Remote command framework for devices

• US 7,647,430 B2
• Filed: 01/19/2005
• Issued: 01/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Miller, David M., MacLin, Markham F., Ng, Norman N., Hart, Michael P., Wilkins, Jonathan, Sanders, Scott D., VonKoch, Walter, Ford, Peter S., Fern, Kenneth
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsai; Henry W. H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shah; Tushar S
• Application Number:
  US11/038,632
• Publication Number:
  US 20060161662A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,819 Days
• Field of Search: 710/5, 709/218, 726/23
• US Class Current: 710/5
• 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 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances

Abstract

A robust device messaging framework is disclosed that enables a user to send commands to a device. A provisioning service is used to provision unique device identities and maps user web identities to device identities. The provisioning service also limits device per day provisioning attempts to limit denial of service attacks. A command service allows remote users to issue commands to a device, synchronize outgoing commands with incoming results, receive accurate feedback about whether a command was received, and maintain state information about the device. A device layer encrypts and stores device identities, authenticates itself with the command service, establishes a high-availability Internet connection to receive alerts that a command has issued, and reports results to the server-based command service.

Claims

1. A method for executing a command issued by a remote user device to a target device, comprising:

receiving a command issued by the remote user device, wherein the command is received by a first server;

storing the command received by the first server in a database;

establishing a persistent connection between the target device and a notifying server by having the target device periodically send a keep-alive message to the notifying server and attempt to reconnect to the notifying server if the target device detects that the connection between the target device and the notifying server has been terminated;

generating a notification that a command has been issued from the remote user device, said notification contains a reference to the location the command is stored in the database;

providing the notification to the target device from the notifying server via the persistent connection;

in response to receiving the notification, establishing a connection between the target device and the first server, and retrieving the command from the database via the first server based on the reference to the location of the stored command contained in the notification; and

executing said command on the target device.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

executing said command comprises recording a television program.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

executing said command comprises causing a recording device to record a television program.

4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

establishing a secure identity for said target device; and

associating said secure identity for said target device with a secure identity for a first user, said command is issued from said first user.

5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving said command from a user;

associating said command with said target device;

sending said notification to said target device;

establishing a secure connection with said target device; and

providing said command to said target device via said secure connection.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

said notification is an alert.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

said target device communicates with said notifying server through a firewall.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

said target device includes a video recording device; and

said command includes an instruction for said video recording device to record television programming.