Service providing equipment by using user as centre and its method

A technology for service providers and users, applied in the direction of using stored programs for program control, special data processing applications, memory address/allocation/relocation, etc. question

Inactive Publication Date: 2004-07-28
IBM CORP
0 Cites 6 Cited by

AI-Extracted Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0005] However, the biggest problem that may arise from the above-mentioned "device-oriented" service provision method is: on the one hand, it is necessary to provide various terminal devices with middleware for realizing corresponding service functions; on the other hand, service providers must spend a lot of Effort and cost to provide support functions for more new terminal equipment
[0006] Moreover, for users, although they may have a large number of terminal devices, due to the limitatio...
View more

Method used

[0221] Those skilled in the art will also be able to understand that the above operations in Figure 11 and Figure 12 can also be used to collect the mutual mapping relationship between devices and users in a static environment, and then collect various Relationships between devices and/or users. By using the environment information capture network composed of agent devices to capture the environment information, it provides a fast and convenient way to collect ...
View more

Abstract

The present invention provides a service supply equipment and service supply method allowing user to use capability of several equipments to receive service. According to the requiements for service the usable physical equipment or physical equipment composition can be selected for user, the user can utilize the selected physical equipment or physical equipment composition to receive service. It utilizes the user of virtual equipment to provide service for user so as to 'maks' the physical equipment, further. It can provide 'specially-made' virtual equipment for user according to user's environment, user's like and requirement for service, and can provide 'specially-made' information for user, so that it can provide seamless service for user.

Application Domain

Program control using stored programsError detection/correction +2

Technology Topic

Service provisionComputer network +1

Image

  • Service providing equipment by using user as centre and its method
  • Service providing equipment by using user as centre and its method
  • Service providing equipment by using user as centre and its method

Examples

  • Experimental program(1)

Example Embodiment

[0041] As shown in Fig. 1, the figure shows a conceptual diagram of the service providing system according to the present invention. The service providing system of the present invention constructs a virtual device for each user based on physical objects in the real world, such as users and physical devices; moreover, the service providing system of the present invention can also collect information about the environment around each user, mainly Collect environmental information related to users in space. The user accepts the service of the service provider through the constructed virtual device. The user mentioned in the invention includes not only people in the real world, but also entities such as animals. The equipment referred to in the present invention includes all physical equipment that can provide users with communication services.
[0042] The process in Figure 1 is briefly described below.
[0043] First, the physical objects of the real world 100, such as users 122...122 and physical devices 120...120, are logged into the system in advance. In addition, preferably, information about the environment 124 related to each user is also collected (102).
[0044] Then, the system extracts useful information from the logged-in information, and generates a device object 126 and a user object 128 for each logged-in device and user, respectively. And the collected environmental information is stored in the environmental information database 130. User objects, device objects, and/or environment information libraries constitute the virtual world 104.
[0045] The system then associates the user object of the user with one or more available device objects associated with it (106), thereby establishing a awareness network (SN) 108 for the user object. If necessary, the system of the present invention will establish a perception network for the user object of each logged-in user. The constituent elements of the perception network include a user object and one or more available device objects related to the user object.
[0046]When the user object accepts services or the service provider provides services, the system creates a virtual device (VD) for the user, and establishes a virtual device (VD) for the user according to the service characteristics or requirements, and/or the user’s requirements and other parameters. ) Operating environment 112 (110). Then, the user object can access the service providers 114, 116 or receive services from them in the virtual device (VD) operating environment 112 through the virtual device (VD).
[0047] The following will describe in detail how the information providing system according to the present invention implements the above process.
[0048] Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of the basic structure of the information providing system according to the present invention. As shown in Figure 2, the information providing system includes a user management part 1, a device management part 2, a static environment information management part 3, a dynamic environment information management part 4, an associated part 5, and a virtual device management part 6. The user management part 1. The device management part 2 and the associated part 5 constitute a perceptual network generating device. Preferably, the static environment information management part 3 and the dynamic environment information management part 4 can also be used to form the perceptual network generating device.
[0049] The constitution of each of the above-mentioned parts will be explained separately below.
[0050] In the user management part 1, the user manager 200 receives user logins or changes, creates user objects or updates user object information for users in the real world, and stores the user objects in the user object storage 202 or modifies the user object storage User object information in 202.
[0051] In the device management part 2, the physical device manager 204 receives device logins or changes, creates device objects or updates device object information for real-world devices, and stores the device objects in the device object storage 206 or modifies the device objects Device object information in the storage 206.
[0052] In the information providing system according to the present invention, physical entities in the real world are divided into users and devices. Among them, the user is the target of receiving the service, and the device is the medium for providing the service to the user. The service providing system according to the present invention creates a user object for each user and a device object for each physical device.
[0053] The user object is defined as having the following data items, for example:
[0054] User object
[0055] ----Basic Information
[0056] ----Proprietary Equipment (PD)
[0057] ----Physiological characteristics (PC)
[0058] ----Social Relations (CC)
[0059] …
[0060] ------Authorization information
[0061] ------Preferences
[0062] …
[0063] Each user object includes information related to the user, such as the user's basic information, authorization information, and preference information.
[0064] The basic information includes: identification information of each proprietary device (PD) owned by the user; physiological characteristics (PC) information of the user; social relationship (SC) information of the user and so on.
[0065] Proprietary device is a term used to describe a certain device owned by a user in the real world, such as employee badges, credit cards, mobile phones, PDAs, etc. The identification information of the above-mentioned equipment is stored under the proprietary equipment data item, such as the employee's badge number, credit card number, mobile phone number, PDA network card number, etc. However, it is not limited to the above example, and the identification information only needs to enable the system to uniquely identify the proprietary device.
[0066] The user's physiological characteristic information is, for example, the user's fingerprint, voiceprint, iris image, facial characteristics, and so on.
[0067] The user's social relationship information includes information about the user himself, the user's family members, colleagues, friends, etc., such as their names.
[0068] Stored in the authorization information indicates the user's use authority and use level for resources in a certain environment. For example, for a company, the system can grant the company's employees access to all available resources of the company, while for visitors, it denies them access to the company's available resources. In the user object, the authorization information is optional.
[0069] The preference information stores the user's requirements for receiving services or using equipment, such as which physical equipment they prefer to use to receive audio information; which physical equipment cannot be used to receive services, the requirements for a certain service, and so on.
[0070] Among the above information, the basic information is usually static information. The authorization information and preference information are usually dynamic information.
[0071] The device object is defined as having the following data items, for example:
[0072] Device object
[0073] ----basic settings
[0074] ----status
[0075] ----Access interface
[0076] …
[0077] Each device object includes information related to the device, such as basic setting information, status information, access interface information, and so on. What needs to be emphasized here is that for physical devices that are not specifically owned by a user, such as cameras, printers, and copiers installed in the building’s LAN, device objects will also be created for them. This is because these devices As a public device, it can still be used by users. The present invention will create a device object for each physical device.
[0078] The basic setting information includes information related to the basic setting of the device, such as the device identification number, type, model, display capability, processing capability, function introduction, and so on. The basic setting information is generally static information, that is, it will generally not change after logging in to the system.
[0079] The status information includes the usage status of the device, such as whether the device is currently online and available. The status information is generally dynamic information and may change according to the usage or movement of the device. Therefore, the usage status information of the device may be: offline; online.
[0080] The access interface information includes a description of the access method of the device, such as its communication protocol and so on.
[0081] The following will refer to image 3 The user information management process according to the present invention is described.
[0082] The user can log in in a variety of ways, for example, manual login or automatic login or a combination of the two methods can be used. In the manual login mode, the user sends his own information to the user manager 200 through the existing communication network. In addition, in order to collect user information as comprehensively as possible, the user manager 200 of the present invention may provide a login screen to the user, prompting the user to log in information. Of course, in a manual login mode, a system administrator of a certain network where the user is located, such as a local area network, may also provide the user's information to the user manager 200.
[0083] In the case of automatic login, the user manager 200 may download information related to the user from one or more networks where the user is located. Automatic login usually occurs when a user enters a temporary environment. The environment can automatically detect the existence of the user, and obtain information related to the user through the user's special equipment, so as to automatically perform the automatic log-in for the user in the mobile environment. log in. The information related to the user can be stored in the user's dedicated device or on a network link. An agent device described later will help the present invention to realize automatic login of user information.
[0084] For a certain user, the login work only needs to be performed once, and only when the user object information described above needs to be changed, the changed information is sent to the user manager 200 again, or the user manager 200 periodically or Actively collect new user information from one or more networks where the user is located from time to time.
[0085] According to the received login information of the user, the user manager 200 extracts the information related to its proprietary device (PD) required to describe the data item of the user object; the information related to its physiological characteristics (PC); and its social Relationship (SC) related information; authorization information; preference information, etc., based on this information to construct a user object for the user.
[0086] The following will combine image 3 The operation process of the user manager 200 is described.
[0087] in image 3 In step S300, the user manager 200 receives information related to the user.
[0088] In step S302, it is determined whether the user sending the information is a registered user. When it is determined that the user is an unregistered user, proceed to step S304.
[0089] In step S304, the user manager 200 extracts the information required to describe the user object from the received information.
[0090] In step S306, the user manager 200 creates a user object for the user according to the extracted information.
[0091] In step S308, the user manager 200 stores the newly created user object in the user object storage 202.
[0092] In step S310, the user manager 200 notifies the associated device 208 of the new user registration message, which will then perform subsequent processing. The operation of the associated device 208 will be described later.
[0093] When it is determined in step S302 that the user is a registered user, proceed to step S312, and the user manager 200 updates the corresponding user object data item information stored in the user object memory 202 according to the received information.
[0094] In step S314, the user manager 200 notifies the associated device 208 of the user information update message, which can then perform subsequent processing. The operation of the associated device 208 will be described later.
