Temperature Control Voting System

• US 20150338117A1
• Filed: 05/21/2015
• Published: 11/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JNH Creations LLC, Netesco, LLC
• Original Assignee: Portable Comfort, LLC
• Inventors: Henneberger, John, Scelzi, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,989,944 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/56 Remote control
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/63 Electronic processing
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/64 using pre-stored data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/65 for selecting an operating mode
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/67 Switching between heating and cooling modes
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house

Abstract

A temperature voting system which receives votes indicating the temperature preferences of a plurality of occupants within a given HVAC zone, and adjusts a set-point temperature of a corresponding HVAC system accordingly. The votes may be received via a mobile device, an employee workstation, or from one or more biomedical devices. Each occupant may manually enter and submit a vote for their preferred set-point temperature, or a software application may be configured to automatically cast a vote for the corresponding occupant according to user-configurable preferences or current metabolic state. The received votes may be weighted according to a status of the voter, and aggregated to determine an appropriate set-point temperature. In some embodiments, near-field communication devices, GPS location technology, or other technology may be used to automatically detect the presence of an occupant within a HVAC zone and cast the occupant'"'"'s vote for a corresponding HVAC zone.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system of a building, the method comprising:

receiving, from a plurality of users, a plurality of votes for a set-point temperature in a zone of the building;

weighting the plurality of votes to form a plurality of weighted votes, wherein the weighting the plurality of votes comprises giving a first vote of the plurality of votes a first weight and giving a second vote of the plurality of votes a second weight different than the first weight;

aggregating the plurality of weighted votes to form an aggregated plurality of votes; and

adjusting a set-point temperature in the zone of the building according to the aggregated plurality of votes.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the weighting the plurality of votes is performed according to a seniority of a user casting each vote.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

determining whether a first user casting the first vote has a higher seniority than a second user casting the second vote; and

in response to determining that first user does have the higher seniority than the second user, weighting the first vote higher than the second vote.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the weighting the plurality of votes is performed according to a location of a user casting each vote.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

determining whether a first user casting the first vote is nearer to a receiver located within the zone of the building than a second user casting the second vote; and

in response to the determining that the first user is nearer to the receiver than the second user, weighting the first vote higher than the second vote.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining that a first user of the plurality of users is nearest to a first receiver of a plurality of receivers;

in response to determining that the first user is nearest to the first receiver, aggregating a vote received from the first user vote with votes received from other users who are also located nearest to the first receiver to form a first aggregated plurality of votes; and

adjusting a set-point temperature for a first zone of the building according to the first aggregated plurality of votes, wherein the first receiver is located in the first zone of the building.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the weighting the plurality of votes is performed according to a duration of a user casting each vote within the zone of the building.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

determining whether a first user casting the first vote is in the zone of the building for a longer duration than a second user casting the second vote; and

in response to determining that the first user is in the zone of the building for the longer duration than the second user, weighting the first vote higher than the second vote.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the weighting the plurality of votes is performed according to a frequency of votes cast of a user casting each vote.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

determining whether a first user casting the first vote has cast more total votes than a second user casting the second vote; and

in response to determining that the first user has cast more total votes than the second user, weighting the first vote higher than the second vote.

11. A temperature control voting system for controlling a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system and a thermostat of a building, the temperature control voting system comprising:

the thermostat;

an HVAC controller, wherein the thermostat and/or the HVAC controller are configured to adjust a set-point temperature in at least one zone of the building;

a plurality of mobile devices, each of the plurality of mobile devices associated with a corresponding user and executing a temperature control voting application; and

at least one receiver in the at least one zone of the building, wherein the at least one receiver is configured to;

communicate with the temperature control voting application executing on the plurality of mobile devices and with the HVAC controller and/or the thermostat;

receive, from the temperature control voting application executing on the plurality of mobile devices, a plurality of votes for the set-point temperature in the at least one zone of the building; and

transmit, to the HVAC controller and/or the thermostat, the plurality of votes for the set-point temperature in the at least one zone of the building, and

wherein the HVAC controller and/or the thermostat is configured to;

weight the plurality of votes to form a plurality of weighted votes, wherein weighting the plurality of votes comprises giving a first vote of the plurality of votes a first weight and giving a second vote of the plurality of votes a second weight different than the first weight;

aggregate the plurality of weighted votes to form an aggregated plurality of votes; and

adjusting the set-point temperature in the at least one zone of the building according to the aggregated plurality of votes.

12. The temperature control voting system of claim 11, wherein the HVAC controller and/or the thermostat is further configured to:

weight the plurality of votes according to a seniority of a user casting each vote.

13. The temperature control voting system of claim 12, wherein the HVAC controller and/or the thermostat is further configured to:

determine whether a first user casting the first vote has a higher seniority than a second user casting the second vote; and

in response to determining that first user does have the higher seniority than the second user, weight the first vote higher than the second vote.

14. The temperature control voting system of claim 11, wherein the HVAC controller and/or the thermostat is further configured to:

weight the plurality of votes according to a location of a user casting each vote.

15. The temperature control voting system of claim 14, wherein the HVAC controller and/or the thermostat is further configured to:

determine whether a first user casting the first vote is nearer to the at least one receiver than a second user casting the second vote; and

in response to the determining that the first user is nearer to the at least one receiver than the second user, weight the first vote higher than the second vote.

16. The temperature control voting system of claim 11, wherein the HVAC controller and/or the thermostat is further configured to:

determine that a first mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices is nearest to a first receiver of the at least one receiver;

in response to determining that the first mobile device is nearest to the first receiver, aggregate a vote received from the first mobile device with votes from other mobile devices that are also located nearest to the first receiver to form a first aggregated plurality of votes; and

adjust a set-point temperature for a first zone of the building according to the first aggregated plurality of votes, wherein the first receiver is located in the first zone of the building.

17. The temperature control voting system of claim 11, wherein the HVAC controller and/or thermostat is further configured to:

weight the plurality of votes according to a duration of a user casting each vote within the at least one zone of the building.

18. The temperature control voting system of claim 17, wherein the HVAC controller and/or thermostat is further configured to:

determine whether a first user casting the first vote is in the at least one zone of the building for a longer duration than a second user casting the second vote; and

in response to the determining that the first user is in the at least one zone of the building for the longer duration than the second user, weight the first vote higher than the second vote.

19. The temperature control voting system of claim 11, wherein the HVAC controller and/or thermostat is further configured to:

weight the plurality of votes according to a frequency of votes cast of a user casting each vote.

20. The temperature control voting system of claim 19, wherein the HVAC controller and/or thermostat is further configured to:

determine whether a first user casting the first vote has cast more total votes than a second user casting the second vote; and

in response to determining that the first user has cast more total votes than the second user, weight the first vote higher than the second vote.