Patent ID: 7047534

Claim:
A computer-readable medium having computer-executable components for controlling a hardware device of a given device type installed in a computer system, comprising: a first device driver for interacting with, through a device driver interface, an application running on the computer system; and a second device driver programmed to support entry point functions corresponding to a pre-selected set of operation commands generic to different device models and brands of the given device type and capable of translating the pre-selected set of operation commands generic to the given device type into operation commands specific to the hardware device, the entry point functions callable by the first device driver for controlling operations of the hardware device, the first device driver programmed for receiving, through the device driver interface, a request from the application for a requested operation by the hardware device, setting parameters associated with the requested operation, and calling, with the parameters, the entry point functions of the second device driver to control the hardware device to perform the requested operation, wherein the first device driver is not required to have knowledge of the operation commands specific to the hardware device.