Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method and Information Recording Medium

• US 20090193365A1
• Filed: 01/30/2009
• Published: 07/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Inventors: SUGIURA, Kazuhiko
• Granted Patent: US 8,356,259 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/840
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems

Abstract

The present invention provides an information processing apparatus capable of improving the operability of an installation screen. The information processing apparatus of the present invention starts up an application on an operating system to perform information processing. This information processing apparatus includes: installation means for installing the application; display means for displaying, when the application is installed, an installation screen on which a plurality of buttons, each associated with each of a plurality of setting items and operated by a user, are arranged; detection means for detecting a use environment of the information processing apparatus; and display control means for allowing, among the buttons arranged on the installation screen, the button relevant to the use environment detected by the detection means to be displayed on the display means so as to be relatively increased in display level with respect to the other buttons.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus that starts up an application on an operating system to perform information processing,

wherein the information processing apparatus comprises:

installation means for installing the application;

display means for displaying, when the application is installed, an installation screen on which a plurality of buttons, each associated with each of a plurality of setting items and operated by a user, are arranged;

detection means for detecting a use environment of the information processing apparatus; and

display control means for allowing, among the buttons arranged on the installation screen, the button relevant to the use environment detected by the detection means to be displayed on the display means so as to be relatively increased in display level with respect to the other buttons.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the detection means detects a language applied to the operating system, and

wherein among a plurality of language selection buttons serving as the buttons for selecting a language to be applied to a character on an operation screen displayed at the startup of the application, the display control means allows the language selection button, corresponding to the language detected by the detection means, to be displayed so as to be relatively increased in display level with respect to the other language selection buttons.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the use environment includes a device connected to the information processing apparatus, and

wherein the application is a device driver.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the detection means detects whether or not the device is connected via a network, and

wherein among net setting buttons each serving as the button for selecting a setting concerning a network environment of the device, the display control means allows the net setting button when the device is connected via the network to be displayed so as to be relatively increased in display level with respect to the net setting button when the device is not connected via the network.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the detection means detects the device driver that has already been installed, and

wherein the display control means allows the button for selecting installation of the device driver relevant to the device driver detected by the detection means to be displayed so as to be relatively increased in display level with respect to the button for selecting installation of the device driver irrelevant to the device driver detected by the detection means.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the device driver includes a printer driver, and

wherein when one of a PostScript driver and a PCL driver is detected as the printer driver, the display control means allows the button for selecting installation of one of the PostScript driver and the PCL driver to be displayed so as to be relatively increased in display level with respect to the button for selecting installation of the other one of the PostScript driver and the PCL driver.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein when an old version of the device driver is detected, the display control means allows the button for selecting installation of a new version of the device driver to be displayed so as to be relatively increased in display level with respect to the button for selecting installation of an old version of the device driver.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the installation means has:

standard installation means for automatically selecting, from a plurality of the applications, the application to be installed, thus installing the application; and

custom installation means for allowing a user to select, from a plurality of the applications, the application to be installed, thus installing the application,

wherein the detection means detects that installation or uninstallation was solely performed in the past for at least one of a plurality of the applications, and

wherein when the detection means has detected that installation or uninstallation was solely performed in the past, the display control means allows a custom installation button, serving as the button for setting execution of installation by the custom installation means, to be displayed so as to be relatively increased in display level with respect to a standard installation button serving as the button for setting execution of installation by the standard installation means.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8,

wherein when the detection means has not detected that installation or uninstallation was solely performed in the past, the display control means allows the standard installation button to be displayed so as to be relatively increased in display level with respect the custom installation button.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the information processing apparatus comprises storage means for storing a table having:

a plurality of detection results detectable by the detection means; and

numerical values associated with the respective detection results,

wherein when a sum of the numerical values associated with the detection result actually detected in relation to the specified button is equal to or greater than a first threshold value as a result of making reference to the detection result actually detected by the detection means and the table, the display control means allows the specified button to be displayed so as to be relatively increased in display level with respect to the other buttons, and

wherein when the sum of the numerical values associated with the detection result actually detected in relation to the specified button is less than a second threshold value (second threshold value≦

first threshold value), the display control means allows the specified button to be displayed so as to be relatively decreased in display level with respect to the other buttons.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein the storage means stores a plurality of the tables each associated with each of a plurality of the installation screens that are sequentially switched, and

wherein the display control means switches the tables to be used every time the installation screens are switched.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 11,

wherein when the sum of the numerical values associated with the detection result actually detected in relation to the specified button is less than a third threshold value (third threshold value<

second threshold value) as a result of making reference to the detection result actually detected by the detection means and the table, the display control means does not display the specified button.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12,

wherein the display control means does not display the installation screen on which only one of the buttons is displayed, and

wherein the installation means proceeds with a process based on the assumption that a user has selected one of the buttons.

14. An information processing method performed using an information processing apparatus that starts up an application on an operating system to perform information processing,

wherein the information processing method comprises:

an installation step of installing the application;

a display step of displaying, when the application is installed, an installation screen on which a plurality of buttons, each associated with each of a plurality of setting items and operated by a user, are arranged;

a detection step of detecting a use environment of the information processing apparatus; and

a display control step of allowing, among the buttons arranged on the installation screen, the button relevant to the use environment detected by the detection step to be displayed in the display step so as to be relatively increased in display level with respect to the other buttons.

15. An information recording medium on which a program is recorded so as to be readable by an information processing apparatus that starts up an application on an operating system to perform information processing,

wherein the program allows the information processing apparatus to function as:

installation means for installing the application;

display means for displaying, when the application is installed, an installation screen on which a plurality of buttons, each associated with each of a plurality of setting items and operated by a user, are arranged;

detection means for detecting a use environment of the information processing apparatus; and

display control means for allowing, among the buttons arranged on the installation screen, the button relevant to the use environment detected by the detection means to be displayed on the display means so as to be relatively increased in display level with respect to the other buttons.