Device information acquiring method, server apparatus and computer-readable storage medium
First Claim
1. A device information acquiring method for acquiring device information related to devices from a Web site provided by a server apparatus via one or a plurality of networks, comprising the steps of:
- (a) checking an environment of a client terminal from which the Web site is accessed, including at least one device usable by the client terminal, and sending environment information indicative of the environment to the server apparatus;
(b) downloading device information of said at least one device, from the server apparatus to the client terminal, by a server execution program executed by the server apparatus, based on the environment information received from the client terminal; and
(c) installing the downloaded device information in the client terminal,wherein said step (a) includes receiving a client execution program which is independent of an operating system of the client terminal, and an arbitrary program which is dependent of said operating system, that are downloaded together from the server apparatus to the client terminal in response to a request from the client terminal, and checking the environment of the client terminal by said client execution program via said arbitrary program.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A device information acquiring method acquires device information related to devices from a Web site provided by a server apparatus via one or a plurality of networks. The method checks an environment of a client terminal from which the Web site is accessed, including at least one device usable by the client terminal, and sends environment information indicative of the environment to the server apparatus. Then, the method downloads device information of the at least one device, from the server apparatus to the client terminal, by a server execution program executed by the server apparatus, based on the environment information received from the client terminal. The method then installs the downloaded device information in the client terminal.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A device information acquiring method for acquiring device information related to devices from a Web site provided by a server apparatus via one or a plurality of networks, comprising the steps of:
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(a) checking an environment of a client terminal from which the Web site is accessed, including at least one device usable by the client terminal, and sending environment information indicative of the environment to the server apparatus; (b) downloading device information of said at least one device, from the server apparatus to the client terminal, by a server execution program executed by the server apparatus, based on the environment information received from the client terminal; and (c) installing the downloaded device information in the client terminal, wherein said step (a) includes receiving a client execution program which is independent of an operating system of the client terminal, and an arbitrary program which is dependent of said operating system, that are downloaded together from the server apparatus to the client terminal in response to a request from the client terminal, and checking the environment of the client terminal by said client execution program via said arbitrary program. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 31)
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13. A server apparatus which manages device information related to devices used by client terminals and providing the device information requested from the client terminals via one or a plurality of networks, comprising:
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a part configured to download, a client execution program which is independent of an operating system of an arbitrary client terminal, and an arbitrary program which is dependent of said operating system, said client execution program and said arbitrary program being downloaded together to the arbitrary client terminal in response to a request from the arbitrary client terminal, said client execution program being executed by the arbitrary client terminal to check and send environment information indicative of an environment of the arbitrary client terminal to the server apparatus via said arbitrary program; a storage unit configured to store device information including most recent versions of data transfer programs and device drivers; and a downloading part configured to download the device information of at least one device usable by the arbitrary client terminal and stored in said storage unit, from the server apparatus to the arbitrary client terminal, by a server execution program executed by the server apparatus, based on the environment information received from the arbitrary client terminal and including information with respect to said at least one device, so that the arbitrary client terminal installs the downloaded device information therein. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a server computer to manage device information related to devices used by client terminals and provide the device information requested from the client terminals via one or a plurality of networks, said program comprising:
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a procedure causing the server computer to download, a client execution program which is independent of an operating system of an arbitrary client terminal, and an arbitrary program which is dependent of said operating system, said client execution program and said arbitrary program being downloaded together to the arbitrary client system in response to a request from the arbitrary client terminal, said client execution program being executed by the arbitrary client terminal to check and send environment information indicative of an environment of the arbitrary client terminal to the server computer via said arbitrary program; a managing procedure causing the server computer to manage information including most recent versions of data transfer programs and device drivers in a storage unit; and a downloading procedure causing the server computer to download the device information of at least one device usable by the arbitrary client terminal and stored in the storage unit, from the server computer to the arbitrary client terminal, by a server execution program executed by the server computer, based on the environment information received from the arbitrary client terminal and including information with respect to said at least one device, so that the arbitrary client terminal installs the downloaded device information therein. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A device information acquiring method to be implemented on a computer, comprising:
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downloading a client execution program which is independent of an operating system of a client terminal and an arbitrary program which is dependent on the operating system from a server to the client terminal in response to a request from the client terminal, said client execution program and said arbitrary program being downloaded together, displaying at the client terminal a first list of devices usable by the client terminal by the client execution program; sending environment information of selected devices selected from the first list from the client terminal to the server by the client execution program via the arbitrary program, said environment information including software information which includes software version information and operating system information of the client terminal; sending a second list of optimum software for the selected devices from the server for display at the client terminal, based on a software database of a plurality of device models; downloading from the server to the client terminal selected optimum software information selected from the second list; and installing the downloaded optimum software information in the client terminal by the client execution program. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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32. An apparatus adapted to acquire device information related to devices from a Web site provided by a server apparatus via one or a plurality of networks, comprising:
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a storage part; a checking part configured to check an environment of the apparatus from which the Web site is accessed, including at least one device usable by the apparatus, and to send environment information indicative of the environment to the server apparatus; and an installing part configured to install, into the storage part, device information of said at least one device downloaded from the server apparatus by a server execution program that is executed by the server apparatus in response to the environment information, wherein said checking part comprises a receiving part configured to receive a client execution program which is independent of an operating system of the apparatus, and an arbitrary program which is dependent of said operating system, that are downloaded together from the server apparatus in response to a request from the apparatus, and said checking part checks the environment of the apparatus by said client execution program via said arbitrary program.
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33. A computer-readable program, stored on a computer-readable medium, which, when executed by a server computer causes said server computer to manage device information related to devices used by client terminals and provide the device information requested from the client terminals via one or a plurality of networks, comprising executing:
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A procedure causing the server computer to download, a client execution program which is independent of an operating system of an arbitrary client terminal, and an arbitrary program which is dependent of said operating system, said client execution program and said arbitrary program being downloaded together to the arbitrary client terminal in response to a request from the arbitrary client terminal, said client execution program being executed by the arbitrary client terminal to check and send environment information indicative of an environment of the arbitrary client terminal to the server apparatus via said arbitrary program; and A procedure causing the server computer to download the device information of at least one device usable by the arbitrary client terminal and stored in a storage unit of the server computer, from the server computer to the arbitrary client terminal, by a server execution program executed by the server computer, based on the environment information received from the arbitrary client terminal and including information with respect to said at least one device, so that the arbitrary client terminal installs the downloaded device information therein, Wherein the device information stored in the storage part includes most recent versions of data transfer programs and device drivers.
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Specification