JP3617508B2 - Network system, electronic equipment, program - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a network system including an electronic device having a communication function and a notification device that receives device name information from the electronic device and performs notification based on the device name information.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Network that informs the user of communicable electronic devices by identifying the communicable electronic devices of the self device and displaying the device name and icon of the identified electronic device in various devices with communication functions The system is known.
[0003]
For example, a network including devices having communication functions based on Bluetooth (registered trademark, the same applies hereinafter) such as the PC 100 (PCs 100a and 100b) and the multi-function devices 200 (200a to 200c) shown in FIG. The system displays a Bluetooth device detection screen as shown in Fig. 9 on the PC 100a on the search start side, when the user clicks the device detection button on this screen, the own device can communicate. When a search reception-side electronic device (PC 100b, multifunction device 200a to 200c) receives an inquiry transmitted from the search start-side PC 100a, a signal for searching for an electronic device is transmitted wirelessly. The electronic device on the search reception side has its own address The Bluetooth device address (BD address)), its own device name, and device type information are returned, and the PC 100a on the search start side receives this address, device name, and device type information, and stores it in the device type information. The device name is displayed as shown in FIG. 9 together with the corresponding icon.
[0004]
FIG. 9 shows a display example when three multifunction devices (device name: Multi Function A) and one notebook computer (device name: Note PC) shown in FIG. 8 are detected. In this way, by displaying communicable devices, the user can input various instructions for performing an actual connection based on this display, perform communication, and use various services.
[0005]
By the way, since only the icon and the device name are displayed on the screen of FIG. 9, the user has no idea what the state of each device is. That is, for the user, the device whose name is “Multi Function A” shown in FIG. 9 can be assumed to be a multifunction device from the name, but the status of the device is not known. Therefore, in order to notify the user of the status of each device, it is necessary to provide a function for separately acquiring and displaying the status of the device in addition to the above-described model address, device name, and device type information. As an implementation of such a configuration, for example, a function of separately acquiring the name of a printer connected to a PC and the status of the printer, and providing individual fields as shown in FIG. An OS provided with is known.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, as shown in FIG. 10, in the conventional network system that displays the device name and its status to the user using the respective columns, it is possible to notify the user of the device name and its status. However, since the device name and status are acquired separately, the number of data transmission / reception increases, and communication is burdened (for example, an increase in the amount of data flowing through the network and an increase in power consumption for communication) It was.
[0007]
Such a conventional network system is not limited to the Bluetooth device, and is used in various devices such as a device management device based on SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol). In addition to the configuration in which the device name itself is acquired from the device, the same problem occurs in devices that acquire information that can specify the device name and notify the device name specified based on the information. .
[0008]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a network system or the like that can solve the above-described problems and can notify a device name and status related to an electronic device without imposing a load on communication.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention]
In the network system according to claim 1, which is made to solve the above-described problem, an electronic device having a communication function sets device name information according to a situation of the electronic device, and the set device name information is set. Transmit to the notification device.
[0010]
That is, conventionally, the electronic device simply transmits device name information, and the notification device notifies the device name specified based on the device name information, whereas the network system according to claim 1 Sets and transmits device name information corresponding to the status of the electronic device as device name information, and the notification device notifies the device name and status of the electronic device based on the device name information. Therefore, the user can easily know the status of the electronic device based on the device name notified from the notification device.
[0011]
Here, the notification by the notification means is performed based on the device name information, and since the device name information is set according to the situation regarding the electronic device, the notification device It is possible to notify the device name and status of the electronic device without inquiring about the status separately (without giving a load to communication).
[0012]
In addition, as shown in claim 2, the device name information may be the device name itself. That is, there is a network system having a notification device that transmits a device name from an electronic device and informs the device name of the network device. However, in the network system according to claim 2, the device name of the electronic device is the electronic device name. Since the configuration set according to the status of the device is added to the electronic device, the notification device notifies the device name set by the electronic device according to the status. As a result, the user can know the status of the electronic device from the notified device name.
[0013]
That is, the configuration of the notification device can be notified of the status of the electronic device from the notification device by changing only the configuration of the electronic device without changing from the conventional configuration. That is, in addition to the device name information that has been conventionally transmitted to the electronic device, the device name information to which the status of the device itself is added may be set and transmitted. In this way, the notification device can notify the device name simply by performing processing for acquiring the device name. As described above, in the notification device, it is possible to notify the status of the device by using various existing software as it is in order to make the computer realize the function as the conventional notification device.
[0014]
The network system according to claim 2 is a network system including an electronic device having a communication function and a notification device for notifying a device name received from the electronic device. A setting unit configured to change and set the device name of the device according to the status of the electronic device; and a transmission unit configured to transmit the device name set by the setting unit to the notification device, and the notification device includes: A network system comprising: a receiving unit that receives the device name from an electronic device; and a notifying unit that performs notification regarding the device name and status of the electronic device based on the device name received by the receiving unit. Is equivalent to.
[0015]
The electronic device can be configured to set the device name information based on the status of the electronic device at predetermined time intervals and transmit the set device name information. As shown, the presence / absence of a transmission request for the device name information from the notification device is determined, and when it is determined that there is a transmission request, the status of the electronic device is confirmed, and based on the confirmed status of the electronic device Information may be set as device name information. In this way, when there is a transmission request from the notification device, the status of the device is confirmed, and device name information based on the confirmed status is transmitted. Accordingly, it is not necessary to constantly check the status, set the device name information, and transmit the device name information in the electronic device, and suppress consumption of various resources (for example, memory, computing power, power consumption, etc.) of the electronic device. be able to.
[0016]
On the other hand, the notification device may be configured to request device name information from the communication terminal at predetermined time intervals, for example. However, as shown in claim 4, a device name notification instruction from a user is input. In this case, a transmission request for device name information may be sent to the electronic device. In this way, when the user wants to know the status of the electronic device, the status of the electronic device is notified, and the user can know the status of the electronic device.
[0017]
By the way, as shown in claim 5, the device name information is information that is a combination of device information that is invariant information indicating an electronic device and status information that changes according to the status of the electronic device. In addition, while notifying the device name based on the device information, it is preferable to notify the status based on the status information. In this way, since the device information is unchanged, the user can easily specify which electronic device the notification is for, and can know the status of the electronic device from the status information.
[0018]
The device information can be a device name as shown in claim 6 and the status information can also be text information. And in the case of having the configuration shown in claim 2 in addition to the configuration of claim 6, even if it is a conventional notification device that acquires and displays the device name from the electronic device, the configuration is not changed at all. It is also possible to notify the status of the device.
[0019]
Such a network system can be configured as a network system (for example, LAN) using Ethernet (registered trademark) or a network system including the Internet. On such a system, there is a network system that acquires and displays a device name by SNMP or acquires and displays a status. By providing such a network system with the above-described configuration, the notification device can also notify the user of the status of the device by simply acquiring the device name without acquiring the status separately.
[0020]
In addition, as shown in claim 7, the wireless network based on the Bluetooth standard exhibits particularly excellent effects. That is, in the Bluetooth standard, a communication range is a relatively short range (for example, about several meters to a hundred meters), and before performing communication, the address (BD address) of the device existing in the communication range and the device The name is acquired. According to the configuration shown in claim 7, when the device name is acquired, the status of the device can be acquired at the same time. Thus, only by performing a standard operation defined in the protocol, there is an effect that it is possible to acquire and notify the status of the device together with the device name.
[0021]
In claims 1 to 7, a claim as a network system is given, but an electronic device that can be used in such a network system can also be mentioned as a claim. That is, as shown in claim 8, the electronic device sets the device name information of the electronic device according to the status of the electronic device, and transmits the set device name information to the notification device. If it does in this way, it will become possible to alert | report the apparatus name based on apparatus name information, and the condition of the said electronic device by an alerting | reporting apparatus. In addition, although claim 8 is a claim for an electronic device corresponding to the contents of claim 1, the means possessed by the electronic device in claims 2 to 7 can also be the claim for the electronic device. The same effects as those described in the above claims can be obtained.
[0022]
In addition, as shown in Claim 9, when implement | achieving the network system of Claims 1-7 with a computer, it can provide as a program run with a computer, for example. In the case of such a program, for example, the program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a hard disk, a ROM, and a RAM, and loaded into a computer for execution as necessary. By loading and executing via a network, functions as each means can be realized.
[0023]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. Needless to say, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the following examples, and can take various forms as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention.
[0024]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a network system 1 according to the present embodiment. The network system 1 includes a personal computer 10 as a notification device and an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) 20 that is a multifunction peripheral as an electronic device.
The personal computer 10 is a Bluetooth communication that performs wireless communication based on the Bluetooth standard to a general personal computer including a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, an HDD 14, a display unit 15 such as a display, and an operation unit 16 such as a keyboard and a mouse. A module 17 is provided. The personal computer 10 executes a commonly used operating system, and has a function for the CPU 11 to load various programs stored in the HDD 14 into the RAM 13 and execute them.
[0025]
On the other hand, the MFP 20 includes a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, an HDD 24, a display unit 25 such as an LCD, an operation unit 26 including a numeric keypad and function keys, a Bluetooth communication module 27, a printing unit 28 for printing on paper, a public line It is configured to be connectable to the network, and includes a network control unit that controls outgoing / incoming calls and the like, and a telephone line connection unit 29 that transmits / receives data to / from other faxes via the public line network. The RAM 23 includes an NVRAM that is a nonvolatile memory, and stores various settings necessary for the operation of the MFP 20. This setting includes the Bluetooth device name of the MFP 20. In the default setting, “Multi Function A” is stored as the Bluetooth device name. The Bluetooth device name can be changed to the name input by the user when the user inputs a name change instruction from the operation unit 26.
[0026]
The MFP 20 receives print data from the Bluetooth communication module 27 by the CPU 21 executing a program stored in the HDD 24 or the ROM 22, or receives FAX data via the telephone line connection unit 29 and stores it in the HDD 24. And a printing process in which printing is performed by controlling the printing unit 28 based on the received data. In addition, a FAX transmission process for controlling the telephone line connection unit 29 based on the data received from the Bluetooth communication module 27 to transmit data to another FAX via the public line network, or data stored in the HDD 24 A process of controlling the Bluetooth communication module 27 and transmitting it to the personal computer 10 is performed. Note that the CPU 21 of the MFP 20 is configured to be able to simultaneously execute a plurality of processes without resource conflict by processing a plurality of programs by multitasking.
[0027]
Further, the personal computer 10 controls the Bluetooth communication module 17 to transmit the print data and FAX data stored in the HDD 14 by the printing process by the application program to the MFP 20 and the data transmitted from the MFP 20 to the Bluetooth communication module. The data reception process received via 17 is performed. The HDD 14 stores a Bluetooth device search program. In order to select a Bluetooth device to be communicated by the data transmission process or the data reception process described above, and to check the status of the device, the HDD 14 To search for Bluetooth devices existing in the device. This Bluetooth device search process is a process in which the personal computer 10 searches for a device that can communicate with the Bluetooth communication module 17, acquires the Bluetooth device name of the device, and displays a list of the acquired Bluetooth device names.
[0028]
On the other hand, when the MFP 20 receives this search, the MFP 20 performs a response process of transmitting a device name including the status of the MFP 20 in its own Bluetooth device name. These processes will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the window 50 displayed on the display unit 15 when the personal computer 10 executes the Bluetooth device search program. When the CPU 11 of the personal computer 10 detects that the user has operated the mouse of the operation unit 16 and clicked the device detection button 52 of the window 50, it starts the Bluetooth device search process.
[0029]
The flow of the Bluetooth device search process is shown in the flowchart of FIG. First, in S110 of FIG. 3, the CPU 11 controls the Bluetooth communication module 17 and wirelessly transmits a search command (inquiry) for searching for another Bluetooth device from the Bluetooth communication module 17. The communication range of the Bluetooth communication module 17 is about a few meters in radius (for example, about 5 meters in radius). For example, the communication range of the Bluetooth communication module 17 of the personal computer 10a in FIG. 4 is a range indicated by a broken line in FIG. 4, and in this case, the MFPs 20a, 20b, 20c and the personal computer 10b are included in the communication range of the personal computer 10a. In addition, the personal computers 10c and 10d are not included in the communication range.
[0030]
On the other hand, the MFP 20 performs the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, in S210, the CPU 21 monitors whether or not the Bluetooth communication module 27 has received a search command (whether there has been an inquiry), and if it has received a search command (if there has been an inquiry) (S210: YES). ), The process proceeds to S220.
[0031]
In S220, the self Bluetooth device name is acquired from the NVRAM of the RAM 23. For example, when the Bluetooth device name is the default setting, the text “Multi Function A” is acquired.
In S230 to S280, the status of each process of the MFP 20 is determined, and the status is added to the Bluetooth device name.
[0032]
First, in S230, it is determined whether or not the apparatus is on standby. That is, when the FAX reception process is not in the FAX reception state and the printing process is not in the printing state, it is determined that the printer is on standby.
Note that “whether or not FAX reception is in progress” and “whether or not printing is in progress” are set by, for example, setting the FAX reception flag during FAX reception in the FAX reception processing, and the printing flag during printing in the printing processing. It can be determined whether or not these flags are set in S230. Note that the determinations in S250 and S270, which will be described later, can be similarly made with reference to these flags.
[0033]
If the device is on standby (S230: YES), the process proceeds to S240 and the text “(Standby)” is added to the Bluetooth device name, and then the process proceeds to S290. On the other hand, when not waiting (S230: NO), the process proceeds to S250.
In S250, it is determined whether or not FAX reception is currently being performed in the FAX reception process described above. If FAX reception is in progress (S250: YES), the process proceeds to S260, and the text “(FAX reception in progress) is performed. ) "Is added, and the process proceeds to S270. On the other hand, if the FAX is not being received (S250: NO), the process proceeds to S270.
[0034]
In S270, it is determined whether or not printing is currently being performed in the printing process described above. If printing is in progress (S270: YES), the process proceeds to S280. After adding the text “(printing)” to the Bluetooth device name, the process proceeds to S290. On the other hand, if printing is not in progress (S270: NO), the process proceeds to S290.
[0035]
In S290, the Bluetooth device name, the BD address, and the device type information to which the status is added in S230 to S280 are transmitted from the Bluetooth communication module 27. For example, if it is determined in S230 that it is not waiting (S230: NO), it is determined in S250 that FAX reception is being performed (S230: YES), and if it is determined in S270 that printing is not in progress (S270: NO). The Bluetooth device name to be transmitted is “Multi Function A (fax receiving)”. In addition, by adding a phrase indicating a situation in parentheses in this way, it is easy to clearly distinguish the device name as the device information from the text indicating the situation as the situation information.
[0036]
The Bluetooth communication module 17 of the personal computer 10 receives this Bluetooth device name, and in S120 (see FIG. 3), the CPU 11 acquires the Bluetooth device name from the Bluetooth communication module 17 and stores it in the RAM 13. In S130, the Bluetooth device name is displayed on the display unit 15. This display is performed by drawing in the window 50 shown in FIG. 2 as shown in FIG. That is, the Bluetooth device name is displayed under the icon corresponding to the received device type information.
[0037]
In this way, since the device name including the device status is displayed as the Bluetooth device name, the user can easily grasp which device is in what status by simply looking at the Bluetooth device name. That is, the status of the device, which is not known from the conventional Bluetooth device name display shown in FIG. 9, can be easily understood by displaying it as shown in FIG. In addition, since it is not necessary to separately communicate to acquire the status of the device, the device name and status can be notified without imposing a load on the communication.
[0038]
In this embodiment, the MFP 20 has been described as an example of standby, FAX reception, and printing. For example, various situations such as paper jam, out of paper, out of toner, and memory full may be used. it can.
In this embodiment, the MFP 20 is described as an example of the electronic device and the PC 10 is used as the notification device. However, various devices can be used as the electronic device or the notification device.
[0039]
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the example of notification by displaying the device name as the device name information and the text indicating the status as the status information has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the display, and audio is output. It is good also as a structure which alert | reports by.
In addition, the device name information has, for example, a configuration in which a device status is added to an ID number that specifies a character string, and the notification device stores a character string corresponding to the ID number in advance and stores the corresponding correspondence. A configuration may be adopted in which a character string is specified from the received ID number based on the relationship, and is notified as a device name in combination with the added situation. That is, it is good also as a structure which specifies an apparatus name indirectly.
[0040]
Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, an example of displaying an icon of a device and a device name in a PC GUI environment has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 7A, an icon is displayed. Instead, only the device name (including the device status) may be displayed. Such a configuration works more favorably when there are restrictions on the size and resolution of the display, such as a mobile phone. Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, status information received from the electronic device (corresponding to FAX reception, standby, and printing in FIGS. 6 and 7A) is displayed as a character string as a device name. Instead of this (see FIG. 6 and FIG. 7A), a simple icon corresponding to the situation information may be stored in advance and displayed (notified).
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a network system according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a display example of an execution screen of a Bluetooth device search program.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of Bluetooth device search processing in a PC.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a communication range.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of response processing in the MFP.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example of an execution screen of a Bluetooth device search program after searching for a Bluetooth device.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another display example of an execution screen of a Bluetooth device search program after searching for a Bluetooth device.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining how a Bluetooth device is searched;
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a display example of an execution screen of a conventional Bluetooth device search program.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a conventional printer name and printer status.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ... Network system,
10 ... PC 11 ... CPU 12 ... ROM 13 ... RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 ... HDD 15 ... Display part 16 ... Operation part 17 ... Bluetooth communication module 20 ... MFP (multifunction machine) 21 ... CPU 22 ... ROM 23 ... RAM
24 ... HDD 25 ... display unit 26 ... operation unit 27 ... Bluetooth communication module 28 ... printing unit 29 ... telephone line connection unit 50 ... window 52 ... device detection button 100 ... PC 200 ... multifunction device

Claims (9)

A network system comprising: an electronic device having a communication function; and a notification device that receives device name information indicating a device name of the electronic device from the electronic device and performs notification based on the device name information,
The electronic device is
A setting unit that changes and sets the device name information according to the status of the electronic device, and a transmission unit that transmits the device name information set by the setting unit to the notification device,
The notification device is:
Receiving means for receiving the device name information from the electronic device;
A network system comprising: notification means for performing notification regarding the device name and status of the electronic device based on the device name information received by the receiving device. The setting means sets a device name according to the status of the electronic device as the device name information,
The network system according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies the device name. The setting unit includes a determination unit that determines whether or not there is a transmission request for device name information from the notification device, and a confirmation unit that checks a status of the electronic device when the determination unit determines that there is a transmission request. The network system according to claim 1, wherein the device name information is set according to the status of the electronic device confirmed by the confirmation unit. The notification device
Instruction input means for inputting a notification instruction from the user;
4. The network system according to claim 3, further comprising request means for sending a transmission request for device name information to the electronic device when a notification instruction is input by the instruction input means. The setting means sets, as the device name information, information that combines device information that is invariant information indicating the electronic device and status information that changes according to the status of the electronic device,
5. The network system according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit performs notification related to a device name based on the device information, and performs notification related to a status based on the status information. The network system according to claim 5, wherein the device information is a device name, and the status information is character information indicating a status. The network system according to claim 1, wherein the network is a wireless network based on a Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard. The electronic device usable in a network system including an electronic device having a communication function and device name information indicating a device name of the electronic device from the electronic device, and a notification device that performs notification based on the device name information There,
Setting means for changing and setting the device name information according to the status of the electronic device;
An electronic apparatus comprising: transmission means for transmitting the device name information set by the setting means to the notification device. The program for functioning a computer as each means in the network system in any one of Claims 1-7.

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