EP1905198A1

EP1905198A1 - Telematic network for managing devices and events in a domestic environment

Info

Publication number: EP1905198A1
Application number: EP06766299A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Lorenzo Succi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-06-24
Filing date: 2006-06-25
Publication date: 2008-04-02
Also published as: WO2006137094A8; WO2006137094A1; ITRA20050026A1

Abstract

A telematic network (1) for managing devices (20) and events in a domestic environment, with interconnection with a data-processing means (3) , provided with a supervisor (2) management software, comprises a first bus (4) structure connected to the data-processing means (3) for two-way exchange of information; and at least a node (5, 5', 5'', 5'''), which is provided with local microprocessor processing means (12) , is connected to the first bus structure (4) and connects, in turn, at least a second bus (6) structure connected to corresponding sensor (7) interfaces and/or actuator (8) interfaces that are suitable for managing said events and for piloting said devices (20) .

Description

TELEMATIC NETWORK FOR MANAGING DEVICES AND EVENTS IN A

DOMESTIC ENVIRONMENT

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a telematic network. In particular, the present invention relates to a telematic device that is validly usable for managing devices and events in a domestic environment. More in detail, the present invention relates to a telematic network that is validly usable for managing devices and events in a domestic environment, for example, but not exclusively, for the controlling lights, alarms, video intercoms, environmental sensors, domestic appliances, televisions, video recorders, sound systems, actuating and/or energy saving devices. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is well known that a general automation structure comprises two distinct component parts: an operating part and a control part. The operating part comprises the actual drive devices proper. The control part on the other hand comprises: a processing system; a sensor detecting system; a power control of the driving devices and a dialogue interface between the user and processing system.

In the processing system there is in general a supervisor that can direct each single sensor input and each single actuator power control output .

Communication between each supervisor and each sensor and between the supervisor and each actuator power control occurs with information exchange along pathways, the so- called buses, along which data transmission, addresses or control signals is carried out in conformity to the rules of packet transmission.

Such an automation structure, intended for use in a domestic environment for managing devices or events that are normally current in a dwelling is very complex and costly both to set up and to manage.

Nevertheless, the presence in dwellings of a growing number of autonomous appliances that are usable for various objects according to the most widely varying functional modes, sometimes also equipped with local intelligence, but not intercommunicating between one another or controllable by a single manager, will sooner or later make it necessary to manage them jointly to rationalise such a set of appliances, to reduce the costs thereof and to simplify the interface thereof with the user.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention relates to a telematic network. In particular, the present invention relates to a telematic network that is validly usable for managing devices and events in a domestic environment. More in detail, the present invention relates to a telematic network that is validly usable for managing devices and events in a domestic environment, for example, but not exclusively, for the control of lights, alarms, video intercoms, environmental sensors, domestic appliances, televisions, video recorders, sound systems, actuating and/or energy saving devices.

The object of the present invention is to make a telematic network that enables the drawbacks illustrated above to be overcome, that is suitable for satisfying a set of needs to which the prior art has still failed to respond, and which is therefore suitable for constituting a new and original source of economic interest, that is able to modify the current market for telematic networks for uses that are not necessarily professional, that permits great versatility of use and functionality that is simple to make, that combines low cost with great reliability.

According to the present invention a telematic network is made and the main features thereof will be disclosed in at least one of the claims that follow.

In the network architecture according to the invention, the nodes operate as concentrators of several sensors and actuators; this enables, within the context of the telematic network, the quantity of addresses necessary to the system to be reduced by an order of magnitude and thus also enables the level of performance to be lowered that is required for the devices that have to manage the dialogue on the data bus. The node thus acts as an interface between the data bus and a sort of small network constituted by the sensor- actuators that is subordinated and linked to the node, thus freeing the latter from having to manage the dialogue with the bus and permitting advantages in terms of financial savings, both in the manufacture of sensors and actuators and in the manufacture of the communication bus communicating with the node that can advantageously be of types that are already known to the market .

If the actuating devices have been provided with local intelligence, the network has the further advantage of being able to enable cyclical checks of the sensors and actuators to be made, exploiting the local intelligence and without going on to the data bus . What happens in the prior art is different, where for example, when it is desired to read an alarm or a pushbutton like a bell, the procedure is such that the supervisor by interacting with the bus interrogates at least once a second these devices in order to ascertain the presence or transition of the corresponding status. But by doing so the data bus is kept occupied for as many units of time as there are devices from which possible events can arrive, and this with an exponentially increasing probability of the risk of collision between the messages; which in the network according to the invention does not occur. Definitively, in the system that has been presented here, the node on which the pushbutton of the bell depends, in addition to awaiting commands from the supervisor, during downtime can read a list that is easily customisable by the installation technician or the user of devices that are sources of possible events (changes of electric signals) and when one of these occurs the node sends to the supervisor, or to another node, a packet containing corresponding information, with the data bus being engaged for a few milliseconds.

Although in order to send this information package it is necessary for the node to have to wait for the bus to be free, the fact of keeping the bus free of data packets that are rarely useful means that also the transmission of this sole significant packet experiences few delays statistically and anyway occurs within very short intervals of time .

The data bus is preferably actuated through a certain number of duplex cables along which analogue audio and video signals transit separately from the data.

This permits the further advantage of being able to differentiate the transmission rhythm of the different signals and of consequently being able to economise on the cost of the physical components of the network. In other words, such a type of bus advantageously enables the different functional modes to be satisfied simultaneously that are necessary for transmitting the analogue signals and the data signals.

Analogue signals, in fact: have a different logic from the control logic that is performed on the data duplex cable; as the latter need a high transmission rhythm

(implying greater hardware costs) ; and needing to maintain a constant flow of information.

The data bus on the other hand needs a much lower transmission rhythm and even if the packet with the information arrives a few milliseconds late this does not imply any practical consequence. Nevertheless, the data bus is useful for piloting the analogue duplex cables, so as to prevent several devices transmitting simultaneously, irreparably damaging the signals .

The network according to the invention thus enables analogue transmission at minimal cost and with good signal quality that is comparable with "hi-fi" quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the telematic network according to the present invention will become clearer from the following description given with reference to the attached figures that illustrate some non-limitative embodiments thereof in which identical or corresponding parts of the device are identified by the same reference numbers. In particular:

Fig. 1 represents schematically in blocks a network according to the present invention; Fig. 2a is a detailed view of a component of the diagram in figure 1;

Fig. 2b is a detailed diagram of a card of the above network;

Figg. 3 to 7 are descriptive diagrams of the fundamental phases of a possible example of management of devices and of events relating to the intended domestic environment of the network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In figure 1, 1 indicates overall a telematic network provided for managing general physical devices 20 present in a domestic environment and events recurring in said environment .

The network 1 comprises a data processing means 3 represented for example by a personal computer or by an equivalent microprocessor device with sufficient processing capacity, which is provided with a specific operating system that will be indicated below preferably by the expression supervisor 2 software. This supervisor 2 is installable in a residential manner to manage the many operational possibilities of the network 1, even though it is not essential for the basic functionality of the network 1 itself.

The network 1 essentially comprises: a first bus structure, indicated by 4; and a plurality of nodes 5

(Figure 2a) resident on card 11 (Fig. 2b) , which are provided with a local microprocessor 12 and with input interfaces 7 and output interfaces 8 suitable for interacting respectively with a sensor detecting system and with a power control system of remote actuators with respect to the card 11.

The input interface 7 of each node 5 (Figures 2a and 2b) includes a plurality of connection lines 13a for corresponding reading devices of physical entities belonging to the same node 5 and chosen, for example, from a family of entities comprising: electric voltage and current, temperatures, pressure, humidity, wind, rain, light intensity, switch status, counts, and duration of events. A respective connecting pin 14a (visible in figure 2b) corresponds to each of the lines 13a through which pin 14a it is possible to send signals from or to the node 5 on the basis of the configuration defined via software through the local microprocessor 12.

The physical entities can be read by a corresponding node 5 as a digital I/O, On/Off, X volt/0 volt value or as an analogue value between 0 volt and X volt by means of a dialogue with the respective sensors managed by the local microprocessor 12 by means of a second bus structure globally indicated by 6 and conforming to a known and standardised constructional solution (one wire-bus; 12C bus) . In particular, to make a one wire-bus it would be sufficient to use a set pin of the microprocessor 12 and an earth wire to implement the "1 wire" . The X volt value can be 5 volt but also a different value according to needs, without this being able to influence the type of performance provided by the node 5.

The actuators interface 8 of each node 5 includes a plurality of connection lines 13b for corresponding control devices suitable for piloting physical actuator devices 20 belonging to a same node 5; or suitable for piloting actuator power control outputs such as for example 220 volt lamps in On/Off mode or with gradual regulation; mechanical relays; solid-state relays (semiconductor relays) ; motors; digital luminous displays (LED/LCD) etc. Also in this case the actuator power control outputs can be piloted by the node 5, by digital I/O, On/Off, X volt/0 volt signal or as an analogue signal between 0 volt and X volt in the above eventuality regarding the performance of the node 5. Similarly, to each of the lines 13a, a respective connecting pin 14b (visible in figure 2b) corresponds to each line 13b, through which connecting pin 14b it is possible to send signals from or to the node 5 on the basis * of the configuration defined via software through the local microprocessor 12.

The first bus structure 4 uses a conventional non- shielded cat. 5 Ethernet cable that is connected and interposed between the data processing means 3 and the nodes 2, or the corresponding local microprocessor 12, in a suitable manner for enabling two-way exchange of information between the former and the latter.

The first bus 4 structure comprises four patways and information exchange pathways - preferably constituted by four pairs of twisted duplex cables - intended to convey data, addresses or control signals between the data processing means 3 and the local microprocessor 12 of each card 11.

More in particular, a first duplex cable 15 of the first bus 4 structure is intended to transmit data in digital form. Said first duplex cable 15 is used to create a pathway for the data in which pathway each node 5 is normally listening, waiting to receive from the local microprocessor 12 thereof the commands that concern it that come in turn from the supervisor 2 residing in the data- processing means 3 of the network 1. When the node 5 then needs to transmit data, it waits until the bus 4 is free (or until no other is transmitting) , and carries out the transmission as soon as possible, after which it leaves the pathway free again of the data, placing itself again on standby.

The first duplex cable 15 uses an RS-485 standard electric signal that is managed by integrated circuits; enabling travel over distances that may reach several hundreds of metres, which are thus more than acceptable for a household installation, with good immunity against disturbances, good signal quality and low power used. Thus the duplex cable 15 can be used to exchange data according to a set logic protocol. A second duplex cable 16 of the first bus 4 structure is used to transmit an analogue signal. This signal may for example consist of an audio signal of a monophonic device or of a first channel of a stereophonic audio device.

A third duplex cable 17 is suitable for transmitting a second analogue signal, consisting for example of a video signal or of an audio signal belonging for example to the second channel of the aforementioned stereophonic audio device. Also on said duplex cables 16 and 17 fast operational integrated circuits are used in differential analogue mode.

Also for the second 16 and for the third 17 duplex cable the rule is valid that only one can transmit whilst all the others listen, in order to avoid deterioration of the signal .

The fourth duplex cable 18 provides an earth connection that is useful for the various nodes 2 to have a common reference potential for transmission and also to provide a connection that is usable for an emergency and/or low voltage power supply, for example, but not exclusively, of 5 or 12 volts.

Each duplex cable 15, 16, 17 and 18 definitively enables an independent signal to be transmitted in differential mode, which enables environmental disturbances to be neutralised and the signal to be attenuated along the cable that materialises said first bus 4 structure. It will be noted that it is possible to dispose of a plurality of duplex cables that are the equivalent of the duplex cables 15, 16, 17, 18, on the basis of the requirements of the case and that for convenience can be identified by the same reference numbers, as illustrated in figure 1. Furthermore, the circuit of the node 5, shown in figure 1, is provided with other devices such as to make the use of the node 5 as flexible as possible. For example, the node 5 may comprise a voltage doubler 50 and, at the input 7 and output 8 interfaces at least a base 51 provided with a plurality of pins connected electrically to earth and with at least a base 52 provided with a plurality of pins that in use are maintained at a set potential value . The pins of the bases 51 and 52 are usable in association with one another to provide a supply to devices to be connected to the node 5 and which are devoid of a power supply.

