Barrier operator system and method using wireless transmission devices

• US 8,175,591 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2006
• Issued: 05/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Chamberlain Group LLC
• Original Assignee: The Chamberlain Group, Inc. (The Chamberlain Group LLC)
• Inventors: Fitzgibbon, James J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAM, TIMOTHY X
• Application Number:
  US11/566,532
• Publication Number:
  US 20080132220A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,982 Days
• Field of Search: 455/469.1, 455/569.1, 455/420, 455/414.1, 704/270
• US Class Current: 455/420
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00793 by Hertzian waves
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00928 for garage doors
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00182 operated with unidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00563 using personal physical data of the operator, e.g. finger prints, retinal images, voicepatterns
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/31 Voice input
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/1016 Telecontrol
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00

Abstract

A system includes a wireless speech transmission device that communicates a wireless transmission of speech representing data in a first protocol via a wireless network. The speech representing data conveys substantially noise-free human speech. A wireless speech communication device receives the speech representing data in the first protocol via the network and couples representations of the data to a speech communication apparatus in a second protocol. A moveable barrier operator is within receiving range of the wireless transmission of the data from the wireless speech transmission device, intercepts the wireless transmission from the wireless speech transmission device, and recognizes a speech pattern from the data in the wireless transmission. A barrier movement apparatus actuates the barrier based upon the speech pattern.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a mobile wireless speech transmission device operable in a moving vehicle, the mobile wireless speech transmission device communicating a wireless transmission signal representing speech data in a first protocol via a wireless low-power personal area network, the speech data representative of substantially noise-free human speech;

a mobile wireless speech communication device receiving the wireless transmission signal representing the speech data in the first protocol via the wireless low-power personal area network and coupling the speech data to a speech communication apparatus in a second protocol;

a moveable barrier operator separate from the mobile wireless speech communication device, the moveable barrier operator comprising a receiver configured to directly intercept the same wireless transmission signal from the mobile wireless speech transmission device received by the mobile wireless speech transmission device in the first protocol, the moveable barrier configured to recognize a speech pattern from the speech data in the wireless transmission signal representing speech data in the first protocol; and

a barrier movement apparatus coupled to a barrier and the moveable barrier operator for actuating the barrier based upon the speech pattern.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the moveable barrier operator is configured to identify a word or phrase in the wireless transmission.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the first protocol is a wireless protocol.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the wireless protocol is the Bluetooth-compliant protocol.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the second protocol is a cellular protocol.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the wireless speech communication device comprises a cellular phone.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the wireless speech communication device comprises a device selected from a group comprising a personal digital assistant, a pager, and a personal computer.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the personal area network is operable over an area covering a vehicle.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the mobile wireless transmission device comprises a wireless headset.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the moveable barrier operator is selected from a group comprising a gate operator and a garage door operator.

11. A method comprising:

operating a mobile wireless speech communication device and a mobile wireless speech transmission device operable in a moving vehicle within a wireless low power personal area network;

transmitting a wireless transmission over a substantially noise-free wireless link from the mobile wireless transmission device to the mobile wireless speech communication device according to a first protocol, the wireless transmission including a wireless signal representative of speech data;

receiving the wireless signal representative of the speech data from the mobile wireless transmission device at the mobile wireless communication device to establish a wireless communication link in the first protocol;

at a time when the wireless communication link is established between the mobile wireless transmission device and the mobile wireless communication device, directly intercepting the wireless signal representative of speech at a receiver of a moveable barrier operator separate from the mobile wireless speech communication device;

processing the wireless transmission at the moveable barrier operator to determine a speech pattern of the speech representing data in the wireless transmission; and

actuating a barrier according to the speech pattern.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the speech pattern comprises a word or phrase.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the first protocol is a wireless protocol.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the first protocol is the Bluetooth-compliant protocol.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the second protocol is a cellular protocol.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the wireless speech communication device comprises a cellular phone.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein the wireless speech communication device is selected from a group comprising:

a personal digital assistant, a pager, and a personal computer.

18. The method of claim 11 wherein the personal area network operates within a vehicle.

19. The method of claim 11 wherein the mobile wireless transmission device comprises a wireless headset.

20. A system comprising:

a mobile wireless speech transmission device operable in a moving vehicle, the mobile wireless speech transmission device being adapted to convert received human speech into a high-quality wireless transmission signal, the high quality wireless transmission signal representative of speech data, the mobile wireless speech transmission device sending the wireless transmission signal to a cellular phone according to a first wireless protocol with an established first communication link between the mobile wireless speech transmission device and the cellular phone; and

a moveable barrier operator being adapted to intercept the same wireless transmission signal sent to the cellular phone according to the first wireless protocol with the established first communication link, recognize a speech pattern in the speech data, and operate a moveable barrier according to the speech pattern.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein the moveable barrier operator is configured to identify a word or phrase in the wireless transmission.

22. The system of claim 20 wherein the wireless protocol is the Bluetooth-compliant protocol.

23. The system of claim 20 wherein the mobile wireless transmission device, barrier operator, and cellular phone operate over personal area network.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the personal area network is operable over an area covering a vehicle.

25. The system of claim 20 wherein the mobile wireless transmission device comprises a wireless headset.

26. The system of claim 20 wherein the moveable barrier operator is selected from a group comprising a gate operator and a garage door operator.

27. The system of claim 20 wherein the cellular phone is configured to couple a representation of the speech data transmitted in the first protocol to a speech communications apparatus in a second cell phone protocol at about a time when the wireless transmission signal is intercepted by the moveable barrier operator.

28. A method comprising:

operating a mobile bluetooth compliant transmission device and a mobile phone within a wireless low power personal area network;

transmitting a wireless transmission signal from the mobile bluetooth compliant transmission device to the mobile phone according to a bluetooth compliant protocol, the wireless transmission signal representative of speech data;

receiving the wireless transmission signal representative of the speech data from the bluetooth compliant transmission device at the mobile phone according to an established first wireless communication link;

directly intercepting the wireless transmission signal representative of speech data transmitted according to the bluetooth compliant protocol and the established first wireless communication link at a receiver of a moveable barrier operator separate from the mobile wireless speech communication device; and

processing the wireless transmission signal at the moveable barrier operator to determine a speech pattern of the speech data in the wireless transmission; and

actuating a barrier according to the speech pattern.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein the method further comprises coupling the speech data transmitted in the bluetooth compliant protocol from the mobile phone to a speech communication apparatus in a cell phone protocol at about a time the wireless transmission signal is intercepted by the moveable barrier operator.