Computer network

• US 6,327,045 B1
• Filed: 09/18/1997
• Issued: 12/04/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Teng, Chia-Chi, Jahromi, Babak
• Primary Examiner(s): Mancuso, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, DOUGLAS Q
• Application Number:
  US08/932,772
• Time in Patent Office: 1,538 Days
• Field of Search: 395/114, 395/200.03, 395/200.33, 395/200.47, 395/200.49, 395/200.57, 395/200.59, 395/200.36, 395/200, 358/1.15, 358/200, 709/217-219, 709/203, 709/206, 709/213
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1203 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. print management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1231 Device related settings, e.g. IP address, Name, Identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration

Abstract

An implementation of a computer network which provides the ability for a network client to submit data to a network server for performing a job at a logical endpoint associated with the network server. By way of example, the data may be a print job, the job a printing operation, and the logical endpoint a printer. The logical endpoint is assigned a uniform resource locator (URL) address which allows the data to be routed thereto and the computer network communication messages are formatted into the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). A further implementation of the computer network also provides the network client with the ability to perform system administration utilizing a standard Internet browser application.

Claims

1. In a network client having an operating system residing in a network having a plurality of printers, each printer capable of performing a print job and at least one printer being assigned a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address, a method for performing the print job comprising the steps of:

receiving a request to have one of the printers perform the print job;

examining the address of the requested printer; and

determining if the address of the requested printer is an assigned URL address, and if the address of the requested printer is determined to be an assigned URL address, performing the further steps of;

placing data pertaining to the print job into a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) formatted message;

submitting the HTTP formatted message via a network communications link to a network server which extracts the data and uses the URL to further route the data to the printer specified by the URL which, in turn, utilizes the data to perform the requested print job; and

if the address of the requested printer is determined not to be an assigned URL address, performing the further step of executing the print job according to the conventions supported by the operating system residing on the network client.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the data comprises a pointer to a file containing further data pertaining to the print job.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the HTTP formatted message comprises a HTTP POST message.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the network communications link comprises the Internet.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the network client comprises a personal computer.

12. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions for performing the method of claim 1.

6. In a computer network comprising a plurality of printers, each printer capable of performing a print job and at least one printer being assigned a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address and a network client linked via a network communication link to a network server, a method for performing the print job comprising the steps of:

receiving in the network client a request to have one of the printers perform the job;

examining in the network client the address of the requested printer; and

determining if the address of the requested printer is an assigned URL address, and if the address of the requested printer is determined to be an assigned URL address, performing in the client the further steps of;

placing data pertaining to the print job into a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) formatted message;

submitting the HTTP formatted message to the network communications link; and

in the network server the steps of;

accepting the HTTP formatted message from the network communications link;

parsing the HTTP formatted message to extract the data therefrom;

using the URL to further route the data to the printer specified by the URL which utilizes the data to perform the requested print job; and

if the address of the requested printer is determined not to be an assigned URL address, performing the further step in the network client of executing the print job according to the conventions supported by the operating system residing on the network client.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the data comprises a pointer to a file containing further data pertaining to the print job.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the HTTP formatted message comprises a HTTP POST message.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the network communications link comprises the Internet.

10. The method of claim 6 wherein the network client comprises a personal computer.

11. The method of claim 6 wherein the network server performs the further steps of generating an HTTP formatted reply message containing data related to the status of the requested job and submitting the HTTP formatted reply message to the network client via the network communications link.

13. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions for performing the method of claim 6.