User-friendly, network connected learning thermostat and related systems and methods

• US 9,234,668 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2012
• Issued: 01/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Fadell, Anthony Michael, Rogers, Matthew Lee, Satterthwaite, Edwin H. Jr., Smith, Ian C., Warren, Daniel Adam, Palmer, Joseph E., Honjo, Shigefumi, Erickson, Grant M., Dutra, Jonathan Alan, Fiennes, Hugo
• Primary Examiner(s): Gami, Tejal
• Assistant Examiner(s): Karim, Ziaul
• Application Number:
  US13/656,189
• Publication Number:
  US 20130173064A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,180 Days
• Field of Search: 700276-282
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/00 Control or safety arrangements
• 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 11/47 Responding to energy costs
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/50 characterised by user interfaces or communication
• 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 11/56 Remote control
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/58 using Internet communication
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/62 characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or estimation of values
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/63 Electronic processing
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/70 Control systems characterised by their outputs; Constructional details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/89 Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/00 Control inputs relating to air properties
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/10 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/10 Occupancy
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/12 Position of occupants
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/14 Activity of occupants
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2140/60 Energy consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0025 Living bodies ear thermometers G01J5/0011; detecting, measuring or recording for diagnostic purposes A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/041 : Mountings in enclosures or in a particular environment
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 1/02 : Means for indicating or recording specially adapted for thermometers
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/26 : Testing of individual semiconductor devices testing or measuring during manufacture or treatment H01L22/00; testing of photovoltaic devices H02S50/10
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 : electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/19 : characterised by the use of electric means G05D23/1393 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1902 : characterised by the use of a variable reference value
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1919 : characterised by the type of controller
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1932 : to control the temperature of a plurality of spaces
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/24 : the sensing element having a resistance varying with temperature, e.g. a thermistor
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/2454 : using photoelectric elements
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/27 : with sensing element responsive to radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/275 : with sensing element expanding, contracting, or fusing in response to changes of temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3231 : Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3265 : Power saving in display device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3287 : by switching off individual functional units in the computer system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 : Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 : Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/02 : Input arrangements using manually operated switches, e.g. using keyboards or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0202 : Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0304 : Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0362 : with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 : by opto-electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 : Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 : Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 : Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0487 : using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 : Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 : Machine learning
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 25/06 : Operating part movable both angularly and rectilinearly, the rectilinear movement being along the axis of angular movement
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 : in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 : in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/88 : Optimized components or subsystems, e.g. lighting, actively controlled glasses
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/20 : End-user application control systems

Abstract

A user-friendly, network-connected learning thermostat is described. The thermostat is made up of (1) a wall-mountable backplate that includes a low-power consuming microcontroller used for activities such as polling sensors and switching on and off the HVAC functions, and (2) separable head unit that includes a higher-power consuming microprocessor, color LCD backlit display, user input devices, and wireless communications modules. The thermostat also includes a rechargeable battery and power-stealing circuitry adapted to harvest power from HVAC triggering circuits. By maintaining the microprocessor in a “sleep” state often compared to the lower-power microcontroller, high-power consuming activities, such as learning computations, wireless network communications and interfacing with a user, can be temporarily performed by the microprocessor even though the activities use energy at a greater rate than is available from the power stealing circuitry.

Claims

1. A programmable device for controlling an HVAC system, the device comprising:

power stealing circuitry adapted to harvest up to a first power from an HVAC call relay for turning on and off an HVAC system function, the first power being less than a power level at which the call relay will turn on the HVAC system function;

a power storage medium adapted to store power harvested by the power stealing circuitry;

low-power consuming circuitry adapted and programmed to perform one or more low-power activities, wherein;

a power required to perform the one or more low-power activities and to charge the power storage medium is less than the first power; and

the one or more low-power activities include one or more activities selected from a group consisting of;

causing the high-power consuming circuitry to transition from the inactive to active states;

polling a temperature sensor;

polling an occupancy sensor;

switching on or off an HVAC function; and

power stealing; and

high-power consuming circuitry adapted and programmed to operate in an active state and an inactive state, wherein;

while operating in the inactive state, the high-power consuming circuitry uses a power that is less than the first power, and the power storage medium is charged; and

while operating in the active state, the high-power consuming circuitry performs one or more high-power activities, uses a power that is higher than the first power, and the high-power consuming circuitry uses power from the power storage medium such that the high-power consuming circuitry can temporarily operate in the active state while using more power than can be safely harvested by the power stealing circuitry without inadvertently switching the HVAC function.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the device is designed such that the high-power consuming circuitry is expected to be in the inactive state for significantly more time than in the active state, and the low-power consuming circuitry is adapted and programmed to switch the high-power consuming circuitry from the inactive to active states to perform certain activities and/or upon the occurrence of certain events.

3. A device according to claim 1 wherein the power storage medium is a rechargeable battery.

4. A device according to claim 1 wherein the one or more high-power activities include displaying graphical and textual information to a user and receiving user input.

5. A device according to claim 1 wherein the one or more high-power activities include wireless networking for communication with an internet-based server.

6. A device according to claim 1 wherein the one or more high-power activities includes using a microprocessor to perform computations to enable learning behavior of occupants and related environmental conditions based sensor and user input.

7. A device according to claim 1 wherein the high-power consuming circuitry includes a microprocessor and the low-power consuming circuitry includes a microcontroller.

8. A device according to claim 1 wherein the high-power consuming circuitry is primarily located on a head unit that includes a display for displaying graphical information to a user and one or more user input sensors for receiving user input information;

and the lower-power consuming circuitry is primarily located on a backplate that includes the power stealing circuitry.