System and method for controlling devices in home network environment

• US 7,293,236 B2
• Filed: 04/15/2002
• Issued: 11/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Cho, Song-yean, Choi, Cheol-won
• Primary Examiner(s): Hailu; Tadesse
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, TING ZHOU
• Application Number:
  US10/121,597
• Publication Number:
  US 20020163534A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,031 Days
• Field of Search: 715/734, 715/736, 715/735, 715/737, 715/738, 715/740, 709/218, 709/220, 709/201, 709/223, 725/37
• US Class Current: 715/734
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web

Abstract

A method and system for displaying status information about each of a plurality of devices and transmitting control information in a home network environment are provided. Includes (a) running an application program for providing a user interface; (b) the control device receiving status information from the controlled devices; (c) the application program displaying controlled devices in operation on the display referring to the status information received in step (b); (d) displaying a web page indicative of operation of a selected controlled device upon selection by a user; and (e) transmitting a control command to the controlled device. The application program may be system independent of an execution environment of a controlled device and run directly by a web browser.

Claims

1. A method of controlling devices in a home network environment, according to which status information about a plurality of controlled devices is displayed in a control device on a home network and a control command input to the control device by a user is transmitted to a corresponding controlled device, the method comprising:

(a) running an application program configured to provide a user interface on said control device;

(b) the control device from time to time receiving said status information from said plurality of controlled devices;

(c) the application program displaying information regarding only controlled devices which are in operation on a display of said control device, referring to the status information received in step (b);

(d) upon user selection of a controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices which are displayed in step (c), displaying on said display a web page indicative of operation of the selected controlled device; and

(e) upon user input of a control command referring to said web page, transmitting said control command to said selected controlled device,

wherein when status information relating to at least one operation of a particular one of said plurality of controlled devices has not been received from said plurality of controlled devices in step (b) for a predetermined time, the application program clears the information regarding said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices from said display of said control device or deactivates the information displayed on said display regarding said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices in step (c), thereby preventing a user from selecting said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices in step (d).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein in step (c), the application program analyzes the status information from time to time received in step (b) and displays information regarding only controlled devices whose statuses have been changed and updated on said display of said control device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the application program is run directly by a web browser system independent of each controlled device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said application program is implemented using JavaScript.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) is performed through communications between middleware of the control device and middleware of each controlled device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein step (b) further comprises transmitting the status information received from the middleware of the control device to the application program.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein in step (c) the controlled devices in operation are represented by icons.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said display of said control device is divided into at least two frames in order to separately display data displayed in steps (c) and (d) at the same time.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) further comprises making a request to a controlled device selected by a user from among said plurality of controlled devices for a web page indicative of operation of the controlled device and receiving the web page.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein step (e) further comprises receiving operation status information from said selected controlled device according to said control command and displaying said operation status information on said display of said control device.

11. A home network environment control system comprising:

a plurality of controlled devices on a home network; and

a control device, including a display, which displays status information regarding said plurality of controlled devices on said display, and transmits a control command to a selected controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices when said control command is input to said control device by a user, said control device being coupled to said plurality of controlled devices by said home network,

wherein an application program configured to provide a user interface is run on said control device, said control device from time to time receives said status information from each of said plurality of controlled devices, and displays information regarding controlled devices in operation on said display through said application program, a web page indicative of operation of said selected controlled device is output to said display upon a user'"'"'s selection of said selected controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices, and said control command is transmitted to said selected controlled device upon a user'"'"'s input of said control command referring to said web page,

wherein said application program displays information regarding only a controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices whose status has been changed and updated, on said display, and

wherein when status information relating to at least one operation of a particular one of said plurality of controlled devices has not been received from said plurality of controlled devices for a predetermined time, the application program clears the information regarding said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices from said display of said control device or deactivates the information displayed on said display regarding said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices, thereby preventing a user from selecting said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said application program analyzes said status information received and displays information regarding only a controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices whose status has been changed and updated on said display.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein said application program is run directly by a web browser system independent of each controlled device.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein said application program is implemented using JavaScript.

15. A method of controlling devices in a home network environment comprising:

receiving status information from time to time from a plurality of controlled devices coupled to a home network;

providing a user interface configured to output to a display coupled to a control device,

information regarding controlled devices in operation based on status information received from said plurality of controlled devices at said control device, to output to said display, upon a user'"'"'s selection of a particular controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices, a page indicating operation information of said particular controlled device, and to receive from the user a control command directed to said particular controlled device; and

transmitting to said selected controlled device a control command received through said user interface,

wherein an application program displays information regarding only said particular controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices whose status has been changed and updated, on said display, and

wherein when status information relating to at least one operation of a particular one of said plurality of controlled devices has not been received from said plurality of controlled devices for a predetermined time, the application program clears the information regarding said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices from said display of said control device or deactivates the information displayed on said display regarding said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices, thereby preventing a user from selecting said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein said method is performed by a network application program run by a web browser that is system independent of said plurality of controlled devices.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein control device information is outputted to said display regarding only a controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices about which information has changed.

18. A home network environment device control system comprising:

a network application module, coupled to a control device, wherein said control device receives input from a plurality of controlled devices coupled to a home network, to transmit an instruction to a first controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices, and to provide a user interface configured to report controlled device status information, receive a control command directed to said first controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices, and display, upon user selection of a controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices, a page indicating operation information of the selected controlled device,

wherein the network application module displays information regarding only the controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices whose status has been changed and updated, on a display, and

wherein when status information relating to at least one operation of a particular one of said plurality of controlled devices has not been received from said plurality of controlled devices for a predetermined time, an application program clears the information regarding said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices from said display of said control device or deactivates the information displayed on said display regarding said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices, thereby preventing a user from selecting said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising said control device connected to run said network application module.

20. The system according to claim 19, further comprising a display coupled to said control device, connected to display said user interface.

21. The system according to claim 18, wherein said network application module is run by a web browser system independent of said plurality of controlled devices.

22. A computer readable storage medium having program instructions for providing a method of controlling devices in a home network environment, said method comprising:

receiving status information from time to time from a plurality of controlled devices coupled to a home network;

providing a user interface configured to output to a display coupled to a control device, information regarding controlled devices in operation based on status information received from said plurality of controlled devices at said control device, to output to said display, upon a user'"'"'s selection of a controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices, a page indicating operation information of the selected controlled device, and to receive from the user a control command directed to said selected controlled device; and

transmitting to said selected controlled device a control command received through said user interface,

wherein an application program displays information regarding only said selected controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices whose status has been changed and updated, on said display, and

wherein when status information relating to at least one operation of a particular one of said plurality of controlled devices has not been received from said plurality of controlled devices for a predetermined time, the application program clears the information regarding said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices from said display of said control device or deactivates the information displayed on said display regarding said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices, thereby preventing a user from selecting said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices.

23. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 22, wherein said application program is run by a web browser that is system independent of said plurality of controlled devices.

24. A home network device control system comprising:

means for receiving status information from time to time from a plurality of controlled devices coupled to a home network and for transmitting to a selected controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices a control command received through a user interface; and

means for providing said user interface, said user interface being configured to output to a display coupled to a control device, information regarding controlled devices in operation based on status information received from said plurality of controlled devices at said control device, to output to said display, upon a user'"'"'s selection of said selected controlled device, a page indicating operation information of said selected controlled device, and to receive from the user a control command directed to said selected controlled device,

wherein an application program displays information regarding only said selected controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices whose status has been changed and updated, on said display, and

wherein when status information relating to at least one operation of a particular one of said plurality of controlled devices has not been received from said plurality of controlled devices for a predetermined time, the application program clears the information regarding said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices from said display of said control device or deactivates the information displayed on said display regarding said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices, thereby preventing a user from selecting said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices.

25. A home network environment control system comprising:

a plurality of controlled devices coupled to a home network;

a control device coupled to said home network, system independent of said plurality of controlled devices, said control device configured to receive from time to time status information from each controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices;

a display, coupled to said control device, connected to display a user interface; and

a network application program run on said control device, configured to provide said user interface configured to display on said display status information about controlled devices in operation and to display, upon a user'"'"'s selection of a controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices, a web page indicative of operational status of the selected controlled device, and said network application program further configured to transmit a control command to said selected controlled device upon the user'"'"'s input of said control command referring to said web page,

wherein said network application program displays information regarding only said selected controlled device among said plurality of controlled devices whose status has been changed and updated, on said display, and

wherein when status information relating to at least one operation of a particular one of said plurality of controlled devices has not been received from said plurality of controlled devices for a predetermined time, the application program clears the information regarding said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices from said display of said control device or deactivates the information displayed on said display regarding said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices, thereby preventing a user from selecting said particular one of said plurality of controlled devices.