JP2002373144A - System and method for integrating device driver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automate the integration of a device driver to make the device usable. SOLUTION: When a USB cable 3 is connected to a personal computer main body 1, a control part 11 issues the request of driver integration through a USB interface part 12 to USB equipment 2. Then, the control part 21 of the USB equipment 2 reads a USB equipment driver 231 preliminarily stored in an ROM 23, and uploads it through a USB interface part 22 to the personal main body 1. Then, the control part 11 of the personal computer main body 1 stores the received USB equipment driver 231 into an HDD 14. Moreover, the control part 11 develops the USB equipment driver 231 to a driver storage area 132, and additionally registers driver information (driver ID and driver version) into a driver management table 131.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and a method for embedding a driver in a device, and more particularly, to a method of connecting a device compatible with the USB standard or a device not compatible with the plug and play compatible with plug and play to a computer. And a device driver embedding method and method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a driver for a device that does not support plug-and-play is installed, an input such as a keyboard and a mouse is performed from a tool including a driver in a combination of an FD unit and an FD medium, a CD unit and a CD medium. Drivers for various devices are installed on the PC by manual operation of the device.

[0003] In addition, US compatible plug and play
The prior art in a Universal Serial Bus (B) device is based on an OS when a USB device is connected.
The personal computer equipped with the (operating system) recognizes the USB device and requests an operator to input a driver for the USB device. Then, the operator
The FD medium or CD medium containing the driver of the B device is inserted into the FD unit or the CD unit, and the driver is installed so that the USB device can be used using a keyboard and a mouse according to the OS request. .

[0004] Further, as a conventional technique without manual work,
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-203230, a technique is described in which a driver is installed in a personal computer in advance.

[0005]

In the prior art involving manual work, regardless of plug and play, the driver is generally incorporated by using an FD medium or a CD-ROM medium.
Since the operation has to be performed manually, there is a problem that the operation is complicated and troublesome, and the operation time is further increased.

Further, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 203203, it is necessary to install in advance the driver of a device which is not known to be used in the personal computer body, so that the capacity of the fixed disk to be installed is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention, in view of the above problems, is to provide a device driver incorporation for making a device usable, and to provide an automation of the incorporation.

Another object of the present invention is to automatically install a driver from a device in order to automate the installation of the driver of the device.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device driver embedding method for embedding a device driver in a computer, wherein the device is a device driver. A non-volatile memory for storing the driver in advance, wherein the device has a built-in means for incorporating the driver of the device itself stored in the non-volatile memory into the computer when there is a request to install the driver from the computer. I have.

[0010] The second method for installing a device driver according to the present invention is a method for installing a driver of a USB device in a computer having a disk for storing various drivers. When the connection of the USB device is detected after being raised, a confirmation unit for confirming whether a driver corresponding to the USB device is stored in the disk, and if the confirmation unit cannot confirm the driver, the USB device is transmitted to the USB device. It is characterized by comprising requesting means for making a request for incorporating a driver of a device, and incorporating means for incorporating the driver of the USB device itself received from the USB device by the requesting device into the disk.

The third method for installing a device driver according to the present invention is a method for installing a device driver in a computer having a disk for storing various drivers, wherein the computer starts up the apparatus itself. Checking means for checking whether or not a driver corresponding to the device is stored in the disk when the connection of the device is detected, and incorporating the driver of the device into the device if the checking cannot be performed by the checking means Request means for making a request; and built-in means for incorporating the driver of the device itself received from the device by the request means into the disk.

Further, in the above-described second device driver embedding method, the checking means reads driver information including a driver ID and a driver version of the USB device from the USB device, and the read driver information is stored in the disk device. It is characterized by having means for confirming whether or not it is registered.

[0013] Further, in the third method of incorporating a device driver, the checking means reads driver information including a driver ID and a driver version of the device from the device and registers the read driver information in the disk. It is characterized in that it has means for confirming whether or not it has been performed.

Further, in the above-described second device driver embedding method, the embedding means includes a memory for storing a program to be executed by the computer.
It is characterized in that the driver of the B apparatus itself is developed.

Further, in the above-mentioned third device driver embedding method, the embedding means expands a driver of the device itself in a memory for storing a program to be executed by the computer.

Further, in the above-mentioned second or third method of incorporating a device driver, the computer stores a program for reading out the corresponding driver from the disk and executing the same when the confirmation is made by the confirmation means. It is characterized by having a developing means for developing the read driver in the memory.

A first method for installing a device driver according to the present invention is a method for installing a device driver in a computer, wherein the device prepares a nonvolatile memory in which a driver of the device itself is stored in advance. Then, when there is a driver installation request from the computer, the device incorporates the driver of the device itself stored in the non-volatile memory into the computer.

A second method for installing a device driver according to the present invention is a method for installing a device driver into a computer, wherein the computer sends a request to install the driver to the device. It is characterized by receiving a driver of the device itself and incorporating the driver received by the computer.

A third method for installing a device driver according to the present invention is a method for installing a driver for a USB device in a computer having a disk for storing various drivers. Driver I stored on the disk
Prepare a table for reading and managing the driver information including D and the driver version in the memory, and when the computer detects the connection of the USB device after starting up the device itself, reads the driver information from the USB device,
Check whether the read driver information is registered in the table. If the driver information is not registered in the table, make a request to install the driver of the USB device to the USB device. The driver of the received USB device is incorporated in the disk.

A fourth method for installing a device driver according to the present invention is a method for installing a device driver into a computer provided with a disk for storing various drivers. At startup, a table for reading and managing driver information including a driver ID and a driver version stored in the disk is prepared in a memory, and when the connection of the device is detected after startup of the device itself, a driver is transmitted from the device. Read the information, confirm whether the read driver information is registered in the table, and if not, make a request to install the driver of the device to the device if not registered in the table; Of the device itself received from The driver is characterized in that incorporated into the disk.

Further, in the third method for installing a device driver, the computer develops the driver of the USB device itself received in response to the installation request into an area for storing various drivers in the memory. And

Further, in the above-mentioned fourth method for installing a device driver, the computer develops the driver of the device itself received by the installation request into an area for storing various drivers in the memory. I have.

Further, in the above third or fourth method of incorporating a device driver, if the computer is registered in the table, the computer reads the driver from the disk and stores various drivers in the memory. The read driver is developed in the area.

[0024]

Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG.
In the first embodiment of the present invention, a personal computer body 1 as a computer, a USB device 2, a personal computer body 1 and a US
And a USB connection cable 3 for connecting to the B device 2. As the USB device 2, there are a plurality of devices that operate with various different drivers by serial connection.
For convenience of explanation, one unit was used.

The personal computer 1 includes a control unit 11 that operates under program control by a processor (not shown), a USB interface unit 12 that performs data communication with a standard USB interface, a storage unit 13, a USB device driver, and an application. And an HDD 14 for storing information including software and the like. Note that the storage unit 13
Read / write volatile memory (eg, RA
M). The HDD 14 is a readable and writable nonvolatile recording medium device (for example, a magnetic disk).

The storage unit 13 is created based on driver information (information including a driver ID, a driver version, etc.) stored in the HDD 14 when the personal computer 1 itself starts up, and is managed for each driver ID. An area including a driver management table 131 and a driver storage area 132 for storing driver programs for various peripheral devices including USB devices connected to the control unit 11 to execute the driver are allocated. It should be noted that the connected device (U
(Including SB devices).

The USB device 2 includes a control unit 21 that operates under program control by a processor (not shown), a USB interface unit 22 that performs data communication with a standard USB interface, and a read-only volatile memory (for example, ROM). And a ROM 23.
The ROM 23 may be a memory (for example, a flash memory) that can be rewritten so that it can be changed from the personal computer body.

In the ROM 23, a USB device driver 231 which is a driver of the USB device 2 is stored in advance. Although not shown, the ROM 23 stores a product ID and a driver ID necessary for reading the descriptor.
Device information of the USB device 2 including D, driver version, and the like are also stored in advance. That is, the descriptor is device information for causing the personal computer 1 to correctly recognize the device. The device information includes driver information (the driver information includes a driver ID indicating the identification of the driver and a driver version number). Driver version shown).

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the flow of the driver installation operation when the control unit 11 of the personal computer 1 connects the USB device 2.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a description will be given of the operation of incorporating the driver in the first embodiment of the present invention. Now, it is assumed that the user starts the USB device 2 after the start-up of the personal computer 1 and connects to the personal computer with the USB cable 3. After starting the personal computer, first, the personal computer 1 and US
The B device 2 is connected with the USB cable 3.

Then, in the personal computer 1, the control unit 11 executing the OS is connected to the USB interface unit 1.
When the connection of the USB device 2 is recognized based on the USB protocol via the USB interface 2, a request to read the descriptor of the USB device connected via the USB interface unit 12 is made to the USB device 2. Upon receiving the request to read the descriptor (device information including driver information) via the USB interface unit 22, the control unit 21 of the USB 2 reads the descriptor stored in the ROM 23, and the personal computer 1 via the USB interface unit 22. Send to The control unit 11 having received the descriptor via the USB interface unit 12 determines whether the driver information including the driver ID and the driver version in the content (device information) of the received descriptor is registered in the driver management table 131 of the storage unit 13. Confirm (Steps S101, S102, S10 in FIG. 2)
3).

If it is not registered in the driver management table 131 (in this case, it is not registered), the control unit 1
1 judges that the driver of the USB device 2 corresponding to the HDD 14 is not stored, and the USB interface unit 1
The USB device 2 sends a USB device driver upload request (installation request) to the USB device 2 via the USB device 2 (steps S104 and S105).

The control unit 21 of the USB device 2 that has received the upload request via the USB interface unit 22
USB device driver 231 stored in ROM 23
Is read and transmitted to the personal computer 1 via the USB interface unit 22.

US via the USB interface unit 12
The control unit 11 that has received the B device driver 231
The device driver 231 is stored in the HDD 14 and loaded (developed) into the driver storage area 132 of the storage unit 13.
I do. Further, the control unit 11 additionally registers the driver information in the device information of the USB device 2 read out earlier in the driver management table 131 (steps S106 and S10).
7).

When the storage and registration in the storage unit 13 are completed, the control unit 11 performs initial settings for the USB device 2 (for example, setting of a USB address, configuration, and the like for the USB device 2). At the same time, a setting is made in an interface management table (not shown) in the storage unit 13 based on the device information read earlier (step S109). Note that the interface management table is managed for each interface unit, so that information such as the type of the connected device and the connection status can be known.

As described above, the driver of the USB device 2 connected to the personal computer 1 is automatically installed in the OS of the personal computer and becomes usable.

The operation of incorporating the driver into the OS is to be processed by the OS, and therefore will not be described in the present invention.

Next, as described above, the USB device driver 23
After the PC 1 is installed in the personal computer 1, the power is turned off (in this case, the USB cable 3 is also removed). Thereafter, it is assumed that the personal computer 1 is turned on again by turning on the power of the personal computer 1, and the USB device 2 is connected with the USB cable 3. Then, the control unit 11 of the personal computer 1 recognizes the connection of the USB device 2 via the USB interface unit 12 based on the USB protocol. The USB device 2 is recognized by reading the descriptor (steps S101 and S102).

Further, the control unit 11 sends a descriptor read request to the USB device 2 and reads driver information in the read descriptor (device information) from the HDD 2.
14 is checked by searching the driver management table 131 to see if it matches the content registered in the driver management table 131. If registered (in this case, registered), the control unit 1
1 reads the driver of the USB device 2 from the HDD 14 and stores the driver in the driver storage area 132 of the storage unit 14.
(Deployment) (step S108).

When the storage in the storage unit 13 is completed, the control unit 11 performs initial settings for the USB device 2 (for example, setting of a USB address, configuration and the like for the USB device 2), and Based on the device information read earlier, a setting is made in an interface management table (not shown) in the storage unit 13 (step S10).
9).

Therefore, the control unit 11 of the personal computer 1
U stored in the driver storage area 132 of the storage unit 13
By executing the driver of the SB device 2, the USB device 2
Can interact with

Only the necessary USB device driver is H
Since the USB device driver is registered in the DD 14 and unnecessary USB device drivers do not need to be registered in the HDD 14 in advance, the capacity of the HDD 14 can be reduced.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 3, a second embodiment of the present invention is shown.
In the embodiment, a personal computer body 4 which is a computer is used.
, USB device 2, peripheral device 5, and interface cable 61 for connecting personal computer 4 and USB device 2
And an interface cable 62 for connecting the personal computer 4 to the peripheral device 5. It should be noted that the configuration of the second embodiment is a U.S.A.
Compared to the first embodiment using the B interface,
The difference is that USB devices that support plug and play and peripheral devices that do not support plug and play coexist. In this case, the interface with a peripheral device that does not support plug and play refers to a serial interface or a parallel interface, such as a SCSI interface, an RS232C interface, or a centro interface. Although there are a plurality of USB devices 2 that operate with various different drivers through serial connection, one device is used for convenience of explanation. Although there are a plurality of peripheral devices 5 via I / O interface units having different communication protocols, one is provided for convenience of explanation.

