SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING TEMPERATURE IN A BUILDING

• US 20200132325A1
• Filed: 10/25/2018
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Consumer 2.0 Inc.
• Original Assignee: Consumer 2.0 Inc.
• Inventors: LI, Zhe Clark, HAN, Chunmeng
• Granted Patent: US 10,746,429 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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 11/56 Remote control
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/57 using telephone networks
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/58 using Internet communication
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/63 Electronic processing
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/65 for selecting an operating mode
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/89 Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/00 Arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless electrical link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop

Abstract

One example embodiment is a smart thermostat hub for controlling temperature. The smart thermostat hub includes a processor, a cellular communications unit and a temperature control unit. The cellular communications unit is in electronic communication with the processor and is configured to receive a remote command over a wide area communications network. The temperature control unit is configured to modify a temperature control setting based at least in part on the remote command.

Claims

1. An apparatus for controlling temperature, comprising:

a processor;

a cellular communications unit in electronic communication with the processor and configured to receive a remote command over a wide area communications network; and

a temperature control unit configured to modify a temperature control setting based at least in part on the remote command,

a verification module configured to verify an authorization of the remote command.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, the apparatus further comprising:

a local communications unit communicate with an appliance over a local area network.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, the apparatus further comprising:

a touchscreen configured receive a local command;

wherein the temperature control unit is further configured to modify the temperature control setting based at least in part on the local command.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, the apparatus further comprising:

a microphone configured to receive a voice command;

wherein the temperature control unit is further configured to modify the temperature control setting based at least in part on the voice command.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the cellular communications unit and the temperature control unit are integrated into a single circuit board.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein:

the cellular communications unit communicates with the temperature control unit using a Mini-PCIE interface.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the cellular communications unit is configured to communicate with a CPU of the thermostat via a UART protocol, a USB protocol, or both.

8. A method for controlling the apparatus of claim 1, comprising:

receiving, at the apparatus, a remote command over a wide area communications network; and

modifying a temperature control setting of the apparatus based at least in part on the remote command.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

transmitting temperature information over a cellular communications network.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the wide area communications network is a cellular communications network covering a 3G network, a 4G network, an LTE network, or a 5G network.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising

receiving a local command via a touchscreen;

and

modifying the temperature control setting of the apparatus based at least in part on the local command.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

communicating with an appliance over a local area network.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving an additional remote command for the appliance over the wide area communications network, wherein communicating with the appliance is based at least in part on the additional remote command.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the local area network comprises a WiFi network, a Bluetooth network, a ZigBee network, a WeMo network, a Thread network, or a Z-wave network.

15. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving a voice command at the apparatus; and

modifying the temperature control setting of the apparatus based at least in part on the voice command.

16. A method of controlling a temperature of one or more locations comprising

receiving, in at least one thermostat hub, a wireless remote command over a cellular communications network;

verifying, in each thermostat hub, an authorization of the wireless remote command, wherein controlling the temperature using the thermostat is based on the verification;

transforming, in a processor provided within the thermostat hub, the wireless remote command into a wired electronic signal; and

sending, from the processor to a thermostat provided in the thermostat hub, the wired electronic signal to control the temperature using the thermostat.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one thermostat hub controls at least one home appliance using a local area network, and wherein the wired electronic signal is not an Ethernet signal.

18. The method of claim 16 further comprising

choosing, within a plurality of thermostat hub, a particular thermostat hub in a location where a temperature control is desired.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the method is applied to an apartment complex with multiple units, and a plurality of thermostat hubs are located in different units.

20. (canceled)