Private print

A networked system having a plurality of workstations and a peripheral device, the peripheral device having a printing function, memory for storing a plurality of private print-ready jobs and input means for manually inputting information into the peripheral device. The peripheral device is also capable of accepting a private print job together with a PIN from a given workstation, placing the private print job into a queue of print jobs, converting the private print job into a private print-ready job, storing the private print-ready job in memory, and notifying the given workstation when the private job is print-ready. At any time thereafter, the peripheral device may accept a manually input PIN from a user physically present at the peripheral device, compare the PIN accepted from the given workstation with the PIN accepted from the physically present user and, if the PIN accepted from the given workstation corresponds to the PIN accepted from the physically present user, it selects the private print-ready job as the next job to be printed, and prints the print-ready job.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates generally to a networked device having 
printing capabilities and, more particularly, to providing a secure, 
efficient private print function to such a networked device. 
2. Description of Related Art 
Networked systems in which a number of users operating individual 
workstations share resources such as a file server, printer and 
multifunction peripheral are well known. Where such systems are in use, 
individual workstations may be at some distance from the peripheral 
devices such as printers, which output paper copies. Thus, an individual 
may not be present when the job that he or she submitted is printed. Even 
an individual who is stationed near such a device may not be aware of his 
or her job being printed. Jobs will normally queue up and be printed in 
the order in which they are submitted to the device. In situations where 
many users share a device, or jobs are large or slow (due, for example, to 
being graphical or using a bit-mapped font) there may be a considerable 
time delay between submitting a job and it being printed. 
Thus, it will often be the case that a given print job is removed and 
subject to scrutiny by a person other than the one who submitted the job 
for printing. There are times when this can cause severe problems. For 
example, confidential personnel records concerning benefits and pay 
information may be printed out. If an unauthorized person obtains access 
to such information, employee morale can be seriously affected. As another 
example, in large law firms, there may be a need to isolate certain 
attorneys from information concerning specific clients who may represent 
conflicts of interest for that particular attorney. Allowing an attorney 
who is supposed to be isolated by such a "Chinese Wall" access to print 
jobs relating to such a client may represent a severe ethical violation, 
having serious repercussions for both client and firm. 
There have been some systems disclosed which attempt to deal with this 
situation. 
One such system, exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,342,034 and 5,358,238 to 
Mandel et al and U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,544 to Mandel, involves a standard 
"mailboxing unit", which is either a universal modular device or a 
stand-alone unit. Print jobs are directed and sorted to one of a number of 
mailbox bins within the mailboxing unit. The bins may by assigned to 
different users at different times, and some of them may be electronically 
locked, needing a user access code. Private mail can be directed to these 
electronically lockable bins, together with a user access code associated 
with a current private print job. The mailboxing unit is bulky, however, 
and can only handle a fixed number of private print jobs at any given 
time. Furthermore the size of any private job is limited by the size of 
the largest locked mailbox and the ability of the printer to combine 
mailboxes. Problems can also arise if a user forgets the access number 
that he or she associated with the job. When this happens not only will 
the user not be able to retrieve his or her copy, but the private mailbox 
will be rendered unusable by other private print jobs until such time as 
someone is able to override the `lock` on the mailbox. Additionally, since 
the system provides no incentive for a user to pick up a job promptly, 
there will inevitably those who neglect to pick up their private jobs, 
rendering even fewer private bins available to other users. 
In another system, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,571 to Notermans et al, 
a workstation user can associate a code with his or her print job. The 
printer then stores the print job without subjecting it to any further 
processing, placing it in a queue with other print jobs. The printer 
informs the workstation user when the job is ready for printing. If the 
user does not respond within a predetermined time to the message that his 
or her job is ready, then the print job is placed once again at the end of 
the queue of print jobs. If the user does respond from his or her 
workstation, then he or she is given a predetermined time to physically 
access the printer and enter the associated code. Presumably no jobs are 
being printed while the printer awaits these responses, and thus the 
printer experiences idle or down time, lessening its productivity. 
With this system, the user must be ready to respond rapidly in order to 
maintain the position of his or her print job at the head of the queue 
ofjobs to be printed. Furthermore, since the print job will not be started 
without an acknowledgment from the sending workstation, if the user goes 
elsewhere after submitting the print job, he or she is constrained to 
return to the workstation before obtaining the print job (and will not be 
able to obtain the print job at all if the workstation fails in the 
interim). At the same time, if the user responds at the workstation, but 
does not respond quickly enough at the printer, he or she will be forced 
to wait at the printer until his or her job reaches the head of the queue 
once again. This wait decreases the user's productivity. Furthermore, the 
user will not know when he or she enters his or her PIN manually at the 
printer whether there is a queue or how long that queue is. If the user 
finds that he or she is waiting what seems to be an excessive time, the 
user may depart, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. If this happens, 
the job will no longer maintain the status of a private print job, since 
it is now destined to be printed whether or not the person who submitted 
it returns to the printer. 
