Selecting a window treatment fabric

• US 10,037,492 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2015
• Issued: 07/31/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
• Original Assignee: Lutron Electronics Company Incorporated (Lutron Electronics)
• Inventors: Blair, Edward J., Chambers, Samuel F., Gabriel, Laura M., Greene, Michelle L., Lawler, Andrew J., Parks, Joseph Roy, Protzman, Brent, Quirk, Staci L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Paulinho E
• Application Number:
  US14/677,936
• Publication Number:
  US 20150286938A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,216 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 2009/6809 Control
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 2009/6818 using sensors
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 2009/6827 sensing light
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 9/24 Screens or other constructions affording protection against light, especially against sunshine; Similar screens for privacy or appearance; Slat blindsoperating, guiding or securing devices or arrangements for roll-type closures E06B9/56; free-hanging flexible screens A47H23/00
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 9/32 Operating, guiding, or securing devices therefor operation of tilting bars E06B9/307
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 9/68 Operating devices or mechanisms, e.g. with electric drive
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/04 Inference or reasoning models
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 7/01 Probabilistic graphical models, e.g. probabilistic networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/82 Elements for improving aerodynamics

Abstract

A fabric selection tool provides an automated procedure for recommending and/or selecting a fabric for a window treatment to be installed in a building. The recommendation may be made to optimize the performance of the window treatment in which the fabric may be installed. The recommended fabric may be selected based on performance metrics associated with each fabric in an environment. The fabrics may be ranked based upon the performance metrics of one or more of the fabrics. One or more of the fabrics, and/or their corresponding ranks, may be displayed to a user for selection. The recommended fabrics may be determined based on combinations of fabrics that provide performance metrics for various façades of the building. Using the ranking system provided by the fabric selection tool, the user may obtain a fabric sample and/or order one or more of the recommended fabrics.

Claims

1. A method of selecting fabrics for window treatments to be installed in a building, the method comprising:

receiving, at a processor, input data associated with the building in which the window treatments are to be installed, wherein the input data includes data associated with a plurality of faç

ades of the building;

accessing, by the processor, fabric data that indicates characteristics of a plurality of fabrics;

determining, by the processor and for each faç

ade of the plurality of faç

ades of the building, at least one predicted performance metric for each fabric of the plurality of fabrics;

determining, by the processor and based on the at least one predicted performance metric for each fabric of the plurality of fabrics, fabric set scores for different sets of fabrics in the plurality of fabrics, wherein each fabric set score indicates a performance of a set of fabrics when each fabric in the set of fabrics is used in a window treatment on a different faç

ade of the plurality of faç

ades of the building, wherein each fabric set score of the set of fabrics indicates a combined score for that set of fabrics when each fabric of that set of fabrics is used in the window treatment on the different faç

ade of the plurality of faç

ades of the building wherein each fabric in a respective set of fabrics has a first fabric characteristic that is a different value and a second fabric characteristic that is a same value; and

communicating, via the processor to a user, the fabric set scores for the different sets of fabrics, wherein communicating the fabric set scores for the sets of fabrics comprises displaying the fabric set scores on a visual display.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating the fabric set scores for the sets of fabrics comprises transmitting the fabric set scores to a network device having the visual display.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each combined score for each set of fabrics is an average score for the set of fabrics and is based on at least one of an average glare score, an average view score, and an average daylight score for that set of fabrics.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a ranking of the different sets of fabrics based on the fabric set score of each of the sets of fabrics; and

communicating, to the user, the ranking by displaying the ranking on the visual display.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein communicating the ranking comprises displaying the fabric set scores on the visual display.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein communicating the ranking comprises transmitting the fabric set scores to a network device having the visual display.

7. A method of selecting fabrics for window treatments to be installed in a building, the method comprising:

receiving, at a processor, input data associated with the building in which the window treatments are to be installed, wherein the input data includes data associated with a plurality of faç

ades of the building;

accessing, by the processor, fabric data that indicates characteristics of a plurality of fabrics;

determining, by the processor and for each faç

ade of the plurality of faç

ades of the building, at least one predicted performance metric for each fabric of the plurality of fabrics;

determining, by the processor and based on the at least one predicted performance metric for each fabric of the plurality of fabrics, fabric set scores for different sets of fabrics in the plurality of fabrics, wherein each fabric set score of a set of fabrics indicates a performance of the set of fabrics when each fabric in the set of fabrics is used in a window treatment on a different faç

ade of the plurality of faç

ades of the building, wherein each fabric in a respective set of fabrics has a first fabric characteristic that is a different value and a second fabric characteristic that is a same value, wherein the first characteristic comprises at least one of an openness factor and a transmittance of the fabric, wherein the second characteristic comprises at least one of a family and a color group of the fabric, and wherein the family comprises a plurality of fabrics with a same material, a same weave and a same manufacturer, and wherein a color group comprises a plurality of fabrics with varying shades of a same color or a plurality of fabrics with a combination of colors including at least one color that is the same color; and

communicating, via the processor to a user, the fabric set scores for the sets of fabrics, wherein communicating the fabric set scores for the sets of fabrics comprises displaying the fabric set scores on a visual display.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining a ranking of the different sets of fabrics based on the fabric set score of each of the sets of fabrics; and

communicating, to the user, the ranking by displaying the ranking on the visual display.

9. A network device for selecting fabric, the network device comprising:

a processor configured to;

receive input data associated with a building in which window treatments are to be installed, wherein the input data includes data associated with a plurality of faç

ades of the building;

access fabric data that indicates characteristics of a plurality of fabrics;

determine, for each faç

ade of the plurality of faç

ades of the building, at least one predicted performance metric for each fabric of the plurality of fabrics;

determine, based on the at least one predicted performance metric for each fabric of the plurality of fabrics, fabric set scores for different sets of fabrics in the plurality of fabrics, wherein each fabric set score indicates a performance of a set of fabrics when each fabric in the set of fabrics is used in a window treatment on a different faç

ade of the plurality of faç

ades of the building, wherein each fabric in a respective set of fabrics has a first fabric characteristic that is a different value and a second fabric characteristic that is a same value, wherein the first characteristic comprises at least one of an openness factor and a transmittance of the fabric and wherein the second characteristic comprises at least one of a family and a color group of the fabric, wherein the family comprises a plurality of fabrics with a same material, a same weave and a same manufacturer, and wherein a color group comprises a plurality of fabrics with varying shades of a same color or a plurality of fabrics with a combination of colors including at least one color that is the same color; and

communicate, to a user, the fabric set scores for the sets of fabrics, wherein communicating the fabric set scores for the sets of fabrics comprises displaying the fabric set scores on a visual display.

10. The network device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to:

determine a ranking of the different sets of fabrics based on the fabric set score of each of the sets of fabrics; and

display the ranking on the visual display.

11. The network device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to communicate the fabric set scores for the sets of fabrics by transmitting the fabric set scores to a second network device;

and wherein the second network device has the visual display for displaying the fabric set scores.

12. A network device for selecting fabric comprising:

a processor configured to;

receive input data associated with a building in which window treatments are to be installed, wherein the input data includes data associated with a plurality of faç

ades of the building;

access fabric data that indicates characteristics of a plurality of fabrics;

determine, for each faç

ade of the plurality of faç

ades of the building, at least one predicted performance metric for each fabric of the plurality of fabrics;

determine, based on the at least one predicted performance metric for each fabric of the plurality of fabrics, fabric set scores for different sets of fabrics in the plurality of fabrics, wherein each fabric set score indicates a performance of a set of fabrics when each fabric in the set of fabrics is used in a window treatment on a different faç

ade of the plurality of faç

ades of the building, wherein each fabric in a respective set of fabrics has a first fabric characteristic that is a different value and a second fabric characteristic that is a same value, wherein each fabric set score of the respective set of fabrics indicates a combined score for that set of fabrics when each fabric of that set of fabrics is used in the window treatment on the different faç

ade of the plurality of faç

ades of the building.

13. The network device of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to determine a ranking of the different sets of fabrics based on the fabric set score of each of the sets of fabrics, and to display the ranking on the visual display.

14. The network device of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to communicate the fabric set scores for the sets of fabrics by transmitting the fabric set scores to a second network device.

15. The network device of claim 14, wherein the second network device has the visual display for displaying the fabric set scores.

16. The network device of claim 12, wherein each combined score for the set of fabrics is based on at least one of an average glare score, an average view score, and an average daylight score for that set of fabrics.