HVAC CONTROLLER WITH USER-FRIENDLY INSTALLATION FEATURES FACILITATING BOTH DO-IT-YOURSELF AND PROFESSIONAL INSTALLATION SCENARIOS
First Claim
1. A thermostat, comprising:
- a processing system and coupled to a user interface, the processing system being configured to be in operative communication with a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to control the HVAC system;
a plurality of HVAC connectors configured to receive a corresponding plurality of HVAC control wires corresponding to the HVAC system; and
a connection sensing module coupled to said plurality of HVAC connectors and configured to determine identities of a first subset of the plurality of HVAC connectors into which corresponding HVAC wires have been inserted, wherein the processing system is further configured to process said identities of said first subset of HVAC connectors to determine a configuration of the HVAC system to be controlled, wherein said processing comprises;
identifying, based on said identities of said first subset of HVAC connectors, whether (i) only a single possible HVAC system configuration is indicated thereby, or (ii) multiple possible HVAC system configurations are indicated thereby;
operating, if said single possible HVAC system configuration is indicated, said HVAC system according to said single possible HVAC system configuration; and
resolving, if said multiple possible HVAC system configurations are indicated, a particular one of the multiple possible HVAC system configurations, and operating said HVAC system according to said resolved particular HVAC system configuration.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A thermostat includes a processing system configured to control an HVAC system. The thermostat may also include a plurality of HVAC connectors configured to receive corresponding HVAC control wires, and a connection sensing module configured to determine the identities of HVAC connectors into which corresponding wires have been inserted. The processing system may be further configured to identify, based on the subset of HVAC connectors, whether (i) only a single possible HVAC system configuration is indicated thereby, or (ii) multiple possible HVAC system configurations are indicated thereby, resolve a particular one of the multiple possible HVAC system configurations that is applicable, and operate the HVAC system according to the HVAC system configuration.
22 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A thermostat, comprising:
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a processing system and coupled to a user interface, the processing system being configured to be in operative communication with a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to control the HVAC system; a plurality of HVAC connectors configured to receive a corresponding plurality of HVAC control wires corresponding to the HVAC system; and a connection sensing module coupled to said plurality of HVAC connectors and configured to determine identities of a first subset of the plurality of HVAC connectors into which corresponding HVAC wires have been inserted, wherein the processing system is further configured to process said identities of said first subset of HVAC connectors to determine a configuration of the HVAC system to be controlled, wherein said processing comprises; identifying, based on said identities of said first subset of HVAC connectors, whether (i) only a single possible HVAC system configuration is indicated thereby, or (ii) multiple possible HVAC system configurations are indicated thereby; operating, if said single possible HVAC system configuration is indicated, said HVAC system according to said single possible HVAC system configuration; and resolving, if said multiple possible HVAC system configurations are indicated, a particular one of the multiple possible HVAC system configurations, and operating said HVAC system according to said resolved particular HVAC system configuration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of determining a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system configuration for an HVAC system for control by a thermostat, the method comprising:
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determining identities of a first subset of a plurality of HVAC connectors into which corresponding HVAC wires have been inserted, wherein the plurality of HVAC connectors are configured to receive a corresponding plurality of HVAC control wires corresponding to the HVAC system; identifying, based on said identities of said first subset of HVAC connectors, whether (i) only a single possible HVAC system configuration is indicated thereby, or (ii) multiple possible HVAC system configurations are indicated thereby; operating, if said single possible HVAC system configuration is indicated, said HVAC system according to said single possible HVAC system configuration; and resolving, if said multiple possible HVAC system configurations are indicated, a particular one of the multiple possible HVAC system configurations that is applicable, and operating said HVAC system according to said resolved particular HVAC system configuration, wherein; said resolving is performed at least in part by a processing system coupled to a user interface, the processing system being configured to be in operative communication with the HVAC system to control the HVAC system. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A thermostat comprising:
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a processing system; a power stealing circuit coupled to the processing system and configured to provide power to the thermostat using a rechargeable battery; a plurality of HVAC connectors configured to receive a corresponding plurality of HVAC control wires; a connection sensing module coupled to the plurality of HVAC connectors and configured to provide an indication to the processing system whether a wire is mechanically inserted for each of the plurality of HVAC connectors, wherein the processing system is configured to determine an HVAC system configuration by; identifying a subset of the plurality of HVAC connectors into which a wire has been mechanically inserted; identifying an ambiguity resulting from the subset; resolving the ambiguity resulting from the subset to determine the HVAC system configuration; and operating the HVAC system in accordance with the HVAC system configuration. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification