Power-preserving communications architecture with long-polling persistent cloud channel for wireless network-connected thermostat

• US 9,046,898 B2
• Filed: 05/08/2012
• Issued: 06/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Mucignat, Andrea, Steele, Oliver, Supramaniam, Senthil, Hardison, Osborne, Warren, Daniel A., Fiennes, Hugo, Dutra, Jonathan A., Bell, David, Fadell, Anthony M., Rodgers, Matthew L., Smith, Ian C., Erickson, Grant M., Satterthwaite, Edwin H., Palmer, Joseph E., Shultz, Richard J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chan, Danny
• Application Number:
  US13/466,815
• Publication Number:
  US 20120256009A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,120 Days
• Field of Search: 713/320
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/56 Remote control
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/63 Electronic processing
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2140/60 Energy consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1905 associated with tele control
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/193 sensing the temperaure in different places in thermal relationship with one or more spaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3296 by lowering the supply or operating voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/283 Processing of data at an internetworking point of a home automation network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2514 between local and global IP addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2553 Binding renewal aspects, e.g. using keep-alive messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

Provided according to one or more embodiments herein are methods, systems and related architectures for facilitating network communications between a wireless network-connected thermostat and a cloud-based management server in a manner that promotes reduced power usage and extended service life of a rechargeable battery of the thermostat, while at the same time accomplishing timely data transfer between the thermostat and the cloud-based management server for suitable and time-appropriate control of an HVAC system. The thermostat further comprises powering circuitry configured to: extract electrical power from one or more HVAC control wires in a manner that does not require a “common” wire; supply electrical power for thermostat operation; recharge the rechargeable battery (if needed) using any surplus extracted power; and discharge the rechargeable battery to assist in supplying electrical power for thermostat operation during intervals in which the extracted power alone is insufficient for thermostat operation.

Claims

1. A thermostat, comprising:

a plurality of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) connectors;

a rechargeable battery;

a battery charging circuit configured to charge the rechargeable battery at least in part by harvesting power from an HVAC system through the plurality of HVAC connectors without requiring a common wire;

a processor powered at least in part by the rechargeable battery, wherein;

the processor is configured to operate in a low-power state; and

the processor is configured to operate in a high-power state;

a wireless communication module operatively coupled to the processor and configured to;

establish and maintain wireless communications with a router, including receiving transmissions from the router;

process the transmissions from the router by discriminating between a first type of transmission and a second type of transmission, wherein;

the first type of transmission comprises keep-alive messages associated with a communication channel between a remote thermostat-controller server and the thermostat, and

the second type of transmission comprises information associated with controlling the HVAC system;

in response to identifying a transmission of the second type during a time period in which the processor is operating in the low-power state, cause the processor to transition from the low-power state to the high-power state;

whereby the processor can operate in the low-power state for an extended period of time while a Natural Address Translation (NAT) table entry in the router that is associated with said communication channel between the processor and the remote thermostat-controller server remains maintained during said extended period of time.

2. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein causing the processor to transition from the low-power state to the high-power state comprises the wireless communication module sending an interrupt to the processor.

3. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein discriminating between the first type of transmission and the second type of transmission is based at least in part on one or more entries in a filter table of the wireless communication module, wherein the one or more entries are sent from the processor to the wireless communication module.

4. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the battery charging circuit comprises:

a power extraction circuit configured to extract electrical power from one or more of the plurality of HVAC connectors up to a first level of electrical power; and

a power control circuit coupled to the power extraction circuit, the rechargeable battery, and the processor, wherein the power control circuit is configured such that;

during a first time period in which an electrical load power required by the processor is less than said first level of electrical power, the power control circuit supplies the electrical load power required by the processor and charges the rechargeable battery, if needed, using power from the power extraction circuit; and

during a second time period in which the electrical load power required by the processor is greater than said first level of electrical power, the power control circuit discharges the rechargeable battery and supplies the electrical load power required by the processor using both power from the power extraction circuit and power from the rechargeable battery.

5. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication module is configured to receive the first type of transmission according to at least a first time interval, wherein the first time interval is less than a second time interval, and wherein the second time interval is determined by a maximum time that the router is expected to allow an idle communication channel to persist.

6. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the processor operating in the low-power state requires less than 100 mW, and wherein the processor operating in the high-power state requires more than 200 mW.

7. The thermostat of claim 1, further comprising a second processor.

8. The thermostat of claim 7, further comprising, in response to identifying the transmission of the second type during the time period in which the processor is operating in the low-power state, causing, by the processor, the second processor to transition from the low-power state to the high-power state.

9. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication module operatively is further configured to:

receive transmissions through a second communication channel;

receive an indication that an energy stored in the rechargeable battery is below a threshold;

receive third transmissions through the second communication channel; and

process the third transmissions while the processor is in the low-power state based on the indication that the energy stored in the rechargeable battery is below the threshold.

10. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein transmissions are classified according to a data priority ranging from a low-priority data type to a high-priority data type, wherein the low-priority data type includes data of lesser thermostatic importance, and wherein the high-priority data type includes data of higher thermostatic importance;

and the wireless communication module is further configured to;

receive a third transmission from the remote thermostat-controller server, wherein the third transmission includes data for controlling the HVAC system; and

determine that the third transmission is classified as the low-priority data type, and that the third transmission should not require the processor to transition to the high-power state.

17. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein:

the communication channel comprises a first channel and a second channel; and

the wireless communication module is further configured to;

receive a transmission of the second type from the thermostat-controller server through the first channel; and

determine that the transmission of the second type is classified as a high-priority transmission at least in part because it was received through the first channel.

11. A method of controlling a temperature using a thermostat, the method comprising:

charging, using a battery charging circuit, a rechargeable battery at least in part by harvesting power from an HVAC system through a plurality of HVAC connectors without requiring a common wire;

powering a processor at least in part using the rechargeable battery;

establishing, using a wireless communication module, wireless communications with a router, including receiving transmissions from the router;

processing the transmissions from the router by discriminating between a first type of transmission and a second type of transmission, wherein;

the first type of transmission comprises keep-alive messages associated with a communication channel between a remote thermostat-controller server and the thermostat, and

the second type of transmission comprises information associated with controlling the HVAC system;

in response to identifying a transmission of the second type during a time period in which the processor is operating in a low-power state, causing the processor to transition from the low-power state to a high-power state;

whereby the processor can operate in the low-power state for an extended period of time while a Natural Address Translation (NAT) table entry in the router that is associated with said communication channel between the processor and the remote thermostat-controller server remains maintained during said extended period of time.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the communication channel comprises a first channel and a second channel.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a transmission of the second type from the thermostat-controller server through the first channel; and

determining that the transmission of the second type is classified as a high-priority transmission at least in part because it was received through the first channel.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising sending, to the thermostat-controller server, an indication that a power level of the rechargeable battery is below a threshold power.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein a time interval between keep-alive messages is adjusted based on the power level of the power supply.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving, from the thermostat-controller server, a second transmission of the second type through the one or more communication channels;

determining that the second transmission of the second type is classified as a high-priority transmission at least in part because the indication that the power level of the rechargeable battery was below the threshold power was sent to the thermostat-controller server; and

in response determining that the second transmission of the second type is classified as a high-priority transmission during a time period in which the processor is operating in the low-power state, causing the processor to transition from the low-power state to the high-power state.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein causing the processor to transition from the low-power state to the high-power state comprises the wireless communication module sending an interrupt to the processor.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein discriminating between the first type of transmission and the second type of transmission is based at least in part on one or more entries in a filter table of the wireless communication module, wherein the one or more entries are sent from the processor to the wireless communication module.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

during a first time period in which an electrical load power required by the processor is less than a first level of electrical power harvested from the HVAC system, supplying the electrical load power required by the processor and charging the rechargeable battery, if needed, using power harvested from the HVAC system; and

during a second time period in which the electrical load power required by the processor is greater than said first level of electrical power, discharging the rechargeable battery and supplying the electrical load power required by the processor using both power harvested from the HVAC system and power from the rechargeable battery.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein the processor operating in the low-power state requires less than 100 mW, and wherein the processor operating in the high-power state requires more than 200 mW.

22. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

in response to identifying the transmission of the second type during the time period in which the processor is operating in the low-power state, causing, by the processor, a second processor to transition from the low-power state to the high-power state.