Title of Invention

METHOD OF PROCESSING AN INPUT DOCUMENT BY A MULTI-FUNCTION PERIPHERAL BASED ON SPECIAL CHARACTERS IN THE INPUT DOCUMENT

Abstract

The present invention proposes a method for taking pre-defined action by a printer on recognizing blocks in the input document. The beginning and ending of the blocks will be identified by special characters or tags that were inserted at the time of document creation. The printer /MFP on recognizing such blocks takes the respective action corresponding to the pre-configured information in the printer/MFP. This allows the use of printers/MFP's in secure environments preventing access to sensitive data.

Full Text

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention, in general relates to the field of Multi Function Peripherals (MFP's). More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for taking predefined action by a printer on recognizing blocks in the input document. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART Currently there is no method for a printer/MFP to recognize blocks within a document that should not be printed out. There could be cases where a file can be printed but certain printer/MFP identified blocks should be blanked or blacked out or alerts should be sent whenever the same are recognized in case the if printer/MFP is being operated in secure environments. In the existing prior art literature there are no methods disclosed for a device to recognize blocks delimited by a "marker" during creation of a document which will hamper the device from taking any user defined action when encountering or recognizing such a block. US Patent 7178167 discloses a method of preventing unauthorized access to information equipment such as computers, DPAs, cellular phones or the like, and in particular, to a method for preventing unauthorized access to information equipment by informing a user of the utilization of the information equipment. However, the invention does not explicitly mention the concept of recognizing blocks which are identified by special marks or tags in the input document. The present invention has been designed to address these needs. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a method for taking pre-defined action by the printer on recognizing blocks in the input document. The present invention relates to the field of Multi Function Peripherals (MFP's). The present invention proposes a method for recognizing specially marked blocks in the input document and take pre-defined action. As per the said method the printer/MFP can recognize blocks as identified by special tags or marks or characters in the input document. When such a block is identified by the beginning and end mark, the output device will take predefined action on these blocks. Different actions performed by the printer/MFP are as follows: a) Black out the block b) Blank out the block c) Put some predefined material d) Send an alert. The block can be identified by using special characters /tags which can be inserted into the document at the time of document creation. This special character is user defined and may be visible or invisible to a viewer of the document. In case the data is sent to an output device, the printer/MFP firmware will recognize this special character and mark this as the beginning of the block which is not to be printed. The printer/MFP will then check its configuration for information on the action to be taken and will take appropriate action till the end of the block is identified. Accordingly the invention explains a method for taking predefined action by an MPF on recognizing a block in an input document comprising the steps of: inserting the input document with special characters which identifies a start and end of the block in the MFP; identifying the block in the input document by the MFP and marking the block as the start of the block if a special character is detected for a first time; checking a configuration table in the MFP for a pre-configured action that has to be taken for the block identified by the special character; and performing the pre-configured action on the block identified in the input document till an end of block Is identified. The method further comprises the step of configuring the MFP with special characters for identifying the start and end of the block. The method further comprises the step of configuring the MFP with the action that needs to be performed whenever the block marked with the special characters is identified in the configuration table in the MFP a first time. A creator of the input document inserts the special characters at the appropriate places in the input document to mark the blocks which should be secured. The end of block is identified when the MFP encounters the special character a second time. These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the ensuing detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS Figure 1A and 1B depicts a flowchart illustrating the steps in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood however that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. The following description and drawings are not to be construed as limiting the invention and numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention, as the basis for the claims and as a basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to make and/or use the invention. However in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention in detail. The present invention provides a method to allow the use of printer/MFP's in secure environments. The said method prevents access to sensitive data in the input document by marking a block in the document. A block will be identified by means of special characters inserted into the document at the time of document creation. This special character is user defined and may be visible or invisible to a viewer of the document. The user interface for the configuration of the output printing device has options for the user to define special characters that it recognizes along with the action to be taken on encountering the special character The configuration data is stored in the output device in the form of a table with entries as follows: "Special Character" - "Action to be taken" In this way the output device can take different actions depending on the special characters used. Some examples of usage maybe to replace all text with a "*" to mask the information. Another example could be to use a strikethrough font as the action. When the data is sent to an output device, the printer firmware will recognize this special character and mark this as the beginning of the block which is not to be printed as such. The printer will then check its configuration for information on the action to be taken and will take appropriate action till the end of the block is identified once again on the firmware encountering the special character defined. Figure 1A and 1B depicts a flowchart illustrating the method for identifying blocks in the input document and taking pre-defined action. According to the present invention the output device is configured with the special characters for identifying the start and end of the block. The action that needs to be performed whenever such a block marked with the special characters is identified is also configured in the output device (printer/MFP). The creator of the document inserts the special characters at the appropriate places in the input document to mark the blocks which should be secured. Then this document with the special characters inserted at appropriate places is sent to the printer/MFP. When the printer/MFP firmware encounters a special character it marks it as the beginning of the block and checks the configuration table in the printer/MFP for the pre-configured action that has to be taken for the block identified by the special character. The Printer/MFP then performs the pre-configured action on the block identified in the input document by converting the data into bitmap on the selected emulation till the end of block is identified (when the printer/MFP encounters a similar ending special character/tag). 11*11 The present invention can be illustrated with an example in which the user may configure the output device to mark blocks by the character "Control - A" and the action taken to replace the characters with a The creator of a document can mark sensitive blocks with a "Control - A" at the beginning and end of the block. Now whenever this document is sent to the output device, the output device will print the document but replace the marked block with a "*" instead of the actual character. Accordingly the present invention has the following advantages • Allows the use of printers/MFP's in secure environments • Prevents unauthorized access to sensitive data in documents It will also be obvious to those skilled in the art that other control methods and apparatuses can be derived from the combinations of the various methods and apparatuses of the present invention as taught by the description and the accompanying drawings and these shall also be considered within the scope of the present invention. Further, description of such combinations and variations is therefore omitted above. It should also be noted that the host for storing the applications include but not limited to a microchip, microprocessor, handheld communication device, computer, rendering device or a multi function device. Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications are possible and are apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims unless they depart there from. GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND DEFINITIONS THEREOF USB - Universal Serial Bus Ul - User Interface FW- Firmware PC - Personal Computer WE CLAIM: 1. A method for taking predefined action by an MPF on recognizing a block in an input document comprising the steps of: inserting the input document with special characters which identifies a start and end of the block in the MFP; identifying the block in the input document by the MFP and marking the block as the start of the block if a special character is detected for a first time; checking a configuration table in the MFP for a pre-configured action that has to be taken for the block identified by the special character; and performing the pre-configured action on the block identified in the input document till an end of block is identified. 2. The method according to claim 1 further comprises the step of configuring the MFP with special characters for identifying the start and end of the block. 3. The method according to claim 1 further comprises the step of configuring the MFP with the action that needs to be performed whenever the block marked with the special characters is identified in the configuration table in the MFP a first time; 4. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein a creator of the input document inserts the special characters at the appropriate places in the input document to mark the blocks which should be secured. 5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the end of block is identified when the MFP encounters the special character a second time. 6. A method for taking predefined action by an MPF on recognizing a block in an input document substantially described particularly with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this the 30th day of November 2007 Signature

Documents:

2852-CHE-2007 CORRESPONDENCE OTHERS 17-10-2013.pdf

2852-CHE-2007 AMENDED CLAIMS 17-10-2013.pdf

2852-CHE-2007 FORM-1 03-07-2013.pdf

2852-CHE-2007 FORM-13 03-07-2013.pdf

2852-CHE-2007 FORM-5 03-07-2013.pdf

2852-CHE-2007 POWER OF ATTORNEY 03-07-2013.pdf

2852-CHE-2007 POWER OF ATTORNEY 17-10-2013.pdf

2852-CHE-2007 AMENDED PAGES OF SPECIFICATION 03-07-2013.pdf

2852-CHE-2007 AMENDED CLAIMS 03-07-2013.pdf

2852-CHE-2007 EXAMINATION REPORT REPLY RECEIVED 03-07-2013.pdf

2852-che-2007-abstract.pdf

2852-che-2007-claims.pdf

2852-che-2007-correspondnece-others.pdf

2852-che-2007-description(complete).pdf

2852-che-2007-drawings.pdf

2852-che-2007-form 1.pdf

2852-che-2007-form 26.pdf