Patent ID: 7526555

Claim:
A method for utilizing a Bluetooth enabled smart card to authenticate a user and provide the user with access to a service, comprising the steps of: receiving a plurality of document processing operation service requests, each service request corresponding to at least one document, wherein each service request is associated with a corresponding smart card and identification data fixedly stored thereon; storing each service request on a server, wherein the server resides on a device that performs each service request; encrypting at least one electronic document in accordance with key data generated from corresponding identification data via the server: receiving, into the server, at least one encrypted electronic document corresponding to each service request; storing each received electronic document in a data storage associated with the server: wirelessly identifying an existence of an identified smart card while proximate to a document processing device adapted to perform the service request; wirelessly obtaining user identification data from the identified smart card; isolating at least one electronic document in the server corresponding to the identified smart card; elevating a processing priority of the at least one isolated electronic document relative to other received electronic documents stored on the server; regenerating the key data from user identification data obtained from the identified smart card at the document processing device; decrypting the at least one electronic document in accordance with generated key data; authenticating the user by matching user identification from the smart card with a stored user identification stored on a database communicatively coupled to the server; enabling operation of the document processing device to perform the service request on the at least one document in accordance with the step of authenticating without user intervention; and generating cost data associated with the user identification data in accordance with a completion of a performance of the service request.