Wireless Home and Office Appliance Management and Integration
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for managing network appliances, comprising:
- automatically establishing network communication with a networked device responsive to a connection request from the device;
receiving a description of a user interface from the networked device, the description including information for controlling the device;
generating a user interface based on the received description, the user interface including a plurality of user interface components associated with the device;
responsive to a user interaction with one of the user interface components, sending information describing the user interaction to the networked device;
receiving an updated description of the user interface from the networked device based on the information describing the user interaction; and
displaying an updated user interface associated with the networked device based on the updated description received from the networked device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides systems and methods for managing and controlling networked devices. A system comprises a host application executing on, for example, a personal computer, and one or more networked devices executing a client application. A networked device includes a consumer appliance equipped with network capability, a digital device such as MP3 players and DVRs, an electronically-controlled device such as a light circuit or other type of circuit, and the like. The host application automatically establishes communication with the networked device. The networked device configures a user interface for user control of the networked device. The host application provides a graphical layout of the networked device.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for managing network appliances, comprising:
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automatically establishing network communication with a networked device responsive to a connection request from the device; receiving a description of a user interface from the networked device, the description including information for controlling the device; generating a user interface based on the received description, the user interface including a plurality of user interface components associated with the device; responsive to a user interaction with one of the user interface components, sending information describing the user interaction to the networked device; receiving an updated description of the user interface from the networked device based on the information describing the user interaction; and displaying an updated user interface associated with the networked device based on the updated description received from the networked device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer system for managing network appliances, comprising:
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a network communication module configured to automatically establish network communication with a networked device responsive to a connection request from the device; a device communication module configured to receive a description of a use interface from the networked device, the description including information for controlling the device; an user interface module configured to generate a user interface based on the received description, the user interface comprising a plurality of user interface components associated with the device; the device communication module configured to, responsive to a user interaction with one of the user interface components, send information describing the user interaction to the networked device, receive an updated description of the user interface from the networked device based on the information describing the user interaction; and the user interface module configured to display an updated user interface associated with the networked device received from the networked device. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer program product for managing networked devices, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium, the computer-readable medium comprising program code for performing a method, comprising:
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automatically establishing network communication with a networked device responsive to a connection request from the device; receiving a description of a user interface from the networked device, the description including information for controlling the device; generating a user interface based on the received description, the user interface including a plurality of user interface components associated with the device; responsive to a user interaction with one of the user interface components, sending information describing the user interaction to the networked device; receiving an updated description of the user interface from the networked device based on the information describing the user interaction; and displaying an updated user interface associated with the networked device based on the updated description of the user interface received from the networked device. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification