Abstract: A printing system is constructed by connecting a client and multiple printers to a network. A printer PRT1 receives a print job JOB0, which includes specification of a plural number of copies to be printed, from the client, changes the specified plural number of copies to one copy as a modified print job JOB1, and distributes the modified print job JOB1 to other printers specified as alternative printers. The printer PRT1 manages a total number of copies including a number of copies distributed to the specified alternative printers and a number of copies printed by the printer PRT1 itself, so as to eventually attain printing of the specified number of copies. The printer having these functions enables the simply constructed printing system including the multiple printers to implement distributed printing of a print job that specifies printing of plural copies.

Abstract: In an abnormality diagnosis system of the invention where multiple devices and a server S are interconnected via a network, a communication failure may occur between the server S and one device (diagnosis object printer P1) among the multiple devices. On the occurrence of the communication failure, the server S instructs another device (diagnosis execution printer P2) among the multiple devices other than the diagnosis object printer P1 to make a diagnosis of abnormality in the diagnosis object printer P1. In response to the instruction, the diagnosis execution printer P2 obtains communication setting information from the diagnosis object printer P1, and compares the obtained communication setting information with own communication setting information stored in the self printer or the diagnosis execution printer P2.

Abstract: The invention proposes a scheme in which even in the case where a lot of print sites each of which provides a printing service by secure network communication are constructed on a network the print sites can be managed easily, as well as a system as an implementation of such a scheme. A printing method is provided which uses a server computer for a relay between client computers and printers that are connected to each other via a network. The server computer establishes sessions in response to secure communication session establishment requests from a client computer and a printer, respectively. The server computer connects the two sessions, and the client computer sends a print job to the printer via the server computer and causes the printer to perform a printing operation.

Abstract: In order to properly allocates a limited number of sockets to applications (202, 202, . . . ) in a computer system so as to improve the system network performance, an application management module (300) memorizes the total number of sockets which OS (100) can supply to the applications (202, 202, . . . ), and a target number of sockets for each application. When an application (202) wants to obtain a socket, the application management module (300) recalculates the target number of sockets which can be allocated to the application (202), using a predetermined scheduling algorithm (312), based on the number of sockets presently unallocated and the priority revel of the application (202), and notifies the recalculated target number to the application (202). The application (202) judges from the notified target number whether a socket can be obtained or not, and based on the judgment determines whether or not to actually obtain a socket from the OS (100).

Abstract: A home gateway 30, input devices, output devices and a client are connected via a network LAN. Installed into the home gateway 30 is a server-side program 100 for performing control of input devices and output devices, edit of image, and provision of an interface window to the client 10. Once the user specifies the devices to be used for input-output of image through the client 10, the server-side program 100, according to this specification, imports the image from the input device, transfers to the output device and causes the image to be output. This enables input-output of image to be achieved without installing a device driver.

Abstract: A printer generates a public key with a passphrase containing at least printer position information and a random number by a public key cryptography, and holds this random number. A print client previously acquires the public key from the printer. When transmitting print data to the printer, the print client encrypts the print data in advance with the acquired public key and transmits the encrypted print data as print transmitting data. The printer which has received the print transmitting data generates a private key with a passphrase containing at least printer position information and the held random number by the public key cryptography. The printer then decrypts the received print transmitting data with the private key. Consequently, the security of the print data transmitted from the print client to the printer via a network is ensured.

Abstract: A printer generates a public key dependent on printer position information and transmits it to a print client. The print client encrypts a common key with this public key and transmits it to the printer, and encrypts print data with this common key and transmits it to the printer. The printer generates a private key dependent on printer position information to decrypt the encrypted common key, and decrypts the print data with the common key. Consequently, the printer capable of restricting the place where a print operation can be executed can be provided.

Abstract: The present invention provides a technique of simply editing a source file described in a markup language. An editing server 700 receives specification data from a client 800 and edits an original source file in units of divisions in a grammatical framework, so as to create an edited source file. Editing-related buttons for specifying deletion and decomposition of each division is added to the division. The user operates these buttons to edit the original source file in the markup language in units of the divisions. The editing method of obtaining a user's desired edited source file from the original source file is specified by parameters in a URL. The URL is adopted to readily and conveniently give a desirably edited image output from the original source file without storing the edited source file.

Abstract: The invention proposes a scheme in which even in the case where a lot of print sites each of which provides a printing service by secure network communication are constructed on a network the print sites can be managed easily, as well as a system as an implementation of such a scheme. A printing method is provided which uses a server computer for a relay between client computers and printers that are connected to each other via a network. The server computer establishes sessions in response to secure communication session establishment requests from a client computer and a printer, respectively. The server computer connects the two sessions, and the client computer sends a print job to the printer via the server computer and causes the printer to perform a printing operation.

Abstract: A home gateway 30, input devices, output devices and a client are connected via a network LAN. Installed into the home gateway 30 is a server-side program 100 for performing control of input devices and output devices, edit of image, and provision of an interface window to the client 10. Once the user specifies the devices to be used for input-output of image through the client 10, the server-side program 100, according to this specification, imports the image from the input device, transfers to the output device and causes the image to be output. This enables input-output of image to be achieved without installing a device driver.

Abstract: The invention enables to readily download device control software to control device. Once receiving a request from a client PC through a HTTP communication module 10, a printer PT identifies an OS used by the client PC from an environment variable attached to the request through an OS identification module 11. A driver location search module 11 searches a location address of a printer driver corresponding to the identified OS from a driver location database 12. A HTML generation module 14 generates a Web page in which a link to this location address is described and then informs the client PC of it as response via the HTTP communication module 10.

Abstract: Provided is a network board for generating print data in accordance with the information resources received from outside, and sending the print data to a printer, which can easily install or update a color conversion table or a printer driver, etc. necessary for generating the print data. Whereby, the network board for generating print data in accordance with the information resources received from outside, and sending the print data to a printer is configured to be able to, by itself, access a prescribed site on the network at the prescribed time, such as when the printer is tuned on, and appropriately download a color conversion table or a printer driver, etc. in order to utilize it.

Abstract: A network board specifies a connected printer by acquiring a model name and a serial number of the printer. If monitored items of this printer are held in a connected printer list, the network board monitors the printer in accordance with the monitored items. On the other hand, when the monitored items of the printer are not held in the connected printer list, the network board newly acquires the monitored items of the printer from a server. Consequently, it becomes possible for the network board to automatically identify a model of a printer to be monitored and monitor the printer based on held monitored items.

Abstract: This invention is composed as a printer which receives a print request from a computer, the print request including a request to a peripheral device to acquire print data, and sends the acquisition request to the peripheral device, and performs printing on the basis of the print data sent from the peripheral device in response to the acquisition request. Accordingly, the printer is capable of receiving the print data from the peripheral device instead of receiving the print data from the computer.

Abstract: At an upload time, each of multiple printers connecting with a network identifies storage or non-storage of any unsent monitor information file, which has not yet been sent to a management server. In the case of storage of any unsent monitor information file, the printer collects from the other printers unsent monitor information files, which are stored in the other printers and have not yet been sent to the management server, and uploads the collected monitor information files and the unsent monitor information file stored in the self printer to the management server. This arrangement effectively reduces the access frequency from the respective printers to the management server for transmission of monitor information files from the printers to the management server.

Abstract: In a distributed printing system of the invention, in response to reception of a print job, a distributed printing control device specifies distribution destination printing devices for the received print job, stores identification information of the specified distribution destination printing devices, and distributes divisions of the received print job as divisional print jobs to the specified distribution destination printing devices. In response to an instruction given by a client, the distributed printing control device sends a transmission request for print job-related information on processing of the distributed divisional print jobs to the distribution destination printing devices and receives the print job-related information from the distribution destination printing devices.

Abstract: A printer stores printer position information in sequence and calculates its representative value as statistical printer position information by a statistical method. When a public key is requested by a print client, the printer generates a public key with a passphrase containing the statistical printer position information and transmits the public key to the print client. The print client generates print transmitting data by encrypting print data with this public key and transmits the print transmitting data to the printer. The printer generates a private key with a passphrase containing the statistical printer position information at this point in time and decrypts the print data.

Abstract: When a print job occurs, each host computer stores its job data on its own disk and sends job location data showing the location of the job data to a print server. The print server temporarily stores the job location data and sends it to a printer when the printer is ready. When the printer receives the job location data, it fetches job data from the host computer which the job location data shows and prints the job data.

Abstract: A network device generates print data in accordance with information resources received from outside, and can then easily install or update a color conversion table, a printer driver, etc., necessary for generating print data. Print related information necessary for generating print data is automatically acquired from a prescribed location on the network at a prescribed time by the network device, such as when the printer is turned on. When the prescribed location where the print related information is installed changes to a different prescribed location, the print related information which is acquired from the prescribed location on the network contains information concerning the different prescribed location on the network to be accessed upon the next acquisition of print related information. In some embodiments, the network device is incorporated into the printer, so that the printer automatically acquires and installs the print related information necessary for generating print data.

Abstract: From a printer, a print client previously acquires printer position information on the printer. For example, when trying to transmit print data to the printer, the print client generates print transmitting data by adding printer position information on the printer to the print data and transmits the print transmitting data. The printer which has received this print transmitting data prints the print data only when the printer position information contained in the print transmitting data coincides with printer position information at this point in time. Consequently, the security of the print transmitting data transmitted from the print client to the printer via a network is ensured.