Patent Application
20140098391
Reference is made to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ by Siow Kiat Tan, filed concurrently herewith, entitled: “Photo Editor in a Multifunction Printer”, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein.
The present invention relates to a multifunction printer having an embedded web server, and more particularly to providing a game server in such a multifunction printer.
In the past, printers were typically connected directly to a host computer or to a local network. With the proliferation of smart mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets, it has become advantageous to facilitate easy wireless connection between such smart mobile devices and multifunction printers for printing documents, monitoring printer status and other printing or scanning related tasks. To accomplish this, some multifunction printers now include embedded web servers. The primary function of a web server is to provide web pages to deliver user content on request to clients using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The user runs a web browser to interact with web servers. Embedding a web server in a printer provides a rich user interface to configure and control the multifunction printer and view the printer status using the comparatively large screen on the smart mobile device. The user connects to the printer through the IP address of the printer by browsing to the URL of the printer.
Popular features on smart mobile devices and networked computers include games and learning activities. Such games and learning activities can be for one person or for multiple people. Some types of games and learning activities are interactive between the person and the computer program. Types of interaction can include a) the game or learning activity program presenting a situation or question, b) the person entering a response, and c) the game or learning activity or another person providing feedback or a response to the first person's response. Although participation in many types of games and learning activities is best done using the smart mobile device's or networked computer's input/output capabilities (including a keyboard, a mouse, a display, a touch screen, a microphone, a speaker and similar devices), for other types of games and learning activities it is found that people prefer to interact using hard copy.
Furthermore for distributing computer games and learning activities it can be useful to have a web server. Web servers for interactive games on the network (called game servers) function as the authoritative source of events in a multiplayer video game. The server transmits enough data about its internal state to allow its connected clients to maintain their own accurate version of the game world for display to players. They also receive and process each player's input. Game servers are oriented toward computer input/output interaction as described above, and not toward hard copy interaction.
What is needed is a way to provide networking of games and learning activities and also facilitate easy interaction via hard copy.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above. Briefly summarized, according to one aspect of the invention, the invention resides in a multifunction printer includes comprises: a printing apparatus; a scanning apparatus; a network connection; an embedded web server for monitoring or administering the multifunction printer through web pages that are accessible to a web browser on a client station through the network connection; and a read only memory that is configured to store computer game or educational software, wherein the embedded web server is configured to provide one or more computer games or learning activities to one or more client stations over the network.
A control panel 160 for the apparatus is shown in
The scanning apparatus 130 includes a scanning apparatus body 132 and a scanner lid 110, which is joined to the scanning apparatus body 132 by a hinge 112. The surface of the scanning apparatus body 132 that is covered by the scanner lid 110 when the scanner lid 110 is closed includes a frame 136. A transparent platen 140 (typically a flat piece of glass) is inset within the frame 136. In the example shown in
Below the transparent platen 140 is a movable sensor array module 150. In the example shown in
The scanner lid 110 includes a reflective backing plate 114. The thickness of the reflective backing plate 114 is accommodated in the offset 138 between the frame 136 and the top surface of the transparent platen 140 when the scanner lid 110 is closed. The reflective backing plate 114 can be resiliently mounted on the scanner lid 110, so that the reflective backing plate 114 is effective in pressing documents of various thicknesses against the transparent platen 140. Typically the reflective backing plate 114 is white in the document scanning region. Since many documents are printed on white paper, a white reflective backing plate 114 results in an overall white background even for documents of sizes that are smaller than the scanning region. For other types of objects to be scanned, such as photos, the white reflective backing plate 114 produces a clean background that provides good contrast for the photos. In other scanning apparatus designs, the reflective backing function is integrated into the scanner lid 110.
As shown in
In some embodiments the multifunction printer 100 includes a fax apparatus 195 in addition to a printing apparatus 190 and a scanning apparatus 130. The controller 170 functions as a system manager and operates the various multifunction printer applications 202 as well as the embedded web server 179 and the game or learning activity application 175 via a real time operating system 210.
The multifunction printer 100 is used as a repository for computer games or learning activities served over the network to client computing devices, using the embedded web server 179 to stream games or learning activities to web browsers on the client computing devices. Only one copy of the game or educational software needs to be stored on the multifunction printer 100 for multiple client stations to participate simultaneously or independently. The multifunction printer 100 provides several methods to install new games or learning activities including by a firmware upgrade, by a plug-in module from the Internet, by local storage (such as a USB thumb drive or and SD card) read by the memory reader 166 (see
Although using the multifunction printer 100 as a repository for computer games or learning activities is a useful function in itself, the present invention is particularly advantageous for facilitating hard copy interaction with the game or learning activity. As shown in
In the example shown in
Other types of games including crossword puzzles, sudoku, numerical puzzles, and jigsaw puzzles are typically done by one person. The game application 175 would provide a web page through the embedded web server 179 to the smart mobile device 184 or the network computer 182. The user would select a puzzle or game with a soft control New Game button 200. Then the user can print the puzzle or game on the printing apparatus 190 of multifunction printer 100 using a soft control Print button 187. The user can complete the game or puzzle on hard copy. If desired, particularly if the user gets stuck, the user can use a soft control Scan button 186 to initiate a scan of his partially completed game or puzzle. The user can then press a soft control Feedback button 189 and the web page can provide a hint.
In the example of the viewer window 181 for the network computer 182 a coloring page is being viewed. This is an example of a learning activity. A line drawing can be provided for a person (such as a child) to color by pressing a New Item button 205. Coloring pages can be generated from a stockpile of generic images, or line drawings can be generated from photographs entered into the multifunction printer 100 by use of the scanning apparatus 130 (see
Other types of games or learning activities include math puzzles, games involving maps, connect the dots drawings, and the like. Sometimes the difference between a game and a learning activity is not very distinct. For example, in the chess example described above, it can be a learning activity as well as a game. In some instances the activity is clearly a game that is played for amusement without significant learning. In other instances an activity can be strictly a learning activity. For example, in an classroom setting, a teacher can use the learning activity application 175 to scan student answer sheets and have the correct answers or corrections printed out.
Providing the game application or learning activity application 175 in the multifunction printer 100 having the embedded web server 179 has several advantages relative to installing a game application or learning activity application on the smart mobile device 184 or on the network computer 182, as well as relative to using an Internet web site implementation:
1. The game application or learning activity application 175 in the multifunction printer 100 is accessible to client stations within the local network without having to access the Internet. This removes concern on data privacy and data usage costs.
2. The game application or learning activity application 175 in the multifunction printer 100 is able to print images, such as scenes from the game, even if the client station does not have a suitable printer driver for the multifunction printer 100. It achieves this by directly uploading print content of the client station from the web browser 185 through the embedded web server 179.
3. The game application or learning activity application 175 in the multifunction printer 100 is able to optimize its print output for the destination recording media in terms of printable area and media type, for example, without user intervention. This is made possible because the web browser 185 has a bidirectional link with the embedded web server 179 and the printing subsystem 190, typically through the controller 170.
4. The scanning apparatus 130 in the multifunction printer 100 can provide its scan capability as an easy way to customize and interact with the game or learning activity via hard copy.
5. The game application or learning activity application 175 is personal. The user controls what games or learning activities to install and run.
The present invention has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.
