System and method for integrating sensors in thermostats

• US 20120128025A1
• Filed: 08/17/2011
• Published: 05/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Huppi, Brian, Filson, John Benjamin, Sloo, David, Fadell, Anthony Michael, Bould, Fred, Rogers, Matthew Lee
• Granted Patent: US 8,727,611 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 374/121
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/523 for displaying temperature data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/10 Occupancy
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/02 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 1/08 Protective devices, e.g. casings
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 1/16 Special arrangements for conducting heat from the object to the sensitive element
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 13/00 Thermometers specially adapted for specific purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 17/00 Measuring quantity of heat measuring temperature by calorimetry G01K3/00 - G01K11/00; specially adapted for measuring thermal properties of materials, e.g. specific heat, heat of combustion G01N
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 8/00 Prospecting or detecting by optical means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1902 characterised by the use of a variable reference value

Abstract

Provided according to one or more embodiments is a thermostat having a housing, the housing including a forward-facing surface, the thermostat comprising a passive infrared (PIR) motion sensor disposed inside the housing for sensing occupancy in the vicinity of the thermostat. The PIR motion sensor has a radiation receiving surface and is able to detect the lateral movement of an occupant in front of the forward-facing surface of the housing. The thermostat further comprises a grille member having one or more openings and included along the forward-facing surface of the housing, the grille member being placed over the radiation receiving surface of the PIR motion sensor. The grille member is configured and dimensioned to visually conceal and protect the PIR motion sensor disposed inside the housing, the visual concealment promoting a visually pleasing quality of the thermostat, while at the same time permitting the PIR motion sensor to effectively detect the lateral movement of the occupant. In one embodiment, the grille member openings are slit-like openings oriented along a substantially horizontal direction.

Claims

1. A thermostat, comprising:

a housing including a forward-facing surface;

a passive infrared (PIR) motion sensor disposed inside the housing and used to sense occupancy in the vicinity of the thermostat, the PIR motion sensor having a radiation receiving surface and being able to detect the lateral movement of an occupant in front of said forward-facing surface of said housing; and

a grille member having one or more openings and included along the forward-facing surface of the housing and placed over the radiation receiving surface of the PIR motion sensor that substantially conceals and protects the PIR motion sensor disposed inside the housing, whereby the concealment of the PIR motion sensor by the grille member promotes a visually pleasing quality of the thermostat yet permits the PIR motion sensor to effectively detect the lateral movement of the occupant.

2. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein said grille member openings are slit-like openings oriented along a substantially horizontal direction, said substantially horizontal direction corresponding to the lateral movement of the occupant.

3. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the grille member is comprised of one or more materials selected from a set of materials including:

metal, plastic, glass, carbon-composite, and metallic alloy.

4. The thermostat of claim 1 further comprising one or more temperature sensors disposed inside the housing with at least one temperature sensor thermally coupled to the grille member.

5. The thermostat of claim 4 wherein the grille member facilitates the at least one temperature sensor'"'"'s ability to measure an ambient temperature of air outside of the housing.

6. The thermostat of claim 4 wherein the grille member is comprised of a material having high thermal conductivity.

7. The thermostat of claim 3, wherein the at least one temperature sensor is thermally coupled to the grille using a thermally conductive paste applied to the at least one temperature sensor and an inward facing surface of the grille member.

8. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the grille member incorporated in the forward-facing surface of the housing may be used control the PIR motion sensor'"'"'s sensitivity to the height of occupants by varying a vertical span of one or more openings on the grille member that pass the emitted radiation to the receiving surface of the PIR motion sensor.

9. The thermostat of claim 8 wherein the grille member incorporated in the forward-facing surface of the housing may be used control the PIR motion sensor'"'"'s sensitivity to the height of occupants by changing a number of rows of the plurality of substantially horizontal slit-like openings that pass infrared radiation to the receiving surface of the PIR motion sensor.

10. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the grille member incorporated in the forward-facing surface of the housing further comprises a mask member attached to a back portion of the grille member, wherein the sensitivity to the height of occupants may be varied depending on the coverage by the mask member of the plurality of substantially horizontal slit-like openings used to pass the emitted radiation to the receiving surface of the PIR motion sensor.

11. A method of integrating occupancy sensing capabilities in a thermostat, comprising:

providing a housing for the thermostat including a forward-facing surface;

providing a passive infrared (PIR) motion sensor disposed inside the housing and used to sense occupancy in the vicinity of the thermostat, the PIR motion sensor having a radiation receiving surface and being able to detect the lateral movement of an occupant in front of said forward-facing surface of the housing; and

attaching a grille member along the forward-facing surface of the housing and placed over the radiation receiving surface of the PIR motion sensor, wherein the grille member substantially conceals and protects the PIR motion sensor disposed inside the housing promoting a visually pleasing quality of said thermostat, whereby one or more slit-like openings in the grille-member enables the PIR motion sensor to detect lateral movement of an occupant in front of said forward-facing surface of the housing of the thermostat.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said grille member is comprised of one or more materials selected from a set of materials including:

metal, plastic, glass, carbon-composite, metallic-carbon composite and metallic alloy.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising one or more temperature sensors disposed inside the housing with at least one temperature sensor thermally coupled to said grille member.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said grille member facilitates the at least one temperature sensor'"'"'s ability to measure an ambient temperature of air measured outside of the housing rather than inside of the housing.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the grille member is comprised of a material having high thermal conductivity.

16. The thermostat of claim 13, wherein said at least one temperature sensor is in contact with an inward facing surface of said grille member by a thermally conductive paste.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the grille member incorporated in the forward-facing surface of the housing may be used control the PIR motion sensor'"'"'s sensitivity to the height of occupants by varying a number of rows of a plurality of substantially horizontal slit-like openings that pass infrared radiation to the receiving surface of the PIR motion sensor.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the grille member incorporated in the forward-facing surface of the housing further comprises a mask member attached to a backside portion of the grille member, wherein the sensitivity to the height of occupants may be varied depending on the coverage by the mask member of a plurality of substantially horizontal slit-like openings used to pass infrared radiation to the receiving surface of the PIR motion sensor.

20. A thermostat, comprising:

a housing for said thermostat including a forward-facing surface;

a passive infrared (PIR) motion sensor coplanar with the forward-facing surface of the housing and used to sense occupancy in the vicinity of the thermostat, the PIR motion sensor having Fresnel lens on a surface of the PIR motion sensor that directs infrared radiation towards infrared sensitive sensor elements below the surface of the PIR motion sensor, wherein the infrared sensitive sensor elements detect the infrared radiation emitted towards said forward-facing surface by the lateral movement of an occupant in front of said forward-facing surface of said housing;

a temperature sensor disposed inside the housing and further including an upper thermal sensor and a lower thermal sensor positioned along a plane substantially normal and adjacent to the PIR motion sensor, wherein the upper thermal sensor tends to collect temperature data associated with an area outside the thermostat and the lower thermal sensor tends to collect temperature data associated with an interior of the housing for the thermostat and the temperature data from the lower thermal sensor is taken into consideration in view of the temperature data from the upper thermal sensor in determining an ambient temperature; and

a grille member placed along the forward-facing surface of the housing and over the surface of the PIR motion sensor, wherein the grille member has a plurality of slit-like openings that enable the PIR motion sensor to detect infrared radiation emitted by the lateral movement of the occupant, wherein the grille member is comprised of a thermally conductive material and also placed in close proximity to the temperature sensor and acts as a thermal antenna to at least one thermal sensor associated with the temperature sensor thereby enhancing the ability of the temperature sensor to gather temperature data outside of the housing and detect an ambient temperature of an environment.

21. The thermostat of claim 20, wherein the plurality of slit-like openings of said grille member are positioned along a substantially horizontal direction that facilitates the ability of the PIR motion sensor to detect the lateral movement of an occupant in front of the forward-facing surface of the housing.

22. The thermostat of claim 20, wherein the grille member is comprised of one or more materials selected from a set of materials including:

metal, plastic, glass, carbon-composite, and metallic alloy.

23. The thermostat of claim 20 wherein at least one of the plurality of temperature sensors disposed inside the housing are thermally coupled to the grille member.

24. The thermostat of claim 23, wherein at least one of the plurality of temperature sensors is thermally coupled to the grille using a thermally conductive paste applied to the at least one thermal sensor associated with the temperature sensor along an inward facing surface of the grille member.

25. The thermostat of claim 20, wherein the grille member incorporated in the forward-facing surface of the housing may be used control the PIR motion sensor'"'"'s sensitivity to the height of occupants by varying a vertical span of one or more openings on the grille member that pass the emitted radiation to the receiving surface of the PIR motion sensor.

26. The thermostat of claim 20 wherein the grille member incorporated in the forward-facing surface of the housing may be used control the PIR motion sensor'"'"'s sensitivity to the height of occupants by changing a number of rows of the plurality of substantially horizontal slit-like openings that pass the emitted radiation to the receiving surface of the PIR motion sensor.

27. The thermostat of claim 20, wherein the grille member incorporated in the forward-facing surface of the housing further comprises a mask member attached to a back portion of the grille member, wherein the sensitivity to the height of occupants may be varied depending on a coverage by the mask member of the plurality of substantially horizontal slit-like openings used to pass the emitted radiation to the receiving surface of the PIR motion sensor.