KR100833236B1 - A method of network printing using subnet mask - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for performing network printing using a subnet mask, the method comprising: reading a source Internet Protocol (IP) address; Extracting a subnet mask from a source IP address; Checking the subnet mask with a print block address; Performing a print job if the subnet mask has a print permission; Stopping the print job if the subnet mask does not have a print permission; Checking whether a priority is assigned to a subnet address; If priorities are assigned, reading the priorities and instructing the printer the print jobs at the read priority; If no priorities are assigned, instructing the printer of a normal print job; And updating the statistical information in the memory based on the success and failure of the print job.

Description

A method of network printing using subnet mask}

1 is a flowchart illustrating a general process of network printing.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of network printing based on the subnet address of the present invention.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to printing techniques, and furthermore, the invention relates to techniques for controlling triggered printing commands sent from various network computers connected to a printer. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of performing network printing using a subnet mask.

Currently available printers for computer systems and other devices that use hard copy output are two types of printers: standalone (standalone) and networked printers. Stand-alone printers are connected directly to one port of a computer system used physically close to the computer system. Such computers are easy to monitor and control because of their proximity and direct connection to computer systems. Historically, in the case of a computer such as a mainframe or server, one printer or a single set of printers is located in a place shared by a number of clients connected to the mainframe or server, ie in a somewhat remote location. In recent years, as local computer networks (LANs) and broadband networks (WANs) of many computer systems become more common, networking has become widespread to provide a single or series of printers to many computers.

In traditional network printers, a single printer (or series of printers) is often connected through a central server that manages many different computer systems. In contrast, in the absence of a central server, individual workstations perform server functions. The user of any computer system must select a printer to use, or a default printer can be assigned by the administrator upon setting up the computer system. In any case, the user can select (or leave the default) the printer used when sending print jobs over the network. The user can also select all parameters such as print image quality, color or black and white, and then send the print job. If the print job is successful, the user can go to the printer and get the printed job. However, if there is an error or if the printer is busy processing another user's print job, the user will be notified. Printer errors such as "no printer paper" are typically indicated for traditional network printers. At this point of error, the user can handle the printer error where the network printer is located and replenish the paper in the case of a message of type "Printer out of paper", or cancel the current job and resend the print job to a different printer. do.

A network printer for a print job prints to a network printer. First, the network printer checks the user's preference for print jobs that the user wishes to send, such as resolution and image quality. The network printer then uses a server, database, or other query to determine the best printer to match print job preferences, to be physically close to the user, and to send the print job to that printer. If the printer returns an error signal, the network printer determines another printer that is similar in closeness to the print job preferences and resends the print job. If the printer is busy, the busy signal is resent. The user then selects the next available and suitable printer as determined by the network printer or whether to wait. When the print job is finished, the user will be notified of the physical location of the printer where the print job has been processed.

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following limitations.

1. Delayed print job

2. Not all users have access to the printer, which is not cost effective.

3. Statistical information cannot be maintained based on subnet address.

As another prior art, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-280851, US Patent Publication 2005-0105130, 2004-0059949, and Korean Patent Publication 2000-033703 are disclosed. There was no teaching about things.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for performing a higher priority print job prior to a reserved print job in a network environment, and to provide a method for obtaining statistical information on the number of prints made.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of assigning priority-based settings at the printer side to print an allocated page based on a sender's print job. Currently printing is done on a first-come, first-served basis. When an IP address based priority list is assigned to a printer, the printer works based on a priority list that performs a printing request. The subnet mask of the IP source address is checked for any print request. Depending on the subnet address, the user can assign priorities, interrupt printing, and the user can also maintain statistical information (i.e. number of printed prints).

The above objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a method of performing network printing using a subnet mask, the method of

(a) reading a source Internet Protocol (IP) address;

(b) extracting a subnet mask from a source IP address;

(c) checking the subnet mask with a print block address;

(d) performing a print job if the subnet mask has a print permission;

(e) stopping the print job if the subnet mask does not have a print permission;

(f) checking whether a priority is assigned to the subnet address;

(g) if priorities are assigned, directing the print job to the printer at the read and read priority levels;

(h) if no priority is assigned, instructing the printer of a normal print job; And

(i) updating the statistical information in the memory based on the success and failure of the print job.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings and the claims.

Hereinafter, a method of performing network printing using a subnet mask according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention and may be embodied in various forms. The following description and drawings are not to be regarded as limiting the invention, and numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention, the invention being based on the claims and to those skilled in the art. Provided to teach methods for making and / or using. However, in some instances, well known or conventional details have not been described in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.

Print jobs are printed on networked printers regardless of the type of user. However, in a network environment, every printing device has a unique IP address. The IP address has two parts; It contains the subnet identifier and station identifier. By inspecting and extracting the IP subnet portion of the IP addresses, the user has full control over the printer. That is, the user may block the print operation on a specific printer, assign a priority to the print job, and the user may also maintain statistical information (i.e., the number of prints obtained based on the subnet address).

