PROXY SERVICE PROVIDING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD, AND NETWORK SYSTEM

• US 20080033962A1
• Filed: 04/05/2007
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Mori, Shigeki, Munekuni, Masaji, Yamamoto, Naoko
• Granted Patent: US 8,135,742 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services

Abstract

A proxy service providing apparatus includes a service search unit adapted to, upon receiving, from a connection device connectable to a network, a request of a service provided by each device connected to the network, search for a providable service to the connection device in accordance with a relationship with the connection device, and a providing unit adapted to replicate and provide the providable service to the connection device based on a search result of said service search unit.

Claims

1. A proxy service providing apparatus comprising:

a service search unit adapted to, upon receiving, from a connection device connectable to a network, a request of a service provided by each device connected to the network, search for a providable service to the connection device in accordance with a relationship with the connection device; and

a providing unit adapted to replicate and provide the providable service to the connection device based on a search result of said service search unit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said providing unit replicates all services provided by each device connected to the network.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said providing unit replicates only some of services provided by at least one device connected to the network.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said providing unit provides a combined service by combining a plurality of services provided by a plurality of devices connected to the network.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the network is designed to enable communication. with only an apparatus with a restriction on access to each device connected to the network.

6. A control method of a proxy service providing apparatus comprising steps of:

a service searching step of, upon receiving, from a connection device connectable to a network, a request of a service provided by each device connected to the network, searching for a providable service to the connection device in accordance with a relationship with the connection device; and

a providing step of replicating and providing the providable service to the connection device based on a search result in the service searching step.

7. A network system comprising a plurality of devices connected to a network,

wherein said plurality of devices include at least one proxy service providing apparatus and at least one remote control apparatus, and

wherein said proxy service providing apparatus includes:

a service search unit adapted to search for a providable service to the remote control apparatus from services of the device connected to the network based on a relationship with the remote control apparatus, and

a providing unit adapted to replicate and provide the providable service to the remote control apparatus based on a search result of said service search unit.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein said remote control apparatus includes:

an apparatus search unit adapted to search for the proxy service providing apparatus, and

a request unit adapted to request the proxy service providing apparatus obtained as a search result of said apparatus search unit to provide the service provided by each device connected to the network,

wherein said proxy service providing apparatus executes search by said service search unit in accordance with the request by said request unit.

9. The system according to claim 8,wherein said remote control apparatus includes:

a storage unit adapted to store service information provided by each device connected to the network, and

a service use unit adapted to use at least some of the services provided by the devices connected to the network based on the service information stored in said storage unit when said apparatus search unit has failed in searching for the proxy service providing apparatus.