System and method of interacting with home automation systems via a set-top box device

• US 9,571,884 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2013
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: White, Scott, Cansler, James
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, AN SON PHI
• Application Number:
  US13/779,839
• Publication Number:
  US 20130179926A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,447 Days
• Field of Search: 725/74, 725 78- 84, 725/100, 725/108, 725/131, 725/133, 725/139, 725/141, 725/151, 725/153, 340/500, 340/539.14, 340/539.26
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2829 involving user profiles according to which the execution of a home appliance functionality is automatically triggered
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2832 Interconnection of the control functionalities between home networks single bridge functionality H04L12/4625
• 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 21/43615 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

The subject disclosure describes among other things receiving user input that includes a device configuration for a device in a home automation system, where the device configuration specifies a triggering event and a response to the triggering event. The subject disclosure also describes transmitting the device configuration to the device, receiving data from the device, where the data indicates that the triggering event has been detected by the device, presenting an alert indicating that the triggering event has been detected by device, where the alert includes selectable options for responding to the alert, identifying the device detecting the triggering event, and altering an operation of the device. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A set-top box, comprising:

a processing system including a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

presenting a graphical user interface on a display device coupled to the set-top box;

presenting, through the graphical user interface, an interface for a device of a plurality of devices in a home automation system that monitors environmental events;

receiving, through the interface, a selection of first user settings for the device of the plurality of devices, wherein the first user settings defines a triggering event for the device of the plurality of devices;

receiving, through the interface, a selection of second user settings for the device of the plurality of devices, wherein the second user settings defines a response to the triggering event for the device of the plurality of devices;

transmitting, by the set-top box, via a residential gateway coupled to the set-top box, data indicating the first user settings to the device of the plurality of devices to store the data indicating the first user settings in the device;

receiving, via a residential gateway, data from the home automation system, wherein the data received indicates that a particular triggering event has been detected by a detecting device of the plurality of devices, wherein the plurality of devices in the home automation system comprises one of a hazard detector, a thermometer, a heating system, an air-conditioning system, a monitoring system including a web camera, a security system, and wherein the environmental events comprise a detection of a hazard, a detection of a temperature, a detection of sound, and a detection of a security breach, and wherein the triggering event is one of the environmental events;

presenting an alert indicating that the particular triggering event has been detected by the detecting device of the plurality of devices according to the second user settings, wherein the alert comprises another graphical user interface with selectable items for responding to the alert, and for receiving user input to control processing of the particular triggering event;

determining a type of triggering event represented by the particular triggering event;

selecting a non-detecting device from among the plurality of devices according to the type of triggering event; and

sending, via the residential gateway, output data to the home automation system, wherein the output data comprises a first instruction to alter a first operation of the detecting device and a second instruction to alter a second operation of the non-detecting device, wherein the first instruction and second instruction are based on the second user settings, wherein an altering of the second operation of the non-detecting device is according to the type of triggering event, wherein the detecting device and the non-detecting device capture different types of information, wherein communications from the device of the plurality of devices is limited to within a premises where the set-top box and home automation system are located, and wherein the non-detecting device is associated with one of the environmental events.

2. The set-top box of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise responding to the alert according to a detected selection of the selectable items.

3. The set-top box of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise accessing the second user setting before presenting the alert.

4. The set-top box of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the user input to control processing of the particular triggering event.

5. The set-top box of claim 1, wherein the alert is presented at the display device coupled to the set-top box.

6. A method, comprising:

presenting, by a set-top box, a graphical user interface on a display device coupled to the set-top box;

presenting, by the set-top box and through the graphical user interface, an interface for a device of a plurality of devices in a home automation system that monitors environmental events;

receiving, through the interface, a selection of first user settings for the device of the plurality of devices, wherein the first user settings defines a triggering event for the device of the plurality of devices;

receiving, through the interface, a selection of second user settings for the device of the plurality of devices, wherein the second user settings defines a response to the triggering event for the device of the plurality of devices;

transmitting, by the set-top box, via a residential gateway coupled to the set-top box, data indicating the first user settings to the device of the plurality of devices to store the date indicating the first user settings in the device;

