Patent Application
20060220308
All references cited in this specification, and their references, are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features, and/or technical background.
Disclosed in embodiments described herein is a security output stacker tray system that allows for a changeable lock to be generated for one or more lockable trays in the stacker system upon request for confidential treatment of output. Also disclosed in embodiments is a security output stacker tray operatively associated with a hardcopy disposal device such as a shredder that is activated after a set period of time to dispose of output in the security output stacker that has not been collected with such set period of time.
Remote printing of documents, whether through a copier, printer or other imaged sheet production devices, is known. Remote shared user printing and mailbox systems in which various users can send their electronic print jobs from different locations to be printed at the shared remote printer are also known. The problem of sorting, that is ordering a print job, and then stacking such print jobs, is made more complex by remote printing in particular when more than one print request is received at a time. Remote printing also suffers from the inability of persons to avoid their output being read, or even accidentally taken, by other users, or commingled together into one stacking tray.
A problem associated with shared remote imaged sheet production device use is that job output may become mixed up, or accidentally removed by others, even if the jobs are initially offset. Such problem has led to some users using manual mailboxes, like Post Office boxes, adjacent the imaged sheet production device with the boxes labeled with different user names for manual job sorting.
To avoid the need for manual job sorting, some systems make use of “mailboxing” wherein a particular output tray or shelve is temporarily or permanently assigned a unique and predetermined electronic address enabling a particular user's output of one or more jobs to be directed into a particular bin or bins assigned to the user. That is, multiple print jobs from a printer, copier, user terminals, fax, network image device, scanner etc., are separated by user and the hardcopy outputted into individual bins for individual users or user groups. The user is then informed of which bin in the mailbox unit the job can be located. The system may be programmed to electronically recognize the sender or user terminal sending the print job. Hard-copy or sheets produced by remote printing is generally outputted into a non-secure stacker system, that while possibly separating the output from other output by, for example, inserting cover sheets at the beginning and/or end of a print job, does not prevent viewing of the documents produced by persons in the vicinity of the imaged sheet production device.
Some systems include a number of elected or assigned lockable mailboxes in the output stacker into which hard copy print jobs generated by the printer are feed into to protect the documents from viewing by unauthorized persons and to maintain confidentiality. The mailbox system can automatically stack respective print jobs of respective users of the printer into designated mailbox bins designated for the respective users such that the print jobs are secured from reading and removal by other users. The system may also make use of “variable bin assignment” in which many users can share a mailbox unit with a limited number of bins by viable (dynamic) bin assignment based on the availability of a bin, that is whether the bin has room for the output, rather than a fixed, permanent assignment of certain bins to certain users or customers. Variable bin assignment increases the effective capacity or the number of potential shared users. Overflow bins may thus be assigned if a subsequent job by the user will not fit into the previously assigned bin or tray. The mailbox bins may be unlocked either with a manual key or electronically by entry of a unique access code for a particular user or group of users and/or the system administrator, that is uniquely assigned to one of the secure stacker trays.
Manual key and unique assigned codes to a bin inherently suffer from security problems themselves. A manual key system inherently relies on an administrator of the system to supply the key to the correct user or to obtain output from the correct bin and supply the output to the correct user. Such system inherently allows the administrator to review the secured documents or any other person with access to the manual key. Unique assigned electronic access codes can be memorized by previous users who can then gain access into the secured bins and review the materials of others.
Security bins also suffer from the need to be periodically purged of material when output is not ultimately or timely retrieved by a user. Security bins must be periodically emptied to allow access to secured bins by other users of the system as the number of security bins is generally limited. Purging is generally assigned to an administrator who is provided a means to access each of the trays. In the purging process the secured output is readily viewable by the administrator, or the person assigned by the administrator to do the purging, and anyone else who happens to review the purged undestroyed documents.
