Patent Application
20150355371
Heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) systems are often used to control the comfort level within a building or other structure. Such HVAC systems typically include an HVAC controller that controls various HVAC components of the HVAC system in order to affect and/or control one or more environmental conditions within the building. Improvements in the hardware, the user experience, and the functionality of such systems are desirable.
This disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for controlling an HVAC system. The disclosure also relates to improvements in hardware, user experience, and functionality of an HVAC controller such as a thermostat.
In an illustrative but non-limiting example, the disclosure describes a thermostat that includes a housing having an aperture formed within the housing, and a proximity sensor that is disposed within the housing proximate the aperture. The proximity sensor may include a sense die having a first IR detector on the sense die and a second IR detector on the sense die. A lens element may be disposed in front of the sense die. The lens element may be shifted to one side to preferentially direct incident IR energy to the first IR detector at the expense of the second IR detector. An IR energy transparent element may be disposed in front of the lens element and, in some cases, may include a portion that fits into and seals the aperture in the housing. A controller may be configured to receive an electrical signal from the proximity sensor that is indicative of an approach of an individual towards the thermostat.
In another illustrative but non-limiting example, the disclosure describes an HVAC controller that includes a housing and a proximity sensor that is secured relative to the housing. The proximity sensor may have a field of view that is suitable for viewing an individual that is moving towards the HVAC controller. The proximity sensor may include a first IR detector secured relative to the housing and a second IR detector secured relative to the housing. The second IR detector may be laterally spaced from the first IR detector. The proximity sensor may also include a lens element that is disposed in front of the first IR detector and the second IR detector, the lens element may be configured to preferentially directing incident IR energy to the first IR detector at the expense of the second IR detector. A controller may be operatively coupled to the proximity sensor, and may be configured to wake up the HVAC controller in response to the proximity sensor sensing an individual moving towards the HVAC controller.
In another illustrative but non-limiting example, a proximity detector may include a first detector for detecting an energy band and a second detector for detecting the energy band, wherein the second detector laterally spaced from the first detector. A lens element may be disposed in front of the first detector and the second detector, and may preferentially directing incident energy from the energy band to the first detector at the expense of the second detector.
The preceding summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the present disclosure and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the disclosure can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.
The disclosure may be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
While the disclosure is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the disclosure to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
The following description should be read with reference to the drawings wherein like reference numerals indicate like elements within a group of figures having the same figure number. Like reference numeral will not necessarily indicate like elements across different figure numbers. The drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some of the figures, elements not believed necessary to an understanding of relationships among illustrated components may have been omitted for clarity.
All numbers are herein assumed to be modified by the term “about.” The recitation of numerical ranges by endpoints includes all numbers subsumed within that range (e.g., 1 to 5 includes 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.80, 4, and 5).
As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include the plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. As used in this specification and the appended claims, the term “or” is generally employed in its sense including “and/or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.
It is noted that references in the specification to “an embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “other embodiments”, “an illustrative embodiment”, etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is contemplated that the feature, structure, or characteristic may be applied to other embodiments whether or not explicitly described unless clearly stated to the contrary.
Within this disclosure, the terms “thermostat”, “programmable thermostat”, “WiFi enabled thermostat”, “HVAC controller”, and “device” may refer to an HVAC controller when the context makes clear that reference to the thermostat as a whole is intended. Although reference is made to a programmable thermostat in portions of the description that follows, it should be appreciated that each of those descriptions may apply to a programmable thermostat which may be expressly WiFi enabled even when the feature or features described do not expressly mention or require a communication link such as a WiFi connection.
The HVAC controller 10 may, for example, operate in accordance with a control algorithm that provides temperature set point changes, humidity set point changes, schedule changes, start and end time changes, window frost protection setting changes, operating mode changes, and/or the like. At least a portion of the control algorithm may be stored locally in the memory of the HVAC controller 10 and, in some cases, may be received from an external web service. The control algorithm (or portion thereof) stored locally in the memory of the HVAC controller 10 may in some cases be periodically updated in accordance with a predetermined schedule (e.g. once every 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, weekly, monthly, etc.), updated in response to any changes to the control algorithm (e.g. set point change) made by a user, and/or updated in response to a user's request. The updates to the control algorithm or portion of the control algorithm (e.g. set points, schedules, etc.) stored in the memory may be received from an external web service. In some cases, the control algorithm may include settings such as set points.
In some cases, the HVAC controller 10 may operate according to a first operating mode having a first temperature set point, a second operating mode having a second temperature set point, a third operating mode having a third temperature set point, and/or the like. In some cases, the first operating mode may correspond to an occupied mode and the second operating mode may correspond to an unoccupied mode. In some cases, the third operating mode may correspond to a holiday or vacation mode wherein the building or structure in which the HVAC system is located is expected to be unoccupied for an extended period of time. In other cases, the third operating mode may correspond to a sleep mode wherein the building occupants are either asleep or inactive for a period of time. These are just some examples. It will be understood that the HVAC controller 10 may be capable of operating in additional modes as necessary or desired. The number of operating modes and the operating parameter settings associated with each of the operating modes may be established locally through a local user interface 13, through a remote user device (e.g. user's cell phone) and/or through an external web service and delivered to the HVAC controller 10 where they may be stored in memory.
In some cases, the HVAC controller 10 may operate according to one or more predetermined operating parameter settings associated with a user profile for an individual user. The user profile may be stored in the memory of the HVAC controller 10 and/or may be hosted by an external web service and stored on an external web server. The user profile may include one or more user-selected settings for one or more operating modes that may be designated by the user. For example, the HVAC controller 10 may operate according to a first operating mode having a first temperature set point associated with a first user profile, a second operating mode having a second temperature set point associated with the first user profile, a third operating mode having a third temperature set point associated with the first user profile, and/or the like. In some cases, the first operating mode may correspond to an occupied mode, the second operating mode may correspond to an unoccupied mode, and the third operating mode may correspond to a vacation or extended away mode wherein the building or structure in which the HVAC system is located may be unoccupied for an extended period of time. In some cases, multiple user profiles may be associated with the HVAC controller 10.
In some cases, the HVAC controller 10 may be programmed to execute a guided set-up routine that may guide a user through configuring the HVAC controller 10 to control one or more HVAC components of their particular HVAC system. In some cases, the user may have limited knowledge about the particular HVAC system configuration. The guided set-up routine may be configured to guide a user through set-up of the HVAC controller 10 without requiring detailed knowledge of the particular HVAC system and/or without requiring the user to consult a technical manual or guide. Further details pertaining to the programming and use of the illustrative HVAC controller 10 may be found in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/914,877, filed Dec. 11, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
While the HVAC controller 10 is described with respect to a particular embodiment of HVAC controller 10, it will be appreciated that this description is illustrative only, as an HVAC controller 10 may take a variety of different physical shapes and configurations, and can include or exclude any variety of programming features.
With reference to
The proximity sensor 15 can be configured to detect the presence of a person near the HVAC controller 10. The proximity sensor 15 may operate by detecting any desired or useful energy band within the electromagnetic spectrum. An energy band may be considered as referring to energy within a particular frequency or wavelength range. In some embodiments, the proximity sensor 15 may be sensitive to the infrared (IR) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
In some embodiments, this detection may be provided by a passive infrared sensor (PIR). In some cases, the sensor may detect thermal radiation of human body (e.g. wavelength of 5-15 micrometers—infrared area [IR]), and convert it to a change of crystal capacitance, a pulse, and/or some other electrical signal that is indicative of the magnitude of detected IR radiation. In some cases, the proximity sensor 15 may include two separate detectors on a sensor die, each laterally spaced from the other. Having two spaced sensor may help detect lateral motion across the field of view of the proximity sensor 15. While IR sensors are disclosed here as one example, it is contemplated that any suitable sensor may be used, as desired.
In some instances, the controller 11 may be configured to wake up the HVAC controller 10 in response to detecting an individual moving towards the HVAC controller 10, and in some cases may be configured to not wake up the HVAC controller 10 in response to detecting an individual moving laterally with respect to the HVAC controller 10. In some cases, when the HAC controller 10 includes a display screen, waking up the HVAC controller 10 includes energizing the display screen so that the approaching individual can read information displayed on the display screen without having to first interact with the HVAC controller 10. In some instances, the controller 11 may be configured to detect the approach of the individual and wake up the HVAC controller 10 when the individual is within a threshold distance of 4 feet (or less) from the HVAC controller 10. In some cases, the threshold distance may be a programmable parameter that is referenced by the controller 11.
Additionally or in alternative to, the user interface 12 may also include one or more buttons 20a and 20b that may be provided separate from the display 14 through which the user may interact with the HVAC controller 10. In some cases, the buttons 20a, 20b may be touch sensitive capacitive buttons. In other cases, the buttons 20a, 20b may be hard, physical buttons or soft keys. It will be generally understood that the size and shape of the display as well as the number and location of the various buttons (if any) can vary.
The housing 16 may be fabricated from any suitable material. As shown in
As seen in
In some embodiments, the user interface 12 may include one or more of a display window/mask 12a (bearing the aperture 24), an adhesive layer 12b, a capacitive touch element 12c (forming a touch screen), a display gasket 12d, a display 12e, a window support and IR sensor 12f, a button light guide assembly 12g, a turning ring and code wheel 12h, a sliding ring 12i, a printed wiring board 12j (which will be referenced in subsequent drawings), a back ring 12k, a light ring 12l and a case back 12m. In some embodiments, these components in combination may be secured to a wall plate assembly 25 that includes a front plate 26 and a rear plate 28.
As noted, and in some instances, an IR energy transparent element 30 may be positioned such that it fits into and seals the aperture 24 that is formed in the display window/mask 12a, but this is not required. The IR energy transparent element 30 may form, as will be discussed, part of the proximity sensor 15 (
A sense die 32 is shown disposed on the printed wiring board 12j, and a lens 34 is shown disposed between the IR energy transparent element 30 and the sense die 32 on the printed wiring board 12j. In some embodiments, other electrical components including the controller 11 (
In some instances and in order to improve sensitivity to detecting an individual directly approaching the HVAC controller 10 while decreasing sensitivity to an individual moving laterally with respect to the HVAC controller 10, the lens 34 may be configured to preferentially direct incident energy from an energy band to the first detector 36 at the expense of the second detector 38. It will be appreciated that in some embodiments, the lens 34 may instead be configured to preferentially direct incident energy to the second detector 38 at the expense of the first detector 36. In some cases, the lens 34 may be configured to direct substantially all of the incident energy (such as incident IR energy) to the first detector 36 while directly virtually none of the incident energy (such as incident IR energy) to the second detector 38.
In some cases, the lens 34 may be configured to direct greater than 70% of the incident energy (such as incident IR energy) to the first detector 36, and/or direct less than 30% of the incident energy (such as incident IR energy) to the second detector 38. In some cases, the lens 34 may be configured to direct greater than 80% of the incident energy (such as incident IR energy) to the first detector 36, and/or direct less than 20% of the incident energy (such as incident IR energy) to the second detector 38. In some cases, the lens 34 may be configured to direct greater than 90% of the incident energy (such as incident IR energy) to the first detector 36, and/or direct less than 10% of the incident energy (such as incident IR energy) to the second detector 38. In some cases, the lens 34 may be configured to direct greater than 95% of the incident energy (such as incident IR energy) to the first detector 36, and/or direct less than 5% of the incident energy (such as incident IR energy) to the second detector 38.
In some embodiments, while the sense die 32 is illustrated as including a pair of detectors (the first detector 36 and the second detector 38), it will be appreciated that the sense die 32 can instead include any particular number of distinct detectors. For example, in some embodiments, the sense die 32 could include a total of four detectors. In an example in which the sense die 32 includes four distinct detectors, the lens 34 may be configured to preferentially direct incident energy (such as incident IR energy) to one or two of the four detectors at the expense of the remaining detectors.
In the example shown, the lens 34 may include a lens element 42 having a curved surface 44 forming a convex shape on a first side 46 of the lens 34 closest to the sense die 32, and may have a planar or substantially planar surface 48 on a second side 50 of the lens 34 closest to the IR energy transparent element 30 (when provided). In some embodiments, the curved surface 44 may have a radius of curvature that is in the range of about 1 millimeter to about 2 millimeters, 0.5 millimeter to about 4 millimeters, 0.25 millimeter to about 8 millimeters, or any other suitable dimension. In some cases, the curved surface 44 may not have a uniform radius of curvature, but rather may have a first radius of curvature over a first part of the curved surface 44 and a second radius of curvature over a second part of the curved surface 44. In some instances, at least part of the curved surface 44 may have a shape that is, for example, parabolic and/or any other suitable shape, as desired. In some cases, the lens 34 may include a leg structure 52 that helps defines a spacing between the curved surface 44 and the sense die 32.
It can be seen that in
It should be understood that this disclosure is, in many respects, only illustrative. Changes may be made in details, particularly in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of steps without exceeding the scope of the disclosure. This may include, to the extent that it is appropriate, the use of any of the features of one example embodiment in other example embodiments. The scope is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed.
