JP2006260422A - Network communications apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network communications apparatus, simply managing a plurality of devices, by disclosing the information of the devices in a standardized data form to the public, and sharing and taking in the information, and simply performing the secondary use of the data. <P>SOLUTION: This network communications apparatus 1 includes a means for acquiring information retained by a relevant device by access of a HTTP protocol from a client application operated on another device via the network as a predetermined semantic XML document, when a request for acquiring is caused from the client application; a means for disclosing the information of the relevant device outputting RSS format and the information on the other devices to the public in a standardized data format FOAF and sharing the same; and an FOAF client means for reading and obtaining the FOAF data of the other devices. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a network communication device.

As in the known techniques described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, there has conventionally been a method for making various settings in the own apparatus from a browser application via a network.
JP 2000-92262 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-7095

  However, it is possible to provide information about the own device and other devices related to the own device in XML widely using the semantic XML such as RDF (Resource Description Framework) and RSS (Rich Site Summary) format. There was a problem that there was no way.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is possible to easily manage a device by publishing and sharing information on a plurality of devices in a standardized data format and capturing the information. An object of the present invention is to provide a network communication device that can be easily used for secondary use.

  The network communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the network communication apparatus is connected to a network and capable of communicating with another apparatus via the network, and an HTTP protocol from a client application operating on the other apparatus via the network. Data obtained by standardizing information on the own device that outputs RSS format and information on other devices when the client application requests acquisition of the information held by the device as a result of access by the client application as a predetermined semantic XML document It is characterized by comprising means for publishing / sharing in the format FOAF and FOAF client means for reading and acquiring FOAF data of other devices.

  The network communication apparatus according to claim 2 is provided with means for merging the FOAF data read by the FOAF client means as “knowings” of the FOAF data held by the own apparatus in the network communication apparatus according to claim 1. It is characterized by that.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the network communication apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising means for deleting / editing the FOAF data held by the own apparatus.

  A network communication apparatus according to a fourth aspect is the network communication apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising means for searching only other apparatuses that output FOAF information in the network.

  The network communication device according to claim 5 is provided with means for automatically registering the information obtained by the search as “knowings” in the FOAF data held by the device in the network communication device according to claim 4. It is characterized by.

  The network communication device according to claim 6 is a network communication device according to claim 2, wherein RSS information of other devices traced from merge registered FOAF data is collected and displayed as FOAF data of the device itself It is provided with.

  The network communication device according to claim 7 includes means for acquiring RSS information of other devices traced from the merge-registered FOAF data and collectively displaying the link information as OPML data in the network communication device according to claim 6. It is characterized by that.

  The network communication device according to claim 8 is characterized in that in the network communication device according to claim 1, there is provided means for collecting only network communication devices having the same attribute by using the captured FOAF data.

  The network communication device according to claim 9 is the network communication device according to claim 1, further comprising means for changing a public element of the FOAF between the case of the same attribute and the case of a different attribute depending on the captured FOAF data. Features.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, since information on a plurality of devices can be disclosed and shared in a standardized data format, the relationship between devices can be displayed by importing the information, Since the format is XML, there is an effect that secondary usage can be easily performed.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, since information on a plurality of devices can be disclosed and shared in a standardized data format, the relationship between devices can be displayed using the information, or the data format can be XML. Therefore, the effect that the secondary use can be easily performed is obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since information on a plurality of devices can be disclosed and shared in a standardized data format, the relationship between devices can be displayed using the information, or the data format can be XML. Therefore, the effect that the secondary use can be easily performed is obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since information on a plurality of devices can be disclosed and shared in a standardized data format, the information is searched to display the relationship between devices, or the data format is XML. Therefore, the effect that the secondary use can be easily performed is obtained.

  According to the fifth aspect of the invention, since information on a plurality of devices can be disclosed and shared in a standardized data format, the relationship between devices can be displayed using the information, or the data format can be XML. Therefore, the effect that the secondary use can be easily performed is obtained.

  According to the invention according to claim 6, since information on a plurality of devices can be disclosed and shared in a standardized data format, the relationship between the devices can be expressed and accessed using the information. It becomes easy. Further, since the data format is XML, an effect that secondary usage can be easily performed is obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 7, since information on a plurality of devices can be disclosed and shared in a standardized data format, the relationship between devices can be expressed and accessed using the information. It becomes easy. Further, since the data format is XML, an effect that secondary usage can be easily performed is obtained.

  According to the invention according to claim 8, since information on a plurality of devices can be disclosed and shared in a standardized data format, a restriction is added when displaying the relationship between devices using the information. The effect of being able to ensure security is obtained.

  According to the invention according to claim 9, since information on a plurality of devices can be disclosed and shared in a standardized data format, a restriction is added when displaying the relationship between devices using the information. The effect of being able to ensure security is obtained.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a system configuration including a network communication apparatus 1 according to the best mode for carrying out the present invention.

  In the figure, the network communication apparatus 1 can transmit and receive image data to and from the facsimile apparatus 201 on the PSTN 200 via the PSTN 200. Further, if the network communication apparatus 1 has an interface with the ISDN 300, it can also transmit and receive image data to and from the facsimile apparatus 301 on the ISDN 300 (provided in the best mode for carrying out the present invention). Absent). The network communication device 1 is connected to the LAN 500 and connected to the Internet 400 via a router device 502 that performs packet conversion. The network communication device 1 transmits and receives image data by e-mail to and from the personal computer 402 on the Internet 400. E-mail with the network facsimile apparatus 401 on the T.400 and ITU-T recommendation T.264. The image data can be transmitted and received by real-time network facsimile communication based on H.38. The network communication apparatus 1 can exchange image data with personal computers (PCs) 501a, 501b, 501c, etc. on the LAN 500.

  In other words, the network communication apparatus 1 has a composite function as a normal facsimile apparatus via a public line, a network facsimile apparatus, a scanner apparatus for the PC 501a, etc., a printer apparatus for the PC 501a, etc., a copier, etc. is there.

  FIG. 2 shows a block configuration of the network communication apparatus 1.

  In the figure, a CPU 2 is a central processing unit that controls each part of the apparatus, performs various data processing, and performs protocol control based on a control program written in the ROM 3 while using a RAM 4 as a work area. .

  The ROM 3 is a read-only memory that stores various data necessary for control such as a control program for the CPU 2 to control each part of the apparatus and font data corresponding to each character code.

  The RAM 4 is a random access memory used as a work area for the CPU 2 as described above.

  An EEPROM (electrically rewritable read-only memory) 5 is a memory for storing various information necessary for the operation of the apparatus and holding the stored contents even when the apparatus is turned off. Replacement with a backed up SRAM (static RAM) or a magnetic disk device is also possible.

  The clock circuit 6 always keeps track of the current date and time, and the CPU 2 can read the clock circuit 6 via the system bus 14 to know the current date and time (date and time).

  The operation display unit 7 is provided with various keys for accepting operation inputs from the user, and includes a display such as a liquid crystal display device, and displays an operation state of the device to be notified to the user and various messages. It is.

  The reading unit 8 reads image data and obtains image data.

  The image forming unit 9 is for printing out image data on a recording sheet.

  The image processing unit 10 encodes and compresses raw image data and decodes / decodes the encoded compressed data, binarization process, scaling process, reduction / enlargement process, and image correction process. Various processes relating to image data handled in the network communication device 1 are performed, such as a process of rearranging the pixel order in each main scanning line constituting the image data, and an additional process of adding additional information such as character string information of transmission date / time and reception date / time. .

  The LAN communication control unit 10 is a so-called NIC (Network Interface Card), and is connected to the LAN 500 so that various information can be exchanged by the upper protocol by the exchange of the TCP / IP protocol by the CPU 2 on the LAN protocol. It is for making.

  The communication control unit 12 is connected to the PSTN 200 via the NCU unit 13 and controls communication with the counterpart communication terminal. The communication control unit 12 controls the NCU unit 13 to detect a ringing voltage pulse detected by the NCU unit 13, a DTMF signal, a tone signal, and a call at the time of transmission. Further, the communication control unit 12 has a modem, and demodulates reception data (modulated) received from the counterpart communication terminal, or conversely modulates and transmits transmission data at the time of transmission. . Specifically, ITU-T recommendation T.I. A low-speed modem function (V.21 modem) for exchanging G3 facsimile control signals based on G.30 and a high-speed modem function mainly for exchanging document image data. 17, V.R. 33, V.R. 34, V.R. 29, V.R. It has 27ter modem functions.

  The NCU unit 13 is connected to the PSTN 200, and closes the line and detects a call signal (ringing).

  The system bus 14 is a signal line composed of a data bus, an address bus, a control bus, an interrupt signal line, and the like for the above units to exchange data.

  HTTP is an abbreviation of “Hyper Text Transfer Protocol”, and is a protocol for realizing a so-called World Wide Web (WWW). Normally, it is exchanged over TCP (port number: 80). The browser designates processing to the server by a command such as GET or POST, and an HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) file or an image file is sent from the server as a response.

  There is a version of HTTP as a protocol, and many browsers still support only up to 1.0 (RFC1945). The latest version is 1.1 (RFC2616). In 1.1 (RFC2616), many extensions have been made to the command, response itself, and format. By exchanging commands and responses using the HTTP protocol, the PC 101a and the like can browse the HTML file in the server from the browser software installed therein.

  XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a W3C (WWW technology standardization body) recommendation (Recommendation), which is a simplified version of SGML (ISO / IEC 8879: 1986) and compatible with the Internet. Can be used. Another feature is that data and processing (layout (design)) can be described separately. Communication device information such as communication history can be provided in the form of an XML file.

  An example of XML data is shown in FIG.

  Now, let's talk about RSS. RSS (Rich Site Summary) is an XML format for describing and distributing the outline of a site. In short, it is interpreted as a text file that simply marks up the structure of a document. it can. XML is not something that humans read directly, but data that can be applied in various ways by the program's interpretation, that is, metadata. Documents written according to the RSS format are called RSS documents or RSS feeds. The specifications of RSS are standardized by various companies and organizations. If the new arrival information of different sites and the format of the data are unified, the person who creates the program only has to interpret the data according to the rule, so there is an advantage that the data can be easily used for secondary use.

  RSS documents are also described as XML documents. A typical application that uses RSS documents is an RSS reader that reads RSS documents from multiple sites and displays new information across the site.

  FOAF is an abbreviation for “the 'Friend of a Friend' vocabulary”. It is a method for publishing and sharing information about people such as their own information and friends in a standardized data format. ) It is a feature that it can express not only information but also "connection" with other people (other devices), and in the best mode for carrying out the present invention, not the relationship between people, It is expressed by replacing it with the relationship between the network communication device and the network communication device.

The URL is specified as follows (for get).
"Http://133.139.61.111/web/guest/en/websys/webArch/foaf.xml"

  “Http://133.139.61.111/web” is a communication protocol, and designates either http or https.

“Guest” indicates the user profile, either guest (guest mode, used when personal authentication is not set) or entry (authentication mode, used when personal authentication is set or logged in as an administrator). Is specified.

  “Ja” indicates a language and is a language used for display. Only selectable languages can be specified. Usually, it depends on the language that can be selected on the main unit operation unit.

  “Websys / webArch” indicates a function, communication history is webfax, job history is jobhistory, and the like. Websys / webArch / represents the top page.

  “Foaf.xml” is the FOAF file name.

  FIG. 4 shows an exchange between the network communication apparatus 1 and client software running on the PC 101a or the like.

  The client side issues an information acquisition request using HTTP GET (or POST). The network communication device 1 returns a FOAF file (XML data) as a response.

  As a method of indicating the presence of FOAF data, it can be described in HTML as follows using the link element as in the case of RSS. <link rel = "meta" type = "application / rdf + xml" title = "FOAF" href = "foaf.rdf" />

  FIG. 5 shows the response sequence in that case.

  When a request from the client is received (Yes in determination S101), the GET argument is analyzed (processing S102). If the specified URL is a FOAF file name (Yes in determination S103), FOAF data is generated (processing S105), and a response is returned as XML data (processing S106). If the URL does not exist (No in S103), 404NotFound is returned.

  If FOAF disclosure is not permitted (for example, it is variable by setting items such as SW) (No in S104), 404NotFound is returned.

