Device driver installing method

• US 20020161939A1
• Filed: 04/24/2002
• Published: 10/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Lee, Sang Il, Kim, Yang Gi
• Granted Patent: US 7,334,227 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 710/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4415 Self describing peripheral devices

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of installing a device driver capable of driving a peripheral device installed in an slot of a PC after receiving the device driver from a server located in a global network. When a PC card device including a memory in which both a network address of a server providing the device'"'"'s driver and information identifying the device driver have been stored is inserted into a slot, network address and the device driver identifying information is read from the memory. Using this information, a request of a download of the device driver from the server with reference to the read-out information is made. The PC then receives the device driver downloaded from the server, and executes the received device driver to enable the peripheral device. With this method, no floppy disk need be supplied with the driver and the URL information is continued in the device, eliminating installation and updating steps by the user.

Claims

1. A method of installing a device driver for a peripheral device, comprising:

reading out by a processor information from a peripheral device required to download a device driver for the peripheral device;

requesting by the processor a download of the device driver from a prescribed server having the peripheral device driver in accordance with the read-out information;

receiving the device driver from the server; and

executing the received device driver to enable the peripheral device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the peripheral device is installed in an I/O bus of a PC and whether a driver is installed for the peripheral device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising checking whether the device driver for the peripheral device already exists on a computer to which the peripheral device is installed.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising reading out the information required to download the device driver from a non-volatile memory of the peripheral device if the device driver does not exist on the computer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the information required to download the device driver has been written in text type in the non-volatile memory of the peripheral device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the information requited to download the device driver comprises a network address of the server and information identifying the device driver.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the network address is a URL and the information identifying the device driver is a filename of the device driver.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising copying the received device driver to a prescribed system directory on a hard disk drive of a computer to which the peripheral is coupled and creating and writing a Registry entry in the computer associated with the copied device driver.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising loading the device driver indicated by the written Registry entry into a memory of the computer and executing the device driver loaded into the memory to enable the peripheral device by writing information of a unique resource allocated to the peripheral device in at least one register of the peripheral device.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising copying the device driver to a memory of the peripheral device prior to executing the device driver.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising writing information of a unique resource allocated to the peripheral device in at least one register of the peripheral device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the processor automatically executes the received device driver after the device driver is received.

14. The peripheral device of claim 13, wherein the memory is configured to receive information corresponding to the address and the information identifying the device driver from the server over a network.

15. The peripheral device of claim 13, wherein the network address of the server providing the device driver comprises a URL address.

16. The peripheral device of claim 13, wherein the information identifying the device driver is a filename of the device driver.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising downloading from the prescribed server second prescribed information in accordance with first prescribed information.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the device in communication with the network is a PC.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising determining whether the peripheral is newly installed on the device in communication with the network.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising determining whether the second prescribed information is stored in a first memory of the device in communication with the network, and enabling the peripheral device with the second prescribed information from the first memory if the second prescribed information is located in the first memory.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the first memory comprises at least one of a floppy disk, an optical storage disk, a hard disk, and read only memory (ROM).

23. The method claim 21, further comprising storing the downloaded second prescribed information in a memory of the device in communication with the network.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising upon enabling the peripheral creating and writing a registry entry associated with the peripheral.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the second prescribed information comprises a driver for the newly installed peripheral device and executable instructions for installing the driver for the newly installed peripheral device.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the server address on the network is a URL.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the second prescribed information is a peripheral device driver.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the network comprises a global network.

29. The method of claim 17, wherein the first prescribed information comprises a server address on the network and an identifier of the second prescribed information.

13. A peripheral device to be inserted in an I/O slot of a personal computer, comprising a memory configured to store a network address of a server that provides a device driver suitable for the device and information identifying the device driver, wherein the peripheral device is configured to use the network address and the information identifying the device driver to select a proper driver from the server.

17. A method of enabling a peripheral on a device in communication with a network, comprising:

reading first prescribed information from the peripheral;

locating a prescribed server on the network in accordance with the first prescribed information;

downloading second prescribed information from the prescribed server; and

enabling the peripheral in accordance with the second prescribed information.

30. A peripheral configured to couple to a network device, comprising:

a memory to store network address and device driver information; and

an interface to couple to a network device, wherein the peripheral is configured to download a device driver for the peripheral from the network device.

31. A computer-readable medium encoded with executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause a client device with a peripheral device to perform functions, comprising:

reading out from peripheral device first prescribed information;

locating a prescribed server on the network in accordance with the first prescribed information;

downloading from the prescribed server second prescribed information; and

enabling the newly installed peripheral device in accordance with the second prescribed information.