Patent Application
20140376034
Consumers appreciate quality and value in their printers. They also may want to use one or more printers that are part of a network. Designers and manufactures may, therefore, endeavor to create and supply solutions that are directed to accomplishing one or more of these objectives.
The following detailed description references the drawings, wherein:
Device users may want to print items such as documents, photos, tickets, directions, etc. However, such device users may not know the location of any nearby printers. Such users may also not have the necessary driver for a particular printer installed on their device. Additionally, installation of drivers can be challenging and/or time-consuming for some device users which is undesirable. An example of a system for identifying printers 10 that is directed to addressing these challenges is illustrated in
As used herein, the term “cloud” is defined as including, but not necessarily limited to, computing resources (hardware, software, and firmware) that are delivered as a service over a network (such as the internet). As used herein, the term “network” is defined as including, but not necessarily limited to, one or more connections between devices, systems, servers, applications and/or users that allow transfer and exchange of data and information. Networks may be wired and/or wireless, and utilize a variety of different topologies, transmission media, and protocols.
As used herein, the term “non-volatile storage medium” is defined as including, but not necessarily limited to, any media that can contain, store, retain, or maintain programs, code, scripts, information, and/or data. A non-volatile storage medium may include any one of many physical media such as, for example, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or semiconductor media. A non-volatile storage medium may be a component of a distributed system. More specific examples of suitable non-volatile storage media include, but are not limited to, a magnetic computer diskette such as floppy diskettes or hard drives, magnetic tape, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a flash drive, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), or a memristor.
As used herein, the term “processor” is defined as including, but not necessarily limited to, an instruction execution system such as a computer/processor based system, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a computing device, or a hardware and/or software system that can fetch or obtain the logic from a non-volatile storage medium and execute the instructions contained therein. “Processor” can also include any controller, state-machine, microprocessor, cloud-based utility, service or feature, or any other analogue, digital and/or mechanical implementation thereof. A processor may be a component of a distributed system.
As used herein, the term “printer” is defined as including, but not necessarily limited to, a peripheral that produces a representation of a document on one or both sides of media such as paper, transparency, fabric, etc. A printer can be single function or multi-function (e.g., including scanning, faxing, or other functionality). A printer can use any of a variety of different types of marking technologies such as laser, inkjet, dye-sublimation, off-set printing, thermal printing, impact, etc. As used herein, the term “distributed system” is defined as including, but not necessarily limited to, multiple processors and non-volatile storage media in different locations or systems that communicate via a network, such as the cloud.
As used herein, the term “device” is defined as including, but not necessarily limited to, at least one computer, server, smart or mobile phone, terminal, tablet, personal digital assistant, peripheral or other similar device. As used herein, the term “server” is defined as including, but not necessarily limited to, at least one computer, program, or combination thereof that processes requests, delivers data or other information, or provides one or more services over the cloud and/or a network.
As used herein, the term “application” is defined as including, but not necessarily limited to, a program, software, and/or firmware that causes a device to perform or assist a device in performing one or more tasks such as word processing, financial analysis, reporting, presentations, communications, etc. As used herein, the term “print job” is defined as data, a file, or a set of files that have been submitted to be printed by a printer. As used herein, the term “driver” is defined as including a program, software, and/or firmware that converts (i.e., renders) a print job to a format or form specific to a printer.
Referring again to
The sound produced by at least one of printers 14 through 18 may be generated by a speaker inside the printer. Alternatively, application 26 may produce the sound by selectively turning the printer off and then on. As another example, application 26 may actuate the printer by initiating a service station routine in those instances where the printer is an inkjet printer.
Print job 28 may be transmitted to the identified printer by application 26 via network 12. alternatively or additionally, server 22 may include a driver 30 for the identified printer to render transmitted print job 28. This helps users of device 20 so that they do not have to locate and install the correct driver 30 for the identified printer on device 20 which can be time consuming and challenging for at least some users.
Each of printers 14 through 18 may transmit location information to server 22. This may by accomplished in a variety of different ways such as, for example, use of the Global Positioning System (GPS)). As another example, the location of each of printers 14 through 18 may be provided to server 22 by virtue of the particular internet protocol (IP) addresses of each printer.
An example of map of printers 24 within a proximity of device 20 is shown in
The ability to selectively produce a sound on printers 14 through 18 in combination with map 24 help device 20 users more easily identify and select available printers within their proximity. It also helps such device 20 users more readily retrieve their completed print jobs from printers 14 through 18. This allows device 20 users to more easily take advantage of networked printers 14 through 18 than they might otherwise be able to do without this combination of features.
An example of a method for identifying networked printers 38 is shown in
An example of additional elements of method for identifying networked printers 38 is shown in
The map of networked printers may be created based on the location information transmitted from each of the networked printers. In such cases, method 28 may include the element of transmitting location information from each of the networked printers to the server, as indicated by block 60. The map may include a name of each of the printers, a direction of each of the printers relative to the device, a location of each of the printers, and/or a distance of each of the printers from the device.
An example of a non-volatile storage medium 62 having instructions executable by a processor 64, as generally indicated by double-headed arrow 66, is shown in
An example of non-volatile storage medium 62 including additional instructions executable by the processor 64, as generally indicated by double-headed arrow 66, is shown in
The map of networked printers may be created based on the location information transmitted from each of the networked printers. The map may include a name of each of the printers, a direction of each of the printers relative to the device, a location of each of the printers, and/or a distance of each of the printers from the device.
Although several drawings have been described and illustrated in detail, it is to be understood that the same are intended by way of illustration and example only. These examples are not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations may well be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Additionally, reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean one and only one, unless explicitly so stated, but rather means one or more. Moreover, no element or component is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element or component is explicitly recited in the following claims.
