next, in order to see whether or not the user has stopped at the spot, the image analysis unit 13 acquires an image photographed by the camera 10a after a predetermined period has elapsed (for example, after one second), and the acquired image and the estimated image And compare. The image analysis unit 13 analyzes how many percent of the image difference (for example, the color component difference of each pixel) is in the set change region. When the difference between the image captured in the change area and the estimated image is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold B, the image analysis unit 13 indicates that the user is close to the screen because the change in the image in the change area is equal to or less than the threshold B. It is determined that it has not moved. In this way, it can be determined that the user has come to the front of the MFP 10 and is about to be there to perform an operation.

  Based on the above determination, it is possible to determine whether “the user is close to the screen for a predetermined time or longer (whether the user is going to operate the MFP 10)” in step S102. When it is determined that the user intends to operate the MFP 10, a user ID candidate is selected in steps S104 to S108 using this as a trigger.

  In step S104, the image acquisition unit 12 acquires user's face image data captured by the camera 10a. Next, the similarity calculation means 14 calculates the similarity between the face image data cached from the master DB 40 (cache data) and the acquired face image data (step S106).

  For example, FIG. 7 shows an example of data comparison and the result. In FIG. 7, for example, the case where the master DB 40 is stored in the server 20 is illustrated, but the master DB 40 may be stored in the MFP 10 or another storage device that can communicate via the network 30. May be stored.

  Master data is stored in the master DB 40. Each master data stores one or a plurality of face image data in association with the user ID. For example, n face image data are accumulated in association with the user ID “Tanaka”. The number of face image data associated with each user ID is not limited to n. In addition, the update process of the data memorize | stored in master DB40 is mentioned later. The input data of the MFP 10 is face image data captured and acquired by the camera 10a.

  Returning to FIG. 6, the similarity calculation unit 14 compares the acquired face image data with each cached face image data. As a result, the similarity calculation unit 14 selects a user ID corresponding to the cached face image data whose similarity with the acquired face image data is equal to or greater than the threshold value 0.7 (step S108).

  The user ID candidate selection process is executed in the background when it is determined in step S102 that "the user is near the screen for a predetermined time or longer", and automatically until the user ID candidate to be presented is determined. It is desirable to process with. That is, in this embodiment, instead of automatically displaying the determined user ID candidates on the screen where the user ID can be selected, the user has shown the intention to log in by pressing the login button. Accordingly, it is preferable to display user ID candidates.

  Accordingly, the determination of the presence / absence of the user based on the image (S102) serves as a trigger for starting the “selection of user ID candidates” process. In addition, an operation (such as pressing a login button or pressing a button for returning from sleep) on the MFP 10 is a trigger for “display candidate ID”. This can avoid unnecessary presentation of user ID candidates. Further, in the present embodiment, it is possible to automatically start the user ID candidate selection process before the user approaching the screen performs an operation for login, so that the waiting time of the user can be reduced.

  For the above reason, in step S110, the input / output unit 16 determines whether the login button has been pressed by a user operation. If it is determined that the login button has been pressed, the input / output unit 16 displays the selected user IDs on the screen of the MFP 10 in descending order of similarity (step S112).

  For example, in “Result 1 (Case 1)” in FIG. 7, user IDs associated with image data having a similarity of not less than the threshold value “0.7” are selected from the top in descending order of similarity. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 1, the input / output unit 16 displays the user ID associated with the image data having a similarity of “0.7” or more on the screen of the MFP 10 according to the result 1. At this time, the user IDs are displayed on the screen of the MFP 10 in the descending order of similarity, that is, “Sample”, “Tanaka”, “abcDefGh”, and “Suzuki”.

  Another example of displaying the selected user ID is an example in which the selected user ID is simply displayed in descending order of similarity. As a result, in the case of “Result 1” in FIG. 7, the user IDs associated with the image data whose similarity is equal to or lower than the threshold value “0.7”, that is, “Yamada”, “Sato”, “Admin” are also sequentially input to the MFP 10. Displayed on the screen. When all candidate user IDs cannot be displayed on one screen, a plurality of screen switching operations may be performed to display user IDs in descending order of similarity. The screen can be switched by the user pressing the previous button 10b1 and the next button 10b2 on the screen shown in FIG.

  As another example of the display conditions of the selected user ID, as shown in “Result 2 (Case 2)” in FIG. 7, a predetermined number from the top in order from the user ID associated with the image data having a high degree of similarity. You may display (here 3 cases) user ID as a candidate. In addition, user ID candidates may be displayed in accordance with display conditions in which case 1 and case 2 are combined.

  Returning to FIG. 6, the input / output unit 16 determines whether there is a request for retry (step S114). For example, when the retry button 10b3 is displayed on the screen of the display 10b in FIG. 1 and the user presses this button, the input / output means 16 determines that there is a request for retry, and returns to step S100 to again return the user ID. A candidate selection process is executed. If it is determined that there is no request for retry, this process ends.

  For example, if the user's face image captured by the camera 10a is a profile or the image is blurred, the feature amount of the face image data is selected differently from the actual user's face feature. The calculation result may deviate from the actual similarity. In this case, it is conceivable that the user ID displayed as a candidate does not include the user ID for user login. Therefore, in the user ID candidate selection process according to the present embodiment, a retry request is determined, and a user ID to be displayed as a candidate is selected and displayed again according to a user instruction. Thereby, the precision of the user ID to display can be raised.

  Heretofore, an example of user ID candidate selection processing according to the present embodiment has been described. According to this, a user ID candidate is automatically selected even when the user is not particularly conscious of, triggered by the fact that the user has come close to the screen of the MFP 10. Also, user ID candidates are displayed on the screen in response to the user's login request and suggested to the user. According to this, before the user approaching the screen performs an operation for login, the user ID candidate selection process according to the present embodiment is executed in the background based on the user's face image captured by the camera 10a. be able to. Thereby, the candidate of user ID can be shown to a user at the time of login, reducing a user's waiting time.

  Note that the user ID candidate selection process according to the present embodiment is executed for the MFP 10 after logout, and is not executed for the MFP 10 before logout. Further, when it is determined that “the user is near the screen for a predetermined time or longer”, the MFP 10 may be turned on, and the user ID candidate selection process according to the present embodiment may be executed.

(Modification)
The user ID candidate selection process may be executed according to the user's request as in a modification described below. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a modification of the user ID candidate selection process according to the present embodiment. In the modification, the ID suggestion unit 15 controls the user ID candidate selection process in accordance with a user operation.

  First, when the user approaches the vicinity of the screen of the MFP 10 (step S10), the input / output unit 16 requests the ID suggestion unit 15 to obtain a list of user IDs (step S11). Whether the user has approached the vicinity of the screen of the MFP 10 can be determined using the determination method based on the image analysis or a human sensor. Note that when the user approaches the vicinity of the screen of the MFP 10, the user may request the input / output unit 16 to select a user ID candidate.

  Next, the suggestion unit 15 makes a camera image acquisition request to the image acquisition unit 12 (step S12).

  The image acquisition means 12 requests acquisition of face image data of the user taken by the camera 10a (step S13), and acquires face image data (step S14). The image acquisition unit 12 sends the acquired face image data to the ID suggestion unit 15 (step S15).

  Next, the ID suggestion unit 15 issues an image analysis request to the image analysis unit 13 (step S16), and acquires an image analysis result from the image analysis unit 13 (step S17). An example of the image analysis result is a feature amount extracted from the user's face image data.

  Next, the ID suggestion unit 15 makes a similarity calculation request based on the acquired face image data to the similarity calculation unit 14 (step S18). The similarity calculation means 14 caches master data (user ID and image data) stored in the master DB 40 (steps S19 and S20). The similarity calculation unit 14 uses the cached data to calculate the similarity between the acquired face image data of the user and each face image data of the cache data. The ID suggestion unit 15 acquires the similarity from the similarity calculation unit 14 (step S21).

