Patent ID: 6996555

Claim:
A device searching apparatus that searches for at least one device on a network, comprising: obtaining means for obtaining a plurality of search conditions, each related to a device function, in order to search for a desired device on the network; search means for searching for at least one device that satisfies the plurality of search conditions obtained by said obtaining means; search control means for controlling said search means to execute searches under the plurality of search conditions obtained by said obtaining means, in response to input of a search request; recognition means for recognizing whether a number of devices, identified by said search means, that satisfy the plurality of search conditions is smaller than a predetermined number; and output means for outputting a search result based on the searches by said search means, wherein if said recognition means recognizes that the number of devices that satisfy the plurality of search conditions is smaller than the predetermined number, said search control means controls said search means to add information on one or more previously used devices to the search result.