Patent Grant
8441155
The present invention generally relates to electric timers, and more particularly, to wall mountable electric timers for switching power on and off to a load.
Electric timers can be used in building or other structures to control power to a load, such as to turn power on and off to a load in accordance with a schedule or some other time parameter(s) and/or event(s). In some cases, such electric timers are programmable. There is an ongoing need for improved electric timers.
The present invention generally relates to electric timers, and more particularly, to electric timers that are capable of switching power on and off to a load. In one illustrative embodiment, an electric timer is provided for switching power to a fan between an “on” state and an “off” state. The illustrative electric timer may include a housing, at least one memory, a controller, and a user interface. The memory may store a programmable schedule, as well as one or more parameters for the electric timer. The controller may be coupled to the memory, and may control the switching of power to the fan between an “on” state and an “off” state in accordance with the programmable schedule. The user interface may be situated on the front of the housing, and may be coupled to the controller. The user interface may include a display, a first button, and a second button. In some embodiments, the controller may be programmable such that a user can program the schedule, and in some cases one or more parameters, by physically interacting with the first button and the second button. In some embodiments, the user interface may also include a third button or more buttons, as desired.
In some embodiments, the controller may be programmed to display one or more parameter setting screens for setting the one or more parameters by interacting with the first button and/or second button when the controller is initially powered up. In some cases, the controller may display a home screen of the electric timer if the controller does not detect the depression of the first button or the second button within a period of time after the one or more parameter setting screens are displayed. In some cases, for subsequent power-ups, the controller may be programmed to display the one or more parameter setting screens if the one or more parameters are not yet set, or, if the one or more parameters are set, the controller may be programmed to not display the one or more parameter setting screens upon subsequent power ups. In some cases, the one or more parameters may include a floor space parameter, a number of bedrooms parameter, and/or a fan capacity parameter.
In some embodiments, the controller may have an operating mode and a setup mode. When in the operating mode, depressing the first button may cause the controller to switch power to the fan between the “on” state and the “off” state. In some cases, when the controller is in the operating mode, depressing the second button or the third button may initiate a countdown mode that may cause the controller to switch power to the fan to the “on” state for a programmable or set period of time. In some cases, once the countdown mode is initiated, depressing the second button or the third button may adjust the programmable period of time of the countdown mode.
In some cases, the controller may switch power to the fan between an “on” state and an “off” state in accordance with a programmable schedule. In some cases, a first programmable schedule may include a cycled “on” state and “off” state. A second programmable schedule may include a daily switch “on” time and a daily switch “off” time. In some cases, a third or more programmable schedule may include cycling the fan between the “on” state and the “off” state at a rate that is dependent upon a number of bedrooms parameter, a floor size parameter, and/or a fan capacity parameter, if desired.
This summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the present invention and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the invention can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.
The invention may be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description of various illustrative embodiments of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The following description should be read with reference to the drawings wherein like reference numerals indicate like elements throughout the several views. The detailed description and drawings show several embodiments which are meant to be illustrative of the claimed invention.
In the illustrative embodiment, the electric timer 10 may include a controller 12, a user interface 14, a memory 16, and a switching component 24. The switching component 24 may switch power on and off to the load 18 according to control signals provided by the controller 12. In some illustrative embodiments, the switching component 24 may include an “on” state and an “off” state. The “on” state may pass current from the power source 20 to the load 18. The “off” state may prevent current from passing from the power source 20 to the load 18. In some embodiments, the switching component 24 may be or include a relay, a transistor, a Triac, and/or any other suitable switch device, as desired. In some cases, it is contemplated that the switching component 24 may include a number of “on” states, each with a different power output (e.g. 25% power, 50% power, 75% power, 100% power).
In the illustrative embodiment, the controller 12 may be configured to control the switch state of the switching component 24 of the electric timer 10. In some embodiments, the control of the switching component 24 may be performed in accordance with a programmable schedule, a random schedule, a predetermined factory programmed schedule and/or a manual input from a user.
Controller 12 may also be configured to control and/or set one or more operating parameters of the electronic switch 10, such as, for example, one or more programmable switching schedules, time, date, backlight configuration, daylight savings time, location (i.e. latitude, longitude), a location correction factor, units (i.e. U.S. standard, metric), a number of bedrooms in the installation, a floor size, a fan capacity, and/or any other suitable operating or other parameter, as desired. In some cases, the one or more switching schedules may be based, at least in part, on sunset and/or sunrise time parameters, as will be discussed in further detail below. In some instances, controller 12 may include a processor and an internal memory, if desired. The processor may be a microcontroller or a microprocessor, but this is not required.
In the illustrative embodiment, electric timer 10 may include at least one memory 16 connected to, or integral with, the controller 12 for storing information, such as, for example, the aforementioned one or more programmable switching schedules, time and date, backlight configuration, daylight savings time, location, a location correction factor, units (i.e. U.S. standard, metric), number of bedrooms, floor size, fan capacity, and/or other information, as desired. Memory 16 may also be configured to store any other controller settings or parameters, as desired. In the illustrative embodiment, controller 12 may store information within memory 16 and may subsequently retrieve the stored information. Memory 16 may include any suitable type of memory, such as, for example, random-access memory (RAM), read-only member (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, or any other suitable memory, as desired.
User interface 14 may be any suitable interface that is configured to display and/or solicit information as well as permit a user to enter data and/or other settings or parameters, as desired. In some cases, user interface 14 may allow a user or technician to program and/or modify one or more operational parameters or functions of electric timer 10, such as, for example, the programmable switching schedules, time, date, backlight configuration, daylight savings time, location, a location correction factor, units, number of bedrooms, floor size, fan capacity, and/or other information, as desired.
In some embodiments, the user interface 14 may include a display and one or more buttons. In some cases, the display may be a fixed segment display. However, it is contemplated that the display may be any suitable display including, for example, a touch screen display, a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, a dot matrix display, or any other suitable display, as desired. In one illustrative embodiment, the one or more button may include a first button, a second button, and a third button. The user interface 14 may be configured such that a user can program the programmable schedule and the one or more controller 12 settings by interacting with the user interface 14. In some cases, this may be accomplished by only interacting with the first button and the second button. In other cases, the controller 12 may be programmed by interacting with the first button, the second button, and the third button, if desired. More or less buttons may be provided, if desired. Also, it is contemplated that the buttons may be separate and spaced from the display and/or touch regions defined as “buttons” on a touch screen display. In some cases, the buttons may be soft buttons, which may include a button situated adjacent the display with a label or other function indicator displayed on the display adjacent the button.
In some embodiments, the controller 12 may be connected to the user interface 14 to receive and/or display one or more operational parameters to and/or from a user. In some cases, the controller 12 may be configured to program the operational parameters, such as, for example, the one or more programmable schedules, time, date, backlight configuration, daylight savings time, location, a location correction factor, units, number of bedrooms, floor size, fan capacity, and/or other parameters or settings as desired, by accepting user inputs from the first button, the second button, and/or the third button.
In the illustrative embodiment, the power source 20 may be a power supply of a building or other structure. For example, the power source 20 may be a line voltage supply of a building. In some cases, the line voltage may be 120 volts 60 Hz AC power. In this case, the power supply 20 may include two or more wires, one wire being a line voltage or “hot” and a second wire being common or neutral. However, it is contemplated that in some cases, the power supply may include one wire being a line voltage or “hot” without a second wire, if desired. Alternatively, the power source 20 may supply another voltage, such as a 24 volts 60 Hz AC power, DC power, or any other suitable voltage and/or current. In the illustrative embodiment, the electric timer 10 may include an input port 21 connected to the power source 20 and an output port 19 connected to the load 18. In some cases, the input port 21 may include a first terminal and a second terminal. The first terminal may be connected to the line voltage and the second terminal may be connected to common. However, this is merely illustrative and it is contemplated that any suitable power source 20 and/or input and output terminals of the electric timer 10 may be used, as desired.
In some embodiments, electric timer 10 may be programmed to switch power on and off to the load 18. Example loads may include, but are not limited to, lighting devices, motors, electrical appliances, fans such as bathroom fans, and/or any other suitable load, as desired. Example lighting devices may include fluorescent lights, compact fluorescent lights (CFL), electronic ballasts, sodium lamps, tungsten lights, incandescent lights, halogen lights, as well as any other suitable lighting devices. Example motors may include pumps, actuators, actuatable valves and/or dampers, and fans. In one embodiment, and as noted above, fans may include bathroom fans, kitchen fans, or any other fan as desired. In some cases, it is beneficial if the fan provides some level of ventilation to a building by, for example, blowing air from inside of a building to outside of the building, or visa-versa. More generally, it is contemplated that the load 18 may be any suitable electrical device where it may be desirable to switch power on and off.
In some embodiments, the electric timer 10 may include a power stealing block 22. Power stealing block 22 may be configured to “steal” power from the power source 20 and/or load 18 in order to power at least part of the electric timer 10. In some cases, the power stealing block 22 may be connected to the input port 21 and/or the output port 19. The power stealing block 22 may “steal” power from the input port 21 and/or the output port 19 during at least part of the time a voltage is applied to and/or between the input port 21 and/or the output port 19. In some cases, the power stealing block 22 may include a charge storing device, such as a capacitor or rechargeable battery, for storing at least some of the power stolen by the power stealing block 22. In some cases, if power is lost, the electric timer 10 may be configured to reduce power consumption. For example, the electric timer 10 may cause the display of the user interface 14 to be blank. In some cases, the electric timer 10 may shut off except for an internal clock, which may be implemented by controller 12 or elsewhere.
In some embodiments, the electric timer 10 may include an operating mode and a setup mode. When in the operating mode, the electric timer 10 may switch power to the load between the “on” state (or between the various “on” states) and the “off” state, sometimes in accordance with a programmable schedule, a random schedule, and/or a manual input from a user. In some cases, the manual input from the user may correspond to pressing one of the buttons of the user interface 14.
In some embodiments, the electric timer 10 may be configured to display one or more operating parameters on the display of the user interface 14. For example, the controller 12 may be configured to display a first operating parameter when a first button of the user interface 14 is pressed and a second operating parameter when a second button is pressed. In addition, and in some cases, the electric timer 10 may be configured to display the status of the load 18 when in the operating mode.
An illustrative setup mode may allow a user to modify one or more parameters of the electric timer 10. In some cases, the setup mode may be entered by depressing a first button. In some cases, setup mode may be entered by depressing a button for an extended period of time. In some cases, the extended period of time may be one second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds, five seconds, ten seconds, or any other period of time, as desired. When in setup mode, depressing the first, second, and/or third buttons may toggle through a plurality of screens to adjust parameters of the electric timer 10.
In some cases, such as, for example, when utilized in a building or other structure, the electric timer 30 may be configured to be mounted at least partially within a wall of the building or structure. In some installations, the electric timer 30 may be mounted in a junction box (not shown), with the back side 54 situated within and/or towards the junction box and the front side 58 facing away from the junction box. However, it is contemplated that any suitable mounting configuration and/or orientation may be used, as desired.
The illustrative electric timer 30 may include a mounting plate 46. The mounting plate 46 may assist in mounting the electric timer 30 to a wall or junction box of a building or structure. As illustrated, mounting plate 46 may include a top flange portion 49 extending from the top side 57 of the housing and a bottom flange portion 47 extending from the bottom side 59 of the housing. Bottom flange portions 47 and top flange portion 49 may each include openings, such as opening 48 and opening 50. Opening 50 may be configured to receive a screw to help secure the mounting plate 46 to a wall or a junction box in a wall of a building or structure. Opening 48 may be configured to receive a screw to mount a cover (not shown), such as a decorative wall plates. Some suitable decorative wall plates are commercially available from Leviton Manufacturing Company, located in Little Neck, N.Y., and which are sold under the trademark Decora™. In some cases, the cover may have an opening that extends around and exposes the face plate 34, but covers the remaining portion of the electric timer 30 when mounted. In this case, opening 48 may be a threaded opening to assist in holding the screw therein.
The illustrative electric timer 30 includes a display 36, a first button 38, a second button 40, and a third button 42, and an indicator 44 defining a user interface of the electric timer 30. As shown, the user interface is situated on the front side 58 of the housing, with the display 36, button 38, button 40, and button 42 all disposed within a portion of the face plate 34 of the housing. In some cases, the display 36 of the user interface may be either inset or recessed within the face plate 34 of the housing as shown. The buttons 38, 40, and/or 42 may extend or protrude out from the face plate 34 as shown. It is contemplated, however, that the display and buttons 38, 40, and 42 may be flush with the face plate 34 or have any other suitable configuration, if desired.
The front side 58 of the housing may have a surface area. As illustrated, the display 36 of the user interface may occupy an amount or percent of the surface area of the front side 58 of the housing. In some cases, the display 36 may occupy at least 25 percent of the surface area of the front side 58 of the electric timer 30. In other cases, the display 36 may occupy at least 35% of the surface area of the front side 58, at least 45% of the surface area of the front side 58, at least 55% of the surface area of the front side 58, at least 65% of the surface area of the front side 58, at least 75% of the surface area of the front side 58 or more.
In the illustrative embodiment, display 36 may be fixed-segment display, as illustrated. However, it is contemplated that display 36 may be a touch screen display, a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, a dot matrix display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), or any other suitable display, as desired. A dot matrix display is typically a LCD display that permits images such as letters, numbers, graphics, and the like to be displayed anywhere on the LCD, rather than being confined to predetermined fixed segments or locations, such as is the case with a fixed segment LCD.
