CPC H04L 67/125 (2013.01) [H04L 12/282 (2013.01); H04L 63/107 (2013.01); H04W 12/64 (2021.01); H04L 67/55 (2022.05); H04W 4/70 (2018.02)] | 20 Claims |
1. A system for allowing user devices to remotely control in-room devices of a hospitality establishment, the system comprising:
a control server coupled to a computer network;
a plurality of hubs coupled to the control server; and
a plurality of controllable devices located among a plurality of guest rooms of the hospitality establishment, each of the controllable devices coupled to at least one of the hubs;
wherein the control server receives a device identifier of a user device and looks up a device communication token associated with the user device in a device-to-token table;
the control server sends a notification message to the user device via a message server, the notification message being addressed by the device communication token to an in-room control application on the user device; wherein, in response to receiving the notification message from the message server, an operating system on the user device automatically activates the in-room control application and delivers the notification message to the in-room control application;
the control server receives a state change message from the in-room control application running on the user device via the computer network;
the control server determines a guest room associated with the state change message, the guest room being one of the guest rooms of the hospitality establishment with which the user device is associated;
the control server determines a target controllable device according to the guest room and the state change message, the target controllable device being located within the guest room;
the control server determines a target hub according to the target controllable device, the target hub being coupled to the target controllable device;
the control server sends a command to the target hub to change a state of the target controllable device according to the state change message;
the control server includes a key within the notification message sent to the user device for verification purposes; and
the control server ensures the key is received back from the user device within the state change message before acting on the state change message.
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