JP2002094531A - Device information acquisition method on network, device information acquisition device on the network and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To relieve the overhead of an information acquisition side device and to enhance information legibility by avoiding excessive information display. SOLUTION: A device 2-i (i is 1-9) is equivalent to a device information acquisition device used on a network 1 where devices are interconnected. The device information acquisition device receives information including a device type of other device returned from the other device in response to a prescribed retrieval request sent from one device to the other device or the information spontaneously sent from the other device, references a table covering preset and allowed device types in the case of generating an information list including the device type of the other device on the basis of the information and uses only the information having the device types covered in the table among the information sets received from the other device so as to generate the information list.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for obtaining device information on a network and a device for obtaining device information on a network, and more particularly, to a method and device information suitable for a network to which a number of devices are connected. Related to an acquisition device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the spread of networks that use electronic devices in cooperation with each other has spread not only to office use but also to home electric appliances and other electric appliances that have been used alone. Was. If such a network is referred to as a home network for convenience, the home network particularly requires easy connection of various devices (hereinafter, referred to as “devices”) participating in the network. This is because an amateur who is not familiar with network technology connects devices in the home network.

[0003] As one of the network technologies capable of meeting such demands, a technology called Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is known. UPnP allows hot plugging (a so-called hot plug that allows you to join a network while the power is on), and does not require any driver software.
Moreover, there is a feature that it does not depend on the type of OS (Operating System) operating on each device.
This technique is particularly suitable for use in home networks.

The outline of UPnP is as follows.
nP stands for IP (Internet Protocol), TCP (Transfe
r Control Protocol), UDP (User Data-gram Proto)
col), HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) and XML (eXtensible Markup Language), which are used on networks that support protocols that have become de facto standards in the Internet world. UPnP performs a step called addressing to obtain its device ID (eg, IP address) and then performs a step called discovery to search each device on the network and Of the device included in the response (hereinafter referred to as “device information list” for convenience). This device information list is described in the Summary of the Invention. This is equivalent to an “information list.” And
While referring to the device information list, the user designates a desired device and requests a service from the device.

[0005] Now, assume that n devices are connected to the network. The (n + 1) th newly connected device (for example, a portable information terminal) first executes an addressing step to acquire a device ID. Next, a discovery step is executed to search for n devices, to obtain information such as the type and function of each device (first device to n-th device), and to generate a device information list containing the information. I do. The portable information terminal has a built-in display device, and can display the contents of the device information list on the display screen. For example, when the operator of the portable information terminal (hereinafter, referred to as “user”) wants to print a document such as a word processing document generated by the portable information terminal, the device information list is displayed on a display screen, and the first device is displayed. By selecting a device having a printing function (i.e., a printer) from among the nth device and transmitting the document to the device, a print service can be received via the network.

[0006]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional technology, all the device information on the network is obtained in the discovery step. In particular, in the case of a network to which a large number of devices are connected. In this case, the number of device information acquisitions increases in proportion to the number of devices, and the load on the information acquisition process and the device information list generation process increases, resulting in a problem that the overhead of the information acquisition side device increases.

Also, a device connected to the network is configured to periodically transmit its own information to other devices, and to receive and analyze the periodic notification. The processing load also increases in the case of a network to which a large number of devices are connected. In this respect, there is also a problem that the overhead of the information acquisition device increases.

Further, in a device such as a portable information terminal having only a display device having a small screen size, when a large number of device information is displayed, excessive information is displayed and the information readability is prevented from deteriorating. There is also a problem that there is no.

