JP2003022225A - Equipment controller and equipment control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an equipment controller which operates only when the state of equipment to be controlled is changed and transmits the state change of the equipment to be controlled to a terminal connected to a network. SOLUTION: A server 1 includes the functions of an equipment connection detecting circuit 2, an object generating circuit 3, a method calling circuit 4. The circuit 2 detects that digital equipment 5 is connected through an interface 6. When it is detected that the equipments 5 is connected to the interface 6, the circuit 3 generates an object based on the specific information of the detected equipment 5. At the time of operating the equipment 5 from terminals 7 through a network 8, the circuit 4 calls a method being the function of the object. The server 1 is connected through the interface 6 to the equipment 5, and the server 1 is connected through the network 8 to the terminals 7.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device control apparatus and method for supplying status changes of a plurality of controlled devices connected via an interface, for example, via a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a network system for supplying control signals from a plurality of terminals connected to a network to a plurality of controlled devices connected to an interface via the network. As an example of this network system, a PC (Personal Compute) at home
r) and peripheral devices, AV (Audio Visual) devices, telephones, home appliances, and other devices are connected via a network, which is a so-called home network.

In this network system, in order to know the states of a plurality of controlled devices from a plurality of terminals, the state of the controlled devices is periodically checked by a polling method, etc.
It was necessary to constantly monitor the status of multiple controlled devices.

[0004]

However, there is a problem that the load on the network and the controlled devices increases each time the number of controlled devices increases.

Further, in the case of a controlled device having a mechanical component such as a printer or a VCR, a polling method or the like is not effective because the state change interval due to the operation is long.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a device control apparatus and method which operates only when the state of the controlled device changes and can transmit the change of the controlled device state to a terminal connected to the network. To do.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, control information corresponding to a plurality of controlled devices connected via an interface is generated, and when the controlled device is controlled from a terminal, In a device control device configured to supply a control signal to control information corresponding to a controlled device to be controlled, a device connection detection means for detecting that each of a plurality of controlled devices is connected via an interface. , Object generation means for generating an object based on the unique information of each of the controlled devices for which connection has been detected, and an object corresponding to the controlled device for which information is to be acquired from among the controlled devices. , A listener registration means for registering a listener corresponding to the terminal and, when a state change occurs in the controlled device, an option corresponding to the controlled device in which the state change occurs. An event notifying a status change occurring in the controlled device by using a listener registered with the object, a device control apparatus characterized by comprising an event issuing unit for issuing to the terminal corresponding to the listener.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the controlled device to be controlled is generated when the control information corresponding to the plurality of controlled devices connected via the interface is generated and the controlled device is controlled from the terminal. In a device control method for supplying a control signal to corresponding control information, it is detected that each of a plurality of controlled devices is connected via an interface, and a plurality of controlled devices for which connection is detected. Create an object based on each unique information of each, register the listener corresponding to the terminal to the object corresponding to the controlled device that you want to obtain information from among the controlled devices, and set the status to the controlled device. When a change occurs, use the listener registered in the object corresponding to the controlled device that has changed the state to notify the controlled device of the changed state The vent is a device control method is characterized in that so as to issue a terminal corresponding to the listener.

It is detected that each of the plurality of controlled devices is connected via the interface, and an object is generated based on the unique information of each of the plurality of controlled devices for which connection is detected. The listener corresponding to the terminal is registered in the object corresponding to the controlled device for which information is desired to be acquired from the plurality of controlled devices. Then, when a state change occurs in the controlled device, an event that informs the listener of the state change that occurred in the controlled device using the listener registered in the object corresponding to the controlled device in which the state change occurred is sent to the listener. Issued to the corresponding terminal.
As described above, since the operation is performed only when the state of the controlled device changes, the load on the device control device and the terminal can be suppressed.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that components having the same function throughout the drawings are designated by the same reference numerals to avoid duplication of description. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an embodiment to which the present invention is applied. This device control system includes a server 1 and a plurality of digital devices 5a and 5a as controlled devices.
b, 5c (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as "digital device 5"), an interface 6 for connecting the digital device 5 to the server 1, a terminal 7a serving as a plurality of clients,
7b and 7c (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as "terminal 7"), and a network 8 connecting the terminal 7 to the server 1.

The server 1 includes the functions of the device connection detection circuit 2, the object generation circuit 3, and the method calling circuit 4.

The device connection detection circuit 2 detects that each of the plurality of digital devices 5 is connected via the interface 6.

When it is detected that the digital device 5 is connected to the interface 6, the object generation circuit 3 generates an object based on the unique information of the detected digital device 5. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the object 11a based on the digital device 5a is the server 1
Object 11b based on the digital device 5b is generated in the server 1, and the object 11c based on the digital device 5c is generated in the server 1. By utilizing the function of the generated object via the network 8, the terminal 7 can operate the digital device 5 from the terminal 7 via the network 8. Further, in the object generation circuit 3, when the connection of the digital device 5 is disconnected from the interface 6,
The object corresponding to the separated digital device 5 is deleted from the server 1.

In the method calling circuit 4, when the digital equipment 5 is operated from the terminal 7 via the network 8, a method which is a function of the object is called. As shown in FIG. 2, when operating the digital device 5a from the terminal 7a, a method which is a function of the object 11a in the server 1 is called by the control signal 12 from the terminal 7a. At this time, the method of the object 11a is called by the method calling circuit 4. Similarly, when operating the digital device 5b from the terminal 7a, the control signal 13 from the terminal 7a calls a method that is a function of the object 11b in the server 1. Also, from the terminal 7b to the digital device 5
When operating c, a method that is a function of the object 11c in the server 1 is called by the control signal 14 from the terminal 7b.

The digital device 5 is, for example, a refrigerator, a microwave oven, a television receiver, a VCR, an air conditioner, a kotatsu or any other device used at home.

The interface 6 connecting the server 1 and the digital device 5 is, for example, IEEE (Institute)
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394
Alternatively, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) compliant standard is used. HAV with interconnection specifications
i (Home Audio / Video interoperabilitiy), Jini of a distributed processing environment, and / or UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) of a plug and play specification may be used for connection.

The terminal 7 is, for example, a PC (Presonal Compute).
r), mobile phone, PHS (PersonalHandyphone Syste)
m), PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), or any other device that can be connected to the server 1 via the network 8. The terminal 7 need only be connected via the network 8 and may be provided remotely.

The network 8 connecting the server 1 and the terminal 7 is identified by, for example, a unique IP (Internet Protocol) address assigned to the server 1 and the plurality of terminals 7, respectively. Therefore, any network system may be used as long as it can identify the server 1 and the plurality of terminals 7 by the IP address. For example,
The network 8 is Ethernet (registered trademark), US
B, IrDA, Bluetooth, etc.
Furthermore, the server 1 and the plurality of terminals 7 may be connected by wire or wirelessly. The method of identifying the plurality of terminals 7 may be other than the IP address, that is, any method may be used as long as it is a network system capable of identifying the respective servers 1 and terminals 7.

As described above, the objects for operating the respective devices from the terminal 7 via the network 8 are operating in the server 1. By using this object, it is possible to directly operate the digital device 5 from a plurality of terminals 7 connected via the network 8 to operate the digital device 5.

In the equipment control system shown in FIG. 1,
An operation program called a server process resides in the server 1, and the server process operates the device connection detection circuit 2, the object generation circuit 3, and the method call circuit 4. Here, the operation of generating an object will be mainly described.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the server 1. This operation is performed by the server process of the server 1. In step S1, the connection of the digital device is detected. Specifically, the device connection detection circuit 2 detects that each of the plurality of digital devices 5 has been connected via the interface 6.