  Next, the ID suggestion unit 15 selects a user ID candidate to be suggested upon login based on the acquired similarity (step S22). Specifically, the ID suggestion unit 15 selects a user ID stored in association with image data in descending order of similarity to the face image data acquired by the camera 10a.

  Next, the input / output unit 16 acquires the user ID selected by the ID suggestion unit 15 (step S23). When the user presses the login button 10b4 shown in FIG. 9A (step S24), the input / output means 16 displays the selected user ID candidates on the screen (step S25).

  FIG. 9B shows an example of a screen on which candidate user IDs are suggested. As shown in FIG. 9B, when the user selects a specific user ID from the screen, the input / output unit 16 acquires the selected user ID as shown in FIG. 8 (step S26). When the login execution means 11 obtains the user ID from the input / output means 16, as shown in FIG. 9C, the login execution means 11 displays a login screen and automatically selects the user ID “Tanaka” selected in the user ID column 10e. Set (step S27). This saves the user from having to input the user ID.

  The user ID selection screen in FIG. 9B and the login screen in FIG. 9C may be separate screens or the same screen. In this state, when the user inputs a password in the password setting field 10f on the login screen, the login execution unit 11 matches the set user ID and password with the authentication information registered in the information processing system 1 in advance. Determine whether. If they match, the login execution means 11 notifies the user of successful login via the input / output means 16 (steps S28 and S29). A user who has successfully logged in can use the MFP 10.

  In the above, the modification of the user ID candidate selection process according to the present embodiment has been described. According to this, this information processing system 1 can be easily constructed by using an existing system by adding a function for selecting a user ID candidate to an authentication process based on an existing user ID and password. .

  Note that the login execution unit 11 does not necessarily perform user authentication processing in the login processing. In that case, the login execution unit 11 enables access to a document such as print data or an electronic document associated with the user ID specified in the login process, or the MFP 10 based on setting information associated with the user ID. You may set the usage environment.

  As described above, according to the information processing system 1 according to the embodiment and the modification thereof, a user ID candidate can be selected and suggested to the user. Thereby, at the time of login, the user only has to select a specific user ID from the displayed user ID candidates, and it is possible to save the trouble of inputting the user ID at the time of login. In addition, the user can cope with the case of forgetting the user ID by selecting the suggested user ID candidate.

  Further, in the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment, the candidate user ID is displayed on the screen, but the login process using the candidate user ID is not automatically executed. That is, according to the present embodiment, the user ID confirmation work is required before the login process. Thereby, the accuracy of the user's face recognition based on the face image data at a level required for the automatic login process is not required, and the security of the MFP 10 can be maintained even if it is misidentified.

[Data update processing]
Next, an example of the data update process of the master DB 40 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of data update processing according to an embodiment. As a premise, the number of user ID groups stored in the master DB 40 is “n”, the image data (face image) stored in association with each user ID is “Mn”, and the face image acquired by the camera 10a. Data is expressed as “x”.

  The login execution means 11 executes a login process (step S122), and determines whether the login for the user ID “Y” is successful (step S124). When it is determined that the login has not been successful, there is no data to be updated, and the process returns to step S122.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the login is successful, the storage unit 17 determines whether the user ID “Y” that has been successfully logged in is included in the user ID group n of the master DB 40 (step S126). At this time, the storage unit 17 may search for master data stored in the master DB 40 or may search cache data cached from the master DB 40. Hereinafter, a case where cache data is searched will be described.

  If the storage unit 17 determines that the user ID “Y” that has been successfully logged in is not included in the cache data, the storage unit 17 adds a new user ID “Y” to the user ID group n in the master DB 40. Further, the storage unit 17 adds the face image data “x” acquired by the camera 10 a to the image data “Mn” in association with the user ID “Y” of the master DB 40.

  On the other hand, if the storage unit 17 determines that the user ID “Y” that has been successfully logged in is included in the cache data, the storage unit 17 skips step S128.

  Next, the memory | storage means 17 determines whether the update of data is required (step S130). When it is determined that the data needs to be updated, the storage unit 17 updates the image data “Mn” stored in the master DB 40 in association with the user ID “Y” (step S132), and ends this process.

