Patent ID: 9529982
Filing Date: 2016-12-27
CPC Classification: G06F

Claim Text:
1. A method of managing a plurality of user accounts of an image forming apparatus including a printing function, the method comprising: setting a plurality of authorization accounts defining at least one of a plurality of usage rights regarding at least one of a plurality of functions of the image forming apparatus; identifying a user by verifying a user authentication account of the image forming apparatus; determining at least one of a plurality of functions allowable to the identified user of the verified user authentication account according to a result of a mapping at least one of the set plurality of authorization accounts to the verified user authentication account; obtaining, from an application, a list of one or more functions of the image forming apparatus required to execute the application; determining whether executing the application installed in the image forming apparatus is permitted based on a comparison of the obtained one or more functions in the list to the functions determined as allowable in the user authentication account; and if the execution of the application is permitted, executing the application, wherein more than one of the set of plurality of authorization accounts are mapped to a same one of the verified user authentication accounts, wherein usage rights associated with a first authorization account of the set of plurality of authorization accounts mapped to the same one of the verified user authentication accounts are given priority over usage rights associated with a second authorization account of the set of plurality of authorization accounts mapped to the same one of the verified user authentication accounts.