[0009] Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is that, even if many users exist on a network, many users actually use (or possibly use) devices. Focusing on the fact that it is a part of, only information from the part of the device is received, so that information from other devices can be ignored, thereby reducing the overhead of the information acquisition device, and An object of the present invention is to improve information readability by avoiding excessive information display.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a device information acquiring method used on a network connecting a plurality of devices, wherein the device information acquiring method includes transmitting a device from one device to another device. Receiving information including the device type of the other device returned from the other device in response to the specified search request, or receiving the information voluntarily transmitted from the other device, and based on the information. When generating an information list including the device type of the other device by referring to a table covering device types to be permitted which are set in advance, the information received from the other device is included in the table. The information list is generated using only information having a device type. According to the present invention, the information list is generated using only information from a specific device having a device type covered in the table in advance. Further, another invention is a device information acquisition method used on a network connecting a plurality of devices, wherein the device information acquisition method includes a predetermined search request transmitted from one device to another device. Receiving the information including the device type of the other device returned from the other device in response to or receiving the information spontaneously transmitted from the other device, and receiving the information of the other device based on the information. When generating the information list including the device type, refer to a table that covers device types to be prohibited that are set in advance, and among the information received from the other devices, information that does not have the device types covered in the table The information list is generated using only the information list. According to the present invention, the information list is generated using only information from a specific device having no device type covered in advance in the table. Further, in a preferred aspect of these inventions, when the table is empty or when rebuilding the table, a search request is transmitted to another device on the network, and another search is performed in response to the request. Provisionally perform the device type registration of the table using information including the device type of the other device returned from the device,
Thereafter, the registration information of the table is presented to the user to urge the user to select the device type to be permitted or the device type to be prohibited, and the registration information of the table is deleted by reflecting the user selection. In this case, the table is initially registered or reconstructed. In this embodiment, the device types covered in the table are set in advance through dialogue with the user.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the specification or examples of various details and examples of numerical values, character strings, and other symbols are merely reference for clarifying the idea of the present invention, and all or some of them Obviously, the idea of the invention is not limited.
In addition, well-known techniques, well-known procedures, well-known architectures, and well-known circuit configurations (hereinafter, “known matters”) will not be described in detail, but this is also for the purpose of simplifying the description, It does not intentionally exclude all or some of the matters. Such a well-known matter can be known to those skilled in the art at the time of filing the present invention, and is naturally included in the following description.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall conceptual configuration of a network system to which the present embodiment is applied. In this system, the network 1 is connected to a large number of devices 2 — i (9 in the figure, for convenience, i is 1 to 9) that also function as device information acquisition devices. Network 1 is IP, TCP, UDP, H
Any media that supports Internet protocols such as TTP and XML may be used, and the media type (wired / wireless or the like) does not matter. Further, the network 1 may be locally closed, or a part or all of the network 1 may be open to the public globally. Also, the network 1 is a DHCP (Dyna
mic Host Configuration Protocol) server or DNS (D
omain Name System) server.

The device 2_i is an information processing device such as a personal computer or a portable information terminal, a peripheral device such as a printer for providing a required service to the information processing device, or an information home appliance. Any range may be used within the intended range. In short, any device having a UPnP-compatible network connection function may be used.

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an electrical block configuration of the device 2_i. Although this block configuration is not particularly limited, the internal configuration of an information processing device such as a personal computer or a portable information terminal is simplified and simplified. In FIG. 2A, device 2
_I includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 and a program memory 13, a data memory 14, a work memory 15, and an external input / output unit (abbreviated as “external I / O”) via a bus 12. 16, an input unit 17, a display unit 18, a communication unit 19, and the like. The CPU 11 corresponds to a requesting unit, a receiving unit, and a generating unit, and the communication unit 19 corresponds to a requesting unit and a receiving unit.

The CPU 11 loads an OS or an application program stored in the program memory 13 into the work memory 15 and executes the OS or the application program to thereby execute a required function described in the application program (for example, a document document editing function). Is realized by an organic combination of hardware and software. As described above, the program memory 13 stores an OS and an application program in advance. For example, a semiconductor storage element such as a flash memory or a read-only memory or a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk is used.

On the other hand, the data memory 14 stores user-specific variable data in a non-volatile manner (to retain the stored information even when the power is turned off), and is a flash memory or a battery-backed random access memory. (Or a part thereof if a hard disk is provided). The user-specific variable data stored in the data memory 14 is variable data necessary for executing the OS or the application program, and typically includes data such as a user name of the device 2_i. However, in the present embodiment, the above-mentioned “device information list” and the “device acquisition information determination table”, which are necessary for the UPnP protocol, are referred to.

The external I / O 16 is a general-purpose port for connecting other peripheral devices, the input unit 17 is an input user interface such as a keyboard, a pointing device, or a touch panel. , An output user interface for displaying an image, a character string, or the like, and presenting information to a user.

