Printing via user equipment

• US 8,042,166 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2005
• Issued: 10/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhang, Defu
• Primary Examiner(s): Shiferaw; Eleni
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHOLEMAN, ABU S
• Application Number:
  US11/259,285
• Publication Number:
  US 20070091329A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,183 Days
• Field of Search: 726/11, 726/12, 726/13, 726/21, 380/51, 380/55, 358/1.1, 358 113- 116, 709/225, 709/229, 709/219, 400/103, 400/104, 400/105
• US Class Current: 726/11
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0236 Filtering by address, protocol, port number or service, e.g. IP-address or URL
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/088 using filters or firewalls

Abstract

In one embodiment of a method of printing in a network, a connection is established from a user equipment to a printing system. A secure connection is established between the user equipment and a server. From the user equipment, a file on the server is selected. From the user equipment, information indicating the file and information indicating a path from the printing system to the server via the user equipment is passed to the printing system. The printing system is caused to retrieve the file from the server via the path. The printing system is caused to print information contained in the file.

Claims

1. A method of printing in a network comprising:

establishing a two-way connection from a user equipment to a printing system, wherein the printing system is not trusted by a firewall and the user equipment is trusted by the firewall;

establishing a secure connection between the user equipment and a server protected by the firewall;

from the user equipment, selecting a file on the server;

from the user equipment, passing information to the printing system, the information comprising a reference to the file including an address of the user equipment in the network and a path from the printing system via the user equipment to the server for acquiring the file;

causing the printing system to generate and send to the user equipment a request for the server to supply the printing system with a copy of the file, the request identifying the file by the reference;

causing the user equipment to read and authenticate the request;

causing the user equipment to send the request to the server, wherein the request appears to the server to be coming from the user equipment within the network; and

causing the printing system to print the file.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein establishing the two-way connection from the user equipment to the printing system comprises a user of the user equipment locating a nearby printer.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the firewall would prevent the printing system from retrieving the file directly, and establishing the secure connection comprises establishing a connection by which the firewall permits the file to be retrieved.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein establishing the connection by which the firewall permits the file to be retrieved comprises establishing a virtual private network comprising the server and the user equipment.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the path from the printing system to the server via the user equipment identifies a name of the file and an indication of a location of the file in the network.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the indication of the location of the file in the network is in a form recognizable to the user equipment, the user equipment substituting a location of the file recognizable to the server.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the printing system comprises a printer and a print server configured to convert information in the file into a form intelligible to the printer.

8. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

in response to the request, causing the server to send data packets of the file via the user equipment; and

in response to the user equipment receiving data packets from the server over a first period of time, relaying the data packets to the printing system over a second period of time overlapping the first period of time, in such a manner that a file larger than a data storage capacity of the user equipment can be relayed.

9. A system for printing in a network comprising:

a printer arranged to receive information indicating a file and a path to the file, to retrieve the file along the path, and to print from the file, wherein the printer is not trusted by a firewall;

a server arranged to supply the file only over a secure connection, and protected by the firewall; and

user equipment trusted by the firewall and arranged to establish two-way communication with the printer and a secure connection with the server, to permit a user to specify the printer and the file, to receive a request from the printer identifying the file by reference for the server to supply the printer with a copy of the file, to read and authenticate the request, to send the request to the server, to pass to the printer a message indicating the specified file and the path from the printer via the user equipment to the server, and to relay data packets of the file supplied by the server to the printer,

wherein the request appears to the server to be coming from the user equipment.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein the printer is in the vicinity of the user equipment.

11. A system according to claim 9, wherein the firewall is arranged to permit data packets of the file to be supplied only to a device trusted by the enterprise network, and wherein the request for the file routed according to the path via the trusted user equipment appears to the firewall to be a request by the trusted user equipment.

12. A system according to claim 9, wherein the user equipment is arranged to indicate the path from the printer to the server via the user equipment by sending the information indicating the specified file in a message including a current address of the user equipment.

13. A system according to claim 9, wherein the printer comprises a print server, wherein the print server is arranged to convert information in the specified file into a form intelligible to the printer.

14. A system according to claim 9, wherein the user equipment is arranged to receive data packets of the file from the server over a first period of time and relay the data packets of the file to the printer over a second period of time overlapping the first period of time, in such a manner that a file larger than a data storage capacity of the user equipment can be relayed.

15. A user equipment for printing in a network, the user equipment including:

a processor; and

a memory storing computer-executable instructions that when executed cause the processor to;

establish a two-way communication with a print server, wherein the print server is not trusted by the firewall and the user equipment is trusted by the firewall;

establish a secure connection with a data server protected by the firewall;

permit a user of the user equipment to specify a printer associated with the print server and data on the data server;

permit a user of the user equipment to select a file on the data server;

receive a request from the printer identifying the file by reference for the data server to supply the printer with a copy of the file;

read and validate the request to determine if the request is valid;

send the request to the server in response to a successful validation;

pass to the print server a message indicating the specified data and a path from the print server via the user equipment to the data server for acquiring the data;

relay packets of the data supplied over the secure connection by the data server to the print server,

wherein the request appears to the server to be coming from the user equipment.

16. The user equipment according to claim 15, wherein the user equipment is arranged to identify itself to the data server and to establish a secure communication channel to and from the data server.

17. The user equipment according to claim 15, wherein the user equipment is arranged to indicate the path by sending the information indicating the data in a message including a path containing the user equipment.

18. The user equipment according to claim 15 that is arranged to receive data over a first period of time and relay the data over a second period of time overlapping the first period of time, in such a manner that data exceeding a data storage capacity of the user equipment can be relayed.

19. A system for printing in a network comprising:

a printing device to receive information indicating a data file and a communication path to the data file, to retrieve the indicated file over the indicated path, and to print information from the data file, wherein the printing device is not trusted by a firewall;

a data server to supply the data file only in response to an appropriate request, wherein the data server is protected by the firewall; and

user equipment trusted by the firewall to establish two-way communication with the printing device and the data server to permit a user to specify the printing device and the data file, to receive a request from a printer identifying the data file by reference for the data server to supply the printing device with a copy of the data file, to read and validate the request to determine if the request is valid, to send the request to the data server in response to a successful validation, to pass to the printing device a message indicating the specified data file and a path from the printing device to the data server via the user equipment, and for the data file supplied by the data server to the printing device, wherein the request appears to the data server to be coming from the user equipping means.

20. A system according to claim 19, wherein the firewall permits the data file to be supplied in response to the request relayed from the user equipment and for preventing the data file being supplied in response to a request from the printing device by another path.

21. A system according to claim 19, wherein the user equipment is arranged to indicate the path from the printing device to the data server via the user equipment by sending the information indicating the file in a message including a return path containing at least the user equipment and the data server.