JP2002183012A - Identifying device for network connection equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an identifying device for network connection equipment which can easily identify server equipment. SOLUTION: This device is equipped with an equipment identification name setting means which sets an arbitrary name for the server equipment, a data storage means which holds the equipment identification name, and an equipment identification name transmitting means which transmits the equipment identification name held in the data storage means to a network at a request from client equipment. The client equipment is equipped with an equipment identification name transmission request means which requests the server equipment connected to the network to send the equipment identification name that the server equipment holds and a display means which receives and displays the equipment identification name sent from the server equipment. Then the desired server equipment can be identified by browsing a list of equipment identification names displayed by the display means of the client equipment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for identifying network-connected equipment, and more particularly to a technique for identifying server equipment connected to a network from client equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, users have been using mobile phones, PDAs (Pers
Onal Digital Assistant), digital cameras and other mobile devices are connected to a network, and there are many opportunities to use services provided by server devices connected to the network. As shown in FIG. 1, when a user connects a mobile terminal to a network and uses a service provided by a server device from the mobile terminal,
The user selects a desired server device from a plurality of device lists displayed on the display screen of the mobile terminal. At this time,
The user has to find a correspondence between a physically existing server device and a virtual server device displayed as an icon or a menu on the display screen.

[0003] In such a case, the user obtains information relating to the server device, such as the installation location of the server device, a manufacturer name or a serial number, an IP address, and the like, by using the client device. It is known in the related art to determine a correspondence relationship with a typical server device.

[0004]

As described above, server device related information for identifying a server device connected to a network in a client device includes an installation location, a maker name or a model name, a serial number, and an IP address. And so on.

[0005] However, in the conventional method, when the server device installation location is frequently moved, it is often difficult to properly maintain the device-related information. In some cases, the problem arises that one of them cannot be identified.

[0006] For the manufacturer name and model name,
When many server devices of the same type exist on the network, or when many server devices of the same type exist in the same place, they are searched on the network with the server devices that exist physically and displayed on the display screen. A problem arises in that it takes time to associate the virtual server device with the list.

Further, regarding the serial number and the IP address,
Since it is uniquely given to the server device, it is used as a unique name. However, the names are not familiar to general mobile terminal users, and there is a problem that checking them requires a great deal of labor.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and when the server device installation location is frequently moved,
It is easy to properly maintain the device-related information,
Another object of the present invention is to provide an identification device for a network connection device that can easily identify even a large number of server devices of the same type in the same place.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of client devices and a server device are connected via a network.
In a service providing system in which the server device provides a service in response to a request from the client device, the server device includes a device identification name setting unit configured to set an arbitrary name for the server device; And a device identifier transmitting means for transmitting the device identifier held in the data storing means to the network in response to a request from the client device, wherein the client device comprises: A device identifier transmission request unit for requesting transmission of a device identifier held by the server device connected via a network, and a display unit for receiving and displaying the device identifier transmitted from the server device. A server device provided by browsing the device identifier displayed on the display means of the client device Characterized in that it has to be identified.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus for identifying a network-connected device according to the first aspect,
The server device is provided with a client device selection unit that selects and specifies the client device connected to the network, and a device event notification unit that notifies a predetermined event to the client device selected by the client device selection unit, The client device, an event detection unit that receives and detects an event notified from the server device, and a display unit that changes a display state of the server device that has transmitted the event based on a detection result of the event detection unit. Wherein a desired server device can be identified based on a change state of the server device displayed on the display means.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on its embodiments. FIG. 1 shows a network environment in which a service providing system of the present invention is operated. That is, a laser printer 3 and a scanner 2 as server devices and a computer (for example, a personal computer) 1 as a client device are connected to a network.
Mobile phone 4 and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) 5
Is connected. A plurality of these server devices and client devices may be connected as needed.

FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration of a server device and a client device connected to a network according to the present invention. A memory 7 for holding programs and data, a secondary storage device 8 for storing data for a long time, It comprises a display device 9 for realizing a user interface and a data input device 10, a communication control device 11 for communicating with a wired or wireless LAN, a modem, and the like, a CPU 6 for executing a program on a memory 7, and the like.

It is assumed that the following programs are stored in the memory of the server device. Device identification name registration program: This is a program for setting a name for a server device via a user interface and storing this name as a device identification name in a nonvolatile storage area in the server device. The registration of the device identifier can be performed not only directly from the server device but also from a client device via a network. In this case, the device identifier registration program
It exists in the driver of the computer 1 shown in FIG.

Device identification name display program: When a user instructs via a user interface, the device identification name is displayed on the display device 9 of the client device shown in FIG. 2 or a voice generating device (not shown) incorporated in the client device. This is a program for showing by voice or the like.

[0015] Device identifier transmission program: This is a program for transmitting the device identifier to the client device.

Device identification event notification program: This is a program for broadcasting to a network as a certain event (called a device identification event) when a user instructs through a user interface.

Further, the following programs are stored in the memory of the client device. Device selection program: This searches for server devices connected to the network under predetermined search conditions, lists the search results, and determines whether the user uses the server device via the user interface. Alternatively, it is a program for selecting and specifying the server device when using the service of the server device. The program can further display a device identification name on the user interface as server device information.

A device identification event display program for allowing a server device to detect a device identification event broadcast on a network and to change the display content of a location where the server device is displayed on its user interface. It is a program. The event includes the IP address information of the server device that transmitted the event.

(1) First Embodiment The operation of the first embodiment of the method for identifying a network-connected device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 3 based on the above-described programs. Usually, a system administrator activates a device identification name registration program via a user interface by a predetermined operation of a server device operation panel, and registers a device identification name. Or register the device identification name on PC
One driver can also be used. The device identifier registered by such an operation is stored in the secondary storage device 8 shown in FIG.

Further, when the user activates the device identification name display program via the user interface by a predetermined operation of any one of the server device operation panels, the device identification name display program displays the device identification name on the operation panel of the corresponding server device. By displaying the name, the device identification name can be confirmed. Further, the device identification name can be transmitted by voice.

Next, the client device searches for the device identification name. When the user connects the client device to the network and starts the device selection program by a predetermined operation, an available server device or a service of the server device is searched. I do. Then, on the user interface, a menu for selecting a device with the device identification name is displayed. The user finds the device identifier confirmed in advance on the server device operation panel, selects the device identifier from the menu, and executes the service.

The device identification name in the first embodiment is UpnP
(Universal Plug And Play), SLP (Service Location
Protocol), SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)
ol) or the like and by defining it as one piece of device attribute information, direct transmission from the server device to the client device or indirect transmission via the server device is possible.

Also, LDAP (Lightweight Directory Acce
If a directory service such as ss Protocol) is used, a device identifier can be registered as one piece of device information, and the client device can acquire information from the directory service at the time of search. FIG. 5 shows an example of the server device displaying its device identification name.
FIG. 6 is an example displayed as a device selection menu on the client device.

By adopting the method as in the first embodiment, when a user having a mobile device wants to use a server device located at a remote place from the mobile device via the network, the user can use the server device on the network. The server device desired to be used can be specified by the device identification name from the display screen in which the server devices searched in the above are listed.

(2) Second Embodiment Next, the operation of the second embodiment of the method for identifying network-connected equipment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The user uses one of the server devices to instruct a device identification event. That is, the user activates a device identification event notification program via a user interface by a predetermined operation of one of the server device operation panels, and the program repeatedly broadcasts the device identification event to the client device via the network for a predetermined time. Send.

The client device receives the device identification event and displays it on the display device via the device identification event display program. Subsequently, when the device selection program is started, the service of the available server device on the network displays a menu for device selection on the user interface. At the same time, the device identification event display program is started, and when this device identification event is detected, the display of the server device that transmitted the event displayed on the user interface changes for a certain period of time (reverse, blink, display color change, etc.). Let it.

As for the device identification event in the second embodiment, if broadcast transmission on the Internet is used, the event can be immediately transmitted as a packet from the server device to all the connected devices in the subnet. FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a button for transmitting a device identification event in the server device. FIG. 8 shows an embodiment in which the screen display of the client device that has transmitted the event is changed in the client device.

The server device is assumed to be a network printer or a network scanner, and the client device is assumed to be a digital camera or PDA.

By adopting the method as in the second embodiment, when a user having a mobile device wants to use a server device located at a remote place from the mobile device via a network, the user can use the mobile device. A simple operation of, that is, a server device identification method that can identify a server device by knowing a change in the display state of the server device that the user wants to use from a display screen listing server devices searched on the network. Can be provided.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the server device installation location is frequently moved, it becomes easy to appropriately maintain the device-related information, and a large number of server devices are located at the same location. If present, they can be easily identified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing one embodiment of a server device, a client device, and a network configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a hardware configuration of a server device and a client device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a screen display example of a device identification name on a server device (printer) operation panel of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a screen display example of a printer selection menu on the client device operation panel of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a transmission button on an operation panel for transmitting a device identification event in the server device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a printer selection menu on the client device operation panel and a change in screen display state according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Computer 2 Image scanner 3 Laser printer 4 Mobile phone 5 PDA 6 CPU 7 Memory 8 Secondary storage device 9 Display device 10 Data input device 11 Communication control device

Claims (2)

[Claims] In a service providing system in which a plurality of client devices and a server device are connected via a network, and the server device provides a service in response to a request from the client device, the server device includes a server. Device identifier setting means for setting an arbitrary name for the device, data storage means for holding the device identifier, and a request from the client device,
A device identifier transmitting unit that transmits the device identifier held in the data storage unit to the network, wherein the client device transmits the device identifier held by the server device connected via the network. Requesting device identification name requesting means, and display means for receiving and displaying the device identification name transmitted from the server device, and browsing the device identification name displayed on the display means of the client device. An apparatus for identifying a network connection device, characterized in that the server device can identify a desired server device. 2. The apparatus for identifying a network-connected device according to claim 1, wherein the server device is selected by a client device selecting unit that selects and specifies the client device connected to the network, and the server device is selected by the client device selecting unit. Device event notification means for notifying a specified event to the client device, wherein the client device receives and detects the event notified from the server device, and a detection result obtained by the event detection device. Display means for changing a display state of the server device which has transmitted the event based on the information, and a desired server device can be identified by a change state of the server device displayed on the display means. Identification device for network connection equipment.