U.S. patent application number 11/210219 was filed with the patent office on 2005-12-22 for print driver apparatus and methods for forwarding a print job over a network.
Invention is credited to Lodwick, Philip A..
Application Number | 20050280864 11/210219 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 24764493 |
Filed Date | 2005-12-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050280864 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lodwick, Philip A. |
December 22, 2005 |
Print driver apparatus and methods for forwarding a print job over
a network
Abstract
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for
forwarding a print job over a communications network. In
particular, the present invention enables a user to obtain print
jobs at a location which may be unspecified, and which may be
remote from the source of the print job. A print driver is provided
which is capable of forwarding one or more print jobs over a
network. The print driver may be interfaced with any suitable print
job source (e.g., a client device capable of generating a printable
document, such as a computer) to obtain a print job. The print job
is forwarded from the print driver, over the network, to a spooling
server. A printer polling device, which may be used at a location
remote from the client device, is capable of polling a spooling
server via the network to identify whether any print jobs
associated with the printer polling device are available for
printing at a printer currently associated with the printer polling
device. The spooling server need not initiate contact with the
printer through a firewall, since it is polled by the printer
polling device. Thus, network security is maintained.
Inventors: |
Lodwick, Philip A.;
(Richfield, MN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LAW OFFICE OF JAMES TROSINO
92 NATOMA STREET, SUITE 211
SAN FRANCISCO
CA
94105
US
|
Family ID: |
24764493 |
Appl. No.: |
11/210219 |
Filed: |
August 22, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11210219 |
Aug 22, 2005 |
|
|
|
09688458 |
Oct 16, 2000 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
358/1.15 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 63/04 20130101;
G06F 21/608 20130101; G06F 3/1285 20130101; H04L 63/029 20130101;
G06F 3/1238 20130101; G06F 3/1203 20130101; H04L 63/08 20130101;
H04L 67/125 20130101; G06F 3/126 20130101; G06F 2221/2153 20130101;
G06F 3/1222 20130101; G06F 3/1247 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
358/001.15 |
International
Class: |
G06F 013/00 |
Claims
1. A method for communicating a print job over a network, the
method comprising: providing a print driver adapted to forward the
print job to a spooling server via the network; and providing a
printer separated from the spooling server by a first gateway
firewall, wherein the spooling server is adapted to forward the
print job to the printer in response to a polling request, such
that reconfiguration of the first gateway firewall is not
required.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the polling request is
automatically forwarded to the spooling server from a printer
polling device associated with the printer.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the print driver forwards the
print job to the spooling server as web-style traffic.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the spooling server forwards the
print job through the first gateway firewall as web-style
traffic.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein: the print driver is located
within a second gateway firewall; the spooling server is located
outside of the first and second gateway firewalls; and the print
driver forwards the print job to the spooling server such that
reconfiguration of the second gateway firewall is not required.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing a personal
identification number (PIN) with each print job forwarded to the
spooling server; and storing one or more print jobs at the spooling
server according to the PIN.
7. A print driver for communicating a print job over a network, the
print driver comprising: an interface for receiving the print job
from a client device; and a transmitter adapted to forward the
print job to a spooling server via the network, wherein: the
spooling is separated from a printer by a first gateway firewall;
and the spooling server is adapted to forward the print job to the
printer such that reconfiguration of the first gateway firewall is
not required.
8. The print driver of claim 7, wherein the polling request is
automatically forwarded to the spooling server from a printer
polling device associated with the printer.
9. The print driver of claim 7, wherein the spooling server
forwards the print job through the first gateway firewall as
web-style traffic.
10. The print driver of claim 7, wherein: the print driver is
located within a second gateway firewall; the spooling server is
located outside of the first and second gateway firewalls; and the
print driver forwards the print job to the spooling server such
that reconfiguration of the second gateway firewall is not
required.
11. The print driver of claim 7, wherein the print driver is
adapted to provide a personal identification number (PIN) with each
print job forwarded to the spooling server, and the spooling server
is adapted to store one or more print jobs according to the PIN.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 09/688,458, filed 16 Oct. 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. ______.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for
forwarding a print job over a communications network. In
particular, the present invention enables a user to obtain print
jobs at a location which may be unspecified, and which may be
remote from the source of the print job. A print driver is provided
which is capable of forwarding one or more print jobs over a
network. The print driver may be interfaced with any suitable print
job source (e.g., a client device capable of generating a printable
document, such as a computer) to obtain a print job. The print job
is forwarded from the print driver, over the network, to a spooling
server. A printer polling device, which may be used at a location
remote from the client device, is capable of polling a spooling
server via the network to identify whether any print jobs
associated with the printer polling device are available for
printing at one or more printers associated with the printer
polling device.
[0003] As computer networks become more complex, the rate at which
network configurations change continues to increase. Also, the
increasingly frantic pace of the typical business traveler who
juggles documents on multiple computers and is required to
configure a traveling laptop computer to integrate into various
changing networks makes it increasingly difficult to reliably and
efficiently print even a simple document.
[0004] For example, a business traveler in a hotel may wish to
print to a printer that the hotel provides for such purposes. Under
the current state of the art, the user must first obtain the
network ID of the printer along with some information about the
type of printer. Then, a print driver for that specific printer
must be installed on the user's computer, and the computer must be
configured to connect to the printer. This may additionally involve
configuring the computer to connect to the host network.
[0005] Further, in many cases, it is desirable to be able to
prepare a document for printing prior to having the information
concerning the destination printer. For example, it may be
desirable to print a document from a mobile laptop connected via a
wireless data connection while in transit to a meeting at a site
the user has never visited before. Obtaining the information and
configuring the laptop to be able to print to the printer becomes
logistically infeasible.
[0006] These problems have typically been solved in the past by one
of the following methods:
[0007] 1. The document is e-mailed or otherwise transferred over a
network to a computer already configured to print to the desired
printer;
[0008] 2. A portable computer is connected directly to the printer
via a cable or infra-red, bypassing many of the difficulties of
configuring the computer to print to a network computer;
[0009] 3. A portable printer is transported to the desired
location; or
[0010] 4. The document is faxed to a fax machine.
[0011] Printing methods relating to network and distributed
printing are known in the prior art. Such systems require either a
private network or foreknowledge of the destination of a print job.
These prior art methods comprise what is typically referred to as
"push" technology (i.e., technology in which a print job is
directed to a specific known destination or printer).
[0012] In addition to the need for efficiency and ease of use is
the need for security when sending, storing, or printing print
jobs. Early in the life of the Internet, the need for securing an
organization's local network from tampering, stealing, or vandalism
by outsiders became very obvious. A type of gateway called a
firewall was developed to meet this need. The firewall is designed
to be a single, well-controlled access point between the outside,
global, or wide-area network and the inside, local-area network. By
carefully restricting the types of network traffic and the
destinations where that traffic can flow, the firewall can provide
effective protection.
[0013] Specific "holes" in the firewall are created for each type
of traffic that is allowed through the gateway in each direction.
Most organizations, for example, allow e-mail traffic in and out
from their e-mail server, as well as web page client access from
inside the firewall to servers located outside of it.
[0014] Many types of access between machines commonly used on a
local network are normally prevented from going through the
firewall. Specifically, file sharing, remote log-in, printing, and
various other network-administration types of protocols are
typically not allowed to be transported outside the firewall.
[0015] Another aspect of the firewall is that it is almost always
administratively controlled by a centralized authority for the
organization that owns the local area network--commonly the
management information services (MIS) department of a company.
Normal users generally have to make special requests that are
approved at the upper levels of management to get configuration
changes in the firewall. In the interest of maintaining security,
these changes are often limited to specific point-to-point
exceptions or "holes" in the firewall.
[0016] It is desirable by many users to be able to print from a
machine on one local area network to a printer located on a
different local area network with the data being transferred over a
global network (e.g., the Internet) outside of the firewall of both
local networks.
[0017] The current state of the art does have solutions for this
problem. However, almost all of these solutions require the
intervention of the firewall administrator.
[0018] One example of a solution is the IPP--Internet Printing
Protocol standard being promulgated by various vendors. This
standard allows IPP-equipped printers to receive print jobs from
remote clients over the Internet. However, the installation and use
of IPP requires that a specific IPP hole be opened in the firewall
by the network administrator.
[0019] It would be advantageous to be able to provide methods and
apparatus that allow a user to print to a perhaps yet unknown
destination printer or printer pool in a reliable, efficient and
secure manner without the disadvantages of the above-mentioned
techniques.
[0020] It would be further advantageous to provide a printing
system based on "pull" technology (i.e., technology which enables a
print job to be printed upon request, where the print file is only
delivered in response to the request). Such technology would enable
a system that allows a user to print to a destination printer or
printer pool that may be located anywhere, in a reliable,
efficient, and secure manner without the disadvantages of the
above-mentioned techniques.
[0021] It would be further advantageous to have a solution that
allows secure, efficient and easy-to-configure inter-network
printing through a gateway firewall without the intervention of the
network administrator.
[0022] The methods and apparatus of the present invention provide
the foregoing and other advantages.
SUMMARY
[0023] The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for
forwarding a print job over a communications network. In
particular, the present invention enables a user to obtain print
jobs at a location which may be unspecified, and which may be
remote from the source of the print job.
[0024] In an illustrative embodiment, a print driver is provided
which is capable of forwarding one or more print jobs over a
network. The print driver may be interfaced with any suitable print
job source (e.g., a client device capable of generating a printable
document, such as a computer) to obtain a print job. The print job
is forwarded from the print driver, over the network, to a spooling
server (e.g., via a transmitter). The spooling server receives the
print job and stores the print job in memory. The spooling server
receives a polling request over the network for a print job from a
printer polling device. The spooling server forwards the requested
print job to the printer polling device for printing at one or more
associated printers.
[0025] The print driver may be integrated into the print job source
or may comprise a stand-alone device associated with a print job
source.
[0026] The print job can originate from any suitable print job
source, such as a client device with an associated print driver, a
web browser, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a telephone, an
Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant, or the like. A
print job can also originate on the spooling server itself or be
obtained from another server. The client device may be a computer,
a telephone, a personal digital assistant, an Internet appliance,
or the like.
[0027] The identified print job can be transmitted from the
spooling server to the printer polling device and printed at one or
more printers coupled to the printer polling device. The printer
may be located at a location remote from the spooling server.
[0028] The printer polling device may periodically poll the
spooling server to identify a print job associated with the printer
polling device.
[0029] The network may comprise at least one of a local area
network, a wide area network, a global network, the Internet, and
any other type of network. The network may consist of multiple
interconnected networks having multiple gateways and other features
as is well known in the art.
