Printer driver, information processing apparatus, and computer-readable recording medium recording therein printer driver

• US 20110058205A1
• Filed: 09/07/2010
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Araki, Shigeo
• Granted Patent: US 8,786,869 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1203 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. print management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1225 Software update, e.g. print driver, modules, plug-ins, fonts

Abstract

A printer driver includes: a core driver performing a constraining process to a print setting based on function information containing a constraint for the print setting and stored in a storage unit, and being enabled to accept an addition of a plug-in, wherein the core driver expands basic function information corresponding to the core driver onto a memory as information having a tree structure, when plug-in function information corresponding to the plug-in is stored in the storage unit, the core driver expands the plug-in function information on the memory as information having a tree structure, the core driver merges the information expanded from the plug-in function information into the information expanded from the basic function information, and the core driver performs the constraining process to a print setting based on a parent-and-child relation in a tree structure of the information thus merged.

Claims

1. A printer driver comprising:

a core driver performing a constraining process to a print setting based on function information containing a constraint for the print setting and stored in a storage unit, and being enabled to accept an addition of a plug-in, wherein

the core driver expands basic function information corresponding to the core driver onto a memory as information having a tree structure,

when plug-in function information corresponding to the plug-in is stored in the storage unit, the core driver expands the plug-in function information on the memory as information having a tree structure,

the core driver merges the information expanded from the plug-in function information into the information expanded from the basic function information, and

the core driver performs the constraining process to a print setting based on a parent-and-child relation in a tree structure of the information thus merged.

2. The printer driver according to claim 1, wherein

the core driver includes a setting managing module that generates a set of software components enabled to provide, in the parent-and-child relation in the tree structure of the information thus merged, any one of information that a child has and information that the child receives from a child belonging thereto or both to a parent, and

the core driver performs the constraining process to a print setting based on information obtained by a managing component, located at a root of the parent-and-child relation in the set of the software components and acting as an interface with other modules of the core driver, from each child software component.

3. The printer driver according to claim 1, wherein the basic function information and the plug-in function information are stored in the storage unit and used as independent files.

4. The printer driver according to claim 2, wherein the setting managing module uses a Document Object Model (DOM) parser to expand the function information described in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) format as a DOM tree on a memory.

9. A computer-readable recording medium recording therein the printer driver according to claim 1.

5. An information processing apparatus installed with a printer driver including a core driver performing a constraining process to a print setting based on function information, containing a constraint for the print setting and stored in a storage unit df the information processing apparatus, and being enabled to accept an addition of a plug-in, wherein

the core driver expands basic function information corresponding to the core driver on a memory of the information processing apparatus as information having a tree structure,

when plug-in function information corresponding to the plug-in is stored in the storage unit, the core driver expands the plug-in function information on the memory as information having a tree structure,

the core driver merges the information expanded from the plug-in function information into the information expanded from the basic function information, and

the core driver performs the constraining process to a print setting based on a parent-and-child relation in a tree structure of the information thus merged.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the core driver includes a setting managing module that generates a set of software components enabled to provide, in the parent-and-child relation in the tree structure of the information thus merged, any one of information that a child has and information that the child receives from a child belonging thereto or both to a parent, and

the core driver performs the constraining process to a print setting based on information obtained by a managing component, located at a root in the parent-and-child relation in the set of the software components and acting as an interface with other modules of the core driver, from each child software component.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the basic function information and the plug-in function information are stored in the storage unit and used as independent files.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the setting managing module uses a Document Object Model (DOM) parser to expand the function information described in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) format as a DOM tree on a memory.