Title of Invention	A METHOD FOR RETRIEVING AND PRINTING INFORMATION FROM A REMOTE SERVER USING A MULTI FUNCTION PERIPHERAL/PRINTER
Abstract	This invention enables the user to access information from a remote server by directly interacting with the remote server from the printer/MFP and getting the required information printed. Accordingly this invention provides the user (on the printer side) with a limited set of options for retrieving and printing specific information from the internet/Remote Server. Subsequently the address of the server will be determined and a request packet will be send for retrieving the information.

Title of Invention

A METHOD FOR RETRIEVING AND PRINTING INFORMATION FROM A REMOTE SERVER USING A MULTI FUNCTION PERIPHERAL/PRINTER

Abstract

This invention enables the user to access information from a remote server by directly interacting with the remote server from the printer/MFP and getting the required information printed. Accordingly this invention provides the user (on the printer side) with a limited set of options for retrieving and printing specific information from the internet/Remote Server. Subsequently the address of the server will be determined and a request packet will be send for retrieving the information.

Full Text	FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention in general relates to the art of printing. Particularly the present invention relates to the data transfer between multifunction peripheral/ printer and a remote server over network. More precisely the present invention depicts a method for retrieving and printing information from a remote server directly on a multi function peripheral/printer. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART The US Patent No 6,571,293 titled "Multifunction peripheral to host communications" describes a data processing system comprising a single host coupled by a communication channels to a single multifunction peripheral. The multifunction peripheral comprises a paper tray, a display, a user input device, a processor, a first memory for long term storage and a second rewritable memory for short term storage, a communications interface, the multifunction peripheral for providing document scanning and hard output functions. The Host comprises a processor, a first rewritable memory for long-term storage and a second rewritable memory for short-term storage, a communications interface, and a network adapter for communicating with a computer network. The communications channel coupling the communications interface of the multifunction peripheral and the communications interface of the Host. Data is transferred efficiently between the Host and the multifunction peripheral using the SCSI-2 standard by combining a header and content into a single packet and transmitting the packet using a SEND MESSAGE or GET MESSAGE command. As shown in figure 1, the MFP/printer can be connected directly to a computer through parallel port, USB port or it can be connected to multiple computers on a network through network interface cards. The Computers communicate with the MFP/printer through various communication channels. Whenever the user wishes to print some information, he/she can simply send it through appropriate application and device driver. It is possible because the printer is connected to user's terminal. The job of the device driver is to convert that information into a format understandable by the printer. Even though the printing can be performed successfully in the above system, there are certain difficulties if an end user wants to print some information which is available on a remote server on the internet for e.g. information of latest products from a particular company. Under these circumstances the user needs to download that info first on his computer and then direct it to the printer. In this scenario, the computer simply acts as an agent for transferring data from the remote server to the printer. Based on the foregoing it has been found that there is a demand to enable the user to access information from a remote server by directly interacting with the remote server from the printer/MFP and getting the required information printed. Accordingly this invention provides the user (on the printer side) with a limited set of options for retrieving and printing specific information from the internet/Remote Server. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary object of this invention is therefore to invent a method to retrieve and print information from a remote server directly on a multi function peripheral/printer. It is another object of the invention invent a method to download and print the information without the help of a computer. It is also an object of the invention to enable easy access of commercial products directly in a printed form Accordingly, the invention provides a method for retrieving and printing information from a remote server directly on a multi function peripheral/printer, the method comprising the steps of: a) prompting the user to choose from a set of options from the printer console for the purpose of retrieving and printing particular information from the available servers and fetching the user's choice; b) determining the address of the server to whom the request has to be sent based on the above said choice of information; c) framing a request packet containing the above mentioned details and the information about the languages/data formats supported by the printer; d) connecting to the server and sending the said request packet; e) receiving the requested information transmitted by the server and determining whether the data received is of understandable format; and f) printing of the data if it is in the correct format. Other advantages and features of the invention will become more clearly apparent from the following description of the embodiments of the invention given as non- restrictive example only and represented in the accompanying drawings. BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS Figure 1 shows the prior art method of printing information. Figure 2 shows a top view of the interconnection between MFP/Printer and the server according to the invention. As shown in the figure, the MFP/Printer will be connected to the internet to enable it to access the remote server. Figure 3 shows a flow diagram depicting the operation of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood however that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. The following description and drawings are not to be construed as limiting the invention and numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention, as the basis for the claims and as a basis for teaching one skilled in the art on how to make and/or use the invention. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention in detail. The prior art method for printing information from remote source is diagrammatically represented in Fig 1. It can be observed from Fig 1 that printing of information from a remote server is possible only with the help of local server and local network. The information can be printed either in a printer/MFP connected to a computer in the network or in a network printer/MFP in the local network. According to the invention it is possible to print the information directly on the printer as shown in Fig 2. The said printer/MFP is connected to the server through appropriate communication channel. The following modules are present on the MFP/Printer side: 1. PanelDisplay module: This module is responsible for displaying the appropriate messages to the end user through a panel present on the MFP/Printer 2. PanelKeys module: This module is responsible for getting the input from the user through the set of keys present on the MFP/Printer 3. Connection module: This module takes care of connecting and disconnecting the communication channel with the remote server 4. SendPacket module: This module frames and sends the request packet to the remote server through the communication channel established by the communication task 5. ReceivePacket module: This module receives the packet from the remote server and determines the action to be performed depending on the packet received. 6. ErrorMessage module: This module is responsible for handling the error conditions and displaying appropriate messages on the display panel Server side Includes the following modules: 1. ReceivePacket module: This module receives the packet from the MFP/Printer and determines the languages/data formats supported by the printer. 2. Driverlnterface module: The function of this module to convert the requested information in one of the supported formats with the help of available drivers, if the requested information is not present in any of the format supported by the printer. 3. SendPacket module: This module frames and sends the request packet to the MFP/Printer through the communication channel established by the communication task. 4. Connection module: This module takes care of connecting and disconnecting the communication channel with the MFP/Printer. The working of the invention is detailed below. It would be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the following steps are involved at the printer side. 1. Provide users with a list of options from the printer console for retrieving and printing particular information from the available servers. 2. Get the user's choice 3. Determine the address of the server to whom the request has to be sent. 4. Frame the request packet. Include the information about the languages/data formats supported by this printer. 5. Connect to the said server. 6. Send request packet to the server. 7. Receive the data sent by the server. 8. Determine whether the data received is of understandable format. If not display appropriate message on printer console. 9. Print the received data. The following are the steps involved at server side: 1. Receive the request sent by the printer. 2. Determine the languages/data formats supported by the printer. 3. If the requested information is not present in any of the format supported by the printer, then convert the requested information in one of the supported formats. 4. Send the requested information. As far as the server side functionality is concerned, if the requested information is already present on the server in the required format then no new functionality needs to be added. The server can service the request by sending the requested info using any of the conventional data transfer protocols like FTP. The interaction of the above mentioned tasks have been depicted in figure 3 and is explained here for better clarity. 1. Get user's choice (Printer/MFP side): This block comprises of PanelDisplay and PanelKeys module (described in next section). The main purpose of this is to get the request from the user. 2. Frame request (Printer/MFP side): This is the next step after getting the user's choice. The requests are framed as per the standards for internet communication. 3. Send request (Printer/MFP side): This block involves Connection and SendPacket modules. The connection is first established with the remote server and the request is then sent to it over the communication channel 4. Receive request (server side): The ReceivePacket module on the server will receive the request sent by the Printer/MFP 5. Determine type (server side): The main function is to determines the type of languages supported by the MFP/Printer 6. Convert to requested type (server side): After determining the requested language, the Service Request task hands over the requested data to appropriate Driver Interface which translates the data into requested language. 7. Send data (server side): The SendPacket module on the server side then formats this output data into internet packets and sends them back to the MFP/Printer over the communication channel. 8. Receive data (Printer/MFP side): The ReceivePacket module on the MFP/Printer takes care of receiving the data sent by the remote server and handing it over to the PrintData module 9. Print data (Printer/MFP side): The PrintData module then prints the data sent by the remote server. This invention would enable the user to access information from a remote server by directly interacting with the printer/MFP and getting the required information printed. This invention is very useful for providing user (on the printer side) with a set of options for retrieving and printing specific information from the server. The information can be: - Info/list of latest products of a particular company. - Price list of products. - Instructions to operate/troubleshoot a product. Latest score cards of a particular sporting activity. - Latest news. It will also be obvious to those skilled in the art that other control methods and apparatuses can be derived from the combinations of the various methods and apparatuses of the present invention as taught by the description and the accompanying drawings and these shall also be considered within the scope of the present invention. Further, description of such combinations and variations is therefore omitted below. Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications are possible and are apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims unless they depart therefrom. WE CLAIM 1. A method for retrieving and printing information from a remote server directly on a multi function peripheral/printer, the method comprising the steps of: a) prompting the user to choose from a set of options from the printer console for the purpose of retrieving and printing particular information from the available servers and fetching the user's choice; b) determining the address of the server to whom the request has to be sent based on the above said choice of information; c) framing a request packet containing the above mentioned details and the information about the languages/data formats supported by the printer; d) connecting to the server and sending the said request packet; e) receiving the requested information transmitted by the server and determining whether the data received is of understandable format; and f) printing of the data if it is in the correct format. 2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the server converts the requested information in one of the supported formats before sending he information if the requested information is not present in any of the format supported by the printer. 3. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein appropriate message is displayed on printer console when the received data is of understandable format. 4. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said printer/multifunction peripheral supports PCLs or PS as printer language. 5. A method retrieving and printing information from a remote server directly on a multi function peripheral/printer, substantially as herein above described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Full Text

FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention in general relates to the art of printing. Particularly the present invention relates to the data transfer between multifunction peripheral/ printer and a remote server over network. More precisely the present invention depicts a method for retrieving and printing information from a remote server directly on a multi function peripheral/printer.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
The US Patent No 6,571,293 titled "Multifunction peripheral to host communications" describes a data processing system comprising a single host coupled by a communication channels to a single multifunction peripheral. The multifunction peripheral comprises a paper tray, a display, a user input device, a processor, a first memory for long term storage and a second rewritable memory for short term storage, a communications interface, the multifunction peripheral for providing document scanning and hard output functions. The Host comprises a processor, a first rewritable memory for long-term storage and a second rewritable memory for short-term storage, a communications interface, and a network adapter for communicating with a computer network. The communications channel coupling the communications interface of the multifunction peripheral and the communications interface of the Host. Data is transferred efficiently between the Host and the multifunction peripheral using the SCSI-2 standard by combining a header and content into a single packet and transmitting the packet using a SEND MESSAGE or GET MESSAGE command.
As shown in figure 1, the MFP/printer can be connected directly to a computer through parallel port, USB port or it can be connected to multiple computers on a network through network interface cards. The Computers communicate with the MFP/printer through various communication channels. Whenever the user wishes to print some information, he/she can simply send it through appropriate application and device driver. It is possible because the printer is connected to user's terminal. The job of the device driver is to convert that information into a format understandable by the printer.
Even though the printing can be performed successfully in the above system, there are certain difficulties if an end user wants to print some information which is available on a remote server on the internet for e.g. information of latest products from a particular company. Under these circumstances the user needs to download that info first on his computer and then direct it to the printer. In this scenario, the computer simply acts as an agent for transferring data from the remote server to the printer.
Based on the foregoing it has been found that there is a demand to enable the user to access information from a remote server by directly interacting with the remote server from the printer/MFP and getting the required information printed. Accordingly this invention provides the user (on the printer side) with a limited set of options for retrieving and printing specific information from the internet/Remote Server.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary object of this invention is therefore to invent a method to retrieve and print information from a remote server directly on a multi function peripheral/printer.
It is another object of the invention invent a method to download and print the information without the help of a computer.
It is also an object of the invention to enable easy access of commercial products directly in a printed form
Accordingly, the invention provides a method for retrieving and printing information from a remote server directly on a multi function peripheral/printer, the method comprising the steps of:
a) prompting the user to choose from a set of options from the printer console for the purpose of retrieving and printing particular information from the available servers and fetching the user's choice;
b) determining the address of the server to whom the request has to be sent based on the above said choice of information;
c) framing a request packet containing the above mentioned details and the information about the languages/data formats supported by the printer;
d) connecting to the server and sending the said request packet;
e) receiving the requested information transmitted by the server and determining whether the data received is of understandable format; and
f) printing of the data if it is in the correct format.
Other advantages and features of the invention will become more clearly apparent from the following description of the embodiments of the invention given as non- restrictive example only and represented in the accompanying drawings.
BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
Figure 1 shows the prior art method of printing information.
Figure 2 shows a top view of the interconnection between MFP/Printer and the server according to the invention. As shown in the figure, the MFP/Printer will be connected to the internet to enable it to access the remote server.
Figure 3 shows a flow diagram depicting the operation of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood however that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. The following description and drawings are not to be construed as limiting the invention and numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention, as the basis for the claims and as a basis for teaching one skilled in the art on how to make and/or use the invention. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention in detail.
The prior art method for printing information from remote source is diagrammatically represented in Fig 1. It can be observed from Fig 1 that printing of information from a remote server is possible only with the help of local server and local network. The information can be printed either in a printer/MFP connected to a computer in the network or in a network printer/MFP in the local network.
