Printer capable of network connection and method for controlling said printer

• US 7,411,689 B1
• Filed: 05/23/2000
• Issued: 08/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Shima, Toshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Garcia; Gabriel I.
• Application Number:
  US09/577,078
• Time in Patent Office: 3,003 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/1.14, 358/1.13, 358/1.16, 358/1.1, 358/1.9, 358/403, 358/1.11, 358/1.12, 358/402, 709/201, 709/203, 709/205, 709/219, 709213-216, 715/700, 715737-741, 715/753
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2206/1508 Load balancing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1206 resulting in increased flexibility in input data format or job format or job type
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1268 Job submission, e.g. submitting print job order or request not the print data itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1285 Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1291 Pool of printer devices: self-managing printing devices in a network, e.g. without a server

Abstract

This invention is composed as a printer which receives a print request from a computer, the print request including a request to a peripheral device to acquire print data, and sends the acquisition request to the peripheral device, and performs printing on the basis of the print data sent from the peripheral device in response to the acquisition request. Accordingly, the printer is capable of receiving the print data from the peripheral device instead of receiving the print data from the computer.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first printer configured to provide a print acceptance screen to a client computer;

the client computer configured to send a new print request directly to a second printer using the print acceptance screen provided by the first printer, wherein the new print request specifies a peripheral device on which data to print is stored; and

the second printer configured to request the data to print from the peripheral device and print the data upon receipt from the peripheral device.