Patent Application
20140266573
The present application relates to movable barriers such as overhead doors and the like, particularly barrier operators in which a drive force is applied to the overhead door by a motor.
Providing guest or other third party access to a premises secured by a movable barrier can present numerous difficulties. If an owner or operator of the premises is present, the owner can actuate the operator and provide access to the guest, but this can inconvenience the owner if the owner is in a meeting or otherwise busy. Access can become even more difficult when an owner is absent from the premises.
Wireless transmitters are commonly used to send signals to barrier operators to open and close movable barriers associated with the barrier operators. In order for a guest to obtain access with such a transmitter, however, an absent owner, or someone at the behest of the owner, would have to physically deliver one of the wireless transmitters to the guest. This situation can undesirably waste time and resources. Moreover, this can leave an owner without a wireless transmitter if there are a limited amount of transmitters available and requires the owner to reacquire the wireless transmitter from the guest.
Another method of actuating a barrier operator includes providing a stationary keypad or other interface outside of the premises that can open and close a movable barrier upon entry of the appropriate code. With such a setup, an owner can provide a guest with the appropriate code. This enables the owner to provide access to the premises without additional expenditures of time or resources, but disadvantageously also enables the guest to reenter the premises so long as the code remains the same. Thus, if the owner wishes to prevent the guest from being able to reenter the premises, the owner must change and memorize a new code. Such a setup can become onerous with multiple guests needing access to the premises.
A method, apparatus, mobile device application software, and computer-readable medium is provided herein that allows an owner or operator of a secured area within a premises to send control device access rights to a guest over a communication network. Pursuant to this, the owner can send, or cause to be sent by a third party device, such as a server device, an application to a mobile computing device or telephone device that is configured to be operated on the mobile device. The application includes information necessary to access and operate the control device at the premises, such as a movable barrier operator, monitoring device, home automation device, and/or alarm device. As such, after receiving the transmission of the application at the guest mobile device, the application can then be installed and/or run on the mobile device. The application can advantageously be configured by the owner of the premises to restrict the access rights granted by the application. For example, the application can restrict access rights of the guest mobile device to a specific time period on one day, certain time periods for a number of days, certain days during a week, etc. Moreover, the application can provide increased security by including a notification configuration to notify the owner or other responsible party if the guest mobile device attempts to operate the control device outside of these sets time periods.
For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the subject matter sought to be protected, there are illustrated in the accompanying drawings embodiments thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, the subject matter sought to be protected, its construction and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.
Application software for a mobile device can provide an owner or operator of a premises with the ability to remotely grant a guest authorization to access an access control device on or in the premises. The access control device can control the operation of the one or more secondary devices, so that with the owner authorization, the guest can access the access control device to cause an action at the premises with the secondary device. The application software can further provide the owner/operator the ability to restrict the third party access, such as temporally or spatially.
The following terms, which will be used throughout the disclosure herein, can have a variety of suitable meanings. For example, when used herein, an “owner” of a premises or secured area can refer to any person with the authority to authorize a guest to access the access control device on a premises or secured area. In a straightforward situation, the owner can personally own the premises, such as with a home or business, and has the authority to authorize access to a guest, such as an independent contractor, employee, customer, or personal acquaintance. The disclosure herein, however, works equally well, with an example of a corporation or other business having any number of employees. In this situation, the owner would refer to a person in a position of authority, such as a CEO, president, vice-president, manager, security personnel, and the like. Without limitation, the disclosure herein can provide an owner of a premises having an access control device therein the ability to remotely grant a guest access to and the ability to send a control signal to the access control device. Similarly, “premises” can refer to a residential structure, commercial structure, industrial structure, or other secured area, or portion(s) thereof.
Details of the interacting components and structure of the system disclosed herein are shown in
As shown in
The access control device 28 is located in or around a premises or secured area 12. The access control device 28 is configured, upon receipt of a properly authorized control signal, to control operation of one or more secondary devices 30 in or on the premises 12. By a first approach, the access control device 28 can be part of or integrated within the secondary device 30. For example, without limitation, the secondary device 30 can refer to a movable barrier operator, such as a garage door operator, door access control, gate operator, commercial door operator, and the like, a home automation system, an alarm system, a server device, a computing device, a network device, or the like. In this approach, the access control device 28 can directly receive the control signal to open or close a movable barrier, lock or unlock one or more doors, activate or deactivate appliances, lights, and the like within the premises 12, activate or deactivate an alarm, and the like.
By a second approach, the access control device 28 can be a separate gateway device capable of receiving the authorized control signal and translating the signal to a language understood by one of the specific secondary devices 30 as discussed above.
Turning now to details of the application software (“application”), the application can be available for purchase and/or download from any website, online store, or vendor over the communication network 16. Alternatively, a user can download the application onto a personal computer and transfer the application to a suitable device. In this instance, the owner downloads and installs the application on the owner device 10. When operation is desired, the owner runs the application on the owner device 10 by a suitable selection through the user input 18.
The application utilizes access rights data that includes identification information of the access control device 28 and corresponding authorization information for access rights to the access control device 28. In other words, the access rights data includes credentials required by the access control device 28, a conditional requirement for allowing the credentials, and the identification information of the access control device 28. If desired, the application can cause the access rights data to be stored in the memory 22 of the owner device 10. This information can be manually entered by the owner through the user input 18 of the owner device 10, by download from the access control device 28, by retrieving or receiving the access rights data from a network device, or the application can have a learn mode similar to a learning transmitter known in the art so that the owner device 10 receives and stores the information from a transmission of an authorized transmitter. Thus, if desired, the application can provide the owner with transmitter functionality to send an authorized control signal to the access control device 28 with the owner device 10.
Advantageously, the application further grants the owner the ability to send the access rights data to one or more guest devices 14. In other words, upon instruction of the owner through the application, the application can transmit the access rights data or cause the access rights data to be transmitted to the guest device 14, which then provides the guest device 14 the ability to send an authorized control signal to the access control device 28 to operate the secondary devices 30.
The guest can acquire the application in any number of suitable ways. For example, the owner can cause an invitation or link to download and install the application to be sent to the guest device 14 through a suitable communication network, utilizing a short message service, a multimedia message service, an e-mail, a message through a third party website, or the like. This can be done by the owner with the owner device 10 through the application or independent thereof or can be done by the owner through a third party website or service. The owner can also vocally communicate with the guest with an identification and location of the application for the guest to download and install the application on the guest device 14.
Regardless of how the guest is notified of the application, the guest can then purchase, if necessary, download, and install the application on the guest device 14 similar to the operation of the owner device 10 discussed above. With the application installed on the guest device 14, the application can cause the guest device 14 to be receptive to a transmission at the behest of the owner device 10, which includes the access rights data. For example, the owner can input guest device identification information, such as a telephone number, email address, IP address, or the like, into the owner device 10 or an associated third party website and select to transmit the access rights data to the guest device 14, the communication of which will be described in greater detail below.
Upon reception of the access rights data from the owner device 10, the application running on the guest device 14 can then configure the guest device 14 to send an authorized control signal to the access control device 28 to allow the guest to operate the secondary device(s) 30. In one approach, the guest can instruct the application running on the guest device 14 to be receptive to the access rights data, such as in a learning mode, download the access rights data, such as from a third party server device, and/or store the access rights data in the memory 22. In another approach, the application can automatically store the access rights data in the memory 22 of the guest device 14. Then, when the guest desires access to the access control device 28, the guest can run the application on the guest device 14, which can retrieve the access rights data and transmit an authorized control signal through the guest device transmitter 21 to the access control device 28, such as through Bluetooth, a cellular network, the internet, or the like.
Specifically, the application can display a menu listing one or more premises by an identifier, such as an address, title, or the like, which can be customizable or editable, on the display 25 of the guest device 14. Upon selection of the premises in the listing through the user input 18, the application determines whether any restrictions on the access rights are applicable. If there are no restrictions applicable, upon selection with the user input 18, the application can cause the transmitter 21 of the guest device 14 to transmit the authorized control signal to the access control device 28.
Alternatively, the application can prevent selection of the premises listing due to restrictions being applicable. For example, the application can display the premises listing in a grayed-out state, crossed-out, or the like. Additionally, the application can display the restrictions alongside or within the premises listing.
