Patent ID: 7123138

Claim:
A home resource controller system for managing the operation of a home resource for a plurality of household members sharing the home resource based on determining whether a household member sharing the home resource is at the location served by the home resource, comprising for each household member, a transmitter adapted to accompany the household member and periodically emitting a unique signal; a base station at the location served by the home resource and containing a receiver; said base station containing a processor; a base station database containing, for each household member, at least one unique record, said unique record corresponding to said household member and correlating said unique signal emitted by said transmitter to said unique record in the base station database; a controller for the home resource connected to the base station and being responsive to updated entries in the base station database records corresponding to the presence or absence of household members at the location served by the home resource; wherein said unique signal emitted by said transmitter is of sufficient strength to be received by said receiver only when said transmitter is in close proximity to said receiver; and wherein when said base station receives said unique signal from said transmitter, the base station processor makes and stores an updated entry in the base station database record that corresponds to said transmitter, recording a receipt of said unique signal that corresponds to the presence of the household member; and wherein when said base station fails to receive said unique signal from said transmitter for a predetermined period of time, the base station processor makes and stores an updated entry in the base station database record that corresponds to said transmitter, recording a failure to receive said signal, thereby recording the absence of the household member from the location served by the home resource; and wherein the home resource is the home's lighting system and the controller for the home lighting system determines how to turn lights in the household on and off in accordance with the stored updated database records corresponding to the presence or absence of household members at the location served by the home resource.