Device automation using networked device control having a web services for devices stack

[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of: Provisional Patent Application No. 60/782,734 filed on Mar. 16, 2006, entitled AUTOMATION CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING A CONFIGURATION TOOL AND TWO-WAY ETHERNET COMMUNICATION FOR WEB SERVICE MESSAGING, DISCOVERY, DESCRIPTIONS, AND EVENTING THAT IS CONTROLLABLE WITH A TOUCH-SCREEN DISPLAY, to Seale MOORER et al.; Provisional Patent Application No. 60/782,596 filed on Mar. 16, 2006, entitled AUTOMATION CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING DIGITAL MEDIA STREAMING, to Seale MOORER et al.; Provisional Patent Application No. 60/782,598 filed on Mar. 16, 2006, entitled AUTOMATION CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING DIGITAL LOGGING, to Seale MOORER et al.; Provisional Patent Application No. 60/782,635 filed on Mar. 16, 2006, entitled AUTOMATION CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING A CONTROL PANEL, to Seale MOORER et al.; Provisional Patent Application No. 60/782,599 filed on Mar. 16, 2006, entitled AUTOMATION CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING A CONFIGURATION TOOL, to Seale MOORER et al.; Provisional Patent Application No. 60/782,600 filed on Mar. 16, 2006, entitled AUTOMATION CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING DEVICE SCRIPTING, to Seale MOORER et al.; Provisional Patent Application No. 60/782,634 filed on Mar. 16, 2006, entitled DEVICE AUTOMATION USING NETWORKED DEVICE CONTROL HAVING A WEB SERVICES FOR DEVICE STACK, to Seale MOORER et al.; Provisional Patent Application No. 60/782,595 filed on Mar. 16, 2006, entitled WIRELESS DIGITAL AMPLIFIER CONFIGURED FOR WALL MOUNTING, SHELF MOUNTING, AND THE LIKE, to Seale MOORER et al.; Provisional Patent Application No. 60/785,275 filed on Mar. 24, 2006, entitled AUTOMATION SYSTEM, to Seale MOORER et al.; Provisional Patent Application No. 60/793,257 filed on Apr. 20, 2006, entitled TOUCH SCREEN FOR USE WITH AUTOMATION SYSTEMS, to Seale MOORER et al.; Provisional Patent Application No. 60/747,726 filed on May 19, 2006, entitled COOLING DEVICE FOR A TOUCH SCREEN AND THE LIKE, to Seale MOORER et al.; Provisional Patent Application No. 60/746,287 filed on May 3, 2006, entitled HOME AUTOMATION SYSTEM AND THE LIKE, to Seale MOORER et al.; Provisional Patent Application No. 60/786,119 filed on Mar. 27, 2006, entitled HOME AUTOMATION PROGRAM CODE FOR SET TOP BOX OR SIMILAR CIRCUIT, to Steve CASHMAN; and Provisional Patent Application No. 60/857,774 filed Nov. 9, 2006, entitled PORTABLE MULTI-FUNCTIONAL MEDIA DEVICE, to Seale MOORER et al., all of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Further, this application is related to the following U.S. Patent Applications: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/686,826 entitled NETWORK BASED DIGITAL ACCESS POINT DEVICE, filed Mar. 14, 2007, to Seale Moorer, et al.; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/686,836, entitled INTERNET PROTOCOL BASED MEDIA STREAMING SOLUTION, filed Mar. 15, 2007, to Seale Moorer, et al.; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/686,896, entitled AUTOMATION CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING A CONFIGURATION TOOL AND TWO-WAY ETHERNET COMMUNICATION FOR WEB SERVICE MESSAGING, DISCOVERY, DESCRIPTION, AND EVENTING THAT IS CONTROLLABLE WITH A TOUCH-SCREEN DISPLAY, filed Mar. 15, 2007, to Seale Moorer, et al.; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/686,884, entitled AUTOMATION CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING DIGITAL LOGGING, filed Mar. 15, 2007, to Seale Moorer, et al.; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/686,893, entitled USER CONTROL INTERFACE FOR CONVERGENCE AND AUTOMATION SYSTEM, filed Mar. 15, 2007, to Seale Moorer, et al.; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/686,875, entitled AUTOMATION CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING A CONFIGURATION TOOL, filed Mar. 15, 2007, to Seale Moorer, et al.; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/686,889, entitled AUTOMATION CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING DEVICE SCRIPTING, filed Mar. 15, 2007, to Seale Moorer, et al.; which are all hereby expressly incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The invention is directed to multiple device control and convergence, and more particularly to multiple device addressing, discovery, description, control, eventing, and convergence in a Web Service environment of automations components that are for use in an automation environment.

[0004] 2. Related Art

[0005] Household, academic and/or business spaces now more commonly have more than one audio or video device such as CD/DVD player, portable MP3 player, tuner, preamp, power amp, speakers, VCR, DVR, computers running media players or connected to some other source of audio or video (e.g., Internet radio, satellite radio and the like), etc. Typically, a CD/DVD player from one company comes with its own remote control and an amplifier by an entirely different company comes with its own remote control. The same space may have a PC with its keyboard and mouse, and yet another company's portable MP3 player with its own control switches. While each audio device is doing precisely what it was designed to do, each operates completely independent from the others with the possible exception of the portable MP3 player that may be connected to a PC for synchronization. As a result, a user ends up going from one keypad to another or juggling a series of remote controls in order to control the devices.

[0006] Since these audio/video and similar devices are not designed to communicate with each other or their communication is very limited, access to these audio/video devices is limited by their physical locations. For example, it is difficult to play an MP3 file saved in a PC hard disk drive in one room or area (a child's bedroom) on speakers located in another room or area (an entertainment room). Thus, in order for a user to enjoy music of his or her choice whenever and wherever he or she wants, each room needs to be equipped with all the necessary audio/video equipment and digital audio/video content.

[0007] Also, the audio/video devices are not designed to communicate with other devices (e.g., TV, lighting, security system, etc.). Thus, it is difficult, if not impossible, to converge the devices for common control for certain occasions. For example, in order to watch a movie, the user must turn on a TV, a DVD player and an audio amplifier by using three different remote controls. Then the user must set the TV to receive a video signal from the DVD player, set the audio amplifier to receive an audio signal from the DVD player and use another control unit to adjust the lighting of the room. Even when a user utilizes a universal remote, as is known in the art, the result is a plurality of devices that are separately operated and are operated separately from a single universal remote. These devices do not converge as described above because the devices lack any ability to easily connect and effectively communicate with each other.

[0008] Accordingly, there is a need for a solution for the aforementioned accessibility, connectability and convergence issues to allow automation devices to connect and to communicate in an automation environment.

[0009] The invention meets the foregoing needs using an automation specific IP based automation protocol, which results in a significant increase in discovery and communications between devices and other advantages apparent from the discussion herein.

[0010] Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention, a process of operating an automation system in a Web Service environment includes the steps of providing at least one automation client and at least one automation device, the at least one automation client and the at least one automation device configured with a web services for devices stack protocol, connecting a network including at least one server with the web services for devices to the at least one automation client and the at least one automation device, and transmitting automation-based control and communication between the at least one automation client and at least one automation device, wherein the at least one automation client includes one of a TV, a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, a control panel, and a game controller and the at least one automation device includes an audio system, a video system, an intercom system, a lighting system, a security system, and a HVAC system.

[0011] The web services for devices stack protocol may include a logical interface with the at least one automation client, and the web services for devices stack protocol may include a web service for each at least one automation device. The web services for devices stack protocol may include a services tier that provides communication via at least one of HTTP and UDP wherein the communication via HTTP and UDP may include information contained in SOAP packets. The web services for devices stack protocol may include a service provider configured as a generic host for web services. The web services for devices stack protocol further may include an automation device bridge configured to translate commands for the automation devices. The web services for devices stack protocol further may include a component configured to host multiple services, and a controller configured to communicate with the at least one automation device. The controller may be configured to send feedback from the at least one automation device to the at least one automation client. The web services for devices stack protocol may be configured to communicate with the at least one automation device in a native format and the native format may include at least one of HTTP, TCP, UDP, and serial protocols. The web services for devices protocol may be configured to discover the at least one automation client and the discovery may include one of multicast announcements, multicast query requests, and unicast responses. The web services for devices protocol may be configured for description and the description may include at least one of WS-Metadata exchange, web services description language, and simple object access protocol/XML protocol. The web services for devices protocol may be configured for eventing and wherein the eventing may include at least one of web services description language for detailed events, a configuration for automation client subscription to events, and a configuration for the at least one automation device to push events to the at least one automation client.

[0012] Accordingly, in another aspect of the invention, a machine-readable medium including instructions stored therewith, which, when executed by a processor cause the processor to establish an automation system in a Web Service environment, the machine-reachable medium including instructions for providing automation-based control and communication between at least one automation client and at least one automation device, the at least one automation client and the at least one automation device configured with a web services for devices stack protocol configured to the at least one automation client and at least one automation device, and instructions for configuring a network including at least one server to be connected to the at least one automation client and the at least one automation device with the web services for devices, wherein the at least one automation client includes one of a TV, a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, a control panel, and a game controller and the at least one automation device includes an audio system, a video system, an intercom system, a lighting system, a security system, and a HVAC system.

[0013] The web services for devices stack protocol may include a logical interface with the at least one automation client, and the web services for devices stack protocol may include a web service for each at least one automation device. The web services for devices stack protocol may include a services tier that provides communication via at least one of HTTP and UDP wherein the communication via HTTP and UDP may include information contained in SOAP packets. The web services for devices stack protocol may include a service provider configured as a generic host for web services. The web services for devices stack protocol further may include an automation device bridge configured to translate commands for the automation devices. The web services for devices stack protocol further may include a component configured to host multiple services, and a controller configured to communicate with the at least one automation device. The controller may be configured to send feedback from the at least one automation device to the at least one automation client. The web services for devices stack protocol may be configured to communicate with the at least one automation device in a native format and the native format may include at least one of HTTP, TCP, UDP, and serial protocols. The web services for devices protocol may be configured to discover the at least one automation client and the discovery may include one of multicast announcements, multicast query requests, and unicast responses. The web services for devices protocol may be configured for description and the description may include at least one of WS-Metadata exchange, web services description language, and simple object access protocol/XML protocol. The web services for devices protocol may be configured for eventing and wherein the eventing may include at least one of web services description language for detailed events, a configuration for automation client subscription to events, and a configuration for the at least one automation device to push events to the at least one automation client.

[0014] Accordingly, in yet another aspect of the invention an automation system operating in a Web Service for Devices environment, includes at least one automation client and at least one automation device, the at least one automation client and the at least one automation device configured with a web services for devices stack protocol configured to provide automation-based control and communication between the at least one automation client and at least one automation device, and a network including at least one server configured to be connected to the at least one automation client and the at least one automation device with the web services for devices, wherein the at least one automation client may include one of a TV, a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, a control panel, and a game controller and the at least one automation device may include an audio system, a video system, an intercom system, a lighting system, a security system, and a HVAC system.

[0015] The web services for devices stack protocol may include a logical interface with the at least one automation client, and the web services for devices stack protocol may include a web service for each at least one automation device. The web services for devices stack protocol may include a services tier that provides communication via at least one of HTTP and UDP wherein the communication via HTTP and UDP may include information contained in SOAP packets. The web services for devices stack protocol may include a service provider configured as a generic host for web services. The web services for devices stack protocol further may include an automation device bridge configured to translate commands for the automation devices. The web services for devices stack protocol further may include a component configured to host multiple services, and a controller configured to communicate with the at least one automation device. The controller may be configured to send feedback from the at least one automation device to the at least one automation client. The web services for devices stack protocol may be configured to communicate with the at least one automation device in a native format and the native format may include at least one of HTTP, TCP, UDP, and serial protocols. The web services for devices protocol may be configured to discover the at least one automation client and the discovery may include one of multicast announcements, multicast query requests, and unicast responses. The web services for devices protocol may be configured for description and the description may include at least one of WS-Metadata exchange, web services description language, and simple object access protocol/XML protocol. The web services for devices protocol may be configured for eventing and wherein the eventing may include at least one of web services description language for detailed events, a configuration for automation client subscription to events, and a configuration for the at least one automation device to push events to the at least one automation client.

[0016] Additional features of the invention may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the invention and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the invention as claimed.

[0023] The embodiments of the invention and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of one embodiment may be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the invention. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the invention may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, the examples and embodiments herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the appended claims and applicable law. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

[0024] FIG. 1 schematically shows an overview of a convergence solution according to an embodiment of the invention. The convergence solution may be a combination of hardware and software. The hardware may include a server 10 connected to a network 12 (e.g. IP based wired or wireless network such as an Ethernet network) and may possibly be connected to the internet 14, devices 102 (e.g. audio 20, video 22, intercom 24, lighting 26, security system 28, HVAC 38, and the like) and clients 104 (e.g. TV 30, personal computer (PC) 32, personal digital assistance (PDA) 34, controller 36 such as a control panel, game controller (i.e. X-Box™, not shown) and the like). Moreover, the clients 104 may include a remote control 39 or a remote control may be configured to be a client 104. The server 10 may be any type of computer, such as a PC connected to the network 12. The clients 104 such as clients 30, 32, 34, 36 may provide a user with control over the devices 102 such as devices 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 38.

[0025] The software (i.e., application) enables the hardware such as the server 10, devices 102, and clients 104 to communicate with each other despite their different proprietary languages and communication protocols, and may provide the user with control over most or all the hardware from a single client. The application may utilize at least one portion of the hardware to send commands to the devices 102 and receive feedback from them. The application may integrate centralized device control into a PC based media environment (e.g., Microsoft Media Center™ environment) that may store, organize and play digital media content. The user may use the same remote control 39 to listen to music, watch and record television, enjoy family photographs and home movies, as well as adjust the lighting, secure the home, adjust the temperature, distribute music throughout the house, check surveillance cameras and the like.

[0026] The application may be implemented with Web Services. The Web Services use standard Internet protocol (IP) and are based on standard XML-related technologies such as SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) for communications and WSDL (Web Services Device Language) to describe interfaces. The devices implemented with Web Service for Device (WSD) become black boxes on the network, providing services to any application, on any platform, written in any language.

[0027] Alternatively or additionally, if the server 10 or the PC 32 is running a SideShow™ enabled operating system such as Microsoft Windows Vista™, the devices may be configured as a SideShow™ device or “gadget.” A SideShow™ device or gadget may communicate with any client or device implemented with WSD in the network via protocols according to SideShow™ XML communication specifications. Moreover, the server 10 or the PC 32 using Microsoft Windows Vista™ may be running a SideShow™ gadget application running on the Microsoft Windows Vista™ computer providing a user interface rendering for the device that communicates with automation control devices via WSD technology.

[0028] Alternatively or additionally, the WSD technology may be implemented using Device Profile for Web Services (DPWS). The DPWS may be used to define how various devices may be able to use Web Services in conjunction with the convergence solution noted above. The DFPWS further may allow and/or ensure interoperability between the various devices 102 and the clients 104 and the like. Moreover, the DPWS may allow for support of resource constrained devices within the convergence solution shown in FIG. 1. One benefit of DPWS is its ability to enable device and service discovery within the convergence solution of FIG. 1. The DPWS may allow for and support rich eventing, an end point, and may be built on standards and WS specifications. More specifically, the end point may provide device/host metadata. Additionally, the DPWS specifications may include HTTP, WSDL, SOAP, WS-Discovery, WS-Addressing, WS-Eventing, WS-metadata, transfer, and the like.

[0029] FIG. 2 schematically shows the Web Services for Devices (WSD) Stack for use in the convergence solution of FIG. 1, constructed according to the principles in the invention. The WSD stack as referenced herein refers to the protocol architecture. In particular, FIG. 2 shows the WSD Stack 200. The WSD stack 200 of the invention is a particular automation software implementation of a Web Services computer networking protocol suite. The individual protocols are designed with a single purpose in mind. Because each protocol module may only communicate with two others, the modules are commonly imagined as layers in a stack of protocols. The lowest protocol always deals with “low-level,” physical interaction of the hardware. Every higher layer adds more features. As described in greater detail below, the WSD Stack 200 allows and enables the discovery of devices in a network, such as the convergence solution of FIG. 1 and the devices on the network in a light weight, simple fashion. Using the WSD Stack 200, a device 102 in the network is able to send a message to determine what services are available enabling discovery of the device 102.