So configured, the owner can grant access rights to the guest without having to give the guest a physical key, a pass code, or having to be present to grant access. Moreover, the access rights data transmission, as well as the storage of the access rights data, can be encrypted by any suitable methods so that unwanted third parties and the guest cannot use the transmission or the application to gain unrestricted or uncontrolled access to the access rights data. Any suitable encryption scheme and method can be utilized. As such, the owner maintains control over access because the guest cannot make unauthorized copies, such as with a physical key, or share access with unauthorized people, such as with a pass code.
Advantageously, the application can also be used by the owner to restrict usage of the access rights sent to the guest device. Specifically, the application can allow the owner to enter restrictions on the access rights granted to the guest device 14, including, temporal restrictions, spatial restrictions, or combinations thereof. For example, if the access control device 28 controls the locking and unlocking of a door, the restrictions can prevent the guest device 14 from being able to unlock the door during specified times, such as specified hours of a day, one or more days during a week, or combinations thereof. In another example, if the premises 12 includes a series of locked doors, the restrictions can prevent the guest device 14 from being able to unlock specified doors so that the guest can only access selected areas of the premises.
The owner can input these restrictions or conditions into the application prior to the access rights data being sent to the guest device 14 so that the access rights data is sent with the restrictions to the guest device 14. As such, the application running on the guest device can restrict transmission of an authorized signal or can transmit the signal along with the restrictions configured to be interpreted by the access control device 28 to permit or deny the requested action based on analysis of the restrictions. Alternatively or in addition thereto, the owner can subsequently modify already granted access rights by inputting the restrictions into the owner device 10 and sending the restrictions or causing the restrictions to be sent to the guest device 14 to alter the authorized access rights stored on the guest device 14. By another approach, the owner device 10, can send the restrictions or conditions directly to the access control device 28. As such, the access control device 28 can access restrictions upon reception of a signal from the guest device 14 and permit or deny the requested action based on the restrictions. By yet another approach, the owner device 10 can input the restrictions or conditions at an intermediary server 32, discussed in more detail below, or send the restrictions thereto. As such, the intermediary server 32 then controls the conditions placed on the authorization of the guest device to send signals to the access control device 28.
By another approach, the access rights can be sent to the guest device without any authorization for use. As such, the owner can subsequently send allowed or authorized spatial or temporal zones to the guest device or intermediary server 32, or identify the allowed or authorized spatial or temporal zones for subsequent sending by a third party.
Of course, the application also allows the owner to revoke the access rights, such as by sending a revocation transmission to the application on the guest device 14 or to a third party server device or service, which would then deactivate or delete the access rights data from the guest device 14.
The various options for transmitting the access rights from the owner device 10 to the guest device 14 are described below with reference to
In a first example, shown in
In another example, shown in
Turning now to
Other example communication configurations, as shown in
By other approaches, as shown in
In all of the above communication examples, the application can include a self-test operation. Specifically, the self-test operation can cause the guest device 14, upon reception of the access rights data, to send a test control signal to the access control device 28. The self-test operation can either do this automatically upon reception and storage, can require the application to transmit the test control signal within a specified time, or can require the application to transmit the test control signal prior to a first use. The test signal can result in the access control device 28 and/or the secondary device 30 transmitting a confirmation signal in response to the test signal, which can be routed through the intermediary server 32. The confirmation signal can be transmitted to the guest device 14 and/or the owner device 10, as desired. Alternatively, operation of one of the secondary devices 30 by the guest device 14 can confirm to both the owner and operator that the transmission of the access rights data was successful. In another example, the test control signal can be configured by the application to cause a specified action with one of the secondary devices, such as chosen by the owner, so that the owner can identify when the transmission of the access rights data is successful. For example, the owner can tell the application to energize a specific light, send a test signal to an alarm, or other audio and/or visual actions.
Turning now to examples of operation of the interaction between the guest device 14 and the access control device 28 after the guest device 14 successfully receives the access rights data from the owner device 10, as shown in
In the most straightforward example, as shown in
In another example, as shown in
In the examples shown in
In a second example of
In another example of
The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as a limitation. While particular embodiments have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the broader aspects of applicants' contribution. The actual scope of the protection sought is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on the prior art.
