111111
`
`1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
`US010803685B2
`
`c12) United States Patent
`Marcinkowski et al.
`
`(10) Patent No.: US 10,803,685 B2
`*Oct. 13, 2020
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`(54) SMART THERMOSTAT HUB
`
`(56)
`
`(71) Applicant: EDST, LLC, Lubbock, TX (US)
`
`(72)
`
`Inventors: Dave Marcinkowski, Lubbock, TX
`(US); Thomas Mandry, Lubbock, TX
`(US)
`
`(73) Assignee: EDST, LLC, Lubbock, TX (US)
`
`( *) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`This patent is subject to a terminal dis-
`claimer.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 16/706,442
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Dec. 6, 2019
`
`(65)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`US 2020/0118371 Al
`Apr. 16, 2020
`Related U.S. Application Data
`(63) Continuation of application No. 16/162,262, filed on
`Oct. 16, 2018.
`
`(51)
`
`(2018.01)
`(2020.01)
`(2009.01)
`
`Int. Cl.
`H04W 4100
`G07C 9100
`H04W 12104
`(52) U.S. Cl.
`CPC ..... G07C 9100182 (2013.01); G07C 9100904
`(2013.01); H04W 12104 (2013.01);
`(Continued)
`(58) Field of Classification Search
`CPC ........... G07C 2009/00317; G07C 2009/00769;
`G07C 9/00309; G07C 9/00571;
`(Continued)
`
`100 \~"
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`10/2016 Robinson
`9,478,084 B1
`9,666,000 B1 * 5/2017 Schoenfelder . G07C 9/00309
`(Continued)
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`EP
`wo
`
`0533507 A1
`W0-2014107196 A1
`
`3/1993
`7/2014
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`International Search Report and Written Opinion issued for PCT
`Application No. PCT/IB2019/057876, dated Dec. 10, 2019, 30
`pages.
`
`Primary Examiner- Dionne Pendleton
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm- Norton Rose Fulbright
`US LLP
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`A smart thermostat hub and a management platform for
`controlling and securing smart devices in a multi-family
`residential property are disclosed. Smart thermostat hubs
`may bi-directionally communicate with the management
`platform using a LoRa WAN communication link and com-
`municate with smart devices present within an apartment of
`the multi-family residential property via a non-LoRaWAN
`communication link. Smart thermostat hub may provide a
`gateway or bridge between the management platform and an
`ofl.line door lock, thereby enabling access credentials for an
`ofl.line door lock to be disabled from the management
`platform, and may serve to facilitate remote configuration of
`other smart devices, such as thermostats and smart light
`fixtures, for example.
`
`24 Claims, 10 Drawing Sheets
`
`Smart Hub
`
`Page 1 of 29
`
`iApartments Ex. 1018
`
`

`

`US 10,803,685 B2
`Page 2
`
`(52) U.S. Cl.
`CPC .............. G07C 2009/00198 (2013.01); G07C
`2009/00333 (2013.01); G07C 2009/00357
`(2013.01); G07C 2009/00507 (2013.01); G07C
`2009/00769 (2013.01); G07C 2009/00825
`(2013.01)
`
`(58) Field of Classification Search
`CPC ........ G07C 9/00904; G07C 9/27; G07C 9/21;
`G07C 2009/00198; G07C 2009/00333;
`G07C 2009/00357; G07C 2009/00507;
`H04L 67/02; H04L 67/06; H04L 67/1023;
`H04L 67/104; H04L 67/12; H04W 4/021;
`H04W 4/027; H04W 4/80; H04W 4/90
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`2015/0287256 A1 * 10/2015 Davis ... .... ... ... ... . G07C 9/00309
`340/5.25
`2016/0005247 A1
`112016 Mehl et a!.
`2016/0124401 A1
`5/2016 Li
`2016/0239001 A1
`8/2016 Chin et a!.
`4/2018 Deros et al.
`2018/0110093 A1
`2018/0234489 A1 *
`8/2018 Hannnons ............... H04L 67/02
`2019/0371096 A1 *
`12/2019 Fisher ...................... G07C 9/27
`2020/0090441 A1 *
`3/2020 Kuenzi
`........... H04W 12/00407
`* cited by examiner
`
`Page 2 of 29
`
`iApartments Ex. 1018
`
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`Page 3 of 29
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`iApartments Ex. 1018
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`Page 4 of 29
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`iApartments Ex. 1018
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`Page 5 of 29
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`iApartments Ex. 1018
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`Page 6 of 29
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`iApartments Ex. 1018
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`Page 7 of 29
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`iApartments Ex. 1018
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`
`Page 8 of 29
`
`iApartments Ex. 1018
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 13, 2020
`
`Sheet 7 of 10
`
`US 10,803,685 B2
`
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`
`Page 9 of 29
`
`iApartments Ex. 1018
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 13, 2020
`
`Sheet 8 of 10
`
`US 10,803,685 B2
`
`1000
`
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`Page 10 of 29
`
`iApartments Ex. 1018
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`

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`Page 11 of 29
`
`iApartments Ex. 1018
`
`

`

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`
`Page 12 of 29
`
`iApartments Ex. 1018
`
`

`

`US 10,803,685 B2
`
`2
`manager or property maintenance personnel, to connect
`(e.g., via a universal serial bus (USB) connection) an exter-
`nal device (e.g., a laptop, tablet, or other electronic device)
`to the offline door lock and then use software or another
`utility provided by the external device to disable access
`credentials. The requirement that access credentials for
`offline door locks be disabled in person presents risks with
`respect to the security of residents of a multi-family resi-
`dential property. For example, if a resident's access creden-
`10 tial (e.g., fob, smartcard, etc.) is lost or stolen, the access
`device may be used to gain entry into the resident's apart-
`ment before the appropriate personnel can visit the resi-
`dent's apartment and use an external device to disable the
`lost or stolen access credential. As another example, if a
`15 resident gives an access credential to a non-resident and then
`has a falling out with the non-resident, the resident cannot
`prevent the non-resident from using access credential to gain
`entry into the resident's apartment and must wait until the
`appropriate personnel can visit the resident's apartment to
`20 disable the access credential provided to the non-resident.
`
`1
`SMART THERMOSTAT HUB
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent
`application Ser. No. 16/162,262 filed Oct. 16, 2018, entitled
`"SMART THERMOSTAT HUB," the disclosures of which
`are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
`
`TECHNICAL FIELD
`
`The present disclosure is directed to an intelligent ther-
`mostat. In particular, the present disclosure is directed to an
`intelligent thermostat that can function as a hub having
`multi-band/multi-radio communication capabilities and can
`be implemented in a system for controlling and securing
`offline door locks and other smart devices within a multi-
`family property.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`SUMMARY
`
`Technology and the benefits it provides often plays an
`important role with respect to how many consumers make
`decisions. This has become increasingly so in the real-estate 25
`industry, and more specifically in the multi-family residen-
`tial property market. To illustrate, Class A multi-family
`residential properties (e.g., apartments, etc.) may have key-
`less entry systems installed that allow residents to gain entry
`into their respective apartments by placing a fob, smart-
`phone, or smartcard in proximity to a door lock. As another
`example, these Class A multi-family residential properties
`may have been constructed with infrastructure, such as
`Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) access points and/or wired net-
`works (e.g., Ethernet), for providing Internet access to 35
`residents. While the security and convenience these tech-
`nologies provide are attractive to residents, deploying such
`technologies in older multi-family residential properties,
`such as Class B and C multi-family residential properties,
`can be cost prohibitive and/or present challenges with 40
`respect to the security of residents of the multi-family
`residential property.
`For example, keyless entry systems may utilize online
`door locks or offline door locks. Online door locks may be
`controlled (e.g., locked and unlocked) remotely through an 45
`Internet-accessible network connection and locally by a
`device (e.g., a fob, smartphone, smartcard, etc.) that is
`placed in proximity to a sensor of the online door lock, while
`offline door locks can only be controlled (e.g., locked and
`unlocked) by a device (e.g., a fob, smartphone, smartcard, 50
`etc.) that is placed in proximity to a sensor of the offline door
`lock. The cost to deploy an online door lock-based keyless
`entry system in a multi-family residential property can be
`significantly higher than offline door lock-based keyless
`entry systems due to the requirement that network commu- 55
`nication infrastructure (e.g., a mesh network, a Wi-Fi net-
`work, etc.) be provided to facilitate network-based control of
`the door lock.
`While less expensive to deploy, the offline door lock-
`based keyless entry systems present challenges with respect 60
`to security. For example, in addition to being controlled
`remotely, online door locks can be managed remotely, such
`as to authorize and disable new access credentials. For
`offline door locks, new access credentials for controlling an
`offline door lock may be created via a network-based appli-
`cation (e.g., a cloud-based application or website); however,
`offline door locks require an individual, such as a property
`
`Embodiments described herein provide a system that
`comprises smart thermostat hubs and a management plat-
`form for controlling and securing smart devices in a multi-
`family residential property. Smart thermostat hubs may
`comprise a first communication interface that facilitates
`bi-directional communication between smart thermostat hub
`30 and the management platform and a second communication
`interface
`that
`facilitates bi-directional communication
`between the thermostat smart hub and the smart devices
`present within a unit of the multi-family residential property.
`Smart thermostat hub may provide a gateway or bridge
`between the management platform and an offline door lock,
`thereby enabling access credentials for an offline door lock
`to be disabled from the management platform via the
`bi-directional communication links provided by the first and
`second communication interfaces of smart thermostat hub.
`In addition to providing enhanced the security for offline
`door lock-based keyless entry systems, smart thermostat hub
`may also provide functionality for automating and improv-
`ing various property management tasks. For example, the
`management platform may be configured to automatically
`detect (e.g., based on a database) when a unit of a multi-
`family residential property becomes vacant and may trans-
`mit control information to smart thermostat hub of the
`vacant unit. The control information may include informa-
`tion that identifies various smart devices within the unit, as
`well as parameters for configuring the identified smart
`devices. Upon receiving the control information via first
`communication interface, smart thermostat hub may trans-
`mit commands to each of the identified smart devices via
`second communication interface, where the commands con-
`figure the identified smart devices in accordance with
`parameters specified in the control information. Similar
`operations may be performed when the management plat-
`form detects that a resident is scheduled to move in to a
`vacant unit of the multi-family residential property.
`The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and
`technical advantages of the present invention in order that
`the detailed description of the invention that follows may be
`better understood. Additional features and advantages of the
`invention will be described hereinafter which form the
`65 subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appre-
`ciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and
`specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a
`
`Page 13 of 29
`
`iApartments Ex. 1018
`
`

`

`US 10,803,685 B2
`
`4
`which render other details difficult to perceive may have
`been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that this
`disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments
`illustrated herein.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`3
`basis for modifying or designing other structures for carry-
`ing out the same purposes of the present invention. It should
`also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equiva-
`lent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of
`the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The novel
`features which are believed to be characteristic of the
`invention, both as to its organization and method of opera-
`tion, together with further objects and advantages will be
`better understood from the following description when con-
`sidered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to 10
`be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is
`provided for the purpose of illustration and description only
`and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present
`invention.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`For a more complete understanding of the disclosed
`methods and apparatuses, reference should be made to the
`embodiments illustrated in greater detail in the accompany-
`ing drawings, wherein:
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for
`managing and securing access credentials for accessing a
`multi-family residential property using smart devices in
`accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a smart thermostat hub in
`accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;
`FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another smart hub in
`accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;
`FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a modular smart thermostat
`hub in accordance with embodiments of the present disclo-
`sure;
`FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating aspects of an
`intelligent property management system configured in
`accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;
`FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating additional aspects of
`an intelligent property management system configured in
`accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;
`FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating additional aspects of
`an intelligent property management system configured in 40
`accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;
`FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method
`for securing smart devices within an apartment of a multi-
`family residential property in accordance with embodiments
`of the present disclosure;
`FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for
`retrieving access log data from an of!Iine door lock in
`accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;
`FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary
`method for securing an of!Iine door lock of an apartment of 50
`a multi-family residential property in accordance with
`embodiments of the present disclosure;
`FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary
`method for securing an of!Iine door lock of an apartment of
`a multi-family residential property in accordance with 55
`embodiments of the present disclosure;
`FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary features
`of an of!Iine door lock configured in accordance with
`embodiments of the present disclosure; and
`FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of 60
`a smart thermostat in accordance with embodiments of the
`present disclosure.
`It should be understood that the drawings are not neces-
`sarily to scale and that the disclosed embodiments are
`sometimes illustrated diagrammatically and in partial views.
`In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an
`understanding of the disclosed methods and apparatuses or
`
`Referring to FIG. 1, a block diag