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US 2020/0089637 A1Published application
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ENABLING USB DEVICES TO OPERATE AS INTERNET OF THING (IoT) DEVICES BASED ON THING DESCRIPTION MODEL
AssigneeU-Thing Technology Limited
InventorWing Hon Ng
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a system and method that utilizes a central repository for storing and sharing Thing Description (TD) Documents with USB extensions that correspond to specific USB I/O schema. A Network Interface Module uses the USB I/O vendor and product identifications to query the central repository and download the appropriate Thing Description (TD) document for the specific USB I/O device. The Network Interface Module parses the TD document and builds the appropriate Web of Things (WoT) data architecture that establishes the interface between the network and the USB I/O device thereby allowing the USB I/O device to become an IoT device.
Claims16
A method of enabling a USB I/O device to operate as an IoT device, comprising:
- providing a USB I/O device;
- providing a network interface module having a USB signal port, wherein the USB I/O device is plugged into the USB signal port, the network interface module further comprising an interface in data communication with a network, USB host controller circuitry, a USB communication interface in data communication with the USB host controller circuitry and logic circuitry that is in data communication with the USB communication interface and represents a Thing Interaction Model of the USB I/O device plugged into the USB signal port;
- providing a central repository that is in data communication with the Internet and which comprises a database having stored therein a plurality of Thing Description (TD) documents with specific USB extensions, wherein each Thing Description (TD) document corresponds to a particular USB I/O device;
- acquiring, by the network interface module, the vendor and product identifications of the USB I/O device plugged into the USB signal port of the network interface module;
- querying, by the network interface module, the database of the central repository for the Thing Description (TD) document with specific USB extension that corresponds to the acquired vendor and product identifications;
- retrieving, by the network interface module, the Thing Description (TD) documents with USB extension that correspond to the acquired vendor and product identifications;
- and
- utilizing the retrieved Thing Description (TD) document and the logic circuitry of the USB host controller to construct communication pipes that are compatible with the USB I/O device plugged into the USB signal port and construct communication sockets that match the Thing Interaction Model of the USB I/O device plugged into the USB signal port.
5 more elements
A method of enabling a USB I/O device to operate as an IoT device, comprising:
- providing at least one USB I/O device;
- providing a local communication network;
- providing an IoT Network Gateway comprising a first interface in data communication with the Internet and a second interface in data communication with the local communication network;
- providing at least one Thin Interface Module comprising a processor, an interface in data communication with the local communication network and a USB signal port, wherein the USB I/O device is plugged into the USB signal port, the processor of the Thin Interface Module including firmware that implements USB enumeration of the USB I/O device plugged into the USB signal port, the Thin Interface Module including USB host controller circuitry, a USB communication interface in data communication with the USB host controller circuitry and logic circuitry that is in data communication with the USB communication interface and which represents a Thing Interaction Model of the USB I/O device plugged into the USB signal port;
- providing a central repository that is in data communication with the Internet and which comprises a database having stored therein a plurality of Thing Description (TD) documents with specific USB extensions, wherein each Thing Description (TD) document corresponds to a particular USB I/O device;
- utilizing the processor of the Thin Interface Module to execute an enumeration process of the USB I/O device plugged into the USB signal port in order to acquire vendor and product identifications of said USB I/O device;
- searching, by the IoT Network Gateway, the database of the central repository for the Thing Description (TD) document with specific USB extension that corresponds to the acquired vendor and product identifications;
- retrieving, by the IoT Network Gateway, the Thing Description (TD) documents with USB extension that correspond to the acquired vendor and product identifications;
- and
- utilizing the retrieved Thing Description (TD) document and the logic circuitry of the USB host controller circuitry to (i) construct communication pipes that are compatible with the USB I/O device plugged into the USB signal port and (ii) construct communication handles that match the Thing Interaction Model of the USB I/O device plugged into the USB signal port.
7 more elements
A system to provide document subscribers with access to stored Thing Description Documents with USB extensions, comprising:
- a central repository in data communication with network and comprising a database having stored therein a plurality of Thing Description (TD) documents with specific USB extensions, wherein each Thing Description (TD) document corresponds to the specific USB I/O device;
- a remote document subscriber interface module in data communication with the network and including a processor and data storage medium for storing vendor and product identifications for at least one USB I/O device, the processor including firmware that, when executed, (i) utilizes the vendor and product identifications to query the database of the central repository for a Thing Description (TD) document with specific USB extension that corresponds to the vendor and product identifications;
- and (ii) retrieves the Thing Description (TD) documents with USB extension that correspond to the vendor and product identifications.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.