Thermostat user interface
First Claim
1. A thermostat for controlling a HVAC system, comprising:
- a housing having a first end, a second end, and a sidewall that extends between the first and second ends, the first end of the housing being wall-facing when the thermostat is wall-mounted, the second end of the housing being user-facing when the thermostat is wall-mounted;
a user-interface component that is disposed proximate the second end of the housing and that is configured to receive user input; and
an electronic display that is disposed proximate the second end of the housing;
the thermostat being configured such that;
the electronic display displays a plurality of background tick marks, a setpoint tick mark representing a setpoint temperature of the thermostat, and an ambient temperature tick mark representing an ambient temperature, wherein each of the setpoint tick mark and the ambient temperature tick mark is more prominent than the plurality of background tick marks, wherein the setpoint temperature is dynamically changeable according to the user input;
the electronic display displays a numerical representation of the setpoint temperature;
the electronic display displays a plurality of user-selectable menu options, wherein respective ones of the user-selectable menu options are selectively highlighted according to the user input; and
the electronic display displays an animated tick-sweep that extends between the setpoint tick mark and the ambient temperature tick mark, wherein the animated tick-sweep indicates that the thermostat is calling for heating or cooling from the HVAC system.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A user-friendly programmable thermostat is described that includes a body having a central electronic display surrounded by a ring that can be rotated and pressed inwardly to provide user input in a simple and elegant fashion. The current temperature and setpoint temperature are graphically displayed as prominent tick marks over a range of background tick marks on the electronic display. Different colors can be displayed to indicate currently active HVAC functions, and different intensities of colors can be displayed to indicate an amount of heating or cooling required to reach a target temperature. The setpoint temperature for the device can be altered by user rotation of the rotatable ring, and the programmed schedule can be displayed to the user and altered by the user by virtue of rotations and inward pressings of the ring. Initial device set up and installation, the viewing of device operation, the editing of various settings, and the viewing of historical energy usage information are made simple and elegant by virtue of the described form factor, display modalities, and user input modalities of the device.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A thermostat for controlling a HVAC system, comprising:
-
a housing having a first end, a second end, and a sidewall that extends between the first and second ends, the first end of the housing being wall-facing when the thermostat is wall-mounted, the second end of the housing being user-facing when the thermostat is wall-mounted; a user-interface component that is disposed proximate the second end of the housing and that is configured to receive user input; and an electronic display that is disposed proximate the second end of the housing; the thermostat being configured such that; the electronic display displays a plurality of background tick marks, a setpoint tick mark representing a setpoint temperature of the thermostat, and an ambient temperature tick mark representing an ambient temperature, wherein each of the setpoint tick mark and the ambient temperature tick mark is more prominent than the plurality of background tick marks, wherein the setpoint temperature is dynamically changeable according to the user input; the electronic display displays a numerical representation of the setpoint temperature; the electronic display displays a plurality of user-selectable menu options, wherein respective ones of the user-selectable menu options are selectively highlighted according to the user input; and the electronic display displays an animated tick-sweep that extends between the setpoint tick mark and the ambient temperature tick mark, wherein the animated tick-sweep indicates that the thermostat is calling for heating or cooling from the HVAC system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A thermostat for controlling a HVAC system, comprising:
-
a housing having a first end, a second end, and a sidewall that extends between the first and second ends, the first end of the housing being wall-facing when the thermostat is wall-mounted, the second end of the housing being user-facing when the thermostat is wall-mounted; a user-interface component that is disposed proximate the second end of the housing and that is configured to track a user-input motion; and an electronic display that is disposed proximate the second end of the housing; the thermostat being configured such that; the electronic display displays a plurality of background tick marks, a setpoint tick mark representing a setpoint temperature of the thermostat, and an ambient temperature tick mark representing an ambient temperature, wherein each of the setpoint tick mark and the ambient temperature tick mark is more prominent than the plurality of background tick marks, wherein the setpoint temperature is dynamically changeable according to the user-input motion tracked by the user-interface component; the electronic display displays a red or orange color when the thermostat is calling for heating; the electronic display displays a bluish color when the thermostat is calling for cooling; the electronic display displays a plurality of user-selectable menu options, wherein respective ones of the user-selectable menu options are selectively highlighted according to the user-input motion tracked by the user-interface component; and the electronic display displays an animated tick-sweep that extends between the setpoint tick mark and the ambient temperature tick mark, wherein the animated tick-sweep indicates that the thermostat is calling for heating or cooling from the HVAC system. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification