JP2002091841A - Network system and equipment recognizing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently operate each of equipment connected to a network. SOLUTION: Equipment 10 (equipment A), equipment 12 (equipment B), equipment 14 (equipment C), a server 16 (server A) and a server 18 (server B) are connected to the network. Each of equipment A-C stores an XML document and does not have an analysis part for analyzing the XML document. When utilizing the XML document, syntax analysis is requested to the server A having a syntax analysis part 16, and the analysis result is received and utilized. When the equipment C is to control the equipment A, the equipment C requests the server A to analyze the XML document in the equipment A, receives the result and controls the equipment A.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network system and a device recognition method, and more particularly to a network system in which devices having control data in an XML document format are interconnected.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been proposed a device in which control data is described in an XML (Extensible Markup Language) format for the purpose of standardization and the like, and the data is incorporated in a memory. Application is being considered. When such a device uses a basic function or an extended function, it reads an XML document from a memory,
The syntax analysis section parses the XML document. The function is realized by using the control data of the analysis result in the application program.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a system in which a plurality of devices incorporating such an XML document are connected to a network. The device 10 (device A), the device 12 (device B), and the device 14 (device C) are connected to the network via interfaces. Also, the server 16
(Server A) and server 18 (Server B) are connected to the network. Servers A and B mainly function as databases. For example, the appliances A to C can be home appliances such as digital cameras and televisions, and the servers A and B can be home servers.

The device A includes an input / output unit 10a, an application program 10b, a syntax analysis unit 10c, a data buffer 10d, an XML document 10e, and a network interface unit 10f. XM
The attribute and control data of the device A are described in the L document 10e. The same applies to the other devices B and C. The syntax analysis unit 10c is specifically composed of a microprocessor and an analysis program, and generally requires a high processing capability in order to read an XML document, temporarily store it in the data buffer 10d, and analyze this in a short time. On the other hand, the server A has basically the same configuration as the device A, and includes a network interface 16a, a server program 16
b, syntax analyzer 16c, data buffer 16d, and XM
It is configured to have an L document 16e. XML document 16e
May describe other data used in the network in addition to the attributes and control data of the server A.

In such a configuration, when the device A uses the XML document of the server A connected to the network, the device A accesses the server A via the network interface unit 10f, reads out the necessary XML document, and A is temporarily stored in the data buffer 10d. Then, the XML document stored in the data buffer 10d is sent to the syntax analysis unit 10c of the device A, parsed, and used by the application program 10b of the device A.
For example, when the device A is a television and wants to display an image stored in the server A, the server A searches the XML document of the server A for desired image data and displays it on a television monitor.

[0006]

As described above, conventionally, each device and server have an XML document, a data buffer unit for analyzing the XML document, and a syntax analysis unit, and the devices connected to the network. Not only is the configuration for analyzing the XML document for each device redundant and redundant, but also a high-performance microprocessor for analyzing the XML document in a short time is required for each device, which increases the cost of each device. was there.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the related art, and has as its object to simplify the configuration of each device connected to a network, thereby reducing the cost or power consumption of each device. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that can efficiently utilize the functions of each device using a network.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a network system connecting a first device and a second device, wherein the first device comprises:
The second device includes a unit that stores XML data including attribute data of the device, the second device includes a unit that analyzes the XML data, reads the XML data from the storing unit, and reads the first data. The XML data is sent from the device to the second device, and the analyzing means of the second device analyzes the XML data and sends the XML data to the first device. The first device has no means for analyzing the XML data, and the second device is responsible for the analysis of the XML data. This makes it possible to use the XML data while simplifying the configuration of the first device.

In a computer network, a database system is known in which XML data is centrally stored in a server computer, the XML data is appropriately analyzed, and the XML data is supplied to another computer. It not only analyzes its own XML data, but also analyzes the XML data of another device (first device) connected to the network and supplies the analysis result to the other device (first device). From the viewpoint of using the analysis function of the server (second device) via a network).

[0010] Here, the first device is composed of a plurality of devices, and the XML is transmitted from any of the plurality of devices.
It is preferable that data is sent to the second device, and the XML data is analyzed by the second device and sent to another device of the plurality of devices. The XML data of one of the first devices (this is device a) is analyzed by the second device, and the result is transmitted to another device in the first device (this is device b). Therefore, even if the device b does not have its own XML analysis function, the device b connected to the network
, The attribute of the device a can be recognized. When the device a is a device newly connected to the network, the device b can easily acquire the function of the new device.

Further, in the present invention, the first device includes a request source device and a request destination device, and the request source device transmits the XM of the request destination device to the second device.
Means for transmitting a command requesting analysis of L data;
It is preferable that the request receiving device includes a unit that receives the analysis result sent from the second device, and the request destination device includes a unit that transmits the XML data to the second device.
Thus, the request source device can easily recognize the attributes and the like of the request destination device connected to the network, even if it does not have the XML analysis function.

[0012] In the present invention, the second device may analyze the analysis result from the analyzing means according to a priority.
It is also preferable to have a means for sequentially sending to the devices. In the present invention, since the first device requests the second device to analyze the XML data via the network, the traffic on the network increases as compared with the case where the XML data is processed in a local environment. Therefore, instead of sending the XML analysis results to the first device at the same time, instead of sending the analysis results sequentially according to the priority, that is, from the one with the highest priority, the X load can be reduced while reducing the network load.
The analysis result of the ML data can be sent reliably. Note that the priority can be embedded in the XML data in advance.

In the present invention, the first device may be a home appliance. By connecting home appliances with each other via a network and requesting the second device to analyze the XML data when using the same, realizing various functions based on the XML data while simplifying the configuration of each home appliance. Can be. Further, attributes and functions can be easily recognized between home electric appliances connected to the network via the XML data, and the use efficiency of the network can be improved by cooperating with a plurality of electric home appliances. It becomes possible.

Further, the present invention provides a method for recognizing a device connected to a network. In this method, a command for requesting XML data of another device is transmitted from one device connected to the network to a server, and the XML data of the other device is transmitted to the server in response to the command. It is characterized by reading out and analyzing, and transmitting the analysis result to the one device.

Here, the XML data includes attribute data of the other device. The attributes are the type, manufacturer, function, and the like of the device.

[0016]

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

FIG. 1 shows a system configuration diagram according to the present embodiment. The overall configuration is the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 9, and includes devices 10 (device A), devices 12 (device B),
The device 14 (device C) is connected to the network, and the server 16 (server A) and the server 18 (server B)
Is connected to the network. Equipment A to C and server B
Functions as a first device, and the server A functions as a second device.

Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 9, each device has a data buffer unit and a syntax analysis unit for analyzing an XML document, and each device independently analyzes and uses the XML document. However, in the present embodiment, none of the devices A to C has a data buffer unit and a syntax analysis unit, and the server B does not have a data buffer unit and a syntax analysis unit. For example, focusing on the device A, the input / output unit 10a, the application program 10
b (actually a processor that executes an application program, but here abbreviated as an application program), XML document 10e (actually a memory for storing XML document data, but here abbreviated as an XML document) , Network interface unit 10
f, but does not have a data buffer unit and a syntax analysis unit. In this embodiment, each device is an XML
When document data is required, for example, when control data described in an XML document is used to realize a basic function or an extended function, a data buffer unit and a syntax are used instead of analyzing the XML document independently. The server A having the analysis unit is instructed to perform the syntax analysis, and the server A obtains the result obtained by the syntax analysis, thereby using the control data described in the XML document. Now, paying attention to the device A and the server A, it is assumed that the device A uses its own XML document data, and the processing will be described.

First, the application program 10b of the device A accesses the server A via the network interface unit 10f and transmits a command. The network interface 16a of the server A
, And supplies the command to the server program 16b. The server program 16b transmits the XML document 10 via the network interface unit 10f of the device A.
e is read and stored in the data buffer 16d of the server A. To read the XML document 10e, specifically, the server A searches for the corresponding XML document based on a keyword included in the command of the device A, and transfers the XML document from the device A to the server A using the HTTP protocol. . Then, the XML stored from the data buffer 16d
The document is read and sent to the syntax analysis unit 16c for syntax analysis. The result obtained by the syntax analysis, that is, the control data for the device A is stored in the network interface 16a.
And the application program 10b of the device A via the network interface unit 10f. The application program 10b controls its function based on the control data of the analysis result.

When the server A reads the XML document 10e stored in the memory of the device A, the server A
Transmits an FTP protocol, and the application program 10b interprets the FTP protocol and converts it into XML.
The document 10e can be transmitted to the server A. Further, an original protocol can be mounted on the network interface to transmit and receive XML documents.

As described above, the device A does not have a syntax analyzer, and the syntax analyzer 16c provided on the server A is replaced with the device A.
With the use of the device A, the configuration of the device A can be simplified, and the cost of the device A can be reduced.

Further, even when the extended function of the device A is described in an XML document and stored in the memory of the device A, a simple configuration can be obtained by requesting the server A to interpret and transmit the XML document. The extension function can be realized with. More specifically, a keyword specifying XML describing the extended function is sent to server A, and server A reads out extended function XML from device A based on the keyword, interprets the extended function XML, and interprets the result as an application program of device A. return it.

Further, in the present embodiment, not only a case where a certain device analyzes an XML document contained in itself but also uses the result, the certain device (request source device) is connected to a network. Also, the present invention can be applied to the case where the attributes and control data of another device (request destination device) are used. For example, the device C connected to the network
Executes a certain process using the function of the device A or the device B connected to the network (for example, the device A
Is a digital camera and the device C is a television, and an image photographed by the digital camera is displayed on the television).
Then, it is necessary to recognize the basic function or the extended function of the device A. In such a case, the device C may instruct the server A to analyze the control data of the device A, and the result may be received by the device C.

FIG. 2 shows a processing flowchart when an XML document is used between a plurality of devices connected to the network in this way. The figure shows a case where the device C uses the device A. First, the device C (request source device) sends the device A to the server A.
It instructs the analysis of the XML document of the (request destination device).
Specifically, a command for specifying the device C that is the request source (that is, a device using the analysis result), an XM to be analyzed
A command for specifying the device A having the L document, a command for specifying the XML document to be analyzed (such as a keyword), and a command for instructing the server A to analyze the XML document are transmitted (S101). Upon receiving these commands from the device C, the server A accesses the device A and
The ML document 10e is read and stored in the data buffer 16d. Then, the syntax analysis unit 16c analyzes the XML document of the device A (S102). Next, the result of the analysis is sent to the device C via the network interface 16a (S103). The device C receives the analysis result of the device A supplied from the server A, and uses the analysis result in the application program of the device C. As an example,
This can be used when the device C is a computer, the device A is a digital camera, and the computer remotely controls the shooting timing, zoom, exposure level, and the like of the digital camera. Further, the above processing can be used when determining whether or not a device having a function necessary for a certain device to perform a specific process exists on the network. That is, a certain device requests the server A to analyze the XML document of another device connected to the network, and selects a device required for processing from the attributes of each device included in the obtained analysis result.

Hereinafter, a description will be given of an example of a process in which a device C (such as a television) finds a digital camera capable of shooting at a high resolution (1024 × 768) on a network.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an XML document of each digital camera connected to the network. In the figure, <? xml version = '1.
0 '? > Is a declaration statement that the document is an XML document. <Device> is a start tag indicating that it is a description of a device, and an end tag </ device> of the device is described in the last line.
device> exists. The description of the device indicates the attribute of the device. <Type> DSC <
/ Type> is a description indicating that the device connected to the network is a digital camera. DSC is an abbreviation for Digital Camera. <Name> DSC-SX55
0 </ name> indicates the model name of the digital camera.
manufacture> SANYO Electric
c CO. , Ltd. </ Manufacture> indicates a manufacturer of the digital camera. Also, <maxre
solution> 1024 * 768 <// maxres
solution> is a description indicating the maximum resolution of the digital camera. <Fileext>. jpg </ fi
"leext>" is an extension of the file. X like this
The ML document is embedded in the device A and the device B, and the server A
Then, the XML document is analyzed in accordance with an instruction from the device C, a tag indicating the maximum resolution is extracted and analyzed, and the tag is supplied to the device C.

FIG. 4 shows a processing flowchart in this example. First, the server A reads the XML document of the first device (for example, the device A) (S20).
1) Read out the contents of the <type> element in the <device> element in the XML document (S20)
2). Then, it is determined whether or not the content is a DSC indicating a digital camera (S203). When it is determined that the content is a DSC and the device A is a digital camera, the syntax analysis unit of the server A next reads the content of the <maxresolution> element in the XML document (S204), and the content is 1024 *. 768
, Ie, the maximum resolution is 1024 × 768
Is determined (S205). If the maximum resolution of the device A is 1024 × 768, the digital camera having the resolution required by the device C is the device A, and the analysis result is transmitted to the device C. The device C recognizes that the device A is a desired digital camera, and starts controlling the device A using the analysis result. Specifically, the control program of the device A included in the analysis result is called to control the device A and capture an image at the maximum resolution,
The obtained image is received via a network and displayed on a television monitor.

On the other hand, the XML document of the device A is analyzed, and <d
If the <type> element in the <device> element is not a DSC, it means that the device A is not a digital camera, and it is determined whether there is another device connected to the network (S207). And
If the next device is present (device B in the present embodiment), the XML document stored in the device is read (S208), and the above processing is repeated to determine whether the device is a digital camera, If it is a camera, it is determined whether or not its maximum resolution is 1024 × 768. Even if the device that read the XML document in step S205 is a digital camera, if the maximum resolution is not 1024 × 768, it is also determined whether or not there is another device on the network. The XML document of the device is read to determine whether or not a desired condition is satisfied. When the desired condition is satisfied, the analysis result is transmitted to the device C.

The XML documents of all the devices connected to the network are analyzed, and X
If the ML document does not exist, it is determined that the target device has not been found (S209), and the fact is transmitted to the device C. The device C can recognize that a device connected to the network does not have a digital camera having a resolution of 1024 × 768, and performs processing such as substitution with another function.

As described above, when control data of another device is requested from one device connected to the network, the server A analyzes the XML document of the device and transmits the XML document to the request source device. Can be operated efficiently.

When a device requests data by paying particular attention to a specific function of another device connected to the network, the server A transmits the entire analyzed XML document to the requesting device at once. Instead, it is preferable that only specific data in the XML document be preferentially transmitted to the requesting device.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show examples in which the analysis result is preferentially transmitted to the requesting device. First, FIG. 5 is an example of an XML document embedded in each device connected to the network. Unlike FIG. 3, <
The difference is that not only the type and resolution of the device but also its priority are described in <type> and <maxresolution>. In this example, the priorities include hi and normal, and hi is particularly important as an attribute of the device and means that the device immediately responds to the requesting device without caching.
“al” is a normal importance as an attribute of the device, and means that when traffic of the network is congested or the like, it can be appropriately cached and efficiently answered to the requesting device.

FIG. 6 shows the type, name, manufacture, and max of <device> from device C.
The processing flowchart of the server A when the resolution is requested is shown. First, the server A accesses the device A and reads an XML document stored in the device A (S301). Then, in the parsing unit, the XML
The priority of the requested element in the <device> element in the document is read (S302). Then, it is determined whether or not the read priority is hi (S303). If the priority is hi, the content is read (S304), and the result is cached (temporarily stored) without requesting (client). Is immediately transmitted to the device C (S305). Specifically, the priority of <type> is h
Since it is i, the DSC which is the content of the element is read and immediately transmitted to the device C.

On the other hand, the data such as the name of the device, the manufacturer, and the file extension do not have the priority hi, so that the data is temporarily stored in the cache after the syntax is interpreted (S308, S308).
309). The above processing is sequentially performed on all the elements in the XML document, and the analysis result held in the cache, that is, the analysis result having a low priority is transmitted to the device C at an appropriate timing when the network traffic is free ( S306, S307).

Thus, even when the network is composed of low-speed lines or when traffic is mixed, only important data can be preferentially transmitted to the requesting device. Becomes possible.

In consideration of network traffic, each device is also provided with a command cache unit for temporarily storing a command from an application program.
It is also preferable to transmit the commands issued from the application program to the server A collectively, instead of transmitting the commands to the server A each time.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration in such a case. A command cache unit is provided in the network interface unit 10f of the device A connected to the network, and temporarily stores commands sequentially issued from the application program. Then, the command is transmitted from the command cache unit to the server A at an appropriate timing. For example, when a request for the type or function of another device is sequentially issued from the application program of the device A, the command cache unit collectively transmits the request for the type and the request for the function to the server A. In the server A, the transmitted command is separated by the command separation unit in the network interface unit 16a, and is sequentially supplied to the syntax analysis unit 16c. The syntax analysis unit 16c sequentially analyzes the XML document, sends the result to the cache unit, and temporarily stores the result. The analysis results held in the cache unit are collectively transmitted at an appropriate timing to the device A, and the analysis result sent from the device A is separated and extracted by the analysis result separation unit, and is sequentially supplied to the application program. As a result, in the application program, X
It is possible to sequentially request ML analysis data and sequentially receive analysis results in accordance with the request.

A switch for controlling the operation of the command cache unit is further provided to issue commands sequentially.
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which it is possible to arbitrarily switch between issuing together.

When network traffic is taken into consideration, commands are issued together on the application program side, and commands are separated on the server A side into XML.
You can also parse documents. FIG. 8 shows a configuration in such a case. The application program 10b of the device A issues a command for requesting XML data of another device to the network interface 10f in the form of a command list. In the network interface unit 16a of the server A, the command list is separated into individual commands and sent to the syntax analysis unit 16c.
Analyze the L document. The results obtained by the analysis are temporarily stored in the cache unit, are collected, and are transmitted to the device A collectively. The application program of the device A collectively receives a response (analysis result) to a request issued as a command list and executes processes such as control of other devices.

In this embodiment, the request command issued by the application program to the server A, that is, the XML analysis command is a DOM (Document
It is preferable that a standard API such as Object Model) or SAX (Simple API for XML) is adopted, and the network interface converts the command to the server A and sends it. It is also preferable that the response from the server A to the requesting device be converted into a standard API return value and returned to the application program.

Further, it is preferable that the API received by the syntax analyzer 16c of the server A also uses a standard API so that a general-purpose program can be used for the syntax analyzer 16c.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the present embodiment, the XML document describing the attributes and functions of the devices is built in each device, but the basic functions of a certain device are built in the XML format, and the control information of the extended functions is stored on the server A side. , And the server A can analyze the extended XML document and transmit it to the device. Thereby, each device can easily realize an extended function by connecting to the network, and the function of each device can be improved by additionally storing an XML document describing the extended function in the server A of the network. Can be.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, while simplifying the configuration of each device connected to the network,
The XML data of each device can be analyzed and used. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily recognize what function the device connected to the network has.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a processing flowchart of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram (part 1) of an XML document.

FIG. 4 is a processing flowchart of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram (part 2) of an XML document.

FIG. 6 is another processing flowchart of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating still another configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a conventional network system.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 device A, 12 device B, 14 device C, 16 server A, 18 server B.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A network system connecting a first device and a second device, wherein the first device includes an XML including attribute data of the device.
Means for storing data, the second device has means for analyzing the XML data, reads the XML data from the storing means, and reads the XML data from the first device to the second device. A network system, wherein the XML data is sent by the analyzing means of the second device and sent to the first device. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first device includes a plurality of devices, and sends the XML data from any one of the plurality of devices to the second device, and A network system, wherein the XML data is analyzed by one of the devices and transmitted to another device of the plurality of devices. 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first device includes a request source device and a request destination device, and wherein the request source device transmits a request of the request destination device to the second device. Means for transmitting a command for requesting the analysis of the XML data, and means for receiving an analysis result sent from the second device, wherein the request destination device transmits the XML data to the second device. A network system, comprising: means for transmitting to a device. 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second device includes means for sequentially transmitting an analysis result from the analyzing means to the first device according to a priority. A network system comprising: 5. The network system according to claim 1, wherein the first device is a home appliance. 6. A method for recognizing a device connected to a network, comprising: transmitting a command requesting XML data of another device from one device connected to the network to a server; And reading and analyzing the XML data of the other device in the server according to (1), and transmitting an analysis result to the one device. 7. The device recognition method according to claim 6, wherein the XML data includes an attribute and control data of the another device.