Patent Publication Number: US-2011051174-A1

Title: Method of querying image output devices on a network

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to querying printing devices, multifunction devices, copiers, image forming apparatuses, image output devices, and document management devices configured in networks for device-related information. 
     DISCUSSION OF THE BACKGROUND 
     Printing devices and multifunction devices, such as copiers, scanners, multifunction printers, fax machines and other document management devices are commonly used in large network systems. Some large organizations, including corporations and universities, use as many as tens of thousands of such devices in a network configuration. Currently, there exist management tools that can manage, monitor, and configure network devices having plug-in capabilities. Conventional software applications may be used to manage and/or to acquire information from devices on a network, but they do not provide a very flexible user interface. 
     Further, Google or Yahoo can be used to search a website. Google Desktop is a desktop search application made by Google for Mac OS X, Linux, and Microsoft Windows. The program allows text searches of a user&#39;s e-mails, computer files, music, photos, chats, Web pages viewed, and other “Google Gadgets.” After initially installing Google Desktop, the software completes an indexing of all the files in the computer. And after the initial indexing is completed, the software continues to index files as needed. Users can start searching for files immediately after installing the program. After performing searches, results can also be returned in an Internet browser on the Google Desktop Home Page much like the results for Google Web searches. 
     Conventional user interfaces, such as Google or Yahoo, are simple to operate. For example, a user types in a plurality of characters, a name of a newspaper, or the topic that the user wants to read about from a website, to gain access to corresponding information. However, this conventional type of user interface is unable to perform device management in a convenient, user-friendly way. Indeed, different management tools are needed for different types of devices. That is, in order to acquire content information from a device, a user must click on certain functions in the user interface and usually several clicks are necessary in order to get device-related information from the user interface. Further, a user needs to know which protocol to use with each device, and must switch between different software applications to communicate with different devices. For example, management tool A might only provide a communication method using SNMP, but software B provides a plug-in using a different protocol. Further, plug-in capability does not provide a universal console user interface, so that if a user adds a plug-in, another user interface is necessary. 
     What is needed is an application that simplifies the process of extracting information from network devices in a convenient and user-friendly way, that is transparent to the user, and that reduces user operation time. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention broadly provides a method and apparatus for querying image output devices on a network, including receiving a search term indicating device-related information to be searched. The method includes first determining whether the search term includes a target device type, and if the first determining step determines that the search term includes the target device type, determining which devices in a list of all devices on the network are of the target device type to generate a device list. If the search term does not include a target device type, then the device list is set to be the list of all devices on the network. The method further includes second determining if the search term includes a conditional expression, and if the second determining step determines that the search term includes a conditional expression, determining which devices in the device list satisfy the conditional expression, so as to generate a final list of devices. The final list of devices is displayed to a user. 
     In one aspect, the step of determining which devices in the list of all devices are the target device type comprises searching a database to determine, based on the target device type, a communication protocol and corresponding protocol command for sending to each of the devices on the network; sending the protocol command to each device in the list of all devices on the network; receiving a response from each device in the list of all devices on the network; and parsing the response to determine the device list. 
     In another aspect, the searching step comprises searching a target table listing target device types for a word matching the target device type, the target device type including a printer, a scanner, a facsimile, a copier, and a multifunction printer; searching a target search command table for the protocol command used to identify a target device type; and storing each identified device in a temporary table. 
     In a further embodiment, the sending step comprises sending the protocol command to an assigned protocol plug-in and running the protocol command in a command set with an argument/parameter command. 
     In another embodiment, the parsing step comprises generating a temporary table for each and a result of the temporary tables is evaluated by a union or by an intersection of the all temporary tables that are generated. 
     In another embodiment, the steps of sending the protocol message comprises sending the protocol message using a SNMP, PJL, SOAP, and HTTP protocol. 
     In a further embodiment, the first determining step comprises searching at least one of a primary word table and a synonym table for at least one term in the search term. 
     Moreover, the invention also broadly comprises generating a spreadsheet of the final list of devices for interfacing with a Google desktop environment. 
     In one embodiment, the search term is parsed into a search key and a condition used to query the devices. 
     In some aspects, the invention also includes generating the list of all devices on the network by performing a multi-cast Domain Name System query. 
     In alternative embodiments, the invention broadly comprises a computer readable storage medium encoded with a computer readable program configured to cause an information processing apparatus to execute a method, including receiving a search term indicating device-related information to be searched. The method includes first determining whether the search term includes a target device type, and if the first determining step determines that the search term includes the target device type, determining which devices in a list of all devices on the network are of the target device type to generate a device list. If the search term does not include a target device type, then the device list is set to be the list of all devices on the network. The method further includes second determining if the search term includes a conditional expression, and if the second determining step determines that the search term includes a conditional expression, determining which devices in the device list satisfy the conditional expression, so as to generate a final list of devices. The final list of devices is displayed to a user. 
     In another embodiment, the invention broadly comprises a system for querying image output devices on a network. The system includes means for receiving a search term, and parsing means for parsing the received search term. The system further includes first determining means for first determining whether the search term includes a target device type and determining whether the search term includes a conditional expression. If the first determining means determines that the search term includes the target device type, the first determining means determines which devices in a list of all devices on the network are of the target device type to generate a device list; otherwise the device list is set to be the list of all devices on the network. The system further includes second determining means for second determining if the search term includes a conditional expression. If the second determining means determines that the search term includes a conditional expression, the second determining means determines which devices in the device list satisfy the conditional expression, so as to generate a final list of devices. A display component is configured to display the final list of devices. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a management device communicating with image output devices on a network having Subnet  1  and Subnet  2 , for example; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of the management device depicted in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of the computer system of the management device depicted in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 4A-C  is a flowchart of an operation flow of the management device querying image output devices on a network; 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of the parsing step shown in  FIG. 4A ; 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating the process of parsing the data received from accessing a device; 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart of the displaying the search result step in  FIG. 4C ; 
         FIG. 8  is a flowchart of the sending step in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , for example; 
         FIGS. 9A and 9B  is a flowchart of the determining a protocol in  FIGS. 4A and 4B ; 
         FIG. 10  illustrates an example of a Target Table, a Word Table, and a Synonym Table; 
         FIG. 11  illustrates an example of a Windows Explorer type interface; 
         FIG. 12  illustrates an example of a spreadsheet generated by a user to interface with a Google desktop environment; and 
         FIG. 13  is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of a system structure according to one embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 14  illustrates another example of search results that are displayed within the Google desktop environment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views,  FIG. 1  shows a management device (MD)  100  communicating with an image output device  104 , for example, via a network connection  102 . The MD  100  is a workstation, such as a personal computer having a keyboard and a display. Preferably the MD  100  includes a network adapter, such as an Ethernet adapter or a wireless Ethernet adapter according to one of the IEEE network communication standards. For example, a TCP/IP controller for a 10/100/1000 Mbit/s Ethernet controller in accordance with the IEEE 802.3 LAN protocol, or a network controller in accordance with one of the wireless networking IEEE protocols 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n. The network connection  102 , in one embodiment, is a category five (Cat5 or Cat5e) cable in accordance with the IEEE 802.3 protocol, although any type of communication protocol or medium can be used, including wired, wireless or optical, for example. Additionally, in other embodiments, IEEE 1284, IEEE 1394, Bluetooth® or USB is used. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the MD  100  also preferably includes a processor  200  connected to a memory  202  and is configured to execute a Printer Information Management System (PIMS) software application  204 , and is configured to connect to a network and an image output device  104  or multifunction printer. The MD  100  also preferably includes a display  206  and peripheral/input devices  208 , including, but not limited to, a keyboard and a mouse. 
     In an alternative embodiment, the PIMS software can be executed by a server  150  that is remote from the MD  100 , but communicatively coupled to the network. In the alternative embodiment, the search described herein is performed by the server  150  and the results are transmitted to the MD  100  for display. The server  150  has components similar to those of the MD  100  shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a computer system  300  in which embodiments of the PIMS software application  204  may be implemented. The PIMS software application  204  may be implemented on, for example, workstations, personal computers, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular telephone devices, or other mobile devices. The computer system  300  includes a bus B or other communication mechanism for communicating information such as address information and data, and a processor/CPU  302  coupled with the bus B for processing the information. The computer system  300  also includes a main memory unit  303 , such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device (e.g., dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), and synchronous DRAM (SDRAM)), coupled to the bus B for storing information and instructions to be executed by the CPU  302 . In addition, the memory unit  303  may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions by the CPU  302 . The computer system  300  may also further include a read only memory (ROM) or other static storage device (e.g., programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), and electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM)) coupled to the bus B for storing static information and instructions for the CPU  32 . 