In step S2, an object corresponding to the connected digital device 5 is generated. Specifically, the object generation circuit 3 automatically generates / deletes an object, which is control information using an object-oriented program, by a server process based on unique information of a plurality of digital devices 5 whose connection is detected. Automatically generate an object to do. For example, IEEE
In the 1394 format, the configuration ROM (Configuration Read Only Memor) of the digital device 5 is used.
The information peculiar to the digital device is written in y). Here, the object generation circuit 3 investigates the information of the digital device 5 connected via the interface 6 and generates an appropriate object corresponding thereto.

In step S3, the method call circuit 4 calls the service start method of the object. The service start method creates an object based on the unique information of the digital device 5,
It enables access from the terminal 7 of the client on the network 8.

In step S4, deletion of the digital device is detected. Specifically, the device connection detection circuit 2 is
It is detected that each of the plurality of digital devices 5 has been deleted from the interface 6.

In step S5, the method call circuit 4 calls the service stop method of the object. The service stop method ends the access from the terminal 7 of the client on the network 8 to the object, and deletes the object.

In step S6, the object corresponding to the connected digital device 5 is deleted. Here, the object generation circuit 3 checks the information of the digital device 5 deleted from the interface 6 and deletes an appropriate object corresponding to the information.

Next, an example of the operation of this system will be described. First, the device connection detection circuit 2 detects the digital device 5 connected to the server 1 via the interface 6. Next, the object generation circuit 3 generates an object corresponding to the detected digital device 5 in the server 1. For example, the object 11a corresponding to the digital device 5a is generated in the server 1.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the register method 21a of the object 11a is called in order for the terminal 7 as a client to obtain the state change of the digital device 5a. At this time, a protocol such as RMI (Java (registered trademark) Remote Method Invocation) is used. When the register method 21a is called, the listener 22 which is the method of the terminal 7 called when the state of the digital device 5 changes is registered in the listener registration unit 23a of the object 11a. As shown in FIG. 4, the listener registration unit 23a includes the listener 22 of the terminal 7.
Is registered as a listener 24. One listener corresponding to one terminal 7 may be registered in the listener registration unit 23a, or a plurality of listeners corresponding to a plurality of terminals 7 may be registered.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, when the state change occurs in the digital device 5a, the fact that the state change occurs in the object 11a is transmitted from the digital device 5a to the object 11a via the interface 6.
In the object 11a, an object for issuing an event to the terminal 7 corresponding to the listener 24 is generated when the state change of the digital device 5a occurs. The content of this object is arbitrary, and any object that can move on the network 8 may be used. When the object is created, the listener 24
notify method is called. When the notify method is called, an event is automatically issued to the terminal 7 corresponding to the listener 24. The terminal 7 where the event was issued is
From the listener 22, the state change of the digital device 5a can be known.

A second example of issuing an event will be described with reference to FIG. First, in the server 1, the object 11a corresponding to the digital device 5a connected via the interface 6 is operating. And the terminal 7a
And 7b, the register method 21a of the object 11a is called. When the register method 21a is called, the listeners 22a and 22b of the terminals 7a and 7b are registered in the listener registration unit 23a. As shown in FIG. 6, the listener registration unit 23a includes the listener 2 of the terminal 7a.
2a is registered as the listener 24a, and the listener 22b of the terminal 7b is registered as the listener 24b.

When a state change occurs in the digital device 5a, the object 1 is transmitted via the interface 6.
The fact that the state change has occurred in 1a is transmitted from the digital device 5a to the object 11a. Object 11a
Then, when the state change of the digital device 5a occurs,
All listeners 24 registered in the listener registration unit 23a
The notify methods of a and 24b are called. By calling the notify method of all listeners, the listeners 24a registered in the listener registration unit 23a
An event is automatically issued to the terminals 7a and 7b corresponding to No. 24b and No. 24b. Terminal 7a where the event was issued
And 7b can know the state change of the digital device 5a from the listeners 22a and 22b.

In this way, the notify method of all the listeners 24a and 24b registered in the listener registration section 23a can be called to issue an event to all the listeners. That is, one-to-many event distribution can be performed.

