Distributed help system for consumer electronic devices

• US 6,584,496 B1
• Filed: 01/29/1999
• Issued: 06/24/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ludtke, Harold Aaron
• Primary Examiner(s): Coulter, Kenneth R.
• Application Number:
  US09/239,718
• Time in Patent Office: 1,607 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/200, 709/217, 345/705, 345/707, 345/714, 345/717, 434/350
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2805 Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks
• 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 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

Methods and systems consistent with the present invention provide help and configuration information for a plurality of consumer electronic devices in an audio/video network. More specifically, each network device provides help information, identifying the device and its features to other network devices. A help utility program interfaces with a presentation device to provide help information to a user.

Another implementation consistent with the present invention provides help information related to configuring two or more devices to perform an operation.

Claims

1. A method for providing distributed access to help information for a consumer electronic device in a network containing a plurality of different types of consumer electronic devices, the method comprising:

receiving a request for help information from a user of a first one of the consumer electronic devices;

accessing stored help information, the stored help information being modifiable by the first one of the consumer electronic devices according to characteristics of at least one other of the plurality of different types of consumer electronic devices; and

presenting help instructions in response to the help request.

2. The method of claim 1 where accessing stored help information includes retrieving at least one of data stored within a consumer electronic device and data stored remotely.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein presenting includes accessing a remote location containing an audio or video sequence corresponding to the help instructions.

4. The method of claim 1 where the stored information includes user instructions for operating a consumer electronic device contained in the network.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said accessing includes linking help information for multiple different types of network devices.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored help information includes information related to characteristics of the first one of the consumer electronic devices.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristics include at least one of a device type, a device configuration, device features, device functions, and a device compatibility with other consumer electronic devices.