DEVICE COOPERATION SERVICE EXECUTION APPARATUS, DEVICE COOPERATION SERVICE EXECUTION METHOD, COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM

• US 20140075003A1
• Filed: 10/03/2012
• Published: 03/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Keiichi, Masuda, Kenji, Taoka, Yuki
• Granted Patent: US 9,621,436 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/085 Retrieval of network configuration; Tracking network configuration history
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/50 Network service management, e.g. ensuring proper service fulfilment according to agreements

Abstract

An application information acquisition unit 405 transmits a device list of unconnected devices, which are owned devices recorded in a local storage 407 but not retrieved by a device retrieval unit 402, and connected devices, which are owned devices retrieved by the device retrieval unit 402, to an external server 107 via an external network. A service list display unit 406 displays a list of device cooperation services indicated in device cooperation service list information obtained by the application information acquisition unit 405 from the external server 107 and a list of devices determined to be owned devices by an owned device management unit 404 on a display unit 410, whereby a user is prompted to select a device cooperation service.

Claims

1. A device cooperation service execution apparatus that executes a device cooperation service while cooperating with a device connected to a local network, comprising:

a device retrieval unit that retrieves devices connected to the local network;

a device information management unit that records device information relating to the devices retrieved by the device retrieval unit in a local storage;

an application information acquisition unit that obtains device cooperation service list information indicating device cooperation services that can be executed by an unconnected device, which is a device whose device information is recorded in the local storage but which was not retrieved by the device retrieval unit, and a connected device, which is a device retrieved by the device retrieval unit;

a service list display unit that displays a list of the device cooperation services indicated by the device cooperation service list information and a list of the unconnected devices and the connected devices; and

a service execution unit that executes a device cooperation service selected by a user from the list of device cooperation services displayed by the service list display unit by launching an application for executing the device cooperation service,

wherein the device cooperation service list information includes device information of devices required to execute the respective device cooperation services, and

the service list display unit determines on the basis of the device cooperation service list information and the device list of the unconnected devices and the connected devices whether or not the unconnected device is included in the devices required to execute the respective device cooperation services, and when the unconnected device is included, notifies the user that a device cooperation service requiring the unconnected device cannot be selected.

2. The device cooperation service execution apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an owned device determination unit that determines which of the devices retrieved by the device retrieval unit are owned devices owned by the user,

wherein the owned device determination unit determines a device that matches a condition specified in advance to be an owned device, and

the device information management unit records the device determined to be an owned device by the owned device determination unit in the local storage as an owned device.

3. The device cooperation service execution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when a new device, which is a device not recorded in the local storage, exists among the connected devices, the service list display unit notifies the user of the new device as a newly detected device.

4. The device cooperation service execution apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an application information management unit that records the device cooperation service list information obtained by the application information acquisition unit in the local storage,

wherein, when a new device cooperation service, which is a device cooperation service not recorded in the local storage, is included in the device cooperation service list information, the service list display unit notifies the user of the new device cooperation service as a newly added device cooperation service.

5. The device cooperation service execution apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a guest device management unit that manages the devices determined not to be owned devices by the owned device determination unit as guest devices,

wherein the guest device management unit obtains device cooperation service list information indicating device cooperation services that can be executed cooperatively with the guest devices, and

the service list display unit displays a list of the device cooperation services that are executed cooperatively with the guest devices separately from a list of device cooperation services that are executed cooperatively with the owned devices.

6. The device cooperation service execution apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a host device instruction reception unit that receives a cooperation request relating to a device cooperation service from a host device,

wherein the host device instruction reception unit, after receiving the cooperation request from the host device, notifies a user of the cooperation request, and after receiving an input instruction to accept the cooperation request from the user, transmits an acceptance notification relating to the cooperation request to the host device and launches an application for executing the device cooperation service.

7. The device cooperation service execution apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the host device instruction reception unit, after receiving an input instruction to refuse the cooperation request from the user, transmits a refusal notification to the host device and does not launch the application for executing the device cooperation service.

8. The device cooperation service execution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the application information acquisition unit obtains the device cooperation service list information by transmitting the device list of the unconnected devices and the connected devices to an external server that manages a database in which the device cooperation services are associated with the device information of the devices required to execute the device cooperation services.

9. The device cooperation service execution apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a database management unit that manages a database in which the device cooperation services are associated with the device information of the devices required to execute the device cooperation services,

wherein the application information acquisition unit obtains the device cooperation service list information by providing the database management unit with the device list of the unconnected devices and the connected devices.

10. A device cooperation service execution method using a device cooperation service execution apparatus that executes a device cooperation service while cooperating with a device connected to a local network, the method comprising:

a device retrieval step in which the device cooperation service execution apparatus retrieves devices connected to the local network;

a device information management step in which the device cooperation service execution apparatus records device information relating to the devices retrieved in the device retrieval step in a local storage;

an application information acquisition step in which the device cooperation service execution apparatus obtains device cooperation service list information indicating device cooperation services that can be executed by an unconnected device, which is a device whose device information is recorded in the local storage but which was not retrieved in the device retrieval step, and a connected device, which is a device retrieved in the device retrieval step;

a service list display step in which the device cooperation service execution apparatus displays a list of the device cooperation services indicated by the device cooperation service list information and a list of the unconnected devices and the connected devices; and

a service execution step in which the device cooperation service execution apparatus executes a device cooperation service selected by a user from the list of device cooperation services displayed in the service list display step by launching an application for executing the device cooperation service,

wherein the device cooperation service list information includes device information of devices required to execute the respective device cooperation services, and

in the service list display step, a determination is made on the basis of the device cooperation service list information and the device list of the unconnected devices and the connected devices as to whether or not the unconnected device is included in the devices required to execute the respective device cooperation services, and when the unconnected device is included, the user is notified that a device cooperation service requiring the unconnected device cannot be selected.

11. A computer-readable recording medium which stores a device cooperation service execution program for executing a device cooperation service while cooperating with a device connected to a local network, the program causing a computer to function as:

a device retrieval unit that retrieves devices connected to the local network;

a device information management unit that records device information relating to the devices retrieved by the device retrieval unit in a local storage;

an application information acquisition unit that obtains device cooperation service list information indicating device cooperation services that can be executed by an unconnected device, which is a device whose device information is recorded in the local storage but which was not retrieved by the device retrieval unit, and a connected device, which is a device retrieved by the device retrieval unit;

a service list display unit that displays a list of the device cooperation services indicated by the device cooperation service list information and a list of the unconnected devices and the connected devices; and

a service execution unit that executes a device cooperation service selected by a user from the list of device cooperation services displayed by the service list display unit by launching an application for executing the device cooperation service,

wherein the device cooperation service list information includes device information of devices required to execute the respective device cooperation services, and

the service list display unit determines on the basis of the device cooperation service list information and the device list of the unconnected devices and the connected devices whether or not the unconnected device is included in the devices required to execute the respective device cooperation services, and when the unconnected device is included, notifies the user that a device cooperation service requiring the unconnected device cannot be selected.