JP2004310295A - Gateway appliance, relay method, relay processing program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gateway appliance which speeds up in establishing a session when an external appliance and an internal appliance exchange each control information, even in the internal equipment without a method for registering the control information. <P>SOLUTION: The gateway appliance 101 relays communications between the internal appliances 102, 103 on an internal network and the external appliance 104 on an external network. The gateway appliance 101 is provided with: a communication control unit 109 which acquires an internal appliance address and the control information from among the pieces of information exchanged in the relayed communications; a virtual appliance management part 110 which registers and manages a virtual appliance for communicating with the external appliance on the external network; and an internal appliance management part 111 which associates the control information possessed by the internal appliance and defining communication conditions based on the function and performance of the internal appliance with the address of the internal appliance to manage the information in own appliance, and updates control information managed by the control information acquired by the communication control unit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention records a configuration, a relay method, a relay processing program, and a relay processing program of a gateway device that relays communication between at least one internal device on an internal network and at least one external device on an external network. It relates to a recording medium.
[0002]
[Prior art]
With the recent broadband use of the Internet, IP phones and TV phones that perform audio / video communication using the TCP / IP protocol have become widespread as external devices and internal devices.
[0003]
In communication of IP phones and TV phones, there are concepts called call control signaling, media control, and media transfer. The call control signaling specifies the establishment of a session when each device performs audio / video communication. The media control defines control information to be exchanged when devices perform audio / video communication. The media transfer defines the audio / video communication between the devices.
[0004]
Hereinafter, in the present specification, “control information” is information that defines communication conditions based on the function and performance of a device. As an example of control information, the “control information” is defined by this media control and used in media transfer. There is control information, which is information including the type of protocol (eg, RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol)) used for audio input / output / video input / output, the type of codec (eg, G.711), and the like.
[0005]
Communication protocols for IP phones and TV phones include H.264. H.323 and SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). H. H.323 is a set of protocols for realizing an IP telephone or a TV telephone itself. 225 and Q.E. 931 for media control. 245, and the use of RTP or the like for media transfer. On the other hand, SIP is a protocol for establishing a general session, and is used for call control signaling of IP phones and TV phones. When SIP is used for call control signaling, SDP (Session Description Protocol) is used for media control, and RTP or the like is used for media transfer. In recent years, communication protocols for IP telephones and TV telephones have become H.264. 323 is shifting to SIP. Also in the communication of IP phones and TV phones, when an IP phone or TV phone on the Internet communicates with an IP phone or TV phone on an intranet / home network (or an IP phone or TV on a certain intranet / home network). When a telephone communicates with an IP telephone or a TV telephone on another intranet / home network, communication is performed via a gateway device. When SIP is used as the communication protocol, a SIP proxy is prepared in the gateway device and relays call control signaling. For the RTP relay of media transfer, an address translation function and an RTP proxy function are used (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1).
[0006]
In addition, as a conventional technique, in a distributed system in which a plurality of devices are connected to a network, a distributed system setting method that enables automatic setting of devices and communication with each other is described as "distributed system". System setting method "(for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0007]
In addition, there is a communication relay device and a communication relay method that acquire service information and access information on a local network in response to an access request from an external network and respond to the access request (for example, see Patent Literature 1). Reference 2).
[0008]
[Non-patent document 1]
Jonathan Davidson / James Peters Kazekosha Translated Edition "VoIP Basic Guide"
[0009]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-269998 A
[0010]
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-2002-141953
[0011]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Conventionally, H. In a system for realizing an existing IP phone or TV phone using H.323 or SIP, control information of internal devices is not registered in advance in a gateway device for relaying to an external network.
[0012]
In fact, H. In a system including devices such as an existing IP phone and a TV phone using H.323 and SIP, it is necessary to exchange control information in order to perform communication. However, each device of the conventional system transmits control information of an internal device. Since there is no mechanism for registering control information in advance, for example, a mechanism for registering control information from the internal device to the gateway device, or a mechanism for acquiring control information for the internal device from the gateway device, a request including control information from the external device Is only relayed to the internal device and a response including control information of the internal device is returned.
[0013]
The internal device is implemented so that control information is returned to the external device only after receiving a request for control information from the external device, and the gateway device communicates with the internal device every time the control information is requested and transmits the control information. Since the response is made to the external device after the acquisition, if the control information of each internal device is registered in the gateway device, there is a problem that the necessary time for acquiring the unnecessary control information and unnecessary traffic are generated in the internal network. .
[0014]
In the setting method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-269998, a device connected to a network is automatically recognized, information held by the device is collected from the recognized device, and a device is determined based on the collected information. And generating information necessary for performing the above setting, and setting the generated information in the device to realize communication between the devices. However, the setting method in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-269998 presupposes that each device is based on a network system compatible with the setting method. H.323 and SIP cannot use a network system constructed with devices such as existing IP phones and TV phones.
[0015]
The communication relay device disclosed in JP-A-2002-141953 acquires service information and access information on a local network and provides the information to an external network. The information is registered and stored on the communication relay device. You can't do anything.
[0016]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to allow an external device and an internal device to exchange control information with each other even in an internal device having no control information registration method. An object of the present invention is to provide a gateway device, a relay method, a relay processing program, and a recording medium on which such a relay processing program is recorded, which can speed up the establishment of a session.
[0017]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, a gateway device according to the present invention is a gateway device that relays communication between at least one internal device on an internal network and at least one external device on an external network. Internal communication means for communicating with internal equipment on the outside, external communication means for communicating with external equipment on the external network, a communication control unit for relaying communication between the internal communication means and external communication means, and an external network as a proxy for the internal equipment A virtual device management unit that registers and manages a virtual device that communicates with the external device, and control information that the internal device has to define communication conditions based on the function and performance of the internal device and the address of the internal device. An internal device management unit that manages the internal devices in association with each other.The communication control unit exchanges external devices and internal devices in relayed communication. Obtaining the control information and the address of the internal device from among that information inside the device management unit, and updates the corresponding control information in the internal device management unit by the acquired control information.
[0018]
Therefore, such a gateway device can acquire control information relayed at the time of communication and respond to internal devices without adding a special control information registration mechanism to external devices other than the gateway device and some devices. The attached control information can be managed in the gateway device.
[0019]
Preferably, the gateway device according to the present invention, when the internal device management unit, in response to a request for control information from an external device, the control information of the requested internal device is managed by the internal device management unit, It also has the function of responding using.
[0020]
Therefore, in response to a request for control information from an external device, such a gateway device can provide control information to the external device without acquiring control information from the requested internal device each time the request is made. .
[0021]
More preferably, in the gateway device according to the present invention, the virtual device management unit manages the correspondence between the address of the internal device in the internal network and the address of the external device in the external network.
[0022]
Therefore, in response to a request for an external network address, control information of a device having a corresponding internal network address can be returned.
[0023]
More preferably, in the gateway device according to the present invention, the internal device management unit registers a new internal device using the address of the internal device.
[0024]
Therefore, such a gateway device can newly register and manage an internal device that does not have a special mechanism for providing control information.
[0025]
More preferably, in the gateway device according to the present invention, the communication control unit obtains, from the relayed communication, the address of the internal device and control information that can be confirmed to be actually possessed by the internal device, and the internal device management unit performs communication control. The control information of the internal device acquired by the communication control unit is newly registered as the control information of the internal device corresponding to the address of the internal device acquired by the unit.
[0026]
Therefore, such a gateway device registers control information together with an internal device that does not have a special mechanism for providing control information for registration by acquiring control information at the time of communication. be able to.
[0027]
Preferably, in the gateway device according to the present invention, the communication control unit obtains, from the relayed communication, an address of the internal device and control information that can be confirmed to be actually possessed by the internal device, and the internal device management unit performs communication control unit control. If the control information that is confirmed to have the information is not included in the control information registration of the internal device corresponding to the address of the internal device acquired by the communication control unit, the registration is added.
[0028]
Therefore, such a gateway device can add unregistered control information to the registration later even for an internal device that does not have a special mechanism for providing control information for registration.
[0029]
Preferably, in the gateway device according to the present invention, the communication control unit acquires, from the relayed communication, the address of the internal device and control information that can confirm that the internal device does not actually exist, and the internal device management unit performs communication. The control unit confirms that the control information is not actually possessed, and deletes the control information registration of the internal device corresponding to the address of the internal device acquired by the communication control unit.
[0030]
Therefore, such a gateway device can delete registered control information that is found to be unusable.
[0031]
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a relay method for relaying communication between at least one internal device on an internal network and at least one external device on an external network. Registering a virtual device for communicating with an external device on the device network, receiving communication from the external device on the external network, and relaying communication from the external device to the internal device, Relaying, in response to communication from the external device, communicating with the internal device on the internal network; responding to the response from the internal device, acquiring the address and control information of the internal device; Updates the control information of the internal device corresponding to the managed address from the address and control information of the internal device. And a step.
[0032]
Therefore, such a relay method acquires the control information of the internal device when relaying the communication of the control information from the internal device, and updates the control information of the corresponding internal device managed in the relay device. be able to.
[0033]
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a relay processing program for causing a computer to execute relay processing for relaying communication between at least one internal device on an internal network and at least one external device on an external network. Registering a virtual device for communicating with an external device on an external device network on behalf of the internal device in the gateway device; receiving communication from the external device on the external network; Relaying the communication from the device to the internal device, wherein the relaying step is, in response to the communication from the external device, communicating with the internal device on the internal network, and in response to the response from the internal device, Obtaining the address and control information of the internal device, and the obtained address of the internal device From the control information, and updating the control information of the internal device corresponding to the address managed.
[0034]
According to still another aspect of the present invention, a relay processing program for causing a computer to execute a relay process for relaying communication between at least one internal device on an internal network and at least one external device on an external network is recorded. A recording medium, in the gateway device, registering a virtual device for communicating with the external device on the external device network as a proxy for the internal device, and receiving communication from the external device on the external network; Relaying communication from the external device to the internal device, wherein the relaying step includes: communicating with the internal device on the internal network in response to the communication from the external device; and responding to the response from the internal device. Acquiring the address and control information of the internal device, and acquiring the address of the acquired internal device. From less and control information, a relay process and updating the control information of the internal device corresponding to the address managed, causes the computer to execute.
[0035]
Therefore, a program for causing the computer to execute the relay processing acquires control information of the internal device when relaying control information communication from the internal device, and controls the corresponding internal device managed in the relay device. Can be updated.
[0036]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram for explaining a configuration of the gateway device 101 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0037]
Referring to FIG. 1, gateway device 101 relays communication between at least one internal device 102 and 103 on internal network 105 and at least one external device 104 on external network 106.
[0038]
The gateway device 101 includes an internal communication unit 107, an external communication unit 108, a communication control unit 109, a virtual device management unit 110, and an internal device management unit 111.
[0039]
The internal communication unit 107 communicates with the internal devices 102 and 103 on the internal network 105. The external communication unit 108 communicates with the external device 104 on the external network 106. The communication control unit 109 relays communication between the internal communication unit 107 and the external communication unit 108. The virtual device management unit 110 manages the internal devices 102 and 103 as virtual devices on the external network 106. The internal device management unit 111 manages control information of the internal devices 102 and 103.
[0040]
Examples of the internal devices 102 and 103 and the external device 104 include H.264. H.323 and SIP, a TV phone, a monitor, a camera, and the like. Examples of the internal network 105 include an intranet in a company and a home network in a home constructed using the TCP / IP protocol.
[0041]
An example of the external network 106 includes the Internet constructed using the TCP / IP protocol. In addition, the internal network 105 and the external network 106 may be different logical networks physically constructed on the same network.
[0042]
Here, the “virtual device” according to the present invention will be described.
The “virtual device” is a proxy for the internal devices 102 and 103 prepared on the gateway device 101 so that the external device 104 on the external network 106 communicates with the internal devices 102 and 103 on the internal network 105. . The virtual device is represented as an external address on the external network 106 of the internal devices 102 and 103.
[0043]
The correspondence between the internal address of the internal device represented by the virtual device on the internal network 105 and the external address on the external network 106 is managed by a virtual device database 618 described later. The control information of the internal device represented by the virtual device is managed by an internal device database 621 described later. Furthermore, the processing content of the virtual device when the external device on the external network 106 communicates with the virtual device on the gateway device 101 is executed by a virtual device realizing unit 615 described later. The expression “external address of the internal device” is synonymous with the address of the virtual device corresponding to the internal device.
[0044]
Hereinafter, as a premise for describing a more detailed configuration and operation of the gateway device of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, an outline of an operation performed by the gateway device will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0045]
FIG. 2 to FIG. 5 are conceptual diagrams showing processing of the gateway device 101 of the present invention according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0046]
2 to 5, a network including a TV phone and a gateway device exists in the house.
[0047]
As shown in FIG. 2, the gateway device 101 is also connected to a network outside the home, and the TV telephone inside the home and the device outside the home communicate via the gateway device 101. In addition, the TV phone uses media transfer protocol types (for example, RTP) for audio input, audio output, video input, and video output as control information for defining communication conditions based on its function and performance. It holds the type of CODEC (for example, G.711).
[0048]
In order for the in-home TV phone to communicate with a device outside the home, it is necessary to first register the address of the TV phone in the gateway device 101 (indicated by "address registration" in FIG. 2). At this time, only the correspondence between the internal address of the TV phone in the home network and the external address for access from outside the home is registered.
[0049]
The description “device 1 → TV phone” in FIG. 2 indicates that the internal address “TV phone” in the home network of the TV phone corresponds to the external address “device 1” for access from outside the home. I have. In the present invention, a device that communicates with an external device instead of the internal device, such as the device 1, is referred to as a “virtual device”. Since the existing TV telephone has no means for registering its own control information in another device, the above-mentioned control information is not registered in the gateway device 101 at the time of this initial registration. Therefore, the TV telephone registered here can be referred to only by the external address of the device 1 from a device outside the house, and it is not possible to know the specific device.
[0050]
In the first embodiment of the present invention, when the TV phone address is registered for the first time, the gateway device 101 does not register any control information in its own device. Hereinafter, the device 1 is referred to as a virtual device 1.
[0051]
Next, as shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that a telephone outside the home tries to perform voice communication with the virtual device 1 registered in the gateway device 101. At this time, a request for control information is first made from the telephone outside the home to the virtual device 1 of the gateway device 101 (indicated by "response of control information to telephone" in FIG. 3).
[0052]
Since the predetermined control information is not registered in the own device, the gateway device 101 relays the request for the control information to the home TV telephone, and the home TV telephone transmits the control information held by itself to the home TV via the gateway device 101. Notify outside phones. Normally, when making a request for control information, a telephone outside the home requests the other party to notify control information relating to voice input and voice output necessary for the telephone.
[0053]
In response, the TV telephone in the house returns only the control information relating to its own voice input and voice output. After the exchange of the control information, the telephone outside the home and the TV telephone inside the home perform communication using voice input / output. In the first embodiment of the present invention, when a home TV telephone returns control information via the gateway device 101, the gateway device 101 acquires the control information in an intercepting form, and stores the control information in the own device. Update by adding audio input and audio output. This means that the virtual device 1 registered in the gateway device 101 has been updated to a device having audio input and audio output as control information.
[0054]
Further, similarly, as shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that a camera outside the home tries to perform video communication with the virtual device 1 registered in the gateway device 101 (see FIG. Response "). After the exchange of the control information, the camera outside the house and the TV phone inside the house perform communication using video input (as viewed from the TV phone). In the first embodiment of the present invention, when a home TV telephone returns control information via the gateway device 101, the gateway device 101 acquires the control information in an intercepting manner, and until then, voice input and voice output are performed. The video input is added to the control information in the own device registered only. This means that the virtual device 1 registered in the gateway device 101 has been updated to a device having audio input, audio output, and video input as control information.
[0055]
Similarly, as shown in FIG. 5, it is further assumed that a monitor outside the home tries to perform video communication with the virtual device 1 registered in the gateway device 101. After the exchange of the control information (indicated by "response"), the monitor outside the home and the TV telephone at home perform communication using video output (as viewed from the TV telephone). In the first embodiment of the present invention, when a home TV telephone returns control information via the gateway device 101, the gateway device 101 acquires the control information in an intercepted form, and then performs voice input and voice output. Then, the video output is added to the control information in which only the video input is registered. As a result, the virtual device 1 registered in the gateway device 101 has been updated to a device having audio input, audio output, video input, and video output as control information.
[0056]
As a result, the virtual device 1 finally updates the control information in the gateway device 101 to a device having each function of a TV phone, and the virtual device 1 is also a device having a TV phone function from devices outside the house. You will be able to know that.
[0057]
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of the communication control unit 109, the virtual device management unit 110, and the internal device management unit 111 of FIG. A solid arrow indicates a flow of communication between the external device and the internal device relayed by the communication control unit 109. A broken arrow indicates a flow of internal processing of the gateway device 101.
[0058]
Referring to FIG. 6, communication control section 109 includes relay section 612, address obtaining section 613, control information obtaining section 614, and virtual device realizing section 615 described above. The relay unit 612 relays communication between the internal communication unit 107 and the virtual device realizing unit 615, and between the external communication unit 108 and the virtual device realizing unit 615. The address acquisition unit 613 acquires the external addresses of the internal devices 102 and 103 on the external network 106 and intercepts the communication relayed by the relay unit 612, and passes the external addresses to the virtual device management unit. The control information acquisition unit 614 acquires the control information of the internal devices 102 and 103 in a form that intercepts the communication relayed by the relay unit 612 and passes the control information to the virtual device management unit. The virtual device realizing unit 615 relays communication between the external device 104 and the internal devices 102 and 103 via the relay unit 612. Alternatively, a response is directly returned to a request from the external device 104.
[0059]
The virtual device management unit 110 includes a virtual device reference unit 616, a virtual device registration unit 617, and the above-described virtual device database 618.
[0060]
The virtual device reference unit 616 receives the internal addresses of the internal devices 102 and 103 on the internal network corresponding to the external addresses received from the address acquisition unit 613 from the virtual device database 618, passes them to the internal device management unit 111, and controls The control information of the internal devices 102 and 103 received from the information acquisition unit 614 is passed to the internal device management unit 111, and the correspondence between the external addresses and the internal addresses of the internal devices 102 and 103 is determined by the virtual device registration unit 617 via the virtual device registration unit 617. The operation of the virtual device realizing unit 615 is controlled based on the control information of the internal devices 102 and 103 received from the internal device management unit 111 or registered in the database 618.
[0061]
The virtual device registration unit 617 registers the correspondence between the external addresses and the internal addresses of the internal devices 102 and 103 received from the virtual device reference unit 616 in the virtual device database 618.
[0062]
The virtual device database 618 holds the correspondence between the external addresses and the internal addresses of the internal devices 102 and 103 registered from the virtual device registration unit 617, and stores the internal devices 102 and 103 corresponding to the external addresses in the virtual device reference unit 616. Pass the address.
[0063]
The internal device management unit 111 includes an internal device reference unit 619, an internal device registration unit 620, and the above-described internal device database 621.
[0064]
The internal device reference unit 619 receives the control information of the internal devices 102 and 103 corresponding to the internal address received from the virtual device reference unit 616 from the internal device database 621 and passes the control information to the virtual device reference unit 616. The internal addresses and control information of the internal devices 102 and 103 received from the 616 are registered in the internal device database 621 via the internal device registration unit 620.
[0065]
The internal device registration unit 620 registers the correspondence between the internal addresses of the internal devices 102 and 103 and the control information received from the internal device reference unit 619 in the internal device database 621. The internal device database 621 holds the correspondence between the internal addresses of the internal devices 102 and 103 registered from the internal device registration unit 620 and the control information, and controls the internal device reference unit 619 to control the internal devices 102 and 103 corresponding to the internal addresses. Pass information.
[0066]
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of data stored in the virtual device database 618 and the internal device database 621 in FIG.
[0067]
Referring to FIG. 7, virtual device database 618 holds, as data 722 and 723, correspondence between external addresses of internal devices 102 and 103 on external network 106 and internal addresses on internal network 105.
[0068]
In the data 722, the external address device1 @ global. abc. co. jp is an internal address device1 @ local. abc. co. jp indicates that it corresponds to the internal device indicated by jp. In the data 723, the external address device2 @ global. abc. co. jp is an internal address device2 @ local. abc. co. jp indicates that it corresponds to the internal device indicated by jp.
[0069]
On the other hand, the internal device database 621 holds the correspondence between the internal addresses of the internal devices 102 and 103 on the internal network 105 and the control information of the internal devices 102 and 103 as data 724 and 725, respectively.
[0070]
In the data 724, the internal address device1 @ local. abc. co. jp indicates that the internal device has audio input, audio output, video input, and video output as control information. In the data 725, the internal address device2 @ local. abc. co. jp indicates that the internal device has audio input and audio output as control information.
[0071]
Here, the control information is simply described as audio input, audio output, video input, and video output, but this includes information such as the type of media transfer protocol and the type of CODEC.
[0072]
FIG. 8 is an example of a message exchanged when a communication session is established using a TV phone as an example. This message is an example of a message exchanged between the TV phone 1 and the TV phone 2 when talking on the TV phone.
[0073]
Referring to FIG. 8, the request message indicates that the TV phone 1 has received a G.49 message at port 49172 of IP address 100.101.102.103. 711-encoded audio data is transmitted to the G. 711-encoded audio data is received by the RTP protocol.
[0074]
On the other hand, the response message also indicates that the TV phone 2 has received the IP address 110.11.11.113. The G.711 encoded audio data is transmitted to the G.711 port at port 3457. 711-encoded audio data is received by the RTP protocol.
[0075]
From these two messages, control information for audio input / output and video input / output of the TV phone 2 can be obtained.
[0076]
However, this message is one example. In SIP, the payload portion is based on the description of the SDP, but the information of this message example is also included in the payload.
[0077]
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the configuration and operation of the gateway device 101 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0078]
In the drawing, solid arrows indicate the flow of communication between the external device and the internal device relayed by the communication control unit 109. A broken arrow indicates a flow of internal processing of the gateway device 101.
[0079]
9, a TV phone 930 and a phone 931 are connected to the internal network 105 as specific examples of the internal devices 102 and 103 in FIGS.
[0080]
As a specific example of the external device 104, a TV phone 926, a phone 927, a camera 928, and a monitor 929 are connected to the external network 106. At the same time, the virtual device database 618 holds information of the data 922 and 923.
[0081]
In the data 922, the external address device1 @ global. abc. co. jp is an internal address tvphone @ local. abc. co. jp indicates that it corresponds to the TV phone 930. In the data 923, the external address device2 @ global. abc. co. jp is an internal address phone @ local. abc. co. jp indicates that it corresponds to the telephone 931 indicated by jp.
[0082]
Further, the internal device database 621 holds information of data 924 and 925.
[0083]
In the data 924, the internal address tvphone @ local. abc. co. jp indicates that the TV phone 930 has audio input, audio output, video input, and video output as control information. In the data 925, the internal address phone @ local. abc. co. jp indicates that the telephone 931 has voice input and voice output as control information.
[0084]
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the gateway device 101 of FIG.
[0085]
The example illustrated in FIG. 10 illustrates a case where the gateway device 101 is configured by a general personal computer.
[0086]
10 includes a CPU 1002, a hard disk 1003 as an external storage device, a read only memory (ROM) 1004, a random access memory (RAM) 1005, a display device 1006, a keyboard / mouse 1007, and an internal device. An internal communication I / F 1008 which is an interface with the network 105 and an external communication I / F 1009 which is an interface with the external network 106 are provided. The components of the gateway device 101 are connected to each other by a bus 1001.
[0087]
That is, among the functions of the gateway device 101 in FIG. 1, the function of the external communication unit 108 is realized by the external communication I / F 1009, and the function of the internal communication unit 107 is realized by the internal communication I / F 1008. Also, among the functions of the communication control unit 109, the virtual device management unit 110, and the internal device management unit 111, the functions of the relay unit 612, the address acquisition unit 613, the control information acquisition unit 614, the virtual device realization unit 615, and the virtual device reference The functions of the unit 616 and the virtual device registration unit 617, and the functions of the internal device reference unit 619 and the internal device registration unit 620 are realized by the CPU 1002 executing processing based on a program stored in the ROM 1004 or the hard disk 1003. You. Further, the virtual device database 618 and the internal device database 621 are stored, for example, in the hard disk 1003.
[0088]
The program is installed by reading a program recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM into a hard disk 1003 by a reading device (drive device) connected to a personal computer. It may be one that has been installed or one that has been distributed via a communication line such as the Internet.
[0089]
Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, the description will be made assuming that the SIP protocol is used, but the present invention is not limited to this.
[0090]
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an initial state of the gateway device 101 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0091]
In the initial state, the TV phone 930 and the phone 931 on the internal network 105 have not been registered in the gateway device 101 yet. Therefore, nothing is registered in the virtual device database 618 and the internal device database 621.
[0092]
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing address registration of the TV phone 930 to the gateway device 101 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for registering the address of TV phone 930 with gateway device 101 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0093]
The procedure for registering the address of the TV phone 930 will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0094]
First, a request is transmitted from the TV phone 930 on the internal network 105 to the relay unit 612 of the gateway device 101 via the internal communication unit 107. When the SIP protocol is used, this request is a SIP REGISTER request for requesting device registration, a SIP INVITE request for requesting connection to another device, or the like (step S1302).
[0095]
The gateway device 101 determines whether or not the request received by the relay unit 612 is a request for address registration. In the case of using the SIP protocol, the case of the request for address registration is the case of the SIP REGISTER request (step S1303).
[0096]
If it is determined in step S1303 that the request is not an address registration request, the request from the TV phone 930 is an external address requested via the external communication unit 108, for example, device @ global. xyz. co. jp (TV phone 926, telephone 927, camera 928, monitor 929, etc.) (step S1312).
[0097]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1303 that the request is for address registration, the address acquisition unit 613 causes the TV phone 930 to use the internal address tvphone@local.local on the internal network 105. abc. co. jp and the corresponding external address device1 @ global. abc. co. jp is acquired from the address registration request information and sent to the virtual device reference unit 616 (step S1304).
[0098]
The virtual device reference unit 616 stores the acquired external address device1 @ global. abc. co. jp as an entry, that is, whether the acquired external address device1 @ global. abc. co. It is determined whether the registered TV phone 930 has a field having a jp entry as an entry or an unregistered TV phone 930 that does not exist (step S1305).
[0099]
If it is determined in step S1305 that the TV phone 930 is an unregistered TV phone 930, the internal address tvphone @ local. abc. co. jp and the external address device1 @ global. abc. co. jp is passed from the virtual device reference unit 616 to the virtual device registration unit 617 and registered in the virtual device database 618. The data registered in the virtual device database 618 corresponds to the correspondence between the addresses of the internal device and the external device in claim 2 (step S1306).
[0100]
Further, the internal address tvphone @ local. abc. co. The jp is passed from the virtual device reference unit 616 to the internal device registration unit 620 via the internal device reference unit 619, and is registered in the internal device database 621 (step S1307).
[0101]
Further, the internal device registration unit 620 stores the internal address tvphone @ local. abc. co. jp is registered in the internal device database 621. At the time of registration, no control information is registered. This processing corresponds to claim 3 of the present invention (step S1308).
[0102]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1305 that the TV phone 930 has been registered, the internal address tvphone @ local. abc. co. jp is passed from the virtual device reference unit 616 to the virtual device registration unit 617, and the external address device1 @ global. abc. co. The field of the internal address having jp as an entry is rewritten (step S1309).
[0103]
Further, the internal address tvphone @ local. abc. co. The jp is passed from the virtual device reference unit 616 to the internal device registration unit 620 via the internal device reference unit 619, and the entry of the internal address of the TV phone 930 in the internal device database 621 is rewritten (step S1310).
[0104]
After step S1308 or step S1310, the relay unit 612 generates a response to the request from the TV phone 930, and returns the response to the TV phone 930 via the internal communication unit 107. When the SIP protocol is used, this response is a SIP OK response indicating that the processing of the various SIP requests has been successful (step S1311).
[0105]
After step S1311 or step S1312, the processing of the address registration request from the TV phone 930 ends (step S1313).
[0106]
After the processing procedure of step S1301, step S1302, step S1303, step S1304, step S1305, step S1306, step S1307, step S1308, step S1311, and step S1313, the virtual device database 618 of the gateway device 101 stores the TV phone 930 External address device1 @ global. abc. co. jp and the internal address tvphone @ local. abc. co. jp correspondence 1222 is registered as. Also, the internal device database 621 includes an internal address 1224tvphone@local.com on the internal network 105 of the TV phone 930 as a new internal device. abc. co. jp is registered. However, at the time of registration, no control information of the TV phone 930 is registered.
[0107]
FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing a control information request from telephone 927 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0108]
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a control information request from telephone 927 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0109]
The processing procedure when the telephone 927 requests the control information of the TV telephone 930 will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0110]
First, a connection request from the telephone 927 on the external network 106 to the relay unit 612 of the gateway device 101 via the external communication unit 108 is transmitted to the TV device at the address device1 @ global. abc. co. jp is transmitted with the connection destination. When the SIP protocol is used, this request is a SIP INVITE request for requesting a connection to another device (step S1502).
[0111]
Next, in the address acquisition unit 613, the external address device1@global.com included in the request from the telephone 927 on the external network 106 of the TV telephone 930 to which the telephone 927 attempts to connect. abc. co. jp is acquired and sent to the virtual device reference unit 616 (step S1503).
[0112]
The virtual device reference unit 616 stores the acquired external address device1 @ global. abc. co. It is determined whether there is a field having jp as an entry, that is, whether the TV phone 930 is a registered TV phone or an unregistered TV phone 930 (step S1504).
[0113]
If it is determined in step S1504 that the TV phone 930 has not been registered, the relay unit 612 generates an address unknown response to the request from the phone 930, and returns the response to the phone 930 via the external communication unit 108. When the SIP protocol is used, the response of unknown address is a SIP Not Found response (step S1508).
[0114]
If it is determined in step S1504 that the TV phone 930 has been registered, the gateway device 101 determines whether the request received by the relay unit 612 is a request for control information. In the case of using the SIP protocol, the case of requesting control information is the case of a SIP INVITE request (step S1505).
[0115]
If it is determined in step S1505 that the request is for control information, the control information acquisition unit 614 makes a request to the TV phone 930 included in the request from the phone 927 to which the phone 927 is trying to make a connection. The control information is obtained and sent to the virtual device reference unit 616 (step S1506).
[0116]
The virtual device reference unit 616 reads from the virtual device database 618 the internal address 1224 (tvphone) on the internal network 105 of the TV phone 930 corresponding to the external address 1222 (device1@global.abc.co.jp) acquired in step S1503. $ Local.abc.co.jp) and the TV phone 930 corresponding to the internal address 1224 (tvphone@local.abc.co.jp) acquired from the internal device database 621 via the internal device reference unit 619. Get control information. It is determined whether the control information is the control information requested to the TV phone 930 acquired in step S1506, that is, whether the requested control information is registered in the internal device database 621 (step S1507). .
[0117]
If it is determined in step S1507 that the control information requesting the TV phone 930 has been registered, the control information acquired in the internal device database 621 is passed from the virtual device reference unit 616 to the virtual device realization unit 615, The virtual device realizing unit 615 generates a control information response to the control information request received from the relay unit 612, and returns the response to the external device via the relay unit 612 and the external communication unit 108. When the SIP protocol is used, the response of the control information is a SIP OK response indicating that the processing of the SIP INVITE request has been successful (step S1509).
[0118]
If it is determined in step S1505 that the request is not a request for control information, or if it is determined in step S1507 that the control information requesting the internal device has not been registered, the virtual device realizing unit 615 issues a command from the virtual device reference unit 616. The request for control information received from the relay unit 612 is relayed to the TV phone 930 corresponding to the internal address 1224 (tvphone@local.abc.co.jp) via the relay unit 612 and the internal communication unit 107 (step S1510). ).
[0119]
After step S1508, step S1509, and step S1510, the processing of the request from the telephone 927 ends (step S1511).
[0120]
If the control information has not been registered, and if the processing procedure of step S1501, step S1502, step S1503, step S1504, step S1505, step S1506, step S1507, step S1510, and step S1511 has passed, the request for the control information from the telephone 930 is Is relayed by the gateway device 101 and sent to the TV phone 930.
[0121]
FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram showing a control information response to telephone 927 when control information has not been registered in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0122]
FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a control information response to telephone 927 in the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0123]
FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating the processing procedure of S1706 in FIG.
Hereinafter, a processing procedure of a control information response to the telephone 927 in a case where the control information has not been registered will be described with reference to FIGS. 16, 17, and 18.
[0124]
First, a response to a request for control information from the TV phone 930 on the internal network 105 is transmitted to the relay unit 612 of the gateway device 101 via the internal communication unit 108. When using the SIP protocol, this response is a SIP OK response to a SIP INVITE request requesting a connection to another device (step S1702).
[0125]
The gateway device 101 determines whether the response received by the relay unit 612 is a response to a request for control information. When using the SIP protocol, the case where the response is a response to a request for control information is a case where the control body described in SDP is added to a response body in the case of a SIP OK response (step S1703).
[0126]
If it is determined in step S1703 that the response is a response to the request for control information, the address acquisition unit 613 uses the external address device1@global.com on the external network 106 of the TV phone 930. abc. co. jp is acquired and sent to the virtual device reference unit 616 (step S1704).
[0127]
Further, the control information acquisition unit 614 acquires the control information, which is included in the response from the TV phone 930 and has been requested by the telephone 927 to the connection destination device, and sends it to the virtual device reference unit 616 (step S1705).
[0128]
Further, in the virtual device reference unit 616, the external address device1 @ global. abc. co. jpone internal address tvphone@local.jp. abc. co. jp is acquired from the virtual device 1222 in the virtual device database 618, passed to the internal device reference unit together with the control information of the TV phone 930, and the internal device database 621 is updated. The procedure for updating the internal device database 621 will be described later with reference to FIG. 18 (step S1706).
[0129]
If it is determined in step S1703 that the response is not a response to the request for control information, or after steps S1704, S1705, and S1706, the response to the request for control information received from the relay unit 612 by the virtual device realization unit 615 is: Via the relay unit 612 and the external communication unit 108, the external address device1 @ global. abc. co. jp is relayed to the telephone 927 corresponding to jp (step S1707), and the response process ends (step S1708).
[0130]
Next, the processing procedure of “update control information” in step S1706 in FIG. 17 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.
[0131]
First, the virtual device reference unit 616 sends the internal address tvphone @ local. abc. co. jp and the control information, the internal device reference unit 619 converts the internal address tvphone @ local. abc. co. It is confirmed whether at least one control information exists in the control information field having jp as an entry (step S1802).
[0132]
If it is confirmed in step S1802 that no control information exists, the internal address tvphone @ local. abc. co. jp and the acquired control information are passed to the internal device registration unit 620, and the internal address tvphone @ local. abc. co. All the acquired control information is added to the field having jp as an entry (step S1803).
[0133]
If it is confirmed in step S1802 that any control information exists, the internal address tvphone @ local. abc. co. jp and the acquired control information are passed to the internal device registration unit 620. The internal device registration unit 620 stores this control information in the internal device database 621 at the internal address tvphone @ local. abc. co. jp is compared with the control information of the field having the entry, and if all the fields already exist in this field, nothing is performed (step S1804).
[0134]
In step S1804, the internal address tvphone @ local. Of the TV phone 930 in the internal device database 621 is included in the acquired control information. abc. co. If there is no control information in the field having jp in the entry, only the control information obtained that is not in this field is added (step S1805).
[0135]
After step S1803 and step S1805, the process of step S1706 in FIG. 17 ends (step S1806).
[0136]
The internal device database 621 of the gateway device 101 as a result of the processing procedure of step S1701, step S1702, step S1703, step S1704, step S1705, step S1706, step S1801, step S1802, step S1803, step S1806, step S1707, step S1708. Internal address tvphone @ local. On the internal network 105 of the TV phone 930. abc. co. In a field having jp as an entry, control information of voice input and voice output necessary for the TV phone 930 to make a voice call with the phone 927 is registered (data 1624 in FIG. 16).
[0137]
FIG. 19 is a conceptual diagram showing a voice call between telephone 927 and TV telephone 930 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0138]
After the processing described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 17, the telephone 927 and the TV telephone 930 perform a voice call under the control of the communication control unit 109 based on the exchanged control information.
[0139]
FIG. 20 is a conceptual diagram showing a state after communication between camera 928 and TV phone 930 has been performed after FIG. 19 in the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0140]
The difference between FIG. 20 and the processing described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 19 is that steps S1804 and S1805 are performed instead of step S1803 in the flowchart of FIG. As a result, in the field having the internal address of the TV phone 930 in the entry of the internal device database 621 of the gateway device 101 as the entry, in addition to the audio input / output, the control information of the video input exchanged with the camera 928 is added. .
[0141]
Similarly, FIG. 21 is a conceptual diagram showing a state after communication between monitor 929 and TV phone 930 has been performed after FIG. 20 in the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0142]
The difference between FIG. 21 and after the processing described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 20 is that in the flowchart of FIG. 18, steps S1804 and S1805 are performed instead of step S1803. Accordingly, in the field having the internal address of the TV phone 930 in the entry of the internal device database 621 of the gateway device 101 as an entry, in addition to the audio input / output and the video input, the control information of the video output exchanged with the monitor 929 is included. It is added.
[0143]
FIG. 22 is a conceptual diagram showing a case where a request and a response for control information with TV phone 926 are further performed after FIG. 21 in the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0144]
The difference between the processing of FIG. 22 and the processing after the processing described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 21 is that all the control information necessary for the TV phone has already been registered. That is, step S1509 has been performed instead of step S1510 in the determination of step S1507. As a result, a request for control information from the TV phone 926 is not sent to the TV phone 930 on the internal network 105, and a response is directly returned from the gateway device 101.
[0145]
FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram showing a voice call between telephone 927 and TV telephone 930 after FIG. 22 in the first embodiment of the present invention. There is no difference in processing between FIG. 23 and FIG.
[0146]
As described above, according to the first embodiment, even in an internal device having no control information registration method, when the external device and the internal device exchange control information with each other, the external device requests a control information request from the external device. The received gateway device directly returns the control information registered therein to the external device without inquiring of the internal device, whereby the session establishment can be sped up. At the same time, unnecessary traffic does not occur on the internal network.
[0147]
[Embodiment 2]
Hereinafter, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same or corresponding parts as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.
[0148]
FIGS. 24 to 27 are conceptual diagrams showing the processing of the gateway device 101 of the present invention according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
[0149]
24 to 27, a network including a telephone and a gateway device exists in the house. The gateway device is also connected to a network outside the house, and the telephone inside the house and the device outside the house communicate via the gateway device. Further, the telephone uses, as control information for defining communication conditions based on its function and performance, a type of a media transfer protocol (for example, RTP) and a type of CODEC (for example, G.100) for voice input and voice output, respectively. 711).
[0150]
Referring to FIG. 24, in order for an in-home telephone to communicate with a device outside the home, it is necessary to first register the telephone address in the gateway device (in FIG. 24, "register address"). Shown). At this time, only the correspondence between the internal address of the telephone in the home network and the external address for access from outside the home is registered.
[0151]
The description “device 2 → phone” in FIGS. 24 to 27 indicates that the internal address “phone” in the telephone home network corresponds to the external address “device 2” for access from outside the home. I have. The device 2 is a virtual device like the device 1. Since the existing telephone has no means for registering the control information in another device, the above-mentioned control information is not registered in the gateway device at the time of the initial registration. Therefore, the telephone registered here can only be referred to by the external address of the device 2 from a device outside the house, and the specific device is not registered. According to the second embodiment of the present invention, unlike the first embodiment, when a “telephone” address is registered, the gateway device temporarily stores all control information that can be held by the home device acting as a virtual device. Is registered as control information. That is, for all types of control information (in this case, audio input, audio output, video input, and video output) that the gateway device determines that the home device acting as a virtual device can have, the media transfer protocol The type, the type of CODEC, and the like are set with default values determined by the gateway device. Hereinafter, the device 2 is referred to as a virtual device 2.
[0152]
Next, referring to FIG. 25, it is assumed that a telephone outside the home tries to perform voice communication with virtual device 2 registered in the gateway device. At this time, a request for control information is first made from a telephone outside the home to the virtual device 2 of the gateway device (indicated by "response of control information" to the telephone in FIG. 25). The gateway device relays the request for control information to the home telephone because there is no determined control information in itself, and the home telephone notifies the control information held by itself to the telephone outside the home via the gateway device. Normally, when making a request for control information, a telephone outside the home requests the other party to notify control information relating to voice input and voice output necessary for the telephone. Correspondingly, the home telephone returns only the control information on its own voice input and voice output. After the exchange of the control information, the telephone outside the home and the telephone inside the home perform communication using voice input / output. According to the second embodiment of the present invention, when the home telephone returns a response of the control information via the gateway device, the gateway device obtains the control information in an intercepting form and registers it as temporary control information until then. The registered voice input and voice output are changed as registered control information. The video input and the video output are still provisionally registered. Thereby, it is possible to know from the device outside the house that the virtual device 2 registered in the gateway device actually has the voice input and the voice output as the control information.
[0153]
Similarly, as shown in FIG. 26, it is further assumed that a camera outside the home tries to perform video communication with the virtual device 2 registered in the gateway device (in FIG. 26, "response of control information" to the camera). ).
[0154]
As a result of the exchange of the control information, the camera outside the house and the telephone inside the house end the communication because the communication using the video input (as viewed from the telephone) is impossible. According to the second embodiment of the present invention, when the home telephone returns the control information via the gateway device, it is known from the response that the telephone cannot perform the communication using the video input. The video input registered as the control information of the virtual device 2 is deleted from the control information of the virtual device 2. As a result, the registration in the gateway device has been updated as a device in which the virtual device 2 actually has the audio input and the audio output as the control information, does not have the video input, and does not have the video output. become.
[0155]
Similarly, as shown in FIG. 27, it is further assumed that the monitor outside the home tries to perform video communication with virtual device 2 registered in the gateway device (in FIG. 27, "response of control information" to the camera). ).
[0156]
As a result of the exchange of the control information, the monitor outside the house and the telephone inside the house terminate the communication because the communication using the video output (as viewed from the telephone) is impossible. According to the second embodiment of the present invention, when the home telephone returns the control information via the gateway device, it is known from the response that the telephone cannot perform the communication using the video output. The video output registered as the control information of the virtual device 2 is deleted from the control information of the virtual device 2. This means that the registration in the gateway device has been updated as a device in which the virtual device 2 actually has audio input and audio output as control information and has neither video input nor video output.
[0157]
As described above, the registration in the gateway device is updated as the virtual device 2 has only the telephone function, and the device outside the home can know that the virtual device 2 has only the telephone function. Become.
[0158]
As in the first embodiment, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. Here, as an example, description will be made assuming that the SIP protocol is used.
[0159]
In the second embodiment of the present invention, the overall configuration of the invention (FIG. 1), the configuration of the communication control unit and the like (FIG. 2), the configuration of the virtual device DB (FIG. 7), and the internal devices described in the first embodiment The contents shown in the configuration of the DB (FIGS. 8 and 9) and the hardware configuration (FIG. 10) are basically the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore, description thereof will not be repeated here.
[0160]
Hereinafter, portions of the second embodiment that are different from the first embodiment will be described in detail.
[0161]
FIG. 28 is a conceptual diagram showing an initial state according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
In the initial state, the TV phone 930 and the phone 931 on the internal network 105 have not been registered in the gateway device 101 yet. Therefore, nothing is registered in the virtual device database 618 and the internal device database 621.
[0162]
FIG. 29 is a conceptual diagram showing address registration of telephone 931 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing a procedure of address registration of telephone 931 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The procedure for registering the address of the telephone 931 will be described with reference to FIGS. 29 and 30.
[0163]
First, a request is transmitted from the telephone 931 on the internal network 105 to the relay unit 612 of the gateway device 101 via the internal communication unit 107. When the SIP protocol is used, the request is a SIP REGISTER request for requesting device registration, a SIP INVITE request for requesting connection to another device, or the like (step S3002).
[0164]
The gateway device 101 determines whether or not the request received by the relay unit 612 is a request for address registration. When the SIP protocol is used, the case of the address registration request is the case of the SIP REGISTER request (step S3003).
[0165]
If it is determined in step S3003 that the request is not an address registration request, the request from the telephone 931 is transmitted to the external address via the external communication unit 108, for example, device2 @ global. com is relayed to an external device (TV phone 926, phone 927, camera 928, monitor 929, etc.) corresponding to the com (step S3012).
[0166]
If it is determined in step S3003 that the request is an address registration request, the address acquisition unit 613 uses the internal address phone@local.com on the internal network 105 of the telephone 930. abc. co. jp and the external address device2 @ global. abc. co. jp is obtained from the address registration request information and sent to the virtual device reference unit 616 (step S3004).
[0167]
The virtual device reference unit 616 stores the acquired external address device2 @ global. abc. co. jp as an entry, that is, whether the acquired external address device2 @ global. abc. co. It is determined whether the telephone 930 is a registered telephone 930 in which a field having jp as an entry exists or an unregistered telephone 930 which does not exist (step S3005).
[0168]
If it is determined in step S3005 that the telephone 931 has not been registered, the internal address phone @ local. abc. co. jp and the external address device2 @ global. abc. co. jp is passed from the virtual device reference unit 616 to the virtual device registration unit 617, and registered as a virtual device 2923 in the virtual device database 618 (step S3006).
[0169]
Further, the internal address phone @ local. abc. co. The jp is passed from the virtual device reference unit 616 to the internal device registration unit 620 via the internal device reference unit 619, and is registered in the internal device database 621 (step S3007).
[0170]
Further, the internal device registration unit 620 stores the internal address phone @ local. abc. co. jp is registered in the internal device database 621 as temporary control information. This control information is all control information (for example, audio input / output and video input / output) that may be registered in the gateway device, and each has a default protocol type (RTP, etc.) and a CODEC type (G.711). Etc.) are determined. Each registered control information has a flag indicating that it is temporary control information. The description of (temporary) in the internal device data 2925 in FIG. 29 indicates that the flag indicating the temporary registration is on (step S3008).
[0171]
If it is determined in step S3005 that the telephone 931 has been registered, the internal address phone @ local. abc. co. jp is passed from the virtual device reference unit 616 to the virtual device registration unit 617, and the external address device2 @ global. abc. co. The field of the internal address having jp as an entry is rewritten (step S3009).
[0172]
Further, the internal address phone @ local. abc. co. jp is passed from the virtual device reference unit 616 to the internal device registration unit 620 via the internal device reference unit 619, and the entry of the internal address of the telephone 931 in the internal device database 621 is rewritten (step S3010).
[0173]
After step S3008 or step S3010, the relay unit 612 generates a response to the request from the telephone 931 and returns the response to the telephone 931 via the internal communication unit 107. When the SIP protocol is used, this response is a SIP OK response indicating that the processing of the various SIP requests has been successful (step S3011).
[0174]
After step S3011 or step S3012, the processing of the request from the telephone 931 ends (step S3013).
[0175]
After the processing procedure of step S3001, step S3002, step S3003, step S3004, step S3005, step S3006, step S3007, step S3008, step S3011, and step S3013, the virtual device database 618 of the gateway device 101 stores the telephone 931 The external address device2 @ global. abc. co. jp and the internal address phone @ local. abc. co. jp is registered as data 2923.
[0176]
Further, the internal device database 621 includes an internal address phone@local.com on the internal network 105 of the telephone 931. abc. co. The correspondence between jp and control information of the telephone 931 is registered as data 2925. The control information includes all control information (for example, audio input / output and video input / output) that may be registered in the gateway device, and includes a default protocol type (RTP or the like) and a CODEC type (G. 711). Each control information has a flag indicating that it is a temporary registration. The description (temporary) of the data 2925 in FIG. 29 is a flag indicating that the content is temporary.
[0177]
FIG. 31 shows a control information request from external telephone 927 in the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a control information request from telephone 927 in the second embodiment of the present invention.
[0178]
The processing procedure of the control information request of the telephone 927 will be described with reference to FIGS. 31 and 32.
First, a request is transmitted from the telephone 927 on the external network 106 to the relay unit 612 of the gateway device 101 via the external communication unit 108. When using the SIP protocol, this request is a SIP INVITE request for requesting a connection to another device (step S3202).
[0179]
Next, in the address acquisition unit 613, the external address device2 @ global. abc. co. jp is acquired and sent to the virtual device reference unit 616 (step S3203).
[0180]
The virtual device reference unit 616 stores the acquired external address device2 @ global. abc. co. jp as an entry, that is, whether the acquired external address device1 @ global. abc. co. It is determined whether the phone is a registered phone 931 having a field having jp as an entry or an unregistered phone 931 which does not exist (step S3204).
[0181]
If it is determined in step S3204 that the TV phone 931 has not been registered, the relay unit 612 generates an unknown address response to the request from the telephone 927, and returns the response to the telephone 927 via the external communication unit 108. When the SIP protocol is used, this response with unknown address is a SIP Not Found response (step S3208).
[0182]
If it is determined in step S3204 that the telephone 931 has been registered, the gateway device 101 determines whether the request received by the relay unit 612 is a request for control information. In the case of using the SIP protocol, the case of requesting control information is the case of a SIP INVITE request (step S3205).
[0183]
If it is determined in step S3205 that the request is for control information, the control information acquisition unit 614 requests the telephone 930 included in the request from the telephone 927 to request the telephone 930 to establish a connection. Information is obtained and sent to the virtual device reference unit 616 (step S3206).
[0184]
The virtual device reference unit 616 reads from the virtual device database 618 the external address device2 @ global. abc. co. jp on the internal network 105 of the telephone 931 corresponding to phone@local.jp. abc. co. jp, and the acquired internal address phone@local.jp from the internal device database 621 via the internal device reference unit 619. abc. co. The control information of the telephone 931 corresponding to jp is acquired. It is determined whether or not the control information is the control information requested for the telephone 931 acquired in step S3206, that is, whether or not the requested control information is registered in the internal device database 621. At this time, it is determined that the control information in which the flag indicating the temporary registration is set does not satisfy the requested control information (step S3207).
[0185]
If it is determined in step S3207 that the control information requested for the telephone 931 has been registered, the control information acquired in the internal device database 621 is passed from the virtual device reference unit 616 to the virtual device realization unit 615, and A response of the control information to the request for the control information received from the relay unit 612 is generated by the device realizing unit 615, and is returned to the external device via the relay unit 612 and the external communication unit 108. When using the SIP protocol, the response to the control information is a SIP OK response indicating that the processing of the SIP INVITE request has been successful (step S3209).
[0186]
If it is determined in step S3205 that the request is not a request for control information, or if it is determined in step S3207 that the control information requested to the internal device is not registered, the virtual device realizing unit 615 is The control information request received from the relay unit 612 is transmitted to the internal address phone@local.com via the relay unit 612 and the internal communication unit 107. abc. co. jp is relayed to the telephone 931 (step S3210).
[0187]
After step S3208, step S3209, and step S3210, the processing of the request from the telephone 927 ends (step S3211).
[0188]
After the processing procedure of step S3201, step S3202, step S3203, step S3204, step S3205, step S3206, step S3207, step S3210, and step S3211, the request for control information from the telephone 931 is relayed by the gateway device 101. , Sent to the telephone 931.
[0189]
FIG. 33 is a conceptual diagram showing a control information response from internal telephone 931 in response to a control information request from telephone 927 in the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a control information response to telephone 927 in the second embodiment of the present invention.
[0190]
FIG. 35 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure in step S3406 in FIG. The processing procedure of the control information response of the telephone 927 will be described with reference to FIGS. 33, 34, and 35.
[0191]
First, a response to the control information request from the external telephone 927 is transmitted from the telephone 931 on the internal network 105 to the relay unit 612 of the gateway device 101 via the internal communication unit 107. When the SIP protocol is used, this response is a SIP OK response to a SIP INVITE request for requesting another device to connect (step S3402).
[0192]
The gateway device 101 determines whether the response received by the relay unit 612 is a response to a request for control information. In the case of using the SIP protocol, the case where the response is a response to a request for control information is the case of a SIP OK response in which control information described in SDP is added to a response body (step S3403).
[0193]
If it is determined in step S3403 that the response is a response to the request for control information, the address acquisition unit 613 uses the external address device2 @ global. abc. co. jp is acquired and sent to the virtual device reference unit 616 (step S3404).
[0194]
Further, the control information acquisition unit 614 acquires the control information included in the response from the telephone 931 and requested by the telephone 927 to the connected device, and confirms that the virtual device reference unit 616 has the telephone 931. Sent as control information. Also, in the case of communication between the camera 928 and the telephone 931 in FIG. 25, the device does not have the requested control information, which can be known from the response. Therefore, it is determined that the telephone 931 does not exist in the virtual device reference unit 616. It is sent as confirmed control information. The control information is sent as a message such as "yes" (control information) if the function is confirmed to be possessed by the in-home device, and "no" (control information) if not confirmed (step S3405).
[0195]
Further, in the virtual device reference unit 616, the external address device2 @ global. abc. co. jp, the internal address phone @ local. abc. co. The jp is acquired from the virtual device database 618 and passed to the internal device reference unit together with the control information to which information on whether or not the telephone 931 is added is added, and the internal device database 621 is updated. The procedure for updating the internal device database 621 will be described later with reference to FIG. 32 (step S3406).
[0196]
If it is determined in step S3403 that the response is not a response to the request for control information, or after steps S3404, S3405, and S3406, the response to the request for control information received from the relay unit 612 by the virtual appliance realization unit 615 is: Via the relay unit 612 and the external communication unit 108, the external address device2 @ global. com (step S3407).
[0197]
After step S3407, the processing of the response from telephone 931 ends (step S3408).
[0198]
FIG. 35 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of step S3406 in FIG.
[0199]
First, the virtual device reference unit 616 sends the internal address phone @ local. abc. co. jp and the internal device reference unit 619 that has received the control information confirmed to be possessed or not possessed by the telephone 931, the internal address phone@local.com of the telephone 931 in the internal device database 621. abc. co. It is determined whether or not the control information provisionally registered in the field having jp in the entry matches the control information confirmed to have the acquired telephone 931. The “temporarily registered control information” is the control information registered by default by the gateway device 101 in step S3008 in FIG. 30, and the flag indicating the temporary registration is set. Further, “matches with control information confirmed to have” means that, for example, when control information of voice input with a flag indicating temporary registration is registered, the internal This refers to the case where control information of voice input is included in the control information confirmed to have the device. However, at this time, for example, even if the contents (protocol, CODEC type, etc.) of the voice input control information are different, if the control information of the voice input is included, it is regarded as “described” (step S3502). ).
[0200]
If it is determined in step S3502 that the registered control information coincides with the control information confirmed to be possessed by the telephone 931, the internal address phone @ local. abc. co. jp and the acquired control information of the telephone 931 are passed to the internal device registration unit 620, and the internal address phone @ local. abc. co. The control information temporarily registered in the field having jp as an entry is replaced with the content described in the obtained control information. At that time, the flag indicating the temporary registration is removed. Specifically, if the control information “voice input” and “voice output” is included in the control information confirmed to have the telephone 931, the internal device database 621 temporarily stores the control information as the control information of the corresponding device. The registered control information of “voice input” and “voice output” is replaced with the data of “voice input” and “voice output” of the newly acquired control information, and the flag indicating the temporary registration is removed. Thereafter, this control information is handled as the determined control information of the telephone 931 (step S3503).
[0201]
Next, the internal device reference unit 619 outputs the internal address phone @ local. abc. co. It is determined whether any of the control information provisionally registered in the field having jp as the entry matches the control information confirmed not to have the telephone 931. The “temporarily registered control information” is as described above. In addition, "matching control information confirmed not to have" means that although "video input" was requested when requesting control information, "video input" Is not included. In this case, since “video input” is passed to the internal device reference unit 619 as control information confirmed not to be held by the telephone 931, it is checked whether any of the provisionally registered control information matches the “video input” ( Step S3504).
[0202]
If it is determined in step S3504 that any of the temporarily registered control information matches the control information confirmed to have no telephone 931, the internal address phone @ local. abc. co. jp is passed to the internal device registration unit 620, and the internal address phone @ local. abc. co. Control information that has been provisionally registered but has not been confirmed is deleted from the field having jp as an entry (step S3505).
[0203]
In step S3504, if there is no temporarily registered control information that matches the control information confirmed not to be possessed by the internal device, and if step S3505 has been passed, the processing in step S3406 in FIG. 35 is performed. Ends (step S3506).
[0204]
When the processing procedure of step S3401, step S3402, step S3403, step S3404, step S3405, step S3406, step S3501, step S3502, step S3503, step S3504, step S3506, step S3407, step S3408 has been performed, the inside of the gateway device 101 is The internal address phone @ local. On the internal network 105 of the telephone 931 in the device database 621. abc. co. In the field having jp as an entry, the control information of voice input and voice output necessary for the telephone 931 to make a voice call with the telephone 927 is updated with the contents relayed at the start of the call, and the flag indicating temporary registration is removed. (Data 3325 in FIG. 33).
[0205]
FIG. 36 is a conceptual diagram showing a voice call between telephone 927 and telephone 931 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. After the processing described with reference to FIGS. 29 to 35, the telephone 927 and the telephone 931 perform a voice call based on the exchanged control information.
[0206]
FIG. 37 is a conceptual diagram showing a state after communication between camera 928 and telephone 931 has been performed after FIG. 36 in the second embodiment of the present invention. Actually, as a result of exchanging the control information, the camera 928 and the telephone 931 know that the communication is impossible, and the communication is not performed.
[0207]
The difference between FIG. 37 and the processing described with reference to FIGS. 29 to 36 is that, in the case of FIG. 37, no is selected in step S3502 in the flowchart of FIG. Furthermore, since yes was selected in step S3504, step S3505 has passed. As a result, it is determined that the telephone 931 does not have the control information of the video input requested from the camera 928, and the temporary registration is indicated from the field having the internal address of the telephone 931 in the entry of the internal device database 621 of the gateway device 101. The control information of the video input with the flag set is deleted.
[0208]
Similarly, FIG. 38 is a conceptual diagram showing a state after communication between monitor 929 and telephone 931 has been performed after FIG. 37 in the second embodiment of the present invention. Actually, as a result of exchanging the control information, the monitor 929 and the telephone 931 know that the communication is impossible, and the communication is not performed. The difference between FIG. 38 and the processing described with reference to FIGS. 29 to 36 is that, in the case of FIG. 38, no is selected in step S3502 in the flowchart of FIG. This is because step S3505 has been selected because yes was selected in step S3504. As a result, it is determined that the telephone 931 does not have the control information of the video output requested from the monitor 929, and the temporary registration is indicated from the field having the internal address of the telephone 931 in the entry of the internal device database 621 of the gateway device 101 as an entry. The control information of the flagged video output is deleted
FIG. 39 is a conceptual diagram showing a case where, in Embodiment 2 of the present invention, a request for control information as a telephone is made from TV telephone 926 to telephone 931 after FIG. 38 and a response is made thereto.
[0209]
The difference between the processing in FIG. 39 and the processing described with reference to FIGS. 29 to 35 is that, in FIG. 39, “voice input” and “voice output” have already been determined as control information of the telephone 931. In the flowchart of FIG. 7, step S3209 is performed instead of step S3210 in the determination of step S3207. Thus, a request for control information from the TV phone 926 is not sent to the phone 931 on the internal network 105. Then, the determined control information is directly returned from the gateway device 101 to the TV phone 926.
[0210]
FIG. 40 is a conceptual diagram showing a voice call between the TV phone 926 and the phone 931 after FIG. 39 in the second embodiment of the present invention. However, there is no difference in processing between FIG. 40 and FIG. 36 except that the device connected to the external network is the TV phone 926.
[0211]
As described above, in the second embodiment, the following effects are exhibited, similarly to the effects of the first embodiment.
[0212]
That is, even in an internal device that does not have a control information registration method, when the external device and the internal device exchange control information with each other, the gateway device that has received the control information request from the external device queries the internal device. By directly returning the control information registered therein to the external device, the session can be quickly established. At the same time, unnecessary traffic does not occur on the internal network.
[0213]
Since the contents of the control information of the internal device managed by itself can be known in advance based on the gateway device, a new service combining a plurality of the internal devices can be provided in the gateway device. Can be generated and provided. For example, when a telephone, a monitor, and a camera are connected as the internal devices, and their control information is registered in advance, a combination of a voice input / output function of a telephone, a video input function of a monitor, and a video output function of a camera is combined. It is conceivable that a virtual TV telephone service is generated and provided in the gateway device.
The embodiments disclosed this time are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.
[0214]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the control information on the internal device managed by the internal device management unit corresponding to the acquired address is obtained from the address of the internal device and the control information obtained from the communication relayed by the communication control unit. Updating allows internal devices that do not have a control information registration method to register control information.
[0215]
Further, the virtual device management unit holds the correspondence between the address of the internal device in the internal network and the address in the external network acting as a proxy for the internal device, and thereby obtains the internal network of the internal device from the address obtained by the communication control unit. The control information corresponding to the internal device managed by the internal device management unit can be updated by specifying the address in, so that the control information can be registered even in the internal device having no control information registration method. become able to.
[0216]
Also, when the internal device management unit registers an internal device address and control information on the internal network by registering a new internal device using only the address without using the control information of the internal device. No control information is registered in the gateway device, and even an internal device having no control information registration method can be registered in the gateway device.
[0219]
Also, when the communication control unit receives a request for control information for the virtual device from the external device, it relays the request to the corresponding internal device, and when the communication control unit receives a response of the control information to the external device from the internal device, it relays the request to the external device. By acquiring control information at the same time as relaying to the device, registering or updating the control information of the internal device in the internal device management unit using the obtained control information, even with internal devices that do not have a control information registration method, Control information can be registered in the gateway device.
[0218]
Also, the internal device management unit responds to the control information request from the external device by using the control information of the requested internal device, if the request exists, in the internal device management unit. Even if the internal device does not have a registration method, when the external device and the internal device exchange control information with each other, the gateway device that receives the control information request from the external device registers itself without inquiring of the internal device. By returning the set control information directly to the external device, session establishment can be speeded up. At the same time, no unnecessary traffic is generated on the internal network.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a gateway device 101 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a first conceptual diagram illustrating processing of the gateway device 101 of the present invention according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a second conceptual diagram showing processing of the gateway device 101 of the present invention according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a third conceptual diagram showing processing of the gateway device 101 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a fourth conceptual diagram showing processing of the gateway device 101 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a communication control unit 109, a virtual device management unit 110, and an internal device management unit 111 of FIG.
7 is a diagram showing a configuration of data stored in a virtual device database 618 and an internal device database 621 in FIG.
FIG. 8 is an example of messages exchanged when a communication session is established using a TV phone as an example.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the configuration and operation of the gateway device 101 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the gateway device 101 of FIG.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an initial state of the gateway device 101 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing address registration of a TV phone 930 to the gateway device 101 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for registering the address of the TV phone 930 with the gateway device 101 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing a control information request from telephone 927 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a control information request from the telephone 927 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram showing a control information response to the telephone 927 when the control information is not registered in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a control information response to the telephone 927 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of S1706 in FIG. 17;
FIG. 19 is a conceptual diagram showing a voice call between a telephone 927 and a TV telephone 930 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
20 is a conceptual diagram showing a state after communication between the camera 928 and the TV phone 930 has been performed after FIG. 19 in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 21 is a conceptual diagram showing a state after communication between the monitor 929 and the TV phone 930 has been performed after FIG. 20 in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 22 is a conceptual diagram showing a case where a request and a response for control information with the TV phone 926 are further performed after FIG. 21 in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram showing a voice call between the telephone 927 and the TV telephone 930 after FIG. 22 in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 24 is a first conceptual diagram illustrating processing of the gateway device 101 of the present invention according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 25 is a second conceptual diagram showing the processing of the gateway device 101 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 26 is a third conceptual diagram showing processing of the gateway device 101 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 27 is a fourth conceptual diagram showing the processing of the gateway device 101 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 28 is a conceptual diagram showing an initial state according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
FIG. 29 is a conceptual diagram showing address registration of a telephone 931 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing a procedure of address registration of telephone 931 in Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a control information request from an external telephone 927 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a control information request from the telephone 927 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 33 is a conceptual diagram showing a control information response from an internal telephone 931 in response to a control information request from a telephone 927 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a control information response to the telephone 927 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 35 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in step S3406 in FIG. 34;
FIG. 36 is a conceptual diagram showing a voice call between telephone 927 and telephone 931 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
FIG. 37 is a conceptual diagram showing a state after communication between the camera 928 and the telephone 931 has been performed after FIG. 36 in the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 38 is a conceptual diagram showing a state after communication between the monitor 929 and the telephone 931 has been performed after FIG. 37 in the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 39 is a conceptual diagram showing a case where, after FIG. 38, a request for control information as a telephone is made from the TV telephone 926 to the telephone 931 and a response is made thereto.
40 is a conceptual diagram showing a voice call between the TV phone 926 and the phone 931 after FIG. 39 in Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
101 gateway device, 102, 103 internal device, 104 external device, 105 internal network, 106 external network, 107 internal communication unit, 108 external communication unit, 109 communication control unit, 110 virtual device management unit, 111 internal device management unit, 612 Relay unit, 613 address acquisition unit, 614 control information acquisition unit, 615 virtual device realization unit, 616 virtual device reference unit, 617 virtual device registration unit, 618 virtual device, 619 internal device reference unit, 620 internal device registration unit, 621 internal Equipment database.

Claims (10)

A gateway device that relays communication between at least one internal device on an internal network and at least one external device on an external network,
Internal communication means for communicating with the internal device on the internal network,
External communication means for communicating with the external device on the external network,
A communication control unit that relays the communication between the internal communication unit and the external communication unit, and obtains the address and control information of the internal device from information exchanged between the external device and the internal device in the relayed communication,
A virtual device management unit that registers and manages a virtual device that communicates with an external device on the external network as a proxy for the internal device,
Control information that defines communication conditions based on the function and performance of the internal device, which is owned by the internal device, is managed in the own device in association with the address of the internal device, and managed by the control information acquired by the communication control unit. A gateway device comprising: an internal device management unit that updates control information. The internal device management unit has a function of responding to a request for control information from an external device, when control information of the requested internal device exists in the internal device management unit, using the control information. The gateway device according to claim 1, characterized in that: 3. The gateway device according to claim 1, wherein the virtual device management unit holds and manages a correspondence between an address of the internal device in an internal network and an address as the virtual device in an external network. 4. The gateway device according to claim 3, wherein the internal device management unit registers a new internal device using only the address. The communication control unit acquires from the relayed communication the address of the internal device and control information that can be confirmed to actually have the internal device,
5. The internal device management unit newly registers the control information of the internal device acquired by the communication control unit as the control information of the internal device corresponding to the address of the internal device acquired by the communication control unit. A gateway device according to item 1. The communication control unit acquires from the relayed communication the address of the internal device and control information that can be confirmed to actually have the internal device,
The internal device management unit, if the control information that is confirmed to have in the communication control unit is not in the control information registration of the internal device corresponding to the address of the internal device acquired by the communication control unit, registration is performed The gateway device according to claim 5, which is added. The communication control unit acquires from the relayed communication the address of the internal device and control information that can be confirmed that the internal device does not actually exist,
The internal device management unit deletes, from the control information registration of the internal device corresponding to the address of the internal device obtained by the communication control unit, the control information confirmed not to actually have in the communication control unit, The gateway device according to claim 5. A relay method for relaying communication between at least one internal device on an internal network and at least one external device on an external network,
At the gateway device, registering a virtual device for communicating with an external device on the external device network as a proxy for the internal device;
Receiving communication from the external device on the external network;
Relaying communication from the external device to the internal device,
The step of relaying comprises:
In response to communication from the external device, communicating with the internal device on the internal network,
Acquiring the address and control information of the internal device according to a response from the internal device,
Updating the control information of the internal device corresponding to the managed address from the acquired address and control information of the internal device. A relay processing program for causing a computer to execute relay processing for relaying communication between at least one internal device on an internal network and at least one external device on an external network,
At the gateway device, registering a virtual device for communicating with an external device on the external device network as a proxy for the internal device;
Receiving communication from the external device on the external network;
Relaying communication from the external device to the internal device,
The step of relaying comprises:
In response to communication from the external device, communicating with the internal device on the internal network,
Acquiring the address and control information of the internal device according to a response from the internal device,
Updating the control information of the internal device corresponding to the managed address from the acquired address of the internal device and the control information, thereby causing the computer to execute a relay process. A recording medium recording a relay processing program for causing a computer to execute a relay process of relaying communication between at least one internal device on an internal network and at least one external device on an external network,
At the gateway device, registering a virtual device for communicating with an external device on the external device network as a proxy for the internal device;
Receiving communication from the external device on the external network;
Relaying communication from the external device to the internal device,
The step of relaying comprises:
In response to communication from the external device, communicating with the internal device on the internal network,
Acquiring the address and control information of the internal device according to a response from the internal device,
A step of updating the control information of the internal device corresponding to the managed address from the acquired address of the internal device and the control information. Possible recording medium.

Images