Performing encryption-oriented action on document at host device prior to transmission to printer-related device over network

• US 20030182575A1
• Filed: 03/21/2002
• Published: 09/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Korfanta, Craig M.
• Application Number:
  US10/103,018
• Publication Number:
  US 20030182575A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/602 Providing cryptographic facilities or services
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/608 Secure printing

Abstract

Performing an encryption-oriented action on a document at a host device prior to transmitting the document to a printer-related device over a network is disclosed. The document is first converted and has an encrypted-oriented action performed thereon at a host device. The host device further wraps the document in a wrapper having a decryption-oriented action command, and sends the document to the printer-related device over the network. The printer-related device unwraps the document from the wrapper. Upon encountering the decryption-oriented action command, the printer-related device performs a decryption-oriented action on the document. The printer-related device finally prints the document.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

converting a document to be printed at a host device;

performing an encryption-oriented action on the document at the host device;

wrapping the document in a wrapper having a decryption-oriented action command at the host device;

sending the document from the host device to a printer-related device over a network;

unwrapping the document from the wrapper at the printer-related device;

upon encountering the decryption-oriented action command while unwrapping the document at the printer-related device, performing a decryption-oriented action on the document at the printer-related device; and

,

printing the document.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein converting the document to be printed comprises at least one of converting the document to a page definition language (PDL) and rasterizing the document.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the encryption-oriented action comprises at least one of encrypting the document and compressing the document.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein wrapping the document in the wrapper comprises wrapping the document in a printer-job language (PJL) wrapper.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the decryption-oriented action comprises at least one of decrypting the document and decompressing the document.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein printing the document comprises sending the document to a printer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein printing the document comprises rasterizing the document.

8. A system comprising:

a network;

a host device capable of converting a document according to a format, performing an encryption-oriented action on the document, and wrapping the document in a wrapper having a decryption-oriented action command; and

,

a printer-related device capable of receiving the document from the host device over the network, unwrapping the document, performing a decryption-oriented action on the document upon encountering the decryption-oriented action command, and printing the document.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the network comprises at least one of the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a wired network, a wireless network, a telephony network, and a wireless telephony network.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the format comprises a page-description language (PDL).

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the encryption-oriented action comprises at least one of encryption and compression, and the decryption-oriented action comprises at least one of decryption and decompression.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the wrapper comprises a printer-job language (PJL) wrapper.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the printer-related device comprises a decryption-oriented add-in capable of performing the decryption-oriented action on the document upon the printer-related device encountering the decryption-oriented action command while unwrapping the document.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the decryption-oriented add-in is capable of performing the decryption-oriented action on the document based on an identity of the host device from which the printer-related device received the document.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein the printer-related device comprises a decryption-oriented add-in capable of providing one or more decryption-oriented parameters to the printer-related device for performing the decryption-oriented action on the document upon encountering the decryption-oriented command while unwrapping the document.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more decryption-oriented parameters comprises at least one of:

a decryption key, a decryption algorithm, an identity of a decryption algorithm, a decompression algorithm, and an identity of a decryption algorithm.

17. The system of claim 8, wherein the printer-related device comprises a printer.

18. The system of claim 8, further comprising a printer, the printer-related device capable of sending the document to the printer after performing the decryption-oriented action on the document.

19. A computer-readable medium having a program stored thereon for execution by a printer-related device, the program comprising:

a module to unwrap a document from a wrapper in which the document has been wrapped by a host device; and

,

a module to perform a decryption-oriented action on the document upon the module to unwrap the document encountering a decryption-oriented action command while unwrapping the document.

20. The medium of claim 19, the program further comprising:

a module to receive the document from the host device over a network; and

,

a module to print the document after the document has been unwrapped and the decryption-oriented action has been performed thereon.