Apparatus for coupling printer with LAN to control printer operation by transferring control parameters, printer status data and printer configuration data between printer and LAN

An interactive network circuit board coupled to a local area network (LAN) peripheral, said interactive network circuit board comprising:

• a bi-directional interface, disposed on said interactive network circuit board, for transmitting data to the LAN peripheral, for transmitting control parameters to the LAN peripheral, for transmitting peripheral status requests and peripheral configuration requests to the LAN peripheral, and for receiving peripheral status data and peripheral configuration data from the LAN peripheral in response to the peripheral status requests and the peripheral configuration requests, respectively, the peripheral status data being generated by the LAN peripheral and comprising a current operational state of the LAN peripheral, and the peripheral configuration data being stored in the LAN peripheral and being used to configure the LAN peripheral for operation;
• a LAN interface, disposed on said interactive network circuit board, for receiving peripheral data, control parameters, the peripheral status requests, and the peripheral configuration requests from the LAN and for transmitting the peripheral status data and the peripheral configuration data to the LAN;
• a PROM, disposed on said interactive network circuit board, for storing a plurality of application programs;
• a RAM, disposed on said interactive network circuit board, for temporarily storing at least some of the plurality of application programs;
• and
• a processor, disposed on said interactive network circuit board, for (1) downloading at least some of the plurality of application programs from said PROM to said RAM, and (2) causing the at least some of the plurality of application programs to be executed out of said RAM on a multi-tasking basis so as to effect (a) receipt of the peripheral data, the control parameters, the peripheral status requests, and the peripheral configuration requests over said LAN interface, (b) control over transmission of the peripheral data, the control parameters, the peripheral status requests, and the peripheral configuration requests to the peripheral over said bi-directional interface, (c) receipt of the peripheral status data and the peripheral configuration data from the peripheral over said bi-directional interface in response to the peripheral status requests and the peripheral confiquration requests, and (d) transmission of the peripheral status data and the peripheral configuration data over said LAN interface.

A method of interfacing a peripheral to a local area network (LAN) using an interactive network board which includes a bi-directional interface and a LAN interface, said method comprising:

• a first receiving step for receiving from the LAN, over the LAN interface, peripheral data and at least one of a peripheral status request and a peripheral confiquration request;
• a first transmitting step for transmitting to the peripheral, over the bi-directional interface, the peripheral data and the at least one of the peripheral status request and the peripheral confiquration request;
• a second receiving step for receiving from the peripheral, over the bi-directional interface, at least one of peripheral status data and peripheral configuration data in response to the at least one of the peripheral status request and the peripheral configuration request, the peripheral status data being generated by the peripheral and comprising a current operational state of the peripheral, and the peripheral confiquration data being stored in the peripheral and being used to configure the peripheral for operation;
• a second transmitting step for transmitting to the LAN, over the LAN interface, the at least one of the peripheral status data and the peripheral confiquration data;
• a storing step for storing, in a PROM disposed on the interactive network board, a plurality of application programs;
• a transferring step for transferring a subset of the plurality of application programs to a RAM disposed on the interactive network board;
• and
• a processing step for processing, on a multi-tasking basis with a processor disposed on the interactive network board, the subset of the plurality of application programs so as to (1) transmit the peripheral data to the peripheral over the bi-directional interface in response to the receipt of the peripheral data from the LAN, (2) transmit the at least one of the peripheral status request and the peripheral configuration request to the peripheral in response to the receipt of the at least one of the peripheral status request and the peripheral configuration request from the LAN, and (3) transmit the at least one of the peripheral status data and the peripheral configuration data to the LAN in response to a receipt of the at least one of the peripheral status data and the peripheral configuration data.

Apparatus for interfacing a printer with a local area network (LAN), said apparatus comprising:

• a circuit board couplable to the printer;
• a bi-directional interface, disposed on said circuit board, for transmitting printer control parameters to the printer, for transmitting printer status requests and printer configuration requests to the printer, and for receiving printer status data and printer configuration data from the printer in response to the printer status requests and the printer configuration requests, respectively, the printer status data being generated by the printer and comprising a current operational state of the printer, and the printer configuration data being stored in the printer and being used to configure the printer for operation;
• a RAM, disposed on said circuit board, for storing the control parameters, the printer status data, the printer configuration data, and at least one application program;
• a LAN interface, disposed on said circuit board, for receiving the control parameters from the LAN, for receiving the printer status requests and the printer configuration requests from the LAN, and for transmitting the printer status data and the printer configuration data to the LAN;
• and
• a processor, disposed on said circuit board, for executing, on a multi-tasking basis, the at least one application program stored in said RAM to cause the control parameters to be transmitted to the printer and to cause the printer status data and the printer configuration data received via the bi-directional interface to be transmitted to the LAN wherein said bi-directional interface is comprised by a data channel for transmitting print data to the printer, and a status channel for transmitting the printer status requests and the printer configuration requests to the printer and for receiving the printer status data and the printer configuration data from the printer.

