Method and system for presenting comparative usage information at a thermostat device
First Claim
1. A unitary thermostat device comprising:
- a housing;
a signaling interface attached to the housing operable to;
control a climate system; and
a communications interface attached to the housing and operable to;
couple the unitary thermostat device to a server device;
a processor and memory located within the housing and associated with the communications interface and the signaling interface and operable to;
send, to the server device, usage information reflecting usage of the climate system;
in response to sending the usage information to the server device, receiving in real-time, from the server device, ecorank information, the ecorank information comprising information reflecting a real-time comparison of the usage information of the climate system controlled by the unitary thermostat device in comparison to other usage information of other climate systems controlled by other unitary thermostat devices, the usage information and the other usage information collected over a period of time including a current time; and
a display attached to the housing operable to;
present the ecorank information.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, devices, computer readable medium, and systems are described for sending from a thermostat device to a server device climate system usage information and settings, and receiving from the server device ecorank information wherein the ecorank information is derived from a comparison of energy consumed by the climate system controlled by the thermostat device in comparison to energy consumed by a comparison group, the comparison group comprising other climate systems controlled by other thermostat devices. The comparison group is determined based on profile information comprising information describing the dwelling, dwelling size, dwelling location, occupants, and climate system technology. The ecorank information is one or more of a numerical score, percentage, graphic, icon, color, letter, trend indicator, audio item, and a video item. The energy consumed by the climate systems may be reported by an associated energy measurement device or inferred by heating and cooling hours.
270 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A unitary thermostat device comprising:
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a housing; a signaling interface attached to the housing operable to; control a climate system; and a communications interface attached to the housing and operable to; couple the unitary thermostat device to a server device; a processor and memory located within the housing and associated with the communications interface and the signaling interface and operable to; send, to the server device, usage information reflecting usage of the climate system; in response to sending the usage information to the server device, receiving in real-time, from the server device, ecorank information, the ecorank information comprising information reflecting a real-time comparison of the usage information of the climate system controlled by the unitary thermostat device in comparison to other usage information of other climate systems controlled by other unitary thermostat devices, the usage information and the other usage information collected over a period of time including a current time; and a display attached to the housing operable to; present the ecorank information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of operating a unitary thermostat device comprising:
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controlling, through a signaling interface, a climate system; sending, to a server device, climate system usage information of the climate system; in response to sending the climate system usage information to the server device, receiving in real-time, from the server device, ecorank information, the ecorank information comprising information reflecting a real-time comparison of usage of the climate system controlled by the unitary thermostat device in comparison to other usage of other climate systems controlled by other unitary thermostat devices, the usage information and the other usage information collected over a period of time including a current time; and presenting, on a display of the unitary thermostat device, the ecorank information.
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30. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing program codes that when executed instruct a processor within a unitary thermostat device to:
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control, through a signaling interface, a climate system; send, to a server device, climate system usage information of the climate system; in response to sending the climate system usage information to the server device, receive in real-time, from the server device, ecorank information, the ecorank information comprising information reflecting a real-time comparison of usage of the climate system controlled by the unitary thermostat device in comparison to other usage of other climate systems controlled by other unitary thermostat devices, the usage information and the other usage information collected over a period of time including a current time; and present, on a display of the unitary thermostat device, the ecorank information.
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31. A system comprising:
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a unitary thermostat device comprising; a housing; a signaling interface attached to the housing and operable to; control a climate system; and a first communications interface; a first processor and a first memory within the housing and associated with the first communications interface and operable to; receive, from a server device, ecorank information, the ecorank information comprising information reflecting a real-time comparison of usage of a climate system controlled by the unitary thermostat device in comparison to other usage of other climate systems controlled by other unitary thermostat devices, the usage information and the other usage information collected over a period of time including a current time; and a display attached to the housing and operable to; present the ecorank information; and the server device comprising; a second communications interface; a second processor and a second memory associated with the second communications interface and operable to; receive, from an energy measurement device, climate system energy consumption information; determine, based on climate system energy consumption information, the ecorank information; and send, to the unitary thermostat device, the ecorank information; and the energy measurement device comprising; a third communications interface; and a third processor and a third memory associated with the third communications interface and operable to; send, to the server device, climate system energy consumption information for the climate system controlled by the unitary thermostat device.
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Specification