Method of Operating a Mobile Control Unit of a Home Automation Installation

• US 20130289752A1
• Filed: 10/25/2011
• Published: 10/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Somfy Sas (Somfy SA)
• Original Assignee: Somfy Sas (Somfy SA)
• Inventors: Orsat, Jean-Michel, Pellarin, Florent
• Application Number:
  US13/881,861
• Publication Number:
  US 20130289752A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/90
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 11/01 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/065 for group communications cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management involving conference or group key H04L9/0833

Abstract

Method of operating a mobile control unit intended to form successively and alternately part: of a first home-automation installation, and of a second home-automation installation, characterized in that it comprises: a step of locating the mobile control unit in relation to the first home-automation installation and/or in relation to the second home-automation installation, a step of automatically selecting a common key in the mobile control unit, according to the result of the locating step.

Claims

1. A method of operating a mobile control unit intended to form successively and alternatively part:

of a first home-automation installation comprising appliances communicating on a first home-automation network, each element of the first installation being provided with an identifier and sharing one and the same first common key specific to the first home-automation network and authenticating an appliance'"'"'s membership of the first home-automation network, and

of a second home-automation installation comprising appliances communicating on a second home-automation network, each element of the second installation being provided with an identifier and sharing one and the same second common key specific to the second home-automation network and authenticating an appliance'"'"'s membership of the second home-automation network, and

the mobile control unit comprising a memory containing several common keys, which include the first and second common keys, wherein the method comprises;

a step of locating the mobile control unit in relation to the first home-automation installation and/or in relation to the second home-automation installation,

a step of automatically selecting a common key in the mobile control unit, according to the result of the locating step.

2. The operating method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the appliances of the first installation is a motorized closure appliance and/or at least one of the appliances of the second installation is a motorized closure appliance.

3. The operating method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locating step comprises the comparing of geolocation data for the mobile control unit with a contour recorded in a cartographic memory.

4. The operating method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locating step comprises the reception by the mobile control unit of a response of at least one of the home-automation appliances to a message dispatched by the mobile control unit.

5. The operating method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the method comprises a step of transmitting a first message, comprising a response request, by the mobile control unit and a step of transmitting a second message by each appliance that received the first message.

6. The operating method as claimed in claim 5, wherein one of the transmission steps is carried out at reduced power.

7. The operating method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the method comprises a step of transmitting a third message comprising a control command and the first common key and a step of transmitting a fourth message comprising the same control command with the second common key when the third message has not given rise to any response picked up by the mobile control unit.

8. The operating method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locating step and/or the automatic selection step is deactivated provided that a common key has been selected.

9. The operating method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the locating step and/or the automatic selection step is reactivated provided that a transmitted order does not give rise to a response of a home-automation appliance.

10. The operating method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method comprises a step of securely transmitting the first and second common keys and of recording these common keys in the mobile control unit.

11. The operating method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method comprises a step of downloading into the mobile control unit a table of the identifiers of home-automation appliances which are able to be controlled by the mobile control unit.

12. The operating method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the secure transmission step or the downloading step is performed on the basis of data situated in a remote server.

13. The operating method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of locating the mobile control unit comprises the locating of the mobile control unit in relation to a first geographical zone containing the elements of the first home-automation installation and/or the locating of the mobile control unit in relation to a second geographical zone containing the elements of the second home-automation installation.

14. A mobile control unit comprising hardware and/or software means for implementing the operating method as claimed in claim 1.

15. An installation comprising a mobile control unit as claimed in claim 14.

16. The operating method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the secure transmission step or the downloading step is performed on the basis of data situated in a remote server.