Patent Publication Number: US-7587468-B2

Title: Methods and systems for the provision of printing services

Description:
This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending, commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/688,457 filed on Oct. 16, 2000. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to methods and systems for providing printing services over a communications network. In particular, the present invention enables a user to obtain print jobs at an unspecified location which may be remote from the source of the print job. A spooling server is used to store a print job received via the network from a print job source. A printer polling device, which may be at a location remote from the print job source, is capable of polling the spooling server via the network to identify whether any print jobs associated with the printer polling device are available for printing at one or more associated printing devices. A fee can be charged for the printing services provided. 
   As computer networks become more complex, the rate at which network configurations change continues to increase. Also, the increasingly frantic pace of the typical business traveler who juggles documents on multiple computers and is required to configure a traveling laptop computer to integrate into various changing networks makes it increasingly difficult to reliably and efficiently print even a simple document. 
   For example, a business traveler in a hotel may wish to print to a printer that the hotel provides for such purposes. Under the current state of the art, the user must first obtain the network ID of the printer along with some information about the type of printer. Then, a print driver for that specific printer must be installed on the user&#39;s computer, and the computer must be configured to connect to the printer. This may additionally involve configuring the computer to connect to the host network. 
   Further, in many cases, it is desirable to be able to prepare a document for printing prior to having the information concerning the destination printing device. For example, it may be desirable to print a document from a mobile laptop connected via a wireless data connection while in transit to a meeting at a site the user has never visited before. Obtaining the information and configuring the laptop to be able to print to the printer becomes logistically infeasible. 
   These problems have typically been solved in the past by one of the following methods:
         1. The document is e-mailed or otherwise transferred over a network to a computer already configured to print to the desired printer;   2. A portable computer is connected directly to the printer via a cable or infra-red, bypassing many of the difficulties of configuring the computer to print to a network computer;   3. A portable printer is transported to the desired location; or   4. The document is faxed to a fax machine.       

   Printing methods relating to network and distributed printing are known in the prior art. Such systems require either a private network or foreknowledge of the destination of a print job. These prior art methods comprise what is typically referred to as “push” technology (i.e. technology in which a print job is directed to a specific known destination or printer). 
   In addition to the need for efficiency and ease of use is the need for security when sending, storing, or printing print jobs. Early in the life of the Internet, the need for securing an organization&#39;s local network from tampering, stealing, or vandalism by outsiders became very obvious. A type of gateway called a firewall was developed to meet this need. The firewall is designed to be a single, well-controlled access point between the outside, global, or wide-area network and the inside, local-area network. By carefully restricting the types of network traffic and the destinations where that traffic can flow, the firewall can provide effective protection. 
   Specific “holes” in the firewall are created for each type of traffic that is allowed through the gateway in each direction. Most organizations, for example, allow e-mail traffic in and out from their e-mail server, as well as web page client access from inside the firewall to servers located outside of it. 
   Many types of access between machines commonly used on a local network are normally prevented from going through the firewall. Specifically, file sharing, remote log-in, printing, and various other network-administration types of protocols are typically not allowed to be transported outside the firewall. 
   Another aspect of the firewall is that it is almost always administratively controlled by a centralized authority for the organization that owns the local area network, commonly the management information services (MIS) department of a company. Normal users generally have to make special requests that are approved at the upper levels of management to get configuration changes in the firewall. In the interest of maintaining security, these changes are often limited to specific point-to-point exceptions or “holes” in the firewall. 
   It is desirable by many users to be able to print from a machine on one local area network to a printer located on a different local area network with the data being transferred over a global network (e.g., the Internet) outside of the firewall of both local networks. 
   The current state of the art does have solutions for this problem. However, almost all of these solutions require the intervention of the firewall administrator. One example of a solution is the IPP—Internet Printing Protocol standard being promulgated by various vendors. This standard allows IPP-equipped printers to receive print jobs from remote clients over the Internet. However, the installation and use of IPP requires that a specific IPP hole be opened in the firewall by the network administrator. 
   It would be advantageous to be able to provide methods and systems that allow a user to print to a perhaps yet unknown destination printer or printer pool in a reliable, efficient and secure manner without the disadvantages of the above-mentioned techniques. 
   It would be further advantageous to provide a printing system based on “pull” technology (i.e. technology which enables a print job to be printed upon request, where the print file is only delivered in response to the request). Such technology would enable a system that allows a user to print to a destination printer or printer pool that may be located anywhere, in a reliable, efficient, and secure manner without the disadvantages of the above-mentioned techniques. 
   It would be further advantageous to enable a document to be sent via a facsimile machine over a network directly to a printing device, without a computer between the facsimile machine and the printing device. Such a configuration avoids the use of standard telephone lines and their associated costs. It would be further advantageous to assign a unique identification number to the printing device, such as a telephone number, to enable direct communication between the facsimile machine and the printing device. 
   It would be further advantageous to have a solution that allows secure, efficient and easy-to-configure inter-network printing through a gateway firewall without the intervention of the network administrator. 
   It would be still further advantageous to make such printing services available to a user for a fee. 
   The methods and systems of the present invention provide the foregoing and other advantages. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to methods and systems for providing printing services over a communications network. In particular, the present invention enables a user to obtain print jobs at a location which may be unspecified, and which may be remote from the source of the print job. A spooling server is used to store a print job received via the network from a print job source. A printer polling device, which may be used at a location remote from the source of the print job, is capable of polling the spooling server via the network to identify whether any print jobs associated with the printer polling device are available for printing at one or more printing devices associated with the polling device. A variety of revenue models may be used for the printing services provided. 
   In a preferred embodiment, printing services are provided via a spooling server which is capable of receiving and storing one or more print jobs from a print job source via a network. A printer polling device is provided which is capable of polling the spooling server via the network to identify a print job associated with the printer polling device. 
   The print job can originate from any suitable print job source, such as a client device with an associated print driver, a web browser, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a telephone, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant, a dedicated terminal, or the like. A print job can also originate on the spooling server itself or be obtained from another server. The client device may be a computer, a telephone, a personal digital assistant, an Internet appliance, or the like. 
   The identified print job can be transmitted from the spooling server to the printer polling device and printed at one or more printing devices coupled to the printer polling device. 
   The printer polling device may periodically poll the spooling server to identify a print job associated with the printer polling device. 
   The network may comprise at least one of a local area network, a wide area network, a global network, the Internet, and any other type of network. The network may consist of multiple interconnected networks having multiple gateways and other features as is well known in the art. 
   In an alternate embodiment, the printer polling device may be located within a gateway firewall and the spooling server may be located outside the gateway firewall. The print job may be forwarded to the spooling server such that reconfiguration of the gateway firewall is not required. For example, the print job may be forwarded to the spooling server as web-style traffic and received at the printer polling device as web-style traffic. 
   The print job source may be located at and in communication with a first local area network and the printer polling device may be located at and in communication with a second local area network. The spooling server may be located outside of the first and second local area networks. The print job source may communicate with the spooling server via a first gateway firewall which controls access to the first local area network and the printer polling device may communicate with the spooling server via a second gateway firewall which controls access to the second local area network. 
   The printer polling device may be: (i) a stand-alone device connected to one or more printing devices via a standard printer port, (ii) integrated into the firmware of a printing device, (iii) integrated into the software of a network print server, or (iv) of any other suitable configuration. 
   In an illustrative embodiment, a fee may be charged to access the spooling server. The fee can be based on one of print job size in bytes, print job size in number of pages, print job type, time for printing, time for storage, monthly fee, per use fee, lifetime membership, monthly membership, use of color, use of black and white, page size, location, convenience, number of images, print quality, image quality, or other suitable factors. The fee may be charged for providing a print job to the spooling server and/or retrieving a print job from the spooling server. The fee can be paid via a client device associated with the print job source, the printer polling device, or other suitable device, such as a smart card, a telephone, a personal digital assistant, or the like. 
   In another illustrative embodiment, one or more of the print job source application software, spooling server, and printer polling device may be sold, licensed, leased, rented, or distributed freely for revenue generating purposes. The print job source application software, spooling server, and printer polling device may be owned and/or operated by the same entity, or by different entities. 
   Print job source application software may be distributed to end users on a royalty-bearing or royalty-free basis, and the end user may be charged a fee for each print job submitted to a spooling server, and/or for each job retrieved from a spooling server. 
   The spooling server may be sold, rented, licensed or distributed freely to a print server provider. The print server provider may be, for example, a corporation, university, government agency, or other similar entity. The print server provider may provide services to end users for a fee for providing a print job to the spooling server and/or retrieving a print job from the spooling server. 
   The printer polling device may be sold, rented, licensed or distributed freely. Printer polling devices may be provided for customer use at coffee shops, hotels, airports, libraries, bookstores, post offices, supermarkets, kiosks, print shops, retail outlets, or other suitable locations. End users of the printer polling device may be charged a fee for using the device. 
   The spooling server may store the one or more print job(s) in at least one spooling queue. 
   The print job may be encrypted at the print job source and decrypted at the printer polling device. 
   The print job may comprise a document provided by a content provider. The content provider may be one of a newspaper, a magazine, a periodical, a document provider, a graphic arts provider, a notification service, an Internet content provider, a merchant, a financial institution, a government agency, a shipping company, or the like. 
   The print job may be provided by the content provider on a subscription basis. A single print job may be provided by the content provider for printing by multiple users. 
   The printer polling device may comprise a user interface, a connection to the network, and a connection to one or more printing devices. 
   In a further embodiment, each print job may be stored on the spooling server according to a personal identification number (PIN). The spooling server may communicate to the printer polling device a list of print jobs associated with the PIN which are stored at the spooling server. The selection of a print job from the list may be provided for (e.g., via a user interface). 
   A plurality of print jobs may be stored on the spooling server according to the PIN. The PIN may be provided to the spooling server via one of a user interface associated with the printer polling device, a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like. The list of available print jobs may be displayed on one of a user interface associated with the printer polling device, a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like. Selection of an available print job may be made via a user interface associated with the printer polling device, a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like. 
   The printer polling device may be a portable device. The printer polling device may be operably associated with a variety of printer types. 
   In a further embodiment, the print job may be provided to the spooling server without a pre-determined print destination. Alternatively, a desired print location for the print job may be designated at the print job source. The designated print location may be communicated to the spooling server with the print job. The print job may be printed at the desired print location when the printer polling device at the desired print location polls the spooling server and identifies the print job. 
   Further, a substantially specific time for printing a print job may be designated such that the print job is only available for printing from the spooling server at the designated substantially specific time. 
   In addition, a lifetime of the print job may be designated, wherein the print job will be stored on the spooling server only for the designated lifetime. 
   A number of printings of the print job may be designated, wherein the print job can only be printed the designated number of times. 
   A list of recipients authorized to retrieve a print job may be designated, wherein the print job may only be printed by the designated recipients. 
   The print job may be one of a negotiable instrument, a stamp, a coupon, a certificate, a check, a unit of currency, a token, a receipt, or the like. 
   The print job source may be connected to the network using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP protocol), or any other suitable network configuration protocol. Similarly, the printer polling device may be connected to the network using DHCP protocol, or any other suitable network configuration protocol. 
   In a preferred embodiment, the printer polling device is capable of communicating printer status to the spooling server. The printer status may comprise at least one of a printer ready indication, an on-line indication, toner level information, paper supply information, error information, or other appropriate status information. 
   A printer operator can be notified when the printer status indicates that a printing device requires attention. The operator can also be provided with vendor contact information to facilitate obtaining printer supplies or service. Automatic on-line ordering of printer supplies as required by printer status can be provided (e.g., by the spooling sever contacting predetermined preferred vendors). 
   The print job may include at least one of a document, a poster, an image, a coupon, a ticket, a certificate, a check, a list, a schedule, a periodical, a unit of currency, a negotiable instrument, postage, a bill of lading, a lottery or gaming ticket, a token, food stamps, a license, a permit, a pass, a passport, a ballot, a citation, identification, a copy-protection key, a proof-of-purchase, a warranty, a receipt, a transcript, a library card, or any other printable subject matter. 
   In an alternate embodiment, an agent program provides a directory of documents to the spooling server. The agent program enables a client device associated with the print job source to poll the spooling server to determine whether the spooling server requires a document identified in the directory to complete a print job. If so, the document can be uploaded from the client device to the spooling server. 
   The directory can be communicated to the printer polling device and presented at the printer polling device. Selection of a print job from the directory can be made (e.g., via a user interface). 
   The directory may be presented via a visual presentation or an audio presentation. The client device may periodically poll the spooling server to determine whether the spooling server requires a document identified in the directory to complete a print job. 
   Communications with the spooling server may be enabled via at least one of a telephone, a personal digital assistant device, a computer, an Internet appliance, a web browser, a dedicated terminal, or the like. The communications with the spooling server may be via an audio interface or a visual interface. 
   A communication device for providing status of the print job stored on the spooling server may be provided. The status of the print job may comprise at least one of filename, file size, author, creation date, print job lifetime, image, title, contents, personal identification number, recipient, job number, or reference number. The communication device may be a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or any other suitable wireless or wired communication device. 
   The print job source may be one of a computer, a personal digital assistant device, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a telephone, a dedicated terminal, or other suitable source. 
   The printer polling device may be capable of polling multiple spooling servers. 
   The spooling server may be capable of communicating with other servers and receiving a print job from at least one of the other servers. 
   In an alternate example embodiment of the invention, a unique identification number (ID) may be assigned to a printing device. A print job is associated with the ID. A print driver is provided for forwarding the print job from a print job source to a spooling server over a network. The spooling server is capable of receiving and storing one or more print jobs from the print job source via the network. The spooling server is polled via a printer polling device associated with the printing device to identify a print job stored at the spooling server for the printing device based on the ID. An identified print job can then be received from the spooling server at the printer polling device and printed at the printing device. 
   In a further example embodiment, the unique ID assigned to the printing device may comprise a telephone number. The ID may be assigned to the printing device by a server on the network. The print job source may comprise a facsimile machine. The facsimile machine may be connected to the network by dialing the telephone number that comprises the ID. The print job can then be associated with the printing device by dialing the telephone number comprising the ID. 
   The printing device may comprise a printer, a facsimile machine, or the like. 
   Each print job may be stored on the spooling server according to the ID. A plurality of print jobs may be stored on the spooling server according to the ID. 
   A list of print jobs associated with the ID which are stored at the spooling server may be communicated from the spooling server to the printer polling device to provide for the selection of a print job. 
   The ID may be provided to the spooling server via one of a user interface associated with the printer polling device, a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like. 
   The list of available print jobs stored at the spooling server may be displayed on one of a user interface associated with the printer polling device, a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like. 
   Selection of an available print job may be made via a user interface associated with the printer polling device, a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an implementation of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a flow diagram showing an example of an encryption process which can be implemented in accordance with the invention; 
       FIG. 3  shows a representation of a printer polling device; 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 5  is a flow diagram of an authentication procedure which can be implemented in accordance with the invention; 
       FIG. 6  shows an example of communications which take place between various components of the invention; 
       FIG. 7  is a flow chart illustrating an example print job reformatting routine; 
       FIG. 8  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a printer polling device; 
       FIG. 9  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a spooling server; 
       FIG. 10  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a print driver; and 
       FIG. 11  is a block diagram of an embodiment of an agent program. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The ensuing detailed description provides exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention. Rather, the ensuing detailed description of the exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing an embodiment of the invention. It should be understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 
   The present invention enables print jobs to be sent to a spooling server for storage. The print jobs are subsequently delivered to one or more printing devices, on request, via a printer polling device. The printer polling device uses “pull” technology, which polls the spooling server so that the spooling server does not have to initiate a connection into a printing device. In this manner print jobs can be securely printed anywhere, either automatically or at the request of a user who is authorized by the printer polling device and/or the spooling server. Since the spooling server need not initiate contact with any device, there is no potential breach of firewall security in a local network environment. 
   In one embodiment, a portable printer polling device is provided to enable retrieval and printing of documents from any location having Internet access and a printing device. The spooling server functions as a repository that is accessible, e.g., via a global communication network such as the Internet, to authorized users at any time of day. Since the printer polling device polls the spooling server in order to obtain delivery of a print job, prior art push data flow techniques, which could compromise a local area network&#39;s security, are avoided. Moreover, compatibility with virtually all printers (or other types of printing devices) that may be connected to the network is provided, so that a document can be printed anywhere regardless of a specific printer&#39;s requirements. Many other advantages and features of the invention are set forth in the following description. 
