Request event manager and event lists for home and office systems and networks

• US 7,412,538 B1
• Filed: 06/14/2000
• Issued: 08/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Patibanda, Shiva, Eytchison, Edward B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Orgad; Edan
• Assistant Examiner(s): HO, CHUONG T
• Application Number:
  US09/594,227
• Time in Patent Office: 2,981 Days
• Field of Search: 725/105, 725/95, 725/119, 725/129, 725/133, 725/78, 725/58, 725/40, 725/60, 725/61, 725/87, 725/74, 725/80, 725/82, 725/141, 725/153, 709/203, 709/208, 709/230, 709/218, 709/219, 709/223, 709/220, 709/217, 709/227, 709/226, 709314-316, 709/313, 709/312, 710/10, 710/117, 710/107, 710/67, 370/439, 370/437, 370/443, 370/352, 370/466, 370/487, 370/467, 370/401, 370/232, 370/465, 370/332, 348/552, 707/10, 707/104.1, 707/102, 705 7- 8, 718101-104
• US Class Current: 709/245
• 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 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 12/2821 Avoiding conflicts related to the use of home appliances cryptographic protocols H04L9/00; protocols for network security H04L63/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A request event manager for a network of consumer electronic devices. In one embodiment, the request event manager maintains a database of home network services, and allows the home network services to be scheduled for execution over time. Home network services herein refer to high-level abstractions of a consumer electronic device'"'"'s functionalities, and also content that is available from the consumer electronic device. The request event manager of the present invention also creates and maintains a service request list (SRL) which details the service actions in a hierarchical fashion. By maintaining a database of home network services, the request event manager of the present invention allows user applications to specify and schedule concatenated or hierarchical events such that different network activity across interconnected heterogeneous consumer electronic devices can be synchronized without requiring complicated logic to be implemented. The request event manager of the present invention may be implemented as part of a middleware infrastructure for a home network, and may reside within a home server.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

accessing a network service database containing a plurality of service offerings that aggregate capabilities of a plurality of devices coupled as a network;

receiving a service-centric based request from a user, based on one or more of said service offerings;

determining one or more resources of said network for carrying out said service-centric based request from said network service database, wherein said resources include one or more source devices, one or more destination devices and one or more communication links;

translating said service-centric based request into one or more device-specific events for carrying out said service-centric based request based on said network service database;

constructing a service request list based on said device-specific events, wherein said service request list is arranged as a hierarchical data structure that includes a top level and one or more lower levels, wherein said top level includes a handle logically associated with said service-centric based request, and descriptive information and timing information for carrying out said service-centric based request, and wherein a lower level includes one or more logical links between said resources, and one or more device-specific commands for carrying out the service-centric based request by said resources;

determining whether said service request list conflicts with another service request list; and

provided that said service request list does not conflict with said another service request list, storing said service request list and scheduling said service request list for executing said plurality of device-specific events chronologically and sequentially according to said service request list.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said service request list further comprises information that describes routing information that allows content from said source devices to be routed to said destination devices.

3. A method as recited in claim 2 wherein said content comprises a broadcast program.

4. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

determining availability of said source devices, said destination devices and said communication links at a time said service-centric based request is to be rendered.

5. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising denying said service-centric based request provided said service-centric based request is in conflict with said another service-centric based request.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

presenting said plurality of service offerings to a user application, wherein said service-centric based request is received in response to said presenting said plurality of service offerings.

7. A computer readable medium containing therein computer readable codes for causing a computer system to perform a method of synchronizing different network activity over time comprising:

accessing a network service database containing a plurality of service offerings that aggregate capabilities of a plurality of devices;

presenting the plurality of service offerings to a user;

receiving a service-centric based request from said user based on one or more of said service offerings;

determining one or more resources for carrying out said service-centric based request from said network service database;

translating said service-centric based request into one or more device-specific events based request based on said network service database;

constructing a service request list based on said device-specific events, wherein said service request list is arranged as a hierarchical data structure that includes a top level and one or more lower levels, wherein said top level includes a handle logically associated with said service-centric based request and timing information for carrying out said service-centric based request, and wherein a lower level includes one or more logical links between said resources, and one or more device-specific commands for carrying out said service-centric based request by said resources;

determining whether said service request list conflicts with another service request list; and

provided that said service request list does not conflict with said another service request list, storing said service request list.

8. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 7 wherein said service request list contains details of a source consumer electronic device and of a destination consumer electronic device, said details comprising control information and timing information of said source consumer electronic device and said destination consumer electronic device.

9. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 8 wherein said service request list further comprises information that describes routing information that allows content of said source consumer electronic device to be routed to said destination consumer electronic device.

10. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 9 further comprising:

determining availability of said source consumer electronic device and said destination consumer electronic device at a time said service-centric based request is to be rendered.

11. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 7 further comprising denying said service-centric based request provided said service-centric based request is in conflict with said another service-centric based request.

12. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 7 wherein said service request list schedules said device specific-commands for executing chronologically and sequentially according to said service-centric based request.

13. A home server for coupling to a network of consumer electronic devices, said home server comprising:

logic for accessing a network service database containing a plurality of service offerings that aggregate capabilities of a plurality of devices;

logic for receiving a service-centric based request from a user application, that is non-device-specific, based on one or more of said service offerings;

logic for determining one or more resources of said network for carrying out said service-centric based request from said network service database, wherein said resources include one or more source devices, one or more destination devices and one or more communication links;

logic for translating said service-centric based request into one or more device-specific events for carrying out said service-centric based request by said resources based on the network service database;

logic for constructing a service request list that is based on said device-specific events, wherein said service request list is arranged as a hierarchical data structure that includes a top level and one or more lower levels, wherein said top level includes a handle logically associated with said service-centric based request, and descriptive information and timing information for carrying out said service-centric based request, and wherein a lower level includes one or more logical links between said resources, and one or more device-specific commands for carrying out the service-centric based request by said resources;

logic for determining whether said service request list conflicts with another service request list; and

logic for storing said service request list if said service request list does not conflict with said another service request list.

14. A home server as recited in claim 13 wherein said service request list further comprises information that describes routing information that allows content from said source devices to be routed to said destination devices through said communication links.

15. A home server as recited in claim 13 further comprising:

logic for determining availability of said source devices, said destination devices and said communication links at a time said service-centric based request is to be rendered.

16. A home server as recited in claim 14 wherein said content comprises a broadcast program.

17. A home server as recited in claim 13 further comprising logic for denying said service-centric based request provided said service-centric based request is in conflict with said another service-centric based request.

18. A home server as recited in claim 13 further comprising:

logic for executing said device-specific commands chronologically and sequentially according to said timing information for each of said resources.