Granted Patent B1

US 8,780,201 · App. 14/098,772 · Granted Jul 15, 2014

Abstract

Claims (28)

1. A method for using a doorbell that is configurable to wirelessly communicate with a remotely located computing device, the method comprising:

obtaining the doorbell that comprises a speaker, a microphone, and a camera, wherein the doorbell is configurable for mounting near an entryway;

entering a sleep mode, wherein the sleep mode consumes less power than a standby mode and wherein wireless communication, the camera, and the microphone are disabled during the sleep mode;

exiting the sleep mode and entering the standby mode in response to detecting a first indication of a visitor, wherein the first indication is detected using the doorbell, the standby mode consumes less power than an alert mode, and the standby mode increases electrical activities of the camera and the microphone relative to the sleep mode; and

entering the alert mode in response to detecting a second indication of the visitor, wherein the second indication is detected using the doorbell, and the doorbell records an image using the camera during the alert mode and the wireless communication is enabled during the alert mode to send an alert to the remotely located computing device;

wherein detecting the first indication comprises detecting a signal indicative of the visitor above a first threshold and detecting the second indication comprises detecting the signal indicative of the visitor above a second threshold, wherein the second threshold is greater than the first threshold, and wherein the doorbell comprises a first sensor, and the signal indicative of the visitor is sensed by the first sensor of the doorbell;

wherein the first sensor of the doorbell comprises a proximity sensor and the signal is related to proximity of the visitor; and

wherein the method further comprises shipping the doorbell in a shipping mode that consumes power, wherein during the shipping mode the doorbell is configured to detect whether the doorbell is electrically coupled to an external power source, and then entering the sleep mode in response to detecting electricity from the external power source, wherein the shipping mode consumes less power than the sleep mode.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first sensor of the doorbell comprises a motion sensor and the signal is related to motion.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first sensor of the doorbell comprises a microphone and the signal is related to sound.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the sound is a knocking sound, and the speaker comprises a flat speaker located in a sound chamber configured to amplify an emitted sound.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the doorbell comprises a second sensor, and wherein the first indication is detected using the first sensor and the second indication is detected using the second sensor, wherein the first sensor is a different type of sensor than the second sensor.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first sensor of the doorbell comprises a motion sensor.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the motion sensor is at least partially covered by a cover, and the method further comprises detecting motion through the cover while obscuring the motion sensor from the visitor and while not emitting a visible light from the doorbell.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the second sensor comprises a microphone.

9. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first sensor of the doorbell comprises a microphone.

10. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first sensor of the doorbell comprises an infrared detector and the second sensor comprises the camera.

11. A method for using a doorbell that is configurable to wirelessly communicate with a remotely located computing device, the method comprising:

obtaining the doorbell that comprises a speaker, a microphone, a camera, and a button, wherein the button is configurable to enable a visitor to sound a chime;

shipping the doorbell in a shipping mode that consumes power, wherein during the shipping mode the doorbell is configured to detect whether the doorbell is electrically coupled to an external power source, and then entering a sleep mode in response to detecting electricity from the external power source, wherein the shipping mode consumes less power than the sleep mode;

entering the sleep mode, wherein the sleep mode consumes less power than an alert mode and wherein wireless communication is off during the sleep mode; and

entering the alert mode in response to detecting a first indication of the visitor, wherein the first indication is detected using the doorbell, and the doorbell records an image using the camera during the alert mode.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising sending a wireless notification to the remotely located computing device regarding a presence of the visitor in response to the visitor being present for more than a first threshold amount of time, and wherein the method comprises sending the notification to the remotely located computing device before the visitor presses the button of the doorbell.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first threshold amount of time is at least three seconds and less than forty seconds.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the camera is off during sleep mode.

15. The method of claim 11 , further comprising preventing a redundant notification regarding the visitor.

16. The method of claim 12 , further comprising preventing a redundant notification regarding the visitor until after a second threshold amount of time.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the second threshold amount of time is at least thirty seconds.

Assignments (15)