Slave Relay Station for Ubiquitous Appliance Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing universal remote control systems lack the ability to ubiquitously access and control appliances using personal communication devices within a wireless network, limiting their functionality and compatibility with diverse devices.
Innovation Solution
Implementing network-capable slave relay stations that serve HTML or WML formatted GUI pages, allowing devices like cellular phones and PDAs to control appliances by navigating to the relay station's network address, with dynamic GUI page selection and scaling based on the requesting device's capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If universal remote control systems use dedicated controlling devices with proprietary interfaces, then control functionality is reliable, but compatibility with personal communication devices is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The slave relay device is enhanced to perform multiple functions: it continues to receive commands from traditional universal remote controls while simultaneously serving as a web server that provides appliance control interfaces to personal communication devices. This multi-functionality allows the same device to support both proprietary remote control protocols and standard web browsing, thereby improving device compatibility without requiring separate dedicated hardware for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The slave relay device acts as an intermediary between personal communication devices and controlled appliances. It receives web requests from personal communication devices, translates them into appropriate control commands, and forwards them to the target appliances. This intermediary role enables compatibility between diverse personal communication devices and various appliances without requiring each device to have proprietary integration, thus improving adaptability while managing system complexity through a centralized mediation point.
2Ease of operation
If slave relay stations serve standardized web pages, then accessibility from personal communication devices improves, but control precision for specific appliances may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The slave relay device dynamically adjusts the level of detail and specificity in control commands based on the requesting device type and the target appliance. For simple appliances or basic operations, it uses standardized web interface commands for ease of access. For complex appliances requiring precise control, it translates web interface selections into detailed proprietary command sequences, thereby maintaining control accuracy while preserving accessibility through standardized interfaces.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system supports multiple device types with different capabilities, then versatility increases, but the interface complexity for each device type increases
Solution Approach 1:
The slave relay device implements a universal web-based interface that can be accessed by any personal communication device with a web browser. Instead of creating separate proprietary interfaces for each device type (smartphones, PDAs, tablets), it provides a single standardized HTTP interface that adapts to different device capabilities through standard web technologies, thereby supporting multiple device types without increasing interface complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses homogeneous HTML-based web pages as the control interface for all personal communication devices. By standardizing the interface format across all device types using universal web standards (HTTP, HTML), the system achieves consistency in interface structure while maintaining the ability to support diverse device capabilities, thus avoiding the need for multiple different interface implementations.
Data Source
AI summary
A slave relay station is adapted to serve and/or host pages comprising a simplified graphic user interface (GUI) encoded in a widely recognized format such as, for example, HTML, or WML. The GUI embodies activatable links corresponding to control functions for configured appliances. A wireless phone or other device with network access and the capability to process and present such pages, for example via a Web browser, may then be utilized to effect control of such appliances by simply navigating to the network address of the slave relay station, obtaining an appropriate GUI page, and interacting with the links.