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US 10,329,801 B2Granted
Deadbolt position sensing
AssigneeCalifornia Things, Inc.
InventorsJohn H. Martin, Kenneth D. Goto, Thomas E. King, Jordan R. Fountain, Wael S. Barakat
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Determining a position of a deadbolt used to lock and unlock a door is disclosed. An electromechanical lock can include a deadbolt that can retract or extend along a linear path as the door is to be locked and unlocked. A sensor such as an accelerometer can rotate along a non-linear path as the deadbolt moves along a linear path. The accelerometer can determine a gravity vector that can be indicative of a position of the accelerometer along the non-linear path. A controller can then determine a position of the deadbolt based on the gravity vector.
Claims28
An electromechanical smart lock configured for wireless communication with a smartphone to lock and unlock a door of a home, the electromechanical smart lock installed within the door, comprising:
- a deadbolt configured to travel along a linear path between the electromechanical smart lock and a deadbolt slot of a door jamb as the electromechanical smart lock transitions among an unlock state to unlock the door and a lock state to lock the door;
- a motor configured to retract the deadbolt into the electromechanical lock to operate in the unlock state, and configured to extend the deadbolt into the deadbolt slot in the lock state;
- an accelerometer coupled to a component of the electromechanical lock that is configured to rotate along a non-linear path as the electromechanical smart lock transitions between the unlock state and the lock state, the accelerometer also configured to determine a gravity vector representing an inclination of the accelerometer along the non-linear path;
- and
- a controller circuit configured to:
- receive an instruction via wireless communication from the smartphone indicating that the electromechanical smart lock should lock the door of the home by transitioning from the unlock state to the lock state;
- cause the motor to extend the deadbolt along the linear path towards the deadbolt slot to lock the door;
- receive the gravity vector determined by the accelerometer as the accelerometer rotates along the non-linear path;
- determine a position of the deadbolt along the linear path based on the gravity vector;
- determine that the position of the deadbolt along the linear path corresponds to an endpoint of the non-linear path of the accelerometer;
- and
- cause the motor to stop extending the deadbolt based on the determination that the position of the deadbolt along the linear path corresponds to the endpoint of the non-linear path of the accelerometer, wherein the accelerometer is further configured to:
- change an operational state of the controller circuit based on the change in the gravity vector to transition from a low-power mode to a mode associated with determining the position of the deadbolt along the linear path.
10 more elements
A method, comprising:
- receiving, by a processor, a gravity vector from a sensor, the gravity vector indicative of a position of the sensor;
- determining, by the processor, a position of a deadbolt of a lock based on the gravity vector indicative of the position of the sensor;
- determining, by the processor, that the position of the deadbolt corresponds to an endpoint of a travel range of the deadbolt;
- instructing, by the processor, a motor to stop adjusting the position of the deadbolt based on the determination that the position of the deadbolt corresponds to the endpoint of its travel range;
- receiving, by the processor, a change in the gravity vector as the sensor moves along a non-linear path;
- determining, by the processor, the position of the deadbolt along the linear path based on the change in the gravity vector;
- and
- changing, based on the change in the gravity vector, an operational state of the processor to transition from a low-power mode to a mode associated with determining the position of the deadbolt along the linear path.
5 more elements
An apparatus, comprising:
- a deadbolt configured to extend along a linear path into a deadbolt slot to lock a door, and configured to retract along the linear path out of the deadbolt slot to unlock the door;
- an accelerometer configured to:
- rotate along a non-linear path as the deadbolt moves along the linear path, and
- generate a gravity vector indicative of a position of the accelerometer along the non-linear path;
- and
- a controller circuit configured to determine a position of the deadbolt along the linear path based on the gravity vector that is indicative of the position of the accelerometer along the non-linear path, wherein the accelerometer is further configured to:
- determine a change in the gravity vector as the accelerometer moves along the non-linear path,
- cause the controller circuit to determine the position of the deadbolt along the linear path based on the change in the gravity vector, and
- change an operational state of the controller circuit based on the change in the gravity vector to transition from a low-power mode to a mode associated with determining the position of the deadbolt along the linear path.
6 more elements
An apparatus, comprising:
- a sensor configured to rotate along a first path as a door switches between an unlock state and a lock state, and configured to generate positional data indicative of a position of the sensor along the first path;
- a deadbolt configured to extend along a second path to set the door in the unlock state, and configured to retract along the second path to set the door in the lock state, the first path and the second path being different;
- a motor configured to cause the deadbolt to extend or retract along the second path;
- and
- a controller configured to obtain the positional data from the sensor and determine a position of the deadbolt along the second path, and configured to operate the motor to extend or retract the deadbolt based on the positional data, wherein the sensor is further configured to:
- determine a change in the positional data as the sensor moves along the first path,
- cause the controller to determine the position of the deadbolt along the second path based on the change in the positional data, and
- change an operational state of the controller based on the change in the positional data to transition the controller from a low-power mode to a mode associated with determining the position of the deadbolt along the second path.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.