Method and apparatus for displaying positions of home network appliances

• US 20040063405A1
• Filed: 09/09/2003
• Published: 04/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Song, Young-Wun
• Granted Patent: US 7,607,091 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18528 Satellite systems for providing two-way communications service to a network of fixed stations, i.e. fixed satellite service or very small aperture terminal [VSAT] system

Abstract

In a method and an apparatus for displaying positions of home network appliances capable of making a user easily recognize positions of home network appliances to control, the method includes generating an appliance identifier for indicating a type of each home network appliance connected to a home network; setting a position pointer for indicating a position of each home network appliance; and displaying the appliance identifier and the position pointer on a screen as graphic objects.

Claims

1. A method for displaying positions of home network appliances, comprising:

generating an appliance identifier for indicating a type of each home network appliance connected to a home network;

setting a position pointer for indicating a position of each home network appliance; and

displaying the appliance identifier and the position pointer on a screen as graphic objects.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the appliance identifier indicates a model name and a serial number of the home network appliance.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the appliance identifier includes an identifier for indicating a type of the home network appliance and an inherent identifier for indicating a serial number of the home network appliance.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the position pointer indicates positions of the different types and the same type of home network appliances.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying step includes the sub-steps of:

combining a graphic object corresponded to the appliance identifier with a text object corresponded to the position pointer; and

displaying the combined object on the screen.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying step includes combining a graphic object corresponded to the appliance identifier with a text object corresponded to the position pointer;

and displaying the combined object on the screen in order to make a user easily recognize a home network appliance to control.

7. An apparatus for displaying positions of home network appliances, comprising:

a means for generating an appliance identifier for indicating a type of a home network appliance connected to a home network;

a means for setting a position indicator for indicating a position of the home network appliance; and

a means for displaying the appliance identifier and the position indicator on a screen as graphic objects.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the appliance identifier indicates a model name and a serial number of the home network appliance.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the appliance identifier includes an identifier for indicating a type of the home network appliance and an inherent identifier for indicating a serial number of the home network appliance.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the position pointer indicates positions of the different types and the same type of home network appliances.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the displaying means combines a graphic object corresponded to the appliance identifier with a text object corresponded to the position pointer;

and displays the combined object on the screen.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the displaying means combines a graphic object corresponded to the appliance identifier with a text object corresponded to the position pointer;

and displays the combined object on the screen in order to make a user accurately recognize a home network appliance to control.

13. An apparatus for displaying positions of home network appliances, comprising:

an appliance identifier generating unit for generating an appliance identifier by reading an appliance type identifier and an appliance inherent identifier from appliance characteristics data stream transmitted from a home network appliance and linking the appliance type identifier to the appliance inherent identifier;

a position matching unit for setting a position pointer for indicating a position of the home network appliance and matching the set position pointer with the appliance identifier of the home network appliance corresponded to the position pointer; and

a display unit for generating a text object for indicating the position pointer matched to the appliance identifier, generating a graphic object for indicating the appliance identifier matched to the position indicator, generating a position indication object by combining the text object with the graphic object and displaying the position indication object on a screen.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the appliance identifier generating unit includes:

a network interface module for receiving appliance characteristics data streams from the home network appliances;

a stream processing module for reading an appliance type identifier and a product inherent identifier from the received appliance characteristics data stream and generating an appliance identifier by linking the read appliance type identifier with the product inherent identifier;

a text library for storing the appliance identifier generated in the stream processing module; and

a text processing module for adjusting a text size of the appliance identifier stored in the text library according to a preset font file.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the stream processing module includes;

a preprocessor for parsing the appliance characteristics data stream received from the network interface module;

a buffer for storing the appliance characteristics data stream parsed in the preprocessor;

a buffer manager for storing the appliance characteristics data stream parsed in the preprocessor in the buffer and outputting a register signal corresponded to the temporarily stored appliance characteristics data stream; and

a generator for reading the appliance type identifier and the product inherent identifier from the appliance characteristics data stream stored in the buffer according to the register signal outputted from the buffer manager and generating the appliance identifier by linking the read appliance type identifier to the product inherent identifier.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the position matching unit includes:

a position matching table set so as to record the appliance identifier according to a position pointer;

an indicating module for indicating the appliance identifier adjusted in the text processing module and the position pointer set in the position matching table;

a position matching module for matching the appliance identifier indicated by the indicating module to a pertinent position indicator according to a user operational key signal; and

a matching table managing module for distinguishing the home network appliances by recording the appliance identifier on the position matching table by the position indicator according to the information matched in the position matching module.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the displaying unit includes:

a position matching table set so as to match-record the appliance identifier according to the set position pointer;

a text library for storing a text object corresponded to the position pointer recorded in the position matching table;

a graphic library for storing a graphic object corresponded to the appliance identifier;

a matching table managing module for reading the appliance identifier matched to the pertinent position pointer by searching the position matching table according to a display request signal generated by the user;

a library managing module for reading the graphic object for indicating the appliance identifier read in the matching table managing module from the graphic library and the text object matched to the appliance identifier from the text library;

a storing module for storing the text object and the graphic object read by the library managing module;

a position indication object generating module for generating a position indicating object by combining the text object with the graphic object stored in the storing module;

a graphic display module for displaying the position indication object generated in the position indication object generating module on the screen through graphic-processing.