JP2002135858A - System and method for remote control and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system and a method for remote control and a storage medium, with which a communication path can be secured between a device to be remotely controlled and a remote control terminal even when the device to be remotely controlled is installed inside a firewall. SOLUTION: In a remote control system 1, with which a remote control terminal 130 remotely controls target equipment through a device 120 to be remotely controlled by the exchange of information for a device 120 to be remotely controlled to transmit first information concerning the state of the target equipment to the remote control terminal 130 and for the remote control terminal 130 to transmit second information concerning the control operation instruction of the target equipment to the device 130 to be remotely controlled in response to such transmission, provided with the device 120 to be remotely controlled for monitoring the states of a blind 122 and an illumination 123 as target equipment and the remote control terminal 130 configured to instruct control operation to the target equipment and to communicate with the device 120 to be remotely controlled, the device 120 to be remotely controlled requests a connection by means of a stream connection to the remote control terminal 130 for exchanging the information and corresponding to the transmitted second information, the control operation of the target equipment is performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control system for remotely controlling a device by using a control terminal, a remote control method therefor, and a storage medium, and more particularly to a remote control for connecting a control device and a control terminal via a network. The present invention relates to a system, a remote control method thereof, and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various devices such as a television, an air conditioner, and a video recording device can be remotely controlled by a so-called remote controller using wireless communication. In addition, a system has been realized in which a camera server is placed on the Internet, and a WWW browser is used to remotely control camera operations such as pan, tilt, and zoom to view live images (for example, a product name "WebView Livescope"). )).

As described above, a system in which a remote device and an operation terminal exchange information by remote control using the Internet standard protocol TCP / IP can be remotely controlled from all over the world via the Internet. And In particular, HTTP (protocol TCP) which is a communication protocol used as a standard in the WWW system
/ Protocol on IP), remote operation is possible even from the inside of a local network protected by a firewall, provided that WWW browsing is enabled by a WWW browser.

By installing a WWW proxy server on a firewall, a WWW browser can be connected to a WWW server on the Internet via a WWW proxy server and browsing the WWW can be performed. This is because the WWW proxy server relays the HTTP protocol from the internal network protected by the firewall to the Internet. That is, when HTTP is used as a communication protocol, communication from an internal network to a device installed on the Internet becomes possible.

[0005]

However, if the device to be remotely controlled is inside a firewall, it cannot be remotely controlled via the Internet, even if the system uses HTTP as a communication protocol.

[0006] This is because a normal firewall setting allows the firewall to pass through only when a stream-oriented connection (TCP connection) is requested from a device inside the firewall to an external device. This is because a connection request from a device to an internal device is rejected. In stream-oriented connection, communication in the direction from the connection request side to the target device and return communication from the target device are handled as a set, so only when there is a connection request from an internal reliable device, the external target This will allow communication from the device into the firewall. By limiting in this way, it is hard to be attacked from outside.

[0007] Therefore, in a general setting of a firewall installed to prevent an attack on an internal network, browsing of the WWW can be performed from the inside, but the remote control system employs HTTP. Even if the remote control target device is placed inside,
There was a problem that this could not be operated from the Internet.

The present invention provides a remote control system and a remote control method capable of securing a communication path between a remote control device and a remote control terminal even when the remote control device is installed inside a firewall. , As well as a storage medium.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a remote operation system for monitoring a state of a target device, and a control operation instruction to the target device. And a remote control terminal configured to communicate with the remote control device, wherein the remote control device transmits first information regarding the state of the target device to the remote control terminal, In response to the transmission, the remote operation terminal performs a second operation related to a control operation instruction of the target device.
In the remote operation system configured to remotely operate the target device via the remote operated device by exchanging information for transmitting the information of the remote operated device to the remote operated device, The apparatus comprises: control operation means for controlling and operating the target device in accordance with the transmitted second information; and connection request means for performing a stream connection connection request to the remote operation terminal for exchanging the information. And characterized in that:

[0010] A second aspect of the present invention is the remote operation system according to the first aspect, wherein the connection request is made using an HTTP protocol.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation system according to the second aspect, the HTTP protocol is used over SSL.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation system according to the first aspect, the connection request utilizes a proxy server and utilizes a protocol which can pass through a firewall under predetermined setting conditions. And

