MXPA03006444A - Guest room service and control system. - Google Patents

Abstract

A guest room service and control system for a building including a plurality of guest rooms, the guest room service and control system comprising: a local area network; a plurality of guest room networks operably coupled to the local area network, each guest room network of the plurality of guest room networks is associated with a guest room in the building, each guest room network includes: a room hub operably coupled to the local area network, a guest room control device operably coupled to the room hub, the guest room control device is a centralized electronic locking system component, a guest room energy management system component, a direct digital control system component, a minibar monitoring device, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing guest room contol devices. A guest room service device is also operably coupled to the room hub, the guest room service device is a computer, a voice over Internet Protocol phone, an Internet Protocol radio, a television signal converter, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing guest room service devices. Data between the local area network and the room hub is communicated in packets configured according to a first communications protocol.

Description

FOURTH GUEST SERVICE AND CONTROL SYSTEM CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED REQUESTS This application claims the benefit of the provisional application for E.U.A. Series No. 60 / 263,940, filed on January 24, 2001, and the provisional application of E.U.A. Series No. 60 / 323,872, filed on September 21, 2001, both incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Energy conservation is a proven means to reduce the operating costs of hotels. But many operators of lodging facilities avoid attempts to save energy in the guest rooms, since they are concerned about the negative impact that such measures may have on the perception and comfort of the guest. A modern guest room uses approximately 25 kilowatt-hours (KWHr) of electricity each day. Based on a cost estimate of 0.07 per KWHr, this represents approximately $ 1.75 per day per quarter. This figure assumes that the following items are used in a typical room: heating / ventilation / air conditioning (HVAC), lamps (portable), lights (fixed), television, radio, and minibar. A minibar is a convenient store of items within each room, usually inside a refrigerator, which can be accessed by the guest at their discretion. With the exception of the minibar, the devices are manually controlled, and their hours and areas of use can be reduced using an energy management system (EMS). In the case of the HVAC system, a well-designed energy management system can reduce not only the number of hours the system is used each day, but also reduce the average energy required. The EMS system can lower the temperature of the HVAC each time a room is not rented and, when it is rented, each time a guest is not in the room. The EMS system will turn off the lamps and lights when the guest or the waitress leaves the room. The EMS system can turn off the television when the room is not rented, and can open or close the curtains to control the exchange of heat with the outside. Modern lodging facilities, the EMS system is part of a larger guest room control system, which also includes a direct digital control (DDC) of the HVAC system, guest room controls and an electronic lock system central (CELS). The guest room controls allow a guest to remotely control lamps, lights, curtains, television and other devices from a single control site. The central electronic locking system connects the doors of the guest room to a computer. central in the hotel to enable access operations with a key card and to allow and cancel access cards. Guest room control systems typically consist of a control computer or device for each room. The control computer receives data from several sensors through the room and, in response to the feedback provided by the sensors, operates a number of room remote control devices. Such remote sensors include, for example, motion sensors, temperature sensors, smoke detectors, and door switches and other closure switches. Said remote room control devices include, for example, thermostats and associated relays for heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, electronic closures, light control switches and relays, and motors and switches for opening and closing curtains. The central control computer uses the data and control devices to, for example, adjust the temperature of the room, determine and announce whether the room is occupied or not occupied, determine and announce if the room's minibar has been opened, sound of fire and emergency alarms, if the lights are off or on, allow or deny access to the room, open and close the curtains, turn on or off the audio-visual equipment, and perform other functions related to the control of the equipment or announce the status in the rooms. The central control computer located in each room can be attached to an individual master central control computer. The central computer of each room provides data to the master central control computer from which said data is disseminated to present and control terminals in cleaning, reception, security, engineering or any other site in order to provide access to the personnel of the hotel to the data and with the ability to remotely control several functions or determinations of the room from each of the terminals. In a guest room control system, a telephone console equipped with a touch screen acts as the control computer for the room. It obtains information of ambient temperature of the internal sensors, information of the target temperature of the guest through the touch screen, and information of the status of the room (rented / vacancy) of the master central control computer through a twisted pair of cables. Low voltage that connect all the rooms through a network structure. The control computer then decides whether the various appliances in the room should be adjusted and control the appliances by providing control signals to the appliances, accordingly. These guest room control systems work very well to provide convenience to the guest. For example, a guest can control many functions in the guest room through a telephone console that is next to the bed. Such guest room control systems also provide convenience to the cleaning group. For example, a housekeeper can simply go to the screen on the master central control computer to determine if the guest room is occupied or if the minibar needs to be replenished. In addition, the guest room control systems work well to conserve energy in a guest room. However, modern guest room control systems also have limitations. Applications that depend on a faster and non-conditional link to the master central control computer, such as digital video, can not be implemented under this architecture. To overcome this limitation, additional data lines need to be installed. However, the installation of additional data lines in an existing hotel is expensive and increases the maintenance required for the hotel.

COMPENDIUM OF THE INVENTION The disadvantages and deficiencies described above are overcome or mitigated through a guest room service and control system for a building that includes a plurality of guest rooms, the guest room service and control system comprising: a network of local area; A plurality of guest room networks operably coupled to the local area network, each guest room network of the plurality of guest room networks is associated with a guest room in the building, each guest room network includes : a fourth axis operably coupled to the local area network, guest room control devices operably coupled to the room axis. The guest room control device is a centralized electronic locking system component, a guest room energy management system component, a direct digital control system component, a minibar verification device, or a combination comprising at least one of the previous guest room control devices. A guest room service device is also operably coupled to the room axis, the guest room service device is a computer, a voice over an Internet protocol telephone, an Internet protocol radio, a signal converter television, or a combination comprising at least one of the previous guest room service devices. The data between the local area network and the fourth axis are communicated in packets configured according to a first communications protocol.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the illustrative drawings, in which similar elements are enumerated similarly, in the various figures: Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a centralized guest room control system; Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an external view of an intelligent router; Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an internal view of the intelligent router of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the interface of application programs and portions of operating systems in the intelligent router of Figure 2; and Figure 5 is a network address translation table.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 illustrates a centralized guest room control system or network 10 through which building-level services such as, but not limited to, digital video on demand, central electronic lock control, power management, control of the fourth, and Internet access services, are provided to one or more guest rooms 12 through one or more hotels 14 on the same network 10. Although the modality described herein is directed to one or more hotels 14, it is will recognize that the system 10 has application in a wide variety of buildings, including, but not limited to, universities, health institutions, housing units (MDUs), offices, meeting and residential points. The guest room control system 10 is distributed through three general areas: one or more guest rooms 12, the hotel 14 including one or more guest rooms 12, and a site external to hotel 14. It will be appreciated that the guest room control system 10 can be distributed through any number of rooms 12 in hotel 14 and in any number of buildings or hotels 14, as shown in Figure 1. Within each guest room 12, a quarter axis 16 coordinates the communications to and from various service devices 18 within the guest room 12. The fourth axis 16 is a common connection point for the various devices 18 within the guest room 12. The quarter axis 16 can be a passive axis, so that when a package arrives at a port on the fourth axis, this is copied to the other ports, so that all the devices in the guest room can see all the packages. An example of a passive axis is the commercially available dual speed (10/100) four-port model DS 104 of Netgear®. Alternatively, the quarter axis 16 may be a switching axis that reads the destination address of each packet and then sends the packet to the correct port. The quarter axis 16 may also include an intelligent axis that allows an administrator to verify the traffic passing through the axis 16 and configures on each port on the axis 16. Within the network 10, packets of User Datagram Protocol / Internet Protocol (UDP / IP), Transport Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP) packets, Simple Network Management Protocol packets, SNMP, Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) packets, and Protocol packets Dynamic Host Configuration (DHCP), or the like, are passed through the quarter axis 16 to the various guest room service devices 18. The various guest room service devices 18 may include: Internet access to high speed for a guest laptop 20; a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VolP) telephone 22 that provides the guest with telephone service (for example, a VolP telephone commercially available from Nortel); an Internet protocol (IP) radio 23 that provides the guest with music service (for example, an Expert Group on Moving Images (MPEG) 1, audio layer 3 (MP3), trained radio); and a signal converter box (cable TV box) 24 which provides the guest with digital video on demand (VoD) to watch television 26 (for example, model DSB-300 commercially available from Daewoo). The information of service devices to guest room 18 may be transmitted within room 12 using data transmission means such as twisted cable pairs, coaxial cables, or fiber optic cables, or may be transmitted through a signal of radio or infrared. The fourth axis 16 also coordinates the communications to and from a fourth gate 28. The fourth composite 28 translates the received data from the fourth axis 16, which are formatted in packets, to a secondary protocol that can be read by the fourth room control devices 30 in the room 12. The fourth room composite 28 also translates the data transmitted from the room control devices 30 to a protocol (e.g., TCP / IP or UDP / IP) that can be transmitted through of the fourth axis 16. The secondary protocol is determined based on the types of room control devices 30 that are used. For example, the secondary protocol may include the infrared protocol IR5 as described in the patent of US Pat. No. 5,128,792, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In another example, the secondary protocol may include Inncom International's CINET protocol, which is commercially available from Central Interface Network Inncom International. Other secondary protocols may include the ModBus protocol, the Bluetooth protocol or the like. The room control devices 30 served by the room gate 28 can include one or more of: Energy Management System (EMS 32) device, a minibar verification device 34, a direct digital control system device ( DDC) 35, and a central electronic locking system (CELS) device 36. The Energy Management System (EMS) 32 device is a component in a system that digitally controls a heating, ventilation and / or conditioning system. air associated with room 12 and which may include a digitally controlled thermostat. An example of an EMS system is the e4 ™ energy management system commercially available from Inncom International, Inc., of Niantic, Connecticut. The minibar verification device 34, is a device that indicates when the minibar in room 12 has been accessed and can indicate which consumable items have been removed. An example of a minibar verification device 34 is a minibar door switch such as a Model S441 door, commercially available from Inncom International, Inc .; another example is a minibar with verification capabilities, commercially available from Bartech Systems Corporation of Millersville, Maryland. The Direct Digital Control System (DDC) 35 device is a component in a system that allows a guest to remotely control lamps and lights, window curtains, television, or other appliances. The DDC device 35 may include, for example, a lamp control module model L207, commercially available from Inncom International, Inc .; a motorized system of curtains such as those commercially available from Makita, BTX, or Silent Gliss companies; an infrared television remote control; and a Do Not Disturb / Make Room P463 board commercially available from Inncom International, Inc. A central electronic lock system (CELS) device 36 is a component in a system for locking and unlocking door access to room 12. The CELS 36 device can include, for example, a K294 infrared transceiver, which is commercially available from Inncom International, Inc., and commercially available infrared-capable guest room door closers from companies such as TimeLox, Sargent, Safelok, and VingCard. Within the hotel 14, the guest room control system 10 is divided by an intelligent router 50 into two sub-networks: a primary network 52 and a secondary network 54. The secondary network 54 includes a local area network (LAN) 55, using the Ethernet protocol to transfer data encapsulated in packets. The LAN 55 includes a main switch 56 which filters and sends packets between one or more floor switches 58. The floor switches 58 filter and send packets between one or more fourth axes 16 on the floor of the hotel 14. The secondary network 54 includes a commercially available property management system (PMS) 74 tracker, connected in series or through the Ethernet to the smart router 50. The PMS server 74 may include, for example, the PMS Micros® Fidelio OPERA which is commercially available. available from Micros Systems, Inc., of Columbia, Maryland. The PMS server 74 stores, processes and requests usage information of the room (ie, if the room is rented or vacant) and billing information of the room to make charges, Internet access, video on demand, use of the minibar, or other services. The PMS server 74 transmits the status information of the fourth and accepts billing information from the smart router 50. The secondary network 54 also includes a WEB 60 browser station, which is a personal computer connected to a port of the main switch 56. The WEB 60 browser station allows hotel staff to have access to hotel information. Station 60 uses a navigator to provide indication as to the rented state, occupation of the room, service of the minibar, requests not to disturb (DND) and to make room (MUR), diagnostics and other data. The engineering or management personnel will be able to see the information in an energy management operation, diagnostic alerts and other useful items. A central interface server (CIS) 70 is also provided, which stores, processes and requests control signals from the guest room to increase capacity at the site. An example of a CIS server 70 is a CIS-522058 central interface server commercially available from Inncom International. The primary network 52 includes a LAN 63 using the Ethernet protocol to transfer data encapsulated in packets. The LAN network 63 includes one or more information servers 64 and a router 66. The information servers 64 store, process and retrieve data typically used in the operation of a modern hotel system. The information servers 64 include a digital video server 68, which stores, processes and requests digital video programming to be viewed on the television 26. Although the digital video server 68 is shown, it must be recognized that the primary network 52 can Include other information servers too. Router 66 connects primary network 52 to Internet 80. Router 66 receives Internet TCP / IP packets 80 and uses packet header and a send table stored within router 66 to route packets to smart router 50 or server digital video 68. Router 66 also provides firewall and security wall services for primary and secondary networks 52, 54. In addition to router 66, a MODE 82 connects primary network 52 to Internet 80 through intelligent router 50 , and Intelligent Router 50 provides fire wall and security services for the primary and secondary networks 52, 54. Outside of hotel 14, all hotel data, including the hotel's website, are stored and maintained in a remote server 84. Remote server 84 is connected to the Internet 80, and a connection between the remote server 84 and the router 66 in the hotel 14 is maintained through a Virtual Private Network (VPN) Tunnel 86. All Internet traffic coming from the router 66 or from the MODEM 82 in the hotel 14 is automatically directed to the remote server 84 through the Virtual Private Network (VPN) 86. A CIS 88 system is located outside the hotel 16 and communicates with the primary system 52 through the VPN 86 and the router 66. Al placing CIS 88 at a remote site, CIS 88 can store, process and request control signals for inheritance guest room control systems at any number of hotels 14. Remote CIS 88 can replace or supplement server 68 at hotel 14. Since all Internet traffic to and from hotel 14 goes from VPN 86 to remote server 84, remote server 84 can act as a portal for Internet traffic to and from the guest's laptop 20. For each comp host portable uper 20, remote server 84 provides access to certain pages of Hypertext Script Language (HTML) on remote server 84 (e.g., the hotel's home page, local information, and advertising pages) free of charge . As a result, the remote server 84 offers possibilities to sell advertising, demographic data and other services, which can be presented in the HTML pages available to the guest. In addition, once the guest has agreed to a charge for high-speed Internet access (unless the property offers free Internet access), the remote server 84 allows the guest laptop 20 to access not restricted to Internet 80 via VPN 86 and remote server 84. remote server 84 obtains this Internet portal function together with smart router 50. Intelligent router 50 verifies secondary network 54 for portable computers 20 of the guests, assigns a local IP address to those laptops 20, and dynamically adapts to the network and sends determinations of those laptops 20. This feature allows guests to access the guest room control system 10 without having to reconfigure their laptops 20. The remote server 84 filters the traffic to and from the local IP addresses, and passes only that l PCP / IP packets addressed to, or sent from, the IP address of those guests who have agreed to the access charge, or have been provided free access. Filtering of TCP / IP packets can also be achieved by allocating an available bandwidth to each laptop 20, where to the highest priority packets (eg, packets sent from a guest who has paid a premium access right) they are given a greater bandwidth, and lower priority packets (eg, free services) are provided with a lower bandwidth. This bandwidth can be based on, for example, Quality of Service (QoS) attributes indicated in the packet headers provided to or sent from each laptop 20. For the packets sent from each laptop 20, the smart router 20 can review the QoS attributes of the packets and give priority to those packets that have a higher priority QoS. Conversely, the smart router 20 can review the QoS attributes of the packets sent from each laptop 20 and drop or queue (retrace) those packets with a lower priority QoS. For packets sent to each laptop 20, the remote server 84 can review the QoS attributes of the packets and provide priority to those packets that have a higher priority QoS. Conversely, the remote server 84 can review the QoS attributes of the packets sent from each laptop 20 and drop or queue (retrace) those packets with a lower priority QoS. By using both the smart router 20 and the remote server 84 to filter the packets, the traffic in the VPN tunnel 86 is reduced. The smart router 50 periodically connects via the modem 82 and the VPN 86 to the remote server 84. Through these connections, the smart router 50 downloads the gathered information from the hotel and from the guests to the remote server 84. This information can be verified using a browser station 90 connected to the remote server 84. In addition, the remote server 84 provides this information back to the hotel 14, through the router 66 and VPN 86, wherein the information can be seen through the browser station 60. In this way, a single user can see the status of any number of hotels 14 or hotel rooms 12 of a single site (for example, the browser station). 60 or browser station 90). The remote server 84 also connects to the smart router 50 to load data from the remote server 84 to the smart router 50. The smart router 50 will then direct the data to the PMS server 74 or to the appropriate floor, room and apparatus. In this way, a single user can alter the status of the PMS or any device in any room of a remote location. Referring now to Figure 2, a block diagram illustrating an external view of the smart router 50 is shown. The smart router 50 is housed in a chassis 100 that can be mounted on a stand, which includes four serial ports 102, 104 , 106 and 108 and two Ethernet ports 110 and 112. The smart router 50 includes light emitting diodes (LEDs) to indicate the following: power on (LED 114), traffic on the Ethernet primary port 110 (LED 116), traffic on the secondary port of Ethernet 112 (LED 118), traffic on the RS-232 port of the serial ports 102, 104, 106 and 108 (LEDs 120) and traffic on the RS-485 port of the serial ports 102, 104, 106 and 108 (LEDs 122). The smart router 50 also includes an oppressible button 124 for instantaneous connection to the remote server 84 (Figure 1). The push button 24 allows a service technician to download the data instantly to the remote server 84 during testing and debugging phases, without having to wait for the next scheduled data download. The Ethernet port 110 is connected to the LAN 63 of the primary network 52, and the Ethernet port 112 is connected to the LAN 55 of the secondary network 54. The serial port 104 is connected to the MODEM 82, and the port in series 108 is connected to the PMS 74. The serial ports 102 and 106 allow the master router 50 to act as a replacement for a network bridge, such as the B271 lift bridge commercially available from Inncom International, Inc., in a system inheritance guest room control 126.

Referring to Figure 3, a block diagram illustrating an internal view of the smart router 50 is shown. The smart router 50 includes two processing systems 152 and 154. The processing system 152 processes data received from and provided to the primary network 52, and the processing system 154 processes data received from and provided to the secondary network 54. The primary network processing system 152 includes a microprocessor 156, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) 158, and an interconnected flash 160 memory. through a busbar 161. Stored in flash memory 160 and accessed by microprocessor 156 via DRAM 158 and bus 161 is an operating system program 162 and a primary lateral intelligent application program 164. Stored in the DRAM 158 is a first entry queue first data exit 166 for downloading to remote server 84, as will be described in more detail more ahead. The secondary network processing system 154 includes a microprocessor 168, a DRAM 170 and a flash memory 172 interconnected through a bus 174. Stored in the flash memory 172 and accessed by the microprocessor 168 through DRAM 170 and a bus collector 174, there is an operating system program 176 and a secondary lateral intelligent application program 178. Stored in the DRAM 170 are one or more process database images of the fourth 180, a process image image of hotel 182, and a network address translation (NAT) table 184, which will be described later. The microprocessors 156 and 168 operate independently of one another and share information through an inferred device 186. The processors 156, 168 and the interface device 186 are commercially available from Net Silicon, Inc., of Waltham, Massachusetts. The microprocessor 156 is connected to the serial ports 102 and 104 and the Ethernet port 110. The microprocessor 168 is connected to the serial ports 106 and 108 of the Ethernet port 112. In general, the microprocessors 156 and 168 execute 164 applications and 178, which instruct the microprocessors 156 and 168 to perform several steps necessary to download data stored in queue 166 to the remote server 84 (Figure 1) and to direct and track all data transferred between devices 18 and 30 in the rooms for guests 12 and PMS server 74, remote server 84, CIS 70 and / or CIS 88, and digital video server 68. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the interface of intelligent application programs 164 and 178 and portions of operating systems 162 and 176 in primary and secondary network processing systems 152 and 154, respectively. Operating systems 162 and 176 each include a stack of protocol layers, each layer representing a process or group of processes performing related communications tasks according to a communications protocol. In one embodiment of the primary network processing system 152, the stack of layers 200, 202, 204 and 206 is known as the Transport Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP) stack. The processes in each layer 200, 202, 204 and 206 may call or be called by the processes of adjacent layers 200, 202, 204 or 206, or through application 164. Layer 200 is the shell layer; layer 202 is the TCP layer; layer 204 is the IP layer; and layer 206 is the network layer. The network layer 206 includes a process or group of processes 208 that perform communication tasks in accordance with the Ethernet protocol for communication with the LA 63. The network layer 206 also includes a process or group of processes 210 that performs communications tasks according to the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) for communication with MODEM 82. The functions of the processes in the various layers 200, 202, 204 and 206 of the TCP / IP stack are well known in the art. Operating system 162 also includes several device units and a network layer process 208 for handling network layer protocols (e.g., the CINET protocol used in commercially available guest room control systems of Inncom International, Inc.) used in the inheritance guest room control system 126. The application 164 includes processes to perform various functions. These processes include: a marker program 211, a data compression and deletion process 212, a flow management process 214, a security process 216, a program loading process 218, a traffic separation process 220 , and a MODEM unit process 222. The dialing scheduler process 211 periodically initiates a connection between the smart router 50 and the remote server 84. The dial scheduler process 211 activates the modem unit process 222, which flags the a local Internet service provider (not shown). The dialing scheduler process 211 then initiates a data download via a file transfer protocol (FTP) link to the remote server 84. The data compression and deletion process 212 compresses data before placing the data in the queue 166 to increase the amount of data that can be sent through the buffer in DRAM 158 and to reduce the possibilities of congestion and bottleneck of the data. The security process 216 provides a basic level of cryptic encoding in the data packets left by the smart router 50 to ensure that the data is secure from an internal or external intrusion. The program loading process 218 allows the application 164 in the primary network processing system 152 to be replaced on the flight by downloading a new code into the flash memory 160. The traffic separation process 220 identifies the data intended for the devices of rooms 18 or 30, room door 28, PMS 74, Internet 80, etc., verifying the data provided by a group of receptacle servers in the receptacle layer 200, as will be described later. After the data has been identified, the traffic separation process 220 directs the data to its proper destination. The flow management process 214 ensures that traffic is managed in an efficient manner-performed by delaying the transmission of certain data while waiting for the transmission of other data based on such factors as data criticality and expected delays. The receptacle layer 200 includes a plurality of receptacle servers. Each receptacle server in the receptacle layer 200 is assigned to establish a port allocated for TCP layer data of the TCP / IP stack, and to handle data sent to that port. In addition, each receptacle server provides a basic security feature. The following TCP / IP receptacle servers are located in the receptacle layer 200: receptacle server 224 for PMS 74, receptacle server 226 for a peak demand verification system of INNCOM or third party (not shown), the receptacle server 228 for remote server 84, receptacle server 230 for the ISP gateway (eg, remote server 84), receptacle server 232 for other third party servers (not shown), receptacle server 234 for CIS 70 u 88, receptacle server 236 for configuration, and a receptacle server 238 for a network address table (NAT) handling 184. The receptacle server 224 for PMS 74 ensures connectivity to PMS 74. The PMS 74 uses the link established by the receptacle server 224 for sending room status information (eg, busy / vacancy) to the smart router 50. The receptacle server 226 for a vending system Peak demand from INNCOM or third party ensures connectivity to EMS 32. EMS 32 uses the link established by receptacle server 226 to send information such as external temperature, humidity, etc., to the smart router 50. The receptacle server 228 for the remote server 84 ensures connectivity to the remote server 84. The smart router 50 uses the link established by the receptacle server 228 to download data from the queue 166 to the remote server 84. The receptacle server 230 for the ISP gateway ensures connectivity to the ISP gateway server, which is the remote server 84 in the present mode. The receptacle server 232 for other third party servers ensures connectivity to any other servers. The receptacle server 234 for CIS 70 ensures connectivity to CIS 70. The smart router 50 uses the link established by the receptacle server 234 to transfer any legal data (e.g., a CINET frame) received by the smart router 50 to the CIS 70. Correspondingly, the requests of the room gate 28 of the CIS 70 are routed to the devices 30 where the room gate 28 provides them service, and the responses of the device 30 are routed to the CIS 70. The receptacle server 236 the configuration is opened to set or change various data in the flash memory 160 or 172 of the smart router 50. The receptacle server 238 for handling NAT 184 allows remote access to NAT 184. In addition to the TCP receptacle servers / IP 224-238, the receptacle layer 200 includes an FTP server 240 to download changes to application 164 or 178 stored in flash memory 160 or 172, and a Single Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent 242 for use in the remote fix Ethernet switches 56 and 58 on LAN 55. In a mode of the secondary network system 154, a stack of layers 250, 252, 254 and 256 it is known as the User Datagram Protocol / Internet Protocol (UDP / IP) stack. The processes in each layer 250, 252, 254 and 256 may call, or be called pro processes 250, 252, 254 or 256 in adjacent layers or through application 178. Layer 250 is the layer of receptacles; layer 252 is the UDP layer, layer 254 is the IP layer; and layer 256 is the network layer. The network layer 156 includes a process or group of processes 158 that perform communications tasks in accordance with the Ethernet protocol to communicate with LAN 55. The network layer 256 also includes a process or groups of processes 260 that perform communications tasks of according to the point-to-point protocol (PPP) for communication with the PMS server 74. The function of the processes in the various layers 250, 252, 254 and 256 of the UDP / IP stack are well known in the art. Operating system 176 also includes several device units and a network layer process 262 for handling network layer protocols (eg, the CINET protocol used in the guest room control systems available from Inncom International, Inc.) used in the legal guest room control system 126. Application 178 in the secondary network system includes the 264-288 processes to perform various functions. The process 164 is a laptop traffic management process, which allows the microprocessor 168 to handle any traffic from the guest's laptop 20. The process 266 is a legal data management process, which allows the microprocessor 168 to handle all legal data (e.g., CINET frames) received on the secondary Ethernet port 112 (i.e., through LAN 55). Process 168 is a NAT management process, which allows the microprocessor 168 to read and write from NAT 184. Process 170 directs traffic to and reads the various devices of room 18 and 30. process 172 is a process of creation database image that updates the fourth process image 180 each time the smart router 50 receives information from the fourth 18 and 30 devices. The process 174 gathers information from the PMS 74 and the fourth 18 and 30 devices with respect to the status of the rooms (for example, rented or vacancies). A UDP exchange process 276 receives UDP packets from the room gate 28, decodes the packets and routes the packets to the primary network processing system 152. The process 280 acts as a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent. ) for remote attachment and maintenance of switches 56 and 58. Processes 282 and 284 allow automatic configuration of the host laptop 20, wherein the 282 process provides the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) by attaching the laptops 20 dynamically configured, and process 284 provides address simulation of statically configured laptops 20. In the first case, the microprocessor 168 will act as the DHCP server, and the on-map IP address will be provided by the ISP gateway (eg, remote server 84). The process 286 provides information on the various devices 18 and 30 connected to the secondary network 54, such as device type, connection status and connection quality. The process 288 provides a traffic histogram in the secondary network 54. As can be seen in Figure 4, the communication data between the LAN 63 or the MODEM 82 and the LAN 55 or PS 74 is achieved at the application levels of primary and secondary network processing systems, 152 and 154. That is, the data communication between LAN 63 or MODEM 82 and LAN 55 or PMS 74 is handled through applications 164 and 178. Also as can be seen in Figure 4, the communication data between portions of the legal guest room control system 126 are achieved between network layer processes 209 and 262. In other words, the smart router 50 acts as a network layer bridge between the portions of the legal guest room control system 126. With reference to Figures 1 to 4, the functionality of the guest room control system 10 and the smart router 50 can now be described. The communication between the intelligent router e 50 and the devices 30, through the room gate 28, is made using a series of question and answer frames (packet) using UDP as the link protocol. Each frame includes a frame header containing address information for a specific quarter gate 28 and a specific device 30, a frame sequence number, a control indicator that can deactivate a response to the frame, and a field defining the type of the frame (for example, ask for the smart router 50, ask for the fourth gate 28, answer for the smart router 50, or answer for the fourth gate 28). The smart router 50 can download data to a device 30 through the room gate 28 using a series of question frames with their control indicators set to disable any response. For example, when a guest enters hotel 14, the manager enters the guest information into a terminal (not shown) connected to the PMS server 74. The guest information is stored as a record on the PMS server 74, and the server PMS 74 provides the data to the smart router 50 through the serial port 108. The fourth state process 274 receives the data through the receptacle layer 250, stores the data in a non-volatile memory, and initiates the transfer of the data. fourth state data to EMS 32 calling traffic separation process 270. Traffic separation process 270 establishes a link to quarter gate 28 on LAN 55 and sends frames containing the status information from room to gate from room 28 through LAN 55. Room gate 28 separates the header from the frame and determines the destination of device 30. Room gate 28 then converts the data from the room. ete to a protocol understood by E S 32 (for example, the IR5 Inncom International protocol as described in the patent of E. U. A. No. 5,128,792). The EMS 32 accepts the data and acts in accordance with the pre-programmed rental status logic. For example, the EMS 32 can switch the heating or air conditioning system of the room from an energy saving mode to a comfort mode for the guest. The room status process 274 periodically sends back status data from the room to the EMS 32. After the guest exit, the process is repeated with the PMS providing the guest information to the smart router 50, and the status processing of the room. room 274 providing the quarter status data to the EMS 32. The EMS 32 accepts the data and acts in accordance with its vacant, pre-programmed status logic. For example, the EMS 32 can switch the heating or air conditioning system from the comfort mode for the guest to an energy saving mode. When the smart router 50 requests a response from the device 30, the smart router 50 can interrogate a device 30 through the room gate 28, using one or more frames having its control indicators set to enable a response. After receiving those frames, the room gate 28 will separate the header of the frame and send the data to the appropriate device 30. Room gate 28 stores the frame sequence number before the response. After the response of the device 30, the room gate 28 encapsulates the response data within a frame and includes the frame sequence number in the appropriate field. After receiving the frame, the smart router 50 identifies the response using the frame sequence number and processes the response data from the frame. The devices 30 may be configured to provide an event message in response to some event within the room 12. An event message may include the opening of a door for the minibar 34 or the operation of the door closure 36 by someone in the room. of guests 12, for example. After receiving said event message, the room gate 28 encapsulates in event message in one or more frames. Each frame includes device address information 30. The room gate 28 sends the frames to the smart router 50, which uses the address information to determine the origin and the appropriate response to the event message. The question and answer frames are also used to synchronize data stored in the smart router 50 and the room gate 28. The synchronization is performed periodically, as initiated by the room status process 274 in the smart router 50. The process of room state 274 initiates a question containing a number of attributes (parameter) that impact on the operation of guest room 12. These parameters are retrieved from the process image of rooms 180 for e! private room 12 and hotel process image 182 for hotel 18. Parameters include, for example: renting status of the room, external temperature, water temperature in the HVAC supply piping, energy demand situation of broad system, fire condition (that is, if the fire alarm has been activated), central HVAC determinations, and date and time. The data in the question frames are translated by the room gate 28 and provided to the devices 30, which use the data to configure the room control determinations. In response to these question frames, the devices 30 provide data to the room gate 28, which in turn provides one or more response frames to the smart router 50. The response frames contain a number of attributes indicating the information of guest room status 12. These parameters include, for example: occupancy status (ie, if the room is not occupied or occupied by the guest or by a group), do not disturb (if indicated by the guest), clean the room (if indicated by the guest), request a butler (if indicated by the guest), the balcony door open / closed, entrance door open / closed, room temperature, target temperature, air conditioning mode (by example, on, only fan, automatic), air conditioner fan speed, percentage of open heat valve, percentage of open cooling valve, and activated electric heater relays or. After receiving the response frames, the room state process 274 updates the process image from room 180 to room 12. The hotel process image 182 is updated through the introduction of the PMS server 74. The image of Hotel process 182 includes extensive information about the hotel, such as external temperature, water temperature in the HVAC supply pipe, extensive system power demand situation, fire condition (ie, if an alarm has been triggered). fire), and central HVAC determinations. In addition, the information in the hotel process image 182 can be remotely changed from the remote server 84 through the VPN 82 to the router 66 and LAN 63. The remote change of the wide hotel information, together with the synchronization process described above , allows an operator in the web browser station 90 attached to the remote server 84 to alter the configuration of the devices 30 in one or more hotels 14. This feature is particularly important for a remote server 84 serving a number of hotels 14 In this case, the remote server 84, when changing the situation setting of the system's broad energy demand, can change the power consumption in hundreds or thousands of rooms 12, simultaneously. In effect, the remote server 84 adds these rooms 12 to a single energy consumer .. As a single energy consumer, the server operator 84 can negotiate with companies of light for better energy prices in exchange to promise a lower energy consumption during peak demand hours. The data from the hotel process image 182 and one or more process images of room 182 are periodically provided by the microprocessor 168 in the secondary network processing system 154 to the microprocessor 156 in the primary network processing system 152. These data are then stored in the FIFO queue 166. If the intelligent router is constantly connected to the remote server 84 through the LAN 63, the router 66 and the VPN 86, the data is immediately sent to the remote server 84. If the connection is of the dialing type, the smart router 50 periodically establishes a connection to the remote server 84 through the MODEM 82 and the VPN 86. This data can be viewed through the web browser station 90. In addition to receiving data downloaded from the smart router 50, the remote server 84 is capable of providing data to any single device 18 or 30 in room 12. For achieve data transfer to the devices 18 or 30, the remote server 84, the smart router 50 and the other information servers 64 are provided with a network address translation (NAT) table 184, such as that shown in Figure 5. Referring to Figure 5, a NAT 184 table is a mixture of static (persistent) data and dynamically acquired data. In the NAT 184 table, the "room address" is the logical quarter number, which is used as the actual address for applications. The "wiring direction" indicates the number of ports of the floor switch (axis) 58 where the quarter axis 16 is attached. The "room ID" indicates a grouping of quarter 16 axes to service a quarter of a quarter. Guest. The "CINET address" indicates an address for a legal guest room control system. The "MAC address" indicates an average access control address assigned to a specific device 18 or to the fourth gate 28 in the room 12. The "ID address" indicates an Internet protocol address for a device 18 or gate of fourth 28 (or an application in device 18). The "type / device status" identifies the device 18 or room gate 28 and indicates whether the device 18 or the room gate 28 is present in the network. The "IP address to the ISP gateway" indicates an IP address to be used by a host laptop 20 (Figure 1) for Internet access. The IP address in this field is generated by the ISP gateway (for example, the remote server 84 of Figure 1), where the process 282 (Figure 4) provides the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) joining for a computer portable 20 dynamically configured (Figure 1). Referring to Figures 1 to 5, when hotel 14 is being wired, the installer creates a list of room addresses 12 and the respective wiring address information for room 12. This information is fed to table NAT 184 and either through a tool (for example, an identification frame injected into the room gate 28 at the time of installation) or through the manual entry of the data to the smart router '50. Preferably, the data they can be introduced to the NAT table 184 through an information server 64 and then be exported to the smart router 50 through LAN 63. The smart router 50 completes the NAT table 184 with dynamic data. The SNMP agent process 280 in the smart router 50 requests the quarter axes 16 SNMP messages. The quarter axes 16 respond with the MAC and IP addresses of the devices 18 and room gates 28 that are connected to their respective ports. The SNMP agent process 280 often combines found devices 18 and room gates 28 to verify their presence, deriving it from a present / lost state, which is introduced to the NAT table 184. Information servers 64 and the remote server 84 periodically access the NAT table 184, using the NAT handling process 268 in the smart router 50 to ensure that its NAT 184 table copy is up to date. The information servers 64 and the remote server 84 can then use the data NAT table 184 to direct data to any single device 18 or 30 in room 12. The centralized guest room control system 10 provides high-speed Internet access, sophisticated energy management, direct digital control, digital video on demand, minibar report, voice over Internet Protocol (VolP) telephones, central electronic lock control, and a myriad of other services for the hotel and the owner of the place. The centralized guest room control system 10 provides these services to each room through a single cable, rather than a large number of cables previously associated with the guest room control systems. Accordingly, the centralized guest room control system 10 reduces the installation and maintenance costs of those previously obtainable using prior room guest room services. In addition, the guest room control system 10 supports applications that rely on non-conditional, faster links, such as digital video or a centralized locking system. The centralized guest room system 10 allows a single user, on a remote server, to control any number of hotels or guest rooms. Since the intelligent router, switches and axes are fully controllable from a remote site, the centralized guest room control system 10 allows remote diagnosis, reboot and software downloads remotely. In addition, the centralized guest room control system 10 allows any room number to be added to a single energy consumer. As a single energy consumer, the operator of the centralized guest room system 10 can negotiate with lighting companies for better energy prices in exchange for lower energy consumption during peak demand hours. Although the invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment, it will be understood by those in the art that various changes may be made and the equivalents may be replaced by their elements without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications can be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its essential scope. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment described as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all modalities that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (29)

1. - A control system and guest room service for a building, which includes a plurality of guest rooms, the control and guest room service system comprises: a local area network; a plurality of guest room networks operably coupled to the local area network, each guest room network of the plurality of guest room networks is associated with a guest room in the building, each guest room network includes : a fourth axis operably coupled to the local area network, a guest room control device operably coupled to the room axis, the guest room control device is a centralized electronic closure system component, a component of guest room energy management system, a direct digital control system component, a minibar verification device, or a combination comprising at least one of the above guest room control devices; a guest room service device is also operably coupled to the room axis, the guest room service device is a computer, a voice over an Internet protocol telephone, an Internet protocol radio, a television signal converter , or a combination comprising at least one of the previous guest room service devices; and wherein the data between the local area network and the fourth axis are communicated in packets configured according to a first communications protocol.

2. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 1, wherein the local area network and the quarter axis are coupled through a single medium, this only means is a pair of twisted cables , a coaxial cable, a fiber optic cable, a radio signal, or an infrared signal.

3. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 1, wherein the fourth axis is an intelligent axis.

4. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 1, wherein the fourth axis is a switching axis.

5. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 1, wherein each guest room network further includes: a network gate operably coupled between the room axis and the room control device; guests; and wherein the data between the room door and the guest room control device are communicated according to a second communication protocol.

6. The guest room control and service system according to claim 5, wherein the data between the room axis and the guest room service device are communicated in packets configured in accordance with the first protocol of communications.

7. The guest room control and service system according to claim 5, wherein the local area network includes: a floor switch operably housed to the quarter axis in each of the plurality of room networks guests, said floor switch addresses packets configured in accordance with the first communication protocol between the plurality of guest room networks; a main switch operably coupled to the floor switch, the main switch directs the packets configured according to the first communications protocol to the floor switch.

8. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 6, wherein the local area network is operably coupled to an intelligent router, the intelligent router is operably coupled to a primary network.

9. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 8, wherein the smart router includes: a first processor operably coupled to the primary network; a second processor operably coupled to the local area network; and wherein the first and second processors are configured to provide data communications between the primary network and the local area network.

10. The guest room control and service system according to claim 8, wherein the primary network is operably coupled to a remote server through. a virtual primary network, the remote server is located outside the building.

11. The guest room service and control system according to claim 10, wherein the remote server is operably coupled to a plurality of primary networks.

12. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 11, wherein each primary network in said plurality of primary networks provides fourth data to the remote server, said fourth data is a leased state, a state of cleanliness of the room, an open / closed door state, a state of ambient temperature, of target temperature, of air conditioning mode, of fan speed of the air conditioner, a percentage of open valve to heat, a percentage of valve open cooling, a relay state of the electric heater, or a combination comprising at least one of the above quarter data.

13. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 5, wherein the first communication protocol is selected from a group including TCP / IP and UDP / IP.

14. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 8, further including an information server operably coupled to the primary network, the information server is selected from the group that includes a digital video server and a central interface server.

15. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 8, further including a property management system server operably coupled to the smart router, said property management system server stores information on the use of the property. room and billing information of the room for each guest room in the plurality of guest rooms.

16. The guest room control and service system according to claim 10, wherein the remote server stores information accessible by a personal computer operably coupled to one or more of the plurality of guest room networks, the data including advertising data.

17. The guest room control and service system according to claim 10, wherein the remote server filters the data communicated between a personal computer operably coupled to one or more of the plurality of guest rooms and the Internet.

18. The guest room control and service system according to claim 10, wherein the smart router stores transmitted data from the guest room service device and periodically downloads said collected data from the guest room service device. to the remote server.

19. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 18, further including a web browser station operably coupled to the remote server to present collected data from the guest room service device.

20. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 5, wherein the data of the quarter axis and the quarter door are encapsulated in a frame, the frame having a frame header including an address of the guest room control device.

21. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 20, wherein the frame header further includes a frame sequence number and a control indicator.

22. The guest room control and service system according to claim 8, where the smart router includes a memory device, the memory device is configured to store ample building data, said broad building data is an ambient temperature outside the building, water temperature in the HVAC pipe, a wide-ranging situation of system energy demand, a fire situation, a central HVAC determination, or a combination comprising at least one of the extensive previous building data.

23. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 8, wherein the smart router includes a memory device, the memory device is configured to store data of the rooms of each room in the plurality of rooms, the room data is a state of rented, a state of not disturbing, a state of grooming the room, a state of open / closed door, a room temperature, objective temperature, air conditioning mode, air fan speed conditioning, percentage of open heating valve, percentage of open cooling valve, a state of electric heater relay, or a combination comprising at least one of the above quarter data.

24. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 8, wherein the smart router includes the memory device, the memory device is configured to store a network address translation table, the table of network translation indicates a site of the guest room control device.

25. - The guest room control and service system according to claim 6, wherein the smart router includes a memory device, the memory device is configured to store a network address translation table, the table of network address translation indicates a site of the guest room service device and IP and MAC addresses corresponding to the guest room service device.

26. The guest room service and control system according to claim 25, wherein the IP address is provided by the remote server. 27.- A system of service and control of the guest room of a first building that includes a first guest room and a second building that includes a second guest room, the guest room control system includes: a remote server; a first intelligent router in operable communication with the remote server, the first intelligent router is configured to receive data indicating a power demand situation of the remote server; a first component of energy management system in the first guest room, the first intelligent router provides data indicating the energy demand situation to the first component of energy management system in the first guest room; a second intelligent router in operable communication with the remote server, the second intelligent router is configured to receive data indicating a power demand situation of the remote server; a second component of energy management system in the second guest room, the second intelligent router provides data indicating the energy demand situation to the second component of energy management system in the second guest room. 28. The guest room control and service system according to claim 27, further comprising: a first memory device, the first memory device is configured to store memory data provided by the first memory system component. energy management; a second memory device, e! second memory device is configured to store quarter data provided by the second energy management system component; and where the room data is a leased state, a do not disturb state, a clean room state, an open / closed door state, a state of ambient temperature, of target temperature, of air conditioning mode, of fan speed of the air conditioner, a percentage of open heating valve, a percentage of open cooling valve, an electric heater relay state, or a combination comprising at least one of the above quarter data, and the first and second intelligent routers are configured to provide said data to the remote server. 29.- The guest room control and service system