POWER-PRESERVING COMMUNICATIONS ARCHITECTURE WITH LONG-POLLING PERSISTENT CLOUD CHANNEL FOR WIRELESS NETWORK-CONNECTED THERMOSTAT

• US 20120267089A1
• Filed: 06/22/2012
• Published: 10/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Nest Labs Incorporated (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Steele, Oliver, Supramaniam, Senthil, Hardison, Osborne, Schultz, Richard J., Warren, Daniel A., Fiennes, Hugo, Dutra, Jonathan A., Bell, David, Fadell, Anthony M., Smith, Ian C., Erickson, Grant M., Satterthwaite, Edwin H. Jr., Palmer, Joseph E., MUCIGNAT, ANDREA, Rodgers, Matthew L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,627,127 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 165/201
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/56 Remote control
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/63 Electronic processing
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2140/60 Energy consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1905 associated with tele control
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/193 sensing the temperaure in different places in thermal relationship with one or more spaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3296 by lowering the supply or operating voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/283 Processing of data at an internetworking point of a home automation network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2514 between local and global IP addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2553 Binding renewal aspects, e.g. using keep-alive messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

Provided according to one or more embodiments herein are methods, systems and related architectures for facilitating network communications between a wireless network-connected thermostat and a cloud-based management server in a manner that promotes reduced power usage and extended service life of a rechargeable battery of the thermostat, while at the same time accomplishing timely data transfer between the thermostat and the cloud-based management server for suitable and time-appropriate control of an HVAC system. The thermostat further comprises powering circuitry configured to: extract electrical power from one or more HVAC control wires in a manner that does not require a “common” wire; supply electrical power for thermostat operation; recharge the rechargeable battery (if needed) using any surplus extracted power; and discharge the rechargeable battery to assist in supplying electrical power for thermostat operation during intervals in which the extracted power alone is insufficient for thermostat operation.

Claims

1. A thermostat, comprising:

a plurality of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) connectors;

a rechargeable battery;

a battery charging circuit configured to charge the rechargeable battery at least in part by harvesting power from an HVAC system through the plurality of HVAC connectors without requiring a common wire;

a processor powered at least in part by the rechargeable battery, wherein;

the processor is configured to operate in a low-power state; and

the processor is configured to operate in a high-power state;

a wireless communication module operatively coupled to the processor and configured to;

establish and maintain wireless communications with a router, including receiving transmissions from the router;

process the transmissions from the router by discriminating between a first type of transmission and a second type of transmission, wherein;

the first type of transmission comprises keep-alive messages associated with a communication channel between a remote thermostat-controller server and the thermostat, and

the second type of transmission comprises information associated with controlling the HVAC system;

in response to identifying a transmission of the second type during a time period in which the processor is operating in the low-power state, causing the processor to transition from the low-power state to the high-power state;

whereby the processor can operate in the low-power state for an extended period of time while a Natural Address Translation (NAT) table entry in the router that is associated with said communication channel between the processor and the remote thermostat-controller server remains maintained during said extended period of time.

2. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein causing the processor to transition from the low-power state to the high-power state comprises the wireless communication module sending an interrupt to the processor.

3. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein discriminating between the first type of transmission and the second type of transmission is based at least in part on one or more entries in a filter table of the wireless communication module, wherein the one or more entries are sent from the processor to the wireless communication module.

4. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the battery charging circuit comprises:

a power extraction circuit configured to extract electrical power from one or more of the plurality of HVAC connectors up to a first level of electrical power; and

a power control circuit coupled to the power extraction circuit, the rechargeable battery, and the processor, wherein the power control circuit is configured such that;

during a first time period in which an electrical load power required by the processor is less than said first level of electrical power, the power control circuit supplies the electrical load power required by the processor and charges the rechargeable battery, if needed, using power from the power extraction circuit; and

during a second time period in which the electrical load power required by the thermostat processing and control circuit is greater than said first level of electrical power, the power control circuit discharges the rechargeable battery and supplies the electrical load power required by the processor using both power from the power extraction circuit and power from the rechargeable battery.

5. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication module is configured to receive the first type of transmission according to at least a first time interval, wherein the first time interval is less than a second time interval, and wherein the second time interval is determined by a maximum time that the router is expected to allow an idle communication channel to persist.

6. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the processor operating in the low-power state requires less than 100 mW, and wherein the processor operating in the high-power state requires more than 200 mW.

7. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication module operatively is further configured to:

receive transmissions through a second communication channel;

receive an indication that an energy stored in the rechargeable battery is below a threshold;

receive third transmissions through the second communication channel; and

process the third transmissions while the processor is in the low-power state based on the indication that the energy stored in the rechargeable battery is below the threshold.

8. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein transmissions are classified according to a data priority ranging from a low-priority data type to a high-priority data type, wherein the low-priority data type includes data of lesser thermostatic importance, and wherein the high-priority data type includes data of higher thermostatic importance;

and the wireless communication module is further configured to;

receive a third transmission from the remote thermostat-controller server, wherein the third transmission includes data for controlling the HVAC system; and

determine that the third transmission is classified as the low-priority data type, and that the third transmission should not require the processor to transition to the high-power state.

9. A method of controlling an environmental condition, the method comprising:

charging a power supply using a first power harvested from an external power source;

powering a circuit with energy from the power supply, wherein;

the circuit is configured to operate in a plurality of modes, and

the plurality of modes is comprised of;

a low-power mode;

wherein the circuit uses less power than the first power; and

an operating mode, wherein the circuit uses more power than the first power;

establishing one or more communication channels with a server through a gateway;

communicating with the server using a protocol, wherein the protocol comprises;

a time interval that represents a time that the gateway is expected to maintain the one or more communication channels between transmissions;

a first type of transmission sent from the server at least in part to maintain one of the one or more communication channels at the gateway, and

a second type of transmission comprising data for controlling the environmental condition;

discriminating between transmissions of the first type and transmissions of the second type;

in response to identifying a transmission of the first type during a time period in which the circuit is operating in the low-power mode;

allowing the circuit to continue operating in the low-power mode; and

in response to identifying a transmission of the second type during a time period in which the circuit is operating in the low-power mode, causing the circuit to transition from the low-power mode to the operating mode, and initiating a change in the environmental condition according to the transmission of the second type.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more communication channels comprises a first channel and a second channel.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving the transmission of the second type from the server through the first channel;

determining that the transmission of the second type is classified as a high-priority transmission at least in part because it was received through the first channel.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising sending, to the server, an indication that a power level of the power supply is below a threshold power.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein a time interval between transmissions that are received to maintain one of the one or more communication channels is adjusted based on the power level of the power supply.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving, from the server, a second transmission of the second type through the one or more communication channels;

determining that the second transmission of the second type is classified as a high-priority transmission at least in part because the indication that the power level of the power supply was below the threshold power was sent to the server; and

in response determining that the second transmission of the second type is classified as a high-priority transmission during a time period in which the circuit is operating in the low-power mode, causing the circuit to transition from the low-power mode to the operating mode.

15. A system for controlling one or more property functions, the system comprising:

a power manager configured to provide up to a first power for use by the system, comprising;

a power-storage module; and

a power input configured to harvest power from an external source and provide up to a second power, wherein the second power is less than the first power, wherein the power manager is capable of storing excess energy in said power-storage module during time intervals in which the system requires less than said second power, and wherein the power manager is capable of releasing stored power from the power storage module during times in which the system requires more than said second power;

a processing function configured to;

control the one or more property functions; and

operate in a plurality of modes, wherein the plurality of modes is comprised of;

a first mode, wherein;

the processing function uses a third power; and

the third power is less than the second power; and

a second mode, wherein;

the processing function uses a fourth power;

the fourth power is higher than the second power; and

the fourth power is not greater than the first power; and

a network-communication module configured to;

establish one or more communication channels to a controller server through a gateway;

utilize a communication protocol with the controller server, wherein the communication protocol includes a time interval that represents a time that the gateway is expected to maintain the one or more communication channels between transmissions;

receive a first transmission from the controller server through the one or more communication channels while the processing function operates in the first mode;

determine that the first transmission was sent from the controller server to maintain one of the one or more communication channels, and that the first transmission does not require the processing function to operate in the second mode;

receive a second transmission from the controller server through the one or more communication channels, wherein the second transmission includes information for controlling the one or more property functions; and

cause the processing function to operate in the second mode after receiving the second transmission.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the processing function is further configured to process the second transmission, and then to return to operating in the first mode.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the network-communication module is further configured to:

receive an indication from the power manager of a stored energy level in the power-storage module;

receive a third transmission from the controller server through the one or more communication channels, wherein the third transmission includes data for controlling the one or more property functions; and

determine whether the third transmission should require the processing function to operate in the second mode based on the stored energy level in the power-storage module.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the second transmission is classified according to a data priority ranging from a low-priority data type to a high-priority data type, wherein the low-priority data type includes data of lesser importance to controlling the one or more property functions, and wherein the high-priority data type includes data of higher importance to controlling the one or more property functions.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the network-communication module is further configured to:

receive a third transmission from the controller server through the one or more communication channels, wherein the third transmission includes data for controlling the one or more property functions; and

determine, if the third transmission is classified as the low-priority data type, that the third transmission should not require the processing function to operate in the second mode.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the network-communication module is further configured to:

operate in a first network mode;

operate in a second network mode, wherein the network-communication module uses more power in the second network mode than in the first network mode; and

transition from the first network mode to the second network mode when a transmission is received.