Architecture for providing ubiquitous access to a home automation system

• US 10,209,693 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2018
• Issued: 02/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Savant Systems, LLC
• Original Assignee: Savant Systems, LLC
• Inventors: Welingkar, Bharat, Jacobson, Arthur A., Gloier, Matt N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Coyer, Ryan D.
• Application Number:
  US16/046,455
• Publication Number:
  US 20180335761A1
• Time in Patent Office: 208 Days
• Field of Search: 700275
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2807 Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving network analysis for automatically determining the actual topology of a network H04L41/12; hardware or software tools for network management using graphical user interfaces H04L41/22; address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2816 Controlling appliance services of a home automation network by calling their functionalities arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station; in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

An architecture that provides ubiquitous access to a home automation system utilizes both a home database and a configuration database maintained by remote cloud services. In one example embodiment, a system configuration of the home automation system is generated and maintained in a home database accessible on an in-home LAN. The home database is synchronized with a configuration database of cloud services over the Internet. User input is received in a home automation control UI indicating a change to one or more services or scenes provided by hardware elements of the home automation system. When there is connectivity between a device providing the home automation control UI and the in-home LAN, the system configuration in the home database is utilized to effect the indicated change. When there is no connectivity between the device providing the home automation control UI and the in-home LAN, the system configuration in the configuration database of cloud services is utilized to effect the indicated change.

Claims

1. A method for operating a home automation system of a home, comprising:

generating a system configuration of the home automation system;

maintaining the generated system configuration in a home database accessible on an in-home local area network (LAN);

synchronizing the home database with a configuration database of cloud services over the Internet;

receiving user input in a home automation control user interface (UI) indicating a change to one or more services or scenes provided by one or more hardware elements of the home automation system, the change to the one or more services or scenes including activating, deactivating or interacting with the one or more services or scenes;

when there is connectivity between a device providing the home automation control UI and the in-home LAN, utilizing the system configuration in the home database to effect the indicated change to the one or more services or scenes; and

when there is no connectivity between the device providing the home automation control UI and the in-home LAN, utilizing the system configuration in the configuration database of cloud services to effect the indicated change to the one or more services or scenes.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the system configuration comprises entities that represent and describe the hardware elements of the home automation system, rooms of the home with which the hardware elements are associated, and connections of the hardware elements.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the utilizing the system configuration in the home database and the utilizing the system configuration in the configuration database each comprise accessing the system configuration to determine information necessary to execute a control command that effects the indicated change to the one or more services or scenes.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the system configuration comprises:

determining capabilities of each of the hardware elements of the home automation system;

accumulating ordered lists of available capabilities along connection paths through the hardware elements of the home automation system; and

comparing accumulated ordered lists with a set of rules defining capabilities required to provide services.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the generating the system configuration further comprises:

based on matches from the comparing, determining a list of possible services that can be provided by the home automation system;

filtering the list of possible services based on user preferences, to produce a final list of services; and

storing information regarding the services of the final list of services in the system configuration.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a device that maintains the home database has been reset or replaced; and

restoring the home database of the reset or replaced device by synchronizing the home database with the configuration database of the cloud services.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the home database is maintained by a host controller in the home.

8. A method for operating a home automation system of a home, comprising:

maintaining a home database accessible on an in-home local area network (LAN), the home database storing at least state information indicating a present condition of one or more hardware elements of the home automation system;

synchronizing the home database with a configuration database of cloud services over the Internet;

displaying a home automation control user interface (UI) for activating, deactivating or interacting with the one or more services or scenes provided by the hardware elements of the home automation system;

when there is connectivity between a device providing the home automation control UI and the in-home LAN, providing a state change notification from a device maintaining the home database over the in-home LAN to update the home automation control UI; and

when there is no connectivity between the device providing the home automation control UI and the in-home LAN, providing a state change notification from cloud services to update the home automation control UI.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the device maintaining the home database is a host controller in the home.

10. A mobile device configured to operate with a home automation system in a home, comprising:

a touch sensitive display screen;

a processor; and

a memory storing software that is executable on the processor, the software including a mobile application (app) that when executed is operable to;

display a control user interface (UI) on the touch sensitive display screen;

receive user input in the home automation control UI indicating a change to one or more services or scenes provided by one or more hardware elements of the home automation system, the change to the one or more services or scenes including activating, deactivating or interacting with the one or more services or scenes;

when there is connectivity between the mobile device and an in-home LAN on which a home database is accessible, utilize a system configuration in the home database to effect the indicated change to the one or more services or scenes; and

when there is no connectivity between the mobile device and the in-home LAN, utilize the system configuration in a configuration database of cloud services to effect the indicated change to the one or more services or scenes.

11. The mobile device of claim 10, wherein the system configuration comprises entities that represent and describe the hardware elements of the home automation system, rooms of the home with which the hardware elements are associated, and connections of the hardware elements.

12. The mobile device of claim 10, wherein the mobile app when executed is operable to access the system configuration to determine information necessary to execute a control command that effects the indicated change to the one or more services or scenes.

13. The mobile device of claim 10, wherein the mobile app when executed is further when executed operable to:

generate the system configuration by determining capabilities of each of the hardware elements of the home automation system, accumulating ordered lists of available capabilities along connection paths through the hardware elements of the home automation system, comparing accumulated ordered lists with a set of rules defining capabilities required to provide service, based on matches from the comparing determining a list of possible services that can be provided by the home automation system, filtering the list of possible services based on user preferences to produce a final list of services, and storing information regarding the services of the final list of services in the system configuration.

14. A non-transitory electronic device-readable medium containing executable instructions to operate a home automation system of a home, the executable instructions, when executed by one or more processors of one or more electronic devices operable to:

generate a system configuration of the home automation system;

maintain the generated system configuration in a home database stored on a device in the home;

synchronize the home database with a configuration database of cloud services;

when a device providing a home automation control user interface (UI) is located in the home, utilize the system configuration in the home database to effect a change to one or more services or scenes provided by one or more hardware elements of the home automation system, the change to the one or more services or scenes including activating, deactivating or interacting with the one or more services or scenes; and

when the device providing the home automation control UI is remote from the home, utilize the system configuration in the configuration database of cloud services to effect the change to the one or more services or scenes.

15. The non-transitory electronic device-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the system configuration comprises entities that represent and describe the hardware elements of the home automation system, rooms of the home with which the hardware elements are associated, and connections of the hardware elements.

16. The non-transitory electronic device-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions when executed operable to utilize the system configuration in the home database and to utilize the system configuration in the configuration database each comprise instructions when executed operable to access the system configuration to determine information necessary to execute a control command that effects the indicated change to the one or more services or scenes.

17. The non-transitory electronic device-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions operable to generate the system configuration comprise instructions when executed operable to:

determine capabilities of each of the hardware elements of the home automation system;

accumulate ordered lists of available capabilities along connection paths through the hardware elements of the home automation system; and

compare accumulated ordered lists with a set of rules defining capabilities required to provide services.

18. The non-transitory electronic device-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions when executed operable to generate the system configuration further comprise instructions operable to:

based on matches from the comparing, determine a list of possible services that can be provided by the home automation system;

filter the list of possible services based on user preferences, to produce a final list of services; and

store information regarding the services of the final list of services in the system configuration.

19. The non-transitory electronic device-readable medium of claim 14, further comprising instructions when executed operable to:

detect a device that maintains the home database has been reset or replaced; and

restore the home database of the reset or replaced device by synchronizing the home database with the configuration database of the cloud services.

20. The non-transitory electronic device-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the home database is maintained by a host controller in the home.