JP2008077228A - Installation program for printer driver and installation method for printer driver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To execute printing based on desired print attributes by a simple operation by intuitively discriminating a printer icon in installing a plurality of printer drivers in a computer. <P>SOLUTION: This installation program for a printer driver is provided to make a computer execute a procedure for installing a printer driver corresponding to a desired page description language, a procedure for acquiring the designations of the page description language corresponding to the printer driver from a set file in which setting information relating to the printer driver is described, and a procedure for preparing the designation of the printer icon associated with the printer driver. The designation of the printer icon includes the designation of the page description language. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer driver installation program and a printer driver installation method.

  Generally, a user uses a printer driver, which is driver software for controlling a printer, to set printing conditions on a PC and print out the data to the printer.

  By the way, when there are a plurality of printers in an office, a printer driver corresponding to each printer must be installed in a PC using them. That is, since the internal control method differs for each printer and printing cannot be performed in the same manner, the PC needs to have a dedicated or shared printer driver installed for each printer.

  Here, when there are a plurality of printers on the network, the relationship between the printer and the corresponding printer driver may become unclear. Therefore, when associating with a printer, the user assigns a unique name to the printer driver. As the name uniquely given by the user, for example, there are names corresponding to the location of the printer such as “entrance printer” and “center printer”.

  Also, since the internal control method varies depending on the print attributes for controlling the printer, the PC may need to install a printer driver for each print attribute. In this case, a plurality of printer drivers with different printing attributes are installed on one PC, but as described above, it is confusing just to give a name according to the location of the printer. May occur.

  In view of this, a printer icon generation apparatus has been proposed in which a predetermined print attribute is set in a printer driver and a printer icon is generated with a name indicating the print attribute (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In Patent Document 1, a printer icon creation screen including a printer list displaying all printers that can be printed using a predetermined printing driver and an OK button for instructing execution of icon generation is displayed. When at least one printer is selected from the printer list and the OK button is clicked, a printer driver corresponding to the selected printer is copied, and predetermined print attributes (“2 up / single side”, “1 up / “Double-sided” and “2up / double-sided”) are set, and a printer icon with a name indicating a printing attribute is generated. That is, in Patent Document 1, when a user selects a desired printer, a driver attribute or device attribute of the printer is acquired, whether or not double-sided printing is possible is determined, and an icon is generated.

  However, although the above-described printer icon generation device discloses that an icon is generated based on whether double-sided printing is possible, it does not disclose any method for acquiring driver attributes or device attributes. It is not clear whether it can be extended to print attributes.

  Here, in addition to the above, the print attributes include the type of page description language (Page Description Language), the printer control protocol, and the like.

  The page description language is a programming language for instructing the printer to perform drawing. It is important to display the settings related to the page description language because the retention format, generation timing, and memory management method of the generated page data differ depending on the set page description language. Typical types of page description languages are PS (Post Script (registered trademark)) and PCL (Printer Control Language (registered trademark)). PS is a page description language with extremely high functions such as outline font printing, character deformation, and graphic drawing. PCL is a page description with functions such as developing TrueType fonts on the printer side and emulation functions. Language.

  Also, since the printer control protocol differs in the print data transfer speed and security depending on the set printer control protocol, it is important to display the settings relating to the printer control protocol. Typical printer control protocols include LPR (Line Printer Daemon protocol) and IPP (Internet Printing Protocol).

LPR is a protocol for printing via a TCP / IP network, and can be printed out directly from a PC on the network to a printer. IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) is a protocol for transmitting and receiving print data and controlling printing devices through a TCP / IP network such as the Internet. Since printing instructions can be sent to a printer on the network using HTTP, a remote location can be transmitted through the Internet. You can also send data to other printers for printing.
JP 2004-110127 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to intuitively determine a printer icon when a plurality of printer drivers are installed in a computer. It is to provide a printer driver installation program and a printer driver installation method capable of executing printing with a desired print attribute by a typical operation.

  The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

  (1) A procedure for installing a printer driver corresponding to a predetermined page description language in a computer, and a procedure for obtaining the name of a page description language corresponding to the printer driver from a setting file describing setting information related to the printer driver. And a procedure for creating a name of a printer icon associated with the printer driver, wherein the printer icon name includes the name of the page description language.

