Proxy Device for Cross-Tree HDMI MHL Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing home networks with multiple HDMI and MHL devices often prevent communication between devices from different trees, limiting control and data transfer due to protocol limitations such as CEC and RCP, which only operate within single trees and do not allow cross-tree communication.
Innovation Solution
A proxy device operates within a combined control protocol, enabling communication and control across different HDMI or MHL trees by acting as a gateway, forwarding commands and responses between devices using IP and HDMI/MHL protocols, allowing globally unique addressing and device discovery over a wireless network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If devices are connected within single HDMI/MHL trees using CEC or RCP protocols, then device communication and control within the same tree is enabled, but communication between devices from different trees is prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a proxy device as an intermediary component that bridges different HDMI/MHL trees. The proxy device receives commands from control devices on a first network, translates them into CEC/RCP commands, and forwards them to target devices on a second network. This mediator enables cross-tree communication without requiring all devices to understand multiple protocols simultaneously, thus resolving the contradiction between versatility and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The proxy device is designed with multi-functionality to operate across different network protocols. It can communicate with control devices using IP-based protocols while simultaneously interfacing with legacy CEC/RCP devices. This universal design allows a single proxy device to manage multiple devices across different trees, enhancing adaptability without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
2Ease of operation
If all devices must be protocol-capable for communication, then direct communication between devices is possible, but device control flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The proxy device serves as a protocol translation intermediary that allows control devices to communicate with target devices even when the target devices lack advanced protocol capabilities. The proxy handles protocol conversion and command routing, enabling flexible control of legacy devices without requiring them to support modern protocols, thus improving ease of operation while managing complexity centrally.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates virtual representations of physical devices through software-based device models. Instead of requiring physical devices to be protocol-capable, the system copies their functional characteristics into software abstractions that can be managed and controlled remotely. This allows control flexibility without increasing the hardware complexity of the devices being controlled.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the invention are generally directed to proxy device operation in a command and control network. An embodiment of a method includes discovering one or more devices in a first network at a proxy device, generating by the proxy device virtual devices representing the one or more devices, and advertising by the proxy device the one or more virtual devices on a second network. The method includes receiving by the proxy device a command for a first virtual device of the one or more virtual devices from a command device, the command device being outside the first network, the command being received via the second network, and the first virtual device representing a target device located in the first network. The method further includes forwarding the command to the target device via the first network.