System and method for server based control

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11979461-B2
Application number	US-202117408538-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 23, 2021
Priority date	Jan 9, 2012
Publication date	May 7, 2024
Grant date	May 7, 2024

Abstract

A system and method in a building or vehicle for an actuator operation in response to a sensor according to a control logic, the system comprising a router or a gateway communicating with a device associated with the sensor and a device associated with the actuator over in-building or in-vehicle networks, and an external Internet-connected control server associated with the control logic implementing a PID closed linear control loop and communicating with the router over external network for controlling the in-building or in-vehicle phenomenon. The sensor may be a microphone or a camera, and the system may include voice or image processing as part of the control logic. A redundancy is used by using multiple sensors or actuators, or by using multiple data paths over the building or vehicle internal or external communication. The networks may be wired or wireless, and may be BAN, PAN, LAN, WAN, or home networks.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device for controlling or activating an Alternating-Current (AC) powered household appliance for use with a wireless network, the device comprising:
an AC connector for connecting the appliance to an AC power source;
a current sensor coupled to the AC connector for measuring an AC current consumed by the appliance;
a first sensor having an output that responds to a physical phenomenon;
an antenna for communication over the wireless network;
a wireless transceiver coupled to the antenna for transmitting digital data to, and for receiving digital data from, the wireless network; and
a single enclosure housing the household appliance, the current sensor, the first sensor, the antenna, and the wireless transceiver,
wherein the first sensor is coupled to the wireless transceiver for transmitting digital data in response to the physical phenomenon to the wireless network,
wherein the appliance is controlled or activated in response to digital data received from the wireless network, and
wherein the current sensor is coupled to the wireless transceiver for transmitting digital data in response to the measured AC current to the wireless network.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the primary function of the appliance is associated with food storage, handling, or preparation.

3. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the primary function of the appliance is heating food.

4. The device according to claim 3 , wherein the appliance comprises a microwave oven, an electric mixer, a stove, an oven, or an induction cooker.

5. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the primary function of the appliance is cooling food.

6. The device according to claim 4 , wherein the appliance comprises a refrigerator, a freezer, or an iced-tea maker.

7. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the appliance comprises a dishwasher, a food blender, a beverage maker, or a coffeemaker.

8. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the primary function of the appliance is associated with environmental control.

9. The device according to claim 8 , wherein the appliance consists of, or is part of, an HVAC system.

10. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the primary function of the appliance is associated with temperature control.

11. The device according to claim 10 , wherein the appliance is an air conditioner or a heater.

12. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the primary function of the appliance is associated with cleaning.

13. The device according to claim 12 , wherein the appliance primary function is associated with clothes cleaning.

14. The device according to claim 13 , wherein the appliance is a washing machine or a clothes dryer, or wherein the appliance is a vacuum cleaner.

15. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the primary function of the appliance is associated with water control or water heating.

16. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the appliance is an answering machine, a telephone set, a home cinema system, a HiFi system, a CD or DVD player, an electric furnace, a trash compactor, a smoke detector, a light fixture, or a dehumidifier.

17. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising in the single enclosure an electrically actuated switch connected to switch electric power to at least part of the appliance, wherein the electrically actuated switch is coupled to the wireless transceiver for being activated in response to digital data received from the wireless network.

18. The device according to claim 17 , wherein the electrically actuated switch is ‘normally open’ type, ‘normally closed’ type, or a changeover switch, wherein the electrically actuated switch is ‘make-before-break’ or ‘break-before-make’ type, or wherein the electrically actuated switch have two or more poles or two or more throws, and contacts of the electrically actuated switch are arranged as a Single-Pole-Double-Throw (SPDT), Double-Pole-Double-Throw (DPDT), Double-Pole-Single-Throw (DPST), or Single-Pole-Changeover (SPCO).

19. The device according to claim 17 , wherein the electrically actuated switch is a latching or a non-latching type relay.

20. The device according to claim 19 , wherein the relay is a solenoid-based electromagnetic relay that is a reed relay, wherein the relay is solid-state or semiconductor based, or wherein the relay is a Solid State Relay (SSR).

21. The device according to claim 17 , wherein the electrically actuated switch is based on an electrical circuit that comprises an open collector transistor, an open drain transistor, a thyristor, a TRIAC, or an opto-isolator.

22. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the current sensor comprises an ampermeter, galvanometer, or a hot-wire ampermeter.

23. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the current sensor comprises a current clamp, a current probe, a current transformer, or uses a ‘Hall effect’.

24. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the current sensor is a non-contact or a non-conductive current meter.

25. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising in the single enclosure a wattmeter connected to the AC connector for measuring the magnitude of the active AC power or an electrical energy consumed by the appliance.

26. The device according to claim 15 , wherein the wattmeter comprises single or multi-phase AC power or energy meter.

27. The device according to claim 15 , wherein the wattmeter comprises a bolometer, or wherein the wattmeter accumulates or averages readings.

28. The device according to claim 15 , wherein the wattmeter comprises the current sensor, or wherein the wattmeter is based on multiplying a measured voltage and the current measured by the current sensor.

29. The device according to claim 15 , wherein the wattmeter or the current sensor are induction based.

30. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the wireless network is a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN), the antenna is a WPAN antenna, and the wireless transceiver is a WPAN modem.

31. The device according to claim 30 , wherein the WPAN is according to, based on, or compatible with, Bluetooth™ or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.1-2005 standards.

32. The device according to claim 30 , wherein the WPAN is according to, based on, or compatible with, Zigbee™, IEEE 802.15.4-2003, or Z-Wave™ standards.

33. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the wireless network is a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), the antenna is a WLAN antenna, and the wireless transceiver is a WLAN modem.

34. The device according to claim 33 , wherein the WLAN is according to, based on, or compatible with, IEEE 802.11-2012, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, or IEEE 802.11ac.

35. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the wireless network is a wireless broadband network.

36. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the wireless network uses a licensed or unlicensed radio frequency band.

37. The device according to claim 36 , wherein the unlicensed radio frequency band is an Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) radio band.

38. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the wireless network is a satellite network, the anten

Assignees

• May Patents Ltd

Inventors

• Binder Yehuda
• Maytal Benjamin

Classifications

• H04L67/12 Primary

  specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks · CPC title

• G07C3/02

  Registering or indicating working or idle time only · CPC title

• B60K31/00

  Vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed, i.e. preventing speed from exceeding an arbitrarily established velocity or maintaining speed at a particular velocity, as selected by the vehicle operator · CPC title

• B60K31/18

  including a device to audibly, visibly, or otherwise signal the existence of unusual or unintended speed · CPC title

• B60Y2200/11

  Passenger cars; Automobiles · CPC title