Abstract:
A web based universal printing system that enables printing of documents without having the software application that was used to create the document on a client, or without the client being physically connected to the printer. The client using hypertext transfer protocol connects to a web page, selects a printer and finishing options associated with the selected printer, and then sends a document in its native format to a print server. The print server having the printer driver for the selected printer, converts the document to a print file and then sends the print file to the selected printer for printing. A jobs log database coupled to the print server logs system events and provides accounting capabilities. A job queue manager monitors the printer and print job and can report the status of the printer or the print job to the client.

Description:
COPYRIGHT NOTICE  
         [0001]    A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction, by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights whatsoever.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to printing systems, and more particularly to a universal printing system with driverless printing to a remote printer via a print server.  
           [0003]    Users of mobile devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), laptops or portable personal computers, two way pagers, mobile phones, and other mobile devices can often access information over the internet. However, to print this information, the users of these devices usually need to either have a printer physically connected to the device, or the user must pre-store the document on an internet based storage that can only be accessed by special types of print devices for printing.  
           [0004]    Another problem with mobile devices is that many documents must be printed using print drivers or the software used to create the document. Some documents may contain multiple document formats, for example a word processing document containing a graphic document. The mobile device may not have the document&#39;s native software for all of the document&#39;s formats. As mobile devices often have limited storage capabilities, it is often not feasible to install all of the necessary software programs to handle all of the formats.  
           [0005]    Finally, because the device is mobile, a user may desire to print to the nearest printer, and the mobile device may not have a printer driver for the nearest printer installed. Most printers require that a document be converted to a print file containing printer control codes or commands. Thus for a mobile device to be able to print to any printer, it would have to have printer drivers for all known printers installed on it, which due to limited storage capabilities may degrade the usefulness of the device.  
           [0006]    Thus, there is a need for a universal printing system that can enables a portable device, or any client, to select a printer and send a document to that printer without having the native applications for the document or print drivers for the printer.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    In view of the aforementioned needs, the invention contemplates a universal printing system that uses a web based print server to process documents sent by a client. The web print server has a plurality of printers connected to it which may be at spatially diverse locations. The server performs the document to print file conversion and has the necessary printer drivers for all associated printers, obviating the need for printer drivers on the client. This enables a client to print documents without having the software drivers for the printer, or native application programs for the document installed on the client.  
           [0008]    The preferred embodiment of the present invention is a printing system, comprising a print server, a printer communicatively coupled to the print server, and a client communicatively coupled to the print server. When the client submits a document to the web server to print, the web server converts the file to a print file and sends the print file to the printer to be printed. Typically, the client would log into the print server and select a destination printer. The file to be printed would then be uploaded to the printer server, normally using a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and the print server then converts the document to a print file. The print server then sends the print file to the printer for printing, typically using either an Internet Print Protocol (IPP) or a line printer (LPR) method. The client may be a wireless client which would connect to the print server using an access point. Typically, the client and printer connect to the print server over the Internet. A queue manager is useful for controlling all transactions between the print server, client and printer. A job logs database would be coupled to the print server for maintaining accounting data.  
           [0009]    Another embodiment of the present invention contemplates a method for a web server to process a print job, the steps comprising receiving a document for printing, converting the document to a print file, and submitting the print file to a selected printer operatively coupled to the web server. The document would normally be received over a network, such as the Internet. The web server may also obtain user identification, requiring a user to log in prior to submitting the document for printing. The web server normally queues the document and may also store the document as well. A job logs database tracks usage for accounting purposes.  
           [0010]    One aspect of the present invention is driverless printing. A user may print a document with no printer driver installed on the PDA or portable device. Another aspect of the present invention is Internet document submission. A user may to print a document from the Internet with no physical local network connection. Still another aspect of the present invention is universal printing, or printing with multiple document formats. A user can print multiple document formats without having the software application that was used to create the document or a portion thereof on the mobile device, including but not limited to, image files such as BMP and TIFF, Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) such as www.yahoo.com, and Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Still yet another aspect of the present invention is centralized print service. The present invention enables a print service that is offered via one or more servers located at a central location, or at a plurality of locations, and giving users several options for paying for the service. A centralized print server can dispatch all print jobs anywhere. For example a user in Los Angeles may print a document to a central server in San Francisco which submits the document to a printer in Seattle. Another aspect of the present invention is accounting management. A service provider can charge by user and charges can be based on predetermined or agreed to prices. The accounting database can be retrieved from the print server. The database would typically be queried by a shared database such as Remote Procedure Call (RPC), and Extensible Markup Language/Simple Object Access Protocol (XML/SOAP) based interfaces can be offered. Still another aspect of the present invention is web service. The present invention can be implemented as an Extensible Markup Language (XML) based Web Service that can be used with other independent services to offer additional value-added printing services along with standard offerings.  
           [0011]    Still other aspects of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description wherein there is shown and described a preferred embodiment of this invention, simply by way of illustration of one of the best modes best suited for to carry out the invention. As it will be realized, the invention is capable of other different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious aspects all without from the invention. Accordingly, the drawing and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.  
           [0012]    While the present invention would typically be implemented in software, as those skilled in the art can readily appreciate, the present invention may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING  
       [0013]    The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification, illustrates several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the network architecture contemplated by the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the functional components of the present invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a process contemplated by the present invention;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4 is an example of a user login screen;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 is an example screen snapshot of a screen for obtaining printing parameters;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 6 is an example screen snapshot of a screen for choosing a file to print;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 7 is an example of a Print and Device Status Screen;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 8 is an example of an Administrator Login Screen;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 9 is an example of a Printer Management Tab Screen;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 10 is an example of an Administrator Add Printer Screen;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 11 is an example of an Edit Printer Properties Screen;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 12 is an example of an Administrator Log Query Screen; and  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 13 is an example of an Administrator Log Query Results Screen;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 14 is an example screen snapshot of a screen for obtaining printing parameters for an alternative embodiment;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 17 is an example of a Printer Management Tab Screen of an alternative embodiment with a cost per page option;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 18 is an example of an Administrator Add Printer Screen with a cost per page option;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 19 is an example of an Edit Printer Properties Screen with a cost per page option; and  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 20 is an example of an Administrator Log Query Results Screen with a cost per page option.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION  
       [0032]    Throughout this description, the preferred embodiment and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than limitations, of the present invention.  
         [0033]    Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown an example of a Network Architecture  100  contemplated by the present invention. A web print server  102  is connected over a network  104   a  to clients, the clients comprising a PDA  106 , a notebook  108 , and a workstation  110 . Similarly, network  104   b  connects the web print server  102  to printers, the printers comprising a Black and White Laser Printer  112 , a Color Laser Printer  114  and a Color Inkjet Printer  116 . In the preferred embodiment, networks  104   a  and  104   b  are the Internet, thus the various clients and printers are not required to be spatially located within close proximity of each other. Furthermore, networks  104   a  and  104   b  may be wired, wireless, or a combination thereof.  
         [0034]    Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a block diagram  200  illustrating various functional components and interfaces. The web print server  102  is comprised of a WEB Hosting interface  204 , Job Queue Manager  206 , the Print Client Interface Module  208  and the Job Logs database  210 . The WEB Hosting interface  204  is used to communicate with clients  202  such as the PDA  106  and the Notebook  108 . The Job Queue Manager  206  controls all job flows. The Print Client Interface Module  208  is responsible for converting the document to a print file and then sending the print file to the printer via either an IPP or LPR method as shown by path  216 . The Job Logs Database  210  stores the details of the various print jobs which can be exported along path  222  to the Accounting Administrator  212 .  
         [0035]    A user of a client  202 , for example a PDA  106  or notebook  108 , sends a document via the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) along path  214  to the WEB Hosting Interface  204  of the Web Print Server  102 . Typically this is done by using a Web Browser and connecting to the web page by using the web page address such as http://x.x.x.x/ wherein the x.x.x.x represent the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the Web Server  102 . The document is then queued by the Job Queue Manager  206 . The Print Client Interface Module  208  removes the job from the queue and converts the document to a print file, sending the print file via path  216  either by an IPP or LPR method to the printer  112 , the method used is dependent upon the printer. The Web Print Server  102  may further comprise an interface (not shown) to a document repository (not shown) wherein the document may be stored. The Web Print Server  102  monitors the printer or print job status by using either the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) or SNMP encapsulated with XML (XML SNMP) to penetrate network firewalls. The status is sent from the printer  112  to the Web Printer Server  102  along path  218 . A client  202  can retrieve the print device or print job status by using the web page interface, which is sent to the client  202  along path  220 . The accounting administrator  212  can retrieve a detailed print log by opening a shared database (Shared DB)  224   a , by distributed component object model (DCOM)  224   b , or by Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) from the Job Logs Database  210  as shown by path  222 .  
         [0036]    Referring to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a flow chart  300  of a method of the present invention. The system starts at step  302 . At step  306  the Web Print Server  102  waits for a document. At step  304 , a Web Browser contacts the Web Print Server and sends a file to step  306 . At step  308  it is determined whether a document was uploaded for printing. If not, then the process returns to step  306 . If a file was uploaded for printing, then the file at step  310  is forwarded to the Job Queue Manager  206 . Typically, the Job Queue Manager is a First in First Out (FIFO) Queue, however, other types of queues, for example queues that enable a user or administrator to prioritize print jobs are acceptable. At step  312  the document is converted to a print file along with finishing options, and if appropriate print preview thumbnails. After conversion, at step  314  the file is sent by the Print Client Interface Module  208  is sent to Internet Network Print  328  by IPP or LPR to the printer as indicated by arrow  328   a . At step  316  the Printer Print Status is updated. Upon sending an inquiry, the Printer SNMP replies as indicated by arrow  330   a  to block  330  which then arrives at block  316 , which updates the Web Page of the Web Browser. At step  318  the Job Logs Database processes the data for the print job. If at step  320  the system is still running then the process returns to step  306  via the path of  322   a  and  322   b . If at step  320  the system is not running, then at step  324  the process ends.  
         [0037]    An alternative option is shown at step  326  when there is document file storage. At step  310 , The Job Queue Manager  206  may send the document for file storage. Additionally, or in the alternative, at step  312  after the conversion is performed, the document, print file, or combination of document and print file, with or without preview thumbnails are sent to block  326  for document file storage, which then routes the print file to block  328  for printing.  
         [0038]    As shown at step  332 , data from the Logs Database may be sent via Shared Database, DCOM or XML/SOAP Queries as shown in step  334  to an accounting administrator as shown in block  336 .  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 4 shows an example of a user login screen. A user needs to provide a user ID to identify the user to the server. The user has a couple of options for logging in. The user may enter the URL http://x.x.x.x where “x.x.x.x” is the IP address of the Web Print Server  102  and fill in the screen  400 , or may go to the print screen directly by entering the URL http://x.x.x.x/default.asp?UserID=yyyy, where yyyy is the user ID. When filling in the screen  400 , the User Name  402  is filled in with the user identification and the user then selects the login button  404 . Optionally, the user may be prompted to provide a password or other additional means of authentication may be used.  
         [0040]    After the user is logged in, a Web Print screen is displayed, which when tab  501   a  is selected is the User Print Tab Screen  500 . The first section of the screen  500  is the printer settings section  530  that enables the user to select a printer and the printer settings. The user selects a printer using the drop down menu  502  and selects a printer from a list. The printers and menu  502  are setup by an administrator. When the printer selected in menu  502  is a color printer, then the user may check checkbox  502  to print in gray scale. The checkbox  504  is only visible if the printer has color capabilities.  
         [0041]    The next section of the User Print Tab Screen  500  is the Finishing Section  532  used to obtain finishing parameters of the print job. The copies  506  is for the number of copies to be printed of the uploaded document and the collate checkbox  508  if checked indicates that the document needs to be collated in the case of multiple copies. The stapling option is selected by radio buttons for None  510   a , Upper Left  510   b , Left Double  510   c , Upper Right  510   d  and Top Double  510   e  respectively. The Hole Punch option is selected by selecting of the radio buttons None  512   a , Up  512   b , or Left  512   c  respectively. The Duplex option is selected by selecting one of radio buttons None  514   a , Long-edge  514   b , or Short-edge  516   c  respectively. Booklet staple  516  may be selected, which for the printer used in the present example may be selected for a maximum of  60  pages. The private print options are selected by radio buttons for Off  518   a  or On  518   b , and if On  518   b  is selected then a password is entered in text box  518   c.    
         [0042]    The print section  534  is used to select the object to be printed. Document radio button  520  is selected for a document, whereas web page radio button  526  is selected to print a web page. If radio button  520  is selected, the document file name is input in box  522 , or by selecting browse button  524  the Choose File Screen  600  of FIG. 6 is displayed. If the web page radio button  526  is selected, then the web page address or URL is input in text box  524 . Finally, after the printer, finishing options, and object to print have been selected, pressing the Send and Print push button  528  sends the document to the web print server  102 .  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 7 shows an example of a User Print and Device Status Screen  700 . This screen is accessed after the user logs in by selecting tab  501   b  of the Web Print Screen. The Screen  700  is divided into two sections, the first the Current Jobs section  701 , and the second section is the Device Status section  703 . The select printer box  702  is a drop down menu used to obtain a list of printers, and to select the printer to monitor. This menu is normally setup in advance by a system administrator.  
         [0044]    Under the current jobs section  701 , there is given a list of jobs for the current user and selected printer. The list has columns for document name  704 , status  706 , pages  708 , document status  710 , and the date and time submitted  712 . The user may delete a print job by checking check box  714  for the appropriate document and then selecting the delete pushbutton  716 .  
         [0045]    The device status section  703  has four fields. These are the device status  716 , contact information with the name  718  and phone number  720  of the contact person, and alerts  722  for the device. The alerts field  722  shows none if there are no active alerts for the device, or a list of active alerts if device alerts are present.  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 8 is an example of a Administrator Login Screen  800 . A system administrator can enter the Administrative Control Panel (not shown) by entering the URL http://x.x.x.x/admin, where “x.x.x.x” is the IP address of the web print server  102 . As shown in FIG. 8, the user name  802  is admin and static. The password text box  804  is a mandatory input field for entering the administrator password and authenticating the administrator. After the password text box  804  is filled in with the proper password, selecting the login pushbutton  806  causes the password to be authenticated, and if authenticated, the administrator goes to the next screen, the Administrative Control Panel (FIGS.  9 - 13 ).  
         [0047]    [0047]FIG. 9 shows the Printer Management Tab Screen  900  which is displayed when the management tab  901   a  of the Administrative Control Panel is selected. Under the heading Printer List,  902 , there is listed the printers associated with the web print server  102 . The list comprises a plurality columns. The first column being a checkbox  904  for selecting printers to be edited or deleted when selecting the Edit pushbutton  914  and the Delete pushbutton  916 . The Printer Name column  906  displays the name assigned to each printer, the IP address  908  shows the IP address of the printer, printer capabilities  910  shows whether the printer supports color printing and the type of printer. For example, for line printers, the printer capabilities  910  column would show the abbreviation LPR and the port number, whereas for an Internet printer the abbreviation IPP with the URL for the printer is displayed. The new button  912  is used to add new printers.  
         [0048]    When in FIG. 9 the new button  912  is selected, the Add Printer Screen  1000  of FIG. 10 is displayed. The heading Add Printer  1001  is displayed to inform the administrator that a new printer is being added. The printer name  1002  is a text box to input the network name of the printer. Radio button yes  1004   a  denotes the printer supports color printing while radio button no  1004   b  is selected to denote the printer does not support color printing. Radio buttons are also used to select the printer type. If the printer is an LPR printer, then button  1006   a  is selected, if the printer is an IPP printer, then button  1006   b  is selected. The IP address is input into the IP address text box  1008 , which is mandatory if the LPR printer button  1006   a  is selected. The port number text box  1010  contains the port number for LPR printing, which is mandatory if the LPR radio button  1006   a  is selected. The default value of the port number text box  1010  is  9100 . The Queue Name  1014  is the host name for LPR printing. The Printer URL text box  1014  contains the IPP URL for IPP printing and is a mandatory field if the IPP radio button  1006   b  is selected. The OK pushbutton  1016  is used to save the changes, and the Cancel pushbutton  1018  aborts the transaction.  
         [0049]    When in FIG. 9 the Edit pushbutton  914  is selected, the Edit Printer Properties Screen  1100  as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed. The heading Edit Printer  1101  is displayed on the top of the screen  1100  to inform the administrator that printer properties are being edited. The remaining fields on the screen  1100  are the same as defined for the Add Printer Screen  1000  (FIG. 10).  
         [0050]    [0050]FIG. 12 is an example of the Log Query Screen  1200 . This screen is reached by selecting the Logs tab  901   b  of the Administrative Control Panel. The heading View Logs  1201  is at the upper left corner of the screen to denote this screen is for viewing logs. The upper section of the screen is the user settings section  1202 . Radio buttons  1204   a  and  1204   b  are selected to display logs either for all users or for an individual user respectively. If the individual user radio button  1204   b  is selected, the user id is input into text box  1206 . The duration settings section  1208  comprises a plurality of radio buttons to indicate the time period for viewing logs. The user may select the duration of Last 1 week  1210   a  (default), Last 2 weeks  1210   b , Last 1 Month  1210   c , Last 3 months  1210   d , or Last 6 months  1210   e . Selecting the Search Button  1212  displays the Logs Query Results Screen  1300 , as shown in FIG. 13.  
         [0051]    The Logs Query Results Screen  1300  lists the records matching the parameters input in the Log Query Screen  1200  (FIG. 12). The records are displayed in columns under the headings Job ID  1302 , Document  1304 , Status  1306 , Owner  1308 , Pages  1310 , Size  1312 , and Submitted Time  1314 .  
         [0052]    Referring now to FIGS.  14 - 20 , there is illustrated an alternative embodiment of the present invention having an option to charge a user a cost associated with the print job. The cost may be any suitable cost accounting method, including but not limited to a fixed cost per job, or as illustrated in FIGS.  14 - 20 , a cost per page.  
         [0053]    Referring first to FIG. 14, there is illustrated an example screen snapshot  1400  for obtaining parameters for the print job. This screen appears after the user is logged in, and tab  501   a  is selected. The user selects a printer using the drop down menu  1401  and selects a printer from a list. The printers and menu  1401  are setup by an administrator.  
         [0054]    The user may then select finishing options for the print job. The copies  1402  is for the number of copies to be printed of the uploaded document and the collate checkbox  1404  if checked indicates that the document needs to be collated in the case of multiple copies. The stapling option is selected by a drop down menu  1406  and a preview of the selected option is shown in preview box  1408 . The Hole Punch option is selected by selecting from drop down menu  1410 , and a preview of the selected option is also shown in preview box  1408 . Duplex options are selected from drop down menu  1412  and a preview of the selection option is shown in preview box  1414 . Booklet staple checkbox  1416  may be selected, which for the printer used in the present example may be selected for a maximum of  60  pages. The private print options are selected by radio buttons for Off  1418   a  or On  1420 , and if On  1420  is selected then a password is entered in text box  1422 .  
         [0055]    After selecting a printer and finishing options, the user would then select the object to be printed. Document radio button  1426  is selected for a document, whereas web page radio button  1430  is selected to print a web page. If radio button  1426  is selected, the document file name is input in box  1434 , or by selecting browse button  1428 , the Choose File Screen  600  of FIG. 6 is displayed. If the web page radio button  1430  is selected, then the web page address or URL is input in text box  1436 . Finally, after the printer, finishing options, and object to print have been selected, pressing the Send and Print push button  1432  sends the document to the web print server  102 .  
         [0056]    If when the Send and Print push button  1432  is selected and the printer is not responding, then the alert box  1500  as shown in FIG. 15 is displayed. If the printer is responding, then as shown in FIG. 16 a cost dialog box  1600  is displayed. The user may accept the cost by selecting button  1602  or cancel the print job by pressing button  1604 .  
         [0057]    [0057]FIG. 17 shows the Printer Management Tab Screen  1700  which is displayed when the management tab  901   a  of the Administrative Control Panel is selected with the printing cost per page option. Under the heading Printer List,  902 , there is listed the printers associated with the web print server  102 . The list comprises a plurality columns. The first column being a checkbox  904  for selecting printers to be edited or deleted when selecting the Edit pushbutton  914  and the Delete pushbutton  916 . The Printer Name column  906  displays the name assigned to each printer, the IP address  908  shows the IP address of the printer. The printing cost per page is shown in column  1702 , the printer capabilities column  910  shows whether the printer supports color printing and the type of printer. For example, for line printers, the printer capabilities  910  column would show the abbreviation LPR and the port number, whereas for an Internet printer the abbreviation IPP with the URL for the printer is displayed. The new button  912  is used to add new printers.  
         [0058]    When in FIG. 17 the new button  912  is selected, the Add Printer Screen  1800  of FIG. 18 is displayed. This screen is similar to the Add Printer Screen  1000  of FIG. 10. The heading Add Printer  1001  is displayed to inform the administrator that a new printer is being added. The printer name  1002  is a text box to input the network name of the printer. Radio button yes  1004   a  denotes the printer supports color printing while radio button no  1004   b  is selected to denote the printer does not support color printing. The printing cost, which in this embodiment is cost per page, is entered in text box  1802 . Radio buttons are also used to select the printer type. If the printer is an LPR printer, then button  1006   a  is selected, if the printer is an IPP printer, then button  1006   b  is selected. The IP address is input into the IP address text box  1008 , which is mandatory if the LPR printer button  1006   a  is selected. The port number text box  1010  contains the port number for LPR printing, which is mandatory if the LPR radio button  1006   a  is selected. The default value of the port number text box  1010  is  9100 . The Queue Name  1014  is the host name for LPR printing. The Printer URL text box  1014  contains the IPP URL for IPP printing and is a mandatory field if the IPP radio button  1006   b  is selected. The OK pushbutton  1016  is used to save the changes, and the Cancel pushbutton  1018  aborts the transaction.  
         [0059]    When in FIG. 17 the Edit pushbutton  914  is selected, the Edit Printer Properties Screen  1900  as shown in FIG. 19 is displayed. The heading Edit Printer  1101  is displayed on the top of the screen  1100  to inform the administrator that printer properties are being edited. The remaining fields on the screen  1100  are the same as defined for the Add Printer Screen  1800  (FIG. 18).  
         [0060]    To view printer logs in this embodiment, the same screen as exemplified in FIG. 12 may be used. This screen is reached by selecting the Logs tab  901   b  of the Administrative Control Panel. The heading View Logs  1201  is at the upper left corner of the screen to denote this screen is for viewing logs. The upper section of the screen is the user settings section  1202 . Radio buttons  1204   a  and  1204   b  are selected to display logs either for all users or for an individual user respectively. If the individual user radio button  1204   b  is selected, the user id is input into text box  1206 . The duration settings section  1208  comprises a plurality of radio buttons to indicate the time period for viewing logs. The user may select the duration of Last 1 week  1210   a  (default), Last 2 weeks  1210   b , Last 1 Month  1210   c , Last 3 months  1210   d , or Last 6 months  1210   e . However, in this embodiment, selecting the Search Button  1212  displays the Logs Query Results Screen  2000 , as shown in FIG. 20.  
         [0061]    The Logs Query Results Screen  2000  lists the records matching the parameters input in the Log Query Screen  1200  (FIG. 12). The records are displayed in columns under the headings Job ID  1302 , Document  1304 , Status  1306 , Printer Name  2002 , Status  2010 , Pages  1310 , Copies  2006 , Total Cost  2008 , Size  1312 , and Submitted Time  1314 .  
         [0062]    While the aforementioned embodiments used IP to demonstrate process flows and network connectivity, as those skilled in the art can readily appreciate the present invention is capable of supporting several wireless networking technologies such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g (also known as WiFi) as well. Network access may be provided at hot spots or public places such as coffee-shops, libraries, hotels, conference centers, etc. for connecting wireless stations to a network, such as the Internet. The present invention may be used in conjunction with the network access to offer driverless and universal printing services via a printer available at the installation, the nearest available printer, or any printer with which a user is authorized.  
         [0063]    The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of the ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance to the breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitably entitled.