Printer formatter in a cable
AssigneesAgilent Technologies, Inc., Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Avago Technologies Imaging IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Marvell International Technology Ltd.
InventorGary D. Zimmerman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A printer cable that is configured for coupling to a printer having an enclosure and a printer port. The printer cable includes a first connector for connecting to the printer port and a second connector for coupling to a host device (e.g., a personal computer (PC)). The printer cable includes a printer formatter for providing formatting services to the printer via the first connector. Since the printer formatter is integrated into the printer cable, the printer formatter is external to the printer enclosure and is easily removable and configurable by a user.
Claims20
1-23. (canceled)
A method of determining a compatibility of a printer controller with a particular version of printing firmware stored within a host, the method comprising:
- providing (i) a first end of a cable coupled to a host and (ii) a second end of the cable coupled to a printer, the cable including a printer controller configured to store a pre-determined version of a printer controller program;
- in response to the cable being connected to the host and the printer, identifying the pre-determined version of the printer controller program;
- and
- determining whether the printer controller in the printer cable is compatible with the particular version of the printing firmware stored in the host based on identification of the pre-determined version of the printer controller program.
A method, comprising:
- receiving print controller ready data from a host;
- generating print engine ready data for a printer with a printer controller program disposed in a cable;
- determining whether the printer controller program disposed in the cable is valid based on at least one aspect of the printer or the host;
- and
- downloading an updated printer controller program to the cable if the printer controller program disposed in the cable is not valid.
A method comprising:
- determining whether a printer cable has been connected to a host;
- determining whether a first printer firmware resident in the printer cable is valid;
- transmitting a second printer firmware from the host to the printer cable if the first controller firmware is not valid;
- and
- sending print controller ready data to the second printer firmware.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.