Method and device for controlling target device of host and client

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11259168-B2
Application number	US-202016743442-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 15, 2020
Priority date	Nov 25, 2013
Publication date	Feb 22, 2022
Grant date	Feb 22, 2022

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and apparatus for controlling a target device of a host and a client for supporting a service for the target device which has connectivity not supported by the host. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the method for controlling the target device of the host includes: receiving, from a first client having the same connectivity as that of at least one target device, target information on the target device, and managing the target information; and, when a service request signal for the target device is received from a second client, transmitting, to the target device, a service control signal for controlling the target device using the target information.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus of a client, the apparatus comprising:
a transceiver; and
a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to:
transmit, to a host, a signal for requesting target connectivity information,
receive, from the host, a signal including the target connectivity information,
control to discover a target device which is unavailable to a direct connectivity with the host as one or more types of connectivity of the target device being different from the target connectivity information,
based on a response signal received when discovering the target device, extract information related to the target device and control the transceiver to transmit the information to the host, the information indicating that the host can indirectly control the target device through the apparatus of the client,
after transmitting the information, control the transceiver to receive, from the host, a control signal for indirectly controlling the target device, the control signal being based on the information, and
in response to receiving the control signal, control the transceiver to transmit the control signal to the target device,

wherein the information related to the target device includes information indicating the one or more types of connectivity supported by the target device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the control signal is for a service having one of a non-limited service range or a limited service range based on identification information of the apparatus being identical to owner identification information.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
control the transceiver to broadcast or multicast a discovery signal to a plurality of target devices, and
control the transceiver to receive a response signal from each of the plurality of target devices, each response signal comprising information related to a corresponding target device.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the information transmitted to the host comprises at least one of identification information of the apparatus of the client, identification information of the target device, connectivity information of the target device, location information of the target device, or identification information of an owner having authority to use the target device.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to control the transceiver to transmit, to the host, a request signal for the target device.

6. A method performed by an apparatus of a client, the method comprising:
transmitting, to a host, a signal for requesting target connectivity information;
receiving, from the host, a signal including the target connectivity information;
discovering a target device which is unavailable to a direct connectivity with the host as one or more types of connectivity of the target device being different from the target connectivity information;
based on a response signal received when discovering the target device, extracting information related to the target device and transmitting the information to the host, the information indicating that the host can indirectly control the target device through the apparatus of the client;
after transmitting the information, receiving, from the host, a control signal for indirectly controlling the target device, the control signal being based on the information; and
in response to receiving the control signal, transmitting the control signal to the target device,
wherein the information related to the target device includes information indicating the one or more types of connectivity supported by the target device.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the control signal is for a service having one of a non-limited service range or a limited service range based on identification information of the apparatus of the client being identical to owner identification information.

8. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
broadcasting or multicasting a discovery signal to a plurality of target devices; and
receiving a response signal from each of the plurality of target devices, each response signal comprising information related to a corresponding target device.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the information transmitted to the host comprises at least one of identification information of the apparatus of the client, identification information of the target device, connectivity information of the target device, location information of the target device, or identification information of an owner having authority to use the target device.

10. The method of claim 6 , further comprising transmitting, to the host, a request signal for the target device.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium configured to store one or more computer programs including instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus of a client, causes the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:
transmitting, to a host, a signal for requesting target connectivity information;
receiving, from the host, a signal including the target connectivity information;
discovering a target device which is unavailable to a direct connectivity with the host as one or more types of connectivity of the target device being different from the target connectivity information;
based on a response signal received when discovering the target device, extracting information related to the target device and transmitting the information to the host, the information indicating that the host can indirectly control the target device through the apparatus of the client;
after transmitting the information, receiving, from the host a control signal for indirectly controlling the target device, the control signal being based on the information; and
in response to receiving the control signal, transmitting the control signal to the target device,
wherein the information related to the target device includes information indicating the one or more types of connectivity supported by the target device.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the control signal is for a service having one of a non-limited service range or a limited service range based on identification information of the apparatus of the client being identical to owner identification information.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further causes the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:
broadcasting or multicasting a discovery signal to a plurality of target devices; and
receiving a response signal from each of the plurality of target devices, each response signal comprising information related to a corresponding target device.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the information transmitted to the host comprises at least one of identification information of the apparatus of the client, identification information of the target device, connectivity information of the target device, location information of the target device, or identification information of an owner having authority to use the target device.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further causes the at least one processor to perform operations comprising transmitting, to the host, a request signal for the target device.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Ko Chang-Gun
• Lim Hun
• Kang Jae-Eun
• Sohn Yu-Mi

Classifications

• H04W8/005 Primary

  Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals · CPC title

• H04W8/205

  Transfer to or from user equipment or user record carrier · CPC title

• H04W8/22

  Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities · CPC title

• H04W84/18 Primary

  Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks · CPC title

• H04W48/18

  Selecting a network or a communication service · CPC title