JP2001027983A - Network information system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network information system which enables a user to know the physical position relation among resources connected to a network. SOLUTION: A server PC6 manages physical arrangement information 7 and structure arrangement information 8 on the resources connected to the network 1 and when an inquiry from a client PC14 to a printer 13 is received, arrangement information on the printer 13 is retrieved from the physical arrangement information 7; and information on a route to the printer 13 is specified according to the retrieval result and the specified route information is sent back to the client PC14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network information system capable of inquiring arrangement information of a plurality of resources connected to a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electronic network constructed using Ethernet, Token Ring, etc., resources (also referred to as nodes) such as a plurality of computers and printers connected to the network. The location could not be determined by construction. This is because the information transmitted on the network includes an electronic address for identifying the information destination and source, but does not include information for indicating the physical location. is there.

[0003]

In an environment in which a personal computer, a copy, a fax, a printer, and the like are connected to various places using a LAN (Local Area Network) laid in a building and used, For example, if you want to carry a notebook PC that you were using on your own seat in the office to a conference room and then connect it to a LAN and print out documents, select the printer closest to the conference room and print it. The distance to go to pick up paper after printing is short and convenient.

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, since it is not possible for the client computer to know the location where the resources on the network are installed, it is very inconvenient to know which printer is close to the conference room.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a network information system which allows a user to know the physical positional relationship between a plurality of resources connected on a network. Aim.

[0006]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network information system capable of inquiring arrangement information of a plurality of resources connected to a network, the network information system being connected to the network. Management means for managing physical and structural arrangement information of a plurality of resources; receiving means for receiving an inquiry for a desired resource from a user; and a plurality of resources for managing the arrangement information of the received resources by the management means. It is characterized by having search means for searching from arrangement information, and return means for specifying path information to the desired resource based on a result searched by the search means and returning the information to the user.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network configuration according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an information network, which includes a series of equipment necessary for constructing a network, such as a network cable, a firewall, a gateway, a router and a hub. Further, a specific configuration of the information network is configured using a known network technology such as Ethernet or Token Ring. Further, as shown in FIG.
It is assumed that various resources such as C, a printer, and a scanner are connected. Further, in the present embodiment, the network system is operated in a server-client model, but the present invention is not limited to this model.

Reference numerals 2 to 5 are blocks in the information network 1. For example, the unit is a floor in a building, a room in the floor, or a partition in the floor.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a server PC arranged in the block 2, which is a CP similar to a general computer.
U, memory, hard disk, network interface, etc. The server PC 6 includes physical arrangement information 7 indicating a physical arrangement of resources such as a client PC connected to the information network 1, a printer, and a scanner, and a structure, arrangement, dimensions, and the like of a building in which the information network 1 is laid. The structure arrangement information 8 indicating the structure arrangement is registered and managed as an electronic file. Also,
Driver software for resources connected to the information network 1 is also stored here.

Note that the physical layout information 7 is, for example, a building 3
This is information used for specifying a position in a building, such as the number of floors such as floors and the first basement floor, and names of places such as conference rooms and elevator halls. The structural arrangement information 8 is information including the actual dimensions of the building, such as the length of the corridor, the distance between the door of a certain conference room and the door of the next conference room, and the vertical and horizontal dimensions of one floor. . Further, the information includes information on whether or not a human can pass.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a program stored in the server PC 6, which refers to the physical arrangement information 7 and the structural arrangement information 8 to determine a physical path distance and a path between two designated points on the information network 1. It has a function to calculate and return information. Reference numeral 10 denotes a program stored in the server PC 6, and refers to the above-described physical arrangement information 7 and structural arrangement information 8 to determine a network resource name located at a shortest path distance from a designated point on the information network 1. It has the function of calculating and returning.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a client PC arranged in the block 3. This is a commonly used desktop computer connected to the information network 1. Reference numeral 12 denotes a scanner arranged in the block 3, which is connected to the information network 1 and can transmit image information scanned and captured to a client PC on the information network 1. Reference numeral 13 denotes a printer arranged in the block 3, which is connected to the information network 1 and can be used from a client PC connected to the information network 1.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a client PC that has moved into the block 4. Here, it is a notebook type portable computer that is generally used, for example, after moving in a building,
It can reconnect to the information network 1 via a network port described later. Reference numeral 15 denotes a network port arranged in the block 4, which is an interface connector for connecting a client PC, a printer, and the like to the information network 1. This network port 15 allows the client PC 14
Can be connected.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a printer arranged in the block 5, which is connected to the information network 1 and can be used by a plurality of client PCs connected to the information network 1. Reference numeral 17 denotes a client PC arranged in the block 5. Here, it is a notebook computer generally used and connected to the information network 1. Reference numeral 18 denotes a client PC arranged in the block 5. Here, it is a desktop computer generally used and connected to the information network 1. Reference numeral 19 denotes a printer arranged in the block 5, which is connected to the client PC 18, but can be used by other client PCs connected to the information network 1.

