JP2019075010A - System and control method - Google Patents

Abstract

To determine a printer driver to be sent to a client without causing a user to manually select a region.SOLUTION: A system of the present invention identifies and sends a printer model corresponding to a download requested printer driver, estimates an originating region from an IP address of the origin where the transmission was made, determines downloadable printer drivers based on the printer model and the originating region, and sends the download requested printer driver from the downloadable printer drivers.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for acquiring a printer driver.

  Each printer vendor distributes the printer driver installer as a printer accessory so that users can easily install the printer driver on their computers. The user can install the desired printer driver simply by executing the bundled installer. Patent Document 1 discloses a method of installing a printer driver using an installer.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2006-252095

  Printer drivers may be upgraded to add functions or enhance security. In this case, the printer vendor distributes the latest printer drivers at the websites of each company, but for the user, it takes time and effort to obtain the latest printer driver on the website. In order to reduce the user's workload, there is a method of bundling a printer driver downloader as a printer accessory. The downloader automatically takes the latest printer driver installer from the printer vendor's website and installs it. This allows the user to obtain the latest printer driver without having to browse the printer vendor's website.

  The printer driver to be sent from the server to the client may differ depending on the region of the client that is trying to download here. For example, there are cases where even the same model is provided with different printer drivers depending on the region, and cases where the printer driver of the designated model is not provided depending on the region. Under these circumstances, when the client is configured to manually select the area, there is a problem that the operation becomes complicated and the user selects an area that is not desired to be selected.

  On the other hand, the present invention aims to determine the printer driver to be sent to the client without having the user manually select the area.

A system according to the present invention for achieving the above object is:
A first transmission unit that specifies and transmits a printer model corresponding to a printer driver that requests download;
Estimating means for estimating the area of the source from the IP address of the source to which the transmission has been made;
A determination unit that determines a downloadable printer driver based on a model of the printer and a region of the transmission source;
And second transmission means for transmitting a printer driver requested to be downloaded from the downloadable printer driver.

  According to the present invention, the printer driver to be sent to the client can be determined by estimating the area from the IP address of the source without having the user manually select the area.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a printing system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an information processing device, a server device, and a printer driver storage device. The figure which shows the example of the recovery screen in another form. Software configuration of the printing system. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the downloader unit 402 in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a screen for receiving an input of the downloader unit 402. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of acquisition processing in the first embodiment. The figure which shows the structure of the catalog file in an Example. The figure which shows the structure of the open area table in an Example. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of acquisition processing in the second embodiment. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the server apparatus 410 in the third embodiment.

  The following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims. Further, not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the solution of the present invention.

  In this specification, it is assumed that the time of releasing information of a certain image processing apparatus is not necessarily simultaneous in the world. For example, in an area, information of the image processing apparatus may be released later than another area. Therefore, it is necessary to make a difference depending on the area when the printer driver corresponding to the image processing apparatus is released. This is because it is not preferable that information of an image processing apparatus that has not been published in a certain area be inferred from the printer driver. Due to such a background, even if the printer driver of the same version is used, a plurality of types of printer drivers may be created in which the image processing apparatuses corresponding to the printer driver have differences. The vendor can provide the user with a printer driver that does not include information on an unpublished image processing apparatus by disclosing printer drivers with different configurations according to the region. In order to publish different printer drivers depending on the region, it is desirable that the region not be manually selected. Therefore, in this specification, a method of estimating a region from an IP address and determining a downloadable printer driver based on the region will be described.

  The configuration of the printing system in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is an example of a printing system in the present embodiment. An image processing apparatus 420, an information processing apparatus (client) 400, a server apparatus 410, and a printer driver storage apparatus 450 are connected to the network 100. An OS and an application are installed in the information processing apparatus 400, the server apparatus 410, and the printer driver storage apparatus 450. In this system, a user transmits a print job from the information processing apparatus 400 to the image processing apparatus 420 using an application. When the information processing apparatus 400 is an information device represented by a general PC (Personal Computer: personal computer), a configuration is conceivable in which a print job is transmitted to the target image processing apparatus 420 via a printer driver as an application. .

  Next, the hardware configuration of the devices constituting the printing system will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the information processing apparatus 400, the server apparatus 410, and the printer driver storage apparatus 450. The input device 206 corresponds to a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel for the user to operate the information processing apparatus. The display device 207 corresponds to a display for the user to operate the information processing device 400, the server device 410 and the printer driver storage device 450. For example, there is a configuration in which a part or all of the display device 207 doubles as the input device 206 like a touch panel. The storage device 205 corresponds to a storage medium represented by a non-volatile hard disk for storing a large amount of data, and reads and writes applications and data. The network device 208 is connected to the network 100 described in FIG. 1 and can communicate with other devices.

  Usually, an initial program for activating the information processing apparatus 400, the server apparatus 410 and the printer driver storage apparatus 450 and a basic program for controlling each module of the information processing apparatus 400, the server apparatus 410 and the printer driver storage apparatus 450 Is stored in the ROM 203. Also, the OS and the application are stored in the storage device 205. When the information processing apparatus 400, the server apparatus 410, and the printer driver storage device 450 are powered on, a program (boot loader) for starting the computer stored in the ROM 203 is executed first, and the program is stored in the storage device 205. Load the saved OS into the RAM 202 and then pass control to the OS. The OS further loads necessary modules and drivers from the storage device 205 into the RAM 202. Furthermore, according to the user's instruction, the necessary application is read from the storage device 205 to the RAM 202 and executed.

  In addition, the CPU 201 executes the process based on the program stored in the storage device 205, whereby the process of each step of the flowchart described later is realized.

  Subsequently, the functions of the devices constituting the printing system in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the software configuration of the printing system in the present embodiment. FIG. 4A illustrates a state before the printer driver is installed in the information processing apparatus 400.

  The information processing apparatus 400 includes a communication unit 401 and a downloader unit 402. The downloader unit 402 includes a data processing unit 403 and a UI control unit 404 therein. The communication unit 401 realizes communication with other devices through the network 100. The downloader unit 402 realizes downloading of a printer driver to be installed in the information processing apparatus 400 from the server apparatus 410. The data processing unit 403 implements processing necessary for downloading by interpreting data input via the UI control unit 404 or acquiring a list of printer drivers registered in the OS. The UI control unit 404 realizes control of input information from the input device 206 and output information to the display device 207.

  The server device 410 includes a communication unit 411, a driver information processing unit 412, and a regional information solution processing unit 413. The communication unit 411 realizes communication with another device through the network 100. The driver information processing unit 412 implements selection of a printer driver to be transmitted to the information processing apparatus 400 based on the information acquired via the communication unit 411. Based on the IP address information of the information processing apparatus 400 acquired via the communication unit 411, the area information solution processing unit 413 realizes to determine which of the area groups classified in advance belongs.

  The printer driver storage device 450 includes a communication unit 451 and a printer driver holding unit 452. The communication unit 451 realizes communication with another device through the network 100. The printer driver holding unit 452 holds a plurality of printer drivers, and realizes distribution of the printer driver via the communication unit 451.

  FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a state after the printer driver is installed in the information processing apparatus 400.

  The information processing apparatus 400 includes a printer driver 405 in addition to the communication unit 401 and the downloader unit 402. The printer driver 405 includes a job generation unit 406 and a UI control unit 407 therein. A job creation unit 406 realizes creation of print data interpretable by the image processing apparatus 420 as a print job. A UI control unit 407 implements control of input information from the input device 206 and output information to the display device 207.

  The image processing apparatus 420 includes a communication unit 421, a printing unit 422, and a UI control unit 423. The communication unit 421 realizes communication with another device through the network 100. A printing unit 422 executes a print job in the image processing apparatus 420 to realize output of a printed matter.

  A printing system is formed by these devices communicating via the communication units 401, 411, 451 and 421.

  Hereinafter, processing of the printing system in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the process flow of the downloader unit 402 in this embodiment.

  First, the downloader unit 402 receives an input of a mode to be installed (S501). As modes to be installed, there are a new mode in which a printer driver is newly installed and an update mode in which a printer driver already installed in the OS is updated. It is input by the user selecting one of two modes on the UI. The downloader unit 402 determines whether the input in S501 is a new mode or an update mode (S502). If the new mode is determined in S502, the downloader unit 402 determines whether there is an image processing apparatus currently connected to the information processing apparatus 400 (S503). If it is determined in S503 that there is an image processing apparatus connected, the connected image processing apparatus is added to the candidate list (S504). The downloader unit 402 receives an input of the name of the image processing apparatus corresponding to the printer driver to be downloaded (S505). A screen displayed in the process of S505 is shown in FIG. In the candidate list 601, names of the image processing apparatuses added in S504 are listed. In the input field 602, the name of the image processing apparatus corresponding to the printer driver to be downloaded is input. At this time, it is also possible to select and input from the candidate list 601, and to allow the user to input any name. When only one candidate is added to the candidate list 601, the input column 602 may be configured to enter the name of the one image processing apparatus in advance.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S502 that the update mode is set, the downloader unit 402 refers to the information of the printer driver currently installed in the information processing apparatus 400 and adds the image processing apparatus corresponding to those printer drivers to the candidate list. (S506). The downloader unit 402 receives the selection of the name of the image processing apparatus corresponding to the update target printer driver to be downloaded (S507). The screen displayed in the process of S507 is shown in FIG. In the candidate list 605, the names of the image processing apparatuses added in S506 are listed. The name of the image processing apparatus corresponding to the printer driver to be downloaded can be selected from the candidate list 605.

  The downloader unit 402 acquires the printer driver via the server apparatus 410 based on the information input in S505 or S507 (S508). The details of the acquisition process S508 will be described later. The downloader unit 402 installs the printer driver acquired in S508 (S509). Through this series of processes, the downloader unit 402 realizes download and installation of the printer driver.

  The acquisition process S508 will be described below. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing the process flow of the information processing apparatus 400, the server apparatus 410, and the printer driver storage apparatus 450 in acquisition processing S508.

  The information processing apparatus 400 transmits the information input in S505 or S507 to the server apparatus 410 as a printer driver request (S701). In this way, the model of the printer corresponding to the printer driver requesting the download specified in step S505 or S507 is transmitted to the server apparatus 410.

  The server device 410 refers to the catalog file of the printer driver managed by the server device 410 (S702). The data structure of the catalog file is shown in FIG. The catalog file 800 includes the name 801 of the printer driver managed by the server apparatus 410, the version 802, the URL 803 of the download destination, and the type 804 of the image processing apparatus supported by the printer driver. In addition, when there is a printer driver of the same version that is recommended to be used, the priority 805 is included. The catalog file 800 is updated according to the addition or change of the printer driver managed by the server apparatus 410.

  The server apparatus 410 refers to the open area table of the image processing apparatus supported by the printer driver managed by the server apparatus 410 (S703). The data structure of the open area table is shown in FIG. An open area table 900 indicates which area each image processing apparatus supported by the printer driver can open. The granularity of this area corresponds to the granularity with which the printer driver vendor classifies the printer driver in advance as the area for publishing the printer driver in the area solution processing of IP address S704. The release area table 900 is updated in accordance with the release of the information on the image processing apparatus to the area where the printer driver vendor is located. Hereinafter, an update example of the open area table 900 will be shown. As for the four models of the image processing apparatus AAA, BBB, CCC, and DDD, when only the image processing apparatus AAA and DDD are released to Asia, Europe, and the Americas as of May of a certain year, the disclosure area table 900 is It becomes 9 (a). S in the table indicates that the image processing apparatus is released in the area, and NS indicates that the image processing apparatus is not released in the area. When the image processing apparatus BBB is released to Asia and the image processing apparatus CCC is released to Europe as of June of the same year, the release area table 900 is updated to FIG. 9B. When the image processing device CCC is released to Asia and the image processing devices BBB and CCC are released to the Americas as of July of the same year, the release area table 900 is updated to FIG. 9C. When the image processing apparatus BBB is released to Europe as of August of the same year, the release area table 900 is updated to FIG. 9 (d).

  Returning to FIG. 7, the description will be continued. In response to the received request, the server apparatus 410 performs area solution processing of the IP address of the information processing apparatus 400 (S704). The area solution process S704 for the IP address is performed at a granularity that the printer driver vendor classifies the printer driver in advance as an area to be published. This granularity is, for example, "Asia / Europe / Americas". At the time of regional solution processing of the IP address S704, the existing solution service may be used, or a mechanism for preparing the correspondence table of the IP address and the regional on the side of the server apparatus 410 may be used. Thus, it is possible to estimate the area of the transmission source from the IP address of the transmission source (information processing apparatus 400) that has been transmitted in S701.

  The server device 410 uniquely determines the printer driver to be downloaded based on the processing of S702 to S704 (S705). A specific determination method will be described. The server apparatus 410 extracts, from among the printer drivers described in the catalog file 800, those including the image processing apparatus requested in S701. Among them, based on the open area table 900 at that time, those that include an image processing apparatus that is not open in the area solved in S702 as a support device are excluded. Among them, the version 802 determines the new printer driver as the printer driver to be downloaded. If there are multiple printer drivers, the higher priority 805 is determined as the printer driver to be downloaded. Thus, the downloadable printer driver is determined on the basis of the printer model, the area of origin of the printer, and the priority. The printer driver may be determined without considering the priority.

  The server apparatus 410 returns the URL 803 of the printer driver to be downloaded determined in S705 to the information processing apparatus 400 (S706). The information processing apparatus 400 accesses the URL returned in S706, and requests acquisition of the printer driver to be downloaded (S707). In response to this, the printer driver storage device 450 transmits the requested printer driver to be downloaded (S 708). Note that if there is a printer driver to be downloaded in the server apparatus 410, the server apparatus 410 returns the printer driver to be downloaded to the information processing apparatus 400 instead of the processes of S706, S707 and S708. It is also good.

  For example, when the image processing apparatus AAA is specified from Europe as of June and the downloader is used, it is as follows. Among the printer drivers that include the image processing apparatus AAA, those that do not include the image processing apparatus BBB that is a model that is not publicized in the European region and that has a high priority 808 configuration are download targets. On the other hand, when the image processing apparatus AAA is specified from Asia and the downloader is used as of June, the following occurs. Among the printer drivers that include the image processing apparatus AAA, those that do not include the image processing apparatus CCC that is a model that has not been released in the Asian region and that has a high priority 807 configuration are download targets.

  In this manner, it is possible to provide a mechanism for determining the area information to which the user's terminal belongs, and automatically selecting and acquiring the printer driver published in the area.

  In the above-described first embodiment, the configuration has been described in which the server device 410 determines the printer driver to be downloaded. In the following embodiment, an example of a configuration in which the information processing apparatus 400 determines a printer driver to be downloaded will be described.

  The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the acquisition process S508. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of processing of the information processing apparatus 400 and the server apparatus 410 in the acquisition processing S508 of this embodiment.

  The information processing apparatus 400 transmits a request to the server apparatus 410 (S1001). This request is a request for providing a module for uniquely determining the printer driver to be downloaded.

  In response to the received request, the server device 410 sends a copy of the area information resolution processing unit 413 at the time of the request to the information processing device 400, the catalog file 800, the open area table 900 and the IP address of the information processing device 400 It transmits (S1002).

  The information processing apparatus 400 refers to the catalog file of the printer driver received from the server apparatus 410 (S1003). The information processing apparatus 400 refers to the disclosure area table of the image processing apparatus supported by the printer driver received from the server apparatus 410 (S1004). The information processing apparatus 400 performs area solution processing of the IP address of the information processing apparatus 400 using the area information solution processing unit 413 returned in S1002 (S1005). The information processing apparatus 400 uniquely determines the printer driver to be downloaded based on the processing of S1003 to S1005 (S1006). The means for uniquely determining is the same as the process of S 705 in the first embodiment. The information processing apparatus 400 accesses the URL of the printer driver to be downloaded determined in S1006, and requests acquisition of the printer driver to be downloaded (S1007). In response to this, the printer driver storage device 450 transmits the printer driver to be downloaded (S1008). The information processing apparatus 400 deletes the area information resolution processing unit 413, the catalog file 800, and the release area table 900 returned in S1002 (S1009).

  As described above, even in an environment where complex processing can not be realized on the server device 410 side, a series of processing can be performed on the information processing device 400 side according to the present embodiment.

  Even if there are multiple configurations for different types of image processing supported by the printer driver for a certain version of the printer driver, only configurations with roughly the highest priority will be used if a certain period of time has elapsed Will be As shown in FIG. 9, in general, when time passes, only image processing apparatuses that can be published in any area are available. In this state, for any region, the printer driver with the highest priority is downloaded for a certain version of the printer driver, so there is no need to perform the region solution processing in S704 or S1005. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to omit regional solution processing if possible.

  In the following embodiment, an example of a configuration in which the area solution processing is omitted when a specific condition is satisfied will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the process flow of the server apparatus 410 based on the first embodiment.

  In step S702, in which the server device 410 refers to the catalog file of the printer driver managed by the server device 410, the printer driver of the latest version 802, which has the highest priority 805, holds a list of supported image processing device types 804. (S1101). As a result, the latest version of the printer driver managed by the server apparatus 410 can obtain a list of image processing apparatuses corresponding thereto from the server. After that, the release area table 900 is displayed, which indicates the area to release the image processing apparatus supported by the printer driver managed by the server apparatus 410 (S1102). It is determined whether the state of any area in the open area table 900 is equivalent to the state of the list held in S1101 (S1103). That is, when it is known from the acquired information that the same image processing apparatus is released in all areas, the area solution process S704 is omitted. Then, the printer driver of the latest version 802, which has the highest priority 805, is determined as the printer driver to be downloaded (S1104). On the other hand, if not equal, regional solution processing is performed (S1105). Thereafter, printer driver determination processing is performed (S1106).

  In this manner, it is possible to provide a mechanism for automatically selecting and acquiring the printer driver published in the area, omitting the process of determining the area information to which the user's terminal belongs, as necessary. .

  In the regional solution process of S704 and S1005, it may be difficult to realize the regional solution with full accuracy depending on the mechanism of the regional solution by the IP address. In that case, depending on the state of the catalog file 800 and the release area table 900, it may not be possible to uniquely determine the printer driver to be downloaded. Therefore, the downloader unit 402 may be configured to display a recovery screen shown in FIG. 3 when the printer driver to be downloaded can not be determined uniquely.

  The recovery screen 300 inputs a general error message 301, a message 302 for recovery in case of failure of the area solution process, and information for specifying the area information (for example, a serial number of the image processing apparatus etc.) A possible entry field 303 is provided. The server device 103 links the serial number and the area in advance, and executes the area solution processing by specifying the area from the serial number based on the information input to the input field 303. This makes it possible to uniquely determine the printer driver to be downloaded based on the identified area even if the area solution fails in the area solution process of S704 and S1005.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention supplies a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program. Can also be realized. It can also be implemented by a circuit (eg, an ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

Claims (6)

A first transmission unit that specifies and transmits a printer model corresponding to a printer driver that requests download;
Estimating means for estimating the area of the source from the IP address of the source to which the transmission has been made;
A determination unit that determines a downloadable printer driver based on a model of the printer and a region of the transmission source;
And d) second transmitting means for transmitting a printer driver requested to be downloaded from the downloadable printer driver. Determining means for determining whether or not there is a printer connected to the client;
The transmission unit is characterized in that, when it is determined by the determination unit that there is the printer connected to the client, the printer connected to the client is identified as a model of the printer. The system of claim 1. The first acquisition method for acquiring the list of printers supported by the latest version of printer driver managed by the server from the server,
A second acquisition unit that acquires information indicating a region where the printer is to be released;
The determination unit does not estimate the area of the transmission source by the estimation unit when the information acquired by the second acquisition unit indicates that the same printer is to be published in all areas. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the downloadable printer driver is determined based on a model of the printer.   The system according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines the downloadable printer driver based on a model of the printer, an area of the transmission source, and a priority. An input unit for inputting information for specifying a region when the printer driver that can be downloaded can not be determined;
4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the determination means identifies an area from the information for identifying the area, and determines a downloadable printer driver based on the identified area. The system described in item 1. A first transmission step of specifying and transmitting a printer model corresponding to a printer driver requesting a download;
Estimating the area of the source from the IP address of the source to which the transmission was performed;
A determination step of determining a downloadable printer driver based on a model of the printer and a region of the transmission source;
And d) transmitting the printer driver requested to be downloaded from the downloadable printer driver.

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