Auto-configuring time-of day for building control unit

• US 9,429,962 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2012
• Issued: 08/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Matsuoka, Yoky
• Primary Examiner(s): Everett, Christopher E
• Application Number:
  US13/994,444
• Publication Number:
  US 20140031993A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,701 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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 11/46 Improving electric energy efficiency or saving
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/52 Indication arrangements, e.g. displays
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/65 for selecting an operating mode
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2130/20 Sunlight
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2221/32 preventing human errors during the installation, use or maintenance, e.g. goofy proof
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1917 using digital means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1919 characterised by the type of controller

Abstract

Provided according to some embodiments is a thermostat is capable of discerning the time-of-day without external input. Should the user fail to set the time, the thermostat uses one or more sensors to determine the time-of-day through a variety of techniques. In one example, a light sensor can monitor natural light to understand the cycle of sun with respect to the installation location. From the cycle of natural light a latitude, time-of-year, time-of-day, etc. can be estimated through processing sensor information over time. Should the thermostat have its time manually set or gathered from the network, it would override the estimated time-of-day. Techniques can be used to filter input from the one or more sensors to avoid confusion from other inputs, for example, man-made lighting.

Claims

1. A thermostat, comprising:

a power source;

a housing;

a clock function for tracking time-of-day;

a sensor that performs measurements of an environmental condition that varies with a time-of-day;

a processor configured to;

receive the measurements from the sensor,

perform a transform to convert the received measurements to the frequency domain;

identify a component of the received measurements in the frequency domain having a frequency of approximately 11.57 μ

Hz;

determine when the component having the frequency of approximately 11.57 μ

Hz has crossed a predefined threshold;

estimate the time-of-day using the determination of when the component having the frequency of approximately 11.57 μ

Hz crossed the predefined threshold, and

program the clock function using the estimated time-of-day;

an electronic display configured to display information to a user; and

a plurality of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) wire connectors communicatively coupled to the processor and configured control an HVAC system as a function of the estimated time-of-day.

2. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to estimate time-of-year from the input over a multi-day period.

3. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises:

a light transducer,

a temperature transducer,

an infra-red transducer,

a video capture array,

a sound transducer, and/or

an radio frequency transducer.

4. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a light sensor filtered to accentuate wavelengths of sunlight over man-made light.

5. The thermostat of claim 1, further comprising an input interface that receives a zip code entered by the user.

6. The thermostat of claim 5, wherein the estimated time-of-day is a function of the zip code and the sensor.

7. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the estimated time-of-day is overridden by:

time-of-day entered by the user,

time-of-day received from a local area network (LAN), and/or

time-of-day received from a wide area network (WAN).

8. A method for operating a thermostat, the method comprising:

loading sensor readings of environmental conditions, wherein the environmental conditions correlate with a time-of-day;

performing a transform to convert the sensor readings to the frequency domain;

identifying a component of the sensor readings in the frequency domain having a frequency of approximately 11.57 μ

Hz;

determining when the component having the frequency of approximately 11.57 μ

Hz has crossed a predefined threshold;

estimating the time-of-day using the determination of when the component having the frequency of approximately 11.57 μ

Hz crossed the predefined threshold;

tracking the estimated time-of-day within the thermostat; and

controlling heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) wire connectors coupled to the thermostat, wherein the HVAC wired connectors are configured to control an HVAC system as a function of the estimated time-of-day.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising estimating time-of year from sensor readings over a plurality of days.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising gathering the sensor readings from:

a light transducer,

a temperature transducer,

an infra-red transducer,

a video capture array,

a sound transducer, and/or

an radio frequency transducer.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising receiving an indication of location from a user, wherein estimating a time-of-day is a function of the indication.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising filtering wavelengths from the sensor readings, wherein the wavelengths correspond to man-made interference.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising overriding the estimated time-of-day is with:

time-of-day entered by the user,

time-of-day received from a local area network (LAN), and/or

time-of-day received from a wide area network (WAN).

14. A device for governing and/or facilitating the governance of a resource consuming system, comprising:

a power input;

a housing;

a clock function for tracking a time-of-day;

a sensor input configured to measure environmental conditions that vary with a time-of-day;

a learning function configured to;

transform measured environmental conditions made by the sensor to the frequency domain,

identify a component of the measured environmental conditions in the frequency domain having a frequency of approximately 11.57 μ

Hz,

determine when the component having the frequency of approximately 11.57 μ

Hz has crossed a predefined threshold,

estimate the time-of-day using the determination of when the component having the frequency of approximately 11.57 μ

Hz crossed the predefined threshold, and

program the clock function using the estimated time-of-day; and

at least one output that provides at least one output signal that is used in governance of the resource-consuming system, wherein said output signal is at least in part a function of the estimated time-of-day.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the sensor input is configured to couple to:

a light transducer,

a temperature transducer,

an infra-red transducer,

a video capture array,

a sound transducer, and/or

an radio frequency transducer.

16. The device of claim 14, further comprising:

a thermostat that governs operation of an HVAC system, and

an ambient light sensor coupled to said sensor input.

17. The device of claim 14, further comprising an input interface that receives location information entered by the user, wherein the estimated time-of-day is a function of the location information and the sensor input.

18. The device of claim 14, wherein the estimated time-of-day is overridden by:

time-of-day entered by the user, and/or

time-of-day received from a wireless network.

19. The device of claim 14, the device is part of a system, which includes a battery-operated remote control unit, wherein:

the battery-operated remote control produces a wireless signal that is received by the device, and

said battery-operated remote control includes a ambient light sensor coupled to the sensor input using the wireless signal for transport.