FAN COIL THERMOSTAT WITH ACTIVITY SENSING
First Claim
1. A fan coil thermostat for use with a fan coil system, the fan coil thermostat comprising:
- a housing;
a temperature sensor housed by the housing for sensing an ambient temperature;
a user interface housed by the housing but accessible by a user from outside of the housing, the user interface comprising;
an LCD display for displaying the ambient temperature sensed by the temperature sensor;
an up button;
a down button; and
a fan button for manually changing a fan speed of the fan coil system;
a controller operatively coupled to the user interface and the temperature sensor, the controller implementing a control algorithm that is configured to at least partially control one or more components of the fan coil system in accordance with a temperature control set point, wherein the control algorithm defaults to using an unoccupied set temperature as the temperature control set point;
the controller is free from a programmable temperature setback schedule that has a plurality of temperature set points that correspond to particular periods of time during a day and/or week;
the controller is configured to receive a user-chosen set temperature when a user operates the up button and/or the down button of the user interface, and once received, the controller is configured to temporarily use the user-chosen set temperature as the temperature control set point rather than the unoccupied set temperature; and
wherein after the controller does not detect any button activity of the up button, the down button and the fan button over a predetermined time period, the controller automatically returns to using the unoccupied set temperature as the temperature control set point.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Fan coil thermostats can provide energy savings by, for example, not unnecessarily heating and/or cooling an unoccupied room or other space. Fan coil systems employing such a fan coil thermostat may be more energy efficient. A fan coil system may include a fan coil that is configured for fluid communication with a source of heated fluid and/or a source of cooled fluid, a valve that controls fluid flow through the fan coil, a fan that blows air across the fan coil and a fan coil thermostat. The fan coil thermostat may include a controller that implements a control algorithm that may include an unoccupied temperature setting. The controller may be programmed to permit a user to enter a user-chosen temperature setting. In response, the controller may initiate a timer, and may automatically return to the unoccupied temperature setting once the timer has expired.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A fan coil thermostat for use with a fan coil system, the fan coil thermostat comprising:
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a housing; a temperature sensor housed by the housing for sensing an ambient temperature; a user interface housed by the housing but accessible by a user from outside of the housing, the user interface comprising; an LCD display for displaying the ambient temperature sensed by the temperature sensor; an up button; a down button; and a fan button for manually changing a fan speed of the fan coil system; a controller operatively coupled to the user interface and the temperature sensor, the controller implementing a control algorithm that is configured to at least partially control one or more components of the fan coil system in accordance with a temperature control set point, wherein the control algorithm defaults to using an unoccupied set temperature as the temperature control set point; the controller is free from a programmable temperature setback schedule that has a plurality of temperature set points that correspond to particular periods of time during a day and/or week; the controller is configured to receive a user-chosen set temperature when a user operates the up button and/or the down button of the user interface, and once received, the controller is configured to temporarily use the user-chosen set temperature as the temperature control set point rather than the unoccupied set temperature; and wherein after the controller does not detect any button activity of the up button, the down button and the fan button over a predetermined time period, the controller automatically returns to using the unoccupied set temperature as the temperature control set point. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A fan coil thermostat for use with a fan coil system, the fan coil thermostat comprising:
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a housing; a temperature sensor housed by the housing for sensing an ambient temperature; a user interface housed by the housing but accessible by a user from outside of the housing, the user interface comprising; an LCD display for displaying the ambient temperature sensed by the temperature sensor; an up button; a down button; and a fan button for manually changing a fan speed of the fan coil system; a controller operatively coupled to the user interface and the temperature sensor, the controller implementing a control algorithm that is configured to at least partially control one or more components of the fan coil system in accordance with a temperature control set point, wherein the control algorithm defaults to using an unoccupied set temperature as the temperature control set point; the controller is configured to receive a user-chosen set temperature when a user operates the up button and/or the down button of the user interface; and wherein, in response to receiving the user-chosen set temperature, the controller is configured to; temporarily use the user-chosen set temperature as the temperature control set point rather than the unoccupied set temperature; initiate a timer that expires after a predetermined time period; return to using the unoccupied set temperature as the temperature control set point once the timer expires; and automatically extend the predetermined time period if the controller detects any button activity of the up button, the down button or the fan button before the timer expires. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for controlling a fan coil system, comprising:
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controlling one or more components of the fan coil system with a fan coil thermostat in accordance with a default unoccupied temperature set point; receiving a user-chosen temperature set point via a user interface of the fan coil thermostat; in response to receiving the user-chosen temperature set point, controlling one or more components of the fan coil system with the fan coil thermostat in accordance with the user-chosen temperature set point; and waiting to not detect any user input at the user interface of the fan coil thermostat over a predetermined time period, and after not detecting any user input at the user interface of the fan coil thermostat over the predetermined time period, returning to controlling one or more components of the fan coil system with the fan coil thermostat in accordance with the default unoccupied temperature set point
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Specification