Server unit, equipment information providing method, program, network system, and equipment sharing method

The present invention includes a server device that provides device information of a device connected to another network in a network connected to another network via a router, a method of providing device information by this server device, a program, and a program. The present invention relates to a network system equipped with the server device and a method for sharing equipment in this system.

Conventionally, in order to make it easy to use devices such as printers, scanners, and copying machines (hereinafter, also referred to as devices) connected to a network on operating terminals such as personal computers, the operating terminals are broadcast or multicast. When a device search request is sent on the network, the device corresponding to the search request returns its own device information (information indicating the device type, address, etc.) to the operation terminal. It has been known.

By the way, in this kind of network system, when two networks are connected via a router and the router is set to prohibit one-to-many communication by broadcasting or multicast, one network is used. Even if a device search request is sent from the operation terminal connected to, the search request does not reach the device connected to the other network. Therefore, the operation terminal connected to one network cannot automatically acquire the device information of the device connected to the other network, and the operation terminal connected to one network cannot acquire the device information of the device connected to the other network. In order to be able to use the device connected to, the user of the operating terminal must manually enter the information of the device connected to the other network.

Therefore, in order to prevent such problems, conventionally, a server device for acquiring device information from a device on another network connected via a router is provided on one network, and the server device is on the same network as the server device. It has also been proposed that the operation terminal side can acquire device information of a device connected to another network from the server device (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and the like).

Then, according to the proposed technology, the server device returns the device information of the device connected to the other network in response to the request from the operation terminal connected to the own network, so that the server device is connected. The operation terminal on the network can easily use not only the device on the own network but also the device on another network.<patcit num="1"><text>Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-6133</text></patcit>

<p> However, in the technique proposed above, in order for the operating terminal to acquire device information of a device connected to another network from the server device, the operating terminal requests the server device for device information by unicast. It is necessary to transmit a signal, and for this purpose, it is necessary to set the address of the server device and the search command in each operation terminal.</p><p> That is, in the technique proposed above, in order to acquire the device information of the device on the other network on the operating terminal side, apart from the search request by broadcast or multicast when searching the device on the own network, the device information of the other network It is necessary to send a request signal dedicated to device information to the server device, so that each user of the operating terminal identifies the server device to the operating terminal operated by the user (for example, network address or node name). There is a problem that it takes time and effort to memorize. In particular, when the user operates a large number of operation terminals, the time and effort becomes remarkable. Further, there is a problem that the process for acquiring device information becomes complicated.</p><p> The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and in a system consisting of two networks connected via a router, a device connected to one network does not distinguish between the networks and the other. The purpose is to be able to acquire device information of devices connected to the network.</p>

<p> The invention according to claim 1 made to achieve such an object includes at least a router that allows one-to-one communication between devices connected to different networks, and two networks via this router. A pair of server devices connected to one of the networks on the connected network system, and devices of another network connected to the local network to which the server device is connected via the router. From the first device information acquisition means that acquires the device information of the device connected to the other network by performing one communication and stores the acquired device information of the other network in the storage means, and the device of the own network, the above When a packet for searching device information is received by communication that is not permitted to be used by a router with a device on another network, the device information corresponding to the search condition is read from the storage means and the packet is transmitted. It is characterized by being equipped with a device information reply means for replying to the device.</p><p> According to the server device according to claim 1, which is configured in this way, when a packet for searching device information is received from a device connected to its own network by communication not permitted by a router, it is exchanged with a device of another network. It returns the device information of devices on other networks acquired by performing one-to-one communication.</p><p> Therefore, the device on the network to which this server device is connected acquires the device information of the device connected to another network from the server device by transmitting a packet for searching the device information by communication not permitted by the router. Therefore, it is possible to perform one-to-one communication with devices on other networks.</p><p> Therefore, if the server device of the present invention is used, the image processing device is referred to the computer terminal when the image processing device connected to the other network is used from the computer terminal on the same network as the server device. It is possible to control an image processing device on the other network from the computer terminal without manually registering the device information (address information, etc.) of the server.</p><p> In addition, a device on the network to which the server device is connected can acquire device information of a device on another network from the server device by transmitting a packet for searching for device information on the own network, but on the own network. If a device that receives a packet for searching device information and returns device information is connected, the device information can also be acquired from that device.</p><p> Therefore, the devices on the network can acquire the device information of the devices that can be used via the network without distinguishing the difference between the networks. It is not necessary to transmit different request signals in order to acquire network device information.</p><p> Next, in the invention of claim 2, the server device of claim 1 acquires device information from a device of its own network by communication that is not permitted to be used by a router with a device of another network. Then, by performing one-to-one communication between the second device information acquisition means stored in the storage means and the server device connected to the other network, the server device of the other network can receive the second device information. The feature is that a device information providing means for providing the device information of the own network acquired by the acquiring means is provided.</p><p> Therefore, according to the server device according to claim 2, not only can the device information of the device connected to the other network be provided to the device connected to the own network, but also the device connected to the own network can be provided. Device information can be provided to server devices on other networks.</p><p> Therefore, if this server device is installed in each of two networks connected via a router, the device connected to each network is notified of the device information of other devices connected to each network. It will be possible for devices on each network to perform one-to-one communication with each other without being affected by communication restrictions imposed by routers.</p><p> Here, the second device information acquisition means is transmitted from a plurality of devices on the own network by transmitting a packet for searching for device information by communication that is not permitted to be used with devices on another network by the router. It may be the one that acquires the device information, or the one that acquires the device information transmitted by the packet by the communication that is not permitted to be used with the device of another network by the router from the device on the own network. It may be.</p><p> Then, at least a part of the devices connected to the own network is configured to notify the other devices of their own device information by a packet by communication that is not permitted to be used with the devices of the other network by the router. When the second device information acquisition means acquires the device information of the device connected to the local network from the packet, the device information providing means may be configured as described in claim 3.</p><p> That is, in the server device according to claim 3, the device information providing means transfers the device information to the server device of another network every time the second device information acquiring means acquires the device information from the device in the own network. Notice.</p><p> As a result, according to the server device according to claim 3, it is possible to promptly provide the device information connected to the own network to the server device of another network (and by extension, the device of the other network). This makes it possible to prevent problems (communication failure, etc.) caused by delays in providing device information.</p><p> On the other hand, as a device that notifies other devices of its own device information by a packet by communication that is not permitted to be used with devices of other networks by a router, its own device information is periodically set at set time intervals. It is known that the device is configured to notify other devices, but when this type of device is connected to the local network, the server device may be configured as described in claim 4.</p><p> That is, when the server device according to claim 4 cannot receive a packet notifying the device information for a determination time longer than the set time interval from the device in the own network that stores the device information in the storage means, the storage means. A device information deleting means for deleting the device information from the server is provided, and the device information providing means is a server of another network every time the device information deleting means deletes the device information of the device in the own network from the storage means. Notify the device that the device information has been deleted.</p><p> As a result, according to the server device according to claim 4, even if the device that provided the device information to the other network leaves the own network, it is possible to promptly notify the other network to that effect. , It is possible to prevent problems (communication failure, etc.) caused by the delay in notification.</p><p> Next, the device connected to the network not only notifies other devices of its own device information when it is connected to the network or when it is disconnected from the network, but also from the device in the same network by the router. It is also known that when a packet for device information search by communication that is not permitted to be used with a device on another network is received, its own device information is returned in response to the search condition. ..</p><p> When this type of device is connected to the own network, the device information reply means is used from the device in the own network to the device in the other network by the router as described in claim 5. When a packet for searching device information is received by communication that is not permitted to do so, the device information corresponding to the search conditions is selected from the device information acquired from the server device of another network, and the packet is returned to the device that sent the packet. It is good to configure it so that it does.</p><p> That is, in this way, when a packet for searching device information is transmitted from a device in the own network, the device information is returned directly from the device in the own network, but the device information reply means. However, it is possible to prevent the same device information from being returned and unnecessarily increasing the amount of data flowing through the own network.</p><p> Next, in order to enable the server device of the present invention to exchange device information with a server device of another network by one-to-one communication, the first device information acquisition means and the device information providing means are used. On the other hand, the address information of the server device of another network to which the device information should be exchanged may be set, but in this case, the setting work needs to be performed for each server device connected to each network.</p><p> Therefore, in order to make the setting work of such address information easier, the first method of acquiring the address information of the server device of another network from the outside like the server device according to claim 6. An address information notification means that uses the address information acquired by the address information acquisition means and the first address information acquisition means to perform one-to-one communication with a server device of another network to notify its own address information, and others. A second address information acquisition means for acquiring the address information of the server device from a server device of another network by one-to-one communication with the server device of the network, and a first address information acquisition means or a second address information. When the acquisition means acquires the address information of the server device of another network, the address information is set as the address information of the server device to which the first device information acquisition means and the device information providing means should perform one-to-one communication. It is advisable to provide a setting means.</p><p> That is, in this way, the address information of the second server device to which the device information should be exchanged is exchanged with the first server device connected to one of the two networks connected via the router. If input, the address information of the first server device is automatically transmitted from the first server device to the second server device, so that the device information is exchanged with each server device. It is not necessary to set the address information of the server device of another network that should be used, and the setting work can be easily performed.</p><p> Next, the invention according to claim 7 includes at least a router that allows one-to-one communication between devices connected to different networks, and a network system in which two networks are connected via this router. The server device connected to any of the above networks provides the device of the local network to which the server device is connected with the device information of the device connected to the other network connected to the local network via the router. It is a device information providing method, and by performing one-to-one communication with a device of another network, the device information of the device connected to the other network is acquired, and the acquired device information of the other network is used as a storage means. When a packet for searching device information is received from a device on the own network by communication that is not permitted to be used by a router with a device on another network, the device information corresponding to the search condition is stored. It is characterized in that it is read from the means and returned to the device that has transmitted the packet.</p><p> Then, according to the device information providing method according to claim 7, the same effect as that of the server device according to claim 1 can be obtained. Further, the invention according to claim 8 includes at least a router that allows one-to-one communication between devices connected to different networks, and is provided on a network system in which two networks are connected via this router. A computer connected to one of the networks is connected to the other network by performing one-to-one communication with a device of the other network connected to the own network to which this computer is connected via a router. It is used from the first device information acquisition means that acquires the device information of the device and stores the acquired device information of the other network in the storage means, and from the device of the own network to the device of the other network by the router. When a packet for searching device information is received by communication that is not permitted to do so, the device information corresponding to the search condition is read from the storage means and functioned as a device information reply means for returning the packet to the device that sent the packet. It is a program of.</p><p> Therefore, according to the program according to claim 8, when a computer connected to a network receives a packet for searching device information from a device connected to its own network by communication not permitted by a router, it is sent to another network. It is possible to execute the function of returning the device information of the device on another network acquired by performing one-to-one communication with the device.</p><p> Therefore, the device on the network in which this computer exists can acquire the device information of the device connected to another network from the computer by transmitting a packet for searching the device information by communication not permitted by the router. It is possible to perform one-to-one communication with devices on the network.</p><p> Therefore, if the program of the present invention is used, when operating an image processing device connected to the other network from an operation terminal on the same network as the computer that executes this program, the operation terminal can be used. It is possible to control the image processing device on the other network from the operation terminal without manually registering the device information (address information, etc.) of the image processing device.</p><p> Further, a device on a network in which a computer for executing the program of the present invention exists can acquire device information of a device on another network by transmitting a packet for searching for device information on the own network, but the own network If a device that receives a packet for searching for device information and returns device information is connected, the device information can be acquired from that device as well.</p><p> Therefore, the devices on the network can acquire the device information of the devices that can be used via the network without distinguishing the difference between the networks. It is not necessary to transmit different request signals in order to acquire network device information.</p><p> Next, the invention according to claim 9 includes at least a router that allows one-to-one communication between devices connected to different networks, and a network in which two networks are connected via this router. The system acquires device information of devices connected to other networks by performing one-to-one communication with devices of other networks connected to its own network via a router. , Device information by the first device information acquisition means that stores the acquired device information of other networks in the storage means and the communication from the device of the own network to the device of other network by the router. When a packet is received, a server device equipped with a device information reply means that reads the device information corresponding to the search condition from the storage means and returns the packet to the device that sent the packet is installed in at least one of the two networks. It is characterized by being installed in.</p><p> According to the network system according to claim 9, since the server device is provided in at least one of the two networks connected via the router, the device on the network to which the server device is connected is a device. By sending a packet that searches for device information by communication that is not permitted by the router, the device information of the device connected to another network is acquired from the server device, and one-to-one communication is performed with the device on the other network. It becomes possible to do.</p><p> Therefore, according to the network system of the present invention, when an operation terminal on a network to which a server device is connected uses an image processing device connected to the other network, image processing is performed on the operation terminal. It is possible to control the image processing device on the other network from the operation terminal without manually registering the device information (address information, etc.) of the device.</p><p> In addition, a device on the network to which the server device is connected can acquire device information of a device on another network from the server device by transmitting a packet for searching for device information on the own network, but on the own network. If a device that receives a packet for searching device information and returns device information is connected, the device information can also be acquired from that device.</p><p> Therefore, the devices on the network can acquire the device information of the devices that can be used via the network without distinguishing the difference between the networks. It is not necessary to transmit different request signals in order to acquire network device information.</p><p> Next, in the network system according to claim 10, in addition to the above-mentioned first device information acquisition means and device information return means, communication that is not permitted to be used by a router with a device of another network. By performing one-to-one communication between the second device information acquisition means that acquires device information from the devices of the own network and stores it in the storage means and the server device connected to the other network, the other network A server device equipped with a device information providing means for providing device information to the device information of the own network acquired by the second device information acquiring means is installed in each of the server devices.</p><p> Therefore, in this network system, the server device according to claim 2 is installed in each of the two networks connected via the router, and the operation of these two server devices connects the two networks. It will be possible to notify the device information of other devices to each of the devices. Therefore, the devices on each network can perform one-to-one communication with each other without being affected by the communication restriction by the router.</p><p> Next, the invention according to claim 11 includes at least a router that allows one-to-one communication between devices connected to different networks, and a network in which two networks are connected via this router. In the system, the device connected to one network is provided with the device information of the device connected to the other network so that the device connected to one network can use the device connected to the other network. This is a device sharing method in which a server device connected to one network performs one-to-one communication with a device of another network connected to its own network to which it is connected via the router. By doing so, the device information of the device connected to the other network is acquired, the acquired device information of the other network is stored in the storage means, and the device of the own network is connected to the device of the other network by the router. When a packet for searching device information is received by communication that is not permitted to be used, the device information corresponding to the search condition is read from the storage means and returned to the device that transmitted the packet. A device connected to the same network as the server device sends a packet to the server device to search for device information by communication that the router does not allow to use with devices on other networks, and then the server device returns. It is characterized in that the device information of a device on another network is acquired by receiving the device information received.</p><p> Therefore, according to the device sharing method according to claim 11, the server device connected to one of the two networks connected via the router is connected to the device connected to the own network to the other network. By providing the device information of the connected device, the user of the device on the network can use the device connected to another network without distinguishing the difference between the networks.</p>

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the entire network system of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the network system of the present embodiment is connected to a data communication network (Internet, etc.) capable of communicating by the IP protocol via router 2 (routers 2A and 2B in the figure), respectively. It consists of multiple networks (two networks A and B in the figure).

Each network A and B is a network constructed in a specific facility like a so-called in-house LAN. Then, various network devices (devices) 4A and 4B such as a printer, a scanner, a facsimile, and a composite peripheral device having a printer and a scanner and a facsimile function are connected to each of the networks A and B, respectively, and these devices are connected. A plurality of operation terminals 6A and 6B for inputting and outputting images using 4A and 4B are connected, respectively.

In addition, the operation terminals 6A and 6B are composed of so-called personal computers, and the devices 4A and 4B connected to the networks A and B comply with the technical specifications of UPnP (Universal Plug and Play: registered trademark). It is automatically detected by using the multicast packet (advertisement packet and search packet described later).

On the other hand, routers 2A and 2B pass unicast packets that perform one-to-one communication by designating the IP address of the other party between networks A and B and the external network, respectively, and are used for one-to-many communication. It is configured to block broadcast and multicast packets.

In order to take security measures, reduce traffic, and facilitate network management, it is common for routers to block packets by broadcast or multicast in this way.

Therefore, the operating terminals 6A and 6B can automatically detect the devices 4A and 4B on the networks A and B to which they are connected by the multicast packet, but are connected to the other networks B and A. Devices 4B and 4A cannot be detected automatically.

Therefore, in each network A, B, the information (device information) of the devices 4B, 4A connected to the other networks B, A is automatically collected by the unicast packet, and the collected device information is collected in the own network A. , The device information collection servers 8A and 8B provided to the operation terminals 6A and 6B connected to B are connected, respectively.

The device information collection servers (hereinafter, simply referred to as servers) 8A and 8B correspond to the server device of the present invention, and are configured as shown in FIG. That is, the servers 8A and 8B have a CPU 81 that executes various processes for collecting device information, a ROM 82 that stores a boot process program (BIOS) performed by the CPU 81 at startup, and a ROM 82 that stores various processes when the CPU 81 performs various processes. RAM83 used as a storage area, operating system, server program for making the servers 8A and 8B function as a device information collection server, hard disk drive (HDD) 84 that stores the collected device information, etc., and the servers 8A and 8B. Input interface (input I / F) 85 that inputs input signals from the keyboard (not shown) or mouse (not shown) connected to the CPU81, and the display (shown) connected to the servers 8A and 8B. The video interface (video I / F) 86 that displays based on the command from the CPU 81, the network interface (network I / F) 87 that interconnects the CPU 81 and the network A or B, and each of these parts. It has a bus 88 to connect to.

The devices 4A and 4B are so-called DLNA devices whose communication methods and the like are standardized by DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) so that they can be controlled via a network, and are configured as shown in FIG. 3, for example.

That is, FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the printer as devices 4A and 4B. As shown in FIG. 3, the devices 4A and 4B have the CPU 41 and the CPU 41 that collectively control each part of the devices 4A and 4B. ROM42 that stores various processing programs to be performed, IP addresses, types, model names, print characteristics, and device information indicating the number of print colors of the devices 4A and 4B, and as a storage area when the CPU 41 performs various processing. The RAM 43 to be used, the non-volatile memory 44 for recording the data generated when the CPU 41 performs various processes, the error that occurred, etc., and the network I / F 45 that interconnects the CPU 41 and the networks A and B. , A bus 88 for connecting each of these parts is provided.

Further, since the devices 4A and 4B shown in FIG. 3 are printers, the bus 49 is instructed by the operation unit 46 and the CPU 41 to input the input signal from the operation switch for externally operating the printer to the CPU 41. A display unit 47 that displays the printer status based on the printer, a printing engine 48 that prints on recording paper based on a command from the CPU 41, and the like are also connected.

Next, in the network system of the present embodiment, when a device 4A such as a printer is connected to one network A, the servers 8A and 8B of each network A and B including the device 4A, and the other network B The operation terminal 6B operates as shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the device 4A is connected to the network A (P11 and P represent the procedure), the device 4A sends an advertisement packet representing its own device information on the network A by multicast (P12). ). Then, the server 8A on each network A receives the advertisement packet (P21), and forwards the received advertisement packet to the server 8B of the other network B by unicast (P22).

On the other hand, when the server 8B receives the advertisement packet forwarded from the server 8A (P31), the server 8B stores the device information contained in the advertisement packet in the memory (specifically, HDD84) (P32) and the advertisement packet. Is sent on network B by multicast (P33).

Then, the operation terminal 6B on the network B receives the advertisement packet (P41) and stores the device information contained in the advertisement packet in the memory (specifically, the HDD built in the personal computer constituting the operation terminal 6B). Store in a storage device such as (P42).

After that, when the user inputs a usage request (for example, printout) of the device 4A on the operation terminal 6B side, the operation terminal 6B unicasts the device based on the device information stored in the memory. Send a connection request to 4A (P43).

Then, the device 4A returns a response signal to the connection request to the operation terminal 6B (P13), and the operation terminal 6B receives this response signal and starts transmitting / receiving data to / from the device 4A (P44). On the other hand, a desired operation such as printing on recording paper is executed.

The above description is an operation explanation when the device 4A is connected to the network A, but when the device 4B is connected to the network B, the server 8B of each network B and A including the device 4B, 8A and the operation terminal 6A of the other network A operate in the same manner as described above.

Next, when the operation terminals 6A and 6B are connected to the networks A and B and a search request for a desired device is input from the user, the operation terminals 6A and 6B send out a search packet for device search on the own network. It is designed to search for the desired device. Hereinafter, the operation at the time of this device search will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, after the operating terminal 6B is connected to the network B (P51), when the user inputs a search request for the desired device, the operating terminal 6B searches for the requested device. , Sends a search packet on network B by multicast (P52).

On the other hand, when the server 8B on the same network B as the operation terminal 6B receives the search packet transmitted by the operation terminal 6B (P61), it is preset to search the server 8A of the other network A for device search. If it is determined whether or not it exists (P62) and it is set to search the server 8A of the other network A for device search (P62-YES), the server 8A of the other network A is unicast. Forward the search packet (P71).

Then, the server 8A receives this search packet (P71) and transmits the device information of the device 4A on the network A to which it is connected to the server 8B (P72). Therefore, after transferring the search packet to the server 8A, the server 8B waits for the device information to be transmitted from the server 8A, and when it receives the device information (P64), the device information is stored in the memory (specifically, HDD84). ) (P65).

Further, when the device information is acquired from the server 8A in this way, or when it is determined in the determination operation of P62 that the search for the server 8A is not set for the device search, the server 8B is set to the memory ( For details, it is determined whether or not the device information requested by the operation terminal 6B is stored in the HDD 84) (that is, whether or not the device information requested by the operation terminal 6B is known) (P66).

Then, as a result of this determination, if the device information requested by the operation terminal 6B is known, the server 8B unicasts the response packet that responds to the device information of the device requested for search to the operation terminal 6B. And conversely, if the device information requested from the operation terminal 6B is not known, nothing is done.

Next, when a response packet is transmitted from the server 8B, the operation terminal 6B that issued the search request receives the response packet (P53) and stores the device information contained in the response packet in memory (details). Is stored in a storage device such as an HDD built into the personal computer that constitutes the operation terminal 6B (P54).

Then, after that, the operation terminal 6B transmits a connection request to the device 4A by unicast based on the device information stored in the memory (P55). Then, the device 4A returns a response signal to the connection request to the operation terminal 6B (P83), and the operation terminal 6B receives this response signal and starts data transmission / reception with the device 4A (P56). , The device 4A is made to perform a desired operation such as printing on recording paper.

The above description is an operation description when a search packet is sent from the operation terminal 6B to the network B, but when a search packet is sent from the operation terminal 6A to the network A, the operation terminal 6A is used. Including, the servers 8A and 8B of each network A and B operate in the same manner as above.

Here, as shown in FIG. 6A, the advertisement packet used to advertise that the devices 4A and 4B are connected to the networks A and B is information indicating that the device 4A and 4B are advertisement packets, and is transmitted by multicast. Information indicating that the packet is valid, information indicating the valid time of this packet, information indicating the link destination of own device information, information indicating the type of device (printer in the figure), information indicating that the packet is connected to the network, And, it is composed of the identification information of this device.

