MOBILE DEVICE ASSISTED SMART BUILDING CONTROL

• US 20160088438A1
• Filed: 09/23/2015
• Published: 03/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: O'Keeffe, James Thomas
• Original Assignee: O'Keeffe, James Thomas
• Inventors: O'Keeffe, James Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 9,520,250 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2239/048 comprising microphone or speaker
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2300/03 Application domotique, e.g. for house automation, bus connected switches, sensors, loads or intelligent wiring
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 9/02 Bases, casings, or covers accommodating more than one switch or a switch and another electrical component H02B1/26
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 9/0271 structurally combining a switch and an electronic component for relays H01H50/021
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/023 Screens for loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/028 associated with devices performing functions other than acoustics, e.g. electric candles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/14 Protecting elements, switches, relays or circuit breakers

Abstract

A system for signaling electronic devices based on the occupancy of one or more regions of a building includes a central controller with a wireless receiver to receive data indicative of the occupancy of a region of a building from fixed wireless sensors associated with the building. The central controller also receives estimated locations for one or more mobile wireless devices. The central controller can also receive an indication of the proximity of one or more mobile wireless device to a person. The central controller can determine one or more location estimates for at least one mobile wireless device. The central controller can weight some or all of the fixed wireless sensor occupancy indications and device location data based on the proximity indication and selects one or more output devices (e.g. wireless speakers or WiFi enables lights) to operate. The central controller can be located within a mobile wireless device. In this case the challenge for the controller is determining how to weight the relative importance of mobile device location and sensor data indicating person location. In several embodiments the disclosed system provides means for weighting the mobile device location, based in part on the person-to-device proximity indications in the broader task of generating occupancy estimates for one or more regions of a building and operating output devices based on occupancy estimates. For example the central controller could be located in a smartphone, thereby enabling the smartphone to play music on a dynamic subset of the wireless speakers located throughout a building, depending on the location of the user. The subset of speakers could be chosen based in part on weighting person and device location estimates, whereby the weights can be based in part on the proximity indication. When the person is close by the wireless device, device location is heavily weighted in selecting the subset of wireless speakers and when the person is determined to be non-proximal to the smartphone, occupancy indications form fixed wireless sensors receives increased weighting.

Claims

1. A device for transmitting signals, based on building occupancy information, the device comprising:

one or more receivers

wherein at least one of the receivers receives first signals from one or more fixed wireless sensors associated with a building, each first signal being a short range wireless signal, each first signal comprising first data, and first data being indicative of one or more people occupying one or more regions of the building, and

wherein at least one of the receivers receives second signals from one or more mobile wireless devices, wherein second signals contain a proximity indication, indicative of the proximity of one or more people to one of the one or more mobile wireless devices and wherein the second signals contain a mobile device location indication, indicative of the location of one of the one or more mobile wireless devices;

an occupancy estimator operable to generate an occupancy estimate for one or more regions of the building comprising;

a data aggregator to aggregate at least some of the first data in the first signals; and

a weight generator to generate one or more weights for the mobile device location indications, wherein the one or more weights are determined based at least in part on the proximity indication in second signals, and

wherein the occupancy estimate for at least one region of the building is based at least in part on aggregated first data and the generated weights;

a third signal generator to generate one or more third signals based on the occupancy estimate for one or more regions of the building, each of the one or more third signals comprising third data; and

a transmitter that transmits the one or more third signals to one or more third devices.

2. The central controller of claim 1, wherein second signals contain mobile device location indications based on localization signals received by one or more mobile wireless devices.

3. The central controller of claim 1, wherein the central controller generates occupancy estimates for each region in a set of regions, associated with the building, wherein each region in the set is substantially non-overlapping and wherein the set of regions contains at least three regions.

4. The central controller of claim 3, wherein each region in the set of regions covers an area less than half of the total area of the building.

5. The central controller of claim 4, wherein the occupancy estimator assigns each of the one or more mobile wireless devices to a region from the set of regions, wherein the assignment is based at least in part on the mobile device location indication in second signals and wherein the occupancy estimate for the assigned region is based on proximity indications in the second signals.

6. The central controller of claim 1, wherein the proximity indication in the second signals is from a set of signal quality features including received signal strength indication, multipath interference, bit error rate, signal to noise ratio and time of flight delay.

7. The central controller of claim 1, further comprises:

at least one transmitter operable to transmits short range wireless advertising signals to one or more mobile wireless devices, upon satisfaction of a criterion, wherein the criterion is based on aggregated first data and wherein the short range wireless advertising signals contain a request to transmit second signals.

8. The central controller of claim 1, wherein the mobile device location indication is based on an aspect of the signal quality of second signals from a set of aspects including:

received signal strength indication, multipath interference, bit error rate, signal to noise ratio and time of flight delay.

9. The central controller of claim 1, further comprising an identity estimator operable to generate an identity estimate associated with an occupancy estimate in at least one region of the building and wherein third data is based at least in part on the identity estimate.

10. The central controller of claim 1, wherein third signals are transmitted to a plurality of third devices and wherein at least two of the plurality of third devices receive a same third signal.

11. The central controller of claim 1, wherein the third data in at least one of the third signals includes the occupancy estimate for at least one region of the building.

12. The central controller of claim 1, further comprising a mobile device location estimator operable to generate an estimate of location of the one or more mobile devices, and wherein the mobile device location estimate is based at least in part on information in first signals from the one or more fixed wireless sensors associated with a building.

13. The central controller of claim 1, wherein the central controller is located within one of the one or more mobile wireless devices.

14. The central controller of claim 1, wherein the occupancy estimator further comprises:

a proximity estimator operable to generate estimates of the proximity of a person to the one or more mobile wireless devices, based in part on proximity indications in second signals; and

a mobile device location estimator operable to generate one or more mobile device location estimates of the one or more mobile devices based at least in part on the mobile device location indication in second signals, wherein the one or more weights are based in part on the proximity estimates, and wherein the occupancy estimate for one or more regions of the building are based on the weights, the one or more mobile device location estimates and the aggregated first data.

15. The central controller of claim 1, further comprising:

a third device selector operable to select the one or more third devices based on the occupancy estimate for one or more regions of the building, and wherein the proximity indication in second signals is proximity data generated by the mobile wireless device; and

wherein the proximity data in the second signals is based on readings from one or more analog sensors from a set of technologies consisting of;

motion sensing, acceleration sensing, vibration sensing, direction sensing, sound sensing and light level sensing.

16. The central controller of claim 1, wherein the one or more third devices are building automation devices located in the building and wherein the one or more third signals are short range wireless signals.

17. The central controller of claim 1, wherein the one or more third devices are media distribution devices located in the building.

18. A method for transmitting signals, based on building occupancy information, the method comprising:

receiving at a central controller first signals from one or more fixed wireless sensors associated with a building, each first signal comprising first data, and first data being indicative of occupancy of one or more regions of the building;

receiving at a central controller second signals from one or more mobile wireless devices, wherein second signals contain a proximity indication, indicative of the proximity of one or more people to one of the one or more mobile wireless devices, and second signals contain a mobile device location indication, indicative of the location of one of the one or more mobile wireless devices;

estimating by the central controller one or more mobile device location estimates, based at least in part on a mobile device location indication in second signals;

determining by the central controller one or more weights for one or more mobile device location estimates, wherein the weights are determined based at least in part on the proximity indication in second signals;

generating by the central controller an occupancy estimate for one or more regions of the building, based at least in part on first data and the generated weights; and

transmitting from the central controller a third signal to one or more third devices, wherein third signals contain third data and wherein third data is based in part on an occupancy estimate for one or more regions of the building.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

aggregating, at a location operably coupled to the central controller, first signals across one or more fixed wireless sensors and second signals across the one or more mobile wireless devices and wherein at least some of the weights are calculated based on the aggregated second signals.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

accessing a proximity criterion based on the proximity indication in one or more second signals; and

determining whether the proximity criterion is satisfied by the proximity indication in one or more second signals and calculating the weights for at least some of the mobile device location estimates, based on the result of the determination, wherein the third data is based at least in part on whether the proximity criterion is satisfied.

21. The method of claim 18 further comprising, upon determining that the proximity criterion is satisfied, identifying a setting for at least one third device, wherein the third data identifies the setting.

22. A method for send signals to devices, based on building occupancy information, the method comprising:

identifying, by one or more fixed wireless sensors, a central controller;

performing by or more fixed wireless sensors, a pairing activity with the central controller;

recording at one or more fixed wireless sensors, first data indicative of occupancy of a region of the building;

receiving at a central controller first signals from one or more fixed wireless sensors associated with a building, each first signal comprising first data, and first data being indicative of occupancy of one or more regions of the building;

receiving at a central controller second signals from a mobile wireless device, wherein second signals contain a proximity indication, indicative of the proximity of one or more people to the mobile wireless device, and wherein second signals contain a mobile device location indication, indicative of the location of the mobile wireless device;

determining by the central controller one or more weights for the mobile device location indication in one or more second signals, wherein the weights are determined based at least in part on the proximity indication in second signals;

generating at a central controller an occupancy estimate for one or more regions of the building, based at least in part on first data and the generated weights;

selecting by a central controller one or more third devices, based at least in part on the occupancy estimate for one or more regions of the building; and

transmitting from the central controller a third signal to one or more third devices.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

assessing at the central controller an activity criterion;

determining at the central controller if the activity criterion is satisfied, based on first data in first signals; and

transmitting by the central controller, upon satisfaction of the activity criterion, an advertising signal, wherein the advertising signal contains data operable to request mobile wireless devices to transmit second signals.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

assessing at the central controller a proximity criterion;

determining at the central controller if the proximity criterion is satisfied, based on the proximity indication in one or more second signals; and

upon determination that the proximity criterion is satisfied, storing in a location model at least some of the first data or one or more aspects of mobile device location indication from one or more second signals.

25. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

generating at the central controller one or more identity estimates associated with an occupancy estimate.

assessing at the central controller an identity criterion;

determining at the central controller if the identity criterion is satisfied by one or more of the identity estimates; and

upon determination that the identity criterion is satisfied by an identity estimate, modifying at least some of the data in a historical user profile.

26. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

selecting by the central controller one or more third device based at least in part on data from a historical user profile.