Network device and control method of the same

• US 7,975,054 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2006
• Issued: 07/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Shitano, Masaki, Hirata, Takashi, Fujii, Kenichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Strange; Aaron
• Assistant Examiner(s): Emdadi; Keyvan
• Application Number:
  US11/461,852
• Publication Number:
  US 20070067430A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,798 Days
• Field of Search: 709/227
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2805 Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities

Abstract

A network device obtains capability information of a device existing on a network, activates/inactivates one of a plurality of types of communication middleware on the basis of the obtained capability information, and executes communication between devices across the network by using the communication middleware. The network device also analyses a protocol used by communication middleware of another device on the network, and corrects the corresponding communication middleware in accordance with the result of analysis.

Claims

1. A network device comprising:

a storage medium including instructions accessed by a CPU or MPU and thereby implementing the following units,

a communication management unit that manages a plurality of types of communication middleware;

an obtaining unit that obtains capability information of a device existing on a network;

a first determination unit that determines which communication middleware of the plurality of types of communication middleware of the communication management unit is to be activated/inactivated, on the basis of the capability information obtained by the obtaining unit;

a communication unit that executes communication between devices across the network by using communication middleware found to be activated by the first determination unit;

a second determination unit that determines whether a first command in a protocol used by the communication middleware determined to be activated by the first determination unit and transmitted by the communication unit to a first device of the devices is accepted by the first device or not;

a collection unit that collects a second command which is received by the communication unit and related to the first command in the protocol used by the communication middleware determined to be activated by the first determination unit, in a case where the first command in the protocol used by the communication middleware determined to be activated by the first determination unit is not accepted by the device;

a detecting unit that detects a difference in case of character between character strings indicating the first command that was not accepted by the first device and the second command

a protocol correction unit that corrects communication middleware of the communication management unit for communicating with the first device in accordance with the difference detected by the detection unit; and

a control unit that controls the communication unit to send to the first device a command generated using the communication middleware corrected by the protocol correction unit.

2. A method of controlling a network device comprising a plurality of types of communication middleware, the method being implemented by a CPU or MPU that accesses instructions stored in a storage medium, the method, comprising:

an obtaining step of obtaining capability information of a device existing on a network;

a first determination step of determining which communication middleware of the plurality of types of communication middleware is to be activated/inactivated, on the basis of the capability information obtained in the obtaining step;

a communication step of executing communication between devices across the network by using communication middleware found to be activated in the first determination step;

a second determination step of determining whether a first command in a protocol used by the communication middleware determined to be activated in the first determination step and transmitted in the communication step to a first device of the devices is accepted by the first device or not;

a collection step of collecting a second command which is received in the communication step and related to the first command in the protocol used by the communication middleware determined to be activated in the first determination step, in a case where the first command in the protocol used by the communication middleware determined to be activated in the first determination step is not accepted by the first device;

a detection step of detecting a difference in case of character between character strings indicating the first command that was not accepted by the first device and the second command

a correction step of correcting the communication middleware for communicating with the first device in accordance with the difference detected in the detection step; and

a control step of controlling the communication step to send to the first device a command generated using the communication middleware corrected in the correction step.

3. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program which controls a network device comprising a plurality of types of communication middleware, said computer program comprising:

an obtaining module adapted to obtain capability information of a device existing on a network;

a first determination module adapted to determine which communication middleware of the plurality of types of communication middleware is to be activated/inactivated, on the basis of the capability information obtained by the obtaining module;

a communication module adapted to execute communication between devices across the network by using communication middleware found by the first determination module;

a second determination module adapted to determine whether a first command in a protocol used by the communication middleware determined to be activated by the first determination module and transmitted by the communication module to a first device of the devices is accepted by the first device or not;

a collection module adapted to collect a second command which is received by the communication module and related to the first command in the protocol used by the communication middleware determined to be activated by the first determination module, in a case where the first command in the protocol used by the communication middleware determined to be activated by the first determination module is not accepted by the first device;

a detection module adapted to detect a difference in case of character between character strings indicating the first command that was not accepted by the first device and the second command

a correction module adapted to correct the communication middleware for communicating with the first device in accordance with the difference detected by the detection module; and

a control step of controlling the communication module to send to the first device a command generated using the communication middleware corrected by the protocol correction module.