Method of logical operations in home automation

A method of operating a home automation system which has input modules and sensors that provide input signals relating to at least one of a condition of a module and sensed conditions, and output modules that perform actions in response to control signals, the method comprising the steps of:

• receiving the input signals, which are indicative of input values from the input modules and sensors;
• determining which rules of a stored set of rules are dependent on said input values;
• producing output values in accordance with those rules that are dependent on said input values, wherein at least one such rule produces output values via an arithmetic operation, having more than two distinct values;
• generating control signals as a function of the output values and transmitting the control signals to the output modules;
• and
• performing an action with the output modules in accordance with the control signals;
• wherein each of said input modules and sensors has a specified address, and wherein said receiving step comprises transmitting said input signals from each of said respective input modules and sensors to a respective input node for receiving input signals, which node has an address that matches that of an input module or sensor;
• wherein the step of producing output values includes steps of weighting the input values, and adding weighted input values in an intermediate node according to at least one of said rules to produce one of the output values.

A home automation system comprising:

• addressable input modules and sensors that provide input signals containing input values relating to a condition of the input modules or a sensed condition;
• an interface coupled to the input modules and the sensors to receive and transmit input signals and control signals;
• a computer coupled to the interface, which computer receives input signals from the interface and transmits control signals to the interface, the computer including means for receiving input signals from the interface, means for determining which rules of a stored set of rules are dependent on said input values, means for producing output values in accordance with those rules that are determined to be dependent on said input values, wherein at least one such rule produces output values via an arithmetic operation, having more than two distinct values, means for generating control signals as a function of the output values, and means for transmitting the control signals to the interface;
• and
• addressable output modules coupled to the interface and receiving the control signals from the interface, the addressable output modules including means for performing a specified action in accordance with the control signals;
• wherein the means for producing output values includes a node structure that has input nodes which correspond to the input modules and sensors, intermediate nodes which receive input values from the input nodes, and output nodes which receive output values from the intermediate nodes and generate control signals as a function of received output values.