Abstract:
Systems and methods receive, from a building, an inventory identifying a plurality of electronic devices associated with a building automation system. The systems and methods compare the inventory to an additional inventory associated with an additional building automation system of an additional building to determine that the inventory is the same as or similar to the additional inventory, wherein the additional inventory identifies a plurality of additional electronic devices. The systems and methods further identify an automation scene that coordinates operation of at least a portion of the plurality of additional electronic devices and provide the automation scene to the building for implementation in the building automation system.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/602,937 filed Sep. 4, 2012, and titled “SCENE CREATION FOR BUILDING AUTOMATION SYSTEMS”, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure is directed to a system and method for creation of scenes in a building automation and/or monitoring systems, particularly home automation and monitoring systems. 
     BACKGROUND 
     This Background is intended to provide the basic context of this patent application and it is not intended to describe a specific problem to be solved. 
     Home automation systems are becoming more popular both as a convenience and as an energy-saving mechanism. The use of home automation equipment to turn off unneeded lights and appliances, adjust thermostats even on a room-by-room basis as needed or based on outside weather conditions all contribute to a reduction in energy consumption and corresponding cost saving. The addition of smoke detectors, door/window position sensors, glass break detectors, and even water sensors, add the ability to monitor the status of a home or business with respect to different emergency situations. The combination of control points and sensors creates a virtually limitless palette of options for home automation. However, programming these various actuators and sensors or even knowing what conditions to monitor may require professional help, extensive training, or time consuming experimentation. 
     SUMMARY 
     This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
     A method of suggesting an automation scene for a building having a building automation system configured with a controller for controlling a plurality of electronic devices is provided in one embodiment. The method comprises receiving, at a remote server from the controller via a network, an inventory identifying the plurality of electronic devices; and comparing, by the remote server, the inventory to an additional inventory associated with an additional building automation system of an additional building to determine that the inventory is the same as or similar to the additional inventory, the additional inventory identifying a plurality of additional electronic devices implemented in the additional building automation system. The method further comprises identifying an automation scene that coordinates operation of at least a portion of the plurality of additional electronic devices, and providing, to the controller via the network, the automation scene for implementation in the building automation system. 
     A system for suggesting an automation scene for a building having a building automation system for controlling a plurality of electronic devices is provided in another embodiment. The system comprises a network interface adapted to receive, from the building, an inventory identifying the plurality of electronic devices, a memory configured to store an additional inventory associated with an additional building automation system of an additional building, and a processor adapted to interface with the network interface and the memory. The processor is configured to execute computer executable instructions stored in the memory to cause the processor to compare the inventory to the additional inventory to determine that the inventory is the same as or similar to the additional inventory, the additional inventory identifying a plurality of additional electronic devices implemented in the additional building automation system, identify an automation scene that coordinates operation of at least a portion of the plurality of additional electronic devices, and provide, to the building via the network interface, the automation scene for implementation in the building automation system. 
     A computer readable storage medium comprising non-transitory computer readable instructions stored thereon for suggesting an automation scene for a building having a building automation system for controlling a plurality of electronic devices is provided in another embodiment. The instructions when executed on a processor cause the processor to receive, from the building via a network, an inventory identifying the plurality of electronic devices, and compare the inventory to an additional inventory associated with an additional building automation system of an additional building to determine that the inventory is the same as or similar to the additional inventory, the additional inventory identifying a plurality of additional electronic devices implemented in the additional building automation system. The instructions when executed on the processor further cause the processor to identify an automation scene that coordinates operation of at least a portion of the plurality of additional electronic devices, and provide, to the building via the network, the automation scene for implementation in the building automation system. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an exemplary home automation system; 
         FIG. 2  is a flow chart illustrating a process for scene creation for a home automation system; 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating a process for remote creation of scenes for a home automation system; and 
         FIG. 4  is a simplified and exemplary block diagram of home automation components. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Although the following text sets forth a detailed description of numerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legal scope of the description is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this patent. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment since describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims. 
