System, method and recording medium for doorbell control based on doorbell data and calendar data

• US 10,140,593 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2016
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: De Mel, Geeth Ranmal, Kozloski, James Robert, Pickover, Clifford A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ghulamali, Qutbuddin
• Application Number:
  US15/224,332
• Publication Number:
  US 20180033287A1
• Time in Patent Office: 851 Days
• Field of Search: 3406866
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1093 Calendar-based scheduling for persons or groups
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 3/10 using electric transmission; using electromagnetic transmission

Abstract

A doorbell control method, system, and non-transitory computer readable medium for a doorbell, include causing a doorbell to perform a differentiated action based on doorbell data and calendar data of an electronic calendar, and annotating the calendar with information based on an activation of the doorbell.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented doorbell control method, the method comprising:

causing a doorbell to perform both a differentiated action and emission of a noise based on the differentiated action that is emitted separate from the differentiated action, the differentiated action being performed based on a relationship between both doorbell data and calendar data of an electronic calendar;

annotating the calendar with information based on an activation of the doorbell; and

learning a new differentiated action to perform and a type of annotation for the calendar based on a second user action during a situation in a first user action according to the calendar data, the second user action occurring at a time temporally after the first user action.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the causing performs the differentiated action further based on user data and doorbell ringer data, and

wherein the annotating uses the doorbell data and the doorbell ringer data to annotate a time that the doorbell was activated, an identity of the doorbell ringer, a number of times the doorbell was activated, and a length of time that the doorbell ringer waited to be answered before leaving.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the diferentiated action comprises any of:

muting an audio of the doorbell;

changing a volume of the doorbell;

changing an audio characteristic of the doorbell;

converting an audio signal of the doorbell to a visual signal;

sending a signal to an Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled device to emit a notification;

sending a signal to a hearing aid; and

conveying an automated message to a doorbell ringer, and

wherein the information annotated on the calendar includes at least one of;

a mark or a symbol on the calendar at the appropriate date and time;

an indication of a number of times the doorbell was activated;

doorbell ringer data;

an audio message recorded and stored as an attachment on the calendar;

a video message recorded and stored as an attachment on the calendar;

delivery information; and

a photo of the doorbell ringer.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the differentiated action comprises causing the doorbell to emit an indication of a calendar-specific state based on the calendar data indicating a user response time to the activation of the doorbell.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the differentiated action comprises a proactive doorbell signal that is performed in advance of the doorbell ringer arriving at the doorbell.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein a timing of the proactive doorbell signal is based on a time until a doorbell ringer arrives at the doorbell according to doorbell ringer data and a tune for the user to arrive at the doorbell based on the calendar data and user data.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the time until the doorbell ringer arrives at the doorbell is within a predetermined threshold time of the time for the user to arrive at the doorbell.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the causing causes the doorbell to perform the proactive doorbell signal when the time until the doorbell ringer arrives at the doorbell equals the time for the user to arrive at the doorbell.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the causing causes the doorbell to perform a differentiated action comprising a proactive doorbell signal that activates the doorbell prior to a doorbell ringer arriving at the doorbell such that a user and the doorbell ringer arrive at the door at a same time.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein, if there are a plurality of doorbells, the annotated information comprises information on which doorbell was activated.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the annotating annotates a plurality of calendars with the information if owners of the plurality of calendars are associated with the doorbell.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising learning a user preference model based on the annotated information of the annotating and a user'"'"'s response to the annotated information to automatically change a next differentiated action caused by the causing when a new event occurs.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising learning the new differentiated action to perform and a type of annotation for the calendar for a cohort of users such that if the user is a part of the cohort, the causing performs the new learned differentiated action and the annotating annotates the calendar with the learned type of annotation for the cohort of users.

14. The method of claim 1, embodied in a cloud-computing environment.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium recording a doorbell control program for a doorbell, the program causing a computer to perform:

causing a doorbell to perform both a differentiated action and emission of a noise based on the differentiated action that is emitted separate from the differentiated action, the differentiated action being performed based on a relationship between both doorbell data and calendar data of an electronic calendar;

annotating the calendar with information based on an activation of the doorbell; and

learning a new differentiated action to perform and a type of annotation for the calendar based on a second user action during a situation in a first user action according to the calendar data, the second user action occurring at a time temporally after the first user action.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 15, wherein the differentiated action comprises a proactive doorbell signal that is performed in advance of the doorbell ringer arriving at the doorbell.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 16, wherein a timing of the proactive doorbell signal is based on a time until a doorbell ringer arrives at the doorbell according to doorbell ringer data and a time for the user to arrive at the doorbell based on the calendar data and user data.

18. A doorbell control system for a doorbell, said system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory, the memory storing instructions to cause the processor to perform;

causing a doorbell to perform both a differentiated action and emission of a noise based on the differentiated action that is emitted separate from the differentiated action, the differentiated action being performed based on a relationship between both doorbell data and calendar data of an electronic calendar;

annotating the calendar with information based on an activation of the doorbell; and

learning a new differentiated action to perform and a type of annotation for the calendar based on a second user action during a situation in a first user action according to the calendar data, the second user action occurring at a time temporally after the first user action.

19. The system of claim 18, embodied in a cloud-computing environment.