Information processing apparatus, client apparatus, information processing system and service connection method

• US 7,979,583 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2008
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Okano, Hideo
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan; Wing F
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yohannes; Tesfay
• Application Number:
  US12/124,399
• Publication Number:
  US 20080294718A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,147 Days
• Field of Search: 709/245, 709/225
• US Class Current: 709/245
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data

Abstract

An information processing apparatus includes a server function configured to provide one or more services to a client apparatus via a communication network. The information processing apparatus includes a service ID generation unit configured to generate service IDs for each of the services and to associate the service IDs with the services for identifying the services, a service ID transmission unit configured to transmit the service ID to at least one of the client apparatus and a discovery proxy server connected to the communication network via the communication network, and a service connection unit configured to connect a service to be specified by the service ID included a service connection inquiry with one of the client apparatus and the discovery proxy server that is an inquiry origin when the service connection inquiry has been made from the one of the client apparatus and the discovery proxy server.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus which includes a server function configured to provide one or more services to a client apparatus via a communication network, comprising:

a service ID generation unit configured to generate service IDs for the respective services to associate the service IDs with the services for identifying the services;

a service ID transmission unit configured to transmit a declaration of participation in the communication network and the service ID to at least one of the client apparatus and a discovery proxy server connected to the communication network when the information processing apparatus participates in the communication network; and

a service connection unit configured to transmit, when the at least one of the client apparatus and the discovery proxy server has made an inquiry on an address solution based on the service ID, information on an IP address of the information processing apparatus in the communication network to the at least one of the client apparatus and the discovery proxy server that made the inquiry, and then provide the respective service specified by the service ID to the at least one of the client apparatus and the discovery proxy server using the IP address.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the service IDs includes a unique UUID.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each of the service IDs is generated on the basis of one of set time information, a manufacturing number of the apparatus, an ID recorded in an inner CPU, an ID recorded in a memory card and user information.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the service connection unit start to provide the service after an address solution processing and an attribute information exchange to and from the one of the client apparatus and the discovery proxy server.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

an event information transmission unit configured to transmit event information to the client apparatus when an event occurs.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

an image acquisition unit configured to acquire an image; and

an image transmission unit configured to transmit the image acquired by the image acquisition unit to the client apparatus, wherein

the event information transmission unit transmits the event information to the client apparatus when the image is acquired by the image acquisition unit, and

the image transmission unit transmits the image in response to an image transmission request to be transmitted from the client apparatus after transmitting the event information.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the information processing apparatus may be portable.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the information processing apparatus is a camera.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

a service state display unit configured to display a start of a service in response to the one of the attribute information exchange and the address solution processing.

10. An information processing system, comprising a client apparatus, a discovery proxy server and an information processing apparatus according to claim 1 configured to be in communication with one another via a communication network, wherein

the client apparatus includes:

an acquisition unit configured to acquire the service ID of the respective service from the information processing apparatus; and

a service connection unit configured to acquire, by using the acquired service ID, the information on the IP address of the information processing apparatus from the discovery proxy server to use the respective service.

12. An information processing system, comprising:

a client apparatus and an information processing apparatus according to claim 1 configured to be in communication with one another via a communication network, wherein

the client apparatus includes;

an acquisition unit configured to acquire the service ID of the respective service from the information processing apparatus; and

a service connection unit configured to acquire, by using the acquired service ID, the information on the IP address of the information processing apparatus to use the respective service.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the service ID transmission unit transmits the service ID in multicast and the service connection unit receives the inquiry on the address solution in multicast.

11. A service connection method, in an information processing system including a client apparatus, a discovery proxy server and an information processing apparatus configured to communicate with one another, which connects the client apparatus to use services from the information processing apparatus, comprising:

generating service IDs for the respective services from the information processing apparatus;

transmitting, by the information processing apparatus, a declaration of participation in the communication network and the service ID to at least one of the client apparatus and the discovery proxy server when the information processing apparatus participates in the communication network;

making an inquiry on an address solution based on the service ID by the at least one of the client apparatus and the discovery proxy server;

transmitting, by the information processing apparatus, information on an IP address of the information processing apparatus in the communication network to the at least one of the client apparatus and the discovery proxy server that made the inquiry in response to the inquiry on the address solution;

providing, by the information processing apparatus, the respective service specified by the service ID to the at least one of the client apparatus and the discovery proxy server using the IP address;

storing, by the discovery proxy server, the service IDs and the information on the IP address of the information processing apparatus in association with each other; and

acquiring, by the client apparatus, the service ID from the information processing apparatus, and by using the acquired service ID, acquiring the information on the IP address of the information processing apparatus to use the respective service.

13. A service connection method, in an information processing system including a client apparatus and an information processing apparatus configured to communicate with one another, for the client apparatus to use services from the information processing apparatus, comprising:

generating service IDs for the respective services from the information processing apparatus;

transmitting, by the information processing apparatus, a declaration of participation in the communication network and the service ID to the client apparatus when the information processing apparatus participates in the communication network;

making, by the client apparatus, an inquiry on an address solution based on the service ID;

transmitting, by the information processing apparatus, information on an IP address of the information processing apparatus in the communication network to the client apparatus that made the inquiry in response to the inquiry on the address solution;

providing, by the information processing apparatus, the respective service specified by the service ID to the client apparatus using the IP address;

acquiring, by the client apparatus, the service ID from the information processing apparatus, and by using the acquired service ID, acquiring the information on the IP address of the information processing apparatus to use the respective service.