SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SOLAR AFFECTED ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
First Claim
1. An environmental control system comprising:
- a plurality of input devices individually configured to measure independent environmental values;
a priority device configured to receive a user-defined goal that defines a priority of environmental objectives;
at least one adjustable output device that has an effect on one or more of the independent environmental values, and wherein one of the at least one adjustable output devices is solar affected; and
a control module further comprising;
an input communication module configured to receive the independent environmental values from the plurality of input devices and to receive the goal from the priority device;
an algorithm configured to mathematically correlate the goal and the independent environmental values to produce a set of output device settings; and
an output communication module configured to transmit the output device settings to the at least one adjustable output device so as to adjust the at least one adjustable output device in a manner that causes the independent environmental values to be affected in a manner consistent with the goal.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to systems and methods for environmental control. One embodiment of the present invention relates to a solar affected environmental control system. The system includes a set of input devices, a priority device, an output device, and a control module. The input devices measure environmental values such as temperature, light, environmentally generated water heat, and environmentally generated electricity. The priority device interfaces with a user to define a goal that corresponds to a hierarchy of environmental objectives. For example, the goal may define temperature, visual light, and then environmentally generated electricity as the hierarchy in which the user wishes to prioritize the environmental objectives. The output device is an adjustable solar module that has an affect on the environmental values. For example, a rotatable skylight mounted panel may have an adjustable effect on both temperature and visual light, depending on the angle of rotation. The control module is an electrical device that includes a mathematical algorithm configured to correlate the environmental values and the user-defined goal so as to generate a set of output device settings. The control module is electrically coupled to the output device to facilitate adjustment according to the output device settings, so as to affect the environmental values in a manner consistent with the goal. A second embodiment of the present invention relates to a method for controlling a set of environmental values, including the acts of receiving environmental values, receiving a user-defined goal corresponding to a priority of environmental objectives, applying an algorithm to correlate the environmental values and the goal to generate a set of solar output device settings, and adjusting a solar output device according to the output device settings so as to affect the environmental values in a manner consistent with the goal.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. An environmental control system comprising:
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a plurality of input devices individually configured to measure independent environmental values; a priority device configured to receive a user-defined goal that defines a priority of environmental objectives; at least one adjustable output device that has an effect on one or more of the independent environmental values, and wherein one of the at least one adjustable output devices is solar affected; and a control module further comprising; an input communication module configured to receive the independent environmental values from the plurality of input devices and to receive the goal from the priority device; an algorithm configured to mathematically correlate the goal and the independent environmental values to produce a set of output device settings; and an output communication module configured to transmit the output device settings to the at least one adjustable output device so as to adjust the at least one adjustable output device in a manner that causes the independent environmental values to be affected in a manner consistent with the goal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for controlling an environment comprising the acts of:
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receiving a plurality of independent environmental values; receiving a user-defined goal that defines a priority of environmental objectives; correlating the user-defined goal and the independent environmental values to produce a set of output device settings; and adjusting at least one adjustable solar affected output device in a manner that causes the independent environmental values to be affected in a manner consistent with the user-defined goal. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An environmental control system comprising:
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a plurality of input devices individually configured to measure independent environmental values, wherein the plurality of input devices include at least one of a temperature sensor, water pressure sensor, water temperature sensor, electricity sensor, and a light sensor; a priority device configured to receive a user-defined goal that defines a priority of environmental objectives, wherein the available environmental objectives include at least one of visual, temperature, solar water heat, and solar electrical generation; at least one adjustable output device that has an effect on one or more of the independent environmental values, and wherein one of the at least one adjustable output devices is solar affected; and a control module further comprising; an input communication module configured to receive the independent environmental values from the plurality of input devices and to receive the user-defined goal from the priority device; an algorithm configured to mathematically correlate the user-defined goal and the independent environmental value to produce a set of output device settings; and an output communication module configured to transmit the output device settings to the at least one adjustable output device so as to adjust the at least one adjustable output device in a manner that causes the independent environmental values to be affected in a manner consistent with the user-defined goal.
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Specification