The choice of the duplex cable as the type of connection cable is particularly valid as this type of cable has a reduced cost, is easily found and has a set quality due to the fact that it is subject to specific standards. It thus represents a very wise choice financially. The bus 4 structure disclosed above enables from 16 to 64 nodes 5 to be current, which are more than sufficient for a domestic system; furthermore, the realisation thereof in the form of four twisted duplex cables is thin and adapts well to the bends of the piping of said domestic system.

The node 5, as already mentioned, includes a local microprocessor 12. This microprocessor 12 is programmed with a specific software and is connected through the first bus 4 structure to the data-processing means 3, or to the supervisor 2 with which it dialogues so as to receive input/output commands and vice versa to send it alarms and reports of events occurring in the domestic environment and correlated with the physical actuating devices 20 placed downstream of and in connection with, the node 5 through the pins 14.

Such an information and signal exchange occurs through monopolisation of the first bus 4 structure by the node 5 with data exchange managed with the use of a transmission protocol that provides a signals packet structure, provided with collision control and consisting for example of: 2 preamble characters; a character identifying the recipient node; a character identifying the source node; a character identifying the data length; two characters identifying the session number; N message characters and 2 checksum characters .

The telematic network 1 also comprises an input/output device 10 that is actuatable by the user, which, indifferently, can be fixed and associated to the data- processing means 3, or can be freely locatable in the domestic environment .

The input/output device 10 can also be associated with one of the nodes 5 and even constitute a node 5 itself.

A first portable type of said input/output device 10 can be embodied in the form of a conventional remote control suitable for dialoguing with the network 1 over the ether, with infrared rays or by means of radio waves, to read the state thereof of each element and to command it by means of the same first bus 4 structure. The remote control input/output device 10 could be little more than a portable keyboard and use as a display the screen of one of the physical devices of the actuator 20, for example the nearest television screen, superimposing a synthetic menu on the video signal received from another actuator 20 device that may consist: of an antenna, of a DVD multimedia player, of a VCR video recorder, of a video intercom, etc. Said input/output device 10 may anyway comprise, or consist of, a portable personal computer, connected to the first bus 4 structure via radio, and act for all intents and purposes as a second supervisor 2.

Piloting sources of "audio" and "video" signals may occur with the emulation of the infrared-ray remote-control input/output 10 device that is normally supplied with the VCR/DVD appliance by a node 5 that is near the appliance; the node 5 then diverts the analogue signals of this appliance to the duplex cables 15, 16, 17 18, whilst the other nodes 5, controlled by the supervisor 2 put the "analogue" extensions that they manage in receiving mode. It is completely obvious that the remote-control input/output 10 device is not indispensable for the operation of the network 1; nevertheless, it may find valid use for making interaction between the user and the system more convenient to which the network 1 belongs, especially if the system extends to several rooms. It furthermore facilitates the installation, configuration and maintenance of the network 1.

From the point of view of the system, it is envisaged that the ideal balance of the network 1 is having a node 5 in each room with possible additional nodes 5 to meet specific needs from the point of view of the processing load or electrical configuration that justify the additional cost of the hardware and of the processing capacity made available by the new node.

Within the context of the disclosed network 1, the supervisor 2 or the management software being run on the data-processing means 3 thus enables the commands to be sent to the nodes 5 and possible responses and reports of particular events to be awaited by the respective local microprocessors 12, to be followed by means of further action commands based on previous programming. The supervisor 2 can also keep a trace of all the traffic that has passed along the duplex cable of the data of the first bus 4 structure or can also conduct routine checks at preset times, even though it is not essential for the basic functionality of the network 1 itself.

In terms of installation, maintenance, and repairs, the network 1 may be installed by ensuring the configuration of the nodes 5 is achieved by writing suitable parameters within the internal memory of the local microprocessor 12 and through any portable personal computer .

Operation of the network 1 can be disclosed better with the help of figures 3 to 7 and with reference to a possible example of management of events/devices.

In this example reference is made to an elementary network 1 structure provided with only three nodes 5 indicated respectively as 5', 5'', 5' ' ' that are respectively connected: 5' (node A) to a physical actuator device 20 represented by a video intercom 201; 5" (node B) to a multimedia player device 202 (VICR/DVD) and 5''' (node C) to a television 203. The control sequence is disclosed from an initial condition in which 5' ' is sending audio and video signals 21 to the first bus 4 structure; signals 21 that are then transmitted to the television 203 by means of 5' ' ' in reception status. From this initial status schematically represented in Figure 3 - the transition of the system, that starts with the sound of the bell of the video intercom 201, is as follows:

- after the pulse 22 of the bell of the video intercom 201 has been received, 5' sends the supervisor 2 a corresponding message that transits along the first data duplex cable 15 of the bus 4 structure whereas 5'' still continues to transmit, on the second 16 and on the third 17 duplex cable audio and video signals that by transiting through 5' ' ' continue to run the television 203;

- the supervisor 2 then - Figure 4 - sends a first message 23 to 5'' with which it commands the interruption of the transmission, indicated here and hereinafter by an X, on the connection line between 5' ' and the multimedia player device 202 on the first bus 4 structure; and immediately afterwards sends a second message 24 to 5' , controlling the transmission of the corresponding audio and video signals 26;

- 5' - Figure 5 - then starts to transmit the audio and video signals of the video intercom 201 that are sent to the first bus structure 4; - 5' ' ' , which has in the meantime remained in receiving mode, starts to receive the audio/video signals of the video intercom 201 through 5', displaying on the television 203 the corresponding images; obviously these signals are also received by all possible further nodes 5 that may be simultaneously in receiving mode; thus the audio and video signals of the video intercom 201 would reach all the reproduction devices connected at that moment ; at that moment the user, observing the images projected by the television 203, can decide whether to use the door opener 204 to open the door or not. If the user decides to open the door (Figure 6) the opening command is sent to the supervisor 2 directly or by means of the remote-control input/output device 10 which causes the dispatch to 5' of the command 27 to actuate the door opener 204;

- the supervisor 2 subsequently - Fig. 7 - commands 5' to cease the audio/video transmission of the video intercom 201 on the first bus 4 structure; and lastly reenables 5'' to resume transmitting the audio/visual signals 21 coming from the multimedia player device 202 that 5' ' ' , which was still in reception mode, resumes transmitting again to the television 203. If the user does not intend to open the door, the corresponding command sent by the user or by a timer that is known and not illustrated to the supervisor 2 causes the latter to send to 5' a command to cease transmitting the audio/video signals 26 of the video intercom 201 along the first bus 4 structure; after which the supervisor 2 commands 5'' to resume transmitting the audio/video signals 21, that 5' ' ' again starts sending to the television 203.

The situation represented above - in which if someone rings the bell of the video intercom 201, the supervisor 2 can interrupt, in any room in which there is a person, the audio and/or video dispatch in course in that room, enabling the person to interact with the video intercom 201 and, if provided with a remote-control input/output device 10, to send the opening pulse to the door opener 204 of the door to the node 5 that manages management, highlights the management of one of the numerous possible recurrent events in a dwelling. The management of such an event may be planned in a very simple manner by means of memorisation in the remote-control input/output device 10 of a "script" that at the given moment the user can select by adjusting the remote control .

On the other hand, if the user considers that he has not received fully exhaustive information to be able to recognise the male or female person who has rung the bell, for example because of the poor viewing quality or another factor and therefore decides to obtain information in addition to what was given by the video image, said user could then ask the person who rang to identify himself or herself verbally. To do so, from 5' ' ' he would have to send a message to the supervisor 2, which would shut down the transmission of 5' for only the audio flow, which would be set for reception, and would enable 5''' for transmission; at the end of the conversation 5' ' ' would send a signal to the supervisor 2 to reactivate 5' for audio transmission and return 5''' from transmission status to reception status .

