JP2011138235A - Information processing apparatus, peripheral device management method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To dynamically switch the use state of a specific application which execution is instructed on a peripheral device management screen. <P>SOLUTION: In a peripheral device management method for managing a peripheral device in an information processing apparatus, an application management screen with which a specific application for managing the peripheral device is associated, is displayed on a display means when a specific peripheral device is selected on the peripheral device management screen. Then, a specific application linked to an object instructed on the application management screen is executed. Then, the display mode of the object to be displayed on the management screen is controlled according to the log information saved according to a specific application to be executed by an application execution means, and function control information for determining the display state of the object to be displayed on the management screen. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that manages peripheral devices, a peripheral device management method, and a program.

  In recent years, a peripheral device control system in which a peripheral device is connected to an information processing device using various interfaces such as Universal Serial Bus (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as USB), Ethernet (registered trademark), and wireless LAN has been proposed. ing. Such a peripheral device control system is effectively used in various situations such as home and office. Here, examples of the peripheral device include a printer, a copier, a facsimile, a scanner, a digital camera, and a composite function thereof.

Further, in Windows (registered trademark) 7 disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1, a new function Device Stage (registered) that manages peripheral devices connected to an information processing device such as a personal computer (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as a PC) is used. Trademark) was introduced.
Device Stage (registered trademark) has a Devices and Printers folder, which is a window for displaying devices connected to a PC, and a link function to applications and services specific to each peripheral device.

  Further, Patent Document 1 below is disclosed as a technique for collecting logs of usage status of peripheral devices and usage status of consumables and notifying the usage status to the user.

JP 2005-85132 A

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/default.aspx

However, in the peripheral device management screen such as Device Stage, there are the following problems that the technique of Patent Document 1 cannot be used as it is.
The Device Stage (peripheral device management screen) is composed of only a static text file in XML format and resource files such as image data and character strings, unlike an executable program such as a general application.
Since an XML-format static text file cannot contain executable scripts, file creation, file editing (especially writing), registry information holding configuration information, etc., registry information editing It is difficult to perform (especially writing).

Therefore, the device stage (peripheral device management screen) cannot output the usage status of a certain function (task) on the device stage (peripheral device management screen) to a log file or save it as registry information. Can not.
As a result, it is difficult to monitor the usage status of a device stage (peripheral device management screen) like a driver or an application, and the user operability cannot be improved according to the usage status.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the object of the present invention should be displayed on the peripheral device management screen in accordance with the usage status of a specific application instructed to be executed on the peripheral device management screen. It is to provide a mechanism capable of dynamically switching the object mode.

The information processing apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object has the following configuration.
An information processing apparatus that manages a peripheral device, and when a specific peripheral device is selected on the first peripheral device management screen, a second application that is associated with a specific application for managing the peripheral device Peripheral device management means for displaying a peripheral device management screen on the display means, application execution means for executing a specific application linked to the object indicated on the second peripheral device management screen, and the second peripheral device management In accordance with a specific application executed by the application execution unit, log information indicating the usage status of the specific application is stored according to a holding unit that holds function control information for determining a display state of an object to be displayed on the screen. In accordance with the storage means, the log information stored in the storage means, and the function control information, Display control means for controlling the display mode of the object to be displayed on the second peripheral device management screen, characterized in that it comprises a.

  According to the present invention, the mode of an object to be displayed on the peripheral device management screen can be dynamically switched in accordance with the usage state of a specific application instructed to be executed on the peripheral device management screen.

It is a figure which shows an example of the information processing system which shows this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the information processing system which shows this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the peripheral device management screen which can be displayed with an information processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structure of the log control part with which information processing apparatus is provided. It is a figure which shows the peripheral device management function file managed by information processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structure of the information processing apparatus which shows this embodiment. It is a figure which shows UI displayed with the information processing apparatus which shows this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of information processing apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of information processing apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of information processing apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of information processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the information which OS of information processing apparatus manages. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of information processing apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of information processing apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of information processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the principal part of the information which OS of information processing apparatus manages.

Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an information processing system according to the present embodiment. This example is an information processing system in which a peripheral device such as an image forming apparatus is connected to a plurality of information processing apparatuses via a network connected to a user side information processing apparatus. Note that the information processing system shown in the present embodiment is an information processing device that manages peripheral devices (including scanners, printers, MFPs, and the like) as an example, and is used for peripheral device management that is managed by the operating system (OS) of the information processing device. It has the following features.
The OS to which the present invention can be applied has a function of displaying, for example, an application selection screen shown in FIG. 3, in which a specific application to be linked is executed in cooperation with selection of a folder displayed on the peripheral device management screen. Prepare. For example, the peripheral device management screen shown in FIG. 3 displays an icon as an object for executing a specific application and text describing the icon.

  In FIG. 1, reference numerals 1 and 2 denote information processing apparatuses, each of which is constituted by a general personal computer (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as a PC). PC1 and PC2 are configured by hardware as will be described later with reference to FIG. 2A, and an OS equivalent to Windows (registered trademark) 7 is installed as an operating system (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as OS). . The PC 2 functions as a server.

PC1 and PC2 are connected to networks 4 and 8, respectively, which are configured by Ethernet (registered trademark). Reference numeral 3 denotes a multi-function printer (hereinafter may be abbreviated as “MFP”), which includes a color inkjet printer, a color facsimile, a color scanner, an external storage for flash memory, and the like, and is an example of a peripheral device.
In the present embodiment, the following description will be given assuming that the MFP 3 is an MFP with a model name of Kmmn manufactured by ABC. The peripheral device may be a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a digital camera, and a device having a composite function thereof.
The MFP 3 is configured by hardware as will be described later with reference to FIG. 2B, and is connected to the PC 1 via the network 4 so that bidirectional communication is possible. Reference numeral 80 denotes a peripheral device management application (hereinafter referred to as “peripheral device management”), which is configured by an executable file (* .EXE) for Windows.

  As an example of the application, the peripheral device management module (hereinafter abbreviated as “peripheral device management”) 80 has a function of displaying a peripheral device management screen as shown in FIG. 3B and FIG. Prepare. Reference numeral 50 denotes a printer driver. Reference numeral 143 denotes a printer application (PAPL) described later with reference to FIG. The network 4 is a home network for a general home built at a home where a user (customer) who uses the MFP 3 lives. The MFP 3 is an MFP that is connected to the PC 1 via the network 4 at home and shared and used by family members. The network 8 is an office network built in ABC.

The PC 2 connected to the network 8 includes a Web server 9 having a Web server function, and provides a website of ABC Corporation via the Internet. Reference numeral 10 denotes a CD-ROM that can be inserted into the PC 1 and stores software (programs) and electronic files. Reference numerals 11 and 12 denote file storage units. A peripheral device management control file 800, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 6, is stored in the file storage units 11 and 12 in the Web server 9 and the CD-ROM 10, and distributed from these. . An analog telephone line (PSTN) 5 is used for facsimile transmission or reception in the PC 1.
Reference numeral 6 denotes a flash memory, which can be referred to as a storage from the PC 1 by being mounted in a flash memory mounting slot (not shown) of the MFP 3. Reference numeral 7 denotes an MFP, which is a model called Defg manufactured by XYZ, and is a peripheral device different from the MFP 3.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the PC and the MFP illustrated in FIG. In the data processing system shown in this embodiment, PC1 and PC2 are configured by hardware as shown in FIG.
In FIG. 2A, an example of the PC 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2A, the PC 1 includes a random access memory unit (RAM 201), a hard disk drive unit (HDD 202), a keyboard unit (KBD 203), and a CPU 204. The PC 1 includes a display for display (LCD 205) and a network board (NB 207).

  The PC 1 also has a bus 206 that connects the above components to each other. The HDD 202 is an example of a storage unit. The KBD 203 is an example of an input unit. The CPU 204 is an example of a control unit. The LCD 205 is an example of a display unit. The NB 207 is an example of a communication control unit. The storage unit may be a portable CD-ROM or an internally installed ROM.

  Each module (software) shown in FIG. 8 including applications such as the peripheral device management 80 and PAPL 143 and the printer driver 50 is stored in the HDD 202, read into the RAM 201 as necessary, and executed by the CPU 204. As a result, the CPU 204 realizes functions of applications such as the peripheral device management 80 and the PAPL 143, the printer driver 50, and each module (software) shown in FIG.

The MFP 3 has a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2B, reference numeral 15 denotes a CPU composed of a microprocessor or the like.
As a central processing unit of the MFP 3, the CPU 15 is a RAM 17, a communication unit 18, a recording unit 19, an operation unit 20, a display unit 21, a reading unit 22, a facsimile control unit 23, an external storage control unit, according to a program stored in the ROM 16. 24 is controlled.
The ROM 16 stores a program for the MFP 3 to perform recording (printing) processing and processing for notifying the PC 1 of the state of the printing operation in accordance with control of the printer driver 50.
The ROM 16 also stores programs for the MFP 3 to perform facsimile transmission or reception processing and processing for notifying the PC 1 of the facsimile transmission or reception status according to control of a FAX driver (not shown).
Furthermore, the ROM 16 also stores a program for the MFP 3 to perform image reading processing and processing for notifying the PC 1 of the state of the reading operation in accordance with control of a WIA driver (not shown) or a TWAIN driver (not shown). The RAM 17 is mainly sent from the PC 1, and print data to be printed by the recording unit 19 based on the RAM 17 is temporarily stored.

The RAM 17 also temporarily stores image data read by the reading unit 22, facsimile transmission data sent from the PC 1, facsimile reception data received by the facsimile control unit, and the like.
The communication unit 18 includes a connection port for the network 4, a connection port for the analog telephone line 5, and the like, and controls Ethernet and facsimile analog communication.
The recording unit 19 includes an ink jet recording head, a recording unit including each color ink, a carriage, a recording paper transport mechanism, and the like, and an ASIC for generating a printing pulse by the recording head based on the print data. And the like.

By a printing operation on a printable application or a facsimile transmission operation, display contents (image data) of a file opened by the application are temporarily stored in the HDD 202 of the PC 1 as an EMF format spool file.
The spool file is converted into print data including an MFP 3 control command or facsimile transmission data via the printer driver 50 or FAX driver, and then sent to the MFP 3 via the network 4.
The print data received by the MFP 3 is converted into a printing pulse by the recording unit 19 and printed on the recording paper. Facsimile transmission data received by the MFP 3 is converted into a facsimile communication protocol by the facsimile control unit 23 and transmitted to the other party's facsimile apparatus via the analog telephone line 5.
An operation unit 20 includes various buttons such as a power button and a reset button, and can operate the MFP 3. A display unit 21 is composed of a liquid crystal display such as a touch panel, and can display the state of the MFP 3, display various settings, display a telephone number, and input.

  A reading unit 22 is composed of a color image sensor, an electric circuit composed of an ASIC for image processing, and the like, and controls the scanner function. A facsimile control unit 23 includes a facsimile modem, an analog communication circuit, and the like, and controls facsimile transmission and reception according to a facsimile communication protocol. Reference numeral 24 denotes an external storage control unit, which includes a flash memory mounting slot, a storage interface circuit, and the like, and controls the mounted flash memory.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface that can be displayed on the PC 1 shown in FIG. In this example, the Devices and Printers folder is displayed as the first peripheral device management screen, and the second peripheral device management screen is displayed in response to selection of the Devices and Printers folder. Hereinafter, Devices and Printers is abbreviated as DP. Here, the peripheral device management screen includes an icon and a button for executing a specific application, and each button is displayed as a log of the application to be executed and a peripheral device management control file shown in FIG. 5 installed in advance. The aspect is controlled.
In FIG. 3A, reference numeral 500 denotes a DP folder (in the figure, Devices and Printers are expressed as a DP folder). The DP folder 500 is displayed on the LCD 205 on the PC 1, and the printers and faxes that can be used on the PC 1 are displayed for each driver. The DP folder 500 functions as a first peripheral device management screen in the present embodiment.

In the present embodiment, a peripheral device 501 named XYZ Defg and a peripheral device 503 named ABC Kmmn are displayed as available peripheral devices.
Here, the peripheral device 501 is the MFP 7 shown in FIG. 1 displayed in the DP folder 500, and the peripheral device 503 is the MFP 3 shown in FIG. 1 displayed in the DP folder 500.
A default mark 502 indicates a default peripheral device of the system, and here, the peripheral device 501 is set as a default peripheral device. In the DP folder 500, the peripheral device 501 whose peripheral device icon outline is indicated by a dotted line indicates that it cannot be used, and the peripheral device 503 indicated by a solid line is that it can be used. Represents. The display mode is controlled by the peripheral device management control unit 902 according to a flowchart shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3B, 600 is a peripheral device management screen, which is activated when the peripheral device 503 in the DP folder 500 shown in FIG. 3A is selected and displayed on the LCD 205 of the PC 1. . The peripheral device management screen 600 is displayed as a second peripheral device management screen as controlled by the peripheral device management control unit 902 with respect to the first peripheral device management screen.
The user can manage the MFP 3 using the peripheral device management screen 600. On the upper part of the peripheral device management screen 600, a peripheral device icon 601, a peripheral device name 602, and manufacturer information 603 are displayed.
The data of the peripheral device icon 601 is held as part of the peripheral device management control file storage unit 905 shown in FIG.
Further, the peripheral device name 602 displays the peripheral device name of the peripheral device 503 of the DP folder 500, and the manufacturer information 603 displays the character string specified in the element 801 of the peripheral device management control file 800 shown in FIG. Is done.
At the bottom of the peripheral device management screen 600, a link to a function associated with the peripheral device 503 is displayed.
That is, a print setting button 607 and a printer diagnosis / repair button 611 are displayed. The print setting button 607 includes a button name 604, an icon 605, and a button description 606. Here, the icon 605 is associated with a specific application indicated by the button name 604, and when the user operates the icon 605, the peripheral device management control unit 902 shows a display mode of the icon 605 in FIG. Display control by procedure. Here, the button name is text data for specifying a specific application, and the text data is included in an object that can be displayed on the second peripheral device management screen.
The printer diagnosis / repair button 611 includes a button name 608, an icon 609, and a button description 610. The button name 608 is set with a character string “Diagnose and Repair Printer” for a normal printer diagnosis / repair button as described later with reference to FIG. Here, the icon 609 is associated with a specific application indicated by the button name 608. When the user operates the icon 609, the peripheral device management control unit 902 shows the display mode of the icon 609 as shown in FIG. Display control by procedure.

The icon 609 is for a normal printer diagnosis / repair button as will be described later with reference to FIG. FIG. 3B shows an example of a case in which the ID1 print setting button 607 and the ID2 printer diagnosis / repair button 611 are displayed.
In FIG. 3C, reference numeral 600 denotes a peripheral device management screen, which is activated and displayed when the peripheral device 503 in the DP folder 500 shown in FIG. 3A is selected.
The peripheral device management screen 600 can be used to manage the MFP 3. In FIG. 3C, the description of the same parts as those described in FIG. 3B is omitted.
At the bottom of the peripheral device management screen 600, a link to a function associated with the peripheral device 503 is displayed. A print setting button 607 and a printer diagnosis / repair button 615 are displayed by the peripheral device management control unit 902. The printer diagnosis / repair button 615 includes a button name 612, an icon 613, and a button description 614. In the button name 612, a character string “Diagnose and Repair Printer (Frequency... High)” for a diagnostic / repair button of the printer highlighted prominently as described later in FIG. 6 is set. When compared with the button name 608, the button name 612 has a description such as “(Frequency... High)” indicating that the use frequency is high. Here, the icon 613 is associated with a specific application indicated by the button name 612. When the user operates the icon 613, the peripheral device management control unit 902 shows the display mode of the icon 605 in FIG. Display control by procedure.

The icon 613 is for a diagnosis / repair button of a printer whose display mode is highlighted so as to be conspicuous as will be described later with reference to FIG.
When compared with the icon 609, the icon 613 is composed of an image highlighted on the basis of the icon 609, and is conspicuous. FIG. 3C illustrates an example in which an ID1 print setting button 607 and an ID3 printer diagnosis / repair button 615 are displayed.
Elements 804, 809, and 817 representing the respective buttons and functions are described in an element 803 of the peripheral device management control file 800 shown in FIG. 5 described later.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the log control unit 910 included in the PAPL 143 shown in FIG.
In FIG. 4, the log control unit 910 includes a count control unit 2001, a log file access unit 2002, and a registry access unit 2003.
The count control unit 2001 counts the count data recorded in the log file based on the information acquired from the activation source determination unit 906 and the log file access unit 2002 shown in FIG.
A log file access unit 2002 reads and writes log files stored in the log file storage unit 2011. The log file storage unit 2011 is provided in a specific area in the HDD 202 of the PC 1. A registry access unit 2003 writes data into a registry 2012 that is a storage area for various setting information in an OS (Windows OS).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the contents of the peripheral device management control file managed by the PC 2 or PC 1 shown in FIG.
In FIG. 5, reference numeral 800 denotes a peripheral device management control file, which is stored in the file storage unit 11 of the PC 2 or the file storage unit 12 of the PC 1.
The element 801 is set with the name of the ABC company that is the manufacturer of the peripheral device (MFP 3). In element 802, Kmmn, which is the model name of the peripheral device (MFP3), is set. These pieces of information are used when the peripheral device management control file 800 is installed. The peripheral device management control file 800 also includes information necessary for configuring the peripheral device management screen 600 shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C.

To display one of the print setting button 607 and the printer diagnosis / repair buttons 611 and 615 shown in FIG. 3 on the peripheral device management screen 600 that is activated and displayed when the MFP 3 is connected to the PC 1. The following elements are set: Specifically, elements 804, 809, and 817 representing respective buttons and functions are set in the element 803.
In the element 804, id = “1” is an attribute, and represents that the ID of this button is 1. In the element 805, a character string “Printing Preferences” displayed in the button name 604 of the print setting button 607 of ID1 is set. In the element 806, a character string “Display... Window.” Displayed in the button description 606 of the print setting button 607 of ID1 is set. In the element 807, an icon file called preferences.ico displayed in the icon 605 of the print setting button 607 of ID1 is set. In an element 808, a code “printingPreferences“ ABC Kmmn ”” representing a function (program) for displaying a print setting screen (not shown) is set.
Here, “ABC Kmmn” is an argument for designating a print setting screen for the MFP 3.
Examples of cases in which the ID1 print setting button 607 is displayed are shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C.

When the ID1 print setting button 607 is displayed on the peripheral device management screen 600, when this button is pressed by a user operation, the print setting screen for the MFP 3 is activated and the print setting screen is displayed on the LCD 205.
In element 809, id = “2” is an attribute, and represents that the ID of this button is 2. In the element 810, a character string “Diagnose ... Printer” displayed in the button name 608 of the diagnosis / repair button 611 of the printer of ID2 is set. This character string is for a normal printer diagnosis / repair button.
In the element 811, a character string “Diagnose ... problems.” Displayed in the button description 610 of the diagnosis / repair button 611 of the printer of ID 2 is set.
In the element 812, an icon file called PrinterApp_normal.ico displayed in the icon 609 of the diagnosis / repair button 611 of the printer of ID2 is set. This icon file is for a normal printer diagnosis / repair button.

  An element 813 describes a condition for displaying the diagnosis / repair button 611 of the printer with ID2. In the element 814, registry information is set as the first display condition of the diagnosis / repair button 611 of the printer of ID2. As one of the conditions for displaying the ID2 printer diagnosis / repair button 611, the following registry information needs to exist on the HDD 200 of the PC1.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ ABC \ Printer Application \
Name: installed
Type: REG_SZ
Data: yes
This registry information is described by the installer of PAPL 143 when PAPL 143 is installed. When the PAPL 143 is deleted (uninstalled), the PAPL 143 uninstaller deletes this registry information.

In the element 815, registry information 2114 shown in FIG. 12B is set as the second display condition of the diagnosis / repair button 611 of the printer of ID2. Here, “lessThanOrEqual” specified in the option attribute represents the meaning of “below”. Further, the following value is set in the variable 2108 as a condition for displaying the diagnosis / repair button 611 of the printer of ID2.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12B, it is necessary to set a value equal to or smaller than the value set in the variable 2108 of the registry information 2114 shown below, that is, equal to or smaller than that value. There is.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ ABC \ Printer Application \ diagnose \
Name: usage_log_total
Type: REG_DWORD
Data: 100
That is, when the variable 2108 is set to “100” or a value smaller than “100”, the diagnosis / repair button 611 of the printer with ID 2 is displayed.

An element 816 includes a PrinterApp. Representing a function (program) for displaying the initial screen 700 of the printer diagnosis / repair function. The code exe ... / devmng is set. Here, “ABC Kmmn” is an argument for designating the initial screen 700 of the diagnosis / repair function of the printer for the MFP 3 shown in FIG.
When the diagnosis / repair button 611 of the printer of ID2 is displayed on the peripheral device management screen 600, this button is pressed by a user operation. Then, according to the flow of FIG. 11, the initial screen 700 of the printer diagnosis / repair function for the MFP 3 is activated, and the initial screen 700 shown in FIG. 7A is displayed.
In element 817, id = “3” is an attribute, indicating that the ID of this button is 3. In the element 818, a character string “Diagnose ... High” displayed in the button name 612 of the diagnosis / repair button 615 of the ID3 printer is set.
This string is for the diagnostic / repair button of the printer that is highlighted prominently. For example, when compared with the character string set in the element 810, the character string set in the element 818 is added with an explanation indicating that the use frequency is high, such as “(Frequency ... High)”. Yes.

In the element 819, a character string “Diagnose ... problems.” Displayed in the button description 614 of the diagnosis / repair button 615 of the ID3 printer is set. In the element 820, an icon file “Printer... Ico” displayed in the icon 613 of the diagnosis / repair button 615 of the ID3 printer is set. This icon file is for the diagnostic / repair button of the printer that is highlighted prominently.
When compared with the icon file Printer ... ico set in the element 812, the Printer ... ico is composed of the highlighted images, and is conspicuous. The element 821 describes a condition for displaying the diagnosis / repair button 615 of the ID3 printer. In the element 822, registry information is set as the first display condition of the ID3 printer diagnosis / repair button 615, and one of the conditions under which the ID3 printer diagnosis / repair button 615 is displayed. As a matter of fact, the following registry information must exist.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ ABC \ Printer Application \
Name: installed
Type: REG_SZ
Data: yes
This registry information is described by the installer of PAPL 143 when PAPL 143 is installed. When the PAPL 143 is deleted (uninstalled), the PAPL 143 uninstaller deletes this registry information.

In the element 823, registry information 2114 shown in FIG. 12B is set as the second display condition of the diagnosis / repair button 615 of the ID3 printer.
Here, “greaterThan” specified by the option attribute represents the meaning of “greater than”. For this reason, a value larger than the value set in the variable 2108 of the registry information 2114 shown below needs to be set as another condition for displaying the diagnosis / repair button 615 of the printer of ID3. There is.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ ABC \ Printer Application \ diagnose \
Name: usage_log_total
Type: REG_DWORD
Data: 100
That is, when a value larger than “100” is set in the variable 2108, the diagnosis / repair button 615 of the printer of ID3 is displayed.

In the element 824, a code “Printer ... devmng” representing a function (program) for displaying the initial screen 700 of the printer diagnosis / repair function shown in FIG. 7A is set.
Here, “ABC Kmmn” is an argument for designating the initial screen 700 of the printer diagnosis / repair function for the MFP 3. When a diagnosis / repair button 615 for the ID3 printer is displayed on the peripheral device management screen 600, this button is pressed by a user operation. Then, according to the flow of FIG. 13, the initial screen 700 of the printer diagnosis / repair function for the MFP 3 is activated, and the initial screen 700 shown in FIG. 7A is displayed.

In this way, according to the value set in the variable 2108 of the registry information 2114 described by the registry access unit 2003 of the PAPL 143, the display of the diagnosis / repair button 611 of the ID2 printer to the diagnosis / repair button 615 of the ID3 printer is displayed. To control. Specifically, depending on the value set in the variable 2108 of the registry information 2114, either the diagnosis / repair button 611 of the ID2 printer or the diagnosis / repair button 615 of the ID3 printer is set to the peripheral device management screen 600. Control the display above.
Thereby, according to a user's use frequency, about the function with high use frequency, it becomes possible to add the description showing that use frequency is high to the name (button name) of the button which performs the function. In addition, the operability of the user can be improved by using an icon highlighted so as to stand out from the displayed button icon.

In the above-described example, the variable 2108 representing the total number of times the printer diagnosis / repair function has been executed is used as the registry information 2114. Without being limited to this example, for example, the fact that the user presses the printer diagnosis / repair button 611 or 615 on the peripheral device management screen 600 is stored as log information. Then, according to the button operation of the user, the display mode of the following buttons can be controlled using the variable 2109 of the registry information 2114 indicating the number of times that the printer diagnosis / repair function application has been executed. Specifically, the peripheral device management control unit 902 displays any one of the ID2 printer diagnosis / repair button 611 to ID3 printer diagnosis / repair button 615 on the peripheral device management screen 600.
In the present embodiment, the button name and the button description are text data for specifying a specific application or describing the application. Here, the text data is included in an object that can be displayed on the second peripheral device management screen.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of the peripheral device management 80 and the PAPL 143 illustrated in FIG.
6A, the peripheral device management 80 includes a display unit 901, a peripheral device management control unit 902, a link execution unit 903, a peripheral device management control file reading unit 904, and a peripheral device management control file storage unit 905. Become.
The peripheral device management control file storage unit 905 stores the peripheral device management control file 800 saved in S1405 of FIG.
The PAPL 143 includes an activation source determination unit 906, an APL control unit 907, a default peripheral device setting unit 908, a printer diagnosis / repair control unit 909, and a log control unit 910.
A printer diagnosis / repair control unit 909 is a module that performs control for diagnosing or repairing the printer function of the MFP 3 when the printer diagnosis / repair function of the PAPL 143 is executed. The printer diagnosis / repair control unit 909 controls display and internal processing of the printer diagnosis / repair function based on the peripheral device management control file 800 shown in FIG.

The log control unit 910 is a module that performs control to save the usage status of each function included in the PAPL 143 as a log file or registry information. Details of processing performed by the log control unit 910 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 14.
The peripheral device management screen 600 is activated and displayed when the MFP 3 is connected to the PC 1 via the network 4 or when a peripheral device in the DP folder 500 shown in FIG. Here, an example in which the MFP 3 is connected to the PC 1 via the network 4 and the peripheral device management screen 600 shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C is activated and displayed will be mainly described.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface displayed on the display device of the PC 1 shown in FIG. This example is an example of a screen displayed by the PAPL 143 shown in FIG.
In FIG. 7A, reference numeral 700 denotes an initial screen when the printer diagnosis / repair function by the PAPL 143 is activated. Specifically, the diagnosis / repair control unit 909 of the printer of the PAPL 143 shown in FIG. 6 displays on the display device provided in the PC 1 via the display unit 901 provided in the PC 1.
On the initial screen 700, an operation guide 701, a cancel button 702, and a next button 703 are displayed. The operation guide 701 displays an operation instruction for the user.
When the cancel button 702 is pressed by a user operation, the APL control unit 907 closes the initial screen 700 and ends the operation of the PAPL 143.
When the next button 703 is pressed by a user operation, the printer diagnosis / repair control unit 909 acquires setting information of the printer driver 50 and the related spooler, and determines whether the setting is appropriate.

Reference numeral 710 in FIG. 7B is a diagnosis result screen by the diagnosis / repair function of the printer.
The printer diagnosis / repair control unit 909 displays a result of determining whether the setting is appropriate on the LCD 205 of the PC 1 as a diagnosis result screen 710.
In the diagnosis result screen 710, diagnosis results 711 to 713, a cancel button 714, a return button 715, and a repair button 716 are displayed. The diagnosis result 711 displays whether a past job remains in the printer queue. In 712, whether there is an error in the setting of the communication port of the port monitor is displayed, and in the diagnosis result 713, whether the printer queue is paused is displayed.
In the diagnosis results 711 to 713, Yes is displayed when a problem has occurred in each item, and No (No Problem) is displayed when no problem has occurred. Although the above three items are taken up as diagnostic items here, other items relating to printer settings may be used as diagnostic items.

When the cancel button 714 is pressed by a user operation, the APL control unit 907 closes the diagnosis result screen 710 and ends the operation of the PAPL 143.
When the return button 715 is pressed by a user operation, the printer diagnosis / repair control unit 909 discards the contents displayed in the diagnosis results 711 to 713 and returns the display screen to the initial screen 700.
When the repair button 716 is pressed, the printer diagnosis / repair control unit 909 performs setting change processing for the printer driver 50 and the associated spooler 40. Specifically, the setting of the item determined to have a defect in the diagnosis results 711 to 713 is changed so as to have no defect.

For example, when the repair button 716 is pressed in the state of FIG. 7B, the printer diagnosis / repair control unit 909 cancels the pause state of the printer queue 32. Thereafter, the APL control unit 907 closes the diagnosis result screen 710 and ends the operation of the PAPL 143.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. This example is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing when a peripheral device is connected. A program corresponding to each step in FIG. 8 is stored in the HDD 202, read into the RAM 201, and executed by the CPU 204.

