Connection Device and Protocol

• US 20130204953A1
• Filed: 03/13/2013
• Published: 08/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Plantronics, Inc.
• Inventors: Winter, Richard M, Findlay, Benedict A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,805,992 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/283 Processing of data at an internetworking point of a home automation network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/604 Address structures or formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4555 Directories for electronic mail or instant messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring

Abstract

A common communications protocol is described among devices in a unified communications network. Native devices receive upstream commands and forward them to downstream devices without interpreting the commands. The native devices reformat commands intended for mapped devices in the unified communications network. The common communications protocol calls for left shifting address fields for transmitted commands until the command arrives at its intended destination.

Claims

1. A computerized network, comprising:

a protocol manager in a computer configured to coordinate communications among a plurality of associated devices by sending messages to associated devices in the plurality of associated devices, wherein the messages sent utilize a plurality of communication mechanisms;

a first associated device, electronically coupled to the protocol manager and configured to receive communications from the protocol manager, wherein the first associated device is further configured to interrogate a message address of a received communication and forward the message automatically to another associated device of the plurality of associated devices unless the message address indicates that the message is intended for the first associated device;

a second associated device, electronically coupled to the first associated device and configured to receive communications from the protocol manager, wherein the second associated device is further configured to interrogate a message address of a received communication and forward the message automatically to another associated device of the plurality of associated devices unless the message address indicates that the message is intended for the second associated device; and

a third associated device, electronically coupled to the second associated device and configured to receive communications from the protocol manager.

2. The network of claim 1 wherein the plurality of communication mechanisms comprises at least two of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DECT, USB HID, wUSB and serial port.

3. The network of claim 1 wherein the second associated device is a native device to the computer and the third associated device is a mapped device to the computer such that the second associated device formats communications in a communication mechanism acceptable by the third associated device.

4. The network of claim 1 wherein the third associated device is further configured to interrogate a message address of a received communication and forward the message automatically to another associated device of the plurality of associated devices unless the message address indicates that the message is intended for the third associated device;

and

a fourth associated device, electronically coupled to the third associated device and configured to receive communications from the computer.

5. The network of claim 1 wherein the first associated device comprises a dongle, the second associated device comprises a headset, and the third associated device comprises a mobile telephone.

6. The network of claim 5 wherein the dongle communicates with the computer using DECT as a communication mechanism, the headset uses Bluetooth as a communication mechanism with the dongle, and the mobile phone uses Bluetooth as a communication mechanism with the headset.

7. The network of claim 6 wherein the dongle and headset are native devices to the computer and the mobile phone is a mapped device for the computer.

8. The network of claim 1 wherein the computer further comprises a presence engine and communications among the protocol manager, the first associated device, and the second associated device relate to the transmission of presence data associated with the presence engine.

9. The network of claim 1 wherein the computer resides in a television set-top box and the first associated device comprises a dongle, the second associated device comprises a headset, and the third associated device comprises a mobile telephone.

10. The network of claim 1 wherein the first associated device interrogates the message address by examining a first portion of the message address and determining if the first portion of the message address matches a local address.

11. The network of claim 10 wherein the first portion of the message address comprises a first integer number and the local address comprises the integer number zero.

13. The network of claim 10 wherein the first associated device alters the message address by left shifting the address by one integer.

12. The network of claim 12 wherein the first associated device alters the message address before sending the message to the second associated device.

14. A method for transmitting communications in a unified communications system, comprising:

accessing a first API translation unit by a computerized protocol manager in a computer and translating first device-specific commands for a first device into a common protocol;

accessing a second API translation unit by the computerized protocol manager and translating second device-specific commands for a second device into the common protocol;

receiving commands formatted in the common protocol from the protocol manager by a first device that sorts the received commands into commands intended for the first device or commands intended for another device of a plurality of devices, and forwards commands intended for another device of the plurality of devices to the another device of the plurality of devices; and

receiving commands formatted in the common protocol by a second device that sorts the received commands into commands intended for the second device or commands intended for another device among a plurality of devices and forwards commands intended for another device of the plurality of devices to the another device.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving a command in the second device intended for a third device, wherein the third device is not configured to receive commands formatted in the common protocol; and

formatting the received command by the second device according to a communication mechanism common between the second device and the third device.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the first device is a dongle, the second device is a headset, and the third device is a mobile phone.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein a communication mechanism common between the second device and the third device comprises at least one of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DECT, USB HID, wUSB and serial port.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the computer resides in a television set-top box and the first device comprises a dongle, the second device comprises a headset, and the third device comprises a mobile telephone.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein sorting received commands by the first device comprises:

examining a portion of an address field associated with the received command; and

shifting the address field by a fixed increment if the command is intended for another device of the plurality of devices.

20. The method of claim 14 wherein the address field in the common protocol comprises a series of integers and wherein shifting the address field by the fixed increment comprises a left shift of the address field by one integer.

21. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving commands formatted according to the common protocol by a third device;

sorting received commands by the third device into commands intended for the third device and commands intended for another device among a plurality of devices;

forwarding commands intended for another device of the plurality of devices to the another device; and

re-formatting commands intended for a fourth device of the plurality of devices into a communication mechanism common between the third device and the fourth device wherein the fourth device is not configured to receive commands formatted for the common protocol.

22. The method of claim 14 wherein the first device and the second device are each configured to communicate with up to seven other devices of the plurality of devices.

23. The method of claim 14 wherein the computer and the first device are configured to use DECT as a communication mechanism and the first device and the second device are configured to use Bluetooth as a communication mechanism.

24. The method of claim 14 wherein the computer further comprises a presence engine and commands among the protocol manager, the first associated device, and the second associated device relate to the transmission of presence data associated with the presence engine.