FLEXIBLE FUNCTIONALITY PARTITIONING WITHIN INTELLIGENT-THERMOSTAT-CONTROLLED HVAC SYSTEMS
First Claim
1. An intelligent thermostat comprising:
- a visible portion;
a concealed portion onto which the visible portion mounts by sliding the visible portion onto the concealed portion; and
subcomponents, each subcomponent associated with one or more intelligent-thermostat functionalities, that are each distributed to one or both of the visible portion and concealed portion of the intelligent thermostat, the subcomponents includinga long-distance wireless communications module that interconnects the intelligent thermostat with remote computing facilities,a local wireless communications module that interconnects the intelligent thermostat with environmental-condition-system components,a microprocessor that controls an interactive user interface and additional monitoring, analysis, and communications functions,a microcontroller that controls low-power-consuming functions and wake-on circuitry,a number of environmental sensors that monitor an environment,a mechanical user interface,an optico-electrical user interface,a display driver,a protocol engine,an electronic memory,a battery,power-management circuitry,power-supply circuitry, andwake-on circuitry that powers up the interactive user interface when a user'"'"'s presence is detected by one or more of the number of environmental sensors.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The current application is directed to an intelligent-thermostat-controlled environmental-conditioning system in which computational tasks and subcomponents with associated intelligent-thermostat functionalities are distributed to one or more of concealed and visible portions of one or more intelligent thermostats and, in certain implementations, to one or more intermediate boxes. The intelligent thermostats are interconnected to intermediate boxes by wired and/or wireless interfaces and intelligent thermostats intercommunicate with one another by wireless communications. Wireless communications include communications through a local router and an ISP, 3G and 4G wireless communications through a mobile service provider. Components of the intelligent-thermostat-controlled thermostat-controlled environmental-conditioning system may also be connected by wireless communications to remote computing facilities.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An intelligent thermostat comprising:
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a visible portion; a concealed portion onto which the visible portion mounts by sliding the visible portion onto the concealed portion; and subcomponents, each subcomponent associated with one or more intelligent-thermostat functionalities, that are each distributed to one or both of the visible portion and concealed portion of the intelligent thermostat, the subcomponents including a long-distance wireless communications module that interconnects the intelligent thermostat with remote computing facilities, a local wireless communications module that interconnects the intelligent thermostat with environmental-condition-system components, a microprocessor that controls an interactive user interface and additional monitoring, analysis, and communications functions, a microcontroller that controls low-power-consuming functions and wake-on circuitry, a number of environmental sensors that monitor an environment, a mechanical user interface, an optico-electrical user interface, a display driver, a protocol engine, an electronic memory, a battery, power-management circuitry, power-supply circuitry, and wake-on circuitry that powers up the interactive user interface when a user'"'"'s presence is detected by one or more of the number of environmental sensors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An intelligent-thermostat-controlled HVAC system comprising:
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one or more HVAC units; and one or more intelligent thermostats that control the one or more HVAC units, each intelligent thermostat comprising a visible portion, a concealed portion onto which the visible portion mounts by sliding the visible portion onto the concealed portion, and subcomponents, each subcomponent associated with one or more intelligent-thermostat functionalities, that are each distributed to one or both of the visible portion and concealed portion of the intelligent thermostat, the subcomponents including a long-distance wireless communications module that interconnects the intelligent thermostat with remote computing facilities, a local wireless communications module that interconnects the intelligent thermostat with environmental-condition-system components, a microprocessor that controls an interactive user interface and additional monitoring, analysis, and communications functions, a microcontroller that controls low-power-consuming functions and wake-on circuitry, a number of environmental sensors that monitor an environment, a mechanical user interface, an optico-electrical user interface, a display driver, a protocol engine, an electronic memory, a battery, power-management circuitry, power-supply circuitry, and wake-on circuitry that powers up the interactive user interface when a user'"'"'s presence is detected by one or more of the number of environmental sensors. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification