Method and apparatus for controlling power to an electrical load based on sensor data

• US 10,326,678 B2
• Filed: 01/08/2013
• Issued: 06/18/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ubiquiti Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ubiquiti Networks, Inc. (Ubiquiti Inc.)
• Inventors: Frei, Randall W., Cheng, Linker, Pera, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chu, Alan
• Application Number:
  US13/736,872
• Publication Number:
  US 20140005851A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,352 Days
• Field of Search: 700295
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/10 Program control for peripheral devices G06F13/14 - G06F13/42 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/01 characterised by the transmission medium
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/281 indicating a format for calling an appliance service function in a home automation network for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2818 from a device located outside both the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless eletrical link G08C17/00; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with remote control systems H04M11/007
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2825 Reporting to a device located outside the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with telemetering systems H04M11/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/024 using relational databases for representation of network management data, e.g. managing via structured query language [SQL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/065 related to network devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/256 NAT traversal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2575 using address mapping retrieval, e.g. simple traversal of user datagram protocol through session traversal utilities for NAT [STUN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5061 Pools of addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 : involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 : Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 : Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 : Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 : Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/10 : Technologies improving the efficiency by using switched-mode power supplies [SMPS], i.e. efficient power electronics conversion e.g. power factor correction or reduction of losses in power supplies or efficient standby modes
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 : Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A load-controlling interfacing device obtains and processes event data, for example, from a touch-screen user interface and/or other devices, and that processes rules based on the event data to control an electrical load, such as a light fixture. During operation, when the interfacing device obtains event data, the interfacing device selects a rule to process based on the event data from the touch-screen user interface. If the interfacing device determines that the rule'"'"'s condition is satisfied, the interfacing device can process the rule'"'"'s action description to perform a corresponding action for controlling power to the electrical load.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

managing operations of a first interfacing device, wherein the first interfacing device comprises a memory, an alternating-current power terminal, a touch-screen user interface, and a non-volatile storage device;

receiving, at the first interfacing device from a local controller, a first rule for the first interfacing device defined by a user at the local controller;

in response to the first interfacing device receiving the first rule, storing the first rule in a rule repository in the storage device, wherein the first rule stored in the rule repository includes an action description for performing a first action that adjusts alternating-current power provided to an electrical load by the alternating-current power terminal, and wherein the first rule stored in the rule repository includes criteria that triggers the first action;

obtaining, from the touch-screen user interface, gesture event data that includes one or more events performed on the touch-screen user interface and a sequence of the one or more events;

determining, from the gesture event data, a gesture performed on the touch-screen user interface;

comparing the first rule'"'"'s criteria in the rule repository with the determined gesture to determine whether the first rule'"'"'s criteria are satisfied by the gesture performed on the touch-screen user interface; and

in response to the first interfacing device determining that the first rule'"'"'s criteria are satisfied by the gesture, executing the rule'"'"'s action description stored in the rule repository to perform the first action.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical load includes a light fixture.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the touch-screen user interface includes one or more of:

a capacitive-touch surface area;

a resistive-touch surface area;

a proximity sensor; and

a motion sensor.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the gesture event data from the touch-screen user interface indicates one or more of:

a portion of the touch-screen user interface that was touched by a local user;

a detected object within a determinable distance from the touch-screen user interface; and

a detected motion.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the gesture performed on the touch-screen user interface includes one or more of:

an upward finger swipe for increasing an intensity of the electrical load;

a downward finger swipe for decreasing an intensity of the electrical load;

a finger tap for activating or deactivating power to the electrical load; and

a finger tap for adjusting the electrical load'"'"'s intensity to a determinable level.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the gesture event data satisfies a data-subscription request from a second interfacing device; and

sending the gesture event data to the second interfacing device over a computer network, wherein the second interfacing device executes a second rule that is stored in a rule repository of the second interfacing device and is triggered by the gesture event data; and

wherein the second interfacing device is electrically coupled to a corresponding light fixture, and wherein the second interfacing device is configured to adjust power to the corresponding light fixture based on the gesture event data.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the data-subscription request indicates one or more of:

a sensor measurement from a touch-screen user interface;

a user gesture determined from the gesture event data;

a minimum threshold value for sensor data from a proximity sensor;

a minimum threshold value for sensor data from a motion sensor;

a maximum threshold value for sensor data from a proximity sensor; and

a maximum threshold value for sensor data from a motion sensor.

