Security system and method with modular display of information

• US 10,419,725 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2013
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tyco Fire & Security GmbH (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Tyco Safety Products Canada Limited (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Champagne, Luc, Brunet, Yanik
• Primary Examiner(s): Ng, Amy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wong, William
• Application Number:
  US14/098,962
• Publication Number:
  US 20140195952A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,111 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1968 Interfaces for setting up or customising the system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19682 Graphic User Interface [GUI] presenting system data to the user, e.g. information on a screen helping a user interacting with an alarm system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/14 Central alarm receiver or annunciator arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/16 Security signalling or alarm systems, e.g. redundant systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A user-centric management application system and method for a security system that conceptualizes the security devices and the tasks to perform on the security devices as separate objects with common properties and behavior. Operators of the system create abstract containers, called dockviews, which the operator adds objects to in order to perform specific tasks. Because the operator assigns user access to dockviews and objects, the system tailors system access for both application users and tenants of the security system based on policy objectives. Dockviews have the ability to open in separate application windows to support priority display and isolation of critical management tasks. The system provides integrated user administration, event management and reports capability, a consistent “look and feel,” and system-wide automated event notification via a watchlist window.

Claims

1. A method for presenting and displaying object information for objects in a security system, comprising:

displaying graphical user interfaces on user devices including mobile computing devices and security system workstations, the graphical user interfaces including dockviews as dockview graphical indicators, wherein the dockview graphical indicators are thumbnails that represent a different one of the dockviews, and wherein the thumbnails include names for the dockviews;

adding objects of the security system to the dockviews in response to a user selecting object type icons associated with object types and dragging and dropping the selected object type icons to a drop region of the dockviews;

in response to a user dragging and dropping the selected object type icons to the drop region, creating object windows of the dockviews for presenting the object information for one or more objects of an object type associated with the dropped object type icons, wherein the object windows for different types of objects include different graphical elements based on unique configuration and display properties of the one or more objects;

creating object entry icons in response to a user dragging and dropping the selected object type icons to the drop region and associating the created object entry icons with particular objects of the security system in response to a user selecting the particular objects from a list;

modifying contents of the dockvews via open/close buttons of the dockvews, wherein, in response to user selection of the open/close buttons, the contents of the dockvews are displayed in a configuration screen;

assigning users to the dockviews in response to users selecting user assignment selectors of the dockview graphical indicators and providing the users assigned to the dockvews with access only to the dockvews to which the users were assigned and only to object information for objects included within the dockvews to which the users were assigned;

presenting dockviews in either a main window in a browser as non-embedded dockviews, or in a new window as embedded dockviews, in response to a user selecting embedded dockview selectors of the dockview graphical indicators;

in response to a user selection of embedded dockview selectors, presenting the non-embedded dockviews in the main window, wherein the non-embedded dockviews include a main menu toolbar of the graphical user interfaces, or presenting the embedded dockviews in a new window, wherein the embedded dockviews do not include the main menu toolbar but include open/close buttons;

moving new windows in which the embedded dockviews are presented across display devices of the user devices in response to user input;

displaying new windows in which the embedded dockviews are presented in response to selection of the new windows via a display manager of the user devices;

interacting, by objects of the embedded dockviews, with objects of other applications of the user devices, wherein the interacting includes interacting, by map objects of the embedded dockviews, with interactive map applications for location services and/or associating video streams presented by the embedded dockviews with emergency events tracked by call center applications by dragging and dropping the video streams of the embedded dockviews onto interfaces of the call center applications.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the dockviews in response to selection of the dockview graphical indicators representing the dockviews.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the dockview graphical indicators in a dockview matrix within the main window.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding dockviews to a featured dockview list of the graphical user interfaces by selecting a pinning selector of the dockview graphical indicators.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, by the dockviews, video streams from one or more security cameras, virtual maps of monitored areas within buildings, and user credentials associated with access cards, and reports that include event data sent from the objects of the security system.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying, by the dockview graphical indicators, object type overlays, each of which represents a different object type of the objects assigned to the dockviews associated with the dockview graphical indicators; and

displaying the object type overlays with transparency enabling an operator to determine a number of object type overlays.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the objects in the security system include door controllers, motion sensors, and fire/smoke detectors.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the dockview graphical indicators include object type overlays corresponding to object types currently assigned to particular dockviews represented by the dockview graphical indicators, and the object type overlays include object type icons representing the object types corresponding to the object type overlays.

9. A security system, comprising:

user devices, including mobile computing devices and security system workstations, including a display which displays graphical user interfaces, wherein the graphical user interfaces include dockviews as dockview graphical indicators, wherein the dockview graphical indicators are thumbnails that represent a different one of the dockviews, and wherein the thumbnails include names for the dockviews,

wherein the user devices are configured to;

add objects of the security system to the dockviews in response to a user selecting object type icons associated with object types and dragging and dropping the selected object type icons to a drop region of the dockviews;

in response to a user dragging and dropping the selected object type icons to the drop region, create object windows of the dockviews for presenting the object information for one or more objects of an object type associated with the dropped object type icons, wherein the object windows for different types of objects include different graphical elements based on unique configuration and display properties of the one or more objects;

create object entry icons in response to a user dragging and dropping the selected object type icons to the drop region and associate the created object entry icons with particular objects of the security system in response to a user selecting the particular objects from a list;

modify contents of the dockviews via open/close buttons of the dockviews, wherein, in response to user selection of the open/close buttons, the contents of the dockviews are displayed in a configuration screen,

assign users to the dockviews in response to users selecting user assignment selectors of the dockview graphical indicators and provide the users assigned to the dockviews with access only to the dockviews to which the users were assigned and only to object information for objects included within the dockviews to which the users were assigned;

present dockviews in either a main window in a browser as non-embedded dockviews, or in a new window as embedded dockviews, in response to a user selecting embedded dockview selectors of the dockview graphical indicators;

in response to a user selection of embedded dockview selectors, present the non-embedded dockviews in the main window, wherein the non-embedded dockviews include a main menu toolbar of the graphical user interfaces, or present the embedded dockviews in a new window, wherein the embedded dockviews do not include the main menu toolbar but include open close buttons;

move new windows in which the embedded dockviews are presented across display devices of the user devices in response to user input;

display new windows in which the embedded dockviews are presented in response to selection of the new windows via a display manager of the user devices; and

interacting, by objects of the embedded dockviews, with objects of other applications of the user devices, wherein the interacting includes map objects of the embedded dockviews interacting with interactive map applications for location services and/or associating video streams presented by the embedded dockviews with emergency events tracked by call center applications by dragging and dropping the video streams of the embedded dockviews onto interfaces of the call center applications.

10. The security system of claim 9, wherein in response to user selection of the dockview graphical indicators, the dockviews represented by the dockview graphical indicators are displayed.

11. The security system of claim 9, wherein the dockview graphical indicators are displayed in a dockview matrix within the main window.

12. The security system of claim 9, wherein the user devices are further configured to:

add dockviews to a featured dockview list of the graphical user interfaces, in response to selection by users of a pinning selector of the dockview graphical indicators representing the dockviews.

13. The security system of claim 9, wherein the object information presented within the dockviews includes:

video streams from one or more security cameras;

virtual maps of monitored areas within buildings;

user credentials associated with access cards; and

reports that include event data sent from the objects of the security system.

14. The security system of claim 9, wherein the dockview graphical indicators display object type overlays, each of which represents a different object type of the objects assigned to the dockviews associated with the dockview graphical indicators, and the object type overlays are displayed with transparency enabling an operator to determine a number of object type overlays.

15. The security system of claim 9, wherein the objects in the security system include door controllers, motion sensors, and fire/smoke detectors.

16. The security system of claim 9, wherein the dockview graphical indicators include object type overlays corresponding to object types currently assigned to particular dockviews represented by the dockvew graphical indicators, and the object type overlays include object type icons representing the object types corresponding to the object type overlays.