Virtual memory device for a digital home network

• US 6,857,056 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2001
• Issued: 02/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Baumeister, Markus, Hauptmann, Steffen, Klabunde, Karin
• Primary Examiner(s): Elmore, Reba I.
• Application Number:
  US09/969,001
• Publication Number:
  US 20020078193A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,232 Days
• Field of Search: 711/170, 711/203, 709/223, 709/232, 725/82
• US Class Current: 711/170
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2805 Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2823 Reporting information sensed by appliance or service execution status of appliance services in a home automation network device-related reporting H04L43/065; arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/122 of virtualised topologies, e.g. software-defined networks [SDN] or network function virtualisation [NFV]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/40 using virtualisation of network functions or resources, e.g. SDN or NFV entities

Abstract

Disclosed is a network for use in a home application. In particular the network includes network nodes and a software system distributed to all the network nodes. The software system is distributed over the plurality of network nodes, and includes a virtual storage device to manage respective real storage devices of respective network nodes, wherein the virtual storage device enables storage and/or retrieval of data in the real storage devices irrespective of the type of network node.

Claims

1. A home network comprising:

a plurality of network nodes, wherein at least two of said nodes have different data formats; and

a software system distributed over the plurality of network nodes, wherein the software system enables (1) a virtual storage device to manage allocation of data to respective real storage devices of respective network nodes, (2) storage and/or retrieval of data in the real storage devices irrespective of the type of network node, (3) exclusive storage of data by a user on the virtual storage device, and (4)

a user to manage data of the different data formats without knowledge of which real storage devices the data has been stored.

2. The home network as claimed in claim 1, wherein selectable attributes are provides to be stored on the virtual storage device.

3. A home network as claimed in claim 2, wherein the virtual storage device is provided for reserving system resources via software components.

4. A home network as claimed in claim 3, wherein the virtual storage device is provided for editing memory access requirements.

5. The home network as claimed in claim 1, wherein the virtual storage device controls the allocation of data to a real storage device for the user.