Wireless speaker devices for wireless audio/video recording and communication devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9948892-B2
Application number	US-201615217741-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 22, 2016
Priority date	Jul 17, 2013
Publication date	Apr 17, 2018
Grant date	Apr 17, 2018

Abstract

A wireless speaker device configured for use with a wireless A/V recording and communication device, such as a doorbell. The wireless speaker device, which includes a speaker, may connect to the user's local area network (LAN), such as a Wi-Fi network. The LAN is connected to a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet and/or a public switched telephone network (PSTN). When the wireless A/V recording and communication device detects a visitor, it sends a signal, via the LAN, to at least one device in the WAN, such as a server and/or a service. In response, the at least one device in the WAN sends a signal, via the LAN, to the wireless speaker device. The signal to the wireless speaker device includes a command for the wireless speaker device to emit a tone through its speaker. The wireless speaker device then emits a tone through its speaker to alert the user that a visitor is at the wireless A/V recording and communication device. The wireless speaker device may further include a wireless repeater configured to receive a wireless signal from the one or more LAN devices and rebroadcast the wireless signal. The wireless speaker device may further include a wireless communication module configured to transmit data wirelessly to and/or receive data wirelessly from another wireless device, independently of the LAN, via a direct connection to the another wireless device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A wireless speaker device configured for use with a wireless audio/video (A/V) recording and communication doorbell, the wireless speaker device comprising:
a wireless communication module including a wireless repeater configured to rebroadcast wireless signals received from a router to the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell when the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell is outside a broadcast range of the router, wherein the wireless repeater periodically broadcasts beacon frames to announce availability of the wireless speaker device as a wireless access point; and
a speaker configured to emit a tone when the wireless speaker device receives, from a backend server, a tone signal.

2. The wireless speaker device of claim 1 , wherein the wireless speaker device is further configured to receive the tone signal from the backend server in response to the backend server receiving a visitor detection signal from the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell, the visitor detection signal indicating that a visitor has been detected at the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell.

3. The wireless speaker device of claim 2 , wherein the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell comprises a button, and wherein the visitor detection signal comprises a button press signal indicating that the doorbell button has been pressed.

4. The wireless speaker device of claim 2 , wherein the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell comprises a motion detector, and wherein the visitor detection signal is received in response to the motion detector detecting motion at the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell.

5. The wireless speaker device of claim 1 , wherein the wireless speaker device and the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell are connected to a local area network (LAN), to which the router is also connected.

6. The wireless speaker device of claim 5 , wherein the wireless communication module is further configured to communicate with another wireless device independently of the LAN and via a direct wireless connection.

7. A method for a wireless speaker communicating with a wireless audio/video (A/V) recording and communication doorbell, the method comprising:
receiving a wireless signal from a router and rebroadcasting, by a repeater module of the wireless speaker, the wireless signal to the A/V recording and communication doorbell when the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell is outside a broadcast range of the router, wherein the repeater module periodically broadcasts beacon frames to announce availability of the wireless speaker as a wireless access point;
receiving from a backend server a tone signal when the backend server receives from the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell a visitor detection signal indicating that a visitor has been detected at the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell; and
in response to receiving the tone signal, emitting a tone from a speaker of the wireless speaker device.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell comprises a button, and wherein the visitor detection signal is received in response to the button being pressed.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the wireless speaker device and the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell are connected to a local area network (LAN), to which the router is also connected.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell further comprises at least one motion detector.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the visitor detection signal is received in response to the at least one motion detector detecting motion at the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell.

12. A non-transitory machine readable medium of a wireless speaker device storing a program executable by at least one processing unit of the wireless speaker device, the program for emitting a tone when a wireless audio/video (A/V) recording and communication doorbell detects a visitor, the program comprising sets of instructions for:
receiving a wireless signal from a router connected to a local area network (LAN), to which the wireless speaker device and the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell are also connected;
rebroadcasting, by a repeater module of the wireless speaker, the wireless signal to the A/V recording and communication doorbell, when the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell is outside a broadcast range of the router, wherein the repeater module periodically broadcasts beacon frames to announce availability of the wireless speaker device as a wireless access point;
receiving from a backend server a tone signal when the backend server receives from the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell a visitor detection signal indicating that a visitor has been detected at the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell; and
in response to receiving the tone signal from the backend server, emitting a tone from a speaker of the wireless speaker device.

13. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the backend server also receives video images captured by a camera of the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell when the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell detects the visitor, and transmits the video images to a client device.

14. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the client device is a smartphone.

15. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the program further comprises a set of instructions for wirelessly communicating with another wireless device independently of the LAN.

16. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell comprises a button.

17. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the visitor detection signal is received in response to the button being pressed.

18. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell comprises at least one motion detector.

19. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the visitor detection signal is received in response to the at least one motion detector detecting motion at, or near, the wireless A/V recording and communication doorbell.

20. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the wireless signal is a first wireless signal and the A/V recording and communication doorbell is a first wireless device, the program further comprising a set of instructions for rebroadcasting a second wireless signal, received from the router, to a second wireless device that is connected to the LAN and that is not within a broadcast range of the router.

21. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the set of instructions for rebroadcasting the wireless signal to the A/V recording and communication doorbell comprises a set of instructions for rebroadcasting the wireless signal to the A/V recording and communication doorbell when the A/V recording and communication doorbell weakly receives the wireless signal from the router.

Assignees

• Bot Home Automation Inc

Inventors

• Siminoff James
• Roth Joshua
• Aoe Andy
• Phillips Trevor
• Sacre Spiro

Classifications

• H04N7/186

  Video door telephones · CPC title

• H04M11/025

  Door telephones (adapted for television H04N7/186) · CPC title

• H04N7/148 Primary

  Interfacing a video terminal to a particular transmission medium, e.g. ISDN · CPC title

• H04N7/142

  Constructional details of the terminal equipment, e.g. arrangements of the camera and the display · CPC title

• H04W88/04

  adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user · CPC title