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation system according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the user operates the remote operation terminal to input information on a control operation instruction of the target device. An input unit that updates the second information to information about the input control operation instruction; and a connection request receiving unit that receives the connection request. When the information is received, the information is exchanged.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the information is exchanged by activating a program corresponding to a WWW request. Output from WWW
It is performed by a program operating means that returns a response.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation system according to the sixth aspect, the program operating means is a WWW server.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation system according to any one of the fifth to seventh aspects, the second information is updated to the information on the input control operation instruction. Sometimes, the remote operation terminal includes a display unit that displays the updated second information on a WWW page.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation system according to the eighth aspect, the remote operation terminal is a remote operation system having the input means, the connection request accepting means, and the information updating means. A remote control relay device having a terminal and the display means, wherein the remote control relay device is a remote control system configured to be located inside another firewall, wherein the remote control relay device includes the remote control terminal and the remote control relay device. An operating device exchanges the information via the remote control relay device.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation system according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, when the name or address of the remote operation terminal is used from the remote operation terminal. By e-mail etc.
It is sent to the remote operated terminal, and the remote operated terminal determines the connection destination according to the sent name or address.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation system according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, the remote operation terminal requests a connection to the remote operated device periodically or when necessary. By exchanging the information, the information is exchanged.

In order to achieve the above object, a remote method of a remote operation system according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention provides a remote operation target device for monitoring a state of a target device, and a control operation instruction to the target device. A remote control terminal configured to communicate with the remote control device, wherein the remote control device transmits first information relating to a state of the target device to the remote control terminal; By exchanging information in which the remote operation terminal transmits second information regarding the control operation instruction of the target device to the remote operated device,
The remote control terminal is a remote control method of a remote control system configured to remotely control the target device via the remote control device, by the remote control device,
A control operation step of controlling and operating the target device according to the transmitted second information, and the remote operated device,
A connection requesting step of making a request for connection by stream connection to the remote operation terminal in order to exchange the information.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation method according to the twelfth aspect, the connection request is HT.
It is characterized by using the TP protocol.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the remote control method according to the thirteenth aspect, wherein the HT on the SSL is used.
It is characterized by using the TP protocol.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation method according to the twelfth aspect, the connection request utilizes a proxy server and a protocol that can pass through the firewall under predetermined setting conditions. It is characterized by.

A remote operation method according to a sixteenth aspect is the remote operation method according to any one of the twelfth to fifteenth aspects, wherein a user inputs the content of a control operation instruction of the target device by the remote operation terminal. An input step, an information update step of updating the second information with the input control operation instruction by the remote operation terminal, and a connection request receiving step of receiving the connection request by the remote operation terminal. And exchanging the information when the remote operation terminal receives the connection request.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation method according to any one of the twelfth to sixteenth aspects, the information exchange is performed by activating a program corresponding to a WWW request. This is performed in a program operation step of returning an output from the PC as a WWW response.

The remote operation method according to claim 18 is characterized in that, in the remote operation method according to claim 17, the program operation step is performed by a WWW server.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation method according to any one of the sixteenth to eighteenth aspects, the second information is updated to the information on the input control operation instruction. And displaying the updated second information on a WWW page by the remote control terminal.

According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the remote operation method according to the nineteenth aspect, wherein the remote operation terminal is configured to execute the input step, the connection request accepting step, and the information updating step. An operation terminal, and a remote operation relay device for performing the display step, wherein the remote operation relay device is a remote operation method of a remote operation system configured to be inside another firewall, wherein the other remote operation relay device is The operation terminal and the remotely operated device exchange the information via the remote operation relay device.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a remote control method according to any one of the twelfth to twentieth aspects, wherein the remote operation terminal uses the name and address of the remote operation terminal. The information is sent to the remote operated terminal by e-mail or the like, and the remote operated terminal determines the connection destination according to the sent name or address.

According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation method according to any one of the twelfth to twenty-first aspects, the remote operation terminal requests a connection to the remote operated device periodically or when necessary. The information is exchanged by giving a notification.

In order to achieve the above object, a storage medium according to claim 23 is provided with a remote operated device for monitoring a state of a target device, a control operation instruction for the target device, and a remote operation device. A remote control terminal configured to communicate with the remote control device, wherein the remote controlled device transmits first information relating to a state of the target device to the remote control terminal, and the remote control terminal responds to the transmission by the first information. The remote control terminal is configured to remotely control the target device via the remote control device by exchanging information for transmitting the second information regarding the control operation instruction of the target device to the remote control device. In a storage medium storing a program for executing a remote operation method of a remote operation system, the program is executed by the remote operated device according to the transmitted second information. A control operation module for controlling and operating the elephant device; and a connection request module for making a connection request by stream connection to the remote operation terminal for exchanging the information by the remote operated device. .

[0032]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a remote control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a remote operation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a remote control system 1 includes an Internet 100 and a firewall (FW) 11.
1, a LAN 110, a remotely operated device 120, and a remote operation terminal 130.

A remote operation terminal 130 is directly connected to the Internet 100, and is connected to a LAN 110 via a firewall 111. A remote operated device 120 is connected to the LAN 110.

The remote operated device 120 is a device having a configuration equivalent to a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation having a CPU, a memory, and a network interface, and includes an operation information exchange activation program 151 and a device operation data collection program described later. 152 and is connected to the controller 121.

The controller 121 controls lighting and extinguishing of the lighting 122 and raising and lowering of the blind 123 in accordance with a control command from the remotely operated device 120, and controls the lighting state of the lighting 122 and the blind 123. Information on the state such as the open / close position is returned to the remote operated device 120.

The remote control terminal 130 has a CPU, a memory,
And a device having a configuration equivalent to a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation having a network interface, and includes a WWW server program 161, an operation display CGI program 162, and an operation display GUI program 163, which will be described later. And an operation input device 132 such as a mouse.

It should be noted that the firewall 111
A W proxy server 141 has been introduced.

In this embodiment, the remote control terminal 13
Since the WWW server program 161 on 0 is running, the remote operation terminal 130 behaves like a so-called WWW server. On the other hand, since the operation information exchange activation program 151 on the remote operated device 120 is operating, the remote operated device 120 periodically makes an operation information collection request to the remote operation terminal 130.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the operation information collecting process by the remote operation terminal 130. This process is performed by various programs on the remote operated device 120.

First, after the state information of the lighting state of the lighting 122 and the opening / closing position of the blind 123 is collected by the device operation / data collection program 152 for inputting the state of the controller 121 (step S201), transmission according to the state information is performed. Information is created using an HTTP POST command (step S202).

For example, when the lighting 122 is off, the blind 123 is at the 70% open / close position, and the URL for remote operation at the remote operation terminal 130 is HTTP://foo.com.
For / cgi-bin / operated, create the following command. POST HTTP://foo.com/cgi-bin/operated HTTP / 1.0 Content-Length: 21 1ight = OFF blind = 70 Next, the operation exchange information activation program uses the information created using the POST command in step S202. The receiver indicated, ie, the remote control terminal 130
To the POS server via the WWW proxy server 141
A T command is transmitted (step S203).

As described above, the normal firewall 1
In the setting of 11, the remote operated device 120, which is a device connected to the internal LAN 110 protected by the firewall 111 when performing stream-oriented connection,
Internet 10 via WW proxy server 141
0 which is an external device directly connected to the remote control terminal 1
When a connection request is made to 30, it is often permitted to pass through the firewall 111, so that communication becomes possible.

Thereafter, the remote control terminal 130 that has received the data transmitted in step S203 writes the status information of the transmitted data in an information exchange table shown in Table 1 described later, and further refers to FIG. The operation information written in the information exchange table is responded to the remote operated device 120 by a method described later. For example, the remote control terminal 130
Turns on the light 122 and gives an operation instruction from the user to set the opening and closing position of the blind 123 to 80%, the response to the remotely operated device 120 is as follows. HTTP / 1.0 200 OK Content-Type: application / x-remote-operated Content-Length: 20 light = ON blind = 80 When the response from the remote operated device 120 is received (YES in step S204), the operation is exchanged. The information activation program requests the device operation data collection program 152 to perform the operation instruction content from the user in the response.
(Step S205), this processing ends.

According to the processing of FIG.
Receives the POST command from the remote operated device 120, writes the status information of the lighting 122 and the blind 123 into the information exchange table, and, together with the received POS
The operation instruction information of the lighting 122 and the blind 123 written in the information exchange table of Table 1 as a response to the T command is transmitted to the remote operated device 120, and the remote operated device 120 transmits the operation instruction information from the remote operation terminal 130. When the information is received (YES in step S204), the lighting 122 and the blind 123 are operated based on the information. Therefore, even if the remotely operated device 120 is installed inside the firewall 111, the user can operate the remote operation terminal 1
At 30, the state of the lighting 122 and the blind 123 can be confirmed and the remote operation can be performed.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a response process by the remote operation terminal 130. This process is performed by various programs on the remote operation terminal 130.

First, upon receiving the transmission information transmitted in step S203, the WWW server program 16
1 notifies the operation display CGI program 162 of the status change event and makes a status update request (step S30).
1).

The operation display CGI program 162 that has received the status update request performs the following processing. First, the transmitted information is transmitted to the remote control terminal 1 by a method described later with reference to FIG.
The information is written in the status column of the information exchange table shown in Table 1 secured in the shared memory area in 30.

[0050]

[Table 1]

POS received from remote operated device 120
Since the T command includes status information indicating that the lighting is OFF and the opening / closing position of the blind 123 is 70%, OFF is displayed in the light column of the status column, and blin in the status column.
70 is written in the d column. Further, by making this information exchange table readable and writable from the operation display GUI program 163, information exchange and the like described later with reference to FIG. Further, the location where the information exchange table is secured may be a shared file instead of the shared memory.Also, the information exchange table is not secured at a predetermined location in the form of an information exchange table, but uses a communication port. The information may be shared by performing inter-process communication between the respective programs.