In addition, the advertisement packets sent by devices 4A and 4B on networks A and B include advertisement packets that advertise that they are leaving the network, and each server 8A and 8B is from devices 4A and 4B on its own network. When this advertisement packet is received, the device information of this device is removed from the memory (specifically, HDD84), and the result is notified to other servers 8B and 8A.

As shown in Fig. 6 (b), this advertisement packet is from information indicating that it is an advertisement packet, information indicating that it is transmitted by multicast, information indicating the type of device (printer in the figure), and the network. It is composed of information indicating that the device is to be separated and identification information of this device.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6 (c), the search packet used by the operating terminals 6A and 6B to search for devices on the networks A and B is information indicating that the search packet is a search packet and is transmitted by multicast. It is composed of information indicating that the device is a search packet, information indicating the time to wait for a reply, and information indicating the type of device to be searched (printer in the figure).

Further, as shown in FIG. 6 (d), the response packet used by the devices 4A and 4B on the networks A and B to receive the search packet and return their own device information is information indicating that the response packet is a response packet. , Information indicating the valid time of this packet, information indicating the link destination of its own device information, and identification information of this device.

Next, when the servers 8A and 8B forward the advertisement packets emitted from the devices 4A and 4B on the own networks A and B to the servers 8B and 8A on the other networks B and A, FIG. 7 (a) ), A message is used in which information indicating the transfer of the advertisement packet and information indicating the number of messages to be transferred (that is, the advertisement packet) are added to the transferred message (that is, the advertisement packet).

Further, the message when the servers 8A and 8B send the device information search request to the servers 8B and 8A on the other networks B and A indicates that the message is a search request as shown in FIG. 7 (b). It is composed of information and type information of the device to be searched.

The response message when the servers 8A and 8B that received this search request message reply to the servers 8B and 8A on the other networks B and A that sent the message is as shown in FIG. 7 (c). , Information indicating that it is a response message, information indicating the number of messages to be transferred (in other words, the number of device information to be returned), and information indicating the message (device information) to be read and transferred from the memory (specifically, HDD84). , Consists of. Then, as a message to be transferred, a message in which device information is described in the same manner as the advertisement packet and the response packet transmitted from the device 4 is attached to this response message in almost the same form.

As described above, in the network system of the present embodiment, the device information of the devices 4B and 4A on the other network B and A is provided to the operation terminals 6A and 6B on one network A and B, and the device information of the device 4B and 4A on the other network B and A is provided. The operating procedure for enabling the operating terminals 6A and 6B on B to use the devices 4B and 4A on the other networks B and A has been briefly described. Next, the operating procedures described above are used to describe the operating procedures for each network A and B. The processes (programs) executed by the devices 4A and 4B, the operation terminals 6A and 6B, and the device information collection servers 8A and 8B, respectively, will be described in detail so that the devices 4A and 4B can be shared between them.

First, FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the device 4 (specifically, 4A and 4B). This process is a process that is repeatedly executed in the device 4 (specifically, CPU 41) after the power is turned on to the device 4, and when the process is started, the device 4 first S110 (S represents a step). Connect to the network via network I / F87, and automatically set your own IP address on S120. For setting this IP address, the IP address specified by the DHCP server, the IP address automatically selected by the device by AutoIP, or the IP address manually set in the device in advance is used.

Next, the device 4 transmits the advertisement packet shown in FIG. 6 (a) by multicast on its own network at S130, and then receives the packet transmitted from another network device at S140. It waits for the packet to be received by determining whether or not it has been done.

Then, when the device 4 determines that the packet has been received in S140, the device 4 determines whether or not the received packet received this time is a search packet transmitted by multicast from the operation terminal 6 (S150), and receives the packet. If the packet is a search packet, the device information of itself is transmitted to the operation terminal 6 that has transmitted the search packet in the unicast response packet shown in FIG. 6 (d), and then the packet is transferred to S140.

On the other hand, when it is determined in S150 that the received packet is not a search packet, it shifts to S170, and it is determined whether or not the received packet is a connection request from the operation terminal 6, and the received packet is ... If it is not a connection request from the operation terminal 6, it shifts to S140 again.

Further, in S170, when it is determined that the received packet is a connection request from the operation terminal 6, it shifts to S180, performs processing according to the connection request, executes various control processes to respond, and again. Move to S140.

When the power switch is turned off or a withdrawal command from the network is input via the operation unit 46, the device 4 sends an advertisement packet for withdrawal advertisement shown in FIG. 6 (b) on its own network. To do.

In addition, the device 4 periodically sends out the advertisement packet shown in FIG. 6A by multicast to appeal that it exists on its own network. Note that this process is performed by the device 4 in a cycle shorter than the valid time indicated by the information indicating the valid time of the advertisement packet shown in FIG. 6 (a).

Further, apart from this advertisement packet, a change notification packet for notifying its own state change may be configured to be sent each time the state change or periodically. Next, FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a process executed by an operation terminal 6 (specifically, 6A, 6B) including a personal computer or the like.

This process is a process that is repeatedly executed in the operation terminal 6 (specifically, the CPU of the personal computer) after the power is turned on to the operation terminal 6, and when the process is started, the operation terminal 6 first shifts to S210. Then, it connects to the network via a network I / F (not shown) and automatically sets its own IP address on the S220. For setting this IP address, the IP address specified by the DHCP server, the IP address automatically selected by the device by AutoIP, or the IP address manually set in the device in advance is used.

Next, the operation terminal 6 executes a usage request acceptance process in S230, which accepts the usage request of the device input by the user by operating the mouse or keyboard. Then, when the device usage request is received in this S230, the search packet shown in FIG. 6 (c) is sent out on the local network in the subsequent S240, and the response packet to the search packet is sent in the subsequent S250. Judge whether or not (see Fig. 6 (d)) was received.

Then, when the S250 determines that the response packet cannot be received, it shifts to the S260, notifies the user that there is no usable device, and shifts to the S230 again. On the contrary, when it is determined that the response packet can be received by the S250, the device shifts to the S300 and executes the device connection control process for data communication by connecting to the device 4 that has transmitted the response packet. Then, move to S230 again.

In the device connection control process executed in S300, as shown in FIG. 10, the link destination (URL) of the device information described in the received response packet is extracted (S310), and the extracted link destination is used. By sending the device information acquisition request message shown in FIG. 11 (a), XML data (see FIG. 11 (b)) describing the device information in detail is acquired from the link destination (S320), and the XML data is acquired (S320). From the acquired XML data, the detailed information of the device 4 is acquired by the procedure of extracting the types of services that the device 4 can provide and the access destination (URL) of the service (S330).

Then, after extracting the types of services that the device 4 can provide and the access destination (URL) of the service, if necessary, the link destination of the XML data that describes the service information from the XML data that describes the device information. The content of the service is confirmed by extracting the XML data related to the service information from the link destination (S340), and then the XML is added to the description of the communication content to the access destination of the desired service on the device 4. Instruct the device to process by SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) using (S350).

Next, FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the server 8 (specifically, the servers 8A and 8B). This process is a process that is repeatedly executed on the server 8 (specifically, CPU81) after the power is turned on to the server 8. When the process is started, the server 8 first uses the S410 to network I / F87. Connect to the network via.

Then, in the S420, the server 8 of the other network sends a message requesting the batch acquisition of device information (see FIG. 14 (a)) to the server 8 of the other network by unicast, so that the server 8 of the other network transfers to the other network. Collect device information of all connected devices 4 and store it in HDD 84 as a storage means.

As shown in Fig. 14 (b), the response message to the message requesting batch acquisition of device information includes information indicating that it is a response message and the number of messages to be forwarded (in other words, the number of device information to be returned). ), And information representing a message (device information) read and transferred from the HDD 84. Further, in this response message, as a message to be transferred, a message in which device information is described in the same manner as the advertisement packet and the response packet transmitted from the device 4 is attached in almost the same form.

In this way, the server 8 can collectively acquire device information from other servers. Then, the server 8 determines whether or not the S430 has received the packet transmitted from the network device on the network to which the server 8 is connected. Then, when the S430 determines that the packet has been received, the server 8 shifts to the S435, and determines whether or not the received packet received this time is an advertisement packet transmitted from the device 4 of the own network. Here, it may be determined whether or not the packet is an advertisement packet or a change notification packet transmitted from the device 4.

Next, in S435, when the received packet is determined to be an advertisement packet (or change notification packet) from the device 4, the server 8 shifts to S440 and the type of the advertisement packet (that is, FIG. 6 (that is, FIG. 6). Whether to store new device information in the HDD 84 according to the connection notification advertisement packet shown in a) or the withdrawal notification advertisement packet (or change notification packet) shown in Fig. 6 (b). Alternatively, the device information of the device 4 that leaves the network is deleted.

At this time, if an advertisement packet for connection notification is received from a device that has not stored the device information, the received device information is stored in association with the time information indicating the current time.

At this time, if an advertisement packet for connection notification is received from the device in which the device information has already been stored, the time information associated with the stored device information is updated to the time information indicating the current time.

At this time, if a change notification packet for status change notification is received from a device that has already stored device information, the time information associated with the stored device information is updated to time information indicating the current time. At the same time, the stored device information is associated with the information indicating that the status has been changed.

Further, when the device information in the HDD 84 is updated in the S440 in this way, the server 8 moves to the S445, and an advertisement for notifying the operation terminal 6 on the other network of the device 4 added or deleted in the S440. Message (see Fig. 7 (a)) is sent by unicast to server 8 on another network. Then, after sending this message, the server 8 migrates to S430 again.

By doing so, the operation terminal on the other network can use the device 4 almost without delay from the network participation of the device 4. In addition, even though device 4 has already left the network, malfunctions in the operation terminal caused by an operation terminal on another network trying to use device 4 and the operation terminal repeatedly occur. It will be possible to prevent network traffic due to packets sent in an attempt to use device 4.

Further, when the state of the device 4 is changed, the operation terminal on the other network can know that the state has been changed and deal with it. Next, when S435 determines that the received packet is not an advertisement packet transmitted from the device 4 of the local network, the server 8 determines that the received packet is a search packet transmitted from the operation terminal 6 on the local network (Fig.). 6 (Refer to (c))) is determined (S450).

Then, in this S450, when it is determined that the received packet is a search packet transmitted from the operation terminal 6 on the own network, the server 8 is on another network among the device information requested by the search packet. Executes other network information response processing (S600) that searches for device information of the device and returns a response packet (see Fig. 6 (d)) representing the search result to the operation terminal 6 that sent the search packet. ..

In addition, as shown in FIG. 13, the network information response process determines whether or not the operation mode of the server 8 is preset to search the server 8 of another network for device search (S610). ), If it is not set to search the server 8 of another network for device search (S610-NO), search HDD84 and determine whether the device information requested from the operation terminal 6 is known. However, if the device information is known (S650), it is determined whether or not all the device information is the device information of the device 4 connected to the own network (S660), and at least one of the device information is If it is the device information of the device 4 on the other network (S660-NO), the device information of the device on the other network is the operation terminal 6 that has transmitted the search packet in the response packet shown in FIG. 6 (d). It is executed by the procedure such as replying to.

Further, in the other network information response processing, when it is determined that the S610 is set to search the server 8 of the other network for the device search, the server 8 unis the server 8 of the other network. Send a search message (see Fig. 7 (b)) by cast (see Fig. 7 (b)) (S620), then receive a response message (see Fig. 7 (c)) returned from another network (see Fig. 7 (c)), and respond (S630). By extracting the device information from the message, the search result of the device information by the server 8 of the other network is acquired, and the search result is stored in the HDD 84 (S640). To get the device information.

In the other network information response processing, it is determined that the device information requested from the operation terminal 6 is not known on the S650, or even if the device information is known, the device is known on the S660. If it is determined that all the information is the device information of the device 4 connected to the local network, the device information is returned directly from the device 4 on the local network to the operation terminal 6 that has sent the search packet this time. Since it is not necessary to return the same device information from the server 8, the server 8 ends the other network information response process as it is, and shifts to the determination process of S430 shown in FIG.

Next, when the S450 determines that the received packet is not a search packet transmitted from the operation terminal 6 on the own network, the server 8 determines that the received packet is an advertising message transmitted from the server 8 on the other network ( It is determined whether or not it is (see Fig. 7 (a)) (S460).

Then, when the S460 determines that the received packet is an advertising message transmitted from the server 8 of another network, the server 8 moves to the S470 and the type of the advertising packet attached to the message (that is, that is). Depending on whether the advertisement packet is for connection notification or withdrawal notification), new device information is stored in HDD 84 or device information of device 4 leaving the network is deleted.

In addition, when the device information in the HDD 84 is updated on the S470 in this way, the server 8 extracts the advertisement packet from the advertisement message received this time on the S480 and multicasts it on its own network. Send and move to S430 again.

Next, if the S460 determines that the received packet is not an advertising message sent from the server 8 on the other network, the server 8 sends the received packet from the server 8 on the other network at the S490. Judge whether it is the searched message (see Fig. 7 (b)).

Then, if the received packet is a search message sent from the server 8 of another network, the server 8 moves to the S500 and searches the HDD 84 to obtain the device information of the device connected to the own network. The device information of the type of device described in the message is extracted from the inside, and the extracted device information is used as a response message (see Fig. 7 (c)), and the server 8 of the other network that has sent the search message. Send to. Then, after the processing of the S500 is executed, the server 8 executes the processing of the S430 again.

If the S490 determines that the received packet is not a search message sent from the server 8 on the other network, the server 8 sends the received packet from the server 8 on the other network at the S510. Judge whether or not the message is for the server addition notification (see Fig. 14 (c)).

Then, if the received packet is not a message for server addition notification, the server 8 migrates to S430 as it is, and conversely, if the received packet is a message for server addition notification, server 8 migrates to S520. Then, it is determined whether or not the IP address and port number of the additional server included in the message are already registered in the HDD 84 as the information of the server of the other network.

Then, when the S520 determines that the IP address and port number of the additional server received this time are already registered in the HDD 84, the server 8 executes the processing of the S430 again, and conversely, the S520 this time. If it is determined that the received IP address and port number of the additional server are not yet registered in the HDD 84, the server 8 executes the processing of S530.

Then, in this S530, the IP address and port number of the additional server received this time are newly added to the HDD 84 as the information (server information) of the device information collection server 8 on the other network connected to the own network via the router 2. Register additionally to.

Further, when the server information of the other network is newly registered in the HDD 84 in the S530 in this way, the server 8 notifies the server 8 on the other network other than the newly registered server of the server information of the newly registered server. After that (S540), the processing of S420 is executed. The notification of the newly registered server to the server 8 on the other network is performed by sending the message for the server addition notification shown in FIG. 14 (c).

On the other hand, when the server 8 determines that the packet is not received in the S430, the server 8 compares the time information associated with the device information with the current time for each device information in the S550 and stores it in the HDD 84. It is determined whether or not the device information that has expired is included in the device information. Then, if there is expired device information, the S560 deletes the device information from HDD84, and then notifies the server 8 on the other network (and the operation terminal 6 on the other network) to that effect. In, move to S445.

That is, various devices 4A and 4B connected to each network A and B are configured to transmit an advertisement packet with a valid time, for example, valid for 1800 seconds, at a cycle shorter than the valid time. Therefore, in the present embodiment, if the device information stored in the HDD 84 includes expired device information in which the elapsed time after receiving the advertisement packet has passed the valid time or more, the device corresponding to the device information. 4 determines that it has left the network, deletes the device information from the HDD 84, and notifies the server 8 on another network to that effect.

Next, when the S550 determines that there is no expired device information in the device information stored in the HDD 84, the server 8 uses the S570 via the keyboard or mouse connected to the server 8. , Determine if server 8 on another network has been manually newly registered.

Then, when it is determined in S570 that the server 8 on the other network is manually newly registered, the server 8 is the server 8 consisting of the information (IP address and port number) of the newly registered server 8 in S580. Information) is read, and based on the read server information, the newly registered server 8 is notified of its own server information (IP address and port number).

Further, after notifying the newly registered server 8 of its own server information (IP address and port number) in this way, the server 8 executes the above-mentioned processes of S530 and S540 to obtain the server information of the newly registered server. Is additionally registered in the memory (that is, HDD84), and after notifying the newly registered server to other servers, the process proceeds to S420.

As described above, in the network system of the present embodiment, the device information of the device 8 connected to the own network is connected to a plurality of networks in which only one-to-one communication by unicast is permitted via the router 2. A server 8 is provided to collect the data by multicast packets.

Then, the server 8 on each network grasps the device information of another network by exchanging the device information collected in its own network with each other by unicast communication. Further, when the server 8 acquires the device information of the other network, the server 8 notifies the operation terminal 6 on the own network of the device information of the other network by multicast, and further, the operation terminal 6 on the own network changes to multicast. When the device information is requested, the operation terminal 6 requesting the device information is notified of the device information of another network.

Therefore, according to the network system of the present embodiment, the device 4 such as a printer, a scanner, and a facsimile machine can be shared with each other among a plurality of networks, and moreover, it is necessary for the sharing. The device information of the device on each network can be automatically provided to the operation terminal 6 on another network.

In addition, the operation terminal 6 receives an advertisement packet transmitted by multicast from the server 8 of the own network, or transmits a search packet by multicast on the own network, so that the server 8 sends a device on another network. You can get 4 device information.

Therefore, on the operation terminal 6 side, the device information of the device 4 that can be used via the network can be acquired without distinguishing the difference in the network, and the device information of the own network can be acquired as in the conventional case. It is not necessary to transmit different signals in order to acquire device information of and other networks.