  FIG. 3 is a sample of FOAF data, and outputs the mail address of the network communication device 1 to the mbox element of the Person domain.

  If the e-mail address is not registered as in the FOAF information element generation sequence of FIG. 6 (No in S201), the FOAF file itself is not output (returns 404NotFound if requested).

  In FIG. 3, the IP address or host name is output to the name element of the Person domain.

  If there is a host name as in the FOAF information element generation sequence of FIG. 6 (Yes in determination S203), the host name is output to the nick element. If there is no host name (No in S203), the nick element is not output.

In addition, the URL of the workplace homepage is output to the workplaceHomepage element of the Person domain in FIG.

  In addition, if there is detailed work information (organization name, etc.), the organization name of the work place and the homepage address of the work are described in the Organization element (used when publishing to a fine level).

  If there is no office as shown in the FOAF information element generation sequence of FIG. 6 (No in S206), the URL of the homepage of the own device is output to the homepage element of the Person domain that does not output the workplaceHomepage element and the Organization element.

  The URL of your homepage is the URL of the page that is treated as the top page externally in the Web function. As shown in the FOAF information element generation sequence in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the own phone number is output to the phone element of the Person domain. As shown in the FOAF information element generation sequence in FIG. 6, when the CSI is not registered (No in S208). Do not output. In FIG. 3, model information is output to the maker element of the Person domain. The model name is output to the name element, the model photo (for example, the URL of the manufacturer's homepage photo) to the description element, the catalog URL to the homepage element, the email address of the inquiry window to the mbox element, etc.

  The display on the display of the operation display unit 7 of the FAOF file shows a state in which the names of the name elements (or nick elements) are connected by a square box as shown in FIG.

  The FOAF is read by inputting the location URL in the display on the display as shown in FIG. If the device has a built-in Web server function, settings can be made in the same way from a Web browser.

  Further, the display can be deleted by selecting a box in the display of FIG. 7 and pressing the “delete” button. It can also be deleted from the knows element of its own FOAF data.

  You can also merge the FOAF data of the displayed device with the knows element of your FOAF data. For example, when “Device B” in FIG. 7 is selected and the “Merge” button is pressed, the information (knows element) of the devices C and D under the device B is directly under the device B as shown in FIG. Get under the machine.

  An example of actual FOAF data merge is shown in FIG.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 10, it is possible to search for a device (another device) that outputs FOAF by specifying and searching the IP address range of the network.

  The screen of FIG. 10 is displayed by pressing the “search condition setting” button in the display of FIG. Search execution is executed by pressing the “Search” button. As a search method, a request is made to a predetermined URL and a response is detected when there is a response. Of these, the method of assigning only the IP address part from 133.139.61.1 to 133.139.61.255 can be applied.

  Or, apply a method to obtain the FOAF URL of the device using a predetermined I / F using SNMP (Simple Network Time Protocol) or Web service (SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)) It may be.

  In addition, the devices found by searching as described above can be automatically displayed as shown in FIG. At that time, it can be automatically merged with the knows element of its own FOAF data.

  FIG. 11 shows the FOAF merge sequence.

  In the figure, when FOAF data is read by automatic search (processing S301), or as shown in FIG. 12, when a URL is specified and read, the device goes to acquire FOAF data by HTTP. If the reading is completed, it is checked whether there is a Person element (determination S302). If there is (Yes in determination S302), the information is merged with the knows element of the FOAF data of the own device (processing S303). Further, it is checked whether or not it has a knows element (determination S304).

  If it exists (Yes in determination S304), the data is copied (merged) as it is to the FOAF data of the own device (processing S305). In the knows element, the resurce element describes the FOAF URL (location) of the device, so that access is made to further acquire FOAF data. The FOAF file is read and the same process is performed (No loop in determination S309). When all the relationships are acquired (No in determination S309), the process ends.

  In this case, it is preferable to provide a restriction such as execution to the third hierarchy level without following infinitely.

  Also, instead of the URL of the home page, the URL that outputs RSS in <foaf: homepage rdf: resource = "http://133.139.61.102/web/guest/ja/websys/webArch/rss.xml" /> You may make it describe.

  Then, the URL is collected and processed as an OPML outline element. An example of an OPML file is shown in FIG.

  OPML is an XML format that has become popular as a method for describing a plurality of RSSs collectively. OPML is one of the XML formats specified in “opml.org”. Basically, as indicated by “Outline Processor Markup Language”, OPML is a data description language for outline processors.

  Also, since the FOAF URL (existing location) of the device is described in the resurce element in the knows element, the URL is collected and described in the xmlurl of the OPML outline element. If the homepage element exists in FOAF, describe it in the htmlurl of the OPML outline element.

  At that time, it is better to divide the information into the FAOF knows elements of the device that you have followed (such as the <outline text = "device A"> section and the <outline text = "device B"> section).

  An example of an OPML file in that case is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 15 shows a sequence when only network communication devices having the same attribute are collected.

  The read FOAF data (process S401) is examined to determine whether there is an Organization element (determination S402). If there is (Yes in judgment S402), if it matches the name element of the Organization element of the FOAF of the own machine (Yes in judgment S403), the process to be merged (S406).

  Further, even if there is no Organization element (No in the determination S403), if there is a workplaceHomepage element (Yes in the determination S404), they are compared (determination S405). As a result, if they match (Yes in determination S405), they become merge targets (processing S406). If neither matches (No in S405), no merge is made.

  Process S406 in the sequence of FIG. 15 may be replaced with a process of additionally displaying in the display of FIG. 7 only when they match in determination S403 or determination S405. In this case, if they do not match, no additional display to the display of FIG. 7 is performed.

  Further, in the case of the same Organization element or workplaceHomepage element as that of the own apparatus, the element to be displayed may be changed depending on conditions such as displaying the information of the mbox element in the display of FIG.

  Although the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above and can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof. .

It is a figure shown about the system configuration | structure containing the network communication apparatus which concerns on the best form for implementing this invention. It is a figure shown about the block configuration of the network communication apparatus which concerns on the best form for implementing this invention. It is an example of XML data and is a diagram showing an example of FOAF data in detail. It is a figure shown about a FOAF information acquisition sequence. It is a flowchart shown about a FOAF information response sequence. It is a flowchart shown about a FOAF information element generation sequence. It is a figure shown about the example of a FOAF display screen (before merge). It is a figure shown about the example of a FOAF display screen (after merging). It is a figure shown about the example of FOAF data merge. It is a figure shown about the example of a search screen. It is a flowchart shown about a FOAF information merge sequence. It is a flowchart shown about the example of a FOAF reading screen. It is a figure shown about the example which bundles RSS information acquired by FOAF by OPML. It is a figure shown about the example which bundles URL of FOAF itself with OPML. It is a flowchart shown about a merge condition process sequence.

Explanation of symbols

1 Network communication device

Claims (9)

In a network communication device connected to a network and capable of exchanging with other devices via the network,
Means for acquiring a predetermined semantic XML document when information held by the client apparatus is requested to be acquired from the client application by an access based on an HTTP protocol from a client application operating on another apparatus via the network;
A means for publishing / sharing information on the device that outputs the RSS format and information on other devices in a standardized data format FOAF;
A network communication device comprising: FOAF client means for reading and acquiring FOAF data of another device.   2. The network communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for merging the FOAF data read by the FOAF client means as “knowings” of the FOAF data held by the own apparatus.   2. The network communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for deleting / editing FOAF data held by the own apparatus.   2. The network communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for searching only other apparatuses that output FOAF information in the network.   5. The network communication device according to claim 4, further comprising means for automatically registering the information obtained by the search as “knowings” in the FOAF data held by the device itself.   3. The network communication apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for acquiring RSS information of another apparatus traced from the merge registered FOAF data and displaying it as FOAF data of the own apparatus.   7. The network communication apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising means for acquiring RSS information of other apparatuses traced from the merge registered FOAF data and collectively displaying the RSS information as OPML data.   2. The network communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for collecting only network communication apparatuses having the same attribute based on the captured FOAF data.   2. The network communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for changing a public element of the FOAF depending on the captured FOAF data depending on whether the attribute is the same or different.

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