Tools for facilitating printer installation

• US 9,513,847 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2014
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Hattori, Tomoki
• Primary Examiner(s): ZONG, HELEN
• Application Number:
  US14/195,011
• Publication Number:
  US 20150248263A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,009 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers

Abstract

Tools (such as systems, apparatuses, methodologies, executable computer program, etc.) are provided to facilitate installation of a device drivers on a user terminal by user selection of a target peripheral device, without any other required action by the user and without administrative login by the user on the user terminal.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying one or more programs of instructions executable by a computer, wherein the one or more programs of instructions executed by the computer comprises:

a printer selection interface to communicate with a print server to receive a listing of printers selectable by a user of the computer, display the listing of printers, receive user selection of a printer amongst the listing of printers, communicate with the print server to request a print driver for the user-selected printer, and receive an installer package from the print server; and

a printer installation module that automatically creates, upon receipt of the installer package from the print server, an installation scenario file on the computer, the installation scenario file including plural executable actions executable by the computer without administrative login on the computer, the plural actions in the installation scenario file that are executable by the computer without administrative login on the computer including (a) an executable action to automatically execute the installer package on the computer to install the print driver corresponding to the user-selected printer, and in addition (b) an executable action to create a port on the computer, wherein said port created on the computer without administrative login permits, in response to the user selection of the printer amongst the listing of printers, access to the installed printer directly without communicating further with the print server.

2. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the listing of printers is displayed by the printer selection interface as printer icons corresponding to the respective printers in the listing.

3. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the plural actions in the installation scenario file created by the printer installation module include an action to determine a network address of the installed printer and install a port monitor corresponding to the network address of the printer.

4. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the plural actions in the installation scenario file created by the printer installation module includes an action to determine a network address of the installed printer and install an agent directed to the network address of the printer.

5. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the installer package received from the print server is a signed package, and the printer installation module performs a signature verification of the signed installer package before executing the installer package.

6. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, the one or more programs of instructions executed by the computer further comprising a driver update module to update each driver installed on a terminal, wherein for said each driver, the driver update module checks for available update of the driver, and if driver update is available, the driver update module executes the available driver update.

7. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, the one or more programs of instructions executed by the computer further comprising a driver update module to update each driver installed on a terminal, wherein the driver update module checks for driver update pushed by the print server to the computer, and if the driver update has been pushed by the print server to the computer, the driver update module executes the driver update.

8. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, the one or more programs of instructions executed by the computer further comprising a driver update module to update each driver installed on a terminal, wherein when the user selects a particular installed printer, the driver update module checks for available update of the driver of the particular installed printer, and if driver update is available, the driver update module executes the available driver update.

9. A system of terminals connected to a network and that have a need for print service, plural printers also being connected to the network, the system comprising:

a print server that registers for each printer amongst the plural printers connected to the network, one or more installer packages for installing a driver of the printer; and

a non-transitory computer readable medium embodying one or more programs of instructions executable by a computer, wherein the one or more programs of instructions executed by the computer comprises;

a printer selection interface to communicate with the print server to receive a listing of printers selectable by a user of the computer, display the listing of printers, receive user selection of a printer amongst the listing of printers, communicate with the print server to request a print driver for the user-selected printer, and receive an installer package from the print server; and

a printer installation module that automatically creates, upon receipt of the installer package from the print server, an installation scenario file on the computer, the installation scenario file including plural executable actions executable by the computer without administrative login on the computer, the plural actions in the installation scenario file that are executable by the computer without administrative login on the computer including (a) an executable action to automatically execute the installer package on the computer to install the print driver corresponding to the user-selected printer, and in addition (b) an executable action to create a port on the computer, wherein said port created on the computer without administrative login permits, in response to the user selection of the printer amongst the listing of printers, access to the installed printer directly without communicating further with the print server.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the print server communicates with the printer selection interface to determine a platform of the computer, and the print server determines, amongst the installer packages registered by the print server, suitable packages that can be executed on the platform of the computer, and

the listing of printers communicated by the print server to the computer includes only printers for which the print server has registered at least one installer package that is suitable to be executed on the platform of the computer.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the print server registers, for each terminal amongst the terminals in the system, the drivers installed on the terminal.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein when a new update of a driver is available, the print server determines update targets, amongst the terminals in the system, on which the driver is installed, and pushes the update to the update target.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more programs of instructions executed by the computer further comprises a driver update module to update each driver installed on a terminal, and for said each driver, the driver update module checks for available update of the driver, and if driver update is available, the driver update module executes the available driver update.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more programs of instructions executed by the computer further comprises a driver update module to update each driver installed on a terminal, and the driver update module checks for driver update pushed by the print server to the computer, and if the driver update has been pushed by the print server to the computer, the driver update module executes the driver update.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more programs of instructions executed by the computer further comprises a driver update module to update each driver installed on a terminal, and when the user selects a particular installed printer in the print application, the driver update module checks for available update of the driver of the particular installed printer, and if driver update is available, the driver update module executes the available driver update.

16. A method for automatically installing device drivers on a network-connected user terminal, said method comprising:

providing a printer selection interface that displays a listing of network-connected printers and receiving user selection of a specified printer selected from the listing of network-connected printers;

communicating with a print server to obtain a printer installer package for the user-selected printer, from the print server;

generating automatically on the user terminal, upon receipt of the printer installer package from the print server, an installation scenario file on the user terminal, the installation scenario file including plural executable actions executable by the computer without administrative login on the computer, the plural actions in the installation scenario file that are executable by the computer without administrative login on the computer including (a) an executable action to automatically execute the installer package on the terminal to install the print driver corresponding to the user-selected printer, and in addition (b) an executable action to create a port on the terminal, wherein said port created on the computer without administrative login permits, in response to the user selection of the printer amongst the listing of printers, access to the installed printer directly without communicating further with the print server.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the listing of printers is displayed by the printer selection interface as printer icons corresponding to the respective printers in the listing.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the plural actions in the installation scenario file includes an action to determine a network address of the installed printer and install a port monitor corresponding to the network address of the printer.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the plural actions in the installation scenario file includes an action to determine a network address of the installed printer and install an agent directed to the network address of the printer.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the installer package received from the print server is a signed package, and the method further comprises performing a signature verification of the signed installer package before executing the installer package.