IoT Interface Components for Unified Multi-Protocol Device Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
The diversity in IoT devices and protocols makes it challenging for users to design and implement a desired configuration of networked devices, requiring deep understanding of capabilities, functions, and attributes, and navigating through different communication protocols.
Innovation Solution
A unified control platform that uses interface components and manifests to translate device-specific events and commands into common events and commands, enabling interoperability and user-friendly configuration of IoT elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If diverse protocols and device-specific interfaces are used to support multiple IoT devices, then the system can support a wide variety of devices with different capabilities, but the complexity of configuring and controlling these devices increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a universal interface component as an intermediary layer between diverse IoT devices and the control system. This interface component translates device-specific protocols and commands into a unified set of common events and commands, eliminating the need for users to directly interact with multiple complex protocols. The intermediary handles protocol translation and abstraction, thereby maintaining device compatibility while reducing configuration complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal interface that serves multiple functions: it provides a standardized common interface for all IoT devices, translates various device-specific protocols into unified commands, and presents consistent event structures to the control system. This multi-functional universal interface replaces the need for multiple device-specific interfaces, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining broad device compatibility.
2Ease of operation
If users need to navigate through different protocols and understand detailed device capabilities to control IoT devices, then precise control can be achieved, but the ease of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual representation or copy of device capabilities through the interface component description. This description includes a capability set that mirrors the actual device capabilities in a simplified, standardized format. Users interact with this copied information through the universal interface, which provides sufficient device capability information for configuration without exposing the complexity of underlying protocols. This copying approach maintains ease of operation while preserving necessary device information.
3Ease of operation
If a unified interface is implemented to simplify device control, then ease of operation improves, but the ability to handle device-specific restrictions and capabilities may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the interface into two distinct parts: a universal common interface that provides standardized operations for all devices, and device-specific interface components that handle protocol translation and capability-specific logic. This segmentation allows the unified interface to maintain simplicity for common operations while delegating device-specific restrictions and capabilities to the appropriate interface components, thereby preserving operational accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The universal interface provides a partial set of common operations that work across all devices, while device-specific interface components provide additional specialized actions when needed. This partial action approach ensures that the unified interface remains simple for general operations while not compromising reliability by providing device-specific functionality only when required, avoiding unnecessary complexity for common cases.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to configuring and operating Internet of things (IoT) elements connected by a network. A computing device receives an interface component corresponding to an IoT element. The computing device retrieves a description of the interface component at least describing a set of restrictions of an operation of the IoT element. The computing device deploys the interface component in the computing device to at least translate events and commands specific to the IoT element to common events and commands for processing in the computing device. The computing device sends at least a subset of the description of the interface component to a user device to cause the user device to generate a user interface for configuring the operation of the IoT element.