JP2005038297A - Installation method of device driver, and system used for it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the installation of a device driver corresponding to two or more kinds of host devices from a peripheral device by use of the peripheral device having a simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: The peripheral device 10 creates, when it determines to be connectable to a host device 20, a device driver to be used by the host device 20 based on device drivers stored separately as an OS non-dependent part and an OS dependent part. The created device driver is transferred from the peripheral device 10 to the host device 20, and stored in the device driver storage part 25 of the host device 20. The host device 20 controls the peripheral device 10 by use of the device driver stored in the device driver storage part 25. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of installing a device driver used when controlling a peripheral device in a host device, and to the peripheral device and the host device used in the method.

  In order to control a peripheral device such as a printer or a digital camera from a host device such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC), it is necessary to install a device driver for controlling the peripheral device in the host device. The device driver is generally provided to the user in a state where it is recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM as an accessory of the peripheral device. The user attaches the provided recording medium to the host device and executes a predetermined device driver installation procedure. Thereby, the user can install a device driver corresponding to the peripheral device in the host device.

  In addition to the above general method, as a method of installing a device driver without using a recording medium, the device driver is installed from the peripheral device to the host device by performing communication between the host device and the peripheral device. A method is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

By the way, as one method for performing communication between a host device and a peripheral device, a universal serial bus (hereinafter referred to as USB) is known. In the conventional USB standard, peripheral devices cannot be directly connected without using a host device such as a PC. However, in the USB On-The-Go standard (hereinafter referred to as the OTG standard) defined as an additional specification of the USB standard, peripheral devices can be directly connected without using a host device such as a PC. In the OTG standard, one of the two connected peripheral devices automatically functions as a USB host (device that supplies power), and the other automatically functions as a USB device (device that receives power). Therefore, a method of installing a device driver from the peripheral device to the host device by performing communication in conformity with the OTG standard between the host device and the peripheral device can be considered.
JP 2002-163225 A

  However, the above-described device driver installation method has the following problems. First, the method of installing a device driver using a recording medium has a problem that the host device needs to include a recording medium reading device that records the device driver.

  Further, according to the method described in Patent Document 1, the peripheral device can only provide a device driver corresponding to one specific type of host device. As a method of extending a method described in Patent Document 1 and providing a device driver corresponding to a plurality of types of host devices from a peripheral device, a method in which the peripheral device includes a recording medium reading device on which a plurality of device drivers are recorded And a method in which the peripheral device includes a memory or the like for storing a plurality of device drivers. However, the former method has a problem similar to the method in which the host device includes a recording medium reading device, and the latter method has a problem that the peripheral device needs to include a large amount of memory.

  Also, the method of performing communication in conformity with the OTG standard has a problem that a device functioning as a host device needs to store device drivers corresponding to all peripheral devices connectable to the device. is there.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a device driver installation method for installing a device driver corresponding to a plurality of types of host devices from a peripheral device using the peripheral device having a simple configuration, and the peripheral used in the method An object is to provide a device and a host device.

  Therefore, the peripheral device of the present invention stores the category to which the peripheral device belongs and the OS type of the connectable host device, and divides the device driver used by the host device into an OS-independent part and an OS-dependent part. Remember. Further, when the peripheral device is connected to the host device, the peripheral device transmits the stored category and receives the OS type of the host device to determine whether or not the host device can be connected. Further, when it is determined that the peripheral device can be connected to the host device, a device driver corresponding to the host device is created based on the device driver stored separately for the OS-independent portion and the OS-dependent portion, and the created device Send the driver to the host device.

  The host device of the present invention stores the OS type of the host device and the category of peripheral devices that can be connected. Further, when the host device is connected to the peripheral device, the host device receives the category to which the peripheral device belongs and transmits the stored OS type to determine whether or not the peripheral device can be connected. Further, when it is determined that the host device can be connected to the peripheral device, the host device receives a device driver from the peripheral device and stores the received device driver.

  The host device may erase the stored device driver when the connection with the peripheral device is canceled. Alternatively, the host device includes a data storage unit that stores data in a nonvolatile manner. When the host device is connected to the peripheral device or when the connection with the peripheral device is canceled, the stored device driver is stored in the data storage unit. You may copy it.

