JP2010160748A - Network controller and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a UPnP control point to discover and utilize a UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) device which is not started up, in a UPnP network. <P>SOLUTION: A network controller 3-a receives the device type of a retrieval object from a cooperation source terminal device 1 which is connected to a LAN 6, and when application description information in which the device type is described is held, the network controller 3-a returns a retrieval response in which the path information of the application description information is described. Then, when a description request is received in response to the retrieval response, a UPnP device application 5-1-a to be specified by the path information included in the request is started up, and the request of device description information is transmitted to a device application execution means 51-1-a for executing the started-up UPnP device application 5-1-a to notify the cooperation source terminal device 1 of the returned device description information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a network control apparatus and a computer program, and more particularly to a network control apparatus and a computer program for controlling communication between a UPnP control point and a UPnP device that operate based on a UPnP (Universal Plug & Play) protocol.

  With the spread of broadband networks in recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the way to connect home personal computers (hereinafter referred to as “PCs”) and various information devices to the Internet to acquire and enjoy various contents such as video, audio, and applications. It is spreading. In addition, devices that support network connections are increasing in the home, so a LAN (Local Area Network) is built in the home and content and information are shared between devices in the home. Things are getting common.

  For example, UPnP listed in Non-Patent Document 1 defines an interconnection protocol for using a plurality of devices and programs in cooperation, and automatically discovers various functions connected to the LAN. Other devices and programs above can use these functions in cooperation. In UPnP, devices and programs that discover and use devices that can be linked are called UPnP control points, and devices and programs that are linked to provide various functions are called UPnP devices. As an example of UPnP cooperation, a media server UPnP device that stores AV (Audio Video) content and operates as a content server, and a media renderer UPnP device that has a function of displaying AV content exist on the LAN, and a UPnP control point For example, the user can use the content that the user likes on the media server by displaying it on the media renderer.

  On the other hand, in Japan, BS (Broadcasting Satellite) digital broadcasting and terrestrial digital broadcasting have already been started, and televisions and receivers that support digital broadcasting are also widespread. Digital broadcasting employs a digital data multiplexing method based on MPEG-2 Systems of Non-Patent Document 2, and various information in addition to video and audio is digitized to obtain MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) -2 TS (Transformer). Port stream) content is transmitted. Digital broadcasting also provides a service that provides various character information such as news and weather and interactive services called data broadcasting. Data broadcasting is multiplexed into MPEG-2 TS by the DSM-CC (Digital Storage Media Command and Control) data carousel system of Non-Patent Document 3. The data broadcast content currently being broadcast is described by the BML (Broadcast Markup Language) system defined by Non-Patent Document 4.

  The current BML system is a presentation engine type execution environment in which BML content encoded by an XML (extensible markup language) based description language is presented by a browser. On the other hand, an execution environment in which data broadcast content is transmitted as a computer program and the transmitted computer program is executed by a receiver is called an application execution engine. The application execution engine type data broadcasting system is also defined in European and American countries, including the Japanese ARIB STD-B23, the so-called ARIB-J system (Non-Patent Document 5).

  In the ARIB-J system, an application is realized by an API (Application Program Interface) based on Java (registered trademark) (Non-Patent Document 6, Non-Patent Document 7). In order to create data broadcast content as a Java (registered trademark) program, it is also expected to provide a higher level of service than the conventional BML method. For example, the network API (Application Program Interface) of Java (registered trademark) can be used to produce ARIB-J data broadcast content corresponding to the network.

  By using UPnP technology for ARIB-J data broadcast content, the application sent by the broadcast being executed on the broadcast receiver and the functions of various digital devices connected to the home LAN are linked. Thus, a new broadcasting service that has never existed can be realized. As long as communication corresponding to the UPnP protocol is possible, the function to be linked may be configured as dedicated hardware or an application installed in a personal computer as a general-purpose device. When realized as a general-purpose device PC application, it is possible to link new functions simply by acquiring and installing various applications on the Internet etc. is there.

  For example, two personal computers are connected on the LAN, and a UPnP device application having a transcoding function of AV contents (conversion of MPEG-2 format from broadcast to MPEG-4 format) is installed on personal computer A. It is assumed that a UPnP device application having a function of displaying content encoded in the MPEG-4 format is installed in the personal computer B. When an ARIB-J data broadcasting application to be broadcast is provided with a UPnP control point function and a transcoding function and a display function exist in the home, the ARIB-J data broadcasting application links these functions to The MPEG-2 format sent by broadcasting with the code function can be converted into the MPEG-4 format and reproduced by the display function on the personal computer A capable of displaying MPEG-4. As in this example, when various functions are linked from the ARIB-J data broadcasting application, the UPnP device to be linked must be activated in advance so that it reacts to the UPnP search operation. When the UPnP device is realized as an application of a personal computer, it is necessary to start an application that provides each function in advance. When the types of UPnP devices to be linked that operate as PC applications increase, all applications that may be used are always started together with the PC startup, because the CPU (central processing unit) load on the PC Resources such as memory consumption are consumed wastefully. On the other hand, it is a burden on the user to activate only the application for the UPnP device that is necessary in consideration of the cooperation function that the user wants to use.

  In the method described in Patent Document 1, the proxy function acting as a proxy for the UPnP device manages the transition to and recovery from the UPnP device power saving mode, and only the specific service providing device that has shifted to the power saving mode is quickly and normally operated. The UPnP device is used without changing to the alive state at all times by transitioning to the alive state where the function processing can be executed.

JP 2004-34792 A

UPnP Forum, Universal Plug and Play Device Architecture 1.0 (2008-04), [Searched on December 17, 2008], Internet <URL: http://www.UPnP.org/> ISO / IEC 13818-1: 2007, “Information technology-Generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information: Systems” ISO / IEC 13818-6: 1998, “Information technology-Generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information-Part 6: Extensions for DSM-CC” The Japan Radio Industry Association, “Data Broadcast Coding and Transmission Methods in Digital Broadcasting”, ARIB STD-B24 5.2 Edition, June 6, 2008 Japan Radio Industry Association, “Application Execution Environment for Digital Broadcasting”, ARIB STD-B23 1.1 Edition, February 5, 2004 Sun Microsystems, The Java (registered trademark) Language Specification, Third Edition, [Searched on December 17, 2008], Internet <URL: http://java.sun.com/docs/books/jls/third_edition/html/ j3TOC.html> Sun Microsystems, Java (registered trademark) 2 Platform API Specification, [searched on December 17, 2008], Internet <URL: http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/api/index. html>

In the method of Patent Document 1 described above, a UPnP control point that uses a UPnP device can be used without being aware of the UPnP device's alive state and power-saving state, but the proxy function determines the UPnP device's alive state and power-saving state. In order to control, UPnP devices need to have a special interface to support control from proxy functions.
Furthermore, in the method of Patent Document 1, the proxy function manages only the alive state and the power saving state, and cannot cope with the case where the UPnP device is not activated in the first place.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to allow UPnP control points to discover and use UPnP devices that have not been activated in a UPnP network. To provide a network control device and a computer program.

