Device for controlling home automation equipment of a building

• US 8,648,814 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2009
• Issued: 02/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Somfy Sas (Somfy SA)
• Original Assignee: Somfy Sas (Somfy SA)
• Inventors: Duchene, Isabelle, Marais, Luc, Loiseau, Jean-Nol
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, NICHOLAS J
• Application Number:
  US12/634,717
• Publication Number:
  US 20100141602A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,524 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/042 using digital processors G05B19/05 takes precedence

Abstract

Device (60; 100) for controlling home automation equipment (1a, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 4a, 5a) of a building, comprising a display screen (101), in which the screen is assigned to the display of type icons (ITYP1, ITYP2, ITYP3, ITYP4, ITYP5), a type icon representing a set of home automation equipment of one and the same type, the screen also being assigned to the display of location icons (ILOC0, ILOC1, ILOC2, ILOC3, ILOC4, ILOC5), a location icon representing a set of home automation equipment installed in one and the same place in the building, which control device comprises a first selection or navigation means (103, 104, 105, 106) making it possible to position, in a reduced area (98) of the screen, either, a selected type icon or location icon, so as to display on the screen equipment icons (4, 5, 123, 123′, 125, 125′, 131, 131′) representative of the home automation equipment assigned to said selected type icon or location icon.

Claims

1. A control device for controlling home automation equipment of a building, comprising

a display screen, in which a first portion of the screen is assigned to the display of type icons,

a type icon representing a set of home automation equipment of one and the same type, this first portion also being assigned to the display of location icons,

a location icon representing a set of home automation equipment installed in one and the same place in the building such as a room or a group of rooms,

wherein an equipment icon can be associated with a type icon and one or more location icons;

and

wherein the control device comprises a first selection or navigation means making it possible to position, in a reduced area of the screen, either a selected type icon or location icon, so as to automatically display in a second portion of the screen equipment icons representative of the home automation equipment assigned to said selected type icon or location icon.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the display screen is also a control screen, for example of touch type, the first navigation means being able to recognize a movement of the finger and the first selection means being able to recognize a contact by the finger.

3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the icons are arranged on the screen along an open line such as, for example, a segment or an arc of a circle.

4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the icons are arranged on the screen by spatially grouping the type icons and by spatially grouping the location icons.

5. The control device according to claim 1, wherein a default location icon (ILOC0) separates the type icons from the other location icons.

6. The control device according to claim 5, wherein either all the equipment items are assigned to the default location icon, or only the equipment items not assigned to another location icon are assigned to the default location icon.

7. The control device according to claim 1, wherein an action on the first navigation means or an action on the first selection means results in the movement of a set of icons, in particular a movement of the set of type and location icons.

8. The control device according to claim 1, wherein an action on the first navigation means or an action on the first selection means results in the displacement of a selection index and/or the displacement of the reduced area.

9. The control device according to claim 1, wherein an action on the first navigation means or an action on the first selection means results in an appearance and/or a disappearance of an icon.

10. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the second screen portion comprises a second navigation means and a second selection means acting on the equipment icons.

11. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the selection of an equipment icon results in the opening of a control window for that equipment item.

12. The control device according to claim 1, wherein an equipment icon is representative of the status of the equipment.

13. The control device according to claim 12, wherein the control device comprises means for sending a request addressed to the equipment for the equipment to reply with information on their status and means for detecting the transmission of control commands or control command execution information, means for sending a request being activated early when the detection means detects a transmission of a control command or of control command execution information.

14. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device comprises a means of automatic assignnment of an equipment item to an equipment type.

16. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the reduced area of the screen is part of the first portion of the display.

15. A control device for controlling home automation equipment of a building, comprising a display screen in which a first portion of the screen is assigned to the display of type icons, a type icon representing a set of home automation equipment of one and the same type, wherein the control device comprises means for automatically creating and displaying new type icons as new equipment belonging to a new type is recognized in the installation.