Home network system and method therefor

• US 20050120246A1
• Filed: 12/01/2004
• Published: 06/02/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Nam, Su-hyun, Lee, Jae-heung, Jang, Yong-jin, Kim, Myung-sun
• Granted Patent: US 7,979,913 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/4
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2807 Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving network analysis for automatically determining the actual topology of a network H04L41/12; hardware or software tools for network management using graphical user interfaces H04L41/22; address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/062 applying encryption of the keys cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution using key encryption key H04L9/0822
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0809 Plug-and-play configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0813 characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/065 for group communications cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management involving conference or group key H04L9/0833
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/006 involving public key infrastructure [PKI] trust models network architecture or network communication protocol for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0825 using asymmetric-key encryption or public key infrastructure [PKI], e.g. key signature or public key certificates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/083 involving central third party, e.g. key distribution center [KDC] or trusted third party [TTP]

Abstract

A home network system allowing a user to directly control joining or removing of member devices in a domain using a user interface and to effectively control a status change of the member devices of the domain and a management method therefor. The home network system includes: a master device, which forms a domain with more than one controlled device, transmits a predetermined domain key to the controlled devices included in the domain, generates a new domain key whenever a configuration of the domain is changed, and transmits the new domain key to the controlled devices remaining in the domain; and a control point, which provides a user interface allowing a user to directly change the configuration of the domain.

Claims

1. A home network system comprising:

a master device, which forms a domain with more than one controlled device, transmits a predetermined domain key to the controlled devices included in the domain, generates a new domain key whenever a configuration of the domain is changed, and transmits the new domain key to controlled devices that remain in the domain; and

a control point, which provides a user interface allowing a user to directly change the configuration of the domain.

2. The home network system of claim 1, wherein some of the devices forming the domain provide predetermined content.

3. The home network system of claim 2, wherein the domain key is used for encrypting content keys used for encrypting the predetermined content.

4. The home network system of claim 2, wherein the domain key is encrypted using a public key of a controlled device receiving the predetermined content and the encrypted domain key is decrypted using a predetermined secret key forming a pair with the public key.

5. The home network system of claim 1, wherein the home network system is built based on UPnP.

6. The home network system of claim 1, wherein the domain key is generated using device information of the devices forming the domain.

7. The home network system of claim 1, wherein the control point transmits information necessary for operating the master device and the controlled devices forming the domain to the master device and the controlled devices forming the domain.

8. The home network system of claim 1, wherein member devices forming the domain share a session ID changed according to a change of the member devices forming the domain, and if a session ID of a device connected to the domain is not the same as that of the master device, the master device transmits a domain key stored in the master device to the connected device.

9. The home network system of claim 8, wherein each of the controlled devices has a slave status or a guest status as a device mode, and if a session ID of a device connected to the domain is not the same as that of the master device and the connected device exists in a slave device list stored in the master device, the master device transmits the domain key stored in the master device to the connected device.

10. The home network system of claim 9, wherein, if the connected device does not exist in the slave device list stored in the master device, a device mode of the connected device is changed to a guest status.

11. The home network system of claim 9, wherein, if a domain ID of a device connected to the domain is not the same as that stored in the master device, the master device does not transmit the domain key to the connected device.

12. The home network system of claim 9, wherein, if a device mode of a device connected to the domain is not a slave status, the master device does not transmit the domain key to the connected device.

13. The home network system of claim 8, wherein the session ID further comprises date information and/or version information in addition to a unique ID.

14. A method of managing a home network system comprising a master device, which forms a domain with more than one controlled device and transmits a predetermined domain key to the controlled devices included in the domain, and a control point, which provides a user interface, the method comprising:

(a) changing a configuration of the domain in response to a user'"'"'s command input using the user interface;

(b) generating a new domain key according to the configuration change of the domain in the master device; and

(c) transmitting the generated domain key to controlled devices remaining in the domain.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the home network system is built based on UPnP.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the domain key is generated using device information of the devices forming the domain.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

(d) sharing a session ID changed according to a status change of member devices forming the domain with the member devices of the domain; and

(e) if a session ID of a device connected to the domain is not the same as that of the domain, the master device transmits a domain key of the domain to the connected device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein each of the controlled devices has a slave status or a guest status as a device mode, and in step (e), if a session ID of a device connected to the domain is not the same as that of the domain and the connected device exists in a slave device list stored in the master device, the domain key stored in the master device is transmitted to the connected device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, in step (e), if the device connected to the domain does not exist in the slave device list, a device mode of the connected device is set to a guest status.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein step (e) comprises, if a domain ID of the device connected to the domain is not the same as that of the domain, not transmitting the domain key to the connected device.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein step (e) comprises, if a device mode of the device connected to the domain is not a slave status, not transmitting the domain key to the connected device.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the session ID further comprises date information and/or version information in addition to a unique ID.

23. A home network management control apparatus in a home network system comprising a master device, which forms a domain with more than one controlled device, the apparatus comprising:

a user interface provider, which provides a user interface allowing a user to directly change a configuration of the domain; and

a device operating information provider, which transmits information necessary for operating member devices of the domain to the member devices of the domain according to a user'"'"'s command input using the user interface.

24. A home network management control apparatus in a home network system comprising a master device, which forms a domain with more than one controlled device, the apparatus comprising:

a user interface provider, which provides a user interface allowing a user to directly change a configuration of the domain;

a device detector, which detects a device connected to the home network management control apparatus; and

a device operating information provider, which transmits information of the connected device to the master device and a processing result of the master device to the connected device.

25. A master device, which forms a domain with more than one controlled device, the master device comprising:

a controlled device manager, which performs authentication of the controlled devices;

a domain ID manager, which generates a domain ID identifying the domain and transmits the domain ID to member devices of the domain;

a session ID manager, which generates a session ID changed according to a configuration change of the domain and transmits the session ID to the member devices of the domain; and

a domain key manager, which generates a domain key changed according to the configuration change of the domain and transmits the domain key to the member devices of the domain.

26. A method of managing controlled devices by a master device, which forms a domain with more than one controlled device, the method comprising:

(a) performing authentication of the controlled devices;

(b) generating a domain ID identifying the domain and transmitting the domain ID to member devices of the domain;

(c) generating a session ID changed according to a configuration change of the domain and transmitting the session ID to the member devices of the domain; and

(d) generating a domain key changed according to the configuration change of the domain and transmitting the domain key to the member devices of the domain.

27. A computer readable medium having recorded thereon a computer readable program for performing the method of claim 26.

28. A master device, which forms a domain with slave devices, each slave device operating in a slave status as a device mode, among a plurality of controlled devices operating in a slave status or a guest status as the device mode, the master device comprising:

a controlled device manager, which performs authentication and device mode determination of a device connected to the domain, generates and changes a slave device list, and determines whether the connected device exists in the slave device list;

a domain ID manager, which generates a domain ID identifying the domain and compares the domain ID of the master device and that of the connected device;

a session ID manager, which compares a session ID of the master device, which is changed according to a configuration change of the domain, and that of the connected device; and

a domain key manager, which generates a domain key changed according to the configuration change of the domain, and if the domain IDs are the same as a comparison result of the domain ID manager, the session IDs are not the same as a comparison result of the session ID manager, and the connected device exists in the slave device list as a determination result of the controlled device manager, transmits the domain key of the master device to the connected device.

29. A method of managing controlled devices by a master device, which forms a domain with slave devices, each slave device operating in a slave status as a device mode, among a plurality of controlled device operating in a slave status or a guest status as the device mode, the method comprising:

(a) performing authentication of a device connected to the domain;

(b) if the authentication succeeded, determining the device mode of the connected device;

(c) if the device mode of the connected device is a slave status as a determination result of step (b), comparing a session ID of the master device and that of the connected device;

(d) if the session IDs are not the same as a comparison result of step (c), determining whether the connected device exists in a slave device list showing controlled devices, each device mode of which is a slave status; and

(e) if the connected device exists in the slave device list as a determination result of step (d), transmitting a domain key of the master device, which is changed according to a configuration change of the domain, to the connected device.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising, before at least step (c), comparing a domain ID, by which the domain can be identified and which is shared by member devices of the domain, and a domain ID of the connected device, and if the domain IDs are not the same, not performing the next steps.

31. A computer readable medium having recorded thereon a computer readable program for performing the method of either claim 29 or 30.