[0030] The WSD Stack 200 is the software that may be used to process protocols. The WSD Stack 200 is required to use a specific set of protocols. In particular, the WSD Stack 200 leverages Web Services for Devices to create a powerful, extensible system that may communicate with a wide variety of devices 102 described in greater detail above. As shown in FIG. 2, the WSD Stack is shown schematically at a high level. The WSD Stack 200 in FIG. 2 shows the communication to and from clients 104 at the top of the diagram via a logical interface and the various hardware devices 102 arranged at the very bottom of FIG. 2.

[0031] The logical interface initially communicates with and through the WSD Stack 200 via a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) as indicated by reference numeral 201. The HTTP enables data transfer and display of web pages and the like as is well known in the art. The UDP enables a direct way to send and receive datagrams on an IP network as is well known in the art. Accordingly, the clients 104 interface via the logical interface through one or both of the HTTP and UDP layers 201 to a service provider 202. For example, communication from the client 104 to the service provider 202 may be via the HTTP or UDP information and the communication may be contained in SOAP packets.

[0032] The service provider 202 may be configured as a large, generic host for web services. The service provider 202 may host one or more components 205 therein. A component 205 may have the ability to host multiple services. However, the component 205 may limit the relationship between a service and a device to a one-to-one relationship.

[0033] A further part of the component 205 is the web service 203. The web service 203 exists for each device 204. The web service 203 may be configured as a generic web service based on the device category. For example, a thermostat has a corresponding web service based on the HVAC category for example only.

[0034] Each web service 203 may be configured with a device bridge 204. The device bridge 204 may be configured to essentially translate commands by the physical devices 102. Accordingly, each device bridge 204 may be specific to the specific make of the physical device 102.

[0035] The service provider 203 may further include a controller 206. The controller 206 may be arranged to communicate with the devices 102. The controller 206 may be configured to have a ratio of one controller per component 205. The controller 206 may include the ability to send feedback from the devices 102 to the component 204. The component 204 may then route the feedback to the appropriate web service 203. Accordingly, this arrangement provides the ability for feedback from the devices 102 to various clients 104.

[0036] The service provider 202 next may communicate to the various physical devices 102 via one or more of a plurality of different communications protocol 207. In particular, the communications protocol with the devices 102 may include any type of native or proprietary format. Such native or proprietary formats may be sent via Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), or serial protocols. The TCP enables two hosts to connect. The serial protocol provides one or two way serial communication as is well known in the art.

[0037] Accordingly, the WSD Stack 200 creates a powerful and extensible system based on web services for devices. Moreover, the WSD Stack 200 may communicate with a wide variety of devices 102 as discussed in detail with respect to FIG. 1 above. Using the WSD Stack 200 allows network components to become “black box” components. This allows the various clients 104 and devices 102 to communicate in a clearly defined way without needing to know how they are accomplishing their various tasks. Using the WSD Stack 200 allows components to be implemented on any application running on any platform and written in any language. In essence, when the WSD Stack 200 is implemented, the network location and communications are handled by the platform, allowing application developers to focus solely on application problems. It should be noted that various modifications to the WSD Stack 200 are contemplated by the invention.

[0038] FIG. 3 shows a device bridge constructed according to the principles of the invention. With respect to FIG. 3, each service also contains a device bridge that translates any events to code needed by a specific device. This allows the application to communicate to the actual devices (or their corresponding controllers) in their native format. For this reason, each Web Service is depicted as containing a block of device-specific code (the bridge), that is, code that allows us to bridge non-standard devices to Web Service standards.

[0039] FIG. 4 shows a controller operating according to the principles of the invention. The Controller allows for programmatic communication with a physical device. The Controller sends commands that have come down through the Web Service/Device Bridge to the devices themselves. When a controller receives a command from a Web Service, it sends it to the correct device. When a Controller receives feedback or a message to return, it passes it back to the Component, which is responsible for routing the message back to the correct Web Service. A Controller can serve multiple Web Services. However, there is only one Controller per Component.

[0040] FIG. 5 shows a device life cycle operating according to the principles of the invention. In particular, FIG. 5 shows the various portions of the life cycle of a device networking using the WSD Stack 200 described above and shown in FIG. 2 in a device 102 as shown in FIG. 1 above. Initially, as shown in FIG. 5, the first step in a device 102 in its life cycle on the network: is discovery 302. Discovery 302 as used in conjunction with the WSD Stack 200 may use the WS-Discovery specification. The WS-Discovery specification may include multicast announcements, multicast query requests such as probe and probe match, and unicast responses. In this regard, a device 102 may probe a client 104 using the discovery networking life cycle 302 to receive a probe match from the client 104. In this regard, discovery of the device 102 by one or more clients 104 is straight forward and essentially automatic. More specifically, a device 102 may announce its presence as it is connected to the network 12. This announcement may be through a sending out of a hello or bye message by device 102 on to the network 12. Additionally, the device 102 may respond to a client 104 request including various probe and resolve type requests. A probe request may include the ability to identify a device or service within the client 104 or device 102. The resolve request may include the ability to locate a device 102 or service end point. The result is the ability to get or obtain information via metadata exchange during the discovery 302 process.

[0041] The next step in the networking life cycle of the WSD Stack 200 process includes the step of description 304. The step of description 304 may include a metadata exchange. This metadata exchange may be a response to a “get request.” The description step 304 may thus include the WS-Metadata exchange protocol and may moreover include the WSDL or SOAP/XML information exchange. The WSDL (Web Services Description Language) may be used in combination with the SOAP and XML schema to provide web services. A device connecting to the network 12 may read the WSDL to determine what functions are available on the network 12, clients 104 and the like. The SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a protocol that may be used for exchanging XML based messages over the network 12.

[0042] The next step in the networking life cycle shown in FIG. 5 is the step of control 306. In the step of control 303, control over a device 102 may be exercised by sending messages to the device 102 and/or services hosted by the device 102. The control 306 may be defined by the WSDL and XML schema. This definition of control 306 may ensure a common base line for interoperability.

[0043] Finally, the last step in the networking life cycle shown in FIG. 5 is the step of eventing 308. The eventing step 308 may include the WSD Stack 200 web service-eventing and may again use the SOAP/XML schema. In particular, the eventing 308 may allow for a rich eventing model. This model may allow for detailed events through WSDL. The eventing 308 may allow a client to subscribe to various events. Moreover, the eventing 308 may allow for the device 102 to push events to the clients 104.

[0044] Accordingly, the application as described above, may be implemented with Web Services for Devices and in particular the above noted WSD Stack 200. The Web Services for Devices (WSD) uses standard Internet protocol (IP) and may be based on standard XML-related technologies such as SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) for communications and WSDL (Web Services Device Language) to describe interfaces. The devices implemented with WSD Stack 200 become black boxes on the network, providing services to any application, on any platform, written in any language.

[0045] In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, the methods described herein are intended for operation with dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to, semiconductors, application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays, and other hardware devices constructed to implement the methods and modules described herein. Moreover, various embodiments of the invention described herein are intended for operation with as software programs running on a computer processor. Furthermore, alternative software implementations including, but not limited to, distributed processing or component/object distributed processing, parallel processing, virtual machine processing, any future enhancements, or any future protocol can also be used to implement the methods described herein.

[0046] It should also be noted that the software implementations of the invention as described herein are optionally stored on a tangible storage medium, such as: a magnetic medium such as a disk or tape; a magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk; or a solid state medium such as a memory card or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile) memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile) memories. A digital file attachment to email or other self-contained information archive or set of archives is considered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, the invention is considered to include a tangible storage medium or distribution medium, as listed herein and including art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which the software implementations herein are stored.

[0047] While the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of the appended claims. These examples given above are merely illustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs, embodiments, applications or modifications of the invention.