Self-programmable thermostat
Contents
1. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0019 FIG 1 is a schematic view of a thermostat control ling a temperature conditioning unit 0020 FIG 2 shows an example of algorithm for a thermo stat method 0021 FIG 3 shows another example of algorithm for a thermostat method DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 0022 FIGS 1 3 show a thermostat 10 and a method for automatically programming it Initially thermostat 10 might first appear and function as an ordinary manual thermostat Thermostat 10 for instance includes a manual input 12 e g dial keyboard pointer slider potentiometer pushbutton etc that enables a user to manually enter a manual setpoint 14 that defines a manually entered setpoint temperature 16 The manually entered setpoint temperature 16 is the user s desired target temperature for a comfort zone 18 Upon com paring the manually entered setpoint temperature 16 to the comfort zone s actual temperature 20 provided by a tempera ture sensor 22 thermostat 10 provides an output signal 24 that controls a temperature conditioning unit 26 e g fur nace heater air conditioner heat pump etc to heat or cool US 2008 0191045 Al air 28 in comfort zone 18 thereby urging the comfort zone s actual temperature 20 toward the manually entered setpoint temperature 16 0023 A digital display 30 can be used for displaying the current setpoint temperature and another display 32 can show the comf2. 36 encoun ters another recognized pattern or upon receiving another manual setpoint at which point unit 26 is controlled in response thereto 0053 Referring to the example of FIG 3 a block 62 represents microprocessor 36 receiving temperature feed back signal 20 from temperature sensor 22 Sensor 22 could be incorporated within thermostat 10 as shown in FIG 1 or sensor 22 could be installed at some other location to sense the room temperature such as the temperature of air 28 enter ing unit 26 Blocks 64 66 and 68 represent microprocessor 36 sequentially receiving first second and third manually entered setpoint temperatures Blocks 70 72 and 74 represent thermostat 10 controlling unit 26 at sequential periods in response to a differential between the comfort zone tempera ture and the various manually entered setpoint temperatures Block 76 represents assigning timestamps 48 to the various US 2008 0191045 Al manually entered setpoint temperatures A block 78 repre sents microprocessor 36 identifying a learned setpoint tem perature based on the first second and third manually entered setpoint temperatures In block 80 thermostat 10 controls unit 26 in response to a differential between the learned setpoint temperature and the actual zone temperature Block 82 represents subsequently receiving a fourth manually entered setpoint temperature Block 84 represents controlling unit 26 in response to the fourth manually entered setpo
3. of claim 12 further compris ing after controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the learned setpoint temperature receiving a fourth manually entered setpoint temperature and after receiving the fourth manually entered setpoint tem perature controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the fourth manually entered setpoint tem perature 17 The thermostat method of claim 16 further compris ing after controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the fourth manually entered setpoint tem perature returning to controlling the temperature con ditioning unit in response to the learned setpoint tem perature 18 A thermostat for a temperature conditioning unit wherein the temperature conditioning unit helps control a temperature of a comfort zone the thermostat comprising Aug 14 2008 a microprocessor a manual input in communication with the microprocessor for manually entering a plurality of setpoint tempera tures at a plurality of times over a first period a temperature sensor in heat transfer relationship with the comfort zone the temperature sensor being in commu nication with the microprocessor to provide the micro processor with an indication of the temperature of the comfort zone an output that places the microprocessor in communication with the temperature conditioning unit the output changes during the first period in response to a deviation between the temperat
4. pattern associated with the learned daily setpoint tem perature is erased from the memory 0038 Rule 9 Ifa learned weekly setpoint temperature is activated at a learned time and is soon interrupted by the user entering a manually entered setpoint temperature within a predetermined short period e g within 3 hours and this occurs a predetermined number of weeks in a row e g 2 weeks in a row as indicated by an additional counter that counts the cycles of the X value of timer 38 then the weekly pattern associated with the learned weekly setpoint tempera ture is erased from the memory 0039 Rule 10 Actuating switch 34 between cool and heat or actuating some other manual input can be used for erasing the entire collection of learned data 0040 Rules 1 10 might be summarized more concisely but perhaps less accurately as follows 0041 1 Assign timestamps 48 to every manually entered setpoint temperature 0042 2 Identify daily patterns similar manually entered temperatures and times 3 days in a row and identify weekly patterns 3 similar manually entered temperatures and times each spaced a week apart Based on those patterns establish learned setpoint temperatures and leaned times 0043 3 Activate learned daily setpoints at learned times and keep them active until the activated setpoint is overridden by the next learned setpoint or interrupted by a manually entered setpoint 0044 4 Activate learned weekly setp
5. plurality of manual setpoints that are manually entered over a period each of the manual setpoints pro vides a manually entered setpoint temperature that becomes associated with a timestamp thus the plurality of manual setpoints provides a plurality of manually entered setpoint temperatures that become associated with a plurality of timestamps controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the plurality of manually entered setpoint tempera tures recognizing a pattern associated with the plurality of manual setpoints based on the pattern establishing a learned setpoint tem perature and a learned time and some time after controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the plurality of manually entered setpoint temperatures automatically switching to con trolling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the learned setpoint temperature and the learned time 3 The thermostat method of claim 2 wherein the plurality of manually entered setpoint temperatures includes a series of setpoint temperatures each of which are within a predeter mined deviation of each other 4 The thermostat method of claim 2 wherein the plurality of timestamps includes a series of timestamps each of which are within a predetermined deviation of each other Aug 14 2008 5 The thermostat method of claim 4 wherein the series of timestamps are on a 24 hour base 6 The thermostat method of claim 4 wherein the s
6. 48 are stored in memory for later reference 0029 Rule 2 Microprocessor 36 looks for patterns of manual setpoints wherein each manual setpoint has a manu ally entered setpoint temperature and a timestamp 48 0030 A daily pattern for example can be defined as three consecutive days in which a series of three similar manually entered setpoint temperatures e g within a predetermined deviation of perhaps 2 F or 5 F of each other have similar daily timestamps 48 e g each Y value being within a prede termined deviation of perhaps 90 minutes of each other Such a daily pattern can then be assigned a learned daily setpoint temperature and a learned daily time The learned daily setpoint temperature could be for example an average of the three similar manually entered setpoints temperatures or the most recent of the three The learned daily time could be for example 20 minutes before the three similar times tamps For future automatic settings the 20 minutes might allow microprocessor 36 to activate the learned daily setpoint temperature before the user would normally want to adjust the setpoint 0031 weekly pattern for example can be defined as three manual setpoints spaced 7 days apart e g same X value after one complete 7 day cycle in which three simi lar manually entered setpoint temperatures e g within 2 F or 5 F of each other have similar timestamps 48 e g each Y value being within 90 minutes of
7. TEMPCOND UNIT IN RESPONSE TO SECOND MANUALLY ENTERED SETPT TEMP RECEIVE THIRD MANUALLY ENTERED SETPT TEMP CONTROL TEMPCOND UNIT IN RESPONSE TO THIRD MANUALLY ENTERED SETPT TEMP ASSIGNING TIMESTAMPS TO THE FIRST SECOND AND THIRD MANUALLY ENTERED TEMPS IDENTIFY A LEARNED SETPT TEMP BASED ON FIRST SECOND AND THIRD MANUALLY ENTERED TEMPS CONTROLLING TEMP COND UNIT IN RESPONSE TO THE LEARNED SETPT TEMP RECEIVE FOURTH MANUALLY ENTERED SETPT TEMP _ CONTROL TEMPCOND UNIT IN RESPONSE TO FOURTH MANUALLY ENTERED SETPT TEMP SUBSEQUENTLY ONCE AGAIN CONTROLLING TEMP COND UNIT IN RESPONSE TO THE LEARNED SETPT TEMP FIG 3 62 42 64 70 66 72 68 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 US 2008 0191045 Al SELF PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTAT FIELD OF THE INVENTION 0001 The subject invention generally pertains to a room or building thermostat and more specifically to a method of programming such a thermostat wherein the thermostat can in effect program itself for various daily and or weekly tem perature setpoints upon learning temperature setting habits of a user and can do such self programming without ever know ing the actual time of day or day of the week BACKGROUND OF RELATED ART 0002 Furnaces air conditioners and other types of tem perature conditioning units typically respond to a thermostat in controlling the air temperature of a room or other area of a buildin
8. as United States US 20080191045 1 a2 Patent Application Publication o Pub No US 2008 0191045 1 Harter 43 Pub Date Aug 14 2008 54 SELF PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTAT 82 USC sneren 236 91 D 236 46 R 57 ABSTRACT 76 Inventor Robert J Harter La Crosse WI US A hybrid manual programmable thermostat for a furnace or air conditioner offers the simplicity of a manual thermostat Correspondence Address while providing the convenience and versatility of a program ROBERT J HARTER mable one Initially the hybrid thermostat appears to function 4233 CLIFFSIDE DRIVE as an ordinary manual thermostat however it privately LA CROSSE WI 54601 observes and learns a user s manual temperature setting hab its and eventually programs itself accordingly If users begin 21 Appl No 11 704 414 changing their preferred temperature settings due to seasonal changes or other reasons the thermostat continues learning 22 Filed Feb 9 2007 and will adapt to those changes as well For ease of use the thermostat does not require onscreen menu as a user inter ae face In some embodiments the thermostat can effectively Publication Classification program itself for temperature settings that are set to occur at 51 Int Cl particular times daily or just on weekends yet the user is not G05D 23 00 2006 01 required to enter the time of day or the day of the week 34 22 20 THERMOSTAT ee 48 14 Coo
9. de to a programmed mode when it recognizes an opportunity to do so 0012 Another object of some embodiments is to provide a thermostat that automatically switches from a programmed mode to a manual mode simply by manually entering a new desired setpoint temperature 0013 Another object of some embodiments is to observe and learn the temperature setting habits of a user and auto matically program a thermostat accordingly 0014 Another object of some embodiments is to provide a self programming thermostat that not only learns a user s temperature setting habits but if those habits or temperature setting preferences change over time the thermostat contin ues learning and will adapt to the new habits and setpoints as well 0015 Another object of some embodiments is to minimize the number of inputs and actions from which a user can choose thereby simplifying the use of a thermostat 0016 Another object of some embodiments is to provide thermostat that can effectively self program virtually an infi nite number of setpoint temperatures and times rather than be limited to a select few number of preprogrammed settings 0017 Another object of some embodiments is to provide simple way of clearing programmed settings of a thermostat 0018 One or more of these and or other objects of the invention are provided by a thermostat and method that learns the manual temperature setting habits of a user and programs itself accordingly
10. each other Such a weekly pattern can then be assigned a learned weekly setpoint temperature and a learned weekly time The learned weekly setpoint temperature could be for example an average of the three similar manually entered setpoints temperatures spaced 7 days apart or the most recent of the three The learned time could be for example 20 minutes before the three similar timestamps 0032 Rule 3 Automatically activate a learned daily set point temperature at its learned daily time at its assigned Y value whereby thermostat 10 controls unit 26 based on the learned daily setpoint temperature and continues to do so until interrupted by one of the following a the user enters a manually entered setpoint temperature adjusts the temp b another learned daily setpoint temperature becomes activated at its learned daily time or c a learned weekly setpoint temperature becomes activated at its learned weekly time 0033 Rule 4 Automatically activate a learned weekly setpoint temperature at its learned weekly time at its assigned X and Y values whereby thermostat 10 controls unit 26 based on the learned weekly setpoint temperature and US 2008 0191045 Al continues to do so until interrupted by one of the following a the user enters a manually entered setpoint temperature ad justs the temp b a learned daily setpoint temperature becomes activated at its learned daily time but see Rule 5 or c another learned weekly setp
11. em perature is based are associated with a corresponding plural ity of timestamps that all lie within predetermined timestamp range of each other based on a 24 hour timer
12. eries of timestamps are on a 168 hour base 7 The thermostat method of claim 2 further comprising recognizing a plurality of patterns associated with the plural ity of manual setpoints wherein the plurality of patterns includes a daily pattern and a weekly pattern based on the daily pattern establishing a learned daily setpoint temperature and a learned daily time based on the weekly pattern establishing a learned weekly setpoint temperature and a learned weekly time and controlling the temperature conditioning unit selectively in response to the learned daily setpoint temperature at the learned daily time and the learned weekly setpoint tem perature at the learned weekly time 8 The thermostat method of claim 7 wherein the learned weekly setpoint temperature at the learned weekly time over rides the learned daily setpoint temperature at the learned daily time if the learned weekly time and the learned daily time are within a predetermined time of each other 9 The thermostat method of claim 2 further comprising while controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the learned setpoint temperature receiving an additional manually entered setpoint temperature and subsequently controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the additional manually entered setpoint temperature thereby interrupting the step of controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the learned setpoint tempera
13. g Currently thermostats can be classified as manual or programmable 0003 With manual thermostats a user manually enters into the thermostat a desired temperature setpoint and then thermostat controls the temperature conditioning unit to bring the actual room temperature to that setpoint At various times throughout the day the user might adjust the setpoint for comfort or to save energy When operating in a heating mode for instance a user might lower the setpoint temperature at night and raise it again in the morning Although manual thermostats are easy to understand and use having to repeat edly adjust the setpoint manually can be a nuisance 0004 Programmable thermostats on the other hand can be programmed to automatically adjust the setpoint to prede termined temperatures at specified times The specified times can initiate automatic setpoint adjustments that occur daily such as on Monday Friday or the adjustments might occur weekly on days such as every Saturday or Sunday For a given day programmable thermostats can also be programmed to make multiple setpoint adjustments throughout the day such as at 8 00 AM and 11 00 PM on Saturday or at 6 00 AM and 10 PM on Monday through Friday Such programming how ever can be confusing as it can involve several steps includ ing 1 synchronizing the thermostat s clock with the current time of day 2 entering into the thermostat the current date or day of the week and 3 enter
14. ing various chosen days times and setpoint temperatures One or more of these steps may need to be repeated in the event of daylight savings time electrical power interruption change in user preferences and various other reasons 0005 Consequently there is a need for a thermostat that offers the simplicity of a manual thermostat while providing the convenience and versatility of a programmed thermostat SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 0006 An object of the invention is to provide an essen tially self programmable thermostat for people that do not enjoy programming conventional programmable thermo stats 0007 An object of some embodiments of the invention is to provide a programmable thermostat that does not rely on having to know the time of day thus a user does not have to enter that 0008 Another object of some embodiments is to provide a programmable thermostat with both daily and weekly occur ring settings yet the thermostat does not rely on having to know the day of the week thus a user does not have to enter that Aug 14 2008 0009 Another object of some embodiments is to provide a programmable thermostat that does not rely on onscreen menus for programming 0010 Another object of some embodiments is to provide a thermostat that effectively programs itself as it is being used as a manual thermostat 0011 Another object of some embodiments is to provide a thermostat that automatically switches from a manual mo
15. int temperature Some time after that thermostat 10 returns to controlling unit 26 in response to the learned setpoint tem perature as indicated by block 86 0054 Although the invention is described with respect to a preferred embodiment modifications thereto will be appar ent to those of ordinary skill in the art The scope of the invention therefore is to be determined by reference to the following claims 1 A thermostat method for a temperature conditioning unit wherein the temperature conditioning unit helps control a temperature of a comfort zone the method comprising running a timer irrespective of an actual time of day receiving a manually entered setpoint temperature at a point in time using the timer as a basis for assigning a timestamp to the manually entered setpoint temperature during a first period after the point in time controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the manu ally entered setpoint temperature determining a learned setpoint temperature based on the manually entered setpoint temperature based on the timestamp initiating a second period after the first period and during the second period controlling the temperature con ditioning unit in response to the learned setpoint tem perature 2 A thermostat method for a temperature conditioning unit wherein the temperature conditioning unit helps control a temperature of a comfort zone the method comprising receiving a
16. l Actual Temp 32 12 10 p Setpoint ee ee 30 28 26 TEMPERATURE CONDITIONING UNIT 24 28 Patent Application Publication Aug 14 2008 Sheet 1 of 3 FIG 1 TEMPERATURE CONDITIONING UNIT US 2008 0191045 1 Patent Application Publication Aug 14 2008 Sheet 2 of 3 US 2008 0191045 1 2 E TIMER RECEIVE MANUAL MANUAL 24 hr and or 7 day SETPOINTS SETPOINTS MANUALLY ENTERED SETPT TEMP ASSOCIATED WITH 24 hr and or 7 DAY TIMESTAMP COMPARE MANUAL SETPOINT TEMP ACTUAL TO ACTUAL TEMP AND COMFORT ZONE CONTROL TEMP COND TEMPERATRURE UNIT ACCORDINGLY RECOGNIZE PATTERN WITH THE MANUALLY ENTERED SETPT TEMPS AND THEIR CORRESPONDING TIMESTAMPS BASED ON PATTERN AND OR ONE OR MORE OF RULES 1 10 ESTABLISH LEARNED SETPOINT TEMP AND A LEARNED TIME DURING A FIRST PERIOD STARTING AT THE LEARNED TIME COMPARE THE LEARNED SETPOINT TEMP TO THE ACTUAL TEMP AND CONTROL THE TEMP COND UNIT ACCORDINGLY UPON ENCOUNTERING ANOTHER RECOGNIZED PATTERN OR UPON RECIEVING ANOTHER MANUAL SETPOINT AND OR APPLYING ONE OR MORE OF RULES 1 10 INITIATING A SECOND PERIOD IN WHICH THE TEMP COND UNIT IS CONTROLLED ACCORDINGLY Patent Application Publication Aug 14 2008 Sheet 3 of 3 US 2008 0191045 1 SENSING THE ACTUAL ZONE TEMP RECEIVE FIRST MANUALLY ENTERED SETPT TEMP CONTROL TEMPCOND UNIT IN RESPONSE TO FIRST MANUALLY ENTERED SETPT TEMP RECEIVE SECOND MANUALLY ENTERED SETPT TEMP CONTROL
17. ly or 24 hour timer Timer 38 however is not neces sarily synchronized with the actual time of day or day of the week Such synchronization preferably is not required oth erwise the user might have to manually enter or set the correct time and day of the week 0027 Inthe case where timer 36 comprises a weekly timer in the form of a 7 increment counter triggered by each 24 hour cycle of a daily timer timestamp 48 might a be a Aug 14 2008 two part number such as X and Y wherein X cycles from 1 to 7 as a weekly timer and Y cycles from 0 to 1 439 1 440 minutes per day as a daily timer In this case a timestamp 48 might be 3 and 700 to indicate 700 minutes elapsed during day 3 Whether day 3 represents Monday Tuesday or some other day is immaterial and whether the 700 minute repre sents 2 00 AM 7 30 PM or some other time of day is also immaterial One way to provide a programmable thermostat that can operate independently of an actual time of day clock and to provide thermostat 10 with other functionality micro processor 36 can be firmware programmed to execute one or more of the following rules 0028 Rule 1 Upon receiving a manually entered set point temperature microprocessor assigns an X and Y timestamp 48 to the manually entered setpoint temperature wherein the timestamp indicates when the setpoint tempera ture was entered relative to other timestamps The manually entered setpoint temperature and its timestamp
18. ned data 0051 To execute one or more of the aforementioned rules microprocessor 36 could operate under the control of various algorithms such as for example an algorithm 40 of FIG 2 an algorithm 42 of FIG 3 a combination of algorithms 40 and 42 or another algorithm altogether 0052 Referring to the example of FIG 2 a block 44 represents receiving a plurality of manual setpoints 14 that are manually entered at various points in time over a period each of the manual setpoints 14 provides a manually entered set point temperature 16 that in block 46 becomes associated with a timestamp 48 via timer 38 Timer 38 can run indepen dently or irrespective of the actual time of day and irrespec tive of the actual day of the week In blocks 50 and 52 thermostat 10 controls unit 26 as a function of a differential between the actual zone temperature 20 anda currently active manually entered setpoint In block 54 microprocessor 36 recognizes patterns with the manually entered setpoints Based on the patterns in block 56 microprocessor 10 estab lishes learned setpoint temperatures and corresponding learned times In block 58 some time after controlling unit 26 in response to the manually entered setpoint temperatures block 50 automatically switching at the learned time to controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the learned setpoint temperature This might continue until interrupted by block 60 wherein microprocessor
19. oint temperature becomes acti vated at its learned weekly time 0034 Rule 5 A weekly pattern overrides or supersedes daily pattern if their assigned timestamps 48 are within a predetermined period of each other such as for example within three hours of each other based on the Y values of their timestamps 0035 Rule 6 Ifa user enters a manually entered setpoint temperature thermostat 10 controls unit 26 in response to the manually entered setpoint temperature and continues to do so until interrupted by one of the following a the user enters another manually entered setpoint temperature adjusts the temp b a learned daily setpoint temperature becomes acti vated at its learned daily time or c a learned weekly setpoint temperature becomes activated at its learned weekly time 0036 Rule 7 If a user enters two manually entered set point temperatures within a predetermined short period of each other e g within 90 minutes of each other the first of the two manual entries is disregarded as being erroneous and is not to be considered as part of any learned pattern 0037 Rule 8 If a learned daily setpoint temperature is activated at a learned time and is soon interrupted by the user entering a manually entered setpoint temperature within a predetermined short period e g within 3 hours and this occurs a predetermined number of days in a row e g 3 days in a row as indicated by the X value of timer 38 then the daily
20. oints at learned times and keep them active until the activated setpoint is overridden by the next learned setpoint or interrupted by a manually entered setpoint 0045 5 Ifa learned weekly setpoint and a learned daily setpoint are set to occur near the same time on given day the Aug 14 2008 learned daily setpoint is ignored on that day because the day is probably a Saturday or Sunday 0046 6 Whenever the user manually adjusts the tempera ture the manually entered setpoint temperature always over rides the currently active setting The manually entered set point remains active until it is interrupted by a subsequent manual or learned setting 0047 7 Ifauser repeatedly tweaks or adjusts the tempera ture within a short period only the last manually entered setpoint temperature is used for learning purposes as the other settings are assumed to be trial and error mistakes by the user 0048 8 Ifa user has to repeatedly correct a learned daily setpoint e g correct it 3 days in a row that learned setpoint is deleted and no longer used Using 3 days as the cutoff avoids deleting a good daily pattern due to 2 days of correc tions over a weekend 0049 9 If a user has to repeatedly correct a learned weekly setpoint e g correct it 2 weeks in a row that learned setpoint is deleted and no longer used 0050 10 Switching between heating and cooling for at least 5 seconds or so deletes the entire collection of lear
21. ort zone s actual temperature Displays 30 and 32 could be combined into a single display unit wherein the combined display unit could show the current setpoint tem perature and the zone s actual temperature simultaneously or in an alternating manner Thermostat 10 might also include a selector switch 34 for manually switching between a cooling mode for cooling zone 18 anda heating mode for heating zone 18 Items such as display 30 selector switch 34 manual input 12 and output 24 are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art One or more of such items for example can be found in a model CT8775C manual thermostat provided by Honey well Inc of Golden Valley Minn 0024 Although thermostat 10 can operate as a regular manual thermostat by controlling unit 26 as a function of a differential between the actual zone temperature and the most recently entered manual setpoint temperature thermostat 10 includes a microprocessor 36 e g computer CPU firmware programmed chip etc that enables thermostat 10 to observe the temperature setting habits of the user e g person that manually enters setpoint temperatures into the thermostat After several manual settings microprocessor 36 may learn the user s preferred setpoint temperatures and timestamps them with the aide of a timer 38 With one or more learned setpoint temperatures and timestamps 48 microprocessor 36 can begin anticipating the user s desires and automatically adju
22. st the thermostat s setpoint temperatures accordingly Thus thermostat 10 can begin operating as a programmed thermostat rather than just a manual one 0025 Since a user s desired temperature setpoints and time preferences might change for various reasons any manually entered setpoint temperature 16 overrides the cur rently active setpoint temperature regardless of whether the current setpoint temperature was manually entered or was automatically activated as a learned setpoint temperature Once overridden another learned setpoint temperature might later be activated at a learned time to return thermostat 10 back to its programmed mode Thus thermostat 10 is some what of a hybrid manual programmable thermostat in that it can shift automatically between manual and programmed operation 0026 To assign timestamps 48 to manually entered set point temperatures timer 38 can actually comprise one or more timers and or counters In some embodiments for example timer 38 includes a continuously running daily or 24 hour timer that resets itself every 24 hours The time increments can be in minutes seconds or any preferred unit In some cases timer 38 is a continuously operating weekly or 168 hour timer that resets itself every seven days The incre ments can be in days hours minutes seconds or any pre ferred unit The weekly timer could also be a seven increment counter that indexes one increment every 24 hours in response to a dai
23. ture 10 The thermostat method of claim 2 further comprising switching between a cooling mode and a heating mode and upon doing so subsequently disregarding the pattern 11 The thermostat method of claim 2 further comprising while controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the learned setpoint temperature receiving a plurality of additional manually entered setpoint tem peratures and in response to receiving the plurality of additional manu ally entered setpoint temperatures while controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the learned setpoint temperature subsequently disregarding the pat tern and the learned setpoint temperature 12 A thermostat method for a temperature conditioning unit wherein the temperature conditioning unit helps control a temperature of a comfort zone the method comprising receiving a first manually entered setpoint temperature controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the first manually entered setpoint temperature receiving a second manually entered setpoint temperature controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the second manually entered setpoint temperature receiving a third manually entered setpoint temperature controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the third manually entered setpoint temperature identifying a learned setpoint temperature based on the first manually entered setpoint tempera
24. ture the second manually entered setpoint temperature and third manu ally entered setpoint temperature and controlling the temperature conditioning unit in response to the learned setpoint temperature 13 The thermostat method of claim 12 wherein first manu ally entered setpoint temperature the second manually US 2008 0191045 Al entered setpoint temperature and third manually entered set point temperature all lie within 5 F of each other 14 The thermostat method of claim 12 further compris ing assigning a first timestamp to the first manually entered setpoint temperature assigning a second timestamp to the second manually entered setpoint temperature assigning a third timestamp to the third manually entered setpoint temperature wherein the first timestamp the second timestamp and the third timestamp are based on a 24 hour timer and all lie within a predetermined range of each other based on the 24 hour timer 15 The thermostat method of claim 12 further compris ing assigning a first timestamp to the first manually entered setpoint temperature assigning a second timestamp to the second manually entered setpoint temperature assigning a third timestamp to the third manually entered setpoint temperature wherein the first timestamp the second timestamp and the third timestamp are based on a 168 hour timer and all lie within a predetermined range of each other based on the 168 hour timer 16 The thermostat method
25. ure of the comfort zone and at least one of the plurality of setpoint temperatures the microprocessor determines a learned setpoint tempera ture and a learned time based on the plurality of setpoint temperatures entered at the plurality of times over the first period and after the first period and at the learned time the output changes in response to a differential between the tem perature of the comfort zone and the learned setpoint temperature 19 The thermostat of claim 18 wherein the thermostat operates in a first period manual mode dur ing the first period in which the output changes in response to a deviation between the temperature of the comfort zone and at least one of the plurality of setpoint temperatures after the first period the thermostat operates in a pro grammed mode in which the output changes in response to the differential between the temperature of the com fort zone and the learned setpoint temperature and after operating in the programmed mode the thermostat automatically changes to operating in a second period manual mode in response to an additional setpoint tem perature being manually entered via the manual input wherein the output during the second period manual mode changes in response to a difference between the temperature of the comfort zone and the additional set point temperature 20 The thermostat of claim 18 wherein the plurality of setpoint temperatures upon which the learned setpoint t
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