ADDING DEVICES TO AN EXPANDABLE MULTIMEDIA CONTROL SYSTEM

• US 20150156029A1
• Filed: 02/03/2015
• Published: 06/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Savant Systems, LLC
• Original Assignee: Savant Systems, LLC
• Inventors: Silva, Michael C.
• Granted Patent: US 10,211,998 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/091 Measuring contribution of individual network components to actual service level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route

Abstract

In one embodiment, device addition to an expandable multimedia control system is performed without creating or modifying source code. A configuration bundle is stored on a first device of the expandable multimedia control system, the configuration bundle including a list of unique identifiers (UIDs) representing devices that are eligible to become a part of the expandable multimedia control system. The first device monitors a local area network (LAN), and determines a UID of a second device. The first device compares the UID of the second device with the list of UIDs in the configuration bundle. In response to a match of the UID of the second device with a UID of the list of UIDs in the configuration bundle, the second device is added to the expandable multimedia control system, and at least a portion of the configuration bundle is shared with it.

Claims

1. A method for adding devices to an expandable multimedia control system:

storing a configuration bundle on a first device of the expandable multimedia control system, the configuration bundle including a list of unique identifiers (UIDs) representing devices that are eligible to become a part of the expandable multimedia control system;

determining a UID of the second device after the second device has connected to the LAN;

comparing the UID of the second device with the list of UIDs in the configuration bundle stored on the first device;

io in response to a match of the UID of the second device with a UID of the list of UIDs in the configuration bundle stored on the first device, adding the second device to the expandable multimedia control system; and

sharing, by the first device, at least a portion of the configuration bundle with the second device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining further comprises:

monitoring a local area network (LAN) by the first device for devices that have been connected to the LAN; and

receiving the UID of the second device as a published UID over the LAN from the second device upon connection of the second device to the LAN.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to the UID of the second device not matching any UID of the list of UIDs in the configuration bundle stored on the first device, ignoring the second device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to the UID of the second device not matching any UID of the list of UIDs in the configuration bundle stored on the first device, assuming a particular condition exists.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to the match of the UID of the second device with the UID of the list of UIDs in the configuration bundle stored on the first device, establishing a control relationship between the first device and the second device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first device and the second device are arranged in different zones of a plurality of zones that correspond to different areas of a house.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the configuration bundle at the first device from a configuration management tool running on a separate device, during an initial configuration of the expandable multimedia control system.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first device is a first programmable multimedia controller (PMC) and the second device is a second PMC.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first PMC is a master PMC and the second PMC is a subordinate PMC.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein specification of the first PMC being master is indicated in the configuration bindle during initial configuration of the expandable multimedia control system.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration bundle includes information describing a plurality of components arranged in zones, wherein the first device and the second device are operable to interact with the plurality of components.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the configuration bundle includes a set of files storing the information describing the plurality of components, the set of files produced by a graphical programming environment during initial configuration of the expandable multimedia control system.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the UID of the second device is a serial number retrieved from non-volatile memory of the second device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring is performed using a service discovery protocol.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the LAN is a wireless LAN.

16. An expandable multimedia control system:

a configuration bundle including a list of unique identifiers (UIDs) representing devices that are eligible to become a part of the expandable multimedia control system;

a first device that provides programmable services, the first device configured to store the configuration bundle; and

a second device that provides programmable services, the second device configured to retrieve a serial number from non-volatile memory, and use the serial number as a UID of the second device,

wherein the first device is further configured to determine the UID of the second device, compare the UID of the second device with the list of UIDs in the configuration bundle stored on the first device, and in response to a match of the UID of the second device with a UID of the list of UIDs in the configuration bundle stored on the first device, add the second device to the expandable multimedia control system.

17. The expandable multimedia control system of claim 16, wherein the first device is further configured to monitor a local area network (LAN) for devices that have been connected to the LAN and the second device is condifured to publish the retreived UID over the LAN upon connection of the second device to the LAN.

18. The expandable multimedia control system of claim 16, wherein the first device is further configured to, in response to the match of the UID of the second device with the UID of the list of UIDs in the configuration bundle stored on the first device, share at least a portion of the configuration bundle with the second device.

19. The expandable multimedia control system of claim 16, wherein the first device is further configured to, in response to the UID of the second device not matching any UID of the list of UIDs in the configuration bundle stored on the first device, ignore the second device.

20. The expandable multimedia control system of claim 16, wherein the first device and the second device are arranged in different zones of a plurality of zones that correspond to different areas of a house.

21. The expandable multimedia control system of claim 16, wherein the first device is a master programmable multimedia controller (PMC) and the second device is a subordinate PMC.

22. The expandable multimedia control system of claim 16, wherein the configuration bundle includes information describing a plurality of components arranged in zones, wherein the first device and the second device are operable to interact with the plurality of components.

23. A non-transitory device-readable medium storing program instructions that when executed on one or more devices are operable to:

monitor a local area network (LAN) for the addition of one or more new devices of an expandable multimedia control system;

upon receipt of a UID of a new device over the LAN, compare the UID of the new decvice with a list of UIDs maintained in a configuration bundle, the configuration bundle including information describing a plurality of existing devices of the expandable multimedia control system and zones in which the plurality of existing devices are arranged; and

in response to a match of the UID of the new device with a UID of the list of UIDs in the configuration bundle, add the new device to the expandable multimedia control system.