SERVICE GATEWAY, MANAGEMENT SERVER AND SOFTWARE MODULE

• US 20130311987A1
• Filed: 02/06/2012
• Published: 11/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Liekens, Werner, De Loof, Jourik
• Application Number:
  US13/980,396
• Publication Number:
  US 20130311987A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/178
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2814 Exchanging control software or macros for controlling appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving configuration of the network and network elements H04L41/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata

Abstract

In one embodiment, the service gateway includes a port for a dongle for enabling certain services, and a management module adapted for communicating through a network with a management server. The service gateway also includes an event module adapted for detecting the presence of a connected dongle, and for requesting the management module to have the management server install a driver bundle.

Claims

1. Service gateway comprising a port for a dongle for enabling certain services, further comprising:

a management module adapted for communicating through a network with a management server;

an event module adapted for detecting the presence of a connected dongle; and

for requesting the management module to have the management server install the driver bundle.

2. Service gateway of claim 1, wherein said port is a USB port and said dongle is a USB dongle.

3. Service gateway of claim 1, wherein the event module is further adapted for checking if a driver bundle is installed for the connected dongle;

and for requesting the management module to have the management server install the driver bundle if the result of said checking is that said driver bundle is not installed.

4. Service gateway according to claim 1, wherein the event module is adapted for storing an identification of the dongle for which a driver bundle has been installed in a database, wherein said identification preferably comprises a product identity, a vendor identity and a serial number.

5. Service gateway of claim 1, wherein an operating system is installed on the service gateway said operating system being arranged for detecting the dongle and communicating a corresponding event including an identification of said dongle, and wherein the event module is adapted to detect the presence of a connected dongle by listening to the communicated events and to obtain the identification coupled with the event.

6. Service gateway of claim 1, wherein the dongle is any one of the following:

Bluetooth dongle, ZWave dongle, Zigbee dongle, a KNX device, a Wi-Fi device.

7. Service gateway of claim 1, wherein the service gateway further comprises one or more installed driver bundles, a sensor abstraction module adapted to communicate with the one or more installed driver bundles, and one or more applications capable of communicating with the sensor abstraction module for using the connected dongle.

8. Driver bundle for use in a service gateway for driving a dongle having an identification, said driver bundle being adapted for installation on the service gateway and for, upon installation thereof, communicating an identification of the corresponding dongle to the event module.

9. Driver bundle according to claim 8 for use in a service gateway having an operating system installed thereon, wherein the driver module is further adapted for receiving a “

UP”

message from the operating system when a connected dongle is detected, and for receiving a “

DOWN”

message when a dongle is removed.

10. Management server comprising:

a control module adapted for receiving a request from a service gateway for installing a driver bundle of a particular dongle;

for consulting a database with driver bundles for dongles and for selecting the requested driver bundle; and

fur sending the selected driver bundle to the service gateway for installation thereon.

11. Management server of claim 10, wherein the control module is further adapted for receiving a request from a service gateway containing an identification of a dongle connected with the service gateway and for selecting in the database the driver bundle corresponding with said identification.

12. System comprising the management server of claim 10, and the database with driver bundles for dongles, each dongle having a dongle identification, wherein for each dongle identification there is stored a link to a corresponding driver bundle.

13. Method for installing a driver bundle for a dongle in a service gateway, comprising at said service gateway:

detecting that a dongle is connected to the service gateway;

checking whether a driver bundle corresponding with said dongle is installed on said service gateway;

if said driver bundle is not installed, sending of a request for installation to a management server through a network; and

receiving said driver bundle from said management server.

14. Method of claim 13, further comprising installing the received driver bundle and storing an identification dongle corresponding with the installed driver bundle, wherein the detecting comprises receiving an identification from the connected dongle, and wherein the checking comprises verifying whether said identification has been stored.

15. Programming code for installation on a service gateway for performing the detecting and the checking step of the method of claim 13.