Appliance Messaging System for Home Automation Coordination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing multiple electronic devices in a home environment is challenging due to the complexity of interactions and lack of coordinated control, leading to inefficiencies and user inconvenience.
Innovation Solution
An appliance messaging system that enables devices to communicate via short-range wireless networks or wired connections, allowing for event notifications and activity rules to be generated and executed across devices, thereby automating tasks and improving device coordination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If multiple electronic devices are connected in a home network, then device functionality and automation capability are improved, but system complexity and difficulty of management increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an appliance messaging system as an intermediary layer between multiple electronic devices. This messaging system provides standardized communication protocols and event notification mechanisms, allowing devices to interact automatically without requiring complex direct integration between each device pair. The messaging system acts as a mediator that simplifies the overall system architecture while enabling sophisticated automation scenarios.
Solution Approach 2:
The appliance messaging system implements a universal communication framework that can handle multiple types of device interactions through a single standardized interface. The event notification mechanism and activity rule engine provide multi-functional capabilities that work across different device types (appliances, entertainment systems, security devices), reducing the need for device-specific management approaches and simplifying user interaction with diverse device ecosystems.
2Ease of operation
If devices communicate through standardized messaging systems, then ease of operation and automation are improved, but communication infrastructure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The messaging system enables devices to autonomously publish events and subscribe to relevant notifications without requiring manual configuration of communication pathways. Devices automatically register their event types and can receive notifications from any device in the network, eliminating the need for users to manually set up communication routes between each device pair. This self-service approach simplifies user operation while the system handles the infrastructure complexity in the background.
3Productivity
If event notifications are sent to all devices in the network, then device coordination and automation capability are improved, but network traffic and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a subscription-based event notification model where devices only receive notifications for event types they have explicitly subscribed to, rather than receiving all events from all devices. This partial action approach ensures that each device processes only the relevant subset of events needed for its specific functions, reducing unnecessary network traffic and processing overhead while maintaining effective coordination for subscribed event types.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, performed by a computer device, may include receiving an event notification of an event type associated with a source device in an appliance network. The method may further include detecting an activity initiated by a user in connection with the event type associated with the source device; generating an activity rule that associates the event type with the detected activity; receiving another event notification for the event type associated with the source device; and executing another activity in response to the received other event notification, based on the generated activity rule.