JP2009193123A - Network type control system, and device, method and program for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a case where execution of a temporally later generated request is delayed when operation control requests from a plurality of terminals are issued in temporally short intervals, or when the next operation control request is issued when the unexecuted operation control requests pile up. <P>SOLUTION: When a plurality of scripts the execution of which are required are each in an unexecuted state, portions allowing commonization during execution in description contents of the plurality of scripts are extracted. All or part of the plurality of scripts including the portions allowing the commonization is integrated. Alternatively, when the plurality of scripts requested such that they are executed are each in the unexecuted state, portions expected that they reach the same or similar execution results in the description contents of the plurality of scripts are extracted as the portions allowing the commonization during execution. All or part of the plurality of scripts including the portion allowing the commonization is integrated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for optimizing remote control performed between a plurality of computers or processing apparatuses connected by a network, a network type control system using the same, a network type control method, and a network type control program.

  Distributed computer systems that control electronic devices and computers connected via a computer network from terminals are widely used.

  For example, a system that can remotely control an active web camera that has an actuator and can control the direction of imaging is used for monitoring purposes such as buildings, inventory management of goods, and providing information on sightseeing spots. ing.

In these systems, commands and command sequences for performing desired operations are transmitted from a plurality of terminals to devices that can be remotely controlled (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-099332 A

  In this regard, the above-described distributed remote control system has the following problems.

  The problem with the distributed remote control system described above is when operation control requests from a plurality of terminals are issued at short time intervals or when unexecuted operation control requests are accumulated. Further, when an operation control request is issued, the execution of the operation control request generated later in time is delayed.

  This is because the distributed remote control system described above may be designed to accept only operation control requests from a single host computer. In addition, even if it is designed to accept operation control requests from a plurality of host computers, it is only designed to be executed without losing the requested order.

  In view of the above-described problems, there is a technique of reducing communication by a plurality of remote procedures to one time by combining a series of remote procedures from a single client into a new remote procedure. However, this technique is a technique in which only requests from a single client are considered, and requests from a plurality of clients are not considered.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a waiting time until execution of a request that occurs later in time when operation control requests from a plurality of terminals are generated simultaneously or when unexecuted operation control requests are accumulated. It is an object to provide a network type control system, a network type control method, and a network type control program that can be shortened.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a network type control system capable of efficiently executing command execution when operation control requests from a plurality of terminals are simultaneously generated or when unexecuted operation control requests are accumulated. Another object is to provide a network type control method and a network type control program.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a control device that processes a script as a device, when a plurality of scripts requested to be executed are in an unexecuted state, Script analysis means for extracting a part that can be shared at the time of execution, and script integration means for integrating all or a part of a plurality of scripts including the part that can be shared Is provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method for processing a script as a method, and when a plurality of scripts requested to be executed are in an unexecuted state, A script analysis step for extracting a portion that can be shared at the time of execution, and a script integration step for integrating all or some of the plurality of scripts including the portion that can be shared A control method is provided.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, in a control program for processing a script as a program, when a plurality of scripts requested to be executed are in an unexecuted state, A script analysis function for extracting a part that can be shared at the time of execution, and a script integration function for integrating all or part of a plurality of scripts including the part that can be shared A control program characterized by being realized is provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the execution speed in a system in which a plurality of terminals control devices connected via a network only by describing a rule for determining whether or not integration is possible for commands and scripts that can be integrated. Is possible.

  The reason for this is that, in a situation where unexecuted commands remain, the script analysis means and script integration means extract multiple commands that have similar effects or results from command execution and replace them with one command. This is because the number of commands to be executed can be reduced.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 1, the first embodiment of the present invention includes a terminal device 1, a computer network 2, and a computer device 3.

  The terminal device 1 is, for example, a terminal device such as a personal computer (Personal Computer), a personal portable terminal (Personal Digital Assistant), or an in-vehicle navigation system. The computer network 2 is a network that communicates commands, data, and the like, and connects the terminal device 1 and the computer device 3. The computer apparatus 3 is an apparatus having an output function such as a robot or a web camera.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration of the computer apparatus 3 according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the computer apparatus 3 includes a script receiving unit 31, a script storage unit 32, a script analysis unit 34, a script analysis rule storage unit 33, a script integration unit 35, a script execution unit 36, and an output. A function control unit 37 and an output device 38 are provided.

  The script receiving unit 31 interprets and receives script data from the terminal device 1 connected via the computer network 2. The script data in the present embodiment is data indicating a processing procedure described in a language such as an XML (Extended Markup Language) format that is sent in a method compliant with a communication protocol such as HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol). .

  The script storage unit 32 stores related information of the script data together with the script data. An example of data stored in the script storage unit 32 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the example of this embodiment, one piece of script data and related information of the script data (hereinafter, the related information of the script data is described as “script data related information”) includes a request number 321, a client identification ID 322, A request script main body 323 and a request time 324 are provided. Here, the related information of the script data is merely an example in the present embodiment, and may be replaced with other information. Also, other related information may be included.

  The request number 321 is a number assigned to each set of script data and script data related information. Hereinafter, data obtained by combining script data and script data related information will be referred to as “script data set”.

  The client identification ID 322 is, for example, an IP (Internet Protocol) address that is an identification ID on the network of the terminal, and is allocated independently for each terminal that is the transmission source, and is used to identify the terminal that is the transmission source. Is.

  The request script main body 323 may be script data itself that is a processing procedure sent from the terminal device 1 or may be a link to a file in which the script data is stored.

  The request time 324 represents the time when the script data, which is a processing procedure, is sent from the terminal device 1. The request time 324 may be transmitted by adding time data to the script data on the terminal device 1 side, decoded by the script storage unit via the script receiving unit 31, and stored as time data.

  In another case, the request time 324 may only be sent from the terminal device 1 as script data, which is a processing procedure. In this case, the time at which the script data is received in either the script receiving unit 31 or the script storage unit 32 is set as time data.

  The method of giving these two request times 324 is preferably the former method when the data transmission time variation in the computer network 2 is large. On the other hand, if the data transmission time variation in the computer network 2 is not large, any method may be used.

  Further, the script storage unit 32 reconfigures a set of stored script data sets according to instructions from the script integration unit 35. Although a specific detailed operation will be described later, the script data set that is the target of the script data integrated in the script integration unit 35 is deleted.

  The script analysis unit 34 applies the script analysis rules stored in the script analysis rule storage unit 33 to all script data sets stored in the script storage unit 32, and extracts a script data set that conforms to the rules. To do.

  The script analysis rule storage unit 33 is a part in which script analysis rules are stored.

  The script execution unit 36 has a function of executing a script. The execution result of the script execution unit 36 is output to the outside through the network 2 or transmitted to the output function control unit 37. The output function control unit 37 has a function of controlling the output of the transmitted information. The script execution result is output from the output device 38 under the control of the output function control unit 37.

  Next, details of the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 2 and the flowchart of FIG.

  Data including script data transmitted from the terminal device 1 through the computer network 2 is received by the script receiving unit 31. The script receiving unit 31 extracts the ID for identifying the terminal device 1 that is the transmission source, the time when the script is transmitted or received, and the script data in a separated form, and passes them to the script storage unit 32. The script storage unit 32 stores the transferred script data and script data related information in a format that can be distinguished from the script data set that has already been stored. The most common format for distinguishing is a format in which integer numbers are assigned in ascending order from the oldest time received by the script storage unit 32. However, as long as the script data and the set of script data related information can be distinguished from each other, other formats may be used.

  The script analysis unit 34 performs the following process on the script data set stored in the script storage unit 32 at a preset time interval. This process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, it is checked whether or not processing for determining whether or not all script data sets stored in the script storage unit 32 conform to the script analysis rule has been performed (step A1). As a result of checking in step A1, if all script data sets have been judged, the process branches to an end step (YES in step A1). On the other hand, if there is an unprocessed script data set as a result of the examination in step A1, the process proceeds to step A2 (NO in step A1).

  Next, the unprocessed script data set having the smallest request number is taken out, and whether or not a replaceable command defined in the replaceable command table of the script analysis rule stored in the script analysis rule storage unit 33 is included. (Step A2).

  If it is determined in step A2 that there is a replaceable command, the process proceeds to step A4 (YES in step A3). On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no replaceable command, the process branches to an end step (NO in step A3).

  Next, the identification ID of the replaceable command and the request number of the request script including the replaceable command are stored (step A4). Of the unprocessed script data sets, the request number having the next smallest request number stored in step A4 is taken out and defined in the script analysis rule substitutable command table stored in the script analysis rule storage unit 33. It is checked whether or not a replaceable command is included (step A5). If included, the process is performed again from step A1 (YES in step A5). On the other hand, when it does not include, it progresses to step A6 (NO of step A5).

  Next, it is determined whether there is an unprocessed replaceable command. If there is an unprocessed replaceable command, the process proceeds to step A7 (YES in step A6). On the other hand, if there is no unprocessable replaceable command, the process branches to an end step (NO in step A6).

  Next, out of the replaceable commands having the same identification ID, a command within the time threshold given in advance is extracted from the command with the earliest request time (step A7).

  In step A7, if a command within the time threshold is extracted, the process proceeds to step A9 (YES in step A7). On the other hand, if a command within the time threshold is not extracted, the process proceeds to step A6 (NO in step A8). .

  Next, a command used as an alternative is calculated from the commands extracted in step A7. Subsequent steps are replaced by using the calculated command parameters (step A9).

  A command having a parameter satisfying a predetermined condition is extracted from the command parameters calculated in step A9 (step A10).

  Of the commands extracted in step A10, only the command with the earliest stored time is replaced with the parameter of the command used for substitution extracted in step A7. Then, the remaining commands other than the replaced command among the commands extracted in step A10 are deleted from the storage area (step A11).

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the script analysis rule. The script analysis rule will be described with reference to FIG.

  The tag name “camera direction setting” indicates a command for controlling an operation position for defining a photographing direction of a remotely controlled CCD (Charge Coupled Devices) camera, a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) camera, or the like. Here, the operation position is expressed, for example, as numerical information of an encoder installed as a set with an actuator that changes the shooting direction of the camera. The “time threshold”, which is a child element of the data set defined by the tag “camera direction setting”, is related to the command “camera direction setting” in a time-sequential manner for a plurality of commands issued at different times. It is used as a scale for judging as a candidate that can be integrated. For example, if the absolute value of the time difference between the two commands is less than 30 seconds, which is the value of the “time threshold” element, these two commands are determined as candidates for integration. Become.

  Also, “x direction lower limit value” and “x direction upper limit value” which are child elements of the data set defined by the tag “camera direction setting” were issued at different times with respect to the command “camera direction setting”. A plurality of commands are close to each other in the x direction, and are used as a scale for determining as a integrable candidate. That is, for a certain command “camera direction setting”, if the value of the parameter “x direction value” accompanying this command satisfies the range between “x direction lower limit value” and “x direction upper limit value”, integration is possible. Is judged as a candidate command. Similarly, “y direction lower limit value” and “y direction upper limit value” are related to the command “camera direction setting”, and a plurality of commands issued at different times are close to each other in the y direction position and can be integrated. In other words, for a certain command “camera direction setting”, the parameter “y direction value” associated with this command is set to “y direction lower limit value” and “y direction upper limit value”. If the range between is satisfied, it is determined that the command can be integrated, where “x direction lower limit value” and “x direction upper limit value” range, “y direction lower limit value” and “y direction”. In the definition of the range between the “upper limit value”, the lower limit value and the upper limit value, which are boundary values, may be determined to satisfy the respective boundary values, or may not be satisfied. For example, in the example of Fig. 5, it is determined that the condition is satisfied when the "x direction lower limit value" is 15 degrees and the "x direction value" is 15 degrees. A determination method of determining whether or not the condition is satisfied may be used.

  For example, in the script analysis rule of FIG. 5, the script analysis unit 34 sets the “time threshold” based on the issuance time, the x-direction position, and the y-direction position of the unexecuted “camera direction setting” command issued at the earliest time. Used as a reference for one or more “camera direction setting” commands that satisfy all the conditions of “x direction lower limit value”, “x direction upper limit value”, “y direction lower limit value”, and “y direction lower limit value” All commands including an unexecuted “camera direction setting” command issued at the earliest time are integrated into a command calculated by a method described by a tag <replacement method>. In the example of this embodiment, an intermediate value is used as the replacement method. Specifically, as an integrated command, the numerical values at the x-direction position and y-direction position of all the corresponding commands are arranged in order from the largest value and counted from the largest value. Are respectively used as the x-direction position and the y-direction position.

  In the example described here, commands that are determined to be integration candidates have the same command name, and the parameters of the command have similar values. However, an essential criterion for determining whether or not to be an integration candidate is not the identity of the command name or whether the parameter values are approximate, but the effect of executing the command or command sequence is close. In this regard, a description will be given of a determination process shown in FIG. 6 in which the effect of executing a command or command sequence is close using script rules different from those in FIG.

  In the example of FIG. 6, in addition to the rule of FIG. 5, as a command having the content of photographing the object A, a command of photographing an object and a parameter given with the object A as a target are given as judgment rules. Is defined. Here, the instruction having the content of photographing the object A is compared with “camera direction setting”. The former is not a command but a macro or library corresponding to a complex of commands for shooting a camera toward an object. On the other hand, the latter is just a command. Thus, the two differ in description level and operation content. However, in the instruction having the content of photographing the object A, if the operation of pointing the camera in the direction of the object A that is a part of the operation leads to an execution result similar to “camera direction setting”, these The two commands can be integrated.

  The rule in FIG. 6 is an example added to the script analysis rule based on the determination that the instruction having the content of photographing the object A has an effect similar to “camera direction setting”. That is, as in this example, not only the parameters with the same command name but approximate parameters, even if different command names, macro names, and library names can be expected to have the same or similar effect at runtime Can be defined and integrated into script analysis rules.

  Further, the description so far has been made as to whether or not the unexecuted command can be integrated at a certain point in time. In this regard, among commands that are not executed at a certain point in time, it is not necessary to execute a command that can be interpreted that the effect expected as a result of execution is the same as or similar to the state at that point. This is because, in the above description, the integration candidate determination process is performed for an unexecuted command at a certain point in time, whereas an already executed command and an unexecuted command that lead to a state at a certain point are combined. This can be realized by changing the processing to determine the integration candidate as a target. In this case, as a result of integrating the command that has been executed and the command that has not been executed at that time, the executed command is selected as the integrated command.

  FIG. 7 is an example of a result obtained by performing processing related to the time threshold in the processing of the script analysis unit 34 on a specific script data set. In this example, “Script_A1.xml”, “Script_A2.xml”, “Script_A3” are obtained as a result of performing processing related to the time threshold for the commands of request numbers 1 to 9 which are unexecuted commands stored in the script storage unit. Five commands of “.xml”, “Script_A4.xml”, and “Script_A5.xml” are extracted as command candidates that can be integrated.

  FIG. 8 shows a processing result of a process performed subsequent to the process shown in FIG. 7 in the process of the script analysis unit 34. In this example, the five commands “Script_A1.xml”, “Script_A2.xml”, “Script_A3.xml”, “Script_A4.xml”, and “Script_A5.xml”, which are the processing results shown in FIG. 7, can be integrated. For the command candidates, “Script_A2.xml”, which is an intermediate value, is adopted as an integrated command in accordance with the script rule of FIG.

  FIG. 9 shows the state of the script storage unit before and after the integration when several (five in this figure) script data sets are integrated by the script integration unit 35. In this example, in the state before the integration, the commands of request numbers 1 to 9 are stored as unexecuted commands. However, by the integration, “Script_A1.xml”, “Script_A2.xml”, “Script_A3.xml” are stored. , “Script_A4.xml”, “Script_A5.xml” are integrated into one command “Script_A2.xml”, and in the state after the integration, commands with request numbers 1 to 5 are executed as unexecuted commands. Indicates a change to the stored state.

[Other Embodiments of the Invention]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 10, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the script integration UI confirmation unit 39 is provided between the script analysis unit 34 and the script integration unit 36 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. It differs in that it has been added. The script integration UI confirmation unit 39 inquires of the terminal that has transmitted the script to be integrated or the operator of the terminal about whether or not the contents of the integration processing analyzed by the script analysis unit 34 can be executed.

  One example of a specific inquiry method is to change the request script sent by the operator via the terminal and the change determined by the script analysis unit while displaying the text on a separate window on the computer screen. There is a way to ask if you can. As a method for asking a question, there are a method of displaying the contents of a question as text on a computer screen, or asking a question by voice output using a voice synthesis function via a speaker. In addition, as a method of obtaining an answer from the operator, a method of inputting “Yes” or “No” from the keyboard, or a button display of “Yes” or “No” displayed on the screen by a pointing device or the like. There is a method of having a user select, or a method in which an operator utters a voice corresponding to the meanings of “Yes” and “No” and inputs the voice using a voice recognition function built in the computer.

  By implementing the embodiment of the present invention described above, it is possible to control a device in which a plurality of terminals are connected via a network simply by describing a rule for determining whether or not integration is possible for commands and scripts that can be integrated. It becomes possible to improve the execution speed in the system.

  In addition, it is possible to avoid performing script integration that does not conform to the user's intention by modifying the embodiment as in other embodiments of the invention.

  Note that the network type control system and the computer apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention can be realized by hardware, software, or a combination thereof.

It is a figure showing the basic composition of the embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data stored in a script memory | storage part. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a script structure rule. It is a figure which shows an example of a script structure rule. It is a figure which shows an example of a process of a script analysis part. It is a figure which shows an example of a process of a script integration part. It is a figure which shows an example of the change of the stored content of a script memory | storage part. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Terminal apparatus 2 Computer network 3 Control apparatus 31 Script receiving part 32 Script memory | storage part 33 Script analysis rule storage part 34 Script analysis part 35 Script integration part 36 Script execution part 37 Output function control part 38 Output device 39 Script integration availability confirmation UI part 71 Script storage unit storage data 72 Script analysis rule data 73 Script analysis unit output data 81 Script integration unit output data 321 Script storage data element ID (request number)
322 Client ID
323 Request script body 324 Request time

Claims (21)

A control device for processing a script,
Script analysis means for extracting a portion that can be shared at the time of execution in the description contents of the plurality of scripts when a plurality of scripts requested to be executed are in an unexecuted state;
Script integration means for integrating all or a part of a plurality of scripts including the portion that can be shared;
A control device comprising: A control device for processing a script,
When multiple scripts requested to be executed are in an unexecuted state, it is possible to share a part that is expected to reach the same or similar execution result in the description contents of multiple scripts at the time of execution. Script analysis means to extract as possible parts,
Script integration means for integrating all or a part of a plurality of scripts including the portion that can be shared;
A control device comprising: The control device according to claim 1 or 2,
A control apparatus characterized in that the script analysis means defines an analysis rule capable of describing a script, and analyzes the script using the analysis rule. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control device is connected to a network.
The control device according to claim 1, wherein the script requested to be executed is supplied via the network. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The script analysis unit uses position information of a control target device. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
In the script analysis means, the control device uses information on a time at which a script transmission source transmits a script or a time at which a control device on the receiving side receives a script. A control system comprising at least one terminal that makes a script execution request and the control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 connected to the terminal via a network,
Control that the control device confirms whether or not script integration can be performed using the script integration result derived by the script analysis unit with a terminal that has made a script request used for integration. system. A control method for processing a script,
A script analysis step for extracting a portion that can be shared at the time of execution in the description contents of the plurality of scripts when the plurality of scripts requested to be executed are in an unexecuted state;
A script integration step of integrating all or a part of a plurality of scripts including the portion that can be shared;
A control method comprising: A control method for processing a script,
When multiple scripts requested to be executed are in an unexecuted state, it is possible to share a part that is expected to reach the same or similar execution result in the description contents of multiple scripts at the time of execution. Possible part of the script analysis step to extract,
A script integration step of integrating all or a part of a plurality of scripts including the portion that can be shared;
A control method comprising: The control method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein
A control method characterized in that, in the script analysis step, an analysis rule capable of describing a script is determined, and the script is analyzed using the analysis rule. The control method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the control method is connected to a network.
The control method according to claim 1, wherein the script requested to be executed is supplied via the network. A control method according to any one of claims 8 to 11,
In the script analysis step, position information of a control target device is used. The control method according to any one of claims 8 to 12,
In the script analysis step, a control method is characterized in that information on a time at which a script transmission source transmits a script or a time at which a control method on the receiving side receives a script is used. A control method in a control system, comprising: at least one terminal that makes a script execution request; and a control device that performs the control method according to any one of claims 8 to 13 connected to the terminal via a network. There,
Control that the control device confirms whether or not script integration is possible using the script integration result derived in the script analysis step with the terminal that has made the script request used for integration Method. A control program for processing a script,
A script analysis function for extracting a portion that can be shared at the time of execution in the description contents of a plurality of scripts when a plurality of scripts requested to be executed are in an unexecuted state;
A script integration function for integrating all or a part of a plurality of scripts including the portion that can be shared,
A control program for causing a computer to realize the above. A control program for processing a script,
When multiple scripts requested to be executed are in an unexecuted state, it is possible to share a part that is expected to reach the same or similar execution result in the description contents of multiple scripts at the time of execution. Possible part of the script analysis function to extract,
A script integration function for integrating all or a part of a plurality of scripts including the portion that can be shared,
A control program for causing a computer to realize the above. The control program according to claim 15 or 16,
In the script analysis function, an analysis rule capable of describing a script is defined, and a script is analyzed using the analysis rule. The control program according to any one of claims 15 to 17, connected to a network.
The control program characterized in that the script requested to be executed is supplied via the network. A control program according to any one of claims 15 to 18,
In the script analysis function, position information of a control target device is used. A control program according to any one of claims 15 to 19,
In the script analysis function, a control program using information on a time at which a script transmission source transmits a script or a time at which a control program on the receiving side receives a script. 21. A control program in a control system, comprising: at least one terminal that makes a script execution request; and a control device incorporating the control program according to any one of claims 15 to 20 connected to the terminal via a network. Because
The computer further has a function of confirming with the terminal that made the script request used for the integration whether the script can be integrated using the script integration result derived by the script analysis function in the control device. A control program characterized by causing

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