Facsimile and static presentation processing – Static presentation processing – Communication
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-24
2001-04-17
Popovici, Dov (Department: 2622)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Static presentation processing
Communication
C358S001130
Reexamination Certificate
active
06219151
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic networks having a plurality of client or agent terminals or systems, and more particularly to networks having one or more printers for receiving print jobs from computers or other printer users within the network.
2. Related Art
While different types of protocols are possible for status monitoring and configuration of devices within an electronic network, one of the most commonly used protocols is the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). The SNMP defines asynchronous messages or “traps” to be transmitted to a management application. In a typical electronic network, a plurality of clients in the form of computer workstations are coupled to the network together with one or more printers and an intermediate spooler. In order to receive traps from a printer, a computer workstation typically must first “register” with the printer by communicating a network address associated with the computer workstation to the printer. This enables the printer to directly address trap messages to the registered computer workstation.
The client computer workstation transmits “print jobs” or “job requests” (the terms “print job” and “job request” are hereinafter used interchangeably) to the spooler which then stores spooled jobs in queues in the form of a scheduling list of print jobs to be done. The spooler then routes the job request to the printer upon releasing the job request from the queue. In a “push” printing system, the job requests typically include information requesting a printing service from a printer, information which identifies a particular document to be printed and print data which includes data representative of an image to be printed as the document. Upon receiving the job request in push printing system, the printer prints an image from the image data transmitted in the job request. In a “pull” printing system, the job requests typically include information requesting a printing service from a printer, information which identifies a particular document to be printed and, instead of print data, an address of a network memory location where image data is stored. Upon receiving the job request in a pull printing system, the printer retrieves the print data stored at the network memory location to print the document.
Upon receiving a job request and any associated print data, the printer typically parses this information at a network controller to extract the print data and pass job identification information to a document manager process. The network controller then typically forwards the extracted print data to an image controller. The image controller then typically provides control signals to a print engine based upon the print data to transfer an image onto a medium. Such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,183 assigned to Xerox Corporation.
The SNMP allows the printer to transmit messages or “traps” to all or select workstations in the network. Such traps may be used to transmit, for example, printer status information or status information relating to specific print jobs. A “general” trap is typically used to broadcast a message to all workstations to indicate that, for example, the printer is jammed, out of paper, or low on toner, etc. “Document specific” traps are typically sent to specific workstations indicating the status of a particular job originating at the workstation. Such document specific traps may indicate, for example, that a particular job has started or that a particular job has completed.
To send a document specific trap to the workstation which initiated the job (i.e., document created at the workstation), the network controller in the printer typically associates the particular print job with the network address of the originating workstation. The particular word processing program and printer driver on the workstation does not have access to the network address of the particular physical printers to which the documents are ultimately sent. The word processing program and printer driver merely have information which may identify the printer server associated with the physical printer.
A separate “monitor” task executing on the workstation typically retrieves the network address of the particular physical printer to which a document may be sent. To establish direct communication through the SNMP with a particular printer, the monitor task typically transmits a request to a task executing on the printer to provide document specific traps to the monitor task. Such a request from a monitor task must, therefore, include information identifying the network address of the workstation and information identifying the specific document which is to be transmitted from the workstation to the file server, and then placed on the printer's queue. When the printer receives the document job to be processed from the queue, the printer associates the document with the network address of the workstation, and sends document specific traps to the monitor task using the SNMP.
Unfortunately, implementation of a monitor task for retrieving the network address of the printer and then transmitting a message to a printer with the network address of the user workstation is a cumbersome procedure for establishing direct communication between a user workstation and a printer which receives print jobs originating at the user workstation. Accordingly, there is a need for developing more efficient and reliable system of establishing direct communication between a user workstation and a printer.
SUMMARY
An object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a network printing system in which a printer efficiently and reliably transmits messages to user workstations.
Another object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide an efficient, simple and reliable method for communicating the network address of user workstation in a printing network to a printer in the same network.
Another object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a system and method for providing to a user workstation in a printing network timely information regarding the status of a print job originating at the user workstation.
Another object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide an efficient and reliable system for transmitting a network address of a network printer to a user workstation.
It is yet another object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide an efficient system and method for transmitting simple network management protocol (SNMP) traps from a printer in a network printing system to a user workstation in the network printing system.
Briefly, embodiments of the present invention are directed to a printing network including at least one user workstation and a printer. The user workstation is preferably capable of transmitting print jobs with image controller commands having data which is representative of a network address of the user workstation. An image controller at the printer receiving the print job preferably interprets the image controller commands to extract the network address of the user workstation. This enables the printer to transmit messages to the user workstation based upon the extracted network address.
By transmitting the network address of the user workstation in an image controller command of a print job, the printer which services the print job can obtain the network address of the user workstation without receiving additional messages from a monitor task at the user workstation or from an intermediary print server. The printer may then associate the extracted network address of the user workstation with the particular print job transmitting the network address. When events affecting the status of the print job occur, the printer may readily report such status to the associated user workstation by transmitting a document specific SNMP trap to the user workstation based upon the extracted network address.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4751630 (1988-06-01), Kelley, Jr. et al.
patent: 5040142 (1991-08-01), Mori et al.
patent: 5050098 (1991
Egan Alistair Michael
Manglapus Levi Lloyd Garcia
Murphy Mark Patrick
Sorkin Maxim Ariel
Uchenik Igor
Hitachi Koki Imaging Solutions, Inc.
Pillsbury & Winthrop LLP
Popovici Dov
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