METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR USING SMART ENVIRONMENT DEVICES VIA APPLICATION PROGRAM INTERFACES

• US 20150372834A1
• Filed: 05/26/2015
• Published: 12/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Karp, Igor, Stesin, Lev, Pi-Sunyer, Carles, McBride, Mark Andrew
• Application Number:
  US14/722,034
• Publication Number:
  US 20150372834A1
• 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 11/48 prior to normal operation, e.g. pre-heating or pre-cooling
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/523 for displaying temperature data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/58 using Internet communication
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/61 using timers
• 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 11/65 for selecting an operating mode
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/00 Control inputs relating to users or occupants
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/04 involving the use of models or simulators
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 17/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1904 variable in time
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1917 using digital means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 17/10 Actuation by presence of smoke or gases , e.g. automatic alarm devices for analysing flowing fluid materials by the use of optical means
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2818 : from a device located outside both the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless eletrical link G08C17/00; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with remote control systems H04M11/007
• 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 12/2823 : Reporting information sensed by appliance or service execution status of appliance services in a home automation network device-related reporting H04L43/065; 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2829 : involving user profiles according to which the execution of a home appliance functionality is automatically triggered
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 : Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 : Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 : for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/00 : Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications user-to-user messaging H04L51/00; network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 : Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 : for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• 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 67/30 : Profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 : Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72415 : for remote control of appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 : Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 : Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/105 : in response to determined parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 : via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/196 : characterised by user interface arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/1965 : using handheld communication devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 : Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

In one embodiment, one or more non-transitory, tangible, machine-readable media includes instructions to send one or more requests to retrieve, access, view, subscribe, or modify data in a data model representative of one or more smart environments. The data model includes a metadata object that includes an access token used to identify which user the data is associated with in the data model, a devices object that includes information related to one or more electronic devices, and a structures object that includes one or more references to the one or more electronic devices in the one or more smart environments.

Claims

1. One or more non-transitory, tangible, machine-readable media comprising instructions to:

send one or more requests to retrieve, access, view, subscribe, or modify data in a data model representative of one or more smart environments, wherein the data model comprises;

a metadata object that includes an access token used to identify which user the data is associated with in the data model;

a devices object that includes information related to one or more electronic devices; and

a structures object that includes one or more references to the one or more electronic devices in the one or more smart environments.

2. The one or more machine-readable media of claim 1, wherein the one or more electronic devices comprise:

a thermostat;

a hazard detector;

a camera;

a sensor of a security system;

an electronic device produced by a manufacturer that does not host the data model in a service;

or

some combination thereof.

3. The one or more machine-readable media of claim 1, wherein the metadata, the devices, and the structures objects are arranged in a hierarchical data structure in the data model.

4. The one or more machine-readable media of claim 3, wherein the metadata, devices, and structures objects are at the same relative level to one another in the hierarchical data structure of the data model.

5. The one or more machine-readable media of claim 1, comprising instructions to receive one or more responses that include data elements in the metadata object, the devices object, the structures object, or some combination thereof based on the one or more requests.

6. The one or more machine-readable media of claim 1, wherein the devices object comprises:

one or more thermostat objects that defines at least one or more thermostat temperature setpoints;

one or more hazard detector objects that defines at least a state of a smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm; and

a company object that defines a company as an entity that can share product data with a service, or some combination thereof;

wherein the one or more thermostat objects, the one or more smoke and CO alarm objects, and the company object are at the same relative level to one another in a hierarchical data structure of the data model.

7. The one or more machine-readable media of claim 6, wherein the data comprises a target temperature setpoint included in the one or more thermostat objects of the data model.

8. The one or more machine-readable media of claim 6, wherein the data comprises an away temperature setpoint included in the one or more thermostat objects of the data model.

9. The one or more machine-readable media of claim 6, wherein the data comprises a CO alarm state, a smoke alarm state, or both, included in the one or more smoke and CO alarm objects of the data model.

10. The one or more machine-readable media of claim 1, wherein the data model is a single unified instance that scales to incorporate additional electronic devices.

11. An application programming interface (API) client device or API client comprising computer instructions configured to:

send one or more requests to retrieve, access, view, subscribe, or modify data in a data model representative of one or more smart environments, wherein the data model comprises;

a metadata object that includes an access token used to identify which user the data represents in the data model;

a devices object that includes information related to electronic devices; and

a structures object that includes one or more references to the electronic devices in the one or more smart environments.

12. The API client device or API client of claim 11, wherein, based on the one or more requests, the devices object scales to include one or more company objects, and each of the one or more company objects scales to include one or more device type objects.

13. The API client device or API client of claim 11, wherein the devices object comprises:

one or more thermostat objects that defines at least one or more thermostat temperature setpoints;

one or more smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarm objects that defines at least a state of smoke and CO alarms; and

a company object that defines the third party as an entity that can share product data with a service, or some combination thereof;

wherein the one or more thermostat objects, the one or more smoke and CO alarm objects, and the company object are at the same relative level in the hierarchical data structure of the data model.

14. The API client device or API client of claim 13, wherein the one or more requests are sent to an API interfacing with a service with direct access to the data model.

15. The API client device or API client of claim 11, wherein the data comprises:

a data element included in the structures object of the data model;

wherein the data element is indicative of an estimated time of arrival of a person to the one or more smart environments represented by the structures object.

16. The API client device or API client of claim 11, wherein the data comprises:

a data element included in the structures object of the data model;

wherein the data element is indicative of whether a user is away from the one or more smart environments represented by the structures object.

17. A method comprising:

sending, via an application programming interface (API) client device or an API client, one or more requests to retrieve, access, view, subscribe, or modify data in a data model representative of one or more smart environments, wherein the data model comprises;

a metadata object that includes an access token used to identify which user the data represents in the data model;

a devices object that includes information related to electronic devices; and

a structures object that includes one or more references to the electronic devices in the one or more smart environments.

18. The method of claim 17, comprising receiving, via the API client device or the API client, one or more responses that include data from the metadata object, the devices object, the structures object, or some combination thereof based on the one or more requests.

19. The method of claim 18, comprising performing a function using the data, wherein the function comprises displaying the data, controlling a setting on the API client device based on the data, executing a control action on the API client device based on the data, or some combination thereof.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the one or more requests include information related to the API client device or the API client, wherein the information comprises:

a company that manufactures the API client device;

a device type of the API client device;

one or more resources consumed by the API client device;

or

some combination thereof.