The indicator 44 may indicate the status (“on” or “off”) of the load. As illustrated, the indicator 44 may be a light, such as, for example, a light emitting diode (LED), Laser or any other suitable light source, provided in the bottom corner of the front side 58 of the face plate 34. In some cases, the indicator 44 may include a colored light, such as, for example, blue, red, green, yellow, or any other color, as desired. In some embodiments, when the load 18 is on, the light of indicator 44 may be on and, when the load 18 is off, the light of indicator 44 may be off. In some cases, the indicator 44 may be configured to flash according to the status of the load. For example, the indicator 44 may flash at an interval if the load 18 is on. In other examples, it is contemplated that the flashing of the indicator 44 may indicate the status of the load 18. If the indicator is flashing, the load may be on and if the indicator 44 is on but not flashing, the load may be off, or visa versa. These are only examples, and when present, it is contemplated that any suitable indicator 44 positioned at any suitable location may be used to indicate the status of the load 18, as desired.
In some embodiments, pressing button 38 may display an operating parameter of the electric timer 10 on display 36. Also, in some cases, pressing button 40 may display another operation parameter of the electric timer 10 on display 36. In one example, pressing one of button 38 or button 40 may display the sunset parameter and pressing the other of button 38 or button 40 may display the sunrise parameter. In other example, pressing one of button 38 or button 40 may display a menu for a countdown mode to temporarily override the programmable schedule and switch the load to the “on” state for a period of time referred to as a countdown time. When the menu for the countdown mode is displayed, pressing of button 38 and 40 may adjust the countdown time. In some cases, when the countdown mode is activated, pressing button 42 may exit the countdown mode. In some embodiments, when the electric timer 30 is operating in accordance with the programmable schedule, briefly pressing button 42 may override the programmable schedule and switch the load between the “on” state and “off” state. In some embodiments, the factory programming of the electric switch 10 may be restored by a user by pressing a combination of buttons. In one example, the electric switch 10 may be configured to reset the factory settings by pressing button 38 and button 42 for a period of time, such as, three seconds, four seconds, five seconds, ten seconds, or any other period of time, as desired.
The electric timer 30 may be configured to provide substantial display and/or programming functionality.
In some cases, the user may be provided access to one or more sub-menus or other menus of the electric timer 30 by depressing one or more of buttons 38, 40, and 42. For example, if one or more of buttons 38, 40, and 42 is depressed for an extended period of time, the user may enter a setup menu to setup and/or modify one or more parameters and/or settings of the electric timer 30, such as the time, date, backlight, daylight savings time setting, location (i.e. latitude, longitude, and/or correction factor), programmable schedules, modes of operations, a number of bedrooms in the installation, a floor size, a fan capacity and/or any other suitable parameter or setting, as desired. In some cases, if one or more buttons 38, 40, and 42 is depressed for the extended period of time while in the setup or other sub-menu, the electric switch 30 may return to the home screen and exit the setup mode. In some cases, an additional set of menus for setting and/or programming one or more parameters of the electric timer 30 may be displayed when the electric timer 30 is powered up. In some cases, subsequent power-ups of the electric timer 30 may continue to display the additional set of menus until all the parameters in the additional set of menus is set. The electric timer 30 may also be programmed to display these additional set of menus by pressing a combination of buttons 38, 40, or 42 when the setup mode is entered.
In the illustrative embodiment, a user may press various buttons 38, 40, and 42 of the user interface to access and/or modify various operational settings of the electric timer 30. For example, briefly pressing button 38 may display the sunset time or sunrise time, and briefly pressing button 40 may display the other of the sunset time or sunrise time during normal operation of the electric timer 30. Pressing button 40 for an extended period of time may change the operational mode of the electric timer 30 to, for example, manual or random mode. Briefly pressing button 42 may temporarily override the current programmed schedule of the electric timer 30, and manually switch the load between on or off. Pressing button 42 for an extended period of time may access a setup mode of the electric timer 30. The setup mode may allow a user to modify and/or set one or more parameters or settings of the electric timer 30. For example, the extended period of time may be one seconds, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds, five seconds, ten seconds, or any amount of time as desired. Further, it is contemplated that the extended period of time for pressing button 40 and button 42 may be the same time or a different time, as desired.
A user may toggle or scroll through the list of icons 72 by pressing button 38 and/or button 40. In one example, button 40 may be configured to move to the next icon and button 38 may be configured to move to the previous icon. When a desired icon 80, 86, 138, or 164 is selected, the user may press button 42 to accept the selection and move to the corresponding sub-menu. The selected icon 80, 86, 128, or 164 may be indicated as being selected by highlighting, flashing, color, or some other indication, as desired. As illustrated, “Mode” icon 80 has been selected as indicated by the lines above and below the “Mode” 80 text, which in the Figure shown, indicates that the Mode text is flashing. Since the “Mode” icon 80 has been selected, pressing button 42 will accept this selection and display the mode menu screen 74 of
In
Manual mode may operate the electric timer 30 as a manual switch. For example, the load may be turned on and off by manually pressing a button of the user interface, such as, for example, button 42. Automatic mode may operate the electric timer 30 in accordance with a programmable schedule. Random mode may operation the electric timer 30 in accordance with a randomly generated schedule. The randomly generated schedule may turn the load on and off at random, or non-specified, times. In some cases, the electric timer 30 may randomly generate turn “on” times and turn “off” times for the random schedule. In some embodiments, some constraints may be placed on the randomly generated “on” and “off” times, such as only generating turn “on” times and turn “off” times during the periods from sunset to midnight and from 5:00 AM until sunrise. The random mode may be used to give the impression that a building is occupied during a user absence.