  (2) In the procedure for installing the printer driver in the computer, a plurality of printer drivers having different page description languages are installed, and the names of the plurality of printer icons respectively associated with the plurality of printer drivers correspond to each printer driver. The printer driver installation program according to (1), including the name of the page description language being used.

  (3) A procedure for acquiring an individual name of the printing apparatus from a printing apparatus connected to the computer is further executed, and the name of the printer icon further includes the individual name of the printing apparatus. The printer driver installation program according to 1) or (2).

  (4) A procedure for installing a printer driver corresponding to a predetermined printer control protocol in a computer, a procedure for obtaining the name of the printer control protocol corresponding to the printer driver from a setting file describing setting information related to the printer driver, And a procedure for creating a name of a printer icon associated with the printer driver, wherein the name of the printer icon includes the name of the printer control protocol.

  (5) In the procedure for installing the printer driver in the computer, a plurality of printer drivers having different printer control protocols are installed, and the names of the plurality of printer icons respectively associated with the plurality of printer drivers correspond to each printer driver. The printer driver installation program according to (4), including the name of the printer control protocol being used.

  (6) The procedure for obtaining an individual name of the printing apparatus from a printing apparatus connected to the computer is further executed, and the name of the printer icon further includes the individual name of the printing apparatus. The printer driver installation program according to 4) or (5).

  (7) A computer-readable recording medium on which the printer driver installation program according to any one of (1) to (6) is recorded.

  (8) installing a printer driver corresponding to a predetermined page description language in a computer; obtaining a page description language name corresponding to the printer driver from a setting file describing setting information related to the printer driver; Creating a name of a printer icon associated with the printer driver, the name of the printer icon including the name of the page description language.

  (9) installing a printer driver corresponding to a predetermined printer control protocol in a computer; obtaining a name of a printer control protocol corresponding to the printer driver from a setting file describing setting information about the printer driver; Creating a name of a printer icon associated with the printer driver, the name of the printer icon including the name of the printer control protocol.

  The present invention creates the name of the printer icon associated with the printer driver so as to include the name of the print attribute of the page description language or printer control protocol. Therefore, according to the present invention, when a plurality of printer drivers are installed in the print instruction apparatus, the printer icon can be determined intuitively, and printing with a desired print attribute can be executed by a simple operation. it can.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printing system shown in FIG. 1 includes a PC (personal computer) 1 as a printing instruction apparatus and printers 2 a and 2 b as printing apparatuses, which are connected to each other via a network 3 so as to communicate with each other.

  The network 3 includes a LAN in which computers and network devices are connected according to standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, and FDDI, or a WAN in which LANs are connected by a dedicated line. Note that the type and number of devices connected to the network 3 are not limited to the example shown in FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the PC 1 shown in FIG. The PC 1 includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a hard disk 14, a display 15, an input device 16 and a network interface 17, which are connected to each other via a bus 18 for exchanging signals.

  The CPU 11 performs control of each part and various arithmetic processes according to the program. The ROM 12 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 13 temporarily stores programs and data as a work area. The hard disk 14 stores various programs including an operating system and various data.

  The hard disk 14 has a program storage unit that is an area for storing various programs. The hard disk 14 stores an installer that is software for installing the printer driver into the PC 1. The installer has a plurality of printer driver program files corresponding to a plurality of printers and a setting file describing setting information related to the printer driver.

  The hard disk 14 also stores an application for the PC 1 to function as an SNMP manager.

  The display 15 displays various information. The input device 16 is a pointing device such as a mouse or a keyboard, and is used for performing various inputs.

  The network interface 17 is an interface for communicating with other devices via the network 3, and standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, and FDDI are used.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the printers 2a and 2b shown in FIG. The printers 2a and 2b include a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, an operation panel unit 24, a printing unit 25, and a network interface 27, which are connected to each other via a bus 28 for exchanging signals. Of the units of the printers 2a and 2b, portions having the same functions as those of the units of the PC 1 will not be described in order to avoid duplication.

  In the ROM 22, in addition to a normal processing program such as a drawing process for expanding the print data transferred from the PC 1 into print actual data which is bitmap format image data, and a print process for printing the print actual data on paper. In addition, an application for the printers 2a and 2b to function as an SNMP agent is also stored.

  The operation panel unit 24 includes a touch panel, a numeric keypad, a start button, a stop button, and the like, and is used for displaying various information and inputting various instructions. The printing unit 25 prints various data on a recording material such as paper using a known image forming process such as an electrophotographic process.

  Next, the operation of the installer in the first embodiment according to the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processing of the installer in the first embodiment. Note that the algorithm shown in FIG. 4 is stored as a program in a storage unit such as a hard disk of the PC 1 and is executed by the CPU 11 of the PC 1.

  The installer is activated according to the user operation (step S101). For example, the installer is activated when the user double-clicks the activation file displayed on the display using the input device 16.

  When the installer is activated, setting information regarding the printer driver is read from the setting file (step S102).

  In the present embodiment, printer driver setting information of two types of page description languages (PS and PCL) is read. From the read setting information, the model name of the corresponding printer, the attributes of the printer driver, the model name of the corresponding printer, the model ID number, the printer control protocol, etc. are recognized. Here, LPR is recognized as the printer control protocol. Note that the names of a plurality of page description languages are acquired in this step.

  Next, a printer corresponding to the printer driver is searched from the devices on the network (step S103). In the present embodiment, the PC 1 searches for a printer whose page description language corresponds to PS or PCL.

  For example, the PC 1 designates an object ID indicating an MIB object “sysObjectID” to a device on the network and transmits a request for a Get Request operation. On the network, a device equipped with the SNMP agent accepts a “Get Request” operation and returns a response of the “Get Response” operation. Here, the PC 1 acquires the model ID of the network device (model number unique to the network device) as “sysObjectID”, and collates it with the model ID number included in the setting information.

  Here, the PC 1 functions as an SNMP manager, and collects MIB (Management Information Base) information while exchanging predetermined commands with the SNMP agent. On the other hand, the printers 2a and 2b are SNMP-compatible devices equipped with an SNMP agent, have MIB information, and transmit predetermined MIB information according to a command from the SNMP manager.

  The operation for obtaining the MIB object “sysObjectID” is defined in the standard MIB operation defined in RFC, and the MIB information is obtained by specifying the printer IP address, community name, and desired object ID. Obtainable.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5A, two printers (model A and model B) exist on the network as printers corresponding to the printer driver. FIG. 5A shows how the respective IP addresses are acquired for model A and model B. FIG.

  The individual name set for the printer is acquired (step S104). For example, the PC transmits an “Get Next Request” operation request by designating an object ID indicating an MIB object “sysName” to a printer that is an SNMP agent. The printer accepts the “Get Next Request” operation and returns a response of the “Get Response” operation. Here, the PC 1 acquires, as an individual name, a name uniquely set for each printer as “sysName”. Note that “sysName” is set in advance by a request of the “Set Request” operation.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5B, “sysName” is set based on the printing speed and the color type (color or monochrome). FIG. 5B shows a state where individual names are acquired for the model A and the model B. That is, model A is a low-speed color printer, and model B is a high-speed monochrome printer.

  Installation of the printer driver is started (step S105). The PC 1 installs a printer driver according to the type of page description language supported by each model.

  In this embodiment, the PC 1 installs a printer driver corresponding to each page description language (PS and PCL) for the model A and the model B. Therefore, a total of four printer drivers are installed: two printer drivers corresponding to PS and PCL for model A and two printer drivers corresponding to PS and PCL for model B.

  A printer port corresponding to the printer control protocol of each printer driver is set (step S106). That is, a new print destination port is added.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5C, the port name is set based on the printer control protocol and the IP address. FIG. 5C shows a state in which each port name is set for each printer driver. Note that the printer icon name is the name of the icon when the printer icon is generated. Here, since the name of the icon has not been determined, it is a temporary name.

  LPR is set as the printer control protocol. Since the print job can be temporarily spooled in the LPR, a queue name is also set (not shown). A name unique to the printer is set as the queue name.

  Printer icons indicating the plurality of installed printer drivers are generated (step S107). Here, the name of the icon is created by adding attribute information to the individual name acquired as “sysName”.

  In the present embodiment, the attribute information includes two types of page description languages (PS and PCL) and one type of printer control protocol (LPR). Therefore, the names of the icons are as shown in FIG. Is created by adding the page description language type to the individual name. Here, the name of the icon is determined.

