Wireless access control system and methods for intelligent door lock system

• US 10,846,957 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2018
• Issued: 11/24/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: August Home, Inc. (Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: August Home, Inc. (Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cheng, Shih Yu Thomas, Johnson, Jason, Kim, Christopher, Aranda, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tai T
• Application Number:
  US16/197,518
• Publication Number:
  US 20190130686A1
• Time in Patent Office: 734 Days
• Field of Search: 340541, 340540, 340635, 340 528, 340 531, 340 561, 340 572, 3406866, 4554142, 4554561, 455457
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00769 with data transmission performed by wireless means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00865 remotely by wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00904 for hotels, motels, office buildings or the like

Abstract

A wireless access control system is provided to lock or unlock a first door at a dwelling of a user. A user remote access device accepts input based on haptic feedback or motion. The user remote access device includes a vibration mode provides an alert to the user of the remote access device. The user remote access device is configured to be in communication with an intelligent door lock system at the dwelling with the first door. The intelligent door lock system includes: a drive shaft, a circuit coupled to an engine configured to cause a rotation of the drive shaft, and an energy source coupled to the drive shaft. In response to the user remote access device accepting input based on haptic feedback or motion the bolt is caused to move and the first lock is locked or unlocked.

Claims

1. A method of operating a mobile device to trigger lock operations of a door lock device, the method comprising:

wireles sly transmitting at a first interval, from the mobile device to the door lock device, a command to perform a lock operation;

monitoring, with the mobile device, for whether a current time, a current location of the mobile device, or the current time and the current location of the mobile device satisfies one or more criteria; and

in response to determining that the current time, the current location, or the current time and the current location satisfies the one or more criteria, wirelessly transmitting at a second interval, from the mobile device to the door lock device, the command to perform the lock operation, the second interval being shorter than the first interval.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the mobile device is a phone;

the door lock device is mounted on a door to operate a locking mechanism of the door; and

wirelessly transmitting the command from the mobile device to the door lock device comprises wirelessly transmitting the command according to a wireless personal area network (WPAN) protocol.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the WPAN protocol is a Bluetooth protocol.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

monitoring the current location of the mobile device comprises determining a geolocation of the mobile device; and

determining whether the current location satisfies the one or more criteria comprises determining whether the geolocation of the mobile device is within a geo-fence associated with the door lock device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining at least some of the one or more criteria, wherein determining at least some of the one or more criteria comprises;

identifying at least one pattern in a time of day, a location at which lock operations are performed, or the time of day and the location at which lock operations are performed, the at least one pattern including a time pattern, a location pattern, or the time pattern and the location pattern; and

configuring the mobile device to use a time associated with the time pattern, a location associated with the location pattern, or the time associated with the time pattern and the location associated with the location pattern as the at least some of the one or more criteria.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring an acceleration of the mobile device; and

in response to determining that the acceleration of the mobile device satisfies at least one second criteria, wireles sly transmitting at the second interval, from the mobile device to the door lock device, the command to perform the lock operation.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein monitoring the acceleration of the mobile device comprises monitoring for haptic input, motion input, or haptic input and motion input from a user of the mobile device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein wirelessly transmitting the command comprises wirelessly transmitting an identifier for the mobile device, for a user of the mobile device, or for the mobile device and the user of the mobile device.

9. A system comprising:

a door lock device mounted on a door to operate a locking mechanism of the door, the door lock device comprising at least one receiver to receive wireless communications;

a mobile device configured to perform a method comprising;

wireles sly transmitting at a first interval, from the mobile device, a command for the door lock device to perform a lock operation;

monitoring, with the mobile device, for whether a current time, a current location of the mobile device, or the current time and the current location of the mobile device satisfies one or more criteria; and

in response to determining that the current time, the current location, or the current time and the current location satisfies the one or more criteria, wirelessly transmitting at a second interval, from the mobile device, the command for the door lock device to perform the lock operation, the second interval being shorter than the first interval.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the door lock device is retrofit to the door to drive a manually-operating locking mechanism of the door.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the mobile device comprises:

at least one processor; and

at least one storage medium having encoded thereon executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein:

the system further comprises a wireless bridge,

the wirelessly transmitting the command from the mobile device comprises wirelessly transmitting the command from the mobile device to the wireless bridge; and

the wireless bridge is configured to wirelessly relay the command to the door lock device.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein:

the door lock device is mounted on the door of a dwelling; and

the wireless bridge is located at the dwelling.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:

determining at least some of the one or more criteria, wherein determining at least some of the one or more criteria comprises;

identifying at least one pattern in a time of day, a location at which lock operations are performed, or the time of day and the location at which lock operations are performed, the at least one pattern including a time pattern, a location pattern, or the time pattern and the location pattern; and

configuring the mobile device to use a time associated with the time pattern, a location associated with the location pattern, or a time associated with the time pattern and a location associated with the location pattern as the at least some of the one or more criteria.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:

monitoring an acceleration of the mobile device; and

in response to determining that the acceleration of the mobile device satisfies at least one second criteria, wireles sly transmitting at the second interval, from the mobile device to the door lock device, the command to perform the lock operation.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein monitoring the acceleration of the mobile device comprises monitoring for haptic input, motion input, or haptic input and motion input from a user of the mobile device.

17. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having encoded thereon executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method of operating a mobile device to trigger lock operations of a door lock device, the method comprising:

wireles sly transmitting at a first interval, from the mobile device to the door lock device, a command to perform a lock operation;

monitoring, with the mobile device, for whether a current time, a current location of the mobile device, or the current time and the current location of the mobile device satisfies one or more criteria; and

in response to determining that the current time, the current location, or the current time and location satisfies the one or more criteria, wirelessly transmitting at a second interval, from the mobile device to the door lock device, the command to perform the lock operation, the second interval being shorter than the first interval.

18. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein:

monitoring the current location of the mobile device comprises determining a geolocation of the mobile device; and

determining whether the current location satisfies the one or more criteria comprises determining whether the geolocation of the mobile device is within a geo-fence associated with the door lock device.

19. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises:

determining at least some of the one or more criteria, wherein determining at least some of the one or more criteria comprises;

identifying at least one pattern in a time of day, a location at which lock operations are performed, or the time of day and the location at which lock operations are performed, the at least one pattern including a time pattern, a location pattern, or the time pattern and the location pattern; and

configuring the mobile device to use a time associated with the time pattern, a location associated with the location pattern, or the time associated with the time pattern and the location associated with the location pattern as the at least some of the one or more criteria.

20. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises:

monitoring an acceleration of the mobile device; and

in response to determining that the acceleration of the mobile device satisfies at least one second criteria, wireles sly transmitting at the second interval, from the mobile device to the door lock device, the command to perform the lock operation.