It is completely clear that the example disclosed above is indicative of one of the many possibilities of managing various events that the network 1 is able to perform and that the network 1 therefore meets a set of needs to which the prior art has so far failed to respond and is thus suitable for representing a new and original source of economic interest that is able to modify the current telematic networks market for uses that are not necessarily professional. It thus appears obvious how the network 1 is widely versatile, simple to devise and implies low cost combined with high reliability.

In fact it is immediately deducible that the network 1 is able to manage, for example, a programmed morning wakeup call of the supervisor 2; or a telephone answering machine with indication of the time and identification of the caller; or manage emergency lights; clock readings from reference sources (DCF or GPS) . It is furthermore possible to provide automatic management of voltage overloads on a limiter in an electric counter frame; or a night control after a certain time, of the locked status of all the doors and activation of the burglar alarm; or also random activation of lights or of operation of devices to deceive burglars in the event of the absence of persons in the house. Nevertheless, the supervisor 2 can be used as a juke-box of pieces stored on a disc unit to command, through the remote control, the listening of pieces in a different room.

The list of situations disclosed above is given merely by way of certainly non-limitative example.

Furthermore, as the supervisor 2 is able to keep a system diary it is also possible to program the supervisor 2 so that it periodically reads the sensors and carries out analyses and plots graphs of trends of temperatures and other parameters or events that are for example useful for saving energy and/or for troubleshooting.

The network 1 has the further advantage of being susceptible to possible modifications that may possibly be made subsequently to the commissioning thereof if one wishes to increase the potential and/or the quality of performance. In fact, structuring of the nodes 5 on a card 11 leaves the possibility open to replace individual components to convert, for example, into digital format also the analogue signals when greater quality is desired in performance and it is agreed that greater cost has to be borne .

Furthermore, the network 1 is integrable into a wider network context than itself and implying various levels of speed and security. In fact, in conformity to a first level (external world level) the supervisor 2 can still interact with the external world by means of an Ethernet bus structure. At a second level (dwelling level) the node 5 is connected to the supervisor 2 through the first local bus 4 structure of said node 5. The third level (node level) is identifiable in the sensors/actuators subnetwork in direct point-to-point connection with the local microprocessor 12 of each of the nodes 5.

The network 1 that has just been disclosed uses non- critical components that are already on the market at economical prices and with abundantly tested technologies. The combination of these technological components creates a new series of functions and interesting economies by integrating together networks and tailored solutions in a single network in which the various domestic appliances can be integrated together without any constraints as they are acquired and in which the problem is solved at source of simultaneously transmitting audio and video data without interruptions and without resorting to high frequencies to divide the sections of time available on a single bus, and keeping the hardware of the single node simple .

The node 5 can more or less integrate a stabilising unit 60 and a driver for reading and writing on the device that is cascade-connected to the data pathway corresponding to the duplex cable 15, and thus for running logic operations, which may be modulated through a connector 80 that is usable for impedance variations. It will be noted that the first and the second analogue signal, in addition to representing two information flows for the user, can become the means for distributing to all the nodes 5 of the network the possibility of interacting with a much more powerful processor of the single node. In particular, to each node 5 a video image of a PC could be sent on which an application runs and if the node 5 is connected to a screen or to a television, a pointing device or a mouse could be connected to the corresponding node 5; the node 5 would thus receive in use the actions of the pointer and would transmit them to the remote PC. At this point, everything would occur as if there were a PC at each node 5, when on the other hand only one is connected to the network. In this way, which is made possible through the use of at least a duplex cable of the video flow, in all the nodes 5 an evolved interface would be made available, minimising the number of personal computers connected to the network, and limiting to 1 the actual requirement. This would enable a great saving of costs, consumption and space to be achieved. In addition, in this case, the duplex cable would enable the function of the remote control to be exercised alternately.

It is lastly clear that modifications to and/or variation on the telematic network disclosed and illustrated here can be made without thereby falling outside the protective scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. Telematic network for managing devices (20) and events in a domestic environment, with interconnection to a data- processing means (3) that is suitable for being controlled by a management supervisor (2) programme, characterised in that it comprises a first bus (4) structure connected to the data-processing means (3) for two-way exchange of information; and at least a node (5, 5', 5'', 5''') which is provided with local microprocessor processing means (12) is connected to the first bus (4) structure and connects, in turn, at least a second bus (6) structure connected to corresponding sensor interfaces (7) and/or actuator interfaces (8) suitable for managing said events and for piloting said devices (20) .

2. Telematic network for managing devices (20) and events in a domestic environment, with interconnection to a data- processing means (3) , characterised in that it comprises a first bus (4) structure connected to the data-processing means (3) for two-way exchange of information; and at least a node (5, 5', 5'' 5'¹'), which is provided with local microprocessor processing means (12) , is connected to the first bus (4) structure and connects, in turn, at least a second bus (6) structure connected to corresponding sensor interfaces (7) and/or actuator interfaces (8) suitable for managing said events and for piloting said devices (20) .

3. Network according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that it comprises a data input/output device (10) that is operable by the user.

4. Network according to any preceding claim, characterised in that said data input/output device (10) is portable.

5. Network according to claim 4, characterised in that said data input/output device (10) is associated with a corresponding node (5, 5', 5'', 5''') that can be delocated in the domestic environment.

6. Network according to any preceding claim, characterised in that said first bus structure (4) comprises at least four information pathway, intended indifferently for exchanging data, addresses or control signals.

7. Network according to claim 6, characterised in that an information pathway of said first bus (4) structure is suitable for transmitting data in digital format .

8. Network according to claim 6, characterised in that an information pathway of said first bus (4) structure is suitable for transmitting a first analogue signal.

9. Network according to claim 6, characterised in that an information pathway of said first bus (4) structure is suitable for transmitting a second analogue signal.

10. Network according to claim 8 or 9, characterised in that said one or each analogue signal is an audio signal or a video signal .

11. Network according to claim 10, characterised in that at least a pathway of said first bus (4) structure is used as an earth wire for said one or each node (5, 5', 5'', 5''').

12. Network according to any one of claims 6 to 11, characterised in that said first bus (4) structure includes a wire-shaped duplex cable (15, 16, 17, 18) for each said pathway, each duplex cable being suitable for transmitting information in a manner that is autonomous and independent of the remaining lines of the first bus (4) structure.

13. Network according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that said node (5, 5', 5'', 5''') includes a sensor interface (7) that comprises a plurality of connection lines (13a) for corresponding reading devices of physical entities belonging to the same node (5, 5', 5'', 5''').

14. Network according to claim 13, characterised in that said physical entities are chosen from a family of entities comprising voltage and electric current.

15. Network according to claim 13, characterised in that said physical entities are chosen from a family of entities comprising temperature, pressure, atmospheric humidity, atmospheric events.

16. Network according to claim 13, characterised in that said physical entities are chosen from a family of entities comprising switch status, counts, duration of events.

17. Network according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that said node (5, 5', 5'', 5''') includes an actuator interface (8) that comprises a plurality of control devices suitable for piloting corresponding physical devices (20) belonging to the same node (5, 5', 5'', 5''').

18. Network according to claim 17, characterised in that said control devices are suitable for piloting physical devices (20) chosen from a family of entities comprising lamps, relays, motors, luminous displays.

19. Network according to claim 1 or 2 , characterised in that said nodes (5, 5', 5'', 5''') interact with the data- processing means (3) so as to conduct the phases of keeping a trace of the traffic of data travelling along at least the first bus (4) structure.

20. Network according to claim 1 or 2 or 19, characterised in that said nodes (5, 5', 5'', 5^{/ / #}) are suitable for processing input/output operations with said sensor interfaces (7) and actuators (8) through dialogues of said local processing means (12) with said data-processing means (3).

21. Network according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterised in that said data input/output device (10) is suitable for exchanging information via the ether with said second bus (6) structure.

22. Network according to claim 21, characterised in that said data input/output device (10) is suitable for exchanging information via infrared rays or radio waves.

23. Network according to claim 21 or 22, characterised in that said data input/output device (10) is suitable for reading the status of the network (1) and for commanding corresponding transitions thereof .

24. Network according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it is implemented on a card (11) .

25. Network according to what has been disclosed and illustrated with reference to the accompanying figures and for the specified objects.