Method and apparatus for providing distributed control of a home automation system

• US 20030040813A1
• Filed: 05/22/2002
• Published: 02/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: C-Smart Corporation
• Inventors: Baker, Brian D., Gonzales, Greg, Swensen, Arlee C.
• Granted Patent: US 6,865,428 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/19
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 1/365 Bridging contacts
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 15/005 adapted for connection with printed circuit boards
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2814 Exchanging control software or macros for controlling appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving configuration of the network and network elements H04L41/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2821 Avoiding conflicts related to the use of home appliances cryptographic protocols H04L9/00; protocols for network security H04L63/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2823 Reporting information sensed by appliance or service execution status of appliance services in a home automation network device-related reporting H04L43/065; 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 12/2827 Reporting to a device within the home network; wherein the reception of the information reported automatically triggers the execution of a home appliance functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/20 End-user application control systems

Abstract

A method and apparatus for providing distributed control of a home automation system is provided. Each device participating in a home automation system is equipped with control logic for providing distributed control. Through the control logic, each device maintains scene definitions describing the state of the device for each scene in which it participates. When any device in the system receives a request to launch a scene, such as a button press on one of the devices, the device broadcasts a scene state change message to all devices within the home automation system. The scene state change message identifies to each device a particular scene that should be launched. Each device in the system receives the message and determines whether the device is a participant in the scene. If the device is a participant in the scene, the device adjusts its state according to a scene definition stored in the device associated with the scene. The device may adjust a controlled electrical load, such as a light, according to the scene definition by turning the load on, off, or setting the load to some intermediate value.

Claims

1. A method for providing distributed control of a home automation system having a plurality of devices, comprising:

receiving a request at one of said plurality of devices to configure said plurality of devices as a scene;

in response to said request, transmitting a scene state change message from said one of said plurality of devices to each of said plurality of devices;

receiving said scene state change message at each of said plurality of devices;

in response to receiving said scene state change message, determining at each of said devices whether said device is a subscriber to said scene; and

adjusting a state of each of said devices subscribing to said scene according to a scene definition corresponding to said scene stored in each of said subscribing devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said request to configure said plurality of devices as a scene comprises the selection of a trigger button located on said one of said devices.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said scene state change message comprises a house scene channel number.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining whether said device is a subscriber to said scene comprises determining whether said house scene channel number is bound to a scene definition stored in said device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein adjusting a state of each of said devices subscribing to said scene comprises adjusting a load controlled by each of said devices.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein adjusting a load comprises turning said load on, or turning said load off, or setting said load to an intermediate value.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

determining whether said scene is currently active; and

in response to determining that said scene is currently active, transmitting a scene deactivate message in response to receiving said request to configure said plurality of devices as a scene.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

in response to receiving said scene deactivate message, determining at each of said devices whether said device is a subscriber to said scene; and

deactivating said scene at each of said devices subscribing to said scene.

9. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by microprocessor controlled device, cause the device to perform the method of any one of claims 1-8.

10. A microprocessor controlled device operative to perform the method of any one of claims 1-8.

11. A method for providing distributed control of a home automation system having a plurality of devices, comprising:

receiving an indication at one of said devices that said plurality of devices should be placed in a scene programming mode;

in response to said indication, transmitting a message from said one of said devices to each of said plurality of devices indicating that each of said devices should be placed in said scene programming mode;

receiving an indication that one or more of said devices should be included as a participant in a current scene; and

for each of said devices for which an indication is received that said device should be included as a participant in said current scene, storing at each of said devices a scene definition describing a state of each of said devices corresponding to said current scene.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving the selection of an indicator for launching said current scene; and

in response to said selection, assigning said indicator as a trigger for launching said current scene.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein assigning said indicator comprises:

binding a house scene channel number to said indicator; and

binding said house scene channel number to said scene definition stored at each of said devices participating in said current scene.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving the selection of an indicator for launching a previously created scene; and

in response to the selection of said indicator for launching said previously created scene, adding the participants in said previously created scene to said current scene.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said house scene channel number is identified by said one of said devices in the background.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving the selection of an indicator for launching said current scene comprises receiving the selection of a trigger button on one of said plurality of devices.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said indication that said plurality of devices should be placed in a scene programming mode comprises the selection of a setup button on one of said plurality of devices.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said indication that one or more of said devices should be included as a participant in a current scene comprises the selection of a load control button on said devices to be included as participants in said current scene.

19. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by microprocessor controlled device, cause the device to perform the method of any one of claims 11-18.

20. A microprocessor controlled device operative to perform the method of any one of claims 11-18.

21. A method for providing distributed control of a home automation system having a plurality of devices, comprising:

receiving an indication at one of said devices that said plurality of devices should be placed in a multi-way programming mode;

in response to said indication, transmitting a message from said one of said devices to each of said plurality of devices indicating that each of said devices should be placed in said multi-way programming mode;

receiving an indication that one or more of said devices should be included as a participant in a current multi-way; and

for each of said devices for which an indication is received that said device should be included as a participant in said current multi-way, adding each of said devices to said current multi-way;

receiving an indication that each of said devices in said current multi-way should be controlled be an indicator; and

binding each of said devices in said current multi-way to said indicator.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

receiving the selection of an indicator for controlling a previously created multi-way; and

in response to the selection of said indicator for controlling said previously created multi-way, adding the participants in said previously created multi-way to said current multi-way.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

locating at said one of said devices a network channel number for binding said devices to said current multi-way in the background.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein receiving an indication that one or more of said devices should be included as a participant in a current multi-way comprises receiving the selection of a load control button located on said one or more devices.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein receiving an indication that each of said devices in said current multi-way should be controlled be an indicator comprises receiving the selection of one of said load control buttons for a preset period of time.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein receiving an indication at one of said devices that said plurality of devices should be placed in a multi-way programming mode comprises the selection of a setup button.

27. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by microprocessor controlled device, cause the device to perform the method of any one of claims 21-26.

28. A microprocessor controlled device operative to perform the method of any one of claims 21-26.