Granted Patent B2

US 8,095,596 · App. 12/796,519 · Granted Jan 10, 2012

Abstract

Claims (94)

1. A method for managing communications in a local network using a local-networking gateway, the method comprising:

receiving, at a local-networking gateway located in a local network and from each of multiple devices located in the local network, an indication of at least one function capable of being performed by each respective device;

storing, at the local-networking gateway, the received indications of the functions capable of being performed by each of the multiple devices;

receiving, at the local-networking, a request from a requesting device located in the local network for performance of a particular function;

accessing, at the local networking gateway, the stored indications of the functions capable of being performed by each of the multiple devices;

determining, at the local-networking gateway and based on having accessed the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each of the multiple devices, that the particular function is not capable of being performed by any of the multiple devices;

selecting, at the local-networking gateway, in response to determining that the particular function is not capable of being performed by any of the multiple devices, from among a plurality of external devices, a first external device based on the first external device having characteristics of being: capable of performing the particular function, and available to perform the particular function, wherein the first external device is distinct from the local-networking gateway, external to the local network, and accessible to the local-networking gateway;

forwarding, from the local-networking gateway, the request for performance of the particular function to the first external device;

receiving, at the local-networking gateway, an indication that the first external device has performed the particular function requested by the requesting device located in the local network; and

sending to the requesting device, from the local-networking gateway to the requesting device, an indication that the particular function requested has been performed.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising accessing, at the local-networking gateway, a set of rules, wherein each rule in the set of rules associates a function with an identified capability.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein receiving the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each of the multiple devices comprises receiving the indications of the functions capable of being performed based on the accessed set of rules.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein selecting the first external device from among the external devices comprises selecting the first external device as capable of performing the particular function based on the accessed set of rules.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein forwarding the request for performance of the particular function to the first external device comprises establishing a communication session between the local-networking gateway and the first external device.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein forwarding the request for performance of the particular function to the first external device comprises rerouting the request from the local-networking gateway to the first external device.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

receiving the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each respective device comprises receiving at least on indication of a printing function;

receiving the request from the requesting device located in the local network for performance of the particular function comprises receiving a request from the requesting device located in the local network for printing of a file; and

receiving the indication that the first external device has performed the particular function requested by the requesting device located in the local network comprises receiving an indication that a printer of the first external device has printed the file.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

receiving the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each respective device comprises receiving an indication of a printing function;

receiving the request from the requesting device located in the local network for performance of the particular function comprises receiving a request from the requesting device located in the local network for printing of a file; and

receiving the indication that the first external device has performed the particular function requested by the requesting device located in the local network comprises receiving an indication, from a printing service website associated with the first external device, that the file printing requested by the requesting device located in the local network has been performed.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

receiving the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each respective device comprises receiving an indication of a photograph printing function;

receiving the request from the requesting device located in the local network for performance of the particular function comprises receiving a request from the requesting device located in the local network for printing of a photograph;

receiving the indication that the first external device has performed the particular function requested by the requesting device located in the local network comprises receiving an indication, from a photograph printing service website associated with the first external device, that the photograph printing requested by the requesting device located in the local network has been performed.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein forwarding, from the local-networking gateway, the request for performance of the particular function to the first external device comprises forwarding, from the local-networking gateway, the request for performance of the photograph printing function and at least one photograph to the photograph printing service website.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

receiving the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each of respective device comprises receiving an indication of a storage function;

receiving the request from the requesting device located in the local network for performance of the particular function comprises receiving a request from the requesting device located in the local network for storage of a file; and

receiving the indication that the first external device has performed the particular function requested by the requesting device located in the local network comprises receiving an indication that a storage device associated with the first external device has stored the file and an identifier of the location where the file has been stored.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein forwarding, from the local-networking gateway, the request for performance of the particular function to the first external device comprises forwarding, from the local-networking gateway, the request for performance of the storage function and the file to the storage device.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

receiving the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each respective device comprises receiving an indication of a storage function;

receiving the request from the requesting device located in the local network for performance of the particular function comprises receiving a request from the requesting device located in the local network for storage of a file; and

receiving the indication that the first external device has performed the particular function requested by the requesting device located in the local network comprises receiving an indication, from a storage service website associated with the first external device, that the file storing requested by the requesting device located in the local network has been performed and a Uniform Resource Locator of the location where the file has been stored.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

receiving the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each respective device comprises receiving an indication of a photograph storage function capable of being performed by one of the multiple devices;

receiving the request from the requesting device located in the local network for performance of the particular function comprises receiving a request from the requesting device located in the local network for storage of a photograph; and

receiving the indication that the first external device has performed the particular function requested by the requesting device located in the local network comprises receiving an indication, from a photograph storage service website associated with the first external device, that the photograph storing requested by the requesting device located in the local network has been performed and a Uniform Resource Locator of the location where the photograph has been stored.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein forwarding, from the local-networking gateway, the request for performance of the particular function to the first external device comprises forwarding, from the local-networking gateway, the request for storing the photograph and the photograph to the photograph storage service website.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

receiving the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each respective device comprises receiving an indication of a sound recording retrieval function capable of being performed by one of the multiple devices;

receiving the request from the requesting device located in the local network for performance of the particular function comprises receiving a request from the requesting device located in the local network for retrieval of a sound recording;

receiving the indication that the first external device has performed the particular function requested by the requesting device located in the local network comprises receiving an indication that a sound recording storage device associated with the first external device has retrieved the sound recording requested by the requesting device located in the local network and the retrieved sound recording.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

receiving the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each respective device comprises receiving an indication of a movie retrieval function capable of being performed by one of the multiple devices;

receiving the request from the requesting device located in the local network for performance of the particular function comprises receiving a request from the requesting device located in the local network for retrieval of a movie; and

receiving the indication that the first external device has performed the particular function requested by the requesting device located in the local network comprises receiving an indication that a movie storage device associated with the first external device has retrieved the movie requested by the requesting device located in the local network and the retrieved movie.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

receiving the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each respective device comprises receiving an indication of a sound recording retrieval function capable of being performed by one of the multiple devices;

receiving the request from the requesting device located in the local network for performance of the particular function comprises receiving a request from the requesting device located in the local network for retrieval of a sound recording; and

receiving the indication that the first external device has performed the particular function requested by the requesting device located in the local network comprises receiving an indication, from a sound recording retrieval service website associated with the first external device, that retrieval of the sound recording requested by the requesting device located in the local network has been performed and the retrieved sound recording.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

receiving the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each respective device comprises receiving an indication of a movie retrieval function capable of being performed by one of the multiple devices;

receiving the request from the requesting device located in the local network for performance of the particular function comprises receiving a request from the requesting device located in the local network for retrieval of a movie; and

receiving the indication that the first external device has performed the particular function requested by the requesting device located in the local network comprises receiving an indication, from a movie retrieval service website associated with the first external device, that retrieval of the movie requested by the requesting device located in the local network has been performed and the retrieved movie.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

receiving the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each respective device comprises receiving an indication of a photograph retrieval function capable of being performed by one of the multiple devices;

receiving the request from the requesting device located in the local network for performance of the particular function comprises receiving a request from the requesting device located in the local network for retrieval of a photograph; and

receiving the indication that the first external device has performed the particular function requested by the requesting device located in the local network comprises receiving an indication that a photograph storage device associated with the first external device has retrieved the photograph requested by the requesting device located in the local network and the retrieved photograph.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

receiving the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each respective device comprises receiving an indication of a photograph retrieval function;

receiving the request from the requesting device located in the local network for performance of the particular function comprises receiving a request from the requesting device located in the local network for retrieval of a photograph; and

receiving the indication that the first external device has performed the particular function requested by the requesting device located in the local network comprises receiving an indication from a photograph retrieval service website associated with the first external device that retrieval of the photograph requested by the requesting device located in the local network has been performed and the retrieved photograph.

22. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the first external device from among the external devices comprises:

identifying two or more external devices capable of performing the particular function requested by the requesting device;

receiving a priority indication for each of the two or more external devices, the priority indication indicating the priority of each external device to perform the particular function relative to others of the two or more external devices; and

selecting one of the two or more external devices having the highest priority.

23. A method for managing communications in a local network using a local-networking gateway, the method comprising:

receiving, at a local-networking gateway located in a local network and from each of multiple devices located in the local network, an indication of at least one function capable of being performed by each respective device;

storing, at the local-networking gateway, the received indications of the functions capable of being performed by each of the multiple devices;

receiving, at the local-networking gateway, a request from a requesting device located in the local network for storage of a file;

accessing, at the local networking gateway, the stored indications of the functions capable of being performed by each of the multiple devices;

determining, at the local-networking gateway and based on having accessed the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each of the multiple devices, that the storage of the file is not capable of being performed by any of the multiple devices;

selecting, at the local-networking gateway, in response to determining that the storage of the file is not capable of being performed by any of the multiple devices and without user intervention, from among a plurality of external devices, a storage device having characteristics of being: capable of storage of the file, and available to perform the function, wherein the storage device is distinct from the local-networking gateway, external to the local network, and accessible to the local-networking gateway;

forwarding, from the local-networking gateway, the request for storage of the file to the storage device;

receiving, at the local-networking gateway, an indication that the storage device has stored the file and an identifier of the location where the file has been stored; and

sending to the requesting device, from the local-networking gateway to the requesting device, an indication that the local-networking gateway has stored the file.

24. The method of claim 23 , wherein:

receiving the request from the requesting device located in the local network for storage of the file comprises receiving both the request for storage of the file and the file; and

forwarding the request for storage of the file to the storage device comprises forwarding both the request for storage of the file and the file to the storage device.

25. A method for managing communications in a local network using a local-networking gateway, the method comprising:

receiving, at a local-networking gateway located in a local network and from each of multiple devices located in the local network, an indication of at least one function capable of being performed by each respective device;

storing, at the local-networking gateway, the received indications of the functions capable of being performed by each of the multiple devices;

receiving, at the local-networking gateway and after forwarding the indications of the functions capable of being performed, a request from a requesting device located in the local network for retrieval of a media file;

accessing, at the local networking gateway, the stored indications of the functions capable of being performed by each of the multiple devices;

determining, at the local-networking gateway and based on having accessed the indications of the functions capable of being performed by each of the multiple devices, that the retrieval of the media file is not capable of being performed by any of the multiple devices;

selecting, at the local-networking gateway, in response to determining that the retrieval of the media file is not capable of being performed by any of the multiple devices and without user intervention, from among a plurality of external devices, a media file storage device having characteristics of being: capable of performing the retrieval of the media file, and available to perform the retrieval of the media file, wherein the media file storage device is distinct from the local-networking gateway, external to the local network, and accessible to the local-networking gateway;

forwarding, from the local-networking gateway, the request for retrieval of the media file to the media file storage device;

receiving, at the local-networking gateway, the media file; and

sending to the requesting device, from the local-networking gateway to the requesting device, an indication that the local-networking gateway has retrieved the media file even though the media file storage device retrieved the media file.

26. The method of claim 25 , wherein sending an indication to the requesting device, from the local-networking gateway to the requesting device, further comprises sending the media file.

Assignments (8)