METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR PROVIDING A DATA FEED FOR INTERNET OF THINGS

• US 20160255167A1
• Filed: 10/07/2014
• Published: 09/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Iotic Labs Limited
• Original Assignee: Iotic Labs Limited
• Inventors: GREEN, Paul Nigel, WHARTON, Mark Nicholas James
• Granted Patent: US 10,637,926 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0823 characterised by the purposes of a change of settings, e.g. optimising configuration for enhancing reliability for optimising operational conditions of wireless networks H04W24/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/45 Network directories; Name-to-address mapping
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1433 Vulnerability analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1458 Denial of Service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• 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 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/562 Brokering proxy services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/106 Packet or message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/108 Source integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/12 : Detection or prevention of fraud
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 : Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 : Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 : Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

Computer apparatus and methods for brokering communications between a plurality of virtual devices, each virtual device being a proxy for one of a real device or a real requestor. The computer apparatus comprises a registrar computer configured to communicate with a plurality of virtual devices and maintain a register of the virtual devices. The computer apparatus also comprises a data feed directory comprising entries indicating data feeds and/or resources available to virtual requestor devices from at least one virtual device registered with the registrar computer. To be accompanied, when published, by FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings.

Claims

1. A computer apparatus configured to broker communications between a plurality of virtual devices, each virtual device being a proxy for one of a real device or a real requestor, the computer apparatus comprising:

a registrar computer configured to communicate with said plurality of virtual devices and maintain a register of said virtual devices; and

a data feed directory comprising entries indicating data feeds and/or resources available to virtual requestor devices from at least one virtual device registered with the registrar computer.

2. The computer apparatus of claim 1, wherein virtual requestor devices can request one or more data feeds from the data feed directory and responsive to said request the registrar computer will facilitate or not facilitate the data feed request based on authorizations or permissions defined by the virtual device providing the one or more data feeds.

3. The computer apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an application interface usable by virtual requestor devices to synthesize a new data feed from one or more data feeds available in the data feed directory by one or more of (i) modifying an available data feed and (ii) combining two or more of said available data feeds.

4. The computer apparatus of claim 1, wherein the register of virtual devices maintained by the registrar computer further comprises a local device network ID for the real device corresponding to each virtual device.

5. The computer apparatus of claim 1, wherein the registrar computer comprises a registration API configured to receive a registration request from a virtual device, the request comprising one or more of a callback URL, a local unique identifier of a device in its device network, and meta data relating to the device.

6. The computer apparatus of claim 5, wherein the device meta data is selected from one or more of:

device location, type, a description of one or more sensors associated with the device, a description of one or more actuators associated with the device, and a description of one or more services for service levels associated with the device.

7. A computer apparatus configured to broker communications between a plurality of virtual devices, each virtual device being a proxy for one of a real device or a real requestor, the computer apparatus comprising a registrar computer configured to communicate with said virtual devices and maintain a register of said virtual devices, wherein the register comprises a unique identifier for each virtual device associated with meta data defining one or more of (i) data available through the virtual device and (ii) a resource controllable through the virtual device.

8. A method of brokering a request for data between a virtual requestor device and a virtual device configured to provide data, the method comprising:

receiving at a registrar computer a device data request message from a virtual requestor device, the device data request message comprising a callback URL of the virtual requestor device;

passing from the registrar computer a further request to the virtual device configured to provide said data, said further request comprising the callback URL of the virtual requestor device;

wherein responsive to said further request the virtual device configured to provide the requested data to the callback URL of the virtual requestor device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the device data request message comprises authentication information.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein responsive to said further request a machine API of the virtual device configured to provide data provides the requested data to the callback URL of the virtual requestor device without routing said data via said registrar computer.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein responsive to said further request the virtual device configured to provide data provides the requested data directly to the callback URL of the virtual requestor device.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein responsive to said further request the virtual device configured to provide data provides the requested data to the callback URL of the virtual requestor device over a secure pathway.

13-32. -32. (canceled)