Administering devices in dependence upon user metric vectors including relational metrics and location based device control

• US 7,165,056 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2003
• Issued: 01/16/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Watson, Thomas J., Schumacher, Daniel Mark, Burkhart, Michael John, Bodin, William Kress, Eisenhauer, Daniel G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hirl; Joseph P.
• Application Number:
  US10/627,011
• Publication Number:
  US 20050021484A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,271 Days
• Field of Search: 706/48, 706/47, 706/46, 600/481
• US Class Current: 706/48
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• 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 12/2829 involving user profiles according to which the execution of a home appliance functionality is automatically triggered
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention include a method for administering devices. Such exemplary methods include receiving a plurality of user metrics, creating a relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics, creating a user metric vector comprising at least one user metric and at least one relational metric, creating a user metric space comprising a plurality of metric ranges, and determining whether the user metric vector is outside the user metric space. If the user metric vector is outside a user metric space, exemplary embodiments include identifying an action, and executing the action.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for administering networked household devices, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of user metrics;

creating a relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics;

creating a user metric vector comprising at least one user metric and at least one relational metric;

creating a user metric space comprising a plurality of metric ranges;

determining whether the user metric vector is outside the user metric space;

if the user metric vector is outside a user metric space, identifying an action to set the value of an attribute of the networked household device; and

executing the action setting the value of an attribute of the networked household device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein creating a relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics comprises filtering the user metrics.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein creating a relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics comprises determining a relationship between a first filtered user metric and a second filtered user metric.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein determining a relationship between a first filtered user metric and a second filtered user metric comprises comparing a first filtered user metric with a second filtered user metric.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein creating a relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics comprises determining a magnitude of the relationship between the first filtered user metric and the second filtered user metric.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein creating relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics comprises determining whether the plurality of user metrics match a predefined metric pattern.

7. The method of claim 6 comprising retrieving a relational metric, if the plurality of user metrics match the predefined metric pattern.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein creating a user metric vector comprising at least one user metric and at least one relational metric comprises associating at least one user metric with the user metric vector and associating at least one relational metric with the user metric vector.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying an action comprises:

determining a user'"'"'s location; and

selecting an action ID in dependence upon the user'"'"'s location.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein identifying an action comprises:

determining user movement; and

selecting an action ID in dependence upon the user movement.

11. A system for administering networked household devices, the system comprising:

a computer processor;

a computer memory operatively coupled to the computer processor, the computer memory having disposed within it computer program instructions capable of;

receiving a plurality of user metrics;

creating a relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics;

creating a user metric vector comprising at least one user metric and at least one relational metric;

creating a user metric space comprising a plurality of metric ranges;

determining whether the user metric vector is outside the user metric space;

if the user metric vector is outside a user metric space, identifying an action to set the value of an attribute of the networked household device; and

executing the action setting the value of an attribute of the networked household device.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein computer program instructions capable of creating a relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics comprises computer program instructions capable of filtering the user metrics.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein computer program instructions capable of creating a relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics comprises computer program instructions capable of determining a relationship between a first filtered user metric and a second filtered user metric.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein computer program instructions capable of determining a relationship between a first filtered user metric and a second filtered user metric comprises computer program instructions capable of comparing a first filtered user metric with a second filtered user metric.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein computer program instructions capable of creating a relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics comprises computer program instructions capable of determining a magnitude of the relationship between the first filtered user metric and the second filtered user metric.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein computer program instructions capable of creating relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics comprises computer program instructions capable of determining whether the plurality of user metrics match a predefined metric pattern.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the computer memory also has disposed within computer program instructions capable of retrieving a relational metric, if the plurality of user metrics match the predefined metric pattern.

18. The system of claim 11 wherein computer program instructions capable of creating a user metric vector comprising at least one user metric and at least one relational metric comprises computer program instructions capable of associating at least one user metric with the user metric vector and means for associating at least one relational metric with the user metric vector.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein computer program instructions capable of identifying an action comprises:

computer program instructions capable of determining a user'"'"'s location; and

computer program instructions capable of selecting an action ID in dependence upon the user'"'"'s location.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein computer program instructions capable of identifying an action comprises:

computer program instructions capable of determining user movement; and

computer program instructions capable of selecting an action ID in dependence upon the user movement.

21. A computer program product for administering networked household devices, the computer program product disposed in a recording medium, the computer program product comprising:

computer program instructions for receiving a plurality of user metrics;

computer program instructions for creating a relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics;

computer program instructions for creating a user metric vector comprising at least one user metric and at least one relational metric;

computer program instructions for creating a user metric space comprising a plurality of metric ranges;

computer program instructions for determining whether the user metric vector is outside the user metric space;

if the user metric vector is outside a user metric space, computer program instructions for identifying an action to set the value of an attribute of the networked household device; and

computer program instructions for executing the action setting the value of an attribute of the networked household device.

22. The computer program product of claim 21 wherein computer program instructions for creating a relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics comprises computer program instructions for filtering the user metrics.

23. The computer program product of claim 22 wherein computer program instructions for creating a relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics comprises computer program instructions for determining a relationship between a first filtered user metric and a second filtered user metric.

24. The computer program product of claim 23 wherein computer program instructions for determining a relationship between a first filtered user metric and a second filtered user metric comprises computer program instructions for comparing a first filtered user metric with a second filtered user metric.

25. The computer program product of claim 23 wherein computer program instructions for creating a relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics comprises computer program instructions for determining a magnitude of the relationship between the first filtered user metric and the second filtered user metric.

26. The computer program product of claim 25 wherein computer program instructions for creating relational metric in dependence upon the plurality of user metrics comprises computer program instructions for determining whether the plurality of user metrics match a predefined metric pattern.

27. The computer program product of claim 26 comprising computer program instructions for retrieving a relational metric, if the plurality of user metrics match the predefined metric pattern.

28. The computer program product of claim 21 wherein computer program instructions for creating a user metric vector comprising at least one user metric and at least one relational metric comprises computer program instructions for associating at least one user metric with the user metric vector and computer program instructions for associating at least one relational metric with the user metric vector.

29. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein computer program instructions for identifying an action comprises:

computer program instructions for determining a user'"'"'s location; and

computer program instructions for selecting an action ID in dependence upon the user'"'"'s location.

30. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein computer program instructions for identifying an action comprises:

computer program instructions for determining user movement; and

computer program instructions for selecting an action ID in dependence upon the user movement.