Patent ID: 6748428
Filing Date: 2004-06-08
Classification: G06F,H04L

Abstract:
A device operation management method for managing device operation on a network constructed by connecting thereto a plurality of controller devices through a serial bus interface and by connecting thereto at least one controlled device to be controlled by at least one of the controller devices, the method comprising:a resource capacity check step of checking a system resource capacity of each of the plurality of controller devices, by a manager device which is determined so as to manage device operation, at initial setting when the network is constructed; a software capacity check step of checking a capacity of control software for controlling the controlled device, by the manager device; and an assignment step of assigning the control software to at least one of the controller devices, by the manager device, based on results of the resource capacity check step and the software capacity check step in which the capacity of control software is compared to the system resource capacity of each of the plurality of controller devices; wherein if it is impossible to assign the control software to an arbitrary controller device, unnecessary control software possessed by the arbitrary controller device is assigned to another controller device by the manager device or is deleted by the arbitrary controller device, based on an instruction from the manager device, and then, the control software is assigned to the arbitrary controller device; further comprising: a desired function determination step of determining whether or not the control software controls a controlled device of a desired function, by the manager device; a possession determination step of determining whether or not the arbitrary controller device possesses unnecessary control software, based on an instruction from the manager device if the control software is determined to be of the controller device of the desired function as a result of determination in the desired function determination step; and a possession possibility determination step of determining whether or not another controller device can possess the unnecessary control software, by the manager device, if the arbitrary controller device is determined as possessing the unnecessary control software, as a result of determination in the possession determination step.