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US 10,120,354 B1Granted
Coordinated control of home automation devices
AssigneeSmarthome Ventures, LLC
InventorsMark Edward Rolston, Kevin Michael McDonald, James Arthur Watkins, II, Steven Jay Bosch
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This disclosure describes computer-implemented techniques that enable users to control and coordinate a set of network-enabled home automation devices. Users may generate, customize, and share home automation device dashboards. These dashboards may include user interface elements, such as tiles, that users may use to determine that status of home automation devices and send commands to the home automation devices. In some examples, users may use timeline-based user interfaces to schedule actions to be performed by home automation devices.
Claims17
A method for controlling home automation devices or services, the method comprising:
- outputting, by a client computing device, a user interface for display, the user interface comprising a staging area, wherein different positions in the staging area along an axis correspond to different times in the future;
- receiving, by the client computing device, an indication of a first user input to include a first future event tile in the staging area at a position corresponding to a first time that is in the future, the first future event tile indicating a target status of a parameter of a first home automation device or service;
- and
- responsive to the indication of the first user input outputting, by the client computing device, for display, the first future event tile in the staging area at the position corresponding to the first time;
- sending, by the client computing device, to a server system, first rule data specifying a recurrence pattern for the first future event tile, the first rule data configuring the server system to send, based on the recurrence pattern for the first future event tile, commands instructing the first home automation device or service to perform an action to attain the target status of the parameter of the first home automation device or service;
- receiving, by the client computing device, an indication of a second user input to include a second, different future event tile in the staging area at a position corresponding to a second time that is in the future, the second future event tile indicating a target status of a parameter of a second home automation device or service;
- responsive to the indication of the second user input, outputting, by the client computing device, for display, the second future event tile in the staging area at the position corresponding to the second time;
- receiving, by the client computing device, an indication of a third user input, wherein the third user input comprises a dragging gesture originating at a position in the staging area corresponding to the second future event tile and terminating at a location in the staging area corresponding to the first future event tile;
- and
- responsive to the indication of the third user input, sending, by the client computing device, second rule data to the server system, the second rule data specifying a recurrence pattern for the second future event tile, the recurrence pattern for the second future event tile being the same as the recurrence pattern for the first future event tile, wherein the second future event tile did not have a recurrence pattern or had a different recurrence pattern prior to the client computing device receiving the indication of the third user input.
7 more elements
A method for controlling home automation devices or services, the method comprising:
- sending, by a server system, interface data to a client computing device, the interface data enabling the client computing device to output a user interface for display, wherein:
- the user interface comprises a staging area, wherein:
- different positions in the staging area along an axis correspond to different times in the future, and
- the user interface enables a user to position a first future event tile at a position within the staging area corresponding to a first time that is in the future, the first future event tile indicating a target status of a parameter of a first home automation device or service, and
- the user interface enables the user to position a second, different future event tile in the staging area at a position corresponding to a second time that is in the future, the second future event tile indicating a target status of a parameter of a second home automation device or service;
- receiving, by the server system, from the client computing device, first rule data specifying a recurrence pattern for the first future event tile;
- sending, by the server system, based on the recurrence pattern for the first future event tile, commands instructing the first home automation device or service to perform an action to attain the target status of the parameter of the first home automation device or service;
- receiving, by the server system, second rule data from the client computing device in response to the client computing system receiving a dragging gesture originating at a position in the staging area corresponding to the second future event tile and terminating at a location in the staging area corresponding to the first future event tile, the second rule data specifying a recurrence pattern for the second future event tile, the recurrence pattern for the second future event tile being the same as the recurrence pattern for the first future event tile, wherein the second future event tile did not have a recurrence pattern or had a different recurrence pattern prior to the client computing device receiving the dragging gesture;
- and
- sending, by the server system, based on the recurrence pattern for the second future event tile, commands instructing the second home automation device or service to perform an action to attain the target status of the parameter of the second home automation device or service.
7 more elements
A non-transitory computer readable data storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, configure a computing device to:
- output a user interface for display, the user interface comprising a staging area, wherein different positions in the staging area along an axis correspond to different times in the future;
- receive an indication of a first user input to include a first future event tile in the staging area at a position corresponding to a first time that is in the future, the first future event tile indicating a target status of a parameter of a first home automation device or service;
- responsive to the indication of the first user input output, for display, the first future event tile in the staging area at the position corresponding to the first time;
- send, to a server system, first rule data specifying a recurrence pattern for the first future event tile, the first rule data configuring the server system to send, based on the recurrence pattern for the first future event tile, commands instructing the first home automation device or service is to perform an action to attain the target status of the parameter of the first home automation device or service;
- receive an indication of a second user input to include a second, different future event tile in the staging area at a position corresponding to a second time that is in the future, the second future event tile indicating a target status of a parameter of a second home automation device or service;
- responsive to the indication of the second user input, output, for display, the second future event tile in the staging area at the position corresponding to the second time;
- receive an indication of a third user input, wherein the third user input comprises a dragging gesture originating at a position in the staging area corresponding to the second future event tile and terminating at a location in the staging area corresponding to the first future event tile;
- and
- responsive to the indication of the third user input, send second rule data to the server system, the second rule data specifying a recurrence pattern for the second future event tile, the recurrence pattern for the second future event tile being the same as the recurrence pattern for the first future event tile, wherein the second future event tile did not have a recurrence pattern or had a different recurrence pattern prior to the client computing device receiving the indication of the third user input.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.