PROSPECTIVE DETERMINATION OF PROCESSOR WAKE-UP CONDITIONS IN ENERGY BUFFERED HVAC CONTROL UNIT HAVING A PRECONDITIONING FEATURE
First Claim
1. A preconditioning thermostat, comprising:
- a processing system, the processing system being configured to be in operative communication with a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the processing system having a preconditioning function associated with a stored setpoint temperature, the processing system including a processor, the processor having a first operating state and a second operating state, wherein the processor consumes more power in the second operating state than in the first operating state, wherein the processing system operates by;
determining a set of wake-up conditions for the preconditioning function upon which said processor is to enter into said second operating state from said first operating state, said set of wake-up conditions including at least one threshold value associated with at least one environmental condition and/or at least one time-of-day;
causing the set of wake-up conditions for the preconditioning function to be stored in a memory;
operating in a first mode in which said processor is in said first operating state during a time interval subsequent to said causing the set of wake-up conditions for the preconditioning function to be stored in said memory;
determining, while said processor is in said first operating state, whether at least one of the set of wake-up conditions for the preconditioning function has been met; and
operating in a second mode in which said processor is in said second operating state upon a determination that the at least one of the set of wake-up conditions for the preconditioning function has been met, the processing system being configured to control the HVAC system according to the preconditioning function while operating in the second operating mode.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A thermostat may include a memory and a processing system. The processing system may operate by determining a set of wake-up conditions for the processor to enter into a second operating state from a first operating state, the set of wake-up conditions including at least one threshold value associated with at least one environmental and/or time-of-day condition; causing the set of wake-up conditions to be stored in a memory; operating in a first mode in which the processor is in the first operating state during a time interval subsequent to causing the set of wake-up conditions to be stored in the memory; determining, while the processor is in the first operating state, whether at least one of the set of wake-up conditions has been met; and then operating in a second mode in which the processor is in the second operating state.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A preconditioning thermostat, comprising:
a processing system, the processing system being configured to be in operative communication with a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the processing system having a preconditioning function associated with a stored setpoint temperature, the processing system including a processor, the processor having a first operating state and a second operating state, wherein the processor consumes more power in the second operating state than in the first operating state, wherein the processing system operates by; determining a set of wake-up conditions for the preconditioning function upon which said processor is to enter into said second operating state from said first operating state, said set of wake-up conditions including at least one threshold value associated with at least one environmental condition and/or at least one time-of-day; causing the set of wake-up conditions for the preconditioning function to be stored in a memory; operating in a first mode in which said processor is in said first operating state during a time interval subsequent to said causing the set of wake-up conditions for the preconditioning function to be stored in said memory; determining, while said processor is in said first operating state, whether at least one of the set of wake-up conditions for the preconditioning function has been met; and operating in a second mode in which said processor is in said second operating state upon a determination that the at least one of the set of wake-up conditions for the preconditioning function has been met, the processing system being configured to control the HVAC system according to the preconditioning function while operating in the second operating mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of reducing an amount of power used by a thermostat, the method comprising:
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providing a processing system, the processing system being configured to be in operative communication with a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the processing system having a preconditioning function associated with a stored setpoint temperature, the processing system including a processor, the processor having a first operating state and a second operating state, wherein the processor consumes more power in the second operating state than in the first operating state; determining a set of wake-up conditions for the preconditioning function upon which said processor is to enter into said second operating state from said first operating state, said set of wake-up conditions including at least one threshold value associated with at least one environmental condition and/or at least one time-of-day; causing the set of wake-up conditions for the preconditioning function to be stored in a memory; operating the processing system in a first mode in which said processor is in said first operating state during a time interval subsequent to said causing the set of wake-up conditions for the preconditioning function to be stored in said memory; determining, while said processor is in said first operating state, whether at least one of the set of wake-up conditions for the preconditioning function has been met; and operating the processing system in a second mode in which said processor is in said second operating state upon a determination that the at least one of the set of wake-up conditions for the preconditioning function has been met, the processing system being configured to control the HVAC system according to the preconditioning function while operating in the second operating mode. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A smart-home control system comprising:
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a memory; and a processing system, wherein the processing system comprises a first processor and a second processor, wherein; the first processor is configured to; determine a wake-up threshold for determining when the first processor should transition from a low-power state to a high-power state, wherein the wake-up threshold comprises a threshold value associated with an environmental condition and/or a time-of-day; send the wake-up threshold to the second processor; and transition from the high-power state to the low-power state after the wake-up threshold is sent to the second processor; and the second processor is configured to; receive an environmental measurement; determine whether the environmental measurement violates the wake-up threshold; and cause the first processor to transition from the low-power state to the high-power state if the environmental measurement violates the wake-up threshold.
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Specification