Systems, methods and apparatus for interacting with a security system using a television remote control

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11032599-B2
Application number	US-201916443523-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 17, 2019
Priority date	Apr 28, 2016
Publication date	Jun 8, 2021
Grant date	Jun 8, 2021

Abstract

A method and apparatus is described for interacting with a security system using a television remote control. Commands sent by the remote control are received by an auxiliary interface device, which then provides the commands to a security system controller either directly, via a local-area network, or via a wide-area network and server. Status and acknowledgement messages are transmitted from the security system controller to the auxiliary device, whereupon they are provided to and displayed by a television in the form of a security dashboard.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method performed by an auxiliary interface device for interacting with a security system controller, a television and a television remote control, comprising:
providing, by a processor of the auxiliary interface, a security dashboard to the television for display by the television;
receiving, by the processor via a receiver coupled to the processor, an electronic signal from the television remote control, the electronic signal transmitted in accordance with a first communication protocol that cannot be directly received by the security system controller, the electronic signal comprising a command to cause the security system controller to perform an action;
accessing, by the processor via a network interface coupled to the processor, a server associated with the security system controller via a wide-area network, the server for providing an interface to the security system controller; and
providing, by the processor via the network interface, the electronic signal to the server via the wide-area network;
wherein the server forwards the electronic to the security system controller to perform the action associated with the command.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein accessing the server comprises: logging onto an account associated with the security system by the processor via the network interface; wherein subsequent commands from the television remote control are provided to the security system controller via the wide-area network and the server after the account has been logged onto.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the action associated with the command comprises arming the security system controller.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the action associated with the command comprises disarming the security system.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the action associated with the command comprises providing a status of the security system controller, and the method further comprises: receiving, by the processor via the network interface, a status signal representative of the status of the security system controller from the server; in response to receiving the status signal, generating, by the processor, a representation of the security system controller status; and sending, by the processor via the network interface, the representation to the television for presentation of the status of the security system controller.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the representation comprises a graphical view of the status of the security system controller.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving, by the processor via the network interface, a second signal from the server indicating that the security system controller did not perform the action; in response to receiving the signal, generating, by the processor, a graphical representation indicative of the non-performance; and sending, by the processor via the network interface, the graphical representation to the television for presentation of the non-performance.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising: receiving, by the processor via the network interface, a reason for the non-performance from the server; altering, by the processor, the graphical representation to provide an indication of the reason.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the reason comprises an indication that not all doors and/or windows are closed.

10. The method of claim 5 , wherein the status signal comprises an indication that a low battery condition has been detected by the security system controller.

11. An auxiliary interface device for interacting with a security system controller, a television and a television remote control, comprising:
a receiver for receiving signals from the television remote control;
a network interface; a memory for storing processor-executable instructions; and
a processor, coupled to the receiver, the network interface, and the memory, for executing the processor-executable instructions that cause the auxiliary interface device to:
provide, by the processor, a security dashboard to the television for display by the television;
receive, by the processor via the receiver, an electronic signal from the television remote control, the electronic signal transmitted in accordance with a first communication protocol that cannot be directly received by the security system controller, the electronic signal comprising a command to cause the security system controller to perform an action;
access, by the processor via the network interface, a server associated with the security system controller via a wide-area network, the server for providing an interface to the security system controller; and
provide, by the processor via the network interface, the electronic signal to the server; wherein the server forwards the electronic signal to the security system controller to perform the action associated with the command.

12. The auxiliary interface device of claim 11 , wherein the instructions that cause the apparatus to access the server comprise instructions that cause the auxiliary interface device to: log onto an account associated with the security system by the processor via the network interface; wherein subsequent commands from the television remote control are provided to the security system controller via the wide-area network and the server after the account has been logged onto.

13. The auxiliary interface device of claim 11 , wherein the action associated with the command comprises arming the security system controller.

14. The auxiliary interface device of claim 11 , wherein the action associated with the command comprises disarming the security system controller.

15. The auxiliary interface device of claim 11 , wherein the action associated with the command comprises providing a status of the security system controller, and the processor-executable instructions further comprise instructions that cause the auxiliary interface device to: receive a status signal representative of the status of the security system controller from the server; in response to receiving the status signal, generate a representation of the security system status; and send the representation to the television for presentation of the status of the security system controller.

16. The auxiliary interface device of claim 15 , wherein the representation comprises a graphical view of the status of the security system.

17. The auxiliary interface device of claim 11 , wherein the processor-executable instructions further comprise instructions that cause the auxiliary interface device to: receive a rejection signal representative of a rejection by the security system controller in response to the security system controller receiving the command; in response to receiving the rejection signal, generate a television-compatible signal representative of the rejection; and send the television-compatible signal to the television for presentation of the rejection to a user of the remote control.

18. The auxiliary interface device of claim 14 , wherein the processor-executable instructions further comprise instructions that cause the auxiliary interface device to: receive, by the processor via the network interface, a reason for the rejection from the server; and alter, by the processor, the graphical representation to provide an indication of the reason.

19. The auxiliary interface device of claim 18 , wherein the reason comprises an indication that not all doors and/or windows are closed.

20. The auxiliary interface device of claim 17 , wherein the rejection comprises an indication th

Assignees

• Ecolink Intelligent Technology Inc

Inventors

• Lamb Michael
• Black Jeremy
• Thibault Thomas

Classifications

• G06V20/52

  Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects (recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69) · CPC title

• G08B25/14

  Central alarm receiver or annunciator arrangements · CPC title

• H04N21/238

  Interfacing the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. adapting the transmission rate of a video stream to network bandwidth; Processing of multiplex streams {(hybrid fiber coaxial [HFC] networks for downstream channel allocation for video distribution H04L12/2801; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; real-time communication protocols in data switching networks H04L65/00; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60)} · CPC title

• H04N21/42204 Primary

  User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor (constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205) · CPC title

• H04L12/2823

  Reporting information sensed by appliance or service execution status of appliance services in a home automation network (device-related reporting H04L43/065; arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom H04Q9/00) · CPC title