The personal computer body 4 includes a control unit 41 operated by a processor (not shown) under program control, interface units 421 and 422 for performing data communication according to each interface protocol, a storage unit 43, and drivers for various peripheral devices. And an HDD 44 for storing information including application software and the like. The storage unit 43 is a volatile memory (for example, RAM) that can be read and written. The HDD 44 is a readable and writable nonvolatile recording medium device (for example, a magnetic disk)
It is.

The storage section 43 is created based on driver information (information including a driver ID, a driver version, etc.) stored in the HDD 44 when the personal computer 4 itself starts up, and is managed by each driver. An area including a management table 431 and a driver storage area 432 for storing driver programs of various peripheral devices including USB devices connected to the control unit 41 to execute the driver is allocated. The driver storage area 432 contains connected peripheral devices (devices).
Only the driver program is stored.

The peripheral device 5 includes a control unit 51 that operates under program control by a processor (not shown), an I / O interface unit 52 that performs data communication with a peripheral device interface, and a read-only volatile memory (for example, R
OM). In addition,
The ROM 53 may be a memory (for example, a flash memory) that can be rewritten so that it can be changed from the personal computer body.

A peripheral device driver 531 which is a driver for the peripheral device 5 is stored in the ROM 53 in advance. Although not shown, the ROM 53 also stores in advance product IDs and driver information (information including driver IDs, driver versions, and the like) of the peripheral devices 5 necessary for reading device information.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of operation when the control unit 41 of the personal computer incorporates a driver for the peripheral device 5 at the time of starting the apparatus.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4, the operation of incorporating the driver in the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Now, if the user
Also, it is assumed that the peripheral device 5 is connected for the first time with various interface cables and the personal computer body is started.

Then, the control unit 41 of the personal computer body 4
A self-diagnosis is performed (step S201 in FIG. 4).

When the self-diagnosis is completed, the control unit 41 performs internal initialization. In the process of the initial setting, the control unit 41 reads driver information of various drivers (for example, a keyboard driver, a mouse driver, etc., which have already been used) already stored in the HDD 44, and reads the driver information of the storage unit 43. A driver ID is set in the driver management table 431 (step S202).

When the various initial setting processes are completed, the control unit 41 first checks whether there is any device connected to the I / O interface unit 421. In this case, since the USB device 2 is connected, the connection is confirmed (in this case, U
SB protocol). When the connection confirmation is recognized, a request for device information (including driver information including a driver ID and a driver version) is made. The control unit 21 of the USB device 2 having received the request for the device information via the USB interface unit 22
The device information including the product ID, the driver ID, the driver version, and the like in the storage device 23 is read and transmitted to the personal computer 4 via the USB interface unit 22. I
The control unit 41 of the personal computer 4 that has received the device information via the I / O interface unit 421
The storage unit 4 based on the driver information in the device information of the device 2
It is confirmed whether or not it is registered in the third driver management table 431 (steps S203, S204).

If it is not registered in the driver management table 431 (in this case, it is not registered), the control unit 4
1 requests the USB device 2 via the I / O interface unit 421 to upload the driver software of the USB device (installation request) (steps S206 and S206).
207).

The control unit 21 of the USB device 2 that has received the upload request via the USB interface unit 22
USB device driver 231 stored in ROM 23
Is read out and transmitted to the personal computer 4 via the USB interface unit 22.

U via the I / O interface unit 421
The control unit 41 that has received the SB device driver 231
While storing the B device driver 231 in the HDD 44,
The data is loaded (developed) into the driver storage area 432 of the storage unit 43. Further, the control unit 41 reads the USB
The driver information in the device information of the device 2 is additionally registered in the driver management table 231 (steps S208 and S208).
209).

When the storage and registration in the storage unit 43 are completed, the control unit 41 performs an initial setting for the USB device 2 (for example, a setting of a USB address, a configuration and the like for the USB device 2). At the same time, a setting is made in an interface management table (not shown) in the storage unit 43 based on the device information read earlier (step S211).

When the processing of the I / O interface unit 421 is completed, the control unit 41 returns to the next I / O interface unit 4
In order to perform the process of Step 22, the process jumps to Step S203 (Step S212).

