Performing services on behalf of low-power devices

• US 8,335,854 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2009
• Issued: 12/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Inventors: Eldering, Charles A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fan, Hua
• Application Number:
  US12/506,391
• Publication Number:
  US 20110022977A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,246 Days
• Field of Search: 709/229
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/509 Offload
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5094 where the allocation takes into account power or heat criteria power management in computers in general G06F1/3203; thermal management in computers in general G06F1/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

Techniques are generally described that relate to a computer-implemented method of using a virtual device operating in a first computer network to perform a service on behalf of a low-power device operating in a second computer network includes receiving, by the virtual device, device data reports and a device descriptor from the low-power device. The virtual device may be adapted to store the device data reports and/or the device descriptor in computer-readable memory coupled to the virtual device. The virtual device may also be adapted to receive a low-power device service request from a requesting device operating in a third computer network and may determine that the device descriptor indicates that the low-power device is unavailable to respond to the low-power device service request. A response to the low-power device service request may be generated by the virtual device based on the device data reports.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of using a virtual device to respond to a data request from a requesting device on behalf of a low-power device, wherein the data request is addressed to the low-power device and the virtual device executes in an operating system running in a virtual machine, the method comprising:

receiving, by the virtual device, the data request from the requesting device, wherein the received data request comprises a request for application data and at least one processing instruction to be performed on the application data;

determining, by the virtual device, that the processing instruction requires functionality that is not supported by the low-power device and that the virtual device is configured to respond to the received data request on behalf of the low-power device;

retrieving, by the virtual device, low-power device data from a database when the virtual device determines that the virtual device is configured to respond to the received data request on behalf of the low-power device;

selecting, by the virtual device, a virtual application configured to execute the at least one processing instruction in the operating system running in the virtual machine;

generating, by the virtual device using the virtual application, a data response based on the retrieved low-power device data and the processing instruction; and

sending, by the virtual device, the data response to the requesting device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one processing instruction comprises one or more of a request for historical low-power device data and/or predictive future low-power device data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one processing instruction comprises a request of a graphical display of low-power device data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual device is an instance of an object-oriented class.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the requesting device is one or more of a mobile phone, personal computer, navigation computer, and a video game system.

6. An article of manufacture for using a virtual device to respond to a data request from a requesting device on behalf of a low-power device, wherein the data request is addressed to the low-power device and the virtual device executes in an operating system running in a virtual machine, the article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium holding computer-executable instructions for performing a method comprising:

receiving, by the virtual device, the data request from the requesting device, wherein the received data request comprises a request for application data and at least one processing instruction to be performed on the application data;

determining, by the virtual device, that the processing instruction requires functionality that is not supported by the low-power device and that the virtual device is configured to respond to the received data request on behalf of the low-power device;

retrieving, by the virtual device, low-power device data from a database when the virtual device determines that the virtual device is configured to respond to the received data request on behalf of the low-power device;

selecting, by the virtual device, a virtual application configured to execute the at least one processing instruction in the operating system running in the virtual machine;

generating, by the virtual device using the virtual application, a data response based on the retrieved low-power device data and the processing instruction; and

sending, by the virtual device, the data response to the requesting device.

7. The article of manufacture of claim 6, wherein the at least one processing instruction comprises one or more of a request for historical low-power device data and/or predictive future low-power device data.

8. The article of manufacture of claim 6, wherein the at least one processing instruction comprises a request of a graphical display of low-power device data.

9. The article of manufacture of claim 6, wherein the virtual device is an instance of an object-oriented class.

10. The article of manufacture of claim 6, wherein the requesting device is one or more of a mobile phone, personal computer, navigation computer, and a video game system.

11. A system for using a virtual device to respond to a data request from a requesting device on behalf of a low-power device, wherein the data request is addressed to the low-power device and the virtual device executes in an operating system running in a virtual machine, the system comprising:

a network receiver configured to receive the data request from the requesting device, wherein the received data request comprises a request for application data and at least one processing instruction to be performed on the application data;

a memory;

a processor configured to

determine that the processing instruction requires functionality that is not supported by the low-power device and that the virtual device is configured to respond to the received data request on behalf of the low-power device,

retrieve at least one low-power device data item from the memory when the virtual device determines that the virtual device is configured to respond to the received data request on behalf of the low-power device,

select a virtual application configured to execute the at least one processing instruction in the operating system running in the virtual machine, and

generate, using the virtual application, a data response based on the retrieved low-power device data item and the processing instruction; and

a network transmitter configured to send the data response to the requesting device.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one processing instruction comprises one or more of a request for historical low-power device data and/or predictive future low-power device data.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one processing instruction comprises a request of a graphical display of low-power device data.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the virtual device is an instance of an object-oriented class.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the requesting device is one or more of a mobile phone, personal computer, navigation computer, and a video game system.