A system comprising:

• a local area network (LAN) peripheral;
• and
• an interactive network circuit board coupled to the LAN peripheral, said interactive network circuit board comprising:
• a bi-directional interface, disposed on said interactive network circuit board, for transmitting data to the LAN peripheral, for transmitting control parameters to the LAN peripheral, for transmitting peripheral status requests and peripheral configuration requests to the LAN peripheral, and for receiving peripheral status data and peripheral configuration data from the LAN peripheral in response to the peripheral status requests and the peripheral configuration requests, respectively, the peripheral status data being generated by the LAN peripheral and comprising a current operational state of the LAN peripheral, and the peripheral configuration data being stored in the LAN peripheral and being used to configure the LAN peripheral for operation;
• a LAN interface, disposed on said interactive network circuit board, for receiving peripheral data, control parameters, the peripheral status requests, and the peripheral configuration requests from the LAN and for transmitting the peripheral status data and the peripheral configuration data to the LAN;
• a PROM, disposed on said interactive network circuit board, for storing a plurality of application programs;
• a RAM, disposed on said interactive network circuit board, for temporarily storing at least some of the plurality of application programs;
• and
• a processor, disposed on said interactive network circuit board, for (1) downloading at least some of the plurality of application programs from said PROM to said RAM, and (2) causing the at least some of the plurality of application programs to be executed out of said RAM on a multi-tasking basis so as to effect (a) receipt of the peripheral data, the control parameters, the peripheral status requests, and the peripheral configuration requests over said LAN interface, (b) control over transmission of the peripheral data, the control parameters, the peripheral status requests, and the peripheral configuration requests to the peripheral over said bi-directional interface, (c) receipt of the peripheral status data and the peripheral configuration data from the peripheral over said bi-directional interface in response to the peripheral status requests and the peripheral configuration requests, and (d) transmission of the peripheral status data and the peripheral configuration data to the LAN over said LAN interface.

A system comprising:

• a printer;
• and
• an apparatus for interfacing the printer with a computerized local area network (LAN), said apparatus comprising:
• a circuit board couplable to the printer and to the LAN;
• a bi-directional interface, disposed on said circuit board, for transmitting print data to the printer, for transmitting control parameters to the printer, for transmitting printer status requests and printer configuration requests to the printer, and for receiving printer status data and printer configuration data from the printer in response to the printer status requests and the printer configuration requests, respectively, the printer status data being generated by the printer and comprising a current operational state of the printer, and the printer configuration data being stored in the printer and being used to configure the printer for operation;
• a RAM, disposed on said circuit board, for storing the print data, the printer status data, the printer configuration data, and a plurality of application programs;
• a LAN interface, disposed on said circuit board, for receiving the print data, the control parameters, the printer status requests, and the printer configuration requests from the LAN, and for transmitting the printer status data and the printer configuration data to the LAN;
• and
• a processor, disposed on said circuit board, for executing the plurality of application programs on a multi-tasking basis so as to cause (a) the print data to be received from the LAN over the LAN interface and to be transmitted to the printer over the bi-directional interface, (b) the control parameters to be transmitted to the printer over the bi-directional interface, (c) the printer status requests and the printer configuration requests to be received from the LAN over the LAN interface and to be transmitted to the printer over the bi-directional interface, (d) the printer status data and the printer configuration data to be received from the printer over the bi-directional interface in response to the printer status requests and the printer configuration requests, respectively, and (e) the printer status data and the printer configuration data to be transmitted to the LAN over the LAN interface.

A system comprising:

• a printer;
• and
• an apparatus for interfacing the printer with a local area network (LAN), said apparatus comprising:
• a circuit board couplable to the printer;
• a bi-directional interface, disposed on said circuit board, for transmitting printer control parameters to the printer, for transmitting printer status requests and printer configuration requests to the printer, and for receiving printer status data and printer configuration data from the printer in response to the printer status requests and the printer configuration requests, respectively, the printer status data being generated by the printer and comprising a current operational state of the printer, and the printer configuration data being stored in the printer and being used to configure the printer for operation;
• a RAM, disposed on said circuit board, for storing the control parameters, the printer status data, the printer configuration data, and at least one application program;
• a LAN interface, disposed on said circuit board, for receiving the control parameters from the LAN, for receiving the printer status requests and the printer configuration requests from the LAN, and for transmitting the printer status data and the printer configuration data to the LAN;
• and
• a processor, disposed on said circuit board, for executing, on a multi-tasking basis, the at least one application program stored in said RAM to cause the control parameters to be transmitted to the printer and to cause the printer status data and the printer configuration data received via the bi-directional interface to be transmitted to the LAN wherein said bi-directional interface is comprises by a data channel for transmitting print data to the printer, and a status channel for transmitting the printer status requests and the printer configuration requests to the printer and for receiving the printer status data and the printer configuration data from the printer.