Video recording doorbell

Abstract

This document describes a video recording doorbell. In one aspect, the video recording doorbell provides a compact and space-efficient electronic doorbell camera device. Thermal control is enhanced by dividing the heat sink into separate sections for different heat dissipation sub-assemblies. The video recording doorbell includes a robust waterproof system that allows for mechanical movement of a button when a user presses down on the button to initiate a chime event. For an improved user experience, the video recording doorbell also includes an installation system that is easy to install and provides additional security against theft.

Description

Background Art

[0001] With the advancement of electronic doorbells for capturing images and / or videos, many users have begun to rely on the image data of their doorbells to see and / or identify people approaching their doorsteps, or to determine whether a package has been delivered or received. Many conventional electronic doorbells can be large and bulky, which may degrade the user experience. Some of the challenges in constructing an electronic doorbell with a small form factor can include thermal management, waterproofing, power supply, and mounting.

Summary of the Invention

[0002] This document describes a video recording doorbell. In one aspect, the video recording doorbell provides a compact and space-efficient electronic doorbell camera device. Thermal control is enhanced by dividing the heat sink into separate sections for different heat dissipation sub-assemblies. The video recording doorbell includes a robust waterproofing system, a part of which enables mechanical movement of a button when the user presses the button to initiate a chime event. For an improved user experience, the video recording doorbell also includes a mounting system that is easy to install and provides additional security against theft.

[0003] According to one aspect, the video recording doorbell includes a housing having a front outer surface and an opposite rear outer surface. In some embodiments, the housing has a height along the y-axis that is greater than the width along the x-axis and the depth along the z-axis, and the front outer surface is perpendicular to the z-axis. In some embodiments, the front outer surface has first and second end portions along the y-axis. The video recording doorbell may also include a camera module disposed at a first end (e.g., the upper end) of the housing. In some embodiments, the camera module is configured to operate an image sensor and associated circuitry to capture video data. The video recording doorbell may also include a printed circuit board disposed within the housing and having circuitry configured for continuous recording and deciphering of video data. Further, the video recording doorbell may include a button subassembly disposed at a second end (e.g., the lower end) of the housing and configured to be pushed by a person to initiate a chime event. Further, the video recording doorbell may include a heat sink having separate first and second sections. In some embodiments, the first section of the heat sink is disposed adjacent to the printed circuit board and the second section of the heat sink is disposed adjacent to the camera module. In some embodiments, the first section is disposed adjacent to the second section with a predetermined gap in the direction of the y-axis.

[0004] According to one aspect, a video recording doorbell includes a housing having a front outer surface and an opposite rear outer surface. The video recording doorbell may also include a camera module. In some embodiments, the camera module is configured to operate an image sensor and associated circuitry to capture video data. In some embodiments, the camera module has a camera lens. The video recording doorbell may also include a printed circuit board disposed within the housing and having circuitry configured for continuous recording of video data. Additionally, the video recording doorbell may include a button subassembly configured to be pressed by a person to initiate a chime event. The button subassembly may include a button board having an electrical pattern for initiating the chime event, a dome configured to complete the circuit when forced into contact with the electrical pattern, a foldable elastic button configured to apply force to the dome to contact the dome with the electrical pattern and complete the circuit, and a button cap forming a depressible button on the front outer surface of the housing. The video recording doorbell device may further include a first seal disposed between the button board and a front housing component of the housing, and a second seal disposed between the button board and the elastic button. Among them, the first and second seals may prevent water intrusion within the housing between the housing and the button cap of the button subassembly from reaching the electrical pattern on the button board.

[0005] According to one aspect, the video recording doorbell includes a housing having a front outer surface and an opposite rear outer surface. The video recording doorbell may also include a camera module. In some embodiments, the camera module is configured to operate an image sensor and associated circuitry to capture video data. The video recording doorbell may also include a printed circuit board disposed within the housing and having circuitry configured for continuous recording of video data. Additionally, the video recording doorbell may include a button subassembly configured to be pushed by a person to initiate a chime event. The video recording doorbell device may further include one or more mounting studs disposed on the rear outer surface of the housing. Among them, each of the one or more mounting studs may be fixed to a fastener disposed within the housing. Each mounting stud may include a shaft extending outwardly from the rear outer surface of the housing and a head having a diameter larger than the diameter of the shaft.

[0006] According to one aspect, a video recording doorbell includes a housing having a front outer surface and an opposite rear outer surface. The video recording doorbell may also include a camera module. In some embodiments, the camera module is configured to operate an image sensor and associated circuitry to capture video data. In some embodiments, the camera module has a camera lens. The video recording doorbell may also include a printed circuit board disposed within the housing and having circuitry configured for continuous recording of video data. Additionally, the video recording doorbell may include a button subassembly configured to be pushed by a person to initiate a chime event for a predetermined duration. The button subassembly may further include a button board having an electrical pattern for initiating the chime event and a dome configured to complete the circuit when forced into contact with the electrical pattern, and the circuit is configured to route line power to the chime for a predetermined duration. Also, the video recording doorbell may include a battery frame configured to house a battery for providing power to the circuit during the chime event.

[0007] This summary is provided to introduce a simplified concept of a video recording doorbell that is further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0008] Details of one or more aspects of the video recording doorbell are described in this document with reference to the following drawings. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to similar features and components.

Brief Description of the Drawings

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[0010] In this document, a video recording doorbell is described. The technology described herein provides a video recording doorbell device comprising a housing, a button, and a camera module. The doorbell has enhanced passive thermal control, greater waterproofing than many conventional video recording doorbells, and a mounting system that includes easy installation and enhanced security against theft.

[0011] In one aspect, the video recording doorbell includes a heat sink having separate sections, one of the separate sections corresponding to the camera module and another section corresponding to a printed circuit board (PCB) of the doorbell (e.g., a main logic board (MLB)). Dividing the heat sink into separate sections for components and / or subassemblies that generate different amounts of heat significantly reduces the temperature compared to conventional doorbell devices that use a single heat sink for both the MLB and the camera module. The separate sections also prevent heat from some components from spreading to components that are more susceptible to other effects.

[0012] For waterproofing, the video recording doorbell includes a waterproof seal disposed at a location within the housing of the doorbell. Based on the location of these seals, water may penetrate into some areas behind the button around the edge of the button (e.g., between the button and the housing), but may not penetrate into areas or components that are vulnerable to water damage, including the circuit. The placement of these seals allows for the mechanical movement of the features of the button and the light ring without the risk of water damage to the circuit (e.g., the circuit that triggers a chime event).

[0013] Regarding installation, the video recording doorbell includes an installation system used to fix the doorbell to a surface and prevent movement in any direction. In one aspect, the doorbell includes an installation stud that extends from the outer rear surface of the doorbell and includes a wide head. The installation stud is inserted through a hole in the wall plate, and the doorbell slides to a predetermined position so as to overlap the head of the installation stud behind the wall plate. The wall plate also includes a locking tab that extends into a concave volume defined within the outer rear surface of the doorbell. Next, a lock fastener is inserted through a hole in the housing of the doorbell and fastened to the locking tab to prevent movement of the doorbell relative to the wall plate.

[0014] Additionally, the video recording doorbell is line-powered but includes a battery for powering the device during a chime event (e.g., activating a chime based on a user pressing a button). Since the battery is only used during a chime event, the battery can be smaller than a conventional battery-powered video recording doorbell that requires longer-lasting continuous battery power. The smaller-sized battery allows for a doorbell form factor that is smaller than many conventional battery-powered video recording doorbells.

[0015] Accordingly, computing systems and devices are provided with more efficient techniques for installation, prevention of water ingress, and passive thermal control. These disclosed systems and devices thereby improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction of such systems and devices.

[0016] The described techniques and concepts regarding video recording doorbells can be implemented in any number of different environments, but aspects are described in the context of the following examples.

[0017] Exemplary Devices FIG. 1A shows an exemplary network environment 100 (e.g., a network environment) in which a video recording doorbell can be implemented. Network environment 100 includes a home area network (HAN). The HAN is disposed around a structure 104, such as a home, and includes wireless network devices 102 (e.g., electronic devices) connected by one or more wired and / or wireless network technologies as described below. The HAN includes a border router 106 that connects the HAN to an external network 108, such as the Internet, through a home router or access point 110.

[0018] To provide user access to functions implemented using the wireless network devices 102 within the HAN, a cloud service 112 connects to the HAN through the border router 106, through a secure tunnel 114, and through the external network 108 and access point 110. The cloud service 112 uses a web-based application programming interface (API) 118 to facilitate communication between the HAN and an Internet client 116, such as an application on a mobile device. The cloud service 112 also manages a home graph that describes the connections and relationships between the wireless network devices 102, elements of the structure 104, and the user. The cloud service 112 hosts a controller that coordinates and mediates the home automation experience, as described in more detail below.

[0019] The HAN may include one or more wireless network devices 102 that function as a hub 120. The hub 120 may be a general-purpose home automation hub or a hub for a specific purpose such as a security hub, an energy management hub, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) hub. The functionality of the hub 120 may also be integrated into any wireless network device 102 such as a smart thermostat device or a border router 106. In addition to hosting a controller on the cloud service 112, the controller can be hosted on any hub 120 within the structure 104 such as a border router 106. The controller hosted on the cloud service 112 can be dynamically moved to a hub 120 within the structure 104, such as moving an HVAC zone controller to a newly installed smart thermostat.

[0020] Hosting functionality on a hub 120 within the structure 104 can improve reliability when the user's Internet connection is unreliable, can reduce the latency of operations that normally have to connect to the cloud service 112, and can meet system and regulatory constraints around local access between wireless network devices 102.

[0021] The wireless network devices 102 of the HAN may also be from a single manufacturer that provides the cloud service 112, or the HAN may include wireless network devices 102 from partners. These partners may also provide a partner cloud service 122 that provides services related to the partner's wireless network device 102 via a partner web API 124. The partner cloud service 122 may optionally or additionally provide services to the Internet client 116 via a web-based API 118, the cloud service 112, and a secure tunnel 114.

[0022] The network environment 100 can be implemented on various hosts such as battery-powered microcontroller-based devices, line-powered devices, and servers that host cloud services. The protocols operating on the wireless network device 102 and the cloud service 112 provide several services that support the operation of the home automation experience in the distributed computing environment 100. These services include, but are not limited to, real-time distributed data management and subscriptions, command and response control, real-time event notifications, logging and storage of historical data, encrypted and controlled security groups, time synchronization, network and service pairing, and software updates.

[0023] FIG. 1B shows an exemplary environment 130 in which a home area network and aspects of a video recording doorbell, as described with reference to FIG. 1A, may be implemented. Generally, the environment 130 includes a home area network (HAN) implemented as part of a residence or other type of structure configured to communicate within a wireless network with any number of wireless network devices (e.g., wireless network device 102). For example, the wireless network devices can include a thermostat 132, a hazard detector 134 (e.g., for smoke and / or carbon monoxide), cameras 136 (e.g., indoor and outdoor), lighting units 138 (e.g., indoor and outdoor), and any other type of wireless network device 140 implemented inside and / or outside of the structure 142 (e.g., in a residential environment). In this example, the wireless network devices can also include any of the aforementioned devices such as a border router 106, and a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone) having an Internet client 116.

[0024] In environment 130, any number of wireless network devices can be implemented for wireless interconnection for wirelessly communicating and interacting with each other. The wireless network devices are modular, intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connected devices that can seamlessly integrate with each other and / or with a central server or cloud computing system to provide any of a variety of useful automation purposes and implementations. An example of a wireless network device that can be implemented as any of the devices described herein is shown and described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 17C.

[0025] In an embodiment, thermostat 132 can include a Nest (registered trademark) learning thermostat that detects ambient climate characteristics (e.g., temperature and / or humidity) and controls HVAC system 144 within a residential environment. The learning thermostat 132 and other network-connected devices "learn" by capturing occupant settings for the device. For example, the thermostat learns the preferred temperature set points in the morning and evening, as well as when the occupants of the structure are asleep or awake, and whether the occupants are typically away or at home.

[0026] The hazard detector 134 can be implemented to detect the presence of a hazardous substance or a substance indicating a hazardous substance (e.g., smoke, fire, or carbon monoxide). In an example of wireless interconnection, the hazard detector 134 can detect the presence of smoke indicating a fire within the structure, in which case the hazard detector that first detects the smoke can broadcast a low-power wake-up signal to all connected wireless network devices. Other hazard detectors 134 can then receive the broadcast wake-up signal, initiate a high-power state for hazard detection, and be able to receive wireless communication of an alert message. Additionally, the lighting unit 138 can receive the broadcast wake-up signal and operate in the detected hazard area to illuminate and identify the area in question. In another embodiment, the lighting unit 138 can operate in one lighting color to indicate an area or region of concern within the structure, such as related to a detected fire or intrusion, and operate in a different lighting color to indicate a safe area and / or an evacuation route outside of the structure.

[0027] In various configurations, the wireless network device 140 can cooperate with a network-connected door lock system 148 and include an entry interface device 146 that detects and responds to a person's approach to or departure from a location, such as an exterior door of the structure 142. The entry interface device 146 can interact with other wireless network devices based on whether someone has approached or invaded the smart home environment. The entry interface device 146 can control doorbell functions, notify of a person's approach or departure via audio or visual means, and control settings on the security system, such as activating or deactivating the security system when the occupant enters or exits. The wireless network device 140 can also detect ambient lighting conditions, detect the occupancy status of a room (e.g., using an occupancy sensor 150), and include other sensors and detectors, such as to control the power and / or dimming state of one or more lights. In some examples, the sensors and / or detectors may also control the power state or speed of a fan, such as a ceiling fan 152. Additionally, the sensors and / or detectors can detect occupancy within a room or enclosure and control the supply of power to an electrical outlet or device 154, such as when the room or structure is unoccupied.

[0028] The wireless network device 140 may also include connected household appliances and / or controlled systems 156 such as refrigerators, stoves and ovens, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, pool heaters 158, water systems 160, security systems 162, and other electronic and computing devices such as televisions, entertainment systems, computers, intercom systems, garage door openers 164, ceiling fans 152, control panels 166, etc. When plugged in, the household appliance, device, or system can notify the home area network of itself as described above and can be automatically integrated with the control of the home area network and devices within the home. Note that the wireless network device 140 may include devices that are physically located outside the structure but are within the wireless communication range, such as a device that controls a swimming pool heater 158 or a water system 160.

[0029] As described above, the HAN includes a border router 106 that interfaces to communicate with an external network outside the HAN. The border router 106 is connected to an access point 110, and the access point 110 is connected to an external network 108 such as the Internet. The cloud service 112 connected via the external network 108 provides services related to the HAN and / or services that use devices within the HAN. By way of example, the cloud service 112 can include applications for connecting end-user devices 168 such as smartphones and tablets to devices within the home area network, processing data obtained in the HAN and providing it to the end user, linking one or more devices within the HAN to a user account of the cloud service 112, and provisioning and updating devices within the HAN. For example, a user can use a network-connected computer or a portable device such as a cellular phone or tablet device to control a thermostat 132 and other wireless network devices within the residential environment. Further, the wireless network devices can communicate information to any central server or cloud computing system via the border router 106 and the access point 110. Data communication can be performed using any of various custom or standard wireless protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi, ZigBee for low power, 6LoWPAN, Thread, etc.) and / or by using any of various custom or standard wired protocols (CAT6 Ethernet, HomePlug, etc.).

[0030] Any of the HAN wireless network devices can function as a low-power and communication node to form a HAN in a residential environment. Individual low-power nodes of the network can periodically send messages about what they are detecting, and other low-power nodes in the environment can - in addition to sending their own messages - repeat the messages, thereby enabling message communication from node to node (e.g., device to device) throughout the home area network. The wireless network devices can be implemented to conserve power, especially in the case of battery-driven ones, using a low-power communication protocol to receive messages, convert the messages to other communication protocols, and send the converted messages to other nodes and / or a central server or cloud computing system. For example, the occupancy sensor 150 and / or the ambient light sensor 170 can detect the occupants of a room, measure the ambient light, and activate a light source when the ambient light sensor 170 detects that the room is dark or when the occupancy sensor 150 detects that someone is in the room. Further, the sensor can include a low-power wireless communication chip (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4 chip, Thread chip, ZigBee chip) that periodically sends messages regarding room occupancy and the amount of light in the room, including momentary messages that coincide with the occupancy sensor detecting the presence of a person in the room. As described above, these messages can be sent wirelessly from node to node (e.g., network-connected device to network-connected device) within the residential environment using the home area network, or they can be sent to a central server or cloud computing system via the Internet.

[0031] In other configurations, various wireless network devices can function as the "trip wires" of an alarm system within a residential environment. For example, in the event that a criminal is detected bypassing alarm sensors located at windows, doors, and other entry points of the structure or environment, the alarm can still be triggered by receiving messages from one or more of the low-power mesh nodes within the home area network, such as occupancy, motion, heat, sound, etc. In other embodiments, the home area network can be used to automatically turn on and off the lighting unit 138 as a person moves from room to room within the structure. For example, a wireless network device can detect a person's movement through the structure and communicate a corresponding message via the nodes of the home area network. Using a message indicating which rooms are occupied, other wireless network devices that receive the message can act and / or stop accordingly. As referenced above, the home area network can also be utilized to provide emergency exit lighting, such as by turning on the appropriate lighting unit 138 leading to a safe exit. The lighting unit 138 may also be turned on to indicate the direction along the exit route that a person should move to safely exit the structure.

[0032] Various wireless network devices can also be integrated with and communicate with the wearable computing device 172, for example, to identify and locate the occupant of a structure and accordingly adjust temperature, lighting, audio systems, etc. In other embodiments, radio frequency identification (RFID) sensing (e.g., a person with an RFID bracelet, necklace, or key fob), synthetic vision technology (e.g., a video camera and a face recognition processor), audio technology (e.g., voice, acoustic pattern, vibration pattern recognition), ultrasonic sensing / imaging technology, and infrared or near field communication (NFC) technology (e.g., a person wearing an infrared or NFC-enabled smartphone) can, together with a rule-based inference engine or artificial intelligence technology, derive useful conclusions from the information detected regarding the location of the occupant within a structure or environment.

[0033] In other embodiments, other such functions that a person faces, such as a personal comfort area network, a personal health area network, a personal safety area network, and / or a service robot, can be enhanced by logical integration with other wireless network devices and sensors within the environment according to rule-based inference technology or artificial intelligence technology to achieve better performance of these functions. In an example related to the personal health area, the system can detect (e.g., using any of the wireless network devices and sensors) whether a pet in the home is moving towards the current location of the occupant, together with rule-based inference and artificial intelligence technology. Similarly, a danger detector service robot can be notified that the temperature and humidity levels are rising in the kitchen, and under the presumption that any slight rise in the ambient smoke level is most likely due to cooking activities and not a truly dangerous condition, temporarily raise a danger detection threshold, such as a smoke detection threshold. Any service robot configured to perform any type of monitoring, detection, and / or service can be implemented as a mesh node device on the home area network in compliance with a wireless interconnect protocol for communicating on the home area network.

[0034] Wireless network device 140 may also include network-connected alarm clocks 174 for each individual occupant of the structure within the residential environment. For example, an occupant can customize and set the alarm device at wake-up times, such as the next day or week. Using artificial intelligence, the reaction of the occupant to the alarm when the alarm goes off can be considered, and inferences about preferred sleep patterns over time can be made. Next, based on the individual's unique signature, each individual occupant can be tracked within the home area network. The unique signature is determined based on data obtained from sensors located within wireless network devices such as sensors including ultrasonic sensors, passive IR sensors, etc. The unique signature of an occupant can be based on combinations of patterns such as movement, voice, height, size, etc., as well as on the use of face recognition technology.

[0035] In an example of wireless interconnection, an individual's wake time can be associated with the thermostat 132 to control the HVAC system in an efficient manner to preheat or cool the structure to desired sleep and wake temperature settings. Preferred settings can be learned over time, such as by capturing the temperatures set on the thermostat before a person goes to bed and when waking up. The data collected may also include biometric displays of the person, such as breathing patterns, heart rate, movement, etc., from which inferences are made based on this data in combination with data indicating when the person actually woke up. Other wireless network devices can use the data to provide for other automation purposes, such as adjusting the thermostat 132 to preheat or cool the environment to desired settings, and turning the lighting unit 138 on or off.

[0036] In an embodiment, the wireless network device can also be utilized for audio, vibration, and / or motion sensing, such as detecting running water and determining an estimate of water usage in a residential environment based on algorithms and mappings of water usage and consumption. This can be used to determine the signature or fingerprint of each water source within the home, also referred to as the "audio fingerprint water usage." Similarly, the wireless network device can be utilized to detect the faint sounds, vibrations, and / or motions of unwanted pests, such as mice and other rodents, as well as termites, cockroaches, and other insects. The system can then notify the occupants of the suspected pests within the environment, using warning messages, for example, to facilitate early detection and prevention.

[0037] Environment 130 may include one or more wireless network devices 176 that function as a hub 176. The hub 176 (e.g., hub 120) may be a general-purpose home automation hub or a hub for a specific purpose, such as a security hub, an energy management hub, an HVAC hub, etc. The functionality of the hub 176 may also be integrated into any wireless network device, such as a network-connected thermostat device or a border router 106. Hosting functionality on the hub 176 within the structure 142 can improve reliability when the user's internet connection is unreliable, reduce the latency of operations that typically have to connect to the cloud service 112, and meet system and regulatory constraints around local access between wireless network devices.

[0038] Furthermore, the exemplary environment 130 includes a network-connected speaker 178. The network-connected speaker 178 provides a voice assistant service including providing voice control of network-connected devices. The functionality of the hub 176 may be hosted within the network-connected speaker 178. The network-connected speaker 178 can be configured to communicate via a HAN, which may include a wireless mesh network, a Wi-Fi network, or both.

[0039] FIG. 2A is a block diagram showing a representative network architecture 200 including a home area network 202 (HAN 202) according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, smart devices 204 (e.g., wireless network devices 102) within network environment 100, in combination with a hub 176, create a mesh network within HAN 202. In some embodiments, one or more of the smart devices 204 within HAN 202 operate as a smart home controller. Additionally and / or alternatively, the hub 176 may operate as a smart home controller. In some embodiments, the smart home controller has more computing power than other smart devices. The smart home controller can process inputs (e.g., from smart devices 204, end-user devices 168, and / or server system 206) and send commands (e.g., to smart devices 204 within HAN 202) to control the operation of network environment 100. In one aspect, some of the smart devices 204 within HAN 202 (e.g., within the mesh network) are “spokesman” nodes (e.g., 204-1, 204-2), and other smart devices 204 are “low-power” nodes (e.g., 204-n). Some of the smart devices within network environment 100 may be battery-powered, while other smart devices may have a normal reliable power source, such as via line power (e.g., to a 120V line voltage wire). Smart devices having a normal reliable power source are called “spokesman” nodes. These nodes typically have the ability to facilitate two-way communication with various other devices within network environment 100 and with server system 206 (e.g., cloud service 112, partner cloud service 122) using a wireless protocol. In some embodiments, one or more “spokesman” nodes operate as a smart home controller. On the other hand, battery-powered devices are “low-power” nodes.These nodes tend to be smaller than the spokesman nodes and typically communicate only using wireless protocols that require little power, such as Zigbee®, ZWave, 6LoWPAN, Thread, Bluetooth®.

[0040] Some low-power nodes may not be able to communicate bidirectionally. These low-power nodes send messages but cannot "listen". Therefore, other devices within the network environment 100, such as the spokesman nodes, cannot send information to these low-power nodes.

[0041] Some low-power nodes may only be capable of limited bidirectional communication. As a result of such limited bidirectional communication, other devices may be able to communicate with these low-power nodes only for a specific period of time.

[0042] As described, in some embodiments, the smart device functions as a low-power and spokesmen node to create a mesh network within the network environment 100. In some embodiments, individual low-power nodes within the network environment periodically send messages regarding what that node is detecting, and other low-power nodes within the network environment forward that message in addition to sending their own messages, thereby moving the message from node to node (e.g., device to device) throughout the HAN 202. In some embodiments, a spokesmen node of the HAN 202 that can communicate using a relatively high-power communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.11) switches to a relatively low-power communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4) to receive these messages, convert the messages to another communication protocol, and send the converted messages to other spokesmen nodes and / or the server system 206 (e.g., using a relatively high-power communication protocol). Thus, low-power nodes using a low-power communication protocol can send and / or receive messages throughout the HAN 202 and to the server system 206 via the Internet (e.g., network 108). In some embodiments, the mesh network enables the server system 206 to periodically receive data from most or all of the smart devices in the home, make inferences based on that data, facilitate state synchronization across devices inside and outside the HAN 202, and send commands to one or more of the smart devices to perform tasks within the network environment.

[0043] As described, some of the spokesman nodes and low-power nodes can "listen". Thus, a user, other devices, and / or the server system 206 can communicate control commands to the low-power nodes. For example, a user can use an end-user device 168 (e.g., a smartphone) to send commands to the server system 206 via the Internet, and then the server system 206 relays the commands to one or more spokesman nodes within the HAN 202. The spokesman nodes can communicate the commands to the low-power nodes throughout the HAN 202 and to other spokesman nodes that did not receive the commands directly from the server system 206 using a low-power protocol.

[0044] In some embodiments, an illumination unit 138 (FIG. 1B), an example of a smart device 204, can be a low-power node. In addition to housing a light source, the illumination unit 138 houses an occupancy sensor (e.g., occupancy sensor 150) such as an ultrasonic sensor or a passive IR sensor, and an ambient light sensor (e.g., ambient light sensor 170) such as a photoreceptor or a single-pixel sensor that measures the light in the room. In some embodiments, the illumination unit 138 is configured to activate the light source when its ambient light sensor detects that the room is dark and when its occupancy sensor detects that someone is in the room. In other embodiments, the illumination unit 138 is simply configured to activate the light source when its ambient light sensor detects that the room is dark. Further, in some embodiments, the illumination unit 138 includes a low-power wireless communication chip (e.g., a ZigBee chip) that periodically transmits messages regarding room occupancy and the amount of light in the room, including momentary messages that coincide with the occupancy sensor detecting the presence of a person in the room. As described above, these messages may be transmitted wirelessly (e.g., using a mesh network) from node to node within the HAN 202 (e.g., from smart device to smart device) and to the server system 206 via the Internet (e.g., network 108).

[0045] Other examples of low-power nodes include battery-operated versions of the hazard detector 134. These hazard detectors 134 are often placed in areas where reliable power is not normally accessible and can include any number and type of sensors such as smoke / fire / heat sensors (e.g., thermal radiation sensors), carbon monoxide / carbon dioxide sensors, occupancy / motion sensors, ambient light sensors, ambient temperature sensors, humidity sensors, etc. Further, the hazard detector 134 can send messages corresponding to each of the respective sensors to other devices and / or the server system 206, such as by using the mesh network as described above.

[0046] Examples of spokesmen nodes include the entry interface device 146 (e.g., smart doorbell), thermostat 132, control panel 166, electrical outlet or device 154, and other wireless network devices 140. These devices are often placed near a reliable power source and connected to a reliable power source and thus may include components that consume more power, such as one or more communication chips capable of two-way communication with various protocols.

[0047] In some embodiments, the network environment 100 includes a controlled system 156, such as a service robot, configured to perform any of a variety of household tasks in an autonomous manner.

[0048] As described with reference to FIG. 1B, in some embodiments, network environment 100 includes a hub device (e.g., hub 176) communicatively coupled directly to network(s) 108 or via network interface 208 (e.g., access point 110). Hub 176 is further communicatively coupled to one or more of smart devices 204 using at least a wireless communication network available in network environment 100. Communication protocols used by the wireless communication network include, but are not limited to, ZigBee, Z-Wave, Insteon, EuOcean, Thread, OSIAN, Bluetooth Low Energy, etc. In some embodiments, hub 176 not only converts data received from each smart device to meet the data format requirements of network interface 208 or network(s) 108, but also converts information received from network interface 208 or network(s) 108 to meet the data format requirements of the respective communication protocol associated with the target smart device. In some embodiments, in addition to data format conversion, hub 176 further processes data received from the smart device, or information received from network interface 208 or network(s) 108, preliminarily. For example, hub 176 integrates inputs from multiple sensors / connected devices (including sensors / devices of the same and / or different types) and performs a higher level of processing on those inputs - e.g., to evaluate the overall environment and coordinate actions between different sensors / devices - and / or can provide commands to different devices based on the collection of inputs and programmed processing. It should also be noted that in some embodiments, network interface 208 and hub 176 are integrated into one network device.The functions described in this specification represent certain embodiments of a control application (s) that may be executed on a smart device, a representative electronic device (s) (such as a smartphone), a hub (s) 176, and a server system (s) 206 coupled to the hub (s) 176 via the Internet or other wide area network. All or part of this functionality and related operations can be performed by any element of the described system. - For example, all or part of the functionality described herein as being performed by an embodiment of the hub can be performed, in different system embodiments, by a server, one or more connected smart devices, and / or a control application, or different combinations thereof, either wholly or partially.

[0049] FIG. 2B shows a representative operating environment 220 in which server system 206 provides data processing to facilitate monitoring and inspection of events (such as motion, audio, security, etc.) within a video stream captured by camera 136 (such as a video camera, doorbell camera, etc.). As shown in FIG. 2B, server system 206 receives video data from video sources 222 (including video cameras 224 or video recording doorbells 226) located at various physical locations (such as a residence, restaurant, store, road, parking lot, and / or inside or near the network environment 100 of FIG. 1). Each video source 222 may be linked to one or more reviewer accounts, and server system 206 provides the video monitoring data of video source 222 to client device 228 associated with the reviewer account. For example, portable end - user device 168 is an example of client device 228. In some embodiments, server system 206 is a video processing server that provides video processing services to video sources and client device 228.

[0050] In some embodiments, the server system 206 receives non-video data (e.g., audio data, metadata, numerical data, etc.) from one or more smart devices 204. The non-video data may be analyzed to provide context about motion events detected by the video camera 224 and / or the video recording doorbell 226. In some embodiments, the non-video data indicates that an audio event (e.g., detected by an audio device such as an audio sensor integrated with the network-connected speaker 178), a security event (e.g., detected by a perimeter monitoring device such as the camera 136 and / or a motion sensor), a danger event (e.g., detected by the danger detector 134), a medical event (detected by a health monitoring device), or the like has occurred within the network environment 100.

[0051] In some embodiments, multiple reviewer accounts are linked to a single network environment 100. For example, multiple occupants of the network environment 100 may have accounts that the network environment 100 prefers. In some embodiments, each reviewer account is associated with a particular level of access. In some embodiments, each reviewer account has personal notification settings. In some embodiments, a single reviewer account is linked to multiple network environments 100 (e.g., multiple different HANs). For example, a person may own or occupy multiple network environments 100, or may be assigned to review and / or manage them. In some embodiments, the reviewer account has a separate level of access and / or notification settings for each network environment.

[0052] In some embodiments, each of the video sources 222 includes one or more video cameras 224 or video recording doorbells 226 that capture video and transmit the captured video to the server system 206 substantially in real time. In some embodiments, each of the video sources 222 includes one or more doorbells 226 that capture video and transmit the captured video to the server system 206 in real time (e.g., within 1 second, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or 1 minute). Each of the doorbells 226 may include a video camera that captures video and transmits the captured video to the server system 206 in real time. In one aspect, the video source 222 includes a controller device (not shown) that functions as an intermediary between one or more doorbells 226 and the server system 206. The controller device receives video data from one or more doorbells 226, optionally performs some preprocessing on the video data, and transmits the video data and / or the result of the preprocessing to the server system 206 in place of (e.g., in real time) the one or more doorbells 226. In some embodiments, each camera has its own on-board processing capability to perform some preprocessing on the captured video data before transmitting the video data (e.g., together with metadata obtained through preprocessing) to the controller device and / or the server system 206. In some embodiments, one or more of the cameras are optionally configured to locally store the video data (e.g., for later transmission if requested by the user). In some embodiments, the camera is configured to perform some processing on the captured video data and, based on that processing, transmit the video data in substantially real time, store the video data locally, or ignore the video data.

[0053] According to some embodiments, client device 228 includes a client-side module 230. In some embodiments, the client-side module communicates with a server-side module 232 executed on server system 206 through one or more networks 108. The client-side module provides client-side functions for event monitoring and review processing, as well as communication with the server-side module. The server-side module provides server-side functions for event monitoring and review processing of any number of client-side modules each present in a respective client device 228 (e.g., any one of client devices 228-1 to 228-m). In some embodiments, server-side module 232 also provides server-side functions for video processing and camera control for any number of video sources 222, including any number of control devices, cameras 136, and doorbells 226.

[0054] In some embodiments, the server system 206 includes one or more processors 234, a video storage database 236, an account database 238, an input / output (I / O) interface 240 to one or more client devices 228, and an I / O interface 242 to one or more video sources 222. The I / O interface 242 to one or more client devices 228 facilitates client-oriented input / output processing. The account database 238 stores multiple profiles for reviewer accounts registered with the video processing server, and each user profile includes account credentials for each reviewer account and one or more video sources linked to each reviewer account. The I / O interface 242 to one or more video sources 222 facilitates communication with one or more video sources 222 (e.g., one or more doorbells 226, cameras 136, and a group of associated controller devices). The video storage database 236 stores raw video data received from the video sources 222 and various types of metadata such as motion events, event categories, event categorization models, event filters, and event masks for use in data processing for event monitoring and review for each reviewer account.

[0055] Examples of representative client devices 228 include handheld computers, wearable computing devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet computers, laptop computers, desktop computers, mobile phones, smartphones, enhanced general packet radio service (EGPRS) mobile phones, media players, navigation devices, game consoles, televisions, remote controls, point of sale (POS) terminals, in-vehicle computers, e-book readers, or any combination of two or more of these data processing devices or other data processing devices.

[0056] Examples of one or more networks 108 include local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs) such as the Internet. The one or more networks 108 are implemented using any known network protocol, including various wired or wireless protocols such as Ethernet®, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE®, Long Term Evolution (LTE), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), WiMAX, or any other suitable communication protocol.

[0057] In some embodiments, server system 206 is implemented on a distributed network of one or more stand-alone data processing devices or computers. Server system 206 may also use various virtual devices and / or services of a third-party service provider (e.g., a third-party cloud service provider) to provide the computing resources and / or infrastructure resources underlying server system 206. In some embodiments, server system 206 includes, but is not limited to, a server computer, a handheld computer, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, or any combination of two or more of these data processing devices or other data processing devices.

[0058] The server-client environment shown in FIG. 2B includes both a client-side portion (e.g., a client-side module) and a server-side portion (e.g., a server-side module). The division of functions between the client portion and the server portion of the operating environment may vary in different embodiments. Similarly, the division of functions between the video source 222 and the server system 206 may vary in different embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the client-side module is a thin client that provides only user-oriented input / output processing functions and delegates all other data processing functions to a backend server (e.g., the server system 206). Similarly, in some embodiments, each of the video sources 222 is a simple video capture device that continuously captures (e.g., continuous video recording (CVR)) video data with minimal local preprocessing on the video data or without local preprocessing and streams it to the server system 206. In some embodiments, each of the video sources 222 is a smart video capture device that captures video data in response to the detection of an event (e.g., event-based recording (EBR)) and streams it to the server system 206. Although many aspects of the present technology are described from the perspective of the server system 206, the corresponding actions performed by the client device 228 and / or the video source 222 will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Similarly, some aspects of the present technology may be described from the perspective of the client device 228 or the video source 222, and the corresponding actions performed by the video server will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Further, some aspects of the present technology may be performed cooperatively by the server system 206, the client device 228, and the video source 222.

[0059] In some embodiments, a video source 222 (e.g., a video camera 224 or a doorbell 226 having an image sensor) transmits one or more streams 244 of video data to a server system 206. In some embodiments, the one or more streams include multiple streams each having a respective resolution and / or frame rate of the raw video captured by the image sensor. In some embodiments, the multiple streams include a “primary” stream (e.g., 244-1) having a particular resolution and frame rate corresponding to the raw video captured by the image sensor, and one or more additional streams (e.g., 244-2 to 244-q). The additional streams optionally are video streams that are the same as the “primary” stream but have different resolutions and / or frame rates, or streams that capture a portion of the “primary” stream (e.g., trimmed to include a field of view or a portion of the pixels of the primary stream) with the same or different resolutions and / or frame rates as the “primary” stream. In some embodiments, the primary stream and / or the additional streams are dynamically encoded (e.g., based on network conditions, server operating conditions, camera operating conditions, characteristics of the data within the stream (e.g., whether motion is present), user preferences, etc.).

[0060] In some embodiments, one or more of the streams 244 are sent directly from the video source 222 to the client device 228 (e.g., without being routed through the server system 206 or processed by the server system 206). In some embodiments, one or more of the streams are stored in the local memory of the doorbell 226 and / or a local storage device such as a digital video recorder (DVR) (e.g., a dedicated recording device). For example, according to some embodiments, the doorbell 226 stores the length of the latest 24 hours of video recorded by the camera. In some embodiments, portions of one or more streams are stored in the doorbell 226 and / or the local storage device (e.g., portions corresponding to specific events or times of interest).

[0061] In some embodiments, the server system 206 sends one or more streams 246 of video data to the client device 228 to facilitate event monitoring by the user. In some embodiments, one or more streams may include multiple streams of the same video feed at respective resolutions and / or frame rates. In some embodiments, the multiple streams include a "primary" stream (e.g., 246-1) having a specific resolution and frame rate corresponding to the video feed, and one or more additional streams (e.g., 246-2 through 246-t). The additional streams may be video streams that are the same as the "primary" stream but have different resolutions and / or frame rates, or may be streams that represent a portion of the "primary" stream (e.g., trimmed to include a portion of the field of view or pixels of the primary stream) at the same or different resolutions and / or frame rates as the "primary" stream.