FIG. 2B is a diagram showing another main configuration of the device 2_i. For example, the device 2_i
i provides a print service (so-called printer)
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a main part in the case of. That is, the function unit 20
Is a part for providing a printing service.
Is used in place of the external I / O 16 in FIG. Now, assuming that the device 2_1 has a function unit 20 having a print function for the sake of convenience, the print request from the device 2_1 is transmitted to the communication unit 19 of the device 2_2 via the network 1. The functional unit 20 of the device 2_2 prints out a print target object such as a document provided from the device 2_1 while receiving operation control from the CPU 11 via the bus 12.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual configuration diagram of the communication unit 19.
In this configuration diagram, the communication unit 19 includes a UPnP protocol unit 21 and a network unit 22. The UPnP protocol unit 21 is a unit corresponding to each step of the UPnP protocol, typically, an addressing unit 21a and a discovery unit 21b. Is provided. The network unit 22 is responsible for transmitting and receiving signals at the physical layer level such as Ethernet (registered trademark), and the UPnP protocol unit 21 is responsible for transmitting and receiving signals at the UPnP protocol level of the upper layer. Here, the role of each unit of the UPnP protocol unit 21 is, for example, a publicly-known document Universal Plug and Play Device.
Architecture Version 1.0, 08 Jun 2000 10:41 AM
(Document location: http://www.upnp.org/UPnPDe
vice_Architecture_1.0.htm), the outline of which is as follows.

<Addressing Unit 21a> Device 2_
i obtains its own device ID (hereinafter referred to as “IP address”) through the addressing unit 21a. If the DHCP server is set up inside the network 1, the IP address is obtained from the DHCP server. If the DHCP server does not exist or cannot be found, the addressing unit 21a itself determines the IP address from the DHCP server. Become. That is, in the case of the latter, the addressing unit 21a selects another device 2_ from among several local IP address sets prepared in advance.
Select an IP address that does not overlap with the IP address of i
The address is assigned as the device ID of the device 2_i.

As described above, the device 2_i can acquire a unique device ID unique to the network 1 by the addressing unit 21a. Thereafter, the device 2_i communicates with another device 2_i by using this device ID. Can communicate with each other by the IP protocol group.

<Discovery Unit 21b> The discovery unit 21b is used by the device 2_i that has obtained the device ID as described above. The discovery unit 21b is connected to each device 2_ connected to the network 1.
A search is performed on i, a response from each device 2_i is received, and information such as a device type and a function included in the response is managed as a list (“device information list”).
Further, the discovery unit 21b receives a periodic notification from each device 2_i connected to the network 1,
Information such as device types and functions included in the notification is managed in a list (“device information list”).

As described above, the device 2_i lists information such as a device type and a function of each device 2_i connected to the network 1 by a search by the discovery unit 21b or a notification from another device (device information list). , And a print service can be received using the list information.

The format of a search in the discovery unit 21b and a response corresponding to the search are as follows:
SSDP (Simple Service Discovery Protocol) is used. (1) Example of search request format M-SEARCH * HTTP / 1.1 ‥‥‥ (first line) S: uuid: ‥‥‥ (second line) HOST: 239.255.255.250: 1900 ‥‥‥ (third line) MAN: “ssdp: discover” ‥‥‥ (line 4) ST: “xxxx” ‥‥‥ (line 5) MX: m ‥‥‥ (line 6)

To explain the contents of the format, the first line clearly indicates that the device search is performed in the format of HTTP ver1.1. The second line is the device ID of the search request source (S)
(Uuid) is specified as The third line specifies the IP address of the multicast host reserved for the requested communication path or SSDP and its port number. The fourth line specifies the type of the message ("ssdp: discover" in the case of a search). The fifth line specifies the device type to be searched. For example, "xxx
If "x" is "ssdp: all", all types of devices are searched for, and a character string representing a specific device type (for example, a character string such as "ssdp: printer". In this example, the UPnP protocol ) May be specified, only devices of that type (in this case, only devices having a printer function) are searched. Line 6 specifies the maximum number of seconds of response delay to search. I do.

(2) Format example of search response HTTP / 1.1 200 OK {(first line) Cache-Control: no-cache = “Ext”, max-age = 500}
(2nd line) EXT ‥‥‥ (3rd line) S: uuid: ‥‥‥ (4th line) ST: “xxxx” ‥‥‥ (5th line) USN: uuid: ‥‥‥ (6th line) ) AL: <blender: ixl><http: // foo / bar /> ‥‥‥ (7th line)

To explain the contents of the format, the first line clearly indicates that it is a device response. The second line specifies the validity period of the message (500 seconds in this example). The third line specifies that the MAN header of the search request message (see (1) above) that was the basis of this response message was understood by the search destination (the source of this response message). The fourth line is the device ID (uu) of the search request source (S).
id) is specified as The fifth line specifies the device type to be searched (the same as the ST header in (1) above). The sixth line is the U of the device ID of the search request source (S).
Specify SN (Unique Service Name). Line 7 is
The name of a UPnP device control file (generally, an XML file) and a network location (download location) required for using the response message sending device from another device are specified.

In the above configuration, the device 2_i connected to the network 1 communicates with the communication unit 19 in its own device.
After acquiring the device ID (IP address) using the addressing unit 21a provided in the communication unit 19,
Search for another device 2_i connected to the network 1 using the discovery unit 21b provided in
Receiving a search response from the other device 2_i, acquiring information on each type (hereinafter, referred to as “device type”) and function, and generating and managing a device information list. Also, the device 2_ connected to the network 1
i is another device 2 — i connected to the network 1
, And periodically manages the update of the device information list based on this information.

The format of the information from the other device 2_i connected to the network 1 (the above-described search response information or information which is periodically notified) is the above-described search response format example (2). For example, when the number of other devices 2 — i connected to the network 1 is n, the search request S
If "ssdp: all" is specified in the T header,
The search requesting device must analyze and process the n pieces of search response information.

For this reason, when the number of n is large, that is,
When a large number of devices 2 — i are connected to the network 1, there is a problem in that the processing load on the device on the search request side increases, the overhead increases, and the processing becomes slow, resulting in a stress on the operation. If the display capability of the display unit 18 of the search requesting device is low,
In particular, in a device having only a small display screen such as a portable information terminal, it is difficult to display all n device information (device information list) in an easily viewable manner, forcing excessive information display and scrolling. There is also a problem that the information is displayed and the information readability and the operability are reduced.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the user can receive only information from some devices actually used (or possibly used) and ignore information from other devices. In order to avoid an increase in device overhead and to improve information readability and operability, the following configuration is employed.

First, a predetermined table (referred to as a “device acquisition information determination table” in the present embodiment) is provided in the data memory 14. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of the device acquisition information determination table 23. This table 2
3 has a row × column structure in which a row is a record and a column is a field. One record has at least a No field 23a for storing a record number and a device type field 23b for storing device type information. It consists of. Device type information is UP
This is device type information defined by the nP protocol. For example, in the case of a device having a printer function, it is information represented by a character string such as “printer”.

Now, in the illustrated table 23, the device type field 23b of the first to third records
Stored for convenience, "A", "B", and "C", respectively, and it is assumed that each of these strings represents one device type. The device acquisition information determination table 23 having such a structure includes:
It is used by a device information acquisition processing program described next.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a flowchart of a device information acquisition processing program. This program is executed by the CPU 11 using the discovery unit 21b to obtain information from another device 2_i connected to the network 1. Executed when acquiring. When the program is started, first, the loop variable i is set to 1 and initialized (step S11).

Next, the device acquisition information determination table 23 of FIG. 4 is opened, and the value of the device type field 23b is looked up from the record of the number i (step S12). Now, since i = 1, at this stage,
The device type "A" stored in the record of the number 1 is looked up. Next, it is determined whether the device type ("A") looked up matches the device type of the information acquisition target device (step S1).
3).

Here, the “information acquisition target device” is
The device that has transmitted the above-described search response format example (2), and the “device type of the information acquisition target device” is the device type set in the ST header of the search response format example (2). It is a character string. Therefore, for example, if “A” is set as the device type of the information acquisition target device, the determination result of step S13 is “YES”, and if not, “NO”.
Becomes

If the result of the determination in step S13 is "YES", that is, the device type looked up from the i-th record in the device acquisition information determination table 23 matches the device type of the information acquisition target device. If there is, the information acquisition process is executed (step S14), while the determination result of step S13 is “NO”
In other words, if the device type looked up from the i-th record in the device acquisition information determination table 23 does not match the device type of the information acquisition target device, the information acquisition process is not executed.
“Information acquisition processing” refers to processing for generating or updating a device information list. By executing this information acquisition process, various information (type, function, etc.) regarding the information acquisition target device can be registered in the device information list.

Then, in any case, next, i = im
ax (imax is the device acquisition information determination table 23
Is determined (step S1).
5) If i = imax has not been reached, in other words, if the last record of the device acquisition information determination table 23 has not been reached, the loop variable i is incremented by 1 and updated (step S16), and the above-mentioned step S12 and thereafter are performed. Is repeated, when i = imax is determined, the program ends.

According to the above program, search response information or periodic notification information from another device 2 — i connected to the network 1 is received, and the device type (device type of the information acquisition target device) included in the information is received. Only when it matches the device type stored in the device acquisition information determination table 23,
A device information list can be generated or updated using search response information or periodic notification information from an information acquisition target device.

Therefore, for example, if the device types stored in the device acquisition information determination table 23 are only “A”, “B”, and “C”, those device types (“A”, “A”) The device information list can be generated or updated using only the search response information or the periodic notification information from the information acquisition target device having “B” or “C”), while the other device types (for example, , “D” or “E”}), the search response information or the periodic notification information from the information acquisition target device can be ignored so that the information processing (step S14) is not executed. .

As a result, according to the present embodiment, some devices ("A", "B" or "C" in the above example) actually used (or possibly used) by the user.
Device type), and can ignore information from other devices, thereby avoiding an increase in device overhead and improving information legibility and operability. The special effect that can be achieved can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified within the intended range. For example, a part of the above program may be modified as shown in FIG. In FIG. 6A, the difference from the above program is that the device type is determined (step S13).
"YES" and "NO" are interchanged. With this configuration, the information is acquired only when the device type of the information acquisition target device does not match the device type (“A”, “B”, and “C”) stored in the device acquisition information determination table 23. Acquisition processing (step S14)
Can be executed, and contrary to the above embodiment, the user does not actually use (or has no possibility of using).
Rejects only information from some devices (in the above example, those having a device type of "A", "B" or "C"), receives information from other devices, and executes information acquisition processing can do.

Although not described in the above embodiment,
Initial registration in the device acquisition information determination table 23 is as follows.
This may be performed as shown in FIG. 6B and FIG. FIG. 6 (b)
First, the device acquisition information determination table 2
It is determined whether or not 3 is empty (the number of records is 0) (step S21). Then, when the number of records is 0, a table registration process (Step S22) for initially registering the device acquisition information determination table 23 is executed.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a flowchart of the table registration processing program. In the figure, when the program is started, first, the loop variable i is set to 1 and initialized (step S21a). Next, the device type of the information acquisition target device is acquired and stored in the device type field 23b of the record of the number i in the device acquisition information determination table 23 (step S21).
b).

Next, it is determined whether or not there is another information acquisition device (step S21c). If there is another information acquisition device, the loop variable i is incremented by +1 (step S21).
After d), step S21b and subsequent steps are executed again. If there is no other information acquisition device, the data stored in the device acquisition information determination table 23 is processed into an easy-to-view form and output to the display unit 18. The user looks at the display and, if there is something to be deleted from the table, operates the input unit 17 to instruct the deletion of the data.

Next, the program determines whether or not there is a delete instruction from the user (step S21f). If there is a delete instruction, the program deletes the record from the device acquisition information determination table 23 (step S21g), and then again. The step of displaying table information (step S21e) is executed, and this is repeated, and the program ends when there is no longer a delete instruction.

Therefore, according to this, when the device acquisition information determination table 23 is empty, the network 1
Can be fetched and initially registered in the device acquisition information determination table 23, and (a) the user can actually use (or use) Other device types can be deleted, leaving only the device types of some devices that may (or may not), or (ii) not actually (or likely) used by the user Other device types can be deleted, leaving only some device types.
As a result, in (a), the device acquisition information determination table 23 applicable to the program in FIG. 5 can be configured, and in (b), the device acquisition information determination table 23 can be used in the program in FIG. The applicable device acquisition information determination table 23 can be configured.

The programs shown in FIGS. 6B and 7 may be executed at the time of initial registration of the device acquisition information determination table 23, but may be executed at any other time, for example. It may be executed when reconstructing the data of the device acquisition information determination table 23.

The main function of the present embodiment is functionally realized by an organic combination of a hardware asset including a microcomputer and software assets such as an operating system and various programs. Since the assets and the operating system can use general-purpose ones, the essential items indispensable for the present invention are substantially the program of FIG. 5 or the program of FIG. 6 (a) (and FIG. 6 (b) and FIG. 7 programs). Therefore, the present invention provides a recording medium, such as a floppy disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a magnetic tape, a hard disk, or a semiconductor memory, or a component (a unit product) including such a recording medium, in which all or a main part of these programs are stored. And finished or semi-finished products). In addition, the recording medium or the component includes not only a recording medium or a component which itself is on a distribution channel itself, but also a recording medium or a component which provides only recorded contents on a network.

[0050]

According to the present invention, an information list is generated using only information from a specific device having a device type covered in a table in advance. Therefore, only information from some devices can be received and information from other devices can be ignored, reducing overhead on the information acquisition device and improving information readability by avoiding excessive information display. Can be achieved. Further, according to another invention, contrary to the above invention, the information list is generated using only information from a specific device having no device type covered in the table in advance. Therefore, similarly to the above-mentioned invention, since information from only some devices can be received and information from other devices can be ignored, the overhead of the information acquisition device can be reduced, and excessive information display can be avoided. Information legibility can be improved. Further, according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the device types covered in the table are set in advance by the interaction with the user. Therefore,
A device type of a device actually used (or possibly used) or a device not actually used (or not likely to use) can be registered in a table through a dialogue with a user. A preferred table can be constructed by applying the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall conceptual configuration of a network system to which the present embodiment is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an electrical block configuration of a device 2_i.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual configuration diagram of a communication unit 19;

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a device acquisition information determination table 23;

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a flowchart of a device information acquisition processing program.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a modification of the flowchart of the device information acquisition processing program.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a flowchart of a table registration processing program.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 network 2_i device (device information acquisition device) 11 CPU (request unit, reception unit, generation unit) 19 communication unit (request unit, reception unit) 23 device acquisition information determination table (table)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A device information acquisition method used on a network connecting a plurality of devices, wherein the device information acquisition method responds to a predetermined search request transmitted from one device to another device. Receiving information including the device type of the other device returned from the other device, or receiving the information spontaneously transmitted from the other device, and based on the information, the device type of the other device. When generating an information list that includes a device type, a reference is made to a table that covers device types to be permitted that have been set in advance, and only information having a device type covered by the table is used among information received from the other devices. The information list is generated by using How to get. 2. A device information acquisition method used on a network connecting a plurality of devices, wherein the device information acquisition method responds to a predetermined search request transmitted from one device to another device. Receiving information including the device type of the other device returned from the other device, or receiving the information spontaneously transmitted from the other device, and based on the information, the device type of the other device. When generating an information list that includes a device type that refers to a table that covers device types to be prohibited and that is set in advance, and only information that does not have the device type covered in the table is included in the information received from the other device. Device information on a network, wherein the information list is generated by using Acquisition method. 3. When the table is empty or when rebuilding the table, a search request is transmitted to another device on the network, and the search request is returned from the other device in response to the request. The device type registration of the table is provisionally performed using the information including the device type of the other device, and thereafter, the registration information of the table is presented to the user, and the device type to be permitted or the prohibition is set. 3. An initial registration or a rebuilding of the table is performed by prompting the user to select a device type to be performed, and deleting the registration information of the table by reflecting the user selection. The method for obtaining device information on a network according to any one of the above. 4. Request means for requesting another device on the network to acquire information including the device type of the device, and the information returned from the other device in response to the request or the other device Receiving means for receiving the information spontaneously transmitted from the device, and generating means for generating an information list including a device type of the other device using the information received by the receiving means, the generating means Refers to a table that covers a preset device type to be permitted, and generates the information list by using only information having the device type covered by the table among the information received by the receiving unit. A device information acquisition apparatus on a network, characterized by performing 5. A requesting unit for requesting another device on the network to acquire information including the device type of the device, and the information returned from the other device or another device in response to the request. Receiving means for receiving the information spontaneously transmitted from the device, and generating means for generating an information list including a device type of the other device using the information received by the receiving means, the generating means Refers to a table covering device types to be prohibited set in advance, and generates the information list by using only information having no device type covered in the table among the information received by the receiving unit. A device information acquisition device on a network, characterized by performing: 6. A requesting means for requesting another device on the network to acquire information including the device type of the device, and the information returned from the other device or another device in response to the request. A receiving means for receiving the information spontaneously transmitted from, and using only the information corresponding to the device type in the table covering the device types to be set in advance, among the information received by the receiving means. A storage medium storing a program for realizing a generation unit for generating an information list including a device type of the other device. 7. A requesting unit for requesting another device on the network to acquire information including a device type of the device, and the information returned from the other device or another device in response to the request. Receiving means for receiving the information voluntarily transmitted from, and using only information that does not correspond to a device type of a table covering a device type to be prohibited set in advance among the information received by the receiving means A storage medium storing a program for realizing a generation unit for generating an information list including a device type of the other device.