Cooperation information managing apparatus and gateway apparatus for use in cooperation information managing system

• US 20050129034A1
• Filed: 06/17/2004
• Published: 06/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Takase, Masaaki, Takeyoshi, Haruyuki, Yamamura, Shinya, Igarashi, Yoichiro, Kakemizu, Mitsuaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,577,105 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/401
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/35 involving non-standard use of addresses for implementing network functionalities, e.g. coding subscription information within the address or functional addressing, i.e. assigning an address to a function
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

In a system including a first unit retaining a first identifier and a second unit retaining a second identifier for reading out the first identifier from the first unit to transmit, as cooperation information, a combination of the first identifier and the second identifier, for managing the cooperation information, a cooperation information managing apparatus receives the cooperation information and registers the second identifier included in the cooperation information and a group of a plurality of first identifiers including the first identifier included in the cooperation information in a state associated with each other. For managing objects to be used by a user, this enables managing the objects as an aggregation without handling the objects individually, thereby realizing efficient management from a user'"'"'s point of view.

Claims

1. A cooperation information managing apparatus made to manage cooperation information in a system including a first unit retaining a first identifier and a second unit retaining a second identifier for reading out said first identifier from said first unit to transmit, as said cooperation information, a combination of said first identifier and said second identifier, said cooperation information managing apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving said cooperation information;

storing means for storing said cooperation information; and

cooperation information registration control means for registering said second identifier, included in said cooperation information received by said receiving means, and a group of a plurality of first identifiers including said first identifier, included in said cooperation information, in said storing means in a state associated with each other.

2. The cooperation information managing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising associated group retaining means for retaining an associated group in which a plurality of first identifiers on first units each corresponding to said first unit are associated with each other in advance, and

said cooperation information registration control means including:

retrieving means for retrieving, in said associated group retaining means, an associated group to which said first identifier included in said cooperation information received by said receiving means pertains;

registering means for registering said associated group retrieved by said retrieving means and said second identifier included in said cooperation information received by said receiving means in said storing means in a state associated with each other; and

notifying means for notifying each of said identifiers pertaining to said associated group retrieved by said retrieving means to said second unit.

3. The cooperation information managing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said cooperation information registration control means further includes partial cooperation information deleting means for, upon receipt of a partial deletion request on a specific first identifier from said second unit, deleting said first identifier from said cooperation information in said storing means.

4. The cooperation information managing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said cooperation information registration control means further includes full cooperation information deleting means for, upon receipt of a full deletion request on said associated group from said second unit, deleting the cooperation information forming information on association between said associated group and said second identifier from said storing means.

5. The cooperation information managing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said cooperation information registration control means further includes full cooperation information deleting means for, upon receipt of a full deletion request on said associated group from said second unit, deleting the cooperation information forming information on association between said associated group and said second identifier from said storing means.

6. The cooperation information managing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising hierarchically associated group retaining means for retaining a hierarchically associated group according to a parentage between a plurality of first identifiers of first units each corresponding to said first unit, and

said cooperation information registration control means including:

retrieving means for retrieving, in said hierarchical associated group retaining means, an associated group to which said first identifier included in said cooperation information received by said receiving means pertains as an high-order hierarchy identifier;

registering means for registering said high-order hierarchical identifier of said hierarchical associated group retrieved by said retrieving means, a low-order hierarchy identifier associated with said high-order hierarchical identifier and said second identifier included in said cooperation information received by said receiving means in said storing means in a state associated with each other; and

notifying means for notifying each of said identifiers pertaining to said associated group retrieved by said retrieving means to said second unit.

7. The cooperation information managing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said cooperation information registration control means further includes partial hierarchical cooperation information deleting means for, upon receipt of a partial deletion request on a specific first identifier from said second unit, deleting said first identifier and all of lower-order hierarchical identifiers relative thereto from said cooperation information in said storing means.

8. The cooperation information managing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said cooperation information registration control means further includes full hierarchical cooperation information deleting means for, upon receipt of a full deletion request on said hierarchically associated group from said second unit, deleting the cooperation information forming information on association between each of high-order and low-order hierarchical identifiers of said hierarchically associated group and said second identifier from said storing means.

9. The cooperation information managing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said cooperation information registration control means further includes full hierarchical cooperation information deleting means for, upon receipt of a full deletion request on said hierarchically associated group from said second unit, deleting the cooperation information forming information on association between each of high-order and low-order hierarchical identifiers of said hierarchically associated group and said second identifier from said storing means.

10. A cooperation information managing apparatus made to manage cooperation information in a system including a first unit retaining a first identifier and a second unit retaining a second identifier for reading out said first identifier from said first unit to transmit, as said cooperation information, a combination of said first identifier and said second identifier, said cooperation information managing apparatus comprising:

shared number retaining means for retaining the number of second units currently using said first unit (which will be referred to hereinafter as “

current use number”

) and an upper limit value of the number of second units capable of sharing said first unit according to said first identifier; and

sharing control means for, upon receipt of said cooperation information from said second unit, controlling the sharing of said first unit among said second units on the basis of each of said identifiers included in said cooperation information and said current use number and upper limit value in said shared number retaining means.

11. A cooperation information managing apparatus made to manage cooperation information in a system including a first unit retaining a first identifier to be read out by a different apparatus, a second unit retaining a second identifier for reading out said first identifier from said first unit to transmit, as said cooperation information, a combination of said first identifier and said second identifier and a third unit combining a function of said first unit and a function of said second unit, said cooperation information managing apparatus comprising:

first receiving means for receiving, as first cooperation information from said third unit, a combination of said first identifier of said first unit which is read out from said first unit by said third unit and said second identifier retained in said third unit;

second receiving means for receiving, as second cooperation information from said second unit, a combination of said first identifier retained in said third unit and read out by said second unit from said third unit which reads out said first identifier of said first unit and said second identifier retained in said second unit;

storing means for storing said cooperation information; and

cooperation information registration control unit for registering, in said storing means, said first cooperation information received by said first receiving means and said second cooperation information received by said second receiving means in a state associated with each other.

12. The cooperation information managing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said cooperation information registration control unit includes association deleting means for, upon receipt of a request for cancellation of the association from said third unit, deleting the association between said first cooperation information and said second cooperation information in said storing means.

13. The cooperation information managing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said cooperation information registration control unit further includes:

monitoring means for monitoring production and cancellation of the association between said first cooperation information and said second cooperation information in said storing means; and

a transmission destination change instructing means for, when said monitoring means confirms the production of the association, recognizing that the unit using said first unit is changed from said third unit to said second unit and transmitting, to the source of information on said first unit, an instruction for changing the receiving side of the information on said first unit to said second unit and for, when said monitoring means confirms the cancellation of the association, recognizing that the unit using said first unit is changed from said second unit to said third unit and transmitting, to the source, an instruction for changing the receiving side of the information on said first unit to said third unit.

14. A gateway apparatus for use in a cooperation information managing system including a first unit retaining a first identifier, a second unit retaining a second identifier for reading out said first identifier from said first unit to transmit, as cooperation information, a combination of said first identifier and said second identifier, a cooperation information managing apparatus for receiving and managing said cooperation information and an information providing server for transmitting information on said first unit, said gateway apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving, from said cooperation information managing apparatus, said second identifier needed when said information providing server transmits information on said first unit to said second unit which reads out said first identifier of said first unit;

identifier converting means for converting said second identifier, received by said receiving means, into a different identifier for notification to said information providing server;

transmitting means for transmitting the identifier after converted by said identifier converting means to said information providing server; and

information transferring means for inverse-converting the converted identifier added to information from said information providing server into the identifier before the conversion to transfer the inverse-converted identifier to said second unit.