JP5126078B2 - Processing system, terminal device and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing system, a terminal device, and a program.

Operation information such as key operation and mouse operation input by the operator is transmitted to the server, and the client terminal receives screen information indicating the display contents of the processing result as a response to the operation information. There is known a system for performing screen display based on the display information. Such a system that performs processing using client-side resources from a client terminal is called a server-based computing system.
Client terminals in server-based computing systems that perform substantial processing using server-side hardware resources have less processing burden than client terminals that perform complete processing using their own hardware resources. In addition, if a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, an input device such as a keyboard, a communication function with a server, and a processor and a memory necessary for these controls are provided, a hardware such as a local disk (HDD; Hard Disk Drive) It is possible to simplify the hardware capacity to the minimum necessary level, and in some cases, it is possible to operate the system with a configuration in which a storage device such as an HDD is omitted.
In the server-based computing system as described above, the capacity of the local disk on the client side is reduced so that after the system is used, it is operated so that necessary documents are not left in the local disk. It is advantageous in terms of data security and cost, and is expected to be used in various environments.

In server-based computing systems, client terminals and servers are often installed at remote locations, and when a new printer is installed at a client site, the administrator applies the server to the server. A driver that matches the printer model is installed, and a printer icon is created that matches the option settings such as output ports and devices, and print settings to the environment of each site.
Here, the printer icon is set with identification information (for example, name or IP address) of the corresponding printer, model information (for example, model name or ID), a corresponding driver, and the like. It is output on the screen of the client terminal as a display in which printer identification information and the like are combined, and is used for selection of a printer to be used for print processing by an operator of the client terminal.

An Auto Create Client Printer function (hereinafter referred to as an ACCP function) is known as a technique for reducing the trouble of creating a printer icon in a server in a server-based computing system environment.
In the ACCP function, a driver corresponding to each printer is installed on the server (no printer icon is created), and a driver corresponding to the printer installed at the terminal side is installed on the client terminal. If an icon for the printer is created, when the operator of the client terminal logs in to the server, printer identification information and model information corresponding to the icon created on the client terminal are transmitted to the server. The server automatically generates a printer icon for the client terminal based on the information.
When a so-called thin client that does not have a storage device such as a hard disk is used as the client terminal, the printer icon created on the client side is created as an internal icon.
Here, the internal icon is common to the printer icon in that the identification information, model information, corresponding driver, etc. of the corresponding printer are set. However, the internal icon is not displayed on the screen of the client terminal. Absent.
In the thin client environment, it is necessary to install in ROM (Read Only Memory) in order to expand the functions. However, since there are restrictions on the usable capacity, it is not possible to install many printer drivers. Can not.

  As an invention related to printing in a thin client system, for example, a port driver is installed in the thin client instead of a printer driver, various information from the client is controlled on the server, and print data is created with a model dedicated driver on the server. A mechanism for transmitting to a printer has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-102308 A

  An object of the present invention is to suppress the installation capacity when installing a control program for an output device of a different model on a client terminal.

  1st this invention has a processing apparatus and a terminal device, The said terminal device was acquired by the acquisition means which acquires the identification information and model information of an output device which can communicate with a self-terminal device, and the said acquisition means Using a general-purpose output control program applicable to output devices of different models as the output control program related to the output device, setting the correspondence between the output device identification information and model information and the output control program related to the output device Terminal-side setting means for performing, and transmitting means for transmitting the identification information and model information of the output device for which the correspondence relationship with the output control program is set by the terminal-side setting means to the processing device, the processing device comprising: Receiving means for receiving output device identification information and model information transmitted from the terminal device; output device identification information received by the receiving means; and The processing device side setting means for setting the correspondence relationship between the model information and the output control program related to the output device as an output control program related to the output device, using an output control program suitable for the model of the output device, Control means for controlling the output processing based on the output instruction received by the terminal device to be performed using the output control program specified by the correspondence set by the processing device side setting means, A processing system characterized by that.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the terminal device includes an accepting unit that receives an input for selecting one or more output devices from a plurality of output devices communicable with the terminal device. The terminal-side setting unit sets a correspondence relationship between the identification information and model information of the output device acquired by the acquiring unit and a general-purpose output control program for the output device selected by the operator. It is characterized by that.

  The third aspect of the present invention relates to an acquisition unit that acquires identification information and model information of an output device that can communicate with the terminal device, output device identification information and model information acquired by the acquisition unit, and output related to the output device A setting unit configured to set a correspondence relationship with the control program using a general-purpose output control program applicable to an output device of a different model as an output control program related to the output device; and the output control program by the setting unit The identification information and model information of the output device for which the correspondence relationship is set are transmitted to the processing device, and the output processing based on the output instruction received by the own terminal device is performed using an output control program suitable for the model of the output device. As described above, a correspondence relationship between the identification information and model information of the output device and the output control program related to the output device is set in the processing device. A transmission unit for a terminal device, comprising the.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, an acquisition function for acquiring identification information and model information of an output device communicable with its own terminal device, an output device identification information and model information acquired by the acquisition function, and the output to a computer A setting function for setting a correspondence relationship with an output control program related to a device using a general-purpose output control program applicable to an output device of a different model as an output control program related to the output device, and output control using the setting function An output control program that transmits identification information and model information of an output device in which a correspondence relationship with the program is set to the processing device, and that performs output processing based on an output instruction received by the own terminal device in accordance with the model of the output device The correspondence between the identification information and model information of the output device and the output control program related to the output device is A transmission function for setting the serial processor, a program for realizing.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the installation capacity when installing a control program for an output device of a different model on a terminal device can be reduced as compared with the case where the configuration of the present invention is not provided.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately select the output device to be installed on the terminal device, as compared with the case where the configuration of the present invention is not provided.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the installation capacity when installing a control program for an output device of a different model for a terminal device as compared with the case where the configuration of the present invention is not provided.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the installation capacity when installing a control program for an output device of a different model for a terminal device as compared with the case where the configuration of the present invention is not provided.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 illustrates an overview of a server-based computing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In the server-based computing system of this example, a MetaFrame server S is installed at a site X as an example of a processing device, and a plurality of terminal devices C1 and C2 are installed at a site Y. The base Y is provided with a plurality of printers P1, P2, and P3 that can communicate with the terminal devices C1 and C2. The terminal device in this example is not particularly limited as long as it is a device that operates in a server-based computing system. For example, the terminal device may have an HDD as a storage device, or may not have a storage device such as an HDD. May be.

  In the system of this example, for example, when the operator of the terminal device C1 performs an operation input such as a key operation or a mouse operation, operation information indicating the operation content is transmitted from the terminal device C1 to the server S, and the processing result Screen information indicating the display content is generated by the server S and returned as a response to the terminal device C1, and the screen display based on the screen information is performed by the terminal device C1.

FIG. 2 illustrates functional blocks related to print processing as an example of output processing in the system of this example.
The functional units of the server S, the terminal device C, and the printer P will be described along the flow of processing.

When the operator powers up and starts the terminal device C, the printer information acquisition unit 21 of the terminal device C searches for the printer P on the own subnet and collects printer information from these printers P. In other words, the printer P is requested to transmit printer information to the communicable printer P, and the printer information transmitted from the printer information transmitting unit 31 of the printer P is acquired in response to this request. The printer information includes identification information of the printer P (for example, the name and ID of the printer), model information (for example, the name and ID of the model (model)), output port information, option configuration information, and the like. The printer information acquisition unit 21 generates a printer list 22 based on the printer information collected from the printer information 22.
In the example of FIG. 1, the printer list 22 listing the printer information collected from each of the printers P1, P2, and P3 is generated by starting the terminal device C1.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the printer list 22. For each of the plurality of printers P, a “port” indicating the location of the printer P on the network, a “model name” indicating the model of the printer P, and the printer P are attached. Printer information including information such as “name” indicating the name that has been added and “option configuration” indicating additional functions of the printer P is set.
In this example, the printer list 22 is created for all the printers P installed on the subnet. For example, a printer selection screen as shown in FIG. The printer list 22 may be created for the printer P selected by the operator.
Alternatively, a condition for selecting the printer P that is the target of the printer list 22 may be set in advance, and the printer list 22 may be created for the printer P selected based on the selection condition. Various conditions can be adopted as the selection conditions. For example, conditions relating to the distance between the terminal device C and the printer P (selection of the printer P whose distance is within a predetermined threshold, or a predetermined distance from a shorter distance). In this case, for example, the position information of each device is detected by GPS (Global Positioning System) or the like, or the distance of each device is set in advance. What is necessary is just to obtain the distance from the position information.

After creating the printer list 22 by the printer information acquisition unit 21 of the terminal device C, the terminal-side printer creation unit 24 of the terminal device C refers to the printer information listed in the printer list 22 in order, An internal icon for the printer P is created.
(A) Copy the reference driver configuration file 23 to the temporary installation folder.
(A) Call the reference driver installation function to install the driver. At this time, the model name included in the printer information is set as the model name of the driver as the installation result.
(C) Specifying the installed driver and an appropriate icon name (for example, printer name or IP address) to call a printer installation function to generate an internal icon.
As a result, an internal icon in which the identification information (icon name in this example) and model information (model name in this example) of the printer P and the reference driver are set in association with each other is generated.

  Here, in general, a printer driver (an example of an output control program) is a model-specific driver that implements all the functions of the corresponding model and has a unique name assigned to the model, or has a paper size. It is a general-purpose driver that implements only common functions such as designation and designation of print orientation and is given a general-purpose name. The above reference driver is a general-purpose driver that can be applied in common to each model, but it is possible to set the model name when installing the driver. It looks like a driver. Thus, a model-specific driver is used on the server side in the ACCP function of the MetaFrame server.

The configuration file 23 of the reference driver used in (a) is, for example, read from a driver installation folder that has been installed in the terminal device C in advance by the system administrator, or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, etc. The same module is repeatedly used. In addition, the driver configuration file 23 copied to the temporary installation folder is moved from the temporary installation folder to the installation destination folder along with the execution of the driver installation (in this example, overwrite installation to the same folder shared by each model) ). The icon name (identification information of the printer P) in (c) is generated based on information that can be easily identified by the user, and is generated from the IP address of the printer P, attribute information that can be acquired from the printer P, and the like. It is common.
Note that the processes (a) and (b) are omitted for a model in which a driver has already been installed.

  After the internal icon is created by the terminal-side printer creation unit 24 of the terminal device C, when the operator of the terminal device C logs in to the server, the printer identification information and model set in association with the internal icon created in the terminal device C A set of information is transmitted by the terminal-side printer information transmitting unit 25 of the terminal device C and received by the terminal-side printer information receiving unit 11 of the server S.

The server-side printer creation unit 12 of the server S displays printer icons corresponding to all internal icons created in the terminal device C based on the combination of printer identification information and model information received from the terminal device C. Automatically generated for C. In the server S, a model-specific driver for the printer P that may be installed in the system is installed in advance by the administrator, and the driver matches the model name of the driver installed in the terminal device C. A printer icon is generated using a (model-specific driver).
As a result, a printer icon is generated in which printer identification information (icon name in this example) and model information (model name in this example) are associated with a model-specific driver.

When the operator of the terminal device C issues a print instruction from the application, the printer icons for the terminal device C are listed and presented in the print dialog, and the printer icon (printer P) used for print output is selected by the operator. Is done. When printing is instructed after selecting a printer icon, the server S generates print data using the model-specific driver set in association with the selected printer icon, and is set in association with the printer icon. The printer data is sent from the print data transmission unit 13 to the terminal device C as addressed to the printer specified by the printer identification information (icon name).
The terminal device C outputs (transfers) the print data received from the server S by the print data transfer unit 26 to the printer port of the corresponding printer P. At this time, the print data by the install driver (reference driver) set in association with the internal icon in the terminal device C is not processed.
When the print data is received by the print data receiving unit 32, the printer P executes print processing based on the print data under the control of the print processing control unit 33.

  Here, the functions of the terminal-side printer information receiving unit 11, the server-side printer creating unit 12, the print data transmitting unit 13, the terminal-side printer information transmitting unit 25 of the terminal device C, and the print data transfer unit 26 in the server S in this example. Corresponds to the ACCP function of MetaFrame, but the present invention is not limited to this.

FIG. 5 illustrates a processing flow of the terminal side printer creation unit 24.
One line of printer information is read from the printer list 22 created by the printer information acquisition unit 21 of the terminal device C (step S11).
It is determined whether or not the printer information on the last line has been processed (internal icon creation) (step S12). If the printer information of the last line has been processed, the process ends. If it is not determined that the printer information of the last line has been processed, the following processing is performed.

The printer model name is extracted from the printer information (step S13), the installed driver model is confirmed in the terminal device C (step S14), and it is determined whether the driver is installed for the printer model (step S14). S15).
If it is determined in step S15 that the driver has not been installed, the reference driver configuration file 23 is copied to the temporary installation folder (step S16), and the driver is installed by specifying the extracted model name (step S17). . Thereafter, an icon name of the internal icon for the printer is created based on the printer information (step S18), and an internal icon is created by designating the driver to be used and the icon name (step S19).
If it is determined in step S15 that the installation has been completed, internal icon creation (steps S18 and S19) is performed without installing the printer driver (steps S16 and S17).
Thereafter, the process returns to step S11, and the above processing is repeated for all printer information in the printer list 22.

FIG. 6 exemplifies main hardware of a computer constituting the terminal device C of this example.
In this example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 41 that performs various arithmetic processing, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 42 that is a work area of the CPU 41, a ROM (Read Only) that stores a basic control program, a program according to the present invention, and the like. Memory) 43, input / output I / F 44 that is an interface with a display device such as a liquid crystal display and an input device such as a mouse / keyboard, and a communication I / F 45 that is an interface for communicating with other devices It is comprised by the computer which has a wear resource. That is, the terminal device in the present embodiment is configured as a so-called thin client PC that does not include a large-capacity disk type storage device such as an HDD.
Then, the program according to the present invention is read out, developed in the RAM 42, and executed by the CPU 41, whereby the above functions are realized by the computer of the terminal device C.

The terminal device C may be a portable device such as a so-called mobile PC (Personal Computer), PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) or a mobile phone, or may be a stationary device. Further, instead of the printer P, a multi-function machine having a combination of functions such as printing, copying, scanning, and FAX may be used. The server S may be realized by a single device or may be realized by a plurality of devices. The communication between the server S and the terminal device C and between the terminal device C and the printer P may be either wireless communication or wired communication.
The terminal device does not need to be a terminal device that does not include a storage device such as the so-called thin client PC shown in the present embodiment, and may be a PC having an HDD as a normal PC as the terminal device.

Further, the program according to the present invention can be realized in various formats such as a format for distributing an external storage medium such as a CD (Compact Disc) -ROM storing the program, a format for distributing via a communication network, etc. Can be provided to users of the program.
Moreover, it is not restricted to the aspect which implement | achieves each function part by software configuration like this example, You may make it implement | achieve each function part with exclusive hardware.

It is a figure which illustrates the outline | summary of the server base computing system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which illustrates the functional block regarding the printing process in the server base computing system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which illustrates the printer list which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which illustrates the printer selection screen concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which illustrates the processing flow of the terminal side printer preparation part which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which illustrates the hardware of the computer which comprises the thin client which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

  S: server, C, C1, C2: terminal device, P, P1, P2, P3: printer, 11: terminal-side printer information receiving unit, 12: server-side printer creating unit, 13: print data transmitting unit, 21 printer information Acquisition unit, 22: Printer list, 23: Driver configuration file, 24: Terminal side printer creation unit, 25: Terminal side information transmission unit, 26: Print data transfer unit, 31: Printer information transmission unit, 32: Print data reception unit 33: Print processing control unit

Claims (4)

A processing device and a terminal device;
The terminal device
An acquisition means for acquiring identification information and model information of an output device capable of communicating with the terminal device;
General setting applicable to output devices of different models as the output control program related to the output device by setting the correspondence relationship between the output device identification information and the model information acquired by the acquisition means and the output control program related to the output device A terminal-side setting means that uses the output control program of
Transmission means for transmitting the identification information and model information of the output device in which the correspondence relationship with the output control program is set by the terminal side setting means to the processing device,
The processor is
Receiving means for receiving the identification information and model information of the output device transmitted from the terminal device;
The output control adapted to the model of the output device is set as the output control program related to the output device by setting the correspondence relationship between the identification information and model information of the output device received by the receiving means and the output control program related to the output device. Processing device side setting means using a program;
Control means for controlling the output processing based on the output instruction received by the terminal device to be performed using an output control program specified by the correspondence set by the processing device side setting means, ,
A processing system characterized by that. The terminal device includes a receiving unit that receives an input from an operator for selecting one or more output devices among a plurality of output devices that can communicate with the terminal device.
The terminal-side setting unit sets the correspondence between the output device identification information and the model information acquired by the acquisition unit and a general-purpose output control program for the output device selected by the operator.
The processing system according to claim 1. An acquisition means for acquiring identification information and model information of an output device capable of communicating with the terminal device;
General setting applicable to output devices of different models as the output control program related to the output device by setting the correspondence relationship between the output device identification information and the model information acquired by the acquisition means and the output control program related to the output device Setting means to be performed using the output control program of
The identification information and model information of the output device for which the correspondence relationship with the output control program is set by the setting means is transmitted to the processing device, and the output processing based on the output instruction received by the own terminal device is performed. Transmitting means for causing the processing device to set the correspondence between the identification information and model information of the output device and the output control program related to the output device so as to use an output control program adapted to
A terminal device comprising: On the computer,
An acquisition function for acquiring identification information and model information of an output device that can communicate with the terminal device;
General-purpose information that can be applied to output devices of different models as the output control program related to the output device by setting the correspondence between the output device identification information and the model information acquired by the acquisition function and the output control program related to the output device. A setting function performed using the output control program of
The identification information and model information of the output device for which the correspondence relationship with the output control program is set by the setting function is transmitted to the processing device, and the output processing based on the output instruction received by the own terminal device is performed. A transmission function for causing the processing device to set the correspondence between the identification information and model information of the output device and the output control program related to the output device so as to use an output control program adapted to
A program to realize

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