Patent ID: 8149095

Claim:
A gateway device connectable to a telecommunications network and an electronics appliance to be controlled, comprising: an input/output circuit for receiving information supplied over the network, and outputting information from the appliance to the network; a format converter for converting between first information in a first format handled by the network and second information in a second format handled by said gateway device; and a controller for converting the second information to control information for sending control commands to the appliance based on the control information, the control information corresponding to a communications protocol of the appliance, said controller comprising: a binder for binding information about the communications protocol, a driver, a control setting condition and a control status of the appliance, to each other; a memory for storing the information bound; and a converter having a first conversion function and a second conversion function, said first conversion function dynamically converting, based on the information stored in said memory, the second information to the control information that corresponds to the communications protocol of the appliance, said second conversion function converting information on the control status changed by control of the appliance to information of a predetermined protocol as response information to be outputted over the network.