[1] One aspect of the present invention is a network control device provided in a terminal device connected to a network, the application information holding unit storing device type information of an application program executable by the terminal device, When the device type information transmitted from the cooperation source terminal device connected to the network is received and the received device type information is stored in the application information holding means, the application corresponding to the device type information When a request for using the application program that can be executed by the terminal device is received from the cooperation source terminal device and a communication proxy means for transmitting a signal to be transmitted by the program to the cooperation source terminal device, the application program is Start up And a network control device.
According to the present invention, when receiving a device type from a cooperation source terminal device, the network control device provided in the terminal device in which the application is installed transmits the signal to be transmitted by the device type application on behalf of the device, and the cooperation When an application use request is received from the original terminal device, the application is activated.
As a result, the network control device provided in the terminal device that stores and executes the application program having the UPnP device function transmits the UPnP device search message from the UPnP control point that performs processing in cooperation with the UPnP device function of the application program. When receiving, when the device type included in the received UPnP device search message is stored, the UPnP device response signal to be transmitted by the application program corresponding to the device type is delegated to the UPnP control point. When the request for using the application program is received from the UPnP control point, the application program is started. It can be. Therefore, the UPnP control point can activate and use the application program as necessary even when the application of the UPnP device to be linked is not activated.

[2] One aspect of the present invention is the network control device described above, wherein the communication agent receives the device type information to be searched transmitted from the cooperation source terminal device, and receives the received device type information. Is stored in the application information holding means, the presence response means for returning a search response to the cooperation source terminal device, and the search target when the request for device description information is received in response to the search response. The application program corresponding to the device type information is instructed to start the application program, and the device description information request is transmitted to the application program execution unit that has been started, and returned from the application program execution unit. The device description information is sent back to the cooperation source terminal device. New device description information transmitting means.
According to the present invention, the network control device provided in the terminal device in which the application is mounted receives the search target device type from the cooperation source terminal device, and transmits the search response to be transmitted by the application on behalf of the device. When a request for device description information of an application is received from the cooperation source terminal device in response to the search response, the application is activated, and the device description information acquired from the activated application is returned to the cooperation source terminal device.
Thus, by communicating with a UPnP device that operates as an application on a terminal connected to the network, the UPnP control point that performs processing in cooperation with the function of the UPnP device activates the application of the UPnP device to be linked. Even if not, you can discover and use the application.

[3] Further, one aspect of the present invention is the network control device described above, wherein the application information holding unit stores device description information of the application program that can be executed by the terminal device, and the communication proxy unit Receives the device type information of the search target transmitted from the cooperation source terminal device, and the device description information including the received device type information is stored in the application information holding means, the cooperation source terminal device A presence response means for returning a search response to the device, and when receiving a request for device description information corresponding to the search response, instructing the application activation means to start the application program corresponding to the device description information , The device description information of the application program Device description information transmission means for reading out information from the application information holding means and returning the information to the cooperation source terminal device.
According to the present invention, the network control device provided in the terminal device in which the application is mounted receives the search target device type from the cooperation source terminal device, and transmits the search response to be transmitted by the application on behalf of the device. When a request for device description information of an application is received from the cooperation source terminal device in response to the search response, the application is activated and device description information of the requested application is returned to the cooperation source terminal device.
Thus, by communicating with a UPnP device that operates as an application on a terminal connected to the network, the UPnP control point that performs processing in cooperation with the function of the UPnP device activates the application of the UPnP device to be linked. Even if not, you can discover and use the application.

[4] Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network control apparatus as described above, and when the communication proxy means receives a request for device description information, Then, application specific information corresponding to the device type information to be searched and a resource consumption information notification request are transmitted, and resource consumption information is received from the other network control apparatus in response to the resource consumption information notification request. Resource consumption information receiving means for acquiring resource consumption information relating to the terminal device, the resource consumption information relating to the terminal device, the resource consumption information received from the other network control device, and a predetermined load balancing criterion And the application corresponding to the device type information to be searched Application load balancing means for determining a network control device for starting a program, and when the application load balancing means determines to start the application program in another network control device, It is characterized in that the address of the other network control apparatus is notified to the cooperation source terminal apparatus and the transfer of the request for the device description information is instructed.
According to the present invention, the application is determined so that the load is distributed from the resource consumption information in the terminal device including the own network control device and the other terminal device including the other network control device.
As a result, the network control apparatus can load and start an application that cooperates with the UPnP control point.

[5] Further, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided the above-described network control device that receives application specifying information and a resource consumption information notification request from another network control device connected to the network, and In the terminal device including the network control device, one or both of the resource consumption when the application program specified by the received application specifying information is executed and the current total resource consumption of the terminal device Resource consumption information transmitting means for acquiring information and returning it to the other network control device is further provided.
According to the present invention, the network control device receives a request from another network control device, acquires and returns resource consumption information of the terminal device including the own network control device.
As a result, the network control apparatus can provide information necessary for load balancing and starting an application linked with the UPnP control point.

[6] One aspect of the present invention is the network control device described above, which receives an application list request from another network control device connected to the network, and receives the application information request from the application information holding unit. An application list transmission unit that returns a list of device type information of the executable application program, and a package request for the application program from the other network control device that has transmitted the list of device type information of the application program. And an application package transmitting means for returning the requested package of the application program.
According to the present invention, the network control device transmits a list of applications that can be activated to the other network control device, and returns a package of the application requested by the other network control device.
As a result, an application that is implemented in a terminal device that includes the own network control device but is not implemented in another terminal device that includes another network control device can be implemented in the other terminal device.

[7] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided the network control device described above, wherein an application list request is transmitted to another network control device connected to the network, and the transmitted application list request is responded to. Application list receiving means for receiving a list of device type information of application programs that can be executed by another terminal device including the other network control device, and device type information of the application program received from the other network control device In the list, device type information that is not stored in the application information holding unit is identified, and a package request for an application program corresponding to the identified device type information is transmitted to the other network control device and sent. Application package receiving means for receiving the package of the application program in response to the received package request and mounting the package of the application program on the terminal device is further provided.
According to the present invention, the network control device receives a list of applications that can be activated in the other network control device with respect to another network control device, and includes the own network control device from the received list of applications. When an application that is not installed in the terminal device is specified, the package of the specified application program is received from another network control device and is installed in the terminal device.
As a result, the network control apparatus can acquire an application that is not installed in a terminal apparatus that includes the network control apparatus from another network control apparatus and install the application in the terminal apparatus.

[8] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program for a network control device provided in a terminal device connected to a network, the device type information of an application program executable by the terminal device being an application information holding unit. The device type information transmitted from the cooperation source terminal device connected to the network, and when the received device type information is stored in the application information holding means, the device When a signal to be transmitted by the application program corresponding to type information is transmitted to the cooperation source terminal device, and when a use request for the application program executable by the terminal device is received from the cooperation source terminal device , A computer program characterized by causing a computer to execute a step of starting an application program.
According to the present invention, when receiving a device type from a cooperation source terminal device, the network control device provided in the terminal device in which the application is installed transmits the signal to be transmitted by the device type application on behalf of the device, and the cooperation When an application use request is received from the original terminal device, the application is activated.
As a result, the network control device provided in the terminal device that stores and executes the application program having the UPnP device function transmits the UPnP device search message from the UPnP control point that performs processing in cooperation with the UPnP device function of the application program. When receiving, when the device type included in the received UPnP device search message is stored, the UPnP device response signal to be transmitted by the application program corresponding to the device type is delegated to the UPnP control point. When the request for using the application program is received from the UPnP control point, the application program is started. It can be. Therefore, the UPnP control point can activate and use the application as necessary even when the application of the UPnP device to be linked is not activated.

  According to the present invention, a network system that operates as an application on a terminal connected to a network and communicates with a UPnP device that provides various functions so that a UPnP control point cooperates with the functions of the UPnP device. In this case, if a UPnP device application that is installed on a predetermined terminal and provides a specific function is not used from a UPnP control point, the UPnP device application performs processing without starting the UPnP device application. The UPnP communication to be performed can be delegated to the network control device.

  On the other hand, when the UPnP control point wants to use the UPnP device, the network control apparatus activates the necessary UPnP device, and transfers the UPnP communication processing to the activated UPnP device application. As a result, the UPnP control point can shift to a state where the function provided by the UPnP device application can be used. Furthermore, there is an effect that neither the UPnP control point nor the UPnP device application need to have a communication procedure or function based on the presence of the network control device.

Furthermore, since the UPnP device application that is required is automatically started as described above, there is no need for the user to be aware of the UPnP device application that is required, and all UPnP device applications are started in advance. This has the effect of not causing unnecessary resource consumption as in the case of storage.
Further, when there are a plurality of network control devices on the LAN, the UPnP device application to be activated on each network control device can be determined by arbitrating between the network control devices based on the resource consumption. Therefore, there is an effect that the load is distributed among the terminal devices in which the UPnP device application operates, and efficient use is enabled.

It is a figure which shows the connection structure of the network system by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the terminal device 2 shown in FIG. It is a sequence diagram of the network system shown in FIG. It is a setting example of the message M101 used in step S101 of FIG. It is a setting example of the message M102 used by step S102 of FIG. It is an example of a setting of the message M104 used by step S104 of FIG. It is a setting example of the message M106 used by step S106 of FIG. This is a setting example of the message M107 used in step S107 of FIG. It is a setting example of the message M108 used in step S108 of FIG. It is a setting example of the message M109 used in step S109 of FIG. It is a setting example of the message M110 used by step S110 of FIG. It is a setting example of the message M111 used by step S111 of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the terminal device 2 by 2nd Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of the network system by 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the terminal device 2 by 3rd Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of the network system by 3rd Embodiment. It is a setting example of the message M301 used in step S301 of FIG. It is an example of a setting of message M302-1 used by step S302-1 of FIG. FIG. 17 is a setting example of a message M302-2 used in step S302-2 in FIG. FIG. 17 is a setting example of a message M304 used in step S304 of FIG. FIG. 17 is a setting example of a message M305 used in step S305 of FIG. It is an example of a setting of the message M306 used by FIG.16 S306. FIG. 17 is a setting example of a message M308 used in step S308 of FIG. It is an example of a setting of the message M309 used by step S309 of FIG. FIG. 17 is a setting example of a message M311 used in step S311 of FIG. FIG. 17 is a setting example of a message M312 used in step S312 of FIG. FIG. 17 is a setting example of a message M315 used in step S315 of FIG.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a connection configuration of a network system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the network system is configured by connecting a cooperation source terminal device 1 and a plurality of terminal devices 2 via a LAN (Local Area Network) 6 such as a home network. In the figure, two terminal devices 2 are connected to the LAN 6, but may be one or more than three. The cooperation source terminal device 1 is equipped with a UPnP cooperation application 12 that is an application program for operating a computer as a UPnP (Universal Plug & Play) control point, and includes a cooperation application execution unit 11 that executes the UPnP cooperation application 12. .

  The terminal device 2 is a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “personal computer”) or the like, and is a UPnP device application program 5 (hereinafter referred to simply as “application”) that operates the computer as a UPnP device. Two or more are stored and the UPnP device application 5 can be executed. The terminal device 2 includes a device application execution unit 51 that executes the UPnP device application 5 and a network control device 3 that interoperates with the cooperative application execution unit 11 as a proxy for the device application execution unit 51. A plurality of UPnP device applications 5 are designated as UPnP device applications 5-1, 5-2,..., 5-n, and device application execution means 51 for executing UPnP device applications 5-i (i = 1 to n) is used as the device. Let it be application execution means 51-i.

  Of the two terminal devices 2 shown in FIG. 1, one is a terminal device 2-a and the other is a terminal device 2-b. Then, the network control device 3 included in the terminal device 2-a is defined as the network control device 3-a, and the n installed UPnP device applications 5-i (i = 1 to n) are replaced with the UPnP device applications 5-i. -A, and the device application execution unit 51 that executes the UPnP device application 5-ia is a device application execution unit 51-ia. Similarly, the network control device 3 included in the terminal device 2-b is referred to as a network control device 3-b, and m UPnP device applications 5-i (i = 1 to m) that are installed are referred to as UPnP device applications 5- The device application execution unit 51 that executes the UPnP device application 5-ib is referred to as a device application execution unit 51-ib.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the terminal device 2 according to the present embodiment, in which only functional blocks related to the present invention are extracted and shown. In the figure, the terminal device 2 includes a network control device 3 and application execution means 50.

  The application execution means 50 is realized by a CPU (central processing unit) reading and executing an application stored in a memory. The application execution unit 50 includes one or more device application execution units 51. Each device application execution unit 51-i (i = 1 to n) executes the UPnP device application 5-i and the UPnP device application 5 A storage unit 52-i that stores the application description information 53-i of -i is provided. The application description information 53-i (i = 1 to n) includes data such as the UPnP device description and the UPnP service description of the UPnP device application 5-i. The UPnP device description as device description information describes the device type of the UPnP device application 5 such as a media renderer or AV playback device, and describes physical properties, logical properties, user interface properties, and the like. The The UPnP service description describes the details of the service provided by the UPnP device application 5 as a device described by the UPnP device description. Actions and state information are described. The details of the UPnP device description and the UPnP service description are standardized by the UPnP Council.

  The network control device 3 includes an application information holding unit 30, a network transmitting / receiving unit 32, a communication proxy unit 33, and an application activation unit 34. The application information holding unit 30 is realized by a hard disk device, a semiconductor memory, or the like, and stores the path name of the execution file of each UPnP device application 5-i (i = 1 to n) and application description information 31-i. The application description information 31-i (i = 1 to n) is information of all or part of the application description information 53-i, and at least the device type and urn (Uniform Resource Name) information of the UPnP device application 5-i. It is included.

  The network transmission / reception means 32 transmits / receives data via the LAN 6. The communication agent means 33 receives a message from the cooperation application execution means 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1 to the device application execution means 51, and sends a reply message on behalf of the message. The communication proxy means 33 includes presence response means 331, latest device description information transmission means 332, and presence announcement means 333. The presence response means 331 receives the search target device type from the cooperation application execution means 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1, and the UPnP device application 5 of the search target device type is sent to the same terminal device 2 as the own network control device 3. Returns a response if implemented. The latest device description information transmission unit 332 activates the UPnP device application 5 when receiving a request for device description information for a predetermined UPnP device application 5 from the cooperation application execution unit 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1. The device description information received from the device application execution means 51 that executes the activated UPnP device application 5 is returned. The presence announcement unit 333 transmits the presence announcement received from the device application execution unit 51 to the LAN 6 via the network transmission / reception unit 32. The application activation unit 34 activates the UPnP device application 5 using the execution path information read from the application information holding unit 30. This activation allows the device application execution means 51 to operate.

  Hereinafter, when the terminal device 2 is the terminal device 2-a, "-a" is added to the end of the reference numeral of each part of the terminal device 2, and when the terminal device 2 is the terminal device 2-b, The terminal apparatus 2 is described by adding “−b” to the end of the reference numeral of each part.

Next, the operation procedure of the network system according to the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram of the network system according to the present embodiment, and FIGS. 4 to 12 are diagrams illustrating examples of communication contents corresponding to the UPnP protocol in the operation procedure illustrated in FIG. The communication content is an example for explaining the procedure, and a part of information to be transmitted by the UPnP protocol is omitted.
Hereinafter, the UPnP device application 5 that the cooperation application execution unit 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1 cooperates with will be described as a UPnP device application 5-1-a that is implemented by the terminal device 2-a.

  First, as a premise, the cooperation application execution means 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1 that operates as a UPnP control point, the network control device 3-a that operates on the terminal device 2-a that is a personal computer, and the UPnP device application 5-1-a. And exist. The application information holding unit 30-a of the network control apparatus 3-a stores the UPnP device description in which at least the path name of the execution file of the UPnP device application 5-1-a, the device type, and the urn information are described. It is assumed that various information such as are registered and held in advance.

  Step S101: The cooperative application execution means 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1 transmits a search message M101 to all the terminal devices 2 by multicast in order to search for UPnP devices that can cooperate on the LAN 6. FIG. 4 shows a description example of the search message M101. In FIG. 4, the lines 3 and 3 of the search message M101 describe that the message type is a UPnP M-SEARCH message used as a search message. In the second line, the address of the UPnP control point determined for device search is described. In the fourth line, the search target device type is “urn: schemas-upnp-org: device: T1”. It is described that there is.

  Step S102: The network transmission / reception means 32-a of the network control device 3-a receives the search message M101 and outputs the message to the communication proxy means 33-a. The presence response unit 331-a of the communication proxy unit 33-a reads the device type “urn: schemas-upnp-org: device: T1” to be searched from the search message M101, and reads it to the application information holding unit 30-a. It is searched whether or not the application description information 31-ia (i = 1 to n) in which the device type is described is stored. Here, the application description information 31-1-a is specified. Since the application description information 31-1-a describing the device type to be searched is found, the search response message M102 to be originally transmitted by the device application execution unit 51-1-a is sent to the presence of the communication proxy unit 33-a. The response means 331-a transmits. In the search response message M102, the address of the network control apparatus 3-a is described as the address and port of the UPnP device description acquisition destination (hereinafter simply referred to as "address"). The search response message M102 is transmitted to the cooperation source terminal device 1 via the network transmission / reception unit 32-a.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a description example of the search response message M102. In FIG. 5, the first line of the search response message M102 describes information indicating that the message type is a normal response, and the third line describes the search target device type received in the search message M101. Has been. Also, “LOCATION” on the second line contains path information “http: // addr_NC3-a: aaaa / descriptionAP5-1-a.xml” of the application description information 31-1-a as path information of the UPnP description document. Is described. The address “addr_NC3-a: aaaa” included in this path information is the address of the network control device 3-a. In the fourth line of the search response message M102, urn “uuid: 0001 :: urn: schemas-upnp-org: device: T1” read from the application description information 31-1-a by the communication proxy means 33-a is described. Has been. Note that urn is a combination of a device unique number uuid (Universally Unique Identifier) and a device type, and identifies each UPnP device application 5.

  Step S103: The cooperation application executing means 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1 detects that there is a UPnP device whose device type is “urn: schemas-upnp-org: device: T1” from the received message M102, It is determined to cooperate with the UPnP device application 5-1-a. For example, it is assumed that the cooperative application execution unit 11 operates as a part of the application, and the application requests an operation in cooperation with the UPnP device.

  Step S104: The cooperation application executing means 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1 transmits a description request message M104 to acquire detailed information of the UPnP device application 5-1-a that is the UPnP device to be linked, and UPnP Request a description document. The request destination of the UPnP description document is a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the path information specified by “LOCATION” of the response message M102.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a description example of the description request message M104. In FIG. 6, the first line of the description request message M104 includes a UPnP description document whose message type is specified by “descriptionAP5-1-a.xml” read from “LOCATION” of the search response message M102. Information indicating that the message is for acquisition (execution of the GET method) is described, and in the second line, the address “addr_NC3-a: of the network control device 3-a read from“ LOCATION ”of the response message M102 is described. aaaa "is described.

  Step S105: The network transmission / reception means 32-a of the network control device 3-a receives the description request message M104 and outputs the message to the communication proxy means 33-a. When the latest device description information transmitting unit 332-a of the communication proxy unit 33-a obtains the path information of the requested UPnP description document from the description request message M104, the UPnP description document is transferred to the UPnP description document by the path information. The corresponding UPnP device application is identified as UPnP device application 5-1-a. The latest device description information transmission unit 332-a of the communication proxy unit 33-a instructs the application activation unit 34-a to activate the identified UPnP device application 5-1-a.

  The application activation unit 34-a is a UPnP device installed in the terminal device 2-a based on the execution path information of the UPnP device application 5-1-a stored in the application information holding unit 30-a. Start application 5-1-a. As a result, the device application execution unit 51-1-a that executes the UPnP device application 5-1-a becomes operable.

  Step S106: When the UPnP device application 5-1-a is activated and the device application execution unit 51-1-a becomes operable, the device application execution unit 51-1-a sends an UPnP device presence announcement message (NOTIFY). M106 is transmitted. The UPnP device presence announcement message is a message to be transmitted by the UPnP device upon activation.

  FIG. 7 shows a description example of the presence announcement message M106. In FIG. 7, the first line of the presence announcement message M106 describes that the message type is NOTIFY message, the second line describes the address of the UPnP control point, and the third line contains UPnP. The path information “http: // addr_AP5-1-a: bbbb / descriptionAP5-1-a.xml” of the UPnP description document of the device application 5-1-a is described. The address “addr_AP5-1-a: bbbb” included in this path information is the address of the UPnP device application 5-1-a. The device type is described in the fourth line of the message M106, the fact that the device is activated is described in the fifth line, and the usn of the UPnP device application 5-1-a is described in the sixth line. ing.

  Step S107: Upon receiving the presence announcement message M106, the network transmission / reception unit 32-a of the network control device 3-a outputs the message to the communication proxy unit 33-a. When the latest device description information transmission unit 332-a of the communication proxy unit 33-a detects that the UPnP device application 5-1-a is activated by the presence announcement message M106, it is set in the presence announcement message M106. Based on the information, a description request message M107 is transmitted to the device application execution means 51-1-a to request the latest UPnP device description document.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a description example of the description request message M107. In FIG. 8, the first line of the description request message M107 includes a UPnP description document whose message type is specified by “descriptionAP5-1-a.xml” read from “LOCATION” of the presence announcement message M106. Information indicating that it is a description request message for acquisition is described, and in the second line, the address “addr_AP5-1−” of the UPnP device application 5-1a read from “LOCATION” of the presence announcement message M106 is described. a: bbbb "is described.

  Step S108: Upon receiving the description request message M107, the device application execution unit 51-1-a receives the requested UPnP disk from the application description information 53-1-a stored in the storage unit 52-1-a. The description document is read, and a description request response message M108 in which the read UPnP description document is set is returned.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a description example of the description request response message M108. In FIG. 9, the first line of the description request response message M108 describes information indicating that the message type is a normal response, and the second line describes the description format of the UPnP description document. In the third and subsequent lines, the read UPnP description document is described. In the UPnP description document, when the UPnP device application 5-1 -a is used in cooperation as a UPnP device, the address (URLBase) of the request destination to which the cooperative application execution means 11 as a UPnP control point sends a UPnP action message. ) And information such as a service type (serviceType) and a request destination path (controlURL) for each UPnP service provided by the UPnP device application 5-1-a. In the request destination address (URLBase), the address “http: // addr_AP5-1-a: cccc” of the UPnP device application 5-1-a is set.

  Step S109: Upon receiving the description request response message M108, the network transmitting / receiving unit 32-a of the network control device 3-a outputs the message to the communication proxy unit 33-a. When the latest device description information transmission unit 332-a of the communication proxy unit 33-a acquires the UPnP description document from the description request response message M108 transmitted by the device application execution unit 51-1-a, the acquired UPnP description The document is transmitted as a description request response message M109 that is a response to the description request message M104. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a description example of the description request response message M109. The UPnP description document acquired from the description request response message M108 is described in the third and subsequent lines.

  Step S110: The cooperation application executing means 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1 uses the UPnP description document acquired from the description request response message M109 to cooperate with the UPnP device application 5-1-a such as URLBase, serviceType, and controlURL. Information can be obtained. The cooperative application execution unit 11 instructs the device application execution unit 51-1-a that executes the UPnP device application 5-1-a based on the acquired information to specify a UPnP action according to the UPnP protocol. M110 is transmitted, and device cooperation by UPnP is performed. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a description example of the cooperation message M110. The URLBase acquired from the description response message M108 is described in the second line of the cooperation message M110, and the UPnP action instruction is described in the third and subsequent lines. Is described.

  Step S111: Upon receiving the cooperation message M110, the device application execution means 51-1-a performs the operation instructed by the cooperation application execution means 11 as the UPnP control point described in the cooperation message M110. A response is returned by the cooperation response message M111. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a description example of the cooperation response message M111, and the execution results of the UPnP action are described in the third and subsequent lines.

  The presence announcement unit 333-a of the communication proxy unit 33-a in the network control device 3-a sends the presence announcement message M106 received in step S106 to the link source on the LAN 6 via the network transmission / reception unit 32-a. It transmits to the terminal device 1 and other terminal devices 2.

As described above, even if the UPnP device application 5 is not activated at first, the cooperation application executing means 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1 that operates as a UPnP control point discovers the existence of the UPnP device application 5 and A function provided by executing the application 5, that is, a UPnP service can be used.
As described above, it is possible to cope with the case where the UPnP device application 5 dynamically changes the request destination address each time it is activated.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a network system according to the second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the network control device 3 activates the UPnP device application 5 and transmits the UPnP device description by the device application execution means 51 that executes the activated UPnP device application 5. In the second embodiment, the network control device 3 transmits a UPnP device description. Below, it demonstrates centering around difference with 1st Embodiment.

The connection configuration of the network system of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device 2 of the present embodiment, in which only functional blocks related to the present invention are extracted and shown. In this figure, the same parts as those of the terminal device 2 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. The terminal device 2 shown in FIG. 13 is different from the terminal device 2 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 in that a device description information transmission unit 334 is provided instead of the latest device description information transmission unit 332. is there. In the terminal device 2 of the present embodiment, the application information holding unit 30 stores the UPnP device description of the UPnP device application 5-i as the application description information 31-i (i = 1 to n). . The application description information 53-i only needs to include at least the UPnP service description. The device description information transmission unit 334 reads the latest UPnP device description from the application information holding unit 30 and transmits it to the cooperation application execution unit 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1.

  FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram of the network system according to the present embodiment. The process from step S201 to S206 in the figure is the same as the process from step S101 to S106 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

In step S207, upon receiving the presence announcement message M106, the network transmission / reception unit 32-a of the network control device 3-a outputs the message to the communication proxy unit 33-a. When the device description information transmitting unit 334-a of the communication proxy unit 33-a detects that the UPnP device application 5-1-a has been activated by the presence announcement message M 106, it is stored in the application information holding unit 30-a. The application description information 31-1-a is specified. The device description information transmitting unit 334-a of the communication proxy unit 33-a reads the UPnP device description from the specified application description information 31-1-a, and receives the read UPnP device description in step S204. Sent as a response message to the request request message. This response message is the same as the description request response message M109 shown in FIG.
The processing of steps S208 and S209 is the same as the processing of steps S110 to S111 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

[Third Embodiment]
In the third embodiment, when a collaborative UPnP device application 5 is installed in a plurality of terminal devices 2, the collaborating UPnP device application 5 is determined so that the load is distributed. The connection configuration of the network system of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the terminal device 2 according to the present embodiment, in which only functional blocks related to the present invention are extracted and shown. In this figure, the same parts as those of the terminal device 2 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.
In the figure, the application load distribution means 35 is assigned to any terminal device 2 based on the load state of each terminal device 2 when a UPnP device application 5 of the same device type is mounted on a plurality of terminal devices 2. It is determined whether to activate the mounted UPnP device application 5. The application list receiving means 36 transmits a list of UPnP device applications 5 installed in the terminal device 2 that can start the network control device 3 and is equipped with the network control device 3 to other network control devices 3. Request to do. The application list transmission unit 37 receives a request from another network control device 3 and notifies a list of UPnP device applications 5 installed in the own terminal device 2.

  The resource consumption information receiving unit 38 requests another network control device 3 to notify the resource consumption information to another terminal device 2 in which the other network control device 3 is mounted. The resource consumption information is a resource consumption amount when a predetermined UPnP device application 5 is activated in the terminal device 2 and a current total resource consumption amount in the terminal device 2. The resource consumption information transmitting unit 39 receives a request from another network control device 3 and acquires and notifies the resource consumption information in the own terminal device 2.

  The application package receiving unit 41 requests the other network control device 3 to transmit an application package for installing the UPnP device application 5 that is not installed in the own terminal device 2. The application package transmission unit 42 transmits the application package of the UPnP device application 5 mounted on the own terminal device 2 to another network control device 3.

Next, the operation procedure of the network system according to the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram of the network system according to the present embodiment, and FIGS. 17 to 27 are diagrams showing examples of communication contents corresponding to the UPnP protocol in the operation procedure shown in FIG. The communication content is an example for explaining the procedure, and a part of information to be transmitted by the UPnP protocol is omitted.

  First, as a premise, the cooperation application execution means 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1 operating as a UPnP control point, the network control device 3-a and the UPnP device application 5-1-a operating on the terminal device 2-a, and the terminal It is assumed that there is a network control device 3-b and a UPnP device application 5-1b that operate on the device 2-b. In this embodiment, UPnP device applications 5-1 -a and 5-1 -b belong to the same UPnP device type and provide the same functions. Then, the network control device 3-a sends various information such as the path name of the executable file of the UPnP device application 5-1-a, the UPnP device description, and the UPnP service description to the application holding unit 30-a. The apparatus 3-b holds various information such as the path name of the execution file of the UPnP device application 5-1b, the UPnP device description, and the UPnP service description in advance in the application information holding unit 30-b. Suppose that

  Step S301: The cooperative application executing means 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1 transmits a search message M301 to all the terminal devices 2 by multicast in order to search for UPnP devices that can cooperate on the LAN 6. FIG. 17 shows a description example of the search message M301. The description of the search message M301 is the same as that of the search message M101 shown in FIG.

  Step S302-1: The network transmission / reception means 32-a of the network control device 3-a receives the search message M301 and outputs the message to the communication proxy means 33-a. The presence response means 331-a of the communication proxy means 33-a reads the search target device type “urn: schemas-upnp-org: device: T1” from the search message M301 and reads it to the application information holding means 30-a. It is searched whether or not the application description information 31-ia (i = 1 to n) in which the device type is described is stored. Here, the application description information 31-1-a is specified. Since the application description information 31-1-a in which the device type to be searched is described is found, the search response message M302-1 that should be originally transmitted by the device application execution unit 51-1-a is sent to the communication proxy unit 33-a. The presence response means 331-a transmits. In the search response message M302-1, the address of the network control apparatus 3-a is described as the address and port of the UPnP device description acquisition destination (hereinafter simply referred to as “address”). The search response message M302-1 is transmitted to the cooperation source terminal device 1 via the network transmission / reception unit 32-a.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a description example of the search response message M302-1. The description content of the search message M302-1 is the same as that of the search message M101 shown in FIG.

  Step S302-2: The network control device 3-b performs the same process as in step S302-1. That is, the network transmission / reception unit 32-b of the network control device 3-b receives the search message M301 and outputs the message to the communication proxy unit 33-b. The presence response unit 331-b of the communication proxy unit 33-b reads the device type to be searched from the search message M301, and the application description information 31- in which the read device type is described in the application information holding unit 30-b. A search is performed as to whether i-b (i = 1 to m) is stored. Here, the application description information 31-1-b is specified. Since the application description information 31-1-b describing the device type to be searched is found, the search response message M302-2 that should be transmitted by the device application execution unit 51-1-b is sent to the communication proxy unit 33-b. Is transmitted by the presence response means 331-b. In the search response message M302-2, the address of the network control device 3-b is described as the address of the acquisition destination of the UPnP device description. The search response message M302-2 is transmitted to the cooperation source terminal device 1 via the network transmission / reception means 32-b.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a description example of the search response message M302-2. In FIG. 19, the first and third lines of the search response message M302 are the same as the search message M302-1. In “LOCATION” on the second line, the path information “http: // addr_NC3-b: bbbb / descriptionAP5-1-b.xml” of the application description information 31-1-b is stored as the path information of the UPnP description document. Described. The address “addr_NC3-b: bbbb” included in this path information is the address of the network control device 3-b. In the fourth line of the search response message M302-2, the urn “uuid: 0002 :: urn: schemas-upnp-org: device: T1” read from the application description information 31-1-b by the communication agent 33-b. Is described.

  Step S303: The cooperation application executing means 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1 has the device type determined by the search response message M302-1 received in Step S302-1 and the search response message M302-2 received in Step S302-2. It detects that there are a plurality of UPnP devices with “urn: schemas-upnp-org: device: T1”. The cooperative application execution unit 11 has no special reason to select one, and decides to cooperate with the UPnP device application 5-1-a. For example, the cooperation with the UPnP device application 5 detected in the earliest received search response message may be determined, one of the plurality of received search response messages is randomly selected, and the UPnP device detected in the selected search response message Cooperation with the application 5 may be determined.

  Step S304: The cooperation application executing means 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1 transmits a description request message M304 to obtain detailed information of the UPnP device application 5-1-a that is the UPnP device to be linked, and UPnP Request a description document. The request destination of the UPnP description document is the URL of the path information specified by “LOCATION” of the response message M302-1.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a description example of the description request message M304. The description content of the description request message M304 is the same as that of the description request message M104 shown in FIG.

  Step S305: The network transmission / reception means 32-b of the network control device 3-a receives the description request message M304 and outputs the message to the communication proxy means 33-a. When the latest device description information transmitting unit 332-a of the communication proxy unit 33-a obtains the path information of the requested UPnP description document from the description request message M304, the UPnP description document is transferred to the UPnP description document by the path information. The corresponding UPnP device application is identified as UPnP device application 5-1-a. The latest device description information transmission unit 332-a of the communication proxy unit 33-a instructs the application activation unit 34-a to activate the identified UPnP device application 5-1-a.

  If the application activation unit 34-a recognizes that another network control device 3 (network control device 3-b) exists on the LAN 6, the application load distribution unit 35-a sends the UPnP device application 5- It inquires whether 1-a can be started with load balancing. In UPnP, when a UPnP device is connected to the network, its own address, device type, and the like are notified to devices existing on the network. It is possible to know the existence of For example, the received address of the network control device 3-b and a device type indicating the network control device are recorded in a storage unit (not shown) in association with each other.

  The application load distribution unit 35-a requests the application list reception unit 36-a to obtain a list of applications that can be started from the network control device 3 that is running on the other terminal device 2. The application list receiving unit 36-a transmits an application list request message M305 to the network control device 3-b, and is a UPnP device that is mounted on the terminal device 2-b and can be activated by the network control device 3-b. Request a list of applications 5.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a description example of the application list request message M305. In the example shown in FIG. 21, the HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) protocol is used, and the URL of “http: // addr_NC3-b: cccc / APP_LIST” is specified as the URL, so that the list of UPnP device application 5 is XML (extensible markup). language) is received as a document, but the acquisition method is not limited to this, and information may be acquired by other protocols and description methods. Further, the address and path name of the request destination to the network control device 3-b specified by the application list request message M305 are provided with a mechanism for transmitting / receiving such information between the network control devices 3 in advance. It shall be possible to know the request destination.

  Step S306: The network transmission / reception unit 32-b of the network control device 3-b receives the application list request message M305 and outputs the message to the application list transmission unit 37-b. The application list transmission unit 37-b refers to the application information holding unit 30-b, creates a list of UPnP device applications that the network control apparatus 3-b holds information and can start, It is returned as an application list request response message M306. The application list request response message M306 includes an application name (appName), an application ID (appID), and UPnP device information (<device> of the UPnP device description document) for each of the applications 5-1 -b to 5-mb. Information in tags). These pieces of information are read from the application description information 31-1-b to 31-mb stored in the application information holding unit 30-b.

  FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a description example of the application list request response message M306. In FIG. 22, the first line of the algorithm list request response message M306 describes information indicating that the message type is a normal response, and the second and third lines describe the description format. In the fourth and subsequent lines, a list of application names (appName), application IDs (appID), UPnP device information (deviceType, friendlyName), and the like is described for the applications 5-1 -b to 5-mb.

  Step S307: The network transmitting / receiving unit 32-a of the network control device 3-a receives the application list request response message M306 and outputs the message to the application list receiving unit 36-a. The application list receiving unit 36-a can be activated by the network control device 3-b acquired from the application list request response message M306 as a response to the application load balancing unit 35-a, and is implemented in the terminal device 2-b. Print a list of applications that are running. The application load balancing means 35-a is the same device type as the UPnP device application 5-1-a and has the same function from the device type (deveiceType) set in the received list. -1-b detects that it can be activated by the network control device 3-b.

  Step S308: The application load distribution means 35-a of the network control device 3-a determines the resource consumption amount and the network control device 3-b when the UPnP device application 5-1b is activated on the network control device 3-b. The resource consumption information receiving unit 38-a is requested to inquire the current total resource consumption of the network control device 3-b. Note that the CPU usage rate can be used as the resource consumption. The resource consumption information receiving unit 38-a transmits a resource consumption information notification request message M308 to the network control apparatus 3-b, and the resource consumption of the UPnP device application 5-1b and the network control apparatus 3-b. The current total resource consumption of the terminal device 2-b including

  FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a description example of the resource consumption information notification request message M308. In FIG. 23, the first line of the resource consumption information notification request message M308 describes the application ID of the UPnP device application 5-1b read from the application list request response message M306, and is specified by the application ID. It is described that the message is for acquiring the resource amount of the UPnP device application 5 (execution of the GET method). In the second line, the address of the network control device 3-b is described.

  Step S309: The network transmission / reception unit 32-b of the network control device 3-b receives the resource consumption information notification request message M308 and outputs the message to the resource consumption information transmission unit 39-b. The resource consumption information transmitting unit 39-b acquires the resource consumption amount when the UPnP device application 5-1b is activated from the information held in the application information holding unit 30-b, and the network control device 3- The current total resource consumption in the terminal device 2-b is obtained by referring to the resource consumption information of the terminal device 2-b in which b is operating, and the resource consumption information for the network control device 3-a is obtained from the resource consumption information. The information notification request response message M309 is transmitted. Note that the resource consumption when the UPnP device application 5-1 -b is started is stored in the application information holding unit 30-b by using the resource consumption when the UPnP device application 5-1 -b is started in the past as a history. It can be obtained by averaging the resource consumptions recorded and read from the history.

  FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a description example of the resource consumption information notification request response message M309. In FIG. 24, the current total resource consumption (currentTotal) is described in the fifth line of the resource consumption information notification request response message M309, and the ID (appID of the UPnP device application 5-1b) is described in the seventh line. In the eighth line, the resource consumption (usege) when the UPnP device application 5-1b is activated is described in the eighth line. Here, it is assumed that the resource consumption when starting the UPnP device application 5-1 -b is “usage = 10”, and the current total resource consumption of the terminal device 2-b is “currentTotal = 5”.

  Step S310: The network transmission / reception unit 32-a of the network control device 3-a receives the resource consumption information notification request response message M309 and outputs the message to the resource consumption information reception unit 38-a. The resource consumption information receiving unit 38-a starts up the UPnP device application 5-1b read from the resource consumption information notification request response message M309 as a response to the application load balancing unit 35-a on the terminal device 2-b. And the current total resource consumption of the terminal device 2-b are output.

  The application load distribution means 35-a acquires the resource consumption when starting the UPnP device application 5-1-a from the information held by the network control device 3-a, and the network control device 3-a The current total resource consumption in the terminal device 2-a is acquired with reference to the resource consumption information of the operating terminal device 2-a. Note that the resource consumption when the UPnP device application 5-1-a is activated is stored in the application information holding unit 30-a with the resource consumption when the UPnP device application 5-1-a has been activated in the past as a history. It can be obtained by averaging the resource consumptions recorded and read from the history. Here, it is assumed that the resource consumption when the UPnP device application 5-1 -a is activated is “usage = 15” and the total resource consumption of the terminal device 2-a is “currentTotal = 20”.

  The application load balancing means 35-a uses the resource consumption for the UPnP device application 5-1-a, that is, “usage = 15” and “currentTotal = 20”, and the resource consumption for the UPnP device application 5-1-b. From the amount, that is, “usage = 10” and “currentTotal = 5”, it is determined which of the UPnP device application 5-1 -a and UPnP device application 5-1 -b is to be activated according to a predetermined determination criterion. . This is determined by comprehensively analyzing various types of information, and the determination criteria are not limited. For example, the UPnP device application 5 having the smallest total resource consumption (= “usage” + “currentTotal”) after starting the UPnP device application 5 is selected or the UPnP having the smallest current total resource consumption “currentTotal”. The device application 5 can be selected, or the UPnP device application 5 with the smallest resource consumption “usage” at startup can be selected. Here, the application load distribution unit 35-a activates the UPnP device application 5-1b by the network control apparatus 3-b and determines to distribute the load.

  Step S311: Since the application load distribution means 35-a of the network control apparatus 3-a has decided to start the UPnP device application 5-1b by the network control apparatus 3-b, the application load distribution means 35-a As a response, it is notified that the device application execution means 51-1-a is not activated. In addition, the application load distribution unit 35-a redirects the acquisition destination to the network control device 3-b as a response to the description request message M304 received from the cooperation application execution unit 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1. Return M311. The redirect response message M311 uses an HTTP redirect function, but other protocols may be used for notification of change of the acquisition destination.

  FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a description example of the redirect response message M311. In FIG. 25, the path information “http // addr_NC3-b: bbbb / descriptionAP5-1-b” of the UPnP description document of the UPnP device application 5-1 -b is described in the first line of the redirect response message M311. ing. The address “addr_NC3-b: bbbb” included in this path information is the address of the UPnP device application 5-1-b.

  Step S <b> 312: Upon receiving the redirect response message M <b> 311, the cooperation application executing unit 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1 changes the UPnP description document request destination to the network control device 3-b and transmits the description request message M <b> 312. Then, a UPnP description document is requested again. At this time, since the cooperative application execution unit 11 has already determined the terminal device 2 that starts the UPnP device application 5 in consideration of load distribution, the description request message M312 is instructed to limit load distribution again. Set. Specifically, “X-Redirect-Control: false” is added as an HTTP user-defined header. When “X-Redirect-Control” is “false”, the network control device 3-b does not perform an operation of transferring to another terminal device 2 for load distribution.

  FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a description example of the description request message M312. In FIG. 26, the first line of the description request message M312 contains a UPnP description document whose message type is specified by “descriptionAP5-1-b.xml” acquired from “LOCATION” of the redirect response message M311. Information indicating that it is a message for acquisition (execution of the GET method) is described, and in the second line, the address “addr_NC3-b” of the network control device 3-b read from “LOCATION” of the redirect response message M311 is described. : bbbb "is described. In the third line, contents indicating transfer prohibition are described.

  Step S313: After this procedure, the UPnP device application 5-i to be started becomes the UPnP device application 5-1-b, but the same procedure as that after step S105 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is executed. . Note that the same procedure as that after step S205 in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 14 may be executed.

  In step S311, when the application load distribution unit 35-a of the network control apparatus 3-a determines to start the UPnP device application 5-1-a, the process after step S105 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Follow the same procedure as Note that the same procedure as that after step S205 in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 14 may be executed.

  Even if the UPnP device application 5 is not initially activated as in the present embodiment described above, the cooperative application execution means 11 as a UPnP control point discovers its presence and provides the UPnP control point. That is, a UPnP service can be provided. At this time, when there is a device application execution unit 51-1-a and a UPnP device application 5-1b that provide the same function, an arbitrary determination is made in consideration of the resource consumption of the terminal on which each application operates. Based on the standard, it is possible to start an application on the optimum terminal device 2.

  Note that the above steps S305 to S307 are not executed, and in step S308, the network control device 3-a sends the resource consumption information notification request message in which the device type to be searched is set to another network control device 3, that is, the network. It may be transmitted to the control device 3-b. In step S309, the network control apparatus 3-b searches the application description information 31-1-b to 31-1-m of the application information holding unit 30-b, and matches the UPnP device that matches the search target device. A resource consumption information notification request describing the resource consumption when the identified UPnP device application 5-1b is activated and the current total resource consumption in the terminal device 2-b. Return a response message.

  Further, the application list receiving unit 36 of each network control device 3 sends the above-described application list request message M305 at a predetermined timing, for example, when the network control device 3 is connected to the LAN 6 or periodically. You may make it transmit to the other network control apparatus 3 connected to. Then, the other network control device 3 that has received the application list request message M305 performs the same processing as step S306, and transmits an application list request response message M306.

  After exchanging the application list between the network control devices 3 in this way, the application package receiving means 41 of each network control device 3 that has received the application list request response message receives each of the application list request response messages. The device type of the UPnP device application 5 is collated with the device type described in each application description information 31 stored in the application information holding unit 30. Hereinafter, a case where the network control device 3-a receives an application list request response message from the network control device 3-b will be described as an example.

  When the network control apparatus 3-a does not hold a UPnP device application having the same function as the UPnP device applications 5-1b to 5-mb that can be started in the network control apparatus 3-b, that is, the application When there is no application description information 31-1-a to 31-na in which the same device type is described in the application information holding means 30-a among the device types described in the list request response message, the network control device The 3-a application package receiving unit 41-a sends the device type of the UPnP device application not held by the network control apparatus 3-b or the application name and application of the UPnP device application. It transmits the application package transmission request to set the Deployment ID.

  The network transmission / reception unit 31-b of the network control device 3-b outputs the received application package transmission request to the application package transmission unit 42-b. The application package transmission unit 42-b returns an application package for installing the UPnP device application 5-kb (i = 1 to m) specified by the received device type or application name and application ID. . The network transmission / reception unit 31-a of the network control device 3-a outputs the received application package to the application package reception unit 41-a. The application package receiving unit 41-a installs the received application package on the terminal device 2-a on which the network control device 3-a operates, generates a device application execution unit 51 that executes the new UPnP device application 5, This new UPnP device application 5 is made available. The application package receiving unit 41-a of the network control device 3-a writes the application description information 31 about the UPnP device application 5 installed by the application package in the application information holding unit 30-a. The application description information 31 is included in the application package.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the UPnP control point cooperates with the function of the UPnP device by operating as an application on the personal computer connected to the home network and communicating with the UPnP device that provides various functions. In a network system to be used, if a UPnP device application that is installed on a predetermined personal computer and provides a specific function is not used from a UPnP control point, the UPnP device application is not started. A UPnP communication to be processed by the UPnP device application can be performed by a network control device having a UPnP communication proxy function.

  On the other hand, when the UPnP control point wants to use the UPnP device, the network control apparatus activates the necessary UPnP device, and transfers the UPnP communication processing to the activated UPnP device application. As a result, the UPnP control point can shift to a state where the function provided by the UPnP device application can be used. Furthermore, both the UPnP control point and the UPnP device application have an effect that it is not necessary to newly provide a communication procedure and function based on the existence of a network control device having a UPnP communication proxy function. That is, the UPnP control point communicates with the network control device only with the communication protocol used with the UPnP device application, and the UPnP device application communicates with the network control device with only the communication protocol used with the UPnP control point. Can do.

Furthermore, since the UPnP device application that is required is automatically started as described above, there is no need for the user to be aware of the UPnP device application that is required, and all UPnP device applications are started in advance. This has the effect of not causing unnecessary resource consumption as in the case of storage.
Further, when there are a plurality of network control devices on the LAN, the UPnP device application to be activated on each network control device can be determined by arbitrating between the network control devices based on the resource consumption. Therefore, there is an effect that the load is distributed among the terminal apparatuses on which the UPnP device application operates, and efficient use is enabled.

  Note that the video cooperation source terminal device 1 and the terminal device 2 described above have a computer system therein. The operation processes of the cooperative application execution unit 11 of the cooperation source terminal device 1 and the network control device 3 and the application execution unit 50 of the terminal device 2 are stored in a computer-readable recording medium in the form of a program. The above processing is performed by the computer system reading and executing this program. The computer system here includes a CPU, various memories, an OS, and hardware such as peripheral devices.

Further, the “computer system” includes a homepage providing environment (or display environment) if a WWW system is used.
The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, and a CD-ROM, and a storage device such as a hard disk built in the computer system. Furthermore, the “computer-readable recording medium” dynamically holds a program for a short time like a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In this case, a volatile memory in a computer system serving as a server or a client in that case, and a program that holds a program for a certain period of time are also included. The program may be a program for realizing a part of the functions described above, and may be a program capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cooperation origin terminal device 11 ... Cooperation application execution means 12 ... UPnP cooperation application 2 ... Terminal device 3, 3-a, 3-b ... Network control apparatus 30 ... Application information holding means 32 ... Network transmission / reception means 33 ... Communication proxy means 331 ... Presence response means 332 ... Latest device description information transmission means 333 ... Presence announcement means 334 ... Device description information transmission means 34 ... Application activation means 35 ... Application load distribution means 36 ... Application list reception means 37 ... Application list transmission means 38 ... Resource consumption information receiving means 39 ... Resource consumption information transmitting means 41 ... Application package receiving means 42 ... Application package transmitting means 5 ... UPnP device application 50 ... Application Line unit 51 ... device application executing means 52 ... storage means

Claims (8)

A network control device provided in a terminal device connected to a network,
Application information holding means for storing device type information of an application program executable by the terminal device;
When the device type information transmitted from the cooperation source terminal device connected to the network is received, and the received device type information is stored in the application information holding unit, the device type information corresponding to the device type information Communication proxy means for transmitting a signal to be transmitted by the application program to the cooperation source terminal device;
An application activation unit that activates the application program when a request to use the application program executable on the terminal device is received from the cooperation source terminal device;
A network control apparatus comprising: The communication agent means is:
Presence of receiving search target device type information transmitted from the cooperation source terminal device and returning a search response to the cooperation source terminal device when the received device type information is stored in the application information holding means A response means;
When a request for device description information is received in response to the search response, the application start unit is instructed to start the application program corresponding to the device type information to be searched and the application program started is executed A device description information sending means for sending a device description information request to the means and returning the device description information returned from the execution means of the application program to the cooperation source terminal device;
The network control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: The application information holding unit stores device description information of the application program executable by the terminal device,
The communication agent means is:
When the device type information of the search target transmitted from the cooperation source terminal device is received and the device description information including the received device type information is stored in the application information holding unit, the search is performed in the cooperation source terminal device. Presence response means for returning a response;
When a request for device description information is received in response to the search response, the application start unit is instructed to start the application program corresponding to the device description information, and the device description information of the application program is Device description information transmitting means for reading from the application information holding means and returning it to the link source terminal device;
Comprising
The network control device according to claim 1. When the communication proxy means receives a request for device description information, application specific information corresponding to the device type information to be searched for and resource consumption information notification to other network control devices connected to the network A resource consumption information receiving means for transmitting a request and receiving resource consumption information from the other network control device in response to the resource consumption information notification request;
Obtaining resource consumption information related to the terminal device, the search target based on the resource consumption information related to the terminal device, the resource consumption information received from the other network control device, and a predetermined load balancing criterion Application load balancing means for determining a network control device for starting an application program corresponding to the device type information of
When the application load distribution unit determines that the application program is to be activated in another network control device, the application activation unit notifies the cooperation source terminal device of the address of the other network control device, and the device Direct the transfer of requests for descriptive information,
The network control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The application specifying information and the resource consumption information notification request are received from another network control device connected to the network, and specified by the received application specifying information in the terminal device including the own network control device. Resource consumption information transmitting means for acquiring information on one or both of the resource consumption when the application program is executed and the current total resource consumption of the terminal device and returning it to the other network control device;
The network control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: An application list transmission unit that receives an application list request from another network control device connected to the network, and returns a list of device type information of the application program executable by the terminal device from the application information holding unit;
An application package transmitting means for receiving a package request for the application program from the other network control apparatus that has transmitted a list of device type information of the application program, and returning the requested package of the application program;
The network control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: An application program device that transmits an application list request to another network control device connected to the network, and that can be executed by another terminal device including the other network control device in response to the transmitted application list request An application list receiving means for receiving a list of type information;
A package of an application program corresponding to the identified device type information is identified from the list of device type information of the application program received from the other network control device, specifying device type information not stored in the application information holding means An application package receiving means for transmitting a request to the other network control device, receiving a package of the application program in response to the transmitted package request, and mounting the package on the terminal device;
The network control device according to claim 1, further comprising: A computer program of a network control device provided in a terminal device connected to a network,
Storing device type information of an application program executable on the terminal device in an application information holding unit;
When the device type information transmitted from the cooperation source terminal device connected to the network is received, and the received device type information is stored in the application information holding unit, the device type information corresponding to the device type information Transmitting a signal to be transmitted by the application program to the cooperation source terminal device;
When receiving a use request of the application program executable by the terminal device from the cooperation source terminal device, starting the application program;
A computer program for causing a computer to execute.

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