KR20050078098A - Method of printing remotely and the printer server thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for supporting remote printing and a print server using the same, and more particularly, to print using a printer at a remote location using a printer server including a plurality of printer drivers and a network gateway device. It is about a method. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a printer capable of remote printing includes a receiving unit which receives data to be printed and user information from a transmitting device of a user through a network gateway; A plurality of printer drivers for converting the transmitted data into transfer type data; A management unit for authenticating a user and selecting a printer driver to be used through the interpretation of the user information; And a transmission unit for transmitting the transfer-type data converted by the selected printer driver to a printer through a network gateway.

Description

Method of printing remotely and the printer server using the same

The present invention relates to a method for supporting remote printing and a print server using the same, and more particularly, to a printing method using a printer at a remote location using a printer server including a plurality of printer drivers and a network gateway device. It is about.

1 is a view showing a printing method according to the prior art.

As shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 1 (a) is composed of a user computer having a printer driver for converting data to be printed into transfer type data and a printer for receiving and printing transfer type data. A printer server for relaying transfer data is added to the system configuration shown in Fig. 1A, and Fig. 1C is composed of a printer including a printer driver.

Looking at the printing method according to the prior art by the configuration of the system as described above, first, in the case of Figure 1 (a) converts the data (picture, document, etc.) to be printed in the printer driver installed in the user computer to the transfer-type data, and The printed data is delivered to the printer for printing.

In addition, in the case of Fig. 1 (b), the operation is almost the same as that in Fig. 1 (a), except that the method of managing the transfer data by the printer server is different.

Finally, in the case of Fig. 1 (c), the user directly transmits data to be printed (a word processor document, a JPEG picture file, etc.) to the printer, and the printer converts the data sent by the user to the transfer-type data using the built-in printer driver for printing do.

However, the printing method according to the prior art has a problem that printing is not possible in a device that is difficult to install a separate printer driver, such as a digital camera, a PDA, a set-top box.

In addition, a device having only a printer driver capable of printing a limited number of documents can print only a supported document, and there is a problem that it is difficult to update the embedded printer driver.

An object of the present invention is to enable printing to a remote printer even in a device that is difficult to install a printer driver.

Still another object of the present invention is to install a printer driver of all document forms on a print server, to print documents of all forms, and to easily update an embedded printer driver.

The objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to achieve the above object, a remote printable printer server according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a receiving unit for receiving data to be printed and user information transmitted from a user's transmitting device through a network gateway; A plurality of printer drivers for converting the transmitted data into transfer type data; A management unit for authenticating a user and selecting a printer driver to be used through the interpretation of the user information; And a transmission unit for transmitting the transfer-type data converted by the selected printer driver to a printer through a network gateway.

In addition, the method for remote printing according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of transmitting the data to be printed and the user information from the user's transmission device to the printer server through a network gateway; Selecting a printer driver to be used and authenticating the user by interpreting the user information; And converting the data transmitted by the selected printer driver into transfer data and transmitting the data to a printer through a network gateway.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and the drawings.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods of achieving the same will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but can be implemented in various different forms, and only the embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. It is provided to fully inform the person having the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 shows the components of a print server 5 capable of remote printing according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Fig. 2, the remote-printable printer server 5 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention transmits data to be printed and user information from the transmission device 1 of the user through the network gateway 30. A receiving unit 50; A plurality of printer drivers for converting the transmitted data into transfer type data; A management unit 52 for authenticating a user and selecting a printer driver 54 to be used by analyzing the user information; And a transmitter 56 for transmitting the transfer-type data converted by the selected printer driver 54 to the printer through the network gateway 31.

The user device 1 generally uses a lot of PCs, but also includes devices that are difficult to install separate printer drivers such as PDAs and set-top boxes that are currently being used in general.

The network gateway 30 may be connected to the same subnetwork as the user transmitting apparatus 1, and performs a network router function to relay a WAN and a home network in a home, or may be used in an environment such as an office. It may be a subnetwork and a network gateway structure.

It is more preferable that the subnetwork is isolated from the external network in the network to which the present invention is applied because there are more operational constraints when both network areas are separated.

The mutual device discovery or data transfer between the user's transmission device 1 and the network gateway 30 is preferably performed by UPnP protocol.

The UpnP protocol is described below.

The network according to the UpnP protocol consists of a private network based on the Internet Protocol (hereinafter referred to as IP), and is a middleware that includes various devices such as personal computers (PCs), intelligent products, and wireless devices. Through a common virtual computing environment called "control" by connecting to a network.

Middleware is a device that enables communication between devices by connecting various digital devices in a peer-to-peer manner. HAVI (Home AV Interoperability), UPnP (Universal Plug and Play Control Device), Jini (Java Intelligent Network Infrastructure), Home Wide Web (HWW), etc. have been proposed to date.

Among them, in a computing environment built with UPnP middleware, each device is assigned an address assigned by a server or selected by Auto IP according to the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (hereinafter referred to as DHCP). It is assigned and performs communication between each device and search / inquiry on the network.

Accordingly, each device present in the network is discovered through a protocol such as Simple Service Discovery Protocol (hereinafter referred to as SSDP), and the discovered device is a control device called through the Simple Object Access Protocol (hereinafter referred to as SOAP). Motion control.

