US 9,311,031 B2Granted

Approach for printing policy-enabled electronic documents using locked printing and a shared memory data structure

AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.

InventorsSeiichi Katano, Jayasimha Nuggehalli, Seong Kim

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Abstract

According to approach for printing policy-enabled electronic documents, when a locked print module determines that an electronic document contained in the PDF print data is a policy-enabled electronic document, the locked print module causes the PDF print data to be stored on the printing device and not immediately processed for printing. A PDF-to-postscript conversion module generates and stores in a common data structure in the shared memory a request for security data for the PDF print data. A policy client module retrieves the request from the common data structure in the shared memory, obtains security data for the PDF print data from a policy server, and stores the security data in the common data structure in the shared memory. The PDF-to-postscript conversion module uses the security data to decrypt the PDF print data and then converts the decrypted PDF print data into postscript data for printing by the printing device.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A printing device comprising:

a user interface configured to display information to users and receive user input from the users;
a shared memory;
a locked print module configured to:
examine PDF print data received by the printing device to determine whether an electronic document contained in the PDF print data is a policy-enabled document,
if the electronic document contained in the PDF print data is a policy-enabled document, then cause the PDF print data to be stored at the printing device instead of being processed for printing, and
in response to both a successful verification of a user and a request to print the electronic document via the user interface at the printing device, designating the PDF print data as available for processing;
a policy client module configured to:
retrieve, from the shared memory, a request for security data for the PDF print data,
based upon the request, retrieve, from a policy server, the security data for the PDF print data, and
store, in the shared memory, the security data for the PDF print data;
and
a PDF-to-postscript conversion module configured to:
retrieve the PDF print data stored at the printing device,
generate, based upon the PDF print data, the request for security data for the PDF print data,
store the request for the security data for the PDF print data in the shared memory,
retrieve, from the shared memory, the security data for the PDF print data,
decrypt the PDF print data to generate decrypted PDF print data, and
convert the decrypted PDF print data into postscript print data for printing.

15 more elements

A computer-implemented method for processing PDF print data on a printing device, the computer-implemented method comprising:

a locked print module on the printing device:
examining PDF print data received by the printing device to determine whether an electronic document contained in the PDF print data is a policy-enabled document,
if the electronic document contained in the PDF print data is a policy-enabled document, then cause the PDF print data to be stored at the printing device instead of being processed for printing, and
in response to both a successful verification of a user and a request to print the electronic document via a user interface at the printing device, designating the PDF print data as available for processing;
a policy client module on the printing device:
retrieving, from a shared memory, a request for security data for the PDF print data,
based upon the request, retrieving, from a policy server, the security data for the PDF print data, and
storing, in the shared memory, the security data for the PDF print data;
and
a PDF-to-postscript conversion module on the printing device:
retrieving the PDF print data stored at the printing device,
generating, based upon the PDF print data, the request for security data for the PDF print data,
storing the request for the security data for the PDF print data in the shared memory,
retrieving, from the shared memory, the security data for the PDF print data,
decrypting the PDF print data to generate decrypted PDF print data, and
converting the decrypted PDF print data into postscript print data for printing.

13 more elements

A non-transitory computer-readable medium for processing PDF print data on a printing device, the non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when processed by one or more processors, cause:

a locked print module on the printing device:
examining PDF print data received by the printing device to determine whether an electronic document contained in the PDF print data is a policy-enabled document,
if the electronic document contained in the PDF print data is a policy-enabled document, then cause the PDF print data to be stored at the printing device instead of being processed for printing, and
in response to both a successful verification of a user and a request to print the electronic document via a user interface at the printing device, designating the PDF print data as available for processing;
a policy client module on the printing device:
retrieving, from a shared memory, a request for security data for the PDF print data,
based upon the request, retrieving, from a policy server, the security data for the PDF print data, and
storing, in the shared memory, the security data for the PDF print data;
and
a PDF-to-postscript conversion module on the printing device:
retrieving the PDF print data stored at the printing device,
generating, based upon the PDF print data, the request for security data for the PDF print data,
storing the request for the security data for the PDF print data in the shared memory,
retrieving, from the shared memory, the security data for the PDF print data,
decrypting the PDF print data to generate decrypted PDF print data, and
converting the decrypted PDF print data into postscript print data for printing.

13 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/059,986Filed 31 Mar 2008
Published: US 2009/0244596 A11 Oct 2009
Granted: 12 Apr 2016
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

G06F 3/1238
Print job management: secure printing, e.g. user identification, user rights for device usage, unallowed content, blanking portions or fields of a…
G06F 3/1222
Specifically adapted to achieve a particular effect: increasing security of the print job
G06F 3/1288
Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server: in client-server-printer device configuration
G06F 21/608
By securing the transmission between two devices or processes: secure printing