Systems, methods and apparatus for secure printing of negotiable instruments
First Claim
1. A system for printing a negotiable instrument over a digital network, the system comprising:
- a client computer;
a server communicating with the client computer over the digital network, wherein the server is configured to receive an authorization request from the client computer, to establish a secure connection with the client computer if the authorization request is approved, to receive a subsequent request to print the document from the client computer via the secure connection, and to provide a data file describing the document to the client computer via the secure connection in response to the subsequent request; and
a printer coupled to the client computer, wherein the printer is configured to receive the data file via a second secure connection between the client computer and the printer, to decrypt the data file, and to print the transaction instrument using the data file.
11 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A secure system for requesting, approving, and printing negotiable instruments operates in a web-enabled browser-based environment. Users at a remote location connect to a central server using a conventional browser on a client computer via the Internet or another network. The user provides a digital credential such as a userid/password pair for authentication. If the user is approved, a secure connection between the server and the client computer is established. The secure connection may then be used to transfer print requests from the client to the server, or to transfer approved print jobs from the server to the client using data encryption and/or compression to secure the file. Before the negotiable instruments are printed, the server obtains identifying information from the printer and verifies that the user is authorized to use the particular printer. If the user is authorized, the negotiable instrument is printed on the printer. Various embodiments further provide reporting of negotiable instruments, as well as the ability to track or cancel instruments that have been previously issued/printed.
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Citations
51 Claims
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1. A system for printing a negotiable instrument over a digital network, the system comprising:
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a client computer;
a server communicating with the client computer over the digital network, wherein the server is configured to receive an authorization request from the client computer, to establish a secure connection with the client computer if the authorization request is approved, to receive a subsequent request to print the document from the client computer via the secure connection, and to provide a data file describing the document to the client computer via the secure connection in response to the subsequent request; and
a printer coupled to the client computer, wherein the printer is configured to receive the data file via a second secure connection between the client computer and the printer, to decrypt the data file, and to print the transaction instrument using the data file. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of printing a negotiable instrument, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a user credential to a server to establish a secure connection with the server;
requesting a print transaction from the server via the secure connection;
receiving a data file from the server in response to the requesting step, wherein the data file contains information about the negotiable instrument;
establishing a second secure connection with a printer; and
transmitting the data file to the printer via the second secure connection to print the negotiable instrument. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method of processing a negotiable instrument, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a credential from a client computer;
validating the credential to authenticate a user of the client computer;
establishing a secure connection with the client computer in response to successful validation;
receiving a request via the secure connection to print the negotiable instrument;
querying the client computer to obtain identifying information about a printer;
correlating the identifying information with the credential to confirm that the user is authorized to use the printer; and
providing an encrypted data file containing information about the negotiable instrument to the client computer in response to successful confirmation of the user. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37)
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34. An application server for processing a document over a digital network, the application server communicating via the digital network and with a database, wherein the applications server comprises:
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an administrative component configured to receive a credential from a user at a client computer, to validate the credential with the database, and to establish a secure connection with the client computer in response to successful validation of the credential;
a print component responsive to a request via the secure connection to print the negotiable instrument, wherein the print module is configured to query the client computer to obtain identifying information about the printer, and to communicate with the security module to verify that the user is authorized to access the printer; and
an encryption component configured to encrypt a data file containing information about the document to the client computer in response to successful verification of the user, whereupon the encrypted data file is provided to the client computer for printing the document.
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38. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon for controlling a computer to process a negotiable instrument, wherein the instructions comprise:
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a first software component configured to provide a credential received from a user to a server to establish a secure connection with the server;
a second software component configured to request authorization from the server for a print transaction via the secure connection;
a third software component configured to receive a data file associated with the negotiable instrument from the server via the secure connection in response to the request;
a fourth software component configured to establish a second secure connection with a printer; and
a fifth software component configured to transmit the data file to the printer via the second secure connection to print the negotiable instrument.
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39. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon for controlling a computer to process a negotiable instrument, wherein the instructions comprise:
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a first software component configured to receive a credential from a client computer;
a second software component configured to validate the credential to authenticate a user of the client computer;
a third software component configured to establish a secure connection with the client computer in response to successful validation;
a fourth software component configured to receive a request via the secure connection to print the negotiable instrument;
a fifth software component configured to query the client computer to obtain identifying information from a printer;
a sixth software component configured to correlate the identifying information with the credential to confirm that the user is authorized to use the printer; and
a seventh software component configured to provide a data file containing information about the payment information to the client computer in response to successful confirmation of the user.
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40. A system for processing a document over a digital network, the system comprising:
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a client computer;
a server communicating with the client computer over the digital network, wherein the server comprises;
means for receiving an authorization request from the client computer, means for establishing a secure connection with the client computer if the authorization request is approved;
means for receiving a subsequent request to print the document from the client computer via the secure connection; and
means for providing a data file describing the document to the client computer via the secure connection in response to the subsequent request; and
a printer coupled to the client computer, wherein the printer comprises;
means for receiving the data file via a second secure connection between the client computer and the printer;
means for decrypting the data file; and
means for printing the document using the data file.
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41. A method of operating a system for printing negotiable instruments over a digital network, the method comprising the steps of:
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inputting an identifying credential into a user interface to a client computer on the digital network to create a secure connection between the client computer and the server;
submitting transaction data for the negotiable instrument via the user interface to the server for approval;
placing a print request via the user interface to print the transaction instrument after approval is granted, wherein the print request initiates transfer of print data from the server to the client computer via the secure connection and wherein the print data is provided from the client computer to a printer via a second secure connection. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 49, 50, 51)
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45. A method of printing a negotiable instrument over a digital network, the method comprising the steps of:
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contacting a server via a first secure connection on the digital network to validate a print request;
receiving a data file from the server via the first secure connection in response to the print request;
processing the data file to create a formatted file;
establishing a second secure connection to a printer;
providing the formatted file to the printer via the secure connection; and
receiving a confirmation from the printer that printing is complete. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47)
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48. A client system for printing a document over a digital network, the system comprising:
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a first browser session configured to receive a credential from a user and to provide the credential to the server via the digital network, the browser interface having a security component configured to establish a secure connection between the browser interface and the server upon authentication of the credential by the server;
a second browser session communicating with the server via the secure connection; and
a print manager component in communication with the second browser session configured to receive a data file describing the document from the server, to process the data file to create a formatted data file, to establish a second secure connection with a printer, and to provide the formatted data file to the printer to print the document.
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Specification