REMOTELY SERVICING AND DIAGNOSING ELECTRONIC DEVICES

• US 20130232374A1
• Filed: 03/02/2012
• Published: 09/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Network Entertainment International LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Network Entertainment International LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: McCoy, Charles, Sadja, Aran, Wong, Ling Jun, Xiong, True
• Application Number:
  US13/411,289
• Publication Number:
  US 20130232374A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/4.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/04 Network management architectures or arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0661 by reconfiguring faulty entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/344 Out-of-band transfers

Abstract

Remotely servicing and diagnosing a client device, including: establishing a persistent two-way connection between a server and the client device using a messaging and presence protocol; reading and analyzing statistics and settings of the client device when the persistent two-way connection has been established; detecting any problem with the client device from reading and analyzing statistics and setting of the client device; addressing and fixing the problem with the client device. Keywords include persistent connection, and remote servicing and diagnosing.

Claims

1. A method of remotely servicing and diagnosing a client device, the method comprising:

establishing a persistent two-way connection between a server and the client device using a messaging and presence protocol;

reading and analyzing statistics and settings of the client device when the persistent two-way connection has been established;

detecting any problem with the client device from reading and analyzing statistics and setting of the client device; and

addressing and fixing the problem with the client device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising

performing reading and analyzing statistics and settings of the client device again to verify that the problem with the client device has been fixed.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein addressing and fixing the problem comprises

controlling and updating the client device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein addressing and fixing the problem comprises:

determining whether the problem can be fixed through a configuration or setting change; and

updating the configuration or setting of the client device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the messaging and to presence protocol is Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP).

6. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing a persistent two-way connection comprises

is enabling the client device to select an item on a menu.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing a persistent two-way connection comprises

establishing the persistent two-way connection within an infrastructure of an existing private server-client relationship.

8. A remote device servicing system, comprising:

an interface unit configured to communicate with a client device to establish a persistent two-way connection using a messaging and presence protocol; and

a service/diagnostics unit configured to query and control the client device through the persistent two-way connection,

wherein the service/diagnostics unit streams markup language elements using the messaging and present protocol to exchange messages and presence information in near-real-time,

wherein the service/diagnostics unit reads and analyzes statistics and settings of the client device, detects and fixes any problem with the client device.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the client device is one of an audio system, video player, and television.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the client device is one of a modem, router, or gateway.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the client device is an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) unit.

12. A non-transitory storage medium storing a computer program to remotely service and diagnose a client device, the computer program comprising executable instructions that cause a computer to:

establish a persistent two-way connection between a server and the client device using a messaging and presence protocol;

read and analyze statistics and settings of the client device when the persistent two-way connection has been established;

detect any problem with the client device from reading and analyzing statistics and setting of the client device; and

address and fix the problem with the client device.

13. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 12, further comprising executable instructions that cause a computer to

read and analyze statistics and settings of the client device again to verify that the problem with the client device has been fixed.

14. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 12, wherein executable instructions that cause a computer to address and fix the problem comprise executable instructions that cause a computer to

control and update the client device.

15. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 12, wherein executable instructions that cause a computer to address and fix the problem comprise executable instructions that cause a computer to:

determine whether the problem can be fixed through a configuration or setting change; and

update the configuration or setting of the client device.

16. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 12, wherein the messaging and presence protocol is Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP).

17. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 12, wherein executable instructions that cause a computer to establish a persistent two-way connection comprise executable instructions that cause a computer to

enable the client device to select an item on a menu.

18. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 12, wherein executable instructions that cause a computer to establish a persistent two-way connection comprise executable instructions that cause a computer to

establish the persistent two-way connection within an infrastructure of an existing private server-client relationship.