     The computer system  300  may also include a disk controller coupled to the bus B to control one or more storage devices for storing information and instructions, such as mass storage  304 , which may be a hard disk drive, for example, and drive device  306  (e.g., floppy disk drive, read-only compact disc drive, read/write compact disc drive, compact disc jukebox, tape drive, flash memory or a flash memory based drive, and removable magneto-optical drive). The storage devices may be added to the computer system  300  using an appropriate device interface (e.g., small computer system interface (SCSI), integrated device electronics (IDE), enhanced-IDE (E-IDE), direct memory access (DMA), or ultra-DMA). 
     The computer system  300  may also include special purpose logic devices (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)) or configurable logic devices (e.g., simple programmable logic devices (SPLDs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)) in order to carry out the desired functionality. 
     The computer system  300  may also include a display controller coupled to the bus B to control a display, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, liquid crystal display (LCD), or projector, for displaying information to a computer user. The computer system may include input devices, such as a keyboard, pointing device, or touch display, for interacting with a computer user and providing information to the processor. The pointing device, for example, may be a mouse, a trackball, or a pointing stick for communicating direction information and command selections to the processor and for controlling cursor movement on the display. In addition, a printer may provide printed listings of data stored and/or generated by the computer system. 
     The computer system  300  performs a portion or all of the processing steps in response to the CPU  302  executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in a memory, such as the memory unit  303 . Such instructions may be read into the memory unit  303  from another computer-readable medium, such as the mass storage  304  or a removable media  308 . One or more processors in a multi-processing arrangement may also be employed to execute the sequences of instructions contained in the memory unit  303  or the removable media  308 . In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions. Thus, embodiments are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software. 
     As stated above, the computer system  300  includes at least one removable media  308 , which is a computer-readable medium, or memory for holding instructions programmed according to the teachings described herein and for containing data structures, tables, records, or other data described herein. Examples of computer-readable media are compact discs, hard disks, floppy disks, tape, magneto-optical disks, PROMs (EPROM, EEPROM, flash EPROM), DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, or any other magnetic medium, compact discs (e.g., CD-ROM), or any other storage medium from which a computer can read. 
     Stored on any one or on a combination of computer-readable media is software for controlling the computer system  300 , for driving a device or devices, and for enabling the computer system  300  to interact with a human user. Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systems, development tools, and applications software. Such computer-readable media further includes the computer program product for performing all or a portion (if processing is distributed) of the processing described herein. 
     The computer code devices may be any interpretable or executable code mechanism, including but not limited to scripts, interpretable programs, dynamic link libraries (DLLs), Java classes, and complete executable programs. Moreover, parts of the processing may be distributed for better performance, reliability, and/or cost. 
     The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to the CPU  302  for execution. A computer-readable medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, and volatile media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical, magnetic disks, and magneto-optical disks, such as the mass storage  304  or the removable media  308 . Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as the memory unit  303 . 
     Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying out one or more sequences of one or more instructions to the CPU  302  for execution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load the instructions remotely into a dynamic memory and send the instructions over a telephone line using a modem. A modem local to the computer system  300  may receive the data on the telephone line and use an infrared transmitter to convert the data to an infrared signal. An infrared detector coupled to the bus B can receive the data carried in the infrared signal and place the data on the bus B. The bus B carries the data to the memory unit  303 , from which the CPU  302  retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by the memory unit  33  may optionally be stored on mass storage  304  either before or after execution by the CPU  302 . 
     The computer system  300  also includes a communication interface  305  coupled to the bus B. The communication interface  305  provides a two-way data communication coupling to a network that is connected to, for example, a LAN, or to another communications network such as the Internet. For example, the communication interface  305  may be a network interface card to attach to any packet switched LAN. As another example, the communication interface  305  may be an asymmetrical digital subscriber line (ADSL) card, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of communications line. Wireless links may also be implemented. In any such implementation, the communication interface  305  sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information. 
     The network typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices. For example, the network may provide a connection to another computer through a local network (e.g., a LAN) or through equipment operated by a service provider, which provides communication services through a communications network. The local network and the communications network use, for example, electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry digital data streams, and the associated physical layer (e.g., CAT 5 cable, CAT 6 cable, coaxial cable, optical fiber, etc). The signals through the various networks and the signals on the network and through the communication interface  305 , which carry the digital data to and from the computer system  300 , may be implemented in baseband signals, or carrier wave based signals. The baseband signals convey the digital data as un-modulated electrical pulses that are descriptive of a stream of digital data bits, where the term “bits” is to be construed broadly to mean symbol, where each symbol conveys at least one or more information bits. Thus, the digital data may be sent as un-modulated baseband data through a “wired” communication channel and/or sent within a predetermined frequency band, different than baseband, by modulating a carrier wave. The computer system  300  can transmit and receive data, including program code, through the network and the communication interface  305 . Moreover, the network may provide a connection to a mobile device such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) laptop computer, or cellular telephone. 
       FIG. 4  shows one embodiment of a method of querying image output devices on a network. In step  400 , a search term, which can include a device type and/or device-related information, is entered by a user. A search term can include one of more word expressions or word sets. The method further includes in steps  406 ,  414 , and  422 , determining, for each of the at least one search term, a corresponding communication protocol and generating a corresponding protocol message using the corresponding communication protocol. The method further includes in steps  408 ,  416 ,  424 ,  906 , and  922 , sending, for each of the at least one search term, the corresponding protocol message to each of the image input devices, and receiving, for each protocol message sent in the sending step, a corresponding response. See steps  410 ,  417 , and  425 . The method further includes in step  432 , processing the received responses to generate a search result. The search result is displayed in step  436 . 
     For example, suppose a search term entered by a user is “printer color duplex &amp;&amp; counter &gt;100,” which comprises a first word set or expression “printer color duplex” and a second word set or expression “counter &gt;100,” as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . After a search term is received in step  400 , the search term is parsed into its constituent word expressions in step  401 . Further details of the parsing step  401  are described below with reference to  FIG. 5 . 
     In step  402 , the received search term is evaluated to determine whether a target device type has been specified. Specifying a target device, for example, includes specifying a device such as a printer, a scanner, a facsimile, a copier, and a multifunction printer. If a target device is specified, then the commands and communication protocols necessary for detecting the target devices on the network are determined in step  406 . For example, if word set  1  includes the term “printer” as part of the search term, the PIMS software application checks for the commands that can be used to detect printers on the network. Further details of step  406  are described below with reference to  FIGS. 9A and 9B . 
     In step  408 , once a protocol command or message is determined, it is sent to all of the devices in the Address List, which is a list of all of the known devices on the network. For example, the protocol messages for determining which devices on the network are printers are sent to all of the devices on the network. Further details of step  408  are described below with reference to  FIG. 8 . 
     For each protocol message sent in the sending step  408 , a corresponding response is received from each device in step  410 . The responses are parsed to determine if they match the search term. With reference to the above-described example search term, the response from each device is parsed to determine if it matches “printer.” The name or IP address of each device that matches is stored to a temporary table Xn in step  411 , where n is an integer greater than 1. 
     If no target device type is specified in the search term, the “No” branch of step  402  is followed and all devices on the network and/or all devices on the list are stored to a temporary table Xn in step  404 . 
     The predetermined address list may be a list of known devices on a network, for example. Moreover, devices may be stored in the table Xn by the IP address of the device or by the hostname of the device, for example. That is, in the above-described example search term, table X 1  contains a list of either all devices of the type specified (in this example, a list of all printers) or a list of all of the devices on the network, if no device was specified. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4B , after a list of the devices is stored in the table Xn in step  404  or  411 , the PIMS software application checks for “special conditions” in the search term in step  412 . An example of a special condition is a “color” or “duplex,” as shown in  FIG. 5 . In step  414 , the PIMS software determines the commands necessary to detect to the specified conditions. 
     For example, since word set  1  includes the terms “color” and “duplex” as part of the search term, the PIMS software application checks for the commands and protocols that can be used to detect which of the printers listed in table Xn are color, duplex printers. Further details of step  414  are described below with reference to  FIGS. 9A and 9B . 
