Virtual gateway for a connected device
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for communicating to connected devices in a local environment,the method comprising:
- receiving, at a head end controller service comprising a software application executed on a remote server on the Internet, a command intent, the command intent indicating that a control signal for controlling an operation of a local connected device should be sent to the local connected device;
wherein a local connected device is local to a particular building environment and communicates via short-range protocols while it remains in the building environment;
detecting a plurality of pathways through which the control signal could potentially be sent and relayed, the pathways comprising a plurality of virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices,determining a best path through which to send and relay the control signal, wherein determining the best path comprises;
checking a speed and a type of connection of two or more of the plurality of virtual-gateway enabled devices and;
selecting one of the pathways through which to send and relay the control signal;
sending, via an Internet or cellular data connection, the control signal from the head-end controller service to one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices;
receiving the control signal at the one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices; and
relaying the control signal from the one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices to the local connected device via the one or more local radio frequency communication protocols,wherein the one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices is local to the building when it receives and relays the control signal and comprises;
a commercially available consumer computing device having a graphical user interface, a finite set of hardware components, and primary purposes other than the receiving and the relaying, anda downloadable software application on the computing device that executes the receiving and the relaying using only the finite set of hardware components of the computing device and no other additional hardware external to the computing device, the downloadable software application being;
displayable on the graphical user interface,capable of receiving user inputs via the graphical user interface, andcapable of executing the receiving and the relaying both when it is displayed and not displayed.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for communicating to connected devices in a local environment are disclosed. The method may comprise receiving, at a head-end controller service, a command intent, the command intent indicating that a control signal should be send to a connected device. Then, the method may include sending the control signal to a virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication device that is within a local communication protocol transmission distance of the connected device. The method may further comprise relaying the control signal from the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication device to the connected device.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method for communicating to connected devices in a local environment,
the method comprising: -
receiving, at a head end controller service comprising a software application executed on a remote server on the Internet, a command intent, the command intent indicating that a control signal for controlling an operation of a local connected device should be sent to the local connected device; wherein a local connected device is local to a particular building environment and communicates via short-range protocols while it remains in the building environment; detecting a plurality of pathways through which the control signal could potentially be sent and relayed, the pathways comprising a plurality of virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices, determining a best path through which to send and relay the control signal, wherein determining the best path comprises; checking a speed and a type of connection of two or more of the plurality of virtual-gateway enabled devices and; selecting one of the pathways through which to send and relay the control signal; sending, via an Internet or cellular data connection, the control signal from the head-end controller service to one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices; receiving the control signal at the one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices; and relaying the control signal from the one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices to the local connected device via the one or more local radio frequency communication protocols, wherein the one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices is local to the building when it receives and relays the control signal and comprises; a commercially available consumer computing device having a graphical user interface, a finite set of hardware components, and primary purposes other than the receiving and the relaying, and a downloadable software application on the computing device that executes the receiving and the relaying using only the finite set of hardware components of the computing device and no other additional hardware external to the computing device, the downloadable software application being; displayable on the graphical user interface, capable of receiving user inputs via the graphical user interface, and capable of executing the receiving and the relaying both when it is displayed and not displayed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for communicating to connected devices in a local environment, the system comprising:
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a remote server, a head-end controller service comprising a software application executed on the remote server on the Internet configured to; receive, at the remote server, a command intent, generate a control signal for controlling an operation of a local connected device, wherein the local connected device is local to a particular building environment and communicates via short-range protocols while it remains in the building environment, detect a plurality of pathways through which the control signal could potentially be sent and relayed, the pathways comprising a plurality of virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices, determine a best path through which to send and relay the control signal by checking a speed and a type of connection of two or more of the plurality of virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices and; select one of the pathways through which to send and relay the control signal; send, via an Internet or cellular data connection, the control signal from the server to one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices, wherein the one of the virtual-gateway-enabled communication devices is local to the building when it receives and relays the control signal and comprises a commercially available consumer computing device having a graphical user interface, a finite set of hardware components, and primary purposes other than receiving and relaying of the control signal a downloadable software application downloaded on the computing device, the application being configured to execute receiving the control signal from the head-end controller service through the personal communication device and relaying the control signal to the connected device using only the finite set of hardware components of the computing device and no other additional hardware external to the computing device, when the computing device is local to the building environment, the downloadable software application being; displayable on the graphical user interface, capable of receiving user inputs via the graphical user interface, and capable of executing the receiving and the relaying both when it is displayed and not displayed. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium, encoded with processor readable instructions to perform a method for communicating to connected devices in a local environment, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a head end controller service comprising a software application executed on a remote server on the Internet, a command intent, the command intent indicating that a control signal for controlling an operation of a local connected device should be sent to the local connected device; wherein a local connected device is local to a particular building environment and communicates via short-range protocols while it remains in the building environment; detecting a plurality of pathways through which the control signal could potentially be sent and relayed, the pathways comprising a plurality of virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices, determining a best path through which to send and relay the control signal, wherein determining the best path comprises; checking a speed and a type of connection of two or more of the plurality of virtual-gateway enabled devices and; selecting one of the pathways through which to send and relay the control signal; sending, via an Internet or cellular data connection, the control signal from the head-end controller service to one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices; receiving the control signal at the one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices; and relaying the control signal from the one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices to the local connected device via the one or more local radio frequency communication protocols, wherein the one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices is local to the building when it receives and relays the control signal and comprises; a commercially available consumer computing device having a graphical user interface, a finite set of hardware components, and primary purposes other than the receiving and the relaying, and a downloadable software application on the computing device that executes the receiving and the relaying using only the finite set of hardware components of the computing device and no other additional hardware external to the computing device, the downloadable software application being; displayable on the graphical user interface, capable of receiving user inputs via the graphical user interface, and capable of executing the receiving and the relaying both when it is displayed and not displayed.
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26. A system comprising:
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means for receiving, at a head end controller service comprising a software application executed on a remote server on the Internet, a command intent, the command intent indicating that a control signal for controlling an operation of a local connected device should be sent to the local connected device; wherein a local connected device is local to a particular building and communicates via short-range protocols while it remains in the environment; means for detecting a plurality of pathways through which the control signal could potentially be sent and relayed, the pathways comprising a plurality of virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices means for determining a best path through which to send and relay the control signal, wherein determining the best path comprises; checking a speed and a type of connection of two or more of the plurality of virtual-gateway enabled devices and; selecting one of the pathways through which to send and relay the control signal; means for sending, via an Internet or cellular data connection, the control signal from the head-end controller service to one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices; means for receiving the control signal at the one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices; and means for relaying the control signal from the one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices to the local connected device via the one or more local radio frequency communication protocols, wherein the one of the virtual-gateway-enabled personal communication devices is local to the building when it receives and relays the control signal comprises; a commercially available consumer computing device having a graphical user interface, a finite set of hardware components, and primary purposes other than the receiving and the relaying, and a downloadable software application on the computing device that executes the receiving and the relaying using only the finite set of hardware components of the computing device and no other additional hardware external to the computing device, the downloadable software application being; displayable on the graphical user interface, capable of receiving user inputs via the graphical user interface, and capable of executing the receiving and the relaying both when it is displayed and not displayed.
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Specification