JP2006074355A - Network communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network communication system by which a user easily finds out desired equipment and connects the desired equipment without fail even if the number of equipment is increased. <P>SOLUTION: As shown in Figure 4, the network communication system is provided with a search service 401 for searching equipment, a setting part 402 for narrowing down the detection of the equipment, a determining part 405 for narrowing down the equipment by the search service 401 and the setting part 402, and a display unit 404 for displaying the detection results. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a device search result display method via a network.

  Network devices that connect computers and peripheral devices to a network have become widespread. These network devices perform data communication using a communication protocol such as TCP / IP or HTTP. Usually, a network device performs network settings such as an IP address and connects to other devices. Ethernet (registered trademark) does not require the setting of the physical layer. However, in wireless communication based on the international standard 802.11, it is necessary to perform settings related to the physical layer such as a communication mode and security. Also, when connecting to other devices with Bluetooth, it is common to detect a device called SDP and connect the devices.

  In the conventional technology, when devices are connected to each other, the device issuing the device control request knows the IP address of the partner device in advance or does not search the server by broadcast or multicast on the network using a search service. Must not.

Conventionally, since there has been a problem that a considerable processing time is required for device search, a notification that acquires notification information corresponding to the identification information and can reduce the time required for notification in a notification device that performs notification based on the notification information. There existed some which provided an apparatus etc. (for example, patent document 1).
JP 2004-120385 A

  In conventional device detection, all devices that can be detected are detected by the device on the control request sending side, and are displayed to the user in the order of detection. Alternatively, some Bluetooth devices are displayed by device category. However, as the number of devices in the vicinity increases, the number of devices that can be detected by the device on the sending side of the control request increases. If all of these devices are displayed, the device to be connected cannot be found immediately, which is inconvenient.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and an object thereof is to provide means for easily searching for a device to be connected in a network communication system.

  In order to solve the above problems, a network communication system according to the present invention includes a search service unit that searches for devices, a setting unit that narrows down device detection, and narrows down devices by using the search service unit and the setting unit. It is characterized by comprising a determination unit for performing and a display unit for displaying the detection result.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the network communication system displays a setting unit that narrows down device detection, a determination unit that narrows down devices by the search service unit and the setting unit, and a detection result. By providing the display unit, it is possible to easily find a desired device, and even if the number of network devices increases, the user can connect to the desired device without making a mistake.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a flowchart from network device search to display.

  In step S101, the search service unit 401 searches for devices that can be detected on the network. When connecting devices, there are various search services. For example, a search device called SDP is used for Bluetooth, and SSDP is used for UPnP, so that the peripheral device searches for other computer peripheral devices. be able to. In step S102, the devices detected by the search service unit 401 are registered in a list, and the search result is displayed on the display device 404 or the like in step S103. The search result is, for example, as shown in FIG. Depending on the search service, there is also a function of selecting a device category when searching and detecting only devices that fall into that category. In the present invention, without changing the search service unit 401, a setting storage unit 402 that narrows down detection of devices, and a search refinement that narrows down devices using information in the search service unit 401 and the setting storage unit 402 By providing the determination unit 405, desired device detection can be performed.

  FIG. 2 shows a flowchart from network device search to display in the present invention. In step S <b> 201, the setting storage unit 402 acquires search conditions from the operation unit 403. At this time, device information such as device type, manufacturer name, and model name is set as a search condition. In step 202, the search condition is stored in the internal storage device using the setting storage unit 402. Thereafter, in step 203, the search service unit 401 is requested to search for a device, and a device that can be detected on the network is searched. In step S204, the devices detected by the search service are registered in a list. As for the devices searched by this search service, all the devices in the vicinity searched by using the search service unit have been detected. Therefore, in step S205, the setting storage unit 402 and the search narrowing determination unit 405 are used to narrow down a desired device from the search result.

  The search refinement determination unit 405 is a flowchart relating to the search refinement determination unit in the present invention of FIG. In step S301, it is determined whether the data detected by the search service matches the search condition. Therefore, if they match, it is additionally registered in the display device list in step S302, and if they do not match, it is checked in step S304 whether there is next data. Even after additional registration in the display device list, it is checked in step S303 whether there is next data. Steps S301 to S303 are repeated until there is no data, and when there is no data, the processing of the search refinement determination unit 405 is terminated. The search result is displayed on the display unit 404 based on the device search refinement determination result.

  An example of the device detection screen in the present invention is shown in FIG.

  This will be described below with reference to FIG.

  For example, when it is desired to detect only the printer named Model 1 with the manufacturer name A, first, the printer is selected from the device category list 601 of the operation unit 403, the manufacturer is designated in the manufacturer name text box 602, and the model name 603 is obtained. Model 1 is input. This information is stored in step S202. After that, it is assumed that the search service unit 401 in step S203 can detect the printer of manufacturer A (model 1), the printer of manufacturer A (model 2), the digital camera of manufacturer A, and the digital camera of manufacturer B. In the conventional case, the result as shown in FIG. 5 is output. Then, since the search refinement determination unit 405 searches for a printer called Model 1 of manufacturer A, model 1 of the printer of manufacturer A is registered as a search result. Then, the device of manufacturer A as a search result is displayed in the list box 606 of the display unit 404. In addition, when a search condition for searching for only manufacturer A is used, only the product of manufacturer A can be displayed on the display unit 404. Information other than the above may be used as long as it can be acquired by the search service.

  In the first embodiment, the devices can be narrowed down, but it is not always clear which device is being used. When using a search service by an individual, the same device is always used. Therefore, the device that is always used should be easily understood on the display unit.

  Therefore, when connected to a device, information on the device connected to the setting storage unit 402 and the number of connections are stored in the storage device. Then, the number of connections in the setting storage unit 402 is checked, and if the device has been connected in the past, the display unit 404 that displays the search result changes the display means and outputs it. The list box 606 can display how many times it has been connected as the usage frequency. As a display means, as in the check box 607 shown in FIG. 6, a list may be displayed in the order of the number of connections, or a device with a large number of connections may be highlighted using a color or the like.

  By doing so, even if a large number of devices are detected, it becomes possible to easily detect the device to be connected.

10 is a flowchart from conventional network device search to display. 5 is a flowchart from network device search to display in the present invention. The flowchart regarding the narrowing-down determination part in this invention. The block diagram in this invention. An example of the conventional apparatus detection screen. An example of the apparatus detection screen in this invention.

Explanation of symbols

401 Search Service Unit 402 Setting Storage Unit 403 Operation Unit 404 Display Unit 405 Search Refinement Determination Unit 601 Device Category 602 Manufacturer Name Text Box 603 Model Name

Claims (5)

  In a device that issues a device control request of a network communication system, a search service unit that searches for a device, a setting unit that narrows down device detection, a determination unit that narrows down devices by the search service unit and the setting unit, A network communication system comprising a display unit for displaying a detection result.   2. The network communication system according to claim 1, wherein the device detection refinement setting unit can set device information such as a type of device such as a printer or a digital camera, a manufacturer name, and a model name.   The network communication system according to claim 1, wherein the display unit that displays the detection result changes display means according to the number of connections.   4. The network communication system according to claim 1, wherein the display means is displayed in a list in descending order of the number of connections.   4. The network communication system according to claim 1, wherein the display means highlights a device having a large number of connections.

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