JP6296178B2 - Apparatus, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention, equipment, information processing method, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are devices that can be installed with an application program to expand functions.

  On the other hand, in recent years, cloud services have attracted attention. If a service related to a device can also be provided as a service provided via a network (for example, a service provided by a Web service or an ASP (Application Service Provider)) as represented by a cloud service, the device The possibility of providing further added value to the users can be expected.

  An application program installed in the device can control the device at an arbitrary timing via an API (Application Program Interface) or the like installed in the device. On the other hand, an application that provides a service provided via a network, such as a cloud service, is placed in an external network environment with respect to a network environment such as an intranet of a company or the like in which a device is installed. . Therefore, when such an application controls a device, it is necessary to transmit a request to the device via a network.

  However, generally, a firewall is installed between an intranet of a company or the like and an external network environment. Therefore, a request from an external network environment is blocked by the firewall.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide a new form of a method for transmitting a request to a device via a network.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-described problem, when the state of the device changes , the device sends a request transmission device connected via a network to information indicating the change in the state, and a change in the state. A request received by the request transmission device asynchronously with the change in state, included in a response returned from the request transmission device with respect to the indicated information, is associated with the device among a plurality of other devices. And a transfer unit for transferring to other devices .

  It is possible to provide a new form of a method for transmitting a request to a device via a network.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the information processing system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the mediation apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of the information processing system in embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating an example of the process sequence of the setting process with respect to a mediation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a service information storage part. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a client information storage part. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating an example of the process sequence of a message transmission process. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a message memory | storage part.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the information processing system 1 of FIG. 1, the intermediary device 20 is communicably connected to the user environment E1 and the service providing environment E2 via a communication network such as a LAN (Local Area Network), an intranet, or the Internet. ing.

  The mediating device 20 is a computer that mediates between the user environment E1 and the service providing environment E2. Hereinafter, the function or service provided by the mediation device 20 is referred to as “mediation service”. For example, the mediation device 20 provides a mediation service as a cloud service on the Internet. Alternatively, the intermediary device 20 may be installed in a company in the user environment E1 like a private cloud. In addition to the cloud service, there are various types of services provided via the network, such as a service provided by a Web service or ASP (Application Service Provider). A typical example of a service provided via a network will be described.

  The service providing environment E2 is a system environment in an organization that provides services via a network. The service providing environment E2 includes a service providing device 30. The service providing apparatus 30 provides a predetermined service realized by cooperating with the device 10 in the user environment E1 via the network. Note that the service providing apparatus 30 may also be installed in the user environment E1 as in the mediation apparatus 20. That is, the service providing environment E2 may be included in the user environment E1.

  The user environment E1 is a system environment or a network environment in a user company of the device 10 or the like. In the user environment E1, a plurality of devices 10 including the device 10a, the device 10b, and the like and the administrator terminal 40 are connected via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The device 10 according to the present embodiment is a multifunction machine that realizes two or more functions of printing, scanning, copying, fax (FAX) communication, and the like with a single casing. However, the device 10 having any one function alone may be used as the device 10. Further, as will be exemplified later, other types of devices may be used as the device 10 as long as the device has a communication function. In the present embodiment, the device 10a and the device 10b have a parent-child relationship or a hierarchical relationship with respect to communication with the mediation device 20. That is, the device 10 serving as a parent (upper layer) also performs communication for the device 10 serving as a child (lower layer). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the device 10a is a parent (hereinafter referred to as “parent device 10a”) and the device 10b is a child (hereinafter referred to as “child device 10b”). The parent device 10a and the child device 10b may be the same type of device or different types of devices. In the case where the parent device 10a and the child device 10b are not distinguished from each other, they are simply referred to as “device 10”.

  The administrator terminal 40 is a terminal used by an administrator user of the device 10 in the user environment E1. Examples of the administrator terminal 40 include a PC (Personal Computer), a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), a tablet-type terminal, a smartphone, or a mobile phone.

  The user environment E1 has a firewall (FW) 50 with an external network. The firewall 50 basically blocks requests from outside the user environment E1. Therefore, when the service providing apparatus 30 wishes to transmit a request to the device 10 in order to cooperate with the device 10, the service providing apparatus 30 cannot directly transmit the request to the device 10. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the transfer of a request from the service providing device 30 to the device 10 is mediated by the mediating device 20.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a device according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the device 10 includes hardware such as a controller 11, a scanner 12, a printer 13, a modem 14, an operation panel 15, a network interface 16, and an SD card slot 17.

  The controller 11 includes a CPU 111, a RAM 112, a ROM 113, an HDD 114, an NVRAM 115, and the like. The ROM 113 stores various programs and data used by the programs. The RAM 112 is used as a storage area for loading a program, a work area for the loaded program, and the like. The CPU 111 realizes various functions by processing a program loaded in the RAM 112. The HDD 114 stores a program and various data used by the program. The NVRAM 115 stores various setting information and the like.

  The scanner 12 is hardware (image reading means) for reading image data from a document. The printer 13 is hardware (printing means) for printing print data on printing paper. The modem 14 is hardware for connecting to a telephone line, and is used to execute transmission / reception of image data by FAX communication. The operation panel 15 is hardware including input means such as buttons for accepting input from the user, display means such as a liquid crystal panel, and the like. The network interface 16 is hardware for connecting to a network such as a LAN (whether wired or wireless). The SD card slot 17 is used for reading a program stored in the SD card 80. That is, in the device 10, not only the program stored in the ROM 113 but also the program stored in the SD card 80 can be loaded into the RAM 112 and executed. The SD card 80 may be replaced by another recording medium (for example, a CD-ROM or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory). That is, the type of recording medium corresponding to the positioning of the SD card 80 is not limited to a predetermined one. In this case, the SD card slot 17 may be replaced by hardware corresponding to the type of recording medium.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the mediation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The intermediary device 20 in FIG. 3 includes a drive device 200, an auxiliary storage device 202, a memory device 203, a CPU 204, and an interface device 205, which are mutually connected by a bus B.

  A program that realizes processing in the mediating apparatus 20 is provided by a recording medium 201 such as a CD-ROM. When the recording medium 201 storing the program is set in the drive device 200, the program is installed from the recording medium 201 to the auxiliary storage device 202 via the drive device 200. However, it is not always necessary to install the program from the recording medium 201, and the program may be downloaded from another computer via a network. The auxiliary storage device 202 stores the installed program and stores necessary files and data.

  The memory device 203 reads the program from the auxiliary storage device 202 and stores it when there is an instruction to start the program. The CPU 204 executes a function related to the mediation device 20 in accordance with a program stored in the memory device 203. The interface device 205 is used as an interface for connecting to a network.

  The service providing apparatus 30 may also have hardware as shown in FIG. Further, the intermediary device 20 and the service providing device 30 may be realized by a single computer. Further, each of the mediation device 20 and the service providing device 30 may be realized by a plurality of computers.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the information processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, each device 10 includes a communication unit 121, a message processing unit 122, and the like. The base unit 10a further includes a sorting unit 123, a transfer unit 124, and the like. Each of these units is realized by processing that one or more programs installed in the device 10 cause the CPU 111 of each device 10 to execute.

  The communication unit 121a of the parent device 10a transmits information notifying the change in the state of the parent device 10a to the mediation device 20. As an example of the change in state, the start or completion of job execution in the parent device 10a, the occurrence of an abnormality, or the like can be given. In addition, transition to the power saving state, return from the power saving state, and the like are examples of changes in the state of the parent device 10a. Hereinafter, information (notification information) notified from the parent device 10a to the mediating apparatus 20 is referred to as an “event”. The event is transmitted to the intermediary device 20 in order to make the service providing device 30 detect a change in the state of the parent device 10a. That is, the service providing apparatus 30 may provide a predetermined service according to a change in the state of the parent device 10a.

  The communication part 121b of the subunit | mobile_unit 10b implement | achieves the function similar to the communication part 121a except the point that a communicating party becomes the main | base station 10a. That is, the event of the child device 10b is transmitted to the communication unit 121a. Therefore, the communication unit 121a transmits not only the event of the parent device 10a but also the event of the child device 10b to the mediation device 20.

  The message processing unit 122 executes a process in response to a process execution request for the device 10 from the service providing apparatus 30. In the present embodiment, a process execution request for the device 10 from the service providing apparatus 30 is referred to as a “message”. There can be a plurality of types of messages from the service providing apparatus 30. Therefore, the message processing unit 122 may be realized by a different program for each message type. That is, the message processing unit 122 may be realized by a plurality of programs.

  A message from the service providing apparatus 30 to the parent device 10a or the child device 10b is received by the communication unit 121a of the parent device 10a as a representative.

  The sorting unit 123 sorts the transfer destination of the message received by the communication unit 121a. This is because the message returned from the intermediary device 20 is not necessarily for the parent device 10a but may be for the child device 10b.

  The transfer unit 124 transfers a message addressed to the child device 10b to the communication unit 121b of the child device 10b.

  The intermediary device 20 includes a portal unit 221, a message receiving unit 222, a transmission unit 223, and the like. Each of these units is realized by processing that one or more programs installed in the intermediary device 20 cause the CPU 204 to execute. The intermediary device 20 also uses a message storage unit 231, a service information storage unit 232, a client information storage unit 233, and the like. Each of these storage units can be realized by using the auxiliary storage device 202 or a storage device connected to the mediation device 20 via a network.

  The portal unit 221 registers setting information for the mediation service. The setting information is stored in the service information storage unit 232 or the client information storage unit 233. The service information storage unit 232 stores information related to services provided by the service providing unit 31. The client information storage unit 233 stores information regarding each device 10. The client information storage unit 233 also stores information indicating the parent-child relationship between the devices 10. The information indicating the parent-child relationship is an example of related information between the devices 10.

  The message receiving unit 222 receives a message from the service providing apparatus 30. That is, the service providing apparatus 30 transmits a message for the device 10 to the message receiving unit 222. The message receiving unit 222 stores the received message in the message storage unit 231 in association with each other.

  The transmission unit 223 receives an event from the device 10 and transfers the event to a preset transmission destination. In response to the reception of the event from the device 10, the transmission unit 223 is addressed to the device 10 among the messages stored in the message storage unit 231, or to the device 10 associated with the device 10 through a parent-child relationship. Is included in the response to the event. That is, a message from the service providing apparatus 30 to the device 10 is transmitted to the device 10 by a response to reception of an event from the device 10. This is because the response to the reception of the event from the device 10 can pass through the firewall 50 of the user environment E1.

  The service providing apparatus 30 includes a service providing unit 31. The service providing unit 31 is realized by processing that one or more programs installed in the service providing apparatus 30 cause the CPU of the service providing apparatus 30 to execute. The service providing unit 31 provides a predetermined service realized by cooperating with the device 10. The service providing unit 31 may be usable in the form of SaaS (Software as a Service).

  Hereinafter, a processing procedure executed in the information processing system 1 will be described. First, the setting process performed for the mediating device 20 in order to receive the mediating service will be described. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of the processing procedure of the setting process for the mediating apparatus.

  In step S <b> 101, the service providing unit 31 requests the portal unit 221 of the mediation apparatus 20 to register service information. Service information refers to information related to services provided by the service providing unit 31. The portal unit 221 registers the received service information in the service information storage unit 232.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the service information storage unit. In FIG. 6, the service information storage unit 232 stores a service name, a service URL, a client list, and the like for each service provided by the service providing unit 31. The service name is service identification information. The service URL is a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for accessing the service. The client list is a list of identification information of the devices 10 that use the service or cooperate with the service. Hereinafter, the identification information of the device 10 is referred to as “machine number”. The machine number may be any information that can identify each device 10 such as a manufacturing number, serial number, MAC address, or IP address.

  The service name and the service URL are information included in the service information registration request from the service providing unit 31. Accordingly, in step S102, the service name and service information are registered.

  On the other hand, an instruction to use the service provided by the service providing unit 31 is input by the administrator user at the administrator terminal 40 asynchronously with the registration of the service information. In the service usage instruction, the name of the service to be used, the machine number of the device 10 linked with the service, and the like are specified. A plurality of aircraft numbers may be designated.

  In response to the input of the service usage instruction, the administrator terminal 40 transmits a service usage request to the portal unit 221 (S111). In the use request, a service name, a machine number, and the like are specified.

  Upon receiving the service use request, the portal unit 221 registers the machine number designated in the use request in the client information storage unit 233 (S112).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the client information storage unit. In FIG. 7, the client information storage unit 233 stores a machine number, a slave machine number, and the like for each device 10. The slave unit number is a unit number of the slave unit of the device 10. In step S104, a record is registered for each machine number designated in the service use request, and the machine number is stored in each record. In the present embodiment, a record is registered for each of the parent device 10a and the child device 10b, and the device number is stored.

  Subsequently, the portal unit 221 registers the machine number specified in the service use request in the service information storage unit 232 in association with the service name specified in the use request (S113). That is, in the service information storage unit 232, one or more machine numbers designated in the use request are stored in the “client list” of the record in which the service name is stored.

  Subsequently, the administrator user inputs a registration instruction for information indicating the parent-child relationship between the devices 10 in the user environment E1 (hereinafter referred to as “parent-child information”) to the administrator terminal 40. The parent-child information is, for example, information including the machine number of the parent machine 10a and the machine number of the child machine 10b. A plurality of slave units may be associated with one master unit. The parent-child relationship may be two generations or more (two or more layers). That is, a slave unit may be further set for the slave unit 10b.

  In response to the parent / child information registration instruction, the administrator terminal 40 transmits a parent / child information registration request to the portal unit 221 (S114). The portal unit 221 registers the received parent-child information in the client information storage unit 233 (S115). Specifically, the device number of the child device 10b is stored in the “child device number” of the record for the parent device 10a. When a child device exists in the child device 10b, the device number of the child device is stored in the “child device number” of the record for the child device 10b. That is, the client information storage unit 233 can recursively store the parent-child relationship over a plurality of generations (a plurality of hierarchies). By registering the parent-child information in the client information storage unit 233, the devices 10 having the parent-child relationship are associated with each other by the parent-child relationship.

  As described above, the correspondence relationship between the service provided by the service providing unit 31 and the device 10 and the parent-child information between the devices 10 are registered in the intermediary device 20. As a result, the mediation service can be used. That is, the message from the service providing unit 31 can be transmitted to the device 10.

  Next, a processing procedure executed to transmit a message from the service providing apparatus 30 to the device 10 will be described. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of a processing procedure of message transmission processing.

  When it is desired to distribute a certain message to the device 10 that uses the service, the service providing unit 31 designates the service name and transmits the message to the message receiving unit 222 of the mediating apparatus 20 (S201). Here, it is assumed that there is no firewall between the intermediary device 202 and the service providing device 30 that blocks a request from the service providing unit 3131.

  When receiving the message, the message receiving unit 222 associates the message with the service name and saves (stores) the message in the message storage unit 231 (S202).

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the message storage unit. As shown in FIG. 9, the message storage unit 231 stores a message and a service name in association with each other. FIG. 9 shows an example in which the message “request 1” is stored in association with the service name “service A”.

  Thereafter, when a change in state occurs in the parent device 10a, either asynchronously or unrelated to the message, the communication unit 121a of the parent device 10a sends the machine number of the parent device 10a together with an event indicating the change in the state of the intermediary device 20. It transmits to the transmission part 223 (S203). An event or the like is transmitted in a request format in the communication protocol. Further, the event to be notified may be limited. That is, instead of notifying events for all state changes, only events required by the service providing unit 31 or the like associated with the device 10 may be notified. The type of event to be notified (type of change in state) may be set in the device 10 when setting the cooperation with the service providing unit 31 or the like.

  In response to the reception of the event and the machine number, the transmission unit 223 transfers the event to the service URL of the record including the machine number in the “client list” in the service information storage unit 232. As a result, the event on the device 10 side is transmitted to the service side. In addition, about this process, illustration is abbreviate | omitted for convenience.

  Subsequently, the transmission unit 223 acquires the slave unit number associated with the machine number received together with the event from the client information storage unit 233 (FIG. 7) (S204, S205). In the present embodiment, the machine number of child machine 10b that is associated with the machine number of parent machine 10a is acquired. If the parent-child relationship spans multiple generations, the machine number of the descendant is acquired recursively.

  Subsequently, the transmission unit 223 has a service name associated with at least one of the acquired slave device number and the device number (hereinafter referred to as “master device number”) received together with the event. Is acquired from the service information storage unit 232 (S206, S207). That is, the service name of the record that includes at least one of the child device number and the parent device number in the “client list” is acquired. There may be a plurality of corresponding service names. Note that the transmission unit 223 stores which service name is acquired based on which machine number, that is, the correspondence between the machine number and the service name.

  Subsequently, the transmission unit 223 acquires, for each acquired service name, a message associated with the service name and stored in the message storage unit 231 (S208, S209). That is, the message transmitted from the service providing unit 31 related to the service name is acquired.

  Subsequently, the transmission unit 223 generates response information in which the acquired message is associated with the machine number associated with the transmission source service name of the message (S210). When a plurality of messages are acquired, a machine number associated with the source service name of the message is associated with each message. In the present embodiment, the service information storage unit 232 associates the machine numbers of the parent device 10a and the child device 10b with the service name related to the message transmitted in step S201. . Therefore, response information in which the body numbers of the parent device 10a and the child device 10b are associated with the message is generated. Further, the parent-child information of the parent device 10a and the child device 10b is also included in the response information.

  Subsequently, the transmission unit 223 returns the generated response information to the communication unit 121a of the parent device 10a as a response to the event in step S203 (S211).

  The communication unit 121 of the parent device 10a requests the classification unit 123 to classify the transfer destination of the message included in the returned response information (S212). The sorting unit 123 sorts the transfer destination for each message included in the response information. The sorting unit 123 transfers the message associated with the device number of the own device (master device 10a) to the message processing unit 122a of the own device (S213). The message processing unit 122a executes processing corresponding to the message. For messages associated with machine numbers other than the own machine, the sorting unit 123 sets the child machine of the parent machine 10a as the transfer destination based on the parent-child information included in the response information. In the present embodiment, the slave unit of the master unit 10a is the slave unit 10b. Therefore, the classification unit 123 requests the transfer unit 124 to transfer the response information by designating the machine number of the child machine 10b (S214). In addition, when there are a plurality of slave units in the master unit 10a and the unit number of each slave unit is included in the response information, the unit number of each of the plurality of slave units is specified and the transfer of the response information is transferred. Requested by the unit 124.

  The transfer unit 124 transfers the response information to the communication unit 121b of the child device 10b related to the designated machine number (S215). The communication unit 121b transfers the message included in the received response information to the message processing unit 122b (S216). In addition, the subunit | mobile_unit 10b may also have the classification | category part 123 and the transfer part 124. FIG. In this case, in response to reception of the response information by the communication unit 121b of the child device 10b, the child device 10b may perform the same processing as steps S213 and S214 in the parent device 10a. When there is a child device in the child device 10b, the transfer unit 124 of the child device 10b may perform the same process as in step S215. That is, when the parent-child relationship extends over a plurality of generations, the message is transferred through a path from the parent to the child and from the child to the grandchild.

  When the parent-child relationship is limited to only two generations (only the parent and the child), the response information transmitted from the transmission unit 223 may not include the parent-child information. This is because the base unit 10a that has received the response information can determine that all the body numbers of the other devices 10 included in the response information are slaves of the own unit.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the presence / absence of a message is inquired along with the transmission of an event has been described, but step S203 may be an inquiry by periodic polling.

  However, according to the present embodiment, in one-way communication between the device 10 and the mediating device 20, an event is notified in the upstream communication from the device 10 to the mediating device 20, and the mediating device 20 transmits the event 1020. A message is transmitted in the downstream communication. Therefore, the notification amount or transmission amount of information per round trip can be increased. As a result, communication between the device 10 and the mediation device 20 can be made efficient.

  In the present embodiment, the example in which the notification destination of the message is specified based on the correspondence information between the service name and the machine number set in advance has been described. May be specified. That is, every time a message is transmitted, the service providing unit 31 may specify a machine number that is a notification destination of the message. In this case, the machine number may be stored in the message storage unit 231 in association with the message instead of the service name. In this embodiment, in view of the fact that the machine number is associated with the service name, the designation of the service name at the time of message transmission may be considered to be the designation of the notification destination of the message. it can.

  The parent-child information may not be registered in advance in the mediation device 20. For example, in step S203, the parent / child information may be transmitted from the device 10 when an inquiry about the presence / absence of a message is made in accordance with an event notification. However, in this case, at least the parent-child information needs to be registered in each device 10 that communicates with the mediation device 20. Therefore, when the parent-child relationship of the device 10 changes frequently, it is considered that it is more advantageous in maintainability if the parent-child information is centrally managed in the intermediary device 20.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the example in which the image forming apparatus is the device 10 has been described. However, if the device 10 has a communication function such as a projector, a digital camera, a mobile phone, or a smartphone capable of network communication, other This type of device 10 may be applied to the present embodiment.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, a message from the service providing unit 31 is returned to the device 10 in a response to the event notification from the device 10. Therefore, the message from the service providing unit 31 can be transmitted to the device 10 across the firewall 50.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, not each device 10 but any device 10 of the plurality of devices 10 acquires not only a message for the own device but also a message for another device. Therefore, compared with the case where polling etc. are performed by each apparatus 10, a network load can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the intermediary device 20 is an example of a request transmission device. The message receiving unit 222 is an example of a receiving unit. The transmission unit 223 is an example of a reply unit. The communication unit 121 is an example of a transmission unit. The message storage unit 231 is an example of a request storage unit. The client information storage unit 233 is an example of a related storage unit.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to such specific embodiment, In the range of the summary of this invention described in the claim, various deformation | transformation・ Change is possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information processing system 10 Apparatus 11 Controller 12 Scanner 13 Printer 14 Modem 15 Operation panel 16 Network interface 17 SD card slot 20 Mediation apparatus 30 Service provision apparatus 31 Service provision part 40 Administrator terminal 50 Firewall 80 SD card 111 CPU
112 RAM
113 ROM
114 HDD
115 NVRAM
121 Communication Unit 122 Message Processing Unit 123 Sorting Unit 124 Transfer Unit 200 Drive Device 201 Recording Medium 202 Auxiliary Storage Device 203 Memory Device 204 CPU
205 Interface device 221 Portal unit 222 Message reception unit 223 Transmission unit 231 Message storage unit 232 Service information storage unit 233 Client information storage unit B bus

JP 2002-342201 A

Claims (15)

Equipment,
When the state of the device changes, a transmission unit that transmits information indicating the change of the state to a request transmission device connected via a network ;
A request received by the request transmission device asynchronously with the change in state , included in a response returned from the request transmission device with respect to the information indicating the change in state , among a plurality of other devices And a transfer unit that transfers to another device associated with the device.   The information indicating the change in state is event information.
The device according to claim 1.   The response includes identification information of a device to which the request is transferred,
  The transfer unit transfers the request to another device related to the identification information included in the response;
The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the above.   The response includes a plurality of requests, and each request includes identification information of a device to which the request is transferred.
The device according to claim 3.   The response includes information associating device identification information with service identification information.
The device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein   Equipment
  When the status of the device changes, a transmission procedure for transmitting information indicating the status change to a request transmission device connected via a network;
  A request received by the request transmission device asynchronously with the change in state, included in a response returned from the request transmission device with respect to the information indicating the change in state, among a plurality of other devices An information processing method for executing a transfer procedure for transferring to another device associated with the device.   The information indicating the change in state is event information.
The information processing method according to claim 6.   The response includes identification information of a device to which the request is transferred,
  The transfer procedure transfers the request to another device related to the identification information included in the response.
The information processing method according to claim 6 or 7,   The response includes a plurality of requests, and each request includes identification information of a device to which the request is transferred.
The information processing method according to claim 8.   The response includes information associating device identification information with service identification information.
The information processing method according to claim 6, wherein the information processing method is an information processing method.   On the equipment,
  When the status of the device changes, a transmission procedure for transmitting information indicating the status change to a request transmission device connected via a network;
  A request received by the request transmission device asynchronously with the change in state, included in a response returned from the request transmission device with respect to the information indicating the change in state, among a plurality of other devices And a transfer procedure for transferring to another device associated with the device.   The information indicating the change in state is event information.
12. The program according to claim 11, wherein:   The response includes identification information of a device to which the request is transferred,
  The transfer procedure transfers the request to another device related to the identification information included in the response.
13. The program according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that:   The response includes a plurality of requests, and each request includes identification information of a device to which the request is transferred.
The program according to claim 13.   The response includes information associating device identification information with service identification information.
The program according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that:

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