Patent ID: 7620713

Claim:
A device control management apparatus, comprising: a first communication section connected to each of communication devices via each of first communication paths; a second communication section connected to each of controlled devices via each of second communication paths; a control right management section that includes a control information management table, in advance, that allows the control right management section to manage a control right that is set between the communication device connected to the first communication section and the controlled devices connected to the second communication section; and a communication management section for detecting a communication condition of at least one of the first communication path and the second communication path, wherein the control right management section is capable of changing a setting of the control right without communicating with the communication device for which the control right is set; the change of setting is made in accordance with variation of the communication condition detected by the communication management section, and the communication device is notified by the controlled device of a result of the control right, where the result includes either a notification of a success when the control right is successfully performed and a notification of a failure when the control right is unsuccessfully performed.