Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Erik O Peterson

Justin Allen Hutchings

Feng Yue

Esaias Engelbertus Greeff

Samuel David Adams

David Walker Duhon

Arun Babu Nagarajan

Niket Ashok Sanghvi

Robert Franz Hain

J Adrian Lannin

Kyle P Wojtaszek

Kristofer Noel Iverson

Alain L Michaud

Frank Gorgenyi

Jesse D McGatha

Michael P Fenelon

Hristo H Ivanov

Yulin Jin

Joshua A Dersch

Matthew Thomas Beaver

Heming Wen

Shawn E Maloney

Pradeep Mayakontla

Esaias Englebertus Greeff

Justin A Hutchings

David W Duhon

Robert F Hain

Esaias E Greeff

Niket A Sanghvi

Jesse Mcgatha

Michael Fenelon

The present disclosure relates to systems, methods, and computer-readable media for performing out-of-band discovery of service definitions to enable a central computing device to interact with one or more peripheral devices. For example, systems disclosed herein include retrieving a hash value for a peripheral device representative of a set of service attributes associated with the peripheral device. Based on the hash value, the systems disclosed herein can identify a service database entry including service definitions that enable the central computing device to interact with the peripheral devices. Using the service definitions, the central computing device can interact with any peripheral device that shares the same set of service attributes as the peripheral device.

Out-of-band service discovery for peripheral devices

Embodiments relate to an operating system configured to enable arbitrary applications to output 3D models to be physically formed by arbitrary 3D manufacturing devices. The operating system manages the 3D manufacturing devices, including installation of related software, device drivers, device properties, and so forth. The operating system also provides a path through which the arbitrary applications pass arbitrary print jobs (or documents) of 3D models, in a standard format, to the 3D manufacturing devices. The operating system handles queuing and spooling on behalf of the applications and the 3D manufacturing devices. Drivers of the 3D manufacturing devices may translate the 3D models outputted by the applications (in the standard format) to instructions or device language content that is specific to the respective 3D manufacturing devices.

3D manufacturing platform

Graphics primitive and color channel techniques are described. In one or more implementations, image data is processed by a computing device to form a plurality of pixels and corresponding one or more color channels usable to define a color for a respective said pixel. A graphics primitive type is identified by the computing device associated with one or more of the pixels in the processed image data. The graphics primitive type is assigned by the computing device to the one or more pixels using at least one color channel.

Graphics primitive and color channels

Device association data for peripheral devices, which is data used to connect to the peripheral devices, is maintained and synchronized across multiple computing devices associated with a user account on a service. When a new peripheral device is associated with a computing device, device association data for the new peripheral device is added to the computing device. The device association data for the new peripheral device is also sent to the service, which provides the device association to the other computing devices from which the user logs into his or her account, and those other computing devices in turn automatically associate themselves with the peripheral device. Device use data describing how a user desires to use the peripheral device on one computing device, as well as changes to the device association data on one computing device, can similarly be synchronized across the multiple computing devices.

Synchronizing device association data among computing devices

In one or more embodiments, a print server can publish, to client devices, capabilities and configurations of one or more print devices utilizing a device-independent 'personality.' Client devices can then use an associated device-independent print driver to select print job settings and record print job content for a particular print job, in a device-independent format, that is then to be sent to the print server. The print server can then process the device-independent format that describes the print job, and convert the print job into a print device-specific format that can be consumed by a particular specific print device. In at least some embodiments, the client device can cause a print job to be printed on a print device, via a print server, without downloading, utilizing or otherwise accessing a print driver that is specific to the print device.

Printing using a platform-independent driver

Growing community of inventors

Kirkland, WA, United States of America

Erik O Peterson