Now, a third example of issuing an event will be described with reference to FIG. First, in the server 1, the object 11a corresponding to the digital device 5a connected via the interface 6 is operating. Then, the register method 21a of the object 11a is called from the terminal 7. When the register method 21a is called,
The listener 22 of the terminal 7 causes the listener registration unit 23a to listen to the listener 24.
Registered as.

When a state change occurs in the digital device 5a, the object 1 is sent via the interface 6.
The fact that the state change has occurred in 1a is transmitted from the digital device 5a to the object 11a. Object 11a
Then, when the state change of the digital device 5a occurs,
Noti of listener 24 registered in listener registration unit 23a
The fy method is called.

However, when the event cannot be issued from the object 11a, the listener 24 of the listener registration unit 23a of the object 11a is, for example, the proxy server 31.
Is copied to the listener registration unit 33 of the object 32.
The copied listener 24 is registered in the listener registration unit 33 as the listener 34.

Then, in the object 11a, when the state change of the digital device 5a occurs, the notify method of the listener registered in the listener registration section 33 is called. When the notify method is called, an event is automatically issued to the terminal 7 corresponding to the listener 34 registered in the listener registration unit 33. The terminal 7 to which the event is issued can know the state change of the digital device 5a from the listener 22.

As described above, when an event is issued, the source object can be freely changed. Therefore, when the object 11a (self object) cannot issue an event, the registered listener 24 and the generated object are generated. It is also possible to issue the event of the digital device 5a corresponding to the object 11a (self object) on behalf of the object 32 (other object) by using and.

Now, a fourth example of issuing an event will be described with reference to FIG. In the server 1, an object 11a corresponding to the digital device 5a and an object 11b corresponding to the digital device 5b connected by the interface 6 are operating.

Then, from the terminal 7 to the object 11a
The register method 21a is called. When the register method 21a is called, the listener 22 of the terminal 7 is registered in the listener registration unit 23a. As shown in FIG. 8, the listener 22 of the terminal 7 is included in the listener registration unit 23a.
Registered as 4 ₁ .

Similarly, from the terminal 7 to the object 11b
The register method 21b is called. When the register method 21b is called, the listener 22 of the terminal 7 is registered in the listener registration unit 23b. As shown in FIG. 8, the listener 22 of the terminal 7 is included in the listener registration unit 23b.
Registered as 4 ₂ .

Also, the objects 11a and 11
The register methods 21a and 21b of b may be simultaneously called.

When a state change occurs in the digital device 5a, the object 1 is sent via the interface 6.
The fact that the state change has occurred in 1a is transmitted from the digital device 5a to the object 11a. Object 11a
Then, when the state change of the digital device 5a occurs,
Not of listener 24 ₁ registered in listener registration unit 23a
The ify method is called. When the notify method is called, an event is automatically issued to the terminal 7 corresponding to the listener 24 ₁ . The terminal 7 where the event was issued is
From the listener 22, the state change of the digital device 5a can be known.

When a state change occurs in the digital device 5b, the object 11 is transmitted via the interface 6.
The fact that the state change has occurred in b is transmitted from the digital device 5b to the object 11b. In the object 11b, when the state change of the digital device 5b occurs, the notif of the listener 24 ₂ registered in the listener registration unit 23b.
The y method is called. When the notify method is called, an event is automatically issued to the terminal 7 corresponding to the listener 24 ₂ . The terminal 7 to which the event is issued can know the state change of the digital device 5b from the listener 22.

When the digital devices 5a and 5b change their states at substantially the same time, the fact that the state changes have occurred in the objects 11a and 11b is transmitted from the digital devices 5a and 5b to the objects 11a and 11b via the interface 6. It Object 11
a and 11b, when the state change of the digital devices 5a and 5b occurs, the listener registration units 23a and 23b.
Notify listeners 24 ₁ and 24 ₂ registered in 3b
The method is called. When the notify method is called, an event is automatically issued to the terminals 7 corresponding to the listeners 24 ₁ and 24 ₂ . The terminal 7 to which the event is issued can know the state change of the digital devices 5a and 5b from the listener 22.

In this embodiment, when a state change occurs in one of the digital devices 5a and 5b, an event is issued from the object 11a or 11b corresponding to the digital device 5a or 5b in which the state change occurs. However, for example, digital devices 5a and 5b
When a state change occurs in any one of the above, an event may be issued from both the objects 11a and 11b.

Here, a first example of receiving an event will be described with reference to FIG. When the state change occurs in the digital device 5 and the event 41 is issued to the terminal 7,
The listener 22 of the terminal 7 is called. The called listener 22 sends an event 41 to the processing unit 42 in the terminal 7. The processing unit 42 first determines what kind of information the transmitted event 41 is. After the event 41 information is determined, the event 41 information can be viewed. As described above, the reason why the event 41 determines what kind of information is first is that the information according to the event is not constant and can be sent freely. And
The terminal 7 can know from the content of the event 41 that the status change has occurred in the digital device 5.

A second example of receiving an event is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to 0. This FIG. 10 shows the listener of the terminal 7.
22 is a plurality of different objects 11₁, 11₂,and
11 ₃Is registered in the
Occurrences and multiple different objects 11₁, 11₂,
And 11₃From when an event is issued from the device to the terminal 7
Here is an example. Consecutively from different objects 11
If events 51, 52, and 53 are issued, the end
The listener 22 at the end 7 is called. At this time, the event
In the order of 51, 52, and 53, the listener 22 of the terminal 7
When called, the listener 22 first sends an error message to the processing unit 42.
Send vent 51. And events 52 and 5
3 is temporarily stored in the standby unit 54 connected to the listener 22.
Be held.

The processing section 42 first determines what kind of information the transmitted event 51 is. After the information of event 51 is determined, the information of event 51 can be viewed. Thus, in the processing unit 42, the event 5
When the processing of step 1 is completed, the listener 22 waits for the standby section 54.
From the next event 52 is transmitted to the processing unit 42.

The processing section 42 first determines what kind of information the transmitted event 52 is. After the information for event 52 is determined, the information for event 52 can be viewed. Thus, in the processing unit 42, the event 5
When the processing of 2 is finished, the listener 22 waits for the waiting section 54.
From the next event 53 is transmitted to the processing unit 42.

The processing section 42 first determines what kind of information the transmitted event 53 is. After the information of event 53 is determined, the information of event 53 can be viewed.

As described above, when the events are issued successively, the events issued later are not deleted.
Since the event is temporarily retained in the standby unit 54, it does not disappear, and the event temporarily retained in the standby unit 54 is transmitted to the processing unit 42 after the current process is completed.

In this embodiment, the event is issued when the state of the digital device 5 changes, but when the digital device 5 finishes the processing that takes time, the result is issued as an event. You may do it.

[0053]

According to the present invention, since the operation is performed only when the status of the digital device changes, the load on the server and the terminal can be suppressed. Therefore, it is effective when handling a large number of digital devices at the same time, or when handling a digital device such as a VCR or a printer whose state change interval is long.

According to the present invention, like the state change of the digital device, when the time-consuming process is completed in the digital device, the result can be issued as an event. Meanwhile, the terminal can perform other processing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a device control system to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of an object of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the server to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of registering a listener of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a first example of issuing an event of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining a second example of issuing an event of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a third example of issuing an event of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining a fourth example of issuing an event of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining a first example of receiving an event of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a second example of receiving the event of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Server, 2 ... Device connection detection circuit, 3 ...
Object generation circuit, 4 ... Method calling circuit, 5, 5a, 5b, 5c ... Digital device, 6 ...
・ Interface, 7, 7a, 7b, 7c ... Terminal,
8 ... Network

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04Q 9/02 G06F 11/30 J // G06F 11/30 9/06 610B F term (reference) 5B014 EB03 FB04 GD05 GD22 GD33 GD35 HC05 HC13 5B042 GA08 GA12 GA18 GB05 GC15 JJ17 LA19 5B076 AA04 AA05 AA06 5B089 GA23 GB02 JA35 JB16 KA06 KA13 KC28 5K048 BA12 CA08 DA05 DC04 EA11 EB02 EB12 HA01 HA01 FC02 GC01

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. When generating control information corresponding to a plurality of controlled devices connected via an interface and controlling the controlled device from a terminal, the control information corresponding to the controlled device to be controlled is generated. In the device control device that supplies a control signal to the device control device, a device connection detection unit that detects that each of the plurality of controlled devices is connected via the interface, and a plurality of the connection detection devices An object generating means for generating an object based on the information unique to each controlled device, and an object corresponding to the controlled device for which information is to be acquired from the plurality of controlled devices, and a listener corresponding to the terminal. When a state change occurs in the controlled device, the listener registration means for registering the controlled device corresponding to the controlled device in which the state change occurs. Device control apparatus characterized by comprising a event issuing means for issuing an event to notify the state change generated in the controlled device, to the terminal corresponding to the listener using a listener registered with the object. 2. The device control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the terminal is connected via a network. 3. The device control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one listener or two or more different listeners are registered in the object. 4. When the event cannot be issued from the object, the listener registered in the object that cannot issue the event is copied to an object different from the object that cannot issue the event, and the object from the different object is copied. An event for notifying a controlled device corresponding to an object that cannot issue the above-mentioned event using the copied listener is issued to a terminal corresponding to the above-mentioned copied listener. Item 1. The device control device according to item 1. 5. The device control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a listener corresponding to the terminal is registered in two or more of the objects. 6. When a state change occurs in one of the controlled devices corresponding to the two or more objects for which the listener is registered, registration is performed from all of the two or more objects for which the listener is registered. The device control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein an event is issued to the terminal corresponding to the listener by using the listener that has been recorded. 7. The device control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content of the event does not have a predetermined format. 8. When a plurality of different events are issued consecutively, the second and subsequent events that are issued consecutively are temporarily held in a standby unit connected to the terminal. The device control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 9. Control information corresponding to a controlled device to be controlled is generated when control information corresponding to a plurality of controlled devices connected through an interface is generated and the terminal controls the controlled device. In the device control method for supplying a control signal to each of the plurality of controlled devices, it is detected that each of the plurality of controlled devices is connected via the interface, and the connection is detected. Object is generated based on the unique information of the device, and the listener corresponding to the terminal is registered in the object corresponding to the controlled device for which information is desired to be acquired from the plurality of controlled devices. When a state change occurs, it is generated in the controlled device using the listener registered in the object corresponding to the controlled device in which the state change occurs. An event notifying the status change, device control method being characterized in that so as to issue to the terminal corresponding to the listener. 10. The device control method according to claim 9, wherein the terminal is connected via a network. 11. One listener or two different ones
The device control method according to claim 9, wherein one or more listeners are registered in the object. 12. If the event cannot be issued from the object, the listener registered in the object that cannot issue the event is copied to an object different from the object that cannot issue the event, and the object is copied from the different object to the object. An event for notifying a controlled device corresponding to an object that cannot issue the above-mentioned event using the copied listener is issued to a terminal corresponding to the above-mentioned copied listener. Item 10. The device control method according to Item 9. 13. The device control method according to claim 9, wherein a listener corresponding to the terminal is registered in two or more of the objects. 14. When a state change occurs in one of the controlled devices corresponding to the two or more objects for which the listener is registered, registration is performed from all of the two or more objects for which the listener is registered. 14. The device control method according to claim 13, wherein an event is issued to the terminal corresponding to the listener by using the listener that is stored. 15. The content of the event does not have a predetermined format.
The device control method described in. 16. When a plurality of different events are issued consecutively, the second and subsequent events that are issued consecutively are temporarily held in a standby unit connected to the terminal. 10. The device control method according to claim 9, wherein: