METHOD OF COMMUNICATING INFORMATION BETWEEN NODES

• US 20150139027A1
• Filed: 06/03/2013
• Published: 05/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lifeline Systems Company (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Burza, Marek Brzysztof
• Granted Patent: US 10,250,448 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

There is provided a method of communicating information from a first node to a second node, the method comprising the first node transmitting a device name for the first node; the second node detecting the device name for the first node; and the second node determining the occurrence of an event at the first node and/or information from the first node from the detected device name for the first node.

Claims

1. A method of communicating information from a first node to a second node during a node discovery phase of a communication protocol, the method in the second node comprising:

detecting a device name transmitted by the first node during the node discovery phase; and

determining the occurrence of an event at the first node and/or information from the first node from the device name for the first node detected during the node discovery phase.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of determining the occurrence of an event at the first node and/or information from the first node from the detected device name for the first node comprises determining the occurrence of the event at the first node and/or the information from the first node from the detection of the device name.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the step of determining the occurrence of the event at the first node and/or the information from the first node from the detection of the device name comprises comparing the detected device name to one or more device names stored in a memory of the second node, each stored device name having a respective event and/or information from the first node associated therewith.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of determining the occurrence of an event at the first node and/or information from the first node from the detected device name for the first node comprises processing the detected device name to extract the information concerning the occurrence of the event and/or information from the first node from part or all of the detected device name.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the step of determining the occurrence of an event at the first node and/or information from the first node from the detected device name for the first node comprises processing the detected device name to determine if the detected device name comprises a predetermined character string corresponding to the first node, and if so, processing the remaining part of the detected device name to extract the information concerning the occurrence of the event and/or information from the first node.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method in the first node further comprises the step of:

when information is to be communicated from the first node to the second node, activating a communication module in the first node such that the first node can respond to queries from the second node by transmitting the device name for the first node.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, the method in the first node further comprising:

deactivating a communication module in the first node after transmitting the device name for the first node.

9. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the method in the first node further comprises the step of:

amending or adapting the device name of the first node to include the information to be communicated in the device name or to correspond to a device name in a predefined set of possible device names for the first node that is associated with the information that is to be communicated; and

wherein the step of transmitting a device name for the first node comprises transmitting the amended or adapted device name.

15. A computer program product comprising computer readable code embodied therein, the computer readable code being configured such that, on execution by a computer or processor having a communication module associated therewith, the computer or processor is configured to perform the method of claim 1.

2. (canceled)

10. A method of communicating information from a first node to a second node during a node discovery phase of a communication protocol, the method in the first node comprising:

adapting or amending a device name for the first node to include an indication of the occurrence of an event at the first device and/or other information from the first node; and

transmitting the adapted or amended device name for the first node during the node discovery phase.

11. An electronic device, comprising:

a communication module configured to receive a device name from another electronic device during a node discovery phase of a communication protocol; and

a control unit that is configured to determine the occurrence of an event at said another electronic device and/or information from said another electronic device from the detected device name for the another electronic device detected during the node discovery phase.

13. A communication system, comprising:

a first electronic device comprising a communication module configured to transmit a device name to another electronic device during a node discovery phase of a communication protocol; and

a second electronic device, the second electronic device being as claimed in claim 11.

12. An electronic device, comprising:

a communication module configured to transmit a device name for the electronic device during a node discovery phase of a communication protocol;

wherein the electronic device is configured to adapt or amend the device name for the electronic device prior to transmission during the node discovery phase by the communication module to include an indication of the occurrence of an event at the electronic device and/or other information from the electronic device.

14. A communication system, wherein the first electronic device is as claimed in claim 12.