K4connect Inc.

Jonathan Andrew Gould

Daniel Mark Floyd

Mark Robert Adams

F Scott Moody

Richard Clancy

Kuldip S Pabla

Michael Scott Althoff

Chris Tunstall

Robert Shannon Smith

A home automation (HA) system may include at least one HA operation device that includes a user-settable thermostat for controlling a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system associated with a living area of a user. The HA system may also include a controller. The controller may be configured to collect user thermostat setting data from the user-settable thermostat, and use machine learning to identify a health condition of the user based upon the user thermostat setting data.

Home automation (HA) system for identifying a health condition based upon user thermostat setting data and related methods

A home automation (HA) system may include, within a senior living facility, a cloud server, HA operation devices and HA user interface devices for respective users. Each HA user interface device may wirelessly communicate with the HA operation devices and the cloud server. HA hub devices may provide communications for the HA user interface devices, the HA operation devices, and the cloud server. A caregiver interface device may cooperate with the cloud server to display contextual information for a respective user. The cloud server may cooperate with the caregiver interface device to determine when the caregiver interface device is within a room in the senior living facility associated with the respective user, and when so, determine a current operation of a given HA operation device, determine the contextual information based upon the current operation of the given HA operation device, and communicate the contextual information to the caregiver interface device.

Home automation system including operation based contextual information communications and related methods

A home automation (HA) system may include a first HA device having a network address associated therewith. The first HA device may include a first wireless device to receive a network address request using a first wireless protocol, and a second wireless device to transmit the network address using a second wireless protocol. The HA system may also include a second HA device. The second HA device may include a first wireless device to transmit the network address request to the first wireless device of the first HA device. The second HA device may also include a second wireless device receiving the network address and using the network address to communicate with the second wireless device of the first HA device using the second wireless protocol.

Home automation (HA) system communicating a network address request and network address using first and second wireless protocols and related methods

A home automation (HA) system may include a first HA device having a network address associated therewith. The first HA device may include a first wireless device to transmit the network address using a first wireless protocol, and a second wireless device using a second wireless protocol. The HA system may also include a second HA device. The second HA device may include a first wireless device to receive the network address from the first wireless device of the first HA device, and a second wireless device using the network address to communicate with the second wireless device of the first HA device using the second wireless protocol.

Home automation (HA) system communicating a network address using first and second wireless protocols and related methods

A home automation (HA) system may include addressable HA devices and a user interface device configured to permit user social networking and generate user social networking data based thereon. The HA system may also include a controller and a memory coupled thereto and configured to store measured user health data and determine user physical activity data based upon the addressable HA devices. The controller and the memory may be configured to generate a user health score based upon the user social networking data, user health data, and user physical activity data and communicate the user health score via the cloud.

Home automation system generating user health score and related methods

A home automation (HA) system may include HA operation devices and HA user interface devices for respective users. Each HA user interface device may be configured to wirelessly communicate with at least one of the HA operation devices. The HA system may also include HA hub devices configured to provide communications for the HA user interface devices and the HA operation devices. A cloud server may be configured to communicate with the HA hub devices, determine a needed maintenance operation for a given one of the HA operation devices, and communicate the needed maintenance operation to the given one of the HA operation devices. The cloud server may also be configured to duplicate communicating the needed maintenance operation to others of the HA operation devices.

Home automation system including cloud server based maintenance operation communication and related methods

A climate control system may include a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system for an indoor building area. The climate control system may also include a home automation (HA) thermostat device in the indoor building area. The HA thermostat device may include a housing, an indoor temperature sensor carried by the housing to sense an indoor temperature of the indoor building area, and a temperature controller carried by the housing. The temperature controller may obtain a setpoint temperature for the indoor building area, obtain an external temperature from the external to indoor building area, and determine a crossing of the external temperature of the setpoint temperature. The HA temperature controller may also switch the HVAC system between operating modes for heating and cooling based upon the crossing of the external temperature of the setpoint temperature and the indoor temperature moving beyond the setpoint temperature by a threshold temperature difference.

Climate control system including indoor and setpoint temperature difference and exterior temperature based HVAC mode switching and related methods

A home automation (HA) system may include addressable HA devices and an HA interface device that includes a housing, a display, and an audio input device carried by the housing. The HA interface device may also include a controller carried by the housing to store HA device signatures of the addressable HA devices and determine an unpaired addressable HA device and compare the associated HA device signature of the unpaired addressable HA device with the stored HA device signatures. The controller may also, when there is a match between the HA device signature of the unpaired addressable HA device and one of the stored HA device signatures, permit pairing of the unpaired addressable HA device to communicate with the unpaired addressable HA device using a respective wireless communications protocol, and selectively operate paired addressable HA devices based upon voice commands received via the audio input device.

Home automation system including selective operation of paired device based upon voice commands and related methods

A home automation (HA) system may include a cloud server, HA operation devices within a senior living facility, and HA user interface devices for respective users within the senior living facility. Each HA user interface device may include a user input device, a display defining a user interface (UI), and a controller. The HA system may include HA hub devices within the senior living facility to provide communications for the cloud server, the HA user interface devices, and the HA operation devices. The controller may send user interaction data to the cloud server and operate the UI according to a user cognitive level. The cloud server may be configured to determine the user cognitive level based upon the user interaction data received from a given HA user interface device, and send the user cognitive level to the given HA user interface device.

Home automation system including user interface operation according to user cognitive level and related methods

A home automation (HA) system may include addressable HA devices each having associated therewith a respective device capability, device configuration, and device state. The HA system may also include a cloud message queue controller and a cloud message queue memory coupled thereto in the cloud for storing the device configurations, device capabilities, and device states for the addressable HA devices. The HA system may also include a home device message queue controller and a home device message queue memory coupled thereto for storing the device configurations, device capabilities, and device states for the addressable HA devices. The cloud message queue controller and the home device message queue controller may synchronize device configurations, device capabilities, and device states for the addressable HA devices.

Home automation system including cloud and home message queue synchronization and related methods

A home automation (HA) system may include first and second HA operation devices within a structure. The second HA operation device may be switchable among sleep, awake, and operational modes. The second HA device may have a longer latency when switched between the sleep and awake modes than when switched between the awake and operational modes. An HA user interface device for a respective user may be within the structure and be configured to wirelessly communicate with the first and second HA operation devices to perform an HA operation. An HA hub device may be within the structure to provide communications for the HA user interface device and the first and second HA operation devices. The HA hub device may be configured to, when the first HA operation device is operated, switch the second HA operation device between the sleep and awake modes.

Home automation system including sleep to awake mode device switching and related methods

A home automation (HA) system may include a cloud media content server and HA operation devices within a structure. The HA system may also include HA user interface devices for respective users within the structure. Each HA user interface device may wirelessly communicate with at least one of the HA operation devices to perform an HA operation and provide stored media content to the respective user. The HA system may also include HA hub devices within the structure to provide communications for the cloud media content server, HA user interface devices, and HA operation devices. A designated HA hub device may download media content from the cloud media content server and push the downloaded media content to other HA user interface devices within the structure so that the other HA user interface devices do not communicate with the cloud media content server relating to the downloaded media content.

Home automation system including designated hub device to push downloaded media content and related methods

A home automation (HA) system may include a cloud media content server and HA operation devices within a structure. The HA system may also include HA user interface devices for respective users within the structure. Each HA user interface device may be configured to wirelessly communicate with at least one of the HA operation devices to perform at least one HA operation and provide stored media content to the respective user. A designated HA user interface device from among the HA user interface devices may be configured to download media content from the cloud media content server, and push the downloaded media content to others of the HA user interface devices within the structure for storage so that the others of the HA user interface devices do not communicate with the cloud media content server relating to the downloaded media content.

Home automation system including designated user interface device to push downloaded media content and related methods

A home automation (HA) system to be used within a structure may include a communications network extending within the structure and HA operation devices within the structure. The HA system may also include HA user interface devices for respective users within the structure and HA hub devices within the structure to provide communications via the communications network for the HA user interface devices and the HA operation devices. Each HA hub device may have a processing capacity associated therewith and determine a shareable processing capacity for sharing with at least one other HA hub device based upon a current processing capacity and at least one of the HA operation devices. Each HA hub device may also communicate the amount of shareable processing capacity to another HA hub device and perform processing operations for the other HA hub device based upon the communicated shareable processing capacity.

Home automation system including shareable capacity determining hub devices and related methods

A home automation (HA) system may include addressable HA devices that are not publicly accessible via the Internet and a remote user device configured to generate a connection request to communicate with a given addressable HA device. The HA system may also include a cloud server configured to cooperate with the remote user device to generate a connection file based upon the connection request, and store the connection file so that the connection file is publicly accessible via the Internet. The connection file may include instructions for establishing an encrypted connection to the given addressable HA device. The given addressable HA device may be configured to retrieve the connection file and establish the encrypted connection with the remote user device via the cloud server.

Growing community of inventors

Raleigh, NC, United States of America

Jonathan Andrew Gould