UPnP/DLNA with RADA hive

• US 9,363,099 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2012
• Issued: 06/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ericsson AB (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Ericsson AB (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Forsman, Bob, Dasher, Charles, Phillips, Chris, Reynolds, Jennifer
• Primary Examiner(s): Mejia, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US13/536,133
• Publication Number:
  US 20130151684A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,440 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 12/2834 Switching of information between an external network and a home network access arrangements H04L12/2856
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services

Abstract

A system, a controller, and methods are described herein for enabling a user of a user device while located in a visited local area network (e.g., their friend'"'"'s local area network) to remotely access a device which is located within a home local area network (e.g., their household local area network).

Claims

1. A system for enabling a user of a user device to remotely access a device, the system comprising:

a controller;

at least one computer, each computer comprising a plurality of remote access discovery agents, and each computer is configured to service a plurality of local area networks;

the controller operatively coupled to the at least one computer and further comprising;

a processor; and

,

a memory that stores processor-executable instructions, wherein the processor interfaces with the memory to execute the processor-executable instructions to enable the following;

receive, by an input interface, a request from the user device to set up a bridge between one of the local area networks known as a visited network and another one of the local area networks known as a home network, wherein the user device is connected to the visited network;

send, by an output interface, a first control message to the computer that services the visited network to have that computer instantiate one of the remote access discovery agents located therein to communicate with another one of a plurality of remote access discovery agents associated with one of the computers that services the home network;

send, by the output interface, a second control message to the computer that services the home network to have that computer instantiate the another one remote access discovery agent, where the instantiated one remote access discovery agent and the instantiated another one remote access discovery agent allows proxying between the visited network and the home network so the user device is able to remotely access the device associated with the home network; and

send, by the output interface, a deactivate message to the computer that instantiated the one remote access discovery agent and to the computer that instantiated the another one remote access discovery agent to deactivate the instantiated one remote access discovery agent and the instantiated another one remote access discovery agent.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the instantiated another one remote access discovery agent comprises a peer unit that is configured to relay information about one or more devices in the home network to the instantiated one remote access discovery agent;

the instantiated one remote access discovery agent comprises a brain unit that is configured to receive the information from the peer unit in the instantiated another one remote access discovery agent and create messages for broadcast to one or more devices in the visited local area network so the one or more devices in the visited network are informed about the one or more devices in the home network.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the brain unit is further configured to answer queries received from the one or more devices in the visited network without querying the home network.

4. The system of claim 1, where the instantiated one remote access discovery agent and the instantiated another one remote access discovery agent allows proxying where data about devices in the visited network is not provided to the home network.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the visited network and the home network are serviced by the same computer.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the visited network is serviced by one computer and the home network is serviced by another computer.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the visited network contains one or more Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) compliant devices; and

the home network contains one or more Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) compliant devices.

8. A controller for enabling a user of a user device to remotely access a device by controlling one or more computers, where each computer comprising a plurality of remote access discovery agents, and where each computer is configured to service a plurality of local area networks, the controller comprising:

a processor; and

,

a memory that stores processor-executable instructions, wherein the processor interfaces with the memory to execute the processor-executable instructions to enable the following;

receive, by an input interface, a request from the user device to set up a bridge between one of the local area networks known as a visited network and another one of the local area networks known as a home network, wherein the user device is connected to the visited network;

send, by an output interface, a first control message to the computer that services the visited network to have that computer instantiate one of the remote access discovery agents located therein to communicate with another one of a plurality of remote access discovery agents associated with one of the computers that services the home network;

send, by the output interface, a second control message to the computer that services the home network to have that computer instantiate the another one remote access discovery agent, where the instantiated one remote access discovery agent and the instantiated another one remote access discovery agent allows proxying between the visited network and the home network so the user device can remotely access the device associated with the home network; and

send by the output interface, a deactivate message to the computer that instantiated the one remote access discovery agent and to the computer that instantiated the another one remote access discovery agent to deactivate the instantiated one remote access discovery agent and the instantiated another one remote access discovery agent.

9. A method implemented by a controller for enabling a user of a user device to remotely access a device by controlling one or more computers, where each computer comprising a plurality of remote access discovery agents, and where each computer is configured to service a plurality of local area networks, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, at the controller, a request from the user device to set up a bridge between one of the local area networks known as a visited network and another one of the local area networks known as a home network, wherein the user device is connected to the visited network;

sending, from the controller, a first control message to the computer that services the visited network to have that computer instantiate one of the remote access discovery agents located therein to communicate with another one of a plurality of remote access discovery agents associated with one of the computers that services the home network;

sending, from the controller, a second control message to the computer that services the visited network to have that computer instantiate the another one remote access discovery agent, where the instantiated one remote access discovery agent and the instantiated another one remote access discovery agent allows proxying between the visited network and the home network so the user device is able to remotely access the device associated with the home network; and

sending, from the controller, a deactivate message to the computer that instantiated the one remote access discovery agent and to the computer that instantiated the another one remote access discovery agent to deactivate the instantiated one remote access discovery agent and the instantiated another one remote access discovery agent.

10. A computer that is configured to service a plurality of local area networks, the computer comprising:

an input interface;

a plurality of remote access discovery agents;

one or more output interfaces connected to the plurality of local area networks; and

a processor; and

,

a memory that stores processor-executable instructions, wherein the processor interfaces with the memory to execute the processor-executable instructions to enable the following;

receive, by the input interface, a control message and upon receipt of the control message configure one of the remote access discovery agents to communicate with one of the local area networks known as a visited network, and the one remote access discovery agent comprises a brain unit that is configured to receive information from another remote access discovery agent about one or more devices in another local area network known as a home network and then create messages for broadcast to one or more devices in the visited network so the one or more devices in the visited network are informed about the one or more devices in the home network; and

receive, by the input interface, a deactivate message and upon receipt of the deactivate message deactivate the one remote access discovery agent.

11. The computer of claim 10, wherein the brain unit is further configured to answer queries received from the one or more devices in the visited network.