  In the device driver installation method of the present invention, the category to which the peripheral device belongs is transferred from the peripheral device to the host device. If the host device determines that the peripheral device can be connected based on the transferred category, the host device OS type is transferred from the host device to the peripheral device. In the peripheral device, if it is determined that the host device can be connected based on the type of the transferred OS, the host is determined based on the device driver stored in the peripheral device separately for the OS-independent portion and the OS-dependent portion. A device driver is created for use by the device. The created device driver is transferred from the peripheral device to the host device and stored in the host device.

  The peripheral device and the host device of the present invention may perform communication conforming to the USB standard, for example. In this case, while the peripheral device and the host device are connected, the peripheral device functions as a USB device and the host device functions as a USB host.

  According to the peripheral device, the host device, and the device driver installation method of the present invention, the host device and the peripheral device are not provided with a specific recording medium reading device, and the host device and the peripheral device are provided with each other. By performing communication, the device driver can be installed from the peripheral device to the host device. Further, since the device driver is automatically installed when the peripheral device and the host device are connected, the user does not need to perform an operation of installing the device driver. In addition, the peripheral device stores the device driver in an OS-independent part and an OS-dependent part, and creates a device driver when connected to the host device. Therefore, it is necessary to store the device driver in the peripheral device. The amount of memory required can be reduced.

  In particular, if the device driver stored in the host device is erased when the connection with the peripheral device is canceled, the amount of storage necessary for storing the device driver in the host device can be reduced. Further, if the host device stores the device driver in a non-volatile manner, it is not necessary to transfer the device driver from the peripheral device again when it is connected again with the same peripheral device.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the system shown in FIG. 1, two devices 10 and 20 are connected in accordance with the USB On-The-Go standard (OTG standard). According to the OTG standard, when two devices are connected, one device functions as a USB host and the other device functions as a USB device. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that when the two devices 10 and 20 are connected via the USB cable 30, the device 10 functions as a USB device and the device 20 functions as a USB host. Hereinafter, the device 10 is referred to as a peripheral device 10 and the device 20 is referred to as a host device 20.

  In the system illustrated in FIG. 1, when the peripheral device 10 and the host device 20 are connected via the USB cable 30, the device driver stored in the peripheral device 10 is transmitted to the host device 20. The host device 20 stores the device driver transmitted from the peripheral device 10 and accesses the peripheral device 10 using the device driver.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the peripheral device 10 includes a control unit 11, a transmission / reception unit 12, a category information storage unit 13, a corresponding OS information storage unit 14, a device driver creation unit 15, a common program storage unit 16, and first to first The nth individual program memory | storage parts 17a-17n are provided. The host device 20 includes a control unit 21, a transmission / reception unit 22, an OS information storage unit 23, a corresponding device information storage unit 24, a device driver storage unit 25, and a memory card interface unit 26. Further, the host device 20 is configured so that the memory card 40 can be attached and detached.

  The control unit 11 and the transmission / reception unit 12 included in the peripheral device 10 function as a device driver transmission unit. The transmission / reception unit 12 performs communication based on the USB standard with the host device 20. The control unit 11 uses the transmission / reception unit 12 to transmit a device driver used by the host device 20 to the host device 20. Details of the operation of the control unit 11 will be described later.

  The category information storage unit 13 stores category information indicating the category to which the peripheral device 10 belongs. The category information stored in the category information storage unit 13 is referred to when the host device 20 determines whether or not the connection with the peripheral device 10 is possible. The corresponding OS information storage unit 14 stores corresponding OS information indicating the type of OS of the connectable host device 20. The corresponding OS information stored in the corresponding OS information storage unit 14 is referred to when the peripheral device 10 determines whether or not connection with the host device 20 is possible.

  The peripheral device 10 provides a device driver corresponding to the OS type of the host device 20 to a plurality of types of host devices 20. Therefore, a plurality of types of device drivers are stored in the peripheral device 10 in the following manner. That is, the device driver is divided into a portion common to the OS of the host device (hereinafter referred to as an OS-independent portion) and a portion dependent on the OS of the host device (hereinafter referred to as an OS-dependent portion). Is stored in the common program storage unit 16, and the OS-dependent portion is stored in the first to nth individual program storage units 17a to 17n for each type of OS.