[0030] In an alternate embodiment, the print driver may be located
within a gateway firewall and the spooling server may be located
outside the gateway firewall. The print job may be forwarded to the
spooling server such that reconfiguration of the gateway firewall
is not required. For example, the print job may be forwarded to the
spooling server as web-style traffic and received at the spooling
server as web-style traffic.
[0031] The print driver may be located at and in communication with
a first local area network for forwarding the print job to the
spooling server. The printer polling device may be located at and
in communication with a second local area network. The spooling
server may be located outside of the first and second local area
networks. The print driver may communicate with the spooling server
via a first gateway firewall which controls access to the first
local area network and the printer polling device may communicate
with the spooling server via a second gateway firewall which
controls access to the second local area network.
[0032] The spooling server may store multiple print jobs in at
least one spooling queue.
[0033] The print job may be encrypted at the print driver or the
print job source and decrypted at the printer polling device.
[0034] The print job may comprise a document provided by a content
provider. The content provider may be one of a newspaper, a
magazine, a periodical, a document provider, a graphic arts
provider, a notification service, an Internet content provider, a
merchant, a financial institution, a government agency, a shipping
company, or the like.
[0035] In a further embodiment, each print job may be stored on the
spooling server according to a personal identification number (PIN)
provided with each print job. The spooling server may communicate
to the printer polling device a list of print jobs associated with
the PIN which are stored at the spooling server. The selection of a
print job from the list may be provided for (e.g., via a user
interface).
[0036] A plurality of print jobs may be stored on the spooling
server according to the PIN. The PIN may be provided to the
spooling server via one of a the print driver, user interface
associated with the printer polling device, a telephone, a
computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a
personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the
like.
[0037] In a further embodiment, the print job may be provided to
the spooling server by the print driver without a pre-determined
print destination. Alternatively, a desired print location for the
print job may be designated at the print driver. The designated
print location may be communicated to the spooling server with the
print job. The print job may be printed at the desired print
location when the printer polling device at the desired print
location polls the spooling server and identifies the print
job.
[0038] Further, a substantially specific time for printing a print
job may be designated such that the print job is only available for
printing from the spooling server at the designated substantially
specific time.
[0039] In addition, a lifetime of the print job may be designated,
wherein the print job will be stored on the spooling server only
for the designated lifetime.
[0040] A number of printings of the print job may be designated,
wherein the print job can only be printed the designated number of
times.
[0041] A list of recipients authorized to retrieve a print job may
be designated, wherein the print job may only be printed by the
designated recipients.
[0042] The print job may be one of a negotiable instrument, a
stamp, a coupon, a certificate, a check, a unit of currency, a
token, a receipt, or the like.
[0043] The print job may include at least one of a document, a
poster, an image, a coupon, a ticket, a certificate, a check, a
list, a schedule, a periodical, a unit of currency, a negotiable
instrument, postage, a bill of lading, a lottery or gaming ticket,
a token, food stamps, a license, a permit, a pass, a passport, a
ballot, a citation, identification, a copy-protection key, a
proof-of-purchase, a warranty, a receipt, a transcript, a library
card, or any other printable subject matter.
[0044] In an alternate embodiment, an agent program provides a
directory of documents to the spooling server. The agent program
enables a client device associated with the print driver to poll
the spooling server to determine whether the spooling server
requires a document identified in the directory to complete a print
job. If so, the document can be uploaded from the client device to
the spooling server.
[0045] The directory can be communicated to the printer polling
device and presented at the printer polling device. Selection of a
print job from the directory can be made (e.g., via a user
interface).
[0046] The directory may be presented via a visual presentation or
an audio presentation. The client device may periodically poll the
spooling server to determine whether the spooling server requires a
document identified in the directory to complete a print job.
[0047] Communications with the spooling server may be enabled via
at least one of a telephone, a personal digital assistant device, a
computer, an Internet appliance, a web browser, a dedicated
terminal, or the like. The communications with the spooling server
may be via an audio interface or a visual interface.
[0048] A communication device for providing status of the print job
stored on the spooling server may be provided. The status of the
print job may comprise at least one of filename, file size, author,
creation date, print job lifetime, image, title, contents, personal
identification number, recipient, job number, or reference number.
The communication device may be a telephone, a computer, an
Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant device, a
dedicated terminal, or any other suitable wireless or wired
communication device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0049] Features of the present invention can be more clearly
understood from the following detailed description considered in
conjunction with the following drawings, in which the same
reference numerals denote the same elements throughout, and in
which:
[0050] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an implementation of the
present invention;
[0051] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing an example of an encryption
process which can be implemented in accordance with the
invention;
[0052] FIG. 3 shows a representation of a printer polling
device;
[0053] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of the
invention;
[0054] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an authentication procedure
which can be implemented in accordance with the invention;
[0055] FIG. 6 shows an example of communications which take place
between various components of the invention;
[0056] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example print job
reformatting routine;
[0057] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a printer
polling device;
[0058] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a spooling
server;
[0059] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a print
driver; and
[0060] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an agent
program.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0061] The present invention enables print jobs to be sent from a
print driver to a spooling server for storage. The print jobs are
subsequently delivered to one or more printers, on request, via a
printer polling device. The printer polling device uses "pull"
technology, which polls the spooling server so that the spooling
server does not have to initiate a connection into a printer. In
this manner print jobs can be securely printed anywhere, either
automatically or at the request of a user who is authorized by the
printer polling device and/or the spooling server. Since the
spooling server need not initiate contact with any device, there is
no potential breach of firewall security in a local network
environment.
[0062] In one embodiment, a portable printer polling device is
provided to enable retrieval and printing of documents from any
location having Internet access and a printer. The spooling server
functions as a repository that is accessible, e.g., via a global
communication network such as the Internet, to authorized users at
any time of day. Since the printer polling device polls the
spooling server in order to obtain delivery of a print job, prior
art push data flow techniques, which could compromise a local area
network's security, are avoided. Moreover, compatibility with
virtually all printers that may be connected to the network is
provided, so that a document can be printed anywhere regardless of
a specific printer's requirements. Many other advantages and
features of the invention are set forth in the following
description.
[0063] A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 1.
Printing services are provided via a spooling server 50 which is
capable of receiving and storing one or more print jobs from a
print job source 10 via a network 110. A printer polling device 100
is provided which is capable of polling the spooling server 50 via
the network 110 to identify a print job associated with the printer
polling device 100. Configuration problems are eliminated as each
print job source 10 only needs to be configured to know how to
print to the spooling server 50. The spooling server 50 only needs
to be configured to be able to print to the printer polling device
100.
[0064] The print job can originate from any suitable print job
source 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the print job source 10 may be a
client device 12 associated with print driver 14. The print driver
14 may receive the print job from an originating application 15,
which can be any program capable of producing a printable document.
The print job source 10 may also be a web browser, a facsimile
machine, a scanner, a telephone, an Internet appliance, a personal
digital assistant, or the like. A print job can also originate on
the spooling server 50 itself or be obtained from another server.
The client device 12 may be a computer, a telephone, a personal
digital assistant, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a
scanner, or the like.
[0065] The identified print job can be transmitted from the
spooling server 50 to the printer polling device 100 and printed at
a printer 120 coupled to the printer polling device 100. Printer
120 may be a single printer or a pool of one or more printers
coupled via a print server.
[0066] The printer polling device 100 may periodically poll the
spooling server 50 to identify a print job associated with the
printer polling device 100. Security is achieved by the fact that
the printer 120 is not passively accepting any and all connections
from the outside. The printer polling device 100 is initiating
connections to a specific, trusted location, the spooling server
50.
[0067] The network 110 may comprise at least one of a local area
network, a wide area network, a global network, the Internet, and
any other type of network. The network 110 may consist of multiple
interconnected networks having multiple gateways and other features
as is well known in the art.
[0068] In an alternate embodiment, the printer polling device 100
may be located within a gateway firewall 70 and the spooling server
may be located outside the gateway firewall 70. In addition, the
print job source 10 may be located within a gateway firewall 30 and
the spooling server may be located outside the gateway firewall
30.
[0069] The print job may be forwarded to and from the spooling
server 50 such that reconfiguration of gateway firewalls 30 and 70
is not required. For example, the print job may be forwarded to the
spooling server 50 as web-style traffic and received at the printer
polling device 100 as web-style traffic. For example, a print
driver 14 may accept print requests from application 15 like any
other print driver, but instead of routing the print requests onto
the network 110 using normal printer packets and well-known-ports,
it routes the output of the print job to the spooling server 50
located outside of the firewall 30 using packets and ports that
resemble web traffic.
[0070] Similarly, using web types of packets and ports, the printer
polling device 100 is capable of polling the spooling server 50 and
retrieving any print jobs that have been stored for the printer
120.
[0071] As shown in FIG. 1, the print job source 10 may be located
at and in communication with a first local area network 20 and the
printer polling device 100 may be located at and in communication
with a second local area network 80. The spooling server 50 may be
located outside of the first and second local area networks 20, 80.
The print job source 10 may communicate with the spooling server 50
via a first gateway firewall 30 which controls access to the first
local area network 20 and the printer polling device 100 may
communicate with the spooling server 50 via a second gateway
firewall 70 which controls access to the second local area network
80.
[0072] The printer polling device 100 may be: (i) a stand-alone
device connected to the printer 120 via a standard printer port,
(ii) integrated into the firmware of the printer 120, (iii)
integrated into the software of a network print server, or (iv) of
any other suitable configuration. The printer polling function may
also be integrated into the software on a stand-alone print server
such as those manufactured by Electronics for Imaging, Inc. (Foster
City, Calif.) under the trademarks Fiery.RTM. and EDOX.RTM..
[0073] In a preferred embodiment, a fee may be charged to access
the spooling server 50. The fee can be based on one of print job
size in bytes, print job size in number of pages, print job type,
time for printing, time for storage, monthly fee, per use fee,
lifetime membership, monthly membership, use of color, use of black
and white, page size, location, convenience, number of images,
print quality, image quality, or other suitable factors. The fee
may be charged for providing a print job to the spooling server 50
and/or retrieving a print job from the spooling server 50. The fee
can be paid via a client device 12 associated with the print job
source 10, the printer polling device 100, or any other suitable
device capable of communicating with the spooling server, such as a
smart card, a telephone, a personal digital assistant, or the
like.
[0074] The spooling server 50 may store the one or more print
job(s) in at least one spooling queue 52. The spooling server 50
may be maintained by a trusted party on the outside of the
firewalls 30, 70. Alternatively, the spooling server 50 may be
owned and maintained by the organizations desiring to utilize
inter-network printing.
[0075] Since the communications amongst the print job source 10,
the spooling server 50, and the printer polling device 100 may
travel across public networks, it is very desirable to protect any
proprietary or confidential information that may be embodied in the
print jobs.
