U.S. patent application number 16/257706 was filed with the patent office on 2021-10-28 for communication protocols in integrated systems.
The applicant listed for this patent is iControl Networks, Inc.. Invention is credited to Marc Baum, Paul Dawes, Aaron Wood.
Application Number | 20210336926 16/257706 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005895444 |
Filed Date | 2021-10-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20210336926 |
Kind Code |
A9 |
Dawes; Paul ; et
al. |
October 28, 2021 |
COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS IN INTEGRATED SYSTEMS
Abstract
Systems and methods comprise a gateway that includes a processor
coupled to a security system at a premises via a channel. The
channel comprises a protocol of the security system that is a
proprietary bus protocol of the control panel of the security
system. A touchscreen at the premises is coupled to the gateway and
presents user interfaces. The user interfaces include a security
interface that provides control of functions of the security system
and access to data collected by the security system, and a network
interface that provides access to network devices. A camera is
located at the premises and coupled to the gateway. A security
server at a remote location is coupled to the gateway. The security
server comprises a client interface through which remote client
devices exchange data with the gateway and the security system.
Inventors: |
Dawes; Paul; (Redwood City,
CA) ; Baum; Marc; (Redwood City, CA) ; Wood;
Aaron; (Redwood City, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
iControl Networks, Inc. |
Philadelphia |
PA |
US |
|
|
Prior
Publication: |
|
Document Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20190158460 A1 |
May 23, 2019 |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005895444 |
Appl. No.: |
16/257706 |
Filed: |
January 25, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14203219 |
Mar 10, 2014 |
10237237 |
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16257706 |
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13932837 |
Jul 1, 2013 |
9621408 |
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14203219 |
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13925181 |
Jun 24, 2013 |
10339791 |
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13932837 |
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12197946 |
Aug 25, 2008 |
8612591 |
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13925181 |
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13718851 |
Dec 18, 2012 |
10156831 |
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12197946 |
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11761745 |
Jun 12, 2007 |
8635350 |
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13718851 |
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12019568 |
Jan 24, 2008 |
10142392 |
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11761745 |
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13531757 |
Jun 25, 2012 |
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12019568 |
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13335279 |
Dec 22, 2011 |
11113950 |
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13531757 |
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12539537 |
Aug 11, 2009 |
10156959 |
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13335279 |
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12750470 |
Mar 30, 2010 |
9191228 |
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12539537 |
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13104932 |
May 10, 2011 |
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12750470 |
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13311365 |
Dec 5, 2011 |
9141276 |
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13932837 |
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12637671 |
Dec 14, 2009 |
8478871 |
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13311365 |
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12189757 |
Aug 11, 2008 |
8473619 |
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13925181 |
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12019554 |
Jan 24, 2008 |
7911341 |
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12189757 |
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11761718 |
Jun 12, 2007 |
7711796 |
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11084232 |
Mar 16, 2005 |
8335842 |
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12269735 |
Nov 12, 2008 |
8996665 |
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13531757 |
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12197931 |
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8209400 |
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8086703 |
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13335279 |
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Aug 25, 2008 |
8073931 |
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Nov 12, 2008 |
8086702 |
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12197895 |
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Mar 14, 2013 |
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Mar 12, 2013 |
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Mar 13, 2013 |
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Mar 13, 2013 |
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Mar 13, 2013 |
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Mar 13, 2013 |
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Mar 13, 2013 |
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61781401 |
Mar 14, 2013 |
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61781713 |
Mar 14, 2013 |
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61087967 |
Aug 11, 2008 |
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61023496 |
Jan 25, 2008 |
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61023493 |
Jan 25, 2008 |
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61023489 |
Jan 25, 2008 |
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61019162 |
Jan 4, 2008 |
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61019167 |
Jan 4, 2008 |
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60987359 |
Nov 12, 2007 |
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Nov 12, 2007 |
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Aug 24, 2007 |
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Aug 24, 2007 |
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Mar 30, 2009 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 12/086 20210101;
H04W 4/38 20180201; H04L 63/02 20130101; H04L 67/10 20130101; H04L
67/42 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04L 29/06 20060101
H04L029/06; H04W 12/08 20060101 H04W012/08; H04L 29/08 20060101
H04L029/08; H04W 4/38 20060101 H04W004/38 |
Claims
1. A system comprising: a gateway device in communication, via a
first protocol, with a security system located at a premises; a
touchscreen device located at the premises and configured to output
a plurality of user interfaces, wherein the touchscreen device is
in communication with the gateway device, wherein the plurality of
user interfaces comprises: a security user interface configured to
facilitate control of functions of the security system via
communications with the security system and access to data
collected by the security system; and a network user interface
configured to facilitate access to one or more network devices
located at the premises; and a remote device configured to receive,
from the gateway device and via a second protocol different from
the first protocol, data associated with one or more of the
security system or the one or more network devices.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first protocol is associated
with a control panel of the security system.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the data associated with one or
more of the security system or the one or more network devices
comprises at least one of an indication of a state of the one or
more of the security system or the one or more network devices, an
indication of an event associated with the premises, a video
associated with the premises, or an image associated with the
premises.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the remote device is configured
to send, to at least one user device, an indication of the data
associated with one or more of the security system or the one or
more network devices.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more network devices
comprise at least one of a sensor device, a thermostat device, or a
remote control device.
6. A method comprising: receiving, by a touchscreen device located
at a premises and from a gateway device, data associated with one
or more of a security system located at the premises or one or more
network devices located at the premises, wherein the gateway device
is configured to: receive, from the security system and via a first
protocol, the data; and send, to a remote device and via a second
protocol different from the first protocol, the data; and causing
output, via at least one of a plurality of user interfaces, of an
indication of the data, wherein the plurality of user interfaces
comprises: a security user interface configured to facilitate
control of functions of the security system via communications with
the security system and access to data associated with the security
system; and a network user interface configured to facilitate
access to the one or more network devices.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the causing output of the
indication of the data comprises causing the security user
interface to display the indication of the data.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein the data is associated with a
premises event; and wherein the causing output of the indication of
the data comprises causing output, via the security user interface,
of an alert indicative of the data.
9. The method of claim 6, further comprising causing the gateway
device to send the data to the remote device.
10. The method of claim 6, wherein the gateway device is configured
to cause the remote device to send, to at least one user device, an
indication of the data.
11. The method of claim 6, wherein the gateway device is further
configured to send, to the security system, a request comprising a
security system bus address; and wherein the gateway device is
configured to receive, from the security system, the data in
response to the request.
12. A touchscreen device comprising: one or more processors; and
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more
processors, cause the touchscreen device to: receive, by the
touchscreen device and from a gateway device, data associated with
one or more of a security system located at a premises or one or
more network devices located at the premises, wherein the gateway
device is configured to: receive, from the security system and via
a first protocol, the data; and send, to a remote device and via a
second protocol different from the first protocol, the data; and
cause output, via at least one of a plurality of user interfaces,
of an indication of the data, wherein the plurality of user
interfaces comprises: a security user interface configured to
facilitate control of functions of the security system via
communications with the security system and access to data
associated with the security system; and a network user interface
configured to facilitate access to the one or more network
devices.
13. The touchscreen device of claim 12, wherein the one or more
network devices comprise at least one of a door sensor, a window
sensor, a motion sensor, a temperature sensor, a smoke sensor, a
carbon monoxide sensor, or a water sensor.
14. The touchscreen device of claim 12, wherein the instructions,
when executed, further cause the touchscreen device to: receive,
via the network user interface, a command; and cause, based on the
command, at least one of the one or more network devices to perform
an operation.
15. The touchscreen device of claim 12, wherein the instructions,
when executed, further cause the touchscreen device to receive, via
the security user interface, a command; wherein the touchscreen
device is configured to cause output of the indication of the data
based on the command.
16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions
that, when executed, cause: receiving, by a touchscreen device
located at a premises and from a gateway device, data associated
with one or more of a security system located at the premises or
one or more network devices located at the premises, wherein the
gateway device is configured to: receive, from the security system
and via a first protocol, the data; and send, to a remote device
and via a second protocol different from the first protocol, the
data; and causing output, via at least one of a plurality of user
interfaces, of an indication of the data, wherein the plurality of
user interfaces comprises: a security user interface configured to
facilitate control of functions of the security system via
communications with the security system and access to data
associated with the security system; and a network user interface
configured to facilitate access to the one or more network
devices.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16,
wherein the security system is configured to: poll the gateway
device; and send, to the gateway device and in response to
receiving a response to polling the gateway device, the data.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16,
wherein the gateway device is configured to cause the remote device
to send, to at least one user device, an indication of the
data.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16,
wherein the one or more network devices comprise at least one of a
sensor device, a thermostat device, or a remote control device.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16,
wherein the security user interface is configured to output icons
representing one or more devices of the security system.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation application of U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 14/203,219, filed Mar. 10, 2014.
[0002] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/203,219 is a
continuation in part application of U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 13/932,837, filed Jul. 1, 2013, issued as U.S. Pat. No.
9,621,408 on Apr. 11, 2017;
[0003] and is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/925,181, filed Jun. 24, 2013;
[0004] and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No.
61/782,345, filed Mar. 14, 2013;
[0005] and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No.
61/802,077, filed Mar. 15, 2013;
[0006] and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No.
61/777,061, filed Mar. 12, 2013;
[0007] and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No.
61/778,853, filed Mar. 13, 2013;
[0008] and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No.
61/779,028, filed Mar. 13, 2013;
[0009] and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No.
61/779,753, filed Mar. 13, 2013;
[0010] and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No.
61/780,092, filed Mar. 13, 2013;
[0011] and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No.
61/780,290, filed Mar. 13, 2013;
[0012] and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No.
61/780,435, filed Mar. 13, 2013;
[0013] and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No.
61/780,538, filed Mar. 13, 2013;
[0014] and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No.
61/780,637, filed Mar. 13, 2013;
[0015] and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No.
61/781,401, filed Mar. 14, 2013;
[0016] and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No.
61/781,713, filed Mar. 14, 2013;
[0017] and is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/197,946, filed Aug. 25, 2008, issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 8,612,591 on Dec. 17, 2013;
[0018] and is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/718,851, filed Dec. 18, 2012, issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 10,156,831 on Dec. 18, 2018;
[0019] and is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/761,745, filed Jun. 12, 2007, issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 8,635,350 on Jan. 21, 2014;
[0020] and is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/019,568, filed on Jan. 24, 2008, issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 10,142,392 on Nov. 27, 2018;
[0021] and is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/531,757, filed Jun. 25, 2012;
[0022] and is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/335,279, filed Dec. 22, 2011;
[0023] and is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/539,537, filed Aug. 11, 2009, issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 10,156,959 on Dec. 18, 2018;
[0024] and is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/750,470, filed Mar. 30, 2010, issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 9,191,228 on Nov. 17, 2015;
[0025] and is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/104,932, filed May 10, 2011; which are each
hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
[0026] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/932,837 is a
continuation in part application of U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 13/311,365, filed Dec. 5, 2011, issued as U.S. Pat. No.
9,141,276 on Sep. 22, 2015;
[0027] and is a continuation application of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 12/637,671, filed Dec. 14, 2009, issued as U.S. Pat. No.
8,478,871 on Jul. 2, 2013; each of which are hereby incorporated by
reference in their entirety.
[0028] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/925,181 is a
continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
12/189,757, filed Aug. 11, 2008, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,473,619
on Jun. 25, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its
entirety.
[0029] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/197,946 claims the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Number 61/087,967, filed
Aug. 11, 2008;
[0030] and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.
61/023,496, filed Jan. 25, 2008;
[0031] and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.
61/023,493, filed Jan. 25, 2008;
[0032] and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.
61/023,489, filed Jan. 25, 2008;
[0033] and is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/019,554, filed Jan. 24, 2008, issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 7,911,341 on Mar. 22, 2011;
[0034] and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.
61/019,162, filed Jan. 4, 2008;
[0035] and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.
61/019,167, filed Jan. 4, 2008;
[0036] and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.
60/987,359, filed Nov. 12, 2007;
[0037] and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.
60/987,366, filed Nov. 12, 2007;
[0038] and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.
60/968,005, filed Aug. 24, 2007;
[0039] and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.
60/957,997, filed Aug. 24, 2007;
[0040] and is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/761,718, filed Jun. 12, 2007, issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 7,711,796 on May 4, 2010;
[0041] and is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/084,232, filed Mar. 16, 2005, issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 8,335,842 on Dec. 18, 2012, which are each hereby
incorporated by reference in their entirety.
[0042] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/761,745 claims the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/804,550, filed Jun.
12, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its
entirety.
[0043] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/019,568 claims the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/886,439, filed Jan.
24, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its
entirety.
[0044] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/531,757 is a
continuation in part application of U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 12/269,735, filed Nov. 12, 2008, issued as U.S. Pat. No.
8,996,665 on Mar. 31, 2015;
[0045] and is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/197,931, filed Aug. 25, 2008, issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 9,172,553 on Oct. 27, 2015;
[0046] and is a continuation application of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 12/198,023, filed Aug. 25, 2008, issued as U.S. Pat. No.
8,209,400 on Jun. 26, 2012, which are each hereby incorporated by
reference in their entirety.
[0047] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/335,279 is a
continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
12/269,767, filed Nov. 12, 2008, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,086,703
on Dec. 27, 2011;
[0048] and is a continuation application of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 12/197,895, filed Aug. 25, 2008, issued as U.S. Pat. No.
8,073,931 on Dec. 6, 2011, which are each hereby incorporated by
reference in their entirety.
[0049] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/539,537 claims the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Number 61/164,877, filed
Mar. 30, 2009;
[0050] and is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/269,585, filed Nov. 12, 2008, issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 8,086,702 on Dec. 27, 2011, which are each hereby
incorporated by reference in their entirety.
[0051] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/104,932 claims the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/333,130, filed May
10, 2010, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
[0052] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/189,757 claims the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/955,172, filed Aug.
10, 2007, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
[0053] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/019,554 claims the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/886,435, filed Jan.
24, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its
entirety.
[0054] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/084,232 claims the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/652,475, filed Feb.
11, 2005;
[0055] and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.
60/553,932, filed Mar. 16, 2004;
[0056] and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.
60/553,934, filed Mar. 16, 2004, which are each hereby incorporated
by reference in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0057] The embodiments described herein relate generally to a
method and apparatus for improving the capabilities of security
systems in home and business applications. More particularly, the
embodiments described herein relate to a touchscreen device that
integrates security system control and functionality with network
content interactivity, management and presentation.
BACKGROUND
[0058] The field of home and small business security is dominated
by technology suppliers who build comprehensive `closed` security
systems, where the individual components (sensors, security panels,
keypads) operate solely within the confines of a single vendor
solution. For example, a wireless motion sensor from vendor A
cannot be used with a security panel from vendor B. Each vendor
typically has developed sophisticated proprietary wireless
technologies to enable the installation and management of wireless
sensors, with little or no ability for the wireless devices to
operate separate from the vendor's homogeneous system. Furthermore,
these traditional systems are extremely limited in their ability to
interface either to a local or wide area standards-based network
(such as an IP network); most installed systems support only a
low-bandwidth, intermittent connection utilizing phone lines or
cellular (RF) backup systems. Wireless security technology from
providers such as GE Security, Honeywell, and DSC/Tyco are well
known in the art, and are examples of this proprietary approach to
security systems for home and business.
[0059] Furthermore, with the proliferation of the internet,
ethernet and WiFi local area networks (LANs) and advanced wide area
networks (WANs) that offer high bandwidth, low latency connections
(broadband), as well as more advanced wireless WAN data networks
(e.g. GPRS or CDMA 1.times. RTT) there increasingly exists the
networking capability to extend these traditional security systems
to offer enhanced functionality. In addition, the proliferation of
broadband access has driven a corresponding increase in home and
small business networking technologies and devices. It is desirable
to extend traditional security systems to encompass enhanced
functionality such as the ability to control and manage security
systems from the world wide web, cellular telephones, or advanced
function internet-based devices. Other desired functionality
includes an open systems approach to interface home security
systems to home and small business networks.
[0060] Due to the proprietary approach described above, the
traditional vendors are the only ones capable of taking advantage
of these new network functions. To date, even though the vast
majority of home and business customers have broadband network
access in their premises, most security systems do not offer the
advanced capabilities associated with high speed, low-latency LANs
and WANs. This is primarily because the proprietary vendors have
not been able to deliver such technology efficiently or
effectively. Solution providers attempting to address this need are
becoming known in the art, including three categories of vendors:
traditional proprietary hardware providers such as Honeywell and GE
Security; third party hard-wired module providers such as
Alarm.com, NextAlarm, and uControl; and new proprietary systems
providers such as InGrid.
[0061] A disadvantage of the prior art technologies of the
traditional proprietary hardware providers arises due to the
continued proprietary approach of these vendors. As they develop
technology in this area it once again operates only with the
hardware from that specific vendor, ignoring the need for a
heterogeneous, cross-vendor solution. Yet another disadvantage of
the prior art technologies of the traditional proprietary hardware
providers arises due to the lack of experience and capability of
these companies in creating open internet and web based solutions,
and consumer friendly interfaces.
[0062] A disadvantage of the prior art technologies of the third
party hard-wired module providers arises due to the installation
and operational complexities and functional limitations associated
with hardwiring a new component into existing security systems.
Moreover, a disadvantage of the prior art technologies of the new
proprietary systems providers arises due to the need to discard all
prior technologies, and implement an entirely new form of security
system to access the new functionalities associated with broadband
and wireless data networks. There remains, therefore, a need for
systems, devices, and methods that easily interface to and control
the existing proprietary security technologies utilizing a variety
of wireless technologies.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0063] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the integrated security system,
under an embodiment.
[0064] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of components of the integrated
security system, under an embodiment.
[0065] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the gateway software or
applications, under an embodiment.
[0066] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the gateway components, under
an embodiment.
[0067] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of IP device integration with a
premise network, under an embodiment.
[0068] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of IP device integration with a
premise network, under an alternative embodiment.
[0069] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a touchscreen, under an
embodiment.
[0070] FIG. 8 is an example screenshot of a networked security
touchscreen, under an embodiment.
[0071] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of network or premise device
integration with a premise network, under an embodiment.
[0072] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of network or premise device
integration with a premise network, under an alternative
embodiment.
[0073] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram for a method of forming a security
network including integrated security system components, under an
embodiment.
[0074] FIG. 12 is a flow diagram for a method of forming a security
network including integrated security system components and network
devices, under an embodiment.
[0075] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram for installation of an IP device
into a private network environment, under an embodiment.
[0076] FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing communications among IP
devices of the private network environment, under an
embodiment.
[0077] FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of a method of integrating an
external control and management application system with an existing
security system, under an embodiment.
[0078] FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an integrated security system
wirelessly interfacing to proprietary security systems, under an
embodiment.
[0079] FIG. 17 is a flow diagram for wirelessly `learning` the
gateway into an existing security system and discovering extant
sensors, under an embodiment.
[0080] FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a security system in which the
legacy panel is replaced with a wireless security panel wirelessly
coupled to a gateway, under an embodiment.
[0081] FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a security system in which the
legacy panel is replaced with a wireless security panel wirelessly
coupled to a gateway, and a touchscreen, under an alternative
embodiment.
[0082] FIG. 20 is a block diagram of a security system in which the
legacy panel is replaced with a wireless security panel connected
to a gateway via an Ethernet coupling, under another alternative
embodiment.
[0083] FIG. 21 is a flow diagram for automatic takeover of a
security system, under an embodiment.
[0084] FIG. 22 is a flow diagram for automatic takeover of a
security system, under an alternative embodiment.
[0085] FIG. 23 is a general flow diagram for IP video control,
under an embodiment.
[0086] FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing camera tunneling, under
an embodiment.
[0087] FIG. 25A-E show panel coupling methodologies of the
integrated security system, under an embodiment.
[0088] FIG. 26A-L show zone information of the integrated security
system, under an embodiment.
[0089] FIG. 27A-G show zone codes of the integrated security
system, under an embodiment.
[0090] FIG. 28A-B show report conditions of the integrated security
system, under an embodiment.
[0091] FIG. 29 shows packet descriptions of the integrated security
system, under an embodiment.
[0092] FIG. 30A-C show keypad transmission information of the
integrated security system, under an embodiment.
[0093] FIG. 31A-D show keypad transmission information of the
integrated security system, under an alternative embodiment.
[0094] FIG. 32 shows an enrollment procedure of the integrated
security system, under an embodiment.
[0095] FIG. 33A-F show panel byte transmission information of the
integrated security system, under an embodiment.
[0096] FIG. 34 and FIG. 34A-T show panel byte example data of the
integrated security system, under an embodiment.
[0097] FIG. 35A-F show panel byte transmission information of the
integrated security system, under an alternative embodiment.
[0098] FIG. 36 and FIG. 36A-L show panel byte example data of the
integrated security system, under an alternative embodiment.
[0099] FIG. 37A-D show transmitter byte transmission information of
the integrated security system, under an embodiment.
[0100] FIG. 38 shows sensor transmission information of the
integrated security system, under an embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0101] An integrated security system is described that integrates
broadband and mobile access and control with conventional security
systems and premise devices to provide a tri-mode security network
(broadband, cellular/GSM, POTS access) that enables users to
remotely stay connected to their premises. The integrated security
system, while delivering remote premise monitoring and control
functionality to conventional monitored premise protection,
complements existing premise protection equipment. The integrated
security system integrates into the premise network and couples
wirelessly with the conventional security panel, enabling broadband
access to premise security systems. Automation devices (cameras,
lamp modules, thermostats, etc.) can be added, enabling users to
remotely see live video and/or pictures and control home devices
via their personal web portal or webpage, mobile phone, and/or
other remote client device. Users can also receive notifications
via email or text message when happenings occur, or do not occur,
in their home.
[0102] Although the detailed description herein contains many
specifics for the purposes of illustration, anyone of ordinary
skill in the art will appreciate that many variations and
alterations to the following details are within the scope of the
embodiments described herein. Thus, the following illustrative
embodiments are set forth without any loss of generality to, and
without imposing limitations upon, the claimed invention.
[0103] As described herein, computer networks suitable for use with
the embodiments described herein include local area networks (LAN),
wide area networks (WAN), Internet, or other connection services
and network variations such as the world wide web, the public
internet, a private internet, a private computer network, a public
network, a mobile network, a cellular network, a value-added
network, and the like. Computing devices coupled or connected to
the network may be any microprocessor controlled device that
permits access to the network, including terminal devices, such as
personal computers, workstations, servers, mini computers,
main-frame computers, laptop computers, mobile computers, palm top
computers, hand held computers, mobile phones, TV set-top boxes, or
combinations thereof. The computer network may include one of more
LANs, WANs, Internets, and computers. The computers may serve as
servers, clients, or a combination thereof.
[0104] The integrated security system can be a component of a
single system, multiple systems, and/or geographically separate
systems. The integrated security system can also be a subcomponent
or subsystem of a single system, multiple systems, and/or
geographically separate systems. The integrated security system can
be coupled to one or more other components (not shown) of a host
system or a system coupled to the host system.
[0105] One or more components of the integrated security system
and/or a corresponding system or application to which the
integrated security system is coupled or connected includes and/or
runs under and/or in association with a processing system. The
processing system includes any collection of processor-based
devices or computing devices operating together, or components of
processing systems or devices, as is known in the art. For example,
the processing system can include one or more of a portable
computer, portable communication device operating in a
communication network, and/or a network server. The portable
computer can be any of a number and/or combination of devices
selected from among personal computers, personal digital
assistants, portable computing devices, and portable communication
devices, but is not so limited. The processing system can include
components within a larger computer system.
[0106] The processing system of an embodiment includes at least one
processor and at least one memory device or subsystem. The
processing system can also include or be coupled to at least one
database. The term "processor" as generally used herein refers to
any logic processing unit, such as one or more central processing
units (CPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs),
application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), etc. The processor
and memory can be monolithically integrated onto a single chip,
distributed among a number of chips or components, and/or provided
by some combination of algorithms. The methods described herein can
be implemented in one or more of software algorithm(s), programs,
firmware, hardware, components, circuitry, in any combination.
[0107] The components of any system that includes the integrated
security system can be located together or in separate locations.
Communication paths couple the components and include any medium
for communicating or transferring files among the components. The
communication paths include wireless connections, wired
connections, and hybrid wireless/wired connections. The
communication paths also include couplings or connections to
networks including local area networks (LANs), metropolitan area
networks (MANs), wide area networks (WANs), proprietary networks,
interoffice or backend networks, and the Internet. Furthermore, the
communication paths include removable fixed mediums like floppy
disks, hard disk drives, and CD-ROM disks, as well as flash RAM,
Universal Serial Bus (USB) connections, RS-232 connections,
telephone lines, buses, and electronic mail messages.
[0108] Aspects of the integrated security system and corresponding
systems and methods described herein may be implemented as
functionality programmed into any of a variety of circuitry,
including programmable logic devices (PLDs), such as field
programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable array logic (PAL)
devices, electrically programmable logic and memory devices and
standard cell-based devices, as well as application specific
integrated circuits (ASICs). Some other possibilities for
implementing aspects of the integrated security system and
corresponding systems and methods include: microcontrollers with
memory (such as electronically erasable programmable read only
memory (EEPROM)), embedded microprocessors, firmware, software,
etc. Furthermore, aspects of the integrated security system and
corresponding systems and methods may be embodied in
microprocessors having software-based circuit emulation, discrete
logic (sequential and combinatorial), custom devices, fuzzy
(neural) logic, quantum devices, and hybrids of any of the above
device types. Of course the underlying device technologies may be
provided in a variety of component types, e.g., metal-oxide
semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) technologies like
complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), bipolar
technologies like emitter-coupled logic (ECL), polymer technologies
(e.g., silicon-conjugated polymer and metal-conjugated
polymer-metal structures), mixed analog and digital, etc.
[0109] It should be noted that any system, method, and/or other
components disclosed herein may be described using computer aided
design tools and expressed (or represented), as data and/or
instructions embodied in various computer-readable media, in terms
of their behavioral, register transfer, logic component,
transistor, layout geometries, and/or other characteristics.
Computer-readable media in which such formatted data and/or
instructions may be embodied include, but are not limited to,
non-volatile storage media in various forms (e.g., optical,
magnetic or semiconductor storage media) and carrier waves that may
be used to transfer such formatted data and/or instructions through
wireless, optical, or wired signaling media or any combination
thereof. Examples of transfers of such formatted data and/or
instructions by carrier waves include, but are not limited to,
transfers (uploads, downloads, e-mail, etc.) over the Internet
and/or other computer networks via one or more data transfer
protocols (e.g., HTTP, FTP, SMTP, etc.). When received within a
computer system via one or more computer-readable media, such data
and/or instruction-based expressions of the above described
components may be processed by a processing entity (e.g., one or
more processors) within the computer system in conjunction with
execution of one or more other computer programs.
[0110] Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout
the description and the claims, the words "comprise," "comprising,"
and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed
to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in a sense of
"including, but not limited to." Words using the singular or plural
number also include the plural or singular number respectively.
Additionally, the words "herein," "hereunder," "above," "below,"
and words of similar import, when used in this application, refer
to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions
of this application. When the word "or" is used in reference to a
list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following
interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of
the items in the list and any combination of the items in the
list.
[0111] The above description of embodiments of the integrated
security system and corresponding systems and methods is not
intended to be exhaustive or to limit the systems and methods to
the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments of, and
examples for, the integrated security system and corresponding
systems and methods are described herein for illustrative purposes,
various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of
the systems and methods, as those skilled in the relevant art will
recognize. The teachings of the integrated security system and
corresponding systems and methods provided herein can be applied to
other systems and methods, not only for the systems and methods
described above.
[0112] The elements and acts of the various embodiments described
above can be combined to provide further embodiments. These and
other changes can be made to the integrated security system and
corresponding systems and methods in light of the above detailed
description.
[0113] In accordance with the embodiments described herein, a
wireless system (e.g., radio frequency (RF)) is provided that
enables a security provider or consumer to extend the capabilities
of an existing RF-capable security system or a non-RF-capable
security system that has been upgraded to support RF capabilities.
The system includes an RF-capable Gateway device (physically
located within RF range of the RF-capable security system) and
associated software operating on the Gateway device. The system
also includes a web server, application server, and remote database
providing a persistent store for information related to the
system.
[0114] The security systems of an embodiment, referred to herein as
the iControl security system or integrated security system, extend
the value of traditional home security by adding broadband access
and the advantages of remote home monitoring and home control
through the formation of a security network including components of
the integrated security system integrated with a conventional
premise security system and a premise local area network (LAN).
With the integrated security system, conventional home security
sensors, cameras, touchscreen keypads, lighting controls, and/or
Internet Protocol (IP) devices in the home (or business) become
connected devices that are accessible anywhere in the world from a
web browser, mobile phone or through content-enabled touchscreens.
The integrated security system experience allows security operators
to both extend the value proposition of their monitored security
systems and reach new consumers that include broadband users
interested in staying connected to their family, home and property
when they are away from home.
[0115] The integrated security system of an embodiment includes
security servers (also referred to herein as iConnect servers or
security network servers) and an iHub gateway (also referred to
herein as the gateway, the iHub, or the iHub client) that couples
or integrates into a home network (e.g., LAN) and communicates
directly with the home security panel, in both wired and wireless
installations. The security system of an embodiment automatically
discovers the security system components (e.g., sensors, etc.)
belonging to the security system and connected to a control panel
of the security system and provides consumers with full two-way
access via web and mobile portals. The gateway supports various
wireless protocols and can interconnect with a wide range of
control panels offered by security system providers. Service
providers and users can then extend the system's capabilities with
the additional IP cameras, lighting modules or security devices
such as interactive touchscreen keypads. The integrated security
system adds an enhanced value to these security systems by enabling
consumers to stay connected through email and SMS alerts, photo
push, event-based video capture and rule-based monitoring and
notifications. This solution extends the reach of home security to
households with broadband access.
[0116] The integrated security system builds upon the foundation
afforded by traditional security systems by layering broadband and
mobile access, IP cameras, interactive touchscreens, and an open
approach to home automation on top of traditional security system
configurations. The integrated security system is easily installed
and managed by the security operator, and simplifies the
traditional security installation process, as described below.
[0117] The integrated security system provides an open systems
solution to the home security market. As such, the foundation of
the integrated security system customer premises equipment (CPE)
approach has been to abstract devices, and allows applications to
manipulate and manage multiple devices from any vendor. The
integrated security system DeviceConnect technology that enables
this capability supports protocols, devices, and panels from GE
Security and Honeywell, as well as consumer devices using Z-Wave,
IP cameras (e.g., Ethernet, wifi, and Homeplug), and IP
touchscreens. The DeviceConnect is a device abstraction layer that
enables any device or protocol layer to interoperate with
integrated security system components. This architecture enables
the addition of new devices supporting any of these interfaces, as
well as add entirely new protocols.
[0118] The benefit of DeviceConnect is that it provides supplier
flexibility. The same consistent touchscreen, web, and mobile user
experience operate unchanged on whatever security equipment
selected by a security system provider, with the system provider's
choice of IP cameras, backend data center and central station
software.
[0119] The integrated security system provides a complete system
that integrates or layers on top of a conventional host security
system available from a security system provider. The security
system provider therefore can select different components or
configurations to offer (e.g., CDMA, GPRS, no cellular, etc.) as
well as have iControl modify the integrated security system
configuration for the system provider's specific needs (e.g.,
change the functionality of the web or mobile portal, add a GE or
Honeywell-compatible TouchScreen, etc.).
[0120] The integrated security system integrates with the security
system provider infrastructure for central station reporting
directly via Broadband and GPRS alarm transmissions. Traditional
dial-up reporting is supported via the standard panel connectivity.
Additionally, the integrated security system provides interfaces
for advanced functionality to the CMS, including enhanced alarm
events, system installation optimizations, system test
verification, video verification, 2-way voice over IP and GSM.
[0121] The integrated security system is an IP centric system that
includes broadband connectivity so that the gateway augments the
existing security system with broadband and GPRS connectivity. If
broadband is down or unavailable GPRS may be used, for example. The
integrated security system supports GPRS connectivity using an
optional wireless package that includes a GPRS modem in the
gateway. The integrated security system treats the GPRS connection
as a higher cost though flexible option for data transfers. In an
embodiment the GPRS connection is only used to route alarm events
(e.g., for cost), however the gateway can be configured (e.g.,
through the iConnect server interface) to act as a primary channel
and pass any or all events over GPRS. Consequently, the integrated
security system does not interfere with the current plain old
telephone service (POTS) security panel interface. Alarm events can
still be routed through POTS; however the gateway also allows such
events to be routed through a broadband or GPRS connection as well.
The integrated security system provides a web application interface
to the CSR tool suite as well as XML web services interfaces for
programmatic integration between the security system provider's
existing call center products. The integrated security system
includes, for example, APIs that allow the security system provider
to integrate components of the integrated security system into a
custom call center interface. The APIs include XML web service APIs
for integration of existing security system provider call center
applications with the integrated security system service. All
functionality available in the CSR Web application is provided with
these API sets. The Java and XML-based APIs of the integrated
security system support provisioning, billing, system
administration, CSR, central station, portal user interfaces, and
content management functions, to name a few. The integrated
security system can provide a customized interface to the security
system provider's billing system, or alternatively can provide
security system developers with APIs and support in the integration
effort.
[0122] The integrated security system provides or includes business
component interfaces for provisioning, administration, and customer
care to name a few. Standard templates and examples are provided
with a defined customer professional services engagement to help
integrate OSS/BSS systems of a Service Provider with the integrated
security system.
[0123] The integrated security system components support and allow
for the integration of customer account creation and deletion with
a security system. The iConnect APIs provides access to the
provisioning and account management system in iConnect and provide
full support for account creation, provisioning, and deletion.
Depending on the requirements of the security system provider, the
iConnect APIs can be used to completely customize any aspect of the
integrated security system backend operational system.
[0124] The integrated security system includes a gateway that
supports the following standards-based interfaces, to name a few:
Ethernet IP communications via Ethernet ports on the gateway, and
standard XML/TCP/IP protocols and ports are employed over secured
SSL sessions; USB 2.0 via ports on the gateway; 802.11b/g/n IP
communications; GSM/GPRS RF WAN communications; CDMA 1.times. RTT
RF WAN communications (optional, can also support EVDO and 3G
technologies).
[0125] The gateway supports the following proprietary interfaces,
to name a few: interfaces including Dialog RF network (319.5 MHz)
and RS485 Superbus 2000 wired interface; RF mesh network (908 MHz);
and interfaces including RF network (345 MHz) and RS485/RS232bus
wired interfaces.
[0126] Regarding security for the IP communications (e.g.,
authentication, authorization, encryption, anti-spoofing, etc), the
integrated security system uses SSL to encrypt all IP traffic,
using server and client-certificates for authentication, as well as
authentication in the data sent over the SSL-encrypted channel. For
encryption, integrated security system issues public/private key
pairs at the time/place of manufacture, and certificates are not
stored in any online storage in an embodiment.
[0127] The integrated security system does not need any special
rules at the customer premise and/or at the security system
provider central station because the integrated security system
makes outgoing connections using TCP over the standard HTTP and
HTTPS ports. Provided outbound TCP connections are allowed then no
special requirements on the firewalls are necessary. FIG. 1 is a
block diagram of the integrated security system 100, under an
embodiment.
[0128] The integrated security system 100 of an embodiment includes
the gateway 102 and the security servers 104 coupled to the
conventional home security system 110. At a customer's home or
business, the gateway 102 connects and manages the diverse variety
of home security and self-monitoring devices. The gateway 102
communicates with the iConnect Servers 104 located in the service
provider's data center 106 (or hosted in integrated security system
data center), with the communication taking place via a
communication network 108 or other network (e.g., cellular network,
interne, etc.). These servers 104 manage the system integrations
necessary to deliver the integrated system service described
herein. The combination of the gateway 102 and the iConnect servers
104 enable a wide variety of remote client devices 120 (e.g., PCs,
mobile phones and PDAs) allowing users to remotely stay in touch
with their home, business and family. In addition, the technology
allows home security and self-monitoring information, as well as
relevant third party content such as traffic and weather, to be
presented in intuitive ways within the home, such as on advanced
touchscreen keypads.
[0129] The integrated security system service (also referred to as
iControl service) can be managed by a service provider via
browser-based Maintenance and Service Management applications that
are provided with the iConnect Servers. Or, if desired, the service
can be more tightly integrated with existing OSS/BSS and service
delivery systems via the iConnect web services-based XML APIs.
[0130] The integrated security system service can also coordinate
the sending of alarms to the home security Central Monitoring
Station (CMS) 199. Alarms are passed to the CMS 199 using standard
protocols such as Contact ID or SIA and can be generated from the
home security panel location as well as by iConnect server 104
conditions (such as lack of communications with the integrated
security system). In addition, the link between the security
servers 104 and CMS 199 provides tighter integration between home
security and self-monitoring devices and the gateway 102. Such
integration enables advanced security capabilities such as the
ability for CMS personnel to view photos taken at the time a
burglary alarm was triggered. For maximum security, the gateway 102
and iConnect servers 104 support the use of a mobile network (both
GPRS and CDMA options are available) as a backup to the primary
broadband connection.
[0131] The integrated security system service is delivered by
hosted servers running software components that communicate with a
variety of client types while interacting with other systems. FIG.
2 is a block diagram of components of the integrated security
system 100, under an embodiment. Following is a more detailed
description of the components.
[0132] The iConnect servers 104 support a diverse collection of
clients 120 ranging from mobile devices, to PCs, to in-home
security devices, to a service provider's internal systems. Most
clients 120 are used by end-users, but there are also a number of
clients 120 that are used to operate the service.
[0133] Clients 120 used by end-users of the integrated security
system 100 include, but are not limited to, the following: [0134]
Clients based on gateway client applications 202 (e.g., a
processor-based device running the gateway technology that manages
home security and automation devices). [0135] A web browser 204
accessing a Web Portal application, performing end-user
configuration and customization of the integrated security system
service as well as monitoring of in-home device status, viewing
photos and video, etc. Device and user management can also be
performed by this portal application. [0136] A mobile device 206
(e.g., PDA, mobile phone, etc.) accessing the integrated security
system Mobile Portal. This type of client 206 is used by end-users
to view system status and perform operations on devices (e.g.,
turning on a lamp, arming a security panel, etc.) rather than for
system configuration tasks such as adding a new device or user.
[0137] PC or browser-based "widget" containers 208 that present
integrated security system service content, as well as other
third-party content, in simple, targeted ways (e.g. a widget that
resides on a PC desktop and shows live video from a single in-home
camera). "Widget" as used herein means applications or programs in
the system. [0138] Touchscreen home security keypads 208 and
advanced in-home devices that present a variety of content widgets
via an intuitive touchscreen user interface. [0139] Notification
recipients 210 (e.g., cell phones that receive SMS-based
notifications when certain events occur (or don't occur), email
clients that receive an email message with similar information,
etc.). [0140] Custom-built clients (not shown) that access the
iConnect web services XML API to interact with users' home security
and self-monitoring information in new and unique ways.
[0141] Such clients could include new types of mobile devices, or
complex applications where integrated security system content is
integrated into a broader set of application features. In addition
to the end-user clients, the iConnect servers 104 support PC
browser-based Service Management clients that manage the ongoing
operation of the overall service. These clients run applications
that handle tasks such as provisioning, service monitoring,
customer support and reporting.
[0142] There are numerous types of server components of the
iConnect servers 104 of an embodiment including, but not limited
to, the following: Business Components which manage information
about all of the home security and self-monitoring devices;
End-User Application Components which display that information for
users and access the Business Components via published XML APIs;
and Service Management Application Components which enable
operators to administer the service (these components also access
the Business Components via the XML APIs, and also via published
SNMP MIBs).
[0143] The server components provide access to, and management of,
the objects associated with an integrated security system
installation. The top-level object is the "network." It is a
location where a gateway 102 is located, and is also commonly
referred to as a site or premises; the premises can include any
type of structure (e.g., home, office, warehouse, etc.) at which a
gateway 102 is located. Users can only access the networks to which
they have been granted permission. Within a network, every object
monitored by the gateway 102 is called a device. Devices include
the sensors, cameras, home security panels and automation devices,
as well as the controller or processor-based device running the
gateway applications.
[0144] Various types of interactions are possible between the
objects in a system. Automations define actions that occur as a
result of a change in state of a device. For example, take a
picture with the front entry camera when the front door sensor
changes to "open". Notifications are messages sent to users to
indicate that something has occurred, such as the front door going
to "open" state, or has not occurred (referred to as an iWatch
notification). Schedules define changes in device states that are
to take place at predefined days and times. For example, set the
security panel to "Armed" mode every weeknight at 11:00pm.
[0145] The iConnect Business Components are responsible for
orchestrating all of the low-level service management activities
for the integrated security system service. They define all of the
users and devices associated with a network (site), analyze how the
devices interact, and trigger associated actions (such as sending
notifications to users). All changes in device states are monitored
and logged. The Business Components also manage all interactions
with external systems as required, including sending alarms and
other related self-monitoring data to the home security Central
Monitoring System (CMS) 199. The Business Components are
implemented as portable Java J2EE Servlets, but are not so
limited.
[0146] The following iConnect Business Components manage the main
elements of the integrated security system service, but the
embodiment is not so limited: [0147] A Registry Manager 220 defines
and manages users and networks. This component is responsible for
the creation, modification and termination of users and networks.
It is also where a user's access to networks is defined. [0148] A
Network Manager 222 defines and manages security and
self-monitoring devices that are deployed on a network (site). This
component handles the creation, modification, deletion and
configuration of the devices, as well as the creation of
automations, schedules and notification rules associated with those
devices. [0149] A Data Manager 224 manages access to current and
logged state data for an existing network and its devices. This
component specifically does not provide any access to network
management capabilities, such as adding new devices to a network,
which are handled exclusively by the Network Manager 222. [0150] To
achieve optimal performance for all types of queries, data for
current device states is stored separately from historical state
data (a.k.a. "logs") in the database. A Log Data Manager 226
performs ongoing transfers of current device state data to the
historical data log tables.
[0151] Additional iConnect Business Components handle direct
communications with certain clients and other systems, for example:
[0152] An iHub Manager 228 directly manages all communications with
gateway clients, including receiving information about device state
changes, changing the configuration of devices, and pushing new
versions of the gateway client to the hardware it is running on.
[0153] A Notification Manager 230 is responsible for sending all
notifications to clients via SMS (mobile phone messages), email
(via a relay server like an SMTP email server), etc. [0154] An
Alarm and CMS Manager 232 sends critical server-generated alarm
events to the home security Central Monitoring Station (CMS) and
manages all other communications of integrated security system
service data to and from the CMS. [0155] The Element Management
System (EMS) 234 is an iControl Business Component that manages all
activities associated with service installation, scaling and
monitoring, and filters and packages service operations data for
use by service management applications. The SNMP MIBs published by
the EMS can also be incorporated into any third party monitoring
system if desired.
[0156] The iConnect Business Components store information about the
objects that they manage in the iControl Service Database 240 and
in the iControl Content Store 242. The iControl Content Store is
used to store media objects like video, photos and widget content,
while the Service Database stores information about users,
networks, and devices. Database interaction is performed via a JDBC
interface. For security purposes, the Business Components manage
all data storage and retrieval.
[0157] The iControl Business Components provide web services-based
APIs that application components use to access the Business
Components' capabilities. Functions of application components
include presenting integrated security system service data to
end-users, performing administrative duties, and integrating with
external systems and back-office applications.
[0158] The primary published APIs for the iConnect Business
Components include, but are not limited to, the following: [0159] A
Registry Manager API 252 provides access to the Registry Manager
Business Component's functionality, allowing management of networks
and users. [0160] A Network Manager API 254 provides access to the
Network Manager Business Component's functionality, allowing
management of devices on a network. [0161] A Data Manager API 256
provides access to the Data Manager Business Component's
functionality, such as setting and retrieving (current and
historical) data about device states. [0162] A Provisioning API 258
provides a simple way to create new networks and configure initial
default properties.
[0163] Each API of an embodiment includes two modes of access: Java
API or XML API. The XML APIs are published as web services so that
they can be easily accessed by applications or servers over a
network. The Java APIs are a programmer-friendly wrapper for the
XML APIs. Application components and integrations written in Java
should generally use the Java APIs rather than the XML APIs
directly.
[0164] The iConnect Business Components also have an XML-based
interface 260 for quickly adding support for new devices to the
integrated security system. This interface 260, referred to as
DeviceConnect 260, is a flexible, standards-based mechanism for
defining the properties of new devices and how they can be managed.
Although the format is flexible enough to allow the addition of any
type of future device, pre-defined XML profiles are currently
available for adding common types of devices such as sensors
(SensorConnect), home security panels (PanelConnect) and IP cameras
(CameraConnect).
[0165] The iConnect End-User Application Components deliver the
user interfaces that run on the different types of clients
supported by the integrated security system service. The components
are written in portable Java J2EE technology (e.g., as Java
Servlets, as JavaServer Pages (JSPs), etc.) and they all interact
with the iControl Business Components via the published APIs.
[0166] The following End-User Application Components generate
CSS-based HTML/JavaScript that is displayed on the target client.
These applications can be dynamically branded with partner-specific
logos and URL links (such as Customer Support, etc.). The End-User
Application Components of an embodiment include, but are not
limited to, the following: [0167] An iControl Activation
Application 270 that delivers the first application that a user
sees when they set up the integrated security system service. This
wizard-based web browser application securely associates a new user
with a purchased gateway and the other devices included with it as
a kit (if any). It primarily uses functionality published by the
Provisioning API. [0168] An iControl Web Portal Application 272
runs on PC browsers and delivers the web-based interface to the
integrated security system service. This application allows users
to manage their networks (e.g. add devices and create automations)
as well as to view/change device states, and manage pictures and
videos. Because of the wide scope of capabilities of this
application, it uses three different Business Component APIs that
include the Registry Manager API, Network Manager API, and Data
Manager API, but the embodiment is not so limited. [0169] An
iControl Mobile Portal 274 is a small-footprint web-based interface
that runs on mobile phones and PDAs. This interface is optimized
for remote viewing of device states and pictures/videos rather than
network management. As such, its interaction with the Business
Components is primarily via the Data Manager API. [0170] Custom
portals and targeted client applications can be provided that
leverage the same Business Component APIs used by the above
applications. [0171] A Content Manager Application Component 276
delivers content to a variety of clients. It sends multimedia-rich
user interface components to widget container clients (both PC and
browser-based), as well as to advanced touchscreen keypad clients.
In addition to providing content directly to end-user devices, the
Content Manager 276 provides widget-based user interface components
to satisfy requests from other Application Components such as the
iControl Web 272 and Mobile 274 portals.
[0172] A number of Application Components are responsible for
overall management of the service. These pre-defined applications,
referred to as Service Management Application Components, are
configured to offer off-the-shelf solutions for production
management of the integrated security system service including
provisioning, overall service monitoring, customer support, and
reporting, for example. The Service Management Application
Components of an embodiment include, but are not limited to, the
following: [0173] A Service Management Application 280 allows
service administrators to perform activities associated with
service installation, scaling and monitoring/alerting. This
application interacts heavily with the Element Management System
(EMS) Business Component to execute its functionality, and also
retrieves its monitoring data from that component via protocols
such as SNMP MIBs. [0174] A Kitting Application 282 is used by
employees performing service provisioning tasks. This application
allows home security and self-monitoring devices to be associated
with gateways during the warehouse kitting process. [0175] A CSR
Application and Report Generator 284 is used by personnel
supporting the integrated security system service, such as CSRs
resolving end-user issues and employees enquiring about overall
service usage. The push of new gateway firmware to deployed
gateways is also managed by this application.
[0176] The iConnect servers 104 also support custom-built
integrations with a service provider's existing OSS/BSS, CSR and
service delivery systemsb 290. Such systems can access the iConnect
web services XML API to transfer data to and from the iConnect
servers 104. These types of integrations can compliment or replace
the PC browser-based Service Management applications, depending on
service provider needs.
[0177] As described above, the integrated security system of an
embodiment includes a gateway, or iHub. The gateway of an
embodiment includes a device that is deployed in the home or
business and couples or connects the various third-party cameras,
home security panels, sensors and devices to the iConnect server
over a WAN connection as described in detail herein. The gateway
couples to the home network and communicates directly with the home
security panel in both wired and wireless sensor installations. The
gateway is configured to be low-cost, reliable and thin so that it
complements the integrated security system network-based
architecture.
[0178] The gateway supports various wireless protocols and can
interconnect with a wide range of home security control panels.
Service providers and users can then extend the system's
capabilities by adding IP cameras, lighting modules and additional
security devices. The gateway is configurable to be integrated into
many consumer appliances, including set-top boxes, routers and
security panels. The small and efficient footprint of the gateway
enables this portability and versatility, thereby simplifying and
reducing the overall cost of the deployment.
[0179] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the gateway 102 including
gateway software or applications, under an embodiment. The gateway
software architecture is relatively thin and efficient, thereby
simplifying its integration into other consumer appliances such as
set-top boxes, routers, touch screens and security panels. The
software architecture also provides a high degree of security
against unauthorized access. This section describes the various key
components of the gateway software architecture.
[0180] The gateway application layer 302 is the main program that
orchestrates the operations performed by the gateway. The Security
Engine 304 provides robust protection against intentional and
unintentional intrusion into the integrated security system network
from the outside world (both from inside the premises as well as
from the WAN). The Security Engine 304 of an embodiment comprises
one or more sub-modules or components that perform functions
including, but not limited to, the following: [0181] Encryption
including 128-bit SSL encryption for gateway and iConnect server
communication to protect user data privacy and provide secure
communication. [0182] Bi-directional authentication between the
gateway and iConnect server in order to prevent unauthorized
spoofing and attacks. Data sent from the iConnect server to the
gateway application (or vice versa) is digitally signed as an
additional layer of security. Digital signing provides both
authentication and validation that the data has not been altered in
transit. [0183] Camera SSL encapsulation because picture and video
traffic offered by off-the-shelf networked IP cameras is not secure
when traveling over the Internet. The gateway provides for 128-bit
SSL encapsulation of the user picture and video data sent over the
interne for complete user security and privacy. [0184] 802.11b/g/n
with WPA-2 security to ensure that wireless camera communications
always takes place using the strongest available protection. [0185]
A gateway-enabled device is assigned a unique activation key for
activation with an iConnect server. This ensures that only valid
gateway-enabled devices can be activated for use with the specific
instance of iConnect server in use. Attempts to activate
gateway-enabled devices by brute force are detected by the Security
Engine. Partners deploying gateway-enabled devices have the
knowledge that only a gateway with the correct serial number and
activation key can be activated for use with an iConnect server.
Stolen devices, devices attempting to masquerade as gateway-enabled
devices, and malicious outsiders (or insiders as knowledgeable but
nefarious customers) cannot effect other customers' gateway-enabled
devices.
[0186] As standards evolve, and new encryption and authentication
methods are proven to be useful, and older mechanisms proven to be
breakable, the security manager can be upgraded "over the air" to
provide new and better security for communications between the
iConnect server and the gateway application, and locally at the
premises to remove any risk of eavesdropping on camera
communications.
[0187] A Remote Firmware Download module 306 allows for seamless
and secure updates to the gateway firmware through the iControl
Maintenance Application on the server 104, providing a transparent,
hassle-free mechanism for the service provider to deploy new
features and bug fixes to the installed user base. The firmware
download mechanism is tolerant of connection loss, power
interruption and user interventions (both intentional and
unintentional). Such robustness reduces down time and customer
support issues. Gateway firmware can be remotely download either
for one gateway at a time, a group of gateways, or in batches.
[0188] The Automations engine 308 manages the user-defined rules of
interaction between the different devices (e.g. when door opens
turn on the light). Though the automation rules are programmed and
reside at the portal/server level, they are cached at the gateway
level in order to provide short latency between device triggers and
actions.
[0189] DeviceConnect 310 includes definitions of all supported
devices (e.g., cameras, security panels, sensors, etc.) using a
standardized plug-in architecture. The DeviceConnect module 310
offers an interface that can be used to quickly add support for any
new device as well as enabling interoperability between devices
that use different technologies/protocols. For common device types,
pre-defined sub-modules have been defined, making supporting new
devices of these types even easier. SensorConnect 312 is provided
for adding new sensors, CameraConnect 316 for adding IP cameras,
and PanelConnect 314 for adding home security panels.
[0190] The Schedules engine 318 is responsible for executing the
user defined schedules (e.g., take a picture every five minutes;
every day at 8am set temperature to 65 degrees F., etc.). Though
the schedules are programmed and reside at the iConnect server
level they are sent to the scheduler within the gateway
application. The Schedules Engine 318 then interfaces with
SensorConnect 312 to ensure that scheduled events occur at
precisely the desired time.
[0191] The Device Management module 320 is in charge of all
discovery, installation and configuration of both wired and
wireless IP devices (e.g., cameras, etc.) coupled or connected to
the system. Networked IP devices, such as those used in the
integrated security system, require user configuration of many IP
and security parameters--to simplify the user experience and reduce
the customer support burden, the device management module of an
embodiment handles the details of this configuration. The device
management module also manages the video routing module described
below.
[0192] The video routing engine 322 is responsible for delivering
seamless video streams to the user with zero-configuration. Through
a multi-step, staged approach the video routing engine uses a
combination of UPnP port-forwarding, relay server routing and
STUN/TURN peer-to-peer routing.
[0193] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of components of the gateway 102,
under an embodiment. Depending on the specific set of functionality
desired by the service provider deploying the integrated security
system service, the gateway 102 can use any of a number of
processors 402, due to the small footprint of the gateway
application firmware. In an embodiment, the gateway could include
the Broadcom BCM5354 as the processor for example. In addition, the
gateway 102 includes memory (e.g., FLASH 404, RAM 406, etc.) and
any number of input/output (I/O) ports 408.
[0194] Referring to the WAN portion 410 of the gateway 102, the
gateway 102 of an embodiment can communicate with the iConnect
server using a number of communication types and/or protocols, for
example Broadband 412, GPRS 414 and/or Public Switched Telephone
Network (PTSN) 416 to name a few. In general, broadband
communication 412 is the primary means of connection between the
gateway 102 and the iConnect server 104 and the GPRS/CDMA 414
and/or PSTN 416 interfaces acts as back-up for fault tolerance in
case the user's broadband connection fails for whatever reason, but
the embodiment is not so limited.
[0195] Referring to the LAN portion 420 of the gateway 102, various
protocols and physical transceivers can be used to communicate to
off-the-shelf sensors and cameras. The gateway 102 is
protocol-agnostic and technology-agnostic and as such can easily
support almost any device networking protocol. The gateway 102 can,
for example, support GE and Honeywell security RF protocols 422,
Z-Wave 424, serial (RS232 and RS485) 426 for direct connection to
security panels as well as WiFi 428 (802.11b/g) for communication
to WiFi cameras.
[0196] The integrated security system includes couplings or
connections among a variety of IP devices or components, and the
device management module is in charge of the discovery,
installation and configuration of the IP devices coupled or
connected to the system, as described above. The integrated
security system of an embodiment uses a "sandbox" network to
discover and manage all IP devices coupled or connected as
components of the system. The IP devices of an embodiment include
wired devices, wireless devices, cameras, interactive touchscreens,
and security panels to name a few. These devices can be wired via
ethernet cable or Wifi devices, all of which are secured within the
sandbox network, as described below. The "sandbox" network is
described in detail below.
[0197] FIG. 5 is a block diagram 500 of network or premise device
integration with a premise network 250, under an embodiment. In an
embodiment, network devices 255-257 are coupled to the gateway 102
using a secure network coupling or connection such as SSL over an
encrypted 802.11 link (utilizing for example WPA-2 security for the
wireless encryption). The network coupling or connection between
the gateway 102 and the network devices 255-257 is a private
coupling or connection in that it is segregated from any other
network couplings or connections. The gateway 102 is coupled to the
premise router/firewall 252 via a coupling with a premise LAN 250.
The premise router/firewall 252 is coupled to a broadband modem
251, and the broadband modem 251 is coupled to a WAN 200 or other
network outside the premise. The gateway 102 thus enables or forms
a separate wireless network, or sub-network, that includes some
number of devices and is coupled or connected to the LAN 250 of the
host premises. The gateway sub-network can include, but is not
limited to, any number of other devices like WiFi IP cameras,
security panels (e.g., IP-enabled), and security touchscreens, to
name a few. The gateway 102 manages or controls the sub-network
separately from the LAN 250 and transfers data and information
between components of the sub-network and the LAN 250/WAN 200, but
is not so limited. Additionally, other network devices 254 can be
coupled to the LAN 250 without being coupled to the gateway
102.
[0198] FIG. 6 is a block diagram 600 of network or premise device
integration with a premise network 250, under an alternative
embodiment. The network or premise devices 255-257 are coupled to
the gateway 102. The network coupling or connection between the
gateway 102 and the network devices 255-257 is a private coupling
or connection in that it is segregated from any other network
couplings or connections. The gateway 102 is coupled or connected
between the premise router/firewall 252 and the broadband modem
251. The broadband modem 251 is coupled to a WAN 200 or other
network outside the premise, while the premise router/firewall 252
is coupled to a premise LAN 250. As a result of its location
between the broadband modem 251 and the premise router/firewall
252, the gateway 102 can be configured or function as the premise
router routing specified data between the outside network (e.g.,
WAN 200) and the premise router/firewall 252 of the LAN 250. As
described above, the gateway 102 in this configuration enables or
forms a separate wireless network, or sub-network, that includes
the network or premise devices 255-257 and is coupled or connected
between the LAN 250 of the host premises and the WAN 200. The
gateway sub-network can include, but is not limited to, any number
of network or premise devices 255-257 like WiFi IP cameras,
security panels (e.g., IP-enabled), and security touchscreens, to
name a few. The gateway 102 manages or controls the sub-network
separately from the LAN 250 and transfers data and information
between components of the sub-network and the LAN 250/WAN 200, but
is not so limited. Additionally, other network devices 254 can be
coupled to the LAN 250 without being coupled to the gateway
102.
[0199] The examples described above with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6
are presented only as examples of IP device integration. The
integrated security system is not limited to the type, number
and/or combination of IP devices shown and described in these
examples, and any type, number and/or combination of IP devices is
contemplated within the scope of this disclosure as capable of
being integrated with the premise network.
[0200] The integrated security system of an embodiment includes a
touchscreen (also referred to as the iControl touchscreen or
integrated security system touchscreen), as described above, which
provides core security keypad functionality, content management and
presentation, and embedded systems design. The networked security
touchscreen system of an embodiment enables a consumer or security
provider to easily and automatically install, configure and manage
the security system and touchscreen located at a customer premise.
Using this system the customer may access and control the local
security system, local IP devices such as cameras, local sensors
and control devices (such as lighting controls or pipe freeze
sensors), as well as the local security system panel and associated
security sensors (such as door/window, motion, and smoke
detectors). The customer premise may be a home, business, and/or
other location equipped with a wired or wireless broadband IP
connection.
[0201] The system of an embodiment includes a touchscreen with a
configurable software user interface and/or a gateway device (e.g.,
iHub) that couples or connects to a premise security panel through
a wired or wireless connection, and a remote server that provides
access to content and information from the premises devices to a
user when they are remote from the home. The touchscreen supports
broadband and/or WAN wireless connectivity. In this embodiment, the
touchscreen incorporates an IP broadband connection (e.g., Wifi
radio, Ethernet port, etc.), and/or a cellular radio (e.g.,
GPRS/GSM, CDMA, WiMax, etc.). The touchscreen described herein can
be used as one or more of a security system interface panel and a
network user interface (UI) that provides an interface to interact
with a network (e.g., LAN, WAN, internet, etc.).
[0202] The touchscreen of an embodiment provides an integrated
touchscreen and security panel as an all-in-one device. Once
integrated using the touchscreen, the touchscreen and a security
panel of a premise security system become physically co-located in
one device, and the functionality of both may even be co-resident
on the same CPU and memory (though this is not required).
[0203] The touchscreen of an embodiment also provides an integrated
IP video and touchscreen UI. As such, the touchscreen supports one
or more standard video CODECs/players (e.g., H.264, Flash Video,
MOV, MPEG4, M-JPEG, etc.). The touchscreen UI then provides a
mechanism (such as a camera or video widget) to play video. In an
embodiment the video is streamed live from an IP video camera. In
other embodiments the video comprises video clips or photos sent
from an IP camera or from a remote location.
[0204] The touchscreen of an embodiment provides a configurable
user interface system that includes a configuration supporting use
as a security touchscreen. In this embodiment, the touchscreen
utilizes a modular user interface that allows components to be
modified easily by a service provider, an installer, or even the
end user. Examples of such a modular approach include using Flash
widgets, HTML-based widgets, or other downloadable code modules
such that the user interface of the touchscreen can be updated and
modified while the application is running. In an embodiment the
touchscreen user interface modules can be downloaded over the
internet. For example, a new security configuration widget can be
downloaded from a standard web server, and the touchscreen then
loads such configuration app into memory, and inserts it in place
of the old security configuration widget. The touchscreen of an
embodiment is configured to provide a self-install user
interface.
[0205] Embodiments of the networked security touchscreen system
described herein include a touchscreen device with a user interface
that includes a security toolbar providing one or more functions
including arm, disarm, panic, medic, and alert. The touchscreen
therefore includes at least one screen having a separate region of
the screen dedicated to a security toolbar. The security toolbar of
an embodiment is present in the dedicated region at all times that
the screen is active.
[0206] The touchscreen of an embodiment includes a home screen
having a separate region of the screen allocated to managing
home-based functions. The home-based functions of an embodiment
include managing, viewing, and/or controlling IP video cameras. In
this embodiment, regions of the home screen are allocated in the
form of widget icons; these widget icons (e.g. for cameras,
thermostats, lighting, etc) provide functionality for managing home
systems. So, for example, a displayed camera icon, when selected,
launches a Camera Widget, and the Camera widget in turn provides
access to video from one or more cameras, as well as providing the
user with relevant camera controls (take a picture, focus the
camera, etc.)
[0207] The touchscreen of an embodiment includes a home screen
having a separate region of the screen allocated to managing,
viewing, and/or controlling internet-based content or applications.
For example, the Widget Manager UI presents a region of the home
screen (up to and including the entire home screen) where internet
widgets icons such as weather, sports, etc. may be accessed). Each
of these icons may be selected to launch their respective content
services.
[0208] The touchscreen of an embodiment is integrated into a
premise network using the gateway, as described above. The gateway
as described herein functions to enable a separate wireless
network, or sub-network, that is coupled, connected, or integrated
with another network (e.g., WAN, LAN of the host premises, etc.).
The sub-network enabled by the gateway optimizes the installation
process for IP devices, like the touchscreen, that couple or
connect to the sub-network by segregating these IP devices from
other such devices on the network. This segregation of the IP
devices of the sub-network further enables separate security and
privacy policies to be implemented for these IP devices so that,
where the IP devices are dedicated to specific functions (e.g.,
security), the security and privacy policies can be tailored
specifically for the specific functions. Furthermore, the gateway
and the sub-network it forms enables the segregation of data
traffic, resulting in faster and more efficient data flow between
components of the host network, components of the sub-network, and
between components of the sub-network and components of the
network.
[0209] The touchscreen of an embodiment includes a core functional
embedded system that includes an embedded operating system,
required hardware drivers, and an open system interface to name a
few. The core functional embedded system can be provided by or as a
component of a conventional security system (e.g., security system
available from GE Security). These core functional units are used
with components of the integrated security system as described
herein. Note that portions of the touchscreen description below may
include reference to a host premise security system (e.g., GE
security system), but these references are included only as an
example and do not limit the touchscreen to integration with any
particular security system.
[0210] As an example, regarding the core functional embedded
system, a reduced memory footprint version of embedded Linux forms
the core operating system in an embodiment, and provides basic
TCP/IP stack and memory management functions, along with a basic
set of low-level graphics primitives. A set of device drivers is
also provided or included that offer low-level hardware and network
interfaces. In addition to the standard drivers, an interface to
the RS 485 bus is included that couples or connects to the security
system panel (e.g., GE Concord panel). The interface may, for
example, implement the Superbus 2000 protocol, which can then be
utilized by the more comprehensive transaction-level security
functions implemented in PanelConnect technology (e.g SetAlarmLevel
(int level, int partition, char *accessCode)). Power control
drivers are also provided.
[0211] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a touchscreen 700 of the
integrated security system, under an embodiment. The touchscreen
700 generally includes an application/presentation layer 702 with a
resident application 704, and a core engine 706. The touchscreen
700 also includes one or more of the following, but is not so
limited: applications of premium services 710, widgets 712, a
caching proxy 714, network security 716, network interface 718,
security object 720, applications supporting devices 722,
PanelConnect API 724, a gateway interface 726, and one or more
ports 728.
[0212] More specifically, the touchscreen, when configured as a
home security device, includes but is not limited to the following
application or software modules: RS 485 and/or RS-232 bus security
protocols to conventional home security system panel (e.g., GE
Concord panel); functional home security classes and interfaces
(e.g. Panel ARM state, Sensor status, etc.);
Application/Presentation layer or engine; Resident Application;
Consumer Home Security Application; installer home security
application; core engine; and System bootloader/Software Updater.
The core Application engine and system bootloader can also be used
to support other advanced content and applications. This provides a
seamless interaction between the premise security application and
other optional services such as weather widgets or IP cameras.
[0213] An alternative configuration of the touchscreen includes a
first Application engine for premise security and a second
Application engine for all other applications. The integrated
security system application engine supports content standards such
as HTML, XML, Flash, etc. and enables a rich consumer experience
for all `widgets`, whether security-based or not. The touchscreen
thus provides service providers the ability to use web content
creation and management tools to build and download any `widgets`
regardless of their functionality.
[0214] As discussed above, although the Security Applications have
specific low-level functional requirements in order to interface
with the premise security system, these applications make use of
the same fundamental application facilities as any other `widget`,
application facilities that include graphical layout,
interactivity, application handoff, screen management, and network
interfaces, to name a few.
[0215] Content management in the touchscreen provides the ability
to leverage conventional web development tools, performance
optimized for an embedded system, service provider control of
accessible content, content reliability in a consumer device, and
consistency between `widgets` and seamless widget operational
environment. In an embodiment of the integrated security system,
widgets are created by web developers and hosted on the integrated
security system Content Manager (and stored in the Content Store
database). In this embodiment the server component caches the
widgets and offers them to consumers through the web-based
integrated security system provisioning system. The servers
interact with the advanced touchscreen using HTTPS interfaces
controlled by the core engine and dynamically download widgets and
updates as needed to be cached on the touchscreen. In other
embodiments widgets can be accessed directly over a network such as
the Internet without needing to go through the iControl Content
Manager
[0216] Referring to FIG. 7, the touchscreen system is built on a
tiered architecture, with defined interfaces between the
Application/Presentation Layer (the Application Engine) on the top,
the Core Engine in the middle, and the security panel and gateway
APIs at the lower level. The architecture is configured to provide
maximum flexibility and ease of maintenance.
[0217] The application engine of the touchscreen provides the
presentation and interactivity capabilities for all applications
(widgets) that run on the touchscreen, including both core security
function widgets and third party content widgets. FIG. 8 is an
example screenshot 800 of a networked security touchscreen, under
an embodiment. This example screenshot 800 includes three
interfaces or user interface (UI) components 802-806, but is not so
limited. A first UI 802 of the touchscreen includes icons by which
a user controls or accesses functions and/or components of the
security system (e.g., "Main", "Panic", "Medic", "Fire", state of
the premise alarm system (e.g., disarmed, armed, etc.), etc.); the
first UI 802, which is also referred to herein as a security
interface, is always presented on the touchscreen. A second UI 804
of the touchscreen includes icons by which a user selects or
interacts with services and other network content (e.g., clock,
calendar, weather, stocks, news, sports, photos, maps, music, etc.)
that is accessible via the touchscreen. The second UI 804 is also
referred to herein as a network interface or content interface. A
third UI 806 of the touchscreen includes icons by which a user
selects or interacts with additional services or componets (e.g.,
intercom control, security, cameras coupled to the system in
particular regions (e.g., front door, baby, etc.) available via the
touchscreen.
[0218] A component of the application engine is the Presentation
Engine, which includes a set of libraries that implement the
standards-based widget content (e.g., XML, HTML, JavaScript, Flash)
layout and interactivity. This engine provides the widget with
interfaces to dynamically load both graphics and application logic
from third parties, support high level data description language as
well as standard graphic formats. The set of web content-based
functionality available to a widget developer is extended by
specific touchscreen functions implemented as local web services by
the Core Engine.
[0219] The resident application of the touchscreen is the master
service that controls the interaction of all widgets in the system,
and enforces the business and security rules required by the
service provider. For example, the resident application determines
the priority of widgets, thereby enabling a home security widget to
override resource requests from a less critical widget (e.g. a
weather widget). The resident application also monitors widget
behavior, and responds to client or server requests for cache
updates.
[0220] The core engine of the touchscreen manages interaction with
other components of the integrated security system, and provides an
interface through which the resident application and authorized
widgets can get information about the home security system, set
alarms, install sensors, etc. At the lower level, the Core Engine's
main interactions are through the PanelConnect API, which handles
all communication with the security panel, and the gateway
Interface, which handles communication with the gateway. In an
embodiment, both the iHub Interface and PanelConnect API are
resident and operating on the touchscreen. In another embodiment,
the PanelConnect API runs on the gateway or other device that
provides security system interaction and is accessed by the
touchscreen through a web services interface.
[0221] The Core Engine also handles application and service level
persistent and cached memory functions, as well as the dynamic
provisioning of content and widgets, including but not limited to:
flash memory management, local widget and content caching, widget
version management (download, cache flush new/old content
versions), as well as the caching and synchronization of user
preferences. As a portion of these services the Core engine
incorporates the bootloader functionality that is responsible for
maintaining a consistent software image on the touchscreen, and
acts as the client agent for all software updates. The bootloader
is configured to ensure full update redundancy so that unsuccessful
downloads cannot corrupt the integrated security system.
[0222] Video management is provided as a set of web services by the
Core Engine. Video management includes the retrieval and playback
of local video feeds as well as remote control and management of
cameras (all through iControl CameraConnect technology).
[0223] Both the high level application layer and the mid-level core
engine of the touchscreen can make calls to the network. Any call
to the network made by the application layer is automatically
handed off to a local caching proxy, which determines whether the
request should be handled locally. Many of the requests from the
application layer are web services API requests, although such
requests could be satisfied by the iControl servers, they are
handled directly by the touchscreen and the gateway. Requests that
get through the caching proxy are checked against a white list of
acceptable sites, and, if they match, are sent off through the
network interface to the gateway. Included in the Network Subsystem
is a set of network services including HTTP, HTTPS, and
server-level authentication functions to manage the secure
client-server interface. Storage and management of certificates is
incorporated as a part of the network services layer.
[0224] Server components of the integrated security system servers
support interactive content services on the touchscreen. These
server components include, but are not limited to the content
manager, registry manager, network manager, and global registry,
each of which is described herein.
[0225] The Content Manager oversees aspects of handling widget data
and raw content on the touchscreen. Once created and validated by
the service provider, widgets are `ingested` to the Content
Manager, and then become available as downloadable services through
the integrated security system Content Management APIs. The Content
manager maintains versions and timestamp information, and connects
to the raw data contained in the backend Content Store database.
When a widget is updated (or new content becomes available) all
clients registering interest in a widget are systematically updated
as needed (a process that can be configured at an account, locale,
or system-wide level).
[0226] The Registry Manager handles user data, and provisioning
accounts, including information about widgets the user has decided
to install, and the user preferences for these widgets.
[0227] The Network Manager handles getting and setting state for
all devices on the integrated security system network (e.g.,
sensors, panels, cameras, etc.). The Network manager synchronizes
with the gateway, the advanced touchscreen, and the subscriber
database.
[0228] The Global Registry is a primary starting point server for
all client services, and is a logical referral service that
abstracts specific server locations/addresses from clients
(touchscreen, gateway 102, desktop widgets, etc.). This approach
enables easy scaling/migration of server farms.
[0229] The touchscreen of an embodiment operates wirelessly with a
premise security system. The touchscreen of an embodiment
incorporates an RF transceiver component that either communicates
directly with the sensors and/or security panel over the panel's
proprietary RF frequency, or the touchscreen communicates
wirelessly to the gateway over 802.11, Ethernet, or other IP-based
communications channel, as described in detail herein. In the
latter case the gateway implements the PanelConnect interface and
communicates directly to the security panel and/or sensors over
wireless or wired networks as described in detail above.
[0230] The touchscreen of an embodiment is configured to operate
with multiple security systems through the use of an abstracted
security system interface. In this embodiment, the PanelConnect API
can be configured to support a plurality of proprietary security
system interfaces, either simultaneously or individually as
described herein. In one embodiment of this approach, the
touchscreen incorporates multiple physical interfaces to security
panels (e.g. GE Security RS-485, Honeywell RF, etc.) in addition to
the PanelConnect API implemented to support multiple security
interfaces. The change needed to support this in PanelConnect is a
configuration parameter specifying the panel type connection that
is being utilized.
[0231] So for example, the setARMState( )function is called with an
additional parameter (e.g., Armstate=setARMState(type="ARM STAY|ARM
AWAY|DISARM", Parameters="ExitDelay=30|Lights=OFF", panelType="GE
Concord4 RS485")). The `panelType` parameter is used by the
setARMState function (and in practice by all of the PanelConnect
functions) to select an algorithm appropriate to the specific panel
out of a plurality of alogorithms.
[0232] The touchscreen of an embodiment is self-installable.
Consequently, the touchscreen provides a `wizard` approach similar
to that used in traditional computer installations (e.g.
InstallShield). The wizard can be resident on the touchscreen,
accessible through a web interface, or both. In one embodiment of a
touchscreen self-installation process, the service provider can
associate devices (sensors, touchscreens, security panels, lighting
controls, etc.) remotely using a web-based administrator
interface.
[0233] The touchscreen of an embodiment includes a battery backup
system for a security touchscreen. The touchscreen incorporates a
standard Li-ion or other battery and charging circuitry to allow
continued operation in the event of a power outage. In an
embodiment the battery is physically located and connected within
the touchscreen enclosure. In another embodiment the battery is
located as a part of the power transformer, or in between the power
transformer and the touchscreen.
[0234] The example configurations of the integrated security system
described above with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 include a gateway
that is a separate device, and the touchscreen couples to the
gateway. However, in an alternative embodiment, the gateway device
and its functionality can be incorporated into the touchscreen so
that the device management module, which is now a component of or
included in the touchscreen, is in charge of the discovery,
installation and configuration of the IP devices coupled or
connected to the system, as described above. The integrated
security system with the integrated touchscreen/gateway uses the
same "sandbox" network to discover and manage all IP devices
coupled or connected as components of the system.
[0235] The touchscreen of this alternative embodiment integrates
the components of the gateway with the components of the
touchscreen as described herein. More specifically, the touchscreen
of this alternative embodiment includes software or applications
described above with reference to FIG. 3. In this alternative
embodiment, the touchscreen includes the gateway application layer
302 as the main program that orchestrates the operations performed
by the gateway. A Security Engine 304 of the touchscreen provides
robust protection against intentional and unintentional intrusion
into the integrated security system network from the outside world
(both from inside the premises as well as from the WAN). The
Security Engine 304 of an embodiment comprises one or more
sub-modules or components that perform functions including, but not
limited to, the following: [0236] Encryption including 128-bit SSL
encryption for gateway and iConnect server communication to protect
user data privacy and provide secure communication. [0237]
Bi-directional authentication between the touchscreen and iConnect
server in order to prevent unauthorized spoofing and attacks. Data
sent from the iConnect server to the gateway application (or vice
versa) is digitally signed as an additional layer of security.
Digital signing provides both authentication and validation that
the data has not been altered in transit. [0238] Camera SSL
encapsulation because picture and video traffic offered by
off-the-shelf networked IP cameras is not secure when traveling
over the Internet. The touchscreen provides for 128-bit SSL
encapsulation of the user picture and video data sent over the
internet for complete user security and privacy. [0239] 802.11b/g/n
with WPA-2 security to ensure that wireless camera communications
always takes place using the strongest available protection. [0240]
A touchscreen-enabled device is assigned a unique activation key
for activation with an iConnect server. This ensures that only
valid gateway-enabled devices can be activated for use with the
specific instance of iConnect server in use. Attempts to activate
gateway-enabled devices by brute force are detected by the Security
Engine. Partners deploying touchscreen-enabled devices have the
knowledge that only a gateway with the correct serial number and
activation key can be activated for use with an iConnect server.
Stolen devices, devices attempting to masquerade as gateway-enabled
devices, and malicious outsiders (or insiders as knowledgeable but
nefarious customers) cannot effect other customers' gateway-enabled
devices.
[0241] As standards evolve, and new encryption and authentication
methods are proven to be useful, and older mechanisms proven to be
breakable, the security manager can be upgraded "over the air" to
provide new and better security for communications between the
iConnect server and the gateway application, and locally at the
premises to remove any risk of eavesdropping on camera
communications.
[0242] A Remote Firmware Download module 306 of the touchscreen
allows for seamless and secure updates to the gateway firmware
through the iControl Maintenance Application on the server 104,
providing a transparent, hassle-free mechanism for the service
provider to deploy new features and bug fixes to the installed user
base. The firmware download mechanism is tolerant of connection
loss, power interruption and user interventions (both intentional
and unintentional). Such robustness reduces down time and customer
support issues. Touchscreen firmware can be otely download either
for one touchscreen at a time, a group of touchscreen, or in
batches.
[0243] The Automations engine 308 of the touchscreen manages the
user-defined rules of interaction between the different devices
(e.g. when door opens turn on the light). Though the automation
rules are programmed and reside at the portal/server level, they
are cached at the gateway level in order to provide short latency
between device triggers and actions.
[0244] DeviceConnect 310 of the touchscreen touchscreen includes
definitions of all supported devices (e.g., cameras, security
panels, sensors, etc.) using a standardized plug-in architecture.
The DeviceConnect module 310 offers an interface that can be used
to quickly add support for any new device as well as enabling
interoperability between devices that use different
technologies/protocols. For common device types, pre-defined
sub-modules have been defined, making supporting new devices of
these types even easier. SensorConnect 312 is provided for adding
new sensors, CameraConnect 316 for adding IP cameras, and
PanelConnect 314 for adding home security panels.
[0245] The Schedules engine 318 of the touchscreen is responsible
for executing the user defined schedules (e.g., take a picture
every five minutes; every day at 8am set temperature to 65 degrees
Fahrenheit, etc.). Though the schedules are programmed and reside
at the iConnect server level they are sent to the scheduler within
the gateway application of the touchscreen. The Schedules Engine
318 then interfaces with SensorConnect 312 to ensure that scheduled
events occur at precisely the desired time.
[0246] The Device Management module 320 of the touchscreen is in
charge of all discovery, installation and configuration of both
wired and wireless IP devices (e.g., cameras, etc.) coupled or
connected to the system. Networked IP devices, such as those used
in the integrated security system, require user configuration of
many IP and security parameters, and the device management module
of an embodiment handles the details of this configuration. The
device management module also manages the video routing module
described below.
[0247] The video routing engine 322 of the touchscreen is
responsible for delivering seamless video streams to the user with
zero-configuration. Through a multi-step, staged approach the video
routing engine uses a combination of UPnP port-forwarding, relay
server routing and STUN/TURN peer-to-peer routing. The video
routing engine is described in detail in the Related
Applications.
[0248] FIG. 9 is a block diagram 900 of network or premise device
integration with a premise network 250, under an embodiment. In an
embodiment, network devices 255, 256, 957 are coupled to the
touchscreen 902 using a secure network connection such as SSL over
an encrypted 802.11 link (utilizing for example WPA-2 security for
the wireless encryption), and the touchscreen 902 coupled to the
premise router/firewall 252 via a coupling with a premise LAN 250.
The premise router/firewall 252 is coupled to a broadband modem
251, and the broadband modem 251 is coupled to a WAN 200 or other
network outside the premise. The touchscreen 902 thus enables or
forms a separate wireless network, or sub-network, that includes
some number of devices and is coupled or connected to the LAN 250
of the host premises. The touchscreen sub-network can include, but
is not limited to, any number of other devices like WiFi IP
cameras, security panels (e.g., IP-enabled), and IP devices, to
name a few. The touchscreen 902 manages or controls the sub-network
separately from the LAN 250 and transfers data and information
between components of the sub-network and the LAN 250/WAN 200, but
is not so limited. Additionally, other network devices 254 can be
coupled to the LAN 250 without being coupled to the touchscreen
902.
[0249] FIG. 10 is a block diagram 1000 of network or premise device
integration with a premise network 250, under an alternative
embodiment. The network or premise devices 255, 256, 1057 are
coupled to the touchscreen 1002, and the touchscreen 1002 is
coupled or connected between the premise router/firewall 252 and
the broadband modem 251. The broadband modem 251 is coupled to a
WAN 200 or other network outside the premise, while the premise
router/firewall 252 is coupled to a premise LAN 250. As a result of
its location between the broadband modem 251 and the premise
router/firewall 252, the touchscreen 1002 can be configured or
function as the premise router routing specified data between the
outside network (e.g., WAN 200) and the premise router/firewall 252
of the LAN 250. As described above, the touchscreen 1002 in this
configuration enables or forms a separate wireless network, or
sub-network, that includes the network or premise devices 255, 156,
1057 and is coupled or connected between the LAN 250 of the host
premises and the WAN 200. The touchscreen sub-network can include,
but is not limited to, any number of network or premise devices
255, 256, 1057 like WiFi IP cameras, security panels (e.g.,
IP-enabled), and security touchscreens, to name a few. The
touchscreen 1002 manages or controls the sub-network separately
from the LAN 250 and transfers data and information between
components of the sub-network and the LAN 250/WAN 200, but is not
so limited. Additionally, other network devices 254 can be coupled
to the LAN 250 without being coupled to the touchscreen 1002.
[0250] The gateway of an embodiment, whether a stand-along
component or integrated with a touchscreen, enables couplings or
connections and thus the flow or integration of information between
various components of the host premises and various types and/or
combinations of IP devices, where the components of the host
premises include a network (e.g., LAN) and/or a security system or
subsystem to name a few. Consequently, the gateway controls the
association between and the flow of information or data between the
components of the host premises. For example, the gateway of an
embodiment forms a sub-network coupled to another network (e.g.,
WAN, LAN, etc.), with the sub-network including IP devices. The
gateway further enables the association of the IP devices of the
sub-network with appropriate systems on the premises (e.g.,
security system, etc.). Therefore, for example, the gateway can
form a sub-network of IP devices configured for security functions,
and associate the sub-network only with the premises security
system, thereby segregating the IP devices dedicated to security
from other IP devices that may be coupled to another network on the
premises.
[0251] The gateway of an embodiment, as described herein, enables
couplings or connections and thus the flow of information between
various components of the host premises and various types and/or
combinations of IP devices, where the components of the host
premises include a network, a security system or subsystem to name
a few. Consequently, the gateway controls the association between
and the flow of information or data between the components of the
host premises. For example, the gateway of an embodiment forms a
sub-network coupled to another network (e.g., WAN, LAN, etc.), with
the sub-network including IP devices. The gateway further enables
the association of the IP devices of the sub-network with
appropriate systems on the premises (e.g., security system, etc.).
Therefore, for example, the gateway can form a sub-network of IP
devices configured for security functions, and associate the
sub-network only with the premises security system, thereby
segregating the IP devices dedicated to security from other IP
devices that may be coupled to another network on the premises.
[0252] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram for a method 1100 of forming a
security network including integrated security system components,
under an embodiment. Generally, the method comprises coupling 1102
a gateway comprising a connection management component to a local
area network in a first location and a security server in a second
location. The method comprises forming 1104 a security network by
automatically establishing a wireless coupling between the gateway
and a security system using the connection management component.
The security system of an embodiment comprises security system
components located at the first location. The method comprises
integrating 1106 communications and functions of the security
system components into the security network via the wireless
coupling.
[0253] FIG. 12 is a flow diagram for a method 1200 of forming a
security network including integrated security system components
and network devices, under an embodiment. Generally, the method
comprises coupling 1202 a gateway to a local area network located
in a first location and a security server in a second location. The
method comprises automatically establishing 1204 communications
between the gateway and security system components at the first
location, the security system including the security system
components. The method comprises automatically establishing 1206
communications between the gateway and premise devices at the first
location. The method comprises forming 1208 a security network by
electronically integrating, via the gateway, communications and
functions of the premise devices and the security system
components.
[0254] In an example embodiment, FIG. 13 is a flow diagram 1300 for
integration or installation of an IP device into a private network
environment, under an embodiment. The IP device includes any
IP-capable device that, for example, includes the touchscreen of an
embodiment. The variables of an embodiment set at time of
installation include, but are not limited to, one or more of a
private SSID/Password, a gateway identifier, a security panel
identifier, a user account TS, and a Central Monitoring Station
account identification.
[0255] An embodiment of the IP device discovery and management
begins with a user or installer activating 1302 the gateway and
initiating 1304 the install mode of the system. This places the
gateway in an install mode. Once in install mode, the gateway
shifts to a default (Install) Wifi configuration. This setting will
match the default setting for other integrated security
system-enabled devices that have been pre-configured to work with
the integrated security system. The gateway will then begin to
provide 1306 DHCP addresses for these IP devices. Once the devices
have acquired a new DHCP address from the gateway, those devices
are available for configuration into a new secured Wifi network
setting.
[0256] The user or installer of the system selects 1308 all devices
that have been identified as available for inclusion into the
integrated security system. The user may select these devices by
their unique IDs via a web page, Touchscreen, or other client
interface. The gateway provides 1310 data as appropriate to the
devices. Once selected, the devices are configured 1312 with
appropriate secured Wifi settings, including S SID and WPA/WPA-2
keys that are used once the gateway switches back to the secured
sandbox configuration from the "Install" settings. Other settings
are also configured as appropriate for that type of device. Once
all devices have been configured, the user is notified and the user
can exit install mode. At this point all devices will have been
registered 1314 with the integrated security system servers.
[0257] The installer switches 1316 the gateway to an operational
mode, and the gateway instructs or directs 1318 all newly
configured devices to switch to the "secured" Wifi sandbox
settings. The gateway then switches 1320 to the "secured" Wifi
settings. Once the devices identify that the gateway is active on
the "secured" network, they request new DHCP addresses from the
gateway which, in response, provides 1322 the new addresses. The
devices with the new addresses are then operational 1324 on the
secured network.
[0258] In order to ensure the highest level of security on the
secured network, the gateway can create or generate a dynamic
network security configuration based on the unique ID and private
key in the gateway, coupled with a randomizing factor that can be
based on online time or other inputs. This guarantees the
uniqueness of the gateway secured network configuration.
[0259] To enable the highest level of performance, the gateway
analyzes the RF spectrum of the 802.11x network and determines
which frequency band/channel it should select to run.
[0260] An alternative embodiment of the camera/IP device management
process leverages the local ethernet connection of the sandbox
network on the gateway. This alternative process is similar to the
Wifi discovery embodiment described above, except the user connects
the targeted device to the ethernet port of the sandbox network to
begin the process. This alternative embodiment accommodates devices
that have not been pre-configured with the default "Install"
configuration for the integrated security system.
[0261] This alternative embodiment of the IP device discovery and
management begins with the user/installer placing the system into
install mode. The user is instructed to attach an IP device to be
installed to the sandbox Ethernet port of the gateway. The IP
device requests a DHCP address from the gateway which, in response
to the request, provides the address. The user is presented the
device and is asked if he/she wants to install the device. If yes,
the system configures the device with the secured Wifi settings and
other device-specific settings (e.g., camera settings for video
length, image quality etc.). The user is next instructed to
disconnect the device from the ethernet port. The device is now
available for use on the secured sandbox network.
[0262] FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing communications among
integrated IP devices of the private network environment, under an
embodiment. The IP devices of this example include a security
touchscreen 1403, gateway 1402 (e.g., "iHub"), and security panel
(e.g., "Security Panel 1", "Security Panel 2", "Security Panel n"),
but the embodiment is not so limited. In alternative embodiments
any number and/or combination of these three primary component
types may be combined with other components including IP devices
and/or security system components. For example, a single device
that comprises an integrated gateway, touchscreen, and security
panel is merely another embodiment of the integrated security
system described herein. The description that follows includes an
example configuration that includes a touchscreen hosting
particular applications. However, the embodiment is not limited to
the touchscreen hosting these applications, and the touchscreen
should be thought of as representing any IP device.
[0263] Referring to FIG. 14, the touchscreen 1403 incorporates an
application 1410 that is implemented as computer code resident on
the touchscreen operating system, or as a web-based application
running in a browser, or as another type of scripted application
(e.g., Flash, Java, Visual Basic, etc.). The touchscreen core
application 1410 represents this application, providing user
interface and logic for the end user to manage their security
system or to gain access to networked information or content
(Widgets). The touchscreen core application 1410 in turn accesses a
library or libraries of functions to control the local hardware
(e.g. screen display, sound, LEDs, memory, etc.) as well as
specialized librarie(s) to couple or connect to the security
system.
[0264] In an embodiment of this security system connection, the
touchscreen 1403 communicates to the gateway 1402, and has no
direct communication with the security panel. In this embodiment,
the touchscreen core application 1410 accesses the remote service
APIs 1412 which provide security system functionality (e.g.
ARM/DISARM panel, sensor state, get/set panel configuration
parameters, initiate or get alarm events, etc.). In an embodiment,
the remote service APIs 1412 implement one or more of the following
functions, but the embodiment is not so limited:
Armstate=setARMState(type="ARM STAY|ARM AWAY|DISARM",
Parameters="ExitDelay=30|Lights=OFF");
sensorState=getSensors(type="ALL|SensorName|SensorNameList");
result=setSensorState(SensorName, parameters="Option1, Options2, .
. . Option n"); interruptHandler=SensorEvent( ) and,
interruptHandler=alarmEvent( ).
[0265] Functions of the remote service APIs 1412 of an embodiment
use a remote PanelConnect API 1424 which which resides in memory on
the gateway 1402. The touchscreen 1403 communicates with the
gateway 1402 through a suitable network interface such as an
Ethernet or 802.11 RF connection, for example. The remote
PanelConnect API 1424 provides the underlying Security System
Interfaces 1426 used to communicate with and control one or more
types of security panel via wired link 1430 and/or RF link 3. The
PanelConnect API 1224 provides responses and input to the remote
services APIs 1426, and in turn translates function calls and data
to and from the specific protocols and functions supported by a
specific implementation of a Security Panel (e.g. a GE Security
Simon XT or Honeywell Vista 20P). In an embodiment, the
PanelConnect API 1224 uses a 345 MHz RF transceiver or receiver
hardware/firmware module to communicate wirelessly to the security
panel and directly to a set of 345 MHz RF-enabled sensors and
devices, but the embodiment is not so limited.
[0266] The gateway of an alternative embodiment communicates over a
wired physical coupling or connection to the security panel using
the panel's specific wired hardware (bus) interface and the panel's
bus-level protocol.
[0267] In an alternative embodiment, the Touchscreen 1403
implements the same PanelConnect API 1414 locally on the
Touchscreen 1403, communicating directly with the Security Panel 2
and/or Sensors 2 over the proprietary RF link or over a wired link
for that system. In this embodiment the Touchscreen 1403, instead
of the gateway 1402, incorporates the 345 MHz RF transceiver to
communicate directly with Security Panel 2 or Sensors 2 over the RF
link 2. In the case of a wired link the Touchscreen 1403
incorporates the real-time hardware (e.g. a PIC chip and
RS232-variant serial link) to physically connect to and satisfy the
specific bus-level timing requirements of the SecurityPanel2.
[0268] In yet another alternative embodiment, either the gateway
1402 or the Touchscreen 1403 implements the remote service APIs.
This embodiment includes a Cricket device ("Cricket") which
comprises but is not limited to the following components: a
processor (suitable for handling 802.11 protocols and processing,
as well as the bus timing requirements of SecurityPanell); an
802.11 (WiFi) client IP interface chip; and, a serial bus interface
chip that implements variants of RS232 or RS485, depending on the
specific Security Panel.
[0269] The Cricket also implements the full PanelConnect APIs such
that it can perform the same functions as the case where the
gateway implements the PanelConnect APIs. In this embodiment, the
touchscreen core application 1410 calls functions in the remote
service APIs 1412 (such as setArmState( )). These functions in turn
couple or connect to the remote Cricket through a standard IP
connection ("Cricket IP Link") (e.g., Ethernet, Homeplug, the
gateway's proprietary Wifi network, etc.). The Cricket in turn
implements the PanelConnect API, which responds to the request from
the touchscreen core application, and performs the appropriate
function using the proprietary panel interface. This interface uses
either the wireless or wired proprietary protocol for the specific
security panel and/or sensors.
[0270] FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of a method of integrating an
external control and management application system with an existing
security system, under an embodiment. Operations begin when the
system is powered on 1510, involving at a minimum the power-on of
the gateway device, and optionally the power-on of the connection
between the gateway device and the remote servers. The gateway
device initiates 1520 a software and RF sequence to locate the
extant security system. The gateway and installer initiate and
complete 1530 a sequence to `learn` the gateway into the security
system as a valid and authorized control device. The gateway
initiates 1540 another software and RF sequence of instructions to
discover and learn the existence and capabilities of existing RF
devices within the extant security system, and store this
information in the system. These operations under the system of an
embodiment are described in further detail below.
[0271] Unlike conventional systems that extend an existing security
system, the system of an embodiment operates utilizing the
proprietary wireless protocols of the security system manufacturer.
In one illustrative embodiment, the gateway is an embedded computer
with an IP LAN and WAN connection and a plurality of RF
transceivers and software protocol modules capable of communicating
with a plurality of security systems each with a potentially
different RF and software protocol interface. After the gateway has
completed the discovery and learning 1540 of sensors and has been
integrated 1550 as a virtual control device in the extant security
system, the system becomes operational. Thus, the security system
and associated sensors are presented 1550 as accessible devices to
a potential plurality of user interface subsystems.
[0272] The system of an embodiment integrates 1560 the
functionality of the extant security system with other non-security
devices including but not limited to IP cameras, touchscreens,
lighting controls, door locking mechanisms, which may be controlled
via RF, wired, or powerline-based networking mechanisms supported
by the gateway or servers.
[0273] The system of an embodiment provides a user interface
subsystem 1570 enabling a user to monitor, manage, and control the
system and associated sensors and security systems. In an
embodiment of the system, a user interface subsystem is an
HTML/WL/Javascript/Java/AJAX/Flash presentation of a monitoring and
control application, enabling users to view the state of all
sensors and controllers in the extant security system from a web
browser or equivalent operating on a computer, PDA, mobile phone,
or other consumer device.
[0274] In another illustrative embodiment of the system described
herein, a user interface subsystem is an
HTML/XML/Javascript/Java/AJAX presentation of a monitoring and
control application, enabling users to combine the monitoring and
control of the extant security system and sensors with the
monitoring and control of non-security devices including but not
limited to IP cameras, touchscreens, lighting controls, door
locking mechanisms.
[0275] In another illustrative embodiment of the system described
herein, a user interface subsystem is a mobile phone application
enabling users to monitor and control the extant security system as
well as other non-security devices.
[0276] In another illustrative embodiment of the system described
herein, a user interface subsystem is an application running on a
keypad or touchscreen device enabling users to monitor and control
the extant security system as well as other non-security
devices.
[0277] In another illustrative embodiment of the system described
herein, a user interface subsystem is an application operating on a
TV or set-top box connected to a TV enabling users to monitor and
control the extant security system as well as other non-security
devices.
[0278] FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an integrated security system
1600 wirelessly interfacing to proprietary security systems, under
an embodiment. A security system 1610 is coupled or connected to a
Gateway 1620, and from Gateway 1620 coupled or connected to a
plurality of information and content sources across a network 1630
including one or more web servers 1640, system databases 1650, and
applications servers 1660. While in one embodiment network 1630 is
the Internet, including the World Wide Web, those of skill in the
art will appreciate that network 1630 may be any type of network,
such as an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN),
a mobile network, or a non-TCP/IP based network.
[0279] Moreover, other elements of the system of an embodiment may
be conventional, well-known elements that need not be explained in
detail herein. For example, security system 1610 could be any type
home or business security system, such devices including but not
limited to a standalone RF home security system or a non-RF-capable
wired home security system with an add-on RF interface module. In
the integrated security system 1600 of this example, security
system 1610 includes an RF-capable wireless security panel (WSP)
1611 that acts as the master controller for security system 1610.
Well-known examples of such a WSP include the GE Security Concord,
Networx, and Simon panels, the Honeywell Vista and Lynx panels, and
similar panels from DSC and Napco, to name a few. A wireless module
1614 includes the RF hardware and protocol software necessary to
enable communication with and control of a plurality of wireless
devices 1613. WSP 1611 may also manage wired devices 1614
physically connected to WSP 1611 with an RS232 or RS485 or Ethernet
connection or similar such wired interface.
[0280] In an implementation consistent with the systems and methods
described herein, Gateway 1620 provides the interface between
security system 1610 and LAN and/or WAN for purposes of remote
control, monitoring, and management. Gateway 1620 communicates with
an external web server 1640, database 1650, and application server
1660 over network 1630 (which may comprise WAN, LAN, or a
combination thereof). In this example system, application logic,
remote user interface functionality, as well as user state and
account are managed by the combination of these remote servers.
Gateway 1620 includes server connection manager 1621, a software
interface module responsible for all server communication over
network 1630. Event manager 1622 implements the main event loop for
Gateway 1620, processing events received from device manager 1624
(communicating with non-security system devices including but not
limited to IP cameras, wireless thermostats, or remote door locks).
Event manager 1622 further processes events and control messages
from and to security system 1610 by utilizing WSP manager 1623.
[0281] WSP manager 1623 and device manager 1624 both rely upon
wireless protocol manager 1626 which receives and stores the
proprietary or standards-based protocols required to support
security system 1610 as well as any other devices interfacing with
gateway 1620. WSP manager 1623 further utilizes the comprehensive
protocols and interface algorithms for a plurality of security
systems 1610 stored in the WSP DB client database associated with
wireless protocol manager 1626. These various components implement
the software logic and protocols necessary to communicate with and
manager devices and security systems 1610. Wireless Transceiver
hardware modules 1625 are then used to implement the physical RF
communications link to such devices and security systems 1610. An
illustrative wireless transceiver 1625 is the GE Security Dialog
circuit board, implementing a 319.5 MHz two-way RF transceiver
module. In this example, RF Link 1670 represents the 319.5 MHz RF
communication link, enabling gateway 1620 to monitor and control
WSP 1611 and associated wireless and wired devices 1613 and 1614,
respectively.
[0282] In one embodiment, server connection manager 1621 requests
and receives a set of wireless protocols for a specific security
system 1610 (an illustrative example being that of the GE Security
Concord panel and sensors) and stores them in the WSP DB portion of
the wireless protocol manager 1626. WSP manager 1623 then utilizes
such protocols from wireless protocol manager 1626 to initiate the
sequence of processes detailed in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 for learning
gateway 1620 into security system 1610 as an authorized control
device. Once learned in, as described with reference to FIG. 16
(and above), event manager 1622 processes all events and messages
detected by the combination of WSP manager 1623 and the GE Security
wireless transceiver module 1625.
[0283] In another embodiment, gateway 1620 incorporates a plurality
of wireless transceivers 1625 and associated protocols managed by
wireless protocol manager 1626. In this embodiment events and
control of multiple heterogeneous devices may be coordinated with
WSP 1611, wireless devices 1613, and wired devices 1614. For
example a wireless sensor from one manufacturer may be utilized to
control a device using a different protocol from a different
manufacturer.
[0284] In another embodiment, gateway 1620 incorporates a wired
interface to security system 1610, and incorporates a plurality of
wireless transceivers 1625 and associated protocols managed by
wireless protocol manager 1626. In this embodiment events and
control of multiple heterogeneous devices may be coordinated with
WSP 1611, wireless devices 1613, and wired devices 1614.
[0285] Of course, while an illustrative embodiment of an
architecture of the system of an embodiment is described in detail
herein with respect to FIG. 16, one of skill in the art will
understand that modifications to this architecture may be made
without departing from the scope of the description presented
herein. For example, the functionality described herein may be
allocated differently between client and server, or amongst
different server or processor-based components. Likewise, the
entire functionality of the gateway 1620 described herein could be
integrated completely within an existing security system 1610. In
such an embodiment, the architecture could be directly integrated
with a security system 1610 in a manner consistent with the
currently described embodiments.
[0286] FIG. 17 is a flow diagram for wirelessly `learning` the
Gateway into an existing security system and discovering extant
sensors, under an embodiment. The learning interfaces gateway 1620
with security system 1610. Gateway 1620 powers up 1710 and
initiates software sequences 1720 and 1725 to identify accessible
WSPs 1611 and wireless devices 1613, respectively (e.g., one or
more WSPs and/or devices within range of gateway 1620). Once
identified, WSP 1611 is manually or automatically set into `learn
mode` 1730, and gateway 1620 utilizes available protocols to add
1740 itself as an authorized control device in security system
1610. Upon successful completion of this task, WSP 1611 is manually
or automatically removed from `learn mode` 1750.
[0287] Gateway 1620 utilizes the appropriate protocols to mimic
1760 the first identified device 1614. In this operation gateway
1620 identifies itself using the unique or pseudo-unique identifier
of the first found device 1614, and sends an appropriate change of
state message over RF Link 1670. In the event that WSP 1611
responds to this change of state message, the device 1614 is then
added 1770 to the system in database 1650. Gateway 1620 associates
1780 any other information (such as zone name or token-based
identifier) with this device 1614 in database 1650, enabling
gateway 1620, user interface modules, or any application to
retrieve this associated information. In the event that WSP 1611
does not respond to the change of state message, the device 1614 is
not added 1770 to the system in database 1650, and this device 1614
is identified as not being a part of security system 1610 with a
flag, and is either ignored or added as an independent device, at
the discretion of the system provisioning rules. Operations
hereunder repeat 1785 operations 1760, 1770, 1780 for all devices
1614 if applicable. Once all devices 1614 have been tested in this
way, the system begins operation 1790.
[0288] In another embodiment, gateway 1620 utilizes a wired
connection to WSP 1611, but also incorporates a wireless
transceiver 1625 to communicate directly with devices 1614. In this
embodiment, operations under 1720 above are removed, and operations
under 1740 above are modified so the system of this embodiment
utilizes wireline protocols to add itself as an authorized control
device in security system 1610.
[0289] A description of an example embodiment follows in which the
Gateway (FIG. 16, element 1620) is the iHub available from iControl
Networks, Palo Alto, Calif., and described in detail herein. In
this example the gateway is "automatically" installed with a
security system.
[0290] The automatic security system installation begins with the
assignment of an authorization key to components of the security
system (e.g., gateway, kit including the gateway, etc.). The
assignment of an authorization key is done in lieu of creating a
user account. An installer later places the gateway in a user's
premises along with the premises security system. The installer
uses a computer to navigate to a web portal (e.g., integrated
security system web interface), logs in to the portal, and enters
the authorization key of the installed gateway into the web portal
for authentication. Once authenticated, the gateway automatically
discovers devices at the premises (e.g., sensors, cameras, light
controls, etc.) and adds the discovered devices to the system or
"network". The installer assigns names to the devices, and tests
operation of the devices back to the server (e.g., did the door
open, did the camera take a picture, etc.). The security device
information is optionally pushed or otherwise propagated to a
security panel and/or to the server network database. The installer
finishes the installation, and instructs the end user on how to
create an account, username, and password. At this time the user
enters the authorization key which validates the account creation
(uses a valid authorization key to associate the network with the
user's account). New devices may subsequently be added to the
security network in a variety of ways (e.g., user first enters a
unique ID for each device/sensor and names it in the server, after
which the gateway can automatically discover and configure the
device).
[0291] A description of another example embodiment follows in which
the security system (FIG. 16, element 1610) is a Dialog system and
the WSP (FIG. 16, element 1611) is a SimonXT available from General
Electric Security, and the Gateway (FIG. 16, element 1620) is the
iHub available from iControl Networks, Palo Alto, Calif., and
described in detail herein. Descriptions of the install process for
the SimonXT and iHub are also provided below.
[0292] GE Security's Dialog network is one of the most widely
deployed and tested wireless security systems in the world. The
physical RF network is based on a 319.5 MHz unlicensed spectrum,
with a bandwidth supporting up to 19 Kbps communications. Typical
use of this bandwidth--even in conjunction with the integrated
security system--is far less than that. Devices on this network can
support either one-way communication (either a transmitter or a
receiver) or two-way communication (a transceiver). Certain GE
Simon, Simon XT, and Concord security control panels incorporate a
two-way transceiver as a standard component. The gateway also
incorporates the same two-way transceiver card. The physical link
layer of the network is managed by the transceiver module hardware
and firmware, while the coded payload bitstreams are made available
to the application layer for processing.
[0293] Sensors in the Dialog network typically use a 60-bit
protocol for communicating with the security panel transceiver,
while security system keypads and the gateway use the encrypted
80-bit protocol. The Dialog network is configured for reliability,
as well as low-power usage. Many devices are supervised, i.e. they
are regularly monitored by the system `master` (typically a GE
security panel), while still maintaining excellent power usage
characteristics. A typical door window sensor has a battery life in
excess of 5-7 years.
[0294] The gateway has two modes of operation in the Dialog
network: a first mode of operation is when the gateway is
configured or operates as a `slave` to the GE security panel; a
second mode of operation is when the gateway is configured or
operates as a `master` to the system in the event a security panel
is not present. In both configurations, the gateway has the ability
to `listen` to network traffic, enabling the gateway to continually
keep track of the status of all devices in the system. Similarly,
in both situations the gateway can address and control devices that
support setting adjustments (such as the GE wireless
thermostat).
[0295] In the configuration in which the gateway acts as a `slave`
to the security panel, the gateway is `learned into` the system as
a GE wireless keypad. In this mode of operation, the gateway
emulates a security system keypad when managing the security panel,
and can query the security panel for status and `listen` to
security panel events (such as alarm events).
[0296] The gateway incorporates an RF Transceiver manufactured by
GE Security, but is not so limited. This transceiver implements the
Dialog protocols and handles all network message transmissions,
receptions, and timing. As such, the physical, link, and protocol
layers of the communications between the gateway and any GE device
in the Dialog network are totally compliant with GE Security
specifications.
[0297] At the application level, the gateway emulates the behavior
of a GE wireless keypad utilizing the GE Security 80-bit encrypted
protocol, and only supported protocols and network traffic are
generated by the gateway. Extensions to the Dialog RF protocol of
an embodiment enable full control and configuration of the panel,
and iControl can both automate installation and sensor enrollment
as well as direct configuration downloads for the panel under these
protocol extensions.
[0298] As described above, the gateway participates in the GE
Security network at the customer premises. Because the gateway has
intelligence and a two-way transceiver, it can `hear` all of the
traffic on that network. The gateway makes use of the periodic
sensor updates, state changes, and supervisory signals of the
network to maintain a current state of the premises. This data is
relayed to the integrated security system server (e.g., FIG. 2,
element 260) and stored in the event repository for use by other
server components. This usage of the GE Security RF network is
completely non-invasive; there is no new data traffic created to
support this activity.
[0299] The gateway can directly (or indirectly through the Simon XT
panel) control two-way devices on the network. For example, the
gateway can direct a GE Security Thermostat to change its setting
to `Cool` from `Off`, as well as request an update on the current
temperature of the room. The gateway performs these functions using
the existing GE Dialog protocols, with little to no impact on the
network; a gateway device control or data request takes only a few
dozen bytes of data in a network that can support 19 Kbps.
[0300] By enrolling with the Simon XT as a wireless keypad, as
described herein, the gateway includes data or information of all
alarm events, as well as state changes relevant to the security
panel. This information is transferred to the gateway as encrypted
packets in the same way that the information is transferred to all
other wireless keypads on the network.
[0301] Because of its status as an authorized keypad, the gateway
can also initiate the same panel commands that a keypad can
initiate. For example, the gateway can arm or disarm the panel
using the standard Dialog protocol for this activity. Other than
the monitoring of standard alarm events like other network keypads,
the only incremental data traffic on the network as a result of the
gateway is the infrequent remote arm/disarm events that the gateway
initiates, or infrequent queries on the state of the panel.
[0302] The gateway is enrolled into the Simon XT panel as a `slave`
device which, in an embodiment, is a wireless keypad. This enables
the gateway for all necessary functionality for operating the Simon
XT system remotely, as well as combining the actions and
information of non-security devices such as lighting or door locks
with GE Security devices. The only resource taken up by the gateway
in this scenario is one wireless zone (sensor ID).
[0303] The gateway of an embodiment supports three forms of sensor
and panel enrollment/installation into the integrated security
system, but is not limited to this number of
enrollment/installation options. The enrollment/installation
options of an embodiment include installer installation, kitting,
and panel, each of which is described below.
[0304] Under the installer option, the installer enters the sensor
IDs at time of installation into the integrated security system web
portal or i Screen. This technique is supported in all
configurations and installations.
[0305] Kits can be pre-provisioned using integrated security system
provisioning applications when using the kitting option. At kitting
time, multiple sensors are automatically associated with an
account, and at install time there is no additional work
required.
[0306] In the case where a panel is installed with sensors already
enrolled (i.e. using the GE Simon XT enrollment process), the
gateway has the capability to automatically extract the sensor
information from the system and incorporate it into the user
account on the integrated security system server.
[0307] The gateway and integrated security system of an embodiment
uses an auto-learn process for sensor and panel enrollment in an
embodiment. The deployment approach of an embodiment can use
additional interfaces that GE Security is adding to the Simon XT
panel. With these interfaces, the gateway has the capability to
remotely enroll sensors in the panel automatically. The interfaces
include, but are not limited to, the following: EnrollDevice(ID,
type, name, zone, group); SetDeviceParameters(ID, type, Name, zone,
group), GetDeviceParameters(zone); and RemoveDevice(zone).
[0308] The integrated security system incorporates these new
interfaces into the system, providing the following install
process. The install process can include integrated security system
logistics to handle kitting and pre-provisioning. Pre-kitting and
logistics can include a pre-provisioning kitting tool provided by
integrated security system that enables a security system vendor or
provider ("provider") to offer pre-packaged initial `kits`. This is
not required but is recommended for simplifying the install
process. This example assumes a `Basic` kit is preassembled and
includes one (1) Simon XT, three (3) Door/window sensors, one (1)
motion sensor, one (1) gateway, one (1) keyfob, two (2) cameras,
and ethernet cables. The kit also includes a sticker page with all
Zones (1-24) and Names (full name list).
[0309] The provider uses the integrated security system kitting
tool to assemble `Basic` kit packages. The contents of different
types of starter kits may be defined by the provider. At the
distribution warehouse, a worker uses a bar code scanner to scan
each sensor and the gateway as it is packed into the box. An ID
label is created that is attached to the box. The scanning process
automatically associates all the devices with one kit, and the new
ID label is the unique identifier of the kit. These boxes are then
sent to the provider for distribution to installer warehouses.
Individual sensors, cameras, etc. are also sent to the provider
installer warehouse. Each is labeled with its own barcode/ID.
[0310] An installation and enrollment procedure of a security
system including a gateway is described below as one example of the
installation process. [0311] 1. Order and Physical Install Process
[0312] a. Once an order is generated in the iControl system, an
account is created and an install ticket is created and sent
electronically to the provider for assignment to an installer.
[0313] b. The assigned installer picks up his/her ticket(s) and
fills his/her truck with Basic and/or Advanced starter kits. He/she
also keeps a stock of individual sensors, cameras, iHubs, Simon
XTs, etc. Optionally, the installer can also stock homeplug
adapters for problematic installations. [0314] c. The installer
arrives at the address on the ticket, and pulls out the Basic kit.
The installer determines sensor locations from a tour of the
premises and discussion with the homeowner. At this point assume
the homeowner requests additional equipment including an extra
camera, two (2) additional door/window sensors, one (1) glass break
detector, and one (1) smoke detector. [0315] d. Installer mounts
SimonXT in the kitchen or other location in the home as directed by
the homeowner, and routes the phone line to Simon XT if available.
GPRS and Phone numbers pre-programmed in SimonXT to point to the
provider Central Monitoring Station (CMS). [0316] e. Installer
places gateway in the home in the vicinity of a router and cable
modem. Installer installs an ethernet line from gateway to router
and plugs gateway into an electrical outlet. [0317] 2. Associate
and Enroll gateway into SimonXT [0318] a. Installer uses either
his/her own laptop plugged into router, or homeowners computer to
go to the integrated security system web interface and log in with
installer ID/pass. [0319] b. Installer enters ticket number into
admin interface, and clicks `New Install` button. Screen prompts
installer for kit ID (on box's barcode label). [0320] c. Installer
clicks `Add SimonXT`. Instructions prompt installer to put Simon XT
into install mode, and add gateway as a wireless keypad. It is
noted that this step is for security only and can be automated in
an embodiment. [0321] d. Installer enters the installer code into
the Simon XT. Installer Learns `gateway` into the panel as a
wireless keypad as a group 1 device. [0322] e. Installer goes back
to Web portal, and clicks the `Finished Adding SimonXT` button.
[0323] 3. Enroll Sensors into SimonXT via iControl [0324] a. All
devices in the Basic kit are already associated with the user's
account. [0325] b. For additional devices, Installer clicks `Add
Device` and adds the additional camera to the user's account (by
typing in the camera ID/Serial #). [0326] c. Installer clicks `Add
Device` and adds other sensors (two (2) door/window sensors, one
(1) glass break sensor, and one (1) smoke sensor) to the account
(e.g., by typing in IDs). [0327] d. As part of Add Device,
Installer assigns zone, name, and group to the sensor. Installer
puts appropriate Zone and Name sticker on the sensor temporarily.