  The device driver creation unit 15 is stored in the OS-independent portion of the device driver stored in the common program storage unit 16 and the first to nth individual program storage units 17a to 17n according to the control from the control unit 11. A device driver is created based on the OS-dependent part of the device driver. More specifically, when the device driver creation unit 15 receives an OS type designation from the control unit 11, the device driver creation unit 15 receives a device corresponding to the designated OS type from the first to nth individual program storage units 17a to 17n. The OS dependent portion of the driver is read, and a device driver corresponding to the specified OS type is created based on the read OS dependent portion and the OS independent portion of the device driver stored in the common program storage unit 16.

  The control unit 21 and the transmission / reception unit 22 included in the host device 20 function as a device driver reception unit. The transmission / reception unit 22 performs communication based on the USB standard with the peripheral device 10. The control unit 21 receives a device driver used by the host device 20 from the peripheral device 10 using the transmission / reception unit 22. Details of the operation of the control unit 21 will be described later.

  The OS information storage unit 23 stores OS information indicating the type of OS of the host device 20. The OS information stored in the OS information storage unit 23 is referred to when the peripheral device 10 determines whether or not connection with the host device 20 is possible. The corresponding device information storage unit 24 stores corresponding device information indicating a category of connectable peripheral devices 10. The corresponding device information stored in the corresponding device information storage unit 24 is referred to when the host device 20 determines whether or not the connection with the peripheral device 10 is possible.

  The device driver storage unit 25 stores the device driver received from the peripheral device 10. The device driver stored in the device driver storage unit 25 is created by the device driver creation unit 15 corresponding to the type of OS of the host device 20. An application program (not shown) operating on the host device 20 controls the peripheral device 10 using a device driver stored in the device driver storage unit 25.

  The memory card 40 detachable from the host device 20 stores data in a nonvolatile manner. The memory card interface unit 26 controls access to the memory card 40. More specifically, the memory card interface unit 26 copies the device driver stored in the device driver storage unit 25 to the memory card 40 in accordance with the control from the control unit 21.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing of the peripheral device 10 and the host device 20 when the USB cable 30 is connected. When the peripheral device 10 and the host device 20 are connected using the USB cable 30, a device driver that is used when the host device 20 controls the peripheral device 10 is installed from the peripheral device 10 to the host device 20. The The details are as follows.

  When the peripheral device 10 and the host device 20 are connected, the control unit 11 included in the peripheral device 10 reads out the category information stored in the category information storage unit 13 (step S101). Next, the control unit 11 transmits the read category information to the host device 20 using the transmission / reception unit 12 (step S102). At this time, the control unit 21 included in the host device 20 receives the category information transmitted from the peripheral device 10 using the transmission / reception unit 22 (step S201).

  Next, the control unit 21 determines whether or not connection to the peripheral device 10 is possible based on the received category information (step S202). More specifically, when the category described in the received category information is included in the corresponding device information stored in the corresponding device information storage unit 24, the control unit 21 determines that connection to the peripheral device 10 is possible. In other cases, it is determined that the peripheral device 10 cannot be connected. If the control unit 21 determines that the peripheral device 10 can be connected, the control unit 21 proceeds to step S203.

  In this case, the control unit 21 reads the OS information stored in the OS information storage unit 23 (step S203). Next, the control unit 21 transmits the read OS information to the peripheral device 10 using the transmission / reception unit 22 (step S204). At this time, the control unit 11 receives the OS information transmitted from the host device 20 using the transmission / reception unit 12 (step S103).

  Next, the control unit 11 determines whether or not connection to the host device 20 is possible based on the received OS information (step S104). More specifically, the control unit 11 can connect to the host device 20 when the OS type described in the received OS information is included in the corresponding OS information stored in the corresponding OS information storage unit 14. Otherwise, it is determined that connection to the host device 20 is not possible. If the control unit 11 determines that connection to the host device 20 is possible, the process proceeds to step S105.

  In this case, the control unit 11 uses the device driver creation unit 15 to create a device driver corresponding to the OS type of the host device 20 (step S105). As described above, the OS-independent portion of the device driver is stored in the common program storage unit 16, and the OS-dependent portion of the device driver is stored in the first to nth individual program storage units 17a to 17n. When the device driver creation unit 15 receives the specification of the OS type from the control unit 11, the OS-dependent portion of the device driver corresponding to the specified OS type from the first to nth individual program storage units 17 a to 17 n. , And a device driver corresponding to the specified OS type is created based on the read OS dependent portion and the OS independent portion of the device driver stored in the common program storage unit 16.

  Next, the control unit 11 transmits the created device driver to the host device 20 using the transmission / reception unit 12 (step S106). At this time, the control unit 21 receives the device driver transmitted from the peripheral device 10 (step S205). Next, the control unit 21 writes the received device driver in the device driver storage unit 25. The device driver storage unit 25 stores a device driver corresponding to the OS of the host device 20 (step S206).

  By executing the processing shown in FIG. 2 in this way, the device driver created in the peripheral device 10 is transferred from the peripheral device 10 to the host device 20 by USB-compliant communication, and is stored in the device driver of the host device 20. Stored in the unit 25. After the processing shown in FIG. 2 is executed, the host device 20 controls the peripheral device 10 using the device driver stored in the device driver storage unit 25.

  If it is determined in step S104 that the host device 20 cannot be connected, or if it is determined in step S202 that the peripheral device 10 cannot be connected, the peripheral device 10 and the host device 20 perform error processing (not shown). Execute. The peripheral device 10 and / or the host device 20 notifies the user of the occurrence of an error, for example, by displaying an error message on the display.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing of the host device 20 when the USB cable 30 is disconnected. When the USB cable 30 is disconnected and the connection between the peripheral device 10 and the host device 20 is released, the control unit 21 stores the device driver stored in the device driver storage unit 25 using the memory card interface unit 26. Copy to card 40 (step S211). The memory card 40 stores the copied device driver in a nonvolatile manner. Next, the control unit 21 deletes the device driver stored in the device driver storage unit 25 (step S212), and ends the process.

  By executing the processing shown in FIG. 3 in this way, the host device 20 copies the device driver stored in the device driver storage unit 25 to the memory card 40 and deletes it. This reduces the amount of storage required for storing the device driver in the host device 20 and eliminates the need to transfer the device driver from the peripheral device 10 again when connected to the same peripheral device 10 again.

  In FIG. 3, the host device 20 copies the stored device driver to the memory card 40 when the USB cable 30 is disconnected. Instead, the host device 20 connects the USB cable 30 to the memory card 40. The stored device driver may be copied to the memory card 40 when connected. For example, the host device 20 may perform a process of copying the device driver to the memory card 40 after step S206 shown in FIG.

  When a host device that can be connected to the peripheral device 10 is added or updated, the peripheral device 10 is connected to a communication device (not shown) that functions as the host device. All or part of the corresponding OS information stored in the corresponding OS information storage unit 14 and the OS dependent part of the device driver corresponding to the OS to be added or updated are transferred from the communication device to the peripheral device 10. The The peripheral device 10 uses the data transferred from the communication device, the corresponding OS information stored in the corresponding OS information storage unit 14, and the device drivers stored in the first to nth individual program storage units 17a to 17n. Addition or batch rewriting to the OS dependent part. Thus, the peripheral device 10 can be connected to the host device 20 equipped with a new type of OS.

  Similarly, when adding or updating a peripheral device that can be connected to the host device 20, the host device 20 is connected to a communication device (not shown) that functions as the peripheral device. All or part of the corresponding device information stored in the corresponding device information storage unit 24 is transferred from the communication device to the host device 20. Using the data transferred from the communication device, the host device 20 performs additional writing or batch rewriting on the corresponding device information stored in the corresponding device information storage unit 24. As a result, the host device 20 can also connect to the peripheral device 10 belonging to the new category.

  In this embodiment, when the devices 10 and 20 are connected using the USB cable 30, the device 10 functions as a USB device and the device 20 functions as a USB host. However, the devices 10 and 20 Any of them may have the functions of both a USB device and a USB host. In this case, one of the devices 10 and 20 functions as a USB device and the other functions as a USB host depending on the connection state of the USB cable 30 and the like.

  As described above, according to the peripheral device and the host device and the device driver installation method according to the present embodiment, the host device and the peripheral device do not include a specific recording medium reading device, and the host The device driver can be installed from the peripheral device to the host device by performing communication between the device and the peripheral device. Further, since the device driver is automatically installed when the peripheral device and the host device are connected, the user does not need to perform an operation of installing the device driver. In addition, the peripheral device stores the device driver in an OS-independent part and an OS-dependent part, and creates a device driver when connected to the host device. Therefore, it is necessary to store the device driver in the peripheral device. The amount of memory required can be reduced.

  The peripheral device, the host device, and the device driver installation method of the present invention have an effect that a device driver corresponding to a plurality of types of host devices can be installed from the peripheral device using the peripheral device having a simple configuration. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to various peripheral devices including printers and digital cameras, and various host devices including PCs.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the system which concerns on embodiment of this invention 1 is a flowchart showing processing when a cable is connected in the system shown in FIG. In the system shown in FIG. 1, a flowchart showing processing when the cable is disconnected.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Peripheral device 11, 21 ... Control part 12, 22 ... Transmission / reception part 13 ... Category information storage part 14 ... Corresponding OS information storage part 15 ... Device driver creation part 16 ... Common program storage part 17 ... Individual program storage part 20 ... Host Device 23 ... OS information storage unit 24 ... Corresponding device information storage unit 25 ... Device driver storage unit 26 ... Memory card interface unit 30 ... USB cable 40 ... Memory card

Claims (8)

A peripheral device controlled by a host device,
Category information storage means for storing the category to which the peripheral device belongs;
Corresponding OS information storage means for storing the OS type of the connectable host device;
Of the device drivers used by the host device, common program storage means for storing an OS-independent portion;
Individual program storage means for storing an OS-dependent portion of each device driver for each type of OS;
A device that creates a device driver corresponding to a specified OS based on the OS-independent portion of the device driver stored in the common program storage means and the OS-dependent portion of the device driver stored in the individual program storage means Driver creation means;
Device driver transmission means for transmitting the device driver created by the device driver creation means to the host device,
When the device driver transmission unit is connected to the host device, the device driver transmission unit transmits the category stored in the category information storage unit, receives the OS type of the host device, and then determines the received OS type. A peripheral device that transmits the device driver created by the device driver creation means when stored in the corresponding OS information storage means. The device driver transmission means performs communication conforming to the USB standard with the host device,
The peripheral device according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral device functions as a USB device while being connected to the host device. A host device that controls a peripheral device,
OS information storage means for storing the OS type of the host device;
Corresponding device information storage means for storing categories of connectable peripheral devices;
A device driver receiving means for receiving a device driver used when controlling the peripheral device from the peripheral device;
Device driver storage means for storing the device driver received by the device driver reception means,
The device driver receiving unit receives a category to which the peripheral device belongs when connected to the peripheral device, and the OS information storage unit when the received category is stored in the corresponding device information storage unit The host device receives the device driver after transmitting the OS type stored in the host device. The device driver receiving means performs communication conforming to the USB standard with the peripheral device,
The host device according to claim 3, wherein the host device functions as a USB host while being connected to the peripheral device.   4. The host device according to claim 3, wherein the device driver receiving unit erases the device driver stored in the device driver storage unit when the connection with the peripheral device is canceled. A data storage means for storing data in a nonvolatile manner;
The device driver receiving means copies the device driver stored in the device driver storage means to the data storage means when connected to the peripheral device or when the connection with the peripheral device is canceled. The host device according to claim 3, wherein: A method of installing a device driver used to control a peripheral device on a host device,
Transferring the category to which the peripheral device belongs from the peripheral device to the host device;
Transferring the OS type of the host device from the host device to the peripheral device when the host device is determined to be connectable to the peripheral device based on the transferred category;
In the peripheral device, when it is determined that the host device can be connected based on the type of the transferred OS, the peripheral device is divided into an OS-independent portion and an OS-dependent portion and is stored based on a device driver. Creating a device driver for use by the host device;
Transferring the created device driver from the peripheral device to the host device;
A device driver installation method comprising: storing the transferred device driver in the host device. The peripheral device and the host device communicate according to the USB standard,
The device driver installation method according to claim 7, wherein the peripheral device functions as a USB device and the host device functions as a USB host while the peripheral device and the host device are connected. .

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