Patent ID: 7346673

Claim:
A device detecting apparatus for detecting an appropriate device from a number of devices connected to a network, said apparatus comprising: a detecting unit which detects all the devices connected to said network; an extracting unit which extracts from the devices, corresponding profiles, each of said profiles comprising information related to functions of said devices; an integrated profile creating unit which integrates the profiles of said devices so as to create an integrated profile, said integrated profile being a profile of an ideal virtual device having every function of said devices; a user interface creating unit which creates a user interface enabling a user to select necessary functions from the functions of the integrated profile created by said integrated profile creating unit; a table creating unit which creates a table related to a priority order of said devices, the priority order being based on the number of user selected functions available in each device; an updated integrated profile creating unit for creating an updated integrated profile of an updated virtual device having every function of the devices having the user selected functions; and a selecting unit which selects a device as a device to be used out of said devices based on the selected functions and the table.