Patent Issued for Systems and methods for analyzing sensor data to detect property intrusion events (USPTO 11004320)

2021 JUN 22 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Carlson, Gail L. (Bloomington, IL, US), Donovan, John (Bloomington, IL, US), Harr, Joseph P. (Bloomington, IL, US), Harris, Jr., Michael (Tempe, AZ, US), Jordan, II, Jackie O. (Bloomington, IL, US), Markwardt, Kerstin (Phoenix, AZ, US), Nussbaum, Bryan R. (Bloomington, IL, US), Schiebel, Kyle C. (Bloomington, IL, US), Stockweather, Deanna (Normal, IL, US), Stoiber, Jeffrey W. (Atlanta, GA, US), Sun, Jennylind (Bloomington, IL, US), Turrentine, David (Normal, IL, US), Wagner, Ellakate (Bloomington, IL, US), Winslow, Troy (Bloomington, IL, US), Wollenschlager, Torri (Bloomington, IL, US), filed on December 2, 2019, was published online on May 11, 2021, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11004320 is assigned to State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, Illinois, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “With the proliferation of the “internet of things,” more household devices and items are gaining communication and network connectivity capabilities. The new capabilities are enabling easier data detection and more accurate information and metrics. However, the ability to detect certain conditions associated with devices and items may be limited. Additionally, the channels to control and maintain devices and items as a response to certain conditions may also be limited.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The present embodiments may, inter alia, access certain device data to detect certain conditions within a property, and determine actions or commands to perform to address the conditions. Further, the present embodiments may effectively and efficiently communicate relevant information associated with the conditions and enable users to facilitate the actions or commands. One particular functionality relates to analyzing device data to detect property intrusion events, and then performing actions to mitigate the property intrusion events and/or notifying individuals of the property intrusion events.

“Generally, the present embodiments may relate to (1) home control and/or automation, as well as (2) loss prevention, reduction, and/or mitigation through proactively identifying attempted property intrusion events, notifying an individual of property intrusion events, and/or facilitating commands or actions to mitigate the property intrusion events. The foregoing functionality may also be used by an insurance provider to generate, update, or adjust insurance policies, premiums, rates, discounts, points, and/or rewards, and/or make recommendations to an insured individual.

“According to one embodiment, a computer-implemented method of detecting property intrusion within a property may be provided. The property may be populated with a hardware controller in communication with a plurality of sensors disposed within the property. The computer-implemented method may include (1) receiving, by the hardware controller, sensor data from at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors, and/or (2) accessing baseline sensor data corresponding to a set of default intrusion attempts. The computer-implemented method may further include (3) comparing, by one or more processors, the received sensor data to the baseline sensor data including: determining a level of similarity between the received sensor data and the baseline sensor data, and/or determining that the level of similarity meets a threshold value. Additionally, the computer-implemented method may include (4) responsive to the comparing, generating a notification that indicates a property intrusion event indicated in the received sensor data, and/or (5) communicating the notification to an electronic device of an individual associated with the property to facilitate remotely issuing commands or otherwise mitigating damage associated with, or caused by, the property intrusion event. The method may include additional, less, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

“According to another embodiment, a hardware controller for detecting property intrusion within a property may be provided. The hardware controller may be in communication with a set of devices populated within the property. The hardware controller may include a communication module adapted to interface with the set of devices populated within the property, a memory adapted to store non-transitory computer executable instructions, and/or a processor adapted to interface with the communication module. The processor may configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the processor to receive, via the communication module, sensor data from at least one device of the set of devices, and/or access baseline sensor data corresponding to a set of default intrusion attempts. The processor may further be configured to compare the received sensor data to the baseline sensor data including: determine a level of similarity between the received sensor data and the baseline sensor data, and/or determine that the level of similarity meets a threshold value. Additionally, the processor may be configured to, responsive to the comparing, generate a notification that indicates a property intrusion event indicated in the received sensor data, and transmit, via the communication module, the notification to an electronic device of an individual associated with the property. The electronic device may allow the individual to select various commands to facilitate mitigation of damage caused by the property intrusion event. The hardware controller and/or processor may be configured to include additional, less, or alternate functionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein.

“Advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiments which have been shown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, the present embodiments may be capable of other and different embodiments, and their details are capable of modification in various respects. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

“The Figures depict preferred embodiments for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the systems and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A computer-implemented method of detecting property intrusion within a property, the property populated with a hardware controller in communication with a plurality of sensors disposed within the property, the method comprising: receiving, by the hardware controller, sensor data from at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors, wherein the sensor data (i) indicates a location of the at least one sensor within the property, and (ii) comprises motion sense data, audio data, and digital image data; identifying, based on the location indicated in the sensor data, an area of the property corresponding to the received sensor data; analyzing the motion sense data in combination with the audio data and the digital image data to determine that a combination of the motion sense data, the audio data, and the digital image data indicates a person surveying the property for a point of entry; accessing, by the hardware controller, baseline motion sense data indicative of entry point surveying, including: sending a request to a back-end server to access a portion of the baseline motion sense data indicative of entry point surveying, and receiving, from the back-end server, the portion of the baseline motion sense data; comparing, by one or more processors of the hardware controller, the received motion sense data to the portion of the baseline motion sense data received from the back-end server, including determining that the received motion sense data is consistent with the entry point surveying; and responsive to the comparing: generating a notification that indicates (i) the entry point surveying, and (ii) the area of the property corresponding to the received sensor data, and communicating the notification to an electronic device of an individual associated with the property.

“2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the electronic device, a request initiated by the individual to activate a set of lights associated with the area of the property.

“3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising: in response to receiving the request from the electronic device, activating the set of lights associated with the area of the property.

“4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: responsive to the comparing, activating an alarm within the property.

“5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: responsive to the comparing, communicating the notification to a law enforcement entity.

“6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein comparing the received motion sense data to the portion of the baseline motion sense data comprises: calculating a similarity percentage between the received motion sense data and the portion of the baseline motion sense data.

“7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein receiving the sensor data comprises: receiving the sensor data during a specific time period.

“8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein to compare the received motion sense data to the portion of the baseline motion sense data, the processor is configured to: calculate a similarity percentage between the received motion sense data and the portion of the baseline motion sense data.

“9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the processor receives the sensor data during a specific time period.

“10. A hardware controller for detecting property intrusion within a property, the hardware controller in communication with a set of devices populated within the property, comprising: a transceiver interfacing with the set of devices populated within the property; a memory storing non-transitory computer executable instructions; and a processor interfacing with the transceiver and the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the processor to: receive, via the transceiver, sensor data from at least one device of the set of devices, wherein the sensor data (i) indicates a location of the at least one sensor within the property, and (ii) comprises motion sense data, audio data, and digital image data, identify, based on the location indicated in the sensor data, an area of the property corresponding to the received sensor data, analyze the motion sense data in combination with the audio data and the digital image data to determine that a combination of the motion sense data, the audio data, and the digital image data indicates a person surveying the property for a point of entry, access baseline motion sense data indicative of entry point surveying, including: send a request to a back-end server to access a portion of the baseline motion sense data indicative of entry point surveying, and receive, from the back-end server, the portion of the baseline motion sense data, compare the received motion sense data to the portion of the baseline motion sense data received from the back-end server, including determining that the received motion sense data is consistent with the entry point surveying, and responsive to the comparing: generate a notification that indicates (i) the entry point surveying, and (ii) the area of the property corresponding to the received sensor data, and transmit, via the transceiver, the notification to an electronic device of an individual associated with the property.

“11. The hardware controller of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive, from the electronic device via the transceiver, a request initiated by the individual to activate a set of lights associated with the area of the property.

“12. The hardware controller of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to: in response to receiving the request from the electronic device, activate the set of lights associated with the area of the property.

“13. The hardware controller of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to: responsive to the comparing, activate an alarm within the property.

“14. The hardware controller of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to: responsive to the comparing, communicate, via the transceiver, the notification to a law enforcement entity.”

URL and more information on this patent, see: Carlson, Gail L. Systems and methods for analyzing sensor data to detect property intrusion events. U.S. Patent Number 11004320, filed December 2, 2019, and published online on May 11, 2021. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=11004320.PN.&OS=PN/11004320RS=PN/11004320

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