ACTIVE CONTROL OF COLLABORATIVE DEVICES

• US 20130144955A1
• Filed: 02/04/2013
• Published: 06/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bodin, William K., Thorson, Derral C.
• Granted Patent: US 9,130,803 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Control of collaborative devices, including providing at least two collaborative devices, wherein each collaborative device comprises a client device and an embedded Java server, providing a registry service to which the collaborative devices are coupled for data communications, and providing at least one registry table, wherein the registry table includes registry records, wherein the registry records include registry records representing capabilities of collaborative devices, wherein the registry records representing capabilities of collaborative devices include data elements describing, for each collaborative device, capabilities, tertiary relationships, and network connectivities. The method further includes providing a service bundle of OSGI-compliant Java servlets comprising at least one predetermined algorithm for controlling the collaborative devices, and controlling the collaborative devices in accordance with the predetermined algorithm.

Claims

1. A method of control of collaborative devices, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of collaborative devices, wherein each collaborative device comprises a client device and an embedded server;

providing a registry service to which the collaborative devices are coupled for data communications;

providing at least one registry table, wherein the registry table further comprises registry records, wherein the registry records comprise registry records representing capabilities of collaborative devices, wherein the registry records representing capabilities of collaborative devices further comprise data elements describing, for each collaborative device, capabilities, tertiary relationships, and network connectivities;

providing a service bundle of servlets comprising at least one predetermined algorithm for controlling the collaborative devices;

selecting from the registry table a subset of at least two collaborative devices of the plurality of collaborative devices according to a particular tertiary relationship; and

controlling the subset of at least two of the collaborative devices in accordance with the predetermined algorithm.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the subset of at least two of the collaborative devices includes selecting a collaborative device according to an order in the registry table of collaborative devices having the particular tertiary relationship.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the subset of at least two of the collaborative devices includes selecting a collaborative device according to a characteristic in the registry table of collaborative devices having the particular tertiary relationship.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein controlling the subset of the at least two collaborative devices in accordance with the predetermined algorithm further comprises:

finding a registry record bearing a set point for the particular tertiary relationship;

reading from a client device a sensor value of the particular tertiary relationship;

comparing the set point and the sensor value to produce a comparison result;

finding, based at least partially on the comparison result, a registry record having an identified capability appropriate to the comparison result for the particular tertiary relationship;

issuing a request to a client device to effect the capability identified in the found registry record.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein reading a sensor value further comprises:

finding a registry record for a sensor for the particular tertiary relationship;

effecting the capability identified in the found registry record for the sensor.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein effecting the capability identified in the found registry record for the sensor includes issuing a request to a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) identified in the found registry record for the sensor.

7. Apparatus for control of collaborative devices, the apparatus comprising:

a plurality of collaborative devices, each collaborative device comprising a client device and an embedded server;

a registry service communicably coupled to the plurality of collaborative devices;

a registry table, the registry table comprising registry records, each registry record representing a capability of a collaborative device, the registry records comprising data elements describing, for each collaborative device, capabilities, tertiary relationships, and resource locations;

a service bundle of servlets, the service bundle comprising at least one predetermined algorithm for controlling the collaborative devices, each predetermined algorithm associated with a particular tertiary relationship; and

a control module configured to;

select from the registry table a subset of at least two collaborative devices of the plurality of collaborative devices according to the particular tertiary relationship, and

control the collaborative devices in accordance with the predetermined algorithm.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the control module selects a collaborative device according to an order in the registry table of collaborative devices having the particular tertiary relationship.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the control module selects a collaborative device according to a characteristic in the registry table of collaborative devices having the particular tertiary relationship.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the control module is further configured to:

read from a client device a sensor value of the particular tertiary relationship;

compare a set point and the sensor value, wherein the comparing produces a comparison result;

find, in dependence upon the comparison result, a registry record having an identified capability appropriate to the comparison result for the particular tertiary relationship;

effect through a client device the capability identified in the found registry record.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the control module is further configured to issue an HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) request to a URL identified as a resource location in the found registry record.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the control module is further configured to:

find a registry record for a sensor for the particular tertiary relationship;

issue a request to the found sensor to effect the capability identified in the found registry record for the sensor.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 the control module is further configured to issue a request, by use of an HTTP request, to a a URL identified as a resource location in the found registry record for the sensor.

14. A computer program product for control of collaborative devices, the computer program product comprising computer program instructions disposed upon a non-transitory recording medium for machine-readable information, the computer program instructions capable, when executed, of performing operations comprising:

providing a registry service to which the collaborative devices are coupled for data communications;

providing at least one registry data structure, the registry data structure comprising registry records, each registry record representing a capability of a collaborative device, the registry records comprising data elements describing, for each collaborative device, capabilities, tertiary relationships, and resource locations;

providing a service bundle of servlets comprising at least one predetermined algorithm for controlling the collaborative devices;

selecting from the registry data structure, records representing a subset of at least two of the plurality of collaborative devices from the plurality of collaborative devices according to a particular tertiary relationship; and

controlling the subset of at least two of the plurality of collaborative devices in accordance with the predetermined algorithm associated with the particular tertiary relationship.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein selecting the subset of at least two of the collaborative devices includes selecting a collaborative device according to an order in the registry table of collaborative devices having the particular tertiary relationship.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein selecting the subset of at least two of the collaborative devices includes selecting a collaborative device according to a characteristic in the registry table of collaborative devices having the particular tertiary relationship.

17. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer program instructions are further capable of performing operations comprising:

reading from a client device a sensor value associated with the particular tertiary relationship;

comparing a set point and the sensor value, wherein the comparing produces a comparison result;

finding, in dependence upon the comparison result, a registry record having an identified capability appropriate to the comparison result for the particular tertiary relationship; and

issuing a request to a client device to effect the capability identified in the found registry record.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 wherein issuing the request to the client device includes requesting a resource, by use of an HTTP request, at a URL identified as a resource location in the found registry record.

19. The computer program product of claim 17 wherein reading a sensor value further comprises:

finding a registry record for a sensor for the particular tertiary relationship;

issuing a request to the sensor to effect the capability identified in the found registry record for the sensor.

20. The computer program product of claim 29 wherein issuing the request to the sensor includes requesting, by use of an HTTP request, at a URL identified as a resource location in the found registry record.