[0328] e. All sensor information for the account is pushed or
otherwise propagated to the iConnect server, and is available to
propagate to CMS automation software through the CMS application
programming interface (API). [0329] f. Web interface displays
`Installing Sensors in System . . . ` and automatically adds all of
the sensors to the Simon XT panel through the GE RF link. [0330] g.
Web interface displays `Done Installing`->all sensors show
green. [0331] 4. Place and Tests Sensors in Home [0332] a.
Installer physically mounts each sensor in its desired location,
and removes the stickers. [0333] b. Installer physically mounts
WiFi cameras in their location and plugs into AC power. Optional
fishing of low voltage wire through wall to remove dangling wires.
Camera transformer is still plugged into outlet but wire is now
inside the wall. [0334] c. Installer goes to Web interface and is
prompted for automatic camera install. Each camera is provisioned
as a private, encrypted Wifi device on the gateway secured sandbox
network, and firewall NAT traversal is initiated. Upon completion
the customer is prompted to test the security system. [0335] d.
Installer selects the `Test System` button on the web portal--the
SimonXT is put into Test mode by the gateway over GE RF. [0336] e.
Installer manually tests the operation of each sensor, receiving an
audible confirmation from SimonXT. [0337] f. gateway sends test
data directly to CMS over broadband link, as well as storing the
test data in the user's account for subsequent report generation.
[0338] g. Installer exits test mode from the Web portal. [0339] 5.
Installer instructs customer on use of the Simon XT, and shows
customer how to log into the iControl web and mobile portals.
Customer creates a username/password at this time. [0340] 6.
Installer instructs customer how to change Simon XT user code from
the Web interface. Customer changes user code which is pushed to
SimonXT automatically over GE RF.
[0341] An installation and enrollment procedure of a security
system including a gateway is described below as an alternative
example of the installation process. This installation process is
for use for enrolling sensors into the SimonXT and integrated
security system and is compatible with all existing GE Simon
panels.
[0342] The integrated security system supports all pre-kitting
functionality described in the installation process above. However,
for the purpose of the following example, no kitting is used.
[0343] 1. Order and Physical Install Process [0344] a. Once an
order is generated in the iControl system, an account is created
and an install ticket is created and sent electronically to the
security system provider for assignment to an installer. [0345] b.
The assigned installer picks up his/her ticket(s) and fills his/her
truck with individual sensors, cameras, iHubs, Simon XTs, etc.
Optionally, the installer can also stock homeplug adapters for
problematic installations. [0346] c. The installer arrives at the
address on the ticket, and analyzes the house and talks with the
homeowner to determine sensor locations. At this point assume the
homeowner requests three (3) cameras, five (5) door/window sensors,
one (1) glass break detector, one (1) smoke detector, and one (1)
keyfob. [0347] d. Installer mounts SimonXT in the kitchen or other
location in the home. The installer routes a phone line to Simon XT
if available. GPRS and Phone numbers are pre-programmed in SimonXT
to point to the provider CMS. [0348] e. Installer places gateway in
home in the vicinity of a router and cable modem, and installs an
ethernet line from gateway to the router, and plugs gateway into an
electrical outlet. [0349] 2. Associate and Enroll gateway into
SimonXT [0350] a. Installer uses either his/her own laptop plugged
into router, or homeowners computer to go to the integrated
security system web interface and log in with an installer ID/pass.
[0351] b. Installer enters ticket number into admin interface, and
clicks `New Install` button. Screen prompts installer to add
devices. [0352] c. Installer types in ID of gateway, and it is
associated with the user's account. [0353] d. Installer clicks `Add
Device` and adds the cameras to the user's account (by typing in
the camera ID/Serial #). [0354] e. Installer clicks `Add SimonXT`.
Instructions prompt installer to put Simon XT into install mode,
and add gateway as a wireless keypad. [0355] f. Installer goes to
Simon XT and enters the installer code into the Simon XT. Learns
`gateway` into the panel as a wireless keypad as group 1 type
sensor. [0356] g. Installer returns to Web portal, and clicks the
`Finished Adding SimonXT` button. [0357] h. Gateway now is alerted
to all subsequent installs over the security system RF. [0358] 3.
Enroll Sensors into SimonXT via iControl [0359] a. Installer clicks
`Add Simon XT Sensors`--Displays instructions for adding sensors to
Simon XT. [0360] b. Installer goes to Simon XT and uses Simon XT
install process to add each sensor, assigning zone, name, group.
These assignments are recorded for later use. [0361] c. The gateway
automatically detects each sensor addition and adds the new sensor
to the integrated security system. [0362] d. Installer exits
install mode on the Simon XT, and returns to the Web portal. [0363]
e. Installer clicks `Done Adding Devices`. [0364] f. Installer
enters zone/sensor naming from recorded notes into integrated
security system to associate sensors to friendly names. [0365] g.
All sensor information for the account is pushed to the iConnect
server, and is available to propagate to CMS automation software
through the CMS API. [0366] 4. Place and Tests Sensors in Home
[0367] a. Installer physically mounts each sensor in its desired
location. [0368] b. Installer physically mounts Wifi cameras in
their location and plugs into AC power. Optional fishing of low
voltage wire through wall to remove dangling wires. Camera
transformer is still plugged into outlet but wire is now inside the
wall. [0369] c. Installer puts SimonXT into Test mode from the
keypad. [0370] d. Installer manually tests the operation of each
sensor, receiving an audible confirmation from SimonXT. [0371] e.
Installer exits test mode from the Simon XT keypad. [0372] f.
Installer returns to web interface and is prompted to automatically
set up cameras. After waiting for completion cameras are now
provisioned and operational. [0373] 5. Installer instructs customer
on use of the Simon XT, and shows customer how to log into the
integrated security system web and mobile portals. Customer creates
a username/password at this time. [0374] 6. Customer and Installer
observe that all sensors/cameras are green. [0375] 7. Installer
instructs customer how to change Simon XT user code from the
keypad. Customer changes user code and stores in SimonXT. [0376] 8.
The first time the customer uses the web portal to Arm/Disarm
system the web interface prompts the customer for the user code,
which is then stored securely on the server. In the event the user
code is changed on the panel the web interface once again prompts
the customer.
[0377] The panel of an embodiment can be programmed remotely. The
CMS pushes new programming to SimonXT over a telephone or GPRS
link. Optionally, iControl and GE provide a broadband link or
coupling to the gateway and then a link from the gateway to the
Simon XT over GE RF.
[0378] In addition to the configurations described above, the
gateway of an embodiment supports takeover configurations in which
it is introduced or added into a legacy security system. A
description of example takeover configurations follow in which the
security system (FIG. 2, element 210) is a Dialog system and the
WSP (FIG. 2, element 211) is a GE Concord panel (e.g., equipped
with POTS, GE RF, and Superbus 2000 RS485 interface (in the case of
a Lynx takeover the Simon XT is used) available from General
Electric Security. The gateway (FIG. 2, element 220) in the
takeover configurations is an iHub (e.g., equipped with built-in
802.11b/g router, Ethernet Hub, GSM/GPRS card, RS485 interface, and
iControl Honeywell-compatible RF card) available from iControl
Networks, Palo Alto, Calif. While components of particular
manufacturers are used in this example, the embodiments are not
limited to these components or to components from these
vendors.
[0379] The security system can optionally include RF wireless
sensors (e.g., GE wireless sensors utilizing the GE Dialog RF
technology), IP cameras, a GE-iControl Touchscreen (the touchscreen
is assumed to be an optional component in the configurations
described herein, and is thus treated separately from the iHub; in
systems in which the touchscreen is a component of the base
security package, the integrated iScreen (available from iControl
Networks, Palo Alto, Calif.) can be used to combine iHub technology
with the touchscreen in a single unit), and Z-Wave devices to name
a few.
[0380] The takeover configurations described below assume takeover
by a "new" system of an embodiment of a security system provided by
another third party vendor, referred to herein as an "original" or
"legacy" system. Generally, the takeover begins with removal of the
control panel and keypad of the legacy system. A GE Concord panel
is installed to replace the control panel of the legacy system
along with an iHub with GPRS Modem. The legacy system sensors are
then connected or wired to the Concord panel, and a GE keypad or
touchscreen is installed to replace the control panel of the legacy
system. The iHub includes the iControl RF card, which is compatible
with the legacy system. The iHub finds and manages the wireless
sensors of the legacy system, and learns the sensors into the
Concord by emulating the corresponding GE sensors. The iHub
effectively acts as a relay for legacy wireless sensors.
[0381] Once takeover is complete, the new security system provides
a homogeneous system that removes the compromises inherent in
taking over or replacing a legacy system. For example, the new
system provides a modern touchscreen that may include additional
functionality, new services, and supports integration of sensors
from various manufacturers. Furthermore, lower support costs can be
realized because call centers, installers, etc. are only required
to support one architecture. Additionally, there is minimal install
cost because only the panel is required to be replaced as a result
of the configuration flexibility offered by the iHub.
[0382] The system takeover configurations described below include
but are not limited to a dedicated wireless configuration, a
dedicated wireless configuration that includes a touchscreen, and a
fished Ethernet configuration. Each of these configurations is
described in detail below.
[0383] FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a security system in which the
legacy panel is replaced with a GE Concord panel wirelessly coupled
to an iHub, under an embodiment. All existing wired and RF sensors
remain in place. The iHub is located near the Concord panel, and
communicates with the panel via the 802.11 link, but is not so
limited. The iHub manages cameras through a built-in 802.11 router.
The iHub listens to the existing RF HW sensors, and relays sensor
information to the
[0384] Concord panel (emulating the equivalent GE sensor). The
wired sensors of the legacy system are connected to the wired zones
on the control panel.
[0385] FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a security system in which the
legacy panel is replaced with a GE Concord panel wirelessly coupled
to an iHub, and a GE-iControl Touchscreen, under an embodiment. All
existing wired and RF sensors remain in place. The iHub is located
near the Concord panel, and communicates with the panel via the
802.11 link, but is not so limited. The iHub manages cameras
through a built-in 802.11 router. The iHub listens to the existing
RF HW sensors, and relays sensor information to the Concord panel
(emulating the equivalent GE sensor). The wired sensors of the
legacy system are connected to the wired zones on the control
panel.
[0386] The GE-iControl Touchscreen can be used with either of an
802.11 connection or Ethernet connection with the iHub. Because the
takeover involves a GE Concord panel (or Simon XT), the touchscreen
is always an option. No extra wiring is required for the
touchscreen as it can use the 4-wire set from the replaced keypad
of the legacy system. This provides power, battery backup (through
Concord), and data link (RS485 Superbus 2000) between Concord and
touchscreen. The touchscreen receives its broadband connectivity
through the dedicated 802.11 link to the iHub.
[0387] FIG. 20 is a block diagram of a security system in which the
legacy panel is replaced with a GE Concord panel connected to an
iHub via an Ethernet coupling, under an embodiment. All existing
wired and RF sensors remain in place. The iHub is located near the
Concord panel, and wired to the panel using a 4-wire SUperbus 2000
(RS485) interface, but is not so limited. The iHub manages cameras
through a built-in 802.11 router. The iHub listens to the existing
RF HW sensors, and relays sensor information to the Concord panel
(emulating the equivalent GE sensor). The wired sensors of the
legacy system are connected to the wired zones on the control
panel.
[0388] The takeover installation process is similar to the
installation process described above, except the control panel of
the legacy system is replaced; therefore, only the differences with
the installation described above are provided here. The takeover
approach of an embodiment uses the existing RS485 control
interfaces that GE Security and iControl support with the iHub,
touchscreen, and Concord panel. With these interfaces, the iHub is
capable of automatically enrolling sensors in the panel. The
exception is the leverage of an iControl RF card compatible with
legacy systems to `takeover` existing RF sensors. A description of
the takeover installation process follows.
[0389] During the installation process, the iHub uses an RF
Takeover Card to automatically extract all sensor IDs, zones, and
names from the legacy panel. The installer removes connections at
the legacy panel from hardwired wired sensors and labels each with
the zone. The installer pulls the legacy panel and replaces it with
the GE Concord panel. The installer also pulls the existing legacy
keypad and replaces it with either a GE keypad or a GE-iControl
touchscreen. The installer connects legacy hardwired sensors to
appropriate wired zone (from labels) on the Concord. The installer
connects the iHub to the local network and connects the iHub RS485
interface to the Concord panel. The iHub automatically `enrolls`
legacy RF sensors into the Concord panel as GE sensors (maps IDs),
and pushes or otherwise propagates other information gathered from
HW panel (zone, name, group). The installer performs a test of all
sensors back to CMS. In operation, the iHub relays legacy sensor
data to the Concord panel, emulating equivalent GE sensor behavior
and protocols.
[0390] The areas of the installation process particular to the
legacy takeover include how the iHub extracts sensor info from the
legacy panel and how the iHub automatically enrolls legacy RF
sensors and populates Concord with wired zone information. Each of
these areas is described below.
[0391] In having the iHub extract sensor information from the
legacy panel, the installer `enrolls` iHub into the legacy panel as
a wireless keypad (use install code and house ID--available from
panel). The iHub legacy RF Takeover Card is a compatible legacy RF
transceiver. The installer uses the web portal to place iHub into
`Takeover Mode`, and the web portal the automatically instructs the
iHub to begin extraction. The iHub queries the panel over the RF
link (to get all zone information for all sensors, wired and RF).
The iHub then stores the legacy sensor information received during
the queries on the iConnect server.
[0392] The iHub also automatically enrolls legacy RF sensors and
populates Concord with wired zone information. In so doing, the
installer selects `Enroll legacy Sensors into Concord` (next step
in `Takeover` process on web portal). The iHub automatically
queries the iConnect server, and downloads legacy sensor
information previously extracted. The downloaded information
includes an ID mapping from legacy ID to `spoofed` GE ID. This
mapping is stored on the server as part of the sensor information
(e.g., the iConnect server knows that the sensor is a legacy sensor
acting in GE mode). The iHub instructs Concord to go into install
mode, and sends appropriate Superbus 2000 commands for sensor
learning to the panel. For each sensor, the `spoofed` GE ID is
loaded, and zone, name, and group are set based on information
extracted from legacy panel. Upon completion, the iHub notifies the
server, and the web portal is updated to reflect next phase of
Takeover (e.g., `Test Sensors`).
[0393] Sensors are tested in the same manner as described above.
When a HW sensor is triggered, the signal is captured by the iHub
legacy RF Takeover Card, translated to the equivalent GE RF sensor
signal, and pushed to the panel as a sensor event on the SuperBus
2000 wires.
[0394] In support of remote programming of the panel, CMS pushes
new programming to Concord over a phone line, or to the iConnect
CMS/Alarm Server API, which in turn pushes the programming to the
iHub. The iHub uses the Concord Superbus 2000 RS485 link to push
the programming to the Concord panel.
[0395] FIG. 21 is a flow diagram for automatic takeover 2100 of a
security system, under an embodiment. Automatic takeover includes
establishing 2102 a wireless coupling between a takeover component
running under a processor and a first controller of a security
system installed at a first location. The security system includes
some number of security system components coupled to the first
controller. The automatic takeover includes automatically
extracting 2104 security data of the security system from the first
controller via the takeover component. The automatic takeover
includes automatically transferring 2106 the security data to a
second controller and controlling loading of the security data into
the second controller. The second controller is coupled to the
security system components and replaces the first controller.
[0396] FIG. 22 is a flow diagram for automatic takeover 2200 of a
security system, under an alternative embodiment. Automatic
takeover includes automatically forming 2202 a security network at
a first location by establishing a wireless coupling between a
security system and a gateway. The gateway of an embodiment
includes a takeover component. The security system of an embodiment
includes security system components. The automatic takeover
includes automatically extracting 2204 security data of the
security system from a first controller of the security system. The
automatic takeover includes automatically transferring 2206 the
security data to a second controller. The second controller of an
embodiment is coupled to the security system components and
replaces the first controller.
[0397] Components of the gateway of the integrated security system
described herein control discovery, installation and configuration
of both wired and wireless IP devices (e.g., cameras, etc.) coupled
or connected to the system, as described herein with reference to
FIGS. 1-4, as well as management of video routing using a video
routing module or engine. The video routing engine initiates
communication paths for the transfer of video from a streaming
source device to a requesting client device, and delivers seamless
video streams to the user via the communication paths using one or
more of UPnP port-forwarding, relay server routing and STUN/TURN
peer-to-peer routing, each of which is described below.
[0398] By way of reference, conventional video cameras have the
ability to stream digital video in a variety of formats and over a
variety of networks. Internet protocol (IP) video cameras, which
include video cameras using an IP transport network (e.g.,
Ethernet, WiFi (IEEE 802.11 standards), etc.) are prevalent and
increasingly being utilized in home monitoring and security system
applications. With the proliferation of the internet, Ethernet and
WiFi local area networks (LANs) and advanced wide area networks
(WANs) that offer high bandwidth, low latency connections
(broadband), as well as more advanced wireless WAN data networks
(e.g. GPRS or CDMA 1.times. RTT), there increasingly exists the
networking capability to extend traditional security systems to
offer IP-based video. However, a fundamental reason for such IP
video in a security system is to enable a user or security provider
to monitor live or otherwise streamed video from outside the host
premises (and the associated LAN).
[0399] The conventional solution to this problem has involved a
technique known as `port fowarding`, whereby a `port` on the LAN's
router/firewall is assigned to the specific LAN IP address for an
IP camera, or a proxy to that camera. Once a port has been
`forwarded` in this manner, a computer external to the LAN can
address the LAN's router directly, and request access to that port.
This access request is then forwarded by the router directly to the
IP address specified, the IP camera or proxy. In this way an
external device can directly access an IP camera within the LAN and
view or control the streamed video.
[0400] The issues with this conventional approach include the
following: port forwarding is highly technical and most users do
not know how/why to do it; automatic port forwarding is difficult
and problematic using emerging standards like UPnP; the camera IP
address is often reset in response to a power outage/router reboot
event; there are many different routers with different
ways/capabilities for port forwarding. In short, although port
forwarding can work, it is frequently less than adequate to support
a broadly deployed security solution utilizing IP cameras.
[0401] Another approach to accessing streaming video externally to
a LAN utilizes peer-to-peer networking technology. So-called
peer-to-peer networks, which includes networks in which a device or
client is connected directly to another device or client, typically
over a Wide Area Network (WAN) and without a persistent server
connection, are increasingly common. In addition to being used for
the sharing of files between computers (e.g., Napster and KaZaa),
peer-to-peer networks have also been more recently utilized to
facilitate direct audio and media streaming in applications such as
Skype. In these cases, the peer-to-peer communications have been
utilized to enable telephony-style voice communications and video
conferencing between two computers, each enabled with an IP-based
microphone, speaker, and video camera. A fundamental reason for
adopting such peer-to-peer technology is the ability to
transparently `punch through` LAN firewalls to enable external
access to the streaming voice and video content, and to do so in a
way that scales to tens of millions of users without creating an
untenable server load.
[0402] A limitation of the conventional peer-to-peer video
transport lies in the personal computer (PC)-centric nature of the
solution. Each of the conventional solutions uses a highly capable
PC connected to the video camera, with the PC providing the
advanced software functionality required to initiate and manage the
peer-to-peer connection with the remote client. A typical security
or remote home monitoring system requires multiple cameras, each
with its own unique IP address, and only a limited amount of
processing capability in each camera such that the conventional
PC-centric approach cannot easily solve the need. Instead of a
typical PC-centric architecture with three components (a "3-way IP
Video System") that include a computer device with video camera, a
mediating server, and a PC client with video display capability,
the conventional security system adds a plurality of fourth
components that are standalone IP video cameras (requiring a "4-way
IP Video System"), another less-than-ideal solution.
[0403] In accordance with the embodiments described herein, IP
camera management systems and methods are provided that enable a
consumer or security provider to easily and automatically configure
and manage IP cameras located at a customer premise. Using this
system IP camera management may be extended to remote control and
monitoring from outside the firewall and router of the customer
premise.
[0404] With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the system includes a
gateway 253 having a video routing component so that the gateway
253 can manage and control, or assist in management and control, or
video routing. The system also includes one or more cameras (e.g.,
WiFi IP camera 254, Ethernet IP camera 255, etc.) that communicate
over the LAN 250 using an IP format, as well as a connection
management server 210 located outside the premise firewall 252 and
connected to the gateway 253 by a Wide Area Network (WAN) 200. The
system further includes one or more devices 220, 230, 240 located
outside the premise and behind other firewalls 221, 231, 241 and
connected to the WAN 200. The other devices 220, 230, 240 are
configured to access video or audio content from the IP cameras
within the premise, as described above.
[0405] Alternatively, with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, the system
includes a touchscreen 902 or 1002 having a video routing component
so that the touchscreen 902 or 1002 can manage and control, or
assist in management and control, or video routing. The system also
includes one or more cameras (e.g., WiFi IP camera 254, Ethernet IP
camera 255, etc.) that communicate over the LAN 250 using an IP
format, as well as a connection management server 210 located
outside the premise firewall 252 and connected to the gateway 253
by a Wide Area Network (WAN) 200. The system further includes one
or more devices 220, 230, 240 located outside the premise and
behind other firewalls 221, 231, 241 and connected to the WAN 200.
The other devices 220, 230, 240 are configured to access video or
audio content from the IP cameras within the premise, as described
above.
[0406] FIG. 23 is a general flow diagram for IP video control,
under an embodiment. The IP video control interfaces, manages, and
provides WAN-based remote access to a plurality of IP cameras in
conjunction with a home security or remote home monitoring system.
The IP video control allows for monitoring and controlling of IP
video cameras from a location remote to the customer premise,
outside the customer premise firewall, and protected by another
firewall. Operations begin when the system is powered on 2310,
involving at a minimum the power-on of the gateway, as well as the
power-on of at least one IP camera coupled or connected to the
premise LAN. The gateway searches 2311 for available IP cameras and
associated IP addresses. The gateway selects 2312 from one or more
possible approaches to create connections between the IP camera and
a device external to the firewall. Once an appropriate connection
path is selected, the gateway begins operation 2313, and awaits
2320 a request for a stream from one of the plurality of IP video
cameras available on the LAN. When a stream request is present the
server retrieves 2321 the requestor's WAN IP address/port.
[0407] When a server relay is present 2330, the IP camera is
instructed 2331 to stream to the server, and the connection is
managed 2332 through the server. In response to the stream
terminating 2351, operations return to gateway operation 2313, and
waits to receive another request 2320 for a stream from one of the
plurality of IP video cameras available on the LAN.
[0408] When a server relay is not present 2330, the requestor's WAN
IP address/port is provided 2333 to the gateway or gateway relay.
When a gateway relay is present 2340, the IP camera is instructed
2341 to stream to the gateway, and the gateway relays 2342 the
connection to the requestor. In response to the stream terminating
2351, operations return to gateway operation 2313, and waits to
receive another request 2320 for a stream from one of the plurality
of IP video cameras available on the LAN. When a gateway relay is
not present 2340, the IP camera is instructed 2343 to stream to an
address, and a handoff 2344 is made resulting in direct
communication between the camera and the requestor. In response to
the stream terminating 2351, operations return to gateway operation
2313, and waits to receive another request 2320 from one of the
plurality of IP video cameras available on the LAN.
[0409] The integrated security system of an embodiment supports
numerous video stream formats or types of video streams. Supported
video streams include, but are not limited to, Motion Picture
Experts Group (MPEG)-4 (MPEG-4)/Real-Time Streaming Protocol
(RTSP), MPEG-4 over Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and Motion
Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) (MJPEG).
[0410] The integrated security system of an embodiment supports the
MPEG-4/RTSP video streaming method (supported by video servers and
clients) which uses RTSP for the control channel and Real-time
Transport Protocol (RTP) for the data channel. Here the RTSP
channel is over Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) while the data
channel uses User Datagram Protocol (UDP). This method is widely
supported by both streaming sources (e.g., cameras) and stream
clients (e.g., remote client devices, Apple Quicktime, VideoLAN,
IPTV mobile phones, etc).
[0411] Encryption can be added to the two channels under
MPEG-4/RTSP. For example, the RTSP control channel can be encrypted
using SSL/TLS. The data channel can also be encrypted.
[0412] If the camera or video stream source inside the home does
not support encryption for either RTSP or RTP channels, the gateway
located on the LAN can facilitate the encrypted RTSP method by
maintaining separate TCP sessions with the video stream source
device and with the encrypted RTSP client outside the LAN, and
relay all communication between the two sessions. In this
situation, any communication between the gateway and the video
stream source that is not encrypted could be encrypted by the
gateway before being relayed to the RTSP client outside the LAN. In
many cases the gateway is an access point for the encrypted and
private Wifi network on which the video stream source device is
located. This means that communication between the gateway and the
video stream source device is encrypted at the network level, and
communication between the gateway and the RTSP client is encrypted
at the transport level. In this fashion the gateway can compensate
for a device that does not support encrypted RTSP.
[0413] The integrated security system of an embodiment also
supports reverse RTSP. Reverse RTSP includes taking a TCP-based
protocol like RTSP, and reversing the roles of client and server
(references to "server" include the iControl server, also referred
to as the iConnect server) when it comes to TCP session
establishment. For example, in standard RTSP the RTSP client is the
one that establishes the TCP connection with the stream source
server (the server listens on a port for incoming connections). In
Reverse RTSP, the RTSP client listens on a port for incoming
connections from the stream source server. Once the TCP connection
is established, the RTSP client begins sending commands to the
server over the TCP connection just as it would in standard
RTSP.
[0414] When using Reverse RTSP, the video stream source is
generally on a LAN, protected by a firewall. Having a device on the
LAN initiate the connection to the RTSP client outside the firewall
enables easy network traversal.
[0415] If the camera or video stream source inside the LAN does not
support Reverse RTSP, then the gateway facilitates the Reverse RTSP
method by initiating separate TCP sessions with the video stream
source device and with the Reverse RTSP client outside the LAN, and
then relays all communication between the two sessions. In this
fashion the gateway compensates for a stream source device that
does not support Reverse RTSP.
[0416] As described in the encryption description above, the
gateway can further compensate for missing functionalities on the
device such as encryption. If the device does not support
encryption for either RTSP or RTP channels, the gateway can
communicate with the device using these un-encrypted streams, and
then encrypt the streams before relaying them out of the LAN to the
RTSP Reverse client.
[0417] Servers of the integrated security system can compensate for
RTSP clients that do not support Reverse RTSP. In this situation,
the server accepts TCP connections from both the RTSP client and
the Reverse RTSP video stream source (which could be a gateway
acting on behalf of a stream source device that does not support
Reverse RTSP). The server then relays the control and video streams
from the Reverse RTSP video stream source to the RTSP client. The
server can further compensate for the encryption capabilities of
the RTSP client; if the RTSP client does not support encryption
then the server can provide an unencrypted stream to the RTSP
client even though an encrypted stream was received from the
Reverse RTSP streaming video source.
[0418] The integrated security system of an embodiment also
supports Simple Traversal of User Datagram Protocol (UDP) through
Network Address Translators (NAT) (STUN)/Traversal Using Relay NAT
(TURN) peer-to-peer routing. STUN and Turn are techniques for using
a server to help establish a peer-to-peer UDP data stream (it does
not apply to TCP streams). The bandwidth consumed by the data
channel of a video stream is usually many thousands of times larger
than that used by the control channel. Consequently, when a
peer-to-peer connection for both the RTSP and RTP channels is not
possible, there is still a great incentive to use STUN/TURN
techniques in order to achieve a peer-to-peer connection for the
RTP data channel.
[0419] Here, a method referred to herein as RTSP with STUN/TURN is
used by the integrated security system. The RTSP with STUN/TURN is
a method in which the video streaming device is instructed over the
control channel to stream its UDP data channel to a different
network address than that of the other end of the control TCP
connection (usually the UDP data is simply streamed to the IP
address of the RTSP client). The result is that the RTSP or Reverse
RTSP TCP channel can be relayed using the gateway and/or the
server, while the RTP UDP data channel can flow directly from the
video stream source device to the video stream client.
[0420] If a video stream source device does not support RTSP with
STUN/TURN, the gateway can compensate for the device by relaying
the RTSP control channel via the server to the RTSP client, and
receiving the RTP data channel and then forwarding it directly to
the RTSP with STUN/TURN enabled client. Encryption can also be
added here by the gateway.
[0421] The integrated security system of an embodiment supports
MPEG-4 over HTTP. MPEG-4 over HTTP is similar to MPEG-4 over RTSP
except that both the RTSP control channel and the RTP data channel
are passed over an HTTP TCP session. Here a single TCP session can
be used, splitting it into multiple channels using common HTTP
techniques like chunked transfer encoding.
[0422] The MPEG-4 over HTTP is generally supported by many video
stream clients and server devices, and encryption can easily be
added to it using SSL/TLS. Because it uses TCP for both channels,
STUN/TURN techniques may not apply in the event that a direct
peer-to-peer TCP session between client and server cannot be
established.
[0423] As described above, encryption can be provided using SSL/TLS
taking the form of HTTPS. And as with MPEG-4 over RTSP, a gateway
can compensate for a stream source device that does not support
encryption by relaying the TCP streams and encrypting the TCP
stream between the gateway and the stream client. In many cases the
gateway is an access point for the encrypted and private Wifi
network on which the video stream source device is located. This
means that communication between the gateway and the video stream
source device is encrypted at the network level, and communication
between the gateway and the video stream client is encrypted at the
transport level. In this fashion the gateway can compensate for a
device that does not support HTTPS.
[0424] As with Reverse RTSP, the integrated security system of an
embodiment supports Reverse HTTP. Reverse HTTP includes taking a
TCP-based protocol like HTTP, and reversing the roles of client and
server when it comes to TCP session establishment. For example, in
conventional HTTP the HTTP client is the one that establishes the
TCP connection with the server (the server listens on a port for
incoming connections). In Reverse HTTP, the HTTP client listens on
a port for incoming connections from the server. Once the TCP
connection is established, the HTTP client begins sending commands
to the server over the TCP connection just as it would in standard
HTTP.
[0425] When using Reverse HTTP, the video stream source is
generally on a LAN, protected by a firewall. Having a device on the
LAN initiate the connection to the HTTP client outside the firewall
enables easy network traversal.
[0426] If the camera or video stream source inside the LAN does not
support Reverse HTTP, then the gateway can facilitate the Reverse
HTTP method by initiating separate TCP sessions with the video
stream source device and with the Reverse HTTP client outside the
LAN, and then relay all communication between the two sessions. In
this fashion the gateway can compensate for a stream source device
that does not support Reverse HTTP.
[0427] As described in the encryption description above, the
gateway can further compensate for missing functionalities on the
device such as encryption. If the device does not support encrypted
HTTP (e.g., HTTPS), then the gateway can communicate with the
device using HTTP, and then encrypt the TCP stream(s) before
relaying out of the LAN to the Reverse HTTP client.
[0428] The servers of an embodiment can compensate for HTTP clients
that do not support Reverse HTTP. In this situation, the server
accepts TCP connections from both the HTTP client and the Reverse
HTTP video stream source (which could be a gateway acting on behalf
of a stream source device that does not support Reverse HTTP). The
server then relays the TCP streams from the Reverse HTTP video
stream source to the HTTP client. The server can further compensate
for the encryption capabilities of the HTTP client; if the HTTP
client does not support encryption then the server can provide an
unencrypted stream to the HTTP client even though an encrypted
stream was received from the Reverse HTTP streaming video
source.
[0429] The integrated security system of an embodiment supports
MJPEG as described above. MJPEG is a streaming technique in which a
series of JPG images are sent as the result of an HTTP request.
Because MJPEG streams are transmitted over HTTP, HTTPS can be
employed for encryption and most MJPEG clients support the
resulting encrypted stream. And as with MPEG-4 over HTTP, a gateway
can compensate for a stream source device that does not support
encryption by relaying the TCP streams and encrypting the TCP
stream between the gateway and the stream client. In many cases the
gateway is an access point for the encrypted and private Wifi
network on which the video stream source device is located. This
means that communication between the gateway and the video stream
source device is encrypted at the network level, and communication
between the gateway and the video stream client is encrypted at the
transport level. In this fashion the gateway can compensate for a
device that does not support HTTPS.
[0430] The integrated system of an embodiment supports Reverse
HTTP. Reverse HTTP includes taking a TCP-based protocol like HTTP,
and reversal of the roles of client and server when it comes to TCP
session establishment can be employed for MJPEG streams. For
example, in standard HTTP the HTTP client is the one who
establishes the TCP connection with the server (the server listens
on a port for incoming connections). In Reverse HTTP, the HTTP
client listens on a port for incoming connections from the server.
Once the TCP connection is established, the HTTP client begins
sending commands to the server over the TCP connection just as it
would in standard HTTP.
[0431] When using Reverse HTTP, the video stream source is
generally on a LAN, protected by a firewall. Having a device on the
LAN initiate the connection to the HTTP client outside the firewall
enables network traversal.
[0432] If the camera or video stream source inside the LAN does not
support Reverse HTTP, then the gateway can facilitate the Reverse
HTTP method by initiating separate TCP sessions with the video
stream source device and with the Reverse HTTP client outside the
LAN, and then relay all communication between the two sessions. In
this fashion the gateway can compensate for a stream source device
that does not support Reverse HTTP.
[0433] As described in the encryption description above, the
gateway can further compensate for missing functionalities on the
device such as encryption. If the device does not support encrypted
HTTP (e.g., HTTPS), then the gateway can communicate with the
device using HTTP, and then encrypt the TCP stream(s) before
relaying out of the LAN to the Reverse HTTP client.
[0434] The servers can compensate for HTTP clients that do not
support Reverse HTTP. In this situation, the server accepts TCP
connections from both the HTTP client and the Reverse HTTP video
stream source (which could be a gateway acting on behalf of a
stream source device that does not support Reverse HTTP). The
server then relays the TCP streams from the Reverse HTTP video
stream source to the HTTP client. The server can further compensate
for the encryption capabilities of the HTTP client; if the HTTP
client does not support encryption then the server can provide an
unencrypted stream to the HTTP client even though an encrypted
stream was received from the Reverse HTTP streaming video
source.
[0435] The integrated security system of an embodiment considers
numerous parameters in determining or selecting one of the
streaming formats described above for use in transferring video
streams. The parameters considered in selecting a streaming format
include, but are not limited to, security requirements, client
capabilities, device capabilities, and network/system
capabilities.
[0436] The security requirements for a video stream are considered
in determining an applicable streaming format in an embodiment.
Security requirements fall into two categories, authentication and
privacy, each of which is described below.
[0437] Authentication as a security requirement means that stream
clients must present credentials in order to obtain a stream.
Furthermore, this presentation of credentials should be done in a
way that is secure from network snooping and replays. An example of
secure authentication is Basic Authentication over HTTPS. Here a
username and password are presented over an encrypted HTTPS channel
so snooping and replays are prevented. Basic Authentication alone,
however, is generally not sufficient for secure authentication.
[0438] Because not all streaming clients support SSL/TLS,
authentication methods that do not require it are desirable. Such
methods include Digest Authentication and one-time requests. A
one-time request is a request that can only be made by a client one
time, and the server prevents a reuse of the same request. One-time
requests are used to control access to a stream source device by
stream clients that do not support SSL/TLS. An example here is
providing video access to a mobile phone. Typical mobile phone
MPEG-4 viewers do not support encryption. In this case, one of the
MPEG-4 over RTSP methods described above can be employed to get the
video stream relayed to an server. The server can then provide the
mobile phone with a one-time request Universal Resource Locator
(URL) for the relayed video stream source (via a Wireless
Application Protocol (WAP) page). Once the stream ends, the mobile
phone would need to obtain another one-time request URL from the
server (via WAP, for example) in order to view the stream
again.
[0439] Privacy as a security requirement means that the contents of
the video stream must be encrypted. This is a requirement that may
be impossible to satisfy on clients that do not support video
stream encryption, for example many mobile phones. If a client
supports encryption for some video stream format(s), then the
"best" of those formats should be selected. Here "best" is
determined by the stream type priority algorithm.
[0440] The client capabilities are considered in determining an
applicable streaming format in an embodiment. In considering client
capabilities, the selection depends upon the supported video stream
formats that include encryption, and the supported video stream
formats that do not support encryption.
[0441] The device capabilities are considered in determining an
applicable streaming format in an embodiment. In considering device
capabilities, the selection depends upon the supported video stream
formats that include encryption, the supported video stream formats
that do not support encryption, and whether the device is on an
encrypted private Wifi network managed by the gateway (in which
case encryption at the network level is not required).
[0442] The network/system capabilities are considered in
determining an applicable streaming format in an embodiment. In
considering network/system capabilities, the selection depends upon
characteristics of the network or system across which the stream
must travel. The characteristics considered include, for example,
the following: whether there is a gateway and/or server on the
network to facilitate some of the fancier video streaming types or
security requirements; whether the client is on the same LAN as the
gateway, meaning that network firewall traversal is not needed.
[0443] Streaming methods with the highest priority are peer-to-peer
because they scale best with server resources. Universal Plug and
Play (UPnP) can be used by the gateway to open ports on the video
stream device's LAN router and direct traffic through those ports
to the video stream device. This allows a video stream client to
talk directly with the video stream device or talk directly with
the gateway which can in turn facilitate communication with the
video stream device.
[0444] Another factor in determining the best video stream format
to use is the success of STUN and TURN methods for establishing
direct peer-to-peer UDP communication between the stream source
device and the stream client. Again, the gateway and the server can
help with the setup of this communication.
[0445] Client bandwidth availability and processing power are other
factors in determining the best streaming methods. For example, due
to its bandwidth overhead an encrypted MJPEG stream should not be
considered for most mobile phone data networks.
[0446] Device bandwidth availability can also be considered in
choosing the best video stream format. For example, consideration
can be given to whether the upstream bandwidth capabilities of the
typical residential DSL support two or more simultaneous MJPEG
streams.
[0447] Components of the integrated security system of an
embodiment, while considering various parameters in selecting a
video streaming format to transfer video streams from streaming
source devices and requesting client devices, prioritize streaming
formats according to these parameters. The parameters considered in
selecting a streaming format include, as described above, security
requirements, client capabilities, device capabilities, and
network/system capabilities. Components of the integrated security
system of an embodiment select a video streaming format according
to the following priority, but alternative embodiments can use
other priorities.
[0448] The selected format is UPnP or peer-to-peer MPEG-4 over RTSP
with encryption when both requesting client device and streaming
source device support this format.
[0449] The selected format is UPnP or peer-to-peer MPEG-4 over RTSP
with authentication when the requesting client device does not
support encryption or UPnP or peer-to-peer MPEG-4 over RTSP with
encryption.
[0450] The selected format is UPnP (peer-to-peer) MPEG-4 over HTTPS
when both requesting client device and streaming source device
support this format.
[0451] The selected format is UPnP (peer-to-peer) MPEG-4 over HTTP
when the requesting client device does not support encryption or
UPnP (peer-to-peer) MPEG-4 over HTTPS.
[0452] The selected format is UPnP (peer-to-peer) MPEG-4 over RTSP
facilitated by gateway or touchscreen (including or incorporating
gateway components) (to provide encryption), when the requesting
client device supports encrypted RTSP and the streaming source
device supports MPEG-4 over RTSP.
[0453] The selected format is UPnP (peer-to-peer) MPEG-4 over HTTPS
facilitated by gateway or touchscreen (including or incorporating
gateway components) (to provide encryption) when the requesting
client device supports MPEG-4 over HTTPS and the streaming source
device supports MPEG-4 over HTTP.
[0454] The selected format is UPnP (peer-to-peer) MJPEG over HTTPS
when the networks and devices can handle the bandwidth and both
requesting client device and streaming source device support MJPEG
over HTTPS.
[0455] The selected format is Reverse RTSP with STUN/TURN
facilitated by the server when the streaming source device
initiates SSL/TLS TCP to server, the streaming source device
supports Reverse RTSP over SSL/TLS with STUN/TURN, and the
requesting client device supports RTSP with STUN/TURN.
[0456] The selected format is Reverse RTSP with STUN/TURN
facilitated by server and gateway or touchscreen (including or
incorporating gateway components) when the gateway initiates
SSL/TLS TCP to the server and to the streaming source device, the
streaming source device supports RTSP, and the requesting client
device supports RTSP with STUN/TURN.
[0457] The selected format is Reverse MPEG over RTSP/HTTP
facilitated by the server when the streaming source device
initiates SSL/TLS TCP to server, the streaming source device
supports Reverse RTSP or HTTP over SSL/TLS, and the requesting
client device supports MPEG over RTSP/HTTP.
[0458] The selected format is Reverse MPEG over RTSP/HTTP
facilitated by server and gateway or touchscreen (including or
incorporating gateway components) when the gateway initiates
SSL/TLS TCP to server and to streaming source device, the streaming
source device supports MPEG over RTSP or HTTP, and the requesting
client device supports MPEG over RTSP/HTTP.
[0459] The selected format is UPnP (peer-to-peer) MJPEG over HTTP
when the networks and devices can handle the bandwidth and when the
requesting client device does not support encryption and does not
support MPEG-4.
[0460] The selected format is Reverse MJPEG over HTTPS facilitated
by the server when the streaming source device initiates SSL/TLS
TCP to server, the streaming source device supports Reverse MJPEG
over SSL/TLS, and the requesting client device supports MJPEG.
[0461] The selected format is Reverse MJPEG over HTTPS facilitated
by server and gateway or touchscreen (including or incorporating
gateway components) when the gateway initiates SSL/TLS TCP to the
server and to the streaming source device, the streaming source
device supports MJPEG, and the requesting client device supports
MJPEG.
[0462] FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing camera tunneling, under
an embodiment.
[0463] Additional detailed description of camera tunnel
implementation details follow.
[0464] An embodiment uses XMPP for communication with a remote
video camera as a lightweight (bandwidth) method for maintaining
real-time communication with the remote camera. More specifically,
the remote camera is located on another NAT (e.g., NAT
traversal).
[0465] An embodiment comprises a method for including a remotely
located camera in a home automation system. For example, using XMPP
via cloud XMPP server to couple or connect camera to home
automation system. This can be used with in-car cameras, cell phone
cameras, and re-locatable cameras (e.g., dropped in the office, the
hotel room, the neighbor's house, etc.).
[0466] Components of an embodiment are distributed so that any one
can be offline while system continues to function (e.g., panel can
be down while camera still up, motion detection from camera, video
clip upload etc. continue to work.
[0467] Embodiments extend the PSIA in one or more of the following
areas: wifi roaming configuration; video relay commands; wifi
connectivity test; media tunnel for live video streaming in the
context of a security system; motion notification mechanism and
configuration (motion heartbeat) (e.g., helps with scalable
server); XMPP for lightweight communication (helps with scalable
server, reduced bandwidth, for maintaining persistent connection
with a gateway); ping request sent over XMPP as health check
mechanism; shared secret authentication bootstrapping process;
asynchronous error status delivery by the camera for commands
invoked by the gateway if the camera is responsible for delivering
errors to the gateway in an asynchronous fashion (e.g., gateway
requests a firmware update or a video clip upload).
[0468] Embodiments extend the home automation system to devices
located on separate networks, and make them useable as
general-purpose communication devices. These cameras can be placed
in the office, vacation home, neighbor house, software can be put
onto a cell phone, into a car, navigation system, etc.
[0469] Embodiments use a global device registry for enabling a
device/camera to locate the server and home to which it is
assigned.
[0470] Embodiments include methods for bootstrapping and
re-bootstrapping of authentication credentials. The methods include
activation key entry by installer into the cloud web interface.
Activation key generation is based upon mac address and a shared
secret between manufacturer and the service provider. Embodiments
of the system allow activation of a camera with valid activation
key that is not already provisioned in the global registry
server.
[0471] Embodiments include a web-based interface for use in
activating, configuring, remote firmware update, and re-configuring
of a camera.
[0472] Embodiments process or locate local wifi access points and
provide these as options during camera configuring and
re-configuring. Embodiments generate and provide recommendations
around choosing a best wifi access point based upon characteristics
of the network (e.g., signal strength, error rates, interference,
etc.). Embodiments include methods for testing and diagnosing
issues with wifi and network access.
[0473] Embodiments include cameras able to perform this wifi test
using only one physical network interface, an approach that enables
the camera to dynamically change this physical interface from wired
to wifi. Embodiments are able to change the network settings (wifi
etc) remotely using the same process.
[0474] Cameras of an embodiment can be configured with multiple
network preferences with priority order so that the camera can move
between different locations and the camera can automatically find
the best network to join (e.g., can have multiple
ssid+bssid+password sets configured and prioritized).
[0475] Regarding firmware download, embodiments include a mechanism
to monitor the status of the firmware update, provide feedback to
the end user and improve overall quality of the system.
[0476] Embodiments use RTSP over SSL to a cloud media relay server
to allow live video NAT traversal to a remote client (e.g., PC,
cell phone, etc.) in a secure manner where the camera provides
media session authentication credentials to the server. The camera
initiates the SSL connection to the cloud and then acts as a RTSP
server over this connection.
[0477] Embodiments include methods for using NAT traversal for
connecting to the cloud for remote management and live video access
allows the integrated security components to avoid port forwarding
on the local router(s) and as a result maintain a more secure local
network and a more secure camera since no ports are required to be
open.
[0478] Embodiments enable camera sensors (e.g., motion, audio,
heat, etc.) to serve as triggers to other actions in the automation
system. The capture of video clips or snapshots from the camera is
one such action, but the embodiments are not so limited.
[0479] A camera of an embodiment can be used by multiple
systems.
[0480] A detailed description of flows follows relating to the
camera tunnel of an embodiment.
[0481] A detailed description of camera startup and installation
follows as it pertains to the camera tunnel of an embodiment.
Activation Key
[0482] a. camera to follow same algorithm as ihub where activation
key is generated from serial based upon a one-way hash on serial
and a per-vendor shared secret. [0483] b. Used
com.icontrol.util.ops.activation. ActivationKeyUtil class to
validate serialNo <->activationKey.
Registry Request
[0483] [0484] [partner]/registry/[device type]/[serial] [0485] a.
new column in existing registry table for id type; nullable but the
application treats null as "gateway". [0486] b. rest endpoints
allow adding with the new optional argument. [0487] c. current
serial and siteId uniqueness enforcement by application depends
upon device type (for any device type, there should be uniqueness
on serial; for gateway device type, there should be uniqueness on
siteId; for other device types, there need not be uniqueness on
siteId). [0488] d. if no activation yet (e.g., no entry) then send
dummy response (random but repeatable reply; may include
predictable "dummy" so that steps below can infer. [0489] e.
add/update registry server endpoints for adding/updating
entries.
If Camera Has No Password
[0489] [0490] Camera retrieves "Pending Key" via POST to
/<CredentialGatewayURL>/GatewayService/<siteID>/PendingDevice-
Key. [0491] a. pending key request (to get password) with serial
and activation key. [0492] b. server checks for dummy reply; if
dummy then responds with retry backoff response. [0493] c. server
invokes pass-through API on gateway to get new pending key. [0494]
d. if device is found, then gateway performs validation of
serial+activation key, returns error if mismatch. [0495] e. if
activation key checks out, then gateway checks pending key status.
[0496] f. if device currently has a pending key status, then a new
pending password is generated. [0497] g. gateway maintains this
authorization information in a new set of variables on the camera
device. [0498] h. device-authorization/session-key comprises the
current connected password. [0499] i.
device-authorization/pending-expiry comprises a UTC timestamp
representing the time the current pending password period ends; any
value less than the current time or blank means the device is not
in a pending password state. [0500] j.
device-authorization/pending-session-key comprises the last
password returned to the camera in a pending request; this is
optional (device may choose to maintain this value in memory).
[0501] k. session-key and pending-session-key variables tagged with
"encryption" in the device def which causes rest and admin to hide
their value from client.
ConnectInfo Request
[0501] [0502] a. returns xmpp host and port to connect to (comes
from config as it does for gateway connect info). [0503] b. returns
connectInfo with additional <xmpp>parameter.
Start Portal Add Camera Wizard
[0503] [0504] a. user enters camera serial, activation key. [0505]
b. addDevice rest endpoint on gateway called [0506] c. gateway
verifies activation key is correct. [0507] d. gateway calls
addDevice method on gapp server to add LWG_SerComm_iCamera_1000
with given serial to site. [0508] e. Server detects the camera type
and populates registry. [0509] f. gateway puts device into pending
password state (e.g., updates device-auth/pending-expiry point).
[0510] g. rest endpoints on gateway device for managing device
pending password state. [0511] h. start pending password state:
POST future UTC value to device-auth/pending-expiry;
device-auth/pending-expiry set to 30 minutes from time device was
added. [0512] i. stop pending password state: POST -1 to
device-auth/pending-expiry. [0513] j. check pending password state:
GET device-auth/pending-expiry. [0514] k. message returned with
"Location" header pointing to relative URI. [0515] l. user told to
power on camera (or reboot if already powered on). [0516] m. once
camera connects, gateway updates device-auth/pending-expiry to -1
and device-auth/session-key with password and
device/connection-status to connected [0517] n. portal polls for
device/connection-status to change to connected; if does not
connect after X seconds, bring up error page (camera has not
connected--continue waiting or start over). [0518] o. user asked if
wifi should be configured for this camera. [0519] p. entry fields
for wifi ssid and password. [0520] q. portal can pre-populate ssid
and password fields with picklist of any from other cameras on the
site. [0521] r. get XML, of available SSIDs. [0522] s. non-wifi
option is allowed. [0523] t. portal submits options to configure
camera (use null values to specify non-wifi); upon success, message
is returned with "Location" header pointing to relative URI. [0524]
u. checks configuration progress and extracting "status" and
"subState" fields. [0525] v. puts device state into "configuring";
upon error, puts device state into "configuration failure". [0526]
w. performs firmware upgrade if needed, placing device state into
"upgrading"; upon error, puts device state into "upgrade failure".
[0527] x. upon configuration success, puts device state of "ok" and
applies appropriate configuration for camera (e.g., resolutions,
users, etc.). [0528] y. if non-blank wifi parameters, automatically
perform "wifi test" method to test wifi without disconnecting
Ethernet. [0529] z. portal wizard polls device status until changes
to "ok" or "upgrade failure/"configuration failure" in "status"
field, along with applicable, if any, with error code reason, in
"subState" field; upon error, show details to user, provide options
(start over, configure again, reboot, factory reset, etc) [0530]
aa. notify user they can move camera to desired location.
Camera Reboots
[0530] [0531] a. gets siteId and server URL from registry. [0532]
b. makes pending paid key request to server specifying correct
siteId, serial and activation key; gets back pending password.
[0533] c. makes connectInfo request to get xmpp server. [0534] d.
connects over xmpp with pending password.
[0535] If Camera Reboots Again [0536] a. get siteId and server URL
from registry. [0537] b. already has password (may or may not be
pending) so no need to perform pending paid key request. [0538] c.
make connectInfo request to get xmpp server. [0539] d. connect over
xmpp with password. xmpp Connect with Password [0540] a. xmpp user
is of the form [serial]@[server]/[siteId] [0541] b. session server
performs authentication by making passthrough API request to
gateway for given Siteld. [0542] c. Session xmpp server
authenticates new session using DeviceKey received in GET request
against received xmpp client credential. [0543] d. If authencation
fails or GET receives non-response, server returns to camera XMPP
connect retry backoff with long backoff. [0544] e. gateway device
performs password management. [0545] f. compares password with
current key and pending key (if not expired); if matches pending,
then update device-auth/session-key to be pending value, and clear
out the device-auth/pending-expiry. [0546] g. gateway device
updates the device/connection-status point to reflect that camera
is connected. [0547] h. gateway device tracks the xmpp session
server this camera is connected to via new point device/proxy-host
and updates this info if changed. [0548] i. if deviceConnected
returns message, then session server posts connected event
containing xmpp user to queue monitored by all session servers.
[0549] j. session servers monitor these events and
disconnect/cleanup sessions they have for same user. [0550] k. may
use new API endpoint on session server for broadcast messages. xmpp
Connect with Bad Password [0551] a. Upon receiving a new connection
request, session server performs authentication by making
passthrough API request to gateway for given SiteId. [0552] b.
Session xmpp server authenticates new session using DeviceKey
received in above GET request against received xmpp client
credential. [0553] c. If authencation fails or GET receives
non-response from virtual gateway. [0554] d. Session server rejects
incoming connection (is there a backoff/retry XMPP response that
can be sent here). [0555] e. Session server logs event. [0556] f.
Gateway logs event. xmpp Disconnect [0557] a. session server posts
disconnected event to gateway (with session server name). [0558] b.
gateway updates the device/connected variable/point to reflect that
camera is disconnected. [0559] c. gateway updates the
device/connection-status variable/point to reflect that camera is
disconnected. [0560] d. gateway clears the device/proxy-host point
that contains the session host to this camera is connected.
LWGW Shutdown
[0560] [0561] a. During LWGW shutdown, gateway can broadcast
messages to all XMPP servers to ensure all active XMPP sessions are
gracefully shutdown. [0562] b. gateways use REST client to call
URI, which will broadcast to all XMPP servers.
To Configure Camera During Installation
[0562] [0563] a. applies all appropriate configuration for camera
(e.g., resolutions, users, etc). [0564] b. returns message for
configuration applied, wifi test passed, all settings taken.
returns other response code with error code description upon any
failure.
To Reconfigure Wifi SSID and Key
[0564] [0565] a. returns message for wifi credentials set. [0566]
b. returns other response code with error code description upon any
failure.
API Pass-Through Handling for Gateway Fail-Over Case
[0566] [0567] a. When performing passthrough for LWGW, the API
endpoint handles the LWGW failover case (e.g., when gateway is not
currently running on any session server). [0568] b. passthrough
functions in the following way: current session server IP is
maintained on the gateway object; server looks up gateway object to
get session IP and then sends passthrough request to that session
server; if that request returns gateway not found message, server
error message, or a network level error (e.g., cannot route to
host, etc.), if the gateway is a LWGW then server should lookup
theprimary/secondary LW Gateway group for this site; server should
then send resume message to primary, followed by rest request; if
that fails, then server send resume message to secondary followed
by rest request [0569] c. alternatively, passthrough functions in
the following way: rather than lookup session server IP on gateway
object, passthrough requests should be posted to a passthrough
queue that is monitored by all session servers; the session server
with the Gateway on it should consume the message (and pass it to
the appropriate gateway); the server should monitor for expiry of
these messages, and if the gateway is a LWGW then server should
lookup the primary/secondary LW Gateway group for this site; server
should then send resume message to primary, followed by rest
request; if that fails, then server send resume message to
secondary followed by rest request.
[0570] A detailed description follows for additional flows relating
to the camera tunnel of an embodiment.
Motion Detection
[0571] a. camera sends openhome motion event to session server via
xmpp. [0572] b. session server posts motion event to gateway via
passthrough API. [0573] c. gateway updates the camera motion
variable/point to reflect the event gateway updates the camera
motion variable/point to reflect the event
Capture Snapshot
[0573] [0574] a. gateway posts openhome snapshot command to session
server with camera connected. [0575] b. gateway sends command
including xmpp user id to xmpp command Queue monitored by all
session servers. [0576] c. session server with given xmpp user id
consumes command and sends command to camera (command contains
upload URL on gw webapp). [0577] d. gateway starts internal timer
to check if a response is received from camera (e.g., 5 sec wait
window). [0578] e. if broadcast RabbitMQ not ready, then gateway
will use device/proxy-host value to know which session server to
post command to. f. session server sends command to camera
(comprises upload URL on gw webapp) [0579] g. Example XML body:
TABLE-US-00001 [0579] <MediaUpload>
<id>1321896772660</id>
<snapShotImageType>JPEG</snapShotImageType>
<gateway_url>[gatewaysyncUrl]/gw/GatewayService/SPutJpg/s/[siteId]/
[deviceIndex]/[varValue]/[varIndex]/[who]/[ts]/[HMM]/[passCheck]/</
<failure_url>[gatewaysyncUrl]/gw/GatewayService/SPutJpgError/s/
[siteId]/[deviceIndex]/[varValue]/[varIndex]/[who]/[ts]/[HMM]/
[passCheck]/</ </MediaUpload>
[0580] h. session server receives response to sendRequestEvent from
camera and posts response to gateway. [0581] i. camera uploads to
upload URL on gw webapp. [0582] j. passCheck can be verified on
server (based upon gateway secret); alternatively, the OpenHome
spec calls for Digest Auth here. [0583] k. endpoint responds with
message digest password if the URI is expected, otherwise returns
non-response. [0584] l. gw webapp stores snapshot, logs history
event. [0585] m. event is posted to gateway for deltas.
Capture Clip
[0585] [0586] a. gateway posts openhome video clip capture command
to session server with camera connected. [0587] b. gateway sends
command including xmpp user id to xmpp command Queue monitored by
all session servers. [0588] c. session server with given xmpp user
id consumes command and sends command to camera (command comprises
upload URL on gw webapp). [0589] d. gateway starts internal timer
to check if a response is received from camera (e.g., 5 sec wait
window). [0590] e. session server sends command to camera
(comprises upload URL on gw webapp). [0591] f. Example URI from
session server to camera:
/openhome/streaming/channels/1/video/upload [0592] g. Example XML
body:
TABLE-US-00002 [0592] <MediaUpload>
<id>1321898092270</id>
<videoClipFormatType>MP4</videoClipFormatType>
<gateway_url>[gatewaysyncUrl]/gw/GatewayService/SPutMpeg/s/
[siteId]/[deviceIndex]/[varValue]/[varIndex]/[who]/[ts]/[HMM]/
[passCheck]/</
<failure_url>[gatewaysyncUrl]/gw/GatewayService/SPutMpegFailed/s/
[siteId]/[deviceIndex]/[varValue]/[varIndex]/[who]/[ts]/[HMM]/
[passCheck]/</ </MediaUpload>
[0593] h. session server receives response to sendRequestEvent from
camera and posts response to gateway. [0594] i. camera uploads to
upload URL on gw webapp. [0595] j. passCheck can be verified on
server (based upon gateway secret). [0596] k. alternatively, spec
calls for Digest Auth here. [0597] l. endpoint responds with
message digest password if the URI is expected, otherwise returns
non-response. [0598] m. gw webapp stores video clip, logs history
event. [0599] n. event is posted to gateway for deltas.
Live Video (Relay)
[0599] [0600] a. Upon user login to portal, portal creates a media
relay tunnel by calling relayAPlmanager create. [0601] b.
RelayAPlmanager creates relays and sends ip-config-relay variable
(which instructs gateway to create media tunnel) to gateway. [0602]
c. Upon receiving media tunnel create ip-config-relay command,
gateway posts openhome media channel create command to session
server with camera connected. [0603] d. session server sends create
media tunnel command to camera (comprises camera relay URL on relay
server). [0604] e. Example URI from session server to camera:
/openhome/streaming/mediatunnel/create [0605] f. Example XML
body:
TABLE-US-00003 [0605] <CreateMediaTunnel>
<sessionID>1</sessionID>
<gatewayURL>TBD</gatewayURL>
<failureURL>TBD</failureURL>
</CreateMediaTunnel>
[0606] g. GatewayURL is created from relay server, port, and
sessionId info included within ip-config-relay variable. [0607] h.
camera creates a TLS tunnel to relay server via POST to
<gatewayURL>. [0608] i. When user initiates live video,
portal determines user is remote and retrieves URL of Relay server
from relayAPImanager. [0609] j. Upon receiving a user pole
connection on the relay server (along with valid rtsp request),
relay sends streaming command to camera: example:
rtsp:://openhome/streaming/channels/l/rtsp [0610] k. Upon user
portal logout, portals calls relayAPlmanager to terminate media
tunnel. [0611] l. RelayAPlmanager send ip-config-relay varlable to
terminate media tunnel. [0612] m. Gateway sends destroy media
tunnel command to camera via XMPP.
Camera Firmware Update
[0612] [0613] a. Gateway checks camera firmware version; if below
minimum version, gateway sends command to camera (via session
server) to upgrade firmware (command:
/openhome/system/updatefirmware). [0614] b. Gateway checks firmware
update status by polling: /openhome/system/updatefirmware/status.
[0615] c. Gateway informs portal of upgrade status. [0616] d.
Camera auto-reboots after firmware update and reconnects to Session
server.
Camera First-Contact Configuration
[0616] [0617] a. After a camera is added successfully and is
connected to the session server for the first time, gateway
performs first contact configuration as follows. [0618] b. Check
firmware version. [0619] c. Configure settings by: download config
file using /openhome/sysetm/configurationData/configFile; or
configure each category individually (configure video input channel
settings--/openhome/system/video/inputs/channels; onfigure audio
input channel settings (if
any)--/openhome/system/audio/inputs/channels; configure video
streaming channel settings--/openhome/streaming/channels; configure
motion detection settings--example: PUT
/openhome/custom/motiondetection/pir/0; configure event trigger
settings--example: PUT /openhome/custom/event). [0620] d. Reboot
camera (/openhome/system/factoryreset) if camera responds with
reboot required.
[0621] Embodiments described herein include one or more protocols
enabling communications between one or more system components
described herein (e.g., gateway, touchscreen, IP devices, security
system, etc.). More particularly, details follow of interface
specifications in an example embodiment of the integrated security
system described herein.
[0622] FIG. 25A-E show panel coupling methodologies of the
integrated security system, under an embodiment.
[0623] FIG. 26A-L show zone information of the integrated security
system, under an embodiment.
[0624] FIG. 27A-G show zone codes of the integrated security
system, under an embodiment.
[0625] FIG. 28A-B show report conditions of the integrated security
system, under an embodiment.
[0626] FIG. 29 shows packet descriptions of the integrated security
system, under an embodiment.
[0627] FIG. 30A-C show keypad transmission information of the
integrated security system, under an embodiment.
[0628] FIG. 31A-D show keypad transmission information of the
integrated security system, under an alternative embodiment.
[0629] FIG. 32 shows an enrollment procedure of the integrated
security system, under an embodiment. The following describes how
to enroll the 5839 keypad into the Honeywell system. Before
attempting to enroll a 5839 keypad into a Vista panel, verify the
following: 1) The Vista panel must have a 5839 compatible 2-way RF
transceiver module connected, such as the 5883 transceiver module;
2) Verify Dipswitch #6 of the 5883 transceiver is set to 1 (this
enables the transmitter); 3) The Vista has an RF HouseCode
programmed or a wireless sensor enrolled; and 4) Be sure the keypad
partition is assigned for the device address that you plan to learn
the keypad into. For example if you want to enroll a partition 1
keypad to device address 17 (ECN Address 01 in keypad), *190 should
be set to 01 0X, where X=0-3 to set beep suppression level. To do
this, press *1901X from the main programming menu.
[0630] To program the 5839 keypad, complete the following steps: 1)
Put the panel in go-no-go mode (4112#4), Instructions indicate this
should be done in all partitions, but not sure if necessary in all
partitions; 2) Hold down the 1&3 keys on the 5839 keypad to put
it in program mode; 3) Press "*" 3 times on the 5839 keypad after
it has entered program mode. This gets you to a menu where you
select the keypad ECN address #; 4) Select the proper keypad ECN
address #. For example, keypad ECN address#1 corresponds to device
address #17 in the panel; and 5) Press "*" for "Done". The keypad
displays "Waiting for mesg Setup? #=End". This initiates an
enrollment handshake process between the keypad and the panel.
Within a few seconds the keypad should be enrolled. Press "*" for
Done, then press "#" multiple times to exit keypad programming.
[0631] During the enrollment handshake, the following occurs: 1)
The keypad transmits a single message. The ID in the transmission
is 00 00 00. The 4th byte contains the keypad ECN # (0-7). Bit 4 of
Byte 5 (status byte) is set to indicate this is an initial
enrollment packet. Other than the trigger count and CRC, the rest
of the packet is zeros. If the panel does not respond to this
packet, the keypad will resend it one second later. The keypad will
transmit this packet up to 5 times if it does not receive a
response from the panel; 2) The panel responds with an enrollment
packet that contains its ID. In this packet, the 11th byte, which
is normally zero is set to 0x10; 3) Also, the fourth byte of this
packet which is typically zero is set to 0x01. I assume that byte
11 being set to 0x10 indicates this is an enrollment type packet
and byte 4 being set to 0x01 indicates this is the first enrollment
packet. This packet is transmitted two or three times. Typically,
it is only transmitted twice because the keypad responds after the
second transmission. If the keypad does not respond, it will
transmit three times; 3) The keypad transmits a response about 15
mS after receiving the second enrollment packet (which is identical
to the first packet) from the panel. The response from the keypad
is identical to the initial enrollment packet the keypad
transmitted except the ID is changed from 00 00 00 to the panel's
transceiver ID and the crc is updated. The trigger count however is
identical to the initial enrollment packet; 4) The panel responds
with 3 identical transmissions. Like the previous transmissions
from the panel, these transmissions have byte 11 set to 0x10,
however byte 4 is equal to 0x00; 5) The panel also generates 3 more
transmissions like the previous 3, except that the trigger count is
different and the CRC is updated for the new trigger count.
[0632] FIG. 33A-F show panel byte transmission information of the
integrated security system, under an embodiment.
[0633] Vista 13 Byte Transmissions
[0634] The Vista panel transmits 13 byte packets to the 5828
wireless keypad. It also transmits longer packets to the 5839
wireless keypad. The data below refers the 13 byte transmissions.
The commands within the 13 byte packet instruct the 5828 keypad as
to which icons to turn on. Certain bits within the transmission
indicate to turn on certain icons. In addition, each transmission
can contain up to 3 word tokens, which the 5828 can speak. The word
tokens which are transmitted are limited to the list contained
within the 5828 keypad instruction manual (and also in Table 7
below). This list is a subset of the complete list of word tokens
the Vista panel will support. The 13 byte transmissions do not
support custom text. The 5828 keypad will speak other words, such
as "ready to arm" or "bypassed" in addition to the word token
table.
[0635] Notes
[0636] General alarm refers to all non-fire alarms (such as burg
and auxiliary) in the documentation below. If a zone # and a bypass
icon are on, that particular zone may not be bypassed. For example,
if you bypass zone 5, then trip fire zone 9, the transmission will
indicate that "09" be displayed for the zone # as well as the
bypass, fire, and alarm icons be turned on. Fire zone open does not
prevent READY TO ARM icon from being turned on. Saw a case where
the Low Battery icon bit was set for a zone 9 fire alarm packet.
Maybe we should only look at for Panel Status messages.
[0637] I would recommend adding logging messages that flag
undefined packets. It would be nice if you could get instant
feedback of this so you knew what you were doing when this
occurred. Only supported word tokens will be transmitted. For a
list of supported word tokens, see the Installation and Setup Guide
for the Ademco 5828/5828V Keypad. If non-supported word tokens are
programmed for the zone between supported word tokens, only the
supported word tokens will be transmitted by the Vista panel.
[0638] The Exit Delay packet has only been received when using 5839
wireless keypad. If a 5839 keypad is enrolled into the Vista, an
arming level message is transmitted by the Vista when the panel is
armed. If a status request ("*") is transmitted by the 5839, then
another exit delay packet is transmitted with the latest exit delay
time. Exit delay packets might only be transmitted when a 5839
keypad is learned into the panel. 5828 wireless keypad doesn't beep
for entry delay except quick beeps at the end of the delay [0639]
enter pgm mode pkt looks like zone 20 alarm Note: We may need to do
more testing with different alarm types Various Fire and non-fire
types have not been looked at yet and may be different than listed
above.
[0640] Keep in mind that the information transmitted in the
wireless protocol indicates which icons should be turned on, what
alphanumeric number should be displayed, which beeps should sound,
and zone text. In order to turn this into system status
information, you will need to figure out how to process this
data.
[0641] For instance, if the ALARM icon is on, the keypad is beeping
a General alarm cadence, and 09 is displayed, this is likely an
alarm on zone 9. However, if the ALARM icon is on, 09 is displayed,
but the keypad is not beeping, the panel may be either in alarm or
in alarm memory(alarm memory is alarm state after being
disarmed).
[0642] You may need to track other indicators to determine if the
alarm has been cancelled. There are many different cases that can
occur. It may help to develop a truth table with the data bits to
try to help cover all cases. Regardless, the gateway will probably
have to keep track of sensor states and use timers to determine if
certain things have restored.
[0643] It appears the the 5828 speaks "fault" for a zone packet if
there are not other zone indications (check, alarm, . . . )
[0644] The 5883 transceiver transmits it's ID at power up in a 6
byte packet. Example tx 8E 63 05 02 CS CS
[0645] Not confident about significance of bits 0 & 2 of byte
3. Bit zero is always set whenever 5828 emits fast beeps, however,
if bit 2 is also set, panel does not emit beeps.
[0646] Byte 8, not fully defined, but =5 for exit delay, and 6 for
entry delay. Use this to differentiate these packets from zone
packets.
[0647] Note: The value of byte 2 is displayed by the 5828 for all
packet types except Panel Status packet.
[0648] Ready to Arm bit never set when burg zone is open, unless it
is bypassed.
[0649] There doesn't appear to be a bit indicating "fault" should
be spoken by 5828 keypad for open zones, but it appears that if the
packet is a Zone Packet, and ALARM icon =0 and CHECK icon=0, then
fault is spoken.
[0650] If CHIME is turned on (1234-9), then all zone opens will
automatically be transmitted to the 5828. This could help the
systems get more data especially if the system is not chatty
enough. This could be particularly helpful for hardwired zones
because you cannot monitor them directly. However, all keypads will
also beep and display this unless the keypad beeps are
disabled.
[0651] Alarm Sirens do time out after a few minutes so you cannot
use the "Alarm Beeps Sounding" bit to determine if the panel is
still in alarm.
[0652] Carbon Monoxide zone transmissions set the fire alarm
cadence but do not turn on the fire icon.
[0653] Fire panic button on keypad is defaulted to zone 95--not
sure if this can be changed.
[0654] Police panic button on keypad is defaulted to zone 99--nto
sure if this can be changed. Packet type determination:
[0655] any pkt with byte 8=5 is a EXIT DELAY pkt
[0656] any pkt with byte 8=6 is an ENTRY DELAY pkt
[0657] any pkt with byte 8=0x0F is a TEST MODE pkt
[0658] any pkt with bit 6 of Byte 5 set is a PROGRAM MODE ENTRY
pkt
[0659] any pkt with bits 2&3 of Byte 4 set is a PANEL STATUS
pkt
[0660] any remain pkts with byte 2<65 are sensors [0661] zones
1-8 are hardwired sensors [0662] zones 9-48 are wireless zones
[0663] zones 49-64 are RF button zones
[0664] 95,96,99 are emergency zones (fire, aux, burg panic buttons
on keypads)
[0665] Other known alarm types are listed in table below.
[0666] FIG. 34 and FIG. 34A-T show panel byte example data of the
integrated security system, under an embodiment. FIG. 34 is a
matrix showing the order by which FIG. 34A-T, when put together as
shown in FIG. 34, collectively represent FIG. 34 and FIG.
34A-T.
[0667] FIG. 35A-F show panel byte transmission information of the
integrated security system, under an alternative embodiment.
[0668] FIG. 36 and FIG. 36A-L show panel byte example data of the
integrated security system, under an alternative embodiment. FIG.
36 is a matrix showing the order by which FIG. 36A-L, when put
together as shown in FIG. 36, collectively represent FIG. 36 and
FIG. 36A-L.
[0669] FIG. 37A-D show transmitter byte transmission information of
the integrated security system, under an embodiment.
[0670] FIG. 38 shows sensor transmission information of the
integrated security system, under an embodiment.
[0671] The material that follows in the rest of the specification
is a description of FIGS. 25-38.
[0672] An investigation on the Honeywell Vista-20P panel was
conducted and the goal of the investigation was to reverse engineer
the Vista hardwired bus to understand the bus protocol to allow for
arming/disarming the panel and retrieving the panel's status and
sensor states.
Ademco Vista-20P KeyPad(KP) Address
[0673] Each keypad on the Vista 20 must have a unique bus address.
Valid keypad bus addresses are 16-23. Bus address 16 is intended
only to be a keypad device. Bus addresses 17-23 are multi-use and
must be enabled in programming in order to support keypads. Setup
fields 190-196 allow you to enable bus addresses 17-23 for a keypad
as well as assign a partition. The first keypad connected to the
Ademco Vista-20P must be programmed to address 16.
Ademco Vista-20P Hardwired Bus Basics
[0674] The bus protocol uses standard 4800-baud RS-232
transmissions with 1 start bit, 8 bits of data, 1 parity bit, and 1
stop bit. The bus uses 0V and 12V logic levels. The bus data
signals are inverted from standard RS-232. On the keypad and panel,
the bus data signal is inverted from the transmit and receive data
signal that is present at the pins of the microprocessor. Parity is
even for most bytes, but in some cases is odd.
[0675] A keypad is a dumb device. It does not retain or store any
knowledge of the system. It only displays what the panel broadcasts
for it to display. However, emulating the keypad and transmitting
the proper keys and codes will cause desired information to appear
on the keypad display. We can decode any information that appears
on the keypad display to obtain the desired system information.
Arming/Disarming
[0676] You can control the Vista 20 by transmitting the proper
keypad key presses. The keypad is a slave device, so it can only
transmit on the bus after being polled by the master (panel). All
data values listed below are hexadecimal unless otherwise
noted.
General Poll Transmission
[0677] This packet is transmitted every 330 mS.
TABLE-US-00004 Source 1.sup.st Byte 2nd byte 3rd byte 4th byte
Parity Panel 00 00 00 00 even
"I Have Data" Transmission
[0678] When a button is pressed on the KP, the KP sends an "I Have
Data" transmission at the same time as a General Poll. The keypad
begins its packet within 40 uS of the beginning of the General
Poll. Note that the 3rd byte of this transmission has even parity.
I suspect that the parity of this byte, (maybe even the whole
transmission) can be either even or odd. I also suspect that the
timing of this packet may be critical. See the accompanying
oscilloscope plot "G2 General Poll_I Have Data". Notice that the "I
Have Data" transmission is transmitted right on top of the "General
Poll".
TABLE-US-00005 Source 1.sup.st Byte 2nd byte 3rd byte Parity KP FF
FF Src Addr 3.sup.rd byte even, rest odd Parity Odd odd Even
Src Addr is the source address. It corresponds to the following
table:
TABLE-US-00006 Bus Address Src Addr 16 FE 17 FD 18 FB 19 F7 20 EF
21 DF 22 BF 23 7F
[0679] There are instances where multiple bus devices transmit the
"I Have Data" transmission at the same time. This occurs regularly
at panel power up. If Bus Address 16 and Bus Address 23 transmit at
the same time, the resulting packet comprised of the collision of
both keypads transmitting an "I Have Data" transmission is FF FF 7E
(FE & 7F=7E). In this case, the parity of the 7E received by
the panel is odd.
Data Poll Transmission
[0680] After the KP transmits the "I Have Data" transmission, the
panel finishes sending it's General Poll and then sends a Data Poll
transmission (about 60 mS later).
TABLE-US-00007 Source 1.sup.st Byte 2nd byte Parity Panel F6 bus
addr even
[0681] Bus addr is the hexadecimal value of the bus address (i.e.
0x10 for 16, 0x17 for 23).
KP Data Transmission
[0682] Within 500 uS of the panel transmitting the Data Poll
transmission, the KP responds with the KP Data transmission (Not
sure what the max response time for this transmission is). The
following data is for a fixed display keypad at address 16. The
response might be slightly different for keypads at different
addresses.
TABLE-US-00008 Source 1.sup.st Byte 2nd byte 3rd byte 4th byte KP
Sequence # 02 Key Press CSUM Parity Even Even Even Even
[0683] The lower nibble of the Sequence # byte corresponds to the
bus address (0 for address 16 thru 7 for address 23). The upper
nibble of the Sequence # byte changes with every KP transmission.
It cycles thru 1,5,9,D.
[0684] The second byte is always 0x02.
[0685] The 3.sup.rd byte is the key that was pressed (i.e. 00 for
zero, 09 for nine).
[0686] 0x0A is transmitted for "*"
[0687] 0x0B is transmitted for "#"
[0688] CSUM is calculated by adding up the sum of the previous 3
bytes and subtracting from 0xFF.
[0689] To control the security system, you will need to send the
following key press sequences:
[0690] (1,2,3,4 is the user code, the following number is the
arming level)
TABLE-US-00009 Action Key press Sequence Disarm 1, 2, 3, 4, 1 Arm
to Away 1, 2, 3, 4, 2 Arm to Stay 1, 2, 3, 4, 3
[0691] These are all the possible commands the keypad will transmit
when the status, 1,2,3, or 4 key is pressed:
TABLE-US-00010 KP Key Source Data Parity STATUS KP 10020AE4 Even
STATUS KP 50020AA4 Even STATUS KP 90020A64 Even STATUS KP D0020A24
Even 1 KP 100201ED Even 1 KP 500201AD Even 1 KP 9002016D Even 1 KP
D002012D Even 2 KP 100202EC Even 2 KP 500202AC Even 2 KP 9002026C
Even 2 KP D002022C Even 3 KP 100203EB Even 3 KP 500203AB Even 3 KP
9002036B Even 3 KP D002032B Even 4 KP 100204EA Even 4 KP 500204AA
Even 4 KP 9002046A Even 4 KP D002042A Even
Panel Acknowledge Transmission
[0692] After the panel successfully receives the KP Data
transmission, it will transmit a Panel Acknowledge transmission.
The Panel Acknowledge Transmission is the Sequence # that the KP
transmitted in it's KP Data Transmission. For a keypad at address
16, the 4 potential Ack signals are listed below:
TABLE-US-00011 Source Data Parity Panel 10 Even Panel 50 Even Panel
90 Even Panel D0 Even
Panel Data Transmission
[0693] When the KP Data transmission is STATUS key, the panel will
send a Panel Data Transmission following the Panel Acknowledge
Transmission. The Panel Data transmission contains system
information such as open sensors. Once a STATUS press is
transmitted, the panel continuously broadcasts arming level and
system faults or conditions. An individual broadcast is sent for
each fault/condition and is cycled every 3 seconds. See Obtaining
System Status for information on decoding the broadcasted
transmissions.
Obtaining System Status
[0694] The Ademco Vista 20 periodically broadcasts system arming
level and other conditions, such as panel low battery. The
transmission contains ASCII text that is displayed on the
alphanumeric keypad. If you use a terminal emulator such as
RealTerm to sniff the bus, you can view the ASCII characters
contained in the panel broadcasted transmissions. You will need to
invert the data before sending it to the pc. I've shown some
examples below of byte sequences contained within the broadcasted
messages. You should be able to look for these byte sequences to
determine the panel's arming level. The parity of these
transmissions is even.
TABLE-US-00012 Disarmed Hex Value 2A 2A 2A 44 49 53 41 52 4D 45 44
2A 2A 2A 2A 20 20 52 65 61 64 79 20 74 6F 20 41 72 6D 20 20 ASCII
Value ***DISARMED**** Ready to Arm
TABLE-US-00013 Armed to Stay Hex Value 41 52 4D 45 44 20 2A 2A 2A
53 54 41 59 2A 2A 2A ASCII Value ARMED ***STAY***
TABLE-US-00014 Armed to Away Exit Delay Hex Value C1 52 4D 45 44 20
2A 2A 2A 41 57 41 59 2A 2A 2A 59 6F 75 20 6D 61 79 20 65 78 69 74
20 6E 6F 77 ASCII Value ARMED ***AWAY***You may exit now
TABLE-US-00015 Busy - Standby (The panel powers up in this
condition) Hex Value 42 75 73 79 20 2D 20 53 74 61 6E 64 62 79
ASCII Value Busy - Standby
TABLE-US-00016 Hit * for Faults - Broadcasted to keypads when a
fault is detected Hex Value 2A 2A 2A 2A 44 49 53 41 52 4D 45 44 2A
2A 2A 2A 48 69 74 20 2A 20 66 6F 72 20 66 61 75 6C 74 73 3A Asci
Value ****DISARMED****Hit * for faults:
[0695] When sensor is open, "****Disarmed****Hit * for faults:" is
broadcasted". If we see this broadcast, we should transmit a STATUS
key press. Then the trouble conditions will be broadcasted to the
keypads.
TABLE-US-00017 Fault on Sensor 01, "FRONT DOOR" - Broadcasted after
STATUS is pressed Hex Value C6 41 55 4C 54 20 30 31 20 46 52 4F 4E
54 20 20 44 4F 4F 52 Asci Value AULT 01 FRONT DOOR
[0696] Note that sensor text is broadcasted with the zone trouble
condition above.
Program Mode Zone Data Field: Zone Number=01, Zone Type=21,
Partition=1, Report Code=10, 11W type=EOL, Response Time=1
TABLE-US-00018 Hex Value DA 6E 20 5A 54 20 50 20 52 43 20 48 57 3A
52 54 30 31 20 32 31 20 31 20 31 30 20 45 4C 3A 31 Asci Value n ZT
P RC HW: RT01 21 1 10 EL: 1
[0697] The above packet is transmitted when in installer program
mode. We can transmit the proper key presses to enter program mode
and view program settings such as shown above.
[0698] Panel Power Up
[0699] Whenever the keypad is powered up or reset, it sends an "I
Have Data" packet to the panel. When the panel responds with the
Data Poll packet, the keypad transmits the following data:
TABLE-US-00019 "I'm Here" Packet 7th 8th 9th Source 1st Byte 2nd
byte 3rd byte 4th byte 5th byte 6th byte byte byte byte Parity TP
Sequence # 87 0 Type 4 4 4 0 CSUM even
[0700] The lower nibble of the Sequence # byte corresponds to the
bus address (0 for address 16 thru 7 for address 23). The upper
nibble of the Sequence # byte changes with every KP transmission.
It cycles thru 1,5,9,D.
[0701] The second byte is always 0x87.
[0702] The 3.sup.rd byte is always 0x00.
[0703] Type is "00" for 6160 Alpha Keypad or "01" for the 6148 or
6150 Fixed English Keypad.
[0704] The 5th-7th bytes are always "04".
[0705] The 8th byte is always "0".
[0706] CSUM calculated by adding up the sum of the previous 3 bytes
and subtracting from 0xFF.
[0707] Examples of above packet:
[0708] Panel is powered with a 6160 alpha keypad at address 23:
TABLE-US-00020 Source 1st Byte 2nd byte 3rd byte 4th byte 5th byte
6th byte 7th byte 8th byte 9th byte TP 17 87 0 0 4 4 4 0 56
[0709] Panel is powered with a 6148 or 6150 fixed English keypad at
address 16:
TABLE-US-00021 Source 1st Byte 2nd byte 3rd byte 4th byte 5th byte
6th byte 7th byte 8th byte 9th byte TP 10 87 0 10 4 4 4 0 4D
[0710] Panel is powered with a fixed English keypad at address 16
and an alpha keypad at address 23:
TABLE-US-00022 Source Data Notes Panel 00 F2 12 06 00 00 00 00 60
6C 02 45 Panel power up?? 6C F5 EC 04 01 01 00 00 90 00 00 Panel 00
00 00 General Poll Keypad FF FF 7E "I Have Data" from both keypads
Panel F6 17 Data Poll address 23 Keypad 17 87 00 00 04 04 04 00 56
"I'm Here" from addr 23 Panel 17 Ack (addr 23) Panel F6 10 Data
Poll address 16 Keypad 10 87 00 10 04 04 04 00 4D "I'm Here" from
addr 16 Panel 10 Ack (addr 16) 00 00 00 General Poll 00 00 00
General Poll
[0711] Notice in the above case, that both KP's transmit the "I
Have Data" packet at the same time. One KP attempts to transmit
"FE". The other attempts to transmit "7F". The resulting
transmission is "7E" (7F & FE). This indicates the time of this
"I Have Data" packet may be very critical.
[0712] Other Notes
[0713] The Vista 20 panel does not appear to supervise or randomly
poll keypads. I did not do long term testing to verify this.
[0714] Arming level is broadcasted every 10 seconds unless the
arming level display message is being cycled with another display
message. If display messages are being cycled, the display rotates
every 3 seconds between the different displays.
[0715] There might be an advantage (especially in setup) to
emulating a Vista ICM TCP module, which probably has commands to
allow us to get programming information such as sensor type. We
should however be able to get all this same information if we
emulate a keypad and enter program mode by transmitting the
installer code. We could then transmit the appropriate keys to view
the programming data fields.
Bus Investigation Update
[0716] Resolution Engineering has been investigating the Honeywell
Vista-20P bus protocol for iControl. Although the investigation is
not complete, this document highlights what is currently known
about the Honeywell bus protocol. This investigation focused mainly
on Vista's communication with the 6160 Custom Alpha Keypad and the
7847i Internet Communication Module.
[0717] Ademco Vista Data Bus Basics
[0718] The Honeywell Vista data bus is a master/slave bus. The
Vista panel is the master and all other devices are slaves. The
slave devices do not transmit on the bus unless the master polls
them. In this respect, the Vista data bus is similar to the GE
Superbus. The Vista bus uses two data wires. One wire is used for
the master to transmit to the slaves. The other wire is used for
the slaves to transmit to the master. The bus protocol uses
standard 4800-baud serial communication with 1 start bit, 8 bits
data bits, 1 parity bit, and 1 stop bit. Parity is usually even,
however, in a couple of rare cases, it is odd. The data bus uses 0V
and 12V logic levels. The receive and transmit signals found on the
data bus are inverted from the transmit and receive data signal
that are present at the UART pins of the microprocessor of the
devices(i.e. a "one" is transmitted by the microprocessor UART as
5V, but appears on the data bus at 0V and a "zero" is transmitted
by the microprocessor UART as 0V, but appear on the data bus at
12V).
[0719] The general operation of the bus includes the panel
transmitting general polls that any slave device can respond to. If
a device has data to respond with, it transmits a "request to
speak" transmission, which contains its bus address. The master
than polls that device directly. After the device transmits it's
data, the panel transmits an ACK to let the device know it received
the data. The data bus response times in some cases are very
critical and short(on the order of 50 uS).
[0720] 6160 Keypad
[0721] The 6160 keypad is a non-intelligent device. The panel
transmits display messages, in ASCII, to the keypad and the keypad
displays the messages. The keypad does not retain or store any
knowledge of system status. System status can be retrieved from the
bus messages to the keypad, however, it is not an efficient way to
receive system status. It is similar to using the Ademco wireless
keypad transmissions for system status. For example, to determine
that a zone has been restored, you would need to wait for the
display to cycle thru all of its trouble events and verify the
absence of the open zone to know it has been restored. The 6160
keypad can transmit keypresses to the Ademco panel. Any system
control or programming that can be done by the 6160 (i.e. arm,
disarm, installer programming) could also be done by a device that
is emulating the 6160 as long as the emulating device knows the
system security codes. The 6160 keypad bus protocol was
investigated to the point where the general operation of the keypad
is known including transmitting keypresses and receiving display
messages.
[0722] 7847i Internet Communication Module
[0723] According to the Honeywell website, the 7847i has the
following features: [0724] Secure IP Reporting [0725] Reports
signals via Internet or Intranet (7847i-E only) [0726] Uses 256-bit
Advanced Encryption Standard or optional 1,024 bit encryption with
two-way authentication and no key exchange for maximum data
protection. [0727] Dialer Capture Ready [0728] Compatible with
Dialer Capture Intelligence Device (non-ecp capable LYNX) or
DCID-EXT (other control panels). Captures Contact ID messages from
the panel's phone line and sends them to the central station via
the IP communicator. [0729] Universal Control Panel Compatibility
[0730] Flexible modes of operation allow ECP full alarm reporting
by Honeywell control panels, 4204 relay mode for Honeywell controls
that do not support ECP alarm reporting and zone triggering for use
with other control panels. [0731] LYNXR-I integration with 7847i-L
[0732] Full Contact ID or ADEMCO High Speed Reporting [0733] ECP
mode with compatible Honeywell control panels support full Contact
ID reporting. All other modes use ADEMCO High Speed reporting
format. [0734] Six Input Zones [0735] Each zone can be configured
for +V, -V, or EOLR triggering. Each zone can be programmed for
inverted operation, delayed reporting and restoral reporting. Zone
1 can distinguish between pulsed and steady inputs (7847i/7847i-E).
[0736] Tamper Protected Enclosure [0737] Built-in tamper sends a
report when a tamper condition is detected and a restore when
cleared. [0738] Remote Services Capability* [0739] Control
Honeywell control panels via Internet or mobile device and e-mail
notification of system events. * Requires optional Honeywell Total
Connect service [0740] Network Friendly [0741] Installs behind
firewalls without compromising network security--dynamic or static
IP addressing [0742] Ease of installation [0743] Easy CAT-5 10
BaseT connection to a hub or router-Quick connection to compatible
Honeywell series control panels. [0744] Simple programming using a
7720P programmer, AlarmNet Direct website or via LYNXR-I (7847i-L).
[0745] Upload/Download [0746] With select Honeywell control panels.
Requires Compass version 1.5.8.54a or higher.
[0747] The features of most interest are: [0748] Secure IP
Reporting [0749] Remote Services Capability [0750]
Upload/Download
[0751] The Secure IP Reporting feature indicates that central
station reports are sent to the 7847i bus device and could be
received by a device emulating the 7847i. The Remote Services
Capability implies the 7847i can be used as an automation module to
control the system and track system status. This is likely a much
more efficient way to track system status than emulating a keypad.
These features of the 7847i have not been investigated.
[0752] The upload/download feature has been investigated. Most of
the investigation has been focused on the download. Much of the
communication is understood. A huge breakthrough was figuring out
how the data is encrypted. The data portions of the upload/download
transmissions are XOR'd with an encryption byte. This encryption
byte changes every time the internet communication is
re-established between the 7847i and the Compass pc software. I'm
assuming the panel passes this byte to the 7847i or vice versa upon
connection, but I'm not 100% sure of that. There are a couple of
bytes early in the communication that I have been always able to
use to determine the encryption value. The low nibble of one of the
bytes has always been equal to the low nibble of the encryption
byte. The high nibble of another byte has always been equal to the
high nibble of the encryption byte. This probably occurs because
these nibbles have a value of zero before being encrypted. If they
are always zero (before encryption) in all cases for all systems,
then we can use them to determine the encryption value, however,
there is a risk that this is not the case. I still have more work
to figure out the rest of the bytes in these initial packets. I'm
hoping that after I determine the significance of the other bytes,
it will be clearer if/where the encryption value is passed between
the panel and the 7847i. I'm pretty sure these initial packets also
contain the system status information.
[0753] Risks/Unknowns
[0754] I have not investigated the reporting and remote services
capability features of this module. Although a good portion of the
downloader communication protocol has been figured out, there is
still more to learn. The biggest unknown at this time are where/if
the encryption key is passed (hopefully it is not generated by some
algorithm that is known by both the panel and the 7847i
module).
[0755] Vista iSPIM Requirements for a Non-Polling iHub System
[0756] Overview
[0757] This documents lists the requirements and questions related
to implementing an iSPIM that connects directly to the Vista's ECP
bus and uses the Vista's radios to transmit data to the iHub.
[0758] This creates event driven transmissions. The purpose is to
nearly eliminate the need for an iHub to poll the Vista panel
within FCC guidelines.
[0759] Basically we want the system to work at least as well as it
does now without the iHub needing to poll the panel.
[0760] Requirements
[0761] The scope of the requirements is to support the existing
functionality available when the iHub polls the Vista panel for
status states, zone states and also possibly addressing a few
limitations.
[0762] Must support existing functionality without requiring iHub
polling of panel.
[0763] Should work with Chime mode Off (or On)
[0764] Cannot interfere with normal Vista panel operation.
[0765] iSPIM needs to transmit a heartbeat to the iHub.
Existing Functionality, Ability to Detect a Panel's:
[0766] When the following events occur the iSPIM will force a
packet transmission using the panel's radio:
[0767] Arm/Disarm states
[0768] Alarm states
[0769] Alarm Cancel
[0770] Zones faulted
[0771] Zone's Alarm state
[0772] Zone's tamper, battery low states, bypassed
[0773] Panel status including battery low, AC low, tamper, Chime,
bypassed
[0774] Exit Delay
[0775] Miscellaneous packets presently available including
Installer Mode, Test Mode, Dialer Failure, Panel Power Up, RF Jam
Detect . . .
[0776] Existing Limitations or Possible Improvements:
[0777] Zone closure events
[0778] Bypassed zones--transmit zones as they are bypassed.
[0779] Questions and Comments
[0780] FCC
[0781] Does a 5800TM transmitter exceed FCC requirements when it
transmits for over 5 seconds?
[0782] Example with 6 zones open, after querying the panel, the
5800TM will transmit all 6 zones over a period of about 15
seconds.
[0783] Will an event driven system as proposed meet FCC
requirements?
[0784] FCC contact.
[0785] ECP Commands
[0786] What type of ECP commands can the iSPIM use to control the
Vista Operation that will meet the requirements? The following
apply to the 5800, 5883, 6150/60RF radios unless states otherwise.
If the commands differ between radios please state so in the
answers. Also note these are for wired and wireless zones. Some
possible examples or related questions:
[0787] First assume the bus supports multi-masters, so that the
iSPIM can place a command on the bus without interfering with the
Vista processors operation.
[0788] Bus command that will make a radio transmit zone info?
[0789] Bus command where the iSPIM can specify the specific zone
number to transmits? Or for 6150/60RF, are we limited to what is
displayed on thekeypad?
[0790] Bus command that will make a radio transmit panel status
including arm/disarm/alarm?
[0791] Bus command for transmitting any zones health status such as
battery low, tamper . . .
[0792] Create our own packets?--NO
[0793] emulate receiver status press--YES
[0794] wait till proper display is up then do status press then do
transmisson--iSPIM Plus
[0795] emulate a receiver to or create fathom non alarm
zones?--NO
Behavioral Issues
[0796] The iHub will still have to query the panel for all panel
status and open zone states under certain conditions, for example
when the iHub boots.
[0797] After a disarm from alarm condition all open zones no longer
alarmed must be transmitted to iHub, otherwise they will stay in
the portal's breached zone list.
[0798] Wired zone closure detection, possible solutions :
[0799] a. After first zone open, cause a transmission of status
after any zone open/close--for detecting zone closures. Repeat
transmission to get all the data out without violating FCC 5 sec
rule. maybe get around the 5 sec rule as follows: vista radio
transmits zones for 5 sec, if the iHUb has not seen a repeat yet,
iHub then requests a new set of zone status immediately after for
another 5 sec. Is this OK because it is NOT a periodic poll, but is
just a reaction to the event the iHiub got from the panel
[0800] b. Panel transmits a packet we define that iHub uses to
detect zone closure.
[0801] c. when zone closes, transmit adjacent packet, like 3,4,5,4
closes, 3,5 . . . to know zone 4 closed
[0802] Notes: Commands from vista receiver different than from
keypad
[0803] Other:
[0804] U.L approved device not required for non-u.l
installations.
Command and Event Capabilities with the Vista 20 and Vista 20P
[0805] The Vista 20 has been around for many years as the Vista 20P
is relatively new. I think the Vista 20P has replaced the Vista 20.
From what I can tell, they added in support for LRR-ECP Data into
the Vista 20P(Vista 10P as well). The Vista 20P allows the panel to
support GSM and Internet modules such as the 7847i which allow the
better access to the outside world including compatibility with
Total Connect. This new support allows LRR devices such as GSM and
Internet modules to efficiently retrieve system information from
the panel as well as control it. Support for downloading thru the
data bus was also added. I have not been able to verify but my
guess is that none of the Vista 20's support the LRR-ECP Data
devices and all of the Vista 20P's support the LRR-ECP Data
devices.
[0806] The Vista 21iP is very similar to the Vista 20P, except the
internet module has been built onto the Vista 21iP panel. It
appears to be similar to a Vista 20P with an added external bus
internet module.
[0807] On the Vista 20P panels, the most efficient way to gather
the information of interest would be to emulate a LRR device. On
the older Vista 20 panel, much of this same information could be
gathered, although less efficiently by emulating a keypad. I have
not found any indications that would suggest that the Vista 20
could be downloaded thru the data bus.
[0808] Emulating a keypad would allow the ihub to receive the
keypad displays in ASCII. The ihub would need to parse thru the
ascii strings to figure out what information is present. Then it
would need to apply logic, sometimes based on previous panel states
to determine the current panel state. If there are many events, it
can be slow to receive information because each keypad message is
displayed for multiple seconds before moving onto the next. This is
similar to the wireless application that iControl is currently
implementing, with the exception that the communication from the
panel will be more consistent with the bus application. Zone
restorals cannot be detected immediately because they can only be
detected by an absence of the zone open message.
[0809] Emulating a GSM or Internet module would be much more
straightforward to implement. For example, if there is a change in
the state of the zones, the Vista 20P panel transmits a message
indicating a zone state change has occurred. The GSM or internet
module will then send the following 5 query requests to the panel:
list all the faulted/open zones, list all the tampered zones, list
all the alarm zones, list all zones in RF supervisory, and list all
zones with low batteries. The GSM or Internet module is able to
gather all this information very quickly. Also note that the GSM or
Internet module can obtain information such as sensor lists and
user codes without the system going into program mode.
[0810] Below is a list of the events/commands contained in the
iControl API document. In the columns to the right is information
as to whether or not the event/command can be detected/executed by
emulating either a keypad or a 7847i Internet module.
[0811] Security System Events
TABLE-US-00023 Emulating 7847i Events/Commands from API document
Emulating Keypad Internet module Notes Security Panel Interface Can
this be detected or executed. Asynchronous Events ALARM event YES
YES ALARM Restore Not sure what this is? ALARM Cancel YES YES CMS
REPORT event Cannot directly tell. TROUBLE event YES YES TROUBLE
RESTORE event YES YES ARM PROTEST START event YES YES ARM PROTEST
END event Not sure? ARM STATE CHANGE event YES YES DELAY START
event YES YES DELAY END event YES YES PROGRAMMING MODE START event
YES YES PROGRAMMING MODE END event YES YES PANEL DOWN event YES YES
PANEL READY event YES YES SENSOR ADD event YES if done YES if done
w/keypad, but may w/keypad, but be tricky may be tricky SENSOR
STATE CHANGE event YES, but may not YES be instant SENSOR DELETE
event YES if done YES if done w/keypad, but may w/keypad, but be
tricky may be tricky SENSOR MODIFY event YES if done YES if done
w/keypad, but may w/keypad, but be tricky may be tricky TEXT
DISPLAY event YES YES SECURITY CODE ADD event YES if done YES if
done w/keypad, but may w/keypad, but be tricky may be tricky
SECURITY CODE DELETE event YES if done YES if done w/keypad, but
may w/keypad, but be tricky may be tricky SECURITY CODE MODIFY
event YES if done YES if done w/keypad, but may w/keypad, but be
tricky may be tricky MASTER CODE CHANGE event YES if done YES if
done w/keypad, but may w/keypad, but be tricky may be tricky
Commands Arm YES YES Panic Alarm YES YES Cancel Panic Alarm YES YES
Force arm (indirect bypass) YES YES Cancel Protest YES YES Bypass
sensor YES YES Cancel sensor bypass YES YES Enter programming mode
YES No, but could 7847i can up/download also emulate keypad. Leave
programming mode YES No, but could also emulate keypad. Enter User
programming mode YES Not sure, but could also emulate keypad. Leave
User programming mode YES Not sure, but could also emulate keypad.
Change master code YES YES Learn sensor YES No, but could 7847i can
up/download also emulate keypad. Add Sensor YES No, but could 7847i
can up/download also emulate keypad. Learn sensor abort YES No, but
could 7847i can up/download also emulate keypad. Delete sensor YES
No, but could 7847i can up/download also emulate keypad. Modify
Sensor YES No, but could 7847i can up/download also emulate keypad.
Get sensor list YES, but involves YES, can do going into pgm
without enter mode program mode. Get sensor information YES, but
involves YES, can do going into pgm without enter mode program
mode. Get panel arm state YES YES Begin keypad emulation mode YES
YES End keypad emulation mode YES YES Simulate keypress YES YES Get
list of supported tokens Not Sure Not Sure Get system version
Information Not Sure YES Get security code list YES YES Add
security code YES YES Delete security code YES YES Modify user YES
YES Quick Exit YES YES Set Chime Mode YES YES Get Security Options
Home Automation Interface Commands Get Registered Devices Get
Unregistered Devices Get Extended Device Information Get Device
State Register Device Modify Device UnRegister Device Get Cameras
GetDeviceHistory GetSecurityHistory GetSensorHistory
GetSecurityCodes GetSensors Events DEVICE ADD event DEVICE MODIFY
event DEVICE STATE CHANGE event DEVICE DELETE event Local client
APIs Commands Set backlight Get value of backlight Set volume Get
value of volume Set Timezone The Preference APIs Commands Get Named
Preference Set Named Preference Delete Named Preference Get
Preference Names
[0812] Reliably Receiving Zone State Changes by Listening on HW
Bus:
[0813] RF Sensors Enrolled into HW Panel
[0814] Panel could monitor receiver bus transmissions which contain
all RF packets received so all wireless state changes received by
panel would also be received by listener module.
[0815] Hardwire sensors enrolled into HW panel
[0816] Summary:
[0817] When listening to Vista 20P bus messages, there is a danger
of missing quick zone faults. There is even a bigger danger of
missing the event of a faulted zone being restored and then quickly
faulted again. There are some things that can be done to improve
this, but not make it bulletproof.
[0818] Details:
[0819] When a single zone is faulted, the panel immediately sends a
bus message to the keypad indicating the open zone. However, if
multiple zones are tripped at the same time, the panel immediately
sends a bus message for only one of the zones to the keypad. It
will then cycle thru sending the rest of the open zones to the
keypad, one every couple seconds, so it could a couple seconds to
get notice that the 2nd sensor is open. This time could be longer
if there are more open zones. There is also a chance the sensor
could be restored before the panel gets around to sending the bus
message indicating the zone is faulted. If this happens, the zone
fault indication will never be sent on the bus. One thing that
could significantly reduce the chance of missing a zone fault would
be to have the listening device constantly send a keypad "*" key
bus message which requests system status. Everytime this occurs,
the keypad broadcasts the next system state rather than waiting a
couple of seconds. If there are many sensors open, there is still a
chance of missing a zone fault in the event of two zones faulting
at the same time.
[0820] To determine a faulted zone has been restored, you need to
detect that the panel is no longer transmitting a faulted zone
message for that zone. In order to do this, you must wait for the
panel to cycle thru its list of open sensors. If a sensor is
restored and faulted again, the listening device may fail to catch
these zone transitions.
[0821] Emulating a Honeywell Advanced User Interface (AUI) bus
device is a more reliable way to monitor these devices, but I don't
think it is supported on all versions of the Vista 20P.
[0822] See FIG. 25A-E.
[0823] 6150RF
[0824] As previously believed, there are no signals from the panel
instructing the 6150RF to transmit RF. The panel sends hardwired
bus keypad display commands about every 4 seconds to the hardwired
keypads. These keypad display commands instruct the keypad what to
display as well as the 6150RF what to transmit to the RF keypad.
However, the 6150RF determines whether or not to transmit them.
Normally, these messages are not transmitted wirelessly by the
615RF keypad. However in certain cases they are.
[0825] The hardwired bus keypad display messages have bytes that
indicate the state of the fixed display icons and whether or not
the keypad should beep.
[0826] The 6150RF keypad wirelessly transmits all hardwire bus
keypad commands for 5 seconds after one of the following events
occur: [0827] 1. A hardwired bus keypad display message indicates a
change in panel status(panel status bytes are included in each
keypad transmission. The 6150RF tracks these states and transmits
based on a change in status) [0828] This includes the transmitting
when the first open zone is opened because it changes the panel
state from ready to arm to not ready to arm. [0829] However, the
second zone opened will not be transmitted unless it occurs within
5 seconds of the first. [0830] 2. Bytes 7,8,9 of the keypad message
indicate the keypad should beep. This is why there are RF
transmissions for chime zones and also for a panel disarm when the
panel was already disarmed. [0831] 3. The 6150RF receives a "*"
command from a wireless keypad.
[0832] It appears that most/all panel status changes are
transmitted by the 6150RF independent of iHUB polling.
[0833] Note:
[0834] A Hardwired keypad "*" keypress will cause the panel to
increment immediately to the next open zone rather than waiting for
3-4 seconds. This will allow more status transmissions to transmit
in the 5 second window.
[0835] Other Directions
[0836] 1. We could possibly add a 5800TM module along with the
iSPIM [0837] Not sure if 5800TM transmits the same RF data we are
setup to receive since it supports only lower end keypads
[0838] 2. We could use Partition 2 for iHUB communication. We could
program non-alarm zones into the panel that mirror the real zones.
Each real zone could have a Partition 2 zone programmed that would
indicate the real zone has been opened and a Partition 2 zone that
would indicate the zone has been restored. The non-alarm zones
would be triggered by the iSPIM which would emulate a bus zone
expander module and trip them at the appropriate times. [0839] more
programming for installers [0840] not sure if the 6150RF will
transmit RF for Partition #2(Can't get it to on my system) [0841] a
5839 wireless keypad is supported in partition #2, but requires the
panel to use a 5883 transceiver. [0842] I can't get the 5828 keypad
to work in partition 2. I can't find any documentation indicating
whether or not it will. I tried calling Safemart for the answer,
but they are closed today.
[0843] maybe the 5800TM will transmit in Partition #2??
[0844] 3. We could emulate a hardwired keypad and do one of the
events that causes the start of the 5 minute transmit window. We
can then press hardwired keypad "*" presses to advance the keypad
display thru the list of troubles. All the troubles that are
displayed on the hardwired keypad within 5 seconds will be
transmitted.
[0845] For example, we transmit the hardwired keypad keypresses on
the bus to toggle the chime feature on/off, then transmit multiple
hardwired "*" kepresses to cause panel to advance to thru many
display messages which will cause the 6150RF keypad transmit all
the displayed messages that occur within 5 seconds of the chime
being re-enabled. [0846] The number of events that can be
transmitted in the 5 second window is limited. Every time a panel
status event occurs(such as chime on/off), it resets the list back
to the beginning, so we may never be able to transmit the upper
zone openings if too many zones are open. One way around this is to
enroll extra non-alarm zones every 2 or 3 zones (controlled by the
iSPIM). To the panel the zones would be enrolled thru a zone
expander module, but it would actually be an iSPIM emulating a zone
expander module. We would then have control of where we are in the
zone list by tripping these phantom zones. Will be more work for
installers, ihub, and iSPIM. [0847] If we were to use chime on and
chime off, the transmissions may exceed the 5 second window because
the first transmission will be sent when the chime on command is
received, but the 5 second timer will be reset when the chime off
command is received. [0848] If we use chime on/off, the keypads
will beep. [0849] Most events that will cause a transmission will
also cause a keypad beep [0850] If the beep (chime or arming) is
disabled at the 6150RF keypad, then the 6150RF keypad does not send
any transmissions for disarm or opening of chime sensors.
[0851] Panel state changes that will cause transmissions from the
6150RF
TABLE-US-00024 Panel beeps Arming level change Battery icon on/off
AC icon on/off Check icon on/off Ready to Arm LED on/off Chime icon
on/off Bypass icon on/off Alarm icon on/off
[0852] 4. We could do the wireless iSPIM. There are many less
variables and unknowns if we do the wireless iSPIM. All the
required commands an panel behavior is known. We would also greatly
increase our ability to accurately detect the zone states when many
zones are open. To meet the initial order demand, we could marry
the current iSPIM to the current Honeywell Transceiver. We would
need an enclosure, but I have an off the shelf enclosure that might
work. The iSPIM would track panel conditions and transmit any
changes directly to the iHUB using the HW transceiver. The iSPIM
transmissions would match the transmissions the Vista normally
transmits so that no changes would be required on the iHUB side. To
indicate a zone closure, the iSPIM would transmit the zone
preceding the closed zone and the zone following the closed zone.
The iHUB could infer the zone has been closed based on it'
absence.
[0853] See FIG. 26.
[0854] See FIGS. 27-38.
[0855] Online Website to Verify CRC Values
[0856] Go to http://www.zorc.breitbandkatze.de/crc.html
[0857] Enter 16 for order, 8005 for polynom, 0 for init value, 0
for final XOR value.
[0858] check the direct box, uncheck the reverse data bytes box and
the reverse CRC result box
[0859] Enter data sequence, put % before each hex byte value.
[0860] Click on the "COMPUTE!" button
[0861] This document contains all the known available Honeywell ECP
data bus commands between the Vista-20P and the 7847i internet
module which will be referred to as "internet module". These
commands were discovered by exercising the features of the Total
Connect system with the Vista-20P while monitoring and deciphering
the bus data between the Vista-20P and the internet module.
[0862] Refer to TotalConnectDescription1.doc to see how the
Honeywell Total Connect system works.
[0863] Worksheet Descriptions
[0864] The Total Connect Commands worksheet of this document
contains a list of all the internet module commands that are used
by the Total Connect interface. Commands are listed in the order
they are used by the Total Connect System. This was done to show
how the Total Connect system uses these commands.
[0865] The IM_Command_Summary worksheet of this document contains a
list of all the known available internet module commands.
[0866] The IM Command Details worksheet defines the bytes within
the commands. This whole document, particulary the IM Co.about.mand
Details worksheet will be a living document that will be
continually updated as we test more panel cases, see more data, and
define more bytes of the commands.
[0867] The KP_Commands worksheet describes the KP bus commands.
[0868] The RF Receiver worksheet lists the commands the Vista panel
transmits to the RF Receiver. For the iHUB, development, these
commands will not be used. They are listed in this document because
they will be received by the iSPIM. The iSPIM will ignore these
transmissions.
[0869] The Relay Module worksheet contains bus communication
between the Vista Panel and the bus relay module. The internet
module emulates the bus relay module when used with the Total
Connect System. The Total Connect System uses the programmable
relay outputs to trigger text messages and emails. It is undecided
at this time whether the iHUB will make use of these programmable
outputs. The bus relay module communication is not fully defined at
this time.
[0870] The HW_Low_Level info worksheet describes the lower level
bus communication details that will be handled by the iSPIM.
[0871] Dan's view of how this functionality should be implemented
using the iSPIM is listed below:
[0872] 1 ISPIM will handle all normal supervisory activity with the
panel.
[0873] 2 The iSPIM will "ACK" all panel messages that require
"ACK's.
[0874] 3 The iSPIM will pass all messages of interest from the
Vista panel to the iHUB.
[0875] 4 When bus messages of interest are passed to the iHUB, the
complete message will be passed (nothing stripped).
[0876] 5 The iSPIM will pass all keypad display messages to the
iHUB.
[0877] 6 Generally, the iSPIM will act as a pass thru device. With
few exceptions, it will not decode non-supervision internet module
or keypad bus messages. Exceptions include:
[0878] Supervision bus activity
[0879] iSPIM will automatically request a Zone List of open zones
anytime a partition status message is received.
[0880] 7 When the iHUB wants to transmit a command on the HW bus,
it will pass the complete transmit packet to the iSPIM.
[0881] 8 The iSPIM will handle the handshaking and timing
requirements needed to transmit the packet on the HW bus.
[0882] 9 The iHUB should poll the panel on a regular basis for
system status. Zone state and arming level changes cause a status
update message, but system status changes (i.e. panel LB, AC fail,
bus device supv) do not cause a status update message.
[0883] 10 Status update messages contain system status, but not
detailed zone status. The iHUB will be responsible for requesting
Zone Lists of the various sensor conditions (all open sensors, all
troubled sensors, . . . ) when appropriate.
[0884] 11 For debugging purposes, we should have a way to monitor
and log the bus traffic between the iHUB and iSPIM.
[0885] Listed herein are the known available Honeywell ECP data bus
commands between the Vista-20P and the 7847i interne module which
will be referred to as "automation module". These commands were
discovered by exercising the features of the Total Connect system
with the Vista-20P while monitoring and deciphering the bus data
between the Vista-20P and the automation module.
[0886] Refer to TotalConnectDescription1.doc to see how the
Honeywell Total Connect system works.
[0887] The Command Summary tab of this document contains a list of
all the known available automation module commands. Commands are
organized similar to the way that they are accessed thru the Total
Connect System.
[0888] The Command Details tab of this document contains a
breakdown of the commands. Not all the commands are broken down at
this time. This tab will become more complete as more information
about the commands are realized.
[0889] The KP_Commands tab describes the KP bus commands.
[0890] The HW_Low_Level_Info tab describes the lower level bus
communication details that will be handled by the iSPIM.
[0891] Dan's view of how this functionality should be implemented
using the iSP1M is listed below: [0892] 1 ISPIM will handle all
normal supervisory activity with the panel. [0893] 2 The iSPIM will
"ACK" automation messages from the Vista panel and pass the
complete(nothing stripped) messages to the iHUB. [0894] 3 The iSPIM
will pass all broadcast keypad messages to the iHUB. [0895] 4
Except for the supervisory bus activity, the iSPIM will act as a
pass thru device. It will not decode non-supervision automation or
keypad bus messages. [0896] 5 When the iHUB wants to transmit a
command on the HW bus, it will pass the complete transmit packet to
the iSPIM. The iSPIM will handle the handshaking and timing
requirements needed to transmit the packet on the HW bus. [0897] 6
The iHUB should poll the panel on a regular basis for status.(zone
state changes cause a status update message, but system status
changes(i.e. panel LB, AC fail, bus device supervisory) do not
cause a status update message. [0898] 7 Status update messages
contain system status, but not detailed zone status. Anytime, a
status update message is received, the panel should poll the HW
panel for the various lists of sensor conditions(all open sensors,
all troubled sensors, . . . ) [0899] 8 For debugging purposes, we
should have a way to monitor and log the iHUB to iSPIM bus
traffic.
[0900] #include <stdio.h>
* * * * *
References