Thermostat with Set Point Range Feedback

• US 20130013118A1
• Filed: 03/28/2012
• Published: 01/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NantEnergy, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Elrod, David, Merkulov, Vitaliy, Park, Daniel J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,069,361 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/286
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/46 Improving electric energy efficiency or saving
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1902 characterised by the use of a variable reference value

Abstract

A thermostat user interface (UI) is provided for presenting calculated set point ranges. The thermostat UI has a major thermostat scale for presenting a current temperature and an overall range of feasible temperatures. A set point indictor indicates a set point input (e.g., desired temperature) with respect to the major thermostat scale. A minor thermostat scale presents a set point range, where the set point range is a range of permitted temperature measurement variations from the set point input. The set point range brackets the set point indicator with a maximum temperature value representing a highest temperature in the set point range, and a minimum temperature value representing a lowest temperature in the set point range. If high and low temperature set point indictors are used, then there are first and second minor thermostat scales bracketing, respectively, the high and low temperature set point indicators.

Claims

1. A thermostat control system with set point ranging analysis, the system comprising:

an energy consumption device having an input to accept an energy resource, an input to accept consumption commands, and an output to supply a controlled temperature medium;

a sensor having an output to supply a temperature measurement responsive to the temperature medium;

a thermostat user interface (UI) to accept a temperature set point input from a user, and to present a set point range, where the set point range is a range of permitted sensor temperature measurement variations from the set point input;

a processor;

a non-transitory memory; and

, an energy management application stored as a sequence of software instructions in the memory and executed by the processor for managing the energy consumption device and the thermostat UI, the energy management application supplying the set point range to the thermostat UI in response to analyzing the set point input and the sensor temperature measurement.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the thermostat UI accepts a high temperature set point input and a low temperature set point input, and presents a high temperature set point range associated with the high temperature set point and a low temperature set point range associated with the low temperature set point input.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the energy management application accepts information selected from a group consisting a temperature control algorithm, weather forecast, energy cost forecast, a history of energy costs, user ecology criteria, user comfort criteria, and combinations of the above-mentioned information, and supplies the set point range to the thermostat UI in response to analyzing the set point input and the sensor temperature measurement, as modified by the information.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the thermostat UI accepts a temperature control algorithm selected from a group consisting of cost, ecology, comfort, and a combination of the above-mentioned algorithms.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein the thermostat UI accepts user inputs modifying the set point range;

and,

wherein the energy management application modifies a temperature algorithm in response to the modified set point range.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the thermostat UI is a graphical user interface (GUI) enabled as a sequence of software instructions stored in the memory and executed by the processor, for presentation on a display monitor.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the thermostat GUI display monitor is a touchscreen to accept inputs from the user.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the thermostat UI includes:

a major thermostat scale for presenting a current temperature and an overall range of feasible temperatures;

a set point indictor indicating the set point input with respect to the major thermostat scale;

a minor thermostat scale for presenting the set point range, bracketing the set point indicator with a maximum temperature value representing a highest temperature in the set point range, and a minimum temperature value representing a lowest temperature in the set point range.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the major thermostat scale has a shape selected from a group consisting of a mercury bulb and an arc shape.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the thermostat UI includes:

a major thermostat scale for presenting a current temperature and an overall range of feasible temperatures;

a high temperature set point indictor indicating the high temperature set point input with respect to the major thermostat scale;

a low temperature set point indictor indicating the low temperature set point input with respect to the major thermostat scale;

a first minor thermostat scale for presenting the high temperature set point range, bracketing the high temperature set point indicator with a maximum temperature value representing a highest temperature in the high temperature set point range, and a minimum temperature value representing a lowest temperature in the high temperature set point range; and

,

a second minor thermostat scale for presenting the low temperature set point range, bracketing the low temperature set point indicator with a maximum temperature value representing a highest temperature in the low temperature set point range, and a minimum temperature value representing a lowest temperature in the low temperature set point range.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the thermostat UI presents first and second minor thermostat scales that are located on opposite sides of the major thermostat scale.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the thermostat UI presents a high temperature set point range overlapping the low temperature set point range.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the thermostat UI presents a high temperature set point range spread different from a low temperature set point range spread.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the thermostat UI presents a maximum temperature value representing a high temperature in the set point range and a minimum temperature value representing a low temperature in the set point range, where the maximum and minimum temperature values bracket the set point input in a relationship selected from a group consisting of symmetrical and asymmetrical.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the thermostat UI presents a predicted set point range, where the predicted set point range is a range of predicted sensor temperature measurement variations from the set point input, using a current set point range as a baseline.

16. A thermostat user interface (UI) for presenting calculated set point ranges, the thermostat UI comprising:

a major thermostat scale for presenting a current temperature and an overall range of feasible temperatures;

a set point indictor indicating a set point input with respect to the major thermostat scale;

a minor thermostat scale for presenting a set point range, where the set point range is a range of permitted temperature measurement variations from the set point input, the set point range bracketing the set point indicator with a maximum temperature value representing a highest temperature in the set point range, and a minimum temperature value representing a lowest temperature in the set point range.

17. The thermostat UI of claim 16 wherein the set point indicator comprises:

a high temperature set point indictor indicating the high temperature set point input with respect to the major thermostat scale;

a low temperature set point indictor indicating the low temperature set point input with respect to the major thermostat scale;

wherein the minor thermostat scale comprises;

a first minor thermostat scale bracketing the high temperature set point indicator, with a maximum temperature value representing a highest temperature in the high temperature set point range, and a minimum temperature value representing a lowest temperature in the high temperature set point range; and

,

a second minor thermostat scale bracketing the low temperature set point indicator, with a maximum temperature value representing a highest temperature in the low temperature set point range, and a minimum temperature value representing a lowest temperature in the low temperature set point range.

18. The thermostat UI of claim 17 wherein the first and second minor thermostat scales are located on opposite sides of the major thermostat scale.

19. The thermostat UI of claim 17 wherein the thermostat UI presents a high temperature set point range overlapping the low temperature set point range.

20. The thermostat UI of claim 17 wherein a high temperature set point range spread is different from a low temperature set point range spread.

21. The thermostat UI of claim 16 wherein the thermostat UI is a graphical user interface (GUI) enabled as a sequence of software instructions stored in a non-transitory memory and executed by a processor, for presentation on a display monitor.

22. The thermostat UI of claim 21 wherein the thermostat GUI display monitor is a touchscreen to accept inputs from the user.

23. The thermostat UI of claim 16 wherein the major thermostat scale has a shape selected from a group consisting of a mercury bulb and an arc shape.

24. The thermostat UI of claim 16 wherein a maximum temperature value represents a high temperature in the set point range and a minimum temperature value represents a low temperature in the set point range, where the maximum and minimum temperature values bracket the set point input in a relationship selected from a group consisting of symmetrical and asymmetrical.

25. The thermostat UI of claim 16 wherein the thermostat UI presents a predicted set point range, where the predicted set point range is a range of predicted sensor temperature measurement variations from the set point input, using a current set point range as a baseline.

26. The thermostat UI of claim 16 wherein minor thermostat scale accepts user inputs for modifying the presented set point range.