Method for Interacting With Infrastructure Devices Via Instant Messaging

• US 20090187630A1
• Filed: 01/17/2008
• Published: 07/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, National Research Foundation Of Korea
• Original Assignee: Institute For Information Technology Advancement, International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Narayanaswami, Chandrasekhar, Soroker, Danny, Huaulme, Francois, McFaddin, Herbert S., Paik, Young Sang, Lee, Sean
• Granted Patent: US 7,831,675 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a method for interacting with and controlling infrastructure devices within an IM environment. The method comprises registering at least one infrastructure device at an IM server, registering at least one computing device at the IM server, and delivering one or more of infrastructure device characteristics, status information, and service information from a registered infrastructure device to the IM server, wherein the IM server is configured to publish and update the infrastructure device characteristics, status information, and service information from the at least one registered infrastructure device to registered computing devices. The method also comprises maintaining and displaying a contact list at an IM client application executing at a registered computing device, wherein the contact listing is populated with a listing of registered infrastructure devices and the infrastructure device characteristics, status information, and service information that is associated with the infrastructure device.

Claims

1. A method for interacting with and controlling infrastructure devices within an instant messaging (IM) environment, the method comprising:

registering at least one infrastructure device at an IM server;

registering at least one computing device at the IM server, wherein the computing device is configured to execute an IM client application;

delivering one or more of infrastructure device characteristics, status information, and service information from a registered infrastructure device to the IM server, wherein the IM server is configured to publish and update the infrastructure device characteristics, status information, and service information from the at least one registered infrastructure device to registered computing devices;

maintaining a contact list at an IM client application executing at a registered computing device, wherein the contact listing is populated with a listing of registered infrastructure devices and the infrastructure device characteristics, status information, and service information that is associated with the infrastructure device; and

displaying the contact list to a registered computing device user at the registered computing device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a service session is established with one or more registered infrastructure devices by selecting the infrastructure devices from the contact list maintained within the IM client application executed on a registered computing device.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising configuring an infrastructure device to offer services to a computing device via service sessions, wherein a services session can include more than one computing device and infrastructure device.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising ranking and prioritizing the infrastructure devices that are comprised within the contact list.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting at least one infrastructure device specific service from the contact list displayed at the computing device in order to initiate an interactive chat service session with the at least one infrastructure device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising populating the contact list at the registered computing device with infrastructure devices that are within a predetermined physical proximity of the registered computing device.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising removing an infrastructure device from the contact list at the registered computing device in the instance that the registered computing device is no longer within the predetermined physical proximity of the infrastructure device.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the physical location of the computing devices or infrastructure devices is determined by user input delivered to the IM server.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the physical location of the computing device or infrastructure device is determined via one or a combination of GPS, RFID transponder localization, or radio frequency signal triangulation.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting conditions which generate an alarm application on the computing device when the infrastructure device characteristics, status information, and service information satisfy the conditions.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein a services session is started automatically by the triggering of an alarm condition.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the infrastructure devices can specify conditions under which the IM server can deliver information about the infrastructure device characteristics, status information, and service information to computing devices.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device can specify conditions in regard to which infrastructure devices are included in the contact list.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising the computing devices and the infrastructure devices presenting a security token to the IM server prior to the devices being registered at the IM server.

15. A computer program product that includes a computer readable medium useable by a processor, the medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to interact with and control a computing device that has been registered within an instant messaging (IM) environment, by:

configuring the computing device to execute an IM client application;

transmitting registration information to an IM server;

maintaining a contact list at the IM client application executing at the registered computing device, wherein the contact listing is populated with a listing of registered infrastructure devices and infrastructure device characteristics, status information, and service information that is associated with the infrastructure device; and

displaying the contact list to a registered computing device user at the registered computing device.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein a service session is established with one ore more registered infrastructure devices by selecting the infrastructure devices from the contact list maintained within the IM client application executed on a registered computing device.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising populating the contact list at the registered computing device with infrastructure devices that are within a predetermined physical proximity of the registered computing device.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, further comprising removing an infrastructure device from the contact list at the registered computing device in the instance that the registered computing device is no longer within the predetermined physical proximity of the infrastructure device.

19. The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising setting conditions which generate an alarm application on the computing device when the infrastructure device characteristics, status information, and service information satisfy the conditions.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein a services session is started automatically by the triggering of an alarm condition.

21. The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising the computing devices and the infrastructure devices presenting a security token to the IM server prior to the devices being registered at the IM server.

22. A computer program product that includes a computer readable medium useable by a processor, the medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to interact with and control an infrastructure device that has been registered within an instant messaging (IM) environment, by:

transmitting registration information to an IM server; and

delivering one or more of infrastructure device characteristics, status information, and service information from a registered infrastructure device to the IM server, wherein the IM server is configured to publish and update the infrastructure device characteristics, status information, and service information from the at least one registered infrastructure device to registered computing devices.

23. The computer program product of claim 22, further comprising configuring an infrastructure device to offer services to a computing device via service sessions, wherein a services session can include more than one computing device and infrastructure device.

24. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the infrastructure devices can specify conditions under which the IM server can deliver information about the infrastructure device characteristics, status information, and service information to computing devices.

25. The method of claim 22, further comprising the computing devices and the infrastructure devices presenting a security token to the IM server prior to the devices being registered at the IM server.