Mobile device assisted smart building control

• US 9,520,250 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2015
• Issued: 12/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: O'Keeffe, James Thomas
• Original Assignee: O'Keeffe, James Thomas
• Inventors: O'Keeffe, James Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Shen, Qun
• Application Number:
  US14/863,259
• Publication Number:
  US 20160088438A1
• Time in Patent Office: 447 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.2, 455/456.3
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2239/048 comprising microphone or speaker
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2300/03 Application domotique, e.g. for house automation, bus connected switches, sensors, loads or intelligent wiring
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 9/02 Bases, casings, or covers accommodating more than one switch or a switch and another electrical component H02B1/26
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 9/0271 structurally combining a switch and an electronic component for relays H01H50/021
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/023 Screens for loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/028 associated with devices performing functions other than acoustics, e.g. electric candles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/14 Protecting elements, switches, relays or circuit breakers

Abstract

A central controller for device automation can control output devices (e.g. automated lights and speakers) based on calculating the indoor location of a person. In familiar surroundings (e.g. homes), people may leave their favorite wireless devices unattended (e.g. smartphones and tablet PCs) and in general people exhibit varying proximity to their mobile wireless devices. Hence, indoor locations calculated for mobile wireless devices are of variable importance when calculating indoor occupant locations. (e.g. exhibiting highly-correlated locations when handheld). In one embodiment, the central controller aggregates wireless signals from mobile wireless devices. The central controller calculates one or more mobile device location estimates and person-to-device proximities from the wireless signals. The central controller uses each person-to-device proximity to weight the corresponding mobile device location in a calculation to estimate the occupancy of the region of the building and controls an output device based on the occupancy estimate.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving at a central controller mobile device signals from one or more mobile wireless devices located in a building,

wherein the mobile device signals comprise proximity indications capable of indicating the presence of a person in a vicinity of a mobile wireless device from the one or more mobile wireless devices;

processing the proximity indications to identify aspects of the proximity indications representative of a measure of proximity taking place between one or more people and a mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices,

and thereby generating for each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices a corresponding proximity estimate representative of the proximity taking place between the one or more people and the corresponding mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices,

wherein the proximity estimate corresponding to the each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices indicates a measure of the proximity of the one or more people to the corresponding mobile wireless device;

providing at the central controller for the each of the one or more mobile wireless devices a corresponding mobile device location estimate;

generating for the each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices a corresponding weight based at least in part on the corresponding proximity estimate;

weighing for the each of the one or more mobile wireless devices the corresponding mobile device location estimate according to the corresponding weight, and thereby determining at least in part an occupancy estimate for a first region from a plurality of regions within the building,

wherein the weight corresponding to the each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices functions to prioritize the corresponding mobile device location estimate, in a calculation for determining the occupancy estimate for the first region from the plurality of regions within the building;

generating at the central controller one or more output signals,

wherein at least one aspect of at least one of the one or more output signals is based on the occupancy estimate for the first region from the plurality of regions,

wherein the at least one of the one or more output signals is operable to control an aspect of an output device; and

transmitting from the central controller the one or more output signals.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

selecting the output device from a plurality of output devices, and

providing at the central controller an association between each output device of the plurality of output devices and a region from the plurality of regions.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the proximity indications from the mobile device signals are based on an aspect of signal quality from a set of signal quality aspects consisting of received signal strength indication, multipath interference, bit error rate, signal to noise ratio and time of flight delay.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein for at least one mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices the corresponding weight further functions to at least in part determine a location associated with the first region from the plurality of regions within the building.

5. A central controller comprising:

one or more receivers;

wherein at least one of the one or more receivers receives mobile device signals from one or more mobile wireless devices,

wherein the mobile device signals comprise proximity indications capable of indicating the presence of a person in a vicinity of a mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices;

a proximity estimator to process the proximity indications and thereby to at least in part generate for each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices a corresponding proximity estimate,

wherein the proximity estimate corresponding to the each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile devices is indicative of a measure of proximity of one or more people to the corresponding mobile wireless device;

a mobile device location estimator to generate for the each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices a corresponding mobile device location estimate;

a weight generator to generate for the each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices a corresponding weight, based at least in part on the corresponding proximity estimate;

an occupancy estimator to weigh for the each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices the mobile device location estimate according to the corresponding weight, and thereby to at least in part determine for each region of one or more regions of a building a corresponding occupancy estimate,

wherein the weight corresponding to the each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices functions to modulate the importance of the corresponding mobile device location estimate, in a calculation to at least in part determine for at least one region of the one or more regions the corresponding occupancy estimate;

an output signal generator to generate one or more output signals,

wherein at least one aspect of at least one of the one or more output signals is based on the occupancy estimate for at least one of the one or more regions of the building,

wherein the at least one of the one or more output signals is operable to control an aspect of an output device; and

a transmitter to transmit the one or more output signals from the central controller.

6. The central controller of claim 5, wherein the each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices is from a set of mobile wireless devices consisting of a mobile cellular telephone, a tablet PC, a laptop, a smartwatch and a battery operated wearable electronic device.

7. The central controller of claim 5, wherein the proximity indications in the one or more mobile device signals are based on a sensor technology from a set of sensor technologies consisting of motion sensing, acceleration sensing, vibration sensing, direction sensing, sound sensing and light level sensing.

8. The central controller of claim 5, wherein the one or more mobile wireless devices is at least two mobile wireless devices.

9. The central controller of claim 5, wherein the output device is located within the one or more regions of the building.

10. The central controller of claim 5, wherein the one or more regions of the building is at least two regions of the building and wherein the output device is located in a region from the at least two regions of the building.

11. The central controller of claim 5, wherein the one or more regions are from a plurality of regions of the building, and wherein prior to determining for each region of the one or more regions the corresponding occupancy estimate, the plurality of regions are identified at the central controller.

12. The central controller of claim 5, wherein for each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices the corresponding mobile device location estimate is in a region of the building.

13. The central controller of claim 5, wherein at least some of the proximity indications from the mobile device signals are based on an aspect of signal quality from a set of signal quality aspects consisting of received signal strength indication, multipath interference, bit error rate, signal to noise ratio and time of flight delay.

14. The central controller of claim 5, wherein for the at least one mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices the corresponding weight further functions to modify a location associated with the corresponding mobile device location estimate, in a calculation performed by the occupancy estimator to at least in part determine for the at least one region of the one or more regions the corresponding occupancy estimate.

15. The central controller of claim 5, wherein for the at least one mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices the corresponding weight further functions to at least in part determine a size for at least the one of the one or more regions of the building.

16. The central controller of claim 5, wherein for at least one mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices the corresponding weight further functions to at least in part determine a location associated with the at least one of the one or more regions of the building.

17. The central controller of claim 5, wherein the occupancy estimate corresponding to a first region from the one or more regions of the building is a probability of occupancy at the one or more locations in the first region.

18. The central controller of claim 5, wherein the mobile device signals are transmitted from the one or more mobile wireless devices as short range wireless signals, and wherein the transmitter transmits the one or more output signals as short range wireless signals.

19. The central controller of claim 5, wherein the at least one of the one or more receivers receives first signals from one or more fixed wireless sensors,

wherein the first signals are transmitted from the one or more fixed wireless sensors as short range wireless signals,

wherein the first signals comprise first data, and the first data is indicative of occupancy in at least a portion of the building, and

wherein for the at least one region of the one or more regions of the building the corresponding occupancy estimate is based at least in part on at least some of the first data.

20. The central controller of claim 19, wherein the weight corresponding to a first mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices is based at least in part on the first data.

21. The central controller of claim 19, wherein for at least one mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices the corresponding weight functions to modulate the importance of the corresponding mobile wireless device location estimate relative to the at least some of the first data.

22. The central controller of claim 19, wherein for the at least one mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices the corresponding mobile device location estimate is based at least in part on the first signals transmitted from the at least one of the one or more fixed wireless sensors.

23. The central controller of claim 5, wherein the proximity estimator comprises a digital signal processor, and

wherein the proximity estimator identifies an aspect of a pattern of data within the proximity indications from a set of aspects consisting of:

speech indications in the pattern of data,

an activity operable to generate the pattern of data,

a measure of the proximity between the one or more people and a mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices indicated by the pattern of data, and

an object operable to generate the pattern of data.

24. The central controller of claim 5, wherein the proximity indications in the at least some of the mobile device signals comprise a plurality of sound measurements collected by a first mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices, and

wherein the proximity estimator generates the proximity estimate corresponding to the first mobile wireless device based at least in part on identification of a source associated with the plurality of sound measurements.

25. A central controller comprising:

means to provide proximity indications from one or more mobile wireless devices,

wherein the proximity indications are capable of indicating the presence of a person in a vicinity of a mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices;

a proximity estimator to process the proximity indications and thereby at least in part generating for each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices a corresponding proximity estimate,

wherein the proximity estimate corresponding to the each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile devices is a measure of proximity of one or more people to the corresponding mobile wireless device;

a mobile device location estimator to generate for the each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices a corresponding mobile device location estimate;

a weight generator to generate for the each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices a corresponding weight, based at least in part on the corresponding proximity estimate;

an occupancy estimator to weigh for the each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices the mobile device location estimate according to the corresponding weight, and thereby to at least in part determine for each region of one or more regions of a building a corresponding occupancy estimate,

wherein the weight corresponding to the each mobile wireless device of the one or more mobile wireless devices functions to modulate the processing of the corresponding mobile device location estimate, in a calculation to at least in part determine for at least one region of the one or more regions the corresponding occupancy estimate;

an output signal generator to generate one or more output signals,

wherein at least one aspect of at least one of the one or more output signals is based on the occupancy estimate corresponding to a region of the one or more regions of the building,

wherein the at least one of the one or more output signals is operable to control an aspect of an output device; and

a transmitter to transmit the one or more output signals from the central controller.

26. The central controller of claim 25, wherein the central controller is located within a first mobile wireless device from the one or more mobile wireless devices, and

wherein the first mobile wireless device further comprises:

an electronic enclosure for housing the mobile device location estimator, the proximity estimator the occupancy estimator, the output signals generator and the transmitter.

27. The central controller of claim 26 further comprising:

one or more receivers to receive first signals from one or more fixed wireless sensors,

wherein the first signals are transmitted from the one or more fixed wireless sensors as short range wireless signals,

wherein the first signals comprise first data, and the first data is indicative of occupancy in at least a portion of the building, and

wherein the occupancy estimate corresponding to at least one region for the one or more regions of the building is based at least in part on the first data,

wherein the central controller is located within a first mobile wireless device from the one or more mobile wireless devices, and

wherein the first mobile wireless device further comprises;

an electronic enclosure for housing the mobile device location estimator, the proximity estimator the occupancy estimator, the output signals generator, the transmitter and the one or more receivers.