Connecting a legacy device into a home entertainment system using a wireless home entertainment hub

• US 8,966,545 B2
• Filed: 11/27/2006
• Issued: 02/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rateze Remote Mgmt. L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Porto Vinci Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Igoe, Patrick T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pendleton, Brian T
• Assistant Examiner(s): OKEKE, ONYEDIKA C
• Application Number:
  US11/563,520
• Publication Number:
  US 20080066118A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,011 Days
• Field of Search: 725 80- 81
• US Class Current: 725/80
• 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 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440209 for formatting on an optical medium, e.g. DVD
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0254 detecting a user operation or a tactile contact or a motion of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0258 controlling an operation mode according to history or models of usage information, e.g. activity schedule or time of day
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method of connecting a legacy device in a home entertainment system containing a wireless home entertainment hub utilizing a home theatre network interface box includes obtaining a registration with the wireless home entertainment hub for the home theatre network interface box. The home theatre network interface box is connected to the legacy device and the home theatre network interface device is identified at the wireless home entertainment hub according to the functionality of the legacy device. An instruction from the wireless home entertainment hub to transmit data produced by the legacy device to at least one sink device in the home entertainment system is received, where the legacy device is a source device. Representation of the data produced by the legacy device from the home theatre network interface box to the at least one sink device is transmitted.

Claims

1. A method of connecting devices in a home entertainment system, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a home theatre network interface device, a registration from a wireless home entertainment hub, wherein the home theatre network interface device is connected to multiple legacy source devices and recognized by the wireless home entertainment hub as a wireless source device representing the multiple legacy source devices;

storing, by the home theatre network interface device, an indication of the registration;

converting, by the home theatre network interface device, first output data received from a first legacy source device to an information format compatible with a first sink device;

converting, by the home theatre network interface device, second output data received from a second legacy source device to an information format compatible with the first sink device; and

transmitting, by the home theatre network interface device, the converted information formats of the first output data and the second output data to the first sink device for simultaneous presentation at the first sink device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the legacy source devices is connected to the home theatre network interface device using a wireless connection.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the legacy source devices is connected to the home theatre network interface device using a wired connection.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the legacy source devices is a video cassette recorder.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first output data and the second output data are analog.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first output data and the second output data are converted to digital.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the registration is stored in the wireless home entertainment hub.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the registration prevents the home theatre network interface device and the first sink device from being registered with a different wireless home entertainment hub.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the registration allows direct transfer of the converted respective first and second output data between the home theatre network interface device and the first sink device in response to receiving instructions from the wireless home entertainment hub.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the respective first and second output data comprises one of audio output data and video output data.

7. A method of connecting devices in a home entertainment system, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a home theatre network interface device, a registration from a wireless home entertainment hub, wherein the home theatre network interface device is connected to multiple legacy sink devices and is recognized by the wireless home entertainment hub as a wireless sink device representing multiple legacy sink devices;

storing, by the home theatre network interface device, an indication of the registration;

receiving by the home theatre network interface device, an instruction from the wireless home entertainment hub to begin receiving first output data produced by a first source device and second output data produced by a second source device, each of the respective first and second source devices having a registration with the wireless home entertainment hub;

receiving, by the home theatre network interface device, the respective first and second output data directly from the first and second source devices in response to the instruction;

converting, by the home theatre network interface device, the first output data to first converted data compatible with a first legacy sink device;

converting, by the home theatre network interface device, the second output data to second converted data compatible with the first legacy sink device; and

transmitting, by the home theatre network interface device, the first and second converted data directly to the first legacy sink device for simultaneous presentation at the first legacy sink device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of the legacy sink devices is connected to the home theatre network interface device using a wireless connection.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of the legacy sink devices is connected to the home theatre network interface device using a wired connection.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of the legacy sink devices is a television.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of the legacy sink devices includes one or more speakers.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the home theatre network interface device is an audio-visual receiver registered with the wireless home entertainment hub.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of the legacy sink devices connected to the audio-visual receiver is a television.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of the legacy sink devices connected to the audio-visual receiver is one or more speakers.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of the first and second output data is digital.

16. The method of claim 7, wherein the first and second output data are converted to analog.

21. The method of claim 7, wherein the indication of the registration is stored in the wireless home entertainment hub.

25. The method of claim 7, wherein the registration prevents the home theatre network interface device and the respective first and second legacy source devices from being registered with a different wireless home entertainment hub.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the registration allows direct transfer of the respective first and second output data between the home theatre network interface device and the wireless sink device in response to receiving instructions from the wireless home entertainment hub.

29. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of the respective first and second output data comprises one of audio output data and video output data.

17. A home theatre network interface device comprising:

a connector configured to connect the home theatre network interface device to multiple legacy devices in a home entertainment system, wherein the multiple legacy device comprise multiple legacy source devices and multiple legacy sink devices;

a processor configured to facilitate obtaining a registration of the home theatre network interface device from a wireless home entertainment hub, wherein the home theatre network interface device is recognized by the wireless home entertainment hub as a wireless device representing the multiple legacy devices;

a memory configured to store an indication of the registration; and

a transceiver unit configured to facilitate direct transfer of first output data from a first legacy source device and second output data from a second legacy source device to a first wireless sink device registered with the wireless home entertainment hub for simultaneous presentation at the first sink device, in response to receiving an instruction from the wireless home entertainment hub to the home theatre network interface device to transmit the-first output data and the second output data, wherein the transceiver unit facilitates the direct transfer of the respective first and second output data by converting the first output data to a data format compatible with the first wireless sink device and converting the second output data to the data format compatible with the first wireless sink device.

18. The home theatre network interface device of claim 17, wherein the home theatre network interface device includes additional connectors, each additional connector for connecting a respective one of the multiple legacy devices.

19. The home theatre network interface box of claim 17, wherein the transceiver unit facilitates the direct transfer of the data by converting the respective first and second output data between analog and digital formats.

22. The home theatre network interface device of claim 17, wherein the indication of the registration is stored in the wireless home entertainment hub.

27. The home theatre network interface device of claim 17, wherein the registration prevents the home theatre network interface device and the wireless devices from being registered with a different wireless home entertainment hub.

30. The home theatre network interface device of claim 17, wherein each of the respective first and second output data comprises one of audio output data and video output data.