Automation system and method for the programming thereof
Contents
1. The important feature is that the programmable controller trigger device and programmable device must be able to communicate 0121 Itis to be understood that the forms of the invention described herewith are to be taken as preferred examples and that various changes in the shape size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the present invention or the scope of the claims What is claimed is 1 A method of programming at least one appliance to change state upon the occurrence of a trigger event the method comprising the steps of providing at least one programmable devices coupled to the at least one appliance providing a programmable controller coupled to the pro grammable device wherein the programmable control ler and programmable device communicate with one another the programmable controller having a training mode which when selected allows the at least one programmable device to be programmed to change the state of the first appliance upon the occurrence of the trigger event placing the programmable controller in training mode providing a trigger event changing the state of the first appliance from an unpro grammed state to a programmed state taking the programmable controller out of training mode wherein the first appliance is now programmed so that upon the next occurrence of the trigger event the first appliance will change states from its unprogrammed state to i2. 1 5 Menu 1 6 is displayed Enter Starting Time Hour Minute AM Blue when done Menu 1 6 0094 then Menu 1 7 is displayed Enter Stopping Time Hour Minute 1 PM Blue when done Menu 1 7 0095 If both times are AM or both are PM or the first time is AM and the second is PM Menu 1 8a is displayed Start at 9 00 am and continue to 11 15 am Correct gt gt Redo it gt gt Menu 1 8a 0096 Ifthe first time is PM and the second is AM Menu 1 8b is displayed From 10 15 PM to 6 15 next morning Correct gt gt Redo it gt gt Menu 1 8b 0097 If the user selects Redo it at either Menu 1 8a or 1 85 Menu 1 7 will be displayed otherwise Menu 1 9 is displayed The switch will control these devices in all security modes gt gt a particular mode gt gt Menu 1 9 US 2003 0033028 A1 0098 If the user selects a particular mode from Menu 1 9 menu 1 10 is displayed Select Security Mode Day Night Way Off To move highlight gt gt Menu 1 10 0099 If the user selected all security modes from Menu 1 9 or picked a mode from Menu 1 10 Menu 1 11 is displayed Training Complete Menu 1 11 0100 If the user selects No in Menu 1 2 Menu 1 12 is displayed Learn what to do when a sensor is tripped Yes gt gt No gt gt Menu 1 12 0101 If the user selects Yes Menu 1 13 is displayed Activate trigger sensor Turn on off devices it wil
3. ie depress one of the bank of switches 100 0052 turn lamp 1 on 0053 turn lamp 2 on 0054 turn lamp 3 off and 0055 deactivate the user control to take the pro grammable controller out of training mode to con clude programming US 2003 0033028 A1 0056 Now upon the next occurrence of the trigger event when the programmable controller is out of its training mode lamps 1 2 and 3 will all turn on The actual state of the appliances during programming is immaterial the important feature is that the user touched the appliance during programming regardless of whether the appliance was turned on or off The bank of switches 100 shown in FIG 6 are particularly useful in such an application 0057 The second type of programming which will be referred to as II programming associates discrete events with specific commands to be sent to the program mable devices For Type II programming the state of the appliance during programming is material Thus if the above sequence was programmed using Type II program ming lamps 1 and 2 would turn on and lamp 3 would turn off upon the occurrence of the trigger event The bank of push buttons 110 shown in FIG 7 are particularly useful for Type II programming 0058 The determination of whether Type I or Type II programming is taking place is arbitrary and the present invention is not limited to the particular examples given Whether the programming is of Type I o
4. and stored by the programmable controller chang ing the state of the at least one appliance from an unpro grammed state to a programmed state deleting the change of state of the at least one appliance broadcasting a message over the communication link indicating that the programmed state of the at least one appliance wherein the message is received and stored by the programmable controller and taking the programmable device out of the training mode The at least one appliance is programmed to go to its programmed state upon the occurrence of the trigger event 0013 According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for automating an environment The method includes the steps of providing programmable device coupled to a communication link providing a pro grammable controller having memory wherein the program mable controller is coupled to the communication link wherein the programmable controller and programmable device communicate with one another over the communi cation link providing a trigger device coupled to the com munication link wherein the trigger device and program mable controller communicate with one another placing the programmable controller in a training mode activating the trigger device to generate a trigger signal storing the trigger signal in the memory of the programmable control placing the programmable device in a desired state broadcasting a message that the programmable devi
5. button gt gt on line 4 More information the system will display Menu 0 2 Security Off Console not locked 3 Sensors Bypassed 4 Active Passcodes Menu 0 2 0086 The user console also includes a numeric keypad that we show arranged as a touchtone pad on a telephone would be with a red key placed where the key is conventionally found and a blue key where the key is typically located The Red button labeled No is typically US 2003 0033028 A1 used to abort operations in progress to terminate some automated sequence of events or to retire an alarm Nor mally an aborted operation will bring the system back to idle state with Menu 0 1 on the display The Blue button labeled Yes is typically used to indicate that the user had completed input Pressing the Blue button during a confirmation mes sage will erase the message and move on to the next screen 0087 When the console is in the Idle state the four function buttons Automation Security Test and Lock can be used to invoke procedures to create home automation programming administer the security system test home automation and security functions and lock various parts of the system 0088 Pressing the console button labeled Training will cause the system to display Menu 1 0 Home Automation Train House gt gt Explore System gt gt Menu 1 0 0089 Selecting Train House lets the user teach the house new responses to trigger event
6. change when Security is lt descriptor gt Press BLUE when done Menu 1 27 0116 The user is then asked in Menu 1 28 if entering the selected security state will control these devices at all times or only certain times Security system will control these devices at all times gt gt only certain times gt gt Menu 1 28 0117 Once the user has picked a time the Training Complete confirmation message is displayed 0118 If the user would like to play with the system without permanently changing any programming they can accept the Explore System option from the Menu 1 0 elicited by pressing the Training button on the whole house console The sequence starts with a few screens of information and then they are given exactly the same set of prompts as would be seen if they had simply elected to train the system After Feb 13 2003 they have written their program they can explore its operation When they are finished the program is either dumped or saved 0119 Additional devices such as a telephone access module can be incorporated into the home automation system and appear to other system components just like a programmable device 0120 While the presently preferred embodiments have been described with reference to communication over power lines other communications between the intelligent switches and outlets may be used For example an RS 485 bus proprietary bus RF communication etc may be used
7. described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG 4 At block 50 it is determined whether the programmable controller 12 has been put in training mode If it has not control is passed to block 64 shown in FIG 5 If it has then Feb 13 2003 control is passed to block 52 where it is determined whether a trigger event has been detected over the communication link 16 If a trigger event has been detected that trigger event is recorded in the RAM 28 of the programmable controller 12 in block 54 If a trigger event has not been detected the programmable controller 12 waits for the detection of a trigger event 0042 After the trigger event has been detected and recorded control is passed to block 56 where it is deter mined whether a message has been broadcast by a program mable device 14 over the communication link 16 If a message is detected control is passed to block 58 where the broadcast message is recorded in the RAM 28 of the programmable controller 12 If a broadcast message has not been detected the programmable controller 12 waits for a broadcast message After a broadcast message has been detected and recorded control is passed to block 60 where it is determined whether the programmable controller 12 has been taken out of training mode If it has control is passed to block 62 and the programming is terminated If not control is passed back to block 56 where the programmable controller 12 waits for another message to b
8. event Upon detecting the Nov 30 1998 now Pat No 6 112 127 which is a trigger event the programmable controller sends messages continuation of application No 09 746 115 filed on to the selected programmable devices instructing them to go Dec 21 2000 to their programmed state 5 PROGRAMMABLE CONTROLLER IN E EVENT DETECTED DS 5 54 IN PROGRAMMABLE RECORD TRIGGER EVENT CONTROLLER BROADCAST MESSAGE DETECTED MESSAGE IN PROGRAMMABLE RECORD BROADCAST CONTROLLER is PROGRAMMABLE CONTROLLER OUT OF TRAINING 62 YES rename PROGRAMMING Patent Application Publication Feb 13 2003 Sheet 1 of 13 US 2003 0033028 A1 10 14 US 2003 0033028 A1 Patent Application Publication Feb 13 2003 Sheet 2 of 13 SLOVLNOD mw ow w ee d x x v x lt x w v v sv J3AISOSNVW L NOS NI S38glNnN Tvld3S YO YOLOJIIS SS38Y00V JINGOW 9 US 2003 0033028 A1 Patent Application Publication Feb 13 2003 Sheet 3 of 13 SOINOYLOATS d3AISOSNVS L S Or WOW NI TWINS YO YOLOITES SS380AW 3INION s vm v w w w v w w 9 US 2003 0033028 A1 Patent Application Publication Feb 13 2003 Sheet 4 of 13 FONVIIddvV Ne 6 49 YO LNSYYND AVI3Y 103105 MSAIBOSNVEL 990
9. programmable controller 12 is out of its training mode At block 64 it is determined whether the programmable controller 12 is out of its training mode If it is not control of the program is transferred to block 50 as shown in FIG 4 If it is control 15 passed to block 66 where it is determined whether a trigger event has been detected If one has not control is returned to block 66 where the programmable controller 12 waits for the detection of a trigger event Once a trigger event has been detected control is passed to block 68 where the program stored in the RAM 28 of the pro grammable controller 12 associated with the particular trigger event detected 15 recalled Then at block 70 the program stored in RAM 28 of the programmable controller 12 15 broadcast over communication link 16 The program mable devices 14 coupled to the communication link 16 listen for broadcasted messages At block 72 each program mable device 14 coupled to communication link 16 detects whether a message has been broadcast Control is then passed to block 74 where it is determined whether the program broadcast includes any message for particular pro grammable devices If it does control is passed to block 76 where the programmable devices detect this by matching their unique address with the addresses in the broadcast program If it recognizes its address the programmable device receives its designated message in the program and executes the instructions asso
10. signals that the actions consequent on opening the door are conditional on a timer event by first selecting the appropriate time or interval on the program mable clock 210 The user then presses the train button on the clock interface After defining the conditional event the user then touches the lamps that are to be turned on or off when the front door opens and finally takes the program Feb 13 2003 mable controller out of the training mode After this training the lamps touched by the user will go on or off when the door 15 opened and it is night If a user wants to train a switch to turn off the lights turn the security system on and turn the thermostat down the user puts a programmable controller in training mode depresses a switch to provide the trigger event turns the security system on using the controls on the security system interface and presses the setback switch on the thermostat interface and takes the programmable con troller out of training mode 0082 the user wants to train the house to turn off some light and put the thermostat in economy mode when the security system is in away mode the user puts program mable controller in training mode presses an intelligent switch to provide the trigger event turns off the lights presses the train button on the security interface panel and then presses the Away button The user then presses the train button on the security interface panel a second ti
11. state of the first appliance from an unprogrammed state to a programmed state The user then takes the programmable controller out of training mode so that the first appliance is now programmed so that upon the next occurrence of the trigger event the first appliance will change states from its unprogrammed state to its programmed state 0010 According to a second aspect of the present inven tion there is provided a system of programming at least one appliance The system includes programmable device coupled to at least a first appliance where the programmable device detects the state of the first appliance and a pro grammable controller coupled to and communicating with the programmable device over a communication link The programmable controller has a training mode which when selected allows the programmable device to be programmed to change the state of the first appliance upon the occurrence of the trigger event When the programmable controller is put in the training mode and a trigger event occurs and the state of the first appliance is changed and the programmable controller is taken out of the training mode the first appli US 2003 0033028 A1 ance will change to its programmed state upon the next occurrence of the trigger event 0011 According to third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for programming a home auto mation system The method includes the steps of providing programmable device
12. trigger event the selected program mable devices will go to their programmed state Feb 13 2003 0075 clear a time based program one simply presses the train button selects the interval for which programming 15 to be cleared and presses the learn button again 0076 FIG 15 illustrates a preferred embodiment of a front panel of programmable thermostat 214 The thermostat 214 has a display 240 to display temperature and displays 242 to indicate whether comfort or economy made has been selected Because the thermostat 214 runs at low voltages supplied by the HVAC interface 11 it would be difficult both in design and installation to build a thermostat that could get a signal to and from the power line Instead according to a preferred embodiment the thermostat 214 includes a plug in module not shown that will relay the messages between the thermostat 214 and power lines 224 over an RF transceiver not shown Preferably both the RF transceiver and the thermostat 214 will have an LED not shown that will blink whenever there is a transmission to ease installation by verifying the RF signal path Alternatively the thermostat can be linked to the power line 224 using a two piece configuration where the thermostat would be linked to a box near the furnace by the existing thermostat wire The box will communicate with the thermostat over a serial data interface and provide contact closures on screw terminals for the furnace and ai
13. 24 Fig 16 252 252 254 250 250 224 224 Fig 17 Patent Application Publication Feb 13 2003 Sheet 13 of 13 05 2003 0033028 A1 256 123456789012345678901234 MONDAY L 1 APRIL 1 1996 LU 9 15 AM MORE INFORMATION TRAINING SECURITY TEST LOCK US 2003 0033028 A1 AUTOMATION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE PROGRAMMING THEREOF TECHNICAL FIELD 0001 An automation system for controlling the behavior of an environment in response to certain events BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0002 Currently automation systems which are used to control the behavior of an environment such as a home or office building are programmed using either a simple com mand language or using a graphical user interface that requires a computer with a monitor These systems are expensive and require substantial investment by the user in time and energy to install and modify programming Gen erally to make changes in existing programs of such systems a user must consult a user s manual or call a programming specialist The overall utility of the automation system is drastically reduced because the user finds it difficult to adapt the system to changing needs or to make additions deletions or modifications to the programs resident in such systems 0003 Home automation systems or home management systems as they are sometimes called commonly provide for control of lighting heating and air conditioning window shade
14. 7 U3MOd OV X Se l Ndo id OM NI W3glNnN u viaas YO YOLOSTSS NOU Wve SS3YUIIWV 31ngoN vb 2 Patent Application Publication Feb 13 2003 Sheet 5 of 13 US 2003 0033028 A1 PROGRAMMABLE CONTROLLER IN TRAINING MODE TRIGGER EVENT DETECTED RECORD TRIGGER EVENT IN PROGRAMMABLE CONTROLLER 56 BROADCAST MESSAGE DETECTED NO 58 YES RECORD BROADCAST MESSAGE IN PROGRAMMABLE CONTROLLER 60 IS PROGRAMMABLE CONTROLLER OUT OF TRAINING NO 62 YES TERMINATE PROGRAMMING Patent Application Publication Feb 13 2003 Sheet 6 of 13 US 2003 0033028 A1 PROGRAMMABLE CONTROLLER OUT OF TRAINING TRIGGER EVENT DETECTED RECALL PROGRAM STORED iN PROGRAMMABLE Fig J CONTROLLER BROADCAST PROGRAM STORED FOR TRIGGER EVENT DETECTED BROADCAST MESSAGE DETECTED 18 BROADCAST MESSAGE HAVE B E m INSTRUCTIONS FOR MESSAGE RECEIVE INSTRUCTIONS Patent Application Publication Feb 13 2003 Sheet 7 of 13 US 2003 0033028 A1 12 12 100 110 110 100 110 100 20 18 18 20 DEPRESS TRAIN BUTTON TO BEGIN PROGRAMMING SUPPLY TRIGGER EVENT BY OPENING DOOR 41 DEPRESS TRAIN BUTTON TO TERMINATE PROGRAMMING Patent Application Publication Feb 13 2003 Sheet 8 of 13 US 2003 0033028 A1 DEPRESS TRAIN BUTTON TO BEGIN PROGRAMMING SUPPLY TRIGG
15. ER EVENT BY TURNING ON LAMP 1 TURN OFF LAMP 2 TURN ON LAMP 3 DEPRESS TRAIN BUTTON TO TERMINATE PROGRAMMING DEPRESS TRAIN BUTTON TO BEGIN PROGRAMMING SUPPLY TRIGGER EVENT BY TURNING ON LAMP 1 Fig 10 TURN ON LAMP 3 TURN OFF LAMP 1 DEPRESS TRAIN BUTTON TO TERMINATE PROGRAMMING Fig 9 Patent Application Publication Feb 13 2003 Sheet 9 of 13 US 2003 0033028 A1 DEPRESS TRAIN BUTTON TO BEGIN PROGRAMMING SUPPLY TRIGGER EVENT BY TURNING SWITCH ma TURN ON LAMP 2 TURN ON LAMP 3 DEPRESS TRAIN BUTTON TO TERMINATE PROGRAMMING DEPRESS TRAIN BUTTON TO BEGIN PROGRAMMING SUPPLY TRIGGER EVENT BY DEPRESSING A PUSH BUTTON TURN OFF LAMP 1 TURN ON LAMP 2 TURN OFF LAMP 43 DEPRESS TRAIN BUTTON IO TERMINATE PROGRAMMING Fig 12 Patent Application Publication Feb 13 2003 Mg jl mmn 2 34 208 206 12 id 204 202 224 224 218 222 220 Sheet 10 of 13 05 2003 0033028 A1 216 gj 2 Fig 13 gt 222 Patent Application Publication Feb 13 2003 Sheet 11 of 13 05 2003 0033028 A1 230 JULY 9 1996 4 12PM ALARM SETTING SET A DAYLIGHT HOUR MIN V NM 210 232 234 236 Fig 14 214 Patent Application Publication Feb 13 2003 Sheet 12 of 13 05 2003 0033028 A1 away 244 6 NIGHT nea 218 244 244
16. IA CACY US 20030033028A1 United States a2 Patent Application Publication Pub No US 2003 0033028 A1 Bennett 43 Pub Date Feb 13 2003 54 AUTOMATION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR Publication Classification THE PROGRAMMING THEREOF 75 Inventor Raymond W Bennett Naperville IL Inf CI A unas han nsn G05B 15 02 US 52y US O RSS e t 700 10 Correspondence Address John G Rauch BRINKS HOFER GILSON amp LIONE P O BOX 10395 CHICAGO IL 60610 US An automation system for programming appliances having programmable controllers programmable devices and trig ger devices that communicate over a communication link The user programs the programmable devices by placing the 57 ABSTRACT 73 Assignee Ameritech Services Inc ED Apple Ne 10140 094 programmable controller in its training mode activating the 22 Filed May 7 2002 trigger device to generate a trigger signed and places select programmable devices in their programmed state After all Related U S Application Data of the desired programmable devices have been put in then programmed states the user takes the programmable con 63 Continuation of application No 09 602 393 filed on troller out of its training mode When the programmable Jun 22 2000 now Pat No 6 385 495 which is a controller is out of its training mode it monitors the com continuation of application No 09 201 296 filed on munication link for the trigger
17. an environ mental change by the environmental sensor 10 A system according to claim 9 where in the environ mental sensor is a motion detector 11 A system according to claim 9 wherein the environ mental sensor is an alarm condition from a security system 12 A system according to claim 7 wherein the commu nication link includes power lines 13 A system according to claim 7 wherein the commu nication link includes phone lines 14 A system according to claim 7 wherein the commu nication link supports RF transmissions 15 A system according to claim 7 wherein the program mable device is integrated in the appliance itself 16 A system according to claim 7 wherein the program mable device is an outlet with a socket into which the appliance is plugged 17 A system according to claim 9 further comprising a plurality of appliances wherein each appliance is coupled to 15 own programmable device wherein the changing of states of selected appliances from an 12 Feb 13 2003 unprogrammed state to a programmed state after the programmable controller has been placed in the train ing mode and the trigger event has occurred wherein the plurality of selected appliances are now pro grammed so that upon the next occurrence of the trigger event the state of the selected appliances will change to their respective programmed state 18 A system according to claim 9 wherein the program mable device and the programmable controller
18. ariety of Type I programming all of the selected program mable devices have just two states for example on and off The trigger event also has two states for example on and off When the trigger event is put in its on state all of the selected programmable devices go to their on state When the trigger event is put in its off state all of the selected programmable devices go to their off state Of course the programmable devices and trigger event may have more than two states For example suppose that the trigger event is supplied by a programmable dimmer switch and the selected programmable devices are light fixtures attached to the programmable dimmer switch For Type I programming all of the lighting fixtures would respond to changes in the setting of the trigger dimmer in the same way The program mable devices and trigger event do not have to be identical in state but they do have to be congruent in the sense of having operational states that can be mapped onto each other For example suppose there are three programmable devices 14 according to the preferred embodiment shown in FIG 1a where each appliance 19 is a lamp If the user wants to program all of the lamps to turn on based upon the occurrence of a trigger event the user performs the follow ing sequence 0050 press the train button 18 to place the program mable controller 12 in its training mode to com mence programming 0051 supply a Type I type trigger event
19. atively the sequence shown in FIG 12 programs the house to turn Lamps 1 and 3 off and Lamp 2 on every time one of the push buttons 110 shown in FIG 7 is depressed Even though the same steps were performed after the trigger event as occurred in FIG 11 because one of the push buttons 110 of the programmable was used as the trigger event it was assumed that Type II programming was implemented which causes all of the selected appliances to go to their individual programmed states As already described the assumptions made with respect to Type I and Type II programming are arbitrary and the present invention is not limited to the particular examples given 0061 These are but some of the programming sequences that can be implemented using the programmable controller and programmable devices according to the present inven tion The present invention however is not limited to these particular sequences 0062 Adding changing or deleting existing programs is also simply implemented In a preferred embodiment if the system has learned a response to a particular trigger event to delete responses associated with that particular trigger event one need only put the programmable controller in the training mode supply the particular trigger event and then take the programmable controller out of the training mode clear all programming one need only put the program mable controller in the training mode and then directly take the programmabl
20. block diagram of the programmable device 14 shown in FIG 1a according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention The programmable device 14 includes a transceiver 34 a control relay 36 a load detector 38 and a micro processor 40 preferably having both RAM memory 42 and ROM memory 44 The microprocessor 40 is coupled to the transceiver 34 control relay 36 and load detector 38 The transceiver 34 is coupled to the communication link 16 to receive and broadcast messages over the communication link 16 The load detector 38 is coupled to an appliance 19 see FIG 1a The programmable device 14 has an address identified with it which may be stored in ROM 42 or alternatively an address selector 44 coupled to the microprocessor 40 can be provided to allow the address of the programmable device 14 to be selected 0040 In the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG 3 the programmable device 14 is like that shown in FIG 1a which includes an outlet that is plugged into the power line and provides a socket into which the appliance 19 such as a lamp for example can be plugged into In such an embodiment the load detector 38 detects a change in state of the appliance coupled to the programmable device 14 i e the appliance begins drawing power or ceases drawing power or the amount of power the appliance is drawing 0041 The communication between the programmable controller 12 and the programmable device will now be
21. ce is in the desired state storing the message in the memory of the programmable controller taking the programmable controller out of the training mode monitoring the communication link for the trigger event detecting the trigger event and broadcasting a control signal over the communication link to the program mable device to change to its desired state Feb 13 2003 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0014 FIG 1 is schematic of an automation system according to a preferred embodiment of the present inven tion 0015 FIG la is a schematic of an automation system according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention 0016 FIG 2 is a block diagram of the programmable controller shown in FIGS 1 and 1a according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention 0017 FIG 3 is a block diagram of the programmable device shown in FIG 1 according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention 0018 FIG is a block diagram of the programmable device shown in FIG 1a according to a preferred embodi ment of the present invention 0019 FIG 4 5 are flow charts illustrating the commu nication protocol between the programmable controller and programmable device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention 0020 FIG 6 illustrates the front panel of a program mable controller incorporated with a bank of switches according to a preferred embodiment of the presen
22. ciated with that message If not control is passed to block 78 where the message is ignored Each programmable device coupled to the commu Feb 13 2003 nication link checks the program broadcast by the program mable controller to see if any of the messages contained therein are for it 0047 Signaling protocols such as X 10 a proprietary protocol of the X 10 Corporation CEBus an EIA standard backed by an industry consortium or Lon Works a standard owned and maintained by the Echelon Corporation may be used for the communication protocol over communication link 16 0048 The programmable controller may be incorporated into more complex systems depending upon the particular application to which it will be subjected FIG 6 illustrates a programmable controller 12 incorporated with a bank of switches 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention FIG 7 illustrates a programmable con troller 12 incorporated with a bank of push buttons 110 according to a preferred embodiment of the present inven tion 0049 The programmable controllers 12 and 12 shown in FIGS 6 and 7 respectively are particularly useful for two types of programming first type which will be referred to as Type programming causes programmable devices coupled over a communication link 16 to the programmable controller and selected to be programmed to all go to the same state when the trigger event occurs For the simplest v
23. conomy mode and then placing the unit in economy mode after pressing the thermostat s train button An appliance could be constructed so that manipulating the controls after pressing the train button might or might not cause the appliance to immediately alter its functioning in accordance with the user input For example if the appliance were a complicated lighting fixture it might be desirable for the user to observer the consequences of changing the controls Alternatively if the appliance were a security system it might not be desirable to change the state of the security system when programming a controller It is assumed that one S killed in the art could define the most appropriate way to apply the teachings presented here to particular devices 0078 FIG 16 illustrates the front panel of a security interface 218 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention The security interface 218 includes a group of conditional buttons 244 and an action button 246 US 2003 0033028 A1 It may also have its own train button 248 To train the house to do something when the security system is in a particular state 1 off on away night the user places a program mable controller in training mode selects the security sys tem state which provides the trigger event and places select programmable devices in a programmed state To activate the security system in response to a trigger event the user would first press the train butto
24. e broadcast by another programmable device This cycle continues until the programming has been terminated 0043 The recording of the trigger event and broadcast messages by the programmable controller creates a program stored by the programmable controller 12 Of course many programs formed by trigger events and the broadcast mes sages associated therewith can be stored by the program mable controller In FIGS 1 and 1a only one programmable device 14 is shown however it is to be understood that a plurality of programmable devices can be coupled to the communication link 16 in which case the programmable controller 12 may receive more than one broadcast message In particular according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention the trigger signal will have associated with it a unique identifier which will be recorded by the programmable device 12 The message s broadcast by the programmable device s will each have associated with it the programmable device s unique address preferably a byte or two in length followed by a message The message of the broadcast signal may specify that the device has been turned on or off or that a particular percentage of energy is being drawn for example In addition particularly for the embodiment shown in FIG 1 the message includes instruc tions which will be broadcast back to the programmable device to cause it to mimic the action that was just taken This message will be broadcast back
25. e controller out of the training mode Of course in a particular application if the risk of inadvertently erasing programming outweighs the convenience of being able to start over the designer could elect to not imple ment the erase all function to require the user to perform the erase all action twice in succession before it took effect or even to provide a separate delete button that was protected from accidental manipulation 0063 The programmable controllers and programmable devices according to the preferred embodiments already described can be incorporated into a larger system to sup port for example home automation FIG 13 is a schematic of the wiring and components for a home automation system according to a preferred embodiment of the present inven tion The automation system 200 preferably includes the following components a first programmable controller 202 a plurality of programmable devices 204 a second program mable controller 206 a plurality of wall switches 208 programmable clock 210 a programmable light fixture 212 a programmable thermostat 214 coupled to a HVAC inter face 216 a security interface 218 and a security panel 220 and a plurality of environmental sensors 222 As will be described all of these components communicate with one another preferably over the power lines 224 of the house in US 2003 0033028 A1 which they are installed The embodiment shown in FIG 13 is merely
26. e programmable controller is used with a bank of momentary contact switches to associate arbitrary sets of ceiling lights with the various switches The user begins by pressing the train button on the programmable controller The user then presses the train button on the programmable sequencer which causes all of ceiling lights to be extinguished The user then presses the next button on the programmable sequencer which causes one light to be illuminated and presses the momentary contact switch the user would like to have control that light Of course any one light can be associated with several switches After the switch or switches have been pressed the user presses the next button again which extinguishes the first overhead light and illu minates the second The user proceeds through all of the overhead lights assigning to each light one or more switches that will turn it on and off When the sequencer has illumi nated each light in the set in turn it could so indicate by illuminating all the lights While only two ceiling lamps are illustrated the present invention is not limited to the par ticular embodiment illustrated 0081 Including the elements shown in FIG 13 allows more complicated programming For example if the user wants to train a programmable controller to turn on a lamp when the front door is opened and it is night the user places the programmable controller in the training mode and opens the front door The user
27. e transceiver 22 receives messages from the communication link 16 and sends mes sages over the communication link 16 The train button 18 is coupled to the microprocessor 26 and places the program mable controller 12 either in or out of training mode The programmable controller 12 has an address identified with it which may be stored in ROM 30 or alternatively an address selector 32 coupled to the microprocessor 26 can be provided to allow the address of the programmable control ler 12 to be selected 0037 FIG 3 is a block diagram of the programmable device 14 shown in FIG 1 according to a preferred embodi ment of the present invention The programmable device 14 includes a transceiver 34 appliance electronics 35 and a microprocessor 40 preferably having both RAM memory 42 and ROM memory 44 The microprocessor 40 is coupled to the transceiver 34 and appliance electronics 35 The trans ceiver 34 is coupled to the communication link 16 to receive and broadcast messages over the communication link 16 The programmable device 14 has an address identified with it which may be stored in ROM 42 or alternatively an address selector 44 coupled to the microprocessor 40 can be provided to allow the address of the programmable device 14 to be selected 0038 In the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG 3 the programmable device 14 is like that shown in FIG 1 in which it is integrated into the appliance itself 0039 FIG is a
28. each include a transceiver for two way communication between the programmable device and the programmable controller 19 A system according to claim 7 wherein the program mable device includes a transceiver couple to a power line control relay coupled to the communication link load detector coupled to the control relay and the first appliance wherein the load detector detects the state of the first appliance microprocessor coupled to the transceiver load detector and control relay wherein the microprocessor receives input from the load detector and transceiver and sends output to the transceiver and control relay wherein when the programmable controller is in the training mode the load detector sends a signal to the micro processor indicating the state of the first appliance and the microprocessor sends a signal to the transceiver indicating the state of the first appliance and an address of the programmable device and the transceiver broad casts that information back to the programmable con troller and when the programmable controller is not in the training mode and trigger event occurs the power controller sends a signal to the programmable device commanding the control relay to switch the first appli ance to its programmed state 20 A system according to claim 19 wherein the micro processor has memory which stores the address of the programmable device 21 A system according to claim 19 further comprising a mod
29. ents i e sunrise or intervals i e night For example to program lamp to turn on at sunset the user would press the train button on a program mable controller press the train button on the clock interface and then select the event sunset and then turn on the lamp that was to be turned on at sunset If the user wished to program a lamp to come on when a door was opened but only when it was dark out the user might use the sequence 0066 press train button on a programmable control ler 0067 open the door 0068 press train button on the clock 0069 select the interval night time from the clock display 0070 press the train button on the clock again 0071 turn on the lamp that is to come on when the door opens and it is dark out 0072 press the train button on a programmable controller again 0073 Variations in this sequence could be defined by one skilled in the art to suit the needs of particular installations or types of users 0074 Alternatively the programmable clock need not have a train button to program appliances according to time Instead one can put another programmable controller in its training mode select a time interval or event using the programmable clock as the trigger event place selected programmable devices in their program state and take the programmable controller out of training mode to complete programming Upon the next occurrence of the time interval or event used as the
30. exemplary and the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment 0064 The programmable controller 202 is preferably of the type shown in FIG 1 where it has a user access control 203 to put the programmable controller 202 in and out of training mode The plurality of programmable devices 204 are preferably of the type shown in FIGS 1 and 1a Programmable controller 206 is preferably of the type shown in either FIG 6 or 7 The switches 208 are preferably programmable so that they broadcast messages over the communication link 224 and receive messages broadcast over the communication link 224 0065 The programmable clock 210 broadcasts messages over the power lines at certain significant times 1 sunset sunrise and at times selected by the user FIG 14 illustrates the front panel of a preferred embodiment of the program mable clock 210 In the preferred embodiment the program mable clock has a display 230 to display the current date and time The second display 232 is used to display events i e sunrise or intervals ie night that are either prepro grammed or programmed by the user Next button 234 allows the user to scroll through the events or intervals The user can select particular events or intervals using the Set Hour and Minute buttons In a preferred embodiment the programmable clock 210 includes a train button 236 so that programmable devices coupled over the power lines 224 can be programmed based on ev
31. h color and intensity a user control panel could be provided so that the user could use one control to adjust intensity and another control to adjust color of the indirect lights in a room Using programming methods previously discussed the user could then program the pro grammable controller to provide a soft white indirect light when a small table lamp was turned on and to provide bright white light when a particular floor lamp was illuminated To make this programming possible without making any changes in the programmable controller the new lighting fixture would be a programmable device that would broad cast a message to the programmable controller that con tained within that message an instruction that should be sent back to the lighting appliance in order to duplicate the setting the user had selected from the control panel The programmable controller stores the message that should be sent to the new lighting fixture and in the future when the trigger event was detected it would direct the stored message to the new lighting appliance The programmable controller doesn t need to know anything about the operation of this new programmable device and doesn t even need to know it is a light 0046 When the programmable controller 12 is out of its training mode it monitors the communication link 16 for recognizable trigger events FIG 5 is a flow chart illustrat ing the communications over communication link 16 when the
32. ir respective unprogrammed state then places the programmable controller in the training mode provides a trigger event changes the states of selected appliances from their unprogrammed state to their programmed state and takes the programmable controller out of the train ing mode wherein the home is now programmed so that the next occurrence of the trigger event will cause the selected appliances to change from their unpro grammed states to their programmed states 25 A method according to claim 24 wherein the step of providing the trigger event includes changing the state of a first appliance wherein when the programmable controller is out of the training mode the next occurrence of the first appliance changing state causes the other selected appli ances to change state to their programmed states 26 A method of programming at least one appliance the method comprising the steps of providing a programmable controller coupled by a com munication link to the at least one appliance placing the programmable controller in the training mode broadcasting a trigger event over the communication link wherein the trigger event is received and stored by the programmable controller changing the state of the at least one appliance from an unprogrammed state to a programmed state deleting the change of state of the at least one appliance broadcasting a message over the communication link indicating that the programmed state of the a
33. l control BLUE when done Menu 1 13 0102 When the system detects that a sensor that could be the trigger has been tripped it will preferably sound the alarm for 2 seconds and display the name of the sensor or zone on the screen When the user presses the Blue button Menu 1 14 is displayed Trigger event Front Door Press Blue when done Press Red to Start over Menu 1 14 0103 After the Blue button is pressed Menu 1 15 is displayed to ask if the house is always to respond this way to that sensor or do so only at certain times of the day The sensor will control these devices at all times gt gt only certain times gt gt Menu 1 15 0104 If the user response is to select only certain times the same dialog will occur as did for a response triggered by switch closure and then Menu 1 16 is displayed to ask if Feb 13 2003 the response is to be contingent on the status of the security system The sensor will control these devices in all security modes gt gt a particular mode gt gt Menu 1 16 0105 If the answer is a particular mode Menu 1 17 is displayed Select Security Mode Day Night Away Off To move highlight gt gt Menu 1 17 0106 If the user indicates the trigger is neither a switch nor a sensor Menu 1 18 is displayed Learn what do to at a particular time Yes gt gt No gt gt Menu 1 18 0107 If the user responds Yes to Menu 1 18 then Menu 1 19 i
34. mable device is in the desired state storing the message in the memory of the programmable controller taking the programmable controller out of the training mode monitoring the communication link for the trigger event detecting the trigger event and broadcasting a control signal over the communication link to the programmable device to change to its desired state 29 A method according to claim 28 wherein the step of broadcasting a message that the programmable device is in the desired state includes broadcasting an instruction which will later be rebroadcasted as the control signal over the communication link to the programmable device
35. me presses the train button on the thermostat interface press the economy button and then presses the train button again The user then takes the programmable controller out of training mode 0083 In another embodiment the individual components of the master clock module 210 security interface and panel 218 and 220 shown in FIG 13 may be located in a whole house controller that is coupled to the power lines FIG 19 illustrates the front panel of the house controller according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention 0084 The whole house controller is preferably a menu driven device In FIG 19 we show a line drawing of a user console for one preferred embodiment of a whole house controller Included on its front panel is a display with several lines of text Aligned with some of these lines of text are buttons located on one or both sides of the display When menus are presented users make selections by pressing the button aligned with their choice To make it easier for users to see which text line is aligned with which button it is common to place an arrow or other character on the line of tet pointing to the button that should be pressed For illustrative purposes the menus shown here assume a dis play with 4 lines and 25 characters per line Normally the panel will be in the Idle state and will display Menu 0 1 Monday Apr 1 1996 9 15 am More Information gt gt Menu 0 1 0085 Ifthe user presses the side
36. mmable control ler with respect to a particular trigger event by placing the programmable controller in the training mode providing the particular trigger event and then taking the programmable controller out of the training mode 7 A system of programming at least one appliance the system comprising a programmable device coupled to at least a first appli ance wherein the programmable device detects the state of the first appliance a programmable controller coupled to and communicating with the programmable device over a communication link wherein the programmable controller has a training mode which when selected allows the programmable device to be programmed to change the state of the first appliance upon the occurrence of the trigger event wherein when the programmable controller is put in the training mode and a trigger event occurs and the state of the first appliance is changed and the programmable controller is taken out of the training mode the first appliance will change to its programmed state upon the next occurrence of the trigger event 8 A system according to claim 7 further comprising providing a switch coupled to the programmable controller the switch having at least two states wherein the trigger event is supplied by changing the state of the switch 9 A system according to claim 7 further comprising an environmental sensor coupled to the programmable control ler wherein the trigger event is the detection of
37. n on a programmable con troller and then cause the trigger event to occur The user would then press the train button on the security system and then operate the controls of the security system in a way that would normally cause it to enter the desired state The user would then press the train button on the security system a second time which would cause the security system to broadcast a message to the programmable controller that would contain the commands the security system should be sent to cause the same effect as was produced by the user s manipulation of the controls At the designer s option a security interface could be constructed so that after the train button was pressed user manipulation of the controls might have no effect on the current operation of the security system 0079 FIG 17 is a schematic of a remote programmable lighting fixture The light fixture includes a plurality of remotely located lamps 250 for example recessed ceiling lights programmable devices 252 coupled to the lamps 250 that can receive message from the power lines 224 and broadcast messages over the power lines and a program mable sequencer 254 coupled to the power lines FIG 18 illustrates the front panel of a programmable sequencer interface according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention The interface includes a train button 256 a next button 258 a reset button 260 and a select button 262 0080 In the preferred embodiment th
38. on the detection of a trigger event 0060 FIGS 8 12 are flow charts illustrating examples of steps used to program various sequences in response to various trigger events It is assumed that the programmable controller and programmable devices are located in a home automation system for all of the sequences shown in FIGS 8 12 The sequence shown in FIG 8 trains the house to turn Lamp 1 on and Lamp 2 off when a door is opened The sequence shown in FIG 9 causes Lamp 2 to be turned off and Lamp 3 turned on whenever Lamp 1 is turned on In this case turning Lamp 1 on is the trigger event The sequence shown in FIG 10 programs the house to turn Lamp 2 and Lamp 3 on when Lamp 1 is turned on In a preferred embodiment the last event turning Lamp 1 off is ignored Feb 13 2003 since for the purpose of this training sequence Lamp 1 is a trigger event and all trigger events subsequent to the occur rence of the first trigger event are ignored In other appli cations it may not be appropriate to ignore subsequent trigger events The sequence shown in FIG 11 programs the home to turn Lamps 1 2 and 3 on every time one of the bank of switches 100 shown in FIG 6 is turned on Because one of the bank of switches 100 was used as the trigger event it was assumed that Type I programming was implemented which cause all of the selected appliances to go to the same state as the trigger event regardless of their actual state during programming Altern
39. r Type II is inferred from the trigger event and from what programmable devices that are to be controlled by that trigger event If the trigger event is supplied by an on off switch and if the appliances to be controlled all have on and off states it may be assumed that Type I programming is being performed If the trigger event is supplied by a momentary contract device or the opening of a door then it may be assumed that Type II programming is being performed If the trigger event is supplied by an appliance whose state is reversible the lamp can be turned either on or off it may be assumed that either Type I or Type II programming is being performed In a preferred embodiment it is assumed that the programming is Type II While particular assumptions have been described linking certain events to Type I or Type II programming other embodiments which would be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the teachings of the present invention may be implemented In a preferred embodiment the programmable controller decides the programming mode 0059 The programmable controllers and programmable devices according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention allow a user to create a program by a simple program by demonstration technique No knowledge of programming is needed and creating modifying or delet ing programs can be simply implemented by the user The user simply physically demonstrates what is to occur up
40. r conditioning The box will also have an AC line cord which will provide its power and a connection for a power line transceiver 0077 In order to program the thermostat 214 to go to an economy setting whenever a wall switch near a front door is pressed the programmable controller might ordinarily need to know what commands to send to a particular thermostat to cause it to enter economy mode The preferred embodi ment of the present invention simplifies this problem To cause the thermostat to enter economy mode when a switch is pressed the user would start as usual by pressing the train button on a programmable controller and manipulating the switch that was to be the trigger event The user would then press the train button on the thermostat press the economy mode and then press the train button again When the train button on the thermostat was pressed a second time the thermostat would broadcast a message that contained the instructions it should be sent in order to duplicate the effect the user had just produced by manipulating the thermostat s controls The programmable controller would receive this message and store it Later on when the trigger event occurred the programmable controller would read the stored message and broadcast it for the thermostat to receive and act on Of course rather than just put the thermostat in economy mode the user could have done any sequence of operations for example defining the temperature for e
41. rally the trigger event can be any signal broadcast over communication link 16 to the programmable controller 12 The trigger event is preferably the first detected signal by the programmable controller 12 after it has been put in training mode Various programming sequences and trigger events will be described hereinafter 0033 The programmable device 14 illustrated in FIG 1 is able to broadcast messages over the communication link 16 indicating a change in its state and also receive signals over the communication link 16 to control its operation The programmable device 14 includes but is not limited to appliances such as switches lamps dishwashers curtain controls audio and video equipment thermostats lawnsprinklers etc 0034 FIG 1a is a perspective view of an automation system 10 according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention FIG 1a is similar to FIG 1 except that the programmable device 14 is divided into a programmable outlet 17 and an appliance 19 In a preferred embodiment the programmable outlet 17 is plugged into the power line and provides a socket into which an appliance 19 such as a lamp can be plugged The programmable outlet 17 detects a change in state of the appliance coupled thereto and broadcasts a message over the communication link 16 that the appliance 19 has changed states While a lamp is shown as the appliance in this preferred embodiment the present invention is not limited to s
42. rogrammable device 14 and a communication link 16 coupling the programmable controller 12 and the program mable device 14 so that they can communicate with one another The programmable controller 12 has a user acces sible control or train button 18 to place the programmable controller 12 in training mode and take the programmable controller out of training mode Training mode refers to the state in which the programmable controller 12 is in when it is being programmed In a preferred embodiment the user accessible control 18 is a push down button which places the programmable controller 12 in training mode and when pushed again to release the button takes the programmable controller 12 out of training mode The user accessible control 18 will be referred to hereinafter as the train button Optionally the programmable controller 12 may also be equipped with an indicator 20 such as an LED which is illuminated when the programmable controller 12 is in training mode and is extinguished when the programmable controller is not in training mode The programmable device 14 which will be described in detail hereinafter broadcasts messages to and receives messages from the programmable controller 12 over communication link 16 0031 First a brief description of the operation of the automation system 10 will be given followed by a detailed description of various preferred embodiments of the com ponents of the automation system 10 The automation s
