Printer driver identification for a remote printer
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method in a server-client environment, the method comprising:
- receiving at the server a driver identifier for a printer that is attached to the client;
using the driver identifier to select a closest matching driver of a plurality of drivers to install at the server; and
installing, at the server and not at the client, the selected driver in order to enable applications executing on the server to print to the printer using the installed driver.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a multi-user server-client environment, a printer can be attached to a client computer. The server selects a corresponding printer driver to install on the server in order to allow applications executing on the server to print to the printer attached to the remote client computer. The selection process allows the server to intelligently identify closely matching printer drivers in the event that a particular printer driver that the server is notified of is not available for installation.
75 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A method in a server-client environment, the method comprising:
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receiving at the server a driver identifier for a printer that is attached to the client; using the driver identifier to select a closest matching driver of a plurality of drivers to install at the server; and installing, at the server and not at the client, the selected driver in order to enable applications executing on the server to print to the printer using the installed driver. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method implemented in a server in a server-client environment, the method comprising:
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automatically selecting at least one of a plurality of drivers corresponding to a peripheral device attached to the client; and installing, at the server and not at the client, the selected at least one driver wherein the server can interface with the peripheral device using the driver to cause the selected at least one driver to perform an action at the peripheral device using the driver. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. One or more computer-readable media having stored thereon a computer program that, when executed by one or more processors of a server in a client-server system, causes the one or more processors to:
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receive a printer driver identifier for a printer attached to a client; use the printer driver identifier to select one of a plurality of printer drivers to install at the server and not at the client according to the following; if a particular printer driver of the plurality of printer drivers has a corresponding printer driver identifier that is the same as the received printer driver identifier, then selecting that particular driver, if a particular printer driver of the plurality of printer drivers currently has a corresponding printer driver identifier that is different than the received printer driver identifier but that corresponds to the same printer driver as the received printer driver identifier, then selecting that particular printer driver, and if a particular printer driver of the plurality of printer drivers has a corresponding driver name that is the same as a driver name received as part of the printer driver identifier, then selecting that particular printer driver without regard for whether that particular printer driver has a corresponding driver version that is the same as a driver version received as part of the printer driver identifier; and install the selected printer driver at the server in order to enable the selected printer to print. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. An apparatus comprising:
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a driver library including a plurality of printer drivers; and a driver matching module to select at least one of the plurality of printer drivers to be installed on the apparatus to enable a printer attached to a client connected with the apparatus to print, wherein the driver is installed on the apparatus and not the client. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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33. A system comprising:
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a client computer having a local printer attached thereto; and a server computer coupled to the client computer via a network, wherein the server computer includes; a driver library including a plurality of printer drivers, and a driver matching module to select at least one of the plurality of printer drivers for installation on the server computer and not the client computer to allow applications executing on the server computer to print to the local printer, the driver matching module selecting one of the plurality of printer drivers for installation based on a printer driver identifier and according to the following; if a particular printer driver of the plurality of printer drivers has a corresponding printer driver identifier that is the same as the received printer driver identifier, then selecting that particular driver for installation in order to enable the local printer to print, if a particular printer driver of the plurality of printer drivers currently has a corresponding printer driver identifier that is different than the received printer driver identifier but that corresponds to the same printer driver as the received printer driver identifier, then selecting that particular printer driver for installation in order to enable the local printer to print, and if a particular printer driver of the plurality of printer drivers has a corresponding driver name that is the same as a driver name received as part of the printer driver identifier, then selecting that particular printer driver without regard for whether that particular printer driver has a corresponding driver version that is the same as a driver version received as part of the printer driver identifier for installation on the server computer in order to enable the local printer to print. - View Dependent Claims (34)
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35. A computer readable medium having computer executable instructions, which when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:
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receive at a server a driver identifier for a printer that is attached to a client connected with the server, wherein the server can print information at the client; use the driver identifier to select a closest matching driver of a plurality of drivers to install at the server, and not at the client; and install, at the server, the selected driver in order to enable applications that are executing to print to the printer using the installed driver. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification