Patent ID: 7841001

Claim:
An authentication information management system for managing an application program's authentication information to be used for user authentication as required by the application program, comprising: a device embedded with a microprocessor unit having a plurality of application programs, with each application program being executable by the device embedded with the microprocessor unit and requiring the user authentication; and a user device equipped with a plurality of application utilization programs for utilizing the application programs, with each application utilization program being executable by the user device, wherein: the device embedded with the microprocessor unit includes an authentication information management part for managing the application programs' authentication information; the user device includes an authentication information utilization part for utilizing the authentication information management part; when an application utilization part embodied through execution of each of the application utilization programs in the user device utilizes an application part embodied through execution of a corresponding one of the application programs in the device embedded with the microprocessor unit, the application part of the device embedded with the microprocessor unit requests the application program's authentication information of a user in the user authentication from the application utilization part of the user device; the authentication information utilization part of the user device detects a request for the application program's authentication information of the user issued to the application utilization part, and requests the application program's authentication information corresponding to the application part of the device embedded with the microprocessor unit from the authentication information management part of the device embedded with the microprocessor unit; the authentication information management part of the device embedded with the microprocessor unit acquires the requested application program's authentication information from the device embedded with the microprocessor unit, and responds to the authentication information utilization part of the user device; the authentication information utilization part of the device embedded with the microprocessor unit transmits the application program's authentication information received from the authentication information management part of the device embedded with the microprocessor unit to an interface of the application utilization part of the user device to make manual input operation of the application program's authentication information by the user unnecessary; and the application utilization part of the user device transmits the received application program's authentication information to the application part of the device embedded with the microprocessor unit.