[0076] In a preferred embodiment, the print job may be encrypted at
the print job source 10 and decrypted at the printer polling device
100. For example, the print job can be encrypted on the client
device 12 such that it can only be printed by a person with the
correct decryption key. In addition, printing of the document can
be delayed until the key is physically entered at the printer
polling device 100 (e.g., the recipient is physically present at
the printer 120).
[0077] A flow diagram of an example of an encryption process used
between the print job source 10, the spooling server 50 and the
printer polling device 100 is shown in FIG. 2. The print job 11 is
protected by encrypting the print job (indicated at 501) at the
print job source 10 (e.g., on the print driver 14 or an agent
program on the originating client device 12 of FIG. 1) and
decrypting it at the spooling server 50. The encryption algorithm
may be the IDEA algorithm. Other suitable encryption algorithms
which can be utilized are DES (the Data Encryption Standard), or
triple-DES (DES applied to the data three times with three
different keys). Other encryption algorithms suitable for
commercial confidential information are numerous and well known in
the art of data encryption.
[0078] The key 500 used for encryption 501 may be derived from an
account number 510, a user's secret PIN (personal identification
number) 520, and/or optionally some additional encryption key
digits 530 supplied by the user. Simply concatenating the bits
together from these sources provides a moderately secure key 500.
Optionally, additional security may be achieved by using a more
sophisticated hashing function.
[0079] The key 500 would be known only to the user and to the
secure, trusted, spooling web server 50. The encrypted print job is
sent to the spooling server 50 where it is decrypted (601) to
facilitate reformatting 602 for the destination printer once it is
known. The reformatted print job data is re-encrypted 603 using the
same or similar key 500' derived in the same manner as key 500 at
the print job source 10. The encrypted print job is then
transmitted from the spooling server 50 to the printer polling
device 100. Once at the printer polling device 100, the print job
is decrypted 701 using a key 500" derived from the PIN 520, account
number 510, and/or optional encryption key extension digits 530.
The decrypted print job can then be forwarded to the printer 120
for printing.
[0080] The print job 11 may comprise a document provided by a
content provider. The content provider may be one of a newspaper, a
magazine, a periodical, a document provider, a graphic arts
provider, a notification service, an Internet content provider, a
merchant, a financial institution, a government agency, a shipping
company, or the like. For example, instead of physically delivering
the daily sports page, it is simply printed on a customer's home
printer.
[0081] The print job 11 may be provided by the content provider on
a subscription basis. A single print job may be provided by the
content provider for printing by multiple users.
[0082] The printer polling device 100 may comprise a user
interface, a connection to the network 110, and a connection to the
printer 120. FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a user interface 103 for
the printer polling device 100 having a display 101 and a keypad
102. The keypad 102 shown in FIG. 3 may also comprise an
alphanumeric keypad to allow for entry of both letters and numbers.
The user interface may optionally include a speaker and a
microphone for audio output and input, and may also include a card
reader for reading a magnetic strip on a credit or debit card,
automated teller machine (ATM) card, smartcard, prepaid print card,
or the like.
[0083] In a further embodiment as shown in FIG. 4, each print job
may be stored on the spooling server 50 according to a personal
identification number (PIN) 400. As an example, FIG. 4 shows the
PIN 400 entered at a client device 12. The PIN 400 is forwarded to
the spooling server 50 by the print driver 14 along with the print
job. The spooling server 50 may communicate to the printer polling
device 100 a list of print jobs associated with the PIN 400 which
are stored at the spooling server 50. The selection of a print job
from the list may be provided for (e.g., via a user interface). For
example, a small terminal may be provided at each printer polling
device 100 to allow a user to interact with the spooling server 50
and request that the user's print jobs be sent to the printer 120
at the user's location. The user may identify himself or herself at
the printer polling device 100 with their PIN 400, and the spooling
server 50 can then match that PIN 400 with print jobs previously
submitted using that same PIN 400.
[0084] A plurality of print jobs may be stored on the spooling
server 50 according to the PIN 400 (e.g., in spooling queue 52).
For example, a directory may be created for each user, and thus
each PIN, registered with the spooling server 50. Each print job
may additionally be assigned a unique job number at the time it is
first received at the spooling server 50. Thereafter, the job
number may be used to access the data files associated with that
job unambiguously. Once a print job has been selected to be printed
to a destination printer 120, the job number for the print job may
be entered into a queue associated with the destination printer
120. Data structures suitable for maintaining a queue are well
known in the art. In the preferred embodiment, the queue 52 is
maintained in a C++ class known as a CList provided by Microsoft in
their C++ class library.
[0085] When the printer polling device 100 polls the spooling
server 50, the spooling server 50 checks to see if the queue for
that printer 120 contains any print jobs. When the spooling server
50 finds a print job waiting to be printed, the data for that print
job is retrieved from the file system, reformatted in a form
suitable for the identified printer 120, and transmitted to the
printer polling device 100.
[0086] The PIN 400 may be provided to the spooling server 50 via
one of a user interface associated with the printer polling device
100, a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile
machine, a scanner, a personal digital assistant device, a
dedicated terminal, or the like. The list of available print jobs
may be displayed on one of a user interface associated with the
printer polling device 100, a telephone, a computer, an Internet
appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal digital
assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like. Selection of
an available print job may be made via a user interface associated
with the printer polling device 100, a telephone, a computer, an
Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal
digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like.