That is, according to the network system of the present embodiment, the device 4 and the operation terminal 6 connected to each network can be used to advertise or search for devices by the standard communication method defined by UPnP. Therefore, it is possible to easily and inexpensively realize a network system in which various devices 4 can be shared between a plurality of networks.

Next, when the server 8 of the present embodiment receives a request for device information from the operation terminal 6 in the own network or a server of another network, the server 8 not only returns the device information corresponding to the request, but also itself. When the device information in the network is acquired or the device information of another network is acquired, the device information is provided to the server 8 of the other network or the operation terminal 6 of the own network. Therefore, according to the server 8 of the present embodiment, it becomes possible to provide necessary device information to the server 8 of another network and the operation terminal 6 in the own network.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the device information provided by the server 8 to the operation terminal 6 of the own network is limited to only the device information of the other network, the search packet sent from the operation terminal 6 on the network. Therefore, when the device 4 itself transmits its own device information to the operation terminal 6, it is possible to prevent the same device information from being transmitted from the server 8. Therefore, according to the network system of the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the amount of data flowing through each network from being unnecessarily increased.

Further, in the present embodiment, the server 8 also monitors the device 4 that has left the local network, and when the device 4 leaves the local network, the device information of the device 4 is deleted from the memory (HDD84) and the device 4 is deleted. Notify the server 8 of the other network to that effect. Therefore, even if the device 4 that the server 8 provided the device information to the other network leaves the network, the device information of the device 4 that has left the network from each server 8 is promptly notified to that effect. Can be deleted.

Next, in the present embodiment, in order to set the information (server information) of the server 8 on the other network for the server 8 on each network, for example, only one server 8 is a server of the other network. The information can be set manually, and the setting work can be performed extremely easily.

That is, when the server information of another network is manually set, the server 8 registers the server information in the memory (HDD84) as the server information of the newly registered server 8 and also registers the server information in the other server 8 on the other network. Also notifies the server information, and also notifies the newly registered server 8 of its own server information, so that it is extremely easy to register the server information of other networks to each server 8. ..

In the present embodiment, among the control processes executed by the server 8, the process of S420 that acquires device information of another network from the server 8 of another network corresponds to the first device information acquisition means of the present invention. Then, when a search packet is received from the operation terminal 6 of the own network, the response processing of the S600 that reads the device information of the type specified in the search packet from the HDD 84 and returns it to the operation terminal 6 is the present invention. Corresponds to the device information reply means.

Further, the process of S440 that acquires device information from device 4 of the own network and stores it in HDD 84 corresponds to the second device information acquisition means of the present invention, and the device information updated by the process of S440 is transferred to another network. The process of S445 transmitted to the server 8 corresponds to the device information providing means of the present invention.

Furthermore, when a server is manually newly registered, the process of S580 that takes in the server information and notifies the newly registered server 8 of its own address information is the first address information acquisition means of the present invention. The process of S520, which corresponds to the address information notification means, takes in the server information notified from the server 8 of the other network, and determines whether the server information is registered or not, is the second address information acquisition of the present invention. The process of S530, which corresponds to the means and registers the acquired address information in the HDD 84, corresponds to the address information setting means of the present invention.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various aspects can be adopted without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the device information collection server 8 is provided in each network constituting the network system, and each of these servers 8 exchanges device information acquired from the device 4 of the own network with each other. A device information collection server 8 as a server device of the present invention is provided in only one network, and this server 8 is connected to another network by performing one-to-one communication with a device on another network. The intended object of the present invention can be achieved even if the device information of the device is acquired and the acquired device information is provided to the operation terminal 6 on the own network by multicast.

Further, for example, in the above embodiment, in the S500 shown in FIG. 12, the server 8 has been described as returning only the device information of the own network in response to the search request from the server 8 of the other network. In addition to the device information of the network, the device information of another network may be returned.

Further, although an example of communicating a simple message in plain text between server devices is shown, the communication may be ensured by ensuring security such as encrypting the message. In order to perform one-to-one communication for exchanging device information between server devices on two networks, it is not always necessary to perform device information for the server device of each network as described in the above embodiment. It is not necessary to set the address information of the server device to be exchanged with, and the router itself is provided with address exchange functions such as NAT (Network Address Translation) and IP masquerade. The data transmitted from the server device of one network may be transmitted to the server device of the other network.

<figref num="1">It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the whole network system of embodiment.</figref><figref num="2">It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the device information collection server of embodiment.</figref><figref num="3">It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the device of embodiment.</figref><figref num="4">It is an operation explanatory diagram which shows the operation of each part when a device is connected to one network.</figref><figref num="5">It is an operation explanatory diagram which shows the operation of each part when the search packet of a device is sent from the operation terminal connected to one network.</figref><figref num="6">It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the advertisement packet, the search packet, and the response packet.</figref><figref num="7">It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the message sent from a server.</figref><figref num="8">It is a flowchart which shows the control process executed by a device.</figref><figref num="9">It is a flowchart which shows the control process executed in the operation terminal.</figref><figref num="10">It is a flowchart which shows the specific example of the device connection control processing shown in FIG.</figref><figref num="11">It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the message used for the operation terminal to acquire the detailed device information from a device, and the XML data which described the device information.</figref><figref num="12">It is a flowchart which shows the control process executed by a server.</figref><figref num="13">It is a flowchart which shows the other network information response processing shown in FIG.</figref><figref num="14">It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the message exchanged between servers.</figref>

Code description

2 (2A, 2B) ... Router, 4 (4A, 4B) ... Device, 41 ... CPU, 42 ... ROM, 43 ... RAM, 44 ... Non-volatile memory, 45. .. Network I / F, 46 ... Operation unit, 47 ... Display unit, 48 ... Print engine, 49 ... Bus, 6 (6A, 6B) ... Operation terminal, 8 (8A, 8B) ... Server (device information collection server), 81 ... CPU, 82 ... ROM, 83 ... RAM, 84 ... HDD (hard disk), 85 ... Input I / F, 86 ... Video I / F, 87 ... Network I / F, 88 ... Bus.