Software architecture system with embedded virtual router

• US 8,028,302 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2007
• Issued: 09/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Original Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Inventors: Zeijlon, Anders B., Glotzbach, Mark E., Ebrom, Matthew P., McCoy, Richard A., Moes, Christopher S., Radford, Brian N., Morrell, Michael A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho; Andy
• Application Number:
  US11/926,373
• Publication Number:
  US 20080109830A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,429 Days
• Field of Search: 719/328, 370/392, 709/238
• US Class Current: 719/328
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 15/0063 using remote monitoring or controlling of the dishwasher operation, e.g. networking systems
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 34/04 Signal transfer or data transmission arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 34/28 Arrangements for program selection, e.g. control panels therefor; Arrangements for indicating program parameters, e.g. the selected program or its progress
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 7/02 by radio
• CPC Class Codes: G04R 20/26 the radio signal being a near-field communication signal
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2807 Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving network analysis for automatically determining the actual topology of a network H04L41/12; hardware or software tools for network management using graphical user interfaces H04L41/22; address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2814 Exchanging control software or macros for controlling appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving configuration of the network and network elements H04L41/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2818 from a device located outside both the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless eletrical link G08C17/00; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with remote control systems H04M11/007
• 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 12/2823 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 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2827 Reporting to a device within the home network; wherein the reception of the information reported automatically triggers the execution of a home appliance functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2832 Interconnection of the control functionalities between home networks single bridge functionality H04L12/4625
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/26 : Special purpose or proprietary protocols or architectures network applications for proprietary or special purpose networking environments H04L67/12
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/688 : for thawing
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 40/00 : Technologies aiming at improving the efficiency of home appliances, e.g. induction cooking or efficient technologies for refrigerators, freezers or dish washers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 : Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

The invention relates to a network system of at least two appliances, each appliance configured to perform a cycle of operation on an article, and each appliance having its own software architecture. An embedded virtual router enables communication among appliance components independent of the architecture of the software.

Claims

1. A network system comprising at least two components of at least one appliance, each component configured to perform a physical cycle of operation on an article, and each component having its own software architecture implementation, each software architecture implementation including a plurality of software operating components, an internal communications network layer interface for facilitating network communications between the components, and a hardware abstraction layer for assigning addresses of connected electrical circuits on which the software operating components will operate, characterized by:

an embedded virtual router formed of a collection of application program interfaces (“

API'"'"'s”

), each having an individual named variable derived from the hardware abstraction layer independent of the assigned address, wherein a collaboration between a software architecture implementation and one or more software operating components across the network is independent of the architecture of the software architecture implementations.

2. A network system according to claim 1 wherein the software architecture implementation of the at least one appliance includes application logic.

3. A network system according to claim 1 wherein the software operating components form a global design module that addresses components that perform a physical cycle of operation.

4. A network system according to claim 3 wherein the components that perform a physical cycle of operation include at least one of a heater, an evaporator, a motor, a valve, a solenoid, a relay, a pressure sensor, and a temperature sensor.

5. A network system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one appliance is from a group including refrigerators, cooktops, dishwashers, dryers, and clothes washers.

6. A network system according to claim 1 wherein the API'"'"'s are generated from discovery queries and responses from the software operating components wherein the embedded virtual router contains a database with identification and routing information for all responsive software operating components.

7. A network system according to claim 1 wherein the hardware abstraction layer comprises software interfaces encapsulating occurrences of software operating components.

8. A network system according to claim 7 wherein the software operating components are in the form of one of a packetized representation of a message exchanged by the software architecture implementation, a packetized representation of a message exchanged by the software architecture implementation representing only an application payload, and an alternate representation where data values and resultant actions are functionally identical to but not in the form of the packetized representations.

9. A network system according to claim 1 wherein the software architecture implementation differs from other software architecture implementations.