Systems and methods for virtually representing devices at remote sites

• US 20030140107A1
• Filed: 06/22/2001
• Published: 07/24/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Digital Life, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rezvani, Babak, Jalili, Reza, Kalin, Edward B., Chen, Jack L.
• Granted Patent: US 7,555,528 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/208
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0233 Object-oriented techniques, for representation of network management data, e.g. common object request broker architecture [CORBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/08 specially adapted for terminal emulation, e.g. Telnet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Methods and systems for virtually representing devices at remote sites are provided. Such methods may include registering information associated with a device, generating a virtual representation of the device on a remote user access device, and commanding the device to perform an action.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a device using a virtual representation of the device comprising:

registering information regarding a virtual representation of the device at a remote site;

generating the virtual representation of the device on a remote user access device using the registered information;

transmitting a command to the device from the remote user access device; and

executing the command.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an indication of a desire to access the device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a request to command the device to perform a function.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein registering information regarding the virtual representation of the device comprises transmitting the information associated with the device from the device to a remote database.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information regarding the virtual representation of the device comprises information regarding a parameter, an action, or an indicator.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the information regarding the virtual representation of the device comprises a component, a resource, or a template.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein registering the information regarding the virtual representation of the device at a remote site is performed by the device.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein generating the virtual representation further comprises generating a web page, wherein the web page comprises at least one action and at least one indicator.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein generating the virtual representation comprises dynamically generating the web page based on a set of criteria.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the set of criteria comprises display language, device type, or time of day.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein generating the virtual representation of the device comprises:

generating a display component and

displaying the display component using a template document.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein generating a display component comprises:

inserting information regarding a component into the template document;

generating the display component using the information inserted into the template.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein generating a virtual representation of the device comprises:

generating a display resource and

displaying the display resource using a template document.

14. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

selecting a template from a plurality of templates associated with the device and

selecting a component associated with the selected template.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein selecting the template comprises selecting the template from the plurality of templates based on display language, device type, or time of day.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the command to the device further comprises transmitting the command from a remote user access device to a remote database.

17. The method of claim 8, wherein transmitting the command to the device further comprises transmitting the command from the remote database to the device.

18. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

generating data indicating that the command has been executed and

generating an indicator on the web page using the data to reflect the state of the device.

19. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

generating data indicating that the command has been executed and

updating a component using the generated data to reflect the state of the device.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein executing the command is performed by the device.

21. A system for controlling a device using a virtual representation of the device comprising:

means for registering information regarding a virtual representation of the device at a remote site;

means for generating the virtual representation of the device on a remote user access device using the registered information;

means for transmitting a command to the device from the remote user access device; and

means for executing the command.

22. The system of claim 21, further comprising means for receiving an indication of a desire to access the device.

23. The system of claim 21, further comprising means for receiving a request to command the device to perform a function.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein the means for registering information regarding the virtual representation of the device comprises means for transmitting the information associated with the device from the device to a remote database.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein the information regarding the virtual representation of the device comprises information regarding a parameter, an action, or an indicator.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein the information regarding the virtual representation of the device comprises a component, a resource, or a template.

27. The system of claim 21, wherein the device comprises the means for registering the information regarding the virtual representation of the device at a remote site.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein the means for generating the virtual representation further comprises means for generating a web page, wherein the web page comprises at least one action and at least one indicator.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the means for generating the virtual representation comprises means for dynamically generating the web page based on a set of criteria.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the set of criteria comprises display language, device type, or time of day.

31. The system of claim 26, wherein the means for generating the virtual representation of the device comprises:

means for generating a display component and

means for displaying the display component using a template document.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the means for generating a display component comprises:

means for inserting information regarding a component into the template document;

means for generating the display component using the information inserted into the template.

33. The system of claim 26, wherein the means for generating a virtual representation of the device comprises:

means for generating a display resource and

means for displaying the display resource using a template document.

34. The system of claim 26, further comprising:

means for selecting a template from a plurality of templates associated with the device and

means for selecting a component associated with the selected template.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein the means for selecting the template comprises means for selecting the template from the plurality of templates based on display language, device type, or time of day.

36. The system of claim 21, wherein the means for transmitting the command to the device further comprises means for transmitting the command from a remote user access device to a remote database.

37. The system of claim 28, wherein the means for transmitting the command to the device further comprises means for transmitting the command from the remote database to the device.

38. The system of claim 25, further comprising:

means for generating data indicating that the command has been executed and

means for generating an indicator on the web page using the data to reflect the state of the device.

39. The system of claim 26, further comprising:

means for generating data indicating that the command has been executed and

means for updating a component using the generated data to reflect the state of the device.

40. The system of claim 21, wherein the device comprises the means for executing the command.

41. A virtual representation of a device comprising:

a processor programmed to;

register information regarding a virtual representation of the device at a remote site;

generate the virtual representation of the device on a remote user access device using the registered information;

transmit a command to the device from the remote user access device; and

execute the command.

42. The virtual representation of claim 41, wherein the processor is further programmed to receive an indication of a desire to access the device.

43. The virtual representation of claim 41, wherein the processor is further programmed to receive a request to command the device to perform a function.

44. The virtual representation of claim 41, wherein the processor is further programmed to transmit the information associated with the device from the device to a remote database.

45. The virtual representation of claim 41, wherein the information regarding the virtual representation of the device comprises information regarding a parameter, an action, or an indicator.

46. The virtual representation of claim 41, wherein the information regarding the virtual representation of the device comprises a component, a resource, or a template.

47. The virtual representation of claim 41, wherein the device comprises a second processor programmed to register the information regarding the virtual representation of the device at a remote site.

48. The virtual representation of claim 45, wherein the processor is further programmed to generate a web page, wherein the web page comprises at least one action and at least one indicator.

49. The virtual representation of claim 48, wherein the processor is further programmed to dynamically generate the web page based on a set of criteria.

50. The virtual representation of claim 49, wherein the set of criteria comprises display language, device type, or time of day.

51. The virtual representation of claim 46, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

generate a display component and

display the display component using a template document.

52. The virtual representation of claim 51, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

insert information regarding a component into the template document;

generate the display component using the information inserted into the template.

53. The virtual representation of claim 46, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

generate a display resource and

display the display resource using a template document.

54. The virtual representation of claim 46, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

select a template from a plurality of templates associated with the device and

select a component associated with the selected template.

55. The virtual representation of claim 54, wherein the processor is further programmed to select the template from the plurality of templates based on display language, device type, or time of day.

56. The virtual representation of claim 41, wherein the processor is further programmed to transmit the command from a remote user access device to a remote database.

57. The method of claim 48, wherein the processor is further programmed to transmit the command from the remote database to the device.

58. The virtual representation of claim 45, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

generate data indicating that the command has been executed and

generate an indicator on the web page using the data to reflect the state of the device.

59. The virtual representation of claim 46, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

generate data indicating that the command has been executed and

update a component using the generated data to reflect the state of the device.

60. The virtual representation of claim 41, wherein the device comprises a second processor programmed to execute the command.