Printer control mechanism for a device having a mobile operating system
US9676207B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 8, 2013 |
| Grant date | Jun 13, 2017 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 8, 2033 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F3/1284
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A table-side hospitality device includes an integral printer mechanism, such as a thermal printer. The device comprises a general purpose processing unit on which a mobile- or embedded-device operating system, such as Android, executes. A control program (the device application) executing on the processing unit facilitates ordering, order management, invoicing and payment. When the application needs to print, it interacts with the printer directly, preferably using the general purpose input-output (GPIO) bus of the processor. In particular, during the print operation, the processor (via the general purpose I/O) outputs, as a set of control signals, a bit-map of the desired graphics (text, images, or the like), and these control signals drive the printer directly without requiring a dedicated micro-controller or OS-specific printer drivers.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.