The control unit 41 includes an I / O interface unit 4
At 22, the connection of the interface is confirmed (for example, confirmation by response), and if it is recognized, device information (information including product ID, driver ID, driver version)
Is requested to the peripheral device 5 via the I / O interface unit 422. The control unit 51 of the peripheral device 5 that has received the request for the product information via the I / O interface unit 52
Reads device information including a product ID, a driver ID, a driver version, and the like in the ROM 53,
The data is transmitted to the personal computer 4 via the I / O interface 52. The control unit 41 of the personal computer 4 that has received the device information via the I / O interface unit 422 uses the storage unit 43 based on the driver information in the received device information.
It is checked whether the driver is registered in the driver management table 431 (steps S203 and S204).

If it is not registered in the driver management table 431 (in this case, it is not registered), the control unit 4
1 issues an upload request (installation request) for driver software of the peripheral device to the peripheral device 5 via the I / O interface unit 422 (steps S206 and S20).
7).

The control unit 51 of the peripheral device 5 receiving the upload request via the I / O interface unit 52
The peripheral device driver 531 stored in the OM 53 is read and transmitted to the personal computer 4 via the I / O interface unit 52.

The control unit 41, which has received the peripheral device driver 531 via the I / O interface unit 422, stores the peripheral device driver 531 in the HDD 44 and loads (expands) the data in the driver storage area 432 of the storage unit 43. Further, the control unit 41 additionally registers the driver information in the device information of the peripheral device 5 read out earlier in the driver management table 531 (steps S208 and S20).
9).

When storage and registration in the storage unit 43 are completed, the control unit 41 initializes the peripheral device 5 (for example,
In addition to performing the setting of the configuration, etc., the setting in the interface management table in the storage unit 43 is performed based on the device information read out earlier (step S21).
1).

When the processing of the I / O interface unit 422 is completed, the control unit 5 jumps to step S203 to perform the processing of the next I / O interface unit. In this way, this processing is repeated until the processing of all I / O interface units is completed (step S212).

That is, the US connected to the personal computer 4
The drivers of the B device and the peripheral device 5 are automatically installed in the OS of the personal computer main body and can be used.

Note that the operation of the driver incorporated in the OS is to be processed by the OS, so that the description thereof is omitted in the present invention.

Next, as described above, the USB device driver 23
After the PC 1 and the peripheral device driver 531 are installed in the personal computer 1, the power is turned off and the personal computer 1 is turned on or reset again to start the personal computer 1 again. Then, the control unit 41 of the personal computer 4 performs a self-diagnosis and performs internal initialization.
When the driver management table 431 is created in the initial setting, the control unit 41 sends the target driver information to the HDD 4
4, the driver management table 431
Stores driver information of the USB device driver 231 and driver information of the peripheral device driver 531 (steps S201 and S202 in FIG. 4).

The control unit 41 first reads out the device information of the USB device 2 via the I / O interface unit 421, and the driver information in the read out device information is registered in the driver management table 431 of the storage unit 43. Is checked (step S205).

If the driver has been registered (in this case, it is registered), it is determined that the necessary driver of the USB device 2 is registered in the HDD 44, and the control unit 11 determines the driver of the corresponding USB device 2 from the HDD 14. The data is read and loaded (developed) into the driver storage area 432 of the storage unit 44 (steps S206 and S210).

When the storage in the storage unit 43 is completed, the control unit 41 performs an initial setting for the USB device 2 (for example, sets a USB address, a configuration, and the like for the USB device 2), and The interface management table in the storage unit 43 is set based on the device information read earlier (step S211).

When the processing for the USB device 2 is completed,
The control unit 41 proceeds to the process of the peripheral device 5 connected to the next I / O interface unit 422 (step S21).
2).

The control unit 41 includes an I / O interface unit 4
The device information of the peripheral device 5 is read via the device 22 and it is confirmed whether the driver information in the read device information is registered in the driver management table 431 (step S205).

If the driver is registered (in this case, it is registered), it is determined that the necessary driver of the peripheral device 5 is registered in the HDD 44, and the control unit 41 determines the driver of the corresponding peripheral device 5 from the HDD 44. Read out the storage unit 43
Is loaded (developed) into the driver storage area 432 (steps S206 and S210).

When the storage in the storage unit 43 is completed, the control unit 41 initializes the peripheral device 5 (for example, the peripheral device 5
Of the interface management table in the storage unit 43 based on the product information read out earlier (step S2).
11).

When the processing of the I / O interface unit 422 ends, the control unit 41 jumps to step S203 to perform the processing of the next I / O interface unit. In this way, this processing is repeated until the processing of all I / O interface units is completed (step S212).

Therefore, the control unit 41 checks the presence or absence of the driver of the USB device 2 and the peripheral device 5 already required in the HDD 44 based on the driver information, so that the driver is once uploaded to the HDD 44. Then, since the data can be loaded from the HDD 44 to the storage unit 43, the processing capacity does not decrease, and it is not necessary for the user to perform troublesome processing.

Next, a description will be given of the driver installation operation in the control unit 41 of the personal computer when the user starts up the personal computer 4 and connects (plugs in) the USB device 2 to the personal computer with the interface cable 61 for the first time. .

The operation of incorporating the driver in the control unit 41 in this case is the same as the operation of the control unit 11 in FIG. 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and a description thereof will be omitted (steps 101 to S107 in FIG. 2). , S109).

The driver installation operation in the case of connecting (plug-in) again with the interface cable 61 after the installation of the driver of the USB device 2 is also performed by the control unit 11 according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. Since the operation is the same as that described above, the description is omitted (see steps S101 to S104, S108, and S109 in FIG. 2).

As described above, according to the present invention, when the personal computer body 1 detects the connection of the device (USB device 2 or peripheral device 5), the driver of the device itself stored in the device is automatically transmitted to the personal computer body 4. Since it is embedded in the storage device, it is not necessary to delete the attached medium or to operate the input device such as a keyboard. Also,
Eliminating the need to delete the attached medium or operate with an input device such as a keyboard eliminates the need to create manuals and attach manuals, leading to a reduction in product costs. Further, by eliminating the need for deleting an attached medium or performing operations using an input device such as a keyboard, operation errors do not occur.

Further, according to the present invention, when a device to be connected when necessary is connected to the personal computer main body 4, the personal computer main body 4 is automatically connected (plug and play compatible US).
The B device 2 detects the time of connection, and the peripheral device 5 that does not support plug-and-play detects the start-up of the device), and automatically installs its own driver stored in the device into the personal computer 4. Therefore, there is no need to previously store a driver that does not know whether or not to use the fixed disk (HDD 44).
The drawback of compressing the capacity of the battery is eliminated.

Further, according to the present invention, when a device to be connected when necessary is connected to the personal computer body 4, the personal computer body 4 is automatically connected (plug and play compatible US).
The B device 2 detects the time of connection, and the peripheral device 5 that does not support plug-and-play detects the start-up of the device), and automatically installs its own driver stored in the device into the personal computer 4. Therefore, even in the system of the personal computer 4 not connected to a keyboard or a mouse, it is possible to easily add peripheral devices having various interfaces, and it is possible to avoid an operation error by an operator or a maintenance person accompanying the addition.

[0082]

As described above, according to the present invention, the driver is stored in the non-volatile memory in the device, and the driver of the device itself is incorporated into the computer when the computer requests the driver to be incorporated. And FD media or CD-ROM media. Furthermore, since the driver is automatically incorporated without using the FD medium or the CD-ROM medium, there is an effect that a manual or the like becomes unnecessary. This has the effect that the product cost can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, when the computer detects the connection of the device, the driver of the device itself stored in the device is automatically incorporated into the computer. There is an effect that the above mistake does not occur.

Further, according to the present invention, when the computer detects the connection of the device, the driver of the device itself stored in the device is automatically incorporated in the computer. The effect is that there is no need to consider the management of loss.

Also, according to the present invention, when a device to be connected is connected to a computer when necessary, the computer automatically connects (a plug-and-play compatible USB device is connected at the time of connection, and a device not compatible with plug-and-play). Is detected at the time of device start-up), and the driver of the device itself stored in the device is automatically incorporated into the personal computer main body 4. Therefore, even if the computer system is not connected to a keyboard or a mouse, the devices having different interfaces are different. There is an effect that the number of installations can be easily increased and an operation error by an operator or a maintenance person due to the expansion can be avoided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation of installing a driver when a control unit of the personal computer body of FIG. 1 is connected to a USB device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation when the control unit of the personal computer in FIG. 3 incorporates a driver for a peripheral device at the time of starting the apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 4 PC main unit 2 USB device 3 USB cable 5 Peripheral device 11, 21, 41, 51 Control unit 12, 22 USB interface unit 13, 43 Storage unit 14, 44 HDD 52, 421, 422 I / O interface unit 53 ROM 61, 62 Interface cable 131, 431 Driver management table 132, 432 Driver storage area 231 USB device driver 531 Peripheral device driver

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Koichi Inoki 1-1-1, Honmatsu, Shimizu-cho, Fukushima-shi, Fukushima Prefecture Within NEC Wireless Networks Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takayuki Furuhashi 5-chome, Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo No. 7-1 F-term within NEC Corporation (reference) 5B014 EB03 FB03 5B076 AA05 AA20 AB20 AC01 BB05 BB06 FB02 FB06

Claims (15)

[Claims] In a device driver embedding method for embedding a device driver in a computer, the device includes a non-volatile memory in which a driver of the device itself is stored in advance, and when there is a driver embedding request from the computer, the device is activated by the device. A device driver embedding method, further comprising embedding means for embedding a driver of the device itself stored in a nonvolatile memory into the computer. 2. A method of incorporating a USB device driver into a computer having a disk for storing various drivers, wherein the computer detects the connection of the USB device after the device itself has been started up, and the computer detects the connection of the USB device. Checking means for checking whether a driver corresponding to the USB device is stored, requesting means for requesting the USB device to install a driver for the USB device to the USB device if the driver cannot check the driver; Means for incorporating a driver of the USB device itself received from the USB device by a request unit into the disk. 3. A method of incorporating a device driver into a computer having a disk for storing various drivers, wherein the computer detects the connection of the device when the device itself starts up, and the device stores the device in the disk. Confirmation means for confirming whether or not a driver corresponding to the device is stored; request means for requesting the device to incorporate a driver of the device if the confirmation means cannot confirm the driver; and Means for incorporating the driver of the device itself received from the device into the disk. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the checking unit reads driver information including a driver ID and a driver version of the USB device from the USB device and checks whether the read driver information is registered on the disk. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the device driver is embedded. 5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the checking unit reads driver information including a driver ID and a driver version of the device from the device and checks whether the read driver information is registered on the disk. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the device driver is embedded. 6. The USB device according to claim 2, wherein the embedding unit expands a driver of the USB device itself in a memory for storing a program to be executed by the computer.
Embedded method of the described device driver. 7. The method according to claim 3, wherein said embedding unit expands a driver of the device itself in a memory for storing a program to be executed by the computer. 8. The computer according to claim 1, wherein said computer has a developing means for reading said driver from said disk and expanding said read driver in a memory for storing a program for executing said driver when said computer can confirm said driver. 6. A method according to claim 2, wherein the device driver is embedded. 9. A method of installing a device driver in a computer, the device preparing a non-volatile memory in which a driver of the device itself is stored in advance, and receiving a driver installation request from the computer. A method of incorporating a device driver, wherein the device incorporates a driver of the device stored in the nonvolatile memory into the computer. 10. A method of installing a device driver in a computer, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a driver of the device from the device when the computer makes a request to install the driver to the device; A method for incorporating a device, wherein the driver is incorporated. 11. A method for installing a driver of a USB device into a computer having a disk for storing various drivers, the method comprising: installing a driver ID and a driver version stored in the disk when the computer starts up. A table for reading and managing the driver information is prepared in the memory, and when the computer detects the connection of the USB device after the device is started up, the driver information is read from the USB device, and the read driver information is stored in the table. It is checked whether the USB device is registered in the table. If the USB device is not registered in the table, a request to install the driver of the USB device is made to the USB device.
A method for incorporating a device driver, wherein a driver of the USB device itself received from the B device is incorporated in the disk. 12. A method of incorporating a device driver into a computer having a disk for storing various drivers, the computer comprising: a driver ID stored in the disk when the apparatus itself starts up; A table for reading and managing the driver information including the driver version is prepared in the memory, and when the connection of the device is detected after the device itself is started, the driver information is read from the device, and the read driver information is stored in the table. Check whether the device is registered, and if not registered in the table, make a request to install the driver of the device to the device, and install the driver of the device itself received from the device by the installation request into the disk Characterized by that How to install a vise driver. 13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the computer develops the driver of the USB device itself received in response to the installation request in an area for storing various drivers in the memory. . 14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the computer develops the driver of the device received by the request for installation into an area for storing various drivers in the memory. 15. The computer according to claim 1, wherein if the computer is registered in the table, the computer reads a corresponding driver from the disk, and expands the read driver in an area for storing various drivers in the memory. Item 13. The method for installing a device driver according to item 11 or 12.