43. s Explore System lets the user practice training the house without over writing any existing programming Selecting Train House in Menu 1 0 will generate a dialog where the user is asked if the house s response is to be triggered by a switch closure If the user says yes the system asks the user to turn on or off the lamps and appliances to be controlled and then asks if these actions should be taken at some particular time and if the actions should depend on the state of the security system More particularly Menu 1 2 is first displayed Learn what to do when a switch is pressed Yes gt gt No gt gt Menu 1 2 0090 Ifthe user selects Yes from Menu 1 2 Menu 1 3 is displayed Press the switch you wish to use Turn on off devices it will control BLUE when done Menu 1 3 0091 If the user presses one of the switches next to the whole house controller then that switch can be used to control any device in the house Menu 1 4 then asks the user to decide if these response should occur at any time of the day when the switch is pressed or only during some par ticular period The switch will control the devices at all times gt gt only certain times gt gt Menu 1 4 Feb 13 2003 0092 If the user opts for only certain times Menu 1 5 is displayed Select time Daylight gt gt Nightime gt gt Pick Start and Stop gt gt Menu 1 5 0093 Ifthe user selects Pick Start and Stop from Menu
44. s of modifications The interfaces to these programs can be anything from strings of digits entered on standard touch tone keypads for example Home Automation Inc s Omni Automation and Security System to graphical user inter faces for example the Molex Choices software 0005 While the graphical user interfaces can be rela tively easy to use they require the presence in the home of personal computer and often require the system owner to purchase additional hardware and software Systems that rely on touch tone keypads for input and one and two line LCD for display are less expensive but generally require the user to remember or more likely lookup arbitrary com mands Feb 13 2003 0006 The Echelon Corporation has built home automa tion and industrial control apparatus based on a signaling protocol they refer to as LonWorks that uses a network of nodes each of which has one or more microprocessors The system is designed to operate in a cooperative computing environment in which the individual nodes maintain their own programs Programming of the individual nodes can be done by downloading new software from a temporarily attached lap top computer or by downloading software over the LonWorks network similar approach has been taken by CEBus and has been used in many custom installations for larger homes and office buildings 0007 While such system eliminate the central control unit modifying the software s
45. s displayed Do something at Sunset gt gt Sunrise gt gt Enter a time gt gt Menu 1 19 0108 If the user selects Enter a time from Menu 1 19 Menu 1 20 is displayed Hour Minute _ _AM PM Blue when done Menu 1 20 0109 After entering a time Menu 1 21 is displayed Turn on off devices you want to change at lt time descriptor gt Press BLUE when done Menu 1 21 0110 Ifthe user selected Sunset or Sunrise Menu 1 22 is displayed Should the Sunset Sunrise actions be done in all security modes gt gt a particular mode gt gt Menu 1 22 US 2003 0033028 A1 0111 Ifthe user had selected particular times those times would be indicated instead of Sunrise Sunset 0112 If the user chooses a particular mode Menu 1 23 is displayed Select Security Mode Day Night Away Off To move highlight gt gt Menu 1 23 0113 After the security mode is selected Menu 1 24 is displayed Training Complete Menu 1 24 0114 If the user has indicated that the action is not triggered by a switch a sensor or a timer event Menu 1 25 is displayed Learn what to do if the security status changes Yes gt gt No gt gt Menu 1 25 0115 If the user selects No the system goes to Idle state Otherwise Menus 1 26 and 1 27 are sequentially displayed Select Security Mode Day Night Away Off gt gt To move highlight gt gt Menu 1 26 Turn on off devices you want to
46. s located throughout a home Each programmable device is coupled to an appliance and each programmable device can detect the state of the appliance coupled to it Providing a programmable controller located in the home and coupled to the programmable devices by a communication link The programmable controller has a training mode which when selected allows selected pro grammable devices to be programmed to change the state of the appliance connected thereto Programming selected appliances to change from an unprogrammed state to a programmed state by placing selected appliances in their respective unprogrammed state placing the programmable controller in the training mode providing a trigger event changing the states of selected appliances from their unpro grammed state to their programmed state and taking the programmable controller out of the training mode The home is now programmed so that the next occurrence of the trigger event will cause the selected appliances to change from their unprogrammed states to their programmed states 0012 According to a fourth aspect of the present inven tion there is provided a method of programming at least one appliance The method includes the steps of providing a programmable controller coupled by a communication link to the at least one appliance placing the programmable controller in the training mode broadcasting a trigger event over the communication link wherein the trigger event is received
47. s or curtains pool heaters and filtration systems lawn sprinklers ornamental fountains audio visual equipment and other appliances Home automation systems are fre quently integrated with a home security system so that when a fire alarm is raised for example internal and external lights will be turned on Security systems frequently include lighting control and other types of home automation as an option Many larger homes incorporate a home theater which requires a certain amount of automation for conve nient operation and this automation is often extended to other parts of the dwelling In farms the automation system will also control outbuilding heating and lighting and warn of off normal conditions in automated feeding machinery and the like 0004 One form of automation system includes a central control unit that monitors environmental sensors and inputs from user controls and maintains a schedule of pre pro grammed time of day and day of the week events Inputs to the central control are provided by dedicated low voltage wiring for example from door and window sensors signals carried on power lines RF signals signals on existing telephone wiring and occasionally optical signals The central control unit is controlled by a program that is either specifically built for the particular installation or a general purpose program with a user interface that allows the owner or a technician employed by the owner to make certain type
48. t inven tion 0021 FIG 7 illustrates the front panel of a program mable controller incorporated with a bank of push buttons according to a preferred embodiment of the present inven tion 0022 FIG 8 12 are flow charts illustrating various pro gram sequences 0023 FIG 13 is a of the wiring and components sche matic for a home automation system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention 0024 FIG 14 illustrates the front panel of a program mable clock according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention 0025 FIG 15 illustrates a front panel of a programmable thermostat according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention 0026 FIG 16 illustrates front panel of a security interface according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention 0027 FIG 17 is a schematic of a remote programmable light fixture 0028 FIG 18 illustrates a front panel of a sequence interface according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention 0029 FIG 19 illustrates a front panel of a whole house controller according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 0030 FIG 1 is a perspective view of an automation system 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention In its simplest embodiment the automa US 2003 0033028 A1 tion system 10 includes a programmable controller 12 a p
49. t least one appliance wherein the message is received and stored by the programmable controller and taking the programmable device out of the training mode wherein the at least one appliance is programmed to go to its programmed state upon the occurrence of the trigger event 27 A method according to claim 26 wherein the step of broadcasting a message over the communication link indi 13 Feb 13 2003 cating that the state of the t least one appliance has changed includes broadcasting an instruction message when later rebroadcast back to the at least one appliance controls the operation of the at least one appliance 28 A method for automating an environment the method comprising the steps of providing programmable device coupled to a communi cation link providing a programmable controller having memory wherein the programmable controller is coupled to the communication link wherein the programmable con troller and programmable device communicate with one another over the communication link providing a trigger device coupled to the communication link wherein the trigger device and programmable controller communicate with one another placing the programmable controller in a training mode activating the trigger device to generate a trigger signal storing the trigger signal in the memory of the program mable control placing the programmable device in a desired state broadcasting a message that the program
50. te A detailed description of the communications over communication link 16 will be described hereinafter 0032 The trigger event can be generated in numerous ways For example as will be seen hereinafter program mable devices 14 frequently generate messages which can be regarded as trigger events by the programmable control ler 12 In operation the programmable controller 12 can receive a number of messages that might be trigger events and other messages that might be generated by the user putting programmable devices 14 into their programmed state The trigger event is selected as the event which Feb 13 2003 generated the first message received by the programmable controller after it is placed in training mode For example if the trigger event is generated by an environmental sensor coupled to the communication link 16 the trigger event may be the detection of a movement in the field of view of the sensor the opening or closing of a door or window the detection of an alarm condition The trigger event can also be generated by a programmable device where the trigger event is the change of state of the programmable device For example the user may want a second programmable device to go to a desired programmed state every time a first programmable device goes to a particular programmed state Putting the first appliance in its programmed state after the programmable controller 12 is in the training mode is the trigger event Gene
51. till requires the use of a PC based system and usually requires the user to acquire relatively expensive hardware and software and become proficient in the use of PC based software 0008 Itis thus desirable to provide an automation system that is inexpensive easily installed and easily program mable and reprogrammable It is also desirable to provide a home automation system that can be programmed and reprogrammed by a user having little or no knowledge or experience in programming It is also desirable to provide an automation system that allows the incorporation of new and different appliances and controllers without the system becoming obsolete SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 0009 According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of programming at least one appliance to change state upon the occurrence of a trigger event The method includes the steps of providing at least one programmable devices coupled to the at least one appliance providing a programmable controller coupled to the programmable device where the programmable control ler and programmable device communicate with one another The programmable controller has a training mode which when selected allows the at least one programmable device to be programmed to change the state of the first appliance upon the occurrence of the trigger event The user places the programmable controller in training mode pro vides a trigger event and changes the
52. to the programmable device by the programmable controller upon the next occur rence of the trigger event when the programmable controller 12 is out of training mode This is particularly useful when the programmable device 14 is like that shown in FIG 1 because the programmable controller 12 does not have to know anything about the configuration of the programmable device 14 The programmable device 14 provides its own instruction in the message it broadcasts to the programmable controller 0044 This allows the automation system 10 to easily accommodate new types of appliances and controllers For example suppose that at some future time it became popular to install lighting where the user could control not only the intensity of a programmable light fixture on off and various dimming levels but also the color of the light For existing US 2003 0033028 A1 automation systems in order to add color control it would be necessary for system controllers to receive new program ming that at the minimum expanded the message set defin ing control of lighting from one that referred only to intensity to one that specified color and intensity 0045 Ina preferred embodiment of the present invention asimpler and more general solution to the problem of adding new devices to be controlled without making any modifi cations of the existing system components exists For example in the case of a lighting appliance that allows the user to adjust bot
53. ts programmed state 2 A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of providing a trigger includes providing a switch coupled to the programmable controller having at least two states wherein the trigger event is supplied by changing the state of the switch 3 A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of providing a trigger event includes providing an environmen tal sensor coupled to the programmable controller wherein the trigger event is the detection of an environment change by the environmental sensor 4 A method according to claim 1 further comprising the steps of providing a plurality of appliances wherein each appli ance is coupled to its own programmable device US 2003 0033028 A1 changing the state of selected appliances from an unpro grammed state to a programmed state after the pro grammable controller has been placed in the training mode and the trigger event has occurred wherein the selected appliances are now programmed so that upon the next occurrence of the trigger event the state of the selected appliances will change to their respective programmed state 5 A method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of deleting programs stored by programmable controller by placing the programmable controller in the training mode and then directly taking the programmable controller out of the training mode 6 A method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of deleting a program stored by progra
54. uch appliances but includes other appliances such as switches dishwashers curtain controls audio and video equipment etc The term appliance is used broadly to encompass any device that can change its state at least from one state to another 0035 While the particular embodiment described with reference to FIGS 1 and 1a have the power lines of a home establishing the communication link 16 the present inven tion is not limited to such a communication media Other media may be used such as RF transmissions messages over dedicated wiring messages sent as data over phone lines using frequencies not used by voice signals optical signals etc In addition while only one programmable device 14 is shown in FIGS 1 and 14 a plurality of programmable devices can be provided to communicate with one or a plurality of programmable controllers 12 all coupled by communication link 16 Later a description of preferred embodiments of the present invention applied to a home automation system will be described 0036 FIG 2 is a block diagram of the programmable controller 12 shown in FIGS 1 and 1a according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention The pro US 2003 0033028 A1 grammable controller 12 includes a transceiver 22 a micro processor 26 preferably having both RAM memory 28 and ROM memory 30 and train button 18 The microprocessor 26 is coupled to the transceiver 22 which in turn is coupled to the communication link 16 Th
55. ule address selector coupled to the microprocessor wherein the module has stored within it the address of the programmable device 22 A system according to claim 7 wherein the program mable controller is cleared of any stored program by placing the programmable controller in the training mode and then directly taking the programmable controller out of the training mode 23 A system according to claim 7 wherein the program mable controller is cleared of any programs associated with particular trigger event by placing the programmable controller in the training mode providing the particular trigger event and then taking the programmable controller out of the training mode 24 A method for programming a home automation sys tem the method comprising the steps of providing programmable devices located throughout a home wherein each programmable device is coupled to an appliance and each programmable device can detect the state of the appliance coupled to it providing a programmable controller located in the home and coupled to the programmable devices by a com munication link wherein the programmable controller US 2003 0033028 A1 has a training mode which when selected allows selected programmable devices to be programmed to change the state of the appliance connected thereto programming selected appliances to change from an unprogrammed state to a programmed state wherein the user first places selected appliances in the
56. ys tem 10 is programmed by demonstrating what should hap pen in response to a particular event For example if the automation system 10 is installed in a home the program mable controller 12 is preferably mounted in a 9 wall of the home for example where the user will have access to the train button 18 The programmable device 14 is also located in the home and the communication link 16 between the programmable controller 12 and the programmable device 14 is provided by the power lines in the home If the user wants the programmable device 14 to go to a programmed state upon the occurrence of a particular event i e a trigger event the user first places the programmable controller 12 in its training mode by depressing the train button 18 and then causes a trigger signal which will be described hereinafter that is received by programmable controller 12 over the communication link 16 The user then walks over to the programmable device 14 he or she wishes to be controlled by the trigger event and puts the programmable device 14 in the desired programmed state For example if the program mable device is a lamp the programmed state may be turning the lamp on The user then walks back to the programmable controller 12 and takes it out of its training mode using the train button 18 Now the automation system 10 is programmed so that upon the next occurrence of the trigger event the programmable device 14 will go to the desired programmed sta
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