Multi-modal interactive home-automation system
AssigneeBrainofT Inc.
InventorsAshutosh Saxena, Lukas Kroc, Yu Zhou, Deng Deng
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
One embodiment can provide a home-automation system. The home-automation device can include a mechanical supporting structure and a plurality of components mechanically coupled to the mechanical supporting structure. The plurality of components can include a central controller, one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs), and a plurality of sensors mounted on the one or more PCBs. The central controller can be configured to detect a user event based on output from multiple sensors, with each sensor being configured to sense parameters in a different physical domain.
Claims19
A home-automation system, comprising:
- a mechanical supporting structure and a cover plate forming a physical enclosure;
- and
- a plurality of components positioned inside the physical enclosure;
- wherein the plurality of components comprise at least:
- a central controller;
- a main printed circuit board (PCB) positioned between the central controller and the cover plate;
- a daughter PCB positioned between the main PCB and the cover plate, wherein the daughter PCB is electrically coupled to the main PCB, and wherein the daughter PCB and the main PCB are coupled to the cover plate;
- and
- a plurality of sensors mounted on the daughter PCB, wherein at least one sensor is exposed to an environment outside of the physical enclosure via an opening on the cover plate;
- wherein the central controller is configured to receive, simultaneously, outputs from the plurality of sensors mounted on the daughter PCB and to detect a user event based on simultaneous outputs of at least two different sensors, each sensor configured to sense parameters in a different physical domain.
A home-automation system, comprising:
- a wall-mounted controller;
- and
- one or more home appliances controlled by the wall-mounted controller;
- wherein the wall-mounted controller comprises:
- a mechanical supporting structure and a cover plate forming a physical enclosure;
- a central controller positioned inside the physical enclosure;
- a main printed circuit board (PCB) positioned between the central controller and the cover plate;
- a daughter PCB positioned between the main PCB and the cover plate, wherein the daughter PCB is electrically coupled to the main PCB, and wherein the daughter PCB and the main PCB are mechanically attached to the cover plate;
- and
- a plurality of sensors mounted on the daughter PCB, wherein at least one sensor is exposed to an environment outside of the physical enclosure via an opening on the cover plate;
- wherein the central controller is configured to receive, simultaneously, outputs from the plurality of sensors mounted on the daughter PCB and to detect a user event based on simultaneous outputs of at least two different sensors, each sensor configured to sense parameters in a different physical domain.
A computer-executive method for home-automation, the method comprising:
- receiving, simultaneously at a central controller, sensor data from a plurality of sensors mounted onto one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs), wherein the central controller and the PCBs are positioned inside a physical enclosure formed by a mechanical supporting structure and a cover plate, wherein the PCBs comprise a main PCB positioned between the central controller and the cover plate and a daughter PCB positioned between the main PCB and the cover plate, wherein the daughter PCB is electrically coupled to the main PCB, wherein the daughter PCB and the main PCB are coupled to the cover plate, wherein the plurality of sensors are mounted on the daughter PCB, wherein at least one sensor is exposed to an environment outside of the physical enclosure via an opening on the cover plate, and wherein each sensor is configured to sense parameters in a different physical domain;
- and
- detecting, by the central controller, a user event based on the simultaneously received sensor data from at least two different sensors.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.