Selectively printing documents at a central printing location with or without privacy protection
First Claim
1. A system for printing documents at a print center from data bases remotely located from said print center, there being at least one printer at said print center having privacy features and connected to at least one computer containing said data bases, said computer having means to identify documents with a privacy designation and to make said privacy designation in the print job data as a part thereof which is forwarded to said printer at said print center upon command by said user, and a communication network for transferring said print job data to said printer whereupon entry of said privacy designation by said user at said printer causes said printer to print out a document having said privacy designation.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are described according to the present invention by which users operating in an arrangement wherein all documents to be printed are sent to a central print station remote from the users and their computers. The invention permits a user in such an environment to determine whether a document desired to be printed may be accorded and maintained as a private document or not. If the job is not “private”, the remote printer proceeds to print the job. If the job is “private”, a unique privacy token is generated at the user'"'"'s computer and made available to the user. The print job goes into a special queue and the user goes to the printer at the central print station and checks to see whether his particular job is displayed on the printer panel. If so, the user enters the privacy token PIN on the printer keyboard and the printer initiates processing of the job while the user is present, thus assuring the privacy nature of the document.
18 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A system for printing documents at a print center from data bases remotely located from said print center, there being at least one printer at said print center having privacy features and connected to at least one computer containing said data bases, said computer having means to identify documents with a privacy designation and to make said privacy designation in the print job data as a part thereof which is forwarded to said printer at said print center upon command by said user, and a communication network for transferring said print job data to said printer whereupon entry of said privacy designation by said user at said printer causes said printer to print out a document having said privacy designation.
- 2. A method for printing documents at a print center having one or more printers thereat remotely located from one or more computers connected to said print center, comprising selectively designating a document as private and assigning a privacy token to said document, obtaining said privacy token from the computer containing the data base for said document, forwarding said privacy token into a printer at said print center and printing out said document in response thereto.
Specification