System and method for controlling appliances and thermostat for use therewith
First Claim
1. A system for controlling operation of at least one appliance within a dwelling, comprising:
- at least one appliance having an electronic controller operable to control the at least one appliance; and
an intelligent thermostat remotely located from the at least one appliance for controlling at least a dwelling'"'"'s heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the intelligent thermostat operably coupled to the electronic controller for communications therewith to control operation of at least one of the HVAC system and the at least one appliance in response to communication between the at least one appliance and the intelligent thermostat.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An energy saving control for appliances via an intelligent thermostat is provided. This intelligent thermostat provides programmatic control over the HVAC system, and provides coordinated control over the appliances. This control over the appliances is accomplished via a communications network between the intelligent thermostat and the appliances. The appliances include occupancy sensors and transmit usage and occupancy information to the intelligent thermostat. The intelligent thermostat processes this information to determine the occupancy of the dwelling. The thermostat controls the HVAC system and the appliances according to the determined occupancy of the dwelling.
177 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for controlling operation of at least one appliance within a dwelling, comprising:
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at least one appliance having an electronic controller operable to control the at least one appliance; and
an intelligent thermostat remotely located from the at least one appliance for controlling at least a dwelling'"'"'s heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the intelligent thermostat operably coupled to the electronic controller for communications therewith to control operation of at least one of the HVAC system and the at least one appliance in response to communication between the at least one appliance and the intelligent thermostat. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of controlling at least one appliance and a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system of a dwelling, comprising the steps of:
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receiving by a thermostat user input information from the at least one appliance;
processing by the thermostat the received user input information; and
transmitting by the thermostat to at least one of the HVAC system and the at least one appliance a control signal to adjust an operational mode of the at least one HVAC system and appliance. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A thermostat for controlling a dwelling'"'"'s heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the dwelling having installed therein at least one appliance having an electronic controller operable to control the operation of the at least one appliance, the thermostat comprising;
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a user interface display;
means for communicating with the electronic controller of the at least one appliance; and
wherein the thermostat transmits an appliance vacation mode control signal to the electronic controller of the at least one appliance to initiate an appliance vacation mode within the electronic controller. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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Specification