  As an example of the update processing, a method of adding the face image data “x” to the image data “Mn” stored in association with the user ID “Y” of the master DB 40, the image data “Mn” is converted to the face image data “ a method of overwriting with “x”. As another example of the update process, there is a method in which the average value of the image data “Mn” when the face image data “x” is added is the image data “Mn”. As another example of the update processing, an upper limit value is set for the image data “Mn”, the upper limit number of image data “Mn” including the face image data “x” which is the latest image data is stored, and images older than that are stored. There is a method of deleting data.

  If it is determined in step S130 that the data update is not necessary, the process is terminated. As an example in which it is determined that the data update is unnecessary, the update is unnecessary when a predetermined time has elapsed from the update time immediately before the image data “Mn” stored in association with the user ID “Y” of the master DB 40. The method of judging is mentioned. Another example in which it is determined that the data update is unnecessary is a method of determining that the update is not required in the case of face image data whose similarity is lower than a predetermined threshold.

  The example of the data update process of the master DB 40 according to the embodiment has been described above. According to this, by updating the data of the master DB 40, it is possible to improve the accuracy of selecting candidate user IDs.

(Hardware configuration example)
Finally, a hardware configuration example of the MFP 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the MFP 10 according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, an example of the hardware configuration of the MFP 10 will be described, but the hardware configuration of the server 20 may be the same.

  11, the MFP 10 includes an input device 101, a display device 102, an external I / F 103, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 104, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 105, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 106, a communication I / F. F107, HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 108, and the like are connected to each other via a bus B.

  The input device 101 includes a keyboard and a mouse, and is used to input each operation signal to the MFP 10. The display device 102 is realized by the display 10b and displays a user ID to be suggested to the user. The display device 102 includes a touch panel having a touch surface, and also functions as the input device 101.

  A communication I / F 107 is an interface that connects the MFP 10 to a network. Thereby, the MFP 10 can communicate with the server 20 or the like via the communication I / F 107.

  The HDD 108 is a non-volatile storage device that stores programs and data. The stored programs and data include basic software and application software that control the entire apparatus. For example, the HDD 108 may store data of the master DB 40, a user ID candidate selection process program, a data update process program, and the like.

  The external I / F 103 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 103a. Accordingly, the MFP 10 can read and / or write the recording medium 103a via the external I / F 103. The recording medium 103a includes a floppy (trademark or registered trademark) disk, CD (Compact Disk), DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), SD memory card (SD Memory card), USB memory (Universal Serial Bus memory), and the like. is there.

  The ROM 105 is a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that can retain internal data even when the power is turned off. The ROM 105 stores programs and data such as network settings. The RAM 104 is a volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that temporarily stores programs and data. The CPU 106 is an arithmetic unit that realizes control of the entire apparatus and mounting functions by reading programs and data from the storage device (for example, “HDD 108”, “ROM 105”, etc.) onto the RAM 104 and executing processing.

  With the above hardware configuration, the MFP 10 according to the present embodiment can display a user ID to be suggested to the user on the screen. For example, the CPU 106 can execute user ID candidate selection processing and data update processing using data and programs stored in the ROM 105 and HDD 108, thereby displaying user ID candidates and suggesting them to the user. . The master DB 40 can be stored in the RAM 104, the HDD 108, or a server on the cloud connected to the MFP 10 via the network.

  The information processing apparatus, the program, the information processing system, and the information processing method have been described in the above embodiment. However, the information processing apparatus, the program, the information processing system, and the information processing method according to the present invention are limited to the above embodiment. Rather, various modifications and improvements can be made within the scope of the present invention. In addition, when there are a plurality of the above-described embodiments and modifications, they can be combined within a consistent range.

  For example, the configuration of the information processing system 1 according to the above-described embodiment is merely an example, and does not limit the scope of the present invention. It goes without saying that there are various system configuration examples depending on applications and purposes.

