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US 11,377,875 B2Granted
Deadbolt position sensing
AssigneeLevel Home, Inc.
InventorsJohn H. Martin, Kenneth D. Goto, Thomas E. King, Jordan R. Fountain, Wael S. Barakat
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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.
Claims26
An electromechanical smart lock configured for wireless communication with a smartphone that wirelessly directs locking and unlocking a door, comprising:
- a deadbolt configured to travel along a linear path as the electromechanical smart lock transitions between an unlock state and a lock state;
- a motor configured to retract the deadbolt to operate in the unlock state, and configured to extend the deadbolt to operate in the lock state;
- an accelerometer disposed on a throw arm, the throw arm configured to extend furthest in a direction of the deadbolt travel and the accelerometer configured to rotate along an, curved path as the electromechanical smart lock switches between the unlock state and the lock state, and the accelerometer configured to determine a gravity vector that includes a multi-dimensional vector representing a magnitude and a direction of each position of the accelerometer continuously along all of the curved path while in motion, the gravity vector representing an inclination of the accelerometer along the curved path;
- and
- a controller circuit configured to:
- receive an instruction via wireless communication from the smartphone directing the electromechanical smart lock to transition to the unlock state or the lock state;
- cause the motor to position the deadbolt along the linear path;
- receive the gravity vector determined by the accelerometer as the accelerometer rotates along the curved path as guided by the throw arm;
- determine a position of the deadbolt along the linear path based on the gravity vector, each position along the curved path comprising a unique gravity vector;
- and
- cause the motor to stop retracting or extending the deadbolt based on the position of the deadbolt.
8 more elements
A method, comprising:
- continuously receiving, by a processor, a gravity vector from a sensor disposed on a throw arm while the throw arm is in motion along a curved path that corresponding to linear extension of a deadbolt, the throw arm configured to extend furthest in a direction of a deadbolt movement, the gravity vector indicative of a position of the sensor, the gravity vector including a multi-dimensional vector representing a magnitude and a direction of the position of the sensor;
- determining, by the processor, a position of the deadbolt of a lock based on the gravity vector indicative of the position of the sensor and the throw arm, each position continuously along curved path of the sensor comprising a unique gravity vector;
- and
- in response to the position of the deadbolt being indicative of the deadbolt being in a target position, instructing, by the processor, a motor to stop adjusting the position of the deadbolt.
1 more element
An apparatus, comprising:
- a deadbolt configured to extend along a linear path to lock a door, and configured to retract along the linear path to unlock the door;
- an accelerometer disposed on a throw arm, the throw arm configured to extend furthest in a direction of deadbolt travel and the accelerometer configured to move along a curved path as the deadbolt moves along the linear path, and the accelerometer configured to generate a gravity vector indicative of a position of the accelerometer continuously at each position along the curved path while the throw arm is in motion, the gravity vector including a multi-dimensional vector representing a magnitude and a direction of the position of the accelerometer, each position along the curved path of the accelerometer comprising a unique gravity vector;
- and
- a controller circuit configured to continuously determine a position of the deadbolt along the linear path while in motion based on the gravity vector that is indicative of the position of the accelerometer along the curved path.
1 more element
An apparatus, comprising:
- an accelerometer disposed on a throw arm, the throw arm configured to extend furthest in a direction of a deadbolt movement and the accelerometer configured to move along a first path as a door switches between an unlock state and a lock state, and configured to continuously generate positional data indicative of a position of the accelerometer and the throw arm along the first path while in motion, the positional data including a gravity vector that includes a multi-dimensional vector representing a magnitude and a direction of the position of the accelerometer and the throw arm along the first path, each position along the first path comprising a unique gravity vector;
- 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;
- 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 accelerometer 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 first path is a curved path.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.