[0062] FIG. 3A is a block diagram showing a server system 206 according to some embodiments. The server system 206 typically includes one or more processors 302, one or more network interfaces 304 (e.g., including an I / O interface 240 to one or more client devices and an I / O interface 242 to one or more electronic devices), a memory 306, and one or more communication buses 308 (sometimes called a chipset) for interconnecting these components. The memory 306 includes high-speed random access memory such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR SRAM, or other random access solid-state memory devices, and optionally includes non-volatile memory such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, one or more optical disk storage devices, one or more flash memory devices, or one or more other non-volatile solid-state storage devices. The memory 306 optionally includes one or more storage devices remotely located from the one or more processors 302. The memory 306, or alternatively, the non-volatile memory within the memory 306, includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In some embodiments, the memory 306, or the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of the memory 306, includes the following, ● an operating system 310 including procedures for processing various basic system services and for performing tasks that are hardware-dependent, and ● a network communication module 312 for connecting the server system 206 to other systems and devices (e.g., client devices, electronic devices, and systems connected to one or more networks 108) via one or more network interfaces 304 (wired or wireless), and ● a server-side module 314 that provides server-side functionality for device control, data processing, and data review, 〇Create a reviewer account, execute the camera registration process to establish the association of each of them with the video source to the reviewer account, and an account management module 316 for providing an account login service to the client device 228. 〇A data receiving module 316 for receiving data (e.g., video data from the video source 222 in FIG. 2B) from an electronic device, further processing it, and preparing the received data for storage in a data storage database (e.g., the data storage database 332). 〇Generate and send a server start control command to change the operating mode of an electronic device (e.g., a device in the network environment 100), and / or receive and transfer user start control (e.g., from the client device 228) to change the operating mode of the electronic device, for a device control module 320. 〇A data processing module 322 for processing data provided by an electronic device and / or preparing and transmitting data processed by a device (e.g., the client device 228 for review by a user) for review. 〇An event detection module 324 for detecting motion event candidates in a video stream from each of the video sources 222, including motion track identification, false positive suppression, and generation and caching of event masks. 〇An event categorization module 326 for categorizing motion events detected in the received video stream. 〇A person identification module 328 for identifying characteristics related to the presence of a person in the received video stream. Including but not limited to, a server-side module 314. ●A server database 330 that provides server-side storage data related to device control, data processing, and data review. 〇A data storage database 332 for storing data (e.g., raw / processed image data) related to each electronic device (e.g., each video source 222) of each user account, as well as data processing models, processed data results, and other relevant metadata related to the data (e.g., name of the data result, location of the electronic device, creation time, period, settings of the electronic device, etc.), wherein optionally, all or part of the data and / or processing associated with the hub 176 or the smart device is securely stored, the data storage database 332; 〇An account database 334 for storing account information of a user account, including user profiles, information and settings of linked hub devices and electronic devices (e.g., hub device identification), secrets specific to the hub device, user account information such as related user and hardware characteristics (e.g., service layer, device model, storage capacity, processing power, etc.), user interface settings, data review preferences, etc., wherein information about related electronic devices includes, but is not limited to, one or more device identifiers (e.g., Media Access Control (MAC) address and Universally Unique Identifier (UUID), device-specific secrets, and a displayed title), the account database 334, and stores programs, modules, and data structures, or subsets or supersets thereof, of the server database 330, which includes, but is not limited to, these.

[0063] Each of the elements identified above may be stored in one or more of the aforementioned memory devices and may correspond to a set of instructions for performing the functions described above. The modules or programs (e.g., sets of instructions) identified above need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures, or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise rearranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 306 optionally stores a subset of the modules and data structures identified above. Further, memory 306 optionally stores additional modules and data structures not described above.

[0064] FIG. 4A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary smart device 204 according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the smart device 204 (e.g., any device in the network environment 100 of FIG. 1 including the end user device 168) includes one or more processors 402 (e.g., CPU, ASIC, FPGA, microprocessor, etc.), one or more communication interfaces 404 for communication with a radio 406, image sensor(s) 408, user interface(s) 410, sensor(s) 412, memory 414, and one or more communication buses 416 (sometimes called a chipset) for interconnecting these components. In some embodiments, the user interface 410 includes one or more output devices 418 that enable presentation of media content, including one or more speakers and / or one or more visual displays. In some embodiments, the user interface 410 includes one or more input devices 420 that facilitate user input, including user interface components that facilitate user input such as a keyboard, mouse, voice command input unit or microphone, touch screen display, touch sensitive input pad, gesture capture camera, or other input buttons or controls. In some embodiments, the input device 420 of the doorbell 226 is a tactile or touch sensitive doorbell button. Further, in some smart devices 204, a microphone and voice recognition, or a camera and gesture recognition, are used to supplement or replace the keyboard.

[0065] The sensor(s) 422 include, for example, one or more infrared (IR) sensors such as one or more thermal radiation sensors, ambient temperature sensors, humidity sensors, passive infrared (PIR) sensors, proximity sensors, range sensors, occupancy sensors (e.g., using RFID sensors), ambient light sensors (ALS), motion sensors 422, position sensors (e.g., global positioning satellite (GPS) sensors), accelerometers, and / or gyroscopes.

[0066] In some embodiments, the smart device 204 includes an energy storage component 424 (e.g., one or more batteries and / or capacitors). In some embodiments, the energy storage component 424 includes a power management integrated circuit (IC). In some embodiments, the energy storage component 424 includes circuitry for harvesting energy from signals received via an antenna of the smart device (e.g., the radio 406). In some embodiments, the energy storage component 424 includes circuitry for harvesting thermal energy, vibrational energy, electromagnetic energy, and / or solar energy received by the smart device. In some embodiments, the energy storage component 424 includes circuitry for monitoring the stored energy level and adjusting operations and / or generating notifications based on changes in the stored energy level.

[0067] The communication interface 404 includes hardware capable of data communication using, for example, any of a variety of custom or standard wireless protocols (e.g., IEEE802.15.4, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, 6LoWPAN, Thread, Z-Wave, Bluetooth Smart, ISA100.5A, WirelessHART, MiWi, etc.) and / or any of a variety of custom or standard wired protocols (e.g., Ethernet, HomePlug, etc.), or any other suitable communication protocol including communication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of this document. The radio 406 enables one or more wireless communication networks within the network environment 100 and enables the smart device 204 to communicate with other devices. In some embodiments, the radio 406 is capable of data communication using any of a variety of custom or standard wireless protocols (e.g., IEEE802.15.4, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, 6LoWPAN, Thread, Z-Wave, Bluetooth Smart, ISA100.5A, WirelessHART, MiWi, etc.).

[0068] Memory 414 includes high-speed random access memory such as DRAM, RAM, DDR SRAM, or other random access solid-state memory devices, and optionally includes non-volatile memory such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, one or more optical disk storage devices, one or more flash memory devices, or one or more other non-volatile solid-state storage devices. Memory 414, or alternatively, the non-volatile memory within memory 414, includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In some embodiments, memory 414, or the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory 414, includes the following, ● Operating logic 426 including procedures for processing various basic system services and for performing hardware-dependent tasks, and ● A communication module 428 coupled to and communicating with one or more other network devices (such as network interface 208 providing an Internet connection, networked storage devices, network routing devices, server system 206, other smart devices 204, client device 228, etc.) connected to one or more networks 108 via one or more communication interfaces 404 (wired or wireless), ● An input processing module 430 for detecting one or more user inputs or interactions from one or more input devices 420 and interpreting the detected inputs or interactions, and ● A user interface module 432 for providing and presenting a user interface, in which settings, captured data, and / or other data for one or more devices (such as smart device 204 and / or other devices within network environment 100) can be configured and / or visualized, ● One or more applications 434 (e.g., games, social network applications, smart home applications, and / or other web-based or non-web-based applications) executed by the smart device to control the device (e.g., execute commands, send commands, configure settings of the smart device 204 and / or other clients / electronic devices), and to review data captured by the device (e.g., device status and settings, captured data, or other information regarding the smart device 204 and / or other clients / electronic devices), ● A device-side module 436 that provides device-side functions for device control, data processing, and data review, 〇 A command module 438 for receiving, transferring, and / or executing instructions and control commands (e.g., from the client device 228, from the server system 206, from user input detected on the user interface 410, etc.) for operating the smart device 204, 〇 A data processing module 440 for processing one or more inputs (e.g., data captured or received by the input device 420, image sensor(s) 408, sensor 412, interface (e.g., communication interface 404, radio 406), and / or other components of the smart device 204), and for preparing the processed data for review by the user and sending it to a remote device (e.g., the client device 228), including, but not limited to, the device-side module 436, ● An encoding module 444 for adjusting the encoding of raw image data captured by the image sensor(s) 408 (e.g., adjusting the format, resolution, and / or frame rate), and a camera module 442 for operating the image sensor(s) 408 and related circuitry based on data from one or more low-power sensors 412 (e.g., data from a PIR sensor or ALS), for example, to enable and disable the image sensor(s) 408, ● A transmission access module 446 for permitting or denying transmission access to one or more radios 406 (e.g., based on detected control signals and transmission requests), ● An event analysis module 448 for analyzing the captured sensor data to detect and / or recognize, for example, approaching visitors and context information, 〇 A motion detection module 450 for detecting events within the network environment, such as approaching guests (e.g., motion events in video data), 〇 A context awareness module 452 for detecting context data regarding approaching guests based on, for example, behavior characteristics, object recognition, face recognition, voice recognition, timing information, and user data related to the user profile of the user (e.g., the occupant), 〇 A characterization module 454 for characterizing events detected by or associated with an entity, a person (e.g., an approaching guest), and / or a smart device 204, including, but not limited to, the event analysis module 448, ● Device data 456 for storing data associated with a device (e.g., smart device 204), 〇Account data 458 that stores information related to a user account linked to the smart device 204, including, for example, cached login credentials, smart device identifiers (e.g., MAC address and UUID), user interface settings, display preferences, authentication tokens and tags, password keys, etc. 〇Local data storage 460 for selectively storing raw or processed data related to the smart device 204, such as event data and / or video data captured by the image sensor(s) 408. 〇Entity data 462 that stores information related to detected persons and other entities, such as characterization information (e.g., characterization data 468) and related images. 〇Power parameters 464 that store energy information related to the energy storage component 424 (e.g., estimated battery life), power settings of the smart device 204, power state of the smart device 204, power preferences of the user(s) of the smart device 204, etc. 〇Category information 466 that details event categories for categorizing events detected by or involving the smart device (e.g., in combination with the event analysis module 448). 〇Characterization data 468 of entities, persons, and / or events detected by or associated with the smart device 204 (e.g., data generated or used by the characterization module 454). Device data 456, including but not limited to these, stores programs, modules, and data structures, or subsets or supersets thereof.

[0069] Each of the elements identified above can be stored in one or more of the aforementioned memory devices and corresponds to a set of instructions for performing the functions described above. The modules or programs (e.g., sets of instructions) identified above need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures, or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise rearranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 414 optionally stores a subset of the modules and data structures identified above. Additionally, memory 414 optionally stores additional modules and data structures not described above, such as a sensor management module for managing the operation of sensor(s) 412.

[0070] Figure 4B is a diagram showing a representative system architecture 470 including a video source(s) 222, a server system 206, and client device(s) 228, according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the server system 206 includes functional modules for an event processor 472, an event categorizer 474, an entity recognition module 326, and a user-facing front end 476 (e.g., server-side module 314). The event processor 472 obtains event candidates (e.g., by processing video stream(s) 478, by receiving event start information from the video source 222, or by detecting a user press on the doorbell button of the video recording doorbell device 226). In some embodiments, the event candidates include motion event candidates. In some embodiments, the event candidates include audio events. In some embodiments, the event candidates include a user press on the doorbell button of the video recording doorbell device 226. In some embodiments, the event candidates include audio, electromagnetic, olfactory, and / or visual modalities. In some embodiments, the event candidates include motion events, proximity detection, and detection of notifications. The event categorizer 474 classifies event candidates into different event categories (e.g., based on data from the event processor and / or entity recognizer). The user-facing front end 476 generates event alerts and notifications and facilitates review by a reviewer of detected entities and events via a review interface on the client device 228. The user-facing front end 476 also receives user edits regarding events and entity categories, user preferences regarding alerts and event filters, zone definitions for zones of interest, etc. The event categorizer 474 optionally reviews the event categorization model and results based on user edits received by the user-facing front end 476. The entity recognition module 326 optionally reviews entity classification and / or labels based on user edits received by the user-facing front end 476.The server system 206 also includes a database for storing video source data 480, person data 482, an event categorization model 484, and event data and event masks 486. In an embodiment, the person data 482 is stored in a person database (e.g., the person database 358). In some embodiments, each of these databases is part of the server database 340 (e.g., part of the data storage database 330).

[0071] Server system 206 receives one or more video streams 478 from video source 222 and optionally receives event candidate information 488 such as preliminary characterization information of detected entities and events (e.g., entity and event metadata from processing performed at doorbell device 226), and source information 488 such as device settings of doorbell device 226 (e.g., device profile 350 of doorbell device 226). In some embodiments, event processor 472 communicates with video source 222 and / or one or more other devices in the network environment to request additional image data, audio data, and sensor data such as high-resolution images or metadata regarding video stream(s) 478. The server system transmits alert 491 regarding the event, alert 492 regarding the detected person, event timeline information 493, and / or video data 494 (e.g., still images or video clips corresponding to the detected person and / or event) to client device 228. In some embodiments, the alert differentiates a guest approach event from other types of motion events. In some embodiments, the alert differentiates a motion event captured at doorbell device 226 from a motion event captured by another smart device (e.g., camera 136). Server system 206 optionally receives user information such as event data 495 (e.g., editing to event categories), zone definition 496, and person data 497 (e.g., classification of detected persons) from client device 228.

[0072] The data processing pipeline processes video information (e.g., a live video feed) received from a video source 222 (e.g., including a doorbell device 226 and an optional controller device) and / or audio information received from one or more smart devices in real time (e.g., within 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or 2 minutes) to identify and classify events occurring in a network environment, and transmit real-time event alerts (e.g., within 10 seconds, 20 seconds, or 30 seconds), and / or a refreshed event timeline (e.g., within 30 seconds, 1 minute, or 3 minutes) to a client device 228 associated with a reviewer account in the network environment. The data processing pipeline also processes stored information (such as a stored video feed from the video source 222) to re-evaluate and / or re-classify events as needed, such as when new information regarding an event is obtained, and / or when new information regarding an event category is obtained (e.g., a new activity zone definition is obtained from a user).

[0073] After video and / or audio data is captured by a smart device, the data is processed to determine whether there are potential event candidates or people present. In some embodiments, the data is first processed by the smart device (e.g., the video source 222, the camera 136, or the doorbell device 226). Thus, in some embodiments, the smart device transmits event candidate information 488, such as event start information, to the server system 206. In some embodiments, the data is processed by the server system 206 for event start detection. In some embodiments, the video and / or audio data is stored in the server system 206 (e.g., the video storage database 236). In some embodiments, the visual / audio data is stored on a server separate from the server system 206. In some embodiments, after the start of motion is detected, the relevant portion of the video stream is retrieved from storage (e.g., from the video storage database 236).

[0074] In some embodiments, the event identification process includes segmenting a video stream into a plurality of segments and then categorizing event candidates within each segment. In some embodiments, categorizing event candidates includes aggregating background factors, entity detection and identification, motion vector generation for each motion entity, entity features, and scene features to generate motion features of the event candidates. In some embodiments, the event identification process further includes classifying each segment, generating or updating an event log based on the categorization of the segments, generating an alert for an event based on the categorization of the segments, categorizing the overall event, updating the event log based on the overall event, and generating an alert regarding the event based on the overall event. In some embodiments, the categorization is based on a determination that the event occurred within a particular zone of interest. In some embodiments, the categorization is based on a determination that the event candidate involves one or more zones of interest. In some embodiments, the categorization is based on characterization of audio data and / or audio events.

[0075] The event analysis and categorization process may be executed cooperatively by a smart device (e.g., video source 222) and the server system 206, and the division of tasks may vary in different embodiments with respect to different device capabilities configurations, power parameters, and / or different network, device, and server load situations. After the server system 206 categorizes the event candidates, the results of the event detection and categorization may be transmitted to a reviewer associated with the network environment.

[0076] In some embodiments, the server system 206 stores, for each of the video sources 222, raw or compressed video source data 480 (e.g., within the video storage database 236), an event categorization model 484 (e.g., within the categorization model database 360), and event masks and other event metadata (e.g., within the event information database 352). In some embodiments, the video data is stored at one or more display resolutions, such as 480p, 780p, 1080i, 1080p.

[0077] In some embodiments, the video source 222 (e.g., the doorbell device 226) transmits a live video feed to the remote server system 206 via one or more networks (e.g., network(s) 108). In some embodiments, the transmission of the video data is continuous because the video data is captured by the doorbell device 226. In some embodiments, the transmission of the video data is independent of the content of the video data, and the video data is uploaded from the video source 222 to the server system 206 for storage regardless of whether any motion events are captured within the video data. In some embodiments, the video data is stored by default on the local storage device of the video source 222, and only the video portions corresponding to motion event candidates detected within the video stream are uploaded to the server system 206 (e.g., in real time or in response to a user request).

[0078] In some embodiments, the video source 222 dynamically determines at what display resolution the video stream is uploaded to the server system 206. In some embodiments, the video source 222 dynamically determines which portions of the video stream should be uploaded to the server system 206. For example, in some embodiments, depending on the current server load and network conditions, the video source 222 optionally prioritizes the upload of video portions corresponding to newly detected motion event candidates over other portions of the video stream that do not include any of the motion event candidates. Or, the video source 222 uploads the video portions corresponding to the newly detected motion event candidates at a higher display resolution than other portions of the video stream. This prioritization of uploads helps ensure that interesting motion events are detected and reviewers are alerted in real time, even when network conditions and server load are not optimal. In some embodiments, the video source 222 implements two parallel upload connections, one for uploading a continuous video stream captured by the doorbell device 226 and the other for uploading video portions corresponding to detected motion event candidates. At any given time, the video source 222 determines whether the upload of the continuous video stream needs to be temporarily paused to ensure that sufficient bandwidth is provided for the upload of video segments corresponding to newly detected motion event candidates.

[0079] In some embodiments, the video stream uploaded to cloud storage is of lower quality (e.g., lower resolution, lower frame rate, higher compression, etc.) than the video segments uploaded for motion event processing.

[0080] As shown in FIG. 4B, video source 222 optionally includes a video doorbell device 226 and an optional controller device 498. In some embodiments, doorbell device 226 includes sufficient on-board processing capabilities to perform all necessary local video processing tasks (e.g., queue point detection for motion event candidates, prioritization of video uploads, network connection management, etc.), and doorbell device 226 communicates directly with server system 206 without any controller device functioning as an intermediary. In some embodiments, doorbell device 226 captures video data and transmits the video data to the controller device for necessary local video processing tasks. Controller device 498 optionally performs local processing tasks for multiple cameras. For example, there may be multiple cameras within a single network environment (e.g., network environment 100, FIG. 1), and a single controller device 498 receives video data from each camera, processes the video data, and detects motion event candidates within the video streams from each camera. Controller device 498 is responsible for allocating sufficient outgoing network bandwidth to transmit video segments containing motion event candidates from each camera to the server before transmitting the video streams from each camera to server system 206 using the remaining bandwidth. In some embodiments, continuous video streams are transmitted to and stored at one server facility, while video segments containing motion event candidates are transmitted to and processed at a different server facility.

[0081] In some embodiments, the smart device transmits additional source information 490 to the server system 206. This additional source information 490 may include information regarding the device state (e.g., IR mode, auto exposure (AE) mode), and / or information regarding the environment in which the device is located (e.g., indoor, outdoor, night, daytime, etc.). In some embodiments, the source information 490 is used by the server system 206 to perform event detection, entity recognition, and / or classify event candidates. In some embodiments, the additional source information 490 includes one or more preliminary results from video processing performed by the video source 222 (e.g., doorbell device 226), such as categorization, object / entity recognition, motion mask, etc.

[0082] In some embodiments, the video portion after an event start incident is detected is divided into a plurality of segments. In some embodiments, the segmentation continues until event end information (also referred to as an "event end signal") is obtained. In some embodiments, the segmentation is performed within the server system 206 (e.g., by the event processor 472). In some embodiments, the segmentation includes generating overlapping segments. For example, 10 - second segments are generated every second, such that the new segment overlaps the previous segment by 9 seconds.

[0083] In some embodiments, each of the plurality of segments has the same or similar duration (e.g., each segment has a duration of 10 - 12 seconds). In some embodiments, the first segment has a shorter duration than subsequent segments. Keeping the first segment short enables real - time initial categorization and alert based on the processing of the first segment. Thereafter, the initial categorization can be reviewed based on the processing of subsequent segments. In some embodiments, a new segment is generated when a motion entity enters a new zone of interest.

[0084] In some embodiments, after the event processor module obtains the video portion corresponding to the event candidate, the event processor 472 obtains background factors and performs motion entity detection and identification, motion vector generation for each motion entity, and feature identification. When the event processor 472 completes these tasks, the event categorizer 474 aggregates all the information and generates a categorization of the motion event candidates. In some embodiments, the event processor 472 and the event categorizer 474 are components of the video processing module 322. In some embodiments, false positive suppression is optionally performed to reject some of the motion event candidates before they are submitted for event categorization. In some embodiments, determining whether a motion event candidate is a false positive includes determining whether the motion event candidate occurred in a particular zone. In some embodiments, determining whether a motion event candidate is a false positive includes analyzing the importance score of the motion event candidate. The importance score of the motion event candidate is optionally based on, for example, a zone of interest, background features, motion vectors, scene features, entity features, motion features, motion tracks, etc. associated with the motion event candidate.

[0085] In some embodiments, the video source 222 has sufficient processing power to perform entity detection, person recognition, background estimation, motion entity identification, motion vector generation, and / or feature identification and performs these.

[0086] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a representative client device 228 associated with a user account according to some embodiments. The client device 228 typically includes one or more processing units (CPUs) 502, one or more network interfaces 504, memory 506, and one or more communication buses 508 (sometimes called a chipset) for interconnecting these components. Optionally, the client device also includes a user interface 510 and one or more built-in sensors 512 (e.g., accelerometers and gyroscopes). The user interface 510 includes one or more output devices 514 that enable the presentation of media content, including one or more speakers and / or one or more visual displays. The user interface 510 also includes one or more input devices 516 that facilitate user input, including user interface components such as a keyboard, mouse, voice command input unit or microphone, touch screen display, touch-sensitive input pad, gesture capture camera, or other input buttons or controls. Additionally, some client devices use a microphone and voice recognition, or a camera and gesture recognition, to supplement or replace the keyboard. In some embodiments, the client device includes one or more cameras, scanners, or photo sensor units (not shown) for capturing images. Optionally, the client device includes a location detection device 518, such as a GPS sensor or other geolocation receiver, to determine the location of the client device.

[0087] Memory 506 includes high-speed random access memory such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR SRAM, or other random access solid state memory devices, and optionally includes non-volatile memory such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, one or more optical disk storage devices, one or more flash memory devices, or one or more other non-volatile solid state storage devices. Memory 506 optionally includes one or more storage devices remotely located from one or more processing units 502. Memory 506, or alternatively, the non-volatile memory within memory 506, includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In some embodiments, memory 506, or the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory 506, includes the following, ● An operating system 520 including procedures for processing various basic system services and for performing tasks that are hardware-dependent, and ● A network communication module 522 for connecting client device 228 to other systems and devices (e.g., client devices, electronic devices, and systems connected to one or more networks 108) via one or more network interfaces 504 (wired or wireless), ● An input processing module 524 for detecting one or more user inputs or interactions from one of one or more input devices 516 and interpreting the detected inputs or interactions, ● One or more applications 526 (e.g., games, social network applications, smart home applications, and / or other web-based or non-web-based applications) executed by the client device for controlling the device (e.g., sending commands to a hub device and / or other client or electronic devices, configuring settings, etc.) and for reviewing data captured by the device (e.g., the status and settings of the device, captured data, or other information regarding the hub device or other connected devices), ● A user interface module 528 for providing and displaying a user interface, in which settings, captured data, and / or other data for one or more devices (e.g., smart device 204 within network environment 100) can be configured and / or visualized, the user interface module 528, ● A client-side module 530 for providing client-side functions for device control, data processing, and data review, 〇 A device control module 532 for generating control commands to change the operating mode of a smart device (and optionally other electronic devices) according to user input, 〇 A video analysis module 534 for analyzing captured video data to detect and / or recognize, for example, people, objects, animals, and events, 〇 A data review module 536 for providing a user interface for reviewing data from server system 206 or video source 222, · An event review module 538 for reviewing events (e.g., motion and / or audio events) and optionally enabling user editing and / or updating of events, · A person review module 540 for reviewing data and / or images regarding detected people and other entities and optionally enabling user editing and / or updating of person data, including, but not limited to, the data review module 536, 〇 A presentation module 542 for presenting a user interface and response options for interacting with smart device 204 and / or server system 206, 〇 A remote interaction module 544 for interacting with remote people (e.g., visitors to network environment 100) via, for example, smart device 204 and / or server system 206, including, but not limited to, the client-side module 530, and ● client data 546 that stores data associated with the user account and the electronic device, 〇 account data 548 that stores information related to both the user account loaded on the client device and the electronic device associated with the user account (e.g., of the video source 222), such information including cached login credentials, hub device identifiers (e.g., MAC address and UUID), electronic device identifiers (e.g., MAC address and UUID), user interface settings, display preferences, authentication tokens and tags, password keys, etc., the account data 548, 〇 a local data storage database 550 for selectively storing raw or processed data related to an electronic device (e.g., of the video source 222 such as the doorbell 226), optionally including the aforementioned entity data, the local data storage database 550, including, but not limited to, the client data 546, and stores programs, modules, and data structures, or subsets or supersets thereof.

[0088] Each of the elements identified above may be stored in one or more of the aforementioned memory devices and may correspond to a set of instructions for performing the above-described functions. The modules or programs (e.g., sets of instructions) identified above need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures, modules, or data structures, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise rearranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, the memory 506 optionally stores a subset of the modules and data structures identified above. Further, the memory 506 optionally stores additional modules and data structures not described above.

