System and method for communicating with security devices within secure networks

• US 10,419,484 B2
• Filed: 02/29/2016
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tyco Fire & Security GmbH (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics LLC (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Trani, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Paliwal, Yogesh
• Application Number:
  US15/055,973
• Publication Number:
  US 20170251021A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,296 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 11/00 Transmission systems employing sonic, ultrasonic or infrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0492 by using a location-limited connection, e.g. near-field communication or limited proximity of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A system and method for diagnosing and/or configuring a security device included within a secure network is disclosed. A technician mobile computing device maintains a data connection between the security device and a remote computer diagnostic workstation, where the computer workstation might send configuration commands to the security device and receives diagnostic data from the security device over the data connection. The technician mobile phone maintains the data connection by establishing a wireless data link to the security device and by encoding data onto and/or decoding data from a voice connection to a peer mobile computing device. A WiFi connection between the peer mobile computing device and the computer workstation then completes the data connection between the security device and the computer diagnostic workstation.

Claims

1. A system for enabling diagnosis and/or configuration of a security device on a secure network, the system comprising:

a computer workstation used for the diagnosis and/or configuration of the security device;

a technician mobile computing device that maintains a data connection between the security device and the computer workstation by establishing a data link to the security device and by encoding data onto and/or decoding data from a voice connection; and

a peer mobile computing device that communicates with the technician mobile computing device over the voice connection and encodes the data onto and/or decodes the data from the voice connection for the computer workstation, wherein the peer mobile computing device encodes the data onto and/or decodes the data from the voice connection via an audio transceiver dongle that enables audio coupling between a microphone input and a speaker output of the peer mobile computing device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the data link is a short distance wireless link.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the data link is a near field communications link or Bluetooth radio frequency link.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the security device is a network video recorder.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the security device is a security control panel.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the peer mobile computing device communicates with the computer workstation over WiFi.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer workstation receives data over the data connection from the security device for the diagnosis of the security device.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer workstation sends target commands over the data connection for the configuration of the security device.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the technician mobile computing device includes a first secure application program that encodes the data onto and/or decodes the data from the voice connection using frequency shift key modulation of an audible frequency carrier wave.

10. A system for enabling diagnosis and/or configuration of a security device on a secure network, the system comprising:

a computer workstation used for the diagnosis and/or configuration of the security device; and

a technician mobile computing device that maintains a data connection between the security device and the computer workstation by establishing a data link to the security device and by encoding data onto and/or decoding data from a voice connection;

wherein the technician mobile computing device encodes the data onto and/or decodes the data from the voice connection via an audio transceiver dongle that enables audio coupling between a microphone input and a speaker output of the technician mobile computing device.

11. A method for enabling diagnosis and/or configuration of a security device on a secure network, the method comprising:

establishing a data connection between the security device and a computer workstation by establishing a data link between a technician mobile computing device and the security device and establishing a voice connection between the technician mobile computing device and the computer workstation;

transmitting data and/or commands over the data connection between the security device and the computer workstation by encoding data onto and/or decoding data from the voice connection; and

the technician mobile computing device transmitting the data and/or commands over the voice connection via an audio transceiver dongle that enables audio coupling between a microphone input and a speaker output of the technician mobile computing device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the voice connection between the technician mobile computing device and the computer workstation comprises a peer mobile computing device communicating with the technician mobile computing device over a cellular network.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the peer mobile computing device communicating with the computer workstation over WiFi.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising the computer workstation receiving data over the data connection from the security device for the diagnosis of the security device.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising the computer workstation sending the commands over the data connection for the configuration of the security device.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the security device:

executing the commands sent by the computer workstation; and

sending the data for the diagnosis of the security device over the data connection to the computer workstation in response to executing the commands.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein encoding the data onto and/or decoding the data from the voice connection comprises a first secure application program of the technician mobile computing device using frequency shift key modulation of an audible frequency carrier wave.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the wireless data link between the technician mobile computing device and the security device comprises a Bluetooth connection.