Energy efficiency promoting schedule learning algorithms for intelligent thermostat
First Claim
1. A thermostat comprising:
- a housing;
a ring-shaped user-interface component configured to track a rotational input motion from a user;
a controller disposed within the housing and coupled to the ring-shaped user interface component,the controller being configured and programmed to be in operative communication with one or more temperature sensors for receiving ambient air temperature,the controller further being configured and programmed to be in operative communication with an HVAC system to control the HVAC system based at least in part on a comparison of the measured ambient temperature and a setpoint temperature,the controller further being configured and programmed to identify immediate-control inputs from a user, that immediately change the setpoint temperature based on the tracked rotational input, and to form a schedule including a set of setpoint temperatures that become effective at predetermined times, based on the user'"'"'s immediate-control inputs,the controller further being configured and programmed to identify if heating or cooling is required to maintain one or more of the set of setpoint temperatures, based on at least one of geographic location of the thermostat and time of year;
the controller still further being configured and programmed to automatically reset a setpoint temperature of the schedule to a less energy-consuming temperature, based on energy savings as determined by the thermostat, upon an ending of a predetermined time interval and to automatically generate a revised schedule for the thermostat based at least in part on repeated identifications of the user'"'"'s immediate-control inputs to immediately change the setpoint temperature; and
an electronic display coupled to the controller and configured to display information to users;
wherein said electronic display is disposed along a front face of the thermostat housing, said ring-shaped user interface component comprises a mechanically rotatable ring that substantially surrounds the electronic display and is further configured to be inwardly pressable by the user along a direction of an axis of rotation of the rotational input motion, and said mechanically rotatable ring and said housing are mutually configured such that said mechanically rotatable ring moves inwardly along said direction of said axis of rotation when inwardly pressed.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A user-friendly programmable thermostat is described that includes receiving an immediate-control input to change set point temperature, controlling temperature according to the set point temperature for a predetermined time interval, and then automatically resetting the set point temperature upon the ending of the predetermined time interval such that the user is urged to make further immediate-control inputs. A schedule for the programmable thermostat is automatically generated based on the immediate-control inputs. Methods are also described for receiving user input relating to the user'"'"'s preference regarding automatically generating a schedule, and determining whether or not to automatically adopt an automatically generated schedule based on the received user input.
-
Citations
27 Claims
-
1. A thermostat comprising:
-
a housing; a ring-shaped user-interface component configured to track a rotational input motion from a user; a controller disposed within the housing and coupled to the ring-shaped user interface component, the controller being configured and programmed to be in operative communication with one or more temperature sensors for receiving ambient air temperature, the controller further being configured and programmed to be in operative communication with an HVAC system to control the HVAC system based at least in part on a comparison of the measured ambient temperature and a setpoint temperature, the controller further being configured and programmed to identify immediate-control inputs from a user, that immediately change the setpoint temperature based on the tracked rotational input, and to form a schedule including a set of setpoint temperatures that become effective at predetermined times, based on the user'"'"'s immediate-control inputs, the controller further being configured and programmed to identify if heating or cooling is required to maintain one or more of the set of setpoint temperatures, based on at least one of geographic location of the thermostat and time of year; the controller still further being configured and programmed to automatically reset a setpoint temperature of the schedule to a less energy-consuming temperature, based on energy savings as determined by the thermostat, upon an ending of a predetermined time interval and to automatically generate a revised schedule for the thermostat based at least in part on repeated identifications of the user'"'"'s immediate-control inputs to immediately change the setpoint temperature; and an electronic display coupled to the controller and configured to display information to users; wherein said electronic display is disposed along a front face of the thermostat housing, said ring-shaped user interface component comprises a mechanically rotatable ring that substantially surrounds the electronic display and is further configured to be inwardly pressable by the user along a direction of an axis of rotation of the rotational input motion, and said mechanically rotatable ring and said housing are mutually configured such that said mechanically rotatable ring moves inwardly along said direction of said axis of rotation when inwardly pressed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A method for generating a schedule for a programmable thermostat used for control of an HVAC system, the thermostat comprising a housing, a ring-shaped user interface component, a controller, and an electronic display, the method comprising:
-
accessing an ambient air temperature measured by one or more temperature sensors; detecting and tracking rotational movements of the ring-shaped user-interface component to track at least one rotational input motion of a user; identifying a first setpoint temperature value based on the tracked rotational input motion at a first point in time; controlling the HVAC system using a control circuit based at least in part on a comparison of the measured ambient air temperature and the first setpoint temperature value for a predetermined time interval; automatically resetting the first setpoint temperature upon the ending of the predetermined time interval; identifying a second setpoint temperature value based on the tracked rotational input motion at a second point in time; controlling the HVAC system using a control circuit based at least in part on a comparison of the measured ambient air temperature and the second setpoint temperature value for the predetermined time interval; automatically resetting the second set point temperature upon the ending of the predetermined time interval; automatically generating with the controller, a first schedule for the programmable thermostat based at least in part on the first and second setpoints and the first and second points in time; automatically identifying with the controller, whether heating or cooling is required to maintain at least one of the first setpoint temperature and the second setpoint temperature, based on at least one of geographic location of the thermostat and time of year; automatically generating with the controller, a second schedule for the programmable thermostat that includes at least one modified setpoint, relative to the first and second setpoints, that saves energy by reducing the identified heating or cooling; and displaying information representative of the first and second identified setpoint temperature values on the electronic display; wherein said electronic display is disposed along a front face of the thermostat housing, said ring-shaped user interface component comprises a mechanically rotatable ring that substantially surrounds the electronic display and is further configured to be inwardly pressable by the user along a direction of an axis of rotation of rotational input motion, and said mechanically rotatable ring and said housing are mutually configured such that said mechanically rotatable ring moves inwardly along said direction of said axis of rotation when inwardly pressed. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A thermostat comprising:
-
a disk-like housing including a circular front face; an electronic display centrally disposed on the front face; an annular ring member disposed around the centrally disposed electronic display, said annular ring member and said housing being mutually configured such that (i) said annular ring member is rotatable around a front-to-back axis of the thermostat, and (ii) said annular ring member is inwardly pressable along a direction of the front-to back axis; a controller disposed within the housing and coupled to the annular ring member; said controller being configured and programmed to immediately change a setpoint temperature value based on a user rotation of the annular ring member; said controller being further configured and programmed to be in operative communication with one or more temperature sensors for receiving an ambient air temperature, said controller being still further configured and programmed to be in operative communication with an HVAC system to control the HVAC system based at least in part on a comparison of the measured ambient temperature and the setpoint temperature value; said controller being further configured and programmed to automatically reset the setpoint temperature to a less energy-consuming temperature upon an ending of a predetermined time interval after the setpoint temperature has been immediately changed based on a user rotation of the annular ring member; and said controller being still further configured and programmed to identify from the annular ring member user input relating to a user'"'"'s preference regarding automatically generating a schedule and to determine therefrom whether or not to automatically adopt an automatically generated schedule. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
-
Specification