Next, the operation display GUI program 163 executes an operation request reading operation for reading information in a request column of the information exchange program 301, which is information in which the content requested by the user is written by a method described later with reference to FIG. Perform (Step S302).

For example, when the information in the request column of the information exchange table is updated to ON in the light column and updated to 80 in the blind column, an operation instruction to turn on the lighting 122 and set the open / close position of the blind 123 to 80% is read. .

Information indicating the contents of the operation request read in step S302 is output to the WWW server program 161 as a standard output. For example, the following output is performed at this time. Content-Type: application / x-remote-operated light = ON blind = 80 Other necessary information is added to the output response information by the WWW server program 161, so that the remote operation terminal 130 described above in step S204 is added. Information that responds to the remote operated device 120 is created (step S30).
3), this information is transmitted as a response to the operation information exchange activation program 151, and this processing ends.

According to the processing of FIG.
When the POST command is received from the remote operated device 120, the operation display CGI program 16 receives the status change event notified from the WWW server program 161.
2 updates the information in the status column of the information exchange table to the transmission information, and then reads the information in the request column of the information exchange table (step S302), outputs the information to the WWW server program 161, and the WWW server program 161 Since the output information is in a format for responding to the remote operated device 120 (step S303), stream-oriented communication is performed between the remote operated device installed inside the firewall and the remote operation terminal connected to the Internet. It can be performed.

On the other hand, the operation display GUI program 163
Operates in an event driven manner, and performs a state change event process of FIG. 4 and an input event process of FIG. 5 described below.

FIG. 4 shows an operation display GUI program 163.
9 is a flowchart of a state change event process by the STA.

This processing is started when a status change event that occurs when the status information in the information exchange table is rewritten is notified by the operation display CGI 162 described above with reference to FIG.

First, the state of the lighting 122 and the blind 123 currently displayed on the display device 131 is compared with the state of the lighting 122 and the blind 123 written in the state column of the information exchange table. As a result of the comparison, the lighting 122
If the state of the blind 123 is different from the state of the blind 123, the state display is updated by re-requesting the state display drawn on the display device 131 (step S401), and this processing ends.

FIG. 5 shows the operation display GUI program 163.
6 is a flowchart of an input event process according to FIG.

When the user changes the GUI display by operating the operation input device 132 such as a mouse cursor, the process starts. The user's operation includes, for example, a button operation of moving the mouse cursor over the ON button and then pressing the mouse button, and a slider operation of moving over the slider knob and pressing the mouse button.

First, it is determined whether or not the operation performed by the user is a button operation (step S501). If it is a button operation, the process proceeds to step S502, while if it is not a button operation, step S502 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S503.

In step S502, the user
After judging whether the mouse button was pressed by placing the mouse cursor on any of the N and OFF buttons, the one judged as the pressed button is displayed as concave and the other as convex, and at the same time, the request in the information exchange table is displayed. The light column in the column is updated to the content of the operation instruction for which the button was pressed.

In step S503, it is determined whether or not the operation performed by the user is a slider operation (step S503). If the operation is a slider operation, step S
The process advances to step 504. On the other hand, if the operation is not a slider operation, the process ends.

In step S504, the knob display position of the slider changed by moving the mouse cursor while the user presses the mouse button is converted into a percentage of the entire knob display position with respect to the whole, and the request in the information exchange table is converted. Column b
The "link" field is updated to the converted numerical value, and the present process ends.

According to the processing shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the operation display G
The UI program 163 operates in an event-driven manner, and at the same time the status column of the information exchange table is updated by the operation display CGI 162, the content displayed on the display device 131 is updated (step S401). The contents of the request column of the information exchange table are changed to the contents of the operation instruction changed by operating the device 132 (step S5).
01, S502), the user can know the current state of the lighting 122 and the blind 123, and at the same time, changes the state of the lighting 122 and the blind 123 to the contents changed by operating the input operation device 132 by himself / herself. be able to.

FIG. 6 is a system configuration diagram of a remote operation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 6, the remote control system 6 is basically the same as the remote control system 1, but the remote control terminal 130 according to the first embodiment is different from the remote control device 1.
The remote control terminal 630 according to the present embodiment independently implements the GUI, while the information exchange is performed with the CGI program started when communication with the WWW server 20 is received by the WWW server program. Therefore, the CGI program started when the WWW server program 161 receives the communication with the remotely operated device 120 exchanges the basic GUI of the remote operation terminal based on the WWW browser 665.

Therefore, instead of the operation display CGI program 162 and the operation display GUI program 163 in the first embodiment, the remote operation terminal 630 is provided with an operated device response CGI program 662 and an operation terminal response CGI
Program 663, operation display GUI applet 664,
And a WWW browser 665.

As in the information collection process of the first embodiment, which is the information collection process in step S203 of FIG.
Sends a POST command to the remote control terminal 630.

When a URL path “/ cgi-bin / operated” is requested by the command received by the remote control terminal 630, the operated device response CGI program 662 is executed, that is, the command including the URL path is executed. When the remote operation terminal 630 receives the POST command, the operated device response CGI program 662 is set to start, and the URL path “/ terminal.
html ”includes W including the operation display GUI applet 664.
Stores a WW page.

When remote control is to be performed on the remote control terminal 630, first, the WWW browser 665 is started, and the WWW browser 665 is directed to itself (“localhost”) by “/ te”.
rminal.html ”, that is, the URL is“ HTTP: //
Request display of "localhost / terminal.html" page.

The content of the page is a WWW browser 665
Then, the operation GUI is displayed, and the processing of the operation display GUI applet 664 is started. This is basically the same as the above-described input event processing in FIG. 5 in which the operation display GUI program 163 according to the first embodiment starts processing in an event driven manner.
When there is a user operation action on the part of
Change the display and change the URL to "HTTP: // localho
st / cgi-bin / operation ”is different in that it creates transmission information and sends it to itself.

At the time of initial setting or when there is no operation command, the following command is transmitted. Also, when there is no user operation for a certain period of time, the same command is transmitted. POST / cgi-bin / operation HTTP / 1.0 Content-Length: 7 NONE When the user turns on the lighting 122 and sets the open / close position of the blind 123 to 80%, the following command is transmitted. POST / cgi-bin / operation HTTP / 1.0 Content-Length: 20 light = ON blind = 80 When this command is received by the WWW server program 161, the operation terminal response CGI program 663 is started. The started operation terminal response CGI program 663
Writes the command content transmitted from the operation display GUI applet 664 to the terminal operation information sharing area, reads the content written by the operated device response CGI program 662 from the target device state information sharing area, and writes it to the standard output. .

For example, when the user's operation action on the GUI component is to turn off the light 122 and turn on the blind 1
When 23 is an operation instruction to set the opening / closing position to 70%, the information is written in the terminal operation information sharing area as follows. Content-Type: application / x-remote-terminal light = OFF blind = 70 If there are a plurality of operation functions and only information of the function requested to be operated is described, only that information may be updated. In this case, the operation display GUI applet 664 only needs to send a command for each user operation.

When the WWW server program 161 adds other necessary information to the output response information, the WWW server program 161 returns the added information as a response to the operation display GUI applet 664, and the operation display GUI applet 664 transmits the response information. Upon receiving the returned response, the display content of the WWW browser 665 is changed.

On the other hand, the operated device response CGI program 6
When the device 62 is started, the command content sent from the remote operated device 120 is written in the target device state information sharing area, and the command content written by the operating terminal response CGI program 663 in the terminal operation information sharing area is read out. Is written to the standard output.

For example, the operation terminal response CGI program 6
If the command content written in the terminal operation information sharing area by 63 is a request to turn on the lighting 122 and set the blind 123 to the open / close position of 80%, the command is output as follows. Content-Type: application / x-remote-operated light = ON blind = 80 The WWW server program 161 adds other necessary information to the output response information, thereby making the remote operation terminal 130 described above in step S204. Creates information that responds to the remote operated device 120, and transmits this operation information as a response to the operation information exchange activation program 151.

As described above, the remote control terminal 630 is
By using the W browser 665 as a base, the versatility of the terminal is enhanced, and the terminal can be used not only for remote operation but also for general WWW browsing. Further, it is possible to easily add other functions to the operation screen.

FIG. 7 is a system configuration diagram of a remote operation system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

The same components as those in the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 7, the remote control system 7 is basically the same as the remote control system 6, except that a remote control relay device 770 is directly connected to the Internet 100 instead of the remote control terminal 630, and a WWW proxy server is provided. Firewall (FW) 7 with 741 installed
A LAN 710 is connected to the Internet 100 via a remote control terminal 11.
30 is connected.

Further, in the present embodiment, the operation display GUI applet 664 is provided on the WWW of the remote operation terminal 730.
When the WWW page for operation display is taken out from the remote control relay device 770 using the browser 665 and displayed, the downloaded WWW page is executed on the remote control terminal 730.

The remote control relay device 770 is a device having a configuration equivalent to a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation having a CPU, a memory, and a network interface. The remote control relay device 770 includes a WWW server program 161 and a CGI program corresponding to a remote controlled device. 662 and an operation terminal-compatible CGI program 663.