When the MFP 3 is connected via the network 4 (S1301), the PC 1 acquires the peripheral device ID from the MFP 3 using a predetermined protocol (S1302).
Here, the peripheral device ID is represented by a character string such as “MFG... Kmmn;”.
This is the peripheral device ID of the printer function of the MFP 3 that the PC 1 can acquire from the MFP 3 via the network 4 and represents the following information.
Manufacturer (MFG :): ABC
Model (MDL :): Kmmn
Class (CLS :): PRINTER
Command (CMD :): K4 (ABC private print control command)
Description (DES :): ABC Kmmn
Next, the peripheral device management 80 determines whether the drivers (printer driver 50, FAX driver, scanner driver (not shown)) have already been installed in the PC 1 (S1303).

In the following description of FIG. 8, the drivers (printer driver 50, FAX driver, scanner driver) are simply referred to as drivers.
If it is determined in S1303 that the driver has not yet been installed, the OS installs the driver (S1304).
Thereafter, the OS loads the driver onto the RAM 201 (S1305). When the driver is correctly loaded on the RAM 201, the peripheral device (MFP 3) is registered in the DP folder 500 shown in FIG.
The peripheral device management 80 determines whether the peripheral device management control file 800 shown in FIG. 5 has already been installed in the PC 1 (S1306).
In S1306, whether or not the installed peripheral device management control file 800 is consistent with the driver is determined based on the manufacturer (MFG :) and model (MDL :) information included in the peripheral device ID. The
Next, in S1306, when the peripheral device management 80 determines that the peripheral device management control file 800 has not yet been installed, the peripheral device management control file installation process described later with reference to FIG. 9 is executed (S1307). .
Then, the peripheral device management 80 executes processing for starting a peripheral device management screen, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 10 (S1308), and the peripheral device management 80 completes the processing when the peripheral device is connected (S1309).
In S1306, when the peripheral device management 80 determines that the peripheral device management control file 800 has already been installed, the process proceeds to S1308. If the driver has already been installed in S1303, the process proceeds to step S1305.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. This example is an example of processing for installing a peripheral device management control file. A program corresponding to the steps shown in FIG. 9 is stored in the HDD 202 of the PC 1, read out to the RAM 201, and executed by the CPU 204 of the PC 1.
When the processing for installing the peripheral device management control file is executed in S1307 in FIG. 8, the peripheral device management 80 starts the processing for installing the peripheral device management (S1401).
First, the peripheral device management 80 checks the peripheral device ID of the MFP 3 connected via the network 4 (S1402). Peripheral device management control file for the peripheral device (MFP3) to which the peripheral device management 80 is connected to the PC 1 based on the manufacturer (MFG :) and model (MDL :) information included in this peripheral device ID 800 is searched (S1403).

In the peripheral device management control file 800 of FIG. 5, an element 801 and an element 802 describe a manufacturer (MFG :) “ABC” and a model (MDL :) “Kmmn” corresponding to the peripheral device (MFP 3).
Based on the information described in the elements 801 and 802, the peripheral device management 80 uses the file storage unit 11 or 12 in the CD-ROM 10 inserted in the Web server 9 or the PC 1 for the peripheral device (MFP 3). The peripheral device management control file 800 is searched.
Next, the peripheral device management 80 determines whether or not the peripheral device management control file 800 is found from the file storage unit 11 or 12 (S1404). In S1404, when the peripheral device management 80 determines that the peripheral device management control file 800 has been found, the peripheral device management 80 stores the peripheral device management control file 800 in a predetermined position in the HDD 202 of the PC 1 (S1405). .

Then, the peripheral device management 80 installs the peripheral device management control file 800 (S1406). When the installation is completed, the peripheral device management 80 ends the processing for installing the peripheral device management control file (S1407).
In this embodiment, it is assumed that the peripheral device management control file 800 corresponding to the MFP 3 is detected and installed. If the peripheral device management 80 that has not found the peripheral device management control file 800 in S1404 determines, the process advances to S1407. In step S1407, the peripheral device management 80 does not install the peripheral device management control file 800, and the processing for installing the peripheral device management control file ends (S1407).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. This example is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for starting a peripheral device management screen. A program corresponding to each step in FIG. 10 is stored in the HDD 202, read into the RAM 201, and executed by the CPU 204 of the PC 1.
In S1308 of FIG. 8, when the peripheral device management 80 executes processing for starting peripheral device management, the peripheral device management 80 starts processing for starting the peripheral device management screen (S1501).
Also, when the user operates the pointing device to select the peripheral device 503 in the DP folder 500, the peripheral device management 80 starts processing for starting the peripheral device management screen.
The peripheral device management control unit 902 acquires the peripheral device name selected in the DP folder 500 (S1502). In the present embodiment, since the peripheral device 503 is selected, the peripheral device name “ABC Kmmn” is acquired.
Based on the peripheral device name, the peripheral device management control file reading unit 904 loads the peripheral device management control file 800 shown in FIG. 5 stored in S1405 of FIG. 9 onto the RAM 201 (S1503).
Based on the peripheral device management control file 800, the peripheral device management control unit 902 executes processing for constructing the display content of the peripheral device management screen, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 11 (S1504). The peripheral device management control unit 902 displays the peripheral device management screen 600 via the display unit 901 in accordance with the display content of the peripheral device management screen constructed in S1504 (S1505).

Then, the peripheral device management 80 ends the processing for starting the peripheral device management screen (S1506).
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. This example is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for constructing display contents of a peripheral device management screen. A program corresponding to each step in FIG. 11 is stored in the HDD 202, read out to the RAM 201, and executed by the CPU 204 of the PC 1. Hereinafter, an example of controlling the display mode of an object displayed on the management screen according to log information stored in accordance with a specific application executed by the PAPL 143 functioning as an application execution unit and the function control information shown in FIG. explain. Here, the function control information is information for determining the display state of the object to be displayed on the management screen, is described in the format shown in FIG. 5, and is stored in the peripheral device management control file shown in FIG. A portion 905 is stored so as to be rewritable.
Here, the objects include the icons 605, 609, and 613 shown in FIG. The display mode control is executed by the peripheral device management control unit 902 shown in FIG.

In S1504 of FIG. 10, when the processing for constructing the display content of the peripheral device management screen is executed, the peripheral device management control unit 902 starts the processing for constructing the display content of the peripheral device management screen (S1201). The peripheral device management control unit 902 constructs a print setting button 607 with ID1 (id = “1”) (S1202). The peripheral device management control unit 902 has the following registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ ABC \ Printer Application \
Name: installed
Information indicating the installation state of PAPL 143 set as the value (Data) is acquired from Type: REG_SZ (S1203).
In addition, the peripheral device management control unit 902 performs the following registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ ABC \ Printer Application \ diagnose \
Name: usage_log_total
From Type: REG_DWORD, information representing the usage status of the printer diagnosis / restoration function, which is set as the value (Data) in the variable 2108, is also acquired (S1203).
In step S1204, the peripheral device management control unit 902 confirms information indicating the installation state of the PAPL 143 set in the registry shown below.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ ABC \ PrinterApplication \ Name: installedType: REG_SZ
If the peripheral device management control unit 902 determines that “yes” is set, the process advances to step S1205. If the peripheral device management control unit 902 determines that it is other than “yes”, the processing for constructing the display content of the peripheral device management screen is terminated (S1208).

In S1205, if the peripheral device management control unit 902 checks the information indicating the use status of the printer diagnosis / repair function set in the registry variable 2108 shown below, and determines that the information is 100 or less, The process proceeds to S1206. If the peripheral device management control unit 902 determines that the value is greater than 100, the process advances to step S1207.
In step S1206, the peripheral device management control unit 902 constructs the diagnosis / repair button 611 of the printer with ID2 (id = “2”), and ends the processing for constructing the display content of the peripheral device management screen (S1208).
In step S1207, the peripheral device management control unit 902 constructs a diagnosis / repair button 615 for the printer with ID3 (id = “3”), and the processing for constructing the display content of the peripheral device management screen ends (S1208).

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the log file, registry information, and log file contents managed by the OS of the PC 1 shown in FIG.
12A corresponds to the contents of the log file 2100, and FIG. 12B corresponds to the contents of the registry information 2114.
12A and 12B, the element 2101 is recorded in the log file 2100, and the registry information 2114 is recorded in the registry 2012 in FIG.
In the element 2101 and the registry information 2114, information on the number of executions of the printer diagnosis / recovery function and the total number of executions are recorded. The variable 2108 of the element 2102 and the registry information 2114 records the total number of times the printer diagnosis / repair function has been executed as numerical information.
In the variable 2109 of the element 2103 and the registry information 2114, the number of times the printer diagnosis / repair function is executed by the user pressing the printer diagnosis / repair button 611 or 615 on the peripheral device management screen 600 is displayed as numerical information. To be recorded.
In a variable 2110 of the element 2104 and registry information 2114, the number of times the printer diagnosis / repair function has been executed is recorded as numerical information. Specifically, when the user selects an item corresponding to printer diagnosis / repair in the start menu of the OS (Windows OS), the number of times the printer diagnosis / repair function is executed is recorded as numerical information. The

The start menu item is registered when the PAPL 143 is installed in the HDD 202.
In the variable 2111 of the element 2105 and the registry information 2114, the number of times the printer diagnosis / repair function is executed by the user selecting an icon (not shown) placed on the desktop UI of the OS (Windows OS) is a numerical value. Recorded as information.
Similarly, a user operation from the UI of the status monitor 39 is accepted in the element 2106 and the variable 2112 of the registry information 2114. As a result, the number of times the printer diagnosis / repair is executed by a method other than the above is stored in the variable 2113 of the element 2107 and the registry information 2114 as numerical information (log information).
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. This example is a flowchart illustrating an example of PAPL activation processing. A program corresponding to each step in FIG. 13 is stored in the HDD 202, read into the RAM 201, and executed by the CPU 204 of the PC 1.

When the printer diagnosis / repair button 611 or 615 on the peripheral device management screen 600 is pressed, the process for starting up the PAPL 143 is started (S1101).
In S1101, the peripheral device management control unit 902 in the peripheral device management 80 in FIG. 6A uses the link execution unit 903 to transfer the information described in the element 816 or the element 824 shown in FIG. Pass to 907.
From this information, the APL control unit 907 acquires information specifying the peripheral device (MFP 3) represented by the first argument “ABC Kmmn” (S1102).
When the APL control unit 907 confirms the presence / absence of information (peripheral device designation information) specifying the peripheral device of the first argument and determines that there is peripheral device designation (peripheral device designation information) (S1103), the process proceeds to S1104. . If the APL control unit 907 determines that there is no peripheral device designation (peripheral device designation information) in S1103, the processing proceeds to S1105.

  In this embodiment, since the peripheral device is specified by the information specifying the peripheral device of the first argument described in the element 816 or the element 824 shown in FIG. 5, the process proceeds from S1103 to S1104. For example, when the PAPL 143 is activated without setting the first argument, the process proceeds from S1103 to S1105.

In step S1104, the peripheral device designated by the default peripheral device setting unit 908 is set as the default peripheral device of the PAPL 143, and the process advances to step S1107.
In step S 1105, the default peripheral device setting unit 908 acquires OS default peripheral device information via the application / DDI interface 84. The OS default peripheral device represents a peripheral device to which a default mark 502 is assigned in the DP folder 500 of FIG.
In the present embodiment, since the peripheral device 501 (XYZ Defg) is set as the default peripheral device, the peripheral device name “XYZ Defg” is acquired in S1105. The default peripheral device setting unit 908 sets the peripheral device (driver) name as the default peripheral device of the PAPL 143 based on the OS default peripheral device acquired in S1105 (S1106), and the process proceeds to S1107.

In step S1106, if the default peripheral device setting unit 908 cannot find an appropriate peripheral device name from the default peripheral device of the OS acquired in S1105, the peripheral device name set when the PAPL 143 was last started is used as the default peripheral device name. Set to device. Here, the peripheral device name includes a driver name.
The information on the default peripheral device of the PAPL 143 is held in a memory on the RAM 201 managed by the PAPL 143.
In step S1107, the APL control unit 907 confirms the function specified by the second argument. In step S1108, the activation source determination unit 906 confirms the activation source specified by the third argument. Then, the APL control unit 907 displays the main screen of the function designated by the second argument (S1109).
For example, when “diagnose” is designated as the second argument, the APL control unit 907 displays the initial screen 700 of the printer diagnosis / repair function shown in FIG. When the APL control unit 907 confirms the message notified from the OS (S1110) and receives a message indicating the end (S1111), the APL control unit 907 closes all the screens of the PAPL 143 and performs the PAPL activation process. The process ends (S1113).

In S1111, when the APL control unit 907 receives a message other than the message indicating the end, the APL control unit 907 performs processing according to each message (S1112), and returns to S1110.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. This example is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of the log control unit 910 in the PAPL 143. A program corresponding to each step in FIG. 14 is stored in the HDD 202, read out to the RAM 201, and executed by the CPU 204 of the PC 1.

  When the APL control unit 907 activates the log control unit 910, the log control unit 910 starts processing in S1600 of FIG. The log file access unit 2002 refers to the log file storage unit 2011 in the HDD 202 and determines whether a log file for the printer application exists (S1601). If the log control unit 910 determines that a log file exists, the count data included therein is read into the work area in the RAM 201 (S1602).

In step S <b> 1602, the log file access unit 2002 reads the log file 2100 illustrated in FIG. 12 and passes the contents to the count control unit 2001. The count control unit 2001 writes the numerical values recorded in the elements 2102 to 2107 in the log file 2100 to the variables diag_total, diag_dm, diag_st, diag_dt, diag_sm, and diag_ot in the work area, respectively.
When the log file access unit 2002 determines that any of the elements 2102 to 2107 does not exist, the variable value corresponding to the element is set to 0. When the log file access unit 2002 determines that the element 2101 does not exist in the log file 2100, all variable values are set to zero. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S1604.
On the other hand, when the log file access unit 2002 determines in step S1601 that the log file 2100 does not exist in the log file storage unit 2011, the process proceeds to step S1603. The log file 2100 does not exist when none of the count information to be recorded in the log file 2100 has been generated yet. Therefore, in S1603, the count control unit 2001 clears all the variables diag_total, diag_dm, diag_st, diag_dt, diag_sm, and diag_ot in the work area to 0, and proceeds to S1604.

In step S1604, the activation source determination unit 906 illustrated in FIG. 6A acquires a command line argument when the PAPL 143 is activated. Next, the count control unit 2001 acquires the second argument in the command line arguments, and determines whether or not the value matches the character string “diagnose” (S1605). If the count control unit 2001 determines that they match, the printer diagnosis / repair function is considered to have been executed, and the process advances to step S1606.
On the other hand, if the count control unit 2001 determines that they do not match, it is considered that a function other than printer diagnosis / repair has been executed. In this case, the log control unit does not need to update the log. The process ends (S1618).
In step S1606, the count control unit 2001 adds 1 to the value of the variable diag_total. Next, in S1607, the activation source determination unit 906 in FIG. 6A acquires the third argument in the command line argument, and the count control unit 2001 determines whether the third argument matches the character string “/ devmng”. Determine.
If they match in the determination in S1607, it is assumed that PAPL 143 has been activated by pressing the printer diagnosis / repair button 611 or 615 on the peripheral device management screen 600, and the variable diag_dm is incremented by “1” (S1608).
On the other hand, if the count control unit 2001 determines in S1607 that they do not match, it determines whether or not the third argument matches the character string “/ start” (S1609).
Here, if the count control unit 2001 determines that the third argument matches the character string “/ start”, it is considered that the PAPL 143 is started from an item in the start menu of the OS (Windows OS). The count control unit 2001 adds “1” to the variable diag_st (S1610).

On the other hand, if it is determined in S1609 that the third argument does not match the character string “/ start”, the count control unit 2001 determines whether the third argument matches the character string “/ desktop” (S1611). ).
If the count control unit 2001 determines that the third argument matches the character string “/ desktop”, it is considered that the PAPL 143 is activated from the icon placed on the desktop of the OS (Windows OS). The count control unit 2001 adds 1 to the variable diag_dt (S1612).

On the other hand, if the count control unit 2001 determines that the third argument does not match the character string “/ desktop” in S1611, the count control unit 2001 determines whether the third argument matches the character string “/ sm”. Determination is made (S1613).
Here, when the count control unit 2001 determines that the third argument matches the character string “/ sm”, it is assumed that the PAPL 143 is activated from the status monitor 39, and the variable diag_sm is incremented by “1” (S1614). ).
On the other hand, if it is determined in S1613 that the third argument does not match the character string “/ sm”, the count control unit 2001 considers that the PAPL 143 has been activated by a different method and sets the variable diag_ot to “1”. Addition is performed (S1615).

Thereafter, the log file access unit 2002 writes to the log file 2100 in the log file storage unit 2011.
If the log file 2100 already exists, it is overwritten and updated. Specifically, the contents of the log file 2100 are in the format shown in FIG. Here, the log file access unit 2002 records the value of the diag_total variable in the element 2102 and the value of the diag_dm variable in the element 2103.
Similarly, the log file access unit 2002 records the value of the diag_st variable in the element 2104 and the value of the variable diag_dt variable in the element 2105. Further, the log file access unit 2002 records the value of the diag_sm variable in the element 2106 and the value of the diag_ot variable in the element 2107 (S1616).
Further, the registry access unit 2003 sets the value of the variable diag_total in the variable 2108 of the registry information 2114.
The variable 2109 is set to the value of the variable diag_dm. The variable 2110 is set to the value of the variable diag_st. Similarly, the value of the variable diag_dt is set in the variable 2111 and the value of the variable diag_ot is set in the variable 2112 in the variable 2113 (S1617). This terminates the processing of the log control unit 910 (S1618).
When the printer diagnosis / repair function of the PAPL 143 is activated by the above processing, the log control unit 910 displays the count information included in the log file 2100 based on the activation source information acquired from the activation source determination unit 906. Update. Similar count information is also recorded in the registry 2012.

In the above-described example, if the count control unit 2001 acquires the second argument in the command line argument in S1605 and determines that the value matches the character string “diagnose”, the following processing is performed.
Specifically, only when the printer diagnosis / repair function is executed, the log file access unit 2002 executes a process of generating or updating the log file 2100 indicating the use status of this function. Similarly, the registry access unit 2003 executes processing for generating or updating the registry information 2114.

  Without being limited to this example, even when the value of the second argument matches another character string, that is, when another function included in PAPL 143 is executed, a log file or registry indicating the use status of the function Information may be generated or updated. As a result, the usage status can be grasped for each function, and by performing appropriate control according to each usage status, it is possible to realize a peripheral device control system with excellent user operability. The relationship between the second argument and each function is as follows.

Hereinafter, as the second argument / function, assume / diagnose / printer diagnosis / repair, preferences / printer setting, paper_source / feed method setting, status / printer status check, troubleshooting / troubleshooting.
In the above-described example, information on the peripheral device used is not included in the log file or registry information. Generally, the peripheral device management screen 600 is prepared for each peripheral device. Therefore, the user operability can be further improved by performing appropriate control according to the usage status of the peripheral device.
FIG. 12C shows an example of a log file including information on peripheral devices, and FIG. 12D shows registry information including information on peripheral devices.
Similarly, in FIG. 12C, reference numeral 2115 denotes a log file, which includes an element 2116 representing a peripheral device name. In this element 2116, each log of usage status in the case where the peripheral device is used is stored. Stored.

In FIG. 12D, reference numeral 2117 denotes registry information, and a usage status log in a case where the peripheral device is used is stored in a registry key including a character string “ABC Kmmn” representing the peripheral device name. Has been. Using this registry information 2117, for example, it is changed in advance so as to describe \ ABC Kmmn between Application and \ diagnose of the element 815 of the peripheral device management control file 800 shown in FIG.
Similarly, a change is made in advance so as to describe \ ABC Kmmn between \ Printer Application and \ diagnose of the element 823 of the peripheral device management control file 800 shown in FIG.
Accordingly, depending on the usage status of only the MFP 3, either the diagnosis / repair button 611 of the printer with ID2 (id = “2”) or the diagnosis / repair button 615 of the printer with ID3 (id = “3”) is turned on. Switch automatically. Thereby, an appropriate button can be displayed on the peripheral device management screen 600, and the operability for the user can be further improved.
The log file 2100 is periodically sent to the Web server 9 of the PC 2 when permission is obtained through the process of obtaining permission from the user.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, in the PAPL 143, the log control unit 910 leaves the usage status of each function of the PAPL 143 in the log file and the registry information, and the buttons displayed on the peripheral device management screen 600 according to the registry information. An example of automatically switching contents was given. Here, the button is associated with an application that executes a specific function process.

In the present embodiment, an example of a peripheral device control system using a shared library capable of performing such control in a general purpose in an arbitrary application is described without being limited to the PAPL 143.
In FIG. 6B, reference numeral 911 denotes a shared library (CommonLibrary), which includes an executable application called Launch_with_Log.exe. For example, when a button on the peripheral device management screen 600 is pressed, the application is executed in a form with the following command line argument.

As arguments, it is assumed that the first argument is “application”, the second argument is “peripheral device”, the third argument is a function, and the fourth argument is an activation source. For example, by replacing the code representing the function (program) for displaying the initial screen 700 of the printer diagnosis / repair function of the elements 816 and 824 in FIG. Can be realized.
Launch_with_Log.exe "PrinterApp.exe""ABCKmmn" diagnose / devmng
The shared library 911 is installed together when the application is installed. Now, it is assumed that the PAPL 143 and the shared library 911 are installed in the HDD 202 of the PC 1.
Specifically, it is assumed that the code of Launch_with_Log.exe “PrinterApp.exe” “ABC Kmmn” diagnose / devmng is implemented in the elements 816 and 824 of the peripheral device management control file 800 shown in FIG.
Further, assuming that the shared library 911 is used, the one in which \ PrinterApp is described between \ ABC and \ diagnose of the element 816 of the peripheral device management control file 800 shown in FIG. 5 is executed. It is assumed that
Similarly, it is assumed that an element in which \ PrinterApp is described between \ ABC and \ diagnose of the element 824 is executed.
Here, the differences when compared with the elements 816 and 824 described in FIG. 5 are as follows.
In FIG. 5, 816 and 824 use the character string of the application name “Printer Application” as the registry key name, whereas in the elements 816 and 824, from “PrinterApp.exe” specified by the first argument, The difference is that the character string “PrinterApp” is used without the extension “.exe”.
Further, the PAPL 143 does not include the log control unit 910 as illustrated in FIG. 7, and has a function of generating or updating a usage status log file as illustrated in FIG. 15 and a function of generating or updating usage status registry information. It shall not be provided.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. This example is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of the shared library. A program corresponding to each step in FIG. 15 is stored in the HDD 202, read into the RAM 201, and executed by the CPU 204 of the PC 1.
When the printer diagnosis / repair button 611 or 615 on the peripheral device management screen 600 is pressed, shared library processing is started (S1801). In S1801, the peripheral device management control unit 902 in the peripheral device management 80 in FIG. 6A passes the information described in the element 816 or 824 in FIG. 5 to the shared library 911 via the link execution unit 903. .

From this information, the shared library 911 executes the application using the first to third arguments. Specifically, the application specified by “PrinterApp.exe” of the first argument is used with the peripheral device specified by “ABC Kmmn” of the second argument and the function specified by “diagnose” of the third argument. PrinterApp.exe “ABC Kmmn” diagnose is executed (S1802).
Then, the shared library 911 generates a log file based on the application specified by the first argument, the function specified by the third argument, and the activation source information specified by the fourth argument (S1803). ). If the log file already exists, its contents are updated. An example of the contents of the log file is shown in (a) of FIG.
Next, the shared library 911 generates each variable of the registry information of the application designated by the first argument and sets the value (S1804). If the registry information already exists, the contents are updated. Then, the shared library processing is terminated (S1805).
An example of the contents of the registry information is shown in FIG.
As described above, the shared library 911 is also provided for an arbitrary application that does not have a function for generating or updating a usage status log file or a function for generating or updating usage status registry information. Apply. Thereby, it is possible to perform appropriate control according to the use situation, and it is possible to realize a peripheral device control system excellent in user operability.

[Third Embodiment]
In the above-described embodiment, the peripheral device management (Device Management) 80 as shown in FIG. 8 is given as an example of the application. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and can be realized by any application having the same function. It is effective.
In the above-described embodiment, the PAPL 143 as shown in FIG. 8 is given as an example of the application. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and can be realized by any application having the same function and is effective.
In the embodiment described above, a personal computer is assumed as the information processing apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and can be realized for any information processing apparatus (terminal) that can be used in a similar manner, such as a DVD player, a game, a set-top box, and an Internet home appliance. is there.

In the above-described embodiment, the MFP is exemplified as the peripheral device. However, the peripheral device may be any one of a copying machine, a facsimile, a scanner, a digital camera, and a device having a composite function thereof.
In the embodiment described above, an OS equivalent to Windows 7 is used as an OS as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to these OSs, and any OS can be used.
In the above-described embodiment, Ethernet is used as a configuration example of the network 4, but the configuration is not limited to this example, and any other network configuration may be used.
In the above-described embodiment, Ethernet is used as an interface between the PC 1 and the MFP 3 and MFP 7. However, the present invention is not limited to this interface, and any interface such as a wireless LAN, IEEE 1394, Bluetooth, or USB may be used.

In the above-described embodiment, WSD has been described as an example of a Web service protocol. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and an arbitrary protocol such as an IHV original protocol may be used.
In the above-described embodiment, when the printer diagnosis / repair button 611 or 615 on the peripheral device management screen 600 is pressed, the PAPL 143 is activated with the appropriate peripheral device (driver) set, and the printer An example of executing the diagnostic / repair function was given.
However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the present invention can be provided when an arbitrary application is started from the peripheral device management screen, linked to a Web site, or a service is provided. For example, an appropriate application may be executed by specifying an appropriate peripheral device (driver) name on the peripheral device management screen, and the usage status may be output to a log file or saved in registry information.

In the above-described embodiment, the peripheral device management control unit 902 automatically switches the display of the printer diagnosis / repair button on the peripheral device management screen 600 according to the value of the variable 2108 of the generated registry information 2114. An example was given.
However, without being limited to this example, for example, the log control unit 910 generates any one of the log file 2100 to the registry information 2114. Then, the log control unit 910 automatically displays the diagnosis / repair button of the printer on the peripheral device management screen 600 according to the information set in any one of the generated log file 2100 to registry information 2114. It may be switched to.

In the above-described embodiment, the printer diagnosis / repair function included in the PAPL 143 is executed when the printer diagnosis / repair button on the peripheral device management screen 600 is pressed.
However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, a button having a function for starting a status monitor in the printer driver 50 is displayed on the peripheral device management screen 600. The display of this button is automatically switched according to the number of times the status monitor is activated, so that it can be applied not only to the application but also to functions in the driver such as the printer driver 50.

As mentioned above, according to each embodiment mentioned above, the peripheral device management screen which provides a suitable display and function according to a user's use environment can be provided.
Further, according to each of the above-described embodiments, when the peripheral device is controlled by starting an application, the peripheral device can be appropriately and surely controlled by automatically adapting to the use environment of the user.
Therefore, according to each embodiment mentioned above, a suitable display and function can be provided according to a user's use environment.
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications (including organic combinations of the embodiments) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are excluded from the scope of the present invention. is not.
Although various examples and embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will not limit the spirit and scope of the present invention to the specific description in the present specification.

1, 2 PC
3 MFP

Claims (5)

An information processing device that manages peripheral devices,
When a specific peripheral device is selected on the first peripheral device management screen, the peripheral device displays on the display means a second peripheral device management screen associated with a specific application for managing the peripheral device Management means;
Application execution means for executing a specific application linked to an object designated on the second peripheral device management screen;
Holding means for holding function control information for determining a display state of an object to be displayed on the second peripheral device management screen;
According to the specific application executed by the application execution means, storage means for storing log information indicating the usage status of the specific application;
Display control means for controlling a display mode of an object displayed on the second peripheral device management screen according to the log information stored in the storage means and the function control information;
An information processing apparatus comprising:   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object includes an icon associated with the specific application and text describing the specific application.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific application executes reading or writing of information with respect to the registry. A peripheral device management method in an information processing device for managing peripheral devices,
When a specific peripheral device is selected on the first peripheral device management screen, the peripheral device displays on the display means a second peripheral device management screen associated with a specific application for managing the peripheral device Management process;
An application execution step of executing a specific application linked to the object designated on the second peripheral device management screen;
A holding step of holding function control information for determining a display state of an object to be displayed on the second peripheral device management screen in a holding unit;
According to the specific application executed by the application execution step, a storage step of storing log information indicating the usage status of the specific application in a storage unit;
A display control step for controlling a display mode of an object displayed on the second peripheral device management screen according to the log information stored in the storage unit and the function control information;
A peripheral device management method comprising:   A program for causing a computer to execute the peripheral device management method according to claim 4.

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