  For example, a system configuration in which the MFP 10 and the server 20 are connected to each other via the network 30 is an aspect of the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment, and is not limited thereto. For example, the number of MFPs 10 and servers 20 included in the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment may be one or two or more. The user ID candidate selection process may be distributed by a plurality of servers 20. In addition, according to a use and the objective, you may collect the function of a user ID candidate selection process selectively in one server 20 among multiple units.

  The user ID according to the embodiment is an example of user identification information for identifying a user. The user identification information may be a user's name or nickname.

1: Information processing system 10: MFP
10a: Camera 10b: Display 11: Login execution means 12: Image acquisition means 13: Image analysis means 14: Similarity calculation means 15: ID suggestion means 16: Input / output means 17: Storage means 20: Server 30: Network 40: Master DB

JP 2009-259269 A

Claims (14)

Obtaining means for obtaining identification information about the user's body;
Calculating means for calculating the similarity between the acquired identification information relating to the user's body and identification information relating to the plurality of user bodies stored in the storage means;
Display means for displaying on the screen one or more user identification information stored in the storage means in association with identification information related to the body of the plurality of users according to the calculated similarity;
Execution means for executing login processing based on user identification information specified from the displayed one or more user identification information;
An information processing apparatus. The display means displays a predetermined number of user identification information associated with identification information related to the body of the plurality of users in a descending order of the calculated similarity on one screen, or switches to a plurality of screens for display.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The display means displays the user identification information associated with the identification information related to the body of the plurality of users having the calculated similarity equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold on one screen, or switches to a plurality of screens for display.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. When it is determined that the user has been in the vicinity of the screen for a predetermined time or more, the acquisition unit acquires identification information about the user's body, the calculation unit calculates similarity, and the display unit uses the one or more items. Automatically display the screen of user identification information of
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The identification information related to the user's body is information related to an image of all or part of the user's body,
The acquisition means acquires an image of all or a part of the user's body in response to the user being determined to be in the vicinity of the screen for a predetermined time or more.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 4. When the screen is a screen after logout, the acquisition unit acquires an image of all or a part of the user's body in response to determining that the user has been in the vicinity of the screen for a predetermined time or more. ,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 5. The execution means executes login processing using user identification information selected from one or a plurality of displayed user identification information by the user's screen operation.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The execution means executes a user authentication process using the specified user identification information in the login process.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 7. The execution means stores the acquired identification information about the user's body in the storage means in association with the selected user identification information.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 7 or 8. The storage means updates identification information relating to the user's body stored in association with the selected user identification information based on the acquired identification information relating to the user's body.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 7 or 8. The display means displays the one or more user identification information in response to a user login instruction.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10. A program for causing a computer to execute a login process,
Processing to obtain identification information about the user's body;
A process of calculating the similarity between the acquired identification information about the user's body and the identification information about the plurality of user's bodies stored in the storage unit;
A process of displaying on the screen one or more user identification information stored in the storage means in association with identification information related to the bodies of the plurality of users according to the calculated similarity;
A process of executing a login process based on the user identification information identified from the displayed one or more user identification information;
A program with An information processing system for performing login processing of an information processing apparatus,
Means for acquiring identification information relating to the body of the user determined to be in the vicinity of the screen of the information processing apparatus for a predetermined time or more;
Means for calculating similarity between the acquired identification information about the user's body and identification information about the plurality of user's bodies stored in the storage means;
Means for displaying on the screen of the information processing apparatus one or more user identification information stored in the storage means in association with identification information relating to the bodies of the plurality of users according to the calculated similarity;
Means for executing a login process using user identification information specified from the displayed one or more user identification information;
An information processing system. An information processing method in which a computer executes login processing of an information processing device,
Processing for acquiring identification information relating to the body of the user determined to be in the vicinity of the screen of the information processing apparatus for a predetermined time or more;
A process of calculating the similarity between the acquired identification information about the user's body and the identification information about the plurality of user's bodies stored in the storage unit;
A process of displaying, on the screen of the information processing apparatus, one or a plurality of user identification information stored in the storage unit in association with identification information related to the bodies of the plurality of users according to the calculated similarity;
A process of executing a login process based on the user identification information identified from the displayed one or more user identification information;
An information processing method comprising:

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