Method and apparatus for embodying documents
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Company
InventorsAthena Christodoulou, Richard Taylor, Christopher Tofts
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An information technology network comprises a plurality of printers and at least one computing entity which serves as a print manager. Print jobs are distributed speculatively to a plurality of printers, which determine locally whether to proceed with the allocated job. Duplication of a job, by two or more printers is prevented by an appropriate communication protocol between printers.
Claims28
A method of executing a print job comprising at least one pint process, the method including the steps of:
- dispatching at least a job notice to a plurality of candidate printers;
- and upon acceptance of the job by one of the candidates, preventing any other candidate printer from executing the job.
A method according to claim wherein the print job includes more than one print process, and acceptance of the job is indicated by a candidate printer upon completion of a predetermined print process on source data for the job.
A method of executing a print job including at least one print process in an information technology network comprising a plurality of printers, each having its own designated storage and processing capacity, the method comprising the steps of:
- dispatching, via the network, at least a job ticket to each of a plurality of candidate printers;
- and
- upon acceptance of the job by one of the candidate printers, preventing any other candidate printer from executing the job.
An information technology network including a plurality of printers, each having its own designated storage and processor, a print operations function including a print engine, and a network port via which communications with other printers of the network are sent and received, wherein the processor of each printer is adapted:
- upon receipt of a request for performance of at least one print process via the network port, to determine whether, with regard to any print processes being undertaken or requested of the processor's printer, the printer has capacity available to perform the requested print process;
- in event of au interruption to performance of a requested print process, to generate a modified request to reflect the extent to which the requested print process had been executed at the time of the interruption, and dispatch, via the network port, the modified request to another location within the network.
A printer comprising:
- a print operations function including a print engine and feed and finishing capability, a processor, at least one data storage medium, and at least one network port to enable connection of the printer to elements of an information technology network, wherein the processor is adapted to interrupt performance of a print process on source data, create a modified job notice indicative of an extent to which the print process was completed on the source data when the interruption occurred, and to dispatch the modified job notice via the network port to a predetermined location within a network.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.