PROGRAMMABLE SMART THERMOSTAT

• US 20160209072A1
• Filed: 05/14/2015
• Published: 07/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lennox Industries Incorporated (Lennox International Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Lennox Industries Incorporated (Lennox International Incorporated)
• Inventors: GOLDEN, Kyle, CASTILLO, Daniel, MOWERY, Keith, CHARAVDA, Jayprakash, AMOROS, Melissa, KHIANI, Sunil K., LAZAR, Steve
• Application Number:
  US14/711,938
• Publication Number:
  US 20160209072A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/49 ensuring correct operation, e.g. by trial operation or configuration checks
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/52 Indication arrangements, e.g. displays
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/523 for displaying temperature data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/58 using Internet communication
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/62 characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or estimation of values
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/89 Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/10 Occupancy
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2130/00 Control inputs relating to environmental factors not covered by group F24F2110/00
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2130/10 Weather information or forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/042 using digital processors G05B19/05 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0426 Programming the control sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25168 Domotique, access through internet protocols
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2614 HVAC, heating, ventillation, climate control
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2827 Reporting to a device within the home network; wherein the reception of the information reported automatically triggers the execution of a home appliance functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

A thermostat includes a front housing, a rear housing interoperably coupled to the front housing, at least one sensor integrated with the front housing, a display integrated with the front housing, and processing circuitry interoperably coupled to the at least one sensor and the display. The processing circuitry is configured to periodically activate the at least one sensor, receive data from the at least one sensor and determine, from the received data, whether movement has occurred. Responsive to a determination that the movement has occurred, determine whether the movement is by a human and responsive to a determination that the movement was not by the human, adjust display attributes.

Claims

1. A thermostat comprising:

a front housing;

a rear housing interoperably coupled to the front housing;

at least one sensor integrated with the front housing;

a display integrated with the front housing;

processing circuitry interoperably coupled to the at least one sensor and the display and configured to;

periodically activate the at least one sensor;

receive data from the at least one sensor;

determine, from the received data, whether movement has occurred;

responsive to a determination that the movement has occurred, determine whether the movement is by a human; and

responsive to a determination that the movement was not by the human, adjust display attributes.

2. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein, responsive to a determination that the movement was not by the human, the processing circuitry is configured to lower display brightness.

3. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein, responsive to a determination that the movement was not by the human, the processing circuitry is configured to power off the display.

4. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor is configured to perform at least one of room lighting determination, distance determination, facial detection, voice recognition, and occupancy detection.

5. The thermostat of claim 1, the at least one sensor comprises a video camera that is configured to perform facial recognition.

6. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein, responsive to a determination that no movement has occurred, the processing circuitry is configured to adjust the display attributes.

7. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein, responsive to a determination that the movement was by the human, the display attributes remain unchanged.

8. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine, from the received data, if an occupant is in close proximity to the thermostat; and

responsive to a determination that the occupant is in close proximity to the thermostat, initiate “

wake-up”

of the display prior to the occupant touching the display.

9. The thermostat of claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to manage display contents based on proximity of the occupant to the thermostat.

10. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the display is a touch-screen display configured to display at least one of indoor temperature, temperature-adjustment scale, current date, current time, indoor humidity, and location.

11. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the display is a touch-screen display that is configured to operate as a user interface.

12. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the display is configured to demonstrate, in addition to numeric representations of indoor and outdoor temperature, an animation mimicking current outside weather conditions.

13. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein, responsive to a determination that the movement was not by the human, the processing circuitry is configured to control settings of the thermostat.

14. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein, responsive to a determination that the movement was not by the human, the processing circuitry is configured to automatically power off the thermostat.

15. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein, responsive to a determination that the movement was not by the human, the processing circuitry is configured to automatically adjust at least one of heating and cooling.

16. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the display attributes comprise at least one of a color level, a contrast level, a saturation level, a hue level, and a brightness level of the display.

17. A method of controlling operations of a thermostat, the method comprising:

coupling a front housing with a rear housing;

integrating at least one sensor with the front housing;

integrating a display with the front housing;

interoperably coupling a processing circuitry to the at least one sensor and the display;

periodically activating, by the processing circuitry, the at least one sensor;

receiving, by the processing circuitry, data from the at least one sensor;

determining, by the processing circuitry from the received data, whether movement has occurred;

responsive to a determination that the movement has occurred, determining by the processing circuitry, whether the movement is by a human; and

responsive to a determination that the movement was not by the human, adjusting, by the processing circuitry, display attributes.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

responsive to a determination that the movement was not due to a human, lowering, by the processing circuitry, display brightness.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

responsive to a determination that the movement was not by the human, powering off, by the processing circuitry, the display.

20. The method of claim 17, comprising:

performing, by the at least one sensor, at least one of room lighting determination, distance determination, facial detection, voice recognition, and occupancy detection.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the display attributes comprise at least one of a color level, a contrast level, a saturation level, a hue level, and a brightness level of the display.

22. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

determining via the processing circuitry, from the received data, if an occupant is in close proximity to the thermostat; and

responsive to a determination that the occupant is in close proximity to the thermostat, initiating, via the processing circuitry, a “

wake-up”

of the display prior to the occupant touching the display.