Apparatus and method for remotely controlling peripheral devices in mobile communication terminal

• US 9,665,242 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2014
• Issued: 05/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Hyun-Cheol, Yang, Jun-Mo, Shin, Dong-Yun, Jeong, Hyo-Yong, Kim, Du-Seok, Kim, Giu-Yeol
• Primary Examiner(s): ABAD, FARLEY J
• Application Number:
  US14/508,966
• Publication Number:
  US 20150026610A1
• Time in Patent Office: 966 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/177 Initialisation or configuration control processor initialisation G06F9/4405
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/24 Loading of the microprogram
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/92 Universal remote control
• 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: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a method for remotely controlling peripheral devices in a mobile communication terminal includes acquiring a profile for a controlled peripheral device, configuring a control application for the controlled peripheral device based on the acquired profile, and controlling the controlled peripheral device using the configured control application.

Claims

1. A method of controlling peripheral devices in an electronic device, the method comprising:

discovering at least one peripheral device;

selecting a peripheral device from the discovered at least one peripheral device;

requesting a server to transmit control information of the selected peripheral device in response to determining that the control information does not exist in a storage of the electronic device, wherein the control information includes command information to be registered in at least one object that is used to configure a control User Interface (UI);

receiving the control information from the server; and

configuring the control UI for the selected peripheral device based on the control information, by mapping at least one image for each of the at least one object to the command information for the each of the at least one object.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether a control UI execution menu is selected;

broadcasting a search request message to one or more peripheral devices in response to determining that the control UI execution menu is selected;

receiving response messages from the peripheral devices, wherein each of the response messages includes information related to a corresponding peripheral device, the information comprising at least one of a device name, a model name, a device type, a network address, a service name, a service kind, an application name, and an application kind;

extracting the information related to the corresponding peripheral device from each of the received response messages; and

displaying a peripheral device list on a User Interface (UI) of the electronic device based on the extracted information related to the corresponding peripheral devices.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

selecting the peripheral device on the displayed peripheral device list.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

transmitting version information of the control information which exists in the storage to the server in response to determing that the control information exists in the storage; and

receiving a newly updated control information from the server.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the control information further includes at least one of User Information (UI) information for configuring a screen display and a communication protocol, and the UI information includes at least one of image information and layout information of the at least one object configuring the screen display.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the configuring the control UI further comprises:

extracting the UI information for configuring the screen display and the command information from the control information; and

arranging the at least one image on the screen display using the extracted UI information and connecting the extracted command information to the each of the at least one object.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

acquiring a control information of a currently performed or changed service or application from the selected peripheral device while controlling the selected peripheral device.

8. An electronic device for controlling peripheral devices, the electronic device comprising:

a storage; and

a controller operatively coupled to the storage, the controller configured to;

discover at least one peripheral device;

select a peripheral device from the discovered at least one peripheral device;

request a server to transmit control information of the selected peripheral device in response to determining that the control information does not exist in the storage, wherein the control information includes command information to be registered in at least one object that is used to configure a control User Interface (UI);

receive the control information from the server; and

configure the control UI for the selected peripheral device based on the control information by mapping at least one image for each of the at least one object to the command information for the each of the at least one object.

9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the controller further configured to:

determine whether a control UI execution menu is selected;

broadcast a search request message to peripheral devices in response to determining that the control UI execution menu is selected;

receive response messages from the peripheral devices;

extract information related to the peripheral device from each of the received response messages; and

display a peripheral device list on a User Interface (UI) of the electronic device based on the extracted information related to the peripheral device,

wherein each of the response messages includes information related to a corresponding peripheral device, the information comprising at least one of a device name, a model name, a device type, a network address, a service name, a service kind, an application name, and an application kind.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the peripheral device is selected on the displayed peripheral device list.

11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the controller is further configured to:

transmit version information of the control information which exists in the storage to the server in response to determining that the control information exists in the storage; and

receive a newly updated profile from the server.

12. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the control information further includes at least one of UI information configured to configure a screen display and a communication protocol, and the UI information includes at least one of image information and layout information of the at least one object configuring the screen display.

13. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the controller is configured to extract the UI information configured to configure the screen display and the command information from the control information, arrange the at least one image on the screen display using the extracted UI information, connect the extracted command information to the each of the at least one object.

14. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to acquire a control information of a currently performed or changed service or application from the selected peripheral device while controlling the selected peripheral device.

15. A method of controlling peripheral devices in an electronic device, the method comprising:

determining whether control information of a peripheral device exists in a storage of the electronic device in response to determining that the peripheral device is selected on a peripheral device list;

requesting a server to transmit the control information does not exist in the storage of the electronic device, wherein the control information includes command information to be registered in at least one object that is used to configure a control User Interface (UI); and

configuring the control UI for the selected peripheral device based on the control information, by mapping at least one image for each of the at least one object to the command information for the each of the at least one object; and

acquiring a service control information from the selected peripheral device.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining whether a control UI execution menu is selected;

broadcasting a search request message to one or more peripheral devices in response to determining that the control UI execution menu is selected;

receiving response messages from the peripheral devices, wherein each of the response messages includes information related to a corresponding peripheral device, the information comprising at least one of a device name, a model name, a device type, a network address, a service name, a service kind, an application name, and an application kind;

extracting the information related to the corresponding peripheral device from each of the received response messages; and

displaying the peripheral device list as a screen display on a User Interface (UI) of the electronic device based on the extracted information related to the corresponding peripheral devices.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

transmitting and receiving the search request message and the response message based on a predetermined physical communication interface and communication protocol, wherein the physical communication interface includes at least one of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Zigbee, and the communication protocol includes at least one of a UPnP, a DLNA, a TCP, a UDP, an SNMP, and an RF4CE.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the control information further includes at least one of UI information for configuring a screen display and a communication protocol, and the UI information includes at least one of image information and layout information of the at least one object configuring the screen display.

19. An electronic device for controlling peripheral devices, the electronic device comprising:

a storage; and

a controller operatively coupled to the storage, the controller configured to;

determine whether control information of a peripheral device exists in the storage in response to determining that the peripheral device is selected on a peripheral device list;

request a server to transmit the control information and receive the control information from server in response to determining that the control information does not exist in the storage, wherein the control information includes command information to be registered in at least one object that is used to configure a control User Interface (UI);

configure the control UI for the selected peripheral device based on the control information, by mapping at least one image for each of the at least one object to the command information for the each of the at least one object; and

acquire a service control information from the selected peripheral device.

20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, including instructions, which in response to executed by an electronic device, cause the electronic device to:

discover at least one peripheral device;

select a peripheral device from the discovered at least one peripheral device;

transmit a request to a server to transmit control information of the selected peripheral device in response to determining that the control information does not exist in a storage of the electronic device, wherein the control information includes command information to be registered in at least one object that is used to configure a control User Interface (UI);

receive the control information from the server;

configure the control UI for the selected peripheral device based on the control information, by mapping at least one image for each of the at least one object to the command information for the each of the at least one object.