Document Transmission techniques II

• US 20020032862A1
• Filed: 07/30/2001
• Published: 03/14/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Harrison, Keith Alexander, Brown, Richard
• Application Number:
  US09/918,326
• Publication Number:
  US 20020032862A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/173
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0048 Indicating an illegal or impossible operation or selection to the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00912 Arrangements for controlling a still picture apparatus or components thereof not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32128 attached to the image data, e.g. file header, transmitted message header, information on the same page or in the same computer file as the image for information embedded in the image H04N1/32144
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4413 involving the use of passwords, ID codes or the like, e.g. PIN
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4486 using digital data encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3202 of communication or activity log or report
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3235 Checking or certification of the authentication information, e.g. by comparison with data stored independently

Abstract

A document printout device for receiving and printing out digital documents. The printout device comprises a store of digital certificates, each certificate being associated with a received digital document, and an audit log comprising a list of received document entries. Each entry in the list contains a reference to one of the certificates in the store and a unique identifier associated with a received digital document. The device is arranged to carry out an on-line authentication of a received certificate held in the store of received documents or even to carry out a batch of on-line authentications of received certificates held in the store of received documents.

Claims

1. A document printout device for receiving and printing out digital documents, the printout device comprising:

a store of digital certificates, each certificate being associated with a received digital document; and

an audit log comprising a list of received document entries, each entry containing a reference to one of the certificates in the store and a unique identifier associated with a received digital document.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the device is arranged to carry out an on-line authentication of a received certificate held in the store of received documents.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein the device is arranged to carry out a batch of on-line authentications of received certificates held in the store of received documents.

4. A device according to claim 1, wherein each entry in the audit log contains a digest of the received document to which it relates.

5. A device according to claim 4, further comprising a hash algorithm for creating a digest of a digital document and a receiving module for receiving a digital representation of a previously printed out document, wherein the device is arranged to create a digest of the digital representation of the previously printed out document and to compare the newly created digest with the corresponding digest stored in the audit log.

6. A device according to claim 5, wherein the device is arranged to send either a stored digest or a newly created digest of a document to its original sender and to verify the authenticity of the document back to its source by considering the transmitted results of a comparison of digests carried out at the source.

7. A device according to claim 5, wherein the receiving module is a document scanning module.

8. A device according to claim 1, wherein each entry in the audit log contains the time and date of receipt of each digital document.

9. A device according to claim 1, wherein the unique identifier is an alphanumeric code and the device further comprises an input module for inputting the code to access the relevant entry in the audit log.

10. In a facsimile machine adapted for receiving and printing out digital documents, a device comprising:

a store of digital certificates, each certificate being associated with a received digital document; and

an audit log comprising a list of received document entries, each entry containing a reference to one of the certificates in the store and a unique identifier associated with a received digital document.

11. A method of authenticating the identity of a sender of a received digital document, the method comprising:

using a unique identifier printed on the received document to search for a corresponding record in a list of received document records;

referencing a digital certificate associated with the selected record, the certificate being one of a store of certificates of received documents; and

carrying out an on-line authentication of the certificate.