Device sharing system using PCL macros
US5280585A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 28, 1990 |
| Grant date | Jan 18, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 28, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F3/1285
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Disclosed is a switch that allows a peripheral device, such as a PCL printer, to be shared by multiple computer systems. The switch connects to each of the computer systems, and also to the peripheral device being shared. The first system is considered the primary user of the peripheral device, so when the second system requests access to the peripheral device, the switch causes the peripheral device to save its state temporarily while the second system uses the device. When the second system's use is complete, the switch causes the peripheral device to restore its state to the last state established by the first system. Therefore, the first system need not know that the other system used the peripheral device, since the state of the peripheral device appears unchanged from the last time the first system used the device.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.