[0095] When the device is registering, there may be two situations. For static devices, such as printers, fixed phones and other devices with relatively fixed locations, when the device is newly put into use, that is, when it is connected to the network, the system administrator of the network where the device is located will register the device information to the physical device management Device 204, or the physical device manager 204 downloads the device information from the network where the devices are located. For dynamic devices, such as a user's PDA, mobile phone, notebook computer, etc., it can be registered to the physical device manager 204 by the server of the network where it is located when the device is put into use. Those skilled in the art will be able to understand that for dynamic devices, when the device is newly purchased, the device information may be registered to the physical device manager 204 by the system administrator or server of the network where the device is located. A proxy device described later will help the present invention to realize automatic registration of equipment.
[0096]The physical device manager 202 extracts the basic setting information, status information, access interface information, etc. required to describe the data items of the device object according to the received registration information of the device, and constructs a device for the device based on this information. Device object.
[0097] The following will combine Figure 4 The operation process of the physical device manager 204 is described.
[0098] in Figure 4 In step S400, the physical device manager 204 receives information related to the device.
[0099] In step S402, it is determined whether the device sending the information is a registered device. When it is determined that the device is an unregistered device, proceed to step S404.
[0100] In step S404, the device manager extracts the information required by each data item of the device object from the received information.
[0101] In step S406, the physical device manager 204 creates a device object for the device according to the extracted information.
[0102] In step S408, the physical device manager 204 stores the newly created device object in the device object storage 206.
[0103] In step S410, the physical device manager 204 notifies the associated device 208 of the new device registration message, which can then perform subsequent processing. The operation of the associated device 208 will be described later.
[0104] When it is confirmed in step S402 that the device is a registered device, proceed to step S412, and the physical device manager 204 updates the device object information stored in the device object storage 206 according to the received information.
[0105] In step S414, the physical device manager 204 notifies the associated device 208 that the device information has been updated, and the associated device 208 is then processed. The operation of the associated device 208 will be described later.
[0106] Since the information used to describe the device object includes dynamic information that needs to be updated at any time, such as status information, even after the device is registered, once the above-mentioned dynamic information of the device changes through monitoring, the above-mentioned changes of the device will be reflected to The physical device manager 204 modifies the registered physical device object information by the physical device manager 204 so as to keep the latest device status at all times.
[0107] Such monitoring, for example, is performed by a special monitoring device to monitor the status signal of the physical device, and when the status of the physical device changes, the physical device manager 204 is notified of the state change, and the status information is processed by it. Update. The monitoring device may be, for example, a server of the network where the physical device is located.
[0108] Next, an agent device according to the present invention will be introduced. The proxy device can be detachably attached to various physical devices in the form of attachments, broadcast basic information such as the functions and status of these physical devices, and access methods, or receive information broadcast by other physical devices through the proxy device.
[0109] Figure 5 A block diagram of the structure of the agent device is shown.
[0110] Such as Figure 5 As shown, the proxy device includes a processing unit 500, an interface 502, a transceiver unit 504, and a storage unit 506.
[0111] The processing unit 500 is responsible for the overall control of the agent device, and interacts with the main device 508 through a standard interface 502 when necessary, and obtains information related to the device from the main device 508, such as basic setting information, status information, and Access interface information and so on. Preferably, when the main device 508 is a dedicated device of a user, information related to the user is also obtained from the main device 508.
[0112] The basic setting information of the device includes, for example, information related to the basic setting of the device, such as the identification number, type, model, display capability, processing capability, and function introduction of the main device.
[0113] The status information of the device includes the use status of the main device, such as information about whether the device is currently online.
[0114] The access interface information includes a description of the access method of the device, such as its communication protocol and so on.
[0115] Therefore, the information acquired by the processing unit 500 includes both static information, such as basic setting information of the main device, access interface information, etc., and dynamic information, such as status information of the main device.
[0116] The standard interface 502 can use any known hardware and/or software or a combination of them that can interact and communicate with the host device. For example, the standard interface 502 may be an RS-232 interface, a parallel interface, or a wireless interface, such as a wireless interface using Bluetooth or infrared technology. However, the standard interface 502 is not necessary. It is also possible to input the information related to the main device 508 into the agent device in advance through an input device not shown in the figure and store it.
[0117] The processing unit 500 may be any known type of processor with arithmetic and logic operation capabilities. From a cost-saving perspective, processors such as CPUs with lower processing capabilities can be used.
[0118] The storage unit 506 temporarily or permanently stores the information of the master device 508 acquired by the processing unit 500. For example, the storage unit 506 may permanently store the acquired static information, and temporarily store the acquired dynamic information.
[0119] The transceiver unit 504 broadcasts the information of the master device 508 obtained by the processing unit 500. For static information, the transceiver unit can only broadcast once according to whether the main device has logged in to the system, while for dynamic information, it can broadcast the changed dynamic information once it changes. However, it should be noted that the parameters used to identify the main device, such as model and identification number information, are device information that must be broadcast to identify the device. However, the parameters used to identify the main device are not limited to the above examples, and there may be other parameters used to identify the main device.
[0120] In addition, the transceiving unit 504 may also have a receiving function, which receives information from other master devices broadcast by other agent devices, and performs further processing on the received information. This processing will be described later.
[0121] The information broadcasted by the transceiver unit 504 is received by the device information collecting device 510 or another agent device 512 that also has a broadcasting function. The device information collection process using these two methods will be described in detail later.
[0122] Preferably, the transceiver unit 504 may be any known wireless sensor, such as a wireless sensor using Bluetooth or infrared technology. Sensors using the same technology can usually perceive each other. For example, a wireless sensor using Bluetooth technology can sense the information broadcast by other wireless sensors using Bluetooth technology within a certain distance range, and vice versa. The proxy device with such a wireless sensor structure is particularly suitable for broadcasting the main device or user's information in a mobile environment to be grasped by the system. In addition, for a device with a fixed location, an agent device can also be loaded to broadcast the information of the fixed device.
[0123] Preferably, the transceiving unit 504 may be any combination of various known wireless sensors. For example, the transceiving unit 504 is a combination of a wireless sensor using Bluetooth and a wireless sensor using infrared technology. In this way, an agent device can simultaneously collect or broadcast information using different sensing technologies, thereby expanding the function of the agent device.
[0124] Preferably, the agent device according to the present invention may also have a power supply system, so that even when the main device is turned off, the agent device can still work, acting as an agent for the main device connected to it to broadcast the information or perception of the main device to the outside. Other equipment.
[0125] In addition, the agent device of the present invention may also exist in the form of a recording label that can be sensed by other devices. The agent device is, for example, a barcode label that records information about the device or user attached to the agent device. So that other collection equipment collects its information.
[0126] In the present invention, the agent device can be attached to any main equipment to help the system collect information of the main equipment. The present invention provides the following ways to collect device information by using an agent device.
[0127] Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of device information collection using an agent device in a centralized collection mode.
[0128] In this way, each of Device 1 to Device N is appended with an example such as Figure 5 The proxy device shown. The device information collecting device 510 collects the broadcast information broadcast by those agent devices located within its wireless sensing range. In this way, the device information collecting device 510 and the devices 1 to N form a sensor network to collect device information.
[0129] In addition, in the centralized collection mode, the functions of the device information collection device 510 may also be placed on the side of the physical device manager 204 to implement.
[0130] Figure 7 Shows the flow chart of collecting device information in centralized collection mode.
[0131] The following takes Device 1 as an example to describe the process of collecting device information.
[0132] First, in step S700, when the device 1 enters the information collection range of the device information collection device 510, the device information collection device 510 collects its own device information broadcast by the device 1 through its agent device 100.
[0133] In step S702, the device information collecting means 510 sends the collected information of the device to the physical device manager 204.
[0134] In step S704, the physical device manager 204 follows Figure 4 The execution process of the device object is created or modified.
[0135] Fig. 8 shows a schematic diagram of device information collection using a proxy device in a cascade collection mode.
[0136] In this way, instead of collecting the information of each physical device by a device information collecting device 510, the agent device of a specific physical device collects the information of other physical devices within its sensing range. The collection of equipment information is realized by transferring equipment information between agent devices. This method is particularly suitable for information collection and processing in a relatively closed mobile environment, such as a mobile environment composed of mobile devices carried by employees working in a company.
[0137] In this manner, there are one or more agent devices capable of reporting the collected information to the physical device manager 204. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the proxy device of the setting device 1 has the aforementioned notification function.
[0138] Picture 9 Shows the flow chart of collecting device information in cascade collection mode.
[0139] First, in step S900, the proxy device of one device receives information broadcasted from other proxy devices.
[0140]Then, in step S902, the agent device determines whether it can communicate with the physical device manager 204. This judgment is made, for example, by sending an inquiry to the physical device manager 204 and receiving a response therefrom, or by pre-storing related access parameters of the corresponding physical device manager 204 in the storage unit of the agent device and querying the access parameters.
[0141] When it is determined that the communication with the physical device manager 204 cannot be performed, in step S904, the proxy device broadcasts the received broadcast information and/or its own identification information through the transceiver unit, and receives it by its neighboring proxy device. .
[0142] When it is determined that it can communicate with the physical device manager 204, in step S906, the agent device sends the received broadcast information and/or its own identification information to the physical device manager 204 through the transceiver unit.
[0143] The other proxy devices all perform the same operation.
[0144] In this way, the device information of all devices 1 to N in FIG. 8 is reported to the physical device manager 204 through the proxy device of the device 1. Then, the physical device manager 204 performs Figure 4 The treatment shown. In this way, the devices 1 to N in FIG. 8 constitute a sensor network to collect device information.
[0145] Those skilled in the art will understand that the above two methods can be used alone or in combination to report device information to the physical device manager 204 of the system. For example, when used in combination, the device information of all devices 1 to N can be reported to the device information collection device 510 capable of covering the device 1 through the device 1, and the device information collection device 510 can then use the device information collection device 510 to report the device information 1 to N. The device information of and the received device information of other devices are reported to the physical device information manager 204.
[0146] The above-mentioned proxy devices applied to physical devices and the two methods of collecting device information through these proxy devices can also be applied to user information collection. When applied to user information collection, for the user, the proxy device can be carried with him. In this case, the user's basic information or change information is stored in the proxy device in advance for later use when logging in or modifying.
[0147] Those skilled in the art will be able to understand that the user’s information can also be stored in an agent device that is an accessory to the user’s proprietary equipment, so that the agent device broadcasts the user’s information while broadcasting the user’s proprietary equipment. information. In addition, the user's information can also be broadcasted by proxy devices attached to these devices through proprietary devices that the users carry with them. Any form of broadcasting or collecting user or equipment information through the agent device of the present invention is within the scope of the present invention.
[0148] Those skilled in the art will be able to understand that for the user and device information collected by the user manager 200 and the physical device manager 204, in addition to the information described above, there may be other information, as long as these other information Information is needed in order to establish the awareness network and virtual devices described later.
[0149] The process of collecting user information and device information is described in detail above. In order for a user to search for devices that are available and effective when the user receives the service. Sometimes environmental information is also very important. For example, when a user is currently working in a laboratory, letting the system master various equipment information in the laboratory environment is of practical significance for providing users with richer services. For another example, when a user is in a mobile office environment, always knowing the device resources that the user can use in each mobile environment has a very effective reference significance for providing users with services more suitable for the mobile environment.
[0150] Therefore, the present invention further provides a static environmental information management part 3 and a dynamic environmental information management part 4 for collecting environmental information, so that the system can collect available equipment for users based on the environmental information.
[0151] As shown in FIG. 2, the static environment information management part 3 includes a static environment information manager 201 and a static environment information storage 203.
[0152] The static environment information manager 201 learns the location information and device identification information of various static devices in the company, such as printers, scanners, computers that are not easy to move, fixed phones, etc., from existing information networks such as the company's local area network. And store them in the static environment information storage 203. Of course, the static environment information manager 201 can also collect static information from other channels, for example, through the sensor network formed by the proxy device attached to each static device provided by the present invention.
[0153] The structure of static environmental information data items includes, for example:
[0154] Space range
[0155] -Subspace range 1
[0156] --Device A ID; specific location of device A (optional)...
[0157] --Device B ID; specific location of device B (optional)...
[0158] …
[0159] -Subspace range 2
[0160] --Device C ID; specific location of device C (optional)...
[0161] --Device D ID; specific location of device D (optional)...
[0162] …
[0163] …
[0164] Among them, the space range is, for example, a building where a company is located; the sub-space range is, for example, each room divided within the company; and the device ID is a device ID located in each sub-space range.
[0165] Through the static environment information manager 201, the system can grasp the spatial position status of the static equipment in the system.
[0166] Picture 10 Shows the flow chart of static environmental information collection.
[0167] First, in step S1000, the static environment information manager 201 receives environment information about the static device from an external network, such as the company's local area network, the company's telephone network, etc. Optionally, the agent device of the present invention can also be attached to these static devices to send environmental information about the static device to the static environment information manager 201 through a sensor network formed by the agent device.
[0168] In step S1002, it is determined whether the received environmental information about the static device has ever been collected.
[0169] When it is determined that it has not been collected, in step S1004, the information required to form the static environment information is extracted from the received environment information about the static device.
[0170] In step S1006, the extracted static device information is stored.
[0171] In step S1008, the associated device 208 is notified that the new static environment information has been collected. The associated device 208 performs further processing.
[0172] In step S1002, when it is determined that the static device information has been collected, in step S1010, the static environment information is updated according to the received static device information.
[0173] In step S1012, the associated device 208 is notified that the static environment information has been updated. The associated device 208 performs further processing.
[0174] Those skilled in the art will be able to understand that the above operations can be triggered when the static device is newly accessed or when the static device is moved.
[0175] Due to the increasing popularity of mobile devices, in addition to the aforementioned static environment information, it also includes a large amount of dynamic environment information, which includes mobile equipment and/or user information. Environmental information is generally also dynamically changeable. When a device or network in the real world observes changes in its surrounding environment, it will notify the system to update its "observed" environmental information. For example, a camera has the ability to visually observe the surrounding environment, so the environmental information captured by the camera will vary over time. For another example, a fingerprint reader has the ability to perceive who has touched it. Therefore, the environmental information captured by the fingerprint reader will vary with the passage of time and changes in users. In addition, the known network that can tell the user's location is also an example of this kind of environmental information. For example, when an employee enters a room by using his own badge, the attendance system of the building can obtain the employee's badge information. Know the current location of the employee.
[0176] In the present invention, a device or network capable of sensing environmental changes is called a dynamic environmental information capture network. Such environmental changes usually refer to changes brought about by online physical devices on the move or users entering or leaving a dynamic environmental information capture network. Dynamic environmental information capture networks include but are not limited to: GSM, CDMA and other wireless networks; GPS positioning systems; Bluetooth devices; devices or systems with auditory functions; devices or systems with visual functions; devices or systems that capture human physiological characteristics data ; Sensor network composed of agent devices, etc.
[0177] The present invention realizes the management of dynamic environment information by providing a dynamic environment information management part 4.
[0178] As shown in FIG. 2, the dynamic environment information management section 4 includes a dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205 and a dynamic environment information storage 207.
[0179] The dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205 receives changes in the environment perceived by these networks from the various dynamic environment information capturing networks described above, and stores the changes in the dynamic environment information storage 207.
[0180] In the present invention, since dynamic environment information can be received from many dynamic environment information capturing networks, it is preferable to allocate a storage area for each dynamic environment information capturing network in the dynamic environment information storage 207 to store the dynamic environment of the network. information. For dynamic environmental information acquisition networks that can determine the location of mobile devices or users, such as wireless networks such as GSM and CDMA; GPS positioning systems; and attendance systems installed in the company, the structure of dynamic environmental information data items includes, for example:
[0181] Space range
[0182] -Subspace range 1
[0183] --Mobile device A ID; specific location of mobile device A (optional)...
[0184] --Mobile device B ID; specific location of mobile device B (optional)...
[0185] …
[0186] --User A ID; user A's specific location (optional)...
[0187] …
[0188] -Subspace range 2
[0189] --Mobile device C ID; specific location of mobile device C (optional)..
[0190] --Mobile device D ID; specific location of mobile device D (optional)...
[0191] …
[0192] --Mobile user B ID; the specific location of mobile user B (optional)...
[0193] …
[0194] …
[0195] Among them, the space range is, for example, a building where a company is located; the sub-space range is, for example, each room divided within the company; and the mobile device ID is the ID of a mobile device that moves between sub-spaces.
[0196] For the mobile device or user's specific location that cannot be determined, but can capture the spatial location relationship of the mobile device, or the user's spatial location relationship, or the dynamic environment information capture network of the user and the device, such as a camera installed inside the company For the monitoring system, the sensor network formed by the agent device provided by the present invention, etc., the structure of the dynamic environment information data item includes, for example:
[0197] --Dynamic environment information capture network ID
[0198] -The captured ID information of the mobile device or user or its mapping information, etc.
[0199] For example, for a camera monitoring system, its dynamic information data items may include the camera ID, which captures the physiological characteristic data of those users.
[0200] The following will describe in detail the process of collecting dynamic environmental information using the sensor network formed by the agent device provided by the present invention.
[0201] Refer below Picture 11 Take the device 1 as an example to describe the flow chart of the collection process of dynamic environment information in the centralized mode of FIG. 6.
[0202] First, in step S1100, when the device 1 enters the information collection range of the device information collecting device 510, the device information collecting device 510 collects its own device information broadcast by the device 1 through its agent device 100.
[0203] In step S1102, the device information collecting device 510 sends the collected ID information of the device to the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205.
[0204] In step S1104, the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205 stores the received ID of the device 1 in the dynamic environment information storage 207 as the storage allocated for the sensor network composed of the device information collecting device 510 and the device 1-N In space.
[0205] In step S1106, the dynamic environment information capture network manager 205 searches for storage content in other storage spaces, and deletes the record with the ID of the device 1. In this way, it is ensured that the dynamic environment information management section 4 can always maintain the latest dynamic environment information.
[0206] In step 81108, the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205 notifies the associated device 5 that the dynamic environment information has changed. The subsequent processing is performed by the associated device 5.
[0207] In this way, the system can grasp the situation of the mobile device currently perceived by the device information collection device 510 for use in subsequent association operations.
[0208] Reference below Picture 12 Describe the flow chart of the collection process of dynamic environment information in the cascade mode of FIG. 8.
[0209] First, in step S1200, the proxy device of one device receives information broadcast from the proxy device of another device.
[0210] In step S1202, the proxy device creates a mapping table from the received ID information of another device and the ID of its own master device.
[0211] Then, in step S1204, the agent device determines whether it can communicate with the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205, that is, whether it has a notification function. This judgment is made, for example, by sending an inquiry to the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205 and receiving a response therefrom, or by pre-storing the corresponding access parameters of the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205 in the storage unit of the agent device.
[0212] When it is judged that it cannot communicate with the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205, in step S1206, the agent device broadcasts the created mapping table and the ID of the main device attached by itself, and its neighboring agent The device receives. The adjacent agent device will also make a mapping table, which will include the mapping relationship between the adjacent device ID and the device ID, and the mapping relationship between the ID of the device and the ID of the other device. Those skilled in the art will be able to understand that, according to the number of times the mapping table is transferred, the above mapping relationship may include multiple layers of mapping.
[0213] When it is determined that it can communicate with the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205, in step S1208, the agent device sends the created mapping table information to the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205 through the transceiver unit.
[0214] In step S1209, the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205 determines whether the retained dynamic environment information needs to be updated according to the received mapping table information. When it is judged that it is unnecessary, the processing ends. Otherwise, proceed to step S1210.
[0215] In step S1210, the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205 updates the mapping relationship in the sensor network storage space formed by the devices 1-N according to the received mapping table information.
[0216] In step S1212, the dynamic environment information capture network manager 205 searches for storage content in other storage spaces, and deletes the record with the ID of the corresponding device. In this way, it is ensured that the dynamic environment information management section 4 can always maintain the latest dynamic environment information.
[0217] In step S1214, the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205 notifies the associated device 5 that the dynamic environment information has changed. The subsequent processing is performed by the associated device 5.
[0218] In this way, the system can grasp the interrelationship of the mobile devices currently perceived by the device 1 for use in subsequent association operations.
[0219] Those skilled in the art will be able to understand that the above two methods can be used alone or in combination, so as to notify the system's dynamic environment information capture network manager 205 of the mutual relationship information of the devices. For example, when used in combination, the device relationship information of all devices 1 to N can be reported to the device information collection device 510 that can cover the device 1 through the device 1, and the device information collection device 510 can then use the device information collection device 510 to collect the device information from the devices 1 to N. The device relationship information and other dynamic environment information are reported to the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205.
[0220] Those skilled in the art will be able to understand that the above Picture 11 with Picture 12 The operation can also be used to collect the mapping relationship between users in a mobile environment, and then between mobile users and mobile devices.
[0221] Those skilled in the art will also be able to understand that the above Picture 11 with Picture 12 The operation of can also be used to collect the mutual mapping relationship between devices and users in a static environment, and then collect the relationships between various devices and/or users in a static and dynamic environment. By using the environmental information capturing network constituted by proxy devices to capture environmental information, it provides a quick and convenient way to collect as much equipment and user information as possible.
[0222] The process of other dynamic environmental information capturing network sending dynamic environmental information to the dynamic environmental information capturing network manager 205 is the same as the above Picture 11 The process described in is similar. The difference is that instead of using the device information collection device 510, the dynamic environment information captures the network's server (in the case that the network is a separate sensor device, the sensor device itself is regarded as a server). The captured dynamic environment information is sent to the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205. The dynamic environment information is also different according to the dynamic environment information capturing network, for example, it may be the physiological characteristic information of the user. The process is as Figure 13 Shown.
[0223] In step S1300, the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205 receives the dynamic environment information captured by the network from a dynamic environment capturing network.
[0224] In step S1302, the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205 determines whether the dynamic environment information stored in the dynamic environment information storage 207 needs to be updated. When it is judged that it is unnecessary, the processing ends. Otherwise, proceed to step S1304.
[0225] In step S1304, the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205 updates the information in the corresponding storage space according to the received dynamic environment information.
[0226] In step S1306, the dynamic environment information capture network manager 205 searches for storage content in other storage spaces, and deletes the user object or device object information related to the dynamic environment information. In this way, it is ensured that the dynamic environment information management section 4 can always maintain the latest dynamic environment information.
[0227] In step S1308, the dynamic environment information capturing network manager 205 notifies the associated device 5 that the dynamic environment information has changed. The subsequent processing is performed by the associated device 5.
[0228] It will be understood from the following description that the static environment information and the dynamic environment information collected by the present invention play a role as a bridge for establishing correlations between users and more available devices in the real world.
[0229] The collection and processing of environmental information was introduced above. The following describes the operation of associating a user object with one or more available device objects.
[0230] The association device 208 in FIG. 2 establishes an association relationship between a user object stored in the user object storage 202 and one or more device objects stored in the device object storage 206. And if necessary, perform the associated operation based on the environmental information provided by the static environmental information management part 3 and the dynamic environmental information management part 4.
[0231] The following will describe in detail the three ways of establishing an association relationship according to the present invention.
[0232] The first way is to establish an association relationship between user objects and device objects through a dedicated device (PD).
[0233] As mentioned above, the proprietary device (PD) data item of each user object in the user object storage 202 stores the information of the proprietary device owned by the user object. The device object storage 206 stores device object information.
[0234] Therefore, the associated device 208 matches the type and identification number of the proprietary device under the proprietary device data item of the user object with the type and identification number under the basic information data item of each device object, and finds out that the user object has the same type and identification number. Device objects with the same information, thereby establishing an association between the user object and the device object.
[0235]For example, a user A in the real world has a proprietary device: a mobile phone X with Bluetooth function. Since in the virtual world, the user object A1 created for the user A and the mobile phone object X1 created for the mobile phone X both include the type and phone number information of the mobile phone X, the associated device 208 can identify the user object by A1 and the mobile phone object X1 have the same mobile phone type and phone number information to associate the user object A1 with the mobile phone object X1.
[0236] Although the association is done by using the type and identification number information of the proprietary device, other information used to identify the proprietary device under the basic information data item of the proprietary device object can also be used for association. Users and proprietary devices can be associated.
[0237] In order to reduce the workload of the association, the associated device 208 of the present invention may also perform a filtering operation before the association operation, and filter out some devices according to certain conditions, so that these devices will not be operated during the association operation. For example, filter out the device objects whose status information is "offline" because these devices currently do not have the ability to work. However, this filtering step is not necessary.
[0238] According to the above-mentioned association manner, the associating device 208 of the present invention can associate a user object with a related device object through the exclusive device identification information.
[0239] Figure 14 The user object A in and the mobile phone device object A'belonging to the user are related in the first way.
[0240] The second way is to use physiological characteristic data to establish an association relationship between user objects and device objects.
[0241] As mentioned above, when a user logs in, the user manager 200 will put its physiological characteristic information under the physiological characteristic data item of its user object.
[0242] Many dynamic environment information capture networks can also capture and sense the physiological characteristics of users. For example, a capture network composed of a camera device can capture a user's facial image, and a capture network composed of a voice capture device can capture the user's voice characteristics. And as mentioned above, the dynamic environment information captured by these capture networks are all stored in the dynamic environment information storage 207.
[0243] Therefore, the associating device 208 matches the physiological characteristic data under the physiological characteristic data item of the user object with the dynamic environment information stored in the dynamic environment information storage 207, and finds out that the user object has one or more of the same physiological characteristics. One or more device objects (or capture networks) of the data, thereby establishing an association between the user object and the corresponding device object.
[0244] E.g, Figure 15 The user object A and the camera device object C'in are related in the second way.
[0245] On the basis of the above two association methods, it is also possible to associate the user object A with more device objects by using static environment information or dynamic environment information.
[0246] For example, in Figure 14 In, after the associated device 208 establishes an association between the user object A and the mobile phone device object A', the associated device 208 can also use the mobile phone device object A'as a bridge to combine the collected static/dynamic environment information to establish the Associations between user objects and more device objects. For example, the dynamic environment information storage 207 stores that the mobile phone device object A'provided by the GSM network is located in a certain conference room of the company; and the static environment information storage 203 stores that the conference room also has a printer resource, Then, the association device 208 establishes an association between the user object A and the printer resource based on the information.
[0247] Figure 14 The right side shows an example of using environment information to establish more associations with user objects. The associated device 208 uses the user’s mobile phone device object A’ as a bridge based on the dynamic environment information collected from the capture network of the proxy device containing the mobile phone device object A’, and the user object A and the mobile phone’s proxy device are located. An association is established between the device D', the device E', and the device F'captured by the capture network.
[0248] Figure 15 The right side shows an example of using environment information to establish more associations with user objects. The associated device 208 uses the camera device object C'as a bridge based on the dynamic environment information collected from the capture network where the proxy device of the camera device object C'is located. An association is established between the device H', the device I'and the device J'captured by the capture network where the proxy device is located.
[0249] The third way of association is to establish an association relationship between user objects and device objects through social relationship data.
[0250] As mentioned above, when a user logs in, if possible, the user manager 200 will put its social relationship information under the social relationship data item of its user object.
[0251] Figure 16 It shows a schematic diagram of establishing associations between user objects and device objects through social relationship data items.
[0252] For example, suppose that the associated device 208 has established an association relationship with some device objects for user B, such as device objects K', L', and M'. If user A and user B have some social relationship, the associating device 208 establishes the relationship between user A and user B through the information under the social relationship data item of the user A object, and then establishes an association with user B An association relationship is established between the equipment objects K', L', and M'in the relationship.
[0253] When the associating device 208 associates the user object and the device object, the above three methods can be used in any combination or used alone. The invention provides a flexible association method for the establishment of an association relationship.
[0254] Through the operation of the associated device 208, an association relationship with one or more available device objects is established for a user object.
[0255] It should be noted that the association relationship established by the associated device 208 for the user object with one or more available device objects may also change. For example, when a new device object is created, the associating device 208 associates the new device object with the corresponding user object. When the static/dynamic environment information changes, the association device 208 will reconstruct or modify the association relationship of the corresponding user object according to the changed environment information. Any influence that may cause the association relationship between the user object and the device object will trigger the association device 208 to reconstruct or modify the association relationship between the corresponding user object. Therefore, the associated device 208 can always maintain the latest association relationship between user objects and available device objects.
[0256] The associated device 208 treats each user object and one or more device objects associated with the user object as a sensory network entity and stores them in the sensory network storage 210.
[0257] Figure 17A-17C Shows the associated operation process of the associated device.
[0258] In step S1700, the associated device 208 monitors to determine whether a registration or change notification is received from the user manager 200 or the physical device manager 204, and whether a notification of environmental information change is received from the static/dynamic environmental information managers 201, 205.
[0259] When the judgment result is that no notification has been received, the associated device 208 continues to monitor.
[0260] When it is determined that a notification is received from the user manager 200, the process proceeds to step S1702, and it is determined whether the notification is a registration notification or a change notification. When the judgment result is the registration notification, the process proceeds to step S1704, and the association device 208 uses the above-mentioned three association methods or a combination of them to perform an association operation for the newly registered user object. Please note that when performing the association operation, you can also discard some device objects based on the user preference information stored in the user object, such as the preference information of the device that the user refuses to use, so that the user can be selected according to the user's customization Available device resources. Furthermore, when performing an association operation, for example, according to the status information of the device object, the device object whose status is "offline" can be discarded. In addition, when performing the association operation, certain device objects can be further abandoned according to authorization information, such as the user's access rights to certain devices. So that the associated device object is actually the device object available to the user object.
[0261] In step S1706, the user object and the device object associated with the user object are stored as a sensory network entity in the sensory network storage 210.
[0262] Optionally, in step S1708, the virtual device management part 6 is notified of the newly established awareness network message, and the virtual device management part 6 is used for subsequent operations.
[0263] When it is determined in step S1702 that it is a change operation, the process proceeds to step S1710, and the associated device notifies the virtual device management section 6 that the user object information has been changed. Determine whether the existing association relationship needs to be updated according to the content of the change. This judgment can be made, for example, based on whether the user preference information and/or authorization information has changed. When it is determined that it needs to be updated, the process proceeds to step S1712, and the association operation is performed according to the content of the user object change. Otherwise, the processing ends.
[0264] In step S1714, the corresponding sensing network stored in the sensing network storage 210 is updated with the result of the association operation.
[0265] Optionally, in step S1715, the virtual device management part 6 is notified of a message that the network has been sensed that it has changed, and the virtual device management part 6 can perform subsequent operations.
[0266] When it is determined in step S1700 that it is a notification from the physical device manager 204, it proceeds to step S1716 to determine whether the notification is a device registration notification or a device information change notification.
[0267] When the judgment result is a registration notification, proceed to step S1718 to perform an association operation for the newly registered device. The associating device 208 uses the above three association methods or a combination of them to perform an association operation for the newly registered device object. Please note that when performing the association operation, the device object can also be discarded according to the user preference information stored in the associated user object, so as to determine whether the device object is available to a user according to the user's customization Equipment resources. Furthermore, when performing an association operation, the device object whose status is "offline" can also be discarded according to the status information of the device object, so that the associated device object is actually a device object available to the user object.
[0268] After associating the newly registered device object with the corresponding user object, in step S1720, use the result of the association operation to update the corresponding sensory network content stored in the sensory network storage 210.
[0269] Optionally, in step S1722, the virtual device management part 6 is notified of a message that the network has been sensed that it has changed, and the virtual device management part 6 can perform subsequent operations.
[0270]When it is determined in step S1716 that it is a change operation, proceed to step S1724 to notify the virtual device management part 6 that the device object information has been changed, and determine whether the existing association relationship needs to be updated according to the content of the change. Preferably, when the state of the device changes, for example, from an online state to an offline state, or from an offline state to an online state, it is determined that an update is required. When it is determined that it is necessary to update, proceed to step S1726, and perform an association operation according to the changed content of the device object. Otherwise, the processing ends.
[0271] In step S1728, the corresponding sensing network stored in the sensing network storage 210 is updated with the result of the association operation.
[0272] Optionally, in step S1730, the virtual device management part 6 is notified of a message that the network has been sensed that it has changed, and the virtual device management part 6 can perform subsequent operations.
[0273] When it is determined in step S1700 that it is a notification from the static/dynamic environment information manager 205, 207, proceed to step S1740, and the associating device 208 performs an associating operation for the corresponding one or more user objects according to the changed environment information.
[0274] In step S1742, the corresponding one or more sensing networks stored in the sensing network storage 210 are updated with the result of the association operation.
[0275] Optionally, in step S1744, one or more messages perceiving network changes are notified to the virtual device management part 6 for subsequent operations.
[0276] Those skilled in the art will be able to understand that the aforementioned operation of notifying the virtual device management part 6 is not necessary.
[0277] Through the association operation, the available device object resources are searched for a user object and stored as a sensory network entity, so that the device information available to the user in the real world can be grasped in real time.
[0278] Through the above description, the present invention provides a perceptual network formation method and device, which collects real-world device, user, and environmental information, and searches for available device resources for users based on the collected information, thereby providing resources Sharing and enabling equipment to work together provides the basis.
[0279] When a user in the real world actively requests to access a service, or when a service provider actively requests to provide service information to a user, the virtual device manager part of the present invention establishes a virtual device operating environment for the user. A virtual device serves as the service interface between the user and the service provider. The virtual device will make full use of the comprehensive capabilities of the physical devices currently available to the user to provide services to the user.
[0280] Therefore, the service provider only interacts with the virtual device when delivering service information to the user. The information sent by the user to the service provider is forwarded by the virtual device. The virtual device coordinates and manages the devices available to the user, so as to provide the user with services based on the user's service requirements and/or device capabilities.
[0281] It has been described above in the present invention that a perception network is established for a user object in the virtual world through information collection and association processing. The perception network includes the user object and the information of the device objects available to the user object. Therefore, the perceptual network can be regarded as a database of available device objects established by the present invention for a user object. Therefore, when describing the virtual device below, the perceptual network will be used as the available device object database of the virtual device. However, the available device object database of the virtual device can also be obtained in other ways, and is not limited to the perception network of the present invention. For example, the available device object database can be obtained from other existing technologies that can provide the user's current available physical device information. Therefore, the available device object database used by the virtual device of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned perceptual network, which is only an example of the available device object database that the virtual device can utilize.
[0282] The processing of the virtual device manager part 6 will be described in detail below.
[0283] The virtual device manager part 6 of the present invention generates a virtual device for each user object receiving service in the sensing network. Provide appropriate services to user objects based on virtual devices generated for them.
[0284] Such as Figure 18 As shown, the virtual device includes a service processing part 1800, a negotiation part 1802; a control part 1804, a monitoring part 1806, a service information redistribution part 1808, and an interface part 1810.
[0285] The control part 1804 is used to coordinate and control the operations of other parts constituting the virtual device, and to forward information.
[0286] The interface part 1810 is an interface that interacts with the sensory network generating part, and the information interaction between other parts of the virtual device and the sensory network generating part is performed through the interface part 1810. In addition, the user object interacts with the virtual device through the interface part 1810.
[0287] The monitoring part 1806 is responsible for interacting with the generating part of the sensing network, monitoring the sensing network, and grasping the real-time composition of the sensing network.
[0288] The negotiation part 1802 is responsible for interacting with the service provider and selecting the most appropriate service type for the user according to the perception network.
[0289] When the user accepts a specific service, the service processing part 1800 is responsible for the information interaction between the user and the service provider.
[0290] The service information redistribution section 1808 determines the device object/device object combination required to receive the service according to the service type determined by the negotiation section 1802, allocates the information sent by the service processing section 1800 to the user object to the corresponding device object, and when it determines When the device objects are combined, they are also responsible for coordinating the operations between the device objects.
[0291] The operation of the above parts will be described in detail below.
[0292] First combine Figure 19 Explain that when a user object sends a service request through a device object in the perception network, the virtual device selects the service type and the processing of the device object/device object combination for the user object.
[0293] First, in step S1900, the interface part 1810 receives a service request sent by a user object from a device object in the sensing network, the interface part 1810 forwards the service request to the control part 1804, and the control part 1804 forwards the service request to the negotiation part 1802, and notify the monitoring part 1806 of the service request event.
[0294] In step S1902, in response to receiving a service request event, the monitoring part 1806 obtains each available device object information and/or user object information from the user object's perception network through the interface part 1810. Then, the acquired device object information is sent to the negotiation section 1802 through the control section 1804.
[0295] In step S1904, in response to receiving the service request, the negotiation part 1810 sends the service request to the corresponding service provider, requesting the service provider to provide service type information of the service satisfying the service request and the device object capability requirements of each service type information. The service type is, for example, one or more levels of service types that a service provider can provide for a service request, and the device object capability requirement information is, for example, the device capability required under a certain service type.
[0296] In step S1906, in response to the service type and device object capability requirement information received from the service provider, the negotiation section 1802 obtains the service type from the service provider based on the device object information and/or user object information received from the monitoring section 1806 Select a service type that is suitable for the capabilities of the available device object, notify the service provider of the selected service type, and send the device object capability requirement information corresponding to the service type to the service information through the control part 1804. Assign part 1808.
[0297] Optionally, in the above selection process, the service type can be determined by referring to the user's personal customization requirements.
[0298] For example, in step S1906, the currently available device objects are further filtered according to the user preference information obtained by the monitoring part 1806 from the user object in advance or by asking the user for the user’s preference information for the device receiving the service. The preference information is, for example, the user’s preference information. What physical device is preferably used to receive video services, what device to use to receive audio services, and so on. Then, according to the filtered basic information of the device object, a service type suitable for the capabilities of the filtered available device object is selected from the service types provided by the service provider.
[0299] Optionally, the negotiation part 1802 may pre-select those service types that are suitable for the capabilities of the available device objects from a variety of service types provided by the service provider, and determine a service type by asking the user object, or through Refer to, for example, the user's requirements for the service in the preference information of the user object to further determine the service type.
[0300] Figure 20 Shows another process in which the virtual device selects the service type and the device object/device object combination for the user object when the user object sends a service request through the device object in the perception network.
[0301] In this manner, the operations of steps S2000 and S2002 and steps S1900 and S1902 are the same, so the description thereof is omitted.
[0302] In step S2004, in response to receiving the service request, the negotiation part 1810 sends the service request and the information of the available device objects and/or user object information received from the monitoring part 1806 to the corresponding service provider, requesting the service provider according to the available information. The capability of the device object determines the type of service that satisfies the service request.
[0303] In step S2006, in response to the service type information received from the service provider, the negotiation part 1802 selects a service type for the user object, notifies the service provider of the selected service type, and sets the device object capabilities corresponding to the service type The request information is sent to the service information redistribution section 1808 through the control section 1804.
[0304] Optionally, in the above step S2004, the currently available device objects are further filtered according to the information obtained by the monitoring part 1806 from the user object in advance or by asking the user about the preference information of the user for the device receiving the service. The subsequent device object information is provided to the service provider.
[0305] Optionally, in step S2006, the negotiating part 1802 may provide multiple service types provided by the service provider to the user object, and determine a service type by asking the user object, or by referring to, for example, the user object’s The user's requirements for the service in the preference information further determine the service type.
[0306] Through the processing of the above-mentioned negotiation part 1802, a service type is determined for the user object to receive service information.
[0307] The following describes the process of providing services for user objects under the determined service types.
[0308] The negotiation part 1802 further notifies the monitoring part 1806 of the device object identification information filtered out or abandoned based on the user information through the control part 1804.
[0309] Figure 21 Shows a flowchart of the process of providing services to user objects.
[0310] First, in step S2100, the service processing section 1800 receives service information provided under the selected service type from the service provider.
[0311] In step S2102, the service processing section 1800 sends the received service information to the service information redistribution section 1808 through the control section 1804.
[0312] In step S2104, the service information redistribution section 1808 obtains each available device object information from the monitoring section 1806, and, if necessary, obtains the device object information discarded when filtering the device object and/or the user object referred to from the negotiation section 1802. The preference information determines the device object/device object combination that receives the service information for the user object based on the device object capability requirement information received from the negotiation part 1802.
[0313] In step S2106, the service information redistribution part 1808 distributes the service information to the determined device object/device object combination through the interface part 1810. And when it is necessary to coordinate between device objects, for example, when various service information streams need to be synchronized between each device object, synchronization operation control is performed.
[0314] In the process that the service provider provides services to the user object, the interactive information between the user object and the service provider is carried out through the virtual device. The interactive information sent by the user object to the service provider is first sent by the interface part 1810 to the control part 1804. The control part 1804 forwards the interactive information to the service processing part 1800, and the service processing part 1800 is responsible for forwarding it to the service provider.
[0315] Thus, according to the present invention, a virtual device operating environment is provided for the user object to accept the service of the service provider.
[0316] Therefore, by only interacting with the virtual device to provide service information, the service provider does not need to consider the capabilities of the specific device that receives the service, and thus can develop a variety of rich service types for the different needs of users.
[0317] Furthermore, the virtual device according to the present invention can select an appropriate service type for the user according to the service type provided by the service provider and combined with the capabilities of the available device objects. This improves the service quality of the service received by the user and makes full use of the device capabilities around the user.
[0318] Furthermore, the virtual device according to the present invention determines the available device objects or service types for receiving service information according to the user's personal customization requirements, thereby providing user-centric services.
[0319] Furthermore, since the virtual device of the present invention can grasp the device resources available to the user in real time, it provides an effective way for providing users with information services in real time.
[0320] In the process of providing services for user objects, the virtual devices mentioned above will perceive changes in device object information or user object information in the network, such as when device objects are added or reduced, such as when the preference information of user objects changes. Sometimes, it may affect the quality of the user object when receiving the service. Therefore, the virtual device of the present invention further has the ability to appropriately adjust the operating environment of the virtual device according to changes in the perception network.
[0321] FIG. 22 shows the process of adjusting the operating environment of the virtual device by the virtual device.
[0322] First, in step S2200, the monitoring part 1806 monitors the information of the sensing network through the interface part.
[0323] In step S2202, the monitoring part 1806 determines whether the information of the sensing network has changed. When it is monitored that the information of the perception network changes, proceed to step S2206, otherwise continue to monitor.
[0324] In step S2206, the monitoring section 1806 judges the type of change.
[0325] When the change type is that the device object is reduced, proceed to step S2208 to determine whether the reduced device object is used to receive service information. When the judgment result is no, the processing ends. Otherwise, proceed to step S2210 to notify the service information redistribution part 1808 that the device objects are reduced, and the service information redistribution part 1808 determines whether there is an alternative device object/device object combination. When there is a replaceable device object/device object combination, proceed to step S2212, and notify the service information redistribution part 1808 to use the replacement device object/device object combination to continue to provide information services. In step S2214, the service information redistribution part 1808, in response to receiving the notification, uses the replacement device object/device object combination to continue to provide the information service.
[0326] When it is determined in step S2210 that there is no replaceable device object/device object combination, proceed to step S2216, and the service information redistribution part 1808 notifies the negotiation part 1802 to determine the service type again, and notifies the control part 1804 to keep the current Service progress information, temporarily interrupting the provision of services to user objects.
[0327] In step S2218, the negotiation part 1802 notifies the service provider of the current service progress information according to the currently available device object information, and according to Figure 19 The steps S1904-S1906 or Figure 20 S2004 or S2006 determines a new service type for the user object again.
[0328] In step S2220, the service processing part 1800 continues to receive the interrupted service from the service provider under the new service type, and the service information reallocation part 1808 determines the new device object/device object combination.
[0329] Then in step S2222, the newly determined new device object/device object combination is used to continue to provide service information for the user object under the new service type.
[0330] When it is determined in step S2206 that the device object has been added, since it has no influence on the current service information provision, the processing ends. However, those skilled in the art can understand that when a device object is added, the negotiation part 1802 can also re-determine a service type for the user object based on the added device object to enhance the quality of service.
[0331] When it is determined in step S2206 that the preference information of the user object has been changed, proceed to step S2224 to determine whether the change will affect the selection of the device object/device object combination currently receiving service information. When it does not affect, the processing ends. Otherwise, proceed to step S2210 for subsequent processing.
[0332] Therefore, the virtual device of the present invention can adjust the service provision method according to the user's perception of network information changes, thereby providing a more flexible information provision method that dynamically adapts to the user's immediate environment or immediate needs.
[0333] The virtual device of the present invention can also select an appropriate information presentation form for the user and present it to the user for the service information actively sent to the user by the service provider side.
[0334] Figure 23 Shows the processing flowchart of the service information sent by the service provider to the user.
[0335] First, in step S2300, the service provider sends a notification to the negotiating part 1802, notifying that service information is to be sent to the user object, and sends the service type that it can provide and the corresponding device object capability requirement information to the negotiating part 1802.
[0336] In step S2302, in response to receiving the notification, the negotiating part 1802 requests the monitoring part 1806 through the control part 1804 to send perceptual network information about the user object,
[0337] In step S2304, in response to receiving the request, the monitoring part 1806 obtains each available device object information and/or user object information from the perception network of the user object through the interface part 1810. Then, the acquired device object information is sent to the negotiation section 1802 through the control section 1804.
[0338] In step S2306, the negotiating part 1802 selects a service type suitable for the capabilities of the available device object from the service types provided by the service provider based on the device object information received from the monitoring part 1806, and compares the selected The service type is notified to the service provider.
[0339] Optionally, in the above selection process, the service type can be determined by referring to the user's personal customization requirements.
[0340] For example, the currently available device objects can be further filtered according to the user preference information obtained by the monitoring part 1806 from the user object in advance or by asking the user for the device receiving the service. The preference information is, for example, what physical device the user prefers to use. Equipment to receive video services, what equipment to use to receive audio services, and so on. Then, according to the filtered basic information of the device object, a service type suitable for the capabilities of the filtered available device object is selected from the service types provided by the service provider.
[0341] Optionally, the negotiation part 1802 can select those service types that are suitable for the capabilities of the available device objects from the multiple service types provided by the service provider, and determine a service type by asking the user object, or by referring to For example, the user’s requirements for service in the preference information of the user object can further determine the service type.
[0342] Then follow Figure 21 The flow shown sends service information to the user object.
[0343] Figure 24 Shows another process flow chart of the service provider side sending service information to the user.
[0344] First, in step S2400, the service provider sends a notification to the negotiation section 1802 informing that the service information is to be sent to the user object.
[0345] In step S2402, in response to receiving the notification, the negotiating section 1802 requests the monitoring section 1806 through the control section 1804 to send perceptual network information about the user object,
[0346] In step S2404, in response to receiving the request, the monitoring part 1806 obtains each available device object information and/or user object information from the perception network of the user object through the interface part 1810. Then, the acquired device object information is sent to the negotiation section 1802 through the control section 1804.
[0347] In step S2406, the negotiating part 1810 sends the sensory network information received from the monitoring part 1806 to the corresponding service provider, and requests the service provider to determine according to the device information in the sensory network to satisfy one or more types of service information provided by it. Service type.
[0348] In step S2408, in response to the service type information received from the service provider, the negotiation part 1802 selects a service type for the user object, and notifies the service provider of the selected service type.
[0349] Optionally, in the above step S2406, the currently available device objects are further filtered according to the information obtained by the monitoring part 1806 from the user object in advance or by asking the user for the user's preference information for the device receiving the service. The capability information of the subsequent device object is provided to the service provider.
[0350]Optionally, in step S2408, the negotiation part 1802 may provide multiple service types provided by the service provider to the user object, and determine a service type by asking the user object, or by referring to, for example, the user object’s In the preference information, the user's requirements for the service are used to further determine the service type.
[0351] Then follow Figure 21 The flow shown sends service information to the user object.
[0352] Optionally, the virtual device of the present invention specifically sends each component of the virtual device and the interactive control information between the service provider and the user to a physical device of the user, and uses the physical device as the "remote control" for the user to control the service. ". Therefore, the control part 1804 of the present invention may include an unillustrated control information management part to send the control information sent to the user through an unillustrated control information interaction interface to the user specified by the virtual device or from the available virtual device. On the selected device among the devices, the user can operate all other devices through the control information displayed on the device. The control information sent by the user to the virtual device is also forwarded by the control information management part to the monitoring part, the negotiation part or the service processing part through the control information interaction interface.
[0353] Therefore, the virtual device of the present invention can also select an appropriate service type for the user according to the service information actively sent to the user by the service provider, and provide the service for the user.
[0354] It should be noted that the above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, and do not constitute a limitation to the present invention.
[0355] In addition, the above-mentioned operation procedures can be implemented in the form of a computer executable program stored in various media. These media include, but are not limited to: various memories and storage units, semiconductor devices, magnetic disk units such as optical, magnetic, and magneto-optical disks, and other media suitable for storing information.
[0356] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, for those skilled in the art, various modifications and changes can still be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without necessarily the essence and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is limited only by the appended claims.

PUM

no PUM

Description & Claims & Application Information

We can also present the details of the Description, Claims and Application information to help users get a comprehensive understanding of the technical details of the patent, such as background art, summary of invention, brief description of drawings, description of embodiments, and other original content. On the other hand, users can also determine the specific scope of protection of the technology through the list of claims; as well as understand the changes in the life cycle of the technology with the presentation of the patent timeline. Login to view more.
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Try Eureka
PatSnap group products