METHOD OF CONTROLLING A MOTORIZED WINDOW TREATMENT TO SAVE ENERGY
First Claim
1. A motor drive unit for a motorized window treatment having a covering material adapted to be mounted in a room next to a window, the covering material adapted to be controlled between a fully-open position and a fully-closed position to control the amount of the window covered by the covering material, the motor drive unit comprising:
- a window-side temperature sensor adapted to measure an external temperature representative of the temperature outside the window; and
a controller coupled to the window-side temperature sensor for determining the external temperature representative of the temperature outside the window, the controller operable to compare the external temperature to an internal temperature to determine whether heat is flowing in or out of the room though the window, the interior temperature representative of the temperature in the room in which the window treatment is installed, the controller further operable to determine a present time of the day and year in response to a measured characteristic;
wherein the controller operates in an eco-mode to automatically control the amount of the window covered by the covering material in response to the present time of the year and whether heat is flowing in or out of the room though the window to save energy.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A motorized window treatment to automatically control the position of a covering material in front of a window to save energy. The motorized window treatment has an eco-mode whereby to at least one climate characteristic is measured by a sensor to save energy by decreasing the load on a heating and/or cooling system of the room in which the motorized window treatment is installed. The motorized window treatment opens the covering material on sunny winter days to allow energy from sunlight to be stored in the mass of the room, and closes the covering material at night to insulate the room and allow the energy from the sunlight stored in the mass of the room to heat the room and reduce the load on the heating and cooling system at night.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A motor drive unit for a motorized window treatment having a covering material adapted to be mounted in a room next to a window, the covering material adapted to be controlled between a fully-open position and a fully-closed position to control the amount of the window covered by the covering material, the motor drive unit comprising:
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a window-side temperature sensor adapted to measure an external temperature representative of the temperature outside the window; and a controller coupled to the window-side temperature sensor for determining the external temperature representative of the temperature outside the window, the controller operable to compare the external temperature to an internal temperature to determine whether heat is flowing in or out of the room though the window, the interior temperature representative of the temperature in the room in which the window treatment is installed, the controller further operable to determine a present time of the day and year in response to a measured characteristic; wherein the controller operates in an eco-mode to automatically control the amount of the window covered by the covering material in response to the present time of the year and whether heat is flowing in or out of the room though the window to save energy. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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17. A load control system for a building comprising a window and a heating and/or cooling system, the load control system comprising:
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a temperature control device adapted to be coupled to the heating and/or cooling system for controlling a present temperature in the building towards a setpoint temperature; and a motorized window treatment for adjusting the position of a covering material between a fully-open position and a fully-closed position to control the amount of a window covered by the covering material, the motorized window treatment comprising a motor drive unit operable to determine an external temperature representative of the temperature outside the window, the motor drive unit operable to compare the external temperature to an internal temperature to determine whether heat is flowing in or out of the room though the window, the interior temperature representative of the temperature in the room in which the window treatment is installed, the motor drive unit further operable to determine a present time of the year in response to a measured characteristic; wherein the controller operates in an eco-mode to automatically control the amount of the window covered by the covering material in response to the present time of the day and year and whether heat is flowing in or out of the room though the window, so as to reduce the power consumption of the heating and/or cooling system. - View Dependent Claims (18, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of controlling a motorized window treatment having a covering material adapted to be mounted in a room next to a window, the covering material adapted to be controlled between a fully-open position and a fully-closed position to control the amount of the window covered by the covering material, the method comprising:
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measuring an external temperature representative of the temperature outside the window; comparing the external temperature to an internal temperature to determine whether heat is flowing in or out of the room though the window, the interior temperature representative of the temperature in the room in which the window treatment is installed; determining a present time of the year in response to a measured characteristic; and operating in an eco-mode to automatically control the amount of the window covered by the covering material in response to the present time of the year and whether heat is flowing in or out of the room though the window to save energy. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification