Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/ – Input/output data processing – Peripheral configuration
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-23
2004-05-18
Gaffin, Jeffrey (Department: 2182)
Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/
Input/output data processing
Peripheral configuration
C710S002000, C710S008000, C710S104000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06738835
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method and a recording medium, and more particularly to those adapted to achieve simplified and exact confirmation of a controller which manages each of target devices connected to a bus.
Recently, the IEEE1394 high-performance serial bus (hereinafter referred to simply as 1394 bus) is widely diffused in use. This 1394 bus permits connection of a maximum of 64 devices thereto. And data can be transferred digitally among the devices connected mutually via such a 1394 bus. In a bus system connected by means of this 1394 bus, each of the devices is discriminated from any other device and identified as either a target device to be controlled with regard to its operation or as a controller serving to control the other device (target device). The controller holds a device driver for controlling a controllable target device. And any device not holding a device driver controls the target device via a controller which holds a device driver for controlling the desired target device.
In a 1394 bus, there occurs a bus reset when the system power is switched on, or when any new device is connected additionally to the system or any existing device is disconnected from the system. Upon occurrence of such a bus reset, it is necessary to execute a routine of device driver rearrangement for assigning the device drivers to be held in controllers. In the conventional system known heretofore, there exists a problem in the point that, since the routine of device driver rearrangement needs to be executed with regard to the entire device drivers, a considerable time is required for such rearrangement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to realize faster execution of such device driver rearrangement.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus which includes a storage means for storing management information of control software elements for controlling the electronic devices; an acquisition means for acquiring a change of the connection state of each electronic device to a bus constituting a bus system; and an execution means for executing assignment of the control software element, which is used for controlling the electronic device relevant to the acquired change of the connection state, on the basis of the connection state change acquired by the acquisition means.
The acquisition means further serves to acquire device attribute information relative to the electronic devices; and the execution means makes a decision, on the basis of the device attribute information acquired by the acquisition means, as to whether the electronic device is the one controllable by the information processing apparatus including the self apparatus, and executes the assignment of the control software element in accordance with the result of such a decision as well.
The storage means stores, as management information, the relation of mutual correspondence between the electronic devices and the information processing apparatus that hold the control software elements for controlling the electronic devices; and the execution means makes a decision as to whether the electronic device relevant to the change of the connection state is included or not in the management information stored in the storage means, and then executes the assignment in accordance with the result of such a decision as well.
The acquisition means acquires the change of the connection state of the electronic device when the bus is reset.
In this bus system, the bus is an IEEE1394 high-performance serial bus, and the acquisition means acquires the connection state change in accordance with the difference of the node unique ID existing in the IEEE1394 bus before and after the bus reset.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing method which includes a storage step of storing management information of control software elements for controlling the electronic devices; an acquisition step of acquiring a change of the connection state of each electronic device to a bus constituting the bus system; and an execution step of executing assignment of the control software element, which is used for controlling the electronic device relevant to the acquired change of the connection state, on the basis of the connection state change acquired at the acquisition step.
And according to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium containing a program which enables a computer to execute the following routine so as to control an information processing apparatus. The routine includes a storage step of storing management information of control software elements for controlling the electronic devices; an acquisition step of acquiring a change of the connection state of each electronic device to a bus constituting the bus system; and an execution step of executing assignment of the control software element, which is used for controlling the electronic device relevant to the acquired change of the connection state, on the basis of the connection state change acquired at the acquisition step.
In the information processing apparatus and method of the present invention and the program contained in the recording medium thereof, first the management information of the control software elements for controlling the electronic devices is stored, and there is acquired a change of the connection state of each electronic device to the bus constituting a bus system. And in accordance with the connection state change thus acquired, the assignment of the control software element is executed for controlling the electronic device relevant to such connection state change.
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Aoki Yukihiko
Kato Junji
Mizutani Masao
Nakano Takehiko
Bell Boyd & Lloyd LLC
Gaffin Jeffrey
Sorrell Eron
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