     It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined in this patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term” “is hereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intent to limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication, beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not be interpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in any section of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent is referred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader, and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless a claim element is defined by reciting the word “means” and a function without the recital of any structure, it is not intended that the scope of any claim element be interpreted based on the application of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an exemplary home automation system  100 . The greatly simplified home  102  is used to illustrate an embodiment that illustrates the operation and interactions of system components. While the home  102  is not technically a part of the automation system, it is useful to consider the system in the context of a home  102  or other building. A controller  104  is coupled electrically to other system components, described below. System communication may be wireless, for example, via a Zigbee protocol, may use power line communication such as X10 or Insteon protocols, or other communication media or protocols. In some embodiments, the controller  104  may be mirrored or replaced by a computer  106  that may also have access to the relevant protocol or protocols. Both the controller  104  and the computer  106  may have access to an external server  152  via a network  146 , such as the Internet. 
     A first controllable unit, an outlet  108  may be connected to a lamp  110 . Another controllable unit, an outlet  112  may be connected to a second lamp  114  while a third controller unit, an outlet  116  may be coupled to a third lamp  118 . The controllable units  108 ,  114 , and  116  may receive control messages from the controller  104  to turn their respective lamps  110 ,  114 ,  118  on or off. In addition, each controller may sense when a lamp is manually turned on or off and may operate the lamp accordingly. That is, if a lamp  110  is off as a response to a message from the controller  104 , manually turning the lamp switch (not depicted) off and back on will cause the controllable unit  108  to turn on the electricity to the lamp and also to send a message to the controller  104  that the lamp has been turned on. The controller  104  may log the time, a reference to the controllable unit  108 , and the change in state, in this example, from off to on. In some embodiments, a controllable unit may be identified by a type and location rather than a simple identifier, for example, ‘living room west table lamp.’ 
     The home automation system  100  may also include a number of switches  120 , 122 ,  124  that may each control another electronic device that are not depicted for the sake of clarity, such as an overhead light, an outside light, or an outlet, either one already having its own controllable unit or one wired directly to the switch. Like the outlets  108 ,  112 , and  116 , a manually controllable electronic device coupled to a switch may also activate the switch and cause a status message to be sent to the controller  104 . A controllable window shade  126  may be remotely controllable via a control unit (not depicted) and may also be capable of reporting a state of the shade, such as a percentage it is closed. A projector  136  may also be controllable and may report status, such as on/off, to the controller  104 . 
     A number of sensors may be part of the home automation system  100 . Doors  128 ,  130  and  132  may have corresponding sensors that monitor the status of each respective door as being open, closed, locked, or unlocked. A garage door  134  may have a similar sensor that monitors its state. Motion sensors  138 ,  140 , and  142  may report motion within their respective field of coverage. 
     In addition to communication with a server  152 , the controller  104  may be capable of communication with a smart phone  148  via a wireless link  150 , either directly, such as via an 802.11 network (WiFi) or via a cellular telephone network and the Internet  146 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a process or method  160  for scene creation using the exemplary automation system  100  of  FIG. 1 . A system including a controller  104 , controllable units and associated electronic devices, e.g. outlet  108  and lamp  110 , and sensors, e.g., motion sensor  128  is used to illustrate an exemplary embodiment (block  162 ). The controller  104  may create an inventory of all system equipment (block  164 ). For example, as each system element, either another controller  106 , controllable unit and associated electronic device, sensor, etc., is added, the controller  104  (or controller  106 ), may update an inventory list of the equipment. As discussed above, the inventory may include not only the equipment, but the location and type of equipment, as well as the range of available control, type of status, or both. For example, some lamps are not dimmable, so an associated controller may only report the lamp as off or on. Dimmable lamps may be listed as 100% dimmable and have status information that reflects the current dimming state. Also as discussed above, a door or window may have both open/closed and locked/unlocked status information. When more information about the electronic device or sensor is available, such as a location, range of control, etc., more robust scenes can be developed that take advantage of all available inputs and controls. Additionally, better descriptive information allows scene information to be more easily understood. The value of a more informative description is illustrated by a comparison of a device-oriented system description such as: controllable unit no.: 882, 20%, 2200, and a more human readable description such as: the west living room lamp is programmed to dim to 20% at 10:00 pm. In an embodiment, in order to standardize scene descriptions, the inventory may include a standardized functional description. Such a description may be selected, for example, from a drop down list specifying common functions, such as, but not limited to, “main entrance,” “patio sliding door,” “dining room overhead light,” “entrance door motion detector,” etc. In doing so, scenes may be matched by function, rather than just equipment list. This may be particularly helpful when selecting suggested scenes at a server based on inventory and/or function, as described below. 
     A log of operating states of each piece of equipment is created over a period of time (block  166 ). For example, each change in state of a controlled electronic device and each activation of a sensor may be logged in a time sequence. 
     Optionally, the system inventory and the log may be sent to a server, such as server  152  of  FIG. 1  (block  168 ). Operations performed at the server are discussed below with respect to  FIG. 3 . 
     Using the log created at block  164 , an analysis of usage patterns may be developed (block  170 ). For example, lamp  114  is turned on in the early evening and stays on for approximately 3.5 hours. Further, the patterns may be compared among devices (block  172 ), such as shade  126  is almost always lowered before the projector  136  is turned on. Additionally, further analysis of these patterns may be examined for broader relationships (block  174 ). For example, between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm, a sequence of the following may occur multiple days per week: garage door  134  opens and closes, door  130  opens, light  118  is turned off via switch  124 , switch  122  is activated, motion detector  140  is activated, shade  126  is lowered, projector  136  is turned on, and lamp  114  is turned on. An algorithm may systematically review all sensor activations and device status changes to determine causal events and their related responses. In the scenario above, the garage door  134  may be used to activate a scene involving everything from the lighting changes to the projector turning on. Optionally intermediate triggers, such as the door  130  opening or motion sensor  140  activation, may be used to continue a paused scene but in another case, everything but light  118  turning off may be executed without interruption. 
     The algorithm may also include time of day characterizations, so that the above scene is played on weekday evenings, but the garage door opening on a Saturday morning does not activate that particular scene. 
     Using these patterns and relationships, the controller  104 , or optionally, an external server  152 , may develop one or more proposed scenes for incorporation into the home automation system  100  (block  176 ). 
     After a scene has been generated, the scene may be presented to a user for adoption into the home automation system  100  (block  178 ). The scene may display both the sequence of activations/deactivations and the qualifiers which trigger the scene, such as sensor activity and time of day. A user may be given the opportunity to update or amend the scene before activation. 
     Upon approval by the user, the proposed scene may be added to the home automation system (block  180 ) and activated. Alternatively, the new scene may be stored but not activated, for example, pending a particular circumstance, such as a vacation or for seasonal differences. The data logging may be done on a long term basis, so that current scenes may evolve based on manual intervention in a scene, or for slowly varying conditions such as the length of daylight hours, school year and summer patterns, etc. As discussed more below, proposed scenes for home automation may be received from, for example, an external server (block  182 ). 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a method or process  188  for remote creation of scenes for a home automation system  100 . A server, such as server  152  of  FIG. 1  may receive an inventory of home automation equipment such as controllable units, corresponding electronic devices, and sensors for a particular home or building (block  190 ). The server  152  may use the inventory in three ways to generate scenes for use in the home system  100 . 
     First, in an embodiment, the inventory may also include usage data, such as log data generated at the user site, such as log data generated at block  166  of  FIG. 2 . When log data is included, an analysis of the log data with respect to the inventory of equipment may be performed, as described above, to generate scenes for use in home automation (block  192 ). 
     In another embodiment, the inventory may be used to compare the inventory to other known installations having similar equipment controlling similar electronic devices to suggest scenes found in the those similar systems (block  196 ). For example, unlocking and opening a front entry door  128  may cause activation of the light switch  120  and opening the shade  126  if the outside temperature is below 75 degrees. An algorithm for scene selection may involve matching not only the part numbers of the controllable units, but the functional identification of their use. In the above example, the elements may be identified as front entry door sensor, front entry light switch, and south-facing curtain, for example. While a robust pool of system inventories may include an identical match for a particular system, such an identical match may not be necessary. For example, a particular scene may only require a subset of controllable units and associated electronic devices. Therefore, an inventory from the pool may only need to be similar such that an overlap of equipment required to implement a particular scene is present. 
     In yet another embodiment, the inventory may be used to generate scenes based on insurance claim data, either generically or based on a specific set of data (block  198 ). If an inventory includes a basement water sensor and a compatible controller (not depicted), a scene based on their use based on flood damage claims, particularly in that geographic region, may incorporate calling a designated cell phone after activation of the water sensor. Similarly, a rash of break-in crimes in an area may cause suggestion of a scene that incorporates much more strict monitoring of windows and motion sensors than would normally be used. 
       FIG. 4  is a simplified and exemplary block diagram of components of a home automation system  200 . A controller  202  may be in communication with a number of controllable units  214 ,  230 , and  234 , each coupled to a respective electronic device  226 ,  232 , and  236 . In some embodiments, different equipment configurations may provide for a single controllable unit to control more than one electronic device. For ease of illustration, such a configuration is not illustrated. Additionally, sensors  238 ,  250 , and  252  may be used to monitor conditions such as motion, temperature, smoke, water, door status, etc. 
     The controller  202  may include a processor  204  that executes instructions stored in a memory  206 . The memory  204  may be a semiconductor memory, magnetically readable memory, optically readable memory or combination of these or other physically implemented memory technologies, for example, but does not include transitory media such as carrier waves. 
     The controller  202  may also include a network interface  208  suitable for communication via a wide area network such as network  146  of  FIG. 1 , including, but not limited to, the Internet, a telephone network, or a cellular telephone network. The network interface may be used to upload configuration and inventory information as described above, may be used for system diagnostics by a remote troubleshooting facility, or to send system status or receive system instructions. A user interface  210  may provide users with a mechanism to interact with the system, for example, to determine system status or as described above, to accept or modify scene suggestions developed by the controller  202  or received via the network interface  208 . A control protocol interface  212  may be used to communicate with other system elements, such as controllable units and sensors. Many known protocol interfaces may be supported, such as powerline protocols X10 or Insteon, or wireless protocols, such as Zigbee, although other communication protocols including IEEE 802.11 (WiFi) or others may be used. In some embodiments, the control protocol interface  212  may be protocol agile, so that controllable units using different control protocols maybe mixed in a system by sending control messages readable by some controllable units but not others. 
     A controllable unit  214  may include a processor  216  and a memory  218  as described above. An actuator  220  may be connected to an electronic device  226  and may control operation of the electronic device  226 . The actuator  220  may be a relay, a solid state switch, such as a dimmer, a motor controller, etc., based on the nature of the electronic device  226  for which it is intended to operate. A manual control  222  may provide local operation of the electronic device  226  by a user. For example, a light switch may be controllable via instructions from the controller  202 , but would obviously also have a physical switch that could be used to override a currently programmed setting. When a change in the state of the switch is made via a manual action, the state change may be reported to the controller  202  for logging and use in the creation of updating of scenes. The controllable unit  214  may also include a control protocol interface  224  for communication with the controller  202  via its corresponding control protocol interface  212 . 
     The system  100  may include multiple controllable units  230 ,  234  controlling respective electronic devices  232  and  236 . The controllers  230  and  234 , etc., may vary in the nature of its actuator  220 , but are otherwise the same or similar. While some systems have practical limits on the number of controllable devices, other systems have limits in the thousands or above, so that no practical limit exists. 
     A sensor  238  may include a processor  240  and a memory  242  as described above. A sensing element  246  may vary based on the application to which the sensor is directed. For example, the sensor may be a magnetically operated door sensor, may be a temperature sensor, a water or moisture sensor, a smoke detector, a motion sensor, etc. In general, the sensors may have a set point that causes a trigger event, such as a moisture level, or a change in state, such as a door opening. The sensor  238  may also include a control protocol interface  248  for use in communicating with the controller  202 . Other sensors  250 ,  252  may also be present in a home automation system  200 . 
     A system and method as described above provide a benefit to a system operator by providing suggested scenes based on actual use, rather than requiring outside experts or extensive training. Further, the ability to use suggested scenes based on an equipment and respective controlled electronic devices inventory allows a system operator to benefit from the experience of a vast pool of other system operators. Even more, the ability to accept suggested scenes based on insurance claim activity, including recent experience for a vicinity, allows the homeowner/operator to benefit from an insurance company&#39;s natural desire to prevent losses. 
     To the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shall govern. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment since describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims. While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.