Printing computing device for operating a multi-function printing device

Abstract

A printing computing device connects to a multi-function printing (MFP) device to enable additional functionality and capabilities not offered by the MFP device. The printing computing device connects to a network to receive print jobs from external devices within the network. The printing computing device processes the print jobs according to rules such that print jobs are processed accordingly. The printing computing device also includes firmware not available on the MFP device such that print jobs not supported by the MFP device still may be processed. The printing computing device also includes an engine that determines whether an incoming print job is a PDL print job or a command to perform a function not available on the MFP device.

1 . A printing computing device for performing printing operations to print documents at a multi-function printing (MFP) device connected to a network, the printing computing device comprising:
 a print job manager to schedule a print job received over the network;   a print engine to determine whether the print job includes a page description language (PDL) print job that is supported on the MFP device and to intercept the PDL print job if it is not supported on the MFP device;   a raster image processing (RIP) firmware to process the PDL print job from the print job manager, wherein the RIP firmware comprises a PDL interpreter and a graphics rendering component such that the RIP firmware supports the PDL print job that is not supported on the MFP device; and   a communication layer to send the processed PDL print job from the printing computing device to the detachably connected MFP device to print,   wherein the printing computing device is separable from the MFP device to externally process the print job for the MFP device, the print job being received from an external device over the network according to an internet protocol (IP) address unique to the printing computing device.   
     
     
         2 . The printing computing device of  claim 1 , further comprising a power supply not located within the MFP device. 
     
     
         3 . The printing computing device of  claim 2 , further comprising connectors to connect the power supply to the MFP device. 
     
     
         4 . The printing computing device of  claim 1 , further comprising an operating system. 
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . The printing computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the engine is configured to pass through the PDL print job to the communication layer according to a rule corresponding to the MFP device. 
     
     
         7 . The printing computing device of  claim 1 , further comprising a memory having a file buffer to store the PDL print job. 
     
     
         8 . A method for processing a print job at a printing computing device for printing at a multi-function printing (MFP) device, the method comprising:
 determining whether a print job received from an external device includes a page description language (PDL) print job that is supported on the MFP device using a print engine;   intercepting the PDL print job if it is not supported on the MFP device as determined by the print engine;   processing the PDL print job using a raster image processing (RIP) firmware within the printing computing device such that the RIP firmware supports the PDL print job that is not supported on the MFP device;   processing the PDL print job using the RIP firmware; and   sending the processed PDL print job to a communication layer to send to the detachably connected MFP device, wherein the processed PDL print job is in a format ready for printing by the MFP device,   wherein the printing computing device is separable from the MFP device to externally process the print job for the MFP device, the print job being received from the external device over the network according to an internet protocol (IP) address unique to the printing computing device.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein determining includes analyzing a header of the print job to determine whether it is the PDL print job supported by the MFP device. 
     
     
         10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the processing step includes translating the PDL print job to a native PDL supported by the MFP device. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the processing step includes generating the processed PDL print job in an image format supported by the MFP device. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the processing step includes generating the processed PDL print job in a native format supported by the MFP device. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the processing step includes translating the PDL print job to a third party PDL supported by the MFP device. 
     
     
         16 . A method for using a printing computing device to process print jobs to send to a multi-functional printing (MFP) device, the method comprising:
 receiving a print job at a print job manager within the printing computing device;   analyzing a header of the print job using a print engine when scheduled by the print job manager;   determining whether the print job includes a PDL print job according to the header using the print engine that is supported by the MFP device;   intercepting the PDL print job if it is not supported by the MFP device;   determining a format for the PDL print job by the print engine;   processing the PDL print job according to the format using a raster image processing (RIP) firmware in the printing computing device, wherein the RIP firmware is not supported on the MFP device; and   sending the processed PDL print job to the detachably connected MFP device using a communication layer within the printing computing device,   wherein the printing computing device is separable from the MFP device to externally process the print job for the MFP device, the print job being received from an external device over the network according to an internet protocol (IP) address unique to the printing computing device.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising generating at least one print job parameter for the processed PDL print job. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the at least one print job parameter indicates that RIP firmware processing of the PDL print job has been completed when received by the MFP device. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the at least one print job parameter includes a mode job parameter or a job identification job parameter. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising passing the print job through to the communication layer when instructed by the engine.