IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND METHOD THEREOF

• US 20110075177A1
• Filed: 09/15/2010
• Published: 03/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Takagi, Yoshihiro
• Granted Patent: US 9,218,150 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.13
• 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

Abstract

A system is provided in which printer driver update work is not required, and in addition, print queue creation work can be hidden. When a virtual printer driver is installed, a generic printer driver is installed in the system without creating a print queue. Then, for execution of printing, the installed generic printer driver is used to create the print queue, and a print job is input to the print queue.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus which communicates with a plurality of image forming apparatuses, the information processing apparatus comprising:

a first installation unit configured to install a first device driver which can issue an instruction to a plurality of types of the image forming apparatuses; and

a second installation unit configured to install a second device driver along with the installation of the first device driver by the first installation unit, without fixing a port of the second device driver, wherein the second device driver is executed when data to be transmitted to at least one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses for processing is generated based on data received from the first device driver.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first installation unit sets a print queue corresponding to the first device driver when installing the first device driver, and the second installation unit does not set the print queue corresponding to the first device driver when installing the second device driver.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a selection unit configured to select one image forming apparatus from among the plurality of image forming apparatuses; and

a setting unit configured to, in response to the selection made by the selection unit, set a port which sets the selected image forming apparatus as an output destination, for the second device driver,

wherein the first device driver generates intermediate data that can be interpreted by a plurality of types of device drivers, and the second device driver generates, from the intermediate data, data that can be processed by the image forming apparatus corresponding to the port set for the second device driver by the setting unit.

4. A control method carried out in an information processing apparatus which communicates with a plurality of image forming apparatuses, the control method comprising:

a first installation step of installing a first device driver which can issue an instruction to a plurality of types of the image forming apparatuses; and

a second installation step of installing a second device driver along with the installation of the first device driver in the first installation step, without fixing a port of the second device driver, wherein the second device driver is executed when data to be transmitted to at least one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses for processing is generated based on data received from the first device driver.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the first installation step sets a print queue corresponding to the first device driver when installing the first device driver, and the second installation step does not set the print queue corresponding to the first device driver when installing the second device driver.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising:

a selection step of selecting one image forming apparatus from among the plurality of image forming apparatuses; and

a setting step of setting, in response to the selection made by the selection unit, a port which sets the selected image forming apparatus as an output destination, for the second device driver,

wherein the first device driver generates intermediate data that can be interpreted by a plurality of types of device drivers, and the second device driver generates, from the intermediate data, data that can be processed by the image forming apparatus corresponding to the port set for the second device driver in the setting step.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to claim 4.