Patent ID: 7187986
Filing Date: 2007-03-06
Classification: G05B

Abstract:
1. A system comprising: a control unit to communicate with the plurality of home monitoring control devices that monitor features of a plurality of local systems via a local network at a home location and to monitor data of operations of the features received from the plurality of home monitoring control devices, the control unit further to periodically connect to a data center and transmit data received from the plurality of home monitoring control devices to the data center, the control unit further configured to operate in one of a plurality of modes and direct a device of the plurality of home monitoring control devices to perform at least one function based on a selected mode from the plurality of modes upon detection of an event, the plurality of modes comprising at least a first mode associated with a presence of a user at the home location and a second mode associated with an absence of the user from the home location; and a data center configured to receive data from the control unit of the plurality of home monitoring control devices via a global computer network, the data center further configured to provide a user-customizable control page for a user to remotely monitor the data provided by the plurality of home monitoring control devices and provide commands to the control unit to be executed at the plurality of the local systems at the home location, wherein the plurality of home monitoring control devices includes at least one lighting control, at least one temperature control, at least one moisture control, at least one freeze control, at least one pet feeding device, at least one grocery bar code reader, at least one propane gauge, at least one security system, at least one smoke alarm and at least one carbon monoxide alarm.