PRINTERS AND PRINTER SYSTEMS HAVING CELLULAR INPUT/OUTPUT

• US 20110199643A1
• Filed: 04/25/2011
• Published: 08/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brett Graves, John H. Oleinik, Marc Biundo
• Original Assignee: Brett Graves, John H. Oleinik, Marc Biundo
• Inventors: Biundo, Marc, Graves, Brett, Oleinik, John H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,154,756 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00132 in a digital photofinishing system, i.e. a system where digital photographic images undergo typical photofinishing processing, e.g. printing ordering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00137 Transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00307 with a mobile telephone apparatus constructional features of portable telephone sets H04M1/0202; mobile radio systems H04W84/00

Abstract

A method includes receiving, with a printer, a cellular communication from a cellular device that provides an indication of a resource that is to be printed by the printer; accessing, with the printer, a network via which the resource can be retrieved; using the indication to retrieve the resource via the network; and printing the resource.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, with a printer, a cellular communication from a cellular device that provides an indication of a resource that is to be printed by the printer;

accessing, with the printer, a network via which the resource can be retrieved;

using the indication to retrieve the resource via the network; and

printing the resource.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving is performed by receiving the cellular communication from one or more cellular phones.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing the network comprises accessing the Internet to retrieve the resource.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing the network comprises accessing the Internet to retrieve the resource, and the indication comprises a URL.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein printing is performed for a fee.

6. A method comprising:

offering at least a portion of a cellular-based service for a fee, the cellular-based service comprising a service in which one or more cellularly-configured printers can be;

cellularly accessed by a cell phone,

provided with an indication of a resource that is to be printed,

retrieve the resource, and

print the resource; and

charging a fee for said cellular-based service portion.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the service comprises retrieving the resource via the Internet.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the service comprises retrieving the resource via the Internet, and the indication of the resource comprises a URL.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein offering is performed, at least in part, by a cellular telephone network provider.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein offering is performed, at least in part, by a print provider.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein offering is performed, at least in part, by a merchant.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein offering is performed, at least in part, by a cellular telephone network provider and a merchant.

13. A printer comprising:

a cellular interface;

a web server configured to communicate with other devices through the cellular interface;

a computer readable medium storing instructions for operating the printer including communicating with other devices through the web server and the cellular interface;

a processor for executing instructions stored on the computer readable medium; and

a print unit operatively coupled to the processor.