   An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . Printing services are provided via a spooling server  50  which is capable of receiving and storing one or more print jobs from a print job source  10  via a network  110 . A printer polling device  100  is provided which is capable of polling the spooling server  50  via the network  110  to identify a print job associated with the printer polling device  100 . Configuration problems are eliminated as each print job source  10  only needs to be configured to know how to print to the spooling server  50 . The spooling server  50  only needs to be configured to be able to print to the printer polling device  100 . 
   The print job can originate from any suitable print job source  10 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the print job source  10  may be a client device  12  associated with print driver  14 . The print driver  14  may receive the print job from an originating application  15 , which can be any program capable of producing a printable document. The print job source  10  may also be a web browser, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a telephone, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant, or the like. A print job can also originate on the spooling server  50  itself or be obtained from another server. The client device  12  may be a computer, a telephone, a personal digital assistant, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, or the like. 
   The identified print job can be transmitted from the spooling server  50  to the printer polling device  100  and printed at a printing device  120  coupled to the printer polling device  100 . Printing device  120  may be a single printer or a pool of one or more printers coupled via a print server. 
   The printer polling device  100  may periodically poll the spooling server  50  to identify a print job associated with the printer polling device  100 . Security is achieved by the fact that the printing device  120  is not passively accepting any and all connections from the outside. The printer polling device  100  is initiating connections to a specific, trusted location, the spooling server  50 . 
   The network  110  may comprise at least one of a local area network, a wide area network, a global network, the Internet, and any other type of network. The network  110  may consist of multiple interconnected networks having multiple gateways and other features as is well known in the art. 
   In an alternate embodiment, the printer polling device  100  may be located within a gateway firewall  70  and the spooling server may be located outside the gateway firewall  70 . In addition, the print job source  10  may be located within a gateway firewall  30  and the spooling server may be located outside the gateway firewall  30 . 
   The print job may be forwarded to and from the spooling server  50  such that reconfiguration of gateway firewalls  30  and  70  is not required. For example, the print job may be forwarded to the spooling server  50  as web-style traffic and received at the printer polling device  100  as web-style traffic. For example, a print driver  14  may accept print requests from application  15  like any other print driver, but instead of routing the print requests onto the network  110  using normal printer packets and well-known-ports, it routes the output of the print job to the spooling server  50  located outside of the firewall  30  using packets and ports that resemble web traffic. 
   Similarly, using web types of packets and ports, the printer polling device  100  is capable of polling the spooling server  50  and retrieving any print jobs that have been stored for the printing device  120 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , the print job source  10  may be located at and in communication with a first local area network  20  and the printer polling device  100  may be located at and in communication with a second local area network  80 . The spooling server  50  may be located outside of the first and second local area networks  20 ,  80 . The print job source  10  may communicate with the spooling server  50  via a first gateway firewall  30  which controls access to the first local area network  20  and the printer polling device  100  may communicate with the spooling server  50  via a second gateway firewall  70  which controls access to the second local area network  80 . 
   The printer polling device  100  may be: (i) a standalone device connected to the printing device  120  via a standard printer port, (ii) integrated into the firmware of the printing device  120 , (iii) integrated into the software of a network print server, or (iv) of any other suitable configuration. The printer polling function may also be integrated into the software on a stand-alone print server such as those manufactured by Electronics for Imaging, Inc. (Foster City, Calif.) under the trademarks Fiery® and EDOX®. 
   In a preferred embodiment, a fee may be charged to access the spooling server  50 . The fee can be based on one of print job size in bytes, print job size in number of pages, print job type, time for printing, time for storage, monthly fee, per use fee, lifetime membership, monthly membership, use of color, use of black and white, page size, location, convenience, number of images, print quality, image quality, or other suitable factors. The fee may be charged for providing a print job to the spooling server  50  and/or retrieving a print job from the spooling server  50 . The fee can be paid via a client device  12  associated with the print job source  10 , the printer polling device  100 , or any other suitable device capable of communicating with the spooling server, such as a smart card, a telephone, a personal digital assistant, or the like. 
   The spooling server  50  may store the one or more print job(s) in at least one spooling queue  52 . The spooling server  50  may be maintained by a trusted party on the outside of the firewalls  30 ,  70 . Alternatively, the spooling server  50  may be owned and maintained by the organizations desiring to utilize inter-network printing. 
   Since the communications amongst the print job source  10 , the spooling server  50 , and the printer polling device  100  may travel across public networks, it is very desirable to protect any proprietary or confidential information that may be embodied in the print jobs. 
   In a preferred embodiment, the print job may be encrypted at the print job source  10  and decrypted at the printer polling device  100 . For example, the print job can be encrypted on the client device  12  such that it can only be printed by a person with the correct decryption key. In addition, printing of the document can be delayed until the key is physically entered at the printer polling device  100  (e.g., the recipient is physically present at the printing device  120 ). 
   A flow diagram of an example of an encryption process used between the print job source  10 , the spooling server  50  and the printer polling device  100  is shown in  FIG. 2 . The print job  11  is protected by encrypting the print job (indicated at  501 ) at the print job source  10  (e.g., on the print driver  14  or an agent program on the originating client device  12  of  FIG. 1 ) and decrypting it at the spooling server  50 . The encryption algorithm may be the IDEA algorithm. Other suitable encryption algorithms which can be utilized are DES (the Data Encryption Standard), or triple-DES (DES applied to the data three times with three different keys). Other encryption algorithms suitable for commercial confidential information are numerous and well known in the art of data encryption. 