Furthermore, since the jobs are stored in coded form, the user will have to 
wait at the printer for the job to be converted to graphical output. 
In addition, since the user need input only the PIN and not his or her 
identity, once at the printer it is possible, although highly unlikely, 
that the print jobs of two different people using the same PIN could be 
confused. 
It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a facility for 
workstation users on a network to have private jobs printed in an 
efficient manner. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide a facility for 
workstation users on a network to have private jobs printed where the user 
need not respond, within a predetermined time, to a job being ready, . 
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a facility for 
workstation users on a network to have private jobs printed, where each 
job is printed with minimal delay once the user manually inputs 
identifying information into the printer. 
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a facility for 
workstation users on a network to have private jobs printed where multiple 
jobs may be printed without the user having to input information at the 
printer for each job. 
It is still another object of this invention to provide a facility for 
workstation users on a network to have private jobs printed, where the 
printer continues printing other jobs while waiting for the user to 
manually input a PIN number for printing of a private print job. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The previously described objects are achieved in a networked system having 
a plurality of workstations and a peripheral device, the peripheral device 
having a printing function, memory for storing a plurality of private 
print-ready jobs, memory for storing a plurality of coded print jobs, and 
input means for manually inputting information into the peripheral device. 
The peripheral device is capable of accepting a private print job together 
with a PIN from a given workstation, placing the private print job into a 
queue of print jobs, converting the private print job into a private 
print-ready job, storing the private print-ready job in memory, and 
notifying the given workstation when the private job is print-ready. At 
any time thereafter, the peripheral device may accept a manually input PIN 
from a user physically present at the peripheral device, and compare the 
PIN accepted from the given workstation with the PIN accepted from the 
physically present user. If the PIN accepted from the given workstation 
corresponds to the PIN accepted from the physically present user, the 
peripheral device selects the private print-ready job as the next job to 
be printed, and prints the private print-ready job.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Throughout this description, the preferred embodiment and examples shown 
should be considered as exemplars, rather than limitations on the 
apparatus and methods of the present invention. 
Before proceeding to describe the invention fully, a few terms are defined. 
By "file server," it is meant a computer which controls access to file and 
disk resources on a network, and provides security and synchronization on 
the network through a network operating system. By "server," it is meant 
hardware or software which provides network services. By "workstation," it 
is meant a client computer which routes commands either to its local 
operating system or to a network interface adapter for processing and 
transmission on the network. A workstation may function as a server by 
including appropriate software, and may be for example, a print server, 
archive server or communication server. By "software" it is meant one or 
more computer interpretable programs and modules related and preferably 
integrated for performing a desired function. By "multifunction peripheral 
(MFP)" it is meant computer equipment used to scan, print, facsimile 
transmit, and/or copy documents. A MFP also may have the capability to 
provide data modem and voice telephony services. The MFP may be an 
integrated unit or may be constituted from several discrete units that are 
interconnected on the same communication channel to the host or 
interconnected using several different channels. One or more of the 
subsystems may be omitted from the MFP. By "private print job" it is meant 
a printing job submitted from a user on a networked workstation to a 
printer or MFP located on the network, where the user wishes the hard copy 
printed to be unavailable to others using the same printer or MFP. It is 
expected that the user will be physically present at the printer when his 
or her private print job is printed. A private print job sent from the 
workstation will be in a coded form and not ready for immediate printing. 
By "print-ready job" it is meant a private print job that has been 
transformed by printer or MFP software into a graphical form that can be 
printed by the printer or MFP without further transformation. 
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram of a LAN 100 in 
accordance with the invention. The LAN 100 includes a file server 120, 
workstations 150 and a peripheral device 110 coupled to one another via 
network communications lines 160. The file server 120 and workstations 150 
are preferably those well known in the art, such as computers having Intel 
Corporation (Santa Clara, Calif.) microprocessors and running Microsoft 
Corporation (Redmond, Wash.) Windows operating systems. The LAN 100 may 
also include hubs, routers and other devices (not shown). The peripheral 
device 110 contains, at minimum, a printing function, memory which can be 
used for sorting print-ready jobs and a panel, keyboard or the like 
whereby a walk-up user may manually enter information into the peripheral 
device 110. This peripheral device 110 may be a printer, a copy machine 
capable of obtaining jobs from a workstation on the network, or a 
multifunction peripheral device. 
Turning now to FIG. 2, there is shown a block diagram of the peripheral 
device 110. The peripheral device 110 preferably comprises a high output 
printer having a LAN interface 215 and control hardware and software 
interface for managing and printing the print jobs. The hardware includes 
a short term memory 265 (preferably RAM) and processor 260 in which 
programs are stored and run, respectively, for controlling the functions 
of the peripheral device 110. The peripheral device 110 preferably also 
includes a long term memory 285 such as a ROM or EPROM and a disk drive 
280 for both long term and short term storage. The peripheral device 110 
includes standard components including manual paper input area 275, output 
tray 235, and paper bin 270. 
The peripheral device 110 preferably includes a non-fixed display 225, such 
as an LCD, and a user input device 230, such as button switches. The 
peripheral device 110 has user interface software stored in the memory 285 
which is responsible for displaying information on the display 225 and 
interpreting user inputs from the user input device 230. The non-fixed 
display and user input device 230 comprise an operator console 240, which, 
together with the user interface software, comprise a user interface 
subsystem. In the alternative, the display may be fixed. 
For ease of expression, the peripheral device 110 will hereinafter be 
referred to as a printer, although all that is required is that it have a 
printer function. 
Referring now to FIG. 3a-b, there is shown a flow chart of the process of 
printing a print job in accordance with this invention. Private printing 
is set up at each workstation for all applications where printing is 
available. With the availability of private printing, as an option, 
whenever the user initiates a printjob from his or her workstation 150 at 
step 305, menu options are presented which include the choice of private 
printing. Thus, in accordance with menu options, the user, at step 310 may 
select a private print option. If such a selection has been made, the user 
is identified at step 315. The identification may be made by the user 
inputting his or her identity in the form of a name or pseudonym, or the 
identity may be read from the user's workstation 150, where the 
workstation 150 is presumed to be assigned to a single user. 
Alternatively, if the user must sign onto the workstation 150 when 
beginning a work session, the user's identity, as a name or pseudonym, may 
be taken from the workstation directly. The user then, in step 320, enters 
a personal identification number (PIN). The PIN is associated with the 
specific private print job to be sent to the printer. A user may assign 
the same PIN to a number of different jobs, by sending a number of jobs 
and selecting the same PIN for each. This will enable the user to collect 
all the private print jobs at the same time with a single manual input of 
identifying information into the printer. Once all this information has 
been provided, the private print job is then sent to the printer in step 
325, together with the information as to user identity, the PIN associated 
with the job, and a flag to indicate that a private print job is being 
transmitted. 
The printer accepts the private print job in step 330, and identifies this 
it is a private print job. The printer places the private print job in its 
queue of print jobs. When the private print job reaches the head of the 
queue of print jobs, the printer changes it from its coded format to a 
graphical format (a print-ready job) in step 335. The printer then, in 
step 340 stores the print-ready job in a private job buffer. The private 
job buffer may be in the form of a private job queue within which jobs 
have a higher priority for printing than do jobs in the print queue. With 
the print-ready job ready to go, the printer sends a message to the user's 
workstation, informing the user, in step 345, that the print job is in the 
private print buffer and ready for printing. The printer continues to 
process other jobs until such time as the user walks up to the printer and 
uses the panel display and buttons to identify him or herself via manual 
input (step 350). The manually input identification may be effected by 
inputting the same information that the user input at workstation 150, 
e.g., inputting his or her name or pseudonym via an alphanumeric keyboard 
or touch screen with keyboard emulator. Alternatively, the printer may 
present the user with a selection of user identifications to choose from. 
This may be a long list of all users who are on the network or a short 
list of those users whose jobs are in the private print buffer. 
The printer compares the identification obtained from the workstation 150 
with that manually input by the user and if the two match (or if the user 
has selected an appropriate identification from the menu), then in step 
355, the user inputs the PIN associated with one or more buffered private 
jobs. The printer looks for a match between the PIN(s) obtained from the 
workstation and associated with the job(s), and the PIN manually input by 
the user, and if a match is found, the selected job(s) is (are) from the 
private print buffer are chosen for printing rather than any jobs from the 
queue of ordinaryjobs awaiting printing (step 360). In the alternative, 
the private print job(s) may be removed from the private print buffer and 
placed at the head of the queue of printjobs. Once the current job 
completes printing (not shown), the selected private print jobs job(s) is 
(are) printed at step 365, and the process is completed (step 370). 
Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and 
described, it will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art 
that a number of changes, modifications, or alterations to the invention 
as described herein may be made, none of which depart from the spirit of 
the present invention. All such changes, modifications and alterations 
should therefore be seen as within the scope of the present invention.