Remote hard copy apparatus control including firewall penetrating protocols

• US 6,931,447 B1
• Filed: 09/27/2000
• Issued: 08/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Chakravarthy, Avinash, Obradovic, Petar, Osborne, Craig A., Hemstreet, Charles H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Morse, Gregory
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ho, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US09/671,556
• Time in Patent Office: 1,784 Days
• Field of Search: 713/154, 713/193, 709/227, 709/203
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A server implementation adapted for use with a computer peripheral having a plurality of reportable operational states. In an exemplary embodiment for a hard copy apparatus, both internet browser and electronic mail clients are provided with access to and control of the apparatus. Data filtering and handling are provided for discriminating specific data communications. Firewall penetrating protocols are provided.

Claims

1. A server for hard copy apparatus control comprising:

means for connecting the apparatus to a network;

means for deciphering messages received via the means for connecting to determine if the message is a process type message or a request type message;

means for routing deciphered messages received via the means for deciphering such that process and request type messages are discriminatively routed; and

means for respectively receiving discriminatively routed messages; and

means for executing tasks corresponding to discriminatively routed messages

a web server component having means for providing web-based clients with an HTML interface application compatible therewith and having means for thereafter communicating with each of the web based clients via the HTML interface application;

means for generating requested HTML pages dynamically from provided predetermined templates and current status information related to the hard copy apparatus in response to request type messages and means for processing web-based client input to the pages in response to process type messages.

2. The server as set forth in claim 1, the means for connecting the apparatus to a network comprising:

an electronic mail handler component including means for automatically sending electronic mail to subscribed clients based upon hard copy apparatus status changes.

3. The server as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

the HTML pages are interactive pages from the templates enabling the clients to specify electronic mail server settings and to configure notification events.

4. The server as set forth in claim 3, wherein:

the interactive pages enable the clients to specify new configurations for subcomponents of the means for deciphering messages.

5. The server as set forth in claim 4, wherein:

the new configurations are submitted for processing to the means for deciphering messages such that hard copy apparatus diagnostic subroutines employed do actual reconfiguration of the hard copy apparatus.

6. The server as set forth in claim 1, the means for deciphering messages comprising:

means for filtering an in-coming client message based on header data content.

7. The server as set forth in claim 6, the means for routing deciphered messages comprising:

means for receiving filtered electronic mail messages and providing appropriate interaction with components of the server subsystem by examining the content described by an associated header of the message and acting on it.

8. The server as set forth in claim 1, the means for executing the tasks comprising:

means for abstracting hard copy apparatus operational states;

means for print job controlling;

interfaced with said means for abstracting, means for data storage managing; and

means for data storage.

9. The server as set forth in claim 8, wherein:

the means for connecting the apparatus to a network comprises an electronic mail handler component invokable by the means for data storage managing for automatically sending an electronic mail to subscribed clients based upon hard copy apparatus operational state changes abstracted by the means for abstracting.

10. The server as set forth in claim 8, wherein:

the means for abstracting comprises a status subserver component including a portal with the hard copy apparatus for transmitting data representing each operational state in a client-server model.

11. The server as set forth in claim 10, the status subserver component comprising:

means for transposing hard copy apparatus device specific language into a language for use by other server components.

12. The server as set forth in claim 10, the status subserver component comprising:

a virtual multiplexer for permitting and managing data such that a plurality of clients can communicate substantially simultaneously with the hard copy apparatus.

13. The server as set forth in claim 8, the means for data storage managing comprising:

a COM executable server subcomponent for saving and retrieving electronic mail and hard copy apparatus operational state notification settings.

14. The server as set forth in claim 9, the means for data storage managing comprising:

subcomponents for registering with the status subserver component for predetermined hard copy apparatus operational state change notification events.

15. The server as set forth in claim 14, further comprising:

when at least one of the events occurs, the status subserver is configured to provides a call back into the means for data storage managing which then takes appropriate action pursuant to client registration configurations by sending associated electronic mail to all subscriber clients registered for providing notification of the events.

16. The server as set forth in claim 1, the HTML interface application further comprising:

hyperlinks to a website that leads to web pages that point to the means for generating requested HTML pages.

17. The server as set forth in claim 16, comprising:

means for generating requested HTML pages that loads an HTML file containing the predetermined template for the requested HTML page and merges it with current settings corresponding to the hard copy apparatus resulting in an HTML page containing current hard copy apparatus settings that is returned to a requesting client.

18. The hard copy apparatus of claim 1, having reportable operational state conditions, comprising:

an embedded server including computer code for providing an internet interface;

computer code for handling incoming electronic mail and outgoing electronic mail;

computer code for deciphering messages received via the computer code for providing internet interface and messages received via the computer code for handling incoming electronic mail to determine if a given message is a process type message or a request type message;

computer code for routing messages from the computer code for deciphering types of messages such that the process and request type messages are discriminatively routed; and

computer code for processing messages routed by the computer code for routing messages such that the hard copy apparatus printing mechanisms can be controlled according to process type messages and the reportable operational state conditions can be monitored according to request type messages.

19. The apparatus as set forth in claim 18 comprising:

the computer code for providing internet interface is compatible with a dedicated HTML user interface residing on a remote browser outside a network firewall protecting access to the apparatus.

20. The apparatus as set forth in claim 19 wherein the computer code for processing messages comprises:

computer code for generating requested interactive HTML pages dynamically from provided predetermined templates on-board the apparatus according to request type messages and computer code for processing web-based client input from the interactive HTML pages according to process type messages.

21. The apparatus as set forth in claim 20 wherein:

the templates include computer code for reporting apparatus current operational status.

22. The apparatus as set forth in claim 20 wherein:

the templates include computer code for controlling apparatus functionality.

23. The apparatus as set forth in claim 18 comprising:

computer code for automatically generating and dispatching electronic mail messages indicative of the apparatus current operational states to a client outside a network firewall protecting the apparatus.

24. The apparatus as set forth in claim 18 wherein:

the computer code for processing messages includes computer code for setting apparatus configuration according to an electronic mail process type message.

25. The apparatus as set forth in claim 18 wherein:

the computer code for processing messages includes computer code for performing apparatus diagnostics according to an electronic mail request type message.

26. The apparatus as set forth in claim 18 wherein:

the computer code for processing messages includes computer code for performing apparatus hard copy printing operation according to an electronic mail process type message.

27. The apparatus as set forth in claim 18 wherein:

the computer code for processing messages includes computer code for responding to device status queries made in an electronic mail request type message.