Patent ID: 8570573

Claim:
An image processing system, comprising: an image processing apparatus; and an information processing apparatus connected via a data communication channel with the image processing apparatus; wherein the image processing apparatus includes an execution request unit configured to send an execution request to request the information processing apparatus to execute a requested image processing function, a command reception unit configured to receive a control command from the information processing apparatus, and a hardware control unit configured to control a hardware component of the image processing apparatus based on the received control command to perform requested image processing corresponding to the requested image processing function; wherein the information processing apparatus includes a request reception unit configured to receive the execution request from the image processing apparatus, a software control unit configured to execute a software program for implementing the requested image processing function based on the received execution request, and a command transmission unit configured to send the control command generated by the executed software program to the image processing apparatus; wherein the information processing apparatus further includes plural first systems each including the request reception unit, the software control unit, and the command transmission unit; and wherein the image processing apparatus further includes a switching unit configured to switch the first systems based on operational status of the first systems.