Managing a home network

• US 20050256903A1
• Filed: 06/12/2003
• Published: 11/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Diederiks, Elmo Marcus Attila, Van De Sluis, Bartel Marinus, Vrielink, Koen Hendrik Johan, Simons, David Peter Louis, Martel, Adrian
• Application Number:
  US10/518,269
• Publication Number:
  US 20050256903A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• 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 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 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements

Abstract

This invention relates to a method of managing a media system (103, 201, 208) with a group identifier in a network (210) of media systems. The invention further relates to a media system for managing a network of media systems with a group identifier. The media system can be may be a set-top box, a TV, a PC, a DVD player, a radio, a screen, a camera or a VCR. Said method includes the steps of determining a status of the network, wherein the status represents the group identifier, presence and/or absence of at least one media system; and determining the group identifier for at least one media system based on the determined status. Said step of determining the group identifier comprises the alternative four steps of resetting the group identifier, when said media system is disconnected from the network; or giving an existing group identifier to a first media system (201), when said media system without a group identifier is connected to a second media system (202) having said existing group identifier; or keeping separate group identifiers to a third (203) and a fourth media system (204), when the third and the fourth media system are connected to the network; or giving a first group identifier specified by a user, when a fifth media system (205) is connected to the network to one or more media systems where none of these has a group identifier, and assigning the first group identifier to all of said media systems. Said method further includes the step of: giving a second group identifier specified by a user to a sixth media system (206). Hereby, it is made easy for a user to add, move and remove media systems without the user interaction, since the media systems themselves determine the group identifiers.

Claims

1. A method of managing a media system with a group identifier in a network of media systems, the method comprising the steps of:

determining a status of the network, wherein the status represents the group identifier, presence and/or absence of at least one media system; and

determining the group identifier for at least one media system based on the determined status.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the method further comprises the step of:

giving a second group identifier specified by a user to a sixth media system.

3. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the step of determining the group identifier comprises the step of:

resetting the group identifier, when said media system is disconnected from the network;

or

giving an existing group identifier to a first media system, when said media system without a group identifier is connected to a second media system having said existing group identifier;

or

keeping separate group identifiers to a third and a fourth media system, when the third and the fourth media system are connected to the network;

or

giving a first group identifier specified by a user, when a fifth media system is connected to the network, to one or more media systems where none of these has a group identifier, and assigning the first group identifier to all of said media systems.

4. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the media system is a set-top box, a TV, a PC, a DVD player, a radio, a screen, a camera or a VCR.

5. A computer system for performing the method according to claim 1.

6. A computer program product comprising program code means stored on a computer readable medium for performing the method of claim 1 when the computer program is run on a computer.

7. A media system for managing a network of media systems with a group identifier, said media system comprising:

means for determining a status of the network, wherein the status represents the group identifier, presence and/or absence of at least one media system; and

means for determining the group identifier for at least one media system based on the determined status.

8. A media system according to claim 7, characterized in that means for determining the group identifier comprises:

means for resetting the group identifier, when said media system is disconnected from the network;

means for giving an existing group identifier to a first media system, when said media system without a group identifier is connected to a second media system having said existing group identifier;

means for keeping separate group identifiers to a third and a fourth media system, when the third and the fourth media system are connected to the network; and

means for giving a first group identifier specified by a user, when a fifth media system is connected to the network, to one or more media systems where none of these has a group identifier, and assigning the first group identifier to all of said media systems.

9. A media system according to claim 7 characterized in that the media system further comprises:

means for giving a second group identifier specified by a user to a sixth media system.