Interior comfort HVAC user-feedback control system and apparatus

• US 10,254,726 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2015
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schneider Electric USA, Inc. (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: Schneider Electric USA, Inc. (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Buda, Paul Robert, Turner, Larry A., Brown, Scott Robert, Pollard, Gary Brent, Glasgow, David R., Pazis, Jason, Verga, Frank J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ortiz Rodriguez, Carlos R
• Application Number:
  US14/956,082
• Publication Number:
  US 20160223215A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,225 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/46 Improving electric energy efficiency or saving
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/20 Feedback from users
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1904 variable in time
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1917 using digital means
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 80/10 Efficient use of energy, e.g. using compressed air or pressurized fluid as energy carrier

Abstract

The INTERIOR COMFORT HVAC USER-FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEM AND APPARATUS transforms qualitative feedback received from a user/occupant into a “comfort map,” or modifications thereto, a comfort map being defined at least in part by one or more comfort event windows. The comfort map data is used to determine a temperature setpoint sequence that avoids regions of the map corresponding to known and/or predicted regions of user discomfort.

Claims

1. A method for HVAC control of a thermostat, the method comprising:

receiving comfort event data;

accessing a first comfort map that includes time, temperature, and comfort characteristic data for a comfort map episode;

updating the first comfort map with comfort event window data determined based on the comfort event data that includes a time data and a temperature increase or decrease request and comfort map reference data including a time/temperature pair and an associated comfort characteristic;

deriving a temperature trajectory from the updated comfort map; and

executing the temperature trajectory for the remainder of the episode,

wherein executing the temperature trajectory includes avoiding a cool set of the updated comfort map when the HVAC system is in a heating mode or avoiding a warm set of the updated comfort map when the HVAC system is in a cooling mode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the comfort event data includes comfort characteristic user feedback data.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the comfort characteristic user feedback data is ‘

user too warm’

current comfort feedback data or ‘

user too cold’

current comfort feedback data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the received comfort event data includes non-numeric user comfort feedback data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first comfort map is stored in a comfort map library.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first comfort map includes data from at least one profile corresponding to a current time period identified by the system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first comfort map is stored in a profile library that corresponds with a heating HVAC state or a cooling HVAC state.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the updating the first comfort map comprises:

determining whether the comfort event data includes temperature increase request data or temperature decrease request data.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a comfort event reference point based on the comfort event data.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein an observed current time and an observed current temperature at a time that the comfort event was initiated are used in determining the comfort event reference point.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein updating the first comfort map includes replacing the first comfort map with the updated comfort map.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the first comfort map is accessed to determine a reference point comfort characteristic on the map corresponding with the comfort event reference point and used to determine how to update the comfort map based on the value of the comfort characteristic.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising deriving a reference point comfort characteristic from the comfort event data.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first comfort map is updated with the reference point comfort characteristic.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein updating the first comfort map comprises defining a comfort map window, and updating a comfort characteristic for points within the comfort map window.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein a membership of points of the comfort map in the cool set or the warm set is based on a corresponding comfort map comfort characteristic.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the temperature trajectory is a thermal equilibrium boundary (“

TEB”

).

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the TEB is defined as the sequence of temperatures at the bottom of the warm set in heating mode or as the sequence of temperatures at the top of the cool set in cooling mode.

19. An apparatus for HVAC control, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory disposed in communication with the processor and storing processor-issuable instructions to;

receive comfort event data;

access a first comfort map that includes time, temperature, and comfort characteristic data for a comfort map episode;

update the first comfort map with comfort event window data determined based on the comfort event data that includes a time data and a temperature increase or decrease request and comfort map reference data including a time/temperature pair and an associated comfort characteristic;

derive a temperature trajectory from the updated comfort map; and

execute the temperature trajectory for the remainder of the episode, wherein the instructions to execute the temperature trajectory includes instructions to avoid a cool set of the updated comfort map when the HVAC system is in a heat mode and/or avoid a warm set of the updated comfort map when the HVAC system is in a cool mode.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the comfort event data includes comfort characteristic user feedback data.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the comfort characteristic user feedback data is ‘

user too warm’

current comfort feedback data or ‘

user too cold’

current comfort feedback data.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the received comfort event data includes non-numeric user comfort feedback data.

23. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the first comfort map is stored in a comfort map library.

24. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the first comfort map includes data from at least one profile corresponding to a current time period identified by the system.

25. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the first comfort map is stored in a profile library that corresponds with a heat HVAC state or a cool HVAC state.

26. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the instructions to update the first comfort map comprises instructions to determine whether the comfort event data includes temperature increase request data or temperature decrease request data.

27. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising instructions to:

determine a comfort event reference point based on the comfort event data.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein an observed current time and an observed current temperature at a time that the comfort event was initiated are used to determine the comfort event reference point.

29. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the instructions to update the first comfort map includes instructions to replace the first comfort map with the updated comfort map.

30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the first comfort map is accessed to determine a reference point comfort characteristic on the map corresponding with the comfort event reference point and used to determine how to update the comfort map based on the value of the comfort characteristic.

31. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising instructions to derive a reference point comfort characteristic from the comfort event data.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the first comfort map is updated with the reference point comfort characteristic.

33. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein instructions to update the first comfort map include instructions to:

define a comfort map window, and update a comfort characteristic for points within the comfort map window.

34. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein a membership of points of the comfort map in the cool set or the warm set is based on a corresponding comfort map comfort characteristic.

35. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the temperature trajectory is a thermal equilibrium boundary (“

TEB”

).

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the TEB is defined as the sequence of temperatures at the bottom of the warm set in heat mode or as the sequence of temperatures at the top of the cool set in cool mode.