Adaptive network protocol independent interface

Claim 2

A protocol independent method of transmitting a data packet from a first application program executing on a first device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) to a second application program executing on a second device which is interfaced to the LAN, said method comprising the steps of: initializing a protocol independent interface program which (i) determines which protocols are available for use, (ii) assigns an access line to each protocol available for use, (iii) assigns an access ID to the first application program, and (iv) creates mapping information that indicates a one-to-one correspondence between an access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information which includes a protocol header having predetermined address data; sending a data packet to the protocol independent interface program together with the access ID of the first application program and a destination ID for the second application program; selecting one of the available protocols to transmit the data packet; retrieving a block of protocol specific information from the mapping information based on the access ID of the first application program and the access line corresponding to the protocol selected in said selecting step; forming a transmission packet including the data packet, the destination ID, and the retrieved block of protocol specific information; and transmitting the transmission packet to the second application program via the LAN.

Claim 3

A method according to claim 1, wherein said selecting step comprises determining whether a preferred protocol is available and selecting the preferred protocol if it is available.

Claim 4

A method according to claim 1, wherein said selecting step comprises determining which of the available protocols has the least traffic and selecting the protocol determined to have the least traffic.

Claim 5

A method according to claim 1, wherein said selecting step comprises determining which of the available protocols has been used least by the protocol independent interface program and selecting the protocol determined to have been used the least.

Claim 6

A method according to claim 1, wherein the second device is a network interface device which interfaces between a peripheral and the LAN and which executes a service routine, wherein said method further comprises the step of transmitting data packets including data to be serviced by the service routine.

Claim 9

A method according to claim 6, wherein said selecting step comprises selecting a preferred protocol if it is available.

Claim 10

A method according to claim 6, wherein said selecting step comprises determining which of the available protocols has the least traffic and selecting the protocol determined to have the least traffic.

Claim 11

A method according to claim 6, wherein said selecting step comprises determining which of the available protocols has been used least by the protocol independent interface program and selecting the protocol determined to have been used the least.

Claim 12

A method according to claim 6, wherein the protocol independent interface program assigns a unique access ID to the first application program, assigns an access line to each available protocol, and creates mapping information having a one-to-one correspondence between each access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information, and wherein said determining step comprises retrieving a block of protocol specific information from the mapping information based on the access ID of the first application program and the access line corresponding to the protocol selected in said selecting step.

Claim 13

A method according to claim 6, wherein the second device is a network interface device which interfaces between a peripheral and the LAN and which executes a service routine, wherein said method further comprises the step of transmitting data packets including data to be serviced by the service routine.

Claim 16

A method according to claim 12, wherein the second device is a network interface device which interfaces between a peripheral and the LAN and which executes a service routine, wherein said method further comprises the step of receiving data packets including data to be serviced by the service routine.

Claim 17

A network device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) and which transmits data from a first application program executing on said network device to a second application executing on another device interfaced to the LAN, said network device comprising: a LAN interface for sending data to and receiving data from the LAN; a storage device which stores an application program and a protocol independent interface program which (i) determines which protocols are available, (ii) assigns an access line to each available protocol, (iii) assigns an access ID to the first application program, and (iv) creates mapping information having a one-to-one correspondence between an access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information which includes a protocol header having predetermined address data; and a processor which (i) executes the first application program, (ii) initializes the protocol independent interface program, (iii) processes a data packet which is generated by the first application program by selecting a protocol to transmit the data packet, retrieving a block of protocol specific information from the mapping information based on the access line corresponding to the selected protocol and the access ID of the first application program, and forming a transmission packet including a destination ID for the second application, the data packet, and the retrieved block of protocol specific information, and (iv) transmits the transmission packet via said LAN interface.

Claim 18

A network device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) and which transmits data from a first application program executing on said network device to a second application executing on another device interfaced to the LAN, said network device comprising: a LAN interface for sending data to and receiving data from the LAN; a storage device which stores an application program and a protocol independent interface program which (i) determines which protocols are available, (ii) assigns an access line to each available protocol, (iii) assigns an access ID to the first application program, and (iv) creates mapping information having a one-to-one correspondence between an access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information which includes a protocol header having predetermined address data; and a processor which (i) executes the first application program, (ii) initializes the protocol independent interface program, (iii) processes a data packet which is generated by the first application program by selecting a protocol to transmit the data packet, retrieving a block of protocol specific information from the mapping information based on the access line corresponding to the selected protocol and the access ID of the first application program, and forming a transmission packet including a destination ID for the second application, the data packet, and the retrieved block of protocol specific information, and (iv) transmits the transmission packet via said LAN interface.

Claim 19

A network device according to claim 14, wherein said network device is a network interface device which interfaces between a peripheral and the LAN, and wherein said processor executes a service routine, receives data packets including data to be serviced by the service routine via said LAN interface, and services the data using the service routine.

Claim 20

A network device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) and which receives data that is transmitted from a first application program executing on another device interfaced to the LAN to a second application executing on said network device, said network device comprising: a LAN interface for sending data to and receiving data from the LAN; a storage device which stores the second application program and a protocol independent interface program which (i) determines which protocols are available, (ii) assigns an access line to each available protocol, (iii) assigns an access ID to the second application program, and (iv) creates mapping information having a one-to-one correspondence between an access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information which includes a protocol header having predetermined address data; and a processor which (i) executes the second application program, (ii) initializes the protocol independent interface program, (iii) receives via said LAN interface a data packet which is transmitted by the first application program and which includes a block of protocol specific information, (iv) retrieves an access ID/access line pair from the mapping information which corresponds to the block of protocol specific information contained in the data packet, and (v) sends the data packet to the second application program based on the access ID retrieved from the mapping table.

Claim 21

A network device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) and which receives data that is transmitted from a first application program executing on another device interfaced to the LAN to a second application executing on said network device, said network device comprising: a LAN interface for sending data to and receiving data from the LAN; a storage device which stores the second application program and a protocol independent interface program which (i) determines which protocols are available, (ii) assigns an access line to each available protocol, (iii) assigns an access ID to the second application program, and (iv) creates mapping information having a one-to-one correspondence between an access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information which includes a protocol header having predetermined address data; and a processor which (i) executes the second application program, (ii) initializes the protocol independent interface program, (iii) receives via said LAN interface a data packet which is transmitted by the first application program and which includes a block of protocol specific information, (iv) retrieves an access ID/access line pair from the mapping information which corresponds to the block of protocol specific information contained in the data packet, and (v) sends the data packet to the second application program based on the access ID retrieved from the mapping table.

Claim 22

A network device according to claim 16, wherein said network device is a network interface device which interfaces between a peripheral and the LAN, and wherein said processor executes a service routine, receives data packets including data to be serviced by the service routine via said LAN interface, and services the data using the service routine.

Claim 23

Computer-executable process steps stored on a computer-readable medium, the computer-executable process steps to transmit a data packet from a first application program executing on a first device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) to a second application program executing on a second device which is interfaced to the LAN, said computer-executable process steps comprising: code to initialize a protocol independent interface program which (i) determines which protocols are available for use, (ii) assigns an access line to each protocol available for use, (iii) assigns an access ID to the first application program, and (iv) creates mapping information that indicates a one-to-one correspondence between an access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information which includes a protocol header having predetermined address data; code to send a data packet to the protocol independent interface program together with the access ID of the first application program and a destination ID for the second application program; code to select one of the available protocols to transmit the data packet; code to retrieve a block of protocol specific information from the mapping information based on the access ID of the first application program and the access line corresponding to the protocol selected in said selecting step; code to form a transmission packet including the data packet, the destination ID, and the retrieved block of protocol specific information; and code to transmit the transmission packet to the second application program via the LAN.

Claim 24

Computer-executable process steps stored on a computer-readable medium, the computer-executable process steps to transmit a data packet from a first application program executing on a first device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) to a second application program executing on a second device which is interfaced to the LAN, said computer-executable process steps comprising: code to initialize a protocol independent interface program which (i) determines which protocols are available for use, (ii) assigns an access line to each protocol available for use, (iii) assigns an access ID to the first application program, and (iv) creates mapping information that indicates a one-to-one correspondence between an access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information which includes a protocol header having predetermined address data; code to send a data packet to the protocol independent interface program together with the access ID of the first application program and a destination ID for the second application program; code to select one of the available protocols to transmit the data packet; code to retrieve a block of protocol specific information from the mapping information based on the access ID of the first application program and the access line corresponding to the protocol selected in said selecting step; code to form a transmission packet including the data packet, the destination ID, and the retrieved block of protocol specific information; and code to transmit the transmission packet to the second application program via the LAN.

Claim 25

Computer-executable process steps according to claim 18, wherein said code to select comprises code to determine whether a preferred protocol is available and code to select the preferred protocol if it is available.

Claim 26

Computer-executable process steps according to claim 18, wherein said code to select comprises code to determine which of the available protocols has the least traffic and code to select the protocol determined to have the least traffic.

Claim 27

Computer-executable process steps according to claim 18, wherein said code to select comprises code to determine which of the available protocols has been used least by the protocol independent interface program and code to select the protocol determined to have been used the least.

Claim 28

Computer-executable process steps according to claim 18, wherein the second device is a network interface device which interfaces between a peripheral and the LAN and which executes a service routine, and wherein the computer-executable process steps further comprise code to transmit data packets including data to be serviced by the service routine.

Claim 29

Computer-executable process steps stored on a computer-readable medium, the computer-executable process steps to deliver a data packet received from a first application program executing on a first device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) to a second application program executing on a second device which is interfaced to the LAN, said computer-executable process steps comprising: code to receive a protocol independent data packet from the first application program, together with data identifying the first application program and a destination ID identifying the second application program; code to determine which protocols are available for use on the LAN; code to select one of the available protocols to transmit the data packet; code to determine protocol specific information including a protocol header having predetermined address data based on the data identifying the first application program and the protocol selected by said code to select; code to form a transmission packet including the data packet, the destination ID, and the determined protocol specific information; and code to transmit the transmission packet to the second application program via the LAN.

Claim 30

Computer-executable process steps stored on a computer-readable medium, the computer-executable process steps to deliver a data packet received from a first application program executing on a first device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) to a second application program executing on a second device which is interfaced to the LAN, said computer-executable process steps comprising: code to receive a protocol independent data packet from the first application program, together with data identifying the first application program and a destination ID identifying the second application program; code to determine which protocols are available for use on the LAN; code to select one of the available protocols to transmit the data packet; code to determine protocol specific information including a protocol header having predetermined address data based on the data identifying the first application program and the protocol selected by said code to select; code to form a transmission packet including the data packet, the destination ID, and the determined protocol specific information; and code to transmit the transmission packet to the second application program via the LAN.

Claim 31

Computer-executable process steps according to claim 23, wherein said code to select comprises code to select a preferred protocol if it is available.

Claim 32

Computer-executable process steps according to claim 23, wherein said code to select comprises code to determine which of the available protocols has the least traffic and code to select the protocol determined to have the least traffic.

Claim 33

Computer-executable process steps according to claim 23, wherein said code to select comprises code to determine which of the available protocols has been used least by the protocol independent interface program and code to select the protocol determined to have been used the least.

Claim 34

Computer-executable process steps according to claim 23, wherein the protocol independent interface program assigns a unique access ID to the first application program, assigns an access line to each available protocol, and creates mapping information having a one-to-one correspondence between each access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information, and wherein said code to determine comprises code to retrieve a block of protocol specific information from the mapping information based on the access ID of the first application program and the access line corresponding to the protocol selected by said code to select.

Claim 35

Computer-executable process steps according to claim 23, wherein the second device is a network interface device which interfaces between a peripheral and the LAN and which executes a service routine, wherein said computer-executable process steps further comprise code to transmit data packets including data to be serviced by the service routine.

Claim 36

Computer-executable process steps stored on a computer-readable medium, the computer-executable process steps to receive data which is transmitted from a first application program executing on a first device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) to a second application program executing on a second device which is interfaced to the LAN, said computer-executable process steps comprising: code to initialize a protocol independent interface program which (i) determines which protocols are available for use, (ii) assigns an access line to each protocol available for use, (iii) assigns a unique access ID to the second application program, and (iv) creates mapping information that indicates a one-to-one correspondence between an access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information which includes a protocol header having predetermined address data; code to receive a transmission packet which includes data and a block of protocol specific information including a protocol header having predetermined address data; code to retrieve from the mapping information the access ID/access line pair which corresponds to the block of protocol specific information contained in the received transmission packet; and code to send the data contained in the received transmission packet to the second application program based on the access ID retrieved from the mapping information.