[0089] Exemplary Embodiment FIG. 6 is an isometric view 600 of an exemplary video recording doorbell (e.g., doorbell 226) according to some embodiments. Doorbell 226 is shown as having a longitudinal axis 602 (e.g., the y-axis), a transverse axis 604 (e.g., the x-axis), and a central axis 606 (e.g., the z-axis). Doorbell 226 may be elongated along the longitudinal axis such that it has a height along the longitudinal axis 602 that is significantly (at least twice) greater than the width along the transverse axis 604 and the width is greater (at least 1.5 times) than the depth along the central axis 606. Doorbell 226 includes a camera-side end 608 and a button-side end 610, which are at opposite ends of a first surface (e.g., front outer surface 612) of the housing. The camera-side end 608 of doorbell 226 includes an IR cover 614, which includes a portion that is substantially transparent (e.g., 70%, 80%, 90%, 100% transparent) or translucent (e.g., between 31% and 69%) to IR light and another portion that is substantially opaque (e.g., 70%, 80%, 90%, 100% opaque) to IR light.

[0090] In one aspect, the IR cover extends outwardly from the front outer surface 612 of the housing of the doorbell 226. The IR cover 614 forms an annular shape having a central aperture through which the camera lens 616 of the camera module (e.g., the camera module 442 of FIG. 4A) extends. The annular shape is generally elliptical and in some cases where its major axis and minor axis are equal, the shape can be circular. A retainer 618 (e.g., a lens retainer) surrounds the camera lens 616 in the xy plane, extends through the central aperture of the IR cover 614, and projects from the outer surface of the IR cover 614. In one example, the retainer 618 has a substantially tubular shape (having an elliptical cross-section such as a circular cross-section), and the camera lens 616 is disposed within the central region of the retainer 618. Both the retainer 618 and the camera lens 616 extend outwardly from the front outer surface 612 of the housing, which includes extending outwardly from the outer surface of the IR cover 614. In some embodiments, the camera lens 616 projects slightly (along the z-axis) from the end of the retainer 618. The retainer 618 reduces and / or prevents IR light leaking from the IR cover 614 to the side or edge of the camera lens 616. The IR light can be provided by an IR illuminator (e.g., an IR LED) disposed behind the IR cover 614 and configured to direct the IR light through one or more apertures 620 within the IR cover 614. Also, the IR light can be received from the ambient environment through the IR cover and captured by a sensor (e.g., an image sensor, a passive infrared (PIR) sensor). Thus, the retainer 618 prevents IR light from leaking from the IR cover 614 to the side or edge of the camera lens 616.

[0091] The button-side end portion 610 of the doorbell 226 includes a button 622, which can be pressed by a user to initiate a notification (e.g., a chime). In some embodiments, the button 622 may be surrounded by a light ring 624, which may be substantially the same height as the front outer surface 612 of the doorbell 226. The button 622 and / or the light ring 624 may have a shape and / or size that substantially matches the outline and / or size of the IR cover 614. In one example, the button 622 may have a diameter that is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the IR cover 614. In another example, the light ring 624 may have an outer diameter that is substantially the same as the outer diameter of the IR cover 614.

[0092] FIG. 7 shows a front elevation view 700 of the exemplary doorbell 226 of FIG. 6. As shown, the camera lens 616 of the camera module 442 (not shown in FIG. 7) is centered with respect to the IR cover 614 and surrounded by a retainer 618. In the xy plane (e.g., the cross-section of the retainer 618), the button 622 has an elliptical shape, and its major axis and minor axis are different from each other (e.g., form an ellipse) or equal to each other (e.g., form a circle). The IR cover 614 may have an elliptical shape similar to the shape of the button 622. Further, the doorbell 226 has an oval shape in the examples described herein. However, the doorbell 226 may have any suitable shape and is not limited to the exact shapes described herein.

[0093] FIG. 8 shows a right elevation view 800 of the exemplary doorbell 226 of FIG. 6 according to some embodiments. As shown, the retainer 618 extends outwardly (in the z direction) from the IR cover 614 to prevent IR light passing through the IR cover 614 from leaking to the camera lens 616. The camera lens 616 may extend outwardly (in the z direction) from the retainer 618 to maximize the field of view of an image sensor (e.g., the image sensor 408 of FIG. 4A) through the camera lens 616. In some embodiments, the doorbell 226 includes a housing formed by a front housing component 802 attached to a rear housing component 804.

[0094] FIG. 9 shows a rear elevation view 900 of the exemplary doorbell 226 of FIG. 6. In the illustrated example, the doorbell 226 includes a rear outer surface 902 of the rear housing member 804, and the rear outer surface 902 includes one or more features for attaching the doorbell 226 to a surface such as a wall. As will be described in more detail herein, the doorbell 226 includes one or more mounting studs 904 disposed on the rear outer surface 902 of the doorbell 226. The mounting studs 904 can be used to attach the doorbell to a wall plate, bracket, or other component connected to the wall. The rear outer surface 902 also includes or defines a recessed volume 906 that receives a locking tab of the wall plate to secure the doorbell 226 to the wall plate. Further discussion of this and other features is provided in more detail below. Additional fasteners 908 can be used to secure the rear housing component 804 to one or more internal components (e.g., heat sink, printed circuit board) and / or to the front housing component 802.

[0095] FIG. 10 shows an exploded view 1000 of the exemplary doorbell 226 of FIG. 6. The front housing component 802 and the rear housing component 804 are connected to each other to form a housing that encloses the various components of the doorbell 226. The IR cover 614 is assembled to the outer surface (e.g., the first surface, the front outer surface 612 of FIG. 6) of the front housing component 802.

[0096] At the button side end 610, the doorbell 226 includes a button sub-assembly 1002 (also called button 622), which is part of a lighting ring for an animation indicating when the button sub-assembly 1002 is pressed. Further, the button sub-assembly 1002 is waterproof sealed to prevent water from entering the device through or around the button sub-assembly 1002. The button sub-assembly 1002 may include a button cap 1004, a first reflector 1006, a button foam 1008, a button flange 1010, a light guide 1012, an elastic button web 1014, a dome 1016, a second reflector 1018, and a button PCB (e.g., button board 1020). One or more fasteners (e.g., fastener 1022) may be used to assemble the components of the button sub-assembly 1002 together. Pressing the button cap 1004 on the button sub-assembly 1002 completes an electrical circuit on the button board 1020, thereby enabling the detection of a person's presence.

[0097] The doorbell 226 also includes a speaker sub-assembly 1024 and one or more antennas 1026, which are assembled in proximity to each other and in proximity to the button sub-assembly 1002. The doorbell 226 includes a battery 1028, which may be seated within a battery frame 1030. A heat spreader 1032 (e.g., graphite) is wrapped around the battery 1028 to evenly disperse heat to the battery 1028 and maintain the temperature gradient of the battery 1028 within a desired level when the doorbell 226 is exposed to a cold environment (e.g., sub-freezing temperature). The heat spreader 1032 is also configured to equalize heating that occurs when a heat resistor (e.g., resistor 1104 of FIG. 11) operates or when an external load from the sun (e.g., solar load) adds heat to one side of the doorbell 226.

[0098] At the camera-side end 608, the doorbell 226 may include a PCB 1034, which may be a sub-assembly of an IR sensor (passive infrared sensor), an IR LED, and / or an audio sensor (e.g., a microphone). A pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) 1036 may be disposed between the PCB 1034 and the front housing component 802. Also, a mesh 1038 for an audio sensor (e.g., a microphone) may be disposed adjacent to the audio sensor. Further, an IR flexible printed circuit (FPC) 1040 can connect the PCB 1034 to the camera module 442. The camera module 442 includes a camera sub-assembly 1042 and a PCB (e.g., a camera board 1044). The camera sub-assembly 1042 is aligned with the IR cover 614. In one aspect, one or more thermal interface materials (TIM) 1046 may be disposed adjacent to the camera board 1044 to transfer heat generated by one or more integrated circuit components on the camera board 1044, including an image sensor. A fastener 1048 can be used to fasten the camera board 1044 to the camera sub-assembly 1042 and / or the front housing component.

[0099] The main FPC 1050 may be used to connect the camera board 1044 to the main logic board (MLB) sub-assembly 1052 of the doorbell 226. The MLB sub-assembly 1052 is disposed towards the rear of the product assembly to avoid coupling the heat generated by the MLB sub-assembly 1052 with a heat load from an external source (e.g., a solar load from the sun). A heat sink 1054 is disposed adjacent to the MLB sub-assembly 1052 and the camera board 1044 to passively dissipate heat from the MLB sub-assembly 1052 and the camera board 1044 and transfer the heat towards a housing including the rear housing component 804. Further, the heat sink 1054 is used as a ground plane for a plurality of electrical components within the doorbell 226.

[0100] The heat sink 1054 includes a plurality of sections (e.g., a first section 1054-1, a second section 1054-2). The first section 1054-1 and the second section 1054-2 are both nested within the rear housing component 804. In an aspect, the first section 1054-1 is disposed adjacent to the MLB subassembly 1052 and is configured to absorb and dissipate heat from the MLB subassembly 1052. The first section 1054-1 transfers the heat generated by the MLB subassembly 1052 to the lower portion of the housing including the button-side end 610. The first section 1054-1 is also coupled to the antenna 1026 to electrically ground the antenna 1026. The second section 1054-2 is disposed adjacent to the camera subassembly 1042 and is configured to absorb and dissipate heat from the camera subassembly 1042. Specifically, the image sensor (e.g., the image sensor 408) is cooled through the back of the camera board 1044 using TIM 1046 (e.g., thermal gel) and graphite disposed inside the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shield to dissipate heat before it is transferred to a larger camera heat sink (e.g., the second section 1054-2). Thus, the heat sink 1054 enables separating the amount of heat sink required for the camera subassembly 1042 from the amount of heat sink required for the MLB subassembly 1052. Dividing the heat sink 1054 into separate sections for different heat-generating subassemblies significantly reduces the temperature, thereby improving passive thermal control compared to conventional doorbell devices that use a single heat sink for both the MLB and the camera module.

[0101] In some embodiments, the two portions of the heat sink 1054 form a substantially oval shape (in the xy plane). The first section 1054-1 is significantly longer along the y-axis (by at least a factor of two, e.g., 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4 times) compared to the second section 1054-2. Further, the first section 1054-1 includes a base surface and a side wall that extends from the base surface in the direction of the z-axis (e.g., towards the front of the doorbell 226). In some embodiments, the base surface can be substantially planar. The side wall of the first section 1054-1 serves to transfer the heat generated by the MLB subassembly 1052 to the lateral sides of the housing (e.g., the left and right lateral sides relative to the front outer surface 612 of the front housing component 802). During low ambient temperatures, the side wall of the first section 1054-1 transfers heat from the heat dissipating components on the MLB subassembly 1052 to the internal air of the assembly to help warm the battery 1028 (further details regarding warming the battery 1028 are described with respect to FIG. 11).

[0102] The gasket 1056 (e.g., an O-ring) is disposed between the rear housing component 804 and the front housing component 802 to form a seal and prevent water ingress along the seam between the housing components 802 and 804. The doorbell 226 may also include a label plate 1058 for adding and / or replacing one or more labels. The electrical connector 1060 (e.g., wiring, dongle) is used to connect the doorbell 226 to line power. A wall plate 1062 and / or a wedge 1064 may be used to attach the doorbell 226 to a surface (e.g., a wall). The wall plate 1062 and the wedge 1064 may be fixed to the surface (e.g., a wall). The wall plate 1062 may include any suitable rigid material including sheet metal (e.g., made from stainless steel). In some embodiments, a spacer is used between the wall plate 1062 and the wedge 1064 to help prevent the wall plate 1062 from bending or stacking during assembly onto the wedge 1064. The wedge 1064 is configured with non-parallel front and rear faces that provide an angle to the wall. Thus, by fixing the wedge 1064 to the wall and fixing the doorbell 226 (including the wall plate 1062) to the wedge 1064, the doorbell 226 can be tilted with respect to the wall. In this way, the wedge provides a lateral (left and right) tilt angle or a downward (towards the ground) tilt angle that allows the camera of the doorbell (e.g., camera sub-assembly 1042) to tilt downward towards the user's front door path (e.g., a porch, the lower front steps). In some embodiments, the downward or lateral tilt angle(s) may be in the range of 10 degrees to 30 degrees (e.g., 20 degrees) with respect to the wall.

[0103] The doorbell 226 includes one or more mounting studs 904, and the one or more mounting studs 904 are attached to the rear housing component 804 and configured to hook onto the wall plate 1062 to secure the doorbell 226 to the surface to which the wall plate 1062 is attached. Specifically, the mounting stud 904 is inserted through an opening 1066 (e.g., a hole) in the wall plate 1062 and can then be slidably moved along the direction of the plane defined by the front surface of the wall plate 1062. By this positioning and movement, a portion of the head of the mounting stud 904 is pushed behind the wall plate 1062, whereby a portion of the wall plate 1062 is seated between the head of the mounting stud 904 and the rear housing component 804. Thus, the mounting stud 904 assembled to the wall plate 1062 in this manner prevents the doorbell 226 from moving along the z-axis (e.g., in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the wall plate 1062) with respect to the wall plate 1062 (and with respect to the surface to which the wall plate 1062 is fixed). After assembling the doorbell 226 to the wall plate 1062, a lock fastener 1068 may be used to further secure the doorbell 226 to the wall plate 1062. A hexagonal key 1070 (e.g., an Allen key) or other suitable tool can be used to insert and tighten the lock fastener 1068 in place.

[0104] FIG. 11 is a view showing a part of the exploded view 1000 of FIG. 10, showing the rear side of the heat sink 1054, the MLB subassembly 1052, and the battery subassembly 1102. The battery subassembly 1102 includes a battery 1028 seated within a battery frame 1030. When assembled, the doorbell 226 includes a gap (not shown in FIG. 11) between the front housing component 802 and the battery subassembly 1102, and the gap is specially provided to avoid solar loading that affects the battery 1028, for example, by effectively insulating the battery 1028 from external loads. This gap also provides space for the swelling of the battery 1028 that may occur as the battery 1028 ages.

[0105] In some embodiments, battery 1028 may also be wrapped with a heat spreader 1032 (e.g., graphite). Battery 1028 is used when a chime event occurs. For example, when a button is pressed, the circuit is effectively closed and power is routed to a chime (a separate device electrically connected to doorbell 226). Thus, when the circuit is closed, doorbell 226 does not receive line power for a predetermined duration. Instead, doorbell 226 operates on battery power for a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 seconds) while the chime is sounding. As a result, during low temperatures (e.g., sub-freezing temperatures), battery 1028 (without a heating mechanism) may have a high resistance and may not be able to support doorbell 226 while the chime is sounding.

[0106] Generally, battery 1028 has an operating temperature range for optimal performance. A battery temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor) may be implemented in battery sub-assembly 1102 to monitor the battery temperature. At high temperatures, the battery may degrade due to excessive performance of the battery's chemistry. At low temperatures (e.g., sub-freezing temperatures), conventional batteries exhibit low performance because the low temperature slows down the chemical reactions in the battery's chemistry. Different batteries may have different operating temperature ranges. For example, some batteries have an operating temperature range (e.g., in the range of 10°C to 80°C) with a low temperature boundary of 10°C. Some batteries may have an operating temperature range (e.g., in the range of 5°C to 85°C) with a low temperature boundary of 5°C. Thus, for example, an ambient temperature that drops to -20°C with a wind of about 1.5 m / s may cause the temperature of battery 1028 to drop below the low temperature boundary of the operating temperature range, resulting in a battery that does not substantially operate. However, in such ambient situations, battery 1028 can be heated using one or more heating mechanisms. In one example, heat spreader 1032 may be wrapped around battery 1028 and can disperse the heat generated by the heating mechanism in a way that maintains the gradient across battery 1028 within a certain level (e.g., less than 5°C). However, at some sub-freezing ambient temperatures, many conventional battery heaters (e.g., flexible circuit heaters) may be insufficient to maintain the battery temperature above the low temperature boundary.

[0107] In one aspect, one or more heating mechanisms may include a resistor 1104 disposed on a side of the MLB subassembly 1052 that interfaces with the heat sink 1054. The illustrated example shows six resistors 1104 on the MLB subassembly 1052. However, any suitable number of resistors 1104 may be disposed on the MLB subassembly 1052 at any suitable location on the MLB subassembly 1052. In one example, the resistors 1104 are disposed toward one end of the MLB subassembly 1052. In the illustrated example, the resistors 1104 are disposed along the longitudinal axis 1106 of the MLB subassembly 1052 in a region that is about one-fourth of the length of the MLB subassembly 1052. The resistor 1104 is a substrate resistive heater. In one aspect, the MLB subassembly 1104 includes a controller configured to control the flow of current to the resistor 1104 based on the battery temperature. In one example, a battery sensor provides the detected battery temperature to the controller, enabling the controller to determine whether the battery 1028 is within its operating temperature range. In some embodiments, current is provided to the resistor 1104 by a controller on the MLB subassembly 1104 to overdrive the resistor 1104 and dissipate heat from the resistor 1104. Any suitable amount of current or power may be used to overdrive the resistor 1104. In one example, power in the range of 3 watts (W) to 5 W (including 4 W) is provided to the resistor 1104 to dissipate heat from the resistor 1104. The power may be provided by the battery 1028 during a chime event (e.g., when a button is pressed). During low temperatures (e.g., sub-freezing ambient temperatures), the resistor 1104 can be overdriven in this manner. In an example, below a low temperature threshold (e.g., 10 °C, 5 °C), the resistor 1104 remains operative or on to maintain the battery 1028 at the minimum temperature required to enable the resistor 1104 to discharge the battery 1028 to enable a chime event.

[0108] When assembled, resistor 1104 is thermally connected to heat sink 1054 via a thermal interface material 1108 (e.g., thermal gel) to provide heat to indirectly heat battery 1028. For example, resistor 1104 provides heat, and that heat is transferred to heat sink 1054. Next, heat sink 1054 transfers heat to the internal air of doorbell 226, which warms battery 1028. Further, a heat spreader 1032 (e.g., graphite) disperses heat from the internal air across multiple surfaces of battery 1028 to maintain the gradient across battery 1028 within a desired level. Thus, by using resistor 1104 as described herein, battery 1028 can be heated to within its operating temperature range during low ambient temperatures in a manner that maintains the temperature of battery 1028 within its operating temperature range.

[0109] FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional view 1200 of doorbell 226 from FIG. 7 taken along line A-A of FIG. 7. Portion 1202 of cross-sectional view 1200 is shown in more detail in FIG. 13. FIG. 13 shows an exemplary stack-up of button sub-assembly 1002 at the button-side end 610 of doorbell 226. Portion 1204 is shown in even more detail in FIGS. 17-19. FIGS. 17-19 show a locking mechanism for securing doorbell 226 to wall plate 1062.

[0110] Speaker sub - assembly 1024 may cause friction and buzz when generating audio output at a specific frequency. To reduce or prevent friction and buzz, an elastic material (e.g., rubber, foam) may be disposed between the battery frame 1030 and the front housing component 802. In the illustrated example, a strip or block 1206 of elastic material is disposed along the x - axis, separating the front housing component 802 from the battery frame 1030. In some aspects, the block 1206 provides a seal between the front housing component 802 and the battery frame 1030. Further, the block 1206 divides the internal air chamber of the doorbell 226, protecting the risk area of friction and buzz from the resonant frequency of the speaker sub - assembly 1024 that uses the remaining portion of the doorbell 226 as its rear volume.

[0111] FIG. 13 is a view showing a portion 1202 of the cross - sectional view 1200 of FIG. 12, including an exemplary stacking of the button sub - assembly 1002. The button sub - assembly 1002 is constructed and integrated within the doorbell 226 in such a way that (i) the button cap 1004 can be pushed at any position on its outer surface to activate an electrical component behind it, (ii) the button sub - assembly 1002 can act as an optical guide, and (iii) meets a regulated waterproof standard (e.g., at least an Ingress Protection (IPX) standard, including IPX5 rating).

[0112] In the illustrated example, dome 1016 (e.g., a snap dome) is disposed on button board 1020 over an electrical pattern that dome 1016 completes when forced into contact with the electrical pattern. When the electrical pattern is completed, a chime event is initiated. In some embodiments, elastic button web 1014 includes a silicone rubber piece that can be folded to apply force to the head of dome 1016 to contact dome 1016 with the electrical pattern and complete the circuit. Elastic button web 1014 can include any suitable elastic material, including plastic, foam, and the like. On elastic button web 1014 is light guide 1012. Light guide 1012 has a specially angled shape for guiding light from an LED on button board 1020 to the side of button cap 1004. For example, the LED generally provides light in the direction of the z-axis, and light guide 1012 directs the light in the direction of the xy-plane. The light reaches into button flange 1010 through light guide 1012, and button flange 1010 directs the light to the edge of button cap 1004.

[0113] Button cap 1004 forms a pushable button on the front outer surface 612 of the housing. Button cap 1004 is a multi-shot material including a first shot and a second shot of an injection molding material (e.g., first shot 1004-1 and second shot 1004-2). The first shot 1004-1 forms the center of button cap 1004 and is at least substantially opaque to visible light. The second shot 1004-2 forms the edge of button cap 1004 and is substantially transparent to visible light, enabling light from the LED to exit from the front of doorbell 226. Specifically, the second shot 1004-2 of button cap 1004 diffuses the light, and the light generally exits the second shot 1004-2 in the direction of the z-axis (e.g., out from the front of doorbell 226). In some embodiments, the second shot 1004-2 of button cap 1004 evenly disperses the diffused light around button cap 1004.

[0114] The button sub-assembly 1002 prevents hot spots or dim spots in the light guide 1012 through a combination of the type of material used and the shape of the light guide 1012 itself that diffuses light.

[0115] Since the button sub-assembly 1002 functions as a pushable mechanical button, the button cap 1004 is movable relative to the front housing component 802, resulting in an area (around the button cap 1004) that is susceptible to water ingress. The path of water ingress is indicated by arrow 1300. For example, water can enter the device around the edge of the button cap 1004, pass through the space around the button flange 1010, and reach a part of the button board 1020. However, seals 1302 and 1304 prevent further water ingress. Seal 1302 is disposed between the front housing component 802 and the button board 1020. In some embodiments, seal 1302 may be a PSA. Seal 1304 is disposed between the button board 1020 and the elastic button web 1014 to prevent water from reaching and damaging the electrical circuit on the button board 1020. By having internal seals (e.g., seals 1302 and 1304), mechanical movement of the button cap 1004 relative to the front housing component 802 is enabled, and while some water ingress is tolerated, water ingress into any area where water could cause damage is prevented.

[0116] Furthermore, the button board 1020 has a thickness that provides strength against the high pressing force applied to the button cap 1004. Many conventional video recording doorbells include a battery behind the button board 1020, but the doorbell 226 described herein does not include a battery, thereby providing additional space within the device to add thickness to the button board 1020.

[0117] FIG. 14 shows a cross-sectional view 1400 of the door bell 226 from FIG. 7 taken along line C-C of FIG. 7. In particular, the cross-sectional view 1400 is taken across the button sub-assembly 1002 along the x-axis. As shown, the button sub-assembly 1002 is disposed facing the front of the device. Beneath the button board 1020 is a layer of speaker foam 1402 that separates the button board 1020 from the speaker sub-assembly 1024. The speaker foam 1402 is implemented to reduce friction and buzz caused by movement of the speaker sub-assembly 1024 along the z-axis relative to the button board 1020. The speaker sub-assembly 1024 is fastened to the heat sink 1054 by one or more fasteners 1022. The heat sink 1054, particularly the first section 1054-1 of the heat sink 1054, is separated from the speaker sub-assembly 1024 by a gap that allows the speaker sub-assembly 1024 to move in the direction of the z-axis relative to the first section 1054 of the heat sink 1054. The heat sink 1054 is adjacent to the rear housing component 804 and transfers heat to the rear housing component 804 to passively cool the device. The front housing component 802 can be connected to the rear housing component 804 via any suitable connection mechanism that includes protrusions and recesses that allow the housing components to snap fit together. An attachment stud 904 is attached to the rear housing component 804 and includes a shaft 1404 connected to a head 1406. The head 1406 is wider than the shaft 1404 because the head 1406 has a diameter larger than the diameter of the shaft 1404. As a result, the head 1406 extends outwardly from the shaft 1404 in the xy-plane. The shaft forms a gap 1408 between the rear housing component 804 and the head 1406 of the attachment stud 904. When the door bell 226 is assembled to the wall plate 1062, a portion of the wall plate 1062 moves slidably (in the direction of the y-axis) into the gap 1408 to limit or prevent movement of the door bell 226 in the z-axis direction relative to the wall plate 1062 (and relative to the surface to which the wall plate 1062 is fixed).Due to the shape and orientation of the mounting stud 904 and the wall plate 1062 when assembled together, the doorbell 226 is configured not to move in both the x-axis and z-axis directions, thereby reducing or preventing vibration or swaying of the doorbell 226 relative to the wall plate 1062. Further details are described with respect to FIG. 15.

[0118] FIG. 15 is a perspective cross-sectional view 1500 of the button-side end portion 610 of the doorbell 226 taken along line A-A of FIG. 7, and an enlarged view 1502 of a portion of the cross-sectional view 1500 having the mounting stud 904. As shown in FIG. 15, the mounting stud 904 is fastened to a fastener 1504 (e.g., a screw, bolt), and the fastener 1504 is disposed inside the housing and extends through the heat sink 1054 and the rear housing component 804. For example, the mounting stud 904 may have a threaded inner surface into which the fastener 1504 is threaded. Further, a seal 1506 is disposed (e.g., surrounds) around the shaft 1404 of the mounting stud 904 to provide a seal against water ingress into the doorbell 226 through the space between the rear housing component 804 and the shaft 1404 of the mounting stud 904.

[0119] Furthermore, a non-conductive separator 1508 (e.g., washer, shoulder washer) insulates moisture and electricity adjacent to the fastener 1504. The fastener 1504 is inserted through an aperture of the separator 1508 to separate and thermally insulate the fastener 1504 from the heat sink 1054. Since the attachment stud 904, the fastener 1504, and the heat sink 1054 are metallic parts that are conductive, there is a risk that an electrical short circuit applied to the attachment stud 904 will be transmitted through the attachment stud 904 to the fastener 1504, through the fastener 1504 to the heat sink 1054, and through the heat sink 1054 to the main board (e.g., MLB sub-assembly 1052) or other circuits. To prevent these components from establishing such a conductive path in this way, the separator 1508 is disposed between the fastener 1504 and the heat sink 1054. The separator 1508 is a non-conductive material (e.g., plastic, rubber) for preventing grounding or short circuit between the attachment stud 904 and the heat sink 1054 via the fastener 1504.

[0120] FIG. 16 shows a cross-sectional view 1600 of the exemplary doorbell 226 of FIG. 7 taken along line C-C of FIG. 7. Cross-sectional view 1600 shows the stacking of the doorbell 226 at the camera-side end 608. At the rear of the doorbell 226 is an attachment stud 904, which is connected to the rear housing component 804. The heat sink 1054 is seated or nested within the rear housing component 804. The rear housing component 804 is removably attached (e.g., fitted) to the front housing component 802 at a plurality of positions on the outer periphery of the rear housing component 804. In some embodiments, the outer surface of the rear housing component 804 is attached to the inner surface of the front housing component 802. Thus, the rear housing component 804 is visually hidden by the front housing component 802 in the front elevation view of the doorbell 226. Stacked on top of the heat sink 1054 at the camera-side end 608 is the camera module 442, which includes, among other components, a camera board 1044, an image sensor 408, a camera lens 616, and a retainer 618. Adjacent to the retainer 618 is an IR cover 614, which surrounds the retainer 618 and the camera lens 616 in the xy plane and covers a PCB 1034 that may include IR LEDs.

[0121] FIGS. 17A, 17B, and 17C are diagrams of a locking mechanism for securing the doorbell 226 to the wall plate 1062. Starting with FIG. 17A, the doorbell 226 is positioned adjacent to the wall plate 1062 such that the attachment stud 904 is inserted through an opening 1066 in the wall plate 1062 (e.g., along the z-axis). The wall plate 1062 includes a front face configured to abut the rear outer face of the rear housing component 804. The wall plate 1062 also has a locking tab 1700, which extends outwardly from the front face and is configured to be inserted into a recessed volume 906 of the rear housing component 804. Next, the doorbell 226 is slidably moved downward (-y direction), whereby the wall plate 1062 slides upward (e.g., in the direction of the y-axis toward the doorbell 226's upper portion and toward the lock fastener 1068) relative to the doorbell 226.

[0122] Continuing with reference to FIG. 17B, the locking tab 1700 of the wall plate 1062 is disposed adjacent to a side of the concave volume 906 that includes an aperture 1704 into which the lock fastener 1068 is inserted. Further, the mounting stud 904 overlaps a portion of the wall plate. For example, the wall plate 1062 includes a portion 1706 disposed here between the head 1406 of the mounting stud 904 and the rear housing component 804, thereby preventing movement of the door bell 226 in the z-axis direction relative to the wall plate 1062. In this way, the head 1406 of the mounting stud 904 is disposed between the wall plate 1062 and the surface to which the wall plate 1062 is attached. The shape of the head 1406 of the mounting stud 904 and the shape of the aperture 1066 of the wall plate 1062 after the mounting stud 904 has slidably moved to a fixed position also prevent movement of the door bell 226 in the x-axis direction. For example, the head 1406 of the mounting stud 904 overlaps the wall plate 1062 at least in the x-dimension when assembled to the wall plate 1062. In some embodiments, the mounting stud 904 overlaps the wall plate 1062 in both the x-dimension and the y-dimension when assembled to the wall plate 1062. Next, the lock fastener 1068 is inserted through the aperture 1708 of the locking tab 1700 of the wall plate 1062.

[0123] Continuing with reference to FIG. 17C, the lock fastener 1068 is fastened (e.g., screwed and fixed) to the locking tab 1700 of the wall plate 1062, fixing the rear housing component 804 to the wall plate 1062 in the direction of the y-axis (e.g., the lateral axis 604). This fastening prevents movement of the door bell 226 along the y-axis relative to the wall plate 1062.

[0124] These and other features and configurations, and the manner in which the entities in FIGS. 1 and 2 act and interact, will be described in more detail below. These entities can be further divided, combined, etc. The environment 100 of FIG. 1, and the detailed figures from FIG. 2 through FIG. 17C, illustrate some of the many possible environments, devices, and methods in which the described techniques can be employed, either individually or in combination with each other.

[0125] Some examples will be described below.

[0126] A video recording doorbell, comprising: a housing having a front outer surface and an opposite rear outer surface, the housing having a height along the y-axis that is greater than a width along the x-axis and a depth along the z-axis, the front outer surface being perpendicular to the z-axis and the front outer surface having opposite first and second ends along the y-axis; a camera module disposed at the first end of the housing, the camera module being configured to operate an image sensor and associated circuitry to capture video data, the camera module extending outwardly from the front outer surface of the housing and having a camera lens exposed to an environment surrounding the video recording doorbell; a printed circuit board disposed within the housing and having circuitry configured for continuous recording of video data; a button sub-assembly disposed at the second end of the housing and configured to be pushed by a person to initiate a chime event of a predetermined duration; a battery configured to provide power to the circuitry during the chime event; and a heat sink having separate first and second sections, the first section of the heat sink being disposed adjacent to the printed circuit board, the second section of the heat sink being disposed adjacent to the camera module, and the first section being disposed adjacent to the second section in the direction of the y-axis.

[0127] The video recording doorbell may further include an infrared cover disposed at a first end of the housing, the infrared cover being configured to be transmissive to infrared light, and a camera lens extending through an opening of the infrared cover.

[0128] The camera module may have a lens retainer disposed between the camera lens and the infrared cover.

[0129] The first section of the heat sink may be at least twice as long as the second section along the y-axis.

[0130] The first section of the heat sink may include a base surface and sidewalls extending outward from the base surface along the z-axis, the sidewalls being configured to conduct heat toward lateral sides of the housing, which are separated by the width of the housing.

[0131] The button subassembly may include a button board having an electrical pattern for initiating a chime event, a dome configured to complete a circuit when forced into contact with the electrical pattern, a foldable elastic button for applying a force to the dome to bring the dome into contact with the electrical pattern and complete the circuit, an optical guide disposed adjacent to the elastic button, and a button cap forming a pushable button on an outer front surface of the housing.

[0132] The video recording doorbell may further include a first seal disposed between the button board and a front housing component of the housing, and a second seal disposed between the button board and the elastic button, the first and second seals preventing water intrusion within the housing between the housing and the button cap of the button subassembly from reaching the electrical pattern on the button board.

[0133] The video recording doorbell may further include one or more substrate resistive heaters that are disposed on a printed circuit board, dissipate heat to a heat sink, and are configured to indirectly warm a battery based on the heat sink transferring heat to the battery through the internal air of the video recording doorbell.

[0134] The substrate resistive heater may be thermally connected to the heat sink.

[0135] The substrate resistive heater may be configured to generate heat to maintain the temperature of the battery within an operating temperature range.

[0136] The video recording doorbell may further include a heat diffuser that is disposed adjacent to the battery and is configured to disperse heat from the internal air over a plurality of surfaces of the battery.

[0137] The video recording doorbell may further include one or more mounting studs disposed on an outer rear surface of the housing, wherein each mounting stud of the one or more mounting studs is fixed to a fastener disposed within the housing, and each mounting stud includes a shaft extending outwardly from the outer rear surface of the housing and a head having a diameter larger than the diameter of the shaft.

[0138] The video recording doorbell may further include a wall plate that is attached to a surface and is configured to support the housing, wherein each mounting stud is inserted through an opening of the wall plate and is configured to overlap a portion of the wall plate to fix the housing to the wall plate.

[0139] The overlap between the mounting stud and the portion of the wall plate prevents movement of the housing along the z-axis and along the x-axis.

[0140] The wall plate may include a front face and a locking tab extending outwardly from the front face, and the outer rear face of the housing may define a concave volume configured to receive the locking tab of the wall plate. The housing may be inserted through an aperture of the housing and fastened to the wall plate by a fastener attached to the locking tab of the wall plate to prevent movement of the housing relative to the wall plate along the y-axis.

[0141] Conclusion While aspects of the video recording doorbell have been described in language specific to features and / or methods, the subject matter of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as exemplary embodiments of techniques for a video recording doorbell, and other equivalent features and methods are intended to be within the scope of the appended claims. Further, it is to be understood that various different aspects have been described, and each of the aspects described can be implemented independently or in relation to one or more of the other described aspects.

Claims

1. A video recording doorbell, comprising a housing having a front outer surface and an opposite rear outer surface, the housing having a height along a y-axis that is greater than a width along an x-axis and a depth along a z-axis, the front outer surface being perpendicular to the z-axis, the front outer surface having first and second end portions along the y-axis, the video recording doorbell further comprising, a camera module disposed at the first end portion of the housing, the camera module being configured to operate an image sensor and associated circuitry to capture video data, the video recording doorbell further comprising, a printed circuit board disposed within the housing and having circuitry configured for continuous recording of the video data, a button subassembly disposed at the second end portion of the housing and configured to be pushed by a person to initiate a chime event, and a heat sink having separate first and second sections, the first section of the heat sink being disposed adjacent to the printed circuit board, the second section of the heat sink being disposed adjacent to the camera module, the first section being disposed adjacent to the second section in the direction of the y-axis, a video recording doorbell.

2. The video recording doorbell according to claim 1, further comprising an infrared cover disposed at the first end portion of the housing, the infrared cover being configured to transmit infrared light, the camera lens extending through an opening of the infrared cover.

3. The video recording doorbell according to claim 2, wherein the camera module has a lens retainer disposed between the camera lens and the infrared cover.

4. The video recording doorbell according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first section of the heat sink is at least twice as long as the second section along the y-axis.

5. The video recording doorbell according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first section of the heat sink includes a base surface and side walls extending outwardly along the z-axis from the base surface, the side walls being configured to transfer heat toward lateral side portions of the housing that are separated by the width of the housing.

6. The button subassembly, ​ A button board having an electrical pattern for starting the chime event; A dome configured to complete a circuit when forced to contact the electrical pattern; A foldable elastic button configured to apply a force to the dome to contact the dome with the electrical pattern and complete the circuit; An optical guide disposed adjacent to the elastic button; A button cap forming a pushable button on the outer front surface of the housing, the video recording doorbell according to any one of the preceding claims.

7. A first seal disposed between the button board and the front housing component of the housing; Further comprising a second seal disposed between the button board and the elastic button, wherein the first and second seals prevent water intrusion into the housing between the housing and the button cap of the button subassembly from reaching the electrical pattern on the button board. The video recording doorbell according to claim 6.

8. A battery frame configured to accommodate a battery for providing power to the circuit during the chime event; Further comprising one or more substrate resistance heaters disposed on the printed circuit board, wherein the one or more substrate resistance heaters dissipate heat to the heat sink, and the heat sink transfers the heat to the battery through the internal air of the video recording doorbell. The video recording doorbell according to any one of the preceding claims, configured to indirectly warm the battery based on this.

9. The video recording doorbell according to claim 8, wherein the substrate resistance heater is thermally connected to the heat sink.

10. A temperature sensor configured to detect the battery temperature of the battery; Further comprising a controller configured to control the flow of current to the substrate resistance heater based on the battery temperature, wherein the substrate resistance heater is configured to generate heat to maintain the temperature of the battery within an operating temperature range. The video recording doorbell according to claim 8 or claim 9.

11. The video recording doorbell according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising a heat diffuser disposed adjacent to the battery and configured to disperse the heat from the internal air over a plurality of surfaces of the battery.

12. Further comprising one or more mounting studs disposed on an outer surface of a rear portion of the housing, Each of the one or more mounting studs is fixed to a fastener disposed within the housing, Each of the mounting studs, A shaft extending outwardly from the outer surface of the rear portion of the housing, and A head having a diameter larger than a diameter of the shaft, The video recording doorbell according to any one of the preceding claims.

13. Further comprising a wall plate attached to a surface and configured to support the housing, and each of the mounting studs is inserted through an opening of the wall plate and configured to overlap a portion of the wall plate to fix the housing to the wall plate. The video recording doorbell according to claim 12.

14. The overlap between the mounting stud and the portion of the wall plate prevents movement of the housing along the z-axis and along the x-axis. The video recording doorbell according to claim 13.

15. The wall plate includes a front surface and a locking tab extending outwardly from the front surface, The outer surface of the rear portion of the housing defines a concave volume configured to receive the locking tab of the wall plate, The housing is inserted through an aperture of the housing and fastened to the wall plate by a fastener attached to the locking tab of the wall plate to prevent movement of the housing relative to the wall plate along the y-axis. The video recording doorbell according to any one of claims 12 to 14.

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