Secure Image Forming Billing via Server Intermediary
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems lack effective mechanisms for securely approving and costing image forming operations, particularly for company internal documents, which can lead to unauthorized access and inaccurate cost calculations when performed outside the company's network.
Innovation Solution
An electronic apparatus with integrated first and second drivers communicates with a server to assess user and document permissions, encrypt user information, and transmit encrypted data for secure image forming operations, while also calculating costs based on print setting information and history data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If image forming operations are performed outside the company's network, then operational flexibility and accessibility are improved, but security control and cost accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary between the electronic apparatus and the image forming apparatus. The server receives print data, manages user authentication, controls image forming operations, and calculates costs. This intermediary enables secure remote operations by mediating all communications and operations, thus resolving the contradiction between operational flexibility and security control.
2Adaptability or versatility
If image forming operations are performed outside the company's network, then operational flexibility and accessibility are improved, but cost calculation accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The server acts as an intermediary that centrally manages cost calculation. It receives print data, determines the type of document being printed, and calculates costs based on pre-set rates for different document types. This centralized approach ensures accurate cost calculation even when operations occur outside the company network, resolving the contradiction between operational flexibility and cost accuracy.
3Reliability
If user information is transmitted for approval and costing, then security and billing accuracy are improved, but data transmission overhead and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-registering user information and pre-setting cost calculation parameters on the server. When a print operation is requested, the server quickly matches the user against pre-stored authentication data and calculates costs using pre-configured rates. This preparation of data in advance reduces processing time during actual operations while maintaining security and accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
An example electronic apparatus includes a communication unit, a user interface unit, a processor, and a memory. The processor is to execute instructions stored in the memory to receive, from the user interface unit, a request for an image forming operation on a document, obtain, by a first driver, a result of whether to approve the image forming operation, based on user information, from a server through the communication unit, when the image forming operation is approved, transmit, by the first driver, print data corresponding to the image forming operation to a second driver for the image forming operation, request, by the second driver, an image forming apparatus to perform the image forming operation, and, when the image forming operation is performed, transmit, by the first driver, history information corresponding to a result of the image forming operation to the server through the communication unit.