Guest Print Server Authentication and Quota Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional work facilities, such as multifunction peripherals (MFPs), are not adequately equipped to accommodate the changing work culture, particularly for guest users who cannot use printing functions without specific environment settings and driver installations on their information processing terminals.
Innovation Solution
An information processing system that includes a print server and a printing apparatus, which generates guest account information with a user identifier, available print count, and apparatus identifier, allowing guest users to print without driver installations by authenticating and managing print files and updating print counts, enabling secure and controlled printing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If driver installation is required for printing function, then printing capability is ensured, but ease of operation deteriorates for guest users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a print server as an intermediary component between the guest information processing terminal and the printing apparatus. The print server manages print jobs, authenticates users, and coordinates printing operations without requiring driver installation on the guest terminal. This mediator handles the complexity of driver communication and printing control centrally, allowing guest users to simply submit print requests through the terminal's printing function interface.
2Ease of operation
If environment settings are configured for guest terminal, then printing function is enabled, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex environment settings and printing configuration from the guest terminal and relocates them to the print server. Instead of configuring drivers and printing environments on each guest terminal, the system creates a simplified interface on the terminal side while consolidating all complex settings, authentication, and printing management on the centralized print server. This extraction reduces the complexity burden on the guest terminal while maintaining full printing functionality.
3Ease of operation
If printing is allowed without authentication, then ease of operation improves, but security and resource control deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary authentication and account creation before allowing printing operations. The system creates guest accounts with predefined printing quotas and permissions in advance, then uses these pre-configured accounts to authorize printing requests. This preliminary action ensures that users are authenticated and have appropriate permissions before they can print, preventing unauthorized access and resource abuse while maintaining ease of operation through automated account management.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms through print quota tracking and account status monitoring. After each printing operation, the system updates the guest account's remaining print quota and notifies the user of the updated status. This feedback loop enables the system to control and monitor printing resources while maintaining user-friendly operation, as users are informed of their remaining printing capacity without requiring manual intervention or complex permission management.
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing system includes a print server with first circuitry and a memory and a printing apparatus with second circuitry. The first circuitry generates guest account information including a user ID of a guest terminal, an available print count, and an apparatus ID of the printing apparatus, and receives a print file from the terminal. The memory stores the account information and the print file. The second circuitry receives authentication information from the terminal, acquires the account information and the corresponding print file from the server based on the user ID and the apparatus ID, controls execution of printing with the acquired print file, updates the print count in the acquired account information based on the printing, and transmits the updated print count to the server. Based on the updated print count, the first circuitry updates the print count in the stored account information of the terminal.