Web-based monitoring and control system

• US 7,844,699 B1
• Filed: 03/07/2005
• Issued: 11/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fabian Gregory Guerra, William L. Horrocks
• Original Assignee: Fabian Gregory Guerra, William L. Horrocks
• Inventors: Guerra, Fabian Gregory, Horrocks, William L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nawaz; Asad M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Benoit; Esther
• Application Number:
  US11/073,553
• Time in Patent Office: 2,094 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 709/224, 709/225, 700/9, 700/10, 700/11, 700/12, 700/13, 719/318
• US Class Current: 709/224
• 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 12/2825 Reporting to a device located outside the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with telemetering systems H04M11/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications

Abstract

An event driven, network enabled off-site management listening system (“Listener”) manages remote devices by listening to unsolicited events communicated from devices connected to the Internet, and from a Mission Controller. The Listener listens for messages, decrypts them, and writes the message to the message queue where a Message Decoder retrieves the message. The Message Decoder decodes the messages and updates the database with location and device specific status information. The Listener also takes messages from the Mission Controller to be executed in a specific sequence, and transmits those messages over the Internet to the specific locations and devices as specified by the Mission Controller. Web-based applications allow end users to monitor and control any device or component connected to the Home Central system from any Internet-enabled device or public communications network.

Claims

1. An off-site network enabled management system that dynamically manages remote residential and commercial devices located in a dwelling by listening to a communication from the remote devices over the Internet, comprising:

a processor;

an on-line database that stores missions indicating an occurrence of an event to be processed by the remote devices and stores communications from the remote devices, said on-line database also storing the communications from the remote devices and a status associated with each of the stored communications;

an offsite listener that listens for the communications over the Internet, said listener receiving an unsolicited communication over the Internet from a remote device in a native protocol of a remote device;

said listener adapted to translate the communications, determine the location and type of remote device that originated each of the communications, and store the communications in the on-line database, the remote devices including an IP-enabled device; and

a message queue and a message decoder, said message queue in communication with said listener and adapted to store the communications received by said listener, said message decoder in communication with said message queue and said on-line database, said message decoder adapted to retrieve said communications from said message queue, decode said communications, and update the status associated with said communication in said on-line database;

an offsite mission controller that processes the missions stored in the on-line database by executing the missions stored in the on-line database and directing said listener to transmit device specific messages associated with the missions to a corresponding one of the remote devices to perform the mission;

said mission controller executing commands either automatically based on user defined rules, or executing commands remotely through real-time end user response to the missions sent by the mission controller.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the device specific messages include a multiple step process, each step having a predetermined number of allowable retries and a timeout window, wherein the mission fails when the predetermined number of retries is exceeded or the timeout window expires, and the mission succeeds upon completion of each step.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a web server for communication with client systems located remotely from the dwelling.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said listener communicates periodically and determines if a stored mission is ready for processing.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said mission controller directs said listener to transmit device specific messages by creating commands based on found events and sending those device specific messages to the listener for delivery to the appropriate device and location.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said listener retrieves a list of active ports and protocols to listen for from said on-line database.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said mission controller creates a class for each active UDP and TCP port, said class creating a socket to begin listening for incoming messages from the active ports.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein each port and protocol is linked to a specific one of each remote device type.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the IP-enabled device is a security system including a plurality of alarm zones, and the mission includes changing the current state of less than all of the plurality of alarm zones of the security system.

10. A method for remote users in off-site on-line locations to manage any internet connected, remote devices located in a dwelling comprising:

an on-line database that stores missions indicating an occurrence of an event to be processed by the remote devices and stores communications from the remote devices, said on-line database also storing the communications from the remote devices and a status associated with each of the stored communications;

an offsite listener that listens for the communications over the Internet, said listener receiving an unsolicited communication over the Internet from a remote device in a native protocol of a remote device, without the need for local controllers or other onsite personal computers;

said listener adapted to translate the communications, determine the location and type of remote device that originated each of the communications, and store the communications in the on-line database, the remote devices including an IP-enabled device, being one of a security system, an environmental device or a camera; and

a message queue and a message decoder, said message queue in communication with said listener and adapted to store the communications received by said listener, said message decoder in communication with said message queue and said on-line database, said message decoder adapted to retrieve said communications from said message queue, decode said communications, and update the status associated with said communication in said on-line database;

storing the communication and an indication of the originating remote device into the message queue.

11. The method of claim 10, after the step of receiving a communication over the internet, further comprising decrypting the communication.

12. The method of claim 10, after the step of receiving a communication over the internet, further comprising creating a new listener thread for the communication.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising storing the communication into the on-line database.

14. The method of claim 10, before the step of decoding the communication, further comprising receiving a next communication over the Internet from another remote device.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of decrypting the communication into the protocol of the originating remote device that is readable by the management applications.