System and method for controlling home network devices using multicast enabled remote controls

• US 9,363,573 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2009
• Issued: 06/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tahoe Research Limited (f/k/a Learndale Limited) (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Kumar, Murari
• Primary Examiner(s): Iqbal, Khawar
• Application Number:
  US12/650,636
• Publication Number:
  US 20110085486A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,350 Days
• Field of Search: 370/312, 348/143, 348/159, 725/105, 725/131, 455418-420, 455 411- 413, 4554141-4144, 709/219
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2816 Controlling appliance services of a home automation network by calling their functionalities arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station; in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4131 home appliance, e.g. lighting, air conditioning system, metering devices home automation data switching networks exchanging configuration information on appliance services H04L12/2807
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• 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 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems

Abstract

A system, method, and article of manufacture for controlling home network devices using a multicast enabled remote control. The system includes a plurality of home network devices capable of receiving and/or transmitting multicast input and/or output signals and a home gateway to receive audio/video signals generated outside of the home and to transform the audio/video signals into multicast output signals. The system also includes a multicast enabled remote control to detect, aggregate, store and display all audio/video multicast output signals on the multicast enabled remote control, to enable a user to redirect an audio/video multicast output signal to one or more of the plurality of home network devices capable of receiving multicast input signals, and to control the plurality of home network devices capable of receiving and/or transmitting multicast input and/or output signals. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

Claims

1. A home network system, comprising:

a plurality of home network devices capable of receiving signals;

a gateway device to forward audio and/or video output signals from a plurality of source devices to one or more of the plurality of home network devices, wherein the plurality of source devices are external to the home network system; and

the remote device to detect, aggregate, store and display audio/video output signals from the plurality of source devices on the remote device, wherein the remote device has a redirect mode and a control mode,

wherein a redirect selection by a user places the remote device in redirect mode and redirects one or more of the plurality of home network devices to listen to a selected audio/video output signal of the audio and/or video output signals forwarded from a source device of the plurality of source devices to the one or more of the plurality of home network devices by the gateway device, and

wherein a control selection by the user places the remote device in control mode and sends a control adjustment to the one or more of the plurality of home network devices.

2. The home network system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more home network devices comprises an image display device, and the signal forwarded comprises one or more images stored on a local storage device.

3. The home network system as recited in claim 1, wherein the remote device is a dual mode remote control having a redirect mode and a control mode, the redirect mode for redirecting the audio/video output signals to the one or more of the plurality of home network devices capable of receiving input signals.

4. The home network system as recited in claim 1, wherein the remote device is a dual mode remote control having a redirect mode and a control mode, the control mode for controlling the plurality of home network devices capable of receiving and/or transmitting input and/or output signals.

5. The home network system as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of home network devices capable of receiving and/or transmitting input and/or output signals include non audio/video network devices, wherein the non audio/video network devices include home appliances.

6. The home network system as recited in claim 5, wherein the one or more home network devices comprises an printer, and the signal forwarded comprises one or more documents to be printed on the printer.

7. The home network system as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of home network devices is assigned a local multicast address and a user friendly name for identifying each of the plurality of home network devices.

8. A method for controlling network devices comprising:

detecting and aggregating, by a multicast enabled remote device, multicast transmissions forwarded by a gateway device of a network from a plurality of source devices, wherein the plurality of source devices are external to the network;

storing, by the multicast enabled remote device, the multicast transmissions in a local storage;

displaying, based on a mode setting of the multicast enabled remote device, a configuration for the multicast transmissions, wherein, if the mode setting of the multicast enabled remote device is in a redirect mode, the display comprises a list of audio/video multicast addresses and associated identities for each audio/video multicast address and a list of network input devices capable of playing or utilizing audio/video content on the multicast addresses; and

redirecting at least one network input device to listen to a multicast transmission of the multicast transmissions received from the gateway device and in response to a selection, by a user and on the multicast enabled remote device, of the at least one network input device and an audio/video multicast address associated with the multicast transmission to enable viewing or utilization of the selected multicast transmission on the at least one network input device,

wherein, if the mode setting of the multicast enabled remote control is in a control mode, the display comprises a list of all network devices capable of being controlled by the multicast enabled remote control and wherein each network device of the list of all network devices is selectable, on the multicast enabled remote control, by a user for adjusting a control parameter of the selected network device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein if the mode setting of the multicast enabled remote control is in a control mode, the display comprising a list of all network devices capable of being controlled by the multicast enabled remote control, wherein a user is enabled to select one of the network devices for adjusting a control parameter of the selected network device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein when the user selects one of the network devices, all control parameters for the selected network device are displayed to the user to enable the user to select and adjust the control parameter of the user'"'"'s choosing.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein network devices and signals received from outside of the home network are provided a local multicast address and a user friendly name for identification;

wherein the network devices and the signals from outside of the home network record their presence by multicasting their identities on the provided local multicast addresses.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

selecting by a user, the network input device comprising an image display device; and

displaying the selected content on the image display device.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the selected content comprise images stored in a local storage device communicatively coupled to the home network.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

selecting by a user, the network input device comprising a printer; and

printing the selected content on the printer.

15. One or more non-transitory, machine readable storage media having instructions stored thereon, the instructions when executed on a processor, cause the processor to:

detect and aggregate, by a remote device, transmissions forwarded by a gateway device of a network from a plurality of source devices, wherein the plurality of source devices are external to the network;

store, by the remote device, the transmissions in a local storage;

display, based on a mode setting of the remote device, a configuration for the transmissions, wherein, if the mode setting of the remote device is in a redirect mode, the display comprises a list of multicast addresses and associated identities for each multicast address and a list of network input devices capable of playing or utilizing content on the multicast addresses; and

redirect at least one network input device to listen to a transmission of the transmissions received from the gateway device and in response to a selection, by a user and on the multicast enabled remote device, of the at least one network input device and an audio/video multicast address associated with the multicast transmission to enable viewing or utilization of the selected multicast transmission on the at least one network input device,

wherein, if the mode setting of the multicast enabled remote control is in a control mode, the display comprises a list of all network devices capable of being controlled by the multicast enabled remote control and wherein each network device of the list of all network devices is selectable, on the multicast enabled remote control, by a user for adjusting a control parameter of the selected network device.

16. The one or more non-transitory, machine readable storage media of claim 15, wherein if the mode setting of the multicast enabled remote control is in a control mode, the display comprising a list of all network devices capable of being controlled by the multicast enabled remote control, wherein a user is enabled to select one of the network devices for adjusting a control parameter of the selected network device.

17. The one or more non-transitory, machine readable storage media of claim 16, wherein when the user selects one of the network devices, all control parameters for the selected network device are displayed to the user to enable the user to select and adjust the control parameter of the user'"'"'s choosing.

18. The one or more non-transitory, machine readable storage media of claim 15, wherein network devices and signals received from outside of the home network are provided a local multicast address and a user friendly name for identification;

wherein the network devices and the signals from outside of the home network record their presence by multicasting their identities on the provided local multicast addresses.

19. The one or more non-transitory, machine readable storage media of claim 15, further comprising instructions to:

responsive to the user selecting the network input device comprising an image display device, display the selected content on the image display device.

20. The one or more non-transitory, machine readable storage media as recited in claim 19, wherein the selected content comprise images stored in a local storage device communicatively coupled to the home network.

21. The one or more non-transitory, machine readable storage media as recited in claim 15, further comprising instructions to:

responsive to the user selecting the network input device comprising a printer, print the selected content on the printer.