     Once the commands are determined, the commands are sent to the devices listed in the table Xn in step  416 . With reference to the above-described example search term, table X 1  would list the printers detected in step  411 , which would include all printers of any type. 
     That is, the protocol messages for determining which devices on the network are color, duplex printers is sent to the printer devices on the network listed in table X 1 . Further details of step  416  are described below with reference to  FIG. 8 . 
     For each protocol message sent in the sending step  416 , a corresponding response is received from each device. Again, with reference to the above-described example search term, the response from each device is parsed to determine if it matches “color” and “duplex.” An identification of each device that matches the special condition is stored to a temporary table Xn in step  418 . This process repeats until all special conditions have been exhausted. In the above-described example search term, table X 1  now contains a list of all printers that are color and duplex. That is, the results of the devices search for word set  1  are now stored in table X 1 . 
     If there are no more special conditions (that is, if either there were no special conditions in the search term, or if they have been exhausted), then the PIMS software checks for a Boolean conditional expression in step  420 , indicating a new word set n. If the search term contains a Boolean expression (e.g. a “&amp;&amp;” in the above example), then the PIMS software application checks for the commands that can be used to detect which of the devices listed in table Xn meet the next search term criteria. That is, to return to the above-described example search term, word set  2  is processed. In word set  2 , “counter &gt;100,” wherein “counter” is an example of an “evaluable value” and “100” is an example of a “condition value,” as shown in  FIG. 5 . That is, in step  422 , the PIMS application checks for the commands that can be used to detect devices on the network that have the condition “counter &gt;100.” For example, the PIMS application checks for commands necessary to obtain the counter value of each device. Further details of step  422  are described below with reference to  FIGS. 9A and 9B . 
     In step  424 , once the protocol commands are determined, the commands are sent to the devices listed in the table Xn. Further details of step  424  are described below with reference to  FIG. 8 . For each protocol message sent in the sending step  424 , a corresponding response is received from each device. The responses are parsed to determine devices that match the condition. For example, with reference to the above-described example search term, each device in the list returns its counter value. In step  426 , the responses are parsed and compared to the condition value (e.g. &gt;100). Further details of step  426  are described below with reference to  FIG. 6 . 
     The results of step  426  (i.e., a list of devices satisfying the condition) are stored to a temporary table Xn in step  428 . With reference to the above-described example search term, table X 2  now contains a list of all color, duplex printers with counters greater than 100. That is, the results of the devices search for word set  2  are now stored in table X 2 . 
     In step  430 , it is determined whether there are more word expressions concatenated by a Boolean expression (e.g., “&amp;&amp;” or “∥”). If so, the process returns to step  402  as shown in  FIG. 4A . Otherwise, in step  432 , if the Boolean expressions have been exhausted, the PIMS application evaluates the result of the temporary tables Xn by union or by intersection of the tables. Further details of step  432  are described below with reference to  FIG. 7 . In the above example, there are no additional word expressions and no tables that need to be combined by intersection or by union. 
     The results determined in step  432  are stored to a Results Table  434 , which contains a list of the final devices to be displayed to a user as a result of the user device query. The information in the Results Table  434  is displayed. For example, the information in the Results Table  434  may be displayed on display  206  along with related results obtained from the devices. 
     Further details of step  401  are described below with reference to  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 5  shows an example of how a search term entered by the user is parsed. For example, if the search term is “(printer color duplex &amp;&amp; counter &gt;100),” the PIMS application checks for parenthesis, and parses the search term in accordance with the parenthesis in step  502 . Then, the PIMS application checks for combination symbols and/or characters, such as Boolean terms “&amp;&amp;” or “∥” in step  504 , and the search term is then parsed into word sets n, where n is an integer greater than 1, based on the Boolean expression. Then, the PIMS application evaluates word set n, where n=1. For example, for the search term “printer color duplex &amp;&amp; counter &gt;100,” word set  1  is “printer color duplex,” and word set  2  is “counter &gt;100.” 
