Obtaining temporary exclusive control of a printing device
First Claim
1. A method for obtaining exclusive control of a printing device by a recipient to print data intended for the recipient, the method comprising the steps of:
- authenticating the recipient;
providing the recipient exclusive control of the printing device'"'"'s print capabilities after the recipient has been authenticated; and
temporarily deferring print data not intended for the recipient from being printed and printing print data intended for the recipient during a period in which the recipient has exclusive control of the printing device'"'"'s print capabilities.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Obtaining exclusive control of a printing device by deferring printing of print data in a print queue. To obtain control, the recipient performs a process which may include authentication of the recipient. Control may be obtained either before the recipient is authenticated or after a successful authentication process. After the recipient has obtained control, print data in the print queue is temporarily deferred from being printed. The recipient may then select a print job to print, including selecting a print job from among the print jobs deferred in the print queue, or selecting a file to print over a network, including the Internet or an intranet. Further, printing device resources utilized in printing data during the period of exclusive control may be tracked and correlated to the recipient who has control.
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Citations
137 Claims
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1. A method for obtaining exclusive control of a printing device by a recipient to print data intended for the recipient, the method comprising the steps of:
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authenticating the recipient;
providing the recipient exclusive control of the printing device'"'"'s print capabilities after the recipient has been authenticated; and
temporarily deferring print data not intended for the recipient from being printed and printing print data intended for the recipient during a period in which the recipient has exclusive control of the printing device'"'"'s print capabilities. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137)
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14. An apparatus for printing images, comprising:
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an authentication device that authenticates a recipient;
a print engine controlling printing operations of the apparatus;
a print queue temporarily storing and buffering print data submitted to the apparatus for printing; and
control means for permitting a recipient to control print capabilities of the apparatus after the recipient has been authenticated, wherein, after the recipient is authenticated, print data not intended for the recipient is temporarily deferred from being printed and print data intended for the recipient is printed out during a period in which the recipient has control over the apparatus'"'"' print capabilities.
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26. Computer-executable process steps for obtaining exclusive control of a printing device by a recipient to print data intended for the recipient, the computer-executable process steps comprising:
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authenticating the recipient;
providing the recipient exclusive control of the printing device'"'"'s print capabilities after the recipient has been authenticated; and
temporarily deferring print data not intended for the recipient from being printed and printing print data intended for the recipient during a period in which the recipient has exclusive control of the printing device'"'"'s print capabilities.
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39. A method of printing images on a printing device, comprising the steps of:
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obtaining control over printing operations of the printing device; and
performing a process to print out an image by the printing device during a period of control over the printing device.
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54. A method of controlling printing operations of a printing device, comprising the steps of:
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obtaining control over the printing operations of the printing device; and
maintaining control over the printing operations until control is manually relinquished by a recipient who has obtained control. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69)
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70. A printing apparatus, comprising:
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a print engine controlling printing operations of the apparatus;
a control device for permitting a recipient to obtain control over the printing operations of the apparatus; and
a print data access device for performing a process to access print data to be printed by the printing apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84)
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85. A printing apparatus, comprising:
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a print engine controlling printing operations of the apparatus;
a control device for permitting a recipient to obtain control over the printing operations of the apparatus and to maintain control until a time when the recipient relinquishes control; and
a relinquishing device for relinquishing control over the apparatus'"'"' printing operations. - View Dependent Claims (86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100)
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101. Computer-executable process steps for printing images on a printing device, comprising the steps of:
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obtaining control over printing operations of the printing device; and
performing a process to print out an image by the printing device during a period of control over the printing device. - View Dependent Claims (102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131)
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116. Computer-executable process steps for controlling printing operations of a printing device, comprising the steps of:
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obtaining control over the printing operations of the printing device; and
maintaining control over the printing operations until control is manually relinquished by a recipient who has obtained control.
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Specification