JP2002135867A - Remote control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote control system capable of easily performing remote control through a network. SOLUTION: In the remote control system composed of a remote control terminal 100 connected to the network and a device 11 to be remotely controlled which can be operated or controlled by an instruction from the remote control terminal and is connected to the network, the device 100 to be remotely controlled stores a role for each of users and when accepting a connection request from the remote control terminal, user authentication is performed. When a user is authenticated, the role of this user is retrieved from a user identifier and corresponding to the role of the user, the display picture of operation is displayed.

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 connected to a network by an operation terminal connected to the network.

[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 camera operation such as a pan operation, a tilt operation, and a zoom operation is operated from a remote location using a www browser to view live video.

[0003] The Internet standard protocol T
By exchanging information between a remote device and an operation terminal using CP / IP, the remote operation system can be remotely operated from anywhere via the Internet. In particular, HTT used as a standard in the www system
When P (protocol on TCP / IP) is adopted, remote operation can be performed from the inside of a local network protected by a firewall if www browsing by a www browser is possible. That is, if HTTP is used as a communication protocol, for example, communication from a company network to a device installed on the Internet can be performed. Thus, business services such as remote maintenance using such technology can be provided.

[0004]

However, when remote control is performed via the Internet, operations such as operations of general users, operations of a device manager who manages devices to be operated, and business maintenance operations by a service person are performed. If the role of the user to be performed is different, it is necessary to prepare multiple accounts according to each role, or to specify the role explicitly when the user connects.
There is a problem that the operation is complicated.

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide a remote control system that can easily perform remote control via a network.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a remote control system, comprising: a remote control terminal connected to a network; and a remote control terminal which can be operated and controlled by an instruction from the remote control terminal. In a remote operation system including a remote operation device connected to the network, the remote operation device includes a role information storage unit configured to store a role for each user, and a connection request received from the remote operation terminal. Display operation switching means for performing user authentication, retrieving the role of the user from the user identifier when the user is authenticated, and presenting a display screen of an operation corresponding to the role of the user.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation system according to the first aspect, a public key certificate is used for the user authentication.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation system according to the second aspect, the attribute information of the public key certificate includes a role of a user.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation system according to the first aspect, when the same user plays a plurality of roles, the correspondence between the user and the standard role is determined in advance by the remote operation system. It is characterized in that it is stored in a device.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the remote operation system according to the second aspect, the attribute information of the public key certificate includes a standard role of a user.

[0011]

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

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram schematically showing a remote control system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a network such as the Internet. The network 100 is connected to a remote operated device 110 that receives a remote operation and a remote operation terminal 120 that remotely operates the remote operated device 110.

The remotely operated device 110 is an information processing device such as a personal computer or a workstation having a CPU memory and a network interface. The remote operated device 110 receives an operation request CGI described later.
Program 131 and operation GUI applet 132
a, 132b and 132c. In the present embodiment, the operation GUI applets 132a, 132
b and 132c are constituted by Java applets.

A camera 113 is connected to the remote operated device 110. The camera 113 includes an image input interface 111 (VC) for capturing an image, and a serial interface 112 for transmitting and receiving a control command and the like.
(RS) to the remote operated device 110.

The remote operated device 110 has a camera server program (not shown) for operating this embodiment.
Has been introduced. The camera server program is www
It is a program that performs a function like a server (a proxy Web server function).

The remote control terminal 120 is a remote control device 1
Similarly to 00, this is an information processing device such as a personal computer or a workstation having a CPU, a memory, and a network interface. Remote control terminal 120
, The www browser 141 operates.

From the remote control terminal 120 to the network 10
When there is a connection request to the remote operated device 110 via the remote operating device 110, the proxy web server function functions, and the remote operated device 110 sends the remote operation terminal 120 a Web page including the operation GUI applets 132a, 132b, and 132c. And so on.

The web browser is Internet
Explorer and Netscape Naviga
It is a general Web browser such as tor.

Next, the operation of the remote control system will be described in detail.

From the remote control terminal 120 to the remote controlled device 1
10 receives a connection request, the remote operated device 11
After performing user authentication, 0 searches for information on the role corresponding to the user from the correspondence information between the user identifier and the role which is set and stored in advance. Next, an operation GUI applet 132a, 132b, 132 corresponding to the role of the authenticated user
The Web page containing “c” is returned to the remote operation terminal 120.

Operation GUI applets 132a, 132
b and 132c communicate with the remote operated device 110, change the display on the remote operation terminal 120 based on the information indicating the state of the remote operated device 120, and change the display of the remote operated device 110 according to the user's operation. Is transmitted to the remote operated device 110. This allows the remote operation terminal 120 to perform an operation on the remotely operated device 110 according to the role of the user.

FIG. 2 is a diagram exemplifying roles registered for each user.

FIG. 2 shows role information 201 indicating a role corresponding to each user identification name (user identifier). User A and user D are registered as general users. User B is registered as a device manager. User C is registered as a serviceman.

The remote operated device 110 has authentication information (not shown) necessary for authentication using a general user name / password in addition to such role information.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the correspondence between the roles in FIG. 2 and operation information of possible operations.

As shown in the operation information 202 of FIG. 3, the operations that can be performed by the general user are image display, camera control right acquisition, pan operation, tilt operation, zoom operation, backlight compensation, and camera switching. However, a general user cannot perform each operation of the privilege mode, image saving, and setting change.

Operations that can be performed by the device manager include image display, camera control right acquisition, pan operation, tilt operation, zoom operation,
Backlight correction, camera switching, privileged mode, and image storage. However, the device administrator cannot perform a setting change operation.

The operations that can be performed by the service person include image display,
Camera control right acquisition, pan operation, tilt operation, zoom operation, backlight compensation, camera switching, and setting change. However, the serviceman cannot operate the privilege mode and the image saving.

FIG. 4 is a diagram exemplifying a GUI of an operation for each role.

In FIG. 4, 203, 204 and 20
5 is a display example of an actual operation GUI applet corresponding to the roles of a general user, a device manager, and a serviceman.
b, 132c.

WWW browser 1 on remote control terminal 120
When a predetermined protected Web page is accessed by 41, the remote operated device 110 requests user authentication. When the user is authenticated, the operation request CGI
The program 131 is executed.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the operation request CGI program. First, the role of the authenticated user is searched from the role information 201 (step S301). Next, the We according to the role of the user
A page b is generated (step S302).

For example, if the URL pointing to the remotely operated device is ht
If tp: //foo.bar.co.jp and the role of the user is a general user, the following Web page is generated.
("..." part in FIG. 3).

<Applet codease = "http://foo.bar.co.jp/
networkCamera "code =" Applet_132a.class "wIDth = 450 height = 320><param name = ...></applet> At this time, the remote control terminal on the user side displays like the operation GUI applet 203. If the role is the device administrator, create the following Web page: <applet codebase = "http://foo.bar.co.jp/networkCame"
ra "code =" Apple_132b.class "wIDth = 460 height = 420><param name = ...></applet> At this time, the remote control terminal on the user side displays like the operation GUI applet 204. Remote control Device 120
This Web page is returned to the server by the HTTP protocol (step S303).

WWW browser 1 on remote control device 120
41 interprets the received Web page and requests an operation GUI applet specified by the remote operated device.

In the above description, means for searching for role information is not described, but a general means may be used. LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access)
Protocol database).

It should be noted that the user authentication may be authentication using a public key certificate as described below, instead of authentication using general user name / password input.

The public key certificate is a certificate that a trusted third party (called a certification authority) guarantees that the combination of the public key and the corresponding identification information (ID) of the user is correct. The public key certificate is, specifically, a digital signature by a certificate authority, and the public key of the certificate authority for confirming the validity of the digital signature is widely known by some means.

The authenticator obtains the user's public key certificate and confirms its validity. The user is authenticated by performing authentication using the guaranteed public key.
As the format of the public key certificate, ISO X. 509v3 is the most common. Hereinafter, the description will be made based on this, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this.

A user requesting the issuance of a public key certificate generates his / her own private key and public key, and in addition to basic information such as ID and public key, if necessary, attribute information to be included in the public key certificate. (For example, you are an employee of a certain company) to the Certificate Authority and apply for issuance.

The certificate authority checks the identity of the user, and if it is recognized that the attribute information and the like to be included in the certificate are correct, generates and issues a public key certificate (see FIG. 6).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a public key certificate.

In FIG. 6, the digital signature generated by the certificate authority for all contents from “version number” to “extended field” is “digital signature of issuing organization”.

By confirming the validity of the public key certificate using the public key of the certificate authority, the correspondence between the user described therein and the public key or attribute information is guaranteed.
Using the guaranteed public key, for example, the following authentication protocol is executed.

The authenticator generates a random number and sends it to the user. The user generates a digital signature for the random number and returns it to the authenticator. The verifier uses the guaranteed public key to check whether the returned digital signature is correct.

In this manner, mutual authentication can be performed between the remote operated device 110 and the remote operation terminal 120. Since the remote operated device 110 can confirm that the user is himself and that the communication content has not been tampered with in the middle, the operation request CGI program 131
Should be executed.

According to the above configuration, the remote operation terminal 120 operates the operation G sent from the camera server program.
It becomes possible to receive the UI applet and operate the remote operated device 110.

(Second Embodiment) In the first embodiment, each time an operation request is made from a remote control terminal, a role is searched from role information in which a user is associated with the role.
However, it is not limited to this.

In this embodiment, in addition to the basic information of the user's public key certificate, the role of the user is stored as attribute information.

The details of this embodiment will be described below.

The system configuration diagram is the operation request CGI program 1 of the system configuration diagram of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
31 is changed to an operation request CGI program (not shown).

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail. The same components as those in the above-described first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

When storing the role of the user in the attribute information in addition to the basic information of the public key certificate, the certificate authority confirms whether the information to be included in the attribute is correct, and then describes the role of the user. A public key certificate (see FIG. 7) is issued.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a public key certificate applied to the present embodiment. Role information is stored in a field 401 in the extension field. When a predetermined protected Web page is accessed by the www browser 141 on the remote operation terminal 120, the remote operated device 110 requests user authentication. When the user is authenticated, the operation request CGI program is executed.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing of the operation of the operation request CGI program.

First, the role of the user is extracted from the attribute information of the public key certificate of the authenticated user (step S).
501). Next, a Web page corresponding to the role of the user is generated (step S502).

Next, the HTT is sent to the remote control device 120.
This Web page is returned by the P protocol (step S503). The operation of the camera server program is the same as in the first embodiment.

According to the above configuration, when the role information is provided in the attribute information of the user's public key certificate, the remotely operated device does not need to search for the role of the user.
In particular, when a plurality of remotely operated devices are installed and access restrictions by role are the same, it is unnecessary to inquire to the role information database for each user authentication, and it is easy to guarantee consistency of authority confirmation. Become.

(Third Embodiment) In the first embodiment, the user identifier and the role form a pair, but the present invention is not limited to this.

In this embodiment, even when the same user plays a plurality of roles, a standard role for each user is stored in advance. This allows the user to make an operation request without explicitly specifying his or her role.

The details of this embodiment will be described below.

The system configuration diagram is the operation request CGI program 1 of the system configuration diagram of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
31 is changed to another operation request CGI program (not shown).

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described in detail. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a role registered for each user in the present embodiment.

The remote operated device 110 has role information 601 in which a user identifier is associated with a role as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 11, the user A is registered as a general user and a serviceman, the user B is registered as a general user, and the user C is registered as a general user and a device manager.

FIG. 12 is a diagram exemplifying a standard role registered for each user in the present embodiment. In the standard role information 602, the standard role of the user A is registered as a general user, the standard role of the user B is registered as a general user, and the standard role of the user C is registered as a device manager.

Www browser 1 on remote control terminal 120
From 41, when access to the protected predetermined Web page is performed, the remote operated device 110 requests user authentication. When the user authentication is authenticated, the operation request CGI
The program is executed. The flow of operation of the operation request CGI program is the same as that of FIG. 5, and the role of the user authenticated in step S301 is
The only difference is that the search is performed from the standard role information 602 (not shown).

A menu for switching roles is prepared in the display by the GUI applet returned here. When the user makes a menu selection, this is notified to the remote operated device 110. The remote operated device 110 searches the role information 201, and if the user is registered as a role designated by the user, returns a Web page including an applet corresponding to the role. GU
I can be switched.

Note that the user authentication may be authentication using a public key certificate instead of authentication using general user name / password input.

The operation of the camera server program is the same as in the first embodiment.

According to the above configuration, even when a user has a plurality of roles, by storing role information which is a standard of the user, the user can perform an operation request without explicitly specifying his / her role. Can be issued.

(Fourth Embodiment) In the third embodiment, each time an operation request is made from a remote control terminal, a role is searched from standard role information in which a user is associated with a standard role. , But is not limited to this.

In the present embodiment, in addition to the basic information of the user's public key certificate, a standard role of the user is stored as attribute information.

The details of this embodiment will be described below.

The system configuration diagram is obtained by changing the operation request CGI program in the system configuration of the third embodiment to an operation request CGI program (not shown).