  When the installation of the printer driver is finished, the installer finishes the process (step S108). In this embodiment, four printer drivers are installed, and a printer icon is generated as shown in FIG. The printer icon is displayed in the “Select Printer” field of the “Print” dialog window.

  The printer icon is associated with the corresponding printer driver, and the user can intuitively determine the printer driver installed in the PC 1 from the name of the printer icon. Then, by designating a desired printer icon and selecting a printer driver when instructing printing, printing with a desired print attribute can be executed. In other words, when the user recognizes the printer driver installed on the PC 1 from the name of the printer icon and executes low-speed color printing (model A), for example, by specifying “Low Speed Color PS” Printing can be executed using a printer driver.

  As described above, in the first embodiment according to the present invention, the name of the printer icon associated with the printer driver is created based on the individual name set based on the printing speed and the color type, and the type of page description language. The Therefore, it is possible to intuitively determine a printer driver corresponding to a desired printing attribute (printing speed, color type, page description language), and a simple operation of selecting a printer driver by specifying a corresponding printer icon. Printing with a desired print attribute can be executed.

  Next, the operation of the installer in the second embodiment according to the present invention will be described.

  In the first embodiment, the print speed, color type, and page description language are shown as print attributes. In the second embodiment, the print speed, color type, and printer control protocol characteristics are shown. Of the operations of the installer of the first embodiment, the processing having the same function as the operation of the installer of the second embodiment is simplified to avoid duplication of explanation.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processing of the installer in the second embodiment. Note that the algorithm shown in FIG. 7 is stored as a program in a storage unit such as a hard disk of the PC 1 and is executed by the CPU 11 of the PC 1.

  The installer is activated according to the user's operation (step S201), and setting information regarding the printer driver is read from the setting file (step S202).

  In the present embodiment, setting information of a printer driver whose page description language is PS is read. From the read setting information, the model name of the corresponding printer, the attributes of the printer driver, the model name of the corresponding printer, the model ID number, the printer control protocol, etc. are recognized. Here, LPR and IPPS are recognized as printer control protocols. Note that names relating to a plurality of printer control protocols are acquired in this step.

  Next, a printer corresponding to the printer driver is searched from the devices on the network (step S203). In the present embodiment, the PC 1 searches for a printer whose printer control protocol is compatible with LPR or IPPS. Here, IPPS refers to IPP that operates on SSL. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8A, one printer (model A) exists on the network as a printer corresponding to the printer driver. FIG. 8A shows a state where the IP address is acquired for model A. FIG.

  The individual name set for the printer is acquired (step S204). In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8B, “sysName” is set based on the printing speed and the color type. FIG. 8B shows a state where the individual name is acquired for the model A. Model A is a low-speed color printer.

  Installation of the printer driver is started (step S205). The PC 1 installs a printer driver according to the type of printer control protocol supported by each model. In this embodiment, a printer driver corresponding to the printer control protocol (LPR and IPPS) is installed for the model A. Therefore, two printer drivers corresponding to LPR and IPPS are installed for model A.

  A printer port corresponding to the printer control protocol of each printer driver is set (step S206). In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8C, the port name is set based on the printer control protocol and the IP address. FIG. 8C shows a state in which each port name is set for each printer driver. Note that the printer icon name is the name of the icon when the printer icon is generated. Here, since the name of the icon has not been determined, it is a temporary name.

  Further, LPR and IPPS are set as printer control protocols. In LPR and IPPS, since a print job can be temporarily spooled, a queue name is also set (not shown). A name unique to the printer is set as the queue name.

  Printer icons indicating the plurality of installed printer drivers are generated (step S207). Here, the name of the icon is created by adding attribute information to the individual name acquired as “sysName”. In the present embodiment, since the attribute information includes one type (PS) for the page description language and two types (LPR and IPPS) for the characteristics of the printer control protocol, the names of the icons are shown in FIG. As shown, it is created by adding the characteristics of the printer control protocol to the individual name. Here, the name of the icon is determined.

  In the setting file, a table in which the printer control protocol and its characteristics are associated is described as setting information. After the printer control protocol (LPR and IPPS) is recognized, the printer control protocol is used using this table. Characteristics (standard printing and security printing) can be read out. Although the characteristics of the printer control protocol are shown here, the printer control protocol itself may be indicated.

  When the installation of the printer driver ends, the installer ends the process (step S208). In this embodiment, two printer drivers are installed, and a printer icon is generated as shown in FIG. Examples of the location where the printer icon is displayed include the “Select Printer” field in the “Print” dialog window.

  The user recognizes the printer driver installed on the PC 1 from the name of the printer icon. For example, when executing low-speed color printing by LPR, the user can select the corresponding printer driver by specifying “Low Speed Color standard printing”. Printing can be executed using this.

  As described above, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the name of the printer icon associated with the printer driver is created based on the individual name set based on the printing speed and the color type, and the characteristics of the printer control protocol. ing. Therefore, it is possible to intuitively determine a printer driver corresponding to a desired printing attribute (printing speed, color type, printer control protocol characteristics), and simply selecting a printer driver by specifying a corresponding printer icon. Printing with a desired print attribute can be executed by the operation.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.

  In the first and second embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the name of the printer icon is displayed together with the printer icon, but only the name of the printer icon is displayed without displaying the printer icon. May be.

  The installer for performing various processes in the PC according to the present invention may be provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM, or may be provided online via a network such as the Internet. In this case, the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is usually transferred to and stored in a storage unit such as a hard disk.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of PC shown by FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the procedure of the process of the installer in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the acquisition information until an icon name is produced. It is a figure which shows the produced | generated printer icon. It is a figure which shows the procedure of the process of the installer in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the acquisition information until an icon name is produced. It is a figure which shows the produced | generated printer icon.

Explanation of symbols

1 PC,
2 printer,
3 network,
11, 21 CPU,
12, 22 ROM,
13, 23 RAM,
14, 24 hard disk,
15 display,
16 input devices,
17, 27 Network interface,
18, 28 Bus 25 Operation panel 26 Printing section.

Claims (9)

A procedure for installing a printer driver corresponding to a predetermined page description language on a computer;
A procedure for acquiring a name of a page description language corresponding to the printer driver from a setting file describing setting information about the printer driver;
Creating a name for a printer icon associated with the printer driver;
The printer driver installation program, wherein the name of the printer icon includes the name of the page description language. In the procedure for installing the printer driver in a computer, a plurality of printer drivers having different page description languages are installed,
The printer driver installation program according to claim 1, wherein the names of the plurality of printer icons respectively associated with the plurality of printer drivers include a name of a page description language corresponding to each printer driver. Further executing a procedure for acquiring an individual name of the printing device from a printing device connected to the computer,
The printer driver installation program according to claim 1, wherein the name of the printer icon further includes an individual name of the printing apparatus. A procedure for installing a printer driver corresponding to a predetermined printer control protocol in the computer;
A procedure for acquiring a name of a printer control protocol corresponding to the printer driver from a setting file describing setting information related to the printer driver;
Creating a name for a printer icon associated with the printer driver;
The printer driver installation program, wherein the name of the printer icon includes the name of the printer control protocol. In the procedure for installing the printer driver in the computer, a plurality of printer drivers having different printer control protocols are installed,
5. The printer driver installation program according to claim 4, wherein the names of the plurality of printer icons respectively associated with the plurality of printer drivers include names of printer control protocols supported by the respective printer drivers. Further executing a procedure for acquiring an individual name of the printing device from a printing device connected to the computer,
6. The printer driver installation program according to claim 4, wherein the name of the printer icon further includes an individual name of the printing apparatus.   A computer-readable recording medium in which the printer driver installation program according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is recorded. Installing a printer driver corresponding to a predetermined page description language on a computer;
Obtaining a name of a page description language corresponding to the printer driver from a setting file describing setting information related to the printer driver;
Creating a name of a printer icon associated with the printer driver;
The printer driver installation method, wherein the name of the printer icon includes the name of the page description language. Installing a printer driver corresponding to a predetermined printer control protocol in the computer;
Obtaining a name of a printer control protocol corresponding to the printer driver from a setting file describing setting information related to the printer driver;
Creating a name of a printer icon associated with the printer driver;
A printer driver installation method, wherein the name of the printer icon includes the name of the printer control protocol.