[0087] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary process of authentication of
a user using a PIN. When a user desires to access their account or
documents over a non-secure channel, first, the spooling server 50
needs to verify that it is indeed talking to the actual user. The
server generates a random string of bits 350. These bits are sent
to the printer polling device 100 where authentication is to take
place. The user's PIN 150 is used to generate an encryption key 152
for encrypting the bits (indicated at 155) and the result is
returned to the spooling server 50. The spooling server 50 decrypts
the string (indicated at 355) using an encryption key 362 generated
from the PIN it knows (360) and compares it to the original random
string (indicated at 365). If the decrypted string 358 matches the
original string 350, the spooling server 50 accepts the user as
authenticated. An account number (361, 151) may optionally be used
(either alone or in connection with the PIN) to generate the
encryption keys 362, 152. Many other authentication protocols are
well known in the art and may be substituted for the protocol
described above in connection with FIG. 5.
[0088] The printer polling device 100 may be a portable device. The
printer polling device 100 may be operably associated with a
variety of printer types.
[0089] In a further embodiment, the print job may be provided to
the spooling server 50 without a predetermined print destination. A
user is able to interact with the printer polling device 100 and
communicate the identification of the desired print destination for
the user's print job to the spooling server 50. The user need not
know anything more about the printer 120 than its location (which
the user needs anyway to be able to retrieve the physical output
pages).
[0090] Alternatively, a desired print location for the print job
may be designated at the print job source 10. The designated print
location may be communicated to the spooling server 50 with the
print job. The print job may be printed at the desired print
location when the printer polling device 100 at the desired print
location polls the spooling server 50 and identifies the print
job.
[0091] Further, a substantially specific time for printing a print
job may be designated such that the print job is only available for
printing from the spooling server 50 at the designated
substantially specific time.
[0092] In addition, a lifetime of the print job may be designated,
wherein the print job will be stored on the spooling server 50 only
for the designated lifetime.
[0093] A number of printings of the print job may be designated,
wherein the print job can only be printed from the spooling server
50 the designated number of times.
[0094] A list of recipients authorized to retrieve a print job may
be designated, wherein the print job may only be printed by the
designated recipients. For example, a document or series of
documents may be provided to the spooling server 50 which document
or documents can be received by a designated group of recipients,
such as a company's sales force, newsgroup or other content
subscribers, or other target audiences.
[0095] The print job may be one of a negotiable instrument, a
stamp, a coupon, a certificate, a check, a unit of currency, a
token, a receipt, or the like. In such circumstances, it may be
desirable that the designated number of printings is one.
[0096] The print job source 10 may be connected to the network 110
using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP protocol), or any
other suitable network configuration protocol. Similarly, the
printer polling device 100 may be connected to the network 110
using DHCP protocol, or any other suitable network configuration
protocol.
[0097] DHCP is a protocol which allows nodes to be added to a
TCP/IP network dynamically without specific prior configuration of
that node in the domain controller's hosts database. Each node
desiring to connect announces itself to the DHCP server. The name
of the node is sent to the DHCP server. The DHCP server then
assigns the node a dynamic IP address as well as communicating the
IP addresses of other key network services such as name servers,
mailhosts, and gateways that are available. Once setup and enabled,
this mechanism allows nodes to be added to the network without the
intervention of a network administrator.
[0098] Ease of installation and configuration is therefore achieved
through the use of DHCP by the fact that most local networks are
configured to allow network devices to be added without the
intervention of an administrator using DHCP. In addition, most
local networks allow web access through their firewall (e.g.,
gateway firewalls 30 and 70). These two factors allow both the
print job source 10 and the printer polling device 100 to connect
and communicate to the spooling server 50 without the intervention
of a network administrator. The user simply plugs in the printer
polling device 100 and it accesses the network and starts polling
the spooling server 50.
[0099] The invention may also be implemented using a virtual
private network (VPN). A VPN is a mechanism that allows network
nodes not directly connected to a local private network to behave
as if they are locally connected to the network by forwarding the
data packets through some type of public or intermediate network.
For security, authentication of the node desiring to connect to the
network is performed, as well as encryption of the contents of the
forwarded packets. Various commercial products allow the setup and
configuration of VPN's through various connectivity mechanisms such
as dial-up ISP's, Cable Modems, and DSL on the client node end. The
local network that is being connected to will require a router or
router/firewall that implements the VPN protocol to allow the VPN
connection. A VPN is made up of two components: L2TP (Layer 2
tunneling protocol) and IPSEC (Internet Protocol Security).
[0100] In a preferred embodiment, the printer polling device 100 is
capable of communicating the status of the printer 120 to the
spooling server 50. The printer status may comprise at least one of
a printer ready indication, an on-line indication, toner level
information, paper supply information, error information, or other
appropriate status information.
[0101] A printer operator can be notified when the printer status
indicates that the printer 120 requires attention. The operator can
also be provided with vendor contact information to facilitate
obtaining printer supplies or service. Automatic on-line ordering
of printer supplies as required by printer status can be provided
(e.g., by the spooling sever 50 contacting predetermined preferred
vendors).
[0102] The print job may include at least one of a document, a
poster, an image, a coupon, a ticket, a certificate, a check, a
list, a schedule, a periodical, a unit of currency, a negotiable
instrument, postage, a bill of lading, a lottery or gaming ticket,
a token, food stamps, a license, a permit, a pass, a passport, a
ballot, a citation, identification, a copy-protection key, a
proof-of-purchase, a warranty, a receipt, a transcript, a library
card, or any other printable subject matter.
