Distributed object-oriented appliance control system

• US 20080188963A1
• Filed: 12/10/2007
• Published: 08/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Original Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Inventors: McCoy, Richard A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,533,253 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/90
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2807 Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving network analysis for automatically determining the actual topology of a network H04L41/12; hardware or software tools for network management using graphical user interfaces H04L41/22; address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2818 from a device located outside both the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless eletrical link G08C17/00; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with remote control systems H04M11/007
• 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 12/2825 Reporting to a device located outside the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with telemetering systems H04M11/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2827 Reporting to a device within the home network; wherein the reception of the information reported automatically triggers the execution of a home appliance functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2832 Interconnection of the control functionalities between home networks single bridge functionality H04L12/4625
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/26 Special purpose or proprietary protocols or architectures network applications for proprietary or special purpose networking environments H04L67/12
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/688 for thawing

Abstract

The invention relates to an object-oriented control system for an appliance, configurable by a configuration mechanism in selective operable communication with a plurality of object oriented control systems using a packet protocol for constructing messages comprising identifiers from a plurality of namespaces associated with the building blocks of object-oriented systems. The meaning of each unique identifier within class library namespace is uniquely meaningful throughout a universe of appliances.

Claims

1. An appliance control system for an appliance adapted to perform a physical operation on an article with at least one hardware component and at least one arbitrary software component in network communication, the system comprising an object-oriented communication protocol and a configuration mechanism to construct messages in the object-oriented communication protocol wherein the messages comprise identifiers within a class library namespace that are uniquely meaningful within a universe of appliances.

2. A processor for an appliance control system comprising a software architecture with at least one arbitrary software component wherein messaging to and from the at least one arbitrary software component is defined by an object-oriented communication protocol wherein the messages comprise identifiers within a class library namespace that are uniquely meaningful within a universe of processors.

3. An object-oriented communication protocol for a network of appliances, each appliance adapted to perform a physical operation on an article, wherein classes are composed from objects in operable communication with each other, each object having a unique identifier so that messages for communications with the objects will have a packet protocol wherein the meaning of each unique identifier within class library namespace in a packet is uniquely meaningful throughout the universe of appliances.

4. A packet structure comprising binary data within a collection of bytes comprising elements of at least one namespace in an object oriented control system for an appliance configured to perform a physical operation on an article wherein the packet structure enables operable communications between objects within the object oriented control system for an embedded real time control suitable for controlling the operation of the appliance.

5. A namespace comprising identifiers of functionality in a network of appliances, each configured to perform a physical operation on an article, wherein the identifiers of functionality define unique meanings which are uniquely meaningful across the network of appliances and are used by each containing appliance for control of the appliance.