Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Yoshito Maekawa

Toshiaki Igarashi

Noboru Hamada

Yoshinori Takahashi

Masato Ochiai

Tadashi Hagiuda

Masahito Hirai

Masatoshi Otani

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for managing network devices, which allow the user to intuitively recognize errors that have occurred in network devices. When an error monitoring module () detects any error that has occurred in a network device, a corresponding URL address acquisition module () acquires a URL address corresponding to an error category. An electrical generation component generates electrical message data for error information, which contains the acquired URL address, and sends it to an electrical sending module (). Since the user can access error information provided by an HTTP server module () by clicking the URL address described on the received electrical message once, he or she can intuitively recognize the error contents by simple operations.

Method and apparatus for managing network devices

A sever manages a network device connected to a network by storing location information of a providing site that provides state information associated with the network device and a status of the network device. The server determines whether a change in state of the network device has occurred by communicating with the network device, and if so, acquires the stored location information. Then, the server generates an electrical message (an e-mail message, for example) which contains the acquired location information associated with the network device and the determined state of the network device. The electrical message is sent by the server to a user's computer related to a predetermined address such tat the location information can be used by a displaying application in the user's computer to acquire information related to the network device.

According to the present invention, a search condition can be moderated to easily understand a desired device without performing re-search, even if there is no device completely matching the search condition. An attribute of an object class is extracted out of the search condition designated by an operator to search a device meeting the attribute. A matching state of each attribute of the search condition first designated by the operator for a result obtained from the above search is visibly displayed.

Device search system

A network device control unit and method are provided in which the same password is used for both starting up the network management software, and for acquiring information and making settings in the target network device, so that password entry for access to a network device can be omitted and the operability of network management software can be greatly improved. To implement the unit and method, the password entered by the user at start-up of NetSpot is detected, and when the network device to be controlled is selected, the password previously set to control access to this selected network device is acquired. Then this network device password is compared with the NetSpot password, and when the passwords match each other, the password entry for that network device is omitted and the detailed information for that network device is acquired and displayed.

Network data base control device and method thereof

A remote-control apparatus for remotely controlling one or more controlled apparatuses includes a video camera capable of inputting an image of a controlled apparatus and outputting the input image to outside the remote-control apparatus, and a controller for controlling the controlled apparatus the image of which has been input by the video camera, by using a wireless signal. The video camera and the controller are disposed in one body.

Remote-control apparatus and image input apparatus

A multimedia communication apparatus or system is able to display an undisturbed image if image transmission is suspended during audio visual (AV) communication. If the hold-key of the operational unit of an apparatus is pressed during multimedia communication, the system control unit suspends audio and image signals for transmission, and transmits a suspension command to a communication-partner apparatus. When the communication-partner apparatus receives the suspension command, the video interface thereof freezes an image currently received, and the image memory stores this frozen image. Then, the video interface shifts its output to the display from the images received from the video coder-decoder to the frozen image stored in the image memory. The display thus displays the frozen image during the communication suspension. Further, if image transmission is suspended, a transmission capacity including a capacity for image information is used to transmit information regarding the suspension.

Method of displaying a frozen image when transmission of image

There are proposed a communication station apparatus which can perform a multipoint intercommunication by connecting a plurality of points via a communication line, having an inquiry unit for sending, in advance, an inquiry as to participation in the multipoint intercommunication to the stations of members relating to the multipoint intercommunication, and a registration unit for receiving inquiry results sent from the members who received the inquiry from the inquiry unit, and registering a group of personal information of the members relating to the multipoint intercommunication in correspondence with the received results, and a communication station apparatus which can perform a multipoint intercommunication by connecting a plurality of points via a communication line, having an inquiry unit for sending, in advance, an inquiry as to participation in the multipoint intercommunication to stations of members relating to the multipoint intercommunication, and a communication path setting unit for receiving inquiry results sent from the members who received the inquiry from the inquiry unit, and setting a communication path for the multipoint intercommunication in correspondence with the received results.

Multipoint intercommunication with pre-querying of members as to

A multi-media communication apparatus for communicating with a communication partner by using various kinds of media including image, voice and data. The communication apparatus has a memory for storing information on a communication on each medium, and forms and outputs a report for communication management from information on each communication. The communication management report can be formed manually or automatically and contains communication history along with images for identification of communication partners.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Yoshito Maekawa