System and method for controlling a remote printer
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for remotely printing a document, wherein said system comprises:
- a network;
a mail server connected to said network, wherein said mail server receives and stores E-mail messages from said network;
a computer transmitting an E-mail message including said document to said mail server over said network; and
a printer receiving said E-mail message from said mail server, wherein said printer includes a processor, data storage, and a print engine printing images on paper in response to operation of said processor, wherein said processor is programmed to execute steps of;
parsing a header portion of said E-mail message to determine whether portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to administrative settings derived from data stored within said data storage and to determine whether portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to user settings determined from keywords within said header potion of said E-mail message, in response to determining that portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to said administrative settings, causing said print engine to print said portions of said E-mail message according to said administrative settings, and in response to determining that portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to said user settings, causing said print engine to print said portions of said E-mail message according to said user settings.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A printer connected to a network prints documents transmitted as portions of E-mail messages sent to the printer from computer systems through a print server. The printing process is controlled by administrative settings stored within the printer and further by keyword-value pairs recorded in the subject lines of the E-mail messages. The printer preferably also acts as a web page server to client systems connected to the network, with administrative settings being updated through the network following recognition of a password.
78 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A system for remotely printing a document, wherein said system comprises:
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a network;
a mail server connected to said network, wherein said mail server receives and stores E-mail messages from said network;
a computer transmitting an E-mail message including said document to said mail server over said network; and
a printer receiving said E-mail message from said mail server, wherein said printer includes a processor, data storage, and a print engine printing images on paper in response to operation of said processor, wherein said processor is programmed to execute steps of;
parsing a header portion of said E-mail message to determine whether portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to administrative settings derived from data stored within said data storage and to determine whether portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to user settings determined from keywords within said header potion of said E-mail message, in response to determining that portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to said administrative settings, causing said print engine to print said portions of said E-mail message according to said administrative settings, and in response to determining that portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to said user settings, causing said print engine to print said portions of said E-mail message according to said user settings. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for remotely printing a document, wherein said method comprises:
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a) receiving within a printer connected to a network an E-mail message including said document addressed to said printer;
b) parsing a header portion of said E-mail message to determine whether portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to administrative settings derived from data stored within said data storage and to determine whether portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to user settings determined from keywords within said header potion of said E-mail message, c) in response to determining that portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to said administrative settings, causing said print engine to print said portions of said E-mail message according to said administrative settings, and d) in response to determining that portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to said user settings, causing said print engine to print said portions of said E-mail message according to said user settings. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A computer readable medium having recorded thereon computer executable instructions for performing a method for remotely printing a document, wherein said method comprises:
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a) receiving within a printer connected to a network an E-mail message including said document addressed to said printer;
b) parsing a header portion of said E-mail message to determine whether portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to administrative settings derived from data stored within said data storage and to determine whether portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to user settings determined from keywords within said header potion of said E-mail message, c) in response to determining that portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to said administrative settings, causing said print engine to print said portions of said E-mail message according to said administrative settings, and d) in response to determining that portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to said user settings, causing said print engine to print said portions of said E-mail message according to said user settings. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave, including computer executable instructions for performing a method for remotely printing a document, wherein said method comprises:
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a) receiving within a printer connected to a network an E-mail message including said document addressed to said printer;
b) parsing a header portion of said E-mail message to determine whether portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to administrative settings derived from data stored within said data storage and to determine whether portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to user settings determined from keywords within said header potion of said E-mail message, c) in response to determining that portions of said E-mail message are to be printed according to said administrative settings, causing said print engine to print said portions of said E-mail message according to said administrative settings, and d) in response to determining that portions-of said E-mail message are to be printed according to said user settings, causing said print engine to print said portions of said E-mail message according to said user settings. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification