Data Processing Device for Renaming Virtual Device

• US 20070177198A1
• Filed: 01/25/2007
• Published: 08/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Miyata, Yuji
• Granted Patent: US 8,051,434 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.150
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1204 resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/121 Facilitating exception or error detection and recovery, e.g. fault, media or consumables depleted
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1226 Discovery of devices having required properties
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1229 Printer resources management or printer maintenance, e.g. device status, power levels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1286 via local network
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration

Abstract

A data processing device includes a registering unit, a display unit, a status acquiring unit, and a virtual device renaming unit. The registering unit registers a plurality of communicable printers as a plurality of virtual devices. The display unit displays a plurality of virtual device names for the plurality of virtual devices. The status acquiring unit that acquires a status of each of the plurality of virtual devices. The virtual device renaming unit that changes at least one of the virtual device names for the plurality of virtual devices to a device name representing the status of a corresponding virtual device acquired by the status acquiring unit.

Claims

1. A data processing device comprising:

a registering unit that registers a plurality of communicable printers as a plurality of virtual devices;

a display unit that displays a plurality of virtual device names for the plurality of virtual devices;

a status acquiring unit that acquires a status of each of the plurality of virtual devices; and

a virtual device renaming unit that changes at least one of the virtual device names for the plurality of virtual devices to a device name representing the status of a corresponding virtual device acquired by the status acquiring unit.

2. The data processing device according to claim 1, wherein the virtual device renaming unit adds a character string to the virtual device name, the character string representing the status of the virtual device acquired by the status acquiring unit.

3. The data processing device according to claim 2, wherein the virtual device renaming unit adds a character string to a head of the virtual device name to provide a modified virtual device name, and the display unit displays and sorts the virtual device names and the modified virtual device name to be arranged in a predetermined order.

4. The data processing device according to claim 1, wherein the virtual device renaming unit comprises:

a status determining unit that determines whether the status of each of the plurality of virtual devices is normal or abnormal; and

a character string adding unit that adds a first character string to the virtual device name of the virtual device determined to be normal by the status determining unit and a second character string to the virtual device name of the virtual device determined to be abnormal by the status determining unit, the first character string being different from the second character string.

5. The data processing device according to claim 4, wherein the status determining unit father determines whether each of the plurality of virtual devices whose status acquired by the status acquiring unit is determined to be normal is in a caution state;

and

the virtual device renaming unit adds a third character string to the virtual device name of the virtual device determined to be in the caution state by the status determining unit, the third character string being different from the first character string and the second character string.

6. The data processing device according to claim 4, wherein the display unit displays and sorts the plurality of device names for the plurality of virtual devices to be arranged in a predetermined order, and

the virtual device renaming unit adds the first character string to a head of the virtual device name determined to be normal and the second character string to a head of the virtual device name determined to be abnormal such that the virtual device name including the first character string is displayed in a higher position than the virtual device name including the second character string when sorting and displaying the plurality of virtual device names according to the predetermined order.

7. The data processing device according to claim 6, wherein each of the first character string and the second character string is composed of a numeral of at least one digit.

8. The data processing device according to claim 1, wherein the virtual device renaming unit changes the virtual device name when there is a change in the status acquired by the status acquiring unit for at least one of the plurality of virtual devices.

9. A computer readable medium containing a virtual device renaming program for instructing a data processing device capable of registering a plurality of communicable printers as a plurality of virtual devices, displaying a plurality of device names for the plurality of virtual devices, prompting a user to select one of the plurality of virtual devices, and transmitting print data to a printer corresponding to a selected virtual device, the virtual device renaming program comprising:

acquiring a status of each of the plurality of virtual devices; and

renaming at least one of the virtual device names for the plurality of virtual devices to a device name representing the status of a corresponding virtual device acquired in the acquiring step.

10. The computer readable medium containing the virtual device renaming program according to claim 9, wherein the renaming step includes adding a character string to the virtual device name, the character string representing the status of the virtual device acquired in the acquiring step.

11. The computer readable medium containing the virtual device renaming program according to claim 10, wherein the renaming step includes adding a character string to a head of the virtual device name to provide a modified virtual device name, and the data processing device is configured to sort and display the virtual device names and the modified virtual device name to be arranged in an predetermined order.

12. The computer readable medium containing the virtual device renaming program according to claim 9, wherein the renaming step comprises:

determining whether the status of each of the plurality of virtual devices acquired in the acquiring step is normal or abnormal; and

adding a first character string to the virtual device name of the virtual device determined to be normal in the determining step and a second character string to the virtual device name of the virtual device determined to be abnormal in the determining step, the first character string being different from the second character string.

13. The computer readable medium containing the virtual device renaming program according to claim 12, wherein the determining step includes determining whether each of the plurality of virtual devices whose status acquired in the acquiring step is determined to be normal is in a caution state;

and

the renaming step includes adding a third character string to the virtual device name of the virtual device determined to be in the caution state in the determining step, the third character string being different from the first character string and the second character string.

14. The computer readable medium containing the virtual device renaming program according to claim 12, wherein the data processing device is configured to sort and display the plurality of virtual device names for the plurality of virtual devices to be arranged in a predetermined order;

and

the renaming step includes adding the first character string to a head of the virtual device name determined to be normal and the second character string to a head of the virtual device name determined to be abnormal such that the virtual device name including the first character string is displayed in a higher position than the virtual device name including the second character string when sorting and displaying the plurality of virtual device names according to the predetermined order.

15. The computer readable medium containing the virtual device renaming program according to claim 14, wherein each of the first character string and the second character string is composed of a numeral of at least one digit.

16. The computer readable medium containing the virtual device renaming program according to claim 9, wherein the renaming step is executed when there is a change in the status acquired in the acquiring step for at least one of the plurality of virtual devices.