Patent No. 7,562,136 Issued on July 14, Assigned to Lexmark International for Internet Protocol Address Automatic Negotiation Method (Kentucky Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 15 -- James Lesefme Bush III, Zachary Nathan Fister, Samuel William Gardiner, Thomas Elmer Samples and Duane E. Norris, all from Lexington, Ky., have developed a internet protocol address automatic negotiation method for a network connected device. The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 7,562,136 on July 14.

The patent has been assigned to Lexmark International Inc., Lexington.

According to the abstract released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A method of communicating with a shared imaging apparatus connected to a computer network, wherein communication over the network is facilitated through use of network packets, includes the steps of providing the shared imaging apparatus with networking hardware; providing the shared imaging apparatus with imaging apparatus firmware; defining a data channel associated with the networking hardware; instructing the networking hardware to accept information on the data channel from a user that owns the data channel; processing automatic Internet Protocol (IP) address negotiation network packets with the imaging apparatus firmware when the data channel is not owned; and processing second types of network packets, different from the automatic IP address negotiation network packets, by the networking hardware of the shared imaging apparatus when the data channel is owned."

The original application was filed on July 31, 2003.For more information about US Fed News contract awards please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, US Fed News, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com.