Confidential-sender email addresses for printing

• US 9,361,053 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2013
• Issued: 06/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Biswal, Bibhu Prasad, Koothur, Sibin Jos
• Primary Examiner(s): WALLACE, JOHN R
• Application Number:
  US13/754,999
• Publication Number:
  US 20140211233A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,223 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1222 Increasing security of the print job
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1238 Secure printing, e.g. user identification, user rights for device usage, unallowed content, blanking portions or fields of a page, releasing held jobs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1267 Job repository, e.g. non-scheduled jobs, delay printing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1287 via internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration

Abstract

In one example, an email address of a network-connected printer is stored. A print authorization code is stored. A confidential-sender email address is received and stored. After the receiving and storing of the confidential-sender email address, an email is received. The email is an email sent to the printer address, and includes a print job. Responsive to determining the email was sent from the confidential-sender address, the print job is stored. Responsive to receiving the print-authorization code, the print job is sent to the printer for printing.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a computing device connected to a network-connected printer via a network comprising an intranet or internet, cause the computing device to:

store an email address of the network-connected printer;

store a print authorization code;

receive a confidential-sender email address and store the confidential-sender email address in a list of confidential-sender email addresses;

receive, from a sender address, an email sent to the email address of the network-connected printer, the email including a print job;

determine whether the sender address matches a stored confidential-sender email address in the list;

in response to a determination by the computing device that the sender address matches a confidential-sender email address in the list, cause the computing device to store the print job and cause the computing device to require receipt of a print authorization code to send the print job to the network-connected printer, and responsive to receiving a print authorization code that matches the stored print authorization code, cause the computing device to send the print job to the network-connected printer via the network; and

in response to a determination by the computing device that the sender address does not match a confidential-sender email address in the list, cause the system computing device to send the print job to the network-connected printer via the network without requiring receipt of a print authorization code.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the confidential-sender email address is received via a web application, and wherein the web application is accessed by a user at a network connected computing device other than the network-connected printer.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 2, wherein the web application is a web application operable to set up a printing-via-email feature for the network-connected printer.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the confidential-sender email address is received via a printer application accessed by a user at the network-connected printer.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions are to cause the computing device to generate the print authorization code and send the print authorization code to another computing device connected to the network.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein prior to the receiving of the email, the instructions are to cause the computing device to receive the print authorization code from another computing device connected to the network.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein prior to the receiving of the email, the instructions cause the system to receive the print authorization code from another computing device connected to the network.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein prior to the receiving of the email, the instructions are to cause the computing device to receive the print authorization code from the network-connected printer.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein prior to the receiving of the email, the instructions are cause the computing device to receive the print authorization code from the network-connected printer provided by a user.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions to cause computing device to receive the print authorization code further comprises instructions to cause the computing device to receive the print authorization code from another connected computing device connected to the network.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions to cause the computing device to receive the print authorization code further comprises instructions to cause the computing device to receive the print authorization code from the network-connected printer.

12. A system, comprising a memory and a processor to execute instructions stored in the memory to cause the processor to:

store an email address of a network-connected printer;

receive a confidential-sender email address, and store the confidential-sender email address in a list of confidential-sender email addresses;

store a print authorization code;

receive, from a sender address, an email sent to the printer email address of the network-connected printer, the email including a print job;

determine whether the sender address matches a confidential-sender email address in the list;

in response to a determination that the sender address matches a confidential-sender email address stored in the list, store the print job and cause the processor to require receipt of a print authorization code to send the print job to the network-connected printer, and responsive to receiving a print authorization code that matches the stored print authorization code, send the print job to the network-connected printer via the network; and

in response to a determination that the sender address does not match a confidential-sender email address in the list, send the print job to the network-connected printer via the network without requiring receipt of a print authorization code.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the instructions are to cause the processor to send to the network-connected printer, or to another network connected computing device, a notice that the print job is available for printing at the network-connected printer following a user input of the print authorization code.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor is to receive the print authorization code in response to at least one of an entered password, a code-bearing media, and biometric data.

15. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

storing an email address of a network-connected printer;

receiving a confidential-sender email address and storing the confidential email address in a list of confidential-sender email addresses;

storing a print authorization code;

receiving, from a sender address, an email sent to the email address of the network-connected printer, the email including a print job;

determining, by a computing device, whether the sender address matches a stored confidential-sender email address in the list;

in response to determining that the sender address matches a confidential-sender email address in the list, storing the print job and causing the computing device to require receipt of a print authorization code to send the print job to the network-connected printer, and responsive to receiving a print authorization code that matches the stored print authorization code, sending the print job to the network-connected printer via the network; and

in response to determining that the sender address does not match a confidential-sender email address stored in the list, sending the print job to the network-connected printer via the network without requiring receipt of a print authorization code.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

sending a printer application to the network-connected printer; and

prior to the receiving of the email, receiving the print authorization code from the network-connected printer via the printer application.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

sending a printer application to the network-connected printer; and

wherein storing the print authorization code further comprises receiving the print authorization code from the network-connected printer via the printer application.

18. The method of claim 15,

wherein the confidential-sender email address is a first confidential-sender email address, the print authorization code is a first print authorization code associated with a first user, and the email is a first email;

and

wherein the method further comprises;

storing a second print authorization code associated with a second user;

receiving a second confidential-sender email address;

storing the second confidential-sender email address in the list;

receiving a second email sent to the printer address, the second email including a second print job;

determining whether the second email was sent from the second confidential-sender address in the list;

in response to determining that the second email was sent from the second confidential-sender address in the list, storing the second print job and causing the computing device to require receipt of a print authorization code to send the second print job to the network-connected printer; and

responsive to receiving a print authorization code that matches the second print authorization code, sending the second print job to the network-connected printer.