receiving, by the set-top box and via the residential gateway, data from the home automation system, wherein the data received indicates that a particular triggering event has been detected by a detecting device of the plurality of devices, wherein the plurality of devices in the home automation system comprises one of a hazard detector, a thermometer, a heating system, an air-conditioning system, a monitoring system including a web camera, a security system, and wherein the environmental events comprise a detection of a hazard, a detection of a temperature, a detection of sound, and a detection of a security breach, and wherein the triggering event is one of the environmental events;

presenting, by the set-top box, an alert indicating that the particular triggering event has been detected by the detecting device of the plurality of devices according to the second user settings, wherein the alert comprises another graphical user interface with selectable items for responding to the alert, and for receiving user input to control processing of the particular triggering event;

determining, by the set-top box, a type of triggering event represented by the particular triggering event;

selecting, by the set-top box, a non-detecting device from among the plurality of devices according to the type of triggering event; and

sending, by the set-top box and via the residential gateway, output data to the home automation system, wherein the output data comprises a first instruction to alter a first operation of the detecting device and a second instruction to alter a second operation of the non-detecting device, wherein the first instruction and second instruction are based on the second user settings, wherein an altering of the second operation of the non-detecting device is according to the type of triggering event, wherein the detecting device and the non-detecting device capture different types of information, wherein communications from the device of the plurality of devices is limited to within a premises where the set-top box and home automation system are located, and wherein the non-detecting device is associated with one of the environmental events.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising receiving user input via the selectable items.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein one of the different types of information is associated with an environmental event, and further comprising receiving video content from the device detecting the triggering event.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein presenting the alert comprises presenting the video content.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the video content is presented in a picture-in-picture format.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising silencing an audible alert generated by the device detecting the triggering event.

12. The method of claim 6, further comprising sending instructions to the device detecting the triggering event to send video content to the set-top box.

13. A machine-readable storage device, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:

presenting a graphical user interface on a display device coupled to the set-top box;

presenting, through the graphical user interface, an interface for a device of a plurality of devices in a home automation system that monitors environmental events;

receiving, through the interface, a selection of first user settings for the device of the plurality of devices, wherein the first user settings defines a triggering event for the device of the plurality of devices;

receiving, through the interface, a selection of second user settings for the device of the plurality of devices, wherein the second user settings defines a response to the triggering event for the device of the plurality of devices;

transmitting, by the set-top box, via a residential gateway coupled to the set-top box, data indicating the first user settings to the device of the plurality of devices to store the data indicating the first user settings in the device;

receiving, via a residential gateway, data from the home automation system, wherein the data received indicates that a particular triggering event has been detected by a detecting device of the plurality of devices, wherein the plurality of devices in the home automation system comprises one of a hazard detector, a thermometer, a heating system, an air-conditioning system, a monitoring system including a web camera, a security system, and wherein the environmental events comprise a detection of a hazard, a detection of a temperature, a detection of sound, and a detection of a security breach, and wherein the triggering event is one of the environmental events;

presenting an alert indicating that the particular triggering event has been detected by the detecting device of the plurality of devices according to the second user settings, wherein the alert comprises another graphical user interface with selectable items for responding to the alert, and for receiving user input to control processing of the particular triggering event;

determining a type of triggering event represented by the particular triggering event;

selecting a non-detecting device from among the plurality of devices according to the type of triggering event; and

sending, via the residential gateway, output data to the home automation system, wherein the output data comprises a first instruction to alter a first operation of the detecting device and a second instruction to alter a second operation of the non-detecting device, wherein the first instruction and second instruction are based on the second user settings, wherein an altering of the second operation of the non-detecting device is according to the type of triggering event, wherein the detecting device and the non-detecting device capture different types of information, wherein communications from the device of the plurality of devices is limited to within a premises where the set-top box and home automation system are located, and wherein the non-detecting device is associated with one of the environmental events.

14. The machine-readable storage device of claim 13, wherein the alert comprises video content.

15. The machine-readable storage device of claim 13, wherein the alert comprises an audible alert.

16. The machine-readable storage device of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise receiving video content from the detecting device.

17. The machine-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise presenting the video content.

18. The machine-readable storage device of claim 17, wherein the video content is presented in a picture-in-picture format.

19. The machine-readable storage device of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise receiving user input via the selectable items.

20. The machine-readable storage device of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise disabling an audible alert generated by the detecting device responsive to the user input.