METHOD OF CONNECTING A DEVICE TO A NETWORK, A DEVICE CONNECTING SYSTEM, AND A PROGRAM

• US 20140372580A1
• Filed: 10/04/2012
• Published: 12/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Europa N.V. (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Europa N.V. (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Huster, Karsten
• Granted Patent: US 9,565,058 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/222
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5038 for local use, e.g. in LAN or USB networks, or in a controller area network [CAN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5092 by self-assignment, e.g. picking addresses at random and testing if they are already in use
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/08 specially adapted for terminal emulation, e.g. Telnet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services

Abstract

The present subject matter is generally related to a method of connecting a device to a network, a device connecting system and a device connecting program. A network device or a device responding on a device service discovery request within a network with information of a virtual service on the device, which may be different from the actual capabilities and functions of the device.

Claims

1. A system for connecting a device to a network, the network having at least one network device, and at least one of the network device and the device having device detection and device service detection functionalities, the system comprising:

means for addressing the device within the network;

means for naming the device within the network based on the addressing of the device within the network;

means for discovering services on the device;

means for analysing a service discovery request and responding with information about at least one virtual service on the device instead of information about at least one of the actual services on the device.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least two network devices within the network share the responding information about the virtual service of the device.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network device accesses the virtual service on the device based on the information of the virtual service.

4. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a functionality on the network device is linked to the virtual service on the device.

5. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the virtual service of the device is a predefined service, which may be emulated or simulated on the device and/or by the device, and the information of the virtual service is stored on the device.

6. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a means for addressing the device within the network is a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, which provides a unique IP-address to the device.

7. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a means for naming the device within the network is a Domain Name System (DNS) server, which provides DNS-format queries for the device.

8. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein means for addressing the device within the network is a link-local addressing, conducted on the device by interacting with multiple network devices within the network.

9. A system as claimed in claim 8, wherein means for naming the device within the network is Multicast DNS (mDNS), conducted on the device by interacting with multiple network devices within the network.

10. A system as claimed in claim 8, wherein a means for analysing the service discovery request analyses the mDNS query for the name of the device, conducted on the device.

11. A system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the mDNS query for the name of the device indicates the service and/or the virtual service of the device.

12. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication transport protocol between the device and at least one of the network devices is the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) connection or the User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

13. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the application protocol contains the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) or the Line Printer Remote (LPR), in case the information about the virtual service of the device indicates a printer service.

14. A method for connecting a device to a network, the network having at least one network device, and at least one of the network device and the device having device detection and device service detection functionalities, the method comprising:

addressing the device within the network;

naming the device within the network based on the addressing of the device within the network;

discovering services on the device; and

analysing a service discovery request and responding information about at least one virtual service instead of information about at least one of the actual services on the device.

15. (canceled)

16. A non-transitory storage medium storing a program for connecting to a network, which when executed on a device, and on a network device causes the device and the network device to perform a method, the method comprising:

addressing the device within the network;

naming the device within the network based on the addressing of the device within the network;

discovering services on the device; and

analysing a service discovery request and responding information about at least one virtual service instead of information about at least one of the actual services on the device.

17. (canceled)

18. A device arranged for use in a network, the device comprising means for analysing a service discovery request and responding with information about at least one virtual service on the device instead of information about at least one of the actual services on the device.