ENVIRONMENTAL SENSING WITH A DOORBELL AT A SMART-HOME

• US 20150156031A1
• Filed: 12/31/2014
• Published: 06/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Fadell, Anthony Michael, Rogers, Matthew Lee, Matsuoka, Yoky, Sloo, David, Honjo, Shigefumi, McGaraghan, Scott A., Plitkins, Michael, Veron, Maxime, Guenette, Isabel
• Granted Patent: US 9,960,929 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/46 Improving electric energy efficiency or saving
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/523 for displaying temperature data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/58 using Internet communication
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/62 characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or estimation of values
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/63 Electronic processing
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 19/005 combined burglary and fire alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/002 Generating a prealarm to the central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/008 Alarm setting and unsetting, i.e. arming or disarming of the security system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/003 Signalling to neighbouring houses
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/185 Signal analysis techniques for reducing or preventing false alarms or for enhancing the reliability of the system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2816 Controlling appliance services of a home automation network by calling their functionalities 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

Abstract

This patent specification relates to apparatus, systems, methods, and related computer program products for providing home security/smart home objectives. More particularly, this patent specification relates to a plurality of devices, including intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connected devices, that communicate with each other and/or with a central server or a cloud-computing system to provide any of a variety of useful home security/smart home objectives.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a smart environment that comprises a plurality of smart devices at a smart-home environment that comprises a structure, the method comprising:

obtaining, at a computing system from a first smart device of the plurality of smart devices that is positioned at least partially outside the structure, a condition of a first phenomenon outside the structure detected by the first smart device;

obtaining, at the computing system from a second smart device of the plurality of smart devices that is positioned at least partially inside the structure, a condition of a second phenomenon inside the structure detected by the second smart device;

analyzing, with the computing system, the detected condition of the first phenomenon obtained from the first smart device in combination with the detected condition of the second phenomenon obtained from the second smart device; and

automatically adjusting the functionality of at least one smart device of the plurality of smart devices using the computing system based on the analyzing.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first phenomenon comprises the purity of the air outside the structure;

the second phenomenon comprises the purity of the air inside the structure;

the at least one smart device comprises a device operative to affect a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (“

HVAC”

) system of the smart-home environment; and

the adjusting is operative to open a vent of the HVAC system when the purity of the air outside the structure is greater than the purity of the air inside the structure; and

the adjusting is operative to close a vent of the HVAC system when the purity of the air inside the structure is greater than the purity of the air outside the structure.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first phenomenon comprises at least one characteristic of the quality of air outside the structure; and

the second phenomenon comprises at least one characteristic of the quality of air inside the structure.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one characteristic of the quality of the air outside the structure comprises at least one of the following:

the temperature of the air outside the structure;

the humidity of the air outside the structure;

the speed of the movement of the air outside the structure;

the direction of the movement of the air outside the structure;

the purity of the air outside the structure;

the level of particulate in the air outside the structure;

the level of dust in the air outside the structure;

the level of pollen in the air outside the structure;

the level of mold in the air outside the structure;

the level of dust in the air outside the structure; and

the level of any volatile organic compound (“

VOC”

) in the air outside the structure.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first smart device comprises:

a first sensing component operative to detect the condition of the first phenomenon outside the structure; and

a doorbell component operative to be touched by a user for generating a request to contact an occupant of the smart-home environment.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first phenomenon comprises the noise outside the structure;

the second phenomenon comprises the noise inside the structure;

the adjusting is operative to affect the volume level of sound output from the at least one smart device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the at least one characteristic of the noise outside the structure comprises the volume of the noise outside the structure;

the at least one characteristic of the noise inside the structure comprises the volume of the noise inside the structure; and

the adjustment of the functionality of the at least one smart device is operative to increase the volume level of the sound output from the at least one smart device when the volume of the noise outside the structure is greater than the volume of the noise inside the structure.

8. A system for use at a smart-home environment comprising a structure, the system comprising:

a plurality of smart devices comprising;

a first smart device positioned at least partially outside the structure and operative to detect a condition of a first phenomenon outside the structure; and

a second smart device positioned at least partially inside the structure and operative to detect a condition of a second phenomenon inside the structure; and

at least one processing component communicatively coupled with the first smart device and the second smart device and operative to;

analyze the detected condition of the first phenomenon in combination with the detected condition of the second phenomenon; and

adjust a functionality of at least one smart device of the plurality of smart devices based on the analysis.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the first phenomenon comprises at least one characteristic of the quality of air outside the structure; and

the second phenomenon comprises at least one characteristic of the quality of air inside the structure.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one characteristic of the quality of the air outside the structure comprises at least one of the following:

the temperature of the air outside the structure;

the humidity of the air outside the structure;

the speed of the movement of the air outside the structure;

the direction of the movement of the air outside the structure;

the purity of the air outside the structure;

the level of particulate in the air outside the structure;

the level of dust in the air outside the structure;

the level of pollen in the air outside the structure;

the level of mold in the air outside the structure;

the level of dust in the air outside the structure; and

the level of any volatile organic compound (“

VOC”

) in the air outside the structure.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the first smart device comprises:

a first sensing component operative to detect the condition of the first phenomenon outside the structure; and

a doorbell component operative to be touched by a user for generating a request to contact an occupant of the smart-home environment.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the adjustment of the functionality of the at least one smart device is operative to affect a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (“

HVAC”

) system of the smart-home environment.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein:

the at least one characteristic of the quality of the air outside the structure comprises the purity of the air outside the structure;

the at least one characteristic of the quality of the air inside the structure comprises the purity of the air inside the structure;

the adjustment of the functionality of the at least one smart device is operative to open a vent of the HVAC system when the purity of the air outside the structure is greater than the purity of the air inside the structure; and

the adjustment of the functionality of the at least one smart device is operative to close a vent of the HVAC system when the purity of the air inside the structure is greater than the purity of the air outside the structure.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the first phenomenon comprises the brightness of light outside the structure; and

the second phenomenon comprises the brightness of light inside the structure.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the first phenomenon comprises the intensity of movement outside the structure; and

the second phenomenon comprises the intensity of movement inside the structure.

16. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the first phenomenon comprises the noise outside the structure; and

the second phenomenon comprises the noise inside the structure.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first smart device comprises:

a first sensing component operative to detect the condition of the first phenomenon outside the structure; and

a doorbell component operative to be touched by a user for generating a request to contact an occupant of the smart-home environment.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the adjustment of the functionality of the at least one smart device is operative to affect the volume level of sound output from the at least one smart device.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein:

the condition of the noise outside the structure comprises the volume of the noise outside the structure;

the condition of the noise inside the structure comprises the volume of the noise inside the structure; and

the adjustment of the functionality of the at least one smart device is operative to increase the volume level of the sound output from the at least one smart device when the volume of the noise outside the structure is greater than the volume of the noise inside the structure.

20. A smart device for use at a smart environment comprising a structure, the smart device comprising:

a housing coupled to an external surface of the structure of the environment;

at least one sensing component positioned at least partially within the housing and operative to detect a condition of a phenomenon outside the structure;

a doorbell component positioned at least partially within the housing and operative to detect a touch by a user for generating a request to contact an occupant inside the structure; and

communications circuitry positioned at least partially within the housing and operative to communicate the detected condition and the detected touch to a computing system.

21. The smart device of claim 20, wherein the phenomenon comprises at least one characteristic of the quality of air outside the structure.

22. The smart device of claim 21, wherein the at least one characteristic of the quality of the air outside the structure comprises at least one of the following:

the temperature of the air outside the structure;

the humidity of the air outside the structure;

the speed of the movement of the air outside the structure;

the direction of the movement of the air outside the structure;

the purity of the air outside the structure;

the level of particulate in the air outside the structure;

the level of dust in the air outside the structure;

the level of pollen in the air outside the structure;

the level of mold in the air outside the structure;

the level of dust in the air outside the structure; and

the level of any volatile organic compound (“

VOC”

) in the air outside the structure.

23. The smart device of claim 20, wherein the first phenomenon comprises the brightness of light outside the structure.

24. The smart device of claim 20, wherein the first phenomenon comprises the intensity of movement outside the structure.

25. The smart device of claim 20, wherein the first phenomenon comprises the level of noise outside the structure.

26. The smart device of claim 20, wherein the communications circuitry is operative to communicate the detected condition to the computing system for the purpose of increasing the security of the smart environment.

27. The smart device of claim 20, wherein the communications circuitry is operative to communicate the detected condition to the computing system for the purpose of alerting a user of the environment when the detected condition satisfies a particular condition.

28. The smart device of claim 20, wherein the communications circuitry is operative to communicate the detected condition to the computing system for the purpose of tracking the detected condition over a period of time.

29. The smart device of claim 20, wherein the communications circuitry is operative to communicate the detected condition to the computing system for the purpose of tracking the detected condition with respect to another condition of the phenomenon detected at another smart environment.

30-39. -39. (canceled)