Home automation system and method

• US 8,516,087 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2006
• Issued: 08/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SBC Knowledge Ventures LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wilson, Brian B., Savard, Jason E., Brownfield, Carlton L., Hubacher, Mark B., Wul, Mari S.
• Primary Examiner(s): KIM, TAE K
• Application Number:
  US11/353,798
• Publication Number:
  US 20070192486A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,744 Days
• Field of Search: 709/205, 709217-224, 725/78, 725/37, 725/38, 725/40, 725/42, 725 44- 47, 340/3.1, 707/1
• US Class Current: 709/221
• 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: H04N 21/4131 home appliance, e.g. lighting, air conditioning system, metering devices home automation data switching networks exchanging configuration information on appliance services H04L12/2807
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/434 Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream demultiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

In one embodiment a method is disclosed for interacting with a controllable device in an internet protocol television (IPTV) system. The method receives at a control server, device state data for the controllable device from a first client device in the IPTV network; accesses user interface (UI) data from a database accessible to the control server; reflects the device state data in the UI data at the control server; and sends the UI data from an IPTV server to the first client device. In another embodiment a system is disclosed for interacting with a controllable device in an internet protocol television (IPTV) system. The system receives at a control server, device state data for the controllable device from a first client device in the IPTV network; accesses user interface (UI) data from a database at the control server; reflects the device state data in the UI at the control server; and sends the UI from an IPTV server to the first client device.

Claims

1. A method for interacting with a controllable device in an internet protocol television system, comprising:

receiving, at a control server at a video hub office in the internet protocol television system from an internet protocol system end user terminal client device associated with a subscriber, context data comprising device state data comprising a dimmer setting, subscriber identity and content identity read by the client device from a plurality of controllable devices, subscriber identification data and content characterization data for a video program currently being watched by the subscriber, the content characterization data comprising a content type for the video program currently being watched, wherein the content type is a content title for the video program currently being watched;

receiving, from the end user terminal client device, subscriber activity data comprising internet protocol television user interface inputs data, alerts data, internet protocol television channel selection data, internet protocol television control inputs data, learned device state data, subscriber identity, video characterization data, video identity and internet protocol television data entry, wherein the device state data variably controls electrical power for at least one of the plurality of controllable devices wherein variable control comprises a dimmer setting at a power in between an on and off power state for the at least one of the plurality of controllable devices based on the context data indicates content identity, time, nature of content and subscriber identity, wherein the device state data further comprises refrigerator inventory data of a refrigerator;

sending the refrigerator inventory data from the control server to the end user terminal client device for display during a commercial break in the content characterization data, wherein the commercial break is sensed in the video program currently being watched;

accessing the device state data from a database at the control server; and

changing the device state data for the at least one of the plurality of controllable devices to a learned device state in user interface data at the database to represent a theme comprising a device state based on the context data for the video program being watched and the subscriber identified by the subscriber identification data, the device state data and the content characterization data for the video program being watched, wherein the device state is stored in the database for future use as the theme when the context data comprising the subscriber identity and the content identity is repeated wherein the theme is overridden by an alert based on the context data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the context data further comprises scheduled video content time data, video content characterization data, and video event data and event participant data, wherein the device state and the context data are learned, the method further comprising applying a business rule to change the device state data based on a current context and the content characterization data received from the end user terminal client device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the control server through a voice recognition system, verbal user input data representing a subscriber input selected from the group consisting of a business rule and the device state data from the end user terminal client device;

configuring the device state data in the database in accordance with the verbal user input data; and

sending configured device state data from the control server to the end user terminal client device.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the content characterization data further comprises electronic program data to determine content characterization.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising changing the device state data in accordance with a weather report in the content characterization data.

6. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising sending to a plurality of subscribers a global alert.

7. The method of claim 2, the method further comprising sending alert based video data from a controllable device camera through the control server to the end user terminal client device based on the context data wherein the alert is based the context data indicating event identity, the subscriber identity and time.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending device state data between the end user terminal client device and a second client device through the control server.

9. A system for configuring a device state comprising:

a database in a tangible computer readable medium, for storing a learned device state data for a controllable device;

a server coupled to the database, the server comprising,

a first server interface to send the learned device state data for a particular context from the server to a client device;

a second server interface to receive user input data, context data for the learned device state data comprising a subscriber participant identification, and content characterization data for a video program being watched by an identified subscriber participant that has been identified by the subscriber participant identification, the content characterization data comprising a content type for the video program being watched by the identified subscriber participant and a content title for the video program being watched from the client device at the server to configure the device state data in the database in accordance with a learned device state for the context based on user interface data for the video program being watched by the identified subscriber participant, the context data for the video program being watched, subscriber activity data comprising internet protocol television user interface inputs data, device state data wherein the device state data variably controls the controllable device as to direction, speed and power wherein variable control for power comprises a dimmer setting at a power in between an on and off power state for the controllable device, subscriber participant identification data, alerts data, internet protocol television channel selection data, internet protocol television control inputs data and internet protocol television data entry and the content characterization data for the video program being watched by the identified subscriber participant; and

a third server interface to send configured device state data from the server to the client device to adjust the device state for the video program being watched by the identified subscriber participant,

wherein the device state data further comprises refrigerator inventory data of a refrigerator, and the refrigerator inventory data is sent from the server to the client device for display during a commercial break in the content characterization data, wherein the commercial break is sensed in the video program currently being watched.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the context data further comprises global alert data, current content data, and scheduled content data, the system further comprising a fourth server interface to apply a business rule to the user input data, context data and content characterization data for selecting a device state for the controllable device based on a current context.

11. A method of configuring a device state of a controllable device in an internet protocol television network, comprising:

reading directly from a plurality of controllable devices at an internet protocol television system terminal node client device, learned device state data for context data, the learned device state data comprising device state data wherein the device state data variably controls electrical power to the controllable device wherein variable control comprises a dimmer setting at a power in between an on and off power state for the controllable device and content characterization data for a plurality of controllable devices associated with the internet protocol television system terminal node client device, the content characterization data further comprising subscriber identification for a video program being watched by a subscriber identified by the subscriber identification, a content type and a content title for the video program being watched by the subscriber identified by the subscriber identification, wherein the device state data further comprises refrigerator inventory data of a refrigerator;

sending, from the internet protocol television system terminal node client device, the context data and subscriber activity data comprising internet protocol television user interface inputs data, device states data, subscriber identification data, alerts data, internet protocol television channel selection data, internet protocol television control inputs data and internet protocol television data entry;

sending the device state data, the context data and the content characterization data to a control server from the internet protocol television system terminal node client device;

sending the refrigerator inventory data from the server to the internet protocol television system terminal node client device for display during a commercial break in the content characterization data, wherein the commercial break is sensed in the video program currently being watched;

sending verbal user input data from the internet protocol television system terminal node client device to an internet protocol television server for configuring the device state data in a database in accordance with the user input data;

receiving, from the internet protocol television server at the internet protocol television system terminal node client device, a configured device state data, when the context data indicates a particular context exists; and

changing the device state for at least one of the plurality of controllable devices based on the configured device state data received at the internet protocol television system terminal node client device for the video program being watched.

12. The method of claim 11, the method further comprising displaying the device state data in a pop up window on a display associated with the internet protocol television system terminal node client device.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising sending the device state data to the control server.

14. A system for configuring a device state of a controllable device comprising:

a communication link providing communication to the controllable device;

a client device in communication with the communication link to the controllable device, the client device comprising;

a tangible computer readable storage medium comprising a database;

a processor, coupled to the database;

a first processor interface to send learned device state data wherein the learned device state data is learned for a particular context and variably controls electrical power for the controllable device wherein variable control comprises a dimmer setting at a power in between an on and off power state for the controllable device, context data comprising participant identification data, and content characterization data comprising a content type selected from sports, news and movies, and a content title for the controllable device to a first server;

a second processor interface configured to send data representing verbal user input data to the client device to the first server to configure device state data in the database at a second server in accordance with the verbal user input data, wherein the device state data further comprises refrigerator inventory data of a refrigerator, the refrigerator inventory data sent from the first server to the client device for display during a commercial break sensed in a video program currently being watched; and

a third processor interface to receive configured device state data from the second server at the client device.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising a fourth processor interface for sending the configured device state data to the second server.

16. The system of claim 14, further comprising a fifth processor interface for monitoring data representing the device state for the controllable device over the communication link.

17. The system of claim 14, further comprising a sixth processor interface for accepting input from a remote control.