Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08C—TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS FOR MEASURED VALUES, CONTROL OR SIMILAR SIGNALS
  • G08C19/00—Electric signal transmission systems
  • G08C19/16—Electric signal transmission systems in which transmission is by pulses
  • G08C19/28—Electric signal transmission systems in which transmission is by pulses using pulse code
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07C—TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
  • G07C9/00—Individual registration on entry or exit
  • G07C9/00174—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys
  • G07C9/00857—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys where the code of the data carrier can be programmed

Definitions

• the invention relates to the field of order transmitters and order receivers, having transmission and reception capacities; it concerns in particular the transmitters and receivers of home automation systems.
• Such home automation systems are used for motorized products or automatic closing or sun protection systems in the building, or even for the control of luminaires or others.
• one or more command transmitters are provided; each device to be controlled - roller shutter, blind, light fixture, etc. - is associated with a command receiver; provision can also be made for the same command receiver to control several devices.
• the transmitters of orders and the receivers of orders communicate by radio and use the same transmission frequency, or predetermined frequencies.
• logistical reasons most often require that the pairing is not carried out during manufacturing, but rather on site, after installation of the products.
• Various matching solutions are proposed in the state of the art.
• 01 09369 describes a method of pairing transmitter and receiver. It is specified in this request that it is possible to provide an installer with a programming console. Each of the receivers is then also a transmitter, and the programming console is then not only a transmitter but also a receiver. During the pairing phase, the receivers send their own identification number to the console. The software contained in the console makes it possible to order the receivers which are announced. The installer then has the possibility of sending, successively, an order which will only be recognized by the only receiver concerned, and of proceeding to pair this receiver, which has thus physically identified itself by responding to said command, with the transmitter subsequently intended to control it.
• a communication protocol between home automation objects is proposed under the Bluetooth standard.
• version 1.1. of the Bluetooth specification version 1.1. Chapter 6, titled “Idle Mode Procedures”, offers various commands; a "discovery” command allows a Bluetooth object to interrogate surrounding objects which respond by transmitting their name or other specific information. Another command makes it possible to pair two Bluetooth objects; this command is preceded by a discovery command.
• US-B-6 297 737 proposes a location system using the Bluetooth standard.
• a terminal is used to control objects operating according to the Bluetooth standard.
• the terminal allows the user to associate descriptive names with the labels characterizing the various products. In this way, the user of the terminal can more easily identify the managed objects. Descriptive names are used only in the user interface, the terminal communicating with the objects using identifiers distinct from the descriptive names. This can in particular pose a problem in the event of loss of the terminal.
• US-A-5,579,221 proposes a similar system for controlling home automation devices, in which the user can define the names or designations of the different devices controlled. Again, this is only a user interface, independent of device control.
• WO-A-01 71685 describes a set of home automation devices, controlled by a single terminal. Each object includes a record, a copy of which is sent to the terminal. The record may contain data characterizing the device, for example to indicate the nature of the device. This data, for example icons and text, is displayed by the terminal. The solution described in this document makes it possible to identify from the terminal the devices ordered. However, the information provided to the user is the manufacturer data.
• US-B-6 288641 describes a remote monitoring system using SMS standard messages.
• WO-A-92 14329 describes communication applications for mobile phones or the like, using mini-message systems.
• US-A-4,912,463 describes a home automation installation comprising a transmitter and a receiver.
• a pairing code can be changed in the receiver, from the transmitter, when a receiver switch is placed in a code change mode. He is in besides providing that the user can manually enter from the transmitter, bit by bit, a new code to be stored in the receiver. This code is a matching code.
• the invention therefore proposes a method for characterizing a bidirectional object of a home automation system using a terminal.
• the object includes a first location for storing identification data.
• the process includes the steps of:
• the transmission step is a point-to-point or broadcast step.
• the process can also include:
• a step of transmission by the terminal of a characterization request and - in response to this request, a step in the receiver for reading the stored characterization data and transmission of the characterization data.
• a step of receiving the characterization data and of supplying the characterization data it is possible to implement, in the terminal, a step of receiving the characterization data and of supplying the characterization data to the user.
• the invention also proposes a bidirectional object for home automation system, presenting an operating program with:
• - a routine for transmitting characterization data to one or more bidirectional objects to which it is paired.
• the operating program can still present - a routine for issuing a characterization request
• the operating program advantageously presents a routine for supplying to a user characterization data supplied by the reception routine.
• the invention finally proposes a bidirectional object for home automation system, presenting a memory with:
• an operating program presenting a data reception routine; a first location for storing identification data and a second location for storing data supplied by the reception routine.
• the operating program can also present a routine for transmitting the data stored in the second location.
• This transmission routine is advantageously adapted to be invoked by the reception of a request.
• FIG. 1 a schematic view of an installation in which the invention is Implementation
• FIG. 2 a schematic view of the logical structure of a bidirectional object and of a terminal allowing the implementation of the invention
• - Figure 3 a representation of the exchanges between a terminal and a bidirectional object in an example of implementation of the invention.
• the invention is described in an example of application to the pairing and to the reconfiguration of home automation systems; it is not limited to such systems; it can also be used for purposes other than pairing or reconfiguration.
• the words "order transmitter” and "order receiver” are used below to designate objects which have the function of transmitting or receiving the orders given by a user; these designations are not representative of the functionality of
• transmitters or “receivers”, which from the point of view of signals, are capable of transmitting as of receiving.
• order receivers as “order transmitters” using the terms “bidirectional objects”.
• the words “transmitters” or “receivers” are used - which only represent the assignment of a bidirectional object given to a particular use.
• FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an installation in a first example of implementation of the invention.
• the installation includes an operator 2.
• This operator can, for example, roll up or unroll blinds, roller shutters or a garage door, actuate a light fixture, open a door, trigger or trigger an alarm, etc.
• a receiver of order 4 referenced by the letter "R" in the figure.
• the order receiver has an antenna 6 which allows it to receive orders transmitted over the air from a command transmitter; the receiver of order 4 can moreover transmit signals, for example by the hertzian way, using the same antenna 6.
• the radio transmission of orders from a transmitter to a receiver or in the opposite direction is known per se and is not described in more detail here.
• the order transmitters can be paired with the order receivers, for example by assigning the transmitter 16 to the control of the receiver 4 and by assigning the transmitter 18 to the control of the receivers 4, 10 and 14.
• the transmitter 16 is then a individual control while the transmitter 18 is a general control.
• Such pairing is usually done at the receiver installation; it can also be carried out during a modification or reconfiguration of the installation: thus, one can add or remove a transmitter or a receiver.
• control devices push buttons, switches or others - that the transmitters can have.
• the transmission channels between the bidirectional objects which can be identical or different transmission channels in transmission or in reception; in a simple configuration, the radio is used, the transmitter as the transmitter then constituting a "transceiver", that is to say a transceiver.
• Wired devices, optical transmissions, or other modes of transmission could also be used.
• order receivers connected to the electrical network - like rolling shutters - one could use carrier currents for transmission, at least in the receiving direction to other objects.
• a terminal is provided.
• This terminal 20 is a bidirectional object presenting means allowing a user - in particular an installer - to enter characterization data. It can be, in the most frustrating example, an order transmitter programmed to allow the entry of characterization data.
• Can also, as shown in Figure 1 use as a terminal a bidirectional object having a keyboard and a screen, for example a microcomputer or a microcontroller device coupled to a transmit and receive antenna.
• the terminal is also capable of transmitting information to the user - by screen, visual or auditory signaling, by printing, etc.
• FIG. 2 a schematic view of the logical structure of a bidirectional object and of a terminal allowing the implementation of the invention; we recognize in the figure the terminal 20, which has transmission means and reception means, allowing it to communicate with bidirectional objects. In the considered example of radiofrequency transmissions, these means are combined and consist of an antenna 24 with the transmission and reception circuits 26 which are associated with it.
• the terminal 20 has a processing unit 28 of the microcontroller or other type, with an associated memory. It also presents an information input means 30, such as a keyboard or a data carrier reader - floppy disk or the like.
• the terminal has a screen 32 or another device making it possible to restore information to the user.
• the elements 26, 30, 32 are connected to the processing unit in a manner known per se.
• the figure also shows a bidirectional object - in the example the order receiver 4.
• the operator 2 controlled by the order receiver 4 has not been shown in the figure.
• the receiver has transmission means and reception means, enabling it to communicate with the other bidirectional objects, or at the very least to receive messages from the terminal and to send messages back to the terminal.
• these means are combined and consist of an antenna 34 with the transmission and reception circuits 36 which are associated with it.
• the receiver 4 also has a processing unit 38 of the microcontroller or other type, with an associated memory 40.
• the operator's connection port has been shown diagrammatically at 42.
• the representation of FIG. 2 is schematic, in that the memory can be integrated into the microcontroller 38.
• FIG. 3 is an example of implementation of the method, using such a terminal 20, for a bidirectional object.
• the receiver of order 4 represented in FIG. 2.
• the terminal identifies the receiver the identity of the order receiver is known to the user.
• the order receiver is the last one which has just been connected to the sector. It is also possible to provide a dedicated command on the order receiver or on its power supply, which makes it possible to identify it.
• the method of Figure 3 is preceded by a selection of a command receiver, as described in French patent application No. 02
• the characterization data can be intended for these other object (s) .
• FIG. 3 shows on the one hand the steps of supplying characterization data and transmission of this characterization data to the objects; it then shows the reading steps in the objects of the characterization data stored locally.
• the figure first shows a first action 50 of the user, to provide the terminal with the characterization data to be transmitted to the bidirectional object.
• This is for example alphanumeric data intended to express the location of the order receiver.
• the data are provided by the user; in the simplest case, the data is entered on a keyboard. They could also be prepared on a storage medium - diskette or other - and / or selected by the user from a list. These characterization data are received by the terminal, as symbolized at 52.
• the characterization data supplied by the user differs from the pairing data or the identification data used in the prior art: in fact, they are chosen by the user, and not imposed by the terminal or preprogrammed in the bidirectional object. This has the consequence that these characterization data are not necessarily unequivocal. From an intrinsic point of view, the characterization data are advantageously alphanumeric, while the identification data are most often numerical.
• Characterization data can then be transmitted to the bidirectional object.
• This transmission in the example of FIG. 3, is triggered by an action 54 of the user, who enters a transmission order on the terminal.
• This transmission order could also be an implicit order at the end of the entry 50 of the characterization data.
• the reception by the terminal of the transmission order causes the preparation of a message for transmitting the characterization data, as symbolized at 56 in FIG. 3.
• the characterization data are transmitted to the directional object 4.
• a particular message can be provided in the transmission protocol.
• the transmission can be a point-to-point transmission. It can also be a broadcast transmission, after using a group command; this variant is advantageous when identical characterization data are supplied by the user for a plurality of bidirectional objects. It is thus possible to assign characterization data - the indication of belonging to a given installation or to a given part of the installation - to several objects.
• This transmission 58 activates at 60 the reception of the characterization data and their storage in the location 44 of the memory.
• characterization data which has been supplied by the user are stored in object 4.
• This characterization data can then be used to help the user identify the receiver; for example, the characterization data can be used for a pairing between an order transmitter and an order receiver, to define groups among the receivers or among the bidirectional objects; characterization data can also be used to mismatch objects or to reconfigure them.
• the presence of the characterization data allows intuitive display to the user, which makes it possible, for example, to identify bidirectional objects.
• steps for reading the characterization data in a bidirectional object We again consider the example of the terminal and the receiver. One could of course read the characterization data from another bidirectional object, for example an order transmitter having a screen.
• the user wishes to launch a characterization request. It executes the corresponding command on the terminal, using the keyboard; more generally in the case of an order transmitter, this command can correspond to a combination or succession of actions on the control means - keys or others.
• This action 62 of the user causes the preparation of a characterization request message, as symbolized at 64 in FIG. 3.
• the characterization request is transmitted. Again, it may be a point-to-point transmission, or a broadcast transmission. Transmission can also take place towards the objects with which the transmitting object is associated. This would make it possible, for example, to obtain an intuitive list of the objects to which this given object is paired on a given object.
• the request can be received by all of the objects capable of receiving it, or by all the objects of an installation of which the sending object is a part; this last example assumes a characterization of the installation, by a common code, by an action on the electrical supply, etc.
• the receiver receives the characterization request; if it turns out that it has to process it, it reads the characterization data stored in its memory; from its data, it can then prepare the data transmission, as shown at 70 in Figure 3.
• the data is transmitted. It can again be a transmission to the attention of the object that issued the request, point-to-point or broadcast; it can also be a transmission without indication of the recipient.
• the transmitted data are received at 74 by the terminal.
• the reception of the data causes the activation of a reception routine 76, depending on whether it was a targeted or point-to-point request, or even on the nature of the response received.
• Data received and possibly processed - to decode, display, sort, etc. - can then be displayed for the attention of the user, as symbolized at 76 in the figure.
• This display can be followed by a user action, represented at 78.
• a user action represented at 78.
• it can be a mismatch, inactivation or programming of any kind on an object selected from characterization data displayed on the terminal.
• the method applies similarly to bidirectional objects other than an order receiver, in particular to order transmitters.
• One can also use to issue characterization requests for objects other than a terminal.
• the process of FIG. 3 allows an installer or the user at any time to easily pair the objects, to easily reconfigure the objects or more generally to carry out any programming procedure or simply to order the objects. It is enough using the terminal or another object that can send information to the user - by screen, visual or auditory signaling, etc. - to question the objects, to receive the data stored in memory by the object or objects questioned and to provide them to the user. It then becomes simple and intuitive for the user to select an object to apply any command to it.
• the matching is facilitated by the provision of data stored in memory, which can provide a more easily understandable characterization of the object. Reconfiguration is also made easier by providing this same data. More generally, instead of programming or command steps. As the data is stored in the objects themselves and not in a terminal, the loss of the terminal or of an object does not affect the ability to use the stored data.
• the method of FIG. 3 is implemented by an operating program stored in the terminal and by a program stored in the bidirectional object or objects.
• the terminal program presents a routine for receiving data supplied by the user; this routine can guide the user through requests.
• the terminal program also has a routine for transmitting to one or more bidirectional objects the data obtained during the implementation of the data reception routine. As indicated above, the two routines are not necessarily invoked at the same time, nor sequentially.
• the terminal program presents a routine for sending a characterization request, and a routine for receiving the responses received; a characterization data display routine makes it possible to provide the characterization data to the user.
• the object operating program differs from the state of the art bidirectional object program in that it has a routine for receiving data transmitted by the terminal; this routine is invoked when the terminal transmits data to the object; it receives the data and stores it in location 44 of the memory.
• the object program also has a routine for transmitting the stored data in response to an interrogation. This routine reads from the memory location 44 the stored data and transmits them to the terminal or the object that sent the query.
• Operator 2 like the other operators, could also be a sensor measuring one or more physical quantities - temperature, sunshine or glare, air quality, CO 2 or humidity level, presence of wind, alarm, etc.
• the sensor transmits to the bidirectional object 4 the measured quantity or quantities, either permanently, or in the event of a threshold being crossed.
• Object 4 then acts as a transmitter of the measured quantity.
• One can also provide that one or more sensors and one or more operators are associated with a bidirectional object.
• the installation can include a set of sensors and operators.
• the radio transmission used between a transmitter and a receiver is only given as an example and can be modified.
• the invention applies in particular, that the transmitters and receivers use a single frequency or each transmit on a separate frequency, or by frequency hopping, or with different modulations.
• the method applies as soon as the transmitters or receivers of orders are "bidirectional objects" capable of communicating in transmission and in reception with the terminal. It is understood, however, that it is not essential that the order receivers can transmit to the order transmitters, since they can send to the terminal.
• the words "order receivers” and “operators” have been used, which apply in particular to the example of roller shutter operators.
• the receiver and the operator can be separate elements, as in the examples, or else form a single whole - for example by integrating the command receiver into the operator.
• Characterization data can also be used to identify bidirectional objects; this solution avoids providing an identifier in the objects, or avoids having to assign an identifier to the objects.
• This solution has the disadvantage of not guaranteeing the univocal character of the identifiers - which depends on the characterization data entered by the user. It can however be used, in particular for the definition of groups among the objects.

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)
• Circuits Of Receivers In General (AREA)
• Stored Programmes (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=30129597

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Families Citing this family (3)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 2002
  • 2002-07-31 FR FR0209771A patent/FR2843256B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2003
  • 2003-07-15 AU AU2003273441A patent/AU2003273441A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-07-15 EP EP03755601A patent/EP1527430A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2003-07-15 WO PCT/FR2003/002226 patent/WO2004013825A1/fr not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-07-15 ES ES03755601T patent/ES2239553T1/es active Pending

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events