There is need therefore for an improved security bin stacking system that allows for enhanced security of the system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,058, commonly assigned, discloses a dynamic “mailboxing” unit and system for separating by users the sheet outputs of various users of a shared users' printer. Sheets are staked in separate job sets into one or more temporarily and variably assigned mailbox bins. Privacy doors are provided for restricting access to at least some of the mailbox bins. The doors of the secured bins are electrically unlocked in response to entry of a user access code.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,169, commonly assigned, discloses a multi-bin sheet collecting system in which printed sheets are directed to an array of bins for job separation, sorting, and/or user mailboxing. The removal of printed sheet from individual bins is determined by an integral optical transmitter/receiver unit mounted in an aperture in each bin tray in an area to be overlaid by sheets stacked thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,697, commonly assigned, discloses a system for remote printing job confidentiality. The system provides for automatic electronic locking of the printer access door as well as the access door on the mailbox system during printing of security sensitive print jobs which are to be stored in a selected bin of the mailbox system. Such locking prevents access to the internal printer paper path, but automatically unlocks the printer access door after the hardcopies have reached the selected mailbox if there is no sheet jam signal. If there is a sheet jam indication, the printer access door is locked until locking system is deactivated by entry of an authorized jam clearance access code.
Aspects disclosed herein include
a system for managing trays for accepting sheets comprising at least one secured output stacking bin operatively configured to conceal outputted sheets, at least one processor for implementing a data instruction set for causing a random passcode to be generated with respect to said at least one secured output stacking bin upon electronic input to produce concealed sheets and for causing said at least one output stacking bin to be remain secured until said random passcode generated is provided to said system;
a multi-bin sheet collection system comprising at least one secured stacking bin operatively configured to conceal imaged sheets, said secured stacking bin operatively associated with a sheet disposal system configured to remove said sheets from said secured stacking bin after passage of a pre-determined period of time and to dispose said sheets in a manner so as to obfuscate the image on the sheet;
a device responsive to remote electronic input to produce secured sheet output comprising at least one processor for implementing a data instruction set for causing a random passcode to be generated with respect to said remote electronic input to produce concealed output, and for causing sheet output on an imaged sheet production device upon entering said random passcode into a processor associated with said imaged sheet production device; and
a process comprising generating a random passcode in response to electronic input for production of imaged sheets and storage in an electronically lockable bin; setting the electronic lock of a electronically lockable bin to said random passcode; permitting access to said lockable bin upon input of said random passcode into said lockable bin.
Various of the above mentioned and further features and advantages will be better understood from this description of embodiments thereof, including the drawing figures wherein:
In embodiments there is illustrated a system responsive to remote electronic input to produce secured imaged sheets comprising at least one secured output stacking bin operatively configured to secure said imaged sheets from general purview, at least one processor for implementing a data instruction set for causing a random passcode to be generated with respect to said at least one secured output stacking bin upon electronic input to produce imaged sheets and for causing said at least one output stacking bin to be remain secured until said random passcode generated is provided to said device. By “sheets,” it is meant to include paper, transparencies, or any other kind of substrate in sheet form.
The addition of a locking drawer mechanism to one or more bins or slots of a mailbox type stacker allows for provision of physical security for protecting confidential documents. Such security may be compromised when access is provided to the bins using static electronic passcodes or keys. By providing dynamic generation of a passcode, embodiments provide the ability to change the passcode for one or more security bins per job request. The changeable lock code can be programmed into, for example, a lock on the security bin which may be unlocked by entrance of data, as for example, on a keypad associated with the security bin. Such system proffers the advantage of eliminating wait time at a imaged sheet production device, such as a printer or copier, when the person wishing the production of imaged sheets, such as printed documents or photographs, does not want to expend wait time at the production device to prevent unauthorized persons from reviewing the imaged sheets. Opening and closing the bin could deactivate the passcode for the lock and make the bin available for output of another job.
