User interface and application software in a mobile device that support wireless printing over a network

Abstract

Software applications supporting wireless printing are herein disclosed and enabled. The wireless printing from a mobile device may not require a device specific printer driver installed. For example, to print from an application (e.g., browsing application, email application, document application) on a smart phone, the application obtains digital content, displays the digital content on a touch sensitive screen, establishes a wireless local area network connection (e.g., IEEE 802.11) to a network, discovers one or more printers available in the network, receives device information related to a discovered printer, selects a printer for printing the digital content, and selects a print item to transmit output data to the selected printer. The application may register the discovered printer with a service over a network by transmitting the device information to the service. Subsequently, the service may share the registered printer with another mobile device that has appropriate security or authentication information.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A smart phone method for printing digital content using, at least in part, one or more application software in a smart phone, the smart phone being a mobile and wireless information apparatus, the smart phone includes:
 a touch sensitive screen interface,   a processing unit with one or more embedded processors,   wireless communication circuitry for establishing wireless local area network communications,   a memory or storage unit for storing software that includes at least a portion of operating system software and at least a portion of the one or more application software, and wherein the one or more applications software includes at least one of an Internet browsing application, an email application, a document creation application, or a digital imaging application, individually or in any combination, and   wherein execution of at least part of the software, by the processing unit of the smart phone, facilitates the smart phone to perform the smart phone method, comprising:   (1) obtaining, by the one or more application software at the smart phone, digital content;   (2) displaying, by the one or more application software and over the touch sensitive screen interface of the smart phone, the digital content obtained in (1);   (3) wirelessly establishing, using the wireless communication circuitry of the smart phone, a wireless local area network communication for connecting the smart phone to one or more printers in a wireless local area network;   (4) wirelessly detecting, using the wireless communication circuitry of the smart phone, one or more printers that are available in the wireless local area network in (3);   (5) providing, over the touch sensitive screen interface of the smart phone, a list of one or more printers detected in (4) that are available in the wireless local area network in (3) for user selection on the touch sensitive screen interface;   (6) receiving, via the touch sensitive screen interface of the smart phone, at least an indication of a selected printer from among the one or more printers in the list that was provided over the touch sensitive screen interface for user selection in (5);   (7) providing a print item or function control over the touch sensitive screen interface of the smart phone for user selection on the touch sensitive screen interface of the smart phone to print the digital content displayed on the touch sensitive screen interface in (2);   (8) receiving, via the touch sensitive screen interface of the smart phone, selection of the print item or function control in (7) for printing at least part of the digital content; and   (9) subsequent to receiving selection of the print item or function control in (8), wirelessly transmitting, via the wireless communication circuitry of the smart phone, print data related, at least in part, to the digital content displayed on the touch sensitive screen interface in (2), over the established wireless local area network communication in (3) to the selected printer in (6), thereby the one or more applications of the smart phone facilitates wireless printing of digital content from the smart phone to a printer available in the wireless local area network in (3); and   wherein, subsequent to having wirelessly detected the one or more printers in (4), and prior to wirelessly transmitting of the print data in (9), the smart phone further wirelessly receives, using the wireless communication circuitry of the smart phone and via the established wireless local area network communication in (3), device information related to the one or more printers in (4), the device information includes one or more capability information, or identification information, or security information, or device attribute information, individually or in any combination, related to the one or more printers in (4), and wherein the transmitting of the print data in (9) is based, at least in part, on the smart phone having received the device information.   
     
     
         2 . The smart phone method of  claim 1 , wherein the device information includes capability information of the selected printer detected in (4), the capability information includes information related to at least one of a language or format supported by the selected printer, a duplex printing, a color space, a bit depth, or a resolution, individually or in any combination, and wherein the print data in (9) is related, at least in part, to the capability information included in the device information. 
     
     
         3 . The smart phone method of  claim 1 , wherein the wireless printing of digital content from the smart phone to a printer available in the wireless local area network in (3) does not require a printer specific printer driver installed at the smart phone. 
     
     
         4 . The smart phone method of  claim 1 , wherein at least part of the wireless communication circuitry of the smart phone is compatible, at least partly, with at least part of a protocol within IEEE 802.11 standards for establishing the wireless local area network communication in (3), and
 wherein wirelessly detecting, using the wireless communication circuitry of the smart phone, one or more printers in (4) further includes wirelessly searching, using the wireless communication circuitry of the smart phone, for one or more printers that are available in the wireless local area network in (3); and wherein the list of one or more printers in (5) corresponds to the one or more printers found in the wireless search.   
     
     
         5 . The smart phone method of  claim 4 , wherein the print item or function control provided over the touch sensitive interface in (7) is a graphical user interface that includes at least one of a printer icon or a word “print”, individually or in any combination, and wherein the list of one or more printers provided over the touch sensitive screen interface in (5) for user selection further includes one or more of printer make information, or printer identification information, or printer model information, individually or in any combination. 
     
     
         6 . The smart phone method of  claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication circuitry is compatible, at least partly, with at least part of a protocol within IEEE 802.11 standards for establishing the wireless local area network communication in (3), and the smart phone method further comprises obtaining authentication or security information at the smart phone, wherein the establishing of the wireless local area network communication that is compatible, at least partly, with at least part of a protocol within IEEE 802.11 standards for wireless local area network communication in (3) includes employing, at least in part, the authentication or security information obtained at the smart phone. 
     