In some embodiments, if during operation, the electric timer 30 is operating in automatic mode or in random mode, a temporary override may be allowed. The temporary override may be initiated by, for example, pressing button 42. The temporary override may allow the user to manually switch the electric timer 30 between the “on” state and the “off” state. For example, if the electric timer 30 is in the “on” state when the temporary override is initiated, the electric timer 30 may be switched to the “off” state. Similarly, if the electric timer 30 is in the “off” state when the temporary override is initiated, the electric timer 30 may switch to the “on” state. In either case, the status of the load displayed on display 36 may begin to flash to indicate the temporary override condition. In some cases, the temporary override may continue until the user presses button 42 again or until the next “on” state or “off” state of the current schedule.
In
Once accepted, the electric timer 30 may display the illustrative screen 90 shown in
In
Once accepted, and in the illustrative embodiment, the electric timer 30 may display the illustrative screen 104 shown in
Once accepted, and in the illustrative embodiment, the electric timer 30 may display the illustrative screen 110 shown in
In some embodiments, as illustrated on screen 110, the electric timer 30 may include icon 64 indicating a day of the week icon 64 corresponding to the selected date of the month. For illustrative purposes, icon 64 may appear as “Mo” indicating that the day of the week (e.g. Monday) corresponding to the day of the month shown by icon 114. In some cases, the controller of the electric timer 30 may determine the day of the week to be displayed according to the date input by the user. In some cases, the controller may include an algorithm, a look-up table, or other mechanism for determining the day of the week, as desired. In some cases, the day of the week icon 64 may be displayed before the date is set (i.e. before button 42 is pressed) and may change when the user changes the selected day of the month.
Example configuration options may include backlight options, automatic daylight savings time changeover, longitude coordinates, latitude coordinates, a correction factor for the longitude and latitude, as well as any other configuration options, as desired. In the illustrative embodiment, when the user presses button 42 from screen 116 of
More specifically,
Additionally, the illustrative electric timer 30 may include one or more backlight operation settings, such as, for example, the brightness, the length of time to illuminate the display 36 after a touch, and/or any other suitable backlight setting, as desired. Example brightness settings may include a high intensity setting, a low intensity setting, and an off setting. Furthermore, it is contemplated that a number of other intensity settings may be used, as desired. In some cases, the backlight may be a white backlight, a blue backlight, an orange backlight, a gray backlight, a red backlight, a yellow backlight, or any other color backlight, as desired.
As illustrated, display 36 may include “Scrn” icon 120 indicating that the electric timer 30 is ready to have the backlight setting(s) set or adjusted. Screen 118 may include an “On” icon 122 indicating that the backlight is on, an “Off” icon 126 indicating that the backlight is off, and an intensity icon 124 indicating the intensity setting of the backlight. As illustrated, the intensity setting may be set to low, as indicated by the “LO” icon 124 displayed. If a high intensity is set, icon 124 may show “HI”. In some cases, the current setting may be indicated by flashing, being highlighted, or otherwise indicated. As illustrated, the backlight setting is set to “on” with low intensity.
The user may adjust the backlight operation of the display 36 by pressing button 38 and/or button 40. In some cases, pressing buttons 38 and/or 40 may cycle through the number of backlight settings. For example, pressing button 40 may change the setting to on with high intensity, then, if pressed again, the setting may change to off, and so forth. Pressing button 38 may cycle through the settings in reverse order. However, it is contemplated that the settings may be cycled through in any order or by any button, as desired. To accept the setting, the user may simply press button 42.
Once accepted, and in the illustrative embodiment, the electric timer 30 may display the illustrative screen 130 shown in
As illustrated, screen 130 may include a “dLS” icon 132 on display 36 indicating that the electric timer 30 is ready to program the DLS setting of the electric timer. Screen 130 may also include an “On” icon 122 and an “Off” icon 126 to indicate if the DLS setting is “on” (e.g. active) or “off” (e.g. inactive). As illustrated, the “On” icon 122 may be highlighted, flash, or otherwise indicated when selected. A user may toggle between the “On” icon 122 and the “Off” icon 126 by pressing button 38 and/or button 40. To accept the setting, the user may simply press button 42. In some cases, the “dLS” icon 132 may be replaced with a “dST” icon, if desired. Furthermore, it is contemplated that any of the icons disclosed herein may be replaced with other suitable icons, as desired.
In the illustrative embodiment of
In some embodiments, the program menu may allow a user to program a number of schedules that may be used to switch the electric timer 30 between the “on” state and the “off” state. In some cases, the program menu may allow a user to select a program number, set the days of the program, and set the start time and/or stop time of the program, as well as any other program settings, as desired. In some cases, the program may be configured to switch the “on” state and/or the “off” state of the electric switch 30 according to solar time (i.e. sunset, sunrise, etc.).
As indicated above,
As illustrated, screen 154 may include the time 158. Screen 154 may also include a number of icons 160 corresponding to the days of the week. Screen 154 may also include a program icon 161 indicating the program to be set. As illustrated, the program icon shows “P01”, which may correspond to program 1. In addition, “on” icon 162 may be provided to show that the program is for turning the load “on”. Although not expressly shown, if a program is for turning a load “off”, an “Off” icon, similar to “on” icon 162, may be displayed. In some cases, icon 156 may be displayed to indicate that the displayed program is to be activated at sunset, rather than a specific set time. In some cases, an icon similar to icon 157 may be displayed to indicate that the program is to be activated at sunrise.
In operation, a user may press button 38 and/or button 40 to toggle through the list of available programs. When a desired program is displayed at icon 161, the user may press button 42 to select the program. In some embodiments, the one or more programs may be password protected. In this case, the electric switch 30 may include an additional screen (not shown) for prompting a user to enter a password. Once the password is entered, the user may be able to modify the one or more programs.
In some embodiments, a user may scroll through a list for selecting the days. In some cases, the list may include a first entry for all the days of the week, a second entry for all of the weekdays, a third entry for the weekend days, a fourth entry for Sunday, a fifth entry for Monday, a sixth entry for Tuesday, a seventh entry Wednesday, an eighth entry for Thursday, a ninth entry for Friday, and a tenth entry for Saturday. When so provided, the user may scroll through the list using button 38 and/or button 40 to select the desired day(s).
In other embodiments, a user may be able to move through the list of days 160 and individually select days. For example, one of button 38 or button 40 may move through the list and the other one of button 38 or button 40 may select the day. In either case, when the desired day(s) are selected, a user may press button 42 to accept the setting.
In some embodiments, the electric timer 30 may be programmed to turn on according to sunset and/or sunrise time. In this case, a user may scroll through the hour field until a “sunrise” and/or “sunset” parameter is displayed (not explicitly show). When the desired setting is displayed in the hour field of time display 158, the user may press button 42 to accept the settings.
In the illustrative embodiment, home screen 200 may be displayed when the bath fan controller is in the operating mode. In some cases, home screen 200 may be configured to display information on the display 36 about the operational status of the bath fan controller and/or fan. For example, the information may include the current mode of operation of the bath fan controller, the current time 202, the current day of the week, the current program, the status of the fan, and/or other operational information, as desired. In the illustrative embodiment, the home screen 200 displays icon 204 indicating that the current mode of operation is automatic, the current time 202 is “12:00” A.M., and the status of the fan is off, as indicated by “Off” icon 206.
In the illustrative embodiment, a user may press various buttons 38, 40, and 42 of the user interface to access and/or modify various operational settings of the bath fan controller. For example, briefly pressing button 38 or button 40 may enter a countdown mode for temporary operation of the load (e.g. fan). Briefly pressing button 42 may turn the fan “on” and “off”. Pressing button 42 for an extended period of time may access a setup mode of the bath fan controller. The setup mode may allow a user to modify and/or set one or more parameters or settings of the bath fan controller. For example, the extended period of time may be one seconds, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds, five seconds, ten seconds, or any other suitable time period, as desired.
In the illustrative example, the default countdown time displayed when entering the countdown mode may be ten minutes, but this is merely illustrative. In other cases, the fan controller may store the previously set countdown time in memory 16, and display the previous countdown time as the new default time. However, it is contemplated that any desired default time may be initially displayed on screen 208, as desired. Screen 208 may also include icon 201, which is shown as an hourglass, to indicate that the countdown mode is entered. To accept the countdown time shown in icon 212, and in the illustrative embodiment, a user may press button 42.
Once the countdown time is accepted, the countdown mode may be activated and screen 214 may be displayed on display 36 as shown in
A user may toggle or scroll through the list of icons 220 by pressing button 38 and/or button 40. In one example, button 40 may be configured to move to the next icon and button 38 may be configured to move to the previous icon. When a desired icon 222, 224, 226, or 228 is selected, the user may press button 42 to accept the selection and move to the corresponding sub-menu. The selected icon 222, 224, 226, or 228 may be indicated as being selected by highlighting, flashing, color, or some other visual or aural indication, as desired. As illustrated, “Mode” icon 222 has been selected as indicated by the lines above and below the “Mode” 222 text, which in the Figure shown, indicates that the Mode text is flashing. Since the “Mode” icon 222 has been selected, pressing button 42 will accept this selection and display the mode menu screen 230 of
In
Manual mode may operate the fan controller as a manual switch. For example, the fan may be turned on and off by manually pressing a button of the user interface, such as, for example, button 42. Daily on/off program mode may turn the fan “on” and “off” once a day according to a programmed “on time” and a programmed “off time”. Customized cycle program mode may cycle between a run period where the fan is on and an idle period where the fan is off For example, if the run period is set to 10 minutes and the idle period is set to 20 minutes, the total cycle time is 30 minutes. During each 30 minute cycle, the fan will turn on for 10 minutes and the fan will turn off for 20 minutes. In some cases, the run period and the idle period may each be set between 10 minutes and 120 minutes. However, it is contemplated that shorter or longer run and idle periods may be used, if desired. In some cases, the run and idle periods may be set in time increments, such as one minute increments, two minute increments, three minute increments, five minute increments, ten minute increments, or any other suitable increment of time, as desired. ASHRAE 62.2 program mode may control the relative amount of time the fan is in the “on” state and “off” state over 60 minute cycles. For example, the fan may be in the “on” state for 20 minutes and in the “off” state for 40 minutes. The amount of time that the fan is in each state over a given 60 minute cycle may be controlled by the fan controller based on one or more parameters (e.g. floor space parameter, number of bedrooms parameter, and fan capacity parameter) entered in the bath fan controller (see, for example,
In
Once accepted, the fan controller may display the illustrative screen 252 shown in
In
Once accepted, and in the illustrative embodiment, the fan controller may display the illustrative screen 266 shown in
Once accepted, and in the illustrative embodiment, the fan controller may display the illustrative screen 272 shown in
In some embodiments, as illustrated on screen 272, the fan controller may include icon 276 indicating a day of the week corresponding to the selected date of the month. For illustrative purposes, icon 276 may appear as “Mo” indicating that the day of the week (e.g. Monday) corresponding to the day of the month shown by icon 278. In some cases, the controller of the fan controller may determine the day of the week to be displayed according to the date input by the user. In some cases, the controller may include an algorithm, a look-up table, or other mechanism for determining the day of the week, as desired. In some cases, the day of the week icon 64 may be displayed before the date is set (i.e. before button 42 is pressed) and may change when the user changes the selected day of the month.
Example configuration options may include backlight options, automatic daylight savings time changeover, as well as any other configuration options, as desired. In the illustrative embodiment, when the user presses button 42 from screen 280 of
More specifically,
As illustrated, display 36 may include “Scrn” icon 284 indicating that the fan controller is ready to have the backlight setting(s) set or adjusted. Screen 282 may include an “On” icon 286 indicating that the backlight is on, an “Off” icon 290 indicating that the backlight is off, and an intensity icon 288 indicating the intensity setting of the backlight. As illustrated, the intensity setting may be set to low, as indicated by the “LO” icon 288 displayed. If a high intensity is set, icon 288 may show “HI”. In some cases, the current setting may be indicated by flashing, being highlighted, or otherwise indicated. As illustrated, the backlight setting is set to “on” with low intensity.
The user may adjust the backlight operation of the display 36 by pressing button 38 and/or button 40. In some cases, pressing buttons 38 and/or 40 may cycle through the number of backlight settings. For example, pressing button 40 may change the setting to on with high intensity, then, if pressed again, the setting may change to off, and so forth. Pressing button 38 may cycle through the settings in reverse order. However, it is contemplated that the settings may be cycled through in any order or by any button, as desired. To accept the setting, the user may simply press button 42.
Once accepted, and in the illustrative embodiment, the fan controller may display the illustrative screen 292 shown in
As illustrated, screen 292 may include a “dSt” icon 294 on display 36 indicating that the fan controller is ready to program the daylight savings time setting of the fan controller. Screen 292 may also include an “On” icon 298 and an “Off” icon 296 to indicate if the daylight savings time setting is “on” (e.g. active) or “off” (e.g. inactive). As illustrated, the “On” icon 298 may be highlighted, flash, or otherwise indicated when selected. A user may toggle between the “On” icon 298 and the “Off” icon 296 by pressing button 38 and/or button 40. To accept the setting, the user may simply press button 42. In some cases, the “dSt” icon 294 may be replaced with a “dLS” icon, if desired. Furthermore, it is contemplated that any of the icons disclosed herein may be replaced with other suitable icons, as desired.