Claim 37

Computer-executable process steps stored on a computer-readable medium, the computer-executable process steps to receive data which is transmitted from a first application program executing on a first device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) to a second application program executing on a second device which is interfaced to the LAN, said computer-executable process steps comprising: code to initialize a protocol independent interface program which (i) determines which protocols are available for use, (ii) assigns an access line to each protocol available for use, (iii) assigns a unique access ID to the second application program, and (iv) creates mapping information that indicates a one-to-one correspondence between an access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information which includes a protocol header having predetermined address data; code to receive a transmission packet which includes data and a block of protocol specific information including a protocol header having predetermined address data; code to retrieve from the mapping information the access ID/access line pair which corresponds to the block of protocol specific information contained in the received transmission packet; and code to send the data contained in the received transmission packet to the second application program based on the access ID retrieved from the mapping information.

Claim 38

Computer-executable process steps according to claim 29, wherein the second device is a network interface device which interfaces between a peripheral and the LAN and which executes a service routine, and wherein the computer-executable process steps further comprise code to receive data packets including data to be serviced by the service routine.

Claim 39

A computer-readable medium which stores computer-executable process steps, the computer-executable process steps to transmit a data packet from a first application program executing on a first device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) to a second application program executing on a second device which is interfaced to the LAN, the computer-executable process steps comprising: an initializing step to initialize a protocol independent interface program which (i) determines which protocols are available for use, (ii) assigns an access line to each protocol available for use, (iii) assigns an access ID to the first application program, and (iv) creates mapping information that indicates a one-to-one correspondence between an access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information which includes a protocol header having predetermined address data; a sending step to send a data packet to the protocol independent interface program together with the access ID of the first application program and a destination ID for the second application program; a selecting step to select one of the available protocols to transmit the data packet; a retrieving step to retrieve a block of protocol specific information from the mapping information based on the access ID of the first application program and the access line corresponding to the protocol selected in said selecting step; a forming step to form a transmission packet including the data packet, the destination ID, and the retrieved block of protocol specific information; and a transmitting step to transmit the transmission packet to the second application program via the LAN.

Claim 40

A computer-readable medium which stores computer-executable process steps, the computer-executable process steps to transmit a data packet from a first application program executing on a first device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) to a second application program executing on a second device which is interfaced to the LAN, the computer-executable process steps comprising: an initializing step to initialize a protocol independent interface program which (i) determines which protocols are available for use, (ii) assigns an access line to each protocol available for use, (iii) assigns an access ID to the first application program, and (iv) creates mapping information that indicates a one-to-one correspondence between an access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information which includes a protocol header having predetermined address data; a sending step to send a data packet to the protocol independent interface program together with the access ID of the first application program and a destination ID for the second application program; a selecting step to select one of the available protocols to transmit the data packet; a retrieving step to retrieve a block of protocol specific information from the mapping information based on the access ID of the first application program and the access line corresponding to the protocol selected in said selecting step; a forming step to form a transmission packet including the data packet, the destination ID, and the retrieved block of protocol specific information; and a transmitting step to transmit the transmission packet to the second application program via the LAN.

Claim 41

A computer-readable medium according to claim 31, wherein said selecting step comprises a determining step to determine whether a preferred protocol is available and a selecting step to select the preferred protocol if it is available.

Claim 42

A computer-readable medium according to claim 31, wherein said selecting step comprises a determining step to determine which of the available protocols has the least traffic and a selecting step to select the protocol determined to have the least traffic.

Claim 43

A computer-readable medium according to claim 31, wherein said selecting step comprises a determining step to determine which of the available protocols has been used least by the protocol independent interface program and a selecting step to select the protocol determined to have been used the least.

Claim 44

A computer-readable medium according to claim 31, wherein the second device is a network interface device which interfaces between a peripheral and the LAN and which executes a service routine, and wherein the computer-executable process steps further comprise a transmitting step to transmit data packets including data to be serviced by the service routine.

Claim 45

A computer-readable medium which stores computer-executable process steps, the computer-executable process steps to deliver a data packet received from a first application program executing on a first device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) to a second application program executing on a second device which is interfaced to the LAN, the computer-executable process steps comprising: a receiving step to receive a protocol independent data packet from the first application program, together with data identifying the first application program and a destination ID identifying the second application program; a determining step to determine which protocols are available for use on the LAN; a selecting step to select one of the available protocols to transmit the data packet; a determining step to determine protocol specific information including a protocol header having predetermined address data based on the data identifying the first application program and the protocol selected by said selecting step; a forming step to form a transmission packet including the data packet, the destination ID, and the determined protocol specific information; and a transmitting step to transmit the transmission packet to the second application program via the LAN.

Claim 46

A computer-readable medium which stores computer-executable process steps, the computer-executable process steps to deliver a data packet received from a first application program executing on a first device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) to a second application program executing on a second device which is interfaced to the LAN, the computer-executable process steps comprising: a receiving step to receive a protocol independent data packet from the first application program, together with data identifying the first application program and a destination ID identifying the second application program; a determining step to determine which protocols are available for use on the LAN; a selecting step to select one of the available protocols to transmit the data packet; a determining step to determine protocol specific information including a protocol header having predetermined address data based on the data identifying the first application program and the protocol selected by said selecting step; a forming step to form a transmission packet including the data packet, the destination ID, and the determined protocol specific information; and a transmitting step to transmit the transmission packet to the second application program via the LAN.

Claim 47

A computer-readable medium according to claim 36, wherein said selecting step comprises selecting a preferred protocol if it is available.

Claim 48

A computer-readable medium according to claim 36, wherein said selecting step comprises a determining step to determine which of the available protocols has the least traffic and a selecting step to select the protocol determined to have the least traffic.

Claim 49

A computer-readable medium according to claim 36, wherein said selecting step comprises a determining step to determine which of the available protocols has been used least by the protocol independent interface program and a selecting step to select the protocol determined to have been used the least.

Claim 50

A computer-readable medium according to claim 36, wherein the protocol independent interface program assigns a unique access ID to the first application program, assigns an access line to each available protocol, and creates mapping information having a one-to-one correspondence between each access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information, and wherein said determining step comprises a retrieving step to retrieve a block of protocol specific information from the mapping information based on the access ID of the first application program and the access line corresponding to the protocol selected by the selecting step.

Claim 51

A computer-readable medium according to claim 36, wherein the second device is a network interface device which interfaces between a peripheral and the LAN and which executes a service routine, and wherein the computer-executable process steps further comprise a transmitting step to transmit data packets including data to be serviced by the service routine.

Claim 52

A computer-readable medium which stores computer-executable process steps, the computer-executable process steps to receive data which is transmitted from a first application program executing on a first device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) to a second application program executing on a second device which is interfaced to the LAN, the computer-executable process steps comprising: an initializing step to initialize a protocol independent interface program which (i) determines which protocols are available for use, (ii) assigns an access line to each protocol available for use, (iii) assigns a unique access ID to the second application program, and (iv) creates mapping information that indicates a one-to-one correspondence between an access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information which includes a protocol header having predetermined address data; a receiving step to receive a transmission packet which includes data and a block of protocol specific information including a protocol header having predetermined address data; a retrieving step to retrieve from the mapping information the access ID/access line pair which corresponds to the block of protocol specific information contained in the received transmission packet; and a sending step to send the data contained in the received transmission packet to the second application program based on the access ID retrieved from the mapping information.

Claim 53

A computer-readable medium which stores computer-executable process steps, the computer-executable process steps to receive data which is transmitted from a first application program executing on a first device which is interfaced to a local area network (LAN) to a second application program executing on a second device which is interfaced to the LAN, the computer-executable process steps comprising: an initializing step to initialize a protocol independent interface program which (i) determines which protocols are available for use, (ii) assigns an access line to each protocol available for use, (iii) assigns a unique access ID to the second application program, and (iv) creates mapping information that indicates a one-to-one correspondence between an access ID/access line pair and a block of protocol specific information which includes a protocol header having predetermined address data; a receiving step to receive a transmission packet which includes data and a block of protocol specific information including a protocol header having predetermined address data; a retrieving step to retrieve from the mapping information the access ID/access line pair which corresponds to the block of protocol specific information contained in the received transmission packet; and a sending step to send the data contained in the received transmission packet to the second application program based on the access ID retrieved from the mapping information.

Claim 54

A computer-readable medium according to claim 42, wherein the second device is a network interface device which interfaces between a peripheral and the LAN and which executes a service routine, and wherein the computer-executable process steps further comprise a receiving step to receive data packets including data to be serviced by the service routine.