The control structure between network devices includes a home network device (Controlled Device), which is a device connected to an IP-based network and controlled, and a Control Point, which is a device for controlling the controlled devices. Hereinafter referred to as a control device). In addition, the control device and the controlled device on the home network are connected to the external Internet through a network connection module.

The controlled device may have several embedded devices, and each device implements a specific service according to its function. The control device analyzes an XML file that describes the services of a particular device to determine what commands it can give.

The user information includes information on a fritter used for output and information on user authentication. The information on user authentication is a data that allows a user who wants to print to determine whether he or she is authorized to print using the printer. Although not necessary, information such as ID and password may be used to prevent unauthorized access to the print server. It is preferable to include.

The information on the printer refers to information on the type, performance, location, etc. of the printer, through which the printer driver 54 to be used in the printer server 5 is selected, and the converted data is transmitted to the corresponding printer 7 through the transmission unit 56. To transmit.

The management unit 52 selects the printer driver 54 among the plurality of printer drivers based on the received user information, which is required because the printer driver 54 required by the type of printer is different.

In addition, the management unit 52 performs a task of selecting a printer driver to be used or user authentication using the user information.

Hereinafter, the user information will be described, and the user authentication process made in accordance with the user information and the process of selecting a printer driver to be used will be described next.

In the user information, information such as ID or password required for user authentication and information on a printer selected by the user to perform a print job among a plurality of printers are recorded. The user information may be implemented to be directly input by the user or stored in advance.

First, the process of recording information on a printer selected for use in printing in user information according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described.

For example, when a user performs a task of selecting and outputting one of a plurality of printers using a computer, the user may display a GUI (Graphic User) displaying a plurality of remote printers which can be used for printing as shown in FIG. Interface screen is provided. The user selects a printer to perform a print job by using a mouse pointer on the output screen, and information on the printer selected by the user is recorded in the user information.

Next, a process of recording user information required for user authentication according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described.

For example, the user inputs authentication information including ID and password through a chat window implemented as shown in FIG. 5, and the authentication information is recorded in the user information. However, the input of the authentication information may be implemented to be stored in the computer in advance before selecting the printer. Accordingly, when the user merely selects the printer, the stored user authentication information is automatically recorded in the user information, transmitted to the server 5, and the print job is performed.

The printer driver 54 first receives data to be printed from the network gateway 30 and converts the data into data that can be input to the printer driver. Next, the converted data is converted into transfer-type data based on the information on the printer to be used in the print job. The transfer data has a data format that is input to a corresponding printer to enable a print job.

The printer 7 receives the transfer data and performs a print job. In this case, when the printer 7 has a network function, the network gateway 31 and the printer 7 may be connected by a network. When the printer 7 does not have a network function, a USB or parallel printer in which the network gateway 31 is built-in is installed. The printer 7 can be connected to the port.

The present invention is applicable to both network printers and non-network printers.

The printer server 5 can be accessed via the Internet or an intranet from the viewpoint of the network gateway. In any case, the present invention can be applied as long as the network gateway and the remote printer server can communicate with each other using IP.

3 is a method for remote printing according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, comprising: transmitting data to be printed and user information from a user's transmitting device to a printer server 5 through a network gateway 30; Through the interpretation of the user information, authenticating the user and selecting a printer driver (54) to be used; And converting the transmitted data by the selected printer driver 54 into transfer type data and transmitting the converted data to the printer through the network gateway 31.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods of achieving the same will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various forms. It is provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

According to the method for remote printing of the present invention as described above and a printer server using the same, one or more of the following effects are provided.

First, there is an advantage that the printer can be used in a device that is difficult to install the printer driver using a printer server and a network gateway with a built-in printer driver.

Another object of the present invention is to install a printer driver of all document forms on the print server can print documents of all forms, there is an advantage that can easily update the built-in printer driver.

1 is a view showing a printing method according to the prior art.

2 is a view showing the components of a print server that supports remote printing according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a view showing a method for remote printing according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 shows a GUI provided for selecting a printer to print according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating a GUI provided for inputting user authentication information according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings>

 1: user transmitter 30, 31: network gateway

5: print server 50: receiver

52: management unit 54: printer driver

56: transmitter 7: printer

Claims (8)

A receiving unit for receiving data to be printed and user information from a transmitting device of a user through a network gateway; One or more printer drivers for converting the transmitted data into transfer type data; A management unit for authenticating a user and selecting a printer driver to be used among the one or more printer drivers through interpretation of the user information; And And a transmission unit for transmitting the transfer-type data converted by the selected printer driver to a printer through a network gateway. The method of claim 1, And the user information includes information on a printer to be output and information necessary for the user authentication. The method of claim 2, A printer server supporting remote printing, wherein mutual device discovery or data transfer between the user's transmitting device and a network gateway is performed by UPnP protocol.  The method of claim 2, A printer server supporting remote printing, wherein the data to be printed from the network gateway to the receiving unit is printed via the Internet or an intranet. Transmitting data to be printed and user information from a user's transmitting device to a print server through a network gateway; Selecting a printer driver to be used and authenticating the user by interpreting the user information; And Converting the transmitted data by the selected printer driver into transfer-type data and transmitting the data to a printer through a network gateway. The method of claim 5, And the user information includes information about a printer to be output and information necessary for the user authentication. The method of claim 6, The mutual device discovery or data transfer between the user's transmitting device and the network gateway is a remote printing support by the UPnP protocol.  The method of claim 6, And transmitting data to be printed from the network gateway to the print server via the Internet or an intranet.