Communication of commands in a home automation network and between home automation networks

• US 8,886,860 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2010
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Somfy Sas (Somfy SA)
• Original Assignee: Somfy Sas (Somfy SA)
• Inventors: Mignot, Pierre
• Primary Examiner(s): AUVE, GLENN ALLEN
• Application Number:
  US13/505,652
• Publication Number:
  US 20120265909A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,573 Days
• Field of Search: 710/106, 700/56, 700/275
• US Class Current: 710/106
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2814 Exchanging control software or macros for controlling appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving configuration of the network and network elements H04L41/08
• 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: H04L 12/2836 Protocol conversion between an external network and a home network controlling appliance services of a home automation network from a device located outside the home and the home network H04L12/2818; protocol conversion H04L69/08; adaptation of digital video signals for transport over a specific home network H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/20 End-user application control systems

Abstract

Method of communication in a home automation network allowing communication between parties consisting of command transmitters and/or communication receivers associated with equipment in a building by means of frames.

Claims

1. A method of communication in a home-automation network allowing communication between actors consisting of command transmitters and/or command receivers associated with items of equipment in a building, wherein said method comprises a step, said step being performed by at least one of said actors, of communicating by means of frames, wherein a frame comprises a succession of functional segments, each functional segment comprising a field of segment type.

2. The communication method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the field of segment type indicates that the functional segment comprises one of the following elements:

an address of an actor,

a designation of a parameter,

a parameter value,

a type of transaction,

a type of action.

3. The communication method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a frame comprises several functional segments specifying a type of action.

4. The communication method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a frame comprises more than two functional segments identifying actors.

5. The communication method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a type of action designates at least one of the following actions or operations:

an assignment or an imposition,

an interrogation,

a logic condition, based in particular on a measured value of a parameter that can be measured by a sensor.

6. The communication method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a functional segment specifying a type of transaction, the type of transaction indicating at least the direction of the transaction between actors and/or an acknowledgement request and/or a response to an acknowledgement request.

7. The communication method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each functional segment comprises a segment length field making it possible to deduce the number of bytes contained in the functional segment, except for particular functional segments whose length is predetermined and that may specify a type of action or a type of transaction.

8. The communication method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each functional segment comprises a segment length field making it possible to deduce the number of bytes contained in the functional segment.

9. The communication method as claimed in claim 1, wherein it comprises a step of constructing the frame from an instruction written in a text or icon type programming language of, in which one separate functional segment is built for

each actor identifier,

each parameter identifier, designating in particular a position or a speed of movement of an equipment item,

each type of action,

each parameter value.

10. The communication method as claimed in claim 9, wherein, in the case of a text type programming language, a particular functional segment is formed from a string of characters comprising only signs.

11. The communication method as claimed in claim 10, wherein one and the same sign has a different meaning if it specifies a type of transaction or if it specifies a type of action.

12. The communication method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a type of action designates an action of adding and/or an action of subtracting actors to and/or from a group of actors.

13. The communication method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a type of action designates an action of adding new functional segments to the frame.

14. A home-automation device of a type being a command transmitter and/or command receiver and/or home-automation installation programming tool, comprising hardware and software means and communication means capable of emitting and of receiving frames, said frames comprising a plurality of functional segments, wherein the hardware and software means comprise a frame memory making it possible to store a frame, a first table storing a plurality of segment-type codes, a comparator capable of recognizing in a data field a segment-type code and of deducing from this segment-type code the type of each functional segment, in order to apply the communication method as claimed in claim 1.

15. A home-automation installation comprising at least one home-automation device as claimed in claim 14.

16. A translation device for programming a home-automation installation, said installation comprising command transmitters and/or command receivers associated with items of equipment in a building, said command transmitters and/or command receivers communicating with one another by means of frames comprising several functional segments, wherein said device comprises means for translating into a frame an instruction written in a programming language, the instruction comprising words consisting of strings of alphanumeric characters and/or signs and/or icons, the structure of said translated frame corresponding to that of the instruction and comprising the same number of functional segments as the instruction comprises words and each functional segment comprising a field of segment type.

17. A home-automation installation comprising at least one translation device as claimed in claim 16.