Synchronization of network devices

• US 10,644,871 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2016
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Menard, Alexis, Macieira, Thiago J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dailey, Thomas J
• Application Number:
  US15/181,189
• Publication Number:
  US 20170359163A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,422 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/28 Timers or timing mechanisms used in protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 7/04 Speed or phase control by synchronisation signals H04L7/0075 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/002 Mutual synchronization
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/195 the transmission using visible or infrared light

Abstract

Methods, systems, and storage media for synchronizing network devices are disclosed herein. An embodiment may include sending a control signal to each of multiple devices that have device operations that are perceptible together, the control signal to control the perceptible device operation of each device. Timing information may be received from each device indicating timing of perceptible operation of the device relative to the control signal. Synchronizing control signals may be determined from the timing information to control the device operations to be perceptibly synchronous, and the synchronizing control signals may be sent to the devices to provide perceptibly synchronous operation of them.

Claims

1. A gateway apparatus, comprising:

communication circuitry to couple a plurality of devices to a network;

one or more processors;

a control module to be operated by at least one of the one or more processors to send, via the communication circuitry, calibrating control signals and synchronizing control signals to selected ones of the plurality of devices to respectively calibrate and synchronize device operations of the selected devices that are perceptible together by a user, the calibrating control signals being sent to elicit timing information associated with performance of the perceptible together device operations from the selected devices to determine the synchronizing control signals, and the synchronizing control signals being sent to control the perceptible together device operations of the selected devices, so their performances are perceptibly synchronous; and

a calibration module to be operated by at least one of the one or more processors to instruct the control module to send the calibrating control signals to the selected devices, wherein the calibration module is to receive from the selected devices the elicited timing information, in response to the calibrating control signals, indicating respective timing of the perceptible together operations of the selected devices, and wherein the calibration module is to determine the synchronizing control signals based at least in part on the received timing information, and to provide the synchronizing control signals to the control module to provide to the selected devices to synchronize their perceptible together device operations.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the calibration module is to receive the elicited timing information from the selected devices that includes a reply from each of the selected devices indicating that the perceptible together operation of the selected device is commenced, in response to the calibrating control signal.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control module is to send a synchronizing control signal to each of the selected devices that includes a timing component associated with synchronizing the performance of the perceptible together operation by the selected device with the performance of the perceptible together operation by other selected devices.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the timing component of the synchronizing control signal provided to each of the selected devices is based at least in part correspondingly on the timing information received from the selected device.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the timing information from the selected devices includes timing information from at least one selected device indicating a device response time of greatest duration relative to device response times of the other selected devices, and wherein the synchronizing control signals provided to the selected devices include a common timing component that is based at least in part on the device response time of greatest duration.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the perceptible together device operation of the selected devices includes an operation visibly perceptible together by the user.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the visibly perceptible together operation of the selected devices includes emission of light or display of image by the selected devices.

20. The gateway apparatus of claim 1 wherein the perceptible together device operation of the plural devices includes an operation audibly perceptible together by the user.

8. A method for synchronizing operations by a plurality of devices that are perceptible together by a user, comprising:

sending, by a gateway device coupling the plurality of devices to a network, a calibration control signal to each of the plural devices;

receiving, by the gateway device, from each of the plural devices, in response to the calibration control signal, timing information associated with performance of the perceptible together operation of the device;

determining, by the gateway device, respective synchronizing control signals for the plural devices based at least in part on the respective timing information received from the plural devices, the synchronizing control signals to control the performance of the perceptible together operations so their performances are perceptibly synchronous; and

sending, by the gateway device, the synchronizing control signals to the respective plural devices to synchronize the performance of the perceptible together operation by the plural devices.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving timing information comprises receiving timing information from each of the plural devices that includes a reply indicating the perceptible together operation of the device has commenced.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the synchronizing control signal of each device includes a timing component associated with synchronizing the performance of the perceptible together operation by the device with the performance of the perceptible together operation by other ones of the plural devices.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the timing component of the synchronizing control signal provided to each device is based at least in part correspondingly on the timing information received from the device.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the timing information from the plural devices includes timing information from at least one device indicating a device response time of greatest duration relative to device response times of the other devices and wherein the synchronizing control signals provided to the plural devices include a common timing component that is based at least in part on the device response time of greatest duration.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the perceptible together device operation of the plural devices includes an operation audibly perceptible together by the user.

21. The method of claim 8, wherein the perceptible together operation of the plural devices includes an operation visibly perceptible together by the user.

14. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions to cause a gateway device coupling a plurality of devices to a network, in response to execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the gateway device, to:

send a calibration control signal to each of plural devices;

receive, from each of the plural devices, in response to the calibration control signal, timing information associated with performance of an operation, the respective performance of the operation by each device is perceptible together by a user;

determine respective synchronizing control signals for the plural devices, based at least in part on the respective timing information received from the plural devices, the synchronizing control signals to control the performance of the perceptible together operations so their performances are perceptibly synchronous; and

send the respective synchronizing control signals to the plural devices to synchronize the performance of the perceptible together operation by the plural devices.

15. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein receipt of timing information comprises receive of timing information from each of the plural devices that includes a reply indicating the perceptible together operation of the device has commenced.

16. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the synchronizing control signal of each device includes a timing component associated with synchronizing the performance of the perceptible together operation by the device with the perceptible together operation by other ones of the plural devices.

17. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the timing component of the synchronizing control signal provided to each device is based at least in part correspondingly on the timing information received from the device.

18. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the timing information from the plural devices includes timing information from at least one device indicating a device response time of greatest duration relative to device response times of the other devices and wherein the synchronizing control signals provided to the plural devices include a common timing component that is based at least in part on the device response time of greatest duration.

19. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the perceptible together operations of the plural devices include an operation visibly perceptible together by the user.

22. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the perceptible together device operation of the plural devices includes an operation audibly perceptible together by the user.