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a public key certificate applied to the present embodiment. A standard role of the user is stored in a field 402 in the extension field.

The flow of the operation of the operation request CGI program is such that the search process for the standard role information in the operation request CGI program of the third embodiment is such that the standard role is obtained from the public key certificate. The changed point is different (not shown).

The operation of the camera server program is the same as that of the third embodiment.

According to the above configuration, when the attribute information of the user's public key certificate has standard role information,
The user can issue an operation request without explicitly specifying his / her role.

(Fifth Embodiment) In the fourth embodiment, only the user's standard role is stored as attribute information in the user's public key certificate. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

In the present embodiment, in addition to the basic information of the user's public key certificate, the user's role information and the user's standard role are stored as attribute information. Thus, the remote operated device only needs to store the account of the legitimate user, so that the load on the remote operated device can be reduced.

The details of this embodiment will be described below.

The system configuration diagram is obtained by changing the operation request CGI program in the system configuration of the fourth embodiment to an operation request CGI program (not shown).

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail. The same parts as those in the fourth embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description is omitted.

When storing the role information of the user and the standard role of the user in the attribute information in addition to the basic information of the public key certificate, the certificate authority checks whether or not the information to be included in the attribute is correct. Then, a public key certificate (see FIG. 9) in which the role of the user is described is issued.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a public key certificate applied to the present embodiment. Role information and a standard role of the user are stored in a field 403 in the extension field.

WWW browser 1 on remote control terminal 120
From 41, when an access is made to a predetermined protected Web page, the remote operated device 110 requests user authentication. When the user is authenticated, the operation request CGI program is executed.

The flow of the operation of the operation request CGI program is as follows. In the operation request CGI program according to the fourth embodiment, the part for acquiring the standard role from the public key certificate includes the role information from the public key certificate and the standard information. The search process has been changed so as to acquire a role (not shown).

The operation of the camera server program is the same as that of the fourth embodiment.

With the above configuration, when the role information and the standard role information are added to the attribute information of the user's public key certificate, the remote operated device stores only the account list of the legitimate user. This can reduce the load on the remotely operated device and allow the user to issue an operation request without explicitly specifying his / her role.

[0092]

As described above in detail, according to the remote control system of the first aspect, according to the present invention, the correspondence between user information and the role of this user is stored in advance. , When there is an operation request from the user, the display screen of the operation according to the role of the user,
The user can easily operate the remotely operated device.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the role of the user is stored as attribute information in addition to the basic information of the public key certificate, there is no need to search for the role of the user. In particular, a plurality of remotely operated devices are installed,
If the access restrictions by role are the same, there is no need to inquire about the role information at the time of user authentication.
It is easier to ensure consistency of authority checks.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, even when the same user plays a plurality of roles, a standard role for each user is stored, so that the user explicitly specifies his / her role. You can issue an operation request without specifying it.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the standard role of the user is stored as attribute information in addition to the basic information of the public key certificate. No need to search. Thus, the load on the remotely operated device can be reduced, and the user can issue an operation request without explicitly designating his / her role.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a role registered for each user.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a correspondence between roles and operation information of possible operations in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a GUI of an operation for each role.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the operation of the operation request CGI program.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a public key certificate.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a public key certificate applied to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a public key certificate applied to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a public key certificate applied to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing of the operation of the operation request CGI program.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a role registered for each user according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a standard role registered for each user according to the third embodiment;

[Description of Signs] 100 Network 110 Remote Operated Device 111 Image Input Interface 112 Serial Interface 113 Camera 120 Remote Operation Terminal 131 Operation Request CGI Program 1 132a Operation GUI Applet 132b Operation GUI Applet 132c Operation GUI Applet 141 WWW Browser

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Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A remote control system comprising a remote control terminal connected to a network and a remote controllable device connected to the network which can be operated and controlled by an instruction from the remote control terminal. The operating device is
Role information storage means for storing a role for each user; and performing user authentication when accepting a connection request from the remote operation terminal; if the user is authenticated, search for the role of the user from a user identifier; A display operation switching means for presenting a display screen of an operation according to the remote control system. 2. The remote operation system according to claim 1, wherein a public key certificate is used for the user authentication. 3. The remote operation system according to claim 2, wherein the attribute information of the public key certificate includes a role of a user. 4. The remote control according to claim 1, wherein when the same user plays a plurality of roles, the correspondence between the user and a standard role is stored in the remote operated device in advance. system. 5. The remote operation system according to claim 2, wherein the attribute information of the public key certificate includes a standard role of the user.