Operation of building control via remote device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10452084-B2
Application number	US-201213420120-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2012
Priority date	Mar 14, 2012
Publication date	Oct 22, 2019
Grant date	Oct 22, 2019

Abstract

A remote control unit for interacting with one or more thermostats controlling an HVAC system may be mounted on wall near a point of entry to a building. The remote control unit may include a first selectable mode option corresponding to a first operating mode of the thermostat and a second selectable mode option corresponding to a second operating mode of the thermostat. The remote control unit may wirelessly send one or more commands to a thermostat to operate in one or more modes at a predetermined temperature associated with that mode.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A remote wall-mountable control unit for use with an HVAC system that is controlled by at least one thermostat, wherein at least one of the at least one thermostat has one or more system modes including at least one of a heating mode and a cooling mode and including a temporary hold mode, at least one of the heating mode and cooling mode including both a first operating sub-mode and a second operating sub-mode, the temporary hold mode having a temporary hold temperature set point, which over-rides a programmable schedule for a temporary hold mode duration, the first operating sub-mode including a corresponding existing first temperature set point programmed into the thermostat and the second operating sub-mode including a corresponding existing second temperature set point programmed into the thermostat, wherein the first temperature set point is different from the second temperature setpoint, the remote control unit comprising:
a wall-mountable housing;
a user interface including a first dedicated electro-mechanical button housed by the wall-mountable housing that when pressed selects the first operating sub-mode, and a second dedicated electro-mechanical button housed by the wall-mountable housing that when pressed selects the second operating sub-mode;
a controller in communication with the user interface, wherein upon selection of the first selectable mode option via the first dedicated electro-mechanical button of the remote control unit, the controller sends an instruction to the at least one thermostat of the HVAC system instructing the at least one thermostat to operate in its first operating sub-mode using the existing first temperature set point programmed into the thermostat to cause the at least one thermostat to operate in the first operating sub-mode at the first temperature set point for remainder of the temporary hold mode duration, and wherein upon selection of the second selectable mode option via the second dedicated electro-mechanical button of the remote control unit, the controller sends an instruction to the at least one thermostat of the HVAC system instructing the at least one thermostat of the HVAC system to operate in its second operating sub-mode using the existing second temperature set point programmed into the thermostat to cause the at least one thermostat to operate in the second operating sub-mode at the second temperature set point for remainder of the temporary hold mode duration; and
a communications interface for communicating the instructions to the at least one thermostat.

2. The remote control unit of claim 1 , wherein the first operating sub-mode corresponds to an occupied mode of the at least one thermostat.

3. The remote control unit of claim 2 , wherein the second operating sub-mode corresponds to an unoccupied mode of the at least one thermostat.

4. The remote control unit of claim 3 , wherein:
the at least one thermostat has a third operating sub-mode with a corresponding third temperature set point programmed into the thermostat;
the user interface of the remote control unit includes a third dedicated electro-mechanical button housed by the wall-mountable housing that when pressed selects the third operating sub-mode, wherein upon selection of the third selectable mode option, the controller of the remote control unit sends an instruction to the at least one thermostat of the HVAC system instructing the at least one thermostat of the HVAC system to operate in its third operating sub-mode at the third temperature set point programmed into the thermostat.

5. The remote control unit of claim 4 , wherein the third operating sub-mode corresponds to a holiday mode of the at least one thermostat.

6. The remote control unit of claim 4 , wherein the third operating sub-mode corresponds to a sleep mode of the at least one thermostat.

7. The remote control unit of claim 1 , wherein the housing includes one or more openings for receiving at least part of a fastener for fastening the wall-mountable housing to a wall.

8. The control unit of claim 1 , wherein the user interface includes a connect option, wherein upon selection of the connect option, the control unit is programmed to enroll the control unit with the at least one thermostat and establish a communication link with the at least one thermostat via the communications interface.

9. The control unit of claim 8 , wