Exposing network printers to WI-FI clients

• US 9,298,410 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2012
• Issued: 03/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Juchem, Murilo, Azzolin, Deny Joao Correa, Caprio da Costa, Fernando Luis Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): EBRAHIMI DEHKORD, SAEID
• Application Number:
  US14/397,537
• Publication Number:
  US 20150103373A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,372 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1203 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. print management
• 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 3/122 with regard to computing resources, e.g. memory, CPU
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1226 Discovery of devices having required properties
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1236 Connection management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1271 Job submission at the printing node, e.g. creating a job from a data stored locally or remotely G06F3/1238 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1286 via local network
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1292 Mobile client, e.g. wireless printing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/14 using user query or user detection

Abstract

In an embodiment, a processor-readable medium stores code representing instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to receive a printer discovery request from a WI-FI client. The instructions further cause the processor to forward the printer discovery request and an agent identification to an enterprise network server, and receive from the enterprise network server, a list of printers associated with the agent identification. The instructions also cause the processor to expose the list of printers to the WI-FI client.

Claims

1. A non-transitory processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions that when executed by a processor in an agent device cause the agent device to:

receive a printer discovery request from a WI-FI client;

forward the printer discovery request and an agent identification to an enterprise network server, the agent identification identifying the agent device;

receive, from the enterprise network server in response to the printer discovery request, a list of printers associated with the agent identification, the printers in the list of printers comprising a non-WI-FI printer accessible by the WI-FI client through the agent device; and

expose the list of printers to the WI-FI client.

2. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the agent device to:

receive, from the WI-FI client, a print request that includes a print job and a printer identification, wherein the printer identification identifies the non-WI-FI printer in the list of printers; and

forward the print request to the enterprise network server.

3. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 2, wherein the instructions further cause the agent device to:

receive a print confirmation from the enterprise network server confirming the print job has been printed, or has been stored in a print queue for later printing, on the non-WI-FI printer; and

forward the print confirmation to the WI-FI client.

4. The processor-readable medium of claim 2, wherein receiving the print request comprises receiving an IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) print request.

5. The processor-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the list of printers is associated with the agent identification based on an association selected from the group consisting of a manually defined association and a geographically defined association.

6. The processor-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the list of printers represents a segment of printers available on an enterprise network to which the enterprise network server is connected.

7. The processor-readable medium of claim 1, wherein:

receiving the printer discovery request comprises receiving the printer discovery request wirelessly from the WI-FI client; and

exposing the list of printers comprises wirelessly transmitting the list of printers to the WI-FI client.

8. The processor-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the enterprise network server is selected from the group consisting of a private enterprise network server and a public enterprise network server.

9. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the non-WI-FI printer is without WI-FI capability and is unable to communicate over a WI-FI network over which the WI-FI client communicates.

10. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the printer discovery request is received from the WI-FI client over the WI-FI network.

11. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the printers of the list of printers are part of a subset of printers of an enterprise network to which the enterprise network server is connected, the subset of printers determined as being in geographic proximity to the agent device.

12. A non-transitory processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to:

receive a printer discovery request from a WI-FI client, wherein receiving the printer discovery request from the WI-FI client comprises receiving a mDNS (multicast domain name service) printer discovery request;

forward the printer discovery request and an agent identification to an enterprise network server;

receive, from the enterprise network server, a list of printer associated with the agent identification; and

expose the list of printers to the WI-FI client.

13. The processor-readable medium of claim 12, wherein receiving the list of printers comprises receiving the list of printers that includes non WI-FI printers.

14. An agent device comprising:

at least one processor; and

machine-readable instructions executable on the at least one processor to;

receive a printer discovery request from a WI-FI client over a WI-FI network; and

in response to the printer discovery request, provide, to the WI-FI client, identification of a plurality of printers accessible by the WI-FI client, the plurality of printers connected to an enterprise network and comprising a printer without WI-FI capability.

15. The agent device of claim 14, further comprising:

print instructions executable on the at least one processor to receive a print request from the WI-FI client and forward the print request to a server connected to the enterprise network, the print request including a print job and a printer identification identifying the printer without WI-FI capability.

16. The agent device of claim 15, wherein the print request requests printing of the print job at the printer without WI-FI capability, the printer without WI-FI capability unable to communicate over the WI-FI network.

17. A method comprising:

receiving, by an agent device comprising a processor, a print request from a WI-FI client over a WI-FI network;

in response to the print request, receiving, by the agent device, an identification of a non-WI-FI printer on an enterprise network that is nearby the WI-FI client, the non-WI-FI printer without capability to communicate over the WI-FI network;

exposing, by the agent, the non-WI-FI printer to the WI-FI client; and

causing, by the agent device, printing of a print job from the WI-FI client to the non-WI-FI printer.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the identification of the printer is received from an enterprise network server on the enterprise network.