8. The method claim 6, wherein sending the gesture event data to the second interfacing device includes sending the data via a peer-to-peer network connection established with the second interfacing device.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising establishing the peer-to-peer network connection using one or more of:

a WebSockets protocol;

a communication channel via the Session-Traversal Utilities for Network-address-translation (STUN) protocol; and

a Comet protocol.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein a request for establishing the peer-to-peer network connection using the WebSocket protocol includes at least one of:

a WebSocket handshake request to upgrade a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) session to a WebSocket session; and

a Sec-WebSocket-Key token from the second interfacing device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein establishing the network connection using the WebSocket protocol further comprises:

storing the Sec-WebSocket-Key in association with the second interfacing device;

generating a Sec-WebSocket-Accept token for the interfacing device based on the Sec-WebSocket-Key; and

receiving, from the second interfacing device, a response which acknowledges a persistent WebSocket communication channel, wherein the response includes at least the Sec-WebSocket-Accept token for the interfacing device.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein establishing the network connection using the STUN protocol comprises:

receiving a binding request that indicates network-addressing information for the second interfacing device, wherein the network-addressing information includes at least one or more of a network address and a port number; and

storing the network-addressing information in association with the second interfacing device.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein establishing the network connection using the Comet protocol comprises:

receiving a long-polling request from the second interfacing device;

determining network-addressing information for the second interfacing device based on the long-polling request, wherein the network-addressing information includes at least one or more of a network address and a port number; and

storing the network-addressing information in association with the second interfacing device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first action includes one or more of:

activating power to the electrical load;

deactivating power to the electrical load;

modulating an amount of current provided to the electrical load;

sending an email message to a predetermined recipient;

creating a system alert;

generating an event for an event log; and

computing a data value based in part on the received gesture event data.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting a color of a light-emitting diode (LED) indicator to indicate one of:

a factory-default mode;

provisioning by a network controller which monitors or controls one or more interfacing devices; and

monitoring by the network controller.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method, the method comprising:

managing operations of a first interfacing device, wherein the first interfacing device comprises a memory, an alternating-current power terminal, a touch-screen user interface, and a non-volatile storage device;

receiving, at the first interfacing device from a local controller, a first rule for the first interfacing device defined by a user at the local controller;

in response to the first interfacing device receiving the first rule, storing the rule in a rule repository in the storage device, wherein the first rule includes an action description for performing a first action that adjusts alternating-current power provided to an electrical load by the alternating-current power terminal, and wherein the first rule stored in the rule repository includes criteria that triggers the first action;

obtaining, from the touch-screen user interface, gesture event data that includes one or more events performed on the touch-screen user interface and a sequence of the one or more events;

determining, from gesture event data, a gesture performed on the touch-screen user interface;

comparing the first rule'"'"'s criteria in the rule repository with the determined gesture to determine whether the first rule'"'"'s criteria are satisfied by the gesture performed on the touch-screen user interface; and

in response to the first interfacing device determining that the first rule'"'"'s criteria are satisfied by the gesture, executing the first rule'"'"'s action description stored in the rule repository to perform the first action.

17. The storage medium of claim 16, wherein the electrical load includes a light fixture.

18. The storage medium of claim 16, wherein the touch-screen user interface includes one or more of:

a capacitive-touch surface area;

a resistive-touch surface area;

a proximity sensor; and

a motion sensor.

19. The storage medium of claim 16, wherein the gesture event data from the touch-screen user interface indicates one or more of:

a portion of the touch-screen user interface that was touched by a local user;

a detected object within a determinable distance from the touch-screen user interface; and

a detected motion.

20. The storage medium of claim 16, wherein the gesture performed on the touch-screen user interface includes one or more of:

an upward finger swipe for increasing an intensity of the electrical load;

a downward finger swipe for decreasing an intensity of the electrical load;

a finger tap for activating or deactivating power to the electrical load; and

a finger tap for adjusting the electrical load'"'"'s intensity to a determinable level.

21. The storage medium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises:

determining that the gesture event data satisfies a data-subscription request from a second interfacing device; and

sending the gesture event data to the second interfacing device over a computer network, wherein the second interfacing device executes a second rule that is stored in a rule repository of the second interfacing device and is triggered by the gesture event data; and

wherein the second interfacing device is electrically coupled to a corresponding light fixture, and wherein the second interfacing device is configured to adjust power to the corresponding light fixture based on the gesture event data.

22. The storage medium of claim 21, wherein the data-subscription request indicates one or more of:

a sensor measurement from a touch-screen user interface;

a user gesture determined from the gesture event data;

a minimum threshold value for sensor data from a proximity sensor;

a minimum threshold value for sensor data from a motion sensor;

a maximum threshold value for sensor data from a proximity sensor; and

a maximum threshold value for sensor data from a motion sensor.

23. The storage medium of claim 21, wherein sending the gesture event data to the second interfacing device includes sending the gesture event data via a peer-to-peer network connection established with the second interfacing device.

24. The storage medium of claim 23, wherein the method further comprises establishing the peer-to-peer network connection using one or more of:

a WebSockets protocol;

a communication channel via the Session-Traversal Utilities for Network-address-translation (STUN) protocol; and

a Comet protocol.

25. The storage medium of claim 24, wherein a request for establishing the peer-to-peer network connection using the WebSocket protocol includes at least one of:

a WebSocket handshake request to upgrade a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) session to a WebSocket session; and

a Sec-WebSocket-Key token from the second interfacing device.

26. The storage medium of claim 25, wherein establishing the network connection using the WebSocket protocol further comprises:

storing the Sec-WebSocket-Key in association with the second interfacing device;

generating a Sec-WebSocket-Accept token for the interfacing device based on the Sec-WebSocket-Key; and

receiving, from the second interfacing device a response which acknowledges the persistent WebSocket communication channel, wherein the response includes at least the Sec-WebSocket-Accept token for the interfacing device.

27. The storage medium of claim 24, wherein establishing the network connection using the STUN protocol comprises:

receiving a binding request that indicates network-addressing information for the second interfacing device, wherein the network-addressing information includes at least one or more of a network address and a port number; and

storing the network-addressing information in association with the second interfacing device.

28. The storage medium of claim 24, wherein establishing the network connection using the Comet protocol comprises:

receiving a long-polling request from the second interfacing device;

determining network-addressing information for the second interfacing device based on the long-polling request, wherein the network-addressing information includes at least one or more of a network address and a port number; and

storing the network-addressing information in association with the second interfacing device.

29. The storage medium of claim 16, wherein the first action includes one or more of:

activating power to the electrical load;

deactivating power to the electrical load;

modulating an amount of current provided to the electrical load;

sending an email message to a predetermined recipient;

creating a system alert;

generating an event for an event log; and

computing a data value based in part on the received gesture event data.

30. The storage medium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises adjusting a color of a light-emitting diode (LED) indicator to indicate one of:

a factory-default mode;

provisioning by a network controller which monitors or controls one or more interfacing devices; and

monitoring by the network controller.

31. An apparatus operating as a first interfacing device, comprising:

a memory, an alternating-current power terminal, a touch-screen user interface, and a non-volatile storage device;

a rule-processing module configured to;

receiving, at the apparatus from a local controller, a first rule for the first interfacing device defined by a user at the local controller; and

in response to receiving the first rule for the first interfacing device, store a first rule in a rule repository in the storage device, wherein the first rule includes an action description for performing a first action that adjusts alternating-current power provided to an electrical load by the alternating-current power terminal, and wherein the first rule stored in the rule repository includes criteria that triggers the first action;

an event-monitoring module to;

obtain, from the touch-screen user interface, gesture event data that includes one or more events performed on the touch-screen user interface and a sequence of the one or more events; and

determine, from gesture event data, a gesture performed on the touch-screen user interface; and

wherein the rule-processing module is further configured to;

comparing the first rule'"'"'s criteria in the rule repository with the determined gesture to determine whether the first rule'"'"'s criteria are satisfied by the gesture performed on the touch-screen user interface; and

in response to determining that the first rule'"'"'s criteria are satisfied by the gesture, execute the first rule'"'"'s action description stored in the rule repository to perform the first action.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the electrical load includes a light fixture.

33. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the touch-screen user interface includes one or more of:

a capacitive-touch surface area;

a resistive-touch surface area;

a proximity sensor; and

a motion sensor.

34. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the gesture event data from the touch-screen user interface indicates one or more of:

a portion of the touch-screen user interface that was touched by a first user;

a detected object within a determinable distance from the touch-screen user interface; and

a detected motion.

35. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the gesture performed on the touch-screen user interface includes one or more of:

an upward finger swipe for increasing an intensity of the electrical load;

a downward finger swipe for decreasing an intensity of the electrical load;

a finger tap for activating or deactivating power to the electrical load; and

a finger tap for adjusting the electrical load'"'"'s intensity to a determinable level.

36. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

a data subscription module configured to determine that the gesture event data satisfies a data-subscription request from a second interfacing device; and

a communication module configured to send the gesture event data to the second interfacing device over a computer network, wherein the second interfacing device executes a second rule that is stored in a rule repository of the second interfacing device and is triggered by the gesture event data; and

wherein the second interfacing device is electrically coupled to a corresponding light fixture, and wherein the second interfacing device is configured to adjust power to the corresponding light fixture based on the gesture event data.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the data-subscription request indicates one or more of:

a sensor measurement from a touch-screen user interface;

a user gesture determined from the gesture event data;

a minimum threshold value for sensor data from a proximity sensor;

a minimum threshold value for sensor data from a motion sensor;

a maximum threshold value for sensor data from a proximity sensor; and

a maximum threshold value for sensor data from a motion sensor.

38. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein while sending the gesture event data to the second interfacing device, the communication module is further configured to send the gesture event data via a peer-to-peer network connection established the second interfacing device.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the communication module is further configured to establish the peer-to-peer network connection using one or more of:

a WebSockets protocol;

a communication channel via the Session-Traversal Utilities for Network-address-translation (STUN) protocol; and

a Comet protocol.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein a request for establishing the peer-to-peer network connection using the WebSocket protocol includes at least one of:

a WebSocket handshake request to upgrade a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) session to a WebSocket session; and

a Sec-WebSocket-Key token from the second interfacing device.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein while establishing the network connection using the WebSocket protocol, the communication module is further configured to:

store the Sec-WebSocket-Key in association with the second interfacing device;

generate a Sec-WebSocket-Accept token for the interfacing device based on the Sec-WebSocket-Key; and

receiving, from the second interfacing device a response which acknowledges the persistent WebSocket communication channel, wherein the response includes at least the Sec-WebSocket-Accept token for the interfacing device.

42. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein while establishing the network connection using the STUN protocol, the communication module is further configured to:

receive a binding request that indicates network-addressing information for the second interfacing device, wherein the network-addressing information includes at least one or more of a network address and a port number; and

store the network-addressing information in association with the second interfacing device.

43. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein while establishing the network connection using the Comet protocol, the communication module is further configured to:

receive a long-polling request from the second interfacing device;

determine network-addressing information for the second interfacing device based on the long-polling request, wherein the network-addressing information includes at least one or more of a network address and a port number; and

store the network-addressing information in association with the second interfacing device.

44. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the first action includes one or more of:

activating power to the electrical load;

deactivating power to the electrical load;

modulating an amount of current provided to the electrical load;

sending an email message to a predetermined recipient;

creating a system alert;

generating an event for an event log; and

computing a data value based in part on the received gesture event data.

45. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the user interface further comprises a light-emitting diode (LED) indicator;

and

wherein the apparatus further comprises a user-interface-controlling module configured to adjust a color of a light-emitting diode (LED) indicator to indicate one of;

a factory-default mode;

provisioning by a network controller which monitors or controls one or more interfacing devices; and

monitoring by the network controller.