Next, an outline of the operation of the network location information inquiry system according to the present embodiment will be described from the above configuration. Here, in the environment of the information network 1, block 4 is a conference room (hereinafter referred to as A50 conference room),
A case where a person who has moved to the conference room A50 with the client PC 14 wants to print out a certain document will be described as an example. First, the client PC 14 is connected to the network port 15, and the server PC 6 is notified of the conference room name (A50) where the user is currently located and the printer 13 which is a printer suitable for the document to be printed.
Issue a search query request. Upon receiving the request from the client PC 14, the server PC 6 receives the request from the physical
The coordinates of 50 are extracted, and the coordinates of the printer 13 are extracted.
Then, the distance between the A50 conference room and the printer 13 is calculated with reference to the structural arrangement information 8, and information on the arrangement coordinates of the printer 13, the distance to the printer 13, and the route is extracted.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the physical arrangement information 7 shown in FIG. The format of the physical location information 7 is configured as follows.

[Name]: [Type]: [Building name] / [Floor name] / [Coordinate name] Here, "Name" is A15 conference room, elevator hall 1
F or a printer (A). “Type” indicates the type of a conference room, a printer, a client PC, or the like. The “building name” indicates which building is located when there are a plurality of buildings, and is described as, for example, Building A. If there are not a plurality of buildings, it can be omitted. The “floor name” indicates the number of floors in the building. The “coordinate name” indicates where in the floor it is located, and here corresponds to the name of the grid when the floor is divided into grids.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the first floor of a certain building.
This plan view shows a state where the floor is sectioned in a grid pattern, and the broken lines in the figure represent the grid sections. In the figure, reference numeral 30 denotes an origin, and this point is determined in common for each floor. 31 is an outer wall of the building. 32 is a building entrance. 33 to 37 are walls inside the building. 38 ~
Reference numeral 41 denotes a desk, cabinet or the like installed on the floor. The oblique line 42 indicates a printer installed on the desk 41. The hatched portion 43 is the outer wall of the building and the inner wall 36 of the building,
It was a conference room that was troubled by 37.

As shown in the figure, "0" moves upward from the origin.
The floor is divided in a grid pattern by horizontal divisions indicated by numbers from to "13" and vertical divisions indicated by alphabets from "A" to "O" in the left direction, and the intersection points are defined by "coordinates".
, And points that do not touch the walls or desks of the building are called “effective coordinates” and are indicated by white dots. Each coordinate can be uniquely represented by a coordinate name. For example, the coordinate name of the point 44 can be represented as “E02”. Here, the printer 4
The coordinate name of No. 2 is “F08”. Note that the way of dividing the grid pattern is common to each floor. Therefore, although the coordinates of E02 exist on each floor,
Two can be distinguished. When the structure of the walls and columns inside the building, the arrangement of the desks, and the like are different on each floor, the “effective coordinates” also differ on each floor.

Points indicating the positions of the structures are indicated by black dots. The location and size of the outer wall of the building can be indicated by the end points of the wall and the end points of the pillars. The position and size of the desk 41 can be indicated by four vertices. Further, the position of the wall 34 and the like inside the building can be indicated by both ends of the wall and black points indicating the bending points.

The structural arrangement information 8 managed by the server PC 6 is positional information from the origin 30 of the black spot and grid coordinates shown in FIG. For example, the position of the desk 41 is determined by the position of the black point which is the four vertices of [[8.
3,6.2) :( 8.3,8.2) :( 7.3,6.2) :( 7.3,8.2)]. Here, (8.3, 6.2) indicates that the position of the lower left vertex of the desk is located 8.3 m to the left and 6.2 m above the origin. Therefore, it can be seen from the coordinate positions of the four vertices that the size of this desk is 1 m in width and 2 m in height.

Here, the black point indicates the position of the distance from the origin 30 in m units, and has a different property from the grid-like coordinates. As shown in FIG. 3, the black point does not always coincide with the coordinate point, and the position of the black point is managed separately from the coordinate point. By managing in this way, the unit of division of the coordinate point can be set to an independent arbitrary unit without considering the position of the black point, that is, the size of the desk. As described above, in the present embodiment, the positions of all the black spots on the floor, their sets (for example, four vertices of a desk), the positions of the intersections of the grids, and the coordinate unit dimensions are registered and managed as the structural arrangement information 8. I have.

[First Embodiment] The operation of the network location inquiry system according to the first embodiment will be described below. Here, a more detailed description will be given based on the above-described operation summary. That is, the process is performed after the user connects the client PC 14 to the network port 15 in the conference room A50. It is assumed that a known network connection process is executed as a process executed at the time of connection, and that the information network 1 can be used from the client PC 14 after the connection.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the network location inquiry system according to the first embodiment. First, in step S101, the client PC 14 connected to the information network 1
For A6, "A50 meeting room" which is the name of the current location
And a request for inquiry of the distance and the route to the “printer 13”. Then, in step S102, the server PC responds to the request received from the client PC 14.
A process for searching and extracting the location information of the “A50 conference room” and the “printer 13” designated from the physical location information 7 is executed. Specifically, information corresponding to “A50 conference room” and “printer 13” is searched from the physical arrangement information file shown in FIG.

Next, in step S103, as a result of the search in step S102, the designated "A50
It is determined whether or not the information of “meeting room” and “printer 13” is found. Here, if found, step S1
04 and extracted, "A50 meeting room" obtained
And the path between the coordinates of the “printer 13”. In this example, a structure indicated by a black point in FIG. 3 is regarded as an obstacle through which a person cannot pass, and a coordinate point (white point in FIG. 3) that does not interfere with the structure is set as an effective route coordinate point. And the specified 2
With the point as the start point and the end point, a path connecting the two points with the effective coordinate points adjacent to each other is determined. Specifically, it is considered as a rectangle having two points as diagonal vertices, and a route connecting effective coordinate points existing in the rectangle is selected as route information. Since the coordinates of the printer 13 to be the vertices are not valid coordinates,
The effective coordinates adjacent thereto are used as the coordinate points of the printer 13 at the time of the route search. The coordinate point representing the conference room is usually selected at the entrance of the conference room. However, as shown in FIG. 3, if there is no appropriate coordinate point at the entrance, the nearest coordinate point is used in the route search. I do.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a route search when there is no appropriate coordinate point at the entrance. As shown in the figure, the rectangle to be searched for the route is a rectangle indicated by 46 hatched lines. When adjacent coordinate points are connected from the effective coordinate points (white points) included in the rectangle 46, 45 is selected as the route information in the figure. In this example, there is only one effective route, but there may be a plurality of routes including a case where a longer route is searched on a floor having a more complicated structure. Therefore, when searching for adjacent effective coordinate points,
The presence or absence of an obstacle that falls between coordinate points such as a wall between valid coordinate points is checked, and if an obstacle exists, a path sandwiching the obstacle is invalidated.

The route information is route information necessary for a person to move from one place in a building to another place. The route distance is a moving distance that occurs when the user travels along the route indicated by the route information. That is,
It is not the distance connecting the points with a straight line, but the distance of the route that passes through obstacles such as walls and desks between them, such as a desk, etc. It is not the thickness of the conference room but the distance between each door of the conference room through which a human can pass.

Next, in step S105, the actual distance of the route obtained in step S104 is calculated. Here, the route distance is calculated by referring to the actual distance between the effective coordinates from the structure arrangement information 8. When a plurality of routes are obtained, the shortest route is selected from among them. Then, in step S106, step S105
The shortest route and its distance selected by the client PC1
Return to 4.

If it is determined in step S103 that the specified point does not exist in the physical location information 7, the process proceeds to step S107 and returns an error message to the client PC 14.

The above route search and route distance calculation are as follows.
It is assumed that the program is executed by the program 9 on the server PC 6.

In the first embodiment, the operation in the case where the user knows the name of the printer to be printed has been described. However, in the case where the user does not know the name of the printer,
There may be a request to search for a printer located at the shortest path distance from the place where the user is. In this case, step S
At 101, the client PC 14 issues a request for a name of a place "A50 conference room" and a "search for a printer at the shortest path distance" to the server PC 6. In the server PC 6 receiving this request,
In step S102, the "type" of "printer"
The physical arrangement information 7 is retrieved and extracted for the attribute of the printer, and steps S104 and S104 are performed for each extracted printer.
The same processing as 105 is performed, and the processing of returning the path distance, the path information, and the printer name of the printer having the shortest path distance is performed. In this case, the program 10 executed on the server PC 6 is executed.

In the first embodiment, the client P
The information returned to C14 is path information and path distance. Here, the route information is a sequence of valid coordinate names, and specifically, K5 → J5 → I5 → H5 → G5 → F5.
→ E5 → E6 → E7 → E8. However, when the effective coordinates included in the route information include a name capable of specifying a position, for example, a coordinate position of a door of a conference room, the position name may be added to the previous route information. For example, K5 (A5
0 meeting room door) → J5 → I5 → H5 → ... → C8 (5th floor entrance) → B10 → A12 (elevator hall) → E6
→ E7 → E8 (printer 1) etc. (However, the coordinate names and position names here are merely examples not related to the drawing). Displaying the route information in this way makes it easier to understand than a simple list of coordinate names.

If the user has grasped the relationship between the coordinate name and the actual position on the floor, this information alone is sufficiently effective for grasping the approximate position of the printer when going to obtain a printout result. There is. However, if the user does not accurately grasp the coordinate name and the actual positional relationship, this information alone will not be sufficient.

Therefore, in order to solve this disadvantage, the route information returned from the server PC 6 may be graphically displayed on the client PC 14. in this case,
Specifically, in addition to the path information and the path distance of the server PC 6, the coordinate position (the black point in FIG. 3) of the structure from the structure arrangement information 8 as the floor information and the effective coordinate position selected as the path are also returned to the client PC 14. The configuration is as follows. Thus, the client PC 14 displays a floor plan as shown in FIG. 6 on the display device based on the returned information.

With such a configuration, the user can easily and accurately grasp the positional relationship.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

When it is desired to print from the client PC 14 using the printer inquired and notified from the server PC 6 as in the first embodiment, the print information suitable for the printer is prepared and sent to the printer. Driver software for printers on client PC
14. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the selected printer driver software is automatically incorporated and print processing is performed.

Hereinafter, a process for automatically incorporating the printer driver software will be described. Note that the process described here is started after the process of selecting a printer described in the first embodiment is completed.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the incorporation processing in the second embodiment. First, step S2
At 01, the client PC 14 accesses the printer on the information network 1 or the server PC 4 using the received printer name, and inquires about the type (maker, model name, etc.) of the printer. Next, step S2
02, the printer driver software suitable for the type of the printer returned from the printer is
A search is performed to determine whether or not it is incorporated in C14. If the printer driver is installed, the process directly proceeds to step S204. If the printer driver is not installed, the process proceeds to step S203 to acquire necessary printer driver software from the server PC 6 on the information network 1.

Next, in step S204, a printer driver suitable for the printer to be printed
A switch process to software is performed, and then a print process is performed.

As described above, according to the embodiment,
In a network to which resources such as multiple computers and printers are connected, a network that registers and manages physical layout information such as floor names and room names where the resources are installed, and structural layout information in the building where the resources exist. For the server PC connected to the network, either two resource names on the network, one resource name and physical location information such as a room name, or two physical location information are transmitted from the client PC connected to the network. When specified, the physical path distance between the two designated points is calculated with reference to the physical arrangement information of the resources stored in the server PC and the structural arrangement information of the building, and a reply is made. When one point on the network is specified, the physical location such as the resource name or room name that is the shortest path distance from the specified point is returned. Information, and responding and returning path information between two points, personal computers can be located in various places using a LAN (Local Area Network) conventionally laid in a building. copy,
In an environment where a fax, a printer, etc. are connected and used, for example, when carrying a notebook PC used on one's own seat in an office to a conference room and connecting to a LAN from there to print out a document, Because it was not possible to know where the resources on the network were located, it was not possible to know which printer was closest to the conference room, which was very inconvenient. Since it is possible to know the location of the printer, the user can select the printer closest to the conference room and print out, and the distance to retrieve the printed paper is very short and very convenient.

Further, by displaying the received calculation result and the route information between two points graphically to the user, there is an effect that the user can easily grasp the position.
By registering and managing not only resources on the network, such as a client PC and a printer, but also a person's name and the position of the desk in the room in the server PC, and displaying the directions for which a search / inquiry request has been made, the building can be displayed. There is also an effect that a route guidance and a position search / inquiry system can be constructed within the building.

Further, when printer resources are specified from the position of the user and the client PC for printing,
Selecting a printer using the printer name, the physical path distance to the printer, and the path information to the printer, which are the shortest path distance obtained as a result of the operation by referring to the physical arrangement information and the structural arrangement information of the building stored in the server PC; By selecting a printer driver suitable for the printer and executing the switching process, and then performing the printing process, the user does not need to select the printer driver software and switch, which was necessary in the past. Very convenient.

Further, by updating the physical arrangement information and the structural arrangement information each time the arrangement of office desks and the arrangement of printers and computer resources are changed, it is possible to always effectively use the information as a position inquiry system. effective.

Even if the present invention is applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), an apparatus (for example, a copier, a facsimile) comprising one device Device).

Further, an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (CPU or MP) of the system or apparatus.
It goes without saying that U) can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instructions of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The user can know the physical positional relationship between a plurality of resources connected on the network, and the convenience for the user can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of physical arrangement information 7 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the first floor of a certain building.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the network location inquiry system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a route search when an appropriate coordinate point does not exist at an entrance.

FIG. 6 is a sketch of a floor displayed on the client PC 14;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an incorporation process according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information network 2 Block area 3 Block area 4 Block area 5 Block area 6 Server PC 7 Physical arrangement information 8 Structure arrangement information 9 Program 10 Program 11 Client PC 12 Scanner 13 Printer 14 Client PC 15 Network port 16 Printer 17 Client PC 18 Client PC 19 printer

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04M 3/00 F term (Reference) 5B021 AA01 EE05 5B089 GA11 HA06 JA35 JB14 KB04 KC44 LB17 5K030 HC14 HD09 JT02 KA01 KA07 LB05 LD12 LD17 MD08 5K032 DB19 DB22 DB28 EA07 5K051 BB02 FF01

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A network information system capable of querying arrangement information of a plurality of resources connected to a network, wherein the management means manages physical and structural arrangement information of a plurality of resources connected to the network. Receiving means for receiving an inquiry for a desired resource from a user; searching means for searching the received resource allocation information from a plurality of resource allocation information managed by the managing means; and a search result obtained by the searching means And a return unit configured to specify path information to the desired resource based on the information, and to return the specified path information to the user. 2. The network information system according to claim 1, wherein the physical location information of the resource includes at least a name, a type, a building name, a floor name, and a coordinate name for each resource. 3. The network information system according to claim 2, wherein the structural arrangement information of the resources includes position information and coordinate points of each resource located on the floor of the floor name. 4. The network information system according to claim 2, wherein said search means searches for a coordinate point of the resource based on a name of the resource. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the return unit specifies route information to the desired resource based on the coordinate point searched by the search unit, and returns the specified route information to the user. 3. The network information system according to 2. 6. The network information system according to claim 1, wherein a route to the desired resource is displayed on a display unit of the user based on the route information. 7. The network information according to claim 1, further comprising: transferring appropriate driver software for the desired resource to the user, and processing the resource with the transferred driver software. system. 8. When receiving an inquiry for a resource located at the shortest distance from the place where the user is located, the physical location information of the resource is searched, and path information to the resource located at the shortest distance is specified. The network information system according to claim 1, wherein the network information system is returned to a user.