[0103] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the printer polling device 100 may
periodically poll the spooling server 50. The interval of the
polling can vary as desired and can be adjusted dynamically based
upon such factors as traffic or requests for files. The polling
request (query) 210 is preferably encrypted. Because the query 210
is directed to a specific spooling server 50, it is difficult for a
third party to breach the system's security. The query 210 asks the
spooling server 50 if it has a print job identified by the user
(e.g., via a PIN or a job number). Once the spooling server 50 has
received a request 210 from the printer polling device 100 for a
print job that is stored at the spooling server 50, the spooling
server 50 waits for the next query 210 from the printer polling
device 100. Then, instead of its normal answer to the query of
"NACK" (negative acknowledge) 220, the spooling server 50 answers
"ACK" (acknowledge) 230 and transmits the print job to the
destination printer 120.
[0104] In an alternate embodiment as shown in FIG. 1, an agent
program 200 provides a directory of documents 204 to the spooling
server 50. The agent program 200 enables a client device 12
associated with the print job source 10 to poll the spooling server
50 to determine whether the spooling server 50 requires a document
13 identified in the directory 204 to complete a print job. If so,
the document 13 can be uploaded from the client device 12 to the
spooling server 50. The agent 200 enables a user at a printer 120
(or using any of the available interfaces to the spooling server
50) to initiate the printing of documents 13 that still reside on a
client device 12 (such as the user's computer) even though the
documents 13 have not been forwarded to the spooling server 50 as
print jobs.
[0105] The agent program 200 may be downloaded and installed on the
client device 12. The agent program 200 may be configured to make
the contents of some or all of the directories 204 on the client
device 12 available to the spooling server 50. Once installed and
running, the agent program 200 initiates a connection to the
spooling server 50 in the same way the printer polling device 100
does. The agent program may have a connection through a firewall,
for example.
[0106] The directory of documents 204 may include application files
such as a Microsoft Word .doc file, for example, or files that have
been made into a print job (Postscript or PDF file) by printing "to
a file" from some application.
[0107] The directory 204 can be communicated to the printer polling
device 100 and presented at the printer polling device 100.
Selection of a print job 11 from the directory can be made (e.g.,
via a user interface).
[0108] For example, the spooling server 50 will list those
documents 13 being available from the agent program 200 whenever
the user of that account is interacting with the printer polling
device 100, or any other interface provided for communication to
the spooling server 50 as described herein.
[0109] For example, the agent program 200 may periodically poll the
spooling server 50 via polling interface 202. The interval of the
polling can vary as desired and can be adjusted dynamically based
upon such factors as traffic or requests for files. The
communications between the agent program 200 and the spooling
server 50 occur substantially as described in connection with FIG.
6 above. The polling request (query) 206 is preferably encrypted.
Because the query 206 is directed to a specific spooling server 50,
it is difficult for a third party to breach the system's security.
The query 206 asks the spooling server 50 if it wants any files in
the directory 204 (and may also update the directory 204). Once the
spooling server 50 has received a request 207 from the printer
polling device 100 for a document that is listed in the directory
204, the spooling server 50 waits for the next query 206 from the
agent program 200. Then, instead of its normal answer to the query
of "NACK" (negative acknowledge), it answers "ACK" (acknowledge)
followed by document information, such as the name of the document
that is requested by request 207.
[0110] The agent program 200, upon receiving an "ACK" and the
request information 207, opens the document 13 using the
application it was created in and prints it to a temporary file 205
to create a print job 11. This print job 11 is then transmitted to
the spooling server 50 via transmitter 203. The spooling server 50
uses its normal mechanism to then transmit the print job 11 to the
destination printer 120.
[0111] Alternatively, the spooling server 50 may send an "ACK"
followed by the name of a subdirectory. In that case, the agent
program 200 returns the contents of that subdirectory. The spooling
server 50 can then display those files to the user at the printer
polling device 100 and allow one of the files to be selected, or
allow additional navigation of directory 204 to take place.
[0112] The directory 204 may be presented via a visual presentation
or an audio presentation. The client device 12 may periodically
poll the spooling server 50 to determine whether the spooling
server 50 requires a document from the directory 204 to complete a
print job.
[0113] Communications with the spooling server 50 may be enabled
via at least one of a telephone, a personal digital assistant
device, a computer, an Internet appliance, a web browser, a
dedicated terminal, or the like. The communications with the
spooling server 50 may be via an audio interface or a visual
interface.
[0114] A communication device for providing status of the print job
stored on the spooling server 50 may be provided. The status of the
print job may comprise at least one of filename, file size, author,
creation date, print job lifetime, image, title, contents, personal
identification number, recipient, job number, or reference number.
The communication device may be a telephone, a computer, an
Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant device, a
dedicated terminal, or any other suitable wireless or wired
communication device.
[0115] The print job source 10 may be one of a computer, a personal
digital assistant device, an Internet appliance, a telephone, a
facsimile machine, a scanner, a dedicated terminal, or other
suitable source.
[0116] The printer polling device 100 may be capable of polling
multiple spooling servers.
[0117] The spooling server 50 may be capable of communicating with
other servers and receiving a print job from at least one of the
other servers.