The remote operated terminal 730 also has a CPU,
A device having a configuration equivalent to that of a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation having a memory and a network interface. The device has the WWW browser 665 described above, and is connected to a display device 131 and an operation input device 132 such as a mouse.

When the name of remote control relay device 730 according to the present embodiment is “bar.com”, UR transmitted from remote operated device 120 to remote control relay device 730
L is a URL “HTT” transmitted from the remote operated device 120 according to the first embodiment to the remote operation terminal 130.
"P: //foo.con/cgi-bin/operated" instead of "HTTP: //
bar.con / cgi-bin / operated ”is used.

Further, the WWW browser 665 is started on the remote control terminal 730, and “/terminal.htm” is directed to itself.
The URL for displaying the page “l” is “HTTP://bar.com/terminal.html” instead of “HTTP: //localhost/terminal.html” which is the URL in the second embodiment. .

Further, in the remote control terminal 730, G
When a user's operation action is performed on a part of the UI, the display is changed, the operation request information is created as transmission information, and the URL to be transmitted to itself is the URL “HTTP” in the second embodiment. : // localhost / cgi-bin / o
peration ", not" HTTP://bar.com/cgi-bin/operati
on ".

In this embodiment, the remote control terminal 7
The server 30 requests a communication connection to the WWW proxy server 741 mounted on the firewall 711 instead of directly attempting a communication connection to the remote control relay device 770, and performs remote control via the WWW proxy server 741. The transfer and the response are performed to the relay device 770.

The LAN 710 and the firewall 71
1 and the WWW proxy server 741 are LA
N110, firewall 111, and WWW proxy server 141 may be the same.

Otherwise, the same processing as the processing according to the above-described second embodiment is performed. That is, by installing the remote control relay device 770 on the Internet,
Regardless of the presence or absence of the firewall, the remote operation target device can be operated from the remote operation terminal.

In the first to third embodiments described above, the name and address of the remote control terminal or the remote control relay device are fixed and known in advance. When using those names and addresses, the names and addresses may be sent to the remote operated terminal by e-mail or the like, and the remote operated terminal may determine the connection destination according to the sent names and addresses. As a result, even when the remote operation terminal or the remote operation relay device is automatically assigned an address every time it is connected, as in the case of a dial-up connection, it can be used.

In the above-described first to third embodiments, the remote operated device 120 is connected periodically. However, the remote operated device 120 is periodically or when necessary required from a remote operation terminal or the like. May be notified of the connection request, and the remote operated device may connect in response to the notification.

In the above description, the HTTP protocol is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Any protocol that can use a proxy server or the like and can pass through a firewall under predetermined setting conditions can be used. .

Further, in the above description, the embodiment using the WWW server program has been described. However, the above description has been made such that the program corresponding to the WWW request is started and the output from the program is returned as a WWW response. Any program that realizes the above functions can be used instead.

Further, if security is to be enhanced, the HTTP protocol may be used on a secure protocol such as SSL. In this case, the remote operated device first issues a communication start request in SSL.

Further, it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus by using a storage medium storing various programs for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments. Absent. In this case, the program module itself read from the storage medium implements the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program constitutes the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the program is stored in the remote operated device 120 or the like. However, as a storage medium for supplying the program module, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, an optical disk,
Magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, MO, CD-R, DV
D, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, or the like can be used.

[0100]

As described in detail above, according to the remote operation system of the first aspect, the remote operation method of the twelfth aspect, and the storage medium of the twenty-third aspect, a remote operated apparatus for monitoring a target device is provided. , While giving a control operation instruction to the target device,
A remote control terminal configured to communicate with the remote control device, wherein the remote control device transmits first information regarding the state of the target device to the remote control terminal, and the remote control terminal responds to the transmission by the first information. A remote control system configured to remotely control the target device via the remote controlled device by exchanging information for transmitting the second information regarding the control operation instruction of the target device to the remote controlled device. At
The remote operated device makes a connection request by stream connection to the remote operation terminal to exchange the information, and controls and operates the target device according to the transmitted second information. Even when installed inside the firewall, a communication path can be secured between the remotely operated device and the remote operation terminal.

According to the remote operation system of the second aspect and the remote operation method of the thirteenth aspect, the connection request is transmitted via the HTTP.
Since the protocol is used, a communication path can be secured even if any of the remotely operated devices and the remote operation terminals are connected inside the firewall.

According to the remote control system of claim 3 and the remote control method of claim 14, the HTTP over SSL
Since the protocol is used, the security aspect can be strengthened.

According to the remote operation system of the fourth aspect and the remote operation method of the fifteenth aspect, the connection request utilizes a proxy server and utilizes a protocol that can pass through a firewall under predetermined setting conditions. The HTTP
Even if a protocol is not used, a communication path can be secured even if the remotely operated device or the remote operation terminal is connected inside the firewall.

According to the remote operation system of the fifth aspect and the remote operation method of the sixteenth aspect, the remote operation terminal updates the second information to information relating to a control operation instruction input by the user, and performs the remote operation. Since the terminal exchanges the information when the terminal receives the connection request, the target device can be remotely operated as instructed by the user.

According to the remote operation system of the sixth aspect and the remote operation method of the seventeenth aspect, the exchange of the information is performed by using the WW
This is performed by the operation of a program that starts a program corresponding to the request of W and returns an output from the program as a WWW response, so that the information can be exchanged through a firewall.

According to the remote operation system of the seventh aspect and the remote operation method of the eighteenth aspect, when a stream-oriented connection is made via a WWW proxy server, it is possible that an ordinary firewall permits the passage. Because there are many,
When the program is operated on a WWW server, a communication path can be more reliably secured between the remote operation terminal and the remotely operated device.

According to the remote operation system of claim 8 and the remote operation method of claim 19, when the second information is updated to the information on the control operation instruction input by the user, The updated second information to WW
Displaying on the W page increases the versatility of the terminal, so that it can be used not only for remote operation but also for general WWW browsing, and it is also easy to add other functions to the operation screen. Become.

According to the remote operation system of the ninth aspect and the remote operation method of the twentieth aspect, the remote operation terminal includes two remote operation terminals, namely, another remote operation terminal and a remote operation relay device in another firewall. Since the information is exchanged between the other remote operation terminal and the remotely operated device via the remote operation relay device, the communication path between the remote operation target device and the remote operation terminal regardless of the presence or absence of the firewall. Can be reliably ensured.

According to the remote operation system of the tenth aspect and the remote operation method of the twenty-first aspect, when the name or address of the remote operation terminal is used, the remote operation terminal is transmitted by e-mail or the like. The remote operated terminal determines the connection destination according to the name and address sent, so even if the remote operation terminal is automatically assigned an address temporarily every time it is connected like a dial-up connection, A communication path can be secured between the remote operation target device and the remote operation terminal.

According to the remote operation system of the eleventh aspect and the remote operation method of the twenty-second aspect, the remote operation terminal sends a connection request notification to the remotely operated device periodically or when necessary, and responds to the request. Since the operating device makes the connection, communication can be performed even in a form in which the remotely operated device does not periodically make a connection request.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a remote operation system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an operation information collecting process by the remote operation terminal 130.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a response process by the remote operation terminal 130.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a status change event process by an operation display GUI program 163;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an input event process by the operation display GUI program 163;

FIG. 6 is a system configuration diagram of a remote operation system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a system configuration diagram of a remote operation system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 Internet 110 LAN 111 Firewall 141 WWW Proxy Server 120 Remotely Operated Device 151 Operation Information Exchange Activation Program 152 Device Operation / Data Collection Program 130 Remote Operation Terminal 161 WWW Server Program 162 Operation Display CGI Program 163 Operation Display GUI Program 630 Remote Operation Terminal 662 CGI program for operation target device 663 CGI program for operation terminal operation 664 Operation display GUI applet 665 WWW browser 711 Firewall 741 WWW proxy server 730 Remote operation terminal 770 Remote operation relay device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 5/232 H04N 5/232 B (72) Inventor Yoichi Kamei 3- 30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hisao Nakagawa 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Kazuomi Oishi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Stocks In-house F term (reference) 5B089 GA19 GA23 GB03 HB05 JA35 KA01 KC28 5C022 AA01 AB36 AB62 AB65 AB66 AC69 5K048 AA06 BA07 BA21 DA02 DC04 DC07 EB02 EB12 FC01 HA01 HA02 5K101 KK02 KK11 LL01 LL05

Claims (23)

[Claims] 1. A remote operated device that monitors a state of a target device, and a remote operation terminal configured to issue a control operation instruction to the target device and communicate with the remote operated device, The remote operated device is a first device related to the state of the target device.
Is transmitted to the remote operation terminal, and in response to the transmission, the remote operation terminal transmits second information relating to a control operation instruction of the target device to the remote operated device. Is a remote operation system configured to remotely operate the target device via the remote operated device, wherein the remote operated device controls the target device according to the transmitted second information. A remote operation system comprising: a control operation means for operating; and a connection requesting means for making a connection request by stream connection to the remote operation terminal for exchanging the information. 2. The remote operation system according to claim 1, wherein the connection request is made using an HTTP protocol. 3. The remote operation system according to claim 2, wherein the HTTP protocol is used over SSL. 4. The remote operation system according to claim 1, wherein the connection request utilizes a proxy server, and utilizes a protocol that can pass through a firewall under predetermined setting conditions. 5. The remote control terminal, wherein: an input unit for inputting information relating to a control operation instruction of the target device by a user; and an information updating unit which updates the second information to the information relating to the input control operation instruction. And a connection request receiving means for receiving the connection request, wherein the remote control terminal exchanges the information when receiving the connection request. The remote control system according to the paragraph. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the exchange of information is performed by a program operating unit that starts a program corresponding to a WWW request and returns an output from the program as a WWW response. The remote control system according to claim 1. 7. The remote control system according to claim 6, wherein said program operating means is a WWW server. 8. When the second information is updated to the information on the input control operation instruction, the remote control terminal displays a display unit for displaying the updated second information on a WWW page. The remote control system according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the remote control system is provided. 9. The remote control terminal includes another remote control terminal including the input unit, the connection request receiving unit, and the information updating unit, and a remote control relay device including the display unit. The operation relay device is a remote operation system configured to be inside another firewall, wherein the other remote operation terminal and the remote operated device exchange the information via the remote operation relay device. The remote control system according to claim 8, wherein: 10. The remote operation terminal sends the remote operation terminal to the remote operation terminal by e-mail or the like when using the name or address of the remote operation terminal and uses the remote operation terminal in accordance with the sent name or address. The remote operation system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal determines a connection destination. 11. The exchange of information according to claim 1, wherein the remote operation terminal periodically or when necessary notifies the remote operated device of a connection request to exchange the information. The remote control system according to the paragraph. 12. A remote controlled device that monitors a state of a target device, and a remote control terminal configured to perform a control operation instruction to the target device and communicate with the remote controlled device, The remote operated device is a first device related to the state of the target device.
Is transmitted to the remote operation terminal, and in response to the transmission, the remote operation terminal transmits second information relating to a control operation instruction of the target device to the remote operated device. Is a remote control method of a remote control system configured to remotely control the target device via the remote control device, wherein the remote control device controls the remote control device according to the transmitted second information. A control operation step of controlling and operating a target device; and a connection requesting step of making a connection request by stream connection to the remote operation terminal in order to exchange the information by the remote operated device. Remote control method of remote control system. 13. The remote operation method according to claim 12, wherein the connection request uses an HTTP protocol. 14. The remote control method according to claim 13, wherein the HTTP protocol is used over SSL. 15. The connection request according to claim 12, wherein a proxy server is used, and a protocol that can pass through the firewall under predetermined setting conditions is used.
The remote control method described. 16. An input step in which a user inputs the contents of a control operation instruction of the target device by the remote operation terminal, and the second information is updated by the remote operation terminal to information on the input control operation instruction. Information updating step, and a connection request receiving step of receiving the connection request by the remote operation terminal, when the remote operation terminal receives the connection request,
16. The remote control method according to claim 12, wherein the information is exchanged. 17. The method according to claim 12, wherein the information exchange is performed in a program operation step of starting a program corresponding to a WWW request and returning an output from the program as a WWW response. Any one
The remote control method according to the paragraph. 18. The remote operation method according to claim 17, wherein said program operation step is performed by a WWW server. 19. When the second information is updated to the information on the input control operation instruction, the updated second information is written by the remote operation terminal to W.
19. The remote control method according to claim 16, further comprising a display step of displaying on a WW page. 20. The remote control terminal, wherein the input step;
The remote request relay device further includes a remote operation terminal on which the connection request receiving step and the information updating step are performed, and a remote operation relay device on which the display step is performed. The remote operation relay device is configured to be inside another firewall. 20. A remote control method for a remote control system according to claim 19, wherein said another remote control terminal and said remote controlled device exchange said information via said remote control relay device. Remote control method. 21. When the name or address of the remote operation terminal is used from the remote operation terminal, the remote operation terminal is sent to the remote operation terminal by e-mail or the like, and the remote operation terminal is sent according to the sent name or address. 21. The remote control method according to claim 12, wherein the terminal determines a connection destination. 22. The exchange of information according to claim 12, wherein the remote operation terminal performs a connection request notification to the remotely operated device periodically or when necessary, thereby exchanging the information. The remote control method according to the paragraph. 23. A remote controlled device that monitors a state of a target device, and a remote control terminal configured to perform a control operation instruction to the target device and communicate with the remote controlled device, The remote operated device is a first device related to the state of the target device.
Is transmitted to the remote operation terminal, and in response to the transmission, the remote operation terminal transmits second information relating to a control operation instruction of the target device to the remote operated device. Is a storage medium storing a program for executing a remote control method of a remote control system configured to remotely control the target device via the remote control device, wherein the program is executed by the remote control device. A control operation module for controlling and operating the target device according to the transmitted second information; and a connection request by stream connection to the remote operation terminal for exchanging the information by the remote operated device. And a connection request module for performing the following.