Software or data instruction sets can be provided, for example, that would allow a user to submit confidential material to print to a locked stacker drawer and would return to the user a passcode for the stacker bin lock for the stacker bin in which the material is to be placed. Thus for example, a submitter would be proffered the opportunity to print to a locked stacker drawer and the software would set the combination of the lock and return to the submitter a code to be used to unlock that specific drawer. The submitter then could enter the code on a touch pad and would then be able to unlock the bin and retrieve the material desired. The system may automatically select one or a number of available secured bins into which the imaged sheets will be placed, or may proffer to the user of the system those available secured bins for their selection of bin or bins. The system may provide the submitter with both the passcode and a bin identifier, or the system may contain software that permits the name or other identifier of the submitter to be recorded directly on the selected bin such that the submitter need only know the passcode to open the bin and retrieve the information desired.
The software or data instruction set(s) may be designed to further cause another random passcode to be generated with respect to said at least one secured output stacking bin if such passcode is already associated with one or more secured output stacking bin. Bin selection, or the proffering of bin selections, may be limited by the amount of material which a particular bin may hold, and the actual amount of material being requested to be produced. The random passcode may be associated with more than one secured bin particularly when the requested amount of production would exceed any available bin. A new passcode may not be generated when the same submitter/user submits yet another job for secured storage. In such case, the newly requested material may be placed into the same secured bin as waiting for the submitter, or placed in yet another bin (in particular if there is not enough room in the first bin) associated with the same passcode. In this manner, the submitter need only remember one passcode.
The produced sheets may be print, an image etc. on any form of material, such as plastic, paper, metal sheet, etc, and particularly printed paper. The system may comprise an electrostatographic device, and may optionally comprise a sheet disposal device, such as a shredder, degrader, etc. of sheets which is programmed to act upon the sheets in a particular secured bin after a period of time has elapsed, typically the time allotted to a the submitter to obtain the production output.
A system may generate the random passcode using any of the techniques generally known in the art, for example, using random number tables, or selecting the passcode based on some parameter of input such as the submitters name or address or remote client's ip address.
In embodiments, there is also illustrated a multi-bin sheet collection system comprising at least one secured stacking bin operatively configured to secure imaged sheets from general purview, said secured stacking bin operatively associated with a sheet disposal system configured to remove said sheets from said secured stacking bin after passage of a pre-determined period of time and to dispose said sheets in a manner so as to obfuscate the image on the sheets to general purview.
The disposal system may comprise any of the many systems know to dispose of sheets such as a shredder, a decomposer etc. The fixed media may be degraded in whole or in part with purpose of making it more difficult to determine the printed matter, images etc. that were on the intact sheets. The disposal system may be programmed to remove the secured sheets from the secured bin after the passage of a period of time that was provided to the user of the system/submitter in which to retrieve the sheets from the secured bin. The secured bin may comprise a mechanical and/or electrically lock. The multi-bin sheet collection system may be operationally coupled to any sort of sheet production system, such as an electrostatographic device by which it is meant to encompass without limitation a ink jet printer, a laser printer, a copier, a scanner, or other such devices.
In yet another embodiment, there is illustrated a device responsive to remote electronic input to produce secured sheet output comprising processor(s) for implementing a data instruction set for causing a random passcode to be generated with respect to said remote electronic input to produce secured output, and for causing sheet output on a imaged sheet production device upon entering said random passcode into a processor associated with said imaged sheet production device.
In yet another embodiment, there is illustrated a process comprising generating a random passcode in response to electronic input for production of sheets and storage in an electronically lockable bin; setting the electronic lock of a electronically lockable bin to said random passcode; permitting access to said lockable bin upon input of said random passcode into said lockable bin.
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A stacker system of this specification may be used with any imaged sheet production device, including printers, copiers, multifunction machines or systems, xerographic or otherwise. The imaged sheets may include any material upon which an image, such as print, may be formed and may be “sheet” material, a thin flat piece of material.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to particular embodiments, it will be appreciated that variations of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
