Smart router for a guest room service and control system

• US 20040083128A1
• Filed: 07/23/2003
• Published: 04/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Inncom Intl Inc (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Inncom Intl Inc (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Franklin, Michael, Roosli, Philipp A., Buckingham, Duane W., Scott, Tulsa A.
• Application Number:
  US10/470,109
• Publication Number:
  US 20040083128A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00904 for hotels, motels, office buildings or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/10 Current supply arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• 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 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• 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 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A method of providing guest room services and guest room control in a building including a plurality of guest rooms includes: storing in memory a plurality of addresses corresponding to a plurality of guest room control devices, each guest room control device in the plurality of guest room control devices is a centralized electronic locking system component, a guest room energy management system component, a direct digital control system component, a minibar monitoring device, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing guest room control devices; selecting an address of a guest room control device from the plurality of addresses; encapsulating data in a first packet configured according to a packet switching protocol; indicating in the packet the address of the guest room control device; and sending the first packet to the guest room control device through a network.

Claims

1. A method of providing guest room services and guest room control in a building including a plurality of guest rooms, the method comprising:

storing in memory a plurality of addresses corresponding to a plurality of guest room control devices, each guest room control device in said plurality of guest room control devices is a centralized electronic locking system component, a guest room energy management system component, a direct digital control system component, a minibar monitoring device, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing guest room control devices;

selecting an address of a guest room control device from said plurality of addresses;

encapsulating data in a first packet configured according to a packet switching protocol;

indicating in said packet said address of said guest room control device; and

sending said first packet to said guest room control device through a network.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a second packet configured according to said packet switching protocol to a guest room service device through said network, said guest room service device is a computer, a voice over Internet Protocol phone, an Internet Protocol radio, a television signal converter, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing guest room service devices.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing in memory a plurality of medium access control addresses for room gateways located in said plurality of guest rooms;

selecting a medium access control address of a room gateway associated with said guest room control device from said plurality of medium access control addresses; and

indicating in said packet said medium access control address of said room gateway prior to said sending.

4. The method of claim 1, further including:

selecting an address of a second guest room control device from said plurality of addresses;

encapsulating a copy of said data in a second packet configured according to said packet switching protocol;

indicating in said second packet said address of said second guest room control device; and

sending said second packet to said second guest room control device through said network.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said data indicates an energy demand situation.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said first packet is provided by a property management system server.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said packet switching protocol is selected from a group including TCP/IP and UDP/IP.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

encapsulating data provided by said guest room control device in a second packet configured according to said packet switching protocol.

9. A smart router for a guest room control system, the smart router comprising:

a first port configured to be in operable communication with a computer network;

at least one processor in operable communication with said first port;

at least one memory device in operable communication with said at least one processor, said at least one memory device includes a network address table stored therein, said network address table indicates an address for a guest room control device in operable communication with said computer network, said guest room control device is a centralized electronic locking system component, a guest room energy management system component, a direct digital control system component, a minibar monitoring device, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing guest room control devices; and

wherein said at least one processor encapsulates data in a first packet configured according to a first packet switching protocol and outputs said first packet to said first port, said first packet indicates said address for said memory device.

10. The smart router of claim 9, further comprising:

a second port in operable communication with said at least one processor; and

wherein said at least one processor receives a second packet configured according to a second packet switching protocol from said second port, said at least one processor extracts said data from said second packet.

11. The smart router of claim 10, wherein said data indicates an energy demand situation.

12. The smart router of claim 11, wherein said at least one processor encapsulates said data in a plurality of packets addressed to a plurality of different guest room control devices in operable communication with said secondary network and provides said plurality of packets to said first port.

13. The smart router of claim 12 wherein said first and second packet switching protocols are TCP/IP.

14. The smart router of claim 12 wherein said first packet switching protocol is UDP/IP and said second packet switching protocol is TCP/IP.

15. The smart router of claim 9, wherein said at least one processor receives a second packet configured according to said first packet switching protocol from said first port, said at least one processor stores data from said second packet in said at least one memory device.

16. The smart router of claim 15, wherein said at least one processor encapsulates said data from said second packet into a third packet configured according to a second packet switching protocol, said at least one processor provides said second packet to said second port.

17. The smart router of claim 16, wherein said first and second packet switching protocols are TCP/IP.

18. The smart router of claim 16, wherein said first packet switching protocol is UDP/IP and said second packet switching protocol is TCP/IP.

19. The smart router of claim 9, further including:

a third port configured to connect with a property management system server.

20. The smart router of claim 9, further including:

a fourth port configured to connect with a modem, said at least one processor outputs a first plurality of signals to said second port.

21. The smart router of claim 9, further including:

a fifth port configured to connect with a portion of a legacy guest room control system;

a sixth port configured to connect with a portion of a legacy guest room control system; and

wherein said at least one processor transfers data configured according to a network layer protocol between said fifth port and said sixth port.

22. The smart router of claim 9 wherein said at least one processor includes:

a first processor in operable communication with said first port, and

a second processor in operable communication with said second port, said first processor is in operable communication with said second processor; and

wherein said at least one memory device includes;

a first memory device in operable communication said first processor, and

a second memory device in operable communication with said second processor.