Apparatus and Method Pertaining to the Communication of Information Regarding Appliances That Utilize Differing Communications Protocol

• US 20130151977A1
• Filed: 12/13/2011
• Published: 06/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Chamberlain Group LLC
• Original Assignee: The Chamberlain Group, Inc. (The Chamberlain Group LLC)
• Inventors: Fitzgibbon, James J., Arteaga-King, Alonso
• Granted Patent: US 9,698,997 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/736
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/281 indicating a format for calling an appliance service function in a home automation network for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025

Abstract

An end-user device can aggregate information as pertains to a variety of appliances that otherwise utilize incompatible communication protocols to present a shared opportunity to accommodate current information regarding those appliances. This information can include status information regarding such appliances as well as, or in lieu of, instructions to be acted upon by those appliances. Gateways can serve to provide a communications interface between such appliances and, for example, an internet. By one approach one or more middleware platform intermediaries can interface between one or more of those gateways and the end-user device.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an internet communications interface;

a user interface;

a control circuit operably coupled to the internet communications interface and to the user interface and being configured to;

present via the user interface a shared opportunity to accommodate current information regarding any of a plurality of residential appliances, wherein at least two of the plurality of residential appliances communicate using incompatible protocols.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus comprises a portable two-way communications device.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the portable two-way communications device comprises a cellular telephone.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus comprises at least one of:

a cellular telephone;

a tablet computer;

a laptop computer.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the shared opportunity comprises an application that provides opportunities to a user to transparently interact with the residential appliances notwithstanding the incompatible protocols.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the shared opportunity further accommodates forming appliance-control scenes using the residential appliances that communicate using incompatible protocols.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the current information comprises instructions to be acted upon by at least one of the plurality of residential appliances.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the current information comprises status information regarding at least one of the plurality of residential appliances.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the internet communications interface comprises, at least in part, an Internet communications interface.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the internet communications interface is configured to communicate with the plurality of residential appliances via a middleware platform intermediary.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the middleware platform intermediary comprises more than one middleware platform.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the middleware platform intermediary comprises a cloud-based middleware platform intermediary.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

register to establish an authorized basis for communicating with the plurality of residential appliances via the middleware platform intermediary.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality of residential appliances include at least one:

remotely-controllable light;

movable-barrier operator;

climate-control system;

clothes washer;

dishwasher;

clothes dryer;

fireplace;

stove;

refrigerator;

doorbell/chime;

alarm system;

movable-barrier lock;

pump;

fan;

window covering;

pool component;

hot tub component;

entertainment component.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality of residential appliances include at least two of:

remotely-controllable light;

movable-barrier operator;

climate-control system;

clothes washer;

dishwasher;

clothes dryer;

fireplace;

stove;

refrigerator;

doorbell/chime;

alarm system;

movable-barrier lock;

pump;

fan;

window covering;

pool component;

hot tub component;

entertainment component.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein one of the plurality of residential appliances is a movable barrier operator.

17. An non-transitory digital storage media having computer instructions stored therein, the computer instructions, when executed by a computer, causing the computer to present via a user interface a shared opportunity to accommodate current information regarding any of a plurality of residential appliances and via use of an internet connection, wherein at least two of the plurality of residential appliances communicate using incompatible protocols.

18. The non-transitory digital storage media of claim 17 wherein the shared opportunity comprises an application that provides opportunities to a user to transparently interact with the residential appliances notwithstanding the incompatible protocols.

19. The non-transitory digital storage media of claim 18 wherein the shared opportunity further accommodates forming appliance-control scenes using the residential appliances that communicate using incompatible protocols.

20. The non-transitory digital storage media of claim 17 wherein the current information comprises instructions to be acted upon by at least one of the plurality of residential appliances.

21. The non-transitory digital storage media of claim 17 wherein the current information comprises status information regarding at least one of the plurality of residential appliances.

22. The non-transitory digital storage media of claim 17 wherein the internet connection comprises, at least in part, an Internet connection.

23. The non-transitory digital storage media of claim 17 wherein the internet connection includes connection to a middleware platform intermediary.