The subject matter of this application relates to movable barrier operators, and more specifically, to automatically controlling operation of a movable barrier operator based on a characteristic of a vehicle.
Various types of remote controls for movable barrier operators are known in the art for controlling the position of a movable barrier associated with the movable barrier operator, such as a radio frequency transmitter. The transmitter may be part of or connected to in-vehicle hardware such as an infotainment or navigation system that allows a user to set a geographic area of the user's home and the transmitter will transmit a signal to open or close the movable barrier upon the vehicle entering or exiting the area. In this manner, the user does not need to manually actuate the transmitter each time the vehicle enters or exits the area.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present teachings. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present teachings. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein. The word “or” when used herein shall be interpreted as having a disjunctive construction rather than a conjunctive construction unless otherwise specifically indicated.
Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to
With reference to
The in-vehicle device 120 is configured to communicate with the MBO 116 to cause the MBO 116 to open the garage door 114 as the vehicle 118 approaches the garage 112 and close the garage door 114 as the vehicle 118 departs the garage 112. The communications between the in-vehicle device 120 and the MBO 116 (either directly with radio frequency signals or indirectly via the remote server computer 122 and network 124) may include information related to one or more pre-determined user account conditions 140 (see
The vehicle characteristic may include a characteristic instead of or in addition to vehicle location, such as vehicle speed and/or orientation with respect to the garage 112. The user account condition 140 is a condition that affects the user's interaction with the system 100. The user account condition 140 may be set with regard to characteristics unrelated to the vehicle 118, such as weather, time of day, and who is (or is not) present in a building associated with the garage 112 or area secured by the MBO 116 and movable barrier (e.g. garage door 114). The user account condition 140 may be set at the in-vehicle device 120 or at a computing device 126, such as a smartphone, smart watch, laptop, tablet computer, or desktop computer. Further examples of vehicle characteristics and user account conditions 140 are described in detail below.
Regarding
The in-vehicle device 120 further includes communication circuitry 130 configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the MBO 116 and operate the MBO 116. For example, the communication circuitry 130 may include a radio frequency signal transmitter 131 (operable within the 300 MHz-900 MHz radio frequency band) configured to send a command signal directly to the MBO 116 to change the state of the garage door 114 based upon a characteristic of the vehicle 118.
The communication circuitry 130 further includes a wide area network interface 132 configured to communicate with the network 124 to send a change of state request to the remote server 122. The change of state request causes the remote server 122 to send a command signal to the MBO 116 and cause the MBO 116 to change the state of the garage door 114 (e.g., close to open or vice versa). Additionally, the communication circuitry 130 may include a short-range wireless interface 133 for communication with the MBO 116. For example, the short-range wireless interface 133 may be configured to communicate with the MBO 116 using Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Near Field Communication (NFC), WiFi, Z-wave and ZigBee protocols.
The in-vehicle device 120 further includes a memory 144 and a processor 146. The memory 144 is configured to store the user account condition 140. The in-vehicle device 120 also has a microphone 149 for receiving voice commands from a user in the vehicle 118. The processor 146 is operatively coupled to the memory 144, the microphone 149, the sensor 128, and the communication circuitry 130. The processor 146 is configured to perform instructions stored in the memory 144, such as determining satisfaction of the user account condition.
In another embodiment, the in-vehicle device 120 is a user's smartphone. The smartphone may communicate with the vehicle 118 to receive data, such as the location and speed of the vehicle 118. The smartphone may also be configured to retrieve the data itself. For example, the smartphone may receive location data from GPS satellites or cellular towers and determine the location of the vehicle 118, determine whether the vehicle 118 is within a geofenced area, and determine whether the user account condition 140 has been satisfied. The smartphone may communicate a state change request to the remote server 122 or connect to the vehicle 118, such as via Bluetooth, and cause a radio signal transmitter of the vehicle 118 to transmit a command signal to the movable barrier operator 116.
With reference to
For example, as the vehicle 118 approaches the garage 112, the processor 146 uses GNSS data from the sensor 128 to first determine whether the vehicle 118 is within a geofenced area associated with the garage 112. In this example, the location of the vehicle 118 is a vehicle characteristic that must be satisfied before the one or more user account conditions 140 are checked. The processor 146 then determines whether the user account conditions 140A, 140B, 140C are satisfied. More specifically, if (1) the speed of the vehicle 118 is below 20 mph, (2) the user is “dad,” and (3) it is not snowing outside, then the user account conditions 140A, 140B, 140C have been satisfied. The processor 146 will then cause the communication circuitry 130 to automatically transmit the command signal from the radio frequency transmitter 131 to the MBO 116 to open the garage door 114. In another example, if the user condition 140A, 140B, 140C are satisfied, the processor 146 will cause the communication circuitry 130 to transmit the state change request to the remote server 122 via the network 124 and the remote server 122 will communicate a state change command to the MBO 116.
The remote server computer 122 facilitates operation of the MBO 116. The remote server 122 may make decisions in conjunction with or in place of decision making at the in-vehicle device 120, such as whether the vehicle characteristic detected by the sensor 128 indicates automatic operation of the MBO 116 and whether the user account condition 140 has been satisfied. For example and with reference to
With reference to
The communication circuitry 167 may further include a long-range wireless transceiver 161 configured to communicate with the remote server 122 over the network 124. The transceiver 161 may receive a state change command from the remote server 122 (via the network 124) to cause the MBO 116 to change the state of the garage door 114. The transceiver 161 may also communicate information back to the network 124, such as information identifying a user of the vehicle 118. The transceiver 161 may communicate with the network 124 via a wireless gateway or access point, such as a WiFi router. Additionally, the communication circuitry 167 may include a short-range wireless transceiver 165 for communication with the short-range transmitter 133 of the in-vehicle device 120. For example, the short-range wireless transceiver 165 may be configured to receive the command signal from the in-vehicle device 120 over a short-range wireless protocol, such as Bluetooth.
The long-range wireless transceiver 161 and the short-range wireless transceiver 165 may both be configured to receive characteristics of the vehicle 118 from a plurality of local devices. For example, the wide area network interface 132 and short-range transmitter 133 of the in-vehicle device 120 may be in communication with other local wireless devices (e.g., home appliances, other vehicles, smartphones, etc.) to exchange and collect data. The long-range wireless transceiver 161 and the short-range wireless transceiver 165 may receive data from the other devices as part of a mesh network.
For example, the long-range wireless transceiver 161 of the MBO 116 may receive a signal from a LoRa-based sensor for wireless, long-range radio transmissions with low power consumption mounted to a stoplight or from a V2X (vehicle to anything) component mounted to a stop sign at an intersection near the garage 112 upon the sensor detecting a beacon signal from the in-vehicle device 120. The MBO 116 would thereby be able to determine the vehicle 118 is nearby.
The MBO 116 also includes a processor 155. The processor 155 is operatively coupled to the motor 157 and the communication circuitry 167. The MBO 116 may make decisions in conjunction with or in place of decision making at the in-vehicle device 120 and/or the remote server 122. The decisions may include deciding whether the vehicle characteristic identified by the sensor 128 indicates automatic operation of the MBO 116 and whether the user account condition 140 has been satisfied. For example, the processor 155 may be configured to cause the motor 157 to move the movable barrier 114 upon receiving the characteristic of the vehicle 118 indicating automatic operation of the MBO 116 and the user account condition 140 being satisfied. Conversely, the processor 155 may be configured to not effect movement of the movable barrier 114 upon the received characteristic of the vehicle 118 indicating automatic operation of the MBO 116 but fewer than all of the user account conditions being satisfied.
With reference to
If at operation 201 the vehicle characteristic indicates automatic operation, the processor 146 of the in-vehicle device 120 determines whether the user account condition 140 was satisfied at operation 202. For example, the vehicle speed threshold 140A may be the only user account condition 140 set by the user. The processor 146 receives vehicle speed information via the communication circuitry 130, which may receive the vehicle speed information from an electronic control unit (ECU) via a controller area network (CAN) bus of the vehicle 118. The processor 146 determines whether the user account condition 140A is satisfied by comparing the current vehicle speed to the selected threshold 140E. If the user account condition 140A is satisfied, then at operation 212, the in-vehicle device 120 will send a radio frequency command signal to the movable barrier operator 116 from the radio frequency transmitter 131. In another embodiment, at operation 212 the in-vehicle device 120 sends a status change request to the remote server 122 via the network 124 to cause the remote server 122 to send a state change command to the MBO 116.
At operation 214, the command signal is received at the movable barrier operator 116 and the movable barrier operator 116 operates to open or close the garage door 114. If at operation 202 the user account condition 140 is not satisfied, then at operation 216 no command signal or state change request will be transmitted 218 from the in-vehicle device 120, and the garage door 114 will remain in its current state.
With reference to
If the user account condition 140A is satisfied, then the processor 146 proceeds to operation 202B to determine whether the user account condition 140B is satisfied, i.e., whether a specified user is in the vehicle 118. As described above with respect to
If the user account conditions 140 of operations 202A, 202B are satisfied, then at operation 202C, the processor 146 determines whether the user account condition 140C has been satisfied. If the processor 146 determines that it is not snowing outside the garage 112, then all of the user conditions 140 have been satisfied, and at operation 212 the in-vehicle device 120 sends a radio frequency command signal to the MBO 116 or communicates a state change request to the remote server 122 via the network 124.
At operation 214, a command signal is received at the MBO 116 and the movable barrier operator 116 operates to open the garage door 114 to allow entry of the vehicle 118. If any of the user account conditions 140A, 140B, 140C are not satisfied at operations 202A, 202B, 202C, then at operation 216 no signal will be transmitted from the in-vehicle device 120, and the garage door 114 will remain closed.
