Printer Capabilities Discovery for IoT Data Printing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Many IoT devices connected via the Internet of Things (IoT) lack user interfaces and often provide data that is not in a print-ready format, making it challenging to access and print useful information such as consumption reports or health data.
Innovation Solution
A printer system that receives capabilities messages from IoT devices to determine their printable content provision capabilities, stores this data, and displays it to users, allowing selection and retrieval of printable content, even from devices that do not support direct communication, using proxy computing devices if necessary, and converts non-print-ready data into a printable format.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If IoT devices provide data in non-print-ready formats, then device functionality is maintained, but printing capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a printer as an intermediary device that receives data from IoT devices and performs the conversion to print-ready formats. The printer acts as a mediator between the IoT device's native data format and the printing system requirements, eliminating the need for the IoT device itself to have printing capabilities or perform format conversion.
2Ease of operation
If IoT devices lack user interfaces, then device simplicity is maintained, but user interaction for printing is impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the user interface functionality with the printer device. Since IoT devices lack user interfaces, the printer becomes the centralized interface point where users can interact with multiple IoT devices, select content for printing, and control the printing process. This combines the interface requirements of multiple devices into a single unit.
3Adaptability or versatility
If printers support multiple network protocols, then device compatibility is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements the printer with multi-functionality to support multiple network protocols including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Zigbee. This allows the single printer device to communicate with various IoT devices using different protocols, providing universal compatibility without requiring separate devices for each protocol type.
Data Source
AI summary
In one example of the disclosure, a capabilities message is received from each of a set of computing devices, the capabilities message indicative of whether the computing device can provide printable content. Capabilities data, indicative of printable content provision capabilities for each of the set of computing devices, is stored. A display of printable content capabilities for the set of computing devices is caused. Responsive to a user selection of a first computing device that can provide printable content, printable content is obtained from the first computing device and printing of the printable content is caused.