JP4912093B2 - Information processing method, information processing apparatus, program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing technology for plug-and-play installation of device drivers corresponding to all capabilities of a network device.

  The printing apparatus has a command interface that is a unique drawing language system so as not to depend on an application that operates on a specific information processing apparatus or operation system (hereinafter abbreviated as “OS”). The drawing language system includes, for example, PDL (Page Description Language).

  The drawing language system depends on the individual printing device. Therefore, in order to encapsulate the dependency, the OS defines a module called a printer driver that takes a standard drawing interface as an input, converts it into a command of the printing device-dependent drawing language system, and outputs it. This printer driver is generally created by a printer manufacturer or an OS developer and stored in the information processing apparatus.

  There are many printer drivers stored in the information processing apparatus. Therefore, it is confusing to show the user all printer drivers that exist in the information processing apparatus. In other words, only the printing device used by the user is efficiently linked, so that the user can use it. Therefore, in the initial state of the OS, the printer driver is only stored in the information processing apparatus, and the user needs to install the printer driver in the OS, which is an operation for associating the printer driver with a specific printing apparatus.

  Conventionally, this installation operation has been manually performed by the user. However, the user needs to perform complicated installation of the printing apparatus driver, and if a command of a different drawing language system is sent to a printing apparatus that does not support the drawing system, a printing error occurs. For this reason, it is necessary to correctly install a printer driver corresponding to the corresponding printing apparatus, which is a difficult task for beginners.

  In order to reduce this complicated installation work, it is possible to use a communication medium such as a parallel interface or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface used by Centronics, USA. By simply connecting the information processing device and the printing device, two-way communication is automatically performed between the information processing device and the printing device without any user operation, and the driver corresponding to the printing device is installed in the information processing device. The function to do is introduced in OS. This function is called “plug and play” (Patent Document 1). Plug and play is a direct one-to-one connection.

  In recent years, network peripheral devices such as network compatible printing apparatuses, scanners, and copiers are rapidly spreading as network infrastructure is improved. Techniques for searching for devices that provide various services on a network via the network have been developed. For example, there is Universal Plug and Play (hereinafter abbreviated as “UPnP”) proposed by Microsoft Corporation in the United States (Patent Document 2).

  A printing apparatus as a network-compatible network device will be described as an example. On a client to be used in advance, for example, a personal computer, an appropriate driver registered and managed on a database by an operating system running on the client, for example, Windows (registered trademark) is installed. Alternatively, driver software (driver) provided from a printing apparatus vendor via a recording medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM is installed. Then, it is necessary to grasp information for operating the printing apparatus such as an IP address assigned to the printing apparatus, a printing apparatus port, a printing protocol to be used, and a device driver.

  The configuration of devices connected to the network system is constantly changing due to the printing device being moved to another network or newly joining the network. In view of this, in order to manage printing apparatuses existing on a network, a technique for grasping and managing information of the printing apparatus is being developed.

  However, an existing management system such as UPnP is a technical specification for connecting a printing apparatus and a computer, but only defines a protocol and a data format for communication between devices.

  In order to meet the demands of users and markets in various countries, drawing language systems for a wide variety of printing apparatuses have been created and sent to the market. Developing a printing device from scratch for each drawing language system is expensive. In order to reduce this cost, the parts that depend on each drawing language system can be separated as expansion boards and software, and the expansion boards and software can be re-installed in the printing device according to user demands and market requirements in each country. Possible printing devices are also emerging.

  In addition, for an environment where there are a plurality of drawing language systems preferred by the user, a printing apparatus that supports a plurality of drawing language systems has appeared.

  A printing apparatus whose drawing language system can be changed by an extension board or software, or a printing apparatus that supports a plurality of drawing language systems is not assumed when plug and play is installed.

  There is a need for a user interface that eliminates a selection operation that confuses a user who is not familiar with the printing apparatus, such as selecting one of the PDLs from a plurality of drawing language systems for the detected printing apparatus.

For the above reasons, in Plug and Play installed in a certain OS, the printer driver is searched only by the manufacturer name and the printing device name among the printing device identifiers (DeviceID) transferred from the printing device to the information processing device. There is something to do. In this search, ignoring information indicating the drawing language system, the printer driver corresponding to the printing device is searched from the information processing device only by the manufacturer name and the printing device name among the identifiers of the printing device. Install what you find.
JP 2003-216378 A JP 2003-6133 A

  However, with the above mechanism, there is only one device identifier that can be simultaneously acquired from the printing apparatus, and a plurality of printer drivers corresponding to a plurality of PDLs cannot be installed by plug and play.

  Similarly, it is desirable that both a printing driver and a FAX driver can be installed by plug and play in a composite apparatus having not only a printing function but also a FAX function. However, in the current mechanism, only the driver depending on the identifier set in the device is installed.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing technique that enables installation of all function drivers even when only one identifier for plug and play installation can be obtained from a device that supports a plurality of function drivers. .

When the information processing method according to the present invention that achieves the above object determines whether or not the device is already registered based on the identification information acquired from the device connected to the network, and is a device that is not registered to an information processing method performed with the device driver corresponding to the controller, wherein the device has an information processing apparatus having an installation means for plug-and-play installation on the device,
The acquisition means installs support command information indicating that processing corresponding to at least one type of page description language can be performed by at least one controller included in the device and a device driver corresponding to the controller by plug and play. An acquisition step of acquiring configuration information from the device, including setting information indicating that it is a setting for
Recognition means, by referring to the setting information included in the configuration information obtained from the previous SL device, a device driver corresponding to the controller that the device has to have been set to install the plug-and-play Recognition process to recognize
Determination means, by referring to said support command information included in the prior Ki構 formation information, wherein the controller is described information on a different second controller and, from that of the second controller by the page description language A determination step of determining whether processing corresponding to a different second page description language is possible ;
When the generation unit determines that the processing corresponding to the second page description language is possible by the determination in the determination step , the setting information among the configuration information corresponds to the second controller. the second configuration information rewrite the information indicating that the setting for installing the plug and Play device driver, the device the device driver corresponding to the second controller when the plug-and-play installation A second identification information for causing the installation unit to recognize the virtual device as a virtual device different from the device;
Transmitting the transmission means, the second identification information generated by the generating step sends to said installation means, said second structure Narujo report in response to a request from the installation unit, and transmits to said installation means And a process.

Alternatively, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention determines whether or not the device is already registered based on the identification information acquired from the device connected to the network. the information processing apparatus having an installation means for plug-and-play installation to the device the device driver corresponding to the controller included in,
Support command information indicating that processing corresponding to at least one type of page description language can be performed by at least one controller included in the device, and setting for installing a device driver corresponding to the controller by plug and play Acquisition means for acquiring configuration information from the device, including setting information indicating that
By referring to the setting information included in the configuration information obtained from the previous SL device, recognizing it recognizes that the have a device driver corresponding to the controller is set to install the plug-and-play in which the device has Means,
Referring to the support command information included in the prior Ki構 formation information, wherein is described the information on a different second controller than the controller, different from the second and the page description language by the second controller Determination means for determining whether processing corresponding to the page description language is possible ;
If it is determined by the determination means that processing corresponding to the second page description language is possible, the configuration information of the configuration information is plugged with a device driver corresponding to the second controller. different second configuration information rewrite the information indicating that the and-play is a setting for installing, the device the device driver corresponding to the second controller when the plug-and-play installation and the device Generation means for generating second identification information for causing the installation means to recognize as a virtual device;
And transmitting means for transmitting the second identification information generated by the generating means to said installation means, said second structure Narujo report in response to a request from the installation unit, and transmits to said installation means It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, even when only one identifier for plug-and-play installation can be obtained from a device that supports a plurality of function drivers, it is possible to perform plug-and-play installation of all function drivers.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the constituent elements described in this embodiment are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention from the viewpoint of software. FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically illustrating communication of a printer 200 as an example of a client computer (hereinafter simply referred to as “client”) 100, a proxy server 300, and a network device in the print system according to the first embodiment.

(Client 100)
The client 100 is installed with a general-purpose operating system such as windows (registered trademark) provided by Microsoft Corporation (not shown) or Mac OS (registered trademark) provided by Apple Inc. Further, a general-purpose application that can be executed on a general-purpose operating system is installed in the client 100.

  The general-purpose operating system includes a TCP / UDP / IP protocol stack 107 as a communication function. The general-purpose operating system includes an HTTP 106 on the protocol stack, and performs HTTP request analysis and response processing. A Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) processing unit 103 is provided on the HTTP 106 to form a communication means related to UPnP. The plug-and-play installation unit 101 for UPnP can use the communication means described above to communicate with the UPnP-compatible printer 200 and the proxy response device (proxy server 300) on the network.

  The plug-and-play installation unit 101 uses the GUI unit 102 to display the printer 200 detected by UPnP on the client 100 and allow the user to select it.

  Based on the information acquired from the printer 200 via the network 700, the Configurator module unit 104 registers (installs) the corresponding printer driver in the OS stored in advance on the hard disk.

  Specifically, the system installer 108 is called from the OS application program interface (API). The system installer 108 acquires the printer driver from the hard disk and installs it in the driver storage unit 111. At the same time, the system installer 108 requests the system management unit 109 to automatically register the printer driver in the driver management unit 110 based on the device ID (device identifier). Thereafter, since the OS recognizes that the printer driver is registered, the printer driver stored in the driver storage unit 111 is appropriately loaded and various processes relating to printing are performed. The plug-and-play installation 101 unit in the present embodiment acquires the following device configuration information. The device configuration information includes information for specifying the capability supported by the device (printer 200). In the case of the following device configuration information, PDL1 and PDL2 are described in “support command / language”, and it can be seen that the device (printer 200) has a processing capability corresponding to a plurality of PDLs.

MANUFACTURER (Device Manufacturer): ABC
COMMAND SET (Support Command / Language): PDL1, PDL2
MODEL (printer model): Printer A PDL1
COMMENT (Comment): Located In Room 3
ACTIVE COMMAND SET: (active command / language): PDL1
The plug-and-play installation unit 101 extracts a device manufacturer / printer model pair from the device configuration information as a device ID, converts the device ID into a device ID that can be recognized by the system installer 108, and performs installation.
The device driver stored in advance on the hard disk includes an INF file describing unique information that is referred to when the driver is installed. In the INF file, a device ID composed of a set of a device manufacturer and a printer model is described. The device ID is used as a device identifier (hereinafter also simply referred to as “identifier”) in order to associate a device (printer) corresponding to the installation with a device driver (printer driver).

(Network-compatible device)
A network-compatible device (in this embodiment, the network-compatible printer 200 is taken as an example) includes a TCP / UDP / IP protocol stack 201 as a communication function. An HTTP 202 is provided on the protocol stack 201, and an HTTP request is analyzed and a response process is performed. A simple object access protocol (SOAP) processing unit 203 is provided in an upper layer of the HTTP 202, and a UPnP protocol processing unit 204 is provided in an upper layer of the SOAP processing unit 203.

  It is assumed that a network compatible printer (hereinafter simply referred to as “printer”) 200 is mounted with a PrintBasic service defined by UPnP Forum. The UPnP protocol processing unit 204 has a function of analyzing a print job defined in the PrintBasic service and attribute information and sending the print request to the printer controller 205.

  The printer 200 can have a printer controller 205 for a plurality of PDLs simultaneously. It is also possible to change the PDL supported by the printer 200 by making the printer controller 205 detachable and replacing it according to the user's request. Assume that the printer 200 in this embodiment is equipped with printer controllers (PDL1, PDL2) 205a and 205b for two PDLs, PDL1 and PDL2.

(Proxy server)
Similarly, the proxy server (proxy server) 300 that functions as a network device management apparatus that is a feature of the embodiment includes a TCP / UDP / IP protocol stack 301 as a communication function. An HTTP 302 is provided on the protocol stack 301, and an HTTP request is analyzed and a response process is performed.

  A simple object access protocol (SOAP) processing unit 303 is provided in an upper layer of the HTTP 302. When the client 200 and the proxy server 300 exist on a plurality of networks, the UPnP protocol processing unit 304 and the device management unit 306 respectively realize bidirectional communication of data described in XML.

  The device management unit 306 is provided in an upper layer of the SOAP processing unit 303, the UPnP protocol processing unit 304, and the storage device control unit 305. The device management unit 306 analyzes and converts various XML documents received by the UPnP protocol stack 301 and generates a device identifier. The storage device control unit 305 controls the storage device to read / write received data, analysis results, conversion results, transmission data, and the like. Also, processing such as transmitting data to the UPnP protocol processing unit 304 is executed.

  The device management unit 306 writes the management table managed by the proxy server 300 to the storage device controlled by the storage device control unit 305 via the storage device control unit 305, and performs read processing. Similarly, when the device management unit 306 acquires a management table managed by another proxy server existing on the network 700, the storage device controlled by the storage device control unit 305 via the storage device control unit 305. Is written and read.

  The above is the configuration of the computer program implemented for printing of each device, but the client 100 and the proxy server 300 can be realized by an information processing device such as a normal personal computer. The hardware configuration is, for example, as shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, a CPU 1001 controls the entire apparatus, and a ROM 1002 stores a BIOS and a boot program. The RAM 1003 can be used as a work area for the CPU 1001. A hard disk device (HDD) 1004 stores an OS, applications, various programs, data files, and the like. The network interface (I / F) 1005 can use an Ethernet (registered trademark) card or a wireless LAN card to connect to the network 700. The display control unit 1006 incorporates a video memory and a video controller that performs drawing under the control of the CPU 1001 and outputs image data stored in the video memory as a video signal.

  The display device 1007 is typified by a liquid crystal display or a CRT. The input device 1008 includes a keyboard and a mouse.

  In the above configuration, when the apparatus is turned on, the CPU 1001 loads the OS from the hard disk 1004 to the RAM 1003 and loads various device drivers according to the boot program in the ROM 1002. When the above apparatus is the client 100, the program having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is loaded into the RAM 1003 and executed. The same applies to the proxy server 300. In the case of the proxy server 300, after the OS is loaded, the program having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is loaded into the RAM 1003 and the processing described later is performed.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the printer 200. In FIG. 3, a CPU 2001 controls the entire printer, and a ROM 2002 stores a print processing program executed by the CPU 2001 and font data. A RAM 2003 can be used for a work area of the CPU 2001, a reception buffer, and image drawing. The operation panel 2004 includes various switches and buttons, and a liquid crystal display unit for displaying messages. The printer 200 can be connected to the network 700 via a network interface (I / F) 2005. The rendering unit 2006 executes drawing processing, and the printer engine 2007 actually executes printing processing on recording paper based on the data drawn by the rendering unit 2006.

  In the present embodiment, the printer 200, the proxy server 300, and the client 100 can communicate using a protocol that conforms to the specification proposed by Microsoft Corporation. For example, it is possible to perform communication using a protocol compliant with the specification of Web Services Dynamic Discovery (WS-Discovery). It is also possible to communicate using a protocol that conforms to the specifications of Web Services MetadataExchange (WS-MetadataExchange). Alternatively, communication can be performed using a protocol compliant with the specification of Web Services Eventing (WS-Eventing).

  The flow of processing according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation when the proxy server 300 according to the present embodiment receives a Hello message from the device (printer 200). As shown in FIG. 7, the device (printer 200) transmits a Hello message to the network 700 by multicast at the time of activation.

  In step S401, the proxy server 300 always listens for the Hello message from the device (printer 200) and receives the Hello message from the device (printer 200).

  In step S402, the proxy server 300 performs determination to uniquely identify, for example, a device (printer 200) from an identifier UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) included in the Hello message. Based on the identifier UUID, the proxy server 300 determines whether there is a device (printer 200) registered in the management table of the proxy server.

  If the device (printer 200) has already been registered (S402-YES), the process proceeds to step S408, the status of the device (printer 200) recorded in the management table is edited, and the process ends.

  If not registered (S402-No), the proxy server 300 transmits a GetMetaData message to the device (printer 200) in order to obtain more detailed information from the device (printer 200). The device (printer 200) that has received the GetMetaData message returns a GetMetaDataResponce message. The GetMetaDataResponce message returned from the device (printer 200) includes, for example, a reference (URI) of device configuration information (printer configuration information).

  Next, the proxy server 300 transmits a Get message to the device (printer 200). The Get message includes the reference URI of the printer configuration information, and the device (printer 200) that has received this returns a GetResponce message. Assume that the GetResponce message includes printer configuration information 500 as shown in FIG. The printer configuration information 500 includes a device manufacturer 501, a support command / language 502, a printer model 503, a comment 504, an active command / language 505, and an IP address 506.

  In step S403, the proxy server acquires the printer configuration information 500 from the device (printer 200) by the above processing.

  In step S404, the proxy server 300 recognizes that the printer configuration information acquired from the printer model 503 information (Printer A PDL1) is information for installing a printer driver for PDL1. Then, the proxy server 300 determines whether other PDL is supported. The proxy server 300 determines from the information of the support command / language 502 that PDL2 is supported in addition to PDL1.

  If it is determined in step S404 that the proxy server 300 supports other PDL devices (S404-YES), the process proceeds to step S405. If it is determined in step S404 that the proxy server 300 does not support another PDL (S404-NO), the process proceeds to step S406.

  In step S405, the proxy server 300 generates printer configuration information in which information on the printer model 603 as illustrated in FIG.

  The proxy server 300 generates an identifier for a device whose printer configuration information has been rewritten so that the client 100 can recognize it as a device (printer) different from the device (printer 200) whose printer configuration information has been rewritten.

  In step S406, the proxy server 300 registers the generated printer configuration information and identifier in the management table.

  In step S407, the proxy server 300 transmits, as a virtual device (printer), a Hello message by multicast instead of the printer whose printer configuration information has been rewritten. The Hello message includes the identifier generated in the previous step S405. The identifier address is mapped to the proxy server 300 address, not the printer address.

  The client 100 that has received the Hello message transmits a GetMetaData message and a Get message to the proxy server 300 in the same manner as the communication between the proxy server 300 and the device (printer 200), and acquires printer configuration information. The client 100 can acquire the device configuration information illustrated in FIG. 6 through communication with the proxy server 300.

  When only one device identifier for plug and play installation can be acquired from a device (printer 200) that supports a plurality of functions, the proxy server 300 generates an identifier in which the printer configuration information is rewritten. The device whose identifier is generated by the proxy server 300 is a virtual device different from the device (printer 200) when it is determined based on the identifier.

  Since the IP address is not changed when rewriting the printer configuration information, the installation destination for plug-and-play installation of all function drivers is the device (printer 200).

  The client 100 generates a device ID for identifying a device on the network 700 from the information of the device manufacturer 501 and the printer model in the acquired printer configuration information, and executes plug and play. As a result, the driver for the Printer A PDL2 is installed in the device (printer 200).

  Since the driver for PDL1 is installed by normal plug and play installation based on the printer configuration information shown in FIG. 5, the client 100 can perform plug and play installation of all the function drivers.

  With the above processing, the reception of the Hello message packet is terminated (S408).

  According to this embodiment, even when only one identifier for plug and play installation can be acquired from a device that supports a plurality of function drivers, it is possible to perform plug and play installation of all the function drivers.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the operation when the proxy server 300 receives a Hello message from the device (printer 200) has been described. However, even when the proxy server 300 actively accesses the device (200) and acquires information. Good. For example, the proxy server 300 may search for a device (printer 200) on the network 700, and acquire device configuration information (printer configuration information) from the detected device (printer 200) as a result of the search.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically illustrating communication between the client 100, the proxy server 300, and the device (printer 200) in the second embodiment. In FIG. 8, Prob is a device search message, and ProbMatch is a response message to Prob returned from the device.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically illustrating communication between the client 100, the proxy server 300, and the device (printer 200) in the second embodiment, and is a diagram illustrating a case where the proxy server 300 functions as a device search server. is there.

  When receiving the Subscribe message and the proxy server 300 is used as a device search server from the client 100, it is not necessary to transmit a Hello message to the client 100. In this case, when there is an inquiry about device configuration information (printer configuration information) from the client 100, the printer configuration information is notified. Alternatively, when the client 100 registers an event notification with the proxy server 300 and the proxy server 300 detects an unregistered device, the proxy server 300 notifies the client of device configuration information.

  The proxy server 300 notifies the client 100 of the printer configuration information 500 acquired from the printer 200 by the Notification message and the printer configuration information 600 generated based on the printer configuration information 500.

  Note that the proxy server 300 is not limited to the printer 200 but may be another device. The network compatible device other than the printer may be a storage device such as a hard disk, a scanner, a copier, a FAX, and a device (composite apparatus) having these combined functions. This can be realized in any case as long as it is an apparatus capable of exchanging attribute information with the proxy server 300 and transmitting / receiving jobs via the communication function of the device. In this case, the communication protocol between the proxy server 300 and the network-compatible device can be realized in the same way, whether it is a standardized protocol, a general-purpose protocol, or a vendor-specific protocol.

  The device and the proxy server 300 can be realized by communication by local connection such as USB, IEEE 1394, parallel communication, and the network may be wired or wireless.

  In the above-described embodiment, the proxy server 300 exists independently, but the function of the proxy server 300 is physically or logically incorporated in the network-compatible device or the client. Is also feasible.

  In this case, an information processing apparatus having an installation unit for plug-and-play installation of a device driver corresponding to the capability of the network device has the configuration of each unit below. For example, in the case of the client 100, the processing of each unit is executed based on the control of the CPU 1001.

  The recognizing unit recognizes the first capability of the network device based on the first device configuration information acquired from the network device. The determination unit determines whether the network device has other capabilities based on the first device configuration information. In addition, when the network device has other capabilities as determined by the determination unit, the generation unit generates second device configuration information in which the other capabilities are rewritten as the first capability, and corresponds to the second device configuration information. Generate an identifier for the virtual device. And a transmission part transmits the identifier produced | generated by the production | generation part to the installation part which performs a plug and play installation.

  Here, the installation unit can be configured in the information processing apparatus, or can be configured in another information processing apparatus.

  In the first and second embodiments, an example of Universal Plug and Play proposed and formulated mainly by Microsoft as a combination of protocol conversions provided by the proxy server 300 is shown. However, the gist of the present invention is not limited to this example, and can be realized for, for example, Rendezvous proposed by Apple. It can also be realized for protocols such as BMLinkS proposed by the Business Machine and Information System Industry Church (JBMIA).

  Further, the gist of the present invention is not limited to the application of a protocol in which the device search and device control are integrated. For example, it is also possible to use a protocol for searching for a service provided by a device such as Service Location Protocol (SLP) or Multicast DNS Service Discovery. Furthermore, it is also possible to use the device control in the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) format based on XML / SOAP, such as Web Service, for conversion to a conventional control protocol.

  In the first and second embodiments according to the present invention, an example is shown in which the HTTP / TCP / UDP / IP protocol is used as the information notification protocol between proxy servers, but the present invention does not depend on the transport means. Absent. For example, if bidirectional communication is possible, it can be realized even when another general-purpose protocol or a unique protocol is used.

  According to this embodiment, even when only one installation identifier can be acquired from a device that supports a plurality of function drivers, it is possible to install all the function drivers according to the network protocol.

(Other embodiments)
A characteristic process of the first and second embodiments is the process of the proxy server 300. As described above, the proxy server 300 requires a storage device such as a hard disk, but is realized by a server application program that runs on an information processing device such as a personal computer. Therefore, the scope of the present invention can be a computer program for executing the processing of the proxy server 300.

  It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by supplying a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

  Further, the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by executing the program code read by the computer. In addition, an OS (operating system) running on a computer performs part or all of actual processing based on an instruction of a program code, and the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing. Needless to say.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the software of each device which comprises the information processing system which concerns on 1st and 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the client and proxy server which concern on 1st and 2nd embodiment. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a printer 200 according to first and second embodiments. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement when the proxy server 300 which concerns on 1st Embodiment receives the Hello message from a printer. 6 is a diagram illustrating printer configuration information acquired from a printer 200 by a proxy server 300 according to the first embodiment. FIG. It is a figure which shows the virtual printer structure information which the proxy server 300 which concerns on 1st Embodiment produces | generates. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating communication between a client 100, a proxy server 300, and a printer 200 according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows roughly communication between the client 100, the proxy server 300, and the printer 200 which concern on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows roughly communication between the client 100, the proxy server 300, and the printer 200 which concern on 2nd Embodiment.

Claims (6)

Based on the identification information acquired from a device connected to the network, it is determined whether or not the device is already registered. If the device is an unregistered device, a device driver corresponding to the controller included in the device is determined. an information processing method executed in an information processing apparatus having an installation means for plug-and-play installation in,
The acquisition means installs support command information indicating that processing corresponding to at least one type of page description language can be performed by at least one controller included in the device and a device driver corresponding to the controller by plug and play. An acquisition step of acquiring configuration information from the device, including setting information indicating that it is a setting for
Recognition means, by referring to the setting information included in the configuration information obtained from the previous SL device, a device driver corresponding to the controller that the device has to have been set to install the plug-and-play Recognition process to recognize
Determination means, by referring to said support command information included in the prior Ki構 formation information, wherein the controller is described information on a different second controller and, from that of the second controller by the page description language A determination step of determining whether processing corresponding to a different second page description language is possible ;
When the generation unit determines that the processing corresponding to the second page description language is possible by the determination in the determination step , the setting information among the configuration information corresponds to the second controller. the second configuration information rewrite the information indicating that the setting for installing the plug and Play device driver, the device the device driver corresponding to the second controller when the plug-and-play installation A second identification information for causing the installation unit to recognize the virtual device as a virtual device different from the device;
Transmitting the transmission means, the second identification information generated by the generating step sends to said installation means, said second structure Narujo report in response to a request from the installation unit, and transmits to said installation means An information processing method comprising the steps of:   The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the device connected to the network includes a network-compatible composite apparatus having a printing function and a FAX function. Based on the identification information acquired from a device connected to the network, it is determined whether or not the device is already registered. If the device is an unregistered device, a device driver corresponding to the controller included in the device is determined. an information processing apparatus having an installation means to plug-and-play installation in,
Support command information indicating that processing corresponding to at least one type of page description language can be performed by at least one controller included in the device, and setting for installing a device driver corresponding to the controller by plug and play Acquisition means for acquiring configuration information from the device, including setting information indicating that
By referring to the setting information included in the configuration information obtained from the previous SL device, recognizing it recognizes that the have a device driver corresponding to the controller is set to install the plug-and-play in which the device has Means,
Referring to the support command information included in the prior Ki構 formation information, wherein is described the information on a different second controller than the controller, different from the second and the page description language by the second controller Determination means for determining whether processing corresponding to the page description language is possible ;
If it is determined by the determination means that processing corresponding to the second page description language is possible, the configuration information of the configuration information is plugged with a device driver corresponding to the second controller. different second configuration information rewrite the information indicating that the and-play is a setting for installing, the device the device driver corresponding to the second controller when the plug-and-play installation and the device Generation means for generating second identification information for causing the installation means to recognize as a virtual device;
And transmitting means for transmitting the second identification information generated by the generating means to said installation means, said second structure Narujo report in response to a request from the installation unit, and transmits to said installation means An information processing apparatus characterized by that. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the device connected to the network includes a network-compatible composite apparatus having a printing function and a FAX function. A program characterized by executing the information processing method according to the computer to claim 1 or 2. A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 5 .

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