   The key  500  used for encryption  501  may be derived from an account number  510 , a user&#39;s secret PIN (personal identification number)  520 , and/or optionally some additional encryption key digits  530  supplied by the user. Simply concatenating the bits together from these sources provides a moderately secure key  500 . Optionally, additional security may be achieved by using a more sophisticated hashing function. 
   The key  500  would be known only to the user and to the secure, trusted, spooling web server  50 . The encrypted print job is sent to the spooling server  50  where it is decrypted ( 601 ) to facilitate reformatting  602  for the destination printing device once it is known. The reformatted print job data is re-encrypted  603  using the same or similar key  500 ′ derived in the same manner as key  500  at the print job source  10 . The encrypted print job is then transmitted from the spooling server  50  to the printer polling device  100 . Once at the printer polling device  100 , the print job is decrypted  701  using a key  500 ″ derived from the PIN  520 , account number  510 , and/or optional encryption key extension digits  530 . The decrypted print job can then be forwarded to the printing device  120  for printing. 
   The print job  11  may comprise a document provided by a content provider. The content provider may be one of a newspaper, a magazine, a periodical, a document provider, a graphic arts provider, a notification service, an Internet content provider, a merchant, a financial institution, a government agency, a shipping company, or the like. For example, instead of physically delivering the daily sports page, it is simply printed on a customer&#39;s home printer. 
   The print job  11  may be provided by the content provider on a subscription basis. A single print job may be provided by the content provider for printing by multiple users. 
   The printer polling device  100  may comprise a user interface, a connection to the network  110 , and a connection to the printing device  120 .  FIG. 3  shows an embodiment of a user interface  103  for the printer polling device  100  having a display  101  and a keypad  102 . The keypad  102  shown in  FIG. 3  may also comprise an alphanumeric keypad to allow for entry of both letters and numbers. The user interface may optionally include a speaker and a microphone for audio output and input, and may also include a card reader for reading a magnetic strip on a credit or debit card, automated teller machine (ATM) card, smartcard, prepaid print card, or the like. 
   In a further embodiment as shown in  FIG. 4 , each print job may be stored on the spooling server  50  according to a personal identification number (PIN)  400 . As an example,  FIG. 4  shows the PIN  400  entered at a client device  12 . The PIN  400  is forwarded to the spooling server  50  by the print driver  14  along with the print job. The spooling server  50  may communicate to the printer polling device  100  a list of print jobs associated with the PIN  400  which are stored at the spooling server  50 . The selection of a print job from the list may be provided for (e.g., via a user interface). For example, a small terminal may be provided at each printer polling device  100  to allow a user to interact with the spooling server  50  and request that the user&#39;s print jobs be sent to the printing device  120  at the user&#39;s location. The user may identify himself or herself at the printer polling device  100  with their PIN  400 , and the spooling server  50  can then match that PIN  400  with print jobs previously submitted using that same PIN  400 . 
   A plurality of print jobs may be stored on the spooling server  50  according to the PIN  400  (e.g., in spooling queue  52 ). For example, a directory may be created for each user, and thus each PIN, registered with the spooling server  50 . Each print job may additionally be assigned a unique job number at the time it is first received at the spooling server  50 . Thereafter, the job number may be used to access the data files associated with that job unambiguously. Once a print job has been selected to be printed to a destination printing device  120 , the job number for the print job may be entered into a queue associated with the destination printing device  120 . Data structures suitable for maintaining a queue are well known in the art. In the preferred embodiment, the queue  52  is maintained in a C++ class known as a CList provided by Microsoft in their C++ class library. 
   When the printer polling device  100  polls the spooling server  50 , the spooling server  50  checks to see if the queue for that printing device  120  contains any print jobs. When the spooling server  50  finds a print job waiting to be printed, the data for that print job is retrieved from the file system, reformatted in a form suitable for the identified printing device  120 , and transmitted to the printer polling device  100 . 
   The PIN  400  may be provided to the spooling server  50  via one of a user interface associated with the printer polling device  100 , a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like. The list of available print jobs may be displayed on one of a user interface associated with the printer polling device  100 , a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like. Selection of an available print job may be made via a user interface associated with the printer polling device  100 , a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like. 
     FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary process of authentication of a user using a PIN. When a user desires to access their account or documents over a non-secure channel, first, the spooling server  50  needs to verify that it is indeed talking to the actual user. The server generates a random string of bits  350 . These bits are sent to the printer polling device  100  where authentication is to take place. The user&#39;s PIN  150  is used to generate an encryption key  152  for encrypting the bits (indicated at  155 ) and the result is returned to the spooling server  50 . The spooling server  50  decrypts the string (indicated at  355 ) using an encryption key  362  generated from the PIN it knows ( 360 ) and compares it to the original random string (indicated at  365 ). If the decrypted string  358  matches the original string  350 , the spooling server  50  accepts the user as authenticated. An account number ( 361 ,  151 ) may optionally be used (either alone or in connection with the PIN) to generate the encryption keys  362 ,  152 . Many other authentication protocols are well known in the art and may be substituted for the protocol described above in connection with  FIG. 5 . 
   The printer polling device  100  may be a portable device. The printer polling device  100  may be operably associated with a variety of printer types. 
   In a further embodiment, the print job may be provided to the spooling server  50  without a predetermined print destination. A user is able to interact with the printer polling device  100  and communicate the identification of the desired print destination for the user&#39;s print job to the spooling server  50 . The user need not know anything more about the printing device  120  than its location (which the user needs anyway to be able to retrieve the physical output pages). 
   Alternatively, a desired print location for the print job may be designated at the print job source  10 . The designated print location may be communicated to the spooling server  50  with the print job. The print job may be printed at the desired print location when the printer polling device  100  at the desired print location polls the spooling server  50  and identifies the print job. 
   Further, a substantially specific time for printing a print job may be designated such that the print job is only available for printing from the spooling server  50  at the designated substantially specific time. 
   In addition, a lifetime of the print job may be designated, wherein the print job will be stored on the spooling server  50  only for the designated lifetime. 
   A number of printings of the print job may be designated, wherein the print job can only be printed from the spooling server  50  the designated number of times. 
   A list of recipients authorized to retrieve a print job may be designated, wherein the print job may only be printed by the designated recipients. For example, a document or series of documents may be provided to the spooling server  50  which document or documents can be received by a designated group of recipients, such as a company&#39;s sales force, newsgroup or other content subscribers, or other target audiences. 
   The print job may be one of a negotiable instrument, a stamp, a coupon, a certificate, a check, a unit of currency, a token, a receipt, or the like. In such circumstances, it may be desirable that the designated number of printings is one. 
   The print job source  10  may be connected to the network  110  using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP protocol), or any other suitable network configuration protocol. Similarly, the printer polling device  100  may be connected to the network  110  using DHCP protocol, or any other suitable network configuration protocol. 
   DHCP is a protocol which allows nodes to be added to a TCP/IP network dynamically without specific prior configuration of that node in the domain controller&#39;s hosts database. Each node desiring to connect announces itself to the DHCP server. The name of the node is sent to the DHCP server. The DHCP server then assigns the node a dynamic IP address as well as communicating the IP addresses of other key network services such as name servers, mailhosts, and gateways that are available. Once setup and enabled, this mechanism allows nodes to be added to the network without the intervention of a network administrator. 
   Ease of installation and configuration is therefore achieved through the use of DHCP by the fact that most local networks are configured to allow network devices to be added without the intervention of an administrator using DHCP. In addition, most local networks allow web access through their firewall (e.g., gateway firewalls  30  and  70 ). These two factors allow both the print job source  10  and the printer polling device  100  to connect and communicate to the spooling server  50  without the intervention of a network administrator. The user simply plugs in the printer polling device  100  and it accesses the network and starts polling the spooling server  50 . 
   The invention may also be implemented using a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN is a mechanism that allows network nodes not directly connected to a local private network to behave as if they are locally connected to the network by forwarding the data packets through some type of public or intermediate network. For security, authentication of the node desiring to connect to the network is performed, as well as encryption of the contents of the forwarded packets. Various commercial products allow the setup and configuration of VPN&#39;s through various connectivity mechanisms such as dial-up ISP&#39;s, Cable Modems, and DSL on the client node end. The local network that is being connected to will require a router or router/firewall that implements the VPN protocol to allow the VPN connection. A VPN is made up of two components: L2TP (Layer 2 tunneling protocol) and IPSEC (Internet Protocol Security). 
   In a preferred embodiment, the printer polling device  100  is capable of communicating the status of the printing device  120  to the spooling server  50 . The printer status may comprise at least one of a printer ready indication, an on-line indication, toner level information, paper supply information, error information, or other appropriate status information. 
   A printer operator can be notified when the printer status indicates that the printing device  120  requires attention. The operator can also be provided with vendor contact information to facilitate obtaining printer supplies or service. Automatic on-line ordering of printer supplies as required by printer status can be provided (e.g., by the spooling sever  50  contacting predetermined preferred vendors). 
   The print job may include at least one of a document, a poster, an image, a coupon, a ticket, a certificate, a check, a list, a schedule, a periodical, a unit of currency, a negotiable instrument, postage, a bill of lading, a lottery or gaming ticket, a token, food stamps, a license, a permit, a pass, a passport, a ballot, a citation, identification, a copy-protection key, a proof-of-purchase, a warranty, a receipt, a transcript, a library card, or any other printable subject matter. 
   As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the printer polling device  100  may periodically poll the spooling server  50 . The interval of the polling can vary as desired and can be adjusted dynamically based upon such factors as traffic or requests for files. The polling request (query)  210  is preferably encrypted. Because the query  210  is directed to a specific spooling server  50 , it is difficult for a third party to breach the system&#39;s security. The query  210  asks the spooling server  50  if it has a print job identified by the user (e.g., via a PIN or a job number). Once the spooling server  50  has received a request  210  from the printer polling device  100  for a print job that is stored at the spooling server  50 , the spooling server  50  waits for the next query  210  from the printer polling device  100 . Then, instead of its normal answer to the query of “NACK” (negative acknowledge)  220 , the spooling server  50  answers “ACK” (acknowledge)  230  and transmits the print job to the destination printing device  120 . 
   In an alternate embodiment as shown in  FIG. 11 , an agent program  200  provides a directory of documents  204  to the spooling server  50 . The agent program  200  enables a client device  12  associated with the print job source  10  to poll the spooling server  50  to determine whether the spooling server  50  requires a document  13  identified in the directory  204  to complete a print job. If so, the document  13  can be uploaded from the client device  12  to the spooling server  50 . The agent  200  enables a user at a printing device  120  (or using any of the available interfaces to the spooling server  50 ) to initiate the printing of documents  13  that still reside on a client device  12  (such as the user&#39;s computer) even though the documents  13  have not been forwarded to the spooling server  50  as print jobs. 
   The agent program  200  may be downloaded and installed on the client device  12 . The agent program  200  may be configured to make the contents of some or all of the directories  204  on the client device  12  available to the spooling server  50 . Once installed and running, the agent program  200  initiates a connection to the spooling server  50  in the same way the printer polling device  100  does. The agent program may have a connection through a firewall, for example. 
   The directory of documents  204  may include application files such as a Microsoft Word .doc file, for example, or files that have been made into a print job (Postscript or PDF file) by printing “to a file” from some application. 
   The directory  204  can be communicated to the printer polling device  100  and presented at the printer polling device  100 . Selection of a print job  11  from the directory can be made (e.g., via a user interface). 
   For example, the spooling server  50  will list those documents  13  being available from the agent program  200  whenever the user of that account is interacting with the printer polling device  100 , or any other interface provided for communication to the spooling server  50  as described herein. 
   For example, the agent program  200  may periodically poll the spooling server  50  via polling interface  202 . The interval of the polling can vary as desired and can be adjusted dynamically based upon such factors as traffic or requests for files. The communications between the agent program  200  and the spooling server  50  occur substantially as described in connection with  FIG. 6  above. The polling request (query)  206  is preferably encrypted. Because the query  206  is directed to a specific spooling server  50 , it is difficult for a third party to breach the system&#39;s security. The query  206  asks the spooling server  50  if it wants any files in the directory  204  (and may also update the directory  204 ). Once the spooling server  50  has received a request  207  from the printer polling device  100  for a document that is listed in the directory  204 , the spooling server  50  waits for the next query  206  from the agent program  200 . Then, instead of its normal answer to the query of “NACK” (negative acknowledge), it answers “ACK” (acknowledge) followed by document information, such as the name of the document that is requested by request  207 . 
   The agent program  200 , upon receiving an “ACK” and the request information  207 , opens the document  13  using the application it was created in and prints it to a temporary file  205  to create a print job  11 . This print job  11  is then transmitted to the spooling server  50  via transmitter  203 . The spooling server  50  uses its normal mechanism to then transmit the print job  11  to the destination printing device  120 . 
   Alternatively, the spooling server  50  may send an “ACK” followed by the name of a subdirectory. In that case, the agent program  200  returns the contents of that subdirectory. The spooling server  50  can then display those files to the user at the printer polling device  100  and allow one of the files to be selected, or allow additional navigation of directory  204  to take place. 
   The directory  204  may be presented via a visual presentation or an audio presentation. The client device  12  may periodically poll the spooling server  50  to determine whether the spooling server  50  requires a document from the directory  204  to complete a print job. 
   Communications with the spooling server  50  may be enabled via at least one of a telephone, a personal digital assistant device, a computer, an Internet appliance, a web browser, a dedicated terminal, or the like. The communications with the spooling server  50  may be via an audio interface or a visual interface. 
   A communication device for providing status of the print job stored on the spooling server  50  may be provided. The status of the print job may comprise at least one of filename, file size, author, creation date, print job lifetime, image, title, contents, personal identification number, recipient, job number, or reference number. The communication device may be a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or any other suitable wireless or wired communication device. 
   The print job source  10  may be one of a computer, a personal digital assistant device, an Internet appliance, a telephone, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a dedicated terminal, or other suitable source. 
   The printer polling device  100  may be capable of polling multiple spooling servers. 
   The spooling server  50  may be capable of communicating with other servers and receiving a print job from at least one of the other servers. 
   The print jobs submitted from the print job source  10  to the spooling server  50  may be generated in a page description language known as Postscript. Alternate choices for a page description language are PDF, Latex, or other similar languages. The size of the paper, various printer capabilities, and printable area dimensions may be assumed from a lowest common denominator set of capabilities common to most of the intended target printers. 
   Once the destination printing device  120  is known, the page description language data needs to be converted into a form that can be understood by that printing device  120 . This process is shown in  FIG. 7 . Once the print job  11  is sent to the spooling server  50 , a target printing device  120  must be identified before the spooling server  50  can forward the print job  11  to be printed. Target printer identification  801  can be provided with the print job  11  from the print job source  10  or can be provided by the printer polling device  100  as part of the polling query. The spooling server  50  retrieves printer specific information  805  for the target printing device  120  from a printer database  803 . Based on the printer specific information  805  (such as data type, page dimensions, color capabilities, margins, and other print characteristics) the spooling server  50  will make printer specific adjustments  810  to the print job  11  at the page description language level prior to rasterization. 
   On printing devices that can accept Postscript (or the PDL of choice) directly, no modification is necessary. For other, simpler printers, a lower level bitmap form of the page is required to be sent to the printer. In this case, the page description language needs to be rasterized into a bitmap form. In addition, the bitmap data needs to be formatted into the form understood by the printing device  120 . A raster image processor  815  determines the target printer type from the printer specific information  805  and selects an appropriate data format from available formats  820 ,  821 ,  822 ,  823 . The raster image processor  815  places the print job  11  into a printer specific data file  850  for delivery to the printer polling device  100  to be printed at the target printing device  120 . 
   One common example of a data format used with simple printers is PCL (Printer Control Language), which is widely used in printers built by Hewlett Packard. Other printers built by Epson, for example use Epson&#39;s proprietary Epson-escape code sequences to format the bitmap data. 
   Alternatively, reformatting of the print job may take place at the printing device  120 , at the printer polling device  100 , or at any other suitable device. 
     FIG. 8  shows the components of an embodiment of a printer polling device  100 . As discussed above in connection with  FIG. 3 , the printer polling device may optionally include a user interface  103  for enabling communications with the spooling server  50  (e.g., providing a PIN to the spooling server  50 ). A polling transmitter  105  is provided for transmitting polling requests to the spooling server  50  via the network  110  to identify a print job stored at the spooling server  50  (as discussed in connection with  FIGS. 1 and 4  above). A print job receiver  108  is provided for receiving the identified print job from the spooling server  50  via the network  110 . Decryption  111  of an encrypted print job may optionally be provided for at the printer polling device  100 . A printer interface  112  enables the printer polling device  100  to forward the print job to a printing device  120  for printing. 
     FIG. 9  shows the components of an embodiment of a spooling server  50 . A receiver  51  is provided which is capable of receiving print jobs from the print job source  10  and receiving polling requests from the printer polling device  100 . The receiver  51  may comprise a print job receiver  58  for receiving the print job and a polling receiver  59  for receiving the polling request. When a print job is received by the receiver  51 , the spooling server  50  stores the print job in memory  52 , which may comprise random access memory (RAM), magnetic or optical storage media, or any other read/write memory device. As discussed herein, the print jobs may be stored in memory  52  according to a PIN. Multiple print jobs may be stored under each PIN as shown at  53 ,  54 , and  55 . When the spooling server  50  receives a polling request for a specific print job from the printer polling device  100  at the receiver  51 , the spooling server  50  will determine whether the requested print job is stored in memory  52 , and if so, forward the requested print job to the printer polling device  100 -via transmitter  57 . A processor  56  enables the spooling server to search for, retrieve, and/or reformat the print job for delivery to the printer polling device  100 . 
     FIG. 10  shows the components of an embodiment of a print driver  14 . An interface  16  is provided for receiving a print job from a print job source  10 . The print job source  10  is shown in  FIG. 10  as a client device  12 , but can be any suitable print job source as discussed herein. The interface  16  receives a printable document  13  from the client device  12 . A transmitter  18  is provided for transmitting the print job  11  to the spooling server  50  via the network  110 . The spooling server  50  receives polling requests from the printer polling device  100  and forwards one or more identified print jobs to the printer polling device  100  in response to the polling requests. The print jobs can then be printed at a printing device  120  associated with the printer polling device  100 . As discussed in greater detail elsewhere herein, the printer polling device  100  does not have to identify specific print jobs to the spooling server  50 . Instead, it can simply request a list of all print jobs (if any) currently stored at the spooling server  50  for that specific printer polling device  100 , or for a particular PIN number (or other identifier) entered via the printer polling device  100  or other device. As discussed elsewhere herein, the list of print jobs may be accessed via various other devices capable of communicating with the spooling server  50 . 
   In an alternate example embodiment of the invention, a unique identification number (ID) may be assigned to a printing device  120 . A print job is associated with the ID. A print driver  14  is provided for forwarding the print job from a print job source  10  to a spooling server  50  over a network  110 . The spooling server  50  is capable of receiving and storing one or more print jobs from the print job source  10  via the network  110 . The spooling server  50  is polled via a printer polling device  100  associated with the printing device  120  to identify a print job stored at the spooling server  50  for the printing device  120  based on the ID. An identified print job can then be received from the spooling server  50  at the printer polling device  100  and printed at the printing device  120 . 
   In a further example embodiment, the unique ID assigned to the printing device  120  may comprise a telephone number. The ID may be assigned to the printing device  120  by a facsimile server (fax ID number server)  122  on the network  110 . 
   The print job source  10  may comprise a facsimile machine. The facsimile machine may be connected to the network  110  by dialing the telephone number that comprises the ID. The facsimile server  122  hosting the telephone number may be any device with the ability to route facsimile transmissions to the Internet. Using one of a variety of transports, including, but not limited to, SMTP, SOAP, XML, HTTP and HTTPS, the facsimile server  122  will transmit the received facsimile to the spooling server  50  where it will reside as a print job, identifying the transmission by the telephone number it was received on. The spooling server  50  will then associate the transmission with the printing device  120  based on the telephone number. The print job may be stored for later retrieval in response to the poll from the printer polling device  100 . 
   The print job may be associated with the printing device  120  by dialing the telephone number comprising the ID. 
   The printing device  120  may comprise a printer, a facsimile machine, or the like. 
   Each print job may be stored on the spooling server  50  according to the ID. A plurality of print jobs may be stored on the spooling server  50  according to the ID (as discussed above in connection with  FIGS. 1 and 9 ). 
   A list of print jobs associated with the ID which are stored at the spooling server  50  may be communicated from the spooling server  50  to the printer polling device  100  to provide for the selection of a print job. 
   The ID may be provided to the spooling server  50  via one of a user interface associated with the printer polling device  100 , a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like. 
   The list of available print jobs stored at the spooling server  50  may be displayed on one of a user interface associated with the printer polling device  100 , a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like. 
   Selection of an available print job may be made via a user interface associated with the printer polling device  100 , a telephone, a computer, an Internet appliance, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a personal digital assistant device, a dedicated terminal, or the like. 
   It will now be appreciated that the present invention provides improved methods and systems for providing printing services over a communications network in a secure manner without the need to specify the print destination. By using a printer polling device, the disadvantages of prior art push data flow techniques are overcome. Instead of having a remote device initiate contact with a print station behind a firewall, the present invention provides a printer polling device that polls a spooling server to determine if there are any documents to be printed by a printing device associated with the printer polling device. Compatibility with all types of printing devices is also provided. 
   Although the invention has been described in connection with preferred embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous adaptations and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as set forth in the following claims.