[0118] The print jobs submitted from the print job source 10 to the
spooling server 50 may be generated in a page description language
known as Postscript. Alternate choices for a page description
language are PDF, Latex, or other similar languages. The size of
the paper, various printer capabilities, and printable area
dimensions may be assumed from a lowest common denominator set of
capabilities common to most of the intended target printers.
[0119] Once the destination printer 120 is known, the page
description language data needs to be converted into a form that
can be understood by that printer 120. This process is shown in
FIG. 7. Once the print job 11 is sent to the spooling server 50, a
target printer 120 must be identified before the spooling server 50
can forward the print job 11 to be printed. Target printer
identification 801 can be provided with the print job 11 from the
print job source 10 or can be provided by the printer polling
device 100 as part of the polling query. The spooling server 50
retrieves printer specific information 805 for the target printer
120 from a printer database 803. Based on the printer specific
information 805 (such as data type, page dimensions, color
capabilities, margins, and other print characteristics) the
spooling server 50 will make printer specific adjustments 810 to
the print job 11 at the page description language level prior to
rasterization.
[0120] On printers that can accept Postscript (or the PDL of
choice) directly, no modification is necessary. For other, simpler
printers, a lower level bitmap form of the page is required to be
sent to the printer. In this case, the page description language
needs to be rasterized into a bitmap form. In addition, the bitmap
data needs to be formatted into the form understood by the printer
120. A raster image processor 815 determines the target printer
type from the printer specific information 805 and selects an
appropriate data format from available formats 820, 821, 822, 823.
The raster image processor 815 places the print job 11 into a
printer specific data file 850 for delivery to the printer polling
device 100 to be printed at the target printer 120.
[0121] One common example of a data format used with simple
printers is PCL (Printer Control Language), which is widely used in
printers built by Hewlett Packard. Other printers built by Epson,
for example use Epson's proprietary Epson-escape code sequences to
format the bitmap data.
[0122] Alternatively, reformatting of the print job may take place
at the printer 120, at the printer polling device 100, or at any
other suitable device.
[0123] FIG. 8 shows the components of an embodiment of a printer
polling device 100. As discussed above in connection with FIG. 3,
the printer polling device may optionally include a user interface
103 for enabling communications with the spooling server 50 (e.g.,
providing a PIN to the spooling server 50). A polling transmitter
105 is provided for transmitting polling requests to the spooling
server 50 via the network 110 to identify a print job stored at the
spooling server 50 (as discussed in connection with FIGS. 1 and 4
above). A print job receiver 108 is provided for receiving the
identified print job from the spooling server 50 via the network
110. Decryption 111 of an encrypted print job may optionally be
provided for at the printer polling device 100. A printer interface
112 enables the printer polling device 100 to forward the print job
to a printer 120 for printing.
[0124] FIG. 9 shows the components of an embodiment of a spooling
server 50. A receiver 51 is provided which is capable of receiving
print jobs from the print job source 10 and receiving polling
requests from the printer polling device 100. The receiver 51 may
comprise a print job receiver 58 for receiving the print job and a
polling receiver 59 for receiving the polling request. When a print
job is received by the receiver 51, the spooling server 50 stores
the print job in memory 52, which may comprise random access memory
(RAM), magnetic or optical storage media, or any other read/write
memory device. As discussed herein, the print jobs may be stored in
memory 52 according to a PIN. Multiple print jobs may be stored
under each PIN as shown at 53, 54, and 55. When the spooling server
50 receives a polling request for a specific print job from the
printer polling device 100 at the receiver 51, the spooling server
50 will determine whether the requested print job is stored in
memory 52, and if so, forward the requested print job to the
printer polling device 100 via transmitter 57. A processor 56
enables the spooling server to search for, retrieve, and/or
reformat the print job for delivery to the printer polling device
100.
[0125] FIG. 10 shows the components of an embodiment of a print
driver 14. An interface 16 is provided for receiving a print job
from a print job source 10. The print job source 10 is shown in
FIG. 10 as a client device 12, but can be any suitable print job
source as discussed herein. The interface 16 receives a printable
document 13 from the client device 12. A transmitter 18 is provided
for transmitting the print job 11 to the spooling server 50 via the
network 110. The spooling server 50 receives polling requests from
the printer polling device 100 and forwards one or more identified
print jobs to the printer polling device 100 in response to the
polling requests. The print jobs can then be printed at a printer
120 associated with the printer polling device 100. As discussed in
greater detail elsewhere herein, the printer polling device 100
does not have to identify specific print jobs to the spooling
server 50. Instead, it can simply request a list of all print jobs
(if any) currently stored at the spooling server 50 for that
specific printer polling device 100, or for a particular PIN number
(or other identifier) entered via the printer polling device 100 or
other device. As discussed elsewhere herein, the list of print jobs
may be accessed via various other devices capable of communicating
with the spooling server 50.
[0126] It will now be appreciated that the present invention
provides improved methods and apparatus for forwarding print jobs
over a communications network in a secure manner without the need
to specify the print destination. Print jobs are forwarded to a
spooling server by a print driver. By using a printer polling
device, the disadvantages of prior art push data flow techniques
are overcome. Instead of having a remote device initiate contact
with a print station behind a firewall, the present invention
provides a printer polling device that polls a spooling server to
determine if there are any documents to be printed by a printer
associated with the printer polling device. Compatibility with all
types of printers is also provided.
[0127] Although the invention has been described in connection with
preferred embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will
appreciate that numerous adaptations and modifications may be made
thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention, as set forth in the following claims.
* * * * *