Printer driver and application decoupling using event centric registration model

• US 9,182,930 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2010
• Issued: 11/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Hutchings, Justin, Gorgenyi, Frank, Yue, Feng, Davis, Darren
• Primary Examiner(s): BRYAR, JEREMIAH A
• Application Number:
  US12/966,841
• Publication Number:
  US 20120147415A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,793 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1207 resulting in the user being informed about print result after a job submission
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1224 Client or server resources management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1259 Print job monitoring, e.g. job status
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1285 Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server

Abstract

Some embodiments of the invention provide a printer user interface (UI) component configured to handle presentation of information to a user during printing operations. The printer UI component may de-couple the rendering and configuration functionality provided by a printer driver from the presentation of information to end users, thereby reducing the risk that applications may crash or hang due to printer driver malfunction. In some embodiments, a registry of events upon which information should be presented to the user is established, and the printer UI component may be registered for some or all of these events, so that when the specified events occur the printer UI component may be invoked to cause information to be presented to the user.

Claims

1. A method for use in a computing device having an operating system, an application separate from the operating system, a printer driver in communication with the operating system and with the application, and a printer device driven by the printer driver, the method comprising:

in response to an attempt by the printer driver to provide information associated with a print job to a graphical user interface during handling of the print job by the printer driver, determining an identity of a printer user interface component that is to be invoked, wherein;

the determining of the identity of the printer user interface component is based on pre-established associations stored in a repository of links between particular events and components for handling the particular events, and

the identified printer user interface component is separate from the operating system, separate from the application, and separate from the printer driver; and

using the identified printer user interface component to cause the information associated with the print job to be displayed in the graphical user interface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the printer user interface component comprises another application.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the printer user interface component comprises a body of code written in a scripting language.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the information associated with the print job relates to a printing event triggered by the print job;

the repository stores;

an indication that the printer user interface component is to be invoked for occurrences of the printing event triggered by the print job; and

another indication that another component is to be invoked for the occurrence of another printing event when triggered by another print job; and

the determining of the identity of the printer user interface component includes;

querying the repository for the indication that the printer user interface component is to be invoked for occurrences of the printing event triggered by the print job.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified printer user interface component:

receives the information associated with a print job from at least one of the operating system, the application, or the printer driver;

causes the information associated with the print job to be displayed in the graphical user interface;

receives user input in response to the information associated with the print job; and

passes the user input to at least one of the operating system, the application, or the printer driver.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user input provides context for a printing event triggered by the print job.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the information that is caused to be displayed includes a status of the printer device.

8. At least one computer-readable medium, not comprising a signal per se, having instructions stored thereon which, in response to execution by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations, the operations comprising:

in response to an occurrence of a first printing event triggered as part of a handling a request to print a print job, querying a repository, that stores indications of components registered for printing events, for an identity of a first component registered for at least partially handling the first printing event; and

using the first component to cause information relating to the print job to be displayed, the first component being separate from an operating system of the computing device and from a printer driver for the printer device.

9. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the first component comprises a standalone executable that is separate from an application that initiated the print job.

10. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the first component comprises a script.

11. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the first printing event is an event raised by the operating system, an application, or the printer driver.

12. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the first component:

receives information associated with the print job from at least one of the operating system, the application, or the printer driver;

causes the information associated with the print job to be displayed;

receives user input in response to the information associated with the print job; and

passes the user input to at least one of the operating system, the application, or the printer driver.

13. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the user input provides context for the first printing event.

14. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the first printing event is based on a status of the printer device with respect to the print job.

15. A system, comprising:

a storage device that stores an operating system, an application separate from the operating system, and a printer driver that drives a printer and that communicates with the operating system and with the application; and

at least one processor that;

in response to an occurrence of a printing event caused by a status of a printing of a print job by the printer, determines an identity of a particular component that is to be invoked to display information relating to the status of the printing of the print job by the printer;

invokes the identified component; and

displays, via use of the identified component, information relating to the status of the printing of the print job by the printer.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the identified component comprises a standalone executable application.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the identified component is in a scripting language.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the use of the identified component comprises:

receiving information associated with the print job from at least one of the operating system, the application, or the printer driver;

causing information associated with the print job to be displayed;

receiving user input in response to the information associated with the print job; and

passing the user input to at least one of the operating system, the application, or the printer driver.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the user input provides context for the printing event.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the information associated with the print job represents a request to obtain a PIN number, and wherein the user input includes the PIN number.