Legacy device bridge for residential or non-residential networks
First Claim
1. A method for determining a state of a consumer electronic device and providing the state via a network that communicates information in accordance with a packet-based communication protocol, wherein the consumer electronic device is not adapted for communication in accordance with the packet-based communication protocol, comprising:
- probing the consumer electronic device by a probe to determine state information related to the consumer electronic device;
providing the state information from the probe to one or more devices on the network; and
determining the state of the consumer electronic device based on the state information by at least one of the one or more devices on the network.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A legacy device bridge for use in a network, such as a wired or wireless residential network, is provided. The legacy device bridge performs protocol conversion to enable a network-attached entity that uses a packet-based communication protocol to communicate with and control legacy devices, such as consumer electronics, that rely exclusively on infrared (IR) or serial communication protocols. The legacy device bridge also performs a virtualization function that allows legacy devices to be advertised to the network as devices that comply with a packet-based discovery and control protocol, and to be controlled as such. The legacy device bridge is also adapted to probe, deduce and publish information relating to the state of a legacy device to other entities on the network.
175 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for determining a state of a consumer electronic device and providing the state via a network that communicates information in accordance with a packet-based communication protocol, wherein the consumer electronic device is not adapted for communication in accordance with the packet-based communication protocol, comprising:
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probing the consumer electronic device by a probe to determine state information related to the consumer electronic device; providing the state information from the probe to one or more devices on the network; and determining the state of the consumer electronic device based on the state information by at least one of the one or more devices on the network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A legacy device bridge for determining a state of a consumer electronic device and providing the state via a network that communicates information in accordance with a packet-based communication protocol, wherein the consumer electronic device does not communicate in accordance with the packet-based communication protocol, the legacy device bridge comprising:
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a probe configured to probe the consumer electronic device to determine state information related to the consumer electronic device; and wherein the legacy device bridge is configured to; determine the state of the consumer electronic device based on the state information received from the probe; and report the state to a device on the network. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer-readable memory storing instructions that, when executed by a processing device, perform a method for determining a state of a consumer electronic device and providing the state via a network that communicates information in accordance with a packet-based communication protocol, wherein the consumer electronic device is not adapted for communication in accordance with the packet-based communication protocol, the method comprising:
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probing the consumer electronic device by a probe to determine state information related to the consumer electronic device; providing the state information from the probe to one or more devices on the network; and determining the state of the consumer electronic device based on the state information by at least one of the one or more devices on the network. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification