ELECTRIC DEVICE, POWER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME

• US 20120219007A1
• Filed: 02/10/2012
• Published: 08/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: CHO, Ji Young, KIM, Hee Dong, LEE, Yang Don
• Granted Patent: US 9,450,777 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/401
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2825 Reporting to a device located outside the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with telemetering systems H04M11/002

Abstract

An electric device includes a communication unit to communicate with at least one of a gateway and a plurality of other electric devices, and a controller to broadcast a request signal for searching for a gateway, communicate with the gateway on the basis of a search response signal after transmission of the gateway response signal from at least one of the gateway and the plurality of other electric devices, and transmit a registration request signal to a power management unit through the gateway. Thus, the electric device can be automatically registered/re-registered in the electric device or be deleted from the electric device, a power management system and electric devices can be easily managed. If the user moves the electric device from a current position to another position, the power management system recognizes the movement and informs the user of the recognition result.

Claims

1. An electric device comprising:

a communication unit to communicate with at least one of a gateway and a plurality of other electric devices; and

a controller to broadcast a request signal for searching for a gateway, communicate with the gateway on the basis of a search response signal after transmission of the gateway response signal from at least one of the gateway and the plurality of other electric devices, and transmit a registration request signal to a power management unit through the gateway.

2. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the controller performs authentication with the gateway, and transmits a registration request signal to the gateway upon completion of the authentication.

3. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein:

the gateway search request signal includes a unique IP address, a unique ID and destination information directed to the gateway; and

the gateway response signal includes an IP address of the gateway and a forward route to the gateway.

4. The electric device according to claim 3, further comprising:

a storage unit to store a unique IP address, a unique ID, an IP address of the gateway, and a forward route,

wherein the controller controls communication with the gateway on the basis of the IP address of the gateway, and controls transmission of the IP address, the ID, and the forward route to the power management unit.

5. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the controller further includes a storage unit to store a NodeB list in which at least one of a wirelessly communicable gateway and a plurality of other wirelessly-communicable electric devices is used as a NodeB,

upon receiving a gateway search request signal from at least one of the plurality of other electric devices, the controller determines whether the gateway is present in the NodeB list, and controls transmission of the gateway search response signal to the at least one other electric device when gateway information is present in the NodeB list.

6. The electric device according to claim 5, wherein the controller controls transmission of the gateway search request signal to other electric devices stored in the NodeB list when the gateway is not present in the NodeB list of the storage unit.

7. The electric device according to claim 5, wherein the controller generates a reverse route when the gateway is present in the NodeB list of the storage unit.

8. The electric device according to claim 5, wherein the controller determines which one of the other electric devices stored in the NodeB list of the storage unit is incapable of performing communication, and deletes the determined electric device from the NodeB list.

9. The electric device according to claim 8, wherein the controller transmits information regarding the unavailable-communication other electric device to the power management unit, and commands the power management unit to delete the unavailable-communication other electric device.

10. The electric device according to claim 8, wherein the controller regenerates the forward when the unavailable-communication other electric device is present in the forward route, and transmits the regenerated forward route to the power management unit.

11. The electric device according to claim 8, wherein the controller, if a plurality of forward routes exists and the unavailable-communication other electric device is present in at least one of the forward routes, deletes the at least one forward route, and controls communication with the gateway on the basis of the remaining forward routes.

12. The electric device according to claim 8, further comprising:

a display capable of being lighted on,

wherein the controller, if an installation position setting signal is transmitted from the power management unit, controls lighting of the display.

13. A power management system comprising:

a plurality of electric devices to perform communication over an ad-hoc network;

a gateway to communicate with at least one electric device over the ad-hoc network, after an authentication request signal of at least one electric device is transmitted from the at least one electric device, perform authentication with the at least one electric device, and register the at least one electric device upon completion of the at least one electric device; and

a power management unit to register the at least one electric device upon receiving information regarding the at least one electric device from the gateway.

14. The power management system according to claim 13, wherein the power management unit controls lighting of the at least one electric device when an installation position setting signal of the at least one electric device is input, and then, if a room is selected by the user, includes information regarding the selected room in registration information of the at least one electric device and performs registration.

15. The power management system according to claim 13, wherein the power management unit deletes registration information of the electric device under an unavailable communication state with the electric device.

16. The power management system according to claim 13, wherein the power management unit determines whether a route of the electric device is regenerated, re-registers the electric device when the route of the electric device is regenerated, and displays an information message for an installation position change of the electric device.

17. A method of controlling an electric device which communicates with at least one of a gateway and a plurality of other electric devices, the method comprising:

broadcasting a request signal for searching for a gateway;

communicating with the gateway on the basis of a search response signal after transmission of the gateway response signal from at least one of the gateway and the plurality of other electric devices; and

transmitting a registration request signal to the gateway and a power management unit.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising:

performing authentication with the gateway; and

transmitting a registration request signal to the gateway upon completion of the authentication.

19. The method according to claim 17, further comprising:

upon transmission of the gateway search response signal, regenerating a forward route on the basis of the gateway search response signal, and

storing the forward route.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising:

controlling communication with the gateway on the basis of an IP address of the gateway present in the gateway search response signal; and

controlling transmission of a unique IP address, a unique ID, and a forward route.

21. The method according to claim 17, further comprising:

after transmission of a gateway search request signal from at least one of the other electric devices, determining whether the gateway is present in a NodeB list;

controlling transmission of the gateway search response signal to the at least one other electric device if gateway information is present in the NodeB list; and

if the gateway is not present in the NodeB list, controlling transmission of the gateway search request signal to the other electric devices stored in the NodeB list.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein the controlling of the transmission of the gateway search response signal to the at least one other electric device if the gateway information is present in the NodeB list includes:

generating a reverse route from the gateway to an electric device having generated the gateway search request signal;

deleting, if the unavailable-communication other electric device is present, the unavailable-communication other electric device from the NodeB list; and

transmitting information regarding the unavailable-communication other electric device to the power management unit, and commanding the power management unit to delete registration information of the unavailable-communication other electric device.

25. The method according to claim 24, further comprising:

regenerating the forward route if the unavailable-communication other electric device is present in the forward route; and

transmitting the regenerated forward route to the power management unit.

26. The method according to claim 24, further comprising:

deleting, if a plurality of forward routes exists and the unavailable-communication other electric device is present in at least one of the forward routes, the at least one forward route; and

controlling communication with the gateway on the basis of the remaining forward routes.

27. The method according to claim 17, further comprising:

determining the presence or absence of an electric device incapable of performing communication; and

broadcasting, if the presence of the unavailable-communication electric device is determined, information of the unavailable-communication electric device as a route error message.

28. The method according to claim 27, further comprising:

broadcasting a request signal for re-searching for the gateway;

regenerating a forward route on the basis of the gateway search response signal when a gate search response signal is transmitted from at least one of the gateway and the other electric devices; and

transmitting the regenerated forward route to the power management unit so as to request re-registration.

22. The method according to claim 22, wherein the transmission of the gateway search request signal includes:

transmitting an ID and IP address of the electric device that has generated the gateway search request signal.