The operation 202 may be performed in a number of approaches. For example, the ambient weather may be checked before the vehicle speed. Further, the user may adjust the user account condition 140 via the user interface 134 so that fewer than all of the user account conditions 140A, 140B, 140C must be satisfied. Alternatively, the various user account conditions 140 may be associated with importance or weighting values. For example, the user account condition 140 at operation 202 may be satisfied if both the vehicle speed threshold condition 140A and the user identity condition 140B are satisfied but the ambient weather condition 140C is not. Conversely, the user account condition 140 at operation 202 would not be satisfied if the vehicle speed threshold condition 140A was satisfied but the user identity condition 140B and the weather condition 140C were not. This different outcome would occur because the user identity condition 140B has a default normal importance and must be satisfied while the user has indicated the ambient weather condition 140C has a modified, lower importance that can be ignored if the other user account conditions 140A, 140B are satisfied.
As another example, the vehicle characteristic may be a distance between the vehicle 118 and the location y. The processor 146 determines that the distance from the vehicle 118 to the location y at position x1 of the vehicle 118 at time t1 is 75 feet; however, the predetermined distance set by the user is 50 feet. As a result, the location of the vehicle 118 does not indicate automatic operation of the MBO 116.
At a later time t2, the sensor 128 of the in-vehicle device 120 receives the location data indicating a new location x2. The processor 146 determines that the distance between the vehicle 118 and the location y is now within 25 feet. At this point, the processor 146 determines the location of the vehicle 118 indicates automatic operation of the MBO 116.
Upon the vehicle characteristic indicating automatic operation of the MBO 116, the processor 146 determines whether the user account condition 140 has been satisfied as discussed above with respect to
In one embodiment, the in-vehicle device 120 determines whether the vehicle characteristic indicates automatic operation of the MBO 116 and whether the user account condition 140 has been satisfied. In another embodiment, the in-vehicle device 120 communicates data associated with the vehicle characteristic (e.g., the location) to the remote server 122 and the remote server processor 155 determines whether the vehicle characteristic indicates automatic operation of the MBO 116, e.g. the vehicle 118 is within the geofence 164. The processor 155 of the remote server 122 also determines whether the user account condition 140 is satisfied. As an example, the in-vehicle device 120 may communicate vehicle speed and in-vehicle user identity data to the remote server 122. The remote server 122 retrieves weather information from the internet (e.g., street-level or pinpoint weather data based on vehicle location x2). With this data, the remote server 122 can determine whether the user account condition 140 is satisfied and, if so, send a state change command to the MBO 116. In other words, the remote server 122 may determine whether to change the state of the garage door 114.
Various user account conditions 140 may be utilized with the system 100. For instance, a user may set a user account condition 140 to be a particular direction of travel of the vehicle 118. For example, the user account condition 140 to be satisfied is that the vehicle 118 is approaching the garage 112 from the east. The vehicle characteristic includes a detected direction of travel of the vehicle, and the processor 146 is configured to determine whether the direction of travel satisfies the directional requirement. As another example, the user account condition 140 may include whether the vehicle 118 applies its brakes, which indicates the vehicle 118 is slowing down to enter a driveway, alleyway, side street or the garage 112.
In another example, the user account condition 140 may be that the in-vehicle user identity be confirmed with a voice command. More specifically, the processor 146 of the in-vehicle device 120 is operably coupled to the microphone 149 and is configured to determine if the user's voice matches an approved user voice. Another user account condition 140 may be a secret code word spoken by a user and received by the microphone 149 in the vehicle 118. The user says the code word into the microphone 149 upon the vehicle 118 entering the geofence 164, and the processor 154 determines whether the code word matches the preset code word of the user account condition 140. If there is a match, the command signal is automatically sent to the MBO 116 to open the garage door 114.
User conditions 140 may be utilized that are unrelated to the vehicle. For example, certain days and/or times for automatic operation of the MBO 116 may be desired. If a user arrives home every weekday between 5 pm and 6 pm, and sets a user account condition 140 to be vehicle arrival between 5 pm and 6 pm, then arrival of the vehicle 118 in the geofenced area 164 between 5 pm and 6 pm on a weekday will cause the in-vehicle device 120 to automatically operate the MBO 116. Furthermore, it may be that the user condition 140 is a particular time window such that automatic activation of the MBO 116 may never occur outside of the time window. For example, the user may set a user account condition 140 that indicates automatic operation of the MBO 116 is never to occur between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am.
The user account condition 140 may be related to who is in the building 113. The communication circuitry 130 of the in-vehicle device 120 may be configured to receive identity data of a person (or people) in the building 113. For example, a home automation system associated with the building 113 may detect smartphones of family members connected to the home Wi-Fi. If only a teenager is home, the user account condition 140 would not be satisfied. If the teenager and a parent is home or if no one is home, the user account condition 140 would be satisfied.
While there have been illustrated and described particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that numerous changes and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and it is intended for the present invention to cover all those changes and modifications which fall within the scope of the appended claims. For example, portions of the method 199 may be performed at different components of the system 100. As one example in this regard, the in-vehicle device 120 may perform operations 200, 201 and the remote server 122 performs operations 202, 212.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20200181969 A1 | Jun 2020 | US |