1 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of network printing. When the user transmits a print job (100), a check is first made (110) to see if the printer is ready. If the printer is ready to be printed, a print job is performed (112). If not, checks are made 114 to see why the printer is not ready again.

a. The printer is not ready because of an error

b. The printer is not ready because it is not available

If the printer is not ready because of the error, the user is informed to clear the error and then proceed (116). Then, after clearing the error (120), the print job is performed (112). If the printer is not ready because the printer is not available (118), the user waits for some time (122) the printer becomes available (112), or selects another computer (124) to waste printing. Can be avoided. If the error is not cleared in step 120, the process proceeds to step 124 to select another computer to perform printing.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of network printing based on the subnet address of the present invention. First, the source IP address of the data packet is read (200). Next, a check is performed to determine whether the subnet mask is the same as the blocked subnet (210). If the subnet mask is a blocked subnet, printing is stopped (215). If the subnet is not blocked, a check is made to see if priority is assigned for the subnet address (212). If a priority is assigned, the priority is read and a print job sent to the printer according to the read priority (214). If no priority is assigned, a normal print job is sent to the printer (216). A check is then made to see if printing was successful (218). Then, the success and failure counts of printing are updated in the base of the subnet (220, 222). Finally, the statistical information based on the success or failure of the print job is updated in the memory (224).

The architecture of the present invention allows the printer to be configured with an appropriate subnet mask for the environment (i.e. includes the subnet identifier for the station identifier of the IP source address). According to Fig. 2, the IP subnet portion of the IP source address is examined and extracted. That is, it checks to see if the subnet is authorized to print. If you have permission to print, assign a priority check. If the print job has a high priority, it stops the current print job, prints a print job of a higher priority, and updates statistics. This updated statistical information will be stored in the permanent storage medium. If a print job has been sent to the printer, the subnet address will not have a print permission, then stop printing and send an error message to the user. This new module is added to the MFP to make a decision before printing the manuscript.

The present invention operates in the following steps.

1. reading a source Internet Protocol (IP) address;

2. extracting the subnet mask from the source IP address;

3. checking the subnet mask with a print mask address;

4. performing a print job if the subnet mask has a print permission, and stopping the print job if the subnet mask does not have a print permission;

5. checking whether a priority is assigned to the subnet address;

6. If priorities have been assigned, instructing the printer to read and print the priorities with priorities;

7. If no priority is assigned, instructing the printer of a normal print job; And

8. updating the statistical information based on the success and failure of the print job.

The following are the advantages of the present invention compared to the existing method.

High priority jobs can be printed prior to scheduled operations.

* High security can be maintained.

Cost effective

* Select printer to perform printing based on user type.

Statistics may be maintained based on the subnet address.

The above description is the best mode for carrying out the invention. The methods and processes for making and using the invention are described in sufficient, clear, and correct terms so that those skilled in the art can make and use the invention. In particular, new embodiments may be created that fall within the scope of the invention. In this case, different details of different embodiments may be intentionally combined with each other.

However, modifications and alternative arrangements of the above as equivalent to the whole as a whole may be tolerated. As a result, there is no intention to limit the invention to the particular embodiments disclosed. On the other hand, it includes all modifications and alternative arrangements that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims that specifically describe the subject matter of the invention and to discriminate against it.

The present invention has the effect of providing a method for performing a higher priority print job in advance of a reserved print job in a network environment and obtaining statistical information on the number of prints made.

In addition, the present invention has the effect of providing a method of assigning priority-based settings at the printer side to print the assigned page based on the sender's print job.

In addition, the present invention is dependent on the subnet address, so that the user can assign priorities, interfere with printing, and maintain statistical information (i.e. the number of printed prints).

Claims (5)

In the method of performing network printing using a subnet mask, (a) reading a source Internet Protocol (IP) address; (b) extracting a subnet mask from the source IP address; (c) checking the subnet mask with a print block address, performing a print job if the subnet mask has a print permission, and stopping the print job if the subnet mask does not have the print permission; (d) check whether a priority is assigned to the subnet address, and if the priority is assigned, instruct the printer a print job with the priority read and read, and if the priority is not assigned, Instructing the printer a normal print job; And (e) updating the statistical information in memory based on the success and failure of the print job. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the printer maintains statistical information by intercepting print operations, assigning priorities to print jobs, and examining and extracting IP subnets of IP addresses. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein for a higher priority, a current print job is stopped and the higher priority print job is printed and the statistical information is updated. The method of claim 1, wherein the updated statistical information is stored in a permanent storage medium. The method of claim 1, wherein an error message is sent to the user when printing is blocked.

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