User identification and location determination in control applications

摘要

A system in which a portable electronic device communicates with an external device to determine a location. Upon determining its location, the portable electronic device transmits this information as well as identifying information to a control processor. The control processor controls one or more controllable devices according to the location and identifying information. The portable electronic device may determine the location via NFC tag or via one or more RF beacons transmitting information according to the Bluetooth 4.0 protocol.

主权项

1. A system for providing individualized control, the system comprising:
(a) one or more RF beacons configured for periodically broadcasting a control processor ID and a beacon ID, wherein each of the one or more RF beacons is further configured for periodically broadcasting an application identifier; (b) a portable electronic device identified by a user ID and comprising a first network interface, a display, a memory encoding one or more processor-executable instructions and a processor configured to load the one or more processor-executable instructions when encoded from the memory wherein the one or more processor-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause acts to be performed comprising:
(i) receiving from at least one of the one or more RF beacons, the control processor ID and the beacon ID of each RF beacon via the first network interface of the portable electronic device,(ii) estimating a distance to at least one of the one or more RF beacons according to a detected signal strength of the RF beacon,(iii) determining a location of the portable electronic device based on the distance to at least one of the one or more RF beacons,(iv) establishing communication with a control processor corresponding to the control processor ID,(v) transmitting the location of the portable electronic device and the user ID to the control processor,(vi) receiving the application identifier from at least one of the one or more RF beacons, and(vii) opening a control application on the portable electronic device corresponding to the application identifier; and (c) a control processor comprising a network interface, a memory encoding one or more processor-executable instructions and a processor configured to load the one or more processor-executable instructions when encoded from the memory wherein the one or more processor-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause acts to be performed comprising
(i) receiving the location of the portable electronic device and the user ID, and(ii) executing a default control action according to the location and the user ID.