Master device, integrated service management system, and integrated service management method

• US 9,332,061 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2012
• Issued: 05/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sovereign Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Taoka, Yuki, Tanaka, Keiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Blair, Douglas
• Application Number:
  US13/880,504
• Publication Number:
  US 20140115025A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,285 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• 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 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring

Abstract

A device information acquisition unit acquires device information from a peripheral device via an ad hoc network. An integrated service determination unit determines an integrated service to be executed from among the integrated services defined by integrated service information based on an instruction from a user. A distribution script determination unit cross checks device information related to a client device and a specification requirement of the integrated service to be executed, and determines a client UI of the client device. A script distribution unit distributes, to each client device, the client UI that has been determined by the distribution script determination unit.

Claims

1. A master device which manages, on an autonomous distributed network, an integrated service that is executed by causing a plurality of devices to coordinate with each other,

the master device comprising:

a non-transitory memory storing a program; and

a hardware processor that executes the program, the program causing the master device to;

manage, in relation to a plurality of integrated services, integrated service information that defines information pertaining to an application required by each of the devices for executing the respective integrated services and a specification requirement of each of the devices required for executing the application in correspondence with one another;

acquire device information that defines a specification for a peripheral device from one or more peripheral devices detected via the autonomous distributed network;

determine, among the peripheral devices, one or more client devices to be used in the integrated service, and establish a network connection with the one or more determined client devices;

determine, among the integrated services defined by the integrated service information, an integrated service to be executed based on an instruction from a user;

determine, by using the integrated service information, an application which corresponds to the integrated service to be executed an allows the device information related to the one or more client devices to satisfy the specification requirement;

distribute, to each of the one or more client devices, the application determined; and

issue, to the one or more client devices, a start command of the application distributed, wherein

each of the one or more client devices retains the received application even after execution of the integrated service, and

in the distribution of the application determined , from each of the one or more client devices, an ID and a version of the application stored in each of the one or more client devices is acquired upon distributing script data of the application, and the script data of the application is distributed when the acquired ID and the version of the application do not coincide with the ID and the version of the application determined.

2. The master device according to claim 1, wherein

in the determining of the integrated services to be executed, one or more executable integrated services are extracted based on the device information related to the one or more peripheral devices and the specification requirement defined by the integrated service information, the extracted integrated services are presented to the user, and the integrated service to be executed are determined based on an instruction from the user, and

in the determining of the one or more client devices to be used in the integrated service, the one or more client devices to be used in the integrated service to be executed is determined based on the specification requirement of the integrated service to be executed and the device information related to the peripheral device.

3. The master device according to claim 1, wherein

in the determining the one or more client devices to be used in the integrated service, the one or more client devices from among the peripheral devices are determined based on an instruction from the user, and

in the determining of the integrated services to be executed, an executable integrated service is extracted based on the device information related to the one or more client devices and the specification requirement defined by the integrated service information, the extracted integrated services are presented to the user, and the integrated service to be executed are determined based on an instruction from the user.

4. The master device according to claim 1, wherein, when a certain client device has a plurality of applications that satisfy the specification requirement of the integrated service to be executed, the applications are presented to the user, and an application selected by the user is determined as the application to be distributed to the client device.

5. The master device according to claim 1, wherein

the application includes a master application to be executed by the master device and a client application to be executed by the client device, and

in the issuing of a start command of the application distributed, the master application and the client application are synchronously started.

6. The master device according to claim 1, wherein in the distributing of the application determined to each of the one or more client devices, the application is distributed to the one or more client devices by distributing script data of the application to the client devices.

7. The master device according to claim 1, wherein

in the distributing of the application determined to each of the one or more client devices, a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) of the application is distributed to the one or more client devices.

8. The master device according to claim 7, wherein

in the distributing of the application determined to each of the one or more client devices, an ID of the integrated service to be executed and an ID of the application are sent upon sending the URI of the application, and

in the issuing of a start command of the application distributed, a start command of the application is sent to each of the one or more client device by designating the ID of the integrated service to be executed or the ID of the application upon starting the application.

9. The master device according to claim 1, wherein in the managing of the integrated services, an integrated service, which fails to match the user'"'"'s preference, is deleted from the integrated service information based on information that has been input by the user in advance.

10. The master device according to claim 1, wherein the hardware processor executes the program and the program causes the master device to:

send data to the one or more client devices, and receive the data that is sent from the one or more client devices.

11. An integrated service management system which manages, on an autonomous distributed network, an integrated service that is executed by causing a plurality of devices to coordinate with each other,

the integrated service management system comprising:

a master device; and

one or more client devices connected to the master device via the autonomous distributed network, wherein

the master device includes;

a non-transitory memory storing a program; and

a hardware processor that executes the program, the program causing the master device to;

manage, in relation to a plurality of integrated services, integrated service information that defines information pertaining to an application required by each of the devices for executing the respective integrated services and a specification requirement of each of the devices required for executing the application in correspondence with one another;

acquire device information that defines a specification for a peripheral device from one or more peripheral devices detected via the autonomous distributed network;

determine, among the peripheral devices, the one or more client devices to be used in the integrated service, and establish a network connection with the one or more determined client devices;

determine, among the integrated series defined by the integrated service information, an integrated service to be executed based on an instruction from a user;

determine, by using the integrated service information, an application which corresponds to the integrated service to be executed and allow the device information related to the one more client devices to satisfy the specification requirement;

distribute, to each of the one or more client devices, the application determined; and

issue, to each of the one or more client devices, a start command of the application distributed, and

each of the one or more client devices;

receives a connection request from the master device and determines whether to establish a network connection with the master device, and notifies the master device of a determination result; and

starts the application distributed from the master device upon receiving a start request from the master device, wherein

each of the one or more client devices retains the received application even after execution of the integrated service, and

in the distribution of the application determined, from each of the one or more client devices, an ID and a version of the application stored in each of the one or more client devices is acquired upon distributing script data of the application, and the script data of the application is distributed when the acquired ID and the version of the application do not coincide with the ID and the version of the application determined.

12. The integrated service management system according to claim 11, wherein

in the distributing of the application determined to each of the one or more client devices, script data of the application determined is distributed to the one or more client devices and the one or more client devices is caused to store the script data, and

in the starting of the application distributed, the application distributed from the master device is started by reading the recorded script data upon receiving the start request.

13. The integrated service management system according to claim 11, wherein

in the distributing of the application determined to each of the one or more client devices, a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) of the application determined is distributed to the one or more client devices, and

in the starting of the application distributed, the application is started by designating the URI distributed from the master device upon receiving the start request.

14. The integrated service management system according to claim 11, wherein

the devices comprise functions of both the master device and each of the one or more client devices, and

upon executing the integrated service, one device executes the function of the master device, and the remaining devices execute the function of each of the one or more client devices.

15. An integrated service management method performed by a master device which manages, on an autonomous distributed network, an integrated service that is executed by causing a plurality of devices to coordinate with each other, wherein

the master device includes a non-transitory memory storing a program and a hardware processor that executes the program, the program causing the master device to manage, in relation to a plurality of integrated services, integrated service information that defines information pertaining to an application required by each of the devices upon executing the respective integrated services and a specification requirement of each of the devices required for executing the application in correspondence with one another, and

the program causes the master device to perform steps of the integrated service management method comprising:

a device information acquisition step of the master device acquiring device information that defines a specification of a peripheral device from one or more peripheral devices detected via the autonomous distributed network;

a connection management step of the master device determining, from among the peripheral devices, one or more client devices to be used in the integrated service, and establishing a network connection with the determined one or more client devices;

an integrated service determination step of the master device determining, from among the integrated services defined by the integrated service information, an integrated service to be executed based on an instruction from a user;

an application determination step of the master device determining, by using the integrated service information, an application which corresponds to the integrated service to be executed and the device information related to the one or more client devices that satisfy the specification requirement;

an application distribution step of the master device distributing, to each of the one or more client devices, the application determined in the application determination step; and

an integrated service life cycle management step of the master device issuing, to each of the one or more client devices, a start command of the application distributed in the application distribution step, and

an application retaining step of each of the one or more client devices retaining the received application even after execution of the integrated service, wherein

the application distribution step includes;

acquiring, from each of the one or more client devices, an ID and a version of the application stored in each of the one or more client devices upon distributing script data of the application; and

a distributing the script data of the application when the acquired ID and the version of the application do not coincide with the ID and the version of the application determined by the application determination unit.