Home automation identification system

• US 20010048373A1
• Filed: 01/17/2001
• Published: 12/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hydro-Comfort Corporation
• Original Assignee: Hydro-Comfort Corporation
• Inventors: Sandelman, David
• Application Number:
  US09/761,503
• Publication Number:
  US 20010048373A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/825.52
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• 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 61/5038 for local use, e.g. in LAN or USB networks, or in a controller area network [CAN]

Abstract

A system for identifying smart appliances in a given family of home automation. The system includes an inductive transceiver connected to an address register of an appliance and a portable inductive data holder also having an address register. The portable data holder is designed to be placed near one appliance having a transmitter so that the identification information of the first appliance may be inductively received into the address register of the portable device. When a new smart appliance is brought home and it is desired to incorporate the new appliance into the existing home automation system, the portable device is then held near the new device so that the address stored in the portable device'"'"'s address registered is inductively transmitted to the address register in the new appliance. The portable device acts like a “syringe” which “injects” the identification code of the first appliance into the second appliance.

Claims

1. A system for identifying the constituent smart appliances in a given home automation family, each of the smart appliances having an address register for containing identification information, the system comprising:

an inductive transceiver connected to an address register of a first constituent appliance, the address register having identification information; and

a portable inductive data holder having a portable address register adapted to be placed near said inductive transceiver,

wherein the identification information of the first constituent appliance is inductively received into said portable address register of said portable inductive data holder when said portable inductive data holder is placed near said inductive transceiver.

2. A system according to

claim 1

, wherein the identification information received into said portable address register is inductively transmittable to an address register of a second appliance when said portable inductive data holder is placed near a second inductive transceiver connected to a second address register of the second appliance, thereby making the second appliance a second constituent appliance.

3. A system according to

claim 1

, wherein said portable inductive data holder is hand-held.

4. A system according to

claim 2

, said portable inductive data holder comprises a first end, a second end, a receiver, and a transmitter, wherein said first end of said portable inductive data holder houses said receiver and said second end houses said transmitter, wherein both of said transmitter and said receiver are connected to said portable address register.

5. A system according to

claim 4

, wherein when said first end is brought close to said induction transceiver of an appliance, identification information is inductively transmitted from said inductive transmitter to said receiver and placed in said portable address register, and when said second end is brought close to said induction receiver of an appliance, identification information is inductively transmitted from said portable address register to an address register of the appliance via said transmitter and said inductive transceiver.

6. A system according to

claim 2

, wherein said portable inductive data holder further comprises a receiver, a transmitter, and a switch connected to said receiver and said transmitter movable from a first position to a second position for switching between a receiving mode and a transmitting mode, wherein when said switch is in said first position, said receiver is disabled and said transmitter is enabled allowing contents of said portable address register to be transmitted to an appliance, and wherein when said switch is in said second position, said receiver is enabled and said transmitter is disabled allowing the portable device to accept identification information from an appliance into said portable address register.

7. A system for identifying the constituent smart appliances in a given home automation family, each of the smart appliances having an address register for containing identification information, the system comprising:

a plurality of inductive transceivers each respectively connected to an address register of said appliances, the address register capable of receiving identification information; and

a portable inductive data holder having a portable address register adapted to be placed near said inductive transceiver, said portable inductive data holder including an inductive transmitter, said portable address register being pre-programmed at manufacture with an identification code in said portable address register,

wherein said identification code pre-programmed into said portable address register is inductively transmittable to an address register of an appliance when said portable inductive data holder is placed near a second inductive transceiver connected to a second address register of the second appliance, thereby making the second appliance a constituent appliance.

8. A home automation system comprising:

a plurality of smart appliances, each of said smart appliances respectively having an address register for containing identification information;

a plurality of inductive transceivers each respectively connected to one of said address registers; and

a portable inductive data holder having a portable address register adapted to be placed near each of said inductive transceivers,

wherein first identification information of a first of said appliances is inductively received into said portable address register of said portable inductive data holder when said portable inductive data holder is placed near said inductive transceiver.

9. A system according to

claim 8

, wherein said first identification information received into said portable address register is inductively transmittable to at least one of said address registers of at least a second of said appliances, thereby making said second appliance have the same identification information as said first of said appliances.

10. A system according to

claim 8

, wherein said portable inductive data holder is hand-held.

11. A system according to

claim 9

, said portable inductive data holder comprising a first end, a second end, a receiver, and a transmitter, wherein said first end of said portable inductive data holder houses said receiver and said second end houses said transmitter, wherein both of said transmitter and said receiver are connected to said portable address register.

12. A system according to

claim 11

, wherein when said first end is brought close to one of said induction transceivers of one of said smart appliances, identification information is inductively transmitted from said inductive transmitter to said receiver and placed in said portable address register of said portable inductive data holder, and when said second end is brought close to one of said induction receivers of one of said smart appliances, identification information is inductively transmitted from said portable address register to said address register of said one of said appliance via said transmitter and said inductive transceiver.

13. A system according to

claim 9

, wherein said portable inductive data holder further comprises a receiver, a transmitter, and a switch connected to said receiver and said transmitter movable from a first position to a second position for switching between a receiving mode and a transmitting mode, wherein when said switch is in said first position, said receiver is disabled and said transmitter is enabled allowing contents of said portable address register to be transmitted to one of said address registers of one of said appliances, and wherein when said switch is in said second position, said receiver is enabled and said transmitter is disabled allowing the portable device to accept identification information from one of said appliances into said portable address register.

14. A home automation system comprising:

a plurality of smart appliances, each of said smart appliances respectively having an address register for containing identification information;

a plurality of inductive transceivers each respectively connected to one of said address registers; and

a portable inductive data holder having a portable address register which is preprogrammed at manufacture with an identification code in said portable address register, said portable inductive data holder adapted to be placed near said inductive transceivers one at a time,

wherein said pre-programmed identification information is inductively transmittable to at least one of said address registers of said appliances, thereby making said appliances have the same identification information.

15. A method of maintaining the identity of constituent smart appliances each respectively having address registers in a home automation system, comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of inductive transceivers respectively connected to the address registers of the smart appliances;

providing a portable inductive data holder having a portable address register;

placing the portable data holder near one of the inductive transceivers; and

inductively transmitting the identification information of the first appliance into the portable address register of the portable inductive data holder.

16. A method according to

claim 15

, further comprising the step of inductively transmitting the identification information received into the portable address register to an address register of a second appliance.

17. A method according to

claim 16

, the portable inductive data holder having a first end, a second end, a receiver, and a transmitter, the method further comprising the steps of:

providing the receiver in the first end of the portable inductive data holder connected to the portable address register; and

providing the transmitter in the second end houses said transmitter connected to the portable address register.

18. A method according to

claim 17

, further comprising the steps of:

bringing the first end close to the induction transceiver of an appliance to initiate inductive transmission of identification information from the inductive transmitter to the receiver and thereby dispose the identification information in the portable address register; and

bringing the second end close to the induction receiver of the appliance to initiate inductive transmission of identification information from the portable address register to an address register of another appliance via the transmitter and the inductive transceiver and thereby dispose the identification code in the address register of the other appliance.

19. A method according to

claim 16

, the portable inductive data holder further being provided with a receiver, a transmitter, and a switch connected to the receiver and the transmitter movable from a first position to a second position for switching between a receiving mode and a transmitting mode, further comprising the steps of:

moving the switch into the first position to disable the receiver and to enable the transmitter allowing contents of the portable address register to be transmitted to an appliance; and

moving the switch into the second position to enable the receiver and to disable the transmitter allowing the portable device to accept identification information from an appliance into the portable address register.

20. A method of maintaining the identity of constituent smart appliances each respectively having address registers in a home automation system, comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of inductive transceivers respectively connected to the address registers of the smart appliances;

providing a portable inductive data holder having a portable address register;

pre-programming said portable address register at manufacture with an identification code;

placing the portable data holder near each of the inductive transceivers; and

inductively transmitting the pre-programmed identification code into each of the address registers of the appliances.