Architecture for communicating with one or more electronic devices through a gateway computer

• US 7,117,268 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2000
• Issued: 10/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Asahi Matsushita Electric Works Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Parent, Jesse L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Krisna
• Assistant Examiner(s): BARQADLE, YASIN M
• Application Number:
  US09/727,244
• Publication Number:
  US 20020103927A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,133 Days
• Field of Search: 709201-203, 709217-219, 709236-238, 709/246
• US Class Current: 709/238
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• 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 67/2871 Implementation details of single intermediate entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

An architecture is disclosed for facilitating communications with one or more embedded devices from a client application. The architecture includes gateway software and server software. The gateway software includes device communications software for sending and receiving device messages to and from the one or more embedded devices and gateway communications software for sending and receiving communications to other software. The server software includes user interface software that is downloadable by the client application for use to communicate with the server software. The server software also includes serving software for responding to requests received from the client application through the user interface software. The server software also includes gateway communications software for sending and receiving communications to the gateway software. The architecture operates such that the server software communicates with the gateway software and the gateway software communicates with the one or more embedded devices. The server software sends a user interface component to the client application, and the client application uses the user interface component to communicate with an embedded device by sending communications to the server software. The server software facilitates communications with the embedded device through the gateway software.

Claims

1. A system for facilitating communications with one or more embedded devices from a client application, said system comprising:

gateway software running on a gateway computer, said gateway software including;

device communications software, said device communications software comprising instructions for sending and receiving device messages to and from the one or more embedded devices; and

gateway communications software, said gateway communications software comprising instructions for sending and receiving communications to other software;

server software running on a server computer that is separate and distinct from the gateway computer, said server software including;

user interface software, said user interface software being downloadable by the client application and being usable by the client application to communicate with said server software;

serving software, said serving software responding to requests received from the client application through the user interface software;

gateway communications software, said gateway communications software comprising instructions for sending and receiving communications to said gateway software;

said system operating such that said server software communicates with said gateway software and said gateway software communicates with the one or more embedded devices, said server software operating to send a user interface component to the client application, the client application thereafter using the user interface component to communicate with an embedded device by sending communications to said server software, said server software facilitating communications with the embedded device through said gateway software, wherein the system is designed such that when a request is sent from the client application to the server computer, the server computer will determine whether the gateway or third party software is necessary to service the request.

2. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the server software comprises a web server.

3. The system as defined in claim 2 wherein the user interface software comprises instructions written in HTML.

4. The system as defined in claim 2 wherein the user interface software comprises instructions written in HDML.

5. The system as defined in claim 2 wherein the user interface software comprises instructions written in WML.

6. The system as defined in claim 2 wherein the user interface software comprises a Java applet.

7. The system as defined in claim 6 wherein the serving software comprises a Java servlet.

8. A system for facilitating communications with one or more embedded devices from a client device, said system comprising:

a gateway computer in electronic communication with the one or more embedded devices, said gateway computer running gateway software, said gateway software including;

device communications software, said device communications software comprising instructions for sending send device messages to the one or more embedded devices and for receiving receive device messages from the one or more embedded devices; and

gateway communications software, said gateway communications software comprising instructions for sending and receiving communications to other software;

a server computer in electronic communication with said gateway computer, said server computer being in electronic communication with a computer network for communications with the client device, and said server computer running server software, said server software including;

user interface software, said user interface software being usable by the client device to communicate with said server software;

serving software, said serving software responding to requests received from the client device through the user interface software;

gateway communications software, said gateway communications software comprising instructions for sending and receiving communications to said gateway software;

said system operating such that said server computer communicates with said gateway computer and said gateway computer communicates with the one or more embedded devices, said server computer operating to send a user interface component to the client device, the client device thereafter using the user interface component to communicate with an embedded device by sending communications to said server computer, said server computer facilitating communications with the embedded device through said gateway computer, wherein the system is designed such that when a request is sent from the client application to the server computer, the server computer will determine whether the gateway or third party software is necessary to service the request.

9. The system as defined in claim 8 wherein the server software comprises a web server.

10. The system as defined in claim 9 wherein the user interface software comprises instructions written in HTML.

11. The system as defined in claim 9 wherein the user interface software comprises instructions written in HDML.

12. The system as defined in claim 9 wherein the user interface software comprises instructions written in WML.

13. The system as defined in claim 9 wherein the user interface software comprises a Java applet.

14. The system as defined in claim 9 wherein the serving software comprises a Java servlet.

15. A system for facilitating communications with one or more embedded devices from a client application, said system comprising:

a gateway computer in electronic communication with the one or more embedded devices, said gateway computer running gateway software, said gateway software including;

device communications software, said device communications software comprising instructions for sending send device messages to the one or more embedded devices and for receiving receive device messages from the one or more embedded devices; and

gateway communications software, said gateway communications software comprising instructions for sending and receiving communications to other software;

a server computer running server software, said server software including;

user interface software, said user interface software being usable by the client application to communicate with said server software;

serving software, said serving software responding to requests received from the client application through the user interface software;

gateway communications software, said gateway commumcations software comprising instructions for sending and receiving communications to said gateway software,

said system operating such that said server software communicates with said gateway software and said gateway software communicates with the one or more embedded devices, said server software operating to send a user interface component to the client application, the client application thereafter using the user interface component to communicate with an embedded device by sending communications to said server software, said server software facilitating communications with the embedded device through said gateway software, wherein the system is designed such that when a request is sent from the client application to the server computer, the server computer will determine whether the gateway or third party software is necessary to service the request.

16. The system as defined in claim 15 wherein the server software comprises a web server.

17. The system as defined in claim 16 wherein the user interface software comprises instructions written in a mark-up language.

18. The system as defined in claim 16 wherein the user interface software comprises a Java applet.

19. The system as defined in claim 18 wherein the serving software comprises a Java servlet.