Method and Apparatus for Making Devices on a Local Network Remotely-Accessible

A method for making a plurality of devices on a local network accessible, comprising the steps of:

• (a) creating device list information for listing devices based on information provided by the plurality of devices;
• (b) transmitting a device search message to the plurality of devices periodically and modifying the created device list information based on response to the device search message from the plurality of devices;
• and
• (c) providing the device list information in response to a device search from a remote site.

An apparatus for accessing a plurality of devices on a local network through a wide area network, comprising a control device for communicating with the local network by connecting to the wide area network, the control device including:

• a browser for interpreting and processing a document written in a markup language;
• and
• a control application for creating a document for a device list in a format which the browser can interpret based on information received from the plurality of devices through the wide area network and for invoking the browser so that the browser interprets and processes the created document,
• wherein the control application transmits a device search message to the local network periodically, modifies the created document based on response to the device search message, and requests the browser to interpret and process the modified document.