Method and apparatus for controlling at least one controlled device in a controlling device

• US 20020046403A1
• Filed: 02/27/2001
• Published: 04/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Jong-Wook, Kim, Do-Hyoung, Park, Ju-Ha
• Granted Patent: US 6,941,340 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/37
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2805 Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2818 from a device located outside both the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless eletrical link G08C17/00; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with remote control systems H04M11/007
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0253 using browsers or web-pages for accessing management information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A method and apparatus for controlling at least one controlled device in a controlling device, in which a target device to perform an actual controlling operation is set in the case that a device control message is transferred to a web server by a user manipulation in a controlling device under a virtual server controlling system are provided. The method includes the steps of loading a web browser screen, transferring a message including a controlled device identifier part and a control information identifier part to a web server module, and setting a target device of the at least one controlled device based on the controlled device identifier part of the message and identifying the control information based on the control information identifier part, to thereby provide the web server module with control information with respect to the set target device and the identified controlled device.

Claims

1. A method of controlling at least one controlled device in a control device, including a browser module capable of supporting predetermined first and second device control systems and providing a user interface, a server module capable of providing and indicating control information with respect to the at least one controlled device, and a basic control module capable of performing a device control by using the second device control system, in which the device control with respect to the at least one controlled device is performed according to the steps of transferring a predetermined message from the browser module to the server module, providing and indicating the control information from the server module to the browser module in correspondence to the predetermined message, and performing the device control with respect to the at least one controlled device according to the second device control system by the basic control module in correspondence to a user input on the control information indicated on the browser module, the method comprising the steps of:

providing the predetermined message transferred from the browser module to the server module, the predetermined message including a device identifier part and a control information identifier part; and

setting a target device for device control according to the second device control system based on the device identifier part and identifying the control information based on the control information identifier part, in the server module, to thereby transfer the identified control information to the browser module.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising adopting a virtual server control system that is incorporated and applied with the EIA-775.1 standard in which the control device comprises both the web browser module and the web server module.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the control device and the controlled device are mutually connected via an IEEE 1394 bus.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the web server module performs an operation of transferring a previously possessed file to the web browser according to a request of the web browser, and an operation of simply transferring a file according to a request of the web browser.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the operation of transferring a previously possessed file to the web browser according to a request of the web browser is a predetermined file server operation.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the operation of simply transferring a file according to a request of the web browser is performed through a Common Gateway Interface (CGI).

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the device control system makes a code in a manner that an image determined in a standard with respect to a corresponding portion is included if the controlled device supports a client/server control system such as a home wide web, but makes a code in a manner that an internally prepared image is included after judging the kind of a device according to a command control system if the controlled device does not support the client/server control system but supports the command control system.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the command control system is an audio/video command control system.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein the control device parses and transforms the predetermined message via the web server module and outputs the predetermined message to the controlled device via a command module, according to the control command selected via the web browser module by the user.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the server module provides an array of device identifiers with respect to devices connected to the server module, and the device identifier part is an index with respect to the array of device identifiers.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the device identifier part is a node identifier defined in an IEEE 1394 high performance serial bus technology.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the message comprises a first block for Common Gateway Interface (CGI) control, a second block indicating as an index whether a Global Unique Identifier (GUID) of the target device to be controlled corresponds to any one of a predetermined GUID array, and a third block indicating a name of a device control page necessary for controlling the target device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the GUID of the target device to be controlled is directly indicated in the second block.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the control device is one of a personal computer, a digital TV, a digital set-top-box, and a web TV.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the web server produces a device control page code without having a message request of the web browser and transfers the produced device control page code.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising adopting a virtual server control system that is incorporated and applied with the EIA-775.1 standard in which the control device comprises both the web browser module and the web server module.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the control device and the controlled device are mutually connected via an IEEE 1394 bus.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the web server module performs an operation of transferring a previously possessed file to the web browser according to a request of the web browser, and an operation of simply transferring a file according to a request of the web browser.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the operation of transferring a previously possessed file to the web browser according to a request of the web browser is a predetermined file server operation.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the operation of simply transferring a file according to a request of the web browser is performed through a Common Gateway Interface (CGI).

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the device control system makes a code in a manner that an image determined in a standard with respect to a corresponding portion is included if the controlled device supports a client/server control system such as a home wide web, but makes a code in a manner that an internally prepared image is included after judging the kind of a device according to a command control system if the controlled device does not support the client/server control system but supports the command control system.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the command control system is an audio/video command control system.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the control device parses and transforms the message via the web server module and outputs the message to the controlled device via a command module, according to the control command selected via the web browser module by the user.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the server module provides an array of device identifiers with respect to devices connected to the server module, and the device identifier part is an index with respect to the array of device identifiers.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the device identifier part is a node identifier defined in an IEEE 1394 high performance serial bus technology.

27. The method of claim 16, wherein the message comprises a first block for CGI control, a second block indicating as an index whether a GUID (Global Unique Identifier) of the target device to be controlled corresponds to any one of a predetermined GUID array, and a third block indicating a name of a device control page necessary for controlling the target device.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the GUID of the target device to be controlled is directly indicated in the second block.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the control device is one of a personal computer, a digital TV, a digital set-top-box, and a web TV.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the web server produces a device control page code without having a message request of the web browser and transfers the produced device control page code.

16. A method of controlling at least one controlled device in a control device, the method comprising the steps of:

loading a web browser screen by driving a web browser module providing a user interface;

transferring a message including a controlled device identifier part and a control information identifier part to a web server module providing control information with respect to the at least one controlled device; and

setting a target device of the at least one controlled device based on the controlled device identifier part of the message and identifying the control information based on the control information identifier part, to thereby provide the web server module with control information with respect to the set target device and the identified controlled device.

31. An apparatus for controlling at least one controlled device in a control device, including a browser module capable of supporting predetermined first and second device control systems and providing a user interface, a server module capable of providing and indicating control information with respect to the at least one controlled device, and a basic control module capable of performing a device control by using the second device control system, in which the device control with respect to the at least one controlled device is performed according to the steps of transferring a predetermined message from the browser module to the server module, providing and indicating the control information from the server module to the browser module in correspondence to the message, and performing the device control with respect to the at least one controlled device according to the second device control system by the basic control module in correspondence to a user input on the control information indicated on the browser module, the apparatus comprising:

the browser module for providing the predetermined message including a device identifier part and a control information identifier part to the server module; and

the server module for setting a target device for device control according to the second device control system based on the device identifier part and identifying the control information based on the control information identifier part, in the server module, to thereby transfer the identified control information to the browser module.