THERMOSTAT WITH WIRING TERMINALS CONFIGURED FOR SPATIAL COMPACTNESS AND EASE OF WIRE INSTALLATION
First Claim
1. A wall-mountable programmable electronic thermostat for controlling an HVAC system comprising:
- a generally rounded backplate adapted to be mounted on a wall having a central opening to allow for the passage of a plurality of HVAC wires for electrical connection to the thermostat;
a generally rounded head unit body including a display for displaying information to a user, the head unit removeably mountable to the back plate; and
a plurality of wiring terminals each adapted and configured to make an electrical connection with an HVAC wire;
wherein the plurality of wiring terminals are mounted on the backplate and arranged along one or more arcs about the central opening of the backplate.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A wall-mountable programmable electronic thermostat for controlling an HVAC system is described. The thermostat includes a circular wall-mountable backplate with a central opening to allow for the passage of HVAC wires for electrical connection to the thermostat. The head unit body is also circular and is removeably mountable to the back plate. A plurality of wedge-shaped wiring terminals are mounted on the backplate for making a tool-free connection to HVAC wires. Each wiring terminal has button that a user can depress while a wire is inserted in a wire hole. The terminals are arranged along one or more circular arcs about the central opening of the backplate such that the wire holes face the central opening and the buttons are located close to the outer periphery of the backplate.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A wall-mountable programmable electronic thermostat for controlling an HVAC system comprising:
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a generally rounded backplate adapted to be mounted on a wall having a central opening to allow for the passage of a plurality of HVAC wires for electrical connection to the thermostat; a generally rounded head unit body including a display for displaying information to a user, the head unit removeably mountable to the back plate; and a plurality of wiring terminals each adapted and configured to make an electrical connection with an HVAC wire;
wherein the plurality of wiring terminals are mounted on the backplate and arranged along one or more arcs about the central opening of the backplate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A wall-mountable programmable electronic thermostat for controlling an HVAC system comprising:
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a backplate adapted to be mounted on a wall having a central opening to allow for the passage of a plurality of HVAC wires for electrical connection to the thermostat; a head unit body including a display for displaying information to a user, the head unit removeably mountable to the back plate; and a plurality of tool-free wiring terminals each adapted and configured to make an electrical connection with an HVAC wire, each of the wiring terminals are adapted and configured to allow a user to make an electrical connection with an HVAC wire without the use of tools by pressing a button member and inserting an HVAC wire into a wire hole, wherein a distance between the button member and the wire hole is at least 8 millimeters. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A wall-mountable programmable electronic thermostat for controlling an HVAC system comprising:
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a circular-shaped backplate adapted to be mounted on a wall having a central opening to allow for the passage of a plurality of HVAC wires for electrical connection to the thermostat; a generally rounded head unit body including a display for displaying information to a user, the head unit removeably mountable to the back plate; and a plurality of tool-free wedge shaped wiring terminals each adapted and configured to make an electrical connection with an HVAC wire;
wherein the plurality of wiring terminals are mounted on the backplate and arranged along two circular arc-shaped banks about the central opening of the backplate, each bank including at least four wiring terminals, and each of the wedge-shaped wiring terminals being adapted and configured to allow a user to make an electrical connection with an HVAC wire without the use of tools by pressing a button member and inserting an HVAC wire into a wire hole, and each wire hole facing the central opening and each button member positioned near an outer periphery of the backplate. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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Specification