DOORBELL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20170085843A1
• Filed: 11/02/2016
• Published: 03/23/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: SkyBell Technologies Ip, LLC
• Original Assignee: Skybell Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Scalisi, Joseph Frank, Kasmir, Seton Paul, Norberg, Jeremy
• Application Number:
  US15/341,125
• Publication Number:
  US 20170085843A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/163 Real estate management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/265 Personal security, identity or safety
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 90/20 Destination assistance within a business structure or complex
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1472 with force or weight detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19619 Details of casing
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1966 Wireless systems, other than telephone systems, used to communicate with a camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19695 Arrangements wherein non-video detectors start video recording or forwarding but do not generate an alarm themselves
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2462 Asset location systems combined with EAS inventory, tracking, logistic G06Q10/00; entrance control systems G07C9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/248 EAS system combined with another detection technology, e.g. dual EAS and video or other presence detection system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 15/00 Identifying, scaring or incapacitating burglars, thieves or intruders, e.g. by explosives
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 19/005 combined burglary and fire alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 3/10 using electric transmission; using electromagnetic transmission
• 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: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/186 Video door telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/188 Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253
• 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: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 : WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 : Terminal devices

Abstract

The disclosure includes a doorbell system having a doorbell, a doorbell housing, a visitor detection system, and a chime. The visitor detection system can be coupled to the doorbell housing and can include at least one of a camera and a motion detector. The doorbell can also comprise a first low-energy transceiver and a first high-energy transceiver that can be coupled to the doorbell housing. The first and second low-energy transceivers and the first and second high-energy transceivers can be configured to transmit data.

Claims

1. A doorbell system comprising a doorbell, wherein the doorbell comprises:

a doorbell housing;

a visitor detection system coupled to the doorbell housing, the visitor detection system including at least one of a camera and a motion detector;

a first low-energy transceiver coupled to the doorbell housing; and

a first high-energy transceiver coupled to the doorbell housing, wherein the first low-energy transceiver and the first high-energy transceiver are configurable to transmit data.

2. The doorbell system of claim 1, further comprising a chime communicatively coupled to the doorbell, the chime comprising:

a chime housing;

a second low-energy transceiver coupled to the chime housing; and

a second high-energy transceiver coupled to the chime housing, wherein the second low-energy transceiver and the second high-energy transceiver are configurable to transmit data to the first low-energy transceiver and the first high-energy transceiver.

3. The doorbell system of claim 2, further comprising a Wi-Fi communication hub communicatively coupled to at least one of the doorbell and the chime.

4. The doorbell system of claim 3, wherein the Wi-Fi communication hub comprises a Wi-Fi router.

5. The doorbell system of claim 3, wherein the first low-energy transceiver comprises a first Bluetooth low-energy transceiver and the second low-energy transceiver comprises a second Bluetooth low-energy transceiver, and the first high-energy transceiver comprises a first Wi-Fi transceiver and the second high-energy transceiver comprises a second Wi-Fi transceiver.

6. The doorbell system of claim 5, wherein the doorbell is powered by a battery located within the doorbell housing.

7. The doorbell system of claim 3, further comprising a remote computing device communicatively coupled to at least one of the doorbell, the chime, and the Wi-Fi communication hub.

8. The doorbell system of claim 7, wherein at least one of the first low-energy transceiver and the second low-energy transceiver are configured to activate in response to a first request from the remote computing device, and the first high-energy transceiver and the second high-energy transceiver are configured to activate in response to a second request from the remote computing device.

9. The doorbell system of claim 3, wherein the first high-energy transceiver and the second high-energy transceiver are configured to activate in response to a second event detected by the visitor detection system.

10. The doorbell system of claim 3, wherein the doorbell comprises a light source that illuminates light, and wherein at least one of the first low-energy transceiver and the second low-energy transceiver are configured to activate in response to a request from the remote computing device to change a color of the light.

11. The doorbell system of claim 3, wherein at least one of the first high-energy transceiver and the second high-energy transceiver are configured to activate in response to the doorbell detecting a presence of a visitor.

12. A method of using a doorbell system comprising a doorbell having a visitor detection system, a first low-energy transceiver, and a first high-energy transceiver, the doorbell system comprising a chime communicatively coupled to the doorbell, the chime having a second low-energy transceiver and a second high-energy transceiver, the method comprising:

activating at least one of the first low-energy transceiver and the second low-energy transceiver in response to a first event; and

activating at least one of the first high-energy transceiver and the second high-energy transceiver in response to a second event.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the doorbell system further comprises a remote computing device communicatively coupled to at least one of the doorbell and the chime, and wherein the first event comprises a first request from the remote computing device and the second event comprises a second request from the remote computing device.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

activating both the first low-energy transceiver and the second low-energy transceiver in response to the first event; and

deactivating the first high-energy transceiver and the second high-energy transceiver in response to activating both the first low-energy transceiver and the second low-energy transceiver.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

activating both the first high-energy transceiver and the second high-energy transceiver in response to the second event; and

deactivating the first low-energy transceiver and the second low-energy transceiver in response to activating both the first high-energy transceiver and the second high-energy transceiver.

16. A method of using a doorbell system comprising a doorbell having a visitor detection system, a first low-energy transceiver, and a first high-energy transceiver, the doorbell system comprising a chime communicatively coupled to the doorbell, the chime having a second low-energy transceiver and a second high-energy transceiver, the method comprising:

activating the first low-energy transceiver;

activating the second low-energy transceiver; and

transmitting data between the first low-energy transceiver and the second low-energy transceiver to thereby enable communication between the doorbell and the chime.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

deactivating the first high-energy transceiver in response to activating the first low-energy transceiver; and

deactivating the second high-energy transceiver in response to activating the second low-energy transceiver.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

activating the first low-energy transceiver in response to the doorbell performing at least one of sending a first transmission that is less than a predetermined transmission threshold and receiving a second transmission that is less than the predetermined transmission threshold; and

activating the second low-energy transceiver in response to the chime performing at least one of sending the first transmission that is less than the predetermined transmission threshold and receiving the second transmission that is less than the predetermined transmission threshold.

19. A method of using a doorbell system comprising a doorbell having a camera, a motion detector, a first low-energy transceiver, and a first high-energy transceiver, the doorbell system comprising a chime communicatively coupled to the doorbell, the chime having a second low-energy transceiver and a second high-energy transceiver, the method comprising:

activating the first high-energy transceiver;

activating the second high-energy transceiver; and

transmitting data between the first high-energy transceiver and the second high-energy transceiver to thereby enable communication between the doorbell and the chime.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

deactivating the first low-energy transceiver in response to activating the first high-energy transceiver; and

deactivating the second low-energy transceiver in response to activating the second high-energy transceiver.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

activating the first high-energy transceiver in response to the doorbell performing at least one of sending a first transmission that is greater than a predetermined transmission threshold and receiving a second transmission that is greater than the predetermined transmission threshold; and

activating the second high-energy transceiver in response to the chime performing at least one of sending the first transmission that is greater than the predetermined transmission threshold and receiving the second transmission that is greater than the predetermined transmission threshold.