Patent ID: 8683236

Claim:
An outlet expansion apparatus comprising: a first connection outlet to for connecting an electronic appliance; a second connection outlet for connecting power supply outlet a supply source of power; and a delegate authentication unit operable to perform authentication of the electronic appliance with a power management apparatus on behalf of the electronic appliance, wherein the power management apparatus manages an amount of power to be supplied to the electronic appliance connected to the first connection outlet and the power supply outlet connected to the second connection outlet, and wherein the authentication delegation unit receives an instruction from the power management apparatus to set a maximum current according to an operation mode of electronic appliance; wherein, when there are a plurality of the first connection outlets, the delegate authentication unit carries out authentication with the power management apparatus, on behalf of the electronic appliance connected to each of the first connection outlets; and wherein the delegate authentication unit comprises a power receiving unit receiving power for authentication supplied from the power supply outlet based on control by the power management apparatus, and an authentication processing unit that carries out an authentication process on the power management apparatus by using the power received by the power receiving unit.