     The PIMS application then checks for quotation marks and characters between white spaces and parses the word set accordingly in step  506 . Each resulting word is checked for device keywords in step  508  and for Boolean symbols in step  510 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 5 , word set  1  is parsed into Target: “printer” and Special Conditions: “color” and “duplex.” Similarly, word set  2  is parsed into an Evaluable Value: “counter” and Condition Value: “100.” 
     Further details of step  426  are described below with reference to  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating the process of parsing the data received from accessing a device. The PIMS application receives the data as a byte array in step  602 . Then a command type is determined by searching the protocol database in step  604 . The byte array is cast to the result type in step  606 , the PIMS application checks for a Boolean expression in step  608 , and for a matched condition in step  606 . The results are saved to a temporary table Xn in step  612 . This process is repeated for each condition expression in step  614 . 
     Further details of step  432  are described below with reference to  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 7  is a flowchart illustrating the process of preparing and displaying the search result determined in  FIG. 4C . As shown in  FIG. 7 , a result of the temporary tables Xn is evaluated by a union or by an intersection of the all temporary tables that are generated. More specifically, in step  702 , the PIMS application checks if the number of temporary tables is greater than one. If so, the PIMS application reads the concatenations in the search term in step  704 . The PIMS application checks for Boolean expressions in steps  706  and  708 . The intersection of the condition expressions are saved in step  710  and/or the union of the condition expressions are saved in step  712 . The PIMS application checks to see if another condition expression exists in step  714 . If so, the process described above (steps  702 - 712 ) is repeated and the results are set to a temporary table Result X=n, in step  716 . If there are no more condition expressions, the final result is saved to a Result Table in step  702  and the results are displayed in step  720  on a display  206 . 
     Further details of steps  408 ,  416 , and  424  are described below with reference to  FIG. 8 .  FIG. 8  is a flowchart of the process of sending a command to an assigned protocol plug-in. When a command array is found from the protocol map database, a protocol message is generated and a command is sent to an assigned protocol plug-in in step  802 . The communication protocols include SNMP, PJL, SOAP, and HTTP, for example. Other protocols can be used. Each protocol has a corresponding plug-in. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the command is run in a command set with an argument/parameter command in step  804 , and a result is returned to the result parser in step  806 , where the result parsing step is explained in detail above, with reference to  FIG. 6 . 
     Further details of steps  406 ,  414 , and  422  are described below with reference to  FIGS. 9A and 9B .  FIGS. 9A and 9B  is a flowchart illustrating the process of determining a communication protocol and processing a device to receive information from the device, as seen in  FIGS. 4A and 4B . A target table (see, for example,  FIG. 10 ) listing types of target devices is searched for a word matching the search term  902 . The target devices can include a printer, a scanner, a facsimile, a copier, and a multifunction printer. In step  904 , each match is used to search a target search command table for a command (and corresponding communication protocol) used to identify a target device. 
     Once the commands are determined, the commands are sent to the devices in the address list in step  906 . As discussed above, the address list is a list of all devices on a network, which can be acquired by network discovery tools, such as multi-cast Domain Name System query. The protocol messages for determining which devices are printers, scanners, facsimiles, copiers, or multifunction printers are sent to the devices on the network in step  906 . For each protocol message sent in the sending step  906 , a corresponding response is received from each device in step  908 . 
     Thereafter, each identified device is stored in a temporary table Xn in step  910 . Any unmatched words are stored in a memory in step  912  and all devices in the address list are stored in the temporary table. Then, the PIMS application checks if the temporary table Xn has records in step  914 . If records exist, the PIMS application searches a primary word table and/or a synonym table for each term in the search term in steps  916  and  926 . See  FIG. 10  for an example of a primary word table and a synonym table. For each match, the protocol map database is searched for a command in step  920 . The protocol map database includes rules determining the format and transmission of commands and data on the network. The resulting commands are sent to the devices in the address list in step  922 . Then, each identified device is stored in the temporary table Xn in step  924 . 
       FIG. 10  illustrates an example of a Target Table, a Word Table, and a Synonym Table. 
