Patent Publication Number: US-9430891-B2

Title: Wireless control method, wireless host device and switch control device

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to Taiwan Application Serial Number 102148214, filed Dec. 25, 2013, which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates to a control method, a host device and a switch control device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wireless control method, a wireless host device and a switch control device. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Most doors may be installed with door locks or switches to prevent others entering or manage people to pass in and out. In general, such door lock or switch may be unlocked utilizing a key or a magnetic card. However, each door lock or switch has its specified key or magnetic card to unlock it. 
     Above all, there is a need to unlock a door lock or a switch more easily. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to one embodiment of this invention, a wireless host device is provided. The wireless host device includes a directional antenna, a data transmission unit and a processing unit. The processing unit is electrically connected with the directional antenna and the data transmission unit. The directional antenna receives signals in a direction. The data transmission unit builds a connection with a switch control device through a data transmission interface. The switch control device is configured to control a switch. 
     According to another embodiment of this invention, a switch control device is provided. The switch control device includes a data transmission unit, a switch and a processing unit. The processing unit is electrically connected with the data transmission unit and the switch. The data transmission unit builds a connection with a wireless host device through a data transmission interface. The switch is disposed in a zone. The processing unit controls the switch according to information received from the wireless host device. 
     According to another embodiment of this invention, a wireless control method is provided. The wireless control method includes the following steps: a connection with an authentication device is built through a directional antenna of a wireless host device. Information, which is received by the wireless host device from the authentication device, is transmitted to a switch control device through a data transmission interface. The switch control device is utilized to control a switch according to the information, which is received by the wireless host device from the authentication device. 
     These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are by examples, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiment, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows: 
         FIG. 1  is a flow diagram of a wireless control method according to one embodiment of this invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an embodiment of a scenario applying the wireless control method; and 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a block diagram of a wireless control system according to one embodiment of this invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail, to the present embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. 
       FIG. 1  is a flow diagram of a wireless control method according to one embodiment of this invention. The wireless control method may take the form of a computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable instructions embodied in the medium. Any suitable storage medium may be used including non-volatile memory such as read only memory (ROM), programmable read only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), and electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) devices; volatile memory such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and double data rate random access memory (DDR-RAM); optical storage devices such as compact disc read only memories (CD-ROMs), digital versatile disc read only memories (DVD-ROMs), and Blu-ray Disc read only memories (BD-ROMs); magnetic storage devices such as hard disk drives (HDDs); and solid-state disks (SSDs).  FIG. 2  is an embodiment of a scenario applying the wireless control method. Referring to both  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the wireless control method  100  includes the following steps: 
     When a connection with an authentication device  206  is built through a directional antenna of a wireless host device  201  (step  110 ), the wireless host device  201  receives information from the authentication device  206 . The information received from the authentication device  206  may include authentication information of the authentication device  206 , information sensed by a gravity sensor (G-sensor), which is also know as an accelerometer sensor, of the authentication device  206  or any other type of information. The information sensed by the gravity sensor of the authentication device  206  may be information about a moving direction (for example,  206   a ). The authentication device  206  may be any possible device having a G-sensor. The directional antenna of the wireless host device  201  receives signals in one specified direction. In some embodiments of this invention, the directional antenna of the wireless host device  201  may be installed at a position to make the directional antenna receive signals from a position  202   a  outside a door  202 . In detail, the reception range  201   a  of the directional antenna of the wireless host device  201  may be adjusted, such that the reception range  201   a  may be at the position  202   a  outside the door  202 . Therefore, when the authentication device  206  is at a position  202   b  inside the door  202 , the directional antenna of the wireless host device  201  would not build a connection with the authentication device  206 , such that a switch (such as a door lock on the door  202 ) would not be controlled mistakenly. When the authentication device  206  is in the reception range  201   a  of the directional antenna of the wireless host device  201 , the directional antenna of the wireless host device  201  can detect the authentication device  206  and build a connection with the same. In addition, the directional antenna of the wireless host device  201  may utilize a short-range wireless protocol (for example, Bluetooth technology) for the connection to the authentication device  206 . Therefore, when the authentication device  206  is at the position far away from the switch to be controlled (such as the door lock on the door  202 ), the connection between the directional antenna of the wireless host device  201  and the authentication device  206  would not be built, such that the switch would not be controlled when the user of the authentication device  206  is not near the door  202 . Moreover, the authentication device  206  may execute an application (APP) program to build a connection with the directional antenna of the wireless host device  201  when the authentication device  206  is in the reception range  201   a  of the directional antenna of the wireless host device  201 . After the connection is built, the APP program may drive the authentication device  206  to automatically transmit its authentication information or the information sensed by its G-sensor to the wireless host device  201 . In addition, the directional antenna of the wireless host device  201  may be set to a sleep status when it has not received any signal for a period of time, and the directional antenna of the wireless host device  201  may be wakened up when a specified signal is received. Therefore, the power consumption of the wireless host device  201  may be further reduced. 
     At step  130 , information, which is received by the wireless host device  201  from the authentication device  206 , is transmitted to a switch control device  203  through a data transmission interface. In one embodiment of this invention, the wireless host device  201  and the switch control device  203  are respectively disposed in two different blocks in a zone. For example, the wireless host device  201  may be disposed at the block  202   a  out of the door  202 , and the switch control device  203  may be disposed at the block  202   b  inside the door  202 . In this embodiment, the data transmission between the wireless host device  201  and the switch control device  203  may be performed utilizing a wireless data transmission protocol, such as radio frequency (RF), third generation of mobile telecommunications technology (3G), Long Term Evolution (LTE) or any other wireless data transmission protocol. In addition, in some embodiments of this invention, when there is an object (for example, the door  202 ) disposed between the blocks, at which the wireless host device  201  and the switch control device  203  are disposed, high-frequency signals may be utilized for the wireless data transmission protocol to transmit data between the wireless host device  201  and the switch control device  203 . Industrial scientific &amp; medical (ISM) radio bands or any other type of high-frequency band may be utilized for the high-frequency bands. Therefore, even if the door  202  is made of iron, the wireless host device  201  can still transmit information to the switch control device  203 . In some other embodiments of this invention, the wireless host device  201  can be disposed in the same block (for example, the block  202   b , which is inside the door  202 .) In this embodiment, the wireless host device  201  and the switch control device  203  can be integrated into one device or can be two separated devices. In addition, a connection may be built between the wireless host device  201  and the switch control device  203  through a wired or wireless data transmission protocol to transmit information received from the authentication device  206 . 
     At step  140  the switch control device  203  is utilized to control a switch according to the information, which is received by the wireless host device  201  from the authentication device  206 . For example, the switch controlled by the switch control device  206  may be a door lock disposed on the door  202 . Hence, in some embodiments of this invention, when information sensed by a gravity sensor (G-sensor) of the authentication device  206  (for example, information of a moving direction  206   a ) matches information of a preset moving direction, the switch control device  203  may be utilized to control the switch (door lock) on the door  202  correspondingly (for example, unlock.) In addition, whether the authentication information, which is received from the authentication device  206 , passes authentication may be further determined, so as to generate a determination result. Then, the switch control device  203  controls the switch correspondingly according to the determination result. After the door  202  is unlocked, the user of the authentication device  206  can move into the block  202   b  inside the door  202 . 
     In some other embodiments of this invention, after the door  202  is unlocked, the door  202  may be open automatically, such that the user of the authentication device  206  can move into the block  202   b  inside the door  202 . Therefore, the user just has to carry the authentication device  206  and move in a specified direction (for example, move toward the door  202 ), and then the door  202  may be unlocked correspondingly without taking out any key. In addition, in some embodiments, the door  202  may be unlocked only when the G-sensor of the authentication device  206  senses a moving from the block  202   a  toward the door  202 , which avoid that the door  202  is unlocked at a wrong timing. 
     Moreover, when the switch control device  203  determines that the authentication information does not pass authentication or the authentication device  206  is not moving from the block  202   a  toward the door  202 , the wireless host device  201  may keep receiving information from the authentication device  206 . 
     In some embodiments of this invention, when the switch control device  203  determines that the authentication information passes authentication or the information sensed by the G-sensor of the authentication device  206  matches information of a preset moving direction (for example, moving from the block  202   a  toward the door  202 ), the switch control device  203  may be triggered to execute a corresponding function, such as door bell ringing or any other corresponding function. Different corresponding functions may be executed as the users differ. For example, when the authentication information of the authentication device  206  represents a guest and the information sensed by the G-sensor of the authentication device  206  matches information of the preset moving direction, the switch control device  203  may drive a door bell to ring, such that a user inside the door  202  may be informed. For another example, when the door  202  is installed at the entrance of a garage, the authentication information of the authentication device  206  represents a host and the information sensed by the G-sensor of the authentication device  206  matches information of the preset moving direction, the switch control device  203  may be triggered to open the door  202 . Therefore, the host just needs to carry the authentication device  206  to drive toward the door  202 , such that the door may be open automatically. 
     In some other embodiments of this invention, the switch control device  203  can perform authentication through a cloud server  205 . Hence, the wireless control method  100  may includes the following steps: the switch control device  203  may transmit the authentication information of the authentication device  206  to the cloud server  205  through a wireless network  204  for determining if the authentication information passes authentication. In some embodiments of this invention, the authentication information of the authentication device  206  may include identification information of the authentication device  206 . The cloud server  205  may determine if the identification information of the authentication device  206  is in a preset list for determining if the authentication information passes authentication. Moreover, other parameters may be further taken into consideration for determining if the authentication is passed. For example, a cleaner can enter the block  202   b  inside the door  202  at a specified period, and, as a result, the authentication information of the authentication device  206  for a cleaner can pass the authentication only at the specified period for cleaning up. Any other authentication method may be utilized to perform the authentication to the identification information of the authentication device  206 , which should not be limited in this disclosure. 
     In still another embodiment of this invention, the switch control device  203  may perform the authentication to the authentication information of the authentication device  206 . For such case, the switch control device  203  may provide a user interface for users to easily set that which authentication information can pass the authentication or to set other functions. 
     In another embodiment of this invention, when the APP program executed by the authentication device  206  is at a setting process, a user may be required to carry the authentication device  206  to move from the block  202   a  toward the door  202 , such that the G-sensor of the authentication device  206  can sense and generate the information about moving from the block  202   a  toward the door  202 , which is then taken as the information of the preset moving direction. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , a block diagram is described to illustrate a wireless control system according to one embodiment of this invention. The wireless control system includes a wireless host device  300 , a data transmission interface  610  and a switch control device  500 . 
     The wireless host device  300  includes a directional antenna  310 , a first processing unit  320  and a data transmission unit  330 . The first processing unit  320  is electrically connected with the directional antenna  310  and the data transmission unit  330 . The switch control device  500  includes a switch  510 , a second processing unit  520  and a data transmission unit  530 . The second processing unit  520  is electrically connected with the switch  510  and the data transmission unit  530 . The switch  510  is installed in a zone. For example, the switch  510  may be installed on a door of the zone. 
     In some embodiments of this invention, the wireless host device  300  and the switch control device  500  may be implemented in one single device. In such embodiment, the first processing unit  320  and the second processing unit  520  may be implemented utilizing one single physical processing unit. In some other cases, the first processing unit  320  and the second processing unit  520  may indicate separated processing units. The data transmission unit  330  can build a connection to the data transmission unit  530  through the data transmission interface  610  utilizing a wire. 
     In some other embodiments of this invention, the wireless host device  300  and the switch control device  500  may indicate two independent devices. In such case, the data transmission unit  330  can build a connection to the data transmission unit  530  through the data transmission interface  610 , which transmits data wirelessly. The data transmission interface  610  may transmit data following a wireless data transmission protocol, such as RF, 3G, LTE or any other wireless data transmission protocol. Such wireless data transmission protocol may utilize ISM radio bands or any other type of high-frequency band to transmit data. Therefore, even if an iron door is positioned between the wireless host device and the switch control device  500 , they can still transmit data to each other. 
     The first processing unit  320  and the second processing unit  520  may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a control unit, a micro processor or any other hardware to execute instructions. 
     The directional antenna  310  may be installed at a position to make the directional antenna  310  receive signals from a specified direction. For example, the directional antenna  310  may be installed at a position to make the directional antenna  310  receive signals only from a position outside the door installed with the switch  510 . Therefore, when the authentication device  400  is inside the door, the directional antenna  310  would not build a connection with the authentication device  400 , such that the switch  510  would not be controlled mistakenly. In other words, when the first processing unit  320  builds a connection with the authentication device  400  through the directional antenna  310 , it is indicated that the authentication device  400  is in the reception direction of the directional antenna  310  (for example, outside the door). Then, the first processing unit  320  can receive information from the authentication device  400 . The information received from the authentication device  400  may include authentication information or information sensed and generated by a G-sensor  410  of the authentication device  400 . In addition, the directional antenna  310  may utilize a short-range wireless protocol (for example, Bluetooth technology) for the connection to the authentication device  400 . Therefore, when the authentication device  400  is at the position far away from the zone installed with the switch  510 , the directional antenna  310  would not detect the authentication device  400 , such that the switch  510  would not be controlled mistakenly. Moreover, the authentication device  400  may keep executing an APP program to drive its wireless data transmission unit  420  to detect if there is any device available. When the authentication device  400  is in the reception range of the directional antenna  310 , the APP program may drive the wireless data transmission unit  420  to build a connection with the directional antenna  310 . After the connection is built, the APP program may drive the wireless data transmission unit  420  to automatically transmit its authentication information or the information sensed by the G-sensor  410  to the wireless host device  300 . In addition, when the directional antenna  310  has not received any signal for a period of time, the first processing unit  320  may set the directional antenna  310  to a sleep status. When a specified signal is received, the first processing unit  320  may waken up the directional antenna  310 . Therefore, the power consumption of the wireless host device  300  may be further reduced. 
     Then, the first processing unit  320  drives the data transmission unit  330  to transmit the information, which is received from the authentication device  400  (for example, the authentication information of the authentication device  400  or the information sensed and generated by the G-sensor  410 ), to the switch control device  500  through the data transmission interface  610 . 
     The second processing unit  520  drives the data transmission unit  530  to receive the information, which is received by the wireless host device  300  from the authentication device  400 , through the data transmission interface  610 . Then, the second processing unit  520  controls the switch  510  according to the information received from the wireless host device  300 . For example, when the second processing unit  520  determines that the authentication information passes authentication and the information sensed by the G-sensor  410  matches information of a preset moving direction (for example, a direction from a position outside the door toward the door), the second processing unit  520  may control the switch  510  correspondingly (such as unlock the switch  510 .) In some embodiments of this invention, after the switch  510  is unlocked, a user of the authentication device  400  can open the door. In some other embodiments of this invention, after the switch  510  is unlocked, the door may be open automatically, such that the user can enter the block inside the door. Therefore, the user just has to carry the authentication device  400  and move in a specified direction (for example, move toward the door), and then the door may be unlocked correspondingly without taking out any key. In addition, in some embodiments, the door may be unlocked only when the G-sensor  410  of the authentication device  400  senses a moving from outside toward the door, which avoid that the door is unlocked at a wrong timing. 
     In some embodiments of this invention, when the switch control device  500  determines that the authentication information passes authentication or the information sensed by the G-sensor  410  matches information of a preset moving direction (for example, moving from outside toward the door), the second processing unit  520  may further trigger the switch control device  500  to execute a corresponding function, such as door bell ringing or any other corresponding function. Different corresponding functions may be executed as the users differ. For example, when the authentication information of the authentication device  400  represents a guest and the information sensed by the G-sensor  410  matches information of the preset moving direction, the second processing unit  520  may drive a door bell to ring, such that a user inside the door may be informed. For another example, when the door is installed at the entrance of a garage, the authentication information of the authentication device  400  represents a host and the information sensed by the G-sensor  410  matches information of the preset moving direction, the second processing unit  520  may trigger the switch control device  500  to open the door. Therefore, the host just needs to carry the authentication device  400  to drive toward the door, such that the door may be open automatically. 
     In some embodiments of this invention, the switch control device may further include a wireless network card  540 , which is electrically connected to the second processing unit  520 . The wireless network card  540  may apply a wireless network protocol to build a connection to a wireless network  620 . Hence, the second processing unit  520  may drive the wireless network card  520  to transmit the authentication information of the authentication device  400  to a cloud server  600  through a wireless network  630  for determining if the authentication information passes authentication. In some embodiments of this invention, the authentication information of the authentication device  400  may include identification information of the authentication device  400 . The cloud server  630  may determine if the identification information of the authentication device  400  is in a preset list for determining if the authentication information passes authentication. Moreover, other parameters may be further taken into consideration for determining if the authentication is passed. For example, a cleaner can enter inside the door  202  at a specified period, and, as a result, the authentication information of the authentication device  400  for a cleaner can pass the authentication only at the specified period for cleaning up. Any other authentication method may be utilized to perform the authentication to the identification information of the authentication device  400 , which should not be limited in this disclosure. 
     In still another embodiment of this invention, the second processing unit  520  of the switch control device  500  may perform the authentication to the authentication information of the authentication device  400 . For such case, the second processing unit  520  of the switch control device  500  may provide a user interface for users to easily set that which authentication information can pass the authentication or to set other functions. 
     In another embodiment of this invention, when the APP program executed by the authentication device  400  is at a setting process, a user may be required to carry the authentication device  400  to move in a specified direction (for example, from outside toward the door), such that the G-sensor  410  of the authentication device  400  can sense and generate the information about the preset moving direction for the second processing unit  520  to perform the determination. 
     Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims.