INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE AND HOME NETWORK SYSTEM

• US 20090157198A1
• Filed: 12/11/2008
• Published: 06/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Socionext Inc.
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: MORIKAWA, Masanobu
• Granted Patent: US 8,121,706 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2814 Exchanging control software or macros for controlling appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving configuration of the network and network elements H04L41/08

Abstract

There is provided an information processing device capable of dynamically generating and presenting to the user a user interface for remotely controlling at least one other device connected via a network and performing conjunctive operations between the information processing device and the other device, the interface being generated in accordance with the type of the other device. Remote control commands are shared between the networked information processing devices, including commands for controlling devices controlled by different protocols, combinations of commands available for the conjunctive operations are extracted from the remote control commands, and when requested by a terminal device to present remote operations, the type of the terminal device is determined to present the remote operations.

Claims

1. An information processing device connected to at least one other information processing device via a network, the information processing device comprising:

a local control procedure list storage portion having stored therein a local control procedure list being a synopsis of control procedures for controlling the information processing device and conditions under which the control procedures are executable;

a local control procedure generation portion for generating a local control procedure based on the local control procedure list, the local control procedure presenting, to a user, information representing a control function of the information processing device that is executable in accordance with a status of the information processing device;

a remote control procedure generation portion for generating a remote control procedure for presenting a control procedure of the information processing device to the at least one other information processing device, based on the local control procedure;

a conjunctive control procedure table storage portion having stored therein a conjunctive control procedure table indicating a combination of the local control procedure and the remote control procedure and a name of the combination;

a communication portion having functions of transmitting/receiving the remote control procedure and the conjunctive control procedure table to/from the at least one other information processing device;

a conjunctive control procedure generation portion for generating a conjunctive control procedure based on the local control procedure, the remote control procedure received from the at least one other information processing device, the conjunctive control procedure table stored in the conjunctive control procedure table storage portion, and the conjunctive control procedure table received from the at least one other information processing device;

a menu script generation portion for generating a menu script based on the local control procedure, the remote control procedure, and the conjunctive control procedure, the menu script presenting data corresponding to an operating menu screen and an operational procedure on the menu screen to an internal user interface terminal device or a user interface terminal device connected via the network;

a menu script presentation portion for presenting the menu script to the user interface terminal device in accordance with a request from the user interface terminal device; and

a control portion for controlling the information processing device and the at least one other information processing device to execute a control function corresponding to an instruction to execute the local control procedure, the remote control procedure, or the conjunctive control procedure, the instruction being given through an input to the menu screen displayed on the user interface terminal device in accordance with the menu script.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the menu script generation portion determines whether to present the menu script to the user interface terminal device in accordance with conditions indicated for the local control procedure, the remote control procedure, and the conjunctive control procedure.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the local control procedure generation portion generates the local control procedure based on a status of a device internal to the information processing device and a device status of the at least one other information processing device obtained via the communication portion.

4. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein,

the remote control procedure generation portion generates:

a new remote control procedure for the information processing device and a correspondence table between the generated remote control procedure and an original control procedure for the information processing device;

or

a new remote control procedure for the at least one other information processing device and a correspondence table between the generated remote control procedure for the information processing device and an original remote control procedure, and

the original control procedure indicated in the correspondence table is executed when instructed to execute the new remote control procedure generated.

5. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein,

the conjunctive control procedure table stored in the storage portion is configured to be rewritable through user settings, downloading via the network, and reading from a recording medium, and

the conjunctive control procedure table is transmitted to the at least one other information processing device via the communication portion upon request from the at least one other information processing device via the network.

6. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the user interface terminal device is an electronic device capable of interpreting the menu script.

7. The information processing device according to claim 6, wherein the user interface terminal device is internal to the information processing device.

8. The information processing device according to claim 6, wherein the user interface terminal device is connected to the information processing device.

9. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a remote controller signal input portion for inputting a signal from a remote controller to provide an instruction to the user interface terminal device.

10. The information processing device according to claim 8, wherein the user interface terminal device is connected to the information processing device via the network.

11. The information processing device according to claim 1, comprising an electronic circuit for collecting information concerning a device status of a device internal to the information processing device and information concerning a device status of the at least other information processing device obtained by the communication portion, the collected information being presented to another circuit.

18. A home network system comprising two or more of the information processing devices of claims 1 through 17 interconnected via a network.

12. An information processing device comprising:

a local control procedure generation portion for generating a local control procedure concerning a control procedure for any executable control function of the information processing device in accordance with a device status of the information processing device;

a remote control procedure reception portion for receiving a remote control procedure concerning a control procedure for controlling another device connected to the information processing device via a network;

a conjunctive control procedure generation portion for generating a conjunctive control procedure associated with a control procedure allowing the information processing device to operate in conjunction with the other device, based on the local control procedure and the remote control procedure;

a conjunctive control procedure transmission portion for transmitting the conjunctive control procedure to the other device; and

a control portion for controlling the information processing device based on the conjunctive control procedure.

14. The information processing device according to claim 12, wherein, in response to a request from an internal user interface terminal device or a user interface terminal device connected via the network, the control portion presents data corresponding to an operating menu screen and an operational procedure on the menu screen to the user interface terminal device based on the local control procedure, the remote control procedure, and the conjunctive control procedure, and executes the local control procedure, the remote control procedure, and the conjunctive control procedure in accordance with an input from the user interface terminal device.

17. The information processing device according to claim 12, further comprising:

a conjunctive control procedure table reception portion for receiving a conjunctive control procedure table being a synopsis of control procedures allowing the information processing device to operate in conjunction with the other device and conditions under which the control procedures are executable; and

a storage portion having stored therein a previously created conjunctive control procedure table,

wherein the conjunctive control procedure generation portion generates the conjunctive control procedure based on the received conjunctive control procedure table and the conjunctive control procedure table stored in the storage portion.

13. An information processing device comprising:

a local control procedure generation portion for generating a local control procedure concerning a control procedure for any executable control function of the information processing device in accordance with a device status of the information processing device;

a remote control procedure generation portion for generating a remote control procedure concerning a control procedure for another device connected via a network to control the information processing device, based on the local control procedure;

a remote control procedure transmission portion for transmitting the remote control procedure to the other device;

a conjunctive control procedure reception portion for receiving a conjunctive control procedure concerning a control procedure generated by the other device based on the local control procedure and the remote control procedure, the control procedure allowing the information processing device to operate in conjunction with the other device; and

a control portion for controlling the information processing device based on the received conjunctive control procedure.

15. The information processing device according to claim 13, further comprising a conjunctive control procedure transmission portion for transmitting the received conjunctive control procedure to the other device.

16. The information processing device according to claim 13, further comprising:

a conjunctive control procedure generation portion for generating the conjunctive control procedure based on a conjunctive control procedure table being a synopsis of control procedures allowing the information processing device to operate in conjunction with the other device and conditions under which the control procedures are executable; and

a conjunctive control procedure table transmission portion for transmitting the conjunctive control procedure table to the other device.