Administering devices in dependence upon user metric vectors with multiple users

• US 7,865,909 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2008
• Issued: 01/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Watson, Thomas J., Burkhart, Michael J., Schumacker, Daniel M., Bodin, William K., Eisenhauer, Daniel G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sough; Hyung S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Seye; Abdou K
• Application Number:
  US12/040,938
• Publication Number:
  US 20080154945A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,037 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 719/321
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2805 Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] 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 12/2814 Exchanging control software or macros for controlling appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving configuration of the network and network elements H04L41/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2829 involving user profiles according to which the execution of a home appliance functionality is automatically triggered
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2845 Telephone line
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

Methods for administering devices, including creating a user metric vector including a plurality of disparate user metrics, creating a user metric space including a plurality of metric ranges, determining whether the user metric vector is outside the user metric space, creating, in dependence upon the user metric vector, a dynamic action list, if the user metric vector is outside a user metric space, identifying at least one action in the dynamic action list, and executing the action.

Claims

1. A system for administering devices, the system comprising:

means for receiving a plurality of disparate metrics for a plurality of users, wherein each user metric for a user represents an indication of that user'"'"'s physical condition, wherein each user is a person;

means for creating a first user metric vector comprising a plurality of disparate metrics for a first user;

means for creating a second user metric vector comprising a plurality of disparate metrics for a second user;

means for creating a first user metric space comprising a plurality of first user metric ranges;

means for creating a second user metric space comprising a plurality of second user metric ranges;

means for creating a mutual metric space in dependence upon the first user metric space and the second user metric space;

means for determining whether the first user vector is outside the mutual metric space;

if the first user metric vector is outside the mutual metric space, means for identifying an action, wherein the action administers a device to alter the physical condition of at least one of the users; and

means for executing the identified action.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said means for creating a first user metric vector comprising a plurality of disparate metrics for a first user comprises means for filtering the received disparate metrics for the first user.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said means for creating a mutual metric space in dependence upon a first user metric space and a second user metric space comprises:

means for determining an intersection of a first user metric range and a second user metric range;

means for creating a mutual metric range in dependence upon the intersection of the first user metric range and the second user metric range; and

means for associating the mutual metric range with the mutual metric space.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said means for creating a mutual metric space in dependence upon a first user metric space and a second user metric space comprises:

means for determining a union of a first user metric range and a second user metric range;

means for creating a mutual metric range in dependence upon the union of the first user metric range and the second user metric range; and

means for associating the mutual metric range with the mutual metric space.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for determining whether the second user metric vector is outside the mutual metric space.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein said means for identifying an action comprises means for creating a dynamic action list in dependence upon first user metric vector and the second user metric vector.

7. A computer program product for administering devices, the computer program product comprising:

a recording medium comprising computer program instructions that, when executed by a computer processor, carry out the steps of;

receiving a plurality of disparate metrics for a plurality of users, wherein each user metric for a user represents an indication of that user'"'"'s physical condition, wherein each user is a person;

creating a first user metric vector comprising a plurality of disparate metrics for a first user;

creating a second user metric vector comprising a plurality of disparate metrics for a second user;

creating a first user metric space comprising a plurality of first user metric ranges;

creating a second user metric space comprising a plurality of second user metric ranges;

creating a mutual metric space in dependence upon the first user metric space and the second user metric space;

determining whether the first user vector is outside the mutual metric space;

if the first user metric vector is outside the mutual metric space, identifying an action, wherein the action administers a device to alter the physical condition of at least one of the users; and

executing the identified action.

8. The computer program product of claim 7 wherein the step of creating a first user metric vector comprising a plurality of disparate metrics for a first user comprises filtering the received disparate metrics for the first user.

9. The computer program product of claim 7 wherein the step of creating a mutual metric space in dependence upon a first user metric space and a second user metric space comprises:

determining an intersection of a first user metric range and a second user metric range;

creating a mutual metric range in dependence upon the intersection of the first user metric range and the second user metric range; and

associating the mutual metric range with the mutual metric space.

10. The computer program product of claim 7 wherein

the step of creating a mutual metric space in dependence upon a first user metric space and a second user metric space comprises:

determining a union of a first user metric range and a second user metric range;

creating a mutual metric range in dependence upon the union of the first user metric range and the second user metric range; and

associating the mutual metric range with the mutual metric space.

11. The computer program product of claim 7 further comprising computer program instructions that, when executed by the computer processor, carry out the step of determining whether the second user metric vector is outside the mutual metric space.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein the step of identifying an action comprises creating a dynamic action list in dependence upon first user metric vector and the second user metric vector.