Methods, Systems, and Related Architectures for Managing Network Connected Thermostats
First Claim
1. A thermostat management system that manages a plurality of thermostats on a network using one or more computers, comprising:
- a registration server configured to execute on the one or more computers that receives thermostat metadata associated with a thermostat over a public network portion of the network and provisions an entry in a thermostat registration pool referenced by thermostat metadata that includes a thermostat identifier and a public network address associated with the thermostat awaiting to be paired with a thermostat management account;
an update server configured to execute on the one or more computers that attempts to update software and firmware and configurations of each of the thermostats registered with the registration server if newer versions of software exists than currently used on each of the thermostats corresponding to each entry in the registration pool;
a pairing server configured to execute on the one or more computers that facilitates associating a thermostat with a thermostat management account and authorizes communication with the thermostat using the thermostat management account;
a thermostat front end user-interface server configured to execute on the one or more computers that facilitates generation of a user-interface for accessing one or more thermostats from a computer device accessing the thermostat management account on the system; and
a thermostat backend server configured to execute on the one or more computers that manages access to data related to thermostats registered with the thermostat management system and organizes information received over the network related to heating and cooling of enclosures as controlled by the registered thermostats.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A thermostat management system facilitates an automatic pairing of a thermostat with a thermostat communication account. The thermostat management system receives a public network address associated with a computer device on a private network accessing the thermostat management account. The system retrieves the thermostat metadata including a public network address associated with a registration of the thermostat with the thermostat management system. The public network address registered with the thermostat metadata is provided by a router on the private network and therefore should match the public network address used by computer devices on the private network. The thermostat management account is paired with the thermostat if the thermostat has the same public network address as the computer device accessing the thermostat management account. Pairing the thermostat management account to the thermostat allows the thermostat management account to communicate with the thermostat over the public network through the thermostat management system.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A thermostat management system that manages a plurality of thermostats on a network using one or more computers, comprising:
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a registration server configured to execute on the one or more computers that receives thermostat metadata associated with a thermostat over a public network portion of the network and provisions an entry in a thermostat registration pool referenced by thermostat metadata that includes a thermostat identifier and a public network address associated with the thermostat awaiting to be paired with a thermostat management account; an update server configured to execute on the one or more computers that attempts to update software and firmware and configurations of each of the thermostats registered with the registration server if newer versions of software exists than currently used on each of the thermostats corresponding to each entry in the registration pool; a pairing server configured to execute on the one or more computers that facilitates associating a thermostat with a thermostat management account and authorizes communication with the thermostat using the thermostat management account; a thermostat front end user-interface server configured to execute on the one or more computers that facilitates generation of a user-interface for accessing one or more thermostats from a computer device accessing the thermostat management account on the system; and a thermostat backend server configured to execute on the one or more computers that manages access to data related to thermostats registered with the thermostat management system and organizes information received over the network related to heating and cooling of enclosures as controlled by the registered thermostats. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer implemented method of configuring a thermostat for communication with a computer device over a network connection, comprising:
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configuring the thermostat on a private network using a network interface controller associated with the thermostat providing network connectivity between the thermostat and a thermostat management system on a public network, wherein the private network includes a router connected to the public network and provides the thermostat with access to the public network; sending thermostat metadata that includes a public network address associated with the thermostat over the private network to the thermostat management system on the public network for registration in a thermostat registration pool used for pairing, wherein the public network address included in the thermostat metadata is shared by the router with other devices when sending communications from the private network to the public network on behalf of the thermostat and other devices on the private network; and pairing the thermostat registered in the thermostat registration pool to a thermostat management account on the thermostat management system when it is determined that the thermostat is on same private network as the computer device accessing the thermostat management account, wherein pairing the thermostat to the thermostat management account allows the thermostat management account to communicate with the thermostat through over the public network through the thermostat management system. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A computer implemented method of creating a thermostat management account on a thermostat management system to be used to communicate with a thermostat having network connectivity, comprising:
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accessing a thermostat management system on a public network from a computer device on a private network, wherein the private network includes a router connected to the public network and provides the computer device with access to the public network; requesting the thermostat management system on the public network provision a thermostat management account using an account name to be used by the computer device on a private network, wherein the thermostat management account may be used to communicate with at least one thermostat registered on the thermostat management system; associating a public network address used by the computer device accessing the thermostat management system from the private network with the thermostat management account, wherein the public network address used by the computer device may be shared by the router with a thermostat and other devices when sending communications from the private network to the public network on behalf of the computer device, the thermostat and other devices on the private network; and pairing the thermostat management account on the thermostat management system to a thermostat when it is determined that the computer device accessing the thermostat management account is on same private network as the thermostat, wherein pairing the thermostat management account to the thermostat allows the thermostat management account to communicate with the thermostat over the public network through the thermostat management system. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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22. A computer implemented method of using a thermostat management system on a public network to facilitate communication with a thermostat connected to a network, comprising:
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detecting a computer device on a private network has accessed a thermostat management account on the thermostat management system on the public network; receiving a public network address associated with the computer device accessing the thermostat management account on the thermostat management system, wherein the public network address is provided by a router on the private network where the computer device is located; retrieving thermostat metadata including a public network address associated with a registration of the thermostat with the thermostat management system, wherein the public network address associated with the registration is provided by the router on the private network where the thermostat is located; determining if the public network address associated with the computer device accessing the thermostat management account matches the public network address from the thermostat metadata associated with thermostat; pairing the thermostat management account with the thermostat if the determination indicates that the thermostat has the same public network address as the computer device accessing the thermostat management account and the thermostat and the computer device are on the same private network, wherein the pairing allows the computer device to communicate with the thermostat through the thermostat management account. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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Specification