Path independent print queues

• US 9,400,622 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2012
• Issued: 07/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Smith, Kenneth K., Butler, David G., Alegria, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Poon, King
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lam, Andrew H
• Application Number:
  US13/537,108
• Publication Number:
  US 20140002851A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,488 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 3/121 Facilitating exception or error detection and recovery, e.g. fault, media or consumables depleted
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1236 Connection management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/126 Job scheduling, e.g. queuing, determine appropriate device
• 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 3/1284 Local printer device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1285 Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1292 Mobile client, e.g. wireless printing

Abstract

In one embodiment, path data is received. The path data is indicative of a plurality of connectivity paths to electronically connect a computer and a printer. A graphic user interface is provided for display to a user, the interface to enable sending of print jobs to a print queue. The queue is to hold the print jobs to be sent to the printer, and is without limitation to a specific path among the plurality of paths. A command for the computer to send a first print job to the printer is received via the interface. The plurality of paths is monitored to identify an available path among the plurality of paths. The first print job is caused to be sent from the queue to the printer via the available path.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions to provide a path independent print queue, the instructions when executed by a processor causing the processor to:

receive path data indicative of a plurality of connectivity paths to electronically connect a computer and a printer, wherein the path data is data generated via a polling of available paths conducted by the printer;

provide, for display to a user, a graphic user interface to enable sending of print jobs to a print queue, the print queue

to hold the print jobs to be sent to the printer, and

without limitation to a specific path among the plurality of paths;

receive, via the interface, a command for the computer to send a first print job to the printer;

monitor the plurality of paths to identify an available path among the plurality of paths;

select a preferred connectivity path from among the plurality of connectivity paths based on a preference ranking; and

cause sending of the first print job from the print queue to the printer via the preferred connectivity path.

2. The medium of claim 1,

wherein a set of available paths are identified;

wherein the instructions cause the processor to designate, from the set, a preferred available path according to preference data; and

wherein the lint print job is sent from the print queue to the printer via the preferred available path.

3. The medium of claim 2, wherein the preference data includes a preference instruction, a preference formula, a preference algorithm, or a preference ranking.

4. The medium of claim 2, wherein the preference data includes a projected time to printing for each of the available paths within the set, and the preferred available path is designated in consideration of the projected times to printing.

5. The medium of claim 2, wherein the preference data includes a security ranking for each of the available paths within the set, and the preferred available path is designated in consideration of the security rankings.

6. The medium of claim 5, wherein the first print job is encrypted prior to being sent from the queue to the printer.

7. The medium of claim 2, wherein the preference data includes a data transmission cost for each of the available paths within the set, and the preferred available path is designated in consideration of the projected data transmission cost.

8. The medium of claim 2, wherein the preference data includes a reliability ranking for each of the available paths within the set, and the preferred available path is designated in consideration of the reliability rankings.

9. The medium of claim 1, wherein the path data further comprises data generated via a polling of available paths conducted by the computer.

10. The medium of claim 9, wherein the polling comprises performing an inventory of connectivity paths that are available at the time of sending of a print request.

11. The medium of claim 1, wherein the path data further comprises data generated via user input at the computer.

12. The medium of claim 11, wherein the plurality of connectivity paths include a wired path and a wireless path.

13. The medium of claim 11, wherein the plurality of connectivity paths includes a direct wireless connection between the computer and the printer.

14. The medium of claim 1, wherein the path data further comprises data generated via user input at the printer.

15. A system to enable a path independent print queue, comprising:

a memory; and

a processor to execute instructions stored in the memory to implement modules, the modules comprising;

a landscape module to receive path data indicative of a plurality of connectivity paths to electronically connect a computer and a printer, wherein the path data is data generated via a polling of available paths conducted by the printer;

a graphic user interface module to provide, for display to a user, a graphic user interface to enable sending of print jobs to a print queue;

a command module to receive, via the interface, a command for the computer to send a first print job to the printer;

an available path module to monitor the plurality of paths to identify a set of available paths from among the plurality of paths;

a preferred path module to designate, from the set of available paths, a preferred available path based on connection history preference data located in a path preference database; and

a job sending module to cause sending of the first print job front the print queue to the printer via the preferred available path; and

the print queue to hold the print jobs to be sent to the printer without limitation to a particular path among the plurality of paths.

16. The system of claim 15,

wherein the available path module identifies a set of available paths;

further comprising a preferred path module to cause the processor to designate, from the set, a preferred available path according to preference data; and

wherein the job sending module sends the first print job from the print queue to the printer via the preferred available path.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the preference data includes a projected time to printing for each of the available paths within the set, and the preferred available path is designated in consideration of the projected times to printing.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the path data is data generated via user input at the computer or the printer.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions to provide a path independent print queue, the instructions when executed by a processor causing the processor to:

receive path data indicative of a plurality of connectivity paths to electronically connect a computer and a printer,

wherein the path data is generated via polling of available paths conducted by the printer, and

wherein the plurality of connectivity paths include a wired path and a wireless path;

provide, for display to a user, a graphic user interface to enable sending of print jobs to a print queue, the print queue to hold any print jobs sent to the printer via any of the plurality of connectivity paths;

receive, via the interface, a command for the computer to send a first print job to the printer;

monitor the plurality of paths to identify a set of available paths among the plurality of paths;

designate, from the set, a preferred available path according to preference data that considers projected timeliness rankings, security rankings, or reliability rankings for the available paths; and

cause sending of the first print job from the queue to the printer via the preferred available path.