XML printer system with RFID capability

• US 8,820,642 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2013
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Zebra Technologies Corporation
• Original Assignee: ZIH Corp. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Alleshouse, Bruce N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Ahshik
• Application Number:
  US13/760,716
• Publication Number:
  US 20130182289A1
• Time in Patent Office: 573 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462.01, 235/462.08, 235/462.19, 235/462.15, 235/375
• US Class Current: 235/462.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1284 Local printer device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1298 Printer language recognition, e.g. programme control language, page description language
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/121 by printing code marks applying code marks to labels B65C9/46; marking or coding completed packages B65B61/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/02 using printers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1813 Page description language recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2215/0011 characterised by a particular command or data flow, e.g. Page Description Language, configuration commands

Abstract

An XML system is configured to encode RFID devices embedded in media, based upon an extensible markup language (XML) input data stream. The computer system further includes an XML processor configured to receive and process a format template, associate the XML data contained in the XML input data stream and the format template, a formatting engine configured to format the associated XML data according to a format governed by the format template, and/or generate encoding information for an RFID device.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

one or more processors configured to at least;

receive an input data stream, wherein the input data stream comprises data encoded according to a mark-up language;

process a stylesheet;

associate the input data stream with the stylesheet;

transform the associated data encoded according to the mark-up language based upon the stylesheet; and

generate at least one of encoding information for an RFID device or a printable representation of at least a portion of a media using the transformed associated data.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mark-up language is at least one of extensible mark-up language or hypertext mark-up language.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is an XML printer system.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a network server.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the stylesheet includes an extensible stylesheet language formatting object (XSLFO) for formatting data within the input data stream and wherein the stylesheet further includes an RFID-type instream foreign object defining communication with an RFID apparatus.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the stylesheet further includes extensible stylesheet language transformation (XSLT) instructions for transforming the data in the input data stream.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the stylesheet is contained in the input data stream or the stylesheet is retrieved from a stylesheet repository based upon content of the input data stream.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors being configured to implement an XML processor module include being configured to obtain a schema identified in the input data stream, the schema being defined to facilitate validation of a portion of the input data stream.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to validate at least a portion of the data according to a Document Type Definition (DTD).

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors comprise at least one SAX processor module.

11. A method comprising:

receiving an input data stream, wherein the input data stream comprises data encoded according to a mark-up language;

processing a stylesheet;

associating the input data stream with the stylesheet;

transforming, by a processor, the associated data encoded according to the mark-up language based upon the stylesheet; and

generating at least one of encoding information for an RFID device or a printable representation of at least a portion of a media using the transformed associated data.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the mark-up language is at least one of extensible mark-up language or hypertext mark-up language.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the stylesheet includes an extensible stylesheet language formatting object (XSLFO) for formatting data within the input data stream and wherein the stylesheet further includes an RFID-type instream foreign object defining communication with an RFID apparatus.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the stylesheet further includes extensible stylesheet language transformation (XSLT) instructions for transforming the data in the input data stream.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the stylesheet is contained in the input data stream or the stylesheet is retrieved from a stylesheet repository based upon content of the input data stream.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors being configured to implement an XML processor module include being configured to obtain a schema identified in the input data stream, the schema being defined to facilitate validation of a portion of the input data stream.

17. The method of claim 11 further comprising validating at least a portion of the data according to a Document Type Definition (DTD).

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors comprise at least one SAX processor module.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer readable program code stored thereon, the program code being configured to, when executed, cause an apparatus to at least:

receive an input data stream, wherein the input data stream comprises data encoded according to a mark-up language;

process a stylesheet;

associate the input data stream with the stylesheet;

transform the associated data encoded according to the mark-up language based upon the stylesheet; and

generate at least one of encoding information for an RFID device or a printable representation of at least a portion of a media using the transformed associated data.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the mark-up language is at least one of extensible mark-up language or hypertext mark-up language.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the stylesheet includes an extensible stylesheet language formatting object (XSLFO) for formatting data within the input data stream and wherein the stylesheet further includes an RFID-type instream foreign object defining communication with an RFID apparatus.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the stylesheet further includes extensible stylesheet language transformation (XSLT) instructions for transforming the data in the input data stream.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the stylesheet is contained in the input data stream or the stylesheet is retrieved from a stylesheet repository based upon content of the input data stream.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more processors being configured to implement an XML processor module include being configured to obtain a schema identified in the input data stream, the schema being defined to facilitate validation of a portion of the input data stream.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to validate at least a portion of the data according to a Document Type Definition (DTD).

26. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more processors comprise at least one SAX processor module.