System and method for configuring digital image devices

• US 7,107,331 B2
• Filed: 03/25/2002
• Issued: 09/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Savov, Andrey I., Gava, Fabio M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dharia, Rupal
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Quang N.
• Application Number:
  US10/106,002
• Publication Number:
  US 20030182405A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,632 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/203, 709/223, 709/228, 709/229, 709/232, 709/234, 709/217, 709/219, 709220-222
• US Class Current: 709/221
• 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 3/1225 Software update, e.g. print driver, modules, plug-ins, fonts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1285 Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers

Abstract

A system and method is provided for implementing configuration of digital imaging device. The system comprises a configuration file and a series of components for implementing configuration parameters in different operating system environments. The file instructs the components where to look for a particular operating system in order to modify configuration parameters to match those set on the digital imaging device by a user.

Claims

1. A system for configuring a digital imaging device comprising:

a repository for storing selected digital imaging device configuration settings associated with each of a plurality of operating environments, wherein the selected digital imaging device configuration settings are stored in the form of name and value pair, and wherein the name and value pairs are grouped according to the behavior they control and are grouped in keys;

a configuration module having at least one virtual setting corresponding to a plurality of digital imaging device configuration settings in the repository;

a software module including means for detecting a virtual setting in the configuration module that corresponds to one of the plurality of operating environments; and

the software module further including means for changing the corresponding digital imaging device configuration setting in the repository to correspond to the one of the plurality of operating environments.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the software module in element for detecting a virtual setting and the software module for changing the corresponding digital imaging device configuration setting are the same software module.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the repository is a Linux configuration file.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the repository is a Windows registry.

5. The system of claim 1 comprising a plurality of configuration modules, each configuration module corresponding to a type of operating system.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the configuration module comprises a plurality of virtual settings.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the configuration module comprises a first virtual setting corresponding to a configuration setting in a first repository, and a second virtual setting corresponding to a configuration setting in a second repository.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the first repository corresponds to a first operating system, and a second repository corresponds to a second operating system.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the configuration module is a text file.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the configuration module is a database.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the configuration module is an XML file.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one key is a virtual key.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the virtual setting stores information corresponding to the location of the repository.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the virtual setting stores information corresponding to the location of a configuration setting in the repository.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the virtual setting comprises a virtual key.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the repository stores configuration settings in the form of name and value pairs.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein the software modules are compiled software components.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein the software modules comprise functionality that is callable and executable on a plurality of operating systems.

19. A system for configuring a digital imaging device in a network environment, the system comprising:

a client communicatively coupled to a server;

a digital imaging device communicatively coupled to the client;

a repository for storing selected digital imaging device configuration settings associated with each of a plurality of operating environments, wherein the selected digital imaging device configuration settings are stored in the form of name and value pair, and wherein the name and value pairs are grouped according to the behavior they control and are grouped in keys;

a configuration module having at least one virtual setting corresponding to a plurality of digital imaging device configuration settings in the repository;

a software module including means for detecting a virtual setting in the configuration module that corresponds to one of the plurality of operating environments; and

the software module further including means for changing the corresponding digital imaging device configuration setting in the repository to correspond to the one of the plurality of operating environments.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the software module for detecting a virtual setting and the software module for changing the corresponding digital imaging device configuration setting are the same software module.

21. The system of claim 19 comprising a plurality of configuration modules, each configuration module corresponding to a type of operating system.

22. The system of claim 19 wherein the digital imaging device functions as the server to which to the client is communicatively coupled.

23. The system of claim 19 wherein the repository is located on a client machine.

24. The system of claim 19 wherein the repository is located on a server.

25. The system of claim 19 wherein the software module for detecting a virtual setting is located on a client machine.

26. The system of claim 19 wherein the software module for detecting a virtual setting is located on a server.

27. The system of claim 19 wherein a software module for changing a configuration setting is located on a client machine.

28. The system of claim 19 wherein a software module for changing a configuration setting is located on a server.

29. A method for changing a configuration setting for a digital imaging device comprising:

sending a configuration change request to a software module;

determining a virtual setting in a configuration module corresponding to the configuration change request sent to the software module, wherein the configuration module includes at least one virtual setting corresponding to a plurality of digital imaging device configuration settings associated with each of a plurality of operating environments, wherein the digital imaging device configuration settings are stored in a digital imaging device configuration repository, wherein the digital imaging device configuration settings are stored in the form of name and value pair, and wherein the name and value pairs are grouped according to the behavior they control and are grouped in keys;

locating the virtual setting in the configuration module that corresponds to one of the plurality of operating environments;

determining from the configuration module a virtual setting corresponding to the configuration setting in the digital imaging device configuration repository; and

changing the corresponding configuration setting in the digital imaging device configuration repository to fulfill the configuration change request that corresponds to one of the plurality of operating environments.

30. The method of claim 29 further comprising the step of passing the virtual setting as a parameter to a software module for use in changing the corresponding configuration setting.

31. The method of claim 29 further comprising the steps of:

determining an operating system upon which the digital imaging device is running; and

determining a configuration module corresponding to the operating system.