Object management apparatus, object management method and computer program product

• US 20060217839A1
• Filed: 12/22/2005
• Published: 09/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Ueno, Kouji, Kawamura, Takahiro, Ohsuga, Akihiko, Hasegawa, Tetsuo
• Application Number:
  US11/313,644
• Publication Number:
  US 20060217839A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/245
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0297 by controlling means in a control room

Abstract

An object management apparatus for managing an object which executes a process includes an execution conditions holding unit that holds the process and corresponding execution condition indicating a first status of the object as a prerequisite for executing the process; an execution instruction acquisition unit that acquires an execution instruction indicating the process; a status information acquisition unit that acquires status information indicating a second status of the object from the object; and a status determining unit that determines whether the process indicated in the execution instruction can be executed by the object, based on the first status indicated in the execution condition corresponding to the process indicated in the execution instruction and the second status indicated the status information.

Claims

1. An object management apparatus for managing an object which executes a process, comprising:

an execution conditions holding unit that holds the process and corresponding execution condition indicating a first status of the object as a prerequisite for executing the process;

an execution instruction acquisition unit that acquires an execution instruction indicating the process;

a status information acquisition unit that acquires status information indicating a second status of the object from the object; and

a status determining unit that determines whether the process indicated in the execution instruction can be executed by the object, based on the first status indicated in the execution condition corresponding to the process indicated in the execution instruction and the second status indicated the status information.

2. The object management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the status of the object is indicated by a status variable representing a unit of state,

the execution conditions holding unit holds the execution conditions including the status variable of the object,

the status information acquisition unit acquires the status information including the status variable, and

the status determining unit determines whether the process indicated in the execution instruction can be executed by the object, based on the status variable contained in the status information and the status variable contained in the execution conditions.

3. The object management apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a coincidence degree calculation unit that calculates a degree of coincidence between the status variable contained in the status information and the status variable contained in the execution conditions,

wherein the status determining unit determines that the process indicated in the execution instruction can be executed by the object when the degree of coincidence calculated by the coincidence degree calculation unit is not less than a predetermined value.

4. The object management apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a status variable specifying unit that specifies that the status variable is one of a dynamic status variable likely to change and a static status variable unlikely to change, based on the status variable contained in the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit,

wherein the status determining unit determines whether the process indicated in the execution instruction can be executed by the object, based on the dynamic status variable specified by the status variable specifying unit and the status variable contained in the execution conditions.

5. The object management apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the status determining unit, upon determination that the process indicated in the execution instruction can be executed by the object based on the dynamic status variable and the status variable contained in the execution conditions, further determines whether the process indicated in the execution instruction can be executed by the object, based on the static status variable and the status variable contained in the execution conditions.

6. The object management apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a status variables relation information holding unit that holds status variables relation information indicating a relation between the status variables,

wherein the status determining unit determines whether the process indicated in the execution instruction can be executed by the object, based on (1) another status variable related, by the status variables relation information held in the status variables relation holding unit, to the status variable contained in the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit, and (2) the status variable contained in the execution conditions.

7. The object management apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein the status variables relation information holding unit holds a status variables relation indicating a connotative relation between the status variables.

8. The object management apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a concept conversion unit that converts the status variable contained in the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit into a description logic concept based on a description logic, and converts the status variable contained in the execution conditions held by the execution conditions holding unit into the description logic concept,

wherein the status determining unit determines whether the process can be executed by the object, based on the description logic concept for the status information and the description logic concept for the execution conditions obtained by the concept conversion unit.

9. The object management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the execution conditions holding unit holds the execution conditions for each of a plurality of objects,

the status information acquisition unit acquires the status information from each object, and

the status determining unit determines whether the process indicated in the execution instruction can be executed by each object, based on the execution conditions and the status information for each object, and

the object management apparatus further comprises an object determining unit that determines an object to execute the process indicated in the execution instruction, based on the execution conditions and the execution state, among a plurality of the objects determined by the status determining unit as capable of executing the process indicated in the execution instruction.

10. The object management apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a change frequency specifying unit that specifies a frequency at which a status of the object changes,

wherein the object determining unit determines an object to execute the process indicated in the execution instruction, based on the frequency specified by the change frequency specifying unit.

11. The object management apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein a status of the object is indicated by at least one status variable indicating a unit of status,

the execution conditions holding unit holds the execution conditions including the status variable of the object and a degree of importance corresponding to each status variable, and

the object determining unit determines an object to execute the process indicated in the execution instruction, based on the degree of importance of the status variable contained in the status information.

12. The object management apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the object determining unit determines an object to execute the process indicated in the execution instruction, based on a relation between the status variable contained in the status information and the status variable contained in the execution conditions.

13. The object management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a status information holding unit that holds the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit,

wherein the status information acquisition unit acquires the status information of the object different from the status information already held in the status information holding unit, and

the status determining unit determines whether the process indicated in the execution instruction can be executed by the object, based on the status information held in the status information holding unit and the execution conditions.

14. The object management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a status information holding unit that holds predetermined initial status information; and

a registration unit that causes, upon acquisition of the status information by the status information acquisition unit, the status information holding unit to hold the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit in place of the initial status information,

wherein the status determining unit determines whether the process indicated in the execution instruction can be executed by the object, based on the status information held by the status information holding unit and the execution conditions.

15. The object management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the object is a robot whose status changes dynamically.

16. The object management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the object is a ubiquitous device whose status changes dynamically.

17. The object management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the object is a program whose status changes dynamically.

18. An object management method for managing an object which executes a process, comprising:

acquiring an execution instruction indicating the process to be executed by the object;

acquiring status information indicating a first status of the object from the object; and

determining whether the process indicated in the execution instruction can be executed by the object, based on the first status indicated in the execution condition corresponding to the process indicated in the execution instruction and the second status indicated the status information.

19. A computer program product for managing an object which executes a process, having a computer readable medium including programmed instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform:

.

acquiring an execution instruction indicating the process to be executed by the object;

acquiring status information indicating a first status of the object from the object; and

determining whether the process indicated in the execution instruction can be executed by the object, based on the first status indicated in the execution condition corresponding to the process indicated in the execution instruction and the second status indicated the status information.