Web presence for physical entities

• US 20040010573A1
• Filed: 07/10/2002
• Published: 01/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Lyons, Nicholas P., Vorbau, William Alex, Debaty, Philippe, Goddi, Patrick M.
• Application Number:
  US10/192,487
• Publication Number:
  US 20040010573A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/221
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A system that provides an Internet-based representation of a physical environment which reflects physical/environmental relationships among the physical entities in the physical environment. A system according to the present teaching enables the formation of relationships involving the physical entities and the performance of behaviors associated with the relationships. A system according to the present teaching also provides an interface between physical entities and a vast assortment of Internet services in a manner that takes into account the physical environment of the physical entities.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

physical environment having a set of physical entities;

execution environment that provides a representation of the physical environment that reflects a relationship among the physical entities such that the representation is accessible using Internet protocols.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the execution environment includes a web presence which logs a description of the relationship.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the web presence logs the description in response to a change in the relationship.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the web presence obtains information for formulating the description from another web presence which corresponds to another one of the physical entities involved in the relationship.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the web presence logs an event associated with the relationship in a history store.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the web presence performs a behavior corresponding to the event.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein the web presence enables communication of the description to an additional web presence in the system.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the additional web presence formulates another relationship among the physical entities in response to the description.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein the web presence enables communication of the description to a web portal.

10. The system of claim 2, wherein the web presence enables communication of the description to a web service.

11. The system of claim 2, wherein the web presence enables communication of the description to a client user.

12. A method for representing a set of physical entities, comprising the steps of:

determining a relationship among the physical entities within a physical environment;

obtaining a description of the physical entities involved in the relationship;

providing access to the description using Internet protocols.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of communicating the description to a client user.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of communicating the description to a web portal.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of communicating the description to a web service.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of providing access to the description includes the step of creating a log of the description such that the log is accessible using Internet protocols.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

determining an event associated with the relationship;

performing a behavior associated with the event.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of determining an event comprises the step of determining a change in the relationship.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of performing a behavior comprises the step of communicating the change to a web portal.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of performing a behavior comprises the step of communicating the change to a web service.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of performing a behavior comprises the step of communicating the change to a client user.