According to the invention it is possible to print the information directly on the printer as shown in Fig 2. The said printer/MFP is connected to the server through appropriate communication channel.
The following modules are present on the MFP/Printer side:
1. PanelDisplay module: This module is responsible for displaying the
appropriate messages to the end user through a panel present on the MFP/Printer
2. PanelKeys module: This module is responsible for getting the input
from the user through the set of keys present on
the MFP/Printer
3. Connection module: This module takes care of connecting and
disconnecting the communication channel with the remote server
4. SendPacket module: This module frames and sends the request packet to
the remote server through the communication channel established by the communication task
5. ReceivePacket module: This module receives the packet from the remote
server and determines the action to be performed depending on the packet received.
6. ErrorMessage module: This module is responsible for handling the error
conditions and displaying appropriate messages on the display panel
Server side Includes the following modules:
1. ReceivePacket module: This module receives the packet from the
MFP/Printer and determines the languages/data formats supported by the printer.
2. Driverlnterface module: The function of this module to convert the
requested information in one of the supported formats with the help of available drivers, if the requested information is not present in any of the format supported by the printer.
3. SendPacket module: This module frames and sends the request packet to
the MFP/Printer through the communication channel established by the communication task.
4. Connection module: This module takes care of connecting and
disconnecting the communication channel with the MFP/Printer.
The working of the invention is detailed below. It would be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the following steps are involved at the printer side.
1. Provide users with a list of options from the printer console for retrieving and printing particular information from the available servers.
2. Get the user's choice
3. Determine the address of the server to whom the request has to be sent.
4. Frame the request packet. Include the information about the languages/data formats supported by this printer.
5. Connect to the said server.
6. Send request packet to the server.
7. Receive the data sent by the server.
8. Determine whether the data received is of understandable format. If not display appropriate message on printer console.
9. Print the received data.
The following are the steps involved at server side:
1. Receive the request sent by the printer.
2. Determine the languages/data formats supported by the printer.
3. If the requested information is not present in any of the format supported by the printer, then convert the requested information in one of the supported formats.
4. Send the requested information.
As far as the server side functionality is concerned, if the requested information is already present on the server in the required format then no new functionality needs to be added. The server can service the request by sending the requested info using any of the conventional data transfer protocols like FTP.
The interaction of the above mentioned tasks have been depicted in figure 3 and
is explained here for better clarity.
1. Get user's choice (Printer/MFP side): This block comprises of PanelDisplay and PanelKeys module (described in next section). The main purpose of this is to get the request from the user.
2. Frame request (Printer/MFP side): This is the next step after getting the user's choice. The requests are framed as per the standards for internet communication.
3. Send request (Printer/MFP side): This block involves Connection and SendPacket modules. The connection is first established with the remote server and the request is then sent to it over the communication channel
4. Receive request (server side): The ReceivePacket module on the server will receive the request sent by the Printer/MFP
5. Determine type (server side): The main function is to determines the type of languages supported by the MFP/Printer
6. Convert to requested type (server side): After determining the requested language, the Service Request task hands over the requested data to appropriate Driver Interface which translates the data into requested language.
7. Send data (server side): The SendPacket module on the server side then formats this output data into internet packets and sends them back to the MFP/Printer over the communication channel.
8. Receive data (Printer/MFP side): The ReceivePacket module on the MFP/Printer takes care of receiving the data sent by the remote server and handing it over to the PrintData module
9. Print data (Printer/MFP side): The PrintData module then prints the data sent by the remote server.
This invention would enable the user to access information from a remote server by directly interacting with the printer/MFP and getting the required information printed.
This invention is very useful for providing user (on the printer side) with a set of options for retrieving and printing specific information from the server. The information can be:
- Info/list of latest products of a particular company.
- Price list of products.
- Instructions to operate/troubleshoot a product.
Latest score cards of a particular sporting activity.
- Latest news.
It will also be obvious to those skilled in the art that other control methods and apparatuses can be derived from the combinations of the various methods and apparatuses of the present invention as taught by the description and the accompanying drawings and these shall also be considered within the scope of the present invention. Further, description of such combinations and variations is therefore omitted below.
Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications are possible and are apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims unless they depart therefrom.

WE CLAIM
1. A method for retrieving and printing information from a remote server directly on a multi function peripheral/printer, the method comprising the steps of:
a) prompting the user to choose from a set of options from the printer console for the purpose of retrieving and printing particular information from the available servers and fetching the user's choice;
b) determining the address of the server to whom the request has to be sent based on the above said choice of information;
c) framing a request packet containing the above mentioned details and the information about the languages/data formats supported by the printer;
d) connecting to the server and sending the said request packet;
e) receiving the requested information transmitted by the server and determining whether the data received is of understandable format; and
f) printing of the data if it is in the correct format.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the server converts the requested information in one of the supported formats before sending he information if the requested information is not present in any of the format supported by the printer.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein appropriate message is displayed on printer console when the received data is of understandable format.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said printer/multifunction peripheral supports PCLs or PS as printer language.
5. A method retrieving and printing information from a remote server directly on a multi function peripheral/printer, substantially as herein above described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

163-CHE-2005 AMENDED PAGES OF SPECIFICATION 26-02-2013.pdf

163-CHE-2005 AMENDED CLAIMS 26-02-2013.pdf

163-CHE-2005 EXAMINATION REPORT REPLY RECEIVED 26-02-2013.pdf

163-CHE-2005 FORM-1 26-02-2013.pdf

163-CHE-2005 FORM-13 26-02-2013.pdf

163-CHE-2005 OTHER PATENT DOCUMENT 26-02-2013.pdf

163-CHE-2005 POWER OF ATTORNEY 26-02-2013.pdf

163-che-2005 abstract.pdf

163-che-2005 claims.pdf

163-che-2005 correspondence others.pdf

163-che-2005 description (complete).pdf

163-che-2005 drawings.pdf

163-che-2005 form 1.pdf

163-che-2005 form 13 19-06-2006.pdf

163-che-2005 form 18 04-12-2007.pdf

163-che-2005 power of attorney.pdf

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Patent Number

255894

Indian Patent Application Number

163/CHE/2005

PG Journal Number

14/2013

Publication Date

05-Apr-2013

Grant Date

28-Mar-2013

Date of Filing

24-Feb-2005

Name of Patentee

SAMSUNG INDIA SOFTWARE OPERATIONS PVT. LTD.

Applicant Address

BAGMANE LAKEVIEW, BLOCK B, NO. 66/1, BAGMANE TECH PARK, CV RAMAN NAGAR, BYRASANDRA, BANGALORE-560 093.

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	NIKHIL RADHESHAM AGARWAL	J.P. TECHNO PARK, 3/1, MILLERS ROAD, BANGALORE-560 052.

PCT International Classification Number

G06C11/04

PCT International Application Number

N/A

PCT International Filing date

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1			NA