Composite service providing system

• US 20040243697A1
• Filed: 05/27/2004
• Published: 12/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Hibino, Masaaki, Fukazawa, Koshi, Otsuka, Naoki
• Granted Patent: US 8,150,907 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1296 Printer job scheduling or printer resource handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A composite service providing system including a plurality of network electronic devices communicatively connected with each other. The plurality of network electronic devices includes electronic devices, each of which is capable of providing at least one service. A plurality of services provided by a plurality of electronic devices are combined to constitute a composite service. The composite service providing system further includes a composite service designating system that designates a composite service to be provided, an electronic device determining system that determines an electronic device that provides each of a plurality of services necessary for providing the composite service designated with the composite service designating system, and a controlling system that control the electronic devices determined by the electronic device determining system to provide the services so that the composite service designated by the designating system is provided.

Claims

1. A composite service providing system including a plurality of network electronic devices communicatively connected with each other, the plurality of network electronic devices including electronic devices each of which is capable of providing at least one service, a plurality of services provided by a plurality of electronic devices being combined to constitute a composite service,

the composite service providing system further including:

a composite service designating system that designates a composite service to be provided;

an electronic device determining system that determines an electronic device that provides each of a plurality of services necessary for providing the composite service designated with the composite service designating system; and

a controlling system that control the electronic devices determined by the electronic device determining system to provide the services so that the composite service designated by the designating system is provided.

2. The composite service providing system according to claim 1, further comprising an electronic device notifying system that notifies each of the electronic devices determined by the electronic device determining system.

3. The composite service providing system according to claim 2,

wherein the composite service is provided as the plurality of services necessary for providing the composite service are executed in a predetermined order;

and

the composite service providing system further includes a usage order notifying system that notifies the predetermined order in which the plurality of services necessary for providing the composite service are executed.

4. The composite service providing system according to claim 3,

further comprising an order storing system that stores the predetermined order of the plurality of services in relation with the composite service, and

wherein the usage order notifying system notifies the order of the plurality of services in accordance with contents of the order storing system.

5. The composite service providing system according to claim 2, further including a location information notifying system that notifies a location of each of the plurality of electronic devices necessary for providing the composite service.

6. The composite service providing system according to claim 5,

further including a location obtaining system that obtains location information of the plurality of electronic devices necessary for providing the composite service;

and

the location information notifying system notifies the locations of the plurality of electronic devices necessary for providing the composite service in accordance with obtained results of the location obtaining system.

7. The composite service providing system according to claim 2, wherein the electronic device includes a service execution notifying system that notifies that the electronic itself executes a service when the electronic device executes the service.

8. The composite service providing system according to claim 2, further including a progress notifying system that notifies a progress of the composite service.

9. The composite service providing system according to claim 8, wherein the composite service designating system and the progress notifying system are implemented in the same electronic device.

10. The composite service providing system according to claim 9,

wherein each of the electronic devices notifies, when it executes a service, a start of execution of the service to the electronic device that is implemented with the composite service designating system and the progress notifying system;

and

the progress notifying system notifies the progress of the composite service in accordance with the notifications by the electronic devices.

11. The composite service providing system according to claim 9,

wherein each of the electronic devices notifies, when a service is finished, an end of execution of the service to the electronic device that is implemented with the composite service designating system and the progress notifying system;

and

the progress notifying system notifies the progress of the composite service in accordance with the notifications by the electronic devices.

12. The composite service providing system according to claim 2, further including a composite service completion notifying system that notifies a completion of the composite service when all the services necessary for providing the composite service are completed.

13. The composite service providing system according to claim 12, further including an error notifying system that notifies that the composite service cannot be completed within a given time period if the services necessary for providing the composite service are not completed within a predetermined time period.

14. The composite service providing system according to claim 1,

further includes a service type obtaining system that obtains, from the electronic devices, a type of a service each of the electronic device is capable of providing:

and

the electronic device determining system determines the electronic devices based on obtained results of the service type obtaining system.

15. The composite service providing system according to claim 1,

wherein predetermined ones of the electronic devices used for providing the composite service are assigned with a same identifier;

and

wherein the electronic device determining system determines the electronic devices that respectively execute the plurality of services from among the electronic devices having the same identifier.

16. The composite service providing system according to claim 15,

further includes a service type obtaining system that obtains, from the electronic devices having the same identifier as the electronic device having the composite service designating system has, a type of a service each of the electronic device is capable of providing;

and

the electronic device determining system determines the electronic devices based on obtained results of the service type obtaining system.

17. The composite service providing system according to claim 16,

wherein each electronic device memorizes an assigned identifier;

and

wherein the service type obtaining system transmits an inquiry including the identifier assigned to the electronic device implemented with the composite service designating system to the plurality of electronic devices, the service type obtaining system receives a reply from each of the electronic devices having the identifier same as that included in the inquiry, the reply including a type of a service the electronic device provides, the service type obtaining system obtaining the service type of each electronic device based on the reply therefrom.

18. The composite service providing system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device determining system determines the electronic devices in accordance with locations of the electronic devices.

19. The composite service providing system according to claim 18,

further including a location obtaining system that obtains locations of the electronic devices,

wherein the electronic device determining system determines the electronic devices in accordance with the obtained results of the location obtaining system.

20. The composite service providing system according to claim 1,

further including a usage condition designating system that designates usage conditions regarding the composite service,

wherein the electronic device determining system determines devices that operate under the usage conditions designated by the usage condition designating system as the electronic devices executing the services.

21. The composite service providing system according to claim 20,

further including:

a capability obtaining system that obtains from electronic devices capability information thereof; and

an operation determining system that determines whether each electronic device is capable of operating under a designated usage condition designated by the usage condition designating system in accordance with the capability information obtained by the capability obtaining system,

wherein the electronic device determining system determines an electronic device in accordance with results of determination by the operation determining system.

22. The composite service providing system according to claim 1,

further comprising a user recognition system that recognizes a user,

wherein the electronic device determining system determines the electronic devices in accordance with the user recognized by the user recognition system.

23. The composite service providing system according to claim 1, further includes an electronic device designating system which is used to designate one of a plurality of electronic devices that are determined by the electronic device determining system to provide a certain service.

24. The composite service providing system according to claim 1, further includes a notifying system that notifies that at least one electronic device that provides at least one of the plurality of services cannot be determined by the electronic device determining system.

25. The composite service providing system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of electronic devices respectively providing the plurality of services are determined by an electronic device determining system provided to a single electronic device.

26. The composite service providing system according to claim 25,

herein the electronic devices provided with the electronic device determining systems include service providing systems, respectively, and

wherein the electronic devices respectively providing the plurality of services are determined such that the electronic devices provided with the electronic device determining systems are selected prior to the other electronic devices.

27. The composite service providing system according to claim 1,

wherein said controlling system includes:

an execution information creating system that creates service execution information in which each of the plurality of services is related to an electronic device determined by the electronic device determining system; and

an execution information transmitting system that transmits the service execution information created by the execution information creating system to the electronic device determined by the electronic device determining system, and

wherein the electronic device that receives the service execution information transmitted by the execution information transmitting system executes the service.

28. The composite service providing system according to claim 27,

wherein the execution information transmitting system is implemented in each electronic device that provides a service, and

wherein the service execution information is transferred to an electronic device providing a first service of the composite service, and then forwardly relayed among the electronic devices providing succeeding services one after another.

29. The composite service providing system according to claim 27, the execution information transmitting system transmits the service execution information to all the electronic devices providing the services constituting the composite service simultaneously.

30. The composite service providing system according to claim 27,

wherein the execution information transmitting system is implemented in each electronic device that provides a service, and

wherein the service execution information is transferred to an electronic device providing a last service of the composite service, and then reversely relayed among the electronic devices providing preceding services one after another.

31. The composite service providing system according to claim 1,

wherein the composite service is provided as a plurality of services necessary for providing the composite service in accordance with a predetermined order;

and

wherein the electronic device providing the service is determined by the electronic device determining system implemented with an electronic device executing a service to be executed immediately before the service.

32. The composite service providing system according to claim 31,

wherein said controlling system includes:

an execution information creating system that creates service execution information including services for which electronic devices have not been determined, and services to be executed; and

an execution information transmitting system that transmits the service execution information created by the execution information creating system to the electronic device determined by the electronic device determining system, and

wherein the electronic device that receives the service execution information transmitted by the execution information transmitting system executes the service.

33. The composite service providing system according to claim 1,

wherein at least one of the plurality of electronic devices provides a scan service.

wherein at least one of the plurality of electronic devices provides a print service, and

wherein the composite service includes a copy service.

34. The composite service providing system according to claim 1,

wherein at least one of the plurality of electronic devices provides a scan service,

wherein at least one of the plurality of electronic devices provides a fax modem service, and

wherein the composite service includes a fax transmission service.

35. The composite service providing system according to claim 1,

wherein at least one of the plurality of electronic devices provides a scan service,

wherein at least one of the plurality of electronic devices provides a storage service, and

wherein the composite service includes an image storing service.

36. An electronic device for a composite service providing system including a plurality of network electronic devices communicatively connected with each other, the plurality of network electronic devices including electronic devices each of which is capable of providing at least one service, a plurality of services provided by a plurality of electronic devices being combined to constitute a composite service, the electronic device comprising:

a composite service designating system that designates a composite service to be provided;

an electronic device determining system that determines an electronic device that provides each of a plurality of services necessary for providing the composite service designated with the composite service designating system; and

a controlling system that control the electronic devices determined by the electronic device determining system to provide the services so that the composite service designated by the designating system is provided.

37. The electronic device according to claim 36, further comprising an electronic device notifying system that notifies each of the electronic devices determined by the electronic device determining system.

38. A computer program product for a computer, the computer program product containing computer accessible instructions which cause the computer to function as an electronic device for a composite service providing system including a plurality of network electronic devices communicatively connected with each other, the plurality of network electronic devices including electronic devices each of which is capable of providing at least one service, a plurality of services provided by a plurality of electronic devices being combined to constitute a composite service, the electronic device including:

a composite service designating system that designates a composite service to be provided;

an electronic device determining system that determines an electronic device that provides each of a plurality of services necessary for providing the composite service designated with the composite service designating system; and

a controlling system that control the electronic devices determined by the electronic device determining system to provide the services so that the composite service designated by the designating system is provided.

39. The computer program product according to claim 38, wherein the instructions further causes the computer to include an electronic device notifying system that notifies each of the electronic devices determined by the electronic device determining system.