SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A WIRELESS SECURITY AND AUTOMATION SYSTEM

• US 20160249281A1
• Filed: 08/19/2015
• Published: 08/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Manbir Sahni
• Original Assignee: Manbir Sahni
• Inventors: Sahni, Manbir
• Granted Patent: US 9,807,681 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/00 Alarm systems in which the alarm condition is signalled from a central station to a plurality of substations
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/006 with transmission via telephone network
• 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: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0235 where the received signal is a power saving command
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A security and automation system comprising a controller, the controller comprising a device memory, a processor, a display and communication interfaces, a controller application installed in the device memory of the controller and modules in communication with the controller, each of the modules comprising a processing unit, a WLAN chipset, a power unit and peripherals. For discovery and enrollment the modules are configured to operate as access points and, after said enrollment of the modules to the controller, the controller is configured as an access point by instructions processed by the processor of the controller and the modules are configured as stations to form a wireless intranet.

Claims

1. A security and automation system comprising:

a controller, said controller comprising a device memory, a processor, a display and one or more communication interfaces;

a controller application installed in said device memory of said controller; and

one or more modules in communication with said controller, each of said one or more modules comprising a processing unit, a WLAN chipset, a power unit and one or more peripherals;

wherein, for discovery and enrollment, said one or more modules are configured to operate as access points and, after said enrollment of one or more modules to said controller, said controller is configured as an access point by one or more instructions processed by said processor of said controller and said one or more modules are configured as stations to form a wireless intranet.

2. The security and automation system as in claim 1, wherein said controller configured as an access point is an IEEE 802.11 x software-based access point.

3. The security and automation system as in claim 1, wherein said one or more modules configured as access points are IEEE 802.11 x software-based access point.

4. The security and automation system as in claim 1, wherein said one or more communication interfaces of said controller are used to establish communication with one or more users or with a cloud service or with a monitoring system of said security and automation system for sending of one or more alerts or messages and for enabling configuration of said controller.

5. The security and automation system as in claim 4, wherein said one or more communication interfaces used to establish said communication with said one or more users or with said cloud service or with said monitoring system are different from said one or more communication interfaces used by said controller for forming said wireless intranet.

6. The security and automation system as in claim 4, wherein a cellular technology available from said one or more communication interfaces is used to establish said communication with said one or more users or with said cloud service or with said monitoring system over internet.

7. The security and automation system as in claim 4, wherein one of said communication interfaces to establish said communication with said one or more users or with said cloud service or with said monitoring system uses IEEE 802.11x standard wireless technology to access internet using said controller'"'"'s existing internet service.

8. The security and automation system as in claim 1, wherein said controller application enables arming and disarming of said security and automation system, maintenance of a list of said one or more modules, configuring the settings of said controller application, discovery and enrollment of new devices and addition and editing of a notification list.

9. The security and automation system as in claim 1, wherein said controller application provides a rules based engine to process an event detected by one or more sensors of said peripherals, maintain state of said system and actuate one or more operations in said one or more modules based on directives of said rules engine.

10. A method in a security and automation system, said system comprising one or more modules configured as stations and communicatively enrolled to a wireless network of a controller, said one or more modules comprising a processing unit, a wireless chipset and one or more peripherals, and said controller comprising a device memory, a controller application installed in said device memory, a processor, a display and a transceiver, said transceiver including a WLAN stack;

said method comprising the steps of;

determining feasibility of employing a deep sleep policy in said one or more modules;

turning off said wireless chipset and a part of said processing unit, for an indefinite period, if said deep sleep policy is employed; and

employing a less aggressive sleep policy in said one or more modules if said deep sleep policy is not employed, said less aggressive sleep policy being a timed sleep policy;

wherein selective application of said deep sleep policy and said less aggressive sleep policy depending on the type of said one or more modules optimizes power consumption of said one or more modules.

11. The method as in claim 10, wherein said step of employing said less aggressive sleep policy comprising the steps of:

indicating said controller to buffer any request frame meant for said one or more modules;

setting a timer interrupt by said one or more modules before going to sleep;

waking up of said one or more modules on triggering of said timer interrupt;

checking of beacons from said controller by said one or more modules to see if there is any said frame to consume on said waking up;

going back to sleep by said one or more modules on not finding said frame to consume; and

entering Power Save—

Poll procedure by said one or more modules on finding said frame to consume.

12. The method as in claim 10, further comprising:

waking up of said one or more modules in said deep sleep or in said less aggressive sleep at the occurrence of an event detected by one or more sensors of said peripherals;

acquiring further information from said one or more sensors by said one or more modules to qualify said event;

communicating to said controller said event through a message on ascertaining qualification of said event;

acknowledging receipt of said event by said controller by communicating an acknowledgement with a piggyback parameter off; and

returning to said deep sleep or said less aggressive sleep by said one or more modules on receiving said acknowledgement with said piggyback parameter off;

wherein said controller processes said message about said event to take an action in accordance with state information as per a rules engine set in said controller application.

13. The method as in claim 10, further comprising:

waking up of said one or more modules in said deep sleep by a forced wake up signal initiated by a user for an update;

buffering of information related to said update in said device memory;

communicating said event to said controller through a message by said one or more modules;

acknowledging receipt of said message by said controller by communicating an acknowledgement with a piggyback parameter on;

sending of a query command by said one or more modules to said controller on receiving said piggyback parameter;

communicating said buffered information related to said update to said one or more modules; and

going back to said deep sleep by said one or more modules after receiving and acknowledging said information related to update.

14. A module in a security and automation system, said module comprising:

a processing unit;

one or more peripherals communicatively connected to said processing unit; and

a wireless chipset communicatively connected to said processing unit;

wherein data related to one or more motion types detected by one or more sensors of said peripherals and one or more configuration data sent by a user are processed by one or more hardware modules or software modules included in said processing unit for production of a wakeup output or for detection of an enabled motion type of said one or more motion types to produce a decision output.

15. The module as in claim 14, wherein said one or more hardware modules include one or more Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, a pattern selection unit, a pattern processing unit, a filter and measuring unit and a comparator to form an Inertial Signal Processing Unit.

16. The module as in claim 15, wherein said Inertial Signal Processing Unit processes said data related to said one or more motion types detected by said one or more sensors to determine qualification against a threshold value for said detection of said enabled motion type.

17. The module as in claim 14, wherein one or more parts of said module remain in sleep mode to save power and said wakeup output enables waking up said one or more parts.

18. The module as in claim 15, wherein said production of said wakeup output involves first level processing of one or more data received from said one or more Micro Electro Mechanical Systems by said filter and measurement unit and then comparison of data after said first level processing against a threshold value in said comparator.

19. The module as in claim 15, wherein said pattern selection unit enables configuration of a motion profile for tracking occurrence of said one or more motion types by said Inertial Signal Processing Unit.

20. The module as in claim 19, wherein said motion profile and instantaneous data received from said one or more Micro Electro Mechanical Systems are compared in said pattern processing unit to recognize a pattern profile for producing said decision output.