Management method for network system and network device, network device and control method therefor, and management system

• US 9,813,604 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2014
• Issued: 11/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Matsuda, Kotaro
• Primary Examiner(s): DIEP, NHON THANH
• Application Number:
  US14/501,597
• Publication Number:
  US 20150109438A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,134 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/62 Control of parameters via user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/631 Graphical user interfaces [GUI] specially adapted for controlling image capture or setting capture parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/695 Control of camera direction for changing a field of view, e.g. pan, tilt or based on tracking of objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

A log is recorded when an event occurs in an image forming apparatus, a video file recorded by a network camera is tagged at the point in time that the event occurred, and video tag information tagged to the recorded video file is registered in relation to a device serial ID of the image forming apparatus and an ID for uniquely identifying the log in the image forming apparatus.

Claims

1. A network system comprising:

a network device;

a management system for managing the network device;

a client; and

a camera system,

wherein the network device includes a memory storing first instructions and a processor which is capable of executing the first instructions causing the network device to;

provide a setup screen for a network camera to the client by a redirecting based on a uniform resource locator (URL) corresponding to a service of the network device in response to an instruction to a screen in the client concerning the network device provided by the management system;

obtain connection information for connecting to the camera system from the management system;

obtain camera identification information of a network camera that is included in the camera system from the camera system that is connected using the connection information;

transmit the obtained camera identification information to the client connecting to a web service of the network device by the redirecting;

obtain settings from the camera system, wherein the settings are, via the setup screen provided by the network device, by accessing the camera system using the camera identification information in the client, and the settings are based on an image captured by the network camera specified by the camera identification information; and

transmit the camera identification information and the settings to the management system, and

wherein the management system includes a memory storing second instructions and a processor which is capable of executing the second instructions causing the management system to;

transmit screen data concerning the network device to the client, the screen data including a link of a URL corresponding to a web service of the network device;

receive the camera identification information and the settings from the network device; and

manage the camera identification information and the settings in association with device identification information of the network device.

2. The network system according to claim 1, wherein the connection information is obtained from the management system after a camera setup mode is activated for the network device.

3. The network system according to claim 1, wherein the setup screen includes an image captured by the network camera specified by the camera identification information.

4. The network system according to claim 3, wherein the first instructions further cause the network device to:

narrow down the number of network cameras according to a narrowing down instruction received via the setup screen, based on one of an installation location of the network cameras, video taken by the network cameras, and placement of the network cameras; and

transmit camera identification information of the narrowed down network cameras to the client.

5. The network system according to claim 1, wherein the settings include at least one of a direction, angle of view, focusing mode and surveillance priority of the network camera and a name of the settings.

6. The network system according to claim 1, wherein the first instructions further cause the network device to manage information associating history information of a network device targeted for surveillance with an image captured by a network camera associated with the network device targeted for surveillance in accordance with the managed association.

7. The network system according to claim 6, wherein when a predetermined event occurs, the network device is triggered by the predetermined event to record the predetermined event in the history information, and transmit a request for image capture by the associated network camera to the camera system, with the network device as the network device targeted for surveillance, and the predetermined event recorded in the history information is managed in association with the image whose capture was triggered by the predetermined event at the network device.

8. The network system according to claim 7, wherein the second instructions further cause the camera system to transmit tag information specifying the captured image to the network device when the request for image capture is received from the network device, and

wherein the image and the history information are managed in association with each other using the tag information at the network device.

9. The network system according to claim 6, wherein the first instructions further cause the network device to transmit the history information and the managed information associating the image and the history information to the management system, and

wherein the second instructions further cause the management system to save the received history information and the managed information associating the image and the history information.

10. The network system according to claim 7, wherein the network device transmits the camera identification information and the settings associated with the device identification information of the network device to the camera system together with the request for image capture, and the camera system, if image capture by the network camera corresponding to the camera identification information received together with the request for image capture has not been performed, starts image capture by the network camera corresponding to the camera identification information in accordance with the received settings.

11. The network system according to claim 1, wherein the network device is an image forming apparatus.

12. A network device that is managed by a management system, comprising:

a memory storing instructions; and

a processor which is capable of executing the instructions causing the network device to;

provide a setup screen for a network camera to a client by a redirecting based on a uniform resource locator (URL) corresponding to a service of the network device in response to an instruction to a screen in the client concerning the network device provided by the management system;

obtain connection information for connecting to a camera system from the management system;

obtain camera identification information of a network camera that is included in a camera system from the camera system that is connected using the connection information;

transmit the obtained camera identification information to a client connecting to a web service of the network device by the redirecting;

obtain settings from the camera system, wherein the settings are configured, via the setup screen provided by the network device, by accessing the camera system using the camera identification information in the client, and the settings are based on an image captured by the network camera specified by the camera identification information; and

transmit the camera identification information and the settings to the management system which manages the camera identification information and the settings in association with device identification information of the network device.

13. A management method in a network system including a network device, a management system for managing the network device, a client, and a camera system, the method comprising:

providing, by the network device, a setup screen for a network camera to the client by a redirecting based on a uniform resource locator (URL) corresponding to a service of the network device in response to an instruction to a screen in the client concerning the network device provided by the management system;

obtaining, by the network device, connection information for connecting to the camera system from the management system;

obtaining, by the network device, camera identification information of a network camera that is included in the camera system from the camera system that is connected using the connection information;

transmitting, by the network device, the obtained camera identification information to the client connecting to a web service of the network device by the redirecting;

obtaining, by the network device, settings from the camera system, wherein the settings are configured, via the setup screen provided by the network device, by accessing the camera system using the camera identification information in the client, and the settings are based on an image captured by the network camera specified by the camera identification information;

transmitting, by the network device, the camera identification information and the settings to the management system;

transmitting, by the management system, screen data concerning the network device to the client, the screen data including a link of a URL corresponding to a web service of the network device;

receiving, by the management system, the camera identification information and the settings from the network device; and

managing, by the management system, the camera identification information and the settings in association with device identification information of the network device.

14. A method for controlling a network device, comprising:

providing a setup screen for a network camera to a client by a redirecting based on a uniform resource locator (URL) corresponding to a service of the network device in response to an instruction to a screen in the client concerning the network device provided by a management system;

obtaining connection information for connecting to a camera system from the management system;

obtaining camera identification information of a network camera that is included in a camera system from the camera system that is connected using the connection information;

transmitting the obtained camera identification information to a client connecting to a web service of the network device by the redirecting;

obtaining settings from the camera system, wherein the settings are configured, via the setup screen provided by the network device, by accessing the camera system using the camera identification information in the client, and the settings are based on an image captured by the network camera specified by the camera identification information; and

transmitting the camera identification information and the settings to a management system that manages the camera identification information and the settings in association with device identification information of the network device.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium that has recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to perform a method, the method comprising:

providing a setup screen for a network camera to the client by a redirecting based on a uniform resource locator (URL) corresponding to a service of a network device in response to an instruction to a screen in the client concerning the network device provided by a management system;

obtaining connection information for connecting to the camera system from the management system;

obtaining camera identification information of a network camera that is included in a camera system from the camera system that is connected using the connection information;

transmitting the obtained camera identification information to a client connecting to a web service of a network device by a redirecting from a management system;

obtaining settings from the camera system, wherein the settings are configured, via the setup screen provided by the network device, by accessing the camera system using the camera identification information in the client, and the settings are based on an image captured by the network camera specified by the camera identification information; and

transmitting the camera identification information and the settings to a management system that manages the camera identification information and the settings in association with device identification information of the network device.