INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE, METHOD AND SERVER FOR DETERMINING TYPE OF ELECTRIC APPLIANCE

• US 20100257158A1
• Filed: 09/18/2009
• Published: 10/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Optim LLC
• Original Assignee: Optim LLC
• Inventors: Sugaya, Shunji
• Granted Patent: US 8,301,625 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/723
• 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 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

A device, a method and a server for performing device identification of electric appliances connected to a network are provided. An information processing device 50, to which electric appliances 20 are communicably connected via a network 2, receives a packet (a response packet or a passive packet) for determining a type of an electric appliance 20, from the electric appliances 20. The information processing device 50 stores definition files defined for each electric appliance 20 in advance, compares the received packet with the definition files for the each electric appliance, scores the packet, extracts a definition file with a high score, and determines electric appliance information of the extracted definition file as electric appliance information of the electric appliance 20.

Claims

1. An information processing device to which electric appliances are communicably connected, comprising:

means for transmitting a request packet to an electric appliance;

means for receiving a response packet, based on which the identification of a type is performed for the electric appliance, from the electric appliance to which the request packet has been transmitted;

means for storing a definition file prepared for each of the electric appliances;

means for scoring that compares the response packet with the definition file so as to perform scoring for the definition file; and

means for determining a type of an electric appliance that extracts a definition file having a high score provided by the means for scoring and determines the information related to a particular electric appliance contained in the extracted definition file as corresponding to the electric appliance.

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

the means for transmitting a request packet and the means for receiving a response packet perform transmission and reception of a plurality of packets between the electric appliance and the information processing device, and

the means for determining a type of an electric appliance extracts the definition file having the high score based on a total score associated with the plurality of packets.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the means for scoring compares the response packet with the definition file and performs scoring according to an amount of similarity between the response packet and the definition file.

4. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the means for transmitting a request packet transmits the request packet to the electric appliance at regular intervals so as to detect the electric appliance communicably connected to the information processing device at predetermined timing.

5. A method for controlling an information processing device to which electric appliances are communicably connected, the method comprising the steps of:

transmitting a request packet to an electric appliance;

receiving a response packet, based on which the identification of a type is performed for the electric appliance, from the electric appliance to which the request packet has been transmitted;

storing a definition file prepared for each of the electric appliances;

scoring by comparing the response packet with the definition file; and

extracting a definition file having a high score provided at the previous step of scoring; and

determining the information related to a particular electric appliance contained in the extracted definition file as corresponding to the electric appliance.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein

the transmitting a predetermined request packet and the receiving a response packet perform transmission and reception of a plurality of packets between the electric appliance and the information processing device, and

the determining a type of an electric appliance extracts the definition file having the high score based on a total score associated with the plurality of packets.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the scoring compares the response packet with the definition file and performs scoring according to an amount of similarity between the response packet and the definition file.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein the transmitting a request packet transmits the request packet to the electric appliance at regular intervals so as to detect the electric appliance communicably connected to the information processing device at predetermined timing.

9. A system for determining a type of an electric appliance comprising:

an information processing device to which electric appliances are communicably connected; and

a unit recognition server communicably connected with the information processing device,

the information processing device comprising;

means for receiving a packet from an electric appliance based on which the identification of a type is performed for the electric appliance;

means for requesting the information related to a type of the electric appliance by transmitting the packet to the unit recognition server,

the unit recognition server comprising;

means for storing a definition file prepared for each of the electric appliances;

means for scoring that compares the packet with the definition file and performs scoring for the definition file in response to a request from the information processing device; and

means for determining a type of an electric appliance that extracts a definition file having a high score provided by the means for scoring and transmits the information related to a particular electric appliance contained in the extracted definition file to the information processing device, while determining the information as corresponding to the electric appliance.

10. A unit recognition server communicably connected with an information processing device to which electric appliances are communicably connected, comprising:

means for receiving from the information processing device a packet that is transmitted by an electric appliance;

means for storing a definition file prepared for each of the electric appliances;

means for scoring that compares the packet with the definition file and performs scoring for the definition file in response to a request from the information processing device; and

means for determining a type of an electric appliance that extracts a definition file having a high score provided by the means for scoring and transmits the information related to a particular electric appliance contained in the extracted definition file to the information processing device, while determining the information as corresponding to the electric appliance.

11. A method for controlling a system comprising an information processing device to which electric appliances are communicably connected and a unit recognition server communicably connected with the information processing device, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving from an electric appliance a packet based on which the identification of a type is performed for the electric appliance;

requesting the information related to the type of the electric appliance by transmitting the packet to the unit recognition server;

storing a definition file prepared for each of the electric appliances;

scoring by comparing the packet with the definition file so as to perform scoring for the definition file in response to a request from the information processing device; and

extracting a definition file having a high score provided at the previous step of scoring and transmitting the information related to a particular electric appliance contained in the extracted definition file to the information processing device, while determining the information as corresponding to the electric appliance.

12. An information processing device to which electric appliances are communicably connected, comprising:

means for receiving a packet that receives from an electric appliance a broadcast packet or multicast packet based on which the identification of a type is performed for the electric appliance;

means for storing a definition file prepared for each of the electric appliances;

means for scoring that compares the packet with the definition file and performs scoring for the definition file; and

means for determining a type of an electric appliance that extracts a definition file having a high score provided by the means for scoring and determines the information related to a particular electric appliance contained in the extracted definition file as corresponding to the electric appliance.

13. A method for controlling an information processing device to which electric appliances are communicably connected, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving from an electric appliance a broadcast packet or multicast packet based on which the identification of a type is performed for an electric appliance;

storing a definition file prepared for each of the electric appliances;

scoring by comparing the packet with the definition file so as to perform scoring for the definition file;

extracting a definition file having a high score provided at the previous step of scoring; and

determining the information related to a particular electric appliance contained in the extracted definition file as corresponding to the electric appliance.

14. A unit recognition server communicably connected with an information processing device to which electric appliances are communicably connected, comprising:

means for receiving a packet that receives from the information processing device a broadcast packet or multicast packet received from an electric appliance, based on which the identification of a type is performed for the electric appliance;

means for storing a definition file prepared for each of the electric appliances;

means for scoring that compares the packet with the definition file and performs scoring for the definition file in response to a request from the information processing device; and

means for determining a type of an electric appliance that extracts a definition file having a high score provided by the means for scoring and transmits the information related to a particular electric appliance contained in the extracted definition file to the information processing appliance, while determining the information as corresponding to the electric appliance.