Apparatus for low cost embedded platform for device-side, distributed services enablement

• US 8,154,741 B2
• Filed: 10/16/2003
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Majandro LLC (IP Edge LLC)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: McCorkindale, Mary C., Furst, Michael R., St. Jacques, Robert J., Whitfield, Loranzo, Cavanaugh, Michael F., Sharma, Naveen, Regruit, Christopher J., Rockwell, Ronald M., Thieret, Tracy E., Fillion, Claude S., Huang, Weixia, Kehoe, Michael P., Lorenzo, Arturo M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Haskins, Twyler
• Assistant Examiner(s): RODRIGUEZ, LENNIN R
• Application Number:
  US10/687,142
• Publication Number:
  US 20040128669A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,099 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/1.1, 358/1.13, 358/1.14, 399/8, 399/26, 399/1, 709/221, 709/204, 709/223, 370/466, 714/2, 726/19, 719/328, 705/14
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A class of add-on system components providing functionality of devices, management of self-help, customization and enhancement of services for devices, and remote monitoring at significantly reduced cost. It reduces the cost of UI and greatly enhances ease-of-use by realizing that the networked system can be headless and use a browser-based UI for its platform. It embeds a Device Model Agent (DMA) and connects to the Device-Centric Services platform to offer services. Additionally, it offers customized diagnostic access for customer representatives to enable self-help service actions to be performed, unifies and manages multiple access needs to several disparate data access mechanisms, and uses largely COTS PC hardware rather than customized PWBs.

Claims

1. A document processing device that is an active participant in its own services and lifecycle needs, the document processing device comprising:

at least one input-output terminal (IOT);

at least one device-specific provider application programming interface (API); and

an embedded system connected to the at least one IOT through at least one existing device interface to provide a common device model, common information management (CIM) application programming interface (API), and an environment in which device services can run, the embedded system comprising;

data collection and display functionality,

a local user interface (UI) for operation and management of functionality locally,

a services platform,

at least one application programming interface (API) for remote connectivity and device-centric services, and

a device model agent (DMA) stored within nonvolatile memory of the document processing device and representing the document processing device to a remote services host that provides services to which the document processing device can subscribe and to a remote asset management system, the DMA being operative to;

communicate a status of the document processing device, a configuration of the document processing device, and services offered by the document processing device to the remote services host and to the remote asset management system using a common transaction language,

provide a services environment that is a runtime environment for the services on the document processing device to provide device-independence for the services offered by the remote services host;

actively and dynamically monitor information about the document processing device including at least one of device configuration, device status, and one or more device supply levels,

dynamically provision the document processing device to automatically download software as needed to add, delete, update, and customize the services offered by the document processing device which are determined by the remote services host and the remote asset management system, and

to communicate, through the local UI, services to be selectively added to or performed on the document processing device.

2. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the DMA further comprises:

a DMA core including;

a common information model (CIM) API,

a common information model object manager (CIMOM), and

a service manager, and

a common provider API operative to;

communicate with the at least one device-specific provider API to retrieve information about the document processing device including at least one of device configuration, device status, and one or more device supply levels,

make the retrieved information about the document processing device available to the CIMOM, the service manager, and to the services running in the services environment.

3. The document processing device of claim 2, wherein the DMA resides between the at least one device-specific API and a services layer that includes a collection of running services, and wherein the DMA is connected to a communications medium to communicate directly with the remote services host and the remote asset management system.

4. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the embedded system further comprises a networked, embedded personal computer in a housing with no direct input or output devices.

5. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the embedded system is connected to the IOT through at least two physical interfaces.

6. The document processing device of claim 1, further comprising a UI available via a browser running on a computer on a network to which the document processing device is connected.

7. The edocument processing device of claim 1, further comprising a web server.

8. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein the DMA is operative to selectively invoke a diagnostic routine on the document processing device in response to active, dynamic monitoring of the occurrence of an document processing device event of interest as directed by internal or external clients or users.

9. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein device status indicates device conditions including availability of communication between the DMA and the IOT of the document processing device.

10. The document processing device of claim 1, wherein DMA includes an applications/services execution/runtime environment residing between a Java runtime environment and an embedded server.

11. An embedded system connected to at least one input-output terminal (IOT) of a document processing device, the embedded system comprising

data collection and display functionality,

a local user interface for operation and management of functionality locally,

a services platform,

at least one application programming interface (API) for remote connectivity and device-centric services, and

a device model agent (DMA) stored within nonvolatile memory of the document processing device and representing the document processing device to a remote services host that provides services to which the document processing device can subscribe and to a remote asset management system, the DMA being operative to:

communicate a status of the document processing device, a configuration of the document processing device, and services offered by the document processing device to the remote services host and to the remote asset management system using a common transaction language,

provide a services environment that is a runtime environment for the services on the document processing device to provide device-independence for the services offered by the remote services host;

actively and dynamically monitor information about the document processing device including at least one of device configuration, device status, and one or more device supply levels,

dynamically provision the document processing device to automatically download software as needed to add, delete, update, and customize the services offered by the document processing device which are determined by the remote services host and the remote asset management system, and

to communicate, through the local UI, services to be selectively added to or performed on the document processing device.

12. The embedded system of claim 11, wherein the DMA further comprises:

a DMA core including;

a common information model (CIM) API,

a common information model object manager (CIMOM), and

a service manager, and

a common provider API operative to;

communicate with at least one device-specific provider API of the document processing device to retrieve information about the document processing device including at least one of device configuration, device status, and one or more device supply levels,

make the retrieved information about the document processing device available to the CIMOM, the service manager, and to the services running in the services environment.

13. The embedded system of claim 12, wherein the DMA resides between the at least one device-specific API and a services layer that includes a collection of running services, and wherein the DMA is connected to a communications medium to communicate directly with the remote services host and the remote asset management system.

14. The embedded system of claim 11, comprising a networked, embedded personal computer in a housing with no direct input or output devices.

15. The embedded system of claim 11, wherein the embedded system is connected to the IOT through at least two physical interfaces.

16. The embedded system of claim 11, comprising a UI available via a browser running on a computer on a network to which the document processing device is connected.

17. The embedded system of claim 11, comprising further comprising a web server.

18. The embedded system of claim 11, wherein the DMA is operative to selectively invoke a diagnostic routine on the document processing device in response to active, dynamic monitoring of the occurrence of an document processing device event of interest as directed by internal or external clients or users.

19. The embedded system of claim 11, wherein device status indicates device conditions including availability of communication between the DMA and the IOT of the document processing device.

20. The embedded system of claim 11, wherein DMA includes an applications/services execution/runtime environment residing between a Java runtime environment and an embedded server.