HVAC CONTROLLER INCLUDING USER INTERACTION LOG

• US 20130060385A1
• Filed: 09/07/2011
• Published: 03/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ademco Inc. (Resideo Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Leen, Cary, Zywicki, Stan, Barton, Eric
• Granted Patent: US 8,892,223 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/276
• 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 11/39 Monitoring filter performance
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/52 Indication arrangements, e.g. displays
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/523 for displaying temperature data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/63 Electronic processing
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/64 using pre-stored data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/20 Feedback from users
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1917 using digital means

Abstract

An HVAC controller is configured to log one more user interactions into a user interaction log stored in its memory such that at least some of the user interactions may be recalled from the user interaction log and displayed on the user interface of the HVAC controller in response to a request by a user. The user may use the information contained in the user interaction log as an aid in troubleshooting an HVAC system.

Claims

1. An HVAC controller configured to control one or more HVAC components of an HVAC system, the HVAC controller comprising:

a user interface including a display, the user interface configured to accept one or more user interactions of a user of the HVAC controller during operation of the HVAC controller;

a memory;

a controller coupled to the memory and the user interface, the controller programmed to log at least some of the user interactions that are accepted by the user interface into a user interaction log stored in the memory; and

the controller further programmed to recall at least some of the user interactions from the user interaction log, and to display the recalled user interactions on the display of the user interface upon request.

2. The HVAC controller of claim 1, wherein the user interaction log includes a description of at least some of the user interactions that are logged in the user interaction log.

3. The HVAC controller of claim 1, wherein the user interaction log includes a time and/or date of at least some of the user interactions that are logged in the user interaction log.

4. The HVAC controller of claim 1, wherein at least one of the user interactions corresponds to a user'"'"'s response to an alert that is displayed by the HVAC controller on the display of the user interface.

5. The HVAC controller of claim 4, wherein the alert is a maintenance alert, and the maintenance alert allows a user to select between two or more options in response to the maintenance alert.

6. The HVAC controller of claim 5, wherein the selection of one of the two or more options corresponds to the user'"'"'s response to the maintenance alert.

7. The HVAC controller of claim 5, wherein the maintenance alert is one or more of a filter change reminder alert, a replace battery reminder alert, and an HVAC performance alert.

8. The HVAC controller of claim 1, wherein one or more of the user'"'"'s interaction that are logged into the user interaction log include a temperature set point change.

9. The HVAC controller of claim 1, wherein one or more of the user'"'"'s interaction that are logged into the user interaction log include a programmable schedule change.

10. The HVAC controller of claim 1, wherein one or more of the user'"'"'s interaction that are logged into the user interaction log include an installer setting change.

11. The HVAC controller of claim 1, wherein one or more of the user'"'"'s interaction that are logged into the user interaction log include one or more of a user initiated temperature setting change, a user initiated system/fan mode change, a fault/alert viewable by a user, a user'"'"'s response to an alert or fault, a user initiated installer setting change, a user initiated programmable schedule change, a user initiated date/time change, a user initiated indoor air quality setting change, a user initiated change that may affect indoor quality, a user preference change, a maintenance change carried out by a user.

12. The HVAC controller of claim 1, wherein the controller is programmed to indicate in the user interaction log that one or more of the user interactions were initiated from a remote location.

13. The HVAC controller of claim 1, wherein the controller is programmed to classify at least some of the user'"'"'s interactions into two or more classes.

14. The HVAC controller of claim 13, wherein the controller is programmed to allow a user to select a selected class.

15. The HVAC controller of claim 14, wherein the controller is programmed to recall at least some of the user interactions of the selected class, and to display the recalled user interactions of the selected class on the display of the user interface upon request, while not displaying at least some of the user interactions that are not classified in the selected class.

16. The HVAC controller of claim 1, wherein the HVAC controller is a thermostat that includes a temperature sensor for sensing an ambient temperature at or near the thermostat.

17. The HVAC controller of claim 1, further comprising a data port, wherein the data port facilitates downloading at least part of the user interaction log to a remote device.

18. A method of monitoring an HVAC system including one or more HVAC components that are controlled, at least in part, by an HVAC controller having a user interface including a display, a memory, and a controller, the method comprising;

accepting one or more user interactions of a user of the HVAC controller;

recording at least some of the user interactions that are accepted by the user interface into a user interaction log stored in the memory of the HVAC controller;

recalling at least some of the user interactions from the user interaction log; and

displaying the recalled user interactions on the display of the user interface.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising storing a description of at least some of the user interactions in the user interaction log.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising storing a time and/or date of at least some of the user interactions in the user interaction log.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein at least one of the user interactions corresponds to a user'"'"'s response to an alert that is displayed by the HVAC controller on the display of the user interface.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein at least one of the user interactions corresponds to making a setting change to the HVAC controller.

23. An HVAC controller configured to control one or more HVAC components of an HVAC system, the HVAC controller comprising:

a user interface including a display, the user interface configured to accept one or more setting changes to the HVAC controller;

a memory;

a controller coupled to the memory and the user interface, the controller programmed to log at least some of the setting changes into a user interaction log stored in the memory; and

the controller further programmed to recall at least some of the setting changes from the user interaction log, and to display the recalled setting changes on the display of the user interface upon request.

24. An HVAC controller configured to control one or more HVAC components of an HVAC system, the HVAC controller comprising:

a user interface including a display;

a memory;

a controller coupled to the memory and the user interface, the controller programmed to display one or more alerts on the display of the user interface, and to allow a user to select between two or more responses in response to the one or more alerts;

the controller further configured to log at least some of the alerts and the corresponding user responses into a user interaction log stored in the memory; and

the controller further programmed to recall at least some of the alerts and the corresponding user responses from the user interaction log, and to display the recalled alerts and the corresponding user responses on the display of the user interface upon request.