System and method for automatically programming hvac system
Contents
1. 0290138 Al with the programmable HVAC controller 100 and supporting an alarm clock function whether in software firmware or hardware The particular embodiment of the wireless device 180 illustrated in FIG 1 has a screen 190 configured to provide information to a person and accept commands including those for setting a wake up alarm from the person 0023 In an alternative embodiment the wireless device 180 may be an alarm clock or television having wireless communication capability Alternative embodiments employ a device connected to the programmable HVAC controller 100 by a wire such as a desktop computer or a dedicated alarm clock 0024 Irrespective of the particular embodiment of device the device is configured to execute alarm clock firmware or software which may be an alarm clock app The alarm clock firmware or software is configured to allow a person to select a wake up time activate and deactivate an alarm function and provide audible visual or audiovisual stimulus at the selected wake up time if the user activates the alarm function The alarm clock firmware or software is further configured to transmit the wake up time to the programmable HVAC con troller 100 after the person has selected the wake up time and activated the alarm function In the illustrated embodiment the alarm clock firmware or software is configured to transmit only the wake up time In an alternative embodiment the alarm clock firmware or software2. for automatically pro gramming HVAC system temperature adjustment times BACKGROUND 0003 A programmable HVAC controller which may or may not include all of the features ofa thermostat is designed to adjust the temperature according to a series of programmed settings sometimes called setbacks that take effect at dif ferent times of the day In recent years programmable HVAC controllers have become increasingly popular as their use may result in energy savings of up to 30 To achieve this performance programmable HVAC controllers reduce the amount of heating cooling provided by the heating ventilat ing and air conditioning HVAC system responsible for con ditioning the air within a space at propitious times For example during the cooling season a programmable HVAC controller used in a home may be programmed to allow the temperature in the house to rise during the workday when no one is home but begin cooling the house before the occupants arrive thereby allowing the house to be cooled down to the appropriate temperature setting upon the arrival of the occu pants while saving energy during peak outdoor temperatures without sacrificing the occupants comfort Conversely dur ing the heating season the programmable HVAC controller may be programmed to allow the temperature in the house to drop when the house is unoccupied during the day and also at night after all occupants have gone to bed and re heating the house prio
3. up alarm time 8 A method of automatically programming HVAC system temperature adjustment times comprising receiving a wake up alarm time into a programmable con troller setting a sleep temperature adjustment time in a pro grammable HVAC controller based on a time said wake up alarm time is received and setting a wake temperature adjustment time in a pro grammable HVAC controller based on said wake up alarm time 9 The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said receiving comprises wirelessly receiving said wake up alarm time 10 The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said receiving comprises receiving said wake up alarm time from one of a smartphone and a tablet 11 The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said setting said sleep temperature adjustment time comprises setting US 2012 0290138 Al said sleep temperature adjustment time to said time at which said time wake up alarm time is received 12 The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said setting said sleep temperature adjustment time comprises setting said sleep temperature adjustment time to a time after said time at which said time wake up alarm time is received 13 The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said setting said wake temperature adjustment time comprises setting said wake temperature adjustment time to said wake up alarm time 14 The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said setting said wake tempe
4. USTMENT TIME BASED ON TIME WAKE UP ALARM TIME IS RECEIVED RUN SLEEP PROGRAM SET WAKE TEMPERATURE ADJUSTMENT TIME BASED ON WAKE UP ALARM TIME RUN WAKE PROGRAM 280 DND JI Patent Application Publication Nov 15 2012 US 2012 0290138 A1 100 PROGRAMMABLE HVAC CONTROLLER MEMORY 189 OTHER HVAC processor 120 L SUBSYSTEM EQUIPMENT SUBSYSTEM WIRELESS DEVICE WIRELESS USER gt COMMUNICATION INTERFACE 180 190 SCREEN SUBSYSTEM FIG 2 an SET WAKE UP ALARM ON WIRELESS DEVICE 220 RECEIVE WAKE UP ALARM TIME INTO PROGRAMMABLE CONTROLLER 230 240 SET SLEEP TEMPERATURE ADJUSTMENT TIME BASED ON TIME WAKE UP ALARM TIME IS RECEIVED RUN SLEEP PROGRAM 250 SET WAKE TEMPERATURE ADJUSTMENT TIME BASED ON WAKE UP ALARM TIME RUN WAKE PROGRAM 260 270 US 2012 0290138 Al SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATICALLY PROGRAMMING HVAC SYSTEM TEMPERATURE ADJUSTMENT TIMES CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 0001 This application claims the benefit of U S Provi sional Application Ser No 61 484 918 filed by DiFulgentiz on May 11 2011 entitled Scheduling Integration With Smartphone or Tablet Alarm commonly assigned with this application and incorporated herein by reference TECHNICAL FIELD 0002 This application is directed in general to heating ventilation and air conditioning HVAC systems and more specifically to a system and method
5. av United States DiFulgentiz US 20120290138A1 a Patent Application Publication o Pub No US 2012 0290138 A1 43 Pub Date Nov 15 2012 54 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATICALLY PROGRAMMING HVAC SYSTEM TEMPERATURE ADJUSTMENT 75 73 21 22 60 TIMES Inventor Assignee Appl No Filed Robert A DiFulgentiz Frisco TX US Lennox Industries Inc Richardson TX US 13 302 999 Nov 22 2011 Related U S Application Data Provisional application No 61 484 918 filed on May 11 2011 Publication Classification 51 Int Cl G05D 23 19 2006 01 E E EEN 700 278 57 ABSTRACT A programmable HVAC controller a method of automati cally programming HVAC system temperature adjustment times and an HVAC system incorporating the system or the method In one embodiment the programmable HVAC con troller includes 1 a memory subsystem 2 a communica tion subsystem configured to receive a wake up alarm time and 3 a processing subsystem coupled to the memory and communication subsystems and configured to 3a set a sleep temperature adjustment time based on a time the wake up alarm time is received and 3b set a wake tem perature adjustment time based on the wake up alarm time 220 230 240 250 260 270 an SET WAKE UP ALARM ON WIRELESS DEVICE RECEIVE WAKE UP ALARM TIME INTO PROGRAMMABLE CONTROLLER SET SLEEP TEMPERATURE ADJ
6. cally 0016 As those who have ever used an alarm clock know setting a wake up alarm involves a two step process of select ing a wake up time and activating the alarm function The alarm function is then deactivated the following morning usually after the alarm has rung The various embodiments of the system and method therefore employ both of the steps in the two step process to program the HVAC controller the wake up time is employed to program the wake tempera ture adjustment time automatically and the time at which the alarm function is activated is employed to program the sleep temperature adjustment time automatically 0017 While a person explicitly enters a wake up time he does it for purposes of receiving a wake up alarm and not for purposes of programming a new wake temperature adjust ment time the system or method automatically programs the programmable HVAC controller for it Further while the same person explicitly activates the alarm function he does not program a new sleep temperature adjustment time the system or method automatically determines a new sleep temperature adjustment time and automatically programs the programmable HVAC controller for it 0018 Thus the programming of sleep and wake tem perature adjustment times no longer requires explicit action on the person s part Further the programming of sleep and wake temperature adjustment times can be per
7. e alarm clock Upon the loading of a relatively simple applica tion program app both smartphones and tablets are trivi ally capable of functioning as an alarm clock 0014 Viewed in light of the advantages that smartphones and PDAs offer and the sheer number of people who have come to rely on them three astute observations are made The first is that even conventional programmable HVAC control lers that allow the programming of different sleep and wake times every day of the week still fail to accommodate the variations that occur in the average person s sleep schedule The second is that to force such a programmable HVAC controller to accommodate a typically varying sleep schedule requires a nightly visit to the user interface to make the needed changes Handheld wireless remote user interfaces do not make this job much easier The third observation is that people tend to set wake up alarms just before they go to sleep 0015 An opportunity therefore exists to make a program mable HVAC controller better able to accommodate a typical varying sleep schedule Accordingly introduced herein are various embodiments of a system and method for automati cally scheduling HVAC system temperature adjustment times The various embodiments employ an alarm clock func tion which may be carried out on a smartphone or a PDA to program both the sleep and wake temperature adjustment times of a programmable HVAC controller automati
8. ent time in a program mable HVAC controller based on a time the wake up alarm time is received and 3 setting a wake temperature adjust ment time in a programmable HVAC controller based on the wake up alarm time 0007 Yet another aspect provides an HVAC system In one embodiment the HVAC system includes 1 a program mable HVAC controller and 2 other HVAC equipment coupled to the programmable HVAC controller The pro grammable HVAC controller includes 1a a memory sub system 1b a wireless communication subsystem configured to receive a wake up alarm time wirelessly and 1c a pro cessing subsystem coupled to the memory and wireless com munication subsystems and configured to set a sleep tem perature adjustment time based on a time the wake up alarm time is received and further set a wake temperature adjust ment time based on the wake up alarm time BRIEF DESCRIPTION 0008 Reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which 0009 FIG 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a programmable HVAC controller configured to accommodate a system for automatically programming HVAC system tem perature adjustment times and 0010 FIG 2 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method of automatically programming HVAC system tem perature adjustment times DETAILED DESCRIPTION 0011 It is realized herein that the conventional approach to pr
9. formed implicitly by non native devices i e devices that are not purpose built to be used in or with HVAC systems either in terms of their hardware or by means of apps designed to allow a person to control a programmable HVAC controller explic itly An alarm clock app is not an app designed to allow a person to control a programmable HVAC controller explic itly 0019 It should also be understood that wake leave return and sleep are only examples of names for time periods A particular programmable HVAC controller e g thermostat may accommodate a time period that can be programmed such that it begins around the time a person Nov 15 2012 might wake up That time is a wake temperature adjustment time even though the programmable HVAC controller or its accompanying user manual may not refer to it as such Like wise the particular programmable HVAC controller may accommodate a time period that can be programmed such that it begins around the time a person might go to bed That time is a sleep temperature adjustment time even though the programmable HVAC controller or its accompanying user manual may not refer to it as such 0020 FIG 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a programmable HVAC controller configured to accommodate a system for automatically scheduling HVAC system tem perature adjustment times In the embodiment illustrated in FIG 1 the user interface 110 the proces
10. ime 20 The HVAC system as recited in claim 15 wherein said processing subsystem is configured to set said wake tem perature adjustment time to a time before said wake up alarm time
11. ime is set to a time that is before the wake up alarm time perhaps to make things more comfortable when the person wakes up In a step 270 the wake program is run at the wake temperature adjustment time causing a wake tem perature to be selected as the setpoint temperature for the other HVAC system equipment 160 of FIG 1 The method ends in an end step 280 0026 For example at 9 pm a person may set up a wake up alarm for 6 am Accordingly the wireless device transmits at approximately 9 pm data indicating that the person has set a wake up alarm for 6 am Upon receiving this data the pro grammable HVAC controller sets the sleep temperature adjustment time to the approximately 9pm data receipt time and therefore runs the sleep program causing the sleep Nov 15 2012 temperature to be selected as the setpoint temperature The programmable HVAC controller also sets the wake tem perature adjustment time to 6 am At 6 am the programmable HVAC controller runs the wake program causing the wake temperature to be selected as the setpoint tempera ture 0027 Those skilled in the art to which this application relates will appreciate that other and further additions dele tions substitutions and modifications may be made to the described embodiments What is claimed is 1 A programmable HVAC controller comprising a memory subsystem acommunication subsystem configured to recei
12. is configured to transmit the time at which the person activated the alarm function along with the wake up time 0025 FIG 2 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method of automatically scheduling HVAC system tempera ture adjustment times The method begins in a start step 210 In a step 220 a wake up alarm is set on a device e g a wireless device such as a smartphone or a tablet In a step 230 the wake up alarm time is received into a programmable controller In a step 240 the sleep temperature adjustment time is set based on the time the wake up alarm time is received In one embodiment the sleep temperature adjust ment time is set to the time at which the time wake up alarm time is received In an alternative embodiment the sleep temperature adjustment time is set to a time that is after the time at which the time wake up alarm time is received per haps to give the person some time to read or otherwise finish preparing for sleep In a step 250 the sleep program is run at the sleep temperature adjustment time causing a sleep temperature to be selected as the setpoint temperature for the other HVAC system equipment 160 of FIG 1 Ina step 260 the wake temperature adjustment time is set based on the wake up alarm time In one embodiment the wake tem perature adjustment time is set to the wake up alarm time In an alternative embodiment the wake temperature adjust ment t
13. n off or otherwise control the other HVAC system equip ment 160 or portions thereof For example based upon data received from the temperature sensor 150 and information stored in the memory subsystem 130 and or received from the user interface 110 the processor subsystem 120 may deter mine that outdoor rooftop or indoor AC units forming part of the other HVAC system equipment 160 should be turned on in order to cool the interior of the building in which the thermo stat 100 or the other HVAC system equipment 160 is installed The processor subsystem 120 will then issue a control signal instructing the AC unit to turn on via bus 170 Variously the bus 170 may be coupled directly to the processor subsystem 120 as shown in FIG 1 or indirectly coupled to the processor subsystem 120 via the bus subsystem 140 0022 The programmable HVAC controller 100 of FIG 1 further includes a wireless communication subsystem 170 coupled to the processor subsystem 120 The wireless com munication subsystem 170 is configured to allow remote devices to provide data wirelessly to the processor subsystem 120 In one embodiment the wireless communication sub system 170 is further configured to allow the processor sub system 120 to provide data wirelessly to remote devices FIG 1 shows one such wireless device 180 The wireless device 180 may be a smartphone a tablet a computer of another type or any other device capable of wirelessly communicating US 2012
14. ogramming HVAC settings described in the Background above suffers from a significant disadvantage namely that a person is required to make a separate and special effort to program settings using its dedicated often wall mounted user interface 0012 Many people have come to rely on high end cell phones called smartphones and personal digital assistants PDA such as tablets to satisfy a need for information and order in their lives Examples of modern commercially avail able smartphones include the Apple iPhone the Motorola Droid and Triumph the BlackBerry Torch and Bold the Sharp FX Plus the Samsung Vitality and Admire the HTC Wildfire and Status and the LG Thrill and Genesis Examples of modern commercially available tab lets include the Apple iPad the Sony Tablet S the Sam sung Galaxy Tab 10 10 the Toshiba Thrive the Acer Iconia Tab A500 the Asus Eee Pad Transformer and the Black Berry Playbook 0013 Enabled by their powerful wireless communication capability these relative newcomers have made significant strides toward replacing a host of previously ubiquitous appli ances such as desktop computers telephones stereos and televisions Many have come to rely on smartphones and tablets carrying them throughout the day and using them as US 2012 0290138 Al their digital offices and secretaries One other appliance that has fallen victim to smartphones and PDAs is the humbl
15. r to the occupants arriving home in the evening or waking up in the morning 0004 A basic programmable HVAC controller imple ments a single program with two periods of time a warmer period and a cooler period that run every day More sophis ticated programmable HVAC controllers allow four or more warm and or cool periods commonly referred to as wake leave return and sleep times to be set each day each of which may be set to a unique temperature Today most pro gramming of settings is done at a user interface of the con troller and with reference to a clock internal to the controller or the HVAC system as a whole SUMMARY 0005 One aspect provides a programmable HVAC con troller In one embodiment the programmable HVAC con troller includes 1 a memory subsystem 2 a communica tion subsystem configured to receive a wake up alarm time and 3 a processing subsystem coupled to the memory and communication subsystems and configured to 3a set a Nov 15 2012 sleep temperature adjustment time based on a time the wake up alarm time is received and 3b set a wake tem perature adjustment time based on the wake up alarm time 0006 Another aspect provides a method of automatically programming HVAC system temperature adjustment times In one embodiment the method includes 1 receiving a wake up alarm time into a programmable controller 2 set ting a sleep temperature adjustm
16. rature adjustment time comprises setting said wake temperature adjustment time to a time before said wake up alarm time 15 An HVAC system comprising a programmable HVAC controller and other HVAC equipment coupled to said programmable HVAC controller said programmable HVAC controller including a memory subsystem a wireless communication subsystem configured to receive a wake up alarm time wirelessly and a processing subsystem coupled to said memory and wireless communication subsystems and configured Nov 15 2012 to seta sleep temperature adjustment time based on atime said wake up alarm time is received and further set a wake temperature adjustment time based on said wake up alarm time 16 The HVAC system as recited in claim 15 wherein said wake up alarm time is received from one of a smartphone and a tablet 17 The HVAC system as recited in claim 15 wherein said processing subsystem is configured to set said sleep tem perature adjustment time to said time at which said time wake up alarm time is received 18 The HVAC system as recited in claim 15 wherein said processing subsystem is configured to set said sleep tem perature adjustment time to a time after said time at which said time wake up alarm time is received 19 The HVAC system as recited in claim 15 wherein said processing subsystem is configured to set said wake tem perature adjustment time to said wake up alarm t
17. sor subsystem 120 and the memory subsystem 130 are coupled together by a bus subsystem 140 for the exchange of address data and control signals therebetween As to the specific configuration of the bus subsystem 140 it should be noted that while FIG 1 suggests that discrete connections are employed to couple the user interface 110 and the memory subsystem 130 respec tively to the processor subsystem 120 e g a configuration similar to a system bus local bus configuration it is fully contemplated the user interface 110 the processor subsystem 120 and the memory subsystem 130 may all be coupled to a single bus most commonly a system bus Further in the embodiment illustrated in FIG 1 the temperature sensor 150 is illustrated as being directly coupled to the processor sub system 120 However it is fully contemplated that the tem perature sensor 150 may instead be coupled to the bus sub system 140 Finally while disclosed as a component of the programmable HVAC controller 100 it is further contem plated that the temperature sensor 150 may instead be a dis crete device located remote from the remainder of the pro grammable HVAC controller 100 and perhaps wirelessly coupled to the processor subsystem 120 or bus subsystem 140 of the programmable HVAC controller 100 0021 Other HVAC system equipment 160 is coupled to the programmable HVAC controller 100 in a manner which enables the programmable HVAC controller 100 to turn on tur
18. ve a wake up alarm time and a processing subsystem coupled to said memory and com munication subsystems and configured to set a sleep temperature adjustment time based on a time said wake up alarm time is received and set a wake temperature adjustment time based on said wake up alarm time 2 The programmable HVAC controller as recited in claim 1 wherein said communication subsystem is a wireless com munication subsystem configured to receive said wake up alarm time wirelessly 3 The programmable HVAC controller as recited in claim 1 wherein said wake up alarm time is received from one of a smartphone and a tablet 4 The programmable HVAC controller as recited in claim 1 wherein said processing subsystem is configured to set said sleep temperature adjustment time to said time at which said time wake up alarm time is received 5 The programmable HVAC controller as recited in claim 1 wherein said processing subsystem is configured to set said sleep temperature adjustment time to a time after said time at which said time wake up alarm time is received 6 The programmable HVAC controller as recited in claim 1 wherein said processing subsystem is configured to set said wake temperature adjustment time to said wake up alarm time 7 The programmable HVAC controller as recited in claim 1 wherein said processing subsystem is configured to set said wake temperature adjustment time to a time before said wake
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