Device management apparatus, device management system, information management method, information management program and recording medium storing the program therein

• US 20110231584A1
• Filed: 03/14/2011
• Published: 09/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Ishihara, Hisashi
• Granted Patent: US 8,200,863 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 710/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/12 Arrangements for remote connection or disconnection of substations or of equipment thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

A device management apparatus connected to one or more devices via a data transmission channel includes an input information holding unit for holding an input information group including one or more pieces of input information, each of which is to be connected to device information of a device; a device search unit for detecting the devices by a search; a device information acquiring unit for acquiring the device information from the devices; a cross-checking unit for cross-checking information items of the input information with those of the device information; and a registering and updating unit for performing data registration/update by, when the cross-checking unit determines that there is a common information item between the input information and the device information, connecting a piece of input information to the device information based on item entries of the common information item, and storing the connected information as registry management information.

Claims

1. A device management apparatus connected to one or more devices via a predetermined data transmission channel, the device management apparatus comprising:

an input information holding unit configured to hold, in a first predetermined storage area, an input information group including one or more pieces of input information, wherein each of the pieces is to be connected to device information of a different one of the devices;

a device search unit configured to detect the devices by a device search;

a device information acquiring unit configured to acquire the device information from the detected devices;

a cross-checking unit configured to, with reference to the input information group, cross-check information items of the pieces of input information with information items of the device information; and

a registering and updating unit configured to carry out data registration or update by, in a case when the cross-checking unit determines that there is a common information item between the input information and the device information, connecting a piece of input information to the device information based on item entries of the piece of input information and the device information under the common information item, and storing the connected information in a second predetermined storage area as registry management information.

2. The device management apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein when determining presence of the common information item, the cross-checking unit determines whether the item entries match each other, and acquires, from the input information group based on the matched item entries, the piece of input information to be connected to the device information.

3. The device management apparatus as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a data area creating unit configured to create a data area for storing the registry management information, wherein in a case when the device search unit detects an unregistered device, the data area creating unit creates, in the second storage area, a data area for the unregistered device, and the registering and updating unit carries out the data registration by storing the connected information in the created data area as the registry management information for the unregistered device.

4. The device management apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein in a case when the device search unit detects a registered device, the data area creating unit specifies, in the second storage area, a data area for the registered device, and the registering and updating unit carries out the data update by storing the connected information in the specified data area as the registry management information for the registered device.

5. The device management apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a database information managing unit configured to manage, as database information, information items of one or more databases connected to the device management apparatus via the data transmission channel and identification information of the databases, wherein when determining absence of the common information item between the input information and the device information, the cross-checking unit accesses a database specified by the database information managing unit and having an information item in common with the device information, and cross-checks the information items of the pieces of input information with the information items of the accessed database.

6. The device management apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein when determining absence of the common information item between the input information and the device information, the cross-checking unit makes a request with the database information managing unit to determine whether the database having the information item in common with the device information is present, and according to the request, the database information managing unit refers to the database information and transmits, to the cross-checking unit when a result of the check is affirmative, the identification information of the database having the common information item, and based on the transmitted identification information, the cross-checking unit accesses the database having the common information item.

7. The device management apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein when determining that, in the input information group, there is the information item in common with the accessed database, the cross-checking unit determines whether item entries under the common information item match each other, and acquires, from the input information group based on the matched item entries when a result of the check is affirmative, a piece of input information to be connected to the device information.

8. The device management apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein when determining that, in the input information group, there is no information item in common with the accessed database, the cross-checking unit makes a request with the database information managing unit to determine whether there is a different database having the information item in common with the accessed database, and according to the request, the database information managing unit refers to the database information and transmits, to the cross-checking unit when a result of the check is affirmative, the identification information of the different database, and based on the transmitted identification information, the cross-checking unit accesses the different database.

9. The device management apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein when determining that there are plural of the common information items between the input information and the device information, the cross-checking unit determines whether item entries of the respective common information items match each other according to a predetermined checking order, and acquires, from the input information group based on the matched item entries, the piece of input information to be connected to the device information.

10. The device management apparatus as claimed in claim 5, further comprising an update request receiving unit configured to receive a request for updating the registry management information, wherein when the update request receiving unit receives the request, the registering and updating unit updates an item entry of an appropriate information item in the registry management information, and makes a request with the database information managing unit to determine whether there is a database having the appropriate information item, and according to the request from the registering and updating unit, the database information managing unit refers to the database information and transmits, to the registering and updating unit when a result of the check is affirmative, the identification information of the database having the appropriate information item, and based on the transmitted identification information, the registering and updating unit updates the item entry of the database having the appropriate information item.

11. A device management system in which, via a predetermined data transmission channel, one or more devices are connected to a device management apparatus for managing the devices,

wherein each of the devices includes a device information transmitting unit configured to transmit device information thereof to the device management apparatus, and the device management apparatus includes:

a device search unit configured to detect the devices by a device search;

a device information acquiring unit configured to acquire the device information from each of the detected devices;

a cross-checking unit configured to, with reference to the input information group, cross-check information items of the pieces of input information with information items of the device information; and

a registering and updating unit configured to carry out data registration or update by, in a case when the cross-checking unit determines that there is a common information item between the input information and the device information, connecting a piece of input information to the device information based on item entries of the piece of input information and the device information under the common information item, and storing the connected information in a second predetermined storage area as registry management information.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing an information management program for causing a device management apparatus to execute a process, the device management apparatus being connected to one or more devices via a predetermined data transmission channel and including an input information holding unit configured to hold, in a predetermined first storage area, an input information group including one or more pieces of input information, wherein each of the pieces is to be connected to device information of a different one of the devices, the process comprising:

a device search step of detecting the devices by a device search;

a device information acquiring step of acquiring the device information from the detected devices;

a cross-checking step of, with reference to the input information group, cross-checking information items of the pieces of input information with information items of the device information; and

a registering and updating step of carrying out data registration or update by, in a case when the cross-checking unit determines that there is a common information item between the input information and the device information, connecting a piece of input information to the device information based on item entries of the piece of input information and the device information under the common information item, and storing the connected information in a second predetermined storage area as registry management information.