       FIG. 11  illustrates an example of a Windows Explorer user interface. The interface includes a field for inputting all or part of a device name. A user may use the notation “*” as a wildcard in combination with the device name, for example. The interface also includes a field for inputting a word of phrase included in the device data, such as the above-described example search term “printer color duplex &amp;&amp; counter &gt;100.” The interface also includes a field for inputting where on the network to perform the search, for example, Subnet  1  or a domain name. If this field is not specified, the entire network is searched by default. The interface also includes a field for inputting a specified range of dates to search, the dates indicating a date that a particular device was added to the network. In another field, a user may specify advanced options pertaining to a specific filter, such as “modified data.” When a user clicks the “search” button, a results list is displayed to the user, including the device name, the model name, the host name of the device, the IP address of the device, the path, any comments, the date created, and the date modified. 
       FIG. 12  illustrates an example of search results that are displayed within the Google desktop environment. The interface allows a user to input a search term, such as the above-described example search term “printer color duplex &amp;&amp; counter &gt;100,” and displays a result of the search. As noted above, after performing searches, results can also be returned in an Internet browser on the Google Desktop Home Page much like the results for Google Web searches. Further, a user can save the results as an HTML file and export the file to other software applications. For example, a user can export an HTML file of the results to Excel to create a spreadsheet of the results. 
       FIG. 13  illustrates a system structure according to one embodiment of the invention. As shown in  FIG. 13 , the system includes an input device  1302 , a word parser  1304 , a protocol search engine  1306  for searching protocol database  1308 , a protocol handler  1310 , a result parser  1312 , and a display component  1314 . The input device receives a search term from the user, which is then parsed by the word parser to determine one or more word sets. The protocol search engine, the protocol handler, and the result parser perform the functionality described above with respect to  FIGS. 4A-10  to determine a final list of devices for display. The display component  1314  is configured to display the final list of devices. 
       FIG. 14  illustrates another example of Google desktop used in conjunction with the an embodiment of the present invention. A user enters the search term “print” and Google returns the results of a search performed with keyword “print.” For example, the results include a Printer, including the printer&#39;s IP address, the device name, the location of the printer, and comments related to the printer. Additionally, device specific information about the printer is displayed. Also displayed in the results are results of the search that a regular “Google search” would return. 
     Further, Appendix A illustrates an example of the format of a protocol database. Appendix B illustrates an example of a Management Information Base file. Appendix C illustrates an example of Web Services Description Language. 
     Numerous modifications and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. 
     APPENDIX A 
     Protocol Map DB 
     (Target Map Table May have the Same Format) 
     Protocol: SNMP 
     Command ID: xxxxxxx 
     Command set: SNMP get 
     Command: OID (xx.xx.xx.xx.xxxx) 
     Return type: Int 
     Description: Printer color mode 
     Protocol: SNMP 
     Command ID: xxxxxxx 
     Command set: SNMP get 
     Command: OID (xx.xx.xx.xx.xxxx) 
     Return type: Int 
     Description: The maximum capacity of this supply container/receptacle expressed in SupplyUnit. If this supply container/receptacle can reliably sense this value, the value is sensed by the printer and is read-only; otherwise, the value may be written (by a Remote Control Panel or a Management Application). The value (−1) means other and specifically indicates that the sub-unit places no restrictions on this parameter. The value (−2) means unknown. 
     Protocol: SNMP 
     Command ID: yyyyyyyy 
     Command set: SNMP get 
     Command: OID (xx.xx.xx.xx.xxxx) 
     Return type: Int 
     Description: The current level if this supply is a container; the remaining space if this supply is a receptacle. If this supply container/receptacle can reliably sense this value, the value is sensed by the printer and is read-only; otherwise, the value may be written (by a Remote Control Panel or a Management Application). The value (−1) means other and specifically indicates that the sub-unit places no restrictions on this parameter. The value (−2) means unknown. A value of (−3) means that the printer knows that there is some supply/remaining space, respectively. 
     Protocol: MULTI 
     Command ID: xxxxxxx 
     Command set: Script 
     Command: xxxxxxx/yyyyyyyy 
     Return type: Percentage 
     Description: Printer supply level 
     Protocol: PJL 
     Command ID: xxxxxx 
     Command set: INFO 
     Command: CONFIG 
     Return type: String 
     Description: Obtains configuration information such as paper size types and amounts supported by the printer. 
     Protocol: SOAP 
     Command ID: xxxxxxx 
     Command set: Start session 
     Command: startsession 
     Return type: Int 
     Description: RICOH soap session start method. This returns session id.