METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING DEVICES
First Claim
1. Apparatus for managing a group of resource consuming devices, comprising:
- a resource monitoring module to;
obtain resource consumption characteristics of devices in the group of devices; and
obtain a desired consumption characteristic for the group of devices;
anda device control module to;
receive a request to modify the operating state of a device in the group of devices;
determine the consequence on the desired group characteristic of accepting the request;
determine whether the consequence is acceptable and, where it is so determined, modifying the operating state of the device in accordance with the request.
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Accused Products
Abstract
According to one example of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for managing a group of resource consuming devices. The apparatus comprises a resource monitoring module to obtain resource consumption characteristics of devices in the group of devices, and to obtain a desired consumption characteristic for the group of devices. The apparatus further comprises a device control module to receive a request to modify the operating state of a device in the group of devices, determine the consequence on the desired group characteristic of accepting the request, determine whether the consequence is acceptable and, where it is so determined, modifying the operating state of the device in accordance with the request.
19 Citations
15 Claims
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1. Apparatus for managing a group of resource consuming devices, comprising:
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a resource monitoring module to; obtain resource consumption characteristics of devices in the group of devices; and obtain a desired consumption characteristic for the group of devices; and a device control module to; receive a request to modify the operating state of a device in the group of devices; determine the consequence on the desired group characteristic of accepting the request; determine whether the consequence is acceptable and, where it is so determined, modifying the operating state of the device in accordance with the request. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the visualization module is further arranged to:
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receive a user confirmation that the displayed consequence is not acceptable; determine an alternative consequence by selecting another device the operating state of which may be modified to enable the alternative consequence to be acceptable; update the graphical user interface to display the alternative consequence; receive a user confirmation that the displayed alternative consequence is acceptable; modify the operating state of the identified device; and modify the operating state of the requested device in accordance with the request.
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7. A method of managing a group of resource consuming devices, the method comprising:
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obtaining a resource consumption characteristic for each of the devices in the group; determining a desired consumption characteristic for the group of devices; receiving a request to modify the operating state of a device in the group; determining the consequence of modifying the operating state of the device on the desired group characteristic; and determining whether the determined consequence is acceptable, and if so, modifying the operating state of the device in accordance with the request. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A tangible, machine-readable medium that stores machine-readable instructions executable by a processor to provide a method of managing a group of resource consuming devices, the tangible machine-readable medium comprising:
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machine readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, obtain a resource consumption characteristic for each of the devices in the group; machine readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, determine a desired consumption characteristic for the group of devices; machine readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, receive a request to modify the operating state of a device in the group; machine readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, determine the consequence of modifying the operating state of the device on the desired group characteristic; and machine readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, determine whether the determined consequence is acceptable, and if so, modifying the operating state of the device in accordance with the request. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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Specification