Method and system for providing user interface for device control

• US 9,621,369 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2012
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kweon, Ji-hyeon, Oh, Seok-min, Cho, Hyung-rae
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shrewsbury, Nathan
• Application Number:
  US13/689,203
• Publication Number:
  US 20130139089A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,594 Days
• Field of Search: 715771
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• 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 12/281 indicating a format for calling an appliance service function in a home automation network for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/007 with remote control systems remote control in general G08C
• 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 21/43615 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 21/44227 Monitoring of local network, e.g. connection or bandwidth variations; Detecting new devices in the local network configuring of peripheral devices in general G06F9/4411; monitoring connectivity in data switched networks H04L43/0811
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration

Abstract

A user interface (UI)-providing system and method for device control are provided. The User Interface (UI) providing method, the method includes: identifying at least one controlled devices relating to an activity mode selected by a user; collecting control information relating to functions provided by the identified at least one controlled devices; and generating a UI used to control the at least one controlled devices relating to the activity mode based on the collected control information.

Claims

1. A User Interface (UI) providing method, comprising:

identifying one or more controlled devices relating to an activity mode selected by a user;

collecting control information relating to functions provided by the one or more controlled devices, wherein the control information comprises a user control history and a device control pattern;

selecting at least one controlled device of the one or more controlled devices, based on the control information;

selecting controlled functions of the selected at least one controlled device, based on the control information;

collecting control command information from the selected at least one controlled device; and

generating a UI used to control the selected at least one controlled device relating to the activity mode, based on the selected controlled functions of the selected at least one controlled device and the control command information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the UI to a user terminal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the activity mode comprises at least one of a movie mode, a music listening mode, a cleaning mode, a vacation mode, and a sleeping mode.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the UI is changed based on the control history of the user with respect to the at least one controlled device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting the control information comprises:

collecting the control information from at least one of an internal database of the UI-providing apparatus, an external database connected to the UI-providing apparatus, and the at least one controlled devices.

6. A User Interface (UI)-providing apparatus, comprising:

a controller configured to;

identify one or more controlled devices relating to an activity mode selected by a user,

collect control information relating to functions provided by the one or more controlled devices, wherein the control information comprises a user control history and a device control pattern,

select at least one controlled device of the one or more controlled devices, based on the control information, and to select controlled functions of the selected at least one controlled device, based on the control information,

collect control command information from the selected at least one controlled device, and

generate a UI used to control the selected at least one controlled device relating to the activity mode, based on the selected controlled functions of the selected at least one controlled device and the control command information.

7. The UI-providing apparatus of claim 6, the controller is further configured to provide the UI to a user terminal.

8. The UI-providing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the activity mode comprises at least one of:

a movie mode;

a music listening mode;

a cleaning mode;

a vacation mode; and

a sleeping mode.

9. The UI-providing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the UI is changed based on the control history of the user with respect to the at least one controlled device.

10. The UI-providing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the control information collection unit is further configured to collect the control information from at least one of an internal database of the UI-providing apparatus, an external database connected to the UI-providing apparatus, and the at least one controlled device.

11. A method of providing a User Interface (UI)-providing apparatus with information used to generate a UI for device control by using a server, the method comprising:

receiving control information regarding one or more controlled devices relating to an activity mode selected by a user from the UI-providing apparatus;

selecting at least one controlled device of the one or more controlled devices based on at least one of a user control history and a device control pattern in the control information;

selecting controlled functions of the at least one controlled device based on the at least one of the user control history and the device control pattern in the control information; and

recommending the at least one controlled device and the controlled functions to be included in the UI to the UI-providing apparatus,

wherein the UI-providing apparatus collects control command information from the at least one controlled device and uses the control command information and the controlled functions to generate the UI for controlling the at least one controlled device.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for executing a User Interface (UI), which when executed performs the steps of:

identifying one or more controlled devices relating to an activity mode selected by a user;

collecting control information relating to functions provided by the one or more controlled devices, wherein the control information comprises a user control history and a device control pattern;

selecting at least one controlled device of the one or more controlled devices, based on the control information;

selecting controlled functions of the selected at least one controlled device, based on the control information;

collecting control command information from the selected at least one controlled device; and

generating a UI used to control the selected at least one controlled device relating to the activity mode, based on the selected controlled functions of the selected at least one controlled device and the control command information.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for executing a method of providing a UI-providing apparatus with information used to generate a UI for device control by using a server, wherein the executed computer program performs the steps of:

receiving control information regarding one or more controlled devices relating to an activity mode selected by a user from the UI-providing apparatus;

selecting at least one controlled device of the one or more controlled devices based on at least one of a user control history and a device control pattern in the control information;

selecting controlled functions of the at least one controlled device based on the at least one of the user control history and the device control pattern in the control information; and

recommending the at least one controlled device and the controlled functions to be included in the UI to the UI-providing apparatus,

wherein the UI-providing apparatus collects control command information from the at least one controlled device and uses the control command information and the controlled functions to generate the UI for controlling the at least one controlled device.