Internet printing method, system thereof, proxy unit and print server

• US 7,177,043 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2002
• Issued: 02/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Qiao, Jingyu
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams; Kimberly
• Assistant Examiner(s): SINGH, SATWANT K
• Application Number:
  US10/046,882
• Publication Number:
  US 20030030843A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,853 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/1.13, 400/70, 710/220, 762/12, 709/203, 709/219, 709/227, 709/232, 709/236, 715/501.1, 726/12
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1204 resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1229 Printer resources management or printer maintenance, e.g. device status, power levels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1236 Connection management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1245 by conversion to intermediate or common format
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1287 via internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/02 for separating internal from external traffic, e.g. firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00209 Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax

Abstract

The Internet printing system for a client perform printing out to a print server that cannot circumvent a firewall by the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP). For a print server which cannot circumvent the firewall by IPP, a proxy unit which can communicate using IPP is installed on the Internet. A server site of the print server is opened on the proxy unit, and an IPP client regards the print server as a public IPP server opened on the Internet, and exchanges printing service requests and responses via the proxy unit. Since the proxy unit performs gateway conversion from IPP into another protocol, the client can print out to the print server circumventing the firewall by using IPP.

Claims

1. An Internet printing method comprising:

providing a proxy unit on the Internet;

opening a server site of a print server according to a request from a client and/or the print server, the server site being opened in the proxy unit;

accessing the server site by the client; and

converting a protocol into a protocol which allows circumventing a firewall of the print server, and transferring a printing service request from the client to the print server,

wherein the firewall is provided between the print server and the proxy unit.

2. The Internet printing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

returning an execution result of the printer server for the printing service request to the proxy unit, and returning the execution result to the client from the proxy unit using the Internet Printing Protocol.

3. The Internet printing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

connecting the proxy unit and the print server according to the connection request from the print server.

4. The Internet printing method according to claim 3, wherein the proxy unit plays the role of a server and the print server plays a role of a client when the proxy unit and the print server are connected, and the proxy unit plays a role of a client and the print server plays the role of a server when the printing service is requested after the connection.

5. The Internet printing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a printing command from the client to the print server using a protocol which can circumvent the firewall; and

connecting the proxy unit and the print server according to the connection request from the print server corresponding to the printing command.

6. The Internet printing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

a step of transmitting a printing command from the client to the proxy unit using the Internet Printing Protocol;

transferring the printing command from the proxy unit to the print server using a protocol which can circumvent the firewall; and

connecting the proxy unit and the print server according to the connection request from the print server corresponding to the transferred printing command.

7. The Internet printing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

constantly connecting the proxy unit and the print server according to the connection request from the print server.

8. The Internet printing method according to claim 1, wherein the user accesses the server site by the Internet Printing Protocol, the Internet Printing Protocol is converted to a protocol which allows circumventing the firewall of the print server.

9. The Internet printing method according to claim 1, wherein the protocol which does not allow circumventing a firewall is converted to the protocol which allows circumventing the firewall of the print server at the proxy unit.

10. An Internet printing system comprising:

a client that communicates at least by using the Internet Printing Protocol;

a print server that is protected by a firewall on the Internet and for executing a printing service request; and

a proxy unit that opens a server site of the print server according to a request from the client and/or the print server, converts the Internet Printing Protocol used by the client for sending the printing service request into a protocol which allows circumventing the firewall of the print server at the access of the client to the server site, and transfers the request to the print server,

wherein the firewall is provided between the print server and the proxy unit.

11. The Internet printing system according to claim 10, wherein the print server returns the execution result for the printing service request to the proxy unit and the proxy unit returns the execution result to the client using the Internet Printing Protocol.

12. The Internet printing system according to claim 10, wherein the proxy unit is connected to the print server according to the connection request from the print server.

13. The Internet printing system according to claim 12, wherein the proxy unit plays a role of a server and the print server plays a role of a client when the proxy unit and the print server are connected, and the proxy unit plays a role of a client and the print server plays a role of a server when the printing service is requested after the connection.

14. The Internet printing system according to claim 10, wherein the client transmits a printing command to the print server using a protocol which can circumvent the firewall, and the proxy unit connects with the print server according to the connection request from the print server corresponding to the printing command.

15. The Internet printing system according to claim 10, wherein the client transmits a printing command to the proxy unit using the Internet Printing Protocol, and the proxy unit transfers the printing command to the print server using a protocol which can circumvent the firewall, and connects with the print server according to the connection request from the print server corresponding to the transferred printing command.

16. The Internet printing system according to claim 10, wherein the proxy unit is constantly connected with the print server according to the connection request from the print server.

17. A proxy unit comprising:

a server site of a print server to be opened according to a request from a client and/or the print server; and

an exchanger that converts a protocol used by the client for sending a printing service request into a protocol which allows circumventing a firewall of the print server at an access of the client to the server site, and transfers the request to the print server,

wherein the firewall is provided between the print server and the proxy unit.

18. The proxy unit according to claim 17, wherein exchanger receives an execution result of print server for printing service request and returns to the client by the Internet Printing Protocol.

19. The proxy unit according to claim 17, wherein the proxy unit connects with the print server according to the connection request from the print server.

20. The proxy unit according to claim 19, wherein the proxy unit plays a role of a server and the print server plays a role of a client when the proxy unit and the print server are connected, and the proxy unit plays a role of a client and the print server plays a role of a server when the printing service is requested after the connection.

21. The proxy unit according to claim 17, wherein the user accesses the server site by the Internet Printing Protocol, the Internet Printing Protocol is converted to a protocol which allows circumventing the firewall of the print server.

22. A printer server comprising:

a network interface for communicating; and

a processor that requests to a proxy unit installed on the Internet to open a server site of a print server, and receives a printing service request from the proxy unit where a protocol used for a printing service request of the client is converted into a protocol which allows circumventing the firewall of the print server at the access of the client to the server site, and executes the printing service request,

wherein the firewall is provided between the print server and the proxy unit.

23. The print server according to claim 22, wherein the proxy unit plays a role of a server and the print server plays a role of a client when the proxy unit and the print server are connected, and the proxy unit plays the role of a client and the print server plays a role of a server when the printing service is requested after the connection.

24. The printer server according to claim 22, wherein the user accesses the server site by the Internet Printing Protocol, the Internet Printing Protocol is converted to a protocol which allows circumventing the firewall of the print server.