JP2006293638A - Information processing device and peripheral device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reliably upload a device driver from a peripheral device to an information processing device.
An interface for connecting to an information processing device, storage means for storing a device driver for its own peripheral device, and the peripheral device when the peripheral device is connected to the information processing device via the interface An output unit configured to transmit an instruction to set a predetermined storage area in the apparatus to be readable from the information processing apparatus, and to output a device driver to the information processing apparatus in response to the read instruction of the information processing apparatus. A peripheral device is provided.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing device, a peripheral device, a processing method thereof, a program, and an information processing system.

  Conventionally, a technique for uploading and installing driver software for a peripheral device directly from the peripheral device to a computer through an interface unit is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. The technology installs dedicated software on the computer side from an external medium such as a flexible disk or CD (compact disk), and the software operates to check whether the peripheral device has the necessary device drivers on the computer. If there is no device driver, a device driver request is made to the peripheral device.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 2 below, there is a technique for uploading and installing a device driver for a peripheral device on the computer side without installing such operation software on the computer from an external medium. It is disclosed. According to this, for the peripheral device, (1) a device driver corresponding to a predetermined OS (operating system) that the computer can have, and (2) an OS environment of the computer is investigated and the result is notified to the peripheral device. (3) In response to a request from the computer, the OS environment program is sent to the computer. Next, the OS environment information from the computer is received, and a predetermined device driver suitable for the OS is sent to the computer. Equipped with a management means to send. In other words, in response to a request from the computer, an OS environment program is sent to the computer, and when the OS environment check result is received from the computer and the computer OS environment is a predetermined OS environment, a predetermined device driver is installed. Upload to computer.

  In Patent Document 3 below, a printer driver stored in a printer is transferred to the host computer in response to the peripheral device turning on the printer before the host computer requests the printer. Techniques are disclosed (see, for example, FIG. 7).

JP-A-8-161250 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-301484 JP 7-295915 A

  However, in the above-mentioned patent documents 1 and 2, there is a well-known USB plug and play (hereinafter referred to as PnP) technology, and the PnP detects this as soon as the device and the computer are interfaced, and further, In response to interface function information such as a printer interface and a scanner interface declared by the apparatus at the time of connection, control is performed so that the OS enters setup processing of the driver. Under the control, it is difficult to interrupt the processing for uploading the dedicated operation software for managing the OS environment and the like from the peripheral device to the computer and the device driver upload processing in accordance therewith in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above. Become.

  For example, in addition to functional interfaces such as printers and scanners declared by the peripheral device side in PnP after interface connection, for example, a well-known storage interface required for uploading the dedicated operation software of Patent Documents 1 and 2 above Even if the function is declared, the function interface for which the driver setup is requested first depends on the processing on the OS side. Therefore, before the device driver such as a printer or scanner is requested, the dedicated operation software There is no guarantee that a storage driver for uploading can be set up. Therefore, in such a case, the driver setup request screen issued by the OS is manually canceled once, and the storage driver for uploading the dedicated operation software is set up first, thereby uploading the dedicated operation software. It must be possible to execute and upload the device driver to the computer. After that, the interface is reconnected and PnP is started again, and the setup of the printer and scanner driver is completed for the first time, and the procedure that does not match the flow for automated OS control is taken. As a result, the usability is reduced.

  In view of the above-described problems under the automatic control of an OS such as PnP, the present invention reliably uploads a device driver from a peripheral device to an information processing device even under the automatic control of an OS such as PnP. An object of the present invention is to enable automatic setup of the driver and / or its driver.

  The peripheral device of the present invention includes an interface for connecting to the information processing device, storage means for storing a device driver for its own peripheral device, and its own peripheral device connected to the information processing device via the interface Then, an instruction to set a predetermined storage area in the peripheral device to be readable from the information processing apparatus is transmitted, and the device driver is transmitted to the information processing apparatus in response to the read instruction of the information processing apparatus. Output means for outputting.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an interface for connecting to a peripheral device, and a driver upload unit that inputs a device driver from the peripheral device when the information processing device is connected to the peripheral device via the interface It is characterized by having.

  According to the peripheral device processing method of the present invention, when the peripheral device is connected to the information processing device via an interface, an instruction to set a predetermined storage area in the peripheral device to be readable from the information processing device is issued. A transmission step of transmitting, and an output step of outputting a device driver to the information processing apparatus in response to a read instruction of the information processing apparatus.

  When the information processing apparatus of the present invention is connected to a peripheral device via an interface, the information processing apparatus processing method includes a driver upload step of inputting a device driver from the peripheral device, and after inputting the device driver, A driver setup step of setting up the device driver in response to an instruction from the peripheral device.

  An information processing system of the present invention is an information processing system including an information processing device and a peripheral device, and the peripheral device includes a first interface for connecting to the information processing device and a peripheral device for the peripheral device. When a storage means for storing a device driver and its own peripheral device are connected to the information processing device via the first interface, a predetermined storage area in the peripheral device can be read from the information processing device. An output unit that transmits an instruction to set and outputs the device driver to the information processing apparatus in response to a read instruction of the information processing apparatus, and the information processing apparatus is connected to the peripheral device When the second interface and its own information processing device are connected to the peripheral device via the second interface, the device And having a driver upload means for inputting the scan driver from the peripheral device.

  When the information processing device and the peripheral device are connected, the device driver is automatically uploaded from the peripheral device to the information processing device, so that the upload can be performed reliably.

Hereinafter, examples of embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A, in an information processing system, a peripheral device 101 and a host computer (hereinafter referred to as a computer) 102 are connected via a communication cable 103. The peripheral device 101 is, for example, a multifunction machine. The computer (information processing apparatus) 102 is a personal computer, for example. The communication cable 103 is a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface cable, for example.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the computer 102. The computer 102 includes an arithmetic processing unit (CPU) 201 that performs arithmetic processing, a keyboard 202 for inputting data from a user, a display device 203 for displaying a computer screen, and a user performing a mouse operation. A mouse 204, a hard disk device 205 for storing data, a network interface unit 206 for communicating with the peripheral device 101 via the communication cable 103, and a memory 207 for temporarily storing data. And have. The CPU 201 performs processing by executing a computer program in the memory 207 or the hard disk device 205. The network interface unit 206 is a USB interface for performing USB communication, for example.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the multifunction peripheral (peripheral device) 101. An MFP 101 includes an arithmetic processing unit (CPU) 301 that performs arithmetic processing, an operation panel unit 302 for a user to operate the MFP, an output image processing unit 303 that processes input image data, and printing. A printer unit 304 that outputs data to paper, a memory 305 for temporarily storing data, a hard disk device 306 for storing data, and a computer 102 connected via a communication cable 103 for communication. Network interface unit 307, a FAX communication unit 308 for performing fax communication via a telephone line, and a scanner unit 309 that scans and reads a paper document to generate image data. The CPU 301 performs processing by executing a computer program in the memory 305 or the hard disk device 306. The network interface unit 307 is a USB interface for performing USB communication, for example.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the driver upload mode and the normal operation mode according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1A illustrates the operation content of the driver upload mode described in the present embodiment. FIG. 2A illustrates the operation content of the normal operation mode described in the present embodiment. In addition, the numbers of steps S1 to S13 entered in FIGS. 1A and 2A indicate the steps described in the flowchart of FIG. 3, and each operation is executed in any step of the flowchart. Indicates what will be done.

  In step S1, when the computer 102 connected to the peripheral device 101 is introduced, the computer 102 determines whether or not it is connected to the peripheral device 101 for the first time. That is, the computer 102 reads a flag indicating whether or not it is the first activation input in advance by the user, and determines whether it is initial or the driver has been uploaded. If the flag indicates the initial time, it is determined as the initial time, the driver upload mode processing in steps S2 to S8 is performed, and if the upload has been completed, the processing in steps S9 to S13 is performed. The flag (initial flag) indicating whether or not it is the initial time is input ON (ON) or OFF (OFF) using an input device such as a mouse provided in the computer 102, and is stored in the memory. Has been. When the user inputs to the computer 102 that it is the first installation, the flag is written in the memory so that the flag is turned on. Further, when an upload mode is instructed by the operation panel of the printer, it may be turned on when the computer receives information indicating that from the printer. Further, when the normal operation mode on the printer side is instructed by the operation panel, the flag may be turned off.

  First, the driver upload mode processing in steps S1 to S8 will be described with reference to FIG. In step S <b> 2, the user selects a driver upload mode in the peripheral device 101. As an example of a user operation for causing the peripheral device 101 to operate in the driver upload mode, an “interface (i / f) is displayed on the operation panel (operation means) 302 of the peripheral device 101 as shown in FIG. The peripheral device 101 displays options such as “driver upload mode” and “normal operation mode” on the operation panel 302. The user selects and instructs “driver upload mode”. As a result, the peripheral device 101 enters the driver upload mode.

  Next, in step S3, the user interfaces the peripheral device 101 and the computer 101 with the communication cable 103 in the driver upload mode. That is, plug-in is performed. Next, in step S4, the OS of the computer 102 detects the plug-in, and starts the following plug-and-play (hereinafter referred to as PnP) operation. The OS of the computer 102 is stored in the hard disk device 205 or the memory 207 in FIG. In step S5, the peripheral device 101 is declared to be a storage interface and is output to the computer 102. Here, the term “declaration” refers to a peripheral device 101 when a USB interface is connected in a known USB composite mechanism that configures a plurality of logical channels for a plurality of drivers to function in parallel with respect to one physical USB interface. This is a well-known initialization operation in which a signal indicating which logical channel is operated as an interface for which driver from the network i / f unit 306 is sent to the network i / f unit 206 of the computer 102 by a signal. The above step S5 means declaring that it is a storage driver interface for only one logical channel. The above declaration is an instruction to set a predetermined storage area in the peripheral device 101 to be readable from the computer 102. Next, in step S6, the OS of the computer 102 sets up a storage driver (data access driver) included in the OS for the interface accordingly.

  The hard disk device (storage means) 306 of the peripheral device 101 stores a device driver and an execution file “setup.exe” for the peripheral device 101 of its own. The execution file “setup.exe” is an execution file for uploading the device driver stored in the peripheral device 101 to the computer 102. By the operation of the OS in step S6, in step S7, the execution file “setup.exe” of the peripheral device 101 is mounted on an arbitrary drive identifier, for example, “F:”, which is free on the OS of the computer 102. The executable file can be recognized from file browsing software such as Windows (registered trademark) OS Explore of the computer 102.

  Next, in step S8, the user instructs the computer 102 to execute the execution file "F: setup.exe" by double-clicking with the mouse. As a result, the computer 102 executes the execution file “setup, exe”. The execution file “setup.exe” has a function of determining the type of OS. The computer 102 uploads a device driver suitable for the determined OS from the peripheral device 101 to the hard disk device 205 of the computer 102. The peripheral device 101 outputs a device driver in response to a read instruction from the computer 102, and the computer 102 inputs the device driver and copies and stores it in the hard disk device 205. At the time of this execution, for example, a process of copying an inf file (information file) of each device driver to a predetermined location where the OS can be searched, such as “\ Windows \ inf”, is performed. The OS of the computer 102 automatically searches for an inf file of each device driver at the time of PnP in (), and as a result, automatic setup of the device driver is enabled. Note that the initial flag is cleared after the process of step S8 is completed. Note that the initial flag may always be cleared after the end of step S8, but after the process of step S8, the initial flag is not cleared and is cleared when there is an explicit instruction from the printer. You may make it do.

  Here, for example, by describing the location of “setup.exe” in “Autorun.inf” on the root of the CD-ROM, as soon as the CD-ROM is inserted into the drive, the Windows (registered trademark) Automatic execution control may be performed such that the OS finds the “Autorun.inf” and automatically executes the “setup.exe”. The automatic execution control may be performed on the drive F: mounted as described above, or if the OS has automatic control similar to that, the upload execution program should be configured in conformity with the OS. As a result, the execution file “setup, exe” can be automatically executed, and the user need not manually execute the upload execution program.

  As described above, the driver upload mode is a mode in which the interface functions exclusively for driver upload without preparing an individual dedicated driver. Here, in PnP that occurs when a USB interface is plugged in between the computer 102 and the peripheral device 101, the peripheral device 101 is declared to be an interface that operates with a storage driver that is standard on the Windows (registered trademark) OS. Thus, the computer 102 can set up an existing storage driver and enable access to the peripheral device 101 only by interface connection.

  By the processing in the driver upload mode, a device driver suitable for the OS of the computer 102 can be uploaded from the peripheral device 101 to the computer 102. Then, it returns to step S1.

  In step S1, since the device driver has already been uploaded, the computer 1102 determines that it has been uploaded, and proceeds to step S9. Next, the normal operation mode processing in steps S9 to S13 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S9, the user selects the normal operation mode in the peripheral device 101, and switches from the driver upload mode to the normal operation mode. As an example of a user operation for causing the peripheral device 101 to operate in the normal operation mode, an “interface (i / f) operation mode selection” is displayed on the operation panel 302 of the peripheral device 101 as shown in FIG. The peripheral device 101 displays the options of “driver upload mode” and “normal operation mode” on the operation panel 302. The user selects and instructs the “normal operation mode”. As a result, the peripheral device 101 enters the normal operation mode. In the normal operation mode, the printer 304 and the scanner 309 of the peripheral device (multifunction machine) 101 are normally used.

  Next, in step S <b> 10, the user interfaces the peripheral device 101 and the computer 101 with the communication cable 103 in the driver upload mode. That is, plug-in is performed. Next, in step S4, the OS of the computer 102 detects the plug-in and starts the following PnP operation. In step S12, the peripheral device 101 is declared to be an interface having a printer and a scanner function, and is output to the computer 102. Next, in step S13, the printer of the computer 102 copied to “\ windows \ inf” in the computer 102 in step S8 in order to know the driver component suitable for the device of the peripheral device 101 based on the declaration. And an inf (information) file of the scanner driver are automatically detected, and a device driver is automatically set up according to the inf file.

  With the above processing, even under the automatic control of an OS such as PnP, it is possible to reliably upload a device driver from the peripheral device 101 to the computer 102 and to automatically set up the driver.

  In the above embodiment, the method of causing the user to select the interface mode switching of the peripheral device 101 as an option on the operation panel 302 as shown in FIGS. 1B and 2B has been described. However, if a method such as rebooting the peripheral device (device) 101 is used when the mode is changed, the electrical interface can be operated without performing a physical interface plug-in operation (steps S3 and S10 in FIG. 3). Thus, the OS can detect that a plug-in has occurred.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the user manually switches the interface mode has been described. For example, after the peripheral device 101 is powered on, the interface is always started in the driver upload mode and after the interface connection (step S3). A program that causes “F: setup.exe” that is executed manually or automatically to make the computer 102 determine whether or not the device driver has already been set up on the computer 102 and notify the peripheral device 101 of the result. Can be made. In that case, it is possible to determine whether or not the driver upload mode is necessary in the peripheral device 101 by an instruction from the computer 102. If it is determined that the driver upload mode is not necessary as a result, it is possible to switch to the normal operation mode. Can be switched automatically.

  In addition, the automatic switching of the interface mode is performed in the normal operation mode after a predetermined time elapses after the driver upload mode is started after the peripheral device 101 is powered on (after the peripheral device 101 is connected to the computer 102 via the interface). It is also possible by switching to.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the peripheral device 101 is provided with two types of interface modes and a switching function thereof. The peripheral device 101 has a driver upload mode in which a target interface function that causes only the device driver to be uploaded from the peripheral device 101 to the computer 102 is operated. Here, as a driver for uploading a device driver, for example, an OS standard one such as a Windows (registered trademark) OS storage driver or a computer standard one is used, and access is automatically performed simultaneously with the interface connection. Make it possible.

  Further, when the peripheral device 101 is connected to the computer 102 in this driver upload mode, an execution program for uploading the device driver to the computer 102 is already present in the OS such as Explorer in the Windows (registered trademark) OS. It is mounted on the peripheral device 101 so that it can be recognized and accessed as one drive from the folder browsing software. According to this, if the upload execution program visible on the drive is selected and executed, the execution program is automatically executed on the computer 102, and the device driver can be uploaded. At this time, by including a mechanism capable of identifying the type of OS of the computer 102 in this execution program, it becomes possible to automatically determine and upload an appropriate driver for the identified OS. Furthermore, at that time, for example, automatic control that is automatically executed when the Windows (registered trademark) OS finds “Autorun.inf” on the root of the CD-ROM is automatically applied to the mounted drive. When the OS has a control to be executed, if the upload execution program in the peripheral device 101 is configured in the peripheral device 101 in conformity with the OS, the user manually selects and executes the upload execution program. There is no need.

  In addition to the driver upload mode, the peripheral device 101 has a normal operation mode in which an interface is operated for the purpose of being used from the normal computer 102, such as a printer, a scanner, and a fax function. It is assumed that the driver upload mode described above is executed and the driver upload is completed before executing the normal operation mode. The interface embodiment of the general peripheral device 101 is always positioned to operate only in this normal operation mode.

  A local operation capable of switching between the two modes, the driver upload mode and the normal operation mode, can be provided, and the two driver upload modes and the normal operation mode can be automatically switched.

  According to the above configuration, before connecting the interface for using the peripheral device 101 in the normal operation mode, the driver from the peripheral device 101 is installed in the computer 102 using the OS standard or computer standard driver in the driver upload mode. It is possible to upload, and it is possible to immediately respond to a driver request from an OS of the PnP type that is automatically controlled when the peripheral device 101 and the computer 102 are interfaced during normal operation.

  In a technique of uploading and installing a device driver for the peripheral device 101 used by the computer 102 from the peripheral device 101 to the computer 102, for example, interface connection between the computer 102 and the peripheral device 101 like USB plug and play For the mechanism in which the OS automatically detects and the OS promptly requests the device driver, the device driver can be uploaded using the same interface.

  In the interface function of the peripheral device 101, there are provided a driver upload mode in which device driver upload processing is dedicated using an OS standard or computer standard driver, and functions of the peripheral device 101 that normally operates such as a printer, scanner, and fax. The normal operation mode to be operated is provided separately, and the interface connection in the driver upload mode is executed first, whereby the device driver can be uploaded onto the computer 102 prior to the interface connection in the normal operation mode.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, even under the control of the OS that automatically detects the interface connection between the computer 102 such as PnP and the peripheral device 101 and requests the setup of a necessary driver, The driver stored in the peripheral device 101 can be uploaded to the computer 102 and installed. Furthermore, installation can be performed in accordance with the automatic control of the OS of the computer 102, and driver setup can be performed without using any dedicated software for driver upload on the computer 102. The effect of greatly improving usability can be obtained.

  The present embodiment can be realized by the computer of FIGS. 4 and 5 executing a program. Also, means for supplying a program to a computer, for example, a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM recording such a program, or a transmission medium such as the Internet for transmitting such a program is also applied as an embodiment of the present invention. Can do. A computer program product such as a computer-readable recording medium in which the above program is recorded can also be applied as an embodiment of the present invention. The above program, recording medium, transmission medium, and computer program product are included in the scope of the present invention. As the recording medium, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

  The above-described embodiments are merely examples of implementation in carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed in a limited manner. That is, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the technical idea or the main features thereof.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams for explaining the operation content of the driver upload mode according to the embodiment of the present invention. 2A and 2B are diagrams for explaining the operation content of the normal operation mode according to the present embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the driver upload mode by this embodiment, and a normal operation mode. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of a computer. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of a peripheral device (multifunction machine).

Explanation of symbols

101 Peripheral devices (multifunction devices)
102 Computer 103 Communication Cable 201 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
202 Keyboard 203 Display Display 204 Mouse 205 HDD
206 Network interface unit 207 Memory 301 Central processing unit (CPU)
302 Operation panel unit 303 Output image processing unit 304 Printer unit 305 Memory 306 HDD
307 Network interface unit 308 FAX communication unit 309 Scanner unit

Claims (12)

An interface for connecting to the information processing apparatus;
Storage means for storing a device driver for its peripheral device;
When its own peripheral device is connected to the information processing device via the interface, an instruction to set a predetermined storage area in the peripheral device to be readable from the information processing device is transmitted. A peripheral device comprising: output means for outputting the device driver to the information processing device in response to a reading instruction of the device.   The peripheral device according to claim 1, further comprising: a driver setup unit that outputs a declaration for causing the information processing apparatus to set up the device driver to the information processing apparatus after outputting the device driver.   The output means outputs, to the information processing apparatus, a declaration for causing the information processing apparatus to set up a storage driver so that the peripheral device functions as a storage device, and then sends the device driver to the information processing apparatus. 3. The peripheral device according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral device outputs the peripheral device. Furthermore, it has an operation means for instructing the setup,
3. The peripheral device according to claim 2, wherein when the setup is instructed, the driver setup unit outputs a declaration for the setup to the information processing apparatus.   The driver setup means outputs a declaration for the setup to the information processing apparatus after a predetermined time has elapsed since its peripheral device is connected to the information processing apparatus via the interface. Item 2. A peripheral device according to Item 2.   The peripheral device according to claim 2, wherein the driver setup unit outputs a declaration for the setup to the information processing apparatus in response to an instruction from the information processing apparatus. An interface for connecting to peripheral devices;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a driver upload unit configured to input a device driver from the peripheral apparatus when the information processing apparatus is connected to the peripheral apparatus via the interface.   8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising driver setup means for setting up the device driver in accordance with an instruction from the peripheral device after inputting the device driver. A transmission step of transmitting an instruction to set a predetermined storage area in the peripheral device to be readable from the information processing device when the peripheral device is connected to the information processing device via an interface;
A processing method of a peripheral device, comprising: an output step of outputting a device driver to the information processing device in response to a read instruction of the information processing device. A driver uploading step of inputting a device driver from the peripheral device when the information processing device of the device is connected to the peripheral device via the interface;
And a driver setup step for setting up the device driver in accordance with an instruction from the peripheral device after inputting the device driver.   The program for making a computer perform each step of the processing method of the peripheral device or information processing apparatus of Claim 9 or 10. An information processing system having an information processing device and a peripheral device,
The peripheral device is:
A first interface for connecting to the information processing apparatus;
Storage means for storing a device driver for its peripheral device;
When its own peripheral device is connected to the information processing device via the first interface, it transmits an instruction to set a predetermined storage area in the peripheral device to be readable from the information processing device, and Output means for outputting the device driver to the information processing apparatus in response to a read instruction of the information processing apparatus;
The information processing apparatus includes:
A second interface for connecting to the peripheral device;
An information processing system comprising: a driver upload unit configured to input the device driver from the peripheral device when the information processing device is connected to the peripheral device via the second interface.

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