Network printing system for responding to remote print-related requests

• US 5,946,458 A
• Filed: 03/24/1997
• Issued: 08/31/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Austin, Paul R., Kibler, Wendell L., Cullen, Peter, Haehn, Steven E., Zhu, Jie
• Primary Examiner(s): Couso, Jose L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dang, Duy M.
• Application Number:
  US08/824,650
• Time in Patent Office: 890 Days
• Field of Search: 395/101-115, 395/610, 395/601, 395/602, 395/603, 382/325, 358/448
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1211 Improving printing performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/122 with regard to computing resources, e.g. memory, CPU
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1247 by conversion to printer ready format
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/126 Job scheduling, e.g. queuing, determine appropriate device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1285 Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1293 Printer information exchange with computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1296 Printer job scheduling or printer resource handling

Abstract

A printing system disposed in a local or wide area network in which one of a plurality of queries is transmitted from a client to a server for obtaining a set of information including both a file with static information and a subset of dynamic information is provided. The subset of dynamic information varies as a function of one or more print related characteristics of a document processing system with which the server communicates. The printing system includes a parsing subsystem, communicating with the client for receiving the one of the plurality of queries, the parsing subsystem facilitating the obtaining of the set of information by copying a portion of the file, in response to reading a first instruction, and communicating the copied portion at the server for storage thereat. The printing system further includes a query resolving subsystem, communicating with the parsing subsystem, for obtaining the subset of dynamic information from the document processing system in response to the parsing system reading a second instruction. In practice, the copied portion of the file and the subset of dynamic information are combined for output thereof at the client.

Claims

1. A printing system disposed in a local or wide area network in which one of a plurality of queries is transmitted from a client to a server for obtaining a set of information including both a file with static information and a subset of dynamic information, the subset of dynamic information varying as a function of one or more print related characteristics of a document processing system with which the server communicates, comprising:

a) a parsing subsystem, communicating with the client for receiving the one of the plurality of queries, said parsing subsystem facilitating the obtaining of the set of information by copying a portion of the file, in response to reading a first instruction, and communicating the copied portion at the server for storage thereat;

b) a query resolving subsystem, communicating with said parsing subsystem, for obtaining the subset of dynamic information from the document processing system in response to said parsing system reading a second instruction; and

c) wherein the copied portion of the file and the subset of dynamic information are combined for output thereof at the client.

2. The printing system of claim 1, in which the copied portion is copied from a first portion, wherein a second portion of the file is copied for storage at the server after the subset of dynamic information has been obtained from the document processing system.

3. The printing system of claim 1, further comprising a document manager, communicating with said query resolving subsystem, for obtaining the subset of dynamic information in response to a command to do so from the query resolving subsystem.

7. The printing system of claim 1, further comprising a formatting subsystem, communicating with said query resolving subsystem, for formatting the subset of dynamic information for delivery to the server.

8. The printing system of claim 7, wherein said query resolving subsystem uses a shorthand expression to retrieve the subset of dynamic information.

9. The printing system of claim 1, in which the first and second instructions are disposed in a parsing program, wherein the parsing program is corresponded with a plurality of files and said parsing subsystem causes one of the plurality of files to be selected for selected copying thereof with the parsing program.

4. The printing system of 3, wherein one or more parameters are passed from the query resolving subsystem for designating the type of dynamic information to be obtained in the subset of dynamic information.

5. The printing system of claim 4, in which the document processing system includes a job queue communicating with said document manager, wherein at least one job queue related parameter is passed to the document manager so that dynamic information regarding a state of each job currently in the job queue is obtained.

6. The printing system of claim 4, in which the document processing system includes a plurality of machine settings with respective values, wherein at least one machine setting related parameter is passed to the document manager so that dynamic information regarding the at least one machine setting related parameter is obtained.

10. In a printing system disposed in a local or wide area network in which one of a plurality of queries is transmitted from a client to a server for obtaining a set of information including both a file with static information and a subset of dynamic information, the subset of dynamic information varying as a function of one or more print related characteristics of a document processing system with which the server communicates, an improvement, including a method, for obtaining the set of information, comprising:

a) transmitting the one of the plurality of queries from the client to the server;

b) in response to receiving the one of the plurality of queries, parsing a program, the program facilitating said obtaining of the set of information, said parsing including,

(i) in response to reading a first instruction, copying a portion of the file and storing the copied portion at the server,

(ii) in response to reading a second instruction, obtaining the subset of dynamic information, from the document processing system,

c) transmitting the copied portion and the subset of dynamic information to the client for output thereat.

11. The method of claim 10, in which the copied portion is copied from a first portion, wherein said (b) further includes copying a second portion of the file, for storage at the server, after the subset of dynamic information has been obtained from the document processing system.

12. The method of claim 10, in which the document processing system includes a document manager for controlling operation of the document processing system, wherein said (b)(ii) includes managing said obtaining of the subset of dynamic information with the document manager.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said b(ii) includes passing one or more parameters to the document manager for designating the type of dynamic information to be obtained in the subset of dynamic information.

14. The method of claim 13, in which the document processing system includes a job queue communicating with the document manager, wherein said passing includes passing at least one job queue related parameter to the document manager so that dynamic information regarding a state of each job currently in the job queue is obtained.

15. The method of claim 13, in which the document processing system includes a plurality of machine settings with respective values, wherein said passing includes passing at least one machine setting related parameter to the document manager so that dynamic information regarding the at least one machine setting related parameter is obtained.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising formatting the subset of dynamic information for delivery to the server.

18. The method of claim 10, in which the first and second instructions are disposed in a template, further comprising:

corresponding the template with a plurality of files; and

selecting the file to be read in b(i) from the plurality of files.

17. The method of 16, wherein said (b)(ii) includes reading a first set of code, and said formatting includes converting the first set of code into a second set of code with the second set of code being substantially greater in size than the first set of code.