Print device and program product for supporting print by reference methods

• US 20030002073A1
• Filed: 06/29/2001
• Published: 01/02/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Berkema, Alan C., Morgan, Jeff, Stoltz, Pat, Fischer, Todd
• Granted Patent: US 7,321,443 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1205 resulting in increased flexibility in print job configuration, e.g. job settings, print requirements, job tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1207 resulting in the user being informed about print result after a job submission
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/122 with regard to computing resources, e.g. memory, CPU
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1247 by conversion to printer ready format
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1259 Print job monitoring, e.g. job status
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1265 Printing by reference, e.g. retrieving document/image data for a job from a source mentioned in the job
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1292 Mobile client, e.g. wireless printing

Abstract

A print device for printing data for a client comprises a wireless communications port for receiving a reference communicated from the client, with the reference comprising at least a location for print content. The print device further comprises a network communications port for communicating with the location to obtain the print content. The invention further comprises a program product embodiment for causing a print device to receive a reference from a client and to obtain print content from a location indicated by the reference.

Claims

1. A print device for obtaining print content for a client device, the print device comprising:

a wireless communications port for receiving a reference from the client, said reference comprising at least a location corresponding to the print content;

a network communications port for communicating with the location;

a memory storing executable program instructions; and

,

a processor for executing said stored program instructions, said instructions when executed by said processor for causing said wireless communications port to accept a communications link from a client and accept said reference communicated from said client over said link, for causing said network communications port to obtain the print content from said location.

2. A print device as defined by claim 1, wherein said wireless communications port comprises a radio frequency communications port.

3. A print device as defined by claim 1, wherein said wireless communications port comprises a radio frequency port for communicating with the client via radio frequency communications.

4. A print device as defined by claim 1, wherein said network communications port is for communicating with a print server and wherein said program instructions cause the print device to communicate said reference to said print server.

5. A print device as defined by claim 4, wherein said reference further comprises a network address for said print server, and wherein said stored program instructions when executed cause the print device to determine said server address from said reference and to communicate with said print server network address via said network communications port.

6. A print device as defined by claim 4, wherein said program instructions when executed cause the print device to communicate printer capabilities over said network communications port to said print server for formatting the print content.

7. A print device as defined by claim 4, wherein said stored program instructions when executed cause the print device to communicate instructions to said print server, said instructions for causing said server to communicate the print content to the print device.

8. A print device as defined by claim 4, wherein said memory has a network address for said print server stored therein, and wherein said program instructions when executed cause the print device to retrieve said print server network address from said memory and to establish a communications link with said server at said network address using said network communications port.

9. A print device as defined by claim 1, wherein said program instructions when executed by said processor cause the print device to resolve said reference.

10. A print device as defined by claim 1, wherein said location comprises a print content network address, and wherein said stored program instructions when executed by said processor cause the print device to determine said print content network address from said reference, to establish a communications link with said print content network address using said network communications port, and to communicate instructions to said print content network address, said instructions causing the print content to be communicated to the print device.

11. A print device as defined by claim 1, wherein said reference comprises print content access data, and wherein said stored program instructions when executed cause the print device to determine said access data from said reference and to use said access data in directing said network communications port to obtain the print content.

12. A print device as defined by claim 11, wherein said access data comprises security data.

13. A print device as defined by claim 1, wherein the print device has capabilities stored in a memory, and wherein said program instructions when executed cause the print device to retrieve said capabilities from said memory and to format the print content according to said print capabilities.

14. A print device as defined by claim 1, wherein said program instructions when executed cause the print device to communicate an acknowledgement to said client over said wireless communications port.

15. A print device as defined by claim 1, wherein said program instructions when executed by said processor cause the print device to obtain user identification information over said wireless communications link from said client, and to communicate said user identification information over said network communications port to said location.

16. A print device according to claim 1 further comprising a print engine for printing the print content.

17. A print device according to claim 1, wherein said stored program instructions cause the print device to accept an interrupt signal from the client and to transmit data to the client in response to the interrupt.

19. A print device as defined by claim 18 wherein the device further comprises a print engine, and wherein said program instructions when executed cause the print device to print the print content with said print engine.

18. A print device for printing content at the request of a portable device, the print device comprising:

a wireless communications port for supporting radio frequency communications;

a network communications port for communicating with a network;

a memory storing executable program instructions and printer capabilities;

a processor for executing said stored program instructions, said instructions when executed by said processor for causing the print device to;

accept a reference communicated from the portable device over said wireless link, said reference comprising print server and print content network addresses;

communicate said reference to said print server using said network communications port;

retrieve said printer capabilities from said memory and to communicate said capabilities over said network communications port to said print server; and

transmit instructions to said print server to communicate the print content to the print device using said network communications port.

20. A print device for printing content from a network location, the print device comprising:

a network communications port for communicating with a network;

a memory storing executable program instructions; and

,

a processor for executing said program instructions, said instructions when executed causing said print device to communicate with the network location having the print content over said network communications port and pull the print content from the location.

21. A program product for causing a print device to print content at the request of a client, the program product comprising executable instructions embedded in a computer readable medium that when executed cause the print device to:

accept a wireless communications link from the client;

accept a reference input over said wireless communications link from the client, said reference comprising at least a location corresponding to the print content;

communicate with said location;

obtain the print content from said location; and

,

print the print content.

22. A program product as defined by claim 21, wherein when executed the program instructions further cause the print device to communicate an acknowledgement to the client after accepting said communications link.

23. A program product as defined by claim 21, wherein said wireless communications link comprises a radio frequency communications link.

24. A program product as defined by claim 21, wherein the print device is of the type having a wireless communications port and a network communications port, wherein when executed the program instructions cause the print device to accept said communications link from the client over the wireless communications port and cause the print device to communicate with said location over the network communications port.

25. A program product as defined by claim 21, wherein the program instructions when executed cause the print device to communicate said reference to a print server.

26. A program product as defined by claim 25, wherein the program instructions when executed cause the print device to communicate print device capabilities to said print server for formatting of the print content.

27. A program product as defined by claim 25, wherein said reference further comprises a network print server address, and wherein the program instructions when executed cause the print device to determine said print server address from said reference.

28. A program product as defined by claim 25, wherein when executed the program instructions cause the print device to retrieve a print server address from a print device memory.

29. A program product as defined by claim 21, wherein said location comprises a network address.

30. A program product as defined by claim 29, wherein said location comprises a URL address.

31. A program product as defined by claim 21, wherein the program instructions when executed cause the print device to accept an interrupt signal from the client over said wireless communication link, and to respond to said interrupt signal by communicating data to the client via said wireless communications link.

32. A program product as defined by claim 31, wherein said interrupt signal comprises a status request, and wherein the program instructions when executed cause the print device to determine a print job status after receiving said status request and wherein said data reported to the client comprises said print job status.

33. A program product as defined by claim 31, wherein said interrupt signal comprises a print job cancel signal, wherein the program instructions cause the print device to cancel the print job after receiving said cancel signal, and wherein said data reported to the client comprises a cancel confirmation signal.

34. A program product as defined by claim 21, wherein the program instructions when executed further cause the print device to accept user identification information communicated from the client via said wireless communication link.

35. A program product as defined by claim 21, wherein said reference comprises security information, and wherein said program instructions when executed cause the print device to determine said security information from said reference and to use said security information in communicating with said location to obtain the print content.

36. A program product as defined by claim 21, wherein the program product further causes the print device to:

accept a discovery signal communicated by a wireless protocol from the client; and

,

respond to said discovery signal by communicating print device profile data to the client over said wireless protocol.

37. A program product as defined by claim 36, wherein said print device profile comprises physical location data for the print device and current wait time for the print device.

38. A program product as defined by claim 21, wherein the program product further causes the print device to:

communicate a discovery signal to the client via a wireless communications protocol; and

,

recognize an acknowledgement communicated by the client in response to said discovery signal.

39. A program product as defined by claim 38, wherein said discovery signal comprises a print device profile.

40. A program product for causing a print device to output print content at the request of a portable device, the printer of the type that has a wireless communications port, a network communications port, a memory, and a processor, the program product comprising executable instructions embedded in a computer readable medium that when executed cause the print device to:

accept a wireless communications link from the portable device via a radio frequency signal over the wireless communications port;

accept a reference input over said wireless communications link from the portable device, said reference comprising at least a network address corresponding to the print content and a print server network address;

communicate an acknowledgement to the portable device over said wireless communications link;

establish a server communications link with said print server at said print server network address over the network communications port, communicate said reference to said print server over said server communications link;

retrieve stored printer capabilities from the print device memory and communicate said printer capabilities to said print server over said server communications link;

communicate instructions to said print server for communicating the print content to the print device;

accept an interrupt signal from the portable device over said wireless communications link and to communicate data responsive to said interrupt signal to the portable device over said wireless communications link; and

,

print the print content.