     
         7 . The smart phone method of  claim 1 , wherein the device information that is related to the one or more printers detected in (4) includes device information received from the one or more printers, by the smart phone and over the established wireless local area network communication in (3), and wherein the device information includes identification information related to the selected printer, the identification information includes one or more of a brand name, a model, an identifier, a registration, or IP address information, individually or in any combination, associated with the one or more printers; and
 wherein the smart phone method further comprises:   (a) accessing, using the wireless communication circuitry of the smart phone, one or more servers over a network, the one or more servers operated, at least in part, by a service provided over a network; and   (b) registering the one or more printers, using the received device information, as one or more registered printers with the service,   wherein the list of one or more printers provided in (5) on the touch sensitive screen interface for user selection corresponds to one or more printers that was registered with the service, and wherein the selected printer in (6) correspond to a registered printer with the service.   
     
     
         8 . A non-transitory computer readable recording medium having recorded therein a program executable, at least partly, by a processor of a wireless information apparatus to perform a wireless printing method for printing digital content from the wireless information apparatus to a printer in a wireless local area network,
 the program being related to at least a portion of one or more application software operable at the wireless information apparatus, the one or more applications software includes at least one of an Internet browsing application, an email application, a document creation application, or a digital imaging application, individually or in any combination,   the wireless information apparatus includes:   a touch sensitive screen interface for interacting with a user,   wireless communication circuitry that includes a radio frequency controller and an antenna for establishing a wireless local area network communication, and   wherein the wireless printing method comprises:   (1) discovering, using the wireless communication circuitry of the wireless information apparatus, the printer that is available in the wireless local area network;   (2) receiving, using the wireless communication circuitry of the wireless information apparatus and over an established wireless local area network communication, device information related to the printer discovered in (1);   (3) accessing, by the one or more application software at the wireless information apparatus, one or more servers over a network, the one or more servers operated, at least in part, by a service provided over a network;   (4) registering the printer discovered in (1) with the service, using, at least in part, the device information received in (2), as a registered printer with the service in (3);   (5) obtaining, by the one or more application software at the wireless information apparatus, digital content for printing to the registered printer in (4);   (6) displaying, by the one or more application software and over the touch sensitive screen interface of the wireless information apparatus, the digital content obtained in (5);   (7) providing a print item or function control over the touch sensitive screen interface of the wireless information apparatus for user selection on the touch sensitive screen interface of the wireless information apparatus to print the digital content displayed on the touch sensitive screen interface in (6);   (8) receiving, via the touch sensitive screen interface of the wireless information apparatus, selection of the print item or function control in (7) for printing at least part of the digital content displayed on the touch sensitive screen interface in (6); and   (9) subsequent to receiving the selection of the print item or function control in (8), wirelessly transmitting, via the wireless communication circuitry of the wireless information apparatus, print data related, at least in part, to the digital content displayed on the touch sensitive screen interface in (6), over the wireless local area network communication to the registered printer in (4), thereby the wireless information apparatus supports wireless printing of digital content from the wireless information apparatus to the printer in the wireless local area network.   
     
     
         9 . The non-transitory computer readable recording medium of  claim 8 , wherein prior to wirelessly transmitting the print data in (9) and after discovering the printer in (1), the wireless printing method further comprises:
 (a) providing, over the touch sensitive screen interface of the wireless information apparatus, a list of one or more printers for user selection on the touch sensitive screen interface for printing the digital content displayed in (6), the one or more printers includes either the printer discovered in (1) or the printer registered in (4);   (b) receiving, via the touch sensitive screen interface of the wireless information apparatus, at least an indication of a selection from the list provided in (a) via the touch sensitive screen interface as the printer for transmitting the print data in (9).   
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory computer readable recording medium of  claim 8 , wherein the wireless communication circuitry of the wireless information apparatus is compatible, at least partly, with at least part of a protocol within IEEE 802.11 standards for establishing the wireless local area network communication in (2). 
     
     
         11 . The non-transitory computer readable recording medium of  claim 10  wherein, the device information received in (2) includes capability information related to the printer discovered in (1), the capability information includes at least information related to at least one of a language supported by the printer, a format supported by the printer, duplex printing, a color space, a bit depth, or a resolution, individually or in any combination, and wherein the print data in (9) is related, at least in part, to the capability information included in the device information received in (2). 
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer readable recording medium of  claim 8 , wherein the device information received in (2) is received, by the wireless information apparatus over the established wireless local area network communication in (2), from the printer discovered in (1), and wherein the device information includes identification information related to the printer, the identification information includes one or more of a brand name, a model, an identifier, a registration, or IP address information, individually or in any combination, associated with the printer. 
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer readable recording medium of  claim 12 , wherein the wireless printing of digital content from the wireless information apparatus to the registered printer in (4) does not require a device specific printer driver installed at the wireless information apparatus for printing to the registered printer. 
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer readable recording medium of  claim 13 , wherein registering the printer in (4) further includes the wireless information apparatus transmitting an output device object to the one or more servers operated, at least partly, by the service over the network, the output device object includes at least part of the device information received in (2), and
 wherein the service further shares at least part of the output device object received from the wireless information apparatus with other client devices that are distinct devices from the wireless information apparatus, the other client devices having appropriate security or authentication information to access the service, and subsequent to the other client devices accessing the service, the other client devices are operable for printing to the registered printer in (4).