US 2015/0146240 A1Published application

Group printing method and system

AssigneePrimax Electronics Ltd.

InventorJUNG-CHANG YANG

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Abstract

A group printing method and a group printing system are provided. The group printing system includes a control point, an intermediary printing device, and plural digital media printers. The group printing method includes following steps. The control point and the intermediary printing device issue device search broadcasts. The intermediary printing device and each of the digital media printers issue response broadcast to the control point and the intermediary printing device. At least two of the plural digital media printers are set as a printer group. The intermediary printing device splits the print command into plural split print commands and transmits the plural split print commands to the digital media printers of the printer group. Since the print command is split into the plural split print commands and the plural split print commands are executed by respective digital media printers, the printing speed is enhanced.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A group printing method, comprising steps of:

(A) allowing a control point to issue a first device search broadcast, and allowing an intermediary printing device to issue a second device search broadcast;
(B) allowing the intermediary printing device to receive the first device search broadcast and issue a first response broadcast to the control point, allowing each of the plural digital media printers to receive the first device search broadcast and issue a second response broadcast to the control point, and allowing each of the plural digital media printers to receive the second device search broadcast and issue a third response broadcast to the intermediary printing device, wherein the plural digital media printers provide printing functions in a Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) architecture;
(C) allowing the control point to acquire a first equipment and service description information from the intermediary printing device according to the first response broadcast, allowing the control point to acquire a second equipment and service description information from each of the plural digital media printers according to the second response broadcast, and allowing the intermediary printing device to acquire the second equipment and service description information from each of the plural digital media printers according to the third response broadcast;
(D) setting a printer group, wherein the printer group comprises at least two of the plural digital media printers;
(E) allowing the intermediary printing device to receive a print command from the control point and split the print command into plural split print commands;
and
(F) allowing the plural split print commands to be transmitted from the intermediary printing device to the digital media printers of the printer group, so that the plural split print commands are executed by the digital media printers, respectively.

4 more elements

A group printing system, comprising:

a control point issuing a first device search broadcast;
an intermediary printing device comprising a digital media printer module and a control point module, wherein the control point module issues a second device search broadcast, wherein the digital media printer module receives the first device search broadcast and issues a first response broadcast and a first equipment and service description information to the control point;
and
plural digital media printers providing printing functions in a Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) architecture, wherein each of plural intermediary printing devices receives the first device search broadcast and the second device search broadcast, and issues a second response broadcast, a third response broadcast and a second equipment and service description information to the control point and the control point module of the intermediary printing device,
wherein a printer group comprising at least two of the plural digital media printers is set via the control point or the intermediary printing device, wherein when the digital media printer module of the intermediary printing device receives a print command from the control point, the control point module of the intermediary printing device splits the print command into plural split print commands and transmits the plural split print commands to the digital media printers of the printer group, so that the plural split print commands are executed by the digital media printers, respectively.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/192,290Filed 27 Feb 2014
Priority: TW 10214270922 Nov 2013
Published: 28 May 2015
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

G06F 3/124
Print job management: parallel printing or parallel ripping
G06F 3/1215
Improving printing performance: achieving increased printing speed, i.e. reducing the time between printing start and printing end
G06F 3/1291
Specifically adapted to adopt a particular infrastructure: pool of printer devices: self-managing printing devices in a network, e.g. without a server
G06F 3/1241
Print job management: dividing a job according to job requirements, e.g. black/white and colour pages, covers and body of books, tabs

Family

US 9,146,701 B2Related patent
US 2015/0146240 A1This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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