System and method for information integration

• US 8,004,396 B2
• Filed: 05/29/2008
• Issued: 08/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Liu, Chih-Yuan, Kuo, Lun-Chia, Wu, Chung-Yi
• Primary Examiner(s): Crosland; Donnie L
• Application Number:
  US12/128,777
• Publication Number:
  US 20090002189A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,181 Days
• Field of Search: 340/506, 340/522, 340/525
• US Class Current: 340/506
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2825 Reporting to a device located outside the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with telemetering systems H04M11/002

Abstract

An information integration system for integrating information includes: a local information receiving unit configured to receive information from a plurality of sensors; an information collecting unit configured to collect information from a plurality of remote information sources; and an information processing unit coupled to the local information receiving unit and the information collecting unit, the information processing unit being configured to process the information received by the local information receiving unit and the information collected by the information collecting unit.

Claims

1. An information integration system for integrating information, comprising:

a local information receiving unit configured to receive information from a plurality of sensors;

an information collecting unit configured to collect information from a plurality of remote information sources;

an information processing unit coupled to the local information receiving unit and the information collecting unit, the information processing unit being configured to process the information received by the local information receiving unit and the information collected by the information collecting unit, and to provide;

the processed information; and

supplemental information based on the processed information;

a first server coupled with the information collecting unit through a network,

wherein the remote information sources include one or more Internet servers, and the information collecting unit is further configured to collect the information from the Internet servers in an active mode and in a passive mode,

in the active mode, the information collecting unit intermittently collects the information from the Internet servers, and

in the passive mode, the information collecting unit sends an information request for the first server to collect the information from the Internet servers and to send the collected information to the information collecting unit.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors are distributed within or near a home of a user of the system.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of sensors has an identity assigned by the local information receiving unit.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the local information receiving unit is configured to monitor an operation status of one of the plurality of sensors, based on the identity of the one of the plurality of sensors.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of sensors is configured to communicate with the local information receiving unit wirelessly.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of sensors is configured to communicate with the local information receiving unit through a cable.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first server is configured to set parameters for any one of a plurality of information integration systems coupled to the first server.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the information collecting unit is configured to collect the information from the plurality of remote information sources intermittently.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the information collecting unit is configured to determine a format of information collected from one of the plurality of remote information sources.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the information processing unit comprises a layout controller configured to arrange the processed information according to a layout template to form a layout based on a total number of information items, each of the information items corresponding to information received from one of the plurality of sensors or information collected from one of the plurality of remote information sources.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the layout controller is configured to dynamically adjust the layout.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the layout controller comprises:

a layout template database configured to store a plurality of layout templates; and

an arrangement component coupled to the layout template database, the arrangement component being configured to select the layout template from the plurality of layout templates, and to arrange the processed information according to the layout template to form the layout.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the layout controller comprises:

a layout template database configured to store a plurality of layout arrangement rules; and

an arrangement component coupled to the layout template database, the arrangement component being configured to arrange the processed information in the layout template to form the layout, based on one of the plurality of layout arrangement rules.

14. The system of claim 1, further including a display device coupled to the information processing unit to display the processed information.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the information processing unit is configured to display the supplemental information on the display device.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the first server is configured to collect the information from the plurality of remote information sources, and the information collecting unit is configured to receive the information collected by the first server.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the first server is configured to provide an interface for a user to set parameters of the system.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the first server is configured to send an emergency notification when the information processing unit determines existence of an emergency situation, based on the processed information.

19. The system of claim 1, further including a display device coupled to the information processing unit to display the processed information.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the information processing unit is configured to display the supplemental information on the display device.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the information processing unit is configured to provide an advertisement based on the information received by the local information receiving unit, and to display the advertisement on the display device.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the information processing unit is configured to receive information regarding the advertisement from the first server or at least one of the Internet servers.

23. An information integration method for integrating information, comprising:

receiving information from a plurality of sensors distributed in a local area;

collecting information from a plurality of remote information sources;

processing the information received from the plurality of sensors and the information collected from the plurality of remote information sources;

providing the processed information, and supplemental information based on the processed information;

wherein the remote information sources include one or more Internet servers, the collecting further comprising;

intermittently collecting, in an active mode, the information from the Internet servers; and

sending, in a passive mode, an information request for a first server to collect the information from the Internet servers.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising displaying the processed information.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the plurality of sensors are distributed within or near a home.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the receiving comprises receiving information from one of the plurality of sensors wirelessly.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the receiving comprises receiving information from one of the plurality of sensors through a cable.

28. The method of claim 23, wherein the collecting comprises collecting the information from the plurality of remote information sources intermittently.

29. The method of claim 23, wherein the collecting comprises collecting the information from the plurality of remote information sources through a server.

30. The method of claim 23, wherein the processing comprises:

arranging the processed information in a layout template to form a layout based on a total number of information items, each of the information items corresponding to information received from one of the plurality of sensors or information collected from one of the plurality of remote information sources.

31. The method of claim 23, further comprising providing the supplemental information based on information received from one of the plurality of sensors.

32. An information integration system for integrating information, comprising:

a local information receiving unit configured to receive information from a plurality of sensors;

an information collecting unit configured to collect information from a plurality of remote information sources; and

an information processing unit coupled to the local information receiving unit and the information collecting unit, the information processing unit being configured to process the information received by the local information receiving unit and the information collected by the information collecting unit, and to provide;

the processed information; and

supplemental information based on the processed information;

wherein the sensors are configured to wirelessly communicate with the local information receiving unit based on a communication standard, and to dynamically connect or disconnect with the local information receiving unit.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the information processing unit comprises a layout controller configured to dynamically adjust a layout displayed on a display device when a sensor connects or disconnects with the local information receiving unit.

34. The system of claim 32, wherein the information processing unit comprises:

a layout template database configured to store a plurality of layout arrangement rules; and

an arrangement component coupled to the layout template database, the arrangement component being configured to arrange the processed information in the layout template to form a layout, based on the layout arrangement rules.

35. The system of claim 32, wherein the local information receiving unit provides a button to receive user input to add a new sensor to the sensors.

36. The system of claim 32, being configured to determine whether a first one of the sensors operates properly based on a communication signal from the first one of the sensors to the local information receiving unit, and to provide a suggestion to change a location of the first one of the sensors, if it is determined that the first one of the sensors does not operate properly.

37. The system of claim 32, wherein:

the information collecting unit is configured to collect information from a web site in a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) format; and

the information processing unit is configured to perform image or sound processing of the information received by the local information receiving unit and the information collected by the information collecting unit.

38. The system of claim 32, wherein the system is configured to provide an interface for receiving user input setting a threshold temperature, the information processing unit being configured to determine, based on the threshold temperature, existence of an emergency situation, and to send a notification regarding the existence of the emergency situation.