System and method for automatic configuration and management of home network devices

• US 8,635,316 B2
• Filed: 10/14/2008
• Issued: 01/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pie Digital, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Pie Digital, Inc.
• Inventors: Barnhill, John A. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Donabed, Ninos
• Application Number:
  US12/251,412
• Publication Number:
  US 20090132698A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,925 Days
• Field of Search: 709/207, 709223-226, 705/10, 715/734, 707/792
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies

Abstract

Embodiments of a method and system for automatically installing and managing consumer devices in a home network environment are described. A system implements automated configuration and maintenance of devices and their peripherals that connect to the home network, in particular the establishment of a distributed system that serves as a service platform which facilitates automated discovery and initial and ongoing deployment of a home networks and the devices that may interact with or connect to their network automatically or through manual means. An embodiment is directed to a distributed system and method for facilitated automatic configuration, maintenance, and diagnostics of a local area network that in parallel provides for the interoperability of connected intelligent independent computing devices using physical layer, network layer and application layer programmatic interfaces. This distributed system provides a generalized aggregated interface that is a programmatic resource for representing a continuous and historic reference of a local network and connected devices.

Claims

1. A system for facilitating management of a home network including consumer devices, comprising:

a service node including one or more communication links to a plurality of devices deployed in a home environment, wherein at least some devices of the plurality of devices are produced by different manufacturers, and wherein each of the plurality of devices executes a respective agent process that provides configuration information regarding the device to the service node, wherein the configuration information is stored in a device registry, wherein the respective agent process acts as a proxy to the service node and is loaded directly into the corresponding device through a custom memory device coupled to the corresponding device, and wherein the custom memory device stores service resource information for existing devices in the home environment, and downloads information to the corresponding device based on the stored information;

a computing device coupled to the service node and executing a client-side process providing device support for each of the plurality of devices through the service node;

a data center coupled to the service node storing device parameter information in the device registry, and to generate a network topology representing operational characteristics of the devices and interconnection information among the devices, wherein the network topology is displayed through a graphical user interface of the service node; and

an interface to one or more service providers, each service provider comprising a manufacturer or an agent of a manufacturer and providing configuration and maintenance information to a user of a respective device of the at least one of the devices, the interface providing the network topology to each service provider to facilitate servicing of a device based on the network context of the device.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the service node executes a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) protocol to functionally connect the apparatus to the plurality of devices.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein each device of the plurality of devices is an active device that is capable of storing and executing software program, and wherein at least one of the plurality of devices is a non-computer consumer electronic device selected from the group consisting of:

a home appliance, a media playback unit, a security system component, and a lighting component.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the data center includes at least one server executing an automatic configuration process for provisioning and maintaining the service node, and an operational support software process for maintaining programs executed by the plurality of devices, the data center further comprising a data store storing operational data related to the plurality of devices and the network topology.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the client-side process executed by the computing device coupled to the service node performs network configuration and management tasks for the plurality of devices, and provides a user interface for displaying network topography and related devices and services on a display coupled to the computing device.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the management tasks include discovering devices in the network, adding new devices to the network, removing devices from the network, and monitoring the plurality of devices in the network.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more service providers each maintain a computer platform configured to couple to the data center over a network, and which provides a virtual connection to the service node.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more service providers each maintain a computer platform communicatively coupled to the data center over a network, and which provides a virtual connection to the service node.

9. A method of facilitating the configuration and management of devices for use in a home network consisting of a plurality of consumer electronic devices coupled to a service node, the method comprising:

executing a discovery routine to discover compatible devices of the plurality of devices in the network, wherein at least some of the devices of the plurality of devices are produced by different manufacturers;

performing a search of devices in a database stored in a data center for devices in the network that are not compatible;

loading an agent process into each device of the discovered compatible devices for local execution on the respective device, the agent process communicating with the service to provide operational data relating to the respective device, wherein the agent provides fail-over for critical communication and service systems of the service node and proxy communication to a data center, wherein the respective agent process is loaded directly into the corresponding device through a custom memory device coupled to the corresponding device, and wherein the custom memory device stores service resource information for existing devices in the home environment and downloads information to the corresponding device based on the stored information;

storing device parameters of discovered compatible devices in a registry;

determining logical and physical interconnections among the plurality of devices in the network;

generating a network topography comprising the registry data and the logical and physical interconnection data;

displaying the network topography to the data center and to a graphical user interface of the service node; and

interfacing with at least one service provider comprising a manufacturer or an agent of a manufacturer to provide configuration and maintenance information to a user of a respective device of the plurality of devices, the interface providing the network topology to each service provider to facilitate servicing of a device based on the network context of the device.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein each device of the plurality of devices is coupled to the service node through one of a wired link or a wireless link, and further wherein the custom memory device stores service resource information for existing devices in the home environment, and downloads information to the corresponding device based on the stored information.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein compatible devices conform to one of the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) protocol, UDP, TCP-IP, Zero-conf, HTTP, or HTTPS.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the agent process interacts with a control process executed on the service node to allow management of the respective device by the service node, wherein management includes monitoring the respective device, detecting problems, performing device troubleshooting, removing the respective device, and updating the respective device.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein at least one of the plurality of devices is a non-computer consumer electronic device selected from the group consisting of:

a home appliance, a media playback unit, a security system component, and a lighting component.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the at least one service provider provides configuration and operational data related to the respective device.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising displaying operational information related to the network through a the graphical user interface on the service node.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising displaying operational information related to the network through a graphical user interface on a computer coupled to the service node, the computer executing a client-side process, which provides configuration and management processes for management of the plurality of devices.

17. The method of claim 9 further comprising interfacing the service node to the data center over a network, the data center including at least one server executing an automatic configuration process for provisioning and maintaining the service node, and an operational support software process for maintaining programs executed by the plurality of devices, the data center further comprising a data store storing operational data related to the plurality of devices.