In the illustrative embodiment of
As illustrated, screen 302 shown in
As illustrated, screen 308 shown in
As illustrated, screen 314 shown in
As illustrated, screen 320 shown in
Once the ASHRAE parameter mode is entered, screens 324, 330, 336, 342, 348, and 354 may be displayed on display 36. In some embodiments, if at least one of buttons 38, 40, and/or 42 is not pressed within a predetermined period of time after entering the ASHRAE parameter mode, such as 30 second, 60 seconds, t 2 minutes, or any other time, the bath fan controller may exit the ASHRAE parameter mode and return to the home screen.
As illustrated in
As illustrated, screen 330 may include a “bEd” icon 332 on display 36, indicating that the fan controller is ready to set the number of bedrooms in the installation. Screen 326 may also include an icon 334 for displaying the number of bedrooms. As illustrated, icon 334 displays “2”, indicating that the current installation has two bedrooms. To set the number of bedrooms, the user may press button 38 and/or button 40 until icon 334 displays the desired number of bedrooms. In some cases, the user may press button 38 to increase the number of icon 334 corresponding to the number of bedrooms and the user presses button 40 to decrease the number of icon 334 corresponding to the number of bedrooms. When the desired number of bedrooms is displayed in icon 334, the user may press button 42 to accept the setting.
Once the number of bedrooms is accepted, and in the illustrative embodiment, the fan controller may display the illustrative screen 336 shown in
Once the floor size is accepted, the fan controller may display the illustrative screen 342 shown in
As illustrated, screen 348 may include an icon 350 on display 36 indicating whether the fan controller passes or fails the ASHRAE 62.2 standard. Screen 348 may also include icon 352 indicating the percentage of time the fan will run based on the ASHRAE settings. If icon 352 displays a value greater than 100, which indicates that the fan would have to run greater than 100 percent of the time, icon 350 will display “FAIL”. As illustrated, the bath fan controller displays “PASS” in icon 350 indicating that the fan controller meets the ASHRAE 62.2 standards, and “81” in icon 352 indicating that the fan will operate 81 percent of the time based on the programmed ASHRAE parameters. The user may press button 42 to exit the ASHRAE 62.2 test. After the ASHRAE 62.2 test, the fan controller may display home screen 200 if the installation mode was entered at first power-up, or the fan controller may display setup menu screens 218, 244, 280, or 300 of
In some embodiments, electric timer 30 may be configured and/or programmed to switch power between the “on” state and the “off” state for multiple loads. For example, the electric timer may be programmed to switch power to a light between the “on” state and the “off” state, as described above, and, at the same time, be programmed to switch power to a fan between the “on” state (sometimes between a number of different “on” states of different fan speeds) and the “off” state, as described above. In some embodiments, the electric timer 30 may be programmed to switch between a “lighting” mode for controlling the power to the light and a “ventilation” mode for controlling the power to the fan. In some cases, the electric timer 30 may switch between the “lighting” mode and the “ventilation” mode by pressing one or more of buttons 38, 40, and 42 or by pressing a sequence of one or more buttons 38, 40, and 42. In one example, the electric timer 30 may have a default mode of, for example, the “lighting” mode. When in the “lighting” mode, a user may be able to control the lighting, as discussed above. When a user presses one or more of buttons 38, 40, and 42, the electric timer 30 may switch to “ventilation” mode. In the “ventilation” mode, a user may be able to control the ventilation, as discussed above. In some cases, if the electric timer 30 does not detect user interaction with the one or more buttons 38, 40, and 42 after a period of timer, such as one minute, two minutes, three minutes, four minutes, five minutes, or any other suitable length of time, the electric time 30 may return to the default mode. In other embodiments, electric timer 30 may have dedicated buttons for operating the different loads (e.g. fan, lights, etc.). For example, button 42 may be configured to switch the light between the “on” state and the “off” state and one or more of buttons 38 and 40 may be configured to switch the fan between the “on” state and the “off” state. However, it is contemplated that other buttons may be used, this is just one example.
Furthermore, it is contemplated that the electric timer 30 may be configured and/or programmed to control one or more loads in any suitable manner. Further, it is to be understood that the foregoing disclosure is merely illustrative and it is contemplated that features of the various embodiments and Figures may be mixed and matched, as desired.
Having thus described the preferred embodiments of the present invention, those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that yet other embodiments may be made and used within the scope of the claims hereto attached. Numerous advantages of the invention covered by this document have been set forth in the foregoing description. It will be understood, however, that this disclosure is, in many respect, only illustrative. Changes may be made in details, particularly in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts without exceeding the scope of the invention. The invention's scope is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/182,069, filed Jul. 29, 2008, entitled “ELECTRIC TIMER FOR CONTROLLING POWER TO A LOAD”, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20100140070 A1 | Jun 2010 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12182069 | Jul 2008 | US |
| Child | 12608785 | US |
