METHOD FOR MANAGING AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Description

Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of electronics. More particularly, the present invention relates to the interoperability of electronic devices to allow an electronic device to benefit from the functionalities of another electronic device, here called a terminal, having a means of restoring data for a user. State of the art

[0002] Some electronic devices, such as home gateways (or "Boxes" in English terminology), digital decoders (or "Set Top Boxes" in English terminology), connected household objects (refrigerators, electric heaters, etc.), have a small screen, or do not have one. It is therefore difficult to know their internal data (status, capacities, control modes, etc.) and to interact with them to control them.

[0003] There are solutions and associated standards for transferring a user interface from a device to a terminal in the context of the local network. For example, the RVU (Remote View) protocol, based on the UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) and DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) standards, which allow audiovisual content to be shared between content servers and terminals on a home network, provides technical specifications allowing faithful reproduction of user interfaces on the various devices on the network. For example, document US 2014 / 0108677 A1 describes a system in which a terminal on a local network can connect to a master device to receive a description of the device via a local network protocol (UPnP).

[0004] However, the aim of these solutions is to move the display of the device for monitoring, restitution or remote control (for example to control radiators, or the box, from outside the home, viewing audiovisual content on a PC, etc.), the mobile terminal and the device communicate via a communication network (local and / or wide area network). However, some devices are not connected to a communication network (for example, a refrigerator with "smart" capabilities may or may not be connected to the home's local network). For others, although they are connected to the communication network (for example, via a home gateway), it is not always desirable to control them or obtain their internal data via this network, particularly for reasons of simplicity: controlling a device on the local network requires knowing it (via, for example, a discovery step).

[0005] Moreover, this type of solution, which is highly distributed, often presents interoperability problems.

[0006] According to another example, application US 2002 / 0130834 describes a method allowing a user to control electronic devices via a terminal, for example a PC, equipped with a screen. The electronic devices are represented schematically on the terminal screen; when the user selects a device, its interface data is transmitted to the terminal and displayed on its screen by a simulation program, to allow the user to control the device. Such a system requires a step of discovering the devices, in order to be able to propose them to the user. This type of solution can present interoperability problems between the devices. In addition, the choice of the device to be controlled is made on the terminal, which requires intelligence (dedicated programs, etc.) and an additional load on this terminal, as well as a certain complexity for the user who must perform a number of tedious operations himself. This terminal-oriented approach is not always desirable.

[0007] It is also known to obtain such data automatically via a point-to-point wireless connection. Application WO2017055715 describes a method for local management of an electronic device by a terminal, in which the internal data of the device are automatically received by the terminal when the latter enters the range of the device. This solution has the disadvantage of possible false detection if the user involuntarily approaches his terminal to the device. To overcome this problem, the applicant proposes in one embodiment to detect a voluntary movement of the user. The analysis of this voluntary movement however requires the introduction of specific intelligence (software or hardware) on the side of the mobile and / or the device and sometimes remains difficult to detect reliably.Other examples of methods for managing electronic devices are known from patent applications US 2017 / 175317 A1, US 2014 / 087660 A1, EP 2 661 019 A2, as well as US 2016 / 226676 A1.

[0008] The invention offers a solution which does not have the drawbacks of the state of the art. The invention

[0009] To this end, according to a functional aspect, the invention relates to a method for managing a device capable of communicating with several user terminals, the terminals being capable of processing and restoring data associated with the device via a restoration application, the method being implemented by a processor, the method comprising, on the device, a step of transmitting to the terminals a command for activating the data restoration application, and in response to the transmission of the activation command, a step of receiving identity data from a terminal to validate the terminal's access to the device, and a step of transmitting said data to said terminal if the access is validated.

[0010] Today, mobile terminals ( smartphones,tablets, etc.) are equipped with a processor and comfortable rendering capabilities; they can be advantageously used for rendering, for example displaying, data from another device.

[0011] Data associated with the electronic device means all information relating to the configuration, status, statistics, and more generally all usage data of the device, accessible by the device. In particular, this data concerns user interface data, i.e. data which is returned to the user for the purpose of informing him of information (configuration, status, etc.) and, where appropriate, communicating with the device and making changes to some of this configurable data.This may be a text interface (using semi-graphic characters to display menus, dialog boxes, messages, or any other element intended for the user), a graphical interface (for which the objects to be manipulated are presented in the form of pictograms on which the user can imitate physical manipulations), a Web-type interface (a graphical interface of a Web application, manipulated using a Web browser), or a voice interface, etc.

[0012] This data associated with the device, which will be called in the following “user interface data” without loss of generality, can be stored in any memory of the device (internal RAM or ROM type, external in the network or on a USB key, etc.) Advantageously, the invention offers the advantage of activating an application on the terminal, from the device, to automatically display the interface data on the terminal.

[0013] Thus, according to the invention, it is the device that takes the initiative to launch the terminal application and send it the information that seems relevant; the intelligence, that is to say the choice of data to be transmitted, therefore remains on the side of the device. Advantageously, one can thus benefit from the same application for all the devices and the terminal behaves passively.

[0014] The invention also allows device manufacturers to avoid placing limited-capacity screens on or near devices, which leads to a reduction in production costs and environmental impacts of the device, while offering a better experience to the user by using a high-performance terminal available at home (smartphone, tablet, PC, TV, etc.).

[0015] According to a particular embodiment of the invention, a management method as described above is further characterized in that the step of transmitting said data is preceded by a step of establishing a point-to-point communication session with the terminal for the transmission of the data.

[0016] This embodiment of the invention ensures reliable management of the device: point-to-point communication limits knowledge of the data exchanged to the electronic device and the terminal. Advantageously, the device does not need to be connected to a local network. Advantageously, the data is not necessarily transmitted over a communication network but only exchanged between the two devices (terminal and device). Thus, the data exchanged over the point-to-point session cannot be intercepted by another device, which might be, for example, spying on the local network.

[0017] According to another particular embodiment of the invention, a management method as described above is further characterized in that the step of transmitting said data is preceded by a step of connecting the device and the terminal to the same local network used for transmitting the data.

[0018] This embodiment of the invention makes it possible to ensure simple management of the communication between the device and the terminal. Indeed, if the two devices are already connected, via a service gateway (Box) to the same local network, the data can be exchanged on this local network without any further step of establishing communication between the two devices. The data can simply be "pushed" to the target terminal of the local network, which is known to the electronic device and / or its gateway, or broadcast to several terminals.

[0019] According to another particular embodiment of the invention, a management method as described above is further characterized in that the step of transmitting an activation command is preceded by a step of obtaining a request for transmission of data associated with the device, said request resulting from an interaction between the user and the device.

[0020] Advantageously, this embodiment thus offers the advantage of transferring a user interface to such a mobile terminal (eg a smartphone) by simply performing an action on the device, this action causing the application to wake up on the terminal. It should also be noted that: In the context of the invention, it is not necessary for the device to be connected to the local network. Advantageously, the user is thus freed from a discovery step, since he only needs to perform an action on the device. In addition, the terminal and the device can be disconnected, during the implementation of the invention, from any communication network. It is also not necessary for the terminal to be located near the device. For example, one can imagine a tablet or a television screen placed in a room and capable of reproducing the user interface data of all the equipment in this room. The user only needs to perform an action on the device for its interface to be transferred to the tablet and / or the television.

[0021] According to another particular embodiment of the invention, which may be implemented cumulatively or alternatively with the previous ones, the method is characterized in that said interaction is an action on an actuator of the device.

[0022] By "actuator" we mean any part of the device which allows the received energy to be converted into useful work to perform the task of detecting an action on the device: button, cylinder, magnet, acoustic enclosure, thermometer, etc.

[0023] Advantageously, in this mode, a simple user action, for example pressing a button on the device, bringing a magnet near, etc., can trigger the preparation of the interface data. Many devices are already equipped with such buttons (for example, a Box includes a number of buttons on the front) and therefore do not require any hardware modification.

[0024] According to another particular embodiment of the invention, which may be implemented cumulatively or alternatively with the previous ones, the method is characterized in that said interaction is a detection of the presence of the user by a sensor of the device.

[0025] Advantageously, according to this mode, the simple fact of the user approaching the device can trigger the preparation of the interface data by activating a sensor (motion, presence, etc.). This can prevent the user from having to free up part of their body to press a button, for example.

[0026] According to another particular embodiment of the invention, which may be implemented alternatively or cumulatively with the previous ones, the method is characterized in that said interaction is a connection to a connector of the device.

[0027] Advantageously, according to this mode, the simple fact for the user to connect a cable, dongle, etc. on a connector (or port) of the device, provided for this purpose, can trigger the preparation of interface data. Such a connector may or may not be dedicated to this purpose. It could be, for example, a USB port of the device. Two variants may occur: either the user inserts a plug, dongle, cable, etc. into the USB port and thereby triggers the sending of data to a terminal, for example via Wi-Fi. or the user plugs in a cable connected to a terminal, and thereby triggers the sending of data to this terminal.

[0028] According to another particular embodiment of the invention, which may be implemented alternatively or cumulatively with the previous ones, the method is characterized in that said interaction is a recognition of a sound signature on the device.

[0029] Advantageously, according to this mode, the simple fact of the user pronouncing a voice command, or clapping his hands, clicking his tongue, etc. can trigger the preparation of the interface data after recognition of the sound signal thus generated by a module (microphone, etc.) of the device.

[0030] According to another functional aspect, the invention also relates to a method for processing data associated with a device capable of communicating with several user terminals, the terminals being capable of processing and restoring said data via a data processing application, the method being implemented by a processor and comprising on one terminal among said several terminals: a step of receiving a command to activate the data recovery application, followed by a step of sending identity data from the terminal to the device to validate the terminal's access to the device, followed by a step of obtaining said data from the device, if said access is validated; and a step of recovering said data.

[0031] By "activation" is meant here the launching of the application if it is not currently running on the terminal, and / or the bringing to the foreground of the application which is already instantiated (activated) in the background. Advantageously, the method according to this functional aspect brings to the foreground the interface processing application, which therefore takes the "focus", which will allow the user to become aware of the data and to be able to interact with the device.

[0032] According to a material aspect, the invention also relates to an electronic device capable of communicating with several terminals capable of processing and restoring data associated with the device via a restoration application, comprising: a module for transmitting to the terminals a command for activating the data recovery application; a module for receiving identity data from a terminal among said several terminals to validate the access of the terminal to the device; a module for transmitting said data to said terminal, said transmission module being configured to transmit said data to said terminal, if said access is validated, after transmission to the terminal of said activation command by said transmission module.

[0033] The term module can correspond to a software component as well as to a hardware component or a set of hardware and software components, a software component itself corresponding to one or more computer programs or subroutines or more generally to any element of a program capable of implementing a function or a set of functions as described for the modules concerned. In the same way, a hardware component corresponds to any element of a hardware assembly capable of implementing a function or a set of functions for the module concerned (integrated circuit, smart card, memory card, etc.)

[0034] According to another material aspect, the invention also relates to a home gateway comprising an electronic device as described above.

[0035] According to another material aspect, the invention also relates to a terminal for processing data associated with a device, comprising the following modules: a module for receiving an activation command for a data recovery application; a module for sending identity data from the terminal to the device to validate the terminal's access to the device; a module for obtaining said data from the device, said obtaining module being configured to obtain said data after receipt of said activation command by said receiving module if said access is validated; and, a module for restoring said data.

[0036] According to yet another material aspect, the invention relates to a system comprising an electronic device as described above and at least one terminal as described above.

[0037] According to another material aspect, the invention also relates to a computer program capable of being implemented for the management method as described above, the program comprising code instructions which, when the program is executed by a processor of the electronic device, carry out the steps of the management method.

[0038] According to another material aspect, the invention also relates to a computer program capable of being implemented for the processing method as described above, the program comprising code instructions which, when the program is executed by a processor of the electronic device, carry out the steps of the processing method.

[0039] This processing device and this computer program have characteristics and advantages similar to those described previously in relation to the method of managing an electronic device.

[0040] According to yet another material aspect, the invention relates to a recording medium readable by a data processor on which is recorded a program comprising program code instructions for executing the steps of a method as defined above.

[0041] The invention will be better understood from reading the following description, given by way of example and with reference to the attached drawings. The figures:

[0042] There figure 1 illustrates an example of an implementation environment according to a particular embodiment of the invention. The figure 2 represents a hardware architecture of an electronic device and a mobile terminal according to one embodiment. The figure 3 represents a flowchart illustrating the different steps of the method on the electronic device and on the mobile terminal which controls it, according to one embodiment. The Figures 4A, 4Billustrate an implementation of the invention on a “Livebox” type device. Detailed description of an exemplary embodiment illustrating the invention

[0043] The invention relates to the management of user data of any device by a terminal. By user data is meant in the broad sense all the internal data of the device. Hereinafter, the term HMI for Human-Machine Interface is used. By terminal, here is meant any electronic equipment capable of receiving an interface, for example graphical, and of rendering it for a user, to allow the user to become aware of the data of the device and possibly to interact on the device, for example to configure it. By domestic equipment, here is meant any device that allows a user to interact via an HMI (domestic gateway, STB, washing machine, refrigerator, etc.), in particular equipment that does not have a screen of sufficient size to display the required data.

[0044] There figure 1 illustrates an example of an implementation environment according to a particular embodiment of the invention. Such an environment comprises in particular an electronic device (6) and a terminal (4). According to this embodiment, the electronic device is for example a service gateway (6), the terminal a smartphone (4), and the user interface (HMI) to be transferred to the terminal is a gateway management interface.

[0045] The user wishes to receive the HMI data from the device on his terminal. To this end, he performs an action on the device, to request the restitution of the interface on his terminal. In one example, he presses a button on the device. In other examples, he can trigger on the device the recognition of a sound signature (voice, hand clap, etc.), touch it, brush it, trigger a sensor by his presence, connect a connector to a port of the device (USB serial port, Ethernet network port, telephone port, etc.), transmit a command to it from another device on the network, etc. In another example, a specific port (for example USB) can be dedicated to the transfer of interface data and the detection triggered by a terminal being connected to this dedicated port.

[0046] The device optionally checks that it is connected to the terminal, i.e. that it can exchange data with it. If this is not the case, the device may optionally request the establishment of a communication session with the terminal.

[0047] According to one embodiment, the device and the terminal are connected to the local area network (LAN), in which case the verification step can be omitted.

[0048] According to another embodiment, the device is not connected to the local area network (LAN), in which case a request can be transmitted to the terminal in order to implement the hardware and software means necessary to establish the communication.

[0049] Communication is established between the mobile terminal and the electronic device: the communication, which is also called a "session", symbolized by the double arrow (SP), is carried out in this example in bidirectional point-to-point mode. It can be based, for example, on different radio technologies and different protocols: communication in so-called "ad-hoc" mode between two devices equipped with a Wi-Fi function. In "ad-hoc" mode, also called "Wi-Fi-Direct" (WFD), and as opposed to "infrastructure" mode, wireless devices connect to each other in order to form point-to-point links ("peer to peer" in English), that is to say a network in which each device acts at the same time as a client and the role of a server, or access point. "Wi-Fi Direct" mode, also called Wi-Fi P2P (Peer to Peer), is a technology developed by the "Wi-Fi Alliance" consortium allowing the sharing of data between different devices (computers, TVs, mobiles, etc.) via their Wi-Fi connection without an intermediate Wi-Fi access point (router, gateway, etc.). For example, according to this embodiment, the terminal is configured to position itself in Wi-Fi mode (called “Hotspot”, i.e. it positions itself as a Wi-Fi access point).The electronic device, whose Wi-Fi module is also active, detects its presence and switches to "Wi-Fi direct", thus opening a session between the two devices. This embodiment provides the advantage of allowing the exchange of data via a secure channel. Wi-Fi technology is indeed, generally speaking, well known to those skilled in the art for its ability to offer good security on the channel if it is carefully configured. It is robust, reliable and fast. Bluetooth (BT) type communication; Bluetooth technology is a short-distance radio technology intended to simplify connections between electronic devices, developed by the "Bluetooth SIG" association. It is particularly widespread and useful for establishing a point-to-point connection between nearby devices. It is very simple to use, consumes little energy and is nevertheless secure.near field communication, for example NFC (Near Field Communication); these communications, based mainly on the ISO (International Standard Organisation) 14443 standard, use wireless technologies to enable the exchange of information between two devices located a short distance apart, typically less than ten centimetres. communication by wired link, for example via a USB or Ethernet cable, etc.

[0050] Alternatively, this channel can be established by any means available to those skilled in the art, whether wired or wireless. Examples include infrared (RF), the Zigbee protocol (a protocol that allows communication in local networks, over a radio link, with reduced power consumption), the “DECT Ultra Low Energy” standard (abbreviated as DECT ULE, an extension of DECT for low energy applications), or the “Bluetooth Low Energy” standard (abbreviated as BLE), the purpose of which is to provide reduced power compared to standard applications of the Bluetooth standard, the LTE (Long Term Evolution) protocol, etc.

[0051] This type of communication between the two devices is private, since it is established point to point, and it has a number of advantages, particularly in terms of security, but above all, it is not necessary for the equipment to be connected to a network.

[0052] According to another embodiment, the communication can use a local network to which the two devices are connected. In this case, the communication is no longer strictly "point to point" but remains established between a transmitter (the device) and a receiver (the terminal).

[0053] Alternatively, this channel can be established in broadcast or multicast mode: the device can easily broadcast its HMI to several terminals on the local network.

[0054] Alternatively, this channel can be set up in multiple mode: multiple devices (operated by the user) can broadcast their HMI to a terminal on the local network, for example a television screen whose screen would be split to allow the rendering of multiple HMIs from multiple devices.

[0055] Once the session is established, the electronic device can transmit data related to its HMI. The mobile terminal receives the data, activates the application, displays the interface to a user and waits for a possible command from the user (lower the temperature, change the gateway configuration, etc.)

[0056] At the end of the communication session, an explicit or implicit disconnection may take place. Disconnection is, for example, explicit in the case of a prior Wi-Fi connection, because the electronic device cannot connect both point-to-point in "Wi-Fi Ad-hoc" mode to the mobile terminal and in "Wi-Fi infrastructure" mode to a service gateway. It is therefore preferable to disconnect it. Disconnection is optional in the case of Bluetooth. Disconnecting two Bluetooth devices is generally implicit (if the two devices move away from a range greater than the maximum range allowed by the standard). It is also optional in the case of NFC because the electromagnetic field decreases with distance, naturally ending communication when the terminal is no longer within the device's range.

[0057] There figure 2represents a hardware architecture of an electronic device controlled by a mobile terminal and said mobile terminal according to one embodiment.

[0058] The terminal (4) conventionally comprises memories M articulated around a processing unit (UT) which comprises for example a processor (CPU, DSP, etc.). The memories can be of the ROM (Read Only Memory) or RAM (Random Access Memory) type, removable or fixed, etc. The RAM makes it possible to store in a non-durable manner calculation data used during the implementation of a method according to embodiments. The non-volatile memory (for example of the EEPROM type) makes it possible to store for example a computer program according to an embodiment for its execution by a processor. It communicates with the electronic device (6) via a communication module (COM1) which allows it to connect via a radio channel of the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (BT), NFC or Zigbee type (not shown), etc. or a physical link. As previously described in support of the figure 1, a communication channel (SP) is established according to this example between the two devices (4) and (6). Alternatively, multipoint communication from the device to several terminals could be envisaged. The terminal also includes, according to this example, an HTTP type communication module to ensure HTTP type communications, for example WebSocket (WS) type; it should be noted that WS type communication is possible on a Bluetooth link. It should also be noted that this module is optional and given here for information purposes only.

[0059] The P1 module, which can be software and / or hardware, is notably capable of carrying out the actions which will be described in support of the figure 3 , i.e., sending requests and commands to the electronic device and processing user interface data, in accordance with methods according to embodiments.

[0060] The A1 application module, which may be software and / or hardware, is capable of receiving a command from the device and, if necessary, launching the P1 management application upon receipt of this command. It may or may not be integrated into the P1 application.

[0061] In addition, the terminal comprises a user interface such as a keypad (not shown) for receiving commands from a user and a rendering unit, RESTIT (screen, display, speakers, etc.) for rendering the user interface of the electronic device.

[0062] All these modules communicate with each other conventionally via a data bus (13).

[0063] The electronic device (6) also comprises memories M articulated around a processing unit (UT) which comprises for example a processor (CPU, DSP, etc.). It connects to the mobile terminal via the SP link in Wi-Fi or Bluetooth mode, wired, etc. via its communication module COM2 capable of communicating with the previously described module COM1.

[0064] It also includes a module (P2) responsible for processing information: obtaining information relating to a user action on the device, establishing communication with the mobile terminal, receiving control commands or restitution requests from the mobile terminal, preparing (formatting, coding, etc.) the user interface data, transmitting the user interface to the terminal, etc.

[0065] It also possibly includes an HTTP type communication module.

[0066] All modules communicate with each other conventionally via a data bus (14).

[0067] There figure 3 represents a flowchart illustrating the different steps of the method according to an embodiment on the electronic device (6) and an example of a corresponding method on the mobile terminal (4).

[0068] It is recalled that the aim of the steps is to transmit the user interface (HMI) of the device to the terminal following an action by the user, for example pressing a button on the device.

[0069] The electronic device is activated by the user during step E10. For example, the user presses a button on the device.

[0070] An optional step E11 allows the device to transmit a connection request (REQ) to the terminal. This request is useful for establishing dedicated communication between the terminal and the device. It is optional insofar as the two devices may already be connected and able to communicate with each other, in particular if they are both connected to the local network. The terminal may optionally acknowledge the request received during a step E2. This step may be used in particular for mutual authentication of the two devices or any other security operation.

[0071] In the next step E13 (resp. E3 for the terminal), a communication session (SP) is established between the two entities. According to some examples, the channel used for communication is NFC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LI-FI (a data transmission technology by LED-type equipment), USB, etc. The communication can be established point-to-point between the terminal and the device via an ad-hoc mechanism (Bluetooth, ad-hoc Wi-Fi, LTE-type radio link, physical cable, etc.) or via the local network if the device and the terminal are connected to it. In both cases, it is a communication between a transmitter (the device) and a single receiver (the terminal). According to a variant, the communication is established in broadcast mode (in English Broadcast, or Multicast). For example, all terminals in the local network could receive a request to manage the interface of the device on which the action (pressing a button) was performed.

[0072] During a step E14, the electronic device obtains and prepares the user interface data, for example a graphical interface. Any means available to those skilled in the art may be envisaged, in particular reading from a memory of the device or preparing the graphical interface from basic data.

[0073] User interface (UI) data can be encoded using a markup language (XML, HTML) using semantics adapted to the description of user interface elements, before being transmitted to the terminal. This allows for the simple transmission of easily displayable data to the terminal, for example in the form of XML / HTML, etc. Data of this type can be interpreted by most existing norms or standards. It is also easier to adapt, with this type of data, to the terminal's capabilities.

[0074] The user interface data can be adapted according to the capabilities of the terminal. This implementation method makes it possible to adapt the graphical interface data to the capabilities of the terminal that will render them, for example in terms of display: if the terminal has a large screen, it can display more information that is intelligible to the user. If the terminal, on the other hand, has a small screen, it is advantageous to send it minimal data to be displayed. Such an adaptation method is well known to those skilled in the art, for example in the specifications of the aforementioned RVU standard. The capabilities of the terminal can, for example, be transmitted by it to the device during the step of establishing the communication session.

[0075] During a step E15, the electronic device transmits to the terminal a command to activate the data recovery application (P2).

[0076] Program A1 receives the activation command from the terminal. Program A1 is either a delegation program to a third-party application, here called P1, in which case A1 determines the terminal application (P1) to which the command corresponds, or program P1 is responsible for the processing itself.

[0077] Note that this A1 program can be part of the terminal's operating system (OS) or a dedicated program running on that OS.

[0078] Then a command from A1 activates and brings to the foreground, if applicable, the application P1 on the terminal. By "if applicable" we mean that if the application is already active in the background, the command causes it to transition to the foreground. If, on the other hand, the application has not yet been activated (or instantiated), it must be launched (or activated, or instantiated) in the usual way, then brought to the foreground.

[0079] For example, a foreground app has an active viewport that can be viewed and easily interacted with by the user. In other words, the foreground app "takes focus." It is able to render interface data and retrieve user actions on the mobile device (text entry, pressing buttons, lists, etc.).

[0080] This P1 application can be native or take the form of a browser. A native application is an application specifically designed to run on a user device operating system (Android, los, etc.) and a firmware(low-level software). Native applications therefore differ from browser-rendered applications, requiring elements or instructions downloaded from a web server each time they are instantiated or rendered. Browser-based applications and browser-rendered resources can be processed by all web-enabled devices in the browser and are therefore not operating system specific.

[0081] The activation step may include a sub-step of sending a terminal identity data for the purpose of identifying and / or authenticating the terminal (and thus validating the terminal's access to the device).

[0082] Then the interface data is transmitted to the terminal during a step E16. The terminal receives them during a step E5; it then processes this data during a step E6 and restores them: in this example, it displays the graphical interface on its screen (RESTIT). According to a variant, it can be a Web interface, a voice interface restored via a loudspeaker, etc. The data transfer can be done according to different protocols and formats, either standard (HTTP and XML type) or proprietary, with all possible levels of abstraction up to sending data in a buffer ("frame buffer") in raw form.

[0083] For example, the application is a browser and receives a web page in HTML format, consisting of buttons, lists, graphic elements, etc. with which the user can interact.

[0084] The terminal's processing unit optionally transmits one or more data (commands, information, etc.) during a step E7 (CMD), via its communication module. The device's processing module receives the data (E17) and performs processing to convert it into an effective action on the device (memorizing a new parameter value, lowering the temperature, modifying the Box's configuration, reducing the speed of a motor, etc.) during a step E18.

[0085] Once the user interface has been received and operated by the user, the point-to-point (SP) session can optionally be closed during a step E19 (resp. E8 on the terminal). Closing the session allows both devices to leave the point-to-point mode to establish, for example, another session.

[0086] THE Figures 4A and 4B illustrate an implementation of the invention on a “Box” type device.

[0087] On the Figure 4A, the user of smartphone 4, which he is holding in his hand in this example, wishes to retrieve information from Box 6 (status, programs, configuration, etc.). His smartphone has a screen which displays some application (here a numeric keypad).

[0088] On the Figure 4B , he presses a BTN button on the Box (for example the "info" button available on the front panel of the Orange operator's Livebox). The latter then transmits interface data to the terminal which brings the interface to the foreground after possibly activating / bringing to the foreground the interface processing application. The user can then interact with one of the applications offered on the screen (pictograms of the Figure 4b on the terminal screen 4) to find out the status of your box, communicate data or commands to it, etc.

[0089] It goes without saying that the embodiment described above has been given for purely indicative purposes and is in no way limiting.

Claims

1. Method for managing a device (6) that is able to communicate with multiple user terminals (4), the terminals being able to process and render data (IHM) associated with the device via a rendering application, the method being performed by a processor, the method comprising, on the device: - a step of transmitting to the terminals an activation command for activating the data rendering application (P2), - in response to the transmission of the activation command, a step of receiving an identity datum from one terminal in order to validate the terminal's access to the device, and - a step (E16) of transmitting said data (IHM) to said terminal if said access is validated.

2. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the step (E16) of transmitting said data is preceded by a step (E11, E12) of setting up a point-to-point communication session (SP) with the terminal in order to transmit the data (IHM).

3. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the step of transmitting said data is preceded by a step of connecting the device and the terminal to the same local area network used to transmit the data (IHM).

4. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the step (E16) of transmitting an activation command is preceded by a step (E10) of obtaining a request to transmit data associated with the device (IHM), said request resulting from an interaction between the user and the device.

5. Method according to Claim 4, characterized in that said interaction is an action on an actuator (BTN) of the device.

6. Method according to Claim 4, characterized in that said interaction is detection of the presence of the user by a sensor of the device.

7. Method according to Claim 4, characterized in that said interaction is connection to a connector of the device.

8. Method according to Claim 4, characterized in that said interaction is recognition of an audio signature on the device.

9. Method for processing data associated with a device (6) that is able to communicate with multiple user terminals (4), the terminals being able to process and render said data (IHM) via a data processing application, the method being performed by a processor and comprising, on one terminal among said multiple terminals: - a step of receiving an activation command for activating the data rendering application (P2), followed by a step of sending an identity datum from the terminal to the device in order to validate the terminal's access to the device, followed by a step (E5) of obtaining said data from the device if said access is validated; and - a step (E6) of rendering said data.

10. Electronic device (6) that is able to communicate with multiple terminals (4) that are able to process and render data (IHM) associated with the device via a rendering application, having: - a transmitting module for transmitting to the terminals an activation command for activating the data rendering application; - a receiving module for receiving an identity datum from one terminal among said multiple terminals in order to validate the terminal's access to the device; - a transmitting module (COM2) for transmitting said data (IHM) to said terminal (4), said transmitting module (COM2) being configured to transmit said data (IHM) to said terminal (4), if said access is validated, after the transmission of said activation command to the terminal by said transmitting module.

11. Home gateway having a device according to Claim 10.

12. Terminal (4) for processing data (IHM) associated with a device, having the following modules: - a receiving module for receiving an activation command for activating a data rendering application (P2); - a sending module for sending an identity datum from the terminal to the device in order to validate the terminal's access to the device; - an obtaining module (http, COM1) for obtaining said data from the device (6), said obtaining module being configured to obtain said data after said activation command is received by said receiving module if said access is validated; and - a rendering module (RESTIT) for rendering said data.

13. System comprising an electronic device according to Claim 10 and at least one terminal according to Claim 12.

14. Computer program comprising code instructions for performing the method for managing an electronic device according to Claim 1 when said program is executed by a processor of the electronic device.

15. Computer program comprising code instructions for performing the processing method according to Claim 9 when said program is executed by a processor of the terminal.