Abstract:
Systems and methods for home automation and security are disclosed. Example methods disclosed herein include detecting an entrant at a first location at a first time. Disclosed example methods also include determining, according to an occupancy schedule, that a person is expected to be at the first location at the first time. Disclosed example methods further include, in response to an indication from a device at a second location different than the first location that the person is located at the second location at the first time, activating an alarm without initiating a prompt for the entrant to enter a security pass code.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This patent arises from a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/549,539, filed Nov. 20, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. ______, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/546,754, filed Jul. 11, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,922,361, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/250,597, filed on Sep. 30, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,242,900, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/425,273, filed on Apr. 16, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,063,761, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/438,265, filed on May 22, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,551,071, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/999,106, filed on Dec. 29, 1997. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/549,539, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/546,754, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/250,597, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/425,273, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/438,265, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/999,106 are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to telecommunication services and more specifically to a new system and method for home automation and security. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Home automation and security systems currently are controlled by equipment installed at a customer premises. By programming an in-house device, a user controls the operation of appliances connected to the system. For example, a user can program an in-house device to turn on a light at a specific time. The in-house device also can monitor sensors located throughout the house and can sound an alarm or phone a monitoring agency when the sensors are triggered. Some systems offer a remote access feature allowing a user to access the in-house device through the public switched telephone system. 
         [0004]    There are several disadvantages associated with conventional home automation and security systems. First, most systems use relatively simple user interfaces that limit the user&#39;s control over the system. To provide a more elaborate and friendly user interface, some systems incorporate, or provide a connection to, a device comparable to a personal computer. While these systems provide the user with better home automation and security functionality, their high cost limits their wide-spread use. Additionally, changing built-in control programs typically requires a change to the in-house equipment itself. Further, using the remote-access feature of the conventional systems interferes with normal use of the home telephone. 
         [0005]    There is, therefore, a need for a new system and method for home automation and security that will overcome the disadvantages described above. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of a station set of a preferred embodiment. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a home automation and security system of a preferred embodiment. 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a home automation and security system of a preferred embodiment that uses data-over-voice modems. 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a flow chart of a home automation method of a preferred embodiment. 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  is a flow chart of a home security method of a preferred embodiment. 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  is an illustration of a dedicated user interface device of a preferred embodiment. 
           [0012]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram of a home automation and security system of a preferred embodiment that uses a digital subscriber line. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    Now turning to the drawings,  FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a home automation and security system  200  of a preferred embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 2 , a home automation and security controller  210  in a customer premises  220  is coupled with a remotely-located central control facility  230  using a continuous connectivity access line  240 . In one preferred embodiment, the continuous connectivity access line is supported by data-over-voice (DOV) modems, while in another preferred embodiment the access line is supported by a Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL). In both embodiments, the access line  240  has a data channel separate from a voice channel. Unlike conventional systems, the home automation and security controller  210  at the customer premises  220  is responsible for monitoring and applying control signals to devices in the home and for supporting a human interface, while the computational and database resources of the system  200  are provided to the controller  210  (and controllers of other customer premises) by the remotely-located central control facility  230 . 
         [0014]    With such redistributed functionality, the network-based structure of this home automation and security system overcomes the disadvantages of conventional home automation and security systems. First, the system described below offers a more intensive computational facility as compared to current systems. Because the computational resources are centralized, updating or replacing control software does not require changes to customer premises equipment. Further, the system has access to external databases, allowing more powerful and versatile forms of home automation and security. Second, this system offers a more sophisticated user interface (such as an elaborate, graphical or speech-based user interface) without requiring the use of a personal computer or comparably powerful and expensive dedicated processor at the customer premises. Third, unlike the remote access feature of a conventional system which typically requires input of touch-tone signals with only tones as prompts, the remote access feature of these preferred embodiments supports user-friendly Interactive Voice Response units and allows users to access their home system using a personal computer. Additionally, because the access line has a data channel separate from the voice channel, the remote access feature of these preferred embodiments does not interfere with normal use of the home telephone. 
         [0015]    Referring again to the drawings,  FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a home automation and security system  300  of a preferred embodiment in which the continuous connectivity access line is supported by data-over-voice (DOV) modems.  FIG. 3  shows equipment at a customer premises  305  and equipment remotely located from the customer premises  305 . The customer premises  305  comprises a home automation and security controller  310 , a telephone  315 , and a user-interface controller  317 , all of which are coupled with a first data-over-voice modem  320 . As used herein, the term “coupled with” means directly coupled with or indirectly coupled with through one or more components. The first data-over-voice modem  320  simultaneously transports voice and data traffic (nominally 56 Kbps) through a twisted pair local loop. The controller  310  comprises sensors  325  and alerting devices  327  to perform home security functions and device control means  330  to control the operation of devices coupled with the controller  310  in the customer premises  305 . Device control means  330  are well known in the art and can comprise any convenient transport medium, such as but not limited to twisted pairs, in-home electrical wiring, power lines, or a free-field electromagnetic or optical connection. For example, to control a VCR, the device control means  330  can comprise an infra-red emitter to communicate with an infra-red receiver used for the VCR remote control. The transport protocol can be RS-232, RS-485, X-I0, LonWorks, CEBus, or any other transport protocol that meets the cost, bandwidth, and reliability requirements for a particular installation. 
         [0016]    Remotely located from the customer premises  305  is a second data-over-voice modem  335 , which is coupled to a central office  340  with a POTS line  343  and a gateway  345  (preferably with a T1 line). The second data-over-voice modem  335  separates the data and voice traffic and sends the signals to the gateway  345  and a line card in the central office  340 , respectively. The central office  340  is coupled to the public switched telephone network (“PSTN”)  395 . The gateway  345  is coupled with a home automation and security server  350 , which comprises a home automation and security application  355 , through a data network  360 . The data network  360  (which can be SONET with ATM or any other comparable network technology) can comprise any number of computer data network devices or can be a single connection directly coupling the gateway  345  with the server  350 . The data network  360  also can couple a speech processing server  390  and an Internet service provider  385  coupled with the Internet  375 . 
         [0017]    Unlike conventional systems, the controller  310  at the customer premises  305  is responsible for monitoring and applying control signals to devices in the home and for supporting a human interface, while the computational and database resources of the system  300  are provided to the controller  310  (and controllers of other customer premises) by the application  355 . It is important to note that controller  310 —server  350  communication does not involve the POTS line or the public switched telephone network  395 . As described below, even communication with a user in the customer premises  305 , whether via dialed digits or a spoken command, is sent as packets over the data channel. 
         [0018]    The system  300  of  FIG. 3  can be used in a home automation method, as illustrated in the flow chart of  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , this method comprises the steps of sending a command to the home automation controller  310  from the home automation application  355  to control an operation of a load coupled with the home automation controller  310  (step  410 ) and then using the home automation controller  310  to control the operation of the load in response to the command from the application  355  (step  420 ). For example, the application  355  can be programmed to turn on lights in the customer premises  305  at a specific time using the device control means  330 . At the appropriate time, the application  355  contacts the controller  310  via the access channel  333  and commands the controller  310  to use the device control means  330  to turn on the lights. 
         [0019]    Additionally, the system  300  of  FIG. 3  can be used in a home security method, as illustrated in the flow chart of  FIG. 5 . This method comprises the steps of sending a signal from the home security controller  310  to the home security application  355  to indicate that a sensor  325  has been triggered (step  510 ) and using the home security application  355  to activate an alarm in response to the signal (step  520 ). For example, if the sensor  325  detects that a window has been opened in the customer premises, the controller  310  would generate a message describing the event and send the message to the application  355 . The application  355  can automatically activate an alarm, or it can first determine whether the alarm should be activated. For example, the application  355  can be programmed to activate an alarm only if it has been informed that the customer premises  305  has no legitimate occupants. The alarm activation can be a triggering of an alerting device  327  in the customer premises  305  (e.g., sounding an alarm, turning on lights, etc.). As part of the alarm activation, the application  355  also can send a message to a monitoring bureau via the central office  340  and the PSTN  395 . The methods of both  FIGS. 4 and 5  can be implemented with a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein. 
         [0020]    As mentioned above, the system  300  of  FIG. 3  provides more intensive computational and database resources and a more sophisticated user interface as compared to conventional systems. Additionally, the continuous connectivity access line  333  allows this system  300  to provide services that are not available with conventional systems. Each of these features will be described in more detail below. 
       Computational and Database Resources 
       [0021]    With conventional systems, in-house devices have limited computational capabilities due to size and cost constraints. In contrast to in-house devices, the server  350  and application  355  of this preferred embodiment offer greater computational and database resources. Additionally, because the application  355  is centralized and is not part of the controller  310 , a user is not limited to applications built into the controller  310  and can use applications from third-party vendors that may be better tailored to his needs. Unlike current systems, changing applications does not require change to customer premises equipment. Because the application  355  is centralized, these benefits can be shared by many users. 
         [0022]    Because the computational resources of the centralized application server  350  are much larger than those of conventional in-house devices, the home security and automation application  355  can be written to take more intelligent action. For example, suppose that the application  355  is in an armed state and a window is opened at the time of day that children normally return home from school. Rather than immediately raising an alarm, the application  355  can use a speaker in the customer premises  305  to prompt the possible intruder/possible child-without-key to enter a security pass code. The application  355  also can have access to a much more complete database of information about home usage. For example, the application  355  can know that a cleaning service enters the home every Thursday at 1 p.m. If someone unlocks a door and enters at that time but does not enter a pass code, the application  355  would not necessary raise an alarm. The application  355 , for example, can call the house and, using an interactive voice response system, prompt the service company personnel to enter his pass code over the telephone  315 . 
         [0023]    As another example, if other residences were equipped with the home automation and security system  300  of  FIG. 3 , children can be asked to enter a unique identifier into the security system at their friend&#39;s house if they went there rather than to their own house after school. Alternatively, if the child were wearing a transponder, their presence would automatically be announced to the automation system of any building they entered. The automation and security system at their friend&#39;s house can then send a message to the child&#39;s home application  355  (via the data network  360  or the PSTN  395 ), which then can record the child&#39;s location and report on it if requested to do so. Knowing the child is in another location, the application  355  can immediately activate an alerting device  327  once a sensor is activated  325  instead of assuming that the cause for the activation is the child returning home from school. 
         [0024]    In another application, the application  355  can send messages to the controller  310  to turn on certain devices and activate certain alerting devices  327  in response to receiving an alert (e.g., civil defense warnings and severe weather alerts) from an information source coupled to the data network  360  or the PSTN  395 . For example, if the controller  310  receives a “take cover” warning from a weather source because a tornado has been spotted in the vicinity, the controller  310  can turn on all the lights in the house, sound a siren, and broadcast an appropriate spoken message over the home public address system. Additionally, the application  355  can monitor a news channel and announce events in the news that are thought to be of pressing interest to the occupants. For example, a home owner can be told of train or traffic delays, and a family can be told of weather-related school closings. 
         [0025]    As described above, the data network  360  can be coupled with larger databases than are available to the conventional home automation and security systems. With access to a larger database, a user has more control over, for example, VCR programming. The application  355  can monitor and track changes in the scheduled time of a program to automatically adjust the VCR programming to ensure that a desired program is recorded. Additionally, the application  355  can provide the user with a better interface through which to program the VCR. With conventional systems, program schedules are sent to a cable box or a specially-equipped television set for display to the user. The user navigates through a typically grid-like display on the television set and selects programs for recording. Because of memory limitations in set-top boxes or the circuitry of specially-equipped television sets, users typically have access to only a few days of program listings, and the listings include only terse descriptions of the programs. In contrast, the application  355  of this preferred embodiment can have access (via the data network  360 ) to information about many weeks of programming and detailed information about each program. 
       User Interface 
       [0026]    Because the user interface is supported by a centralized server  350 , the cost and size of the controller  310  does not limit the user interface, as in conventional systems. Accordingly, the computational resources available to the application  355  of this preferred embodiment can provide a more sophisticated user interface as compared to conventional systems. The system  300  of this preferred embodiment can communicate with a user via an interactive voice session, and because the server  350  can be a larger and more versatile machine than a conventional in-house unit, the dialog can be vastly easier for the user. When the application  355  is aware that it must communicate with the user over a standard telephone, it initiates an interactive voice session. An initial greeting is sent, and the user can respond by either dialing a touchtone digit or by speaking Processing of voice commands can be done by a speech processing server  390  coupled with the data network  360 . Using readily-available current technology, the speech processing server  390  can perform speaker-independent recognition or speaker verification. 
         [0027]    In the course of the user&#39;s interaction with the home automation and security system  300 , the user may inquire about the status of devices in the home, issue commands to change device status, or may change the way in which the application  355  responds to reported events. The user&#39;s dialog with the application  355  can result in messages being sent to the controller  310 . For example, the user can call from a bedside phone to instruct the application  355  to enter a “night mode.” The application  355  then can send a message to the controller  310  instructing it to turn off all lights under its control. A user instruction to enter night mode also can configure the application  355  to immediately respond to reports from in-home sensors  325  that a door or window was opened or that a motion detector was tripped. The nature of a response to an unexpected sensor event can be whatever the user deems appropriate. The application  355  can place a telephone call to the house, turn on house lighting, sound an alarm in the house, or place a call to a monitoring bureau. As described above, the service logic that determines what should be done when an event is detected in the home is in the application server  350 . The controller  310  is responsible only for reporting events and sending control signals to devices when instructed to do so. 
         [0028]    A user can access the server  350  from within his home using the telephone  315  (e.g., a standard telephone station set  100  shown in  FIG. 1 ). The user-interface controller  317  coupled with the telephone  315  can monitor the signals from the telephone  315  to determine whether the user is attempting to access the server  350  or is attempting to place a telephone call. When the telephone  315  goes off-hook, the user-interface controller  317  supplies a dial tone without passing the on-hook signal to the central office  340 . In response to the user dialing anything other than a specified series of keys (such as “**”), the user-interface controller  317  establishes a connection and passes the dialed digits to the central office  340 . If the user dials the specified series of keys (such as “**”), the telephone  315  connects to the home automation and security server  350  without an off-hook signal being sent to the central office  340 . A message requesting initiation of a home automation and security system dialog is sent from the first  320  to the second  335  data-over-voice modem via the data channel of the access line  333  and finally to the gateway  345 . The gateway  345  then sends an appropriate message to the server  350 , which establishes a connection between the home automation and security controller  310  and the home automation and security application  355  running in the server  350 . 
         [0029]    In another embodiment, a user can access the application  355  with his home computer  313 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the computer  313  can be connected to the first data-over-voice modem  320  with a multiplexer  314  that also is coupled with the controller  310 . The application  355  can provide the computer  313  with a highly graphical interface in the form of a “Web page.” As described above, the application  355  communicates with the computer  313  using a data channel separate from the voice channel. Consequently, it is possible for someone on the premises to use the telephone  315  at the same that the application  355  is exchanging messages with the computer  313 . 
         [0030]    In yet another embodiment, a dedicated user interface device  600  ( FIG. 6 ) can be coupled with the controller  310  to access the application  355 . The dedicated user interface device  600  comprises a display  610 , preferably an LCD with eight lines, each with forty text characters per line. The display  610  also preferably comprises built-in graphical cells (i.e., icons). User input devices can include a keypad  615  (arranged, for example, as a touch-tone pad) and function keys  620 , some of which can be located at each side of the display  610  and labeled by displaying appropriate icons or text strings. The dedicated user interface device  600  also can include a speaker  630  and a microphone  640  to support speech prompts and spoken user commands. 
         [0031]    While the dedicated user interface device  600  and the controller  310  comprise some processing capability, the application  355  in the server  350  is in complete control of the user interface device  600 . The application  355  determines what the user will see on the display  610  and hear over the speaker  630 . The application  355  interprets all user inputs, button presses, touch-screen contacts and spoken commands. The application  355  can send a complete bit map of the screen or can send a character image showing which of a set of characters (e.g., ASCII characters, extended ASCII drawing characters, and pre-determined icons) should be displayed at a particular location on the display  610 . The application  355  also can send a more abstract markup language representation. As is well known in the art, tradeoffs can be made either to conserve bandwidth by sending a higher-level representation or to minimize the need for processing capacity in the dedicated user interface device  600  by sending more literal descriptions of the screen. 
         [0032]    The application  355  also can be accessed from a location remote from the customer premises  305 . When the user is off premises, he can use an ordinary touchtone telephone to call the application  355 . A user can place a telephone call to an access number, which can be routed from the central office  340  directly to the server  350  through a T1 line, for example, or indirectly through the gateway  345 . The application  355  can communicate with the user via tone or speech prompts, and user responses can be either dialed touch-tone digits or spoken words. When a telephone is used to remotely access the application  355 , a talking path can be established between the remote user and either a specialized voice I/O device in the customer premises  305  (e.g., a loudspeaker and microphone) or the regular home telephone  315 . Speech to and from the home can be routed through the data channel of the access line  333  without using a normal telephone connection into the home. In this way, the remote user can talk to someone in the home, and the other home telephones still can be used for normal telephone calls. Additionally, a remote user can use the data channel to monitor activity in the house by receiving signals sent from the microphone of the specialized voice I/O device. 
         [0033]    The user also can use a personal computer to remotely access the application. The computer can be coupled to the server  350  over the Internet  375  (or a private data network) or over a dial-up connection through the PSTN  395 . In one embodiment, the server  350  functions as a Web server. After entering the server&#39;s  350  public home page, the user (after passing through a security check) can go to the page for their home automation and security system. This page can be designed to provide the appropriate status information and controls. In the course of the user&#39;s interaction with the application  355 , the user can inquire about the status of devices in the home, issue commands to change device status, or change the way in which the application  355  manages home devices or responds to reported events. The application  355  is ultimately responsible for controlling all automated systems in the home. Alternatively, the application  355  can send commands to devices in the home to pre-program them to respond to local events. 
         [0034]    In all of the above embodiments, because the application  355  communicates with the controller  310  using a data channel separate from the voice channel, someone on the premises  305  can use the telephone  315  at the same time that the application  355  is exchanging messages with the controller  310 . The continuous connectivity access line  333  provides the system with additional advantages, as described below. 
       The Continuous Connectivity Access Line 
       [0035]    The use of a continuous connectivity access line  333  also allows several services to be offered that are unavailable with current systems. For example, the system  300  of  FIG. 3  can be used to send messages to utility companies describing current meter readings. Additionally, if the home security system is in “away mode,” the home can be assumed to be unoccupied, and the thermostat controlling air conditioning can be set to a relatively high level without inconveniencing the home owner. Further, the application  355  can provide estimates to the utility company of how many air conditioning units can be set back and, hence, how much power can be saved. 
         [0036]    As another feature, the system  300  can maintain a log of customer premises&#39; entries and exits. A remote user can be provided with either real-time notification of changes in the security system status (e.g., the kids are home) or can peruse historical records. Further, cut-line protection can be provided at practically no additional cost because the application  355  will immediately be alerted if the access line becomes inoperable for any reason. The application  355  also can receive immediate notification of loss of residential power and can monitor the status of the backup system. 
         [0037]    While the embodiments have been described in reference to a continuous connectivity access line supported by data-over-voice modems, as mentioned above, the access line can also be supported by a digital subscriber line.  FIG. 7  is a block diagram of some of the components of a home automation and security system  700  of a preferred embodiment using an asymmetrical digital subscribed line (ADSL). As shown in  FIG. 7 , the customer premises  705  comprises a premises gateway  720  coupled with a remotely located digital subscriber line access multiplexer (“DSLAM”)  735  via a twisted pair. The premises gateway  720  combines voice traffic from telephones  715  and data traffic from the home automation and security controller  710 . The premises gateway  720  also can combine data traffic from personal computers  713  coupled with an Ethernet, for example. The DSLAM  735  separates the traffic and sends the voice traffic to the central office  740  and the data traffic to the gateway  745 . The additional elements shown in  FIG. 3  can be added to enable this system  700  to perform all the functions described in reference to the system  300  of  FIG. 3 . 
         [0038]    It is important to note that while the preferred embodiments were described above in terms of a home automation and security system, these two functions can exist independently. For example, while the home automation and security controller  310  is shown as one element, a system can comprise two controllers—one for home automation and one for home security. Alternatively, a customer premises may only have one controller, functioning as either a home automation controller or a home security controller. 
         [0039]    It is intended that the foregoing detailed description be understood as an illustration of selected forms that the invention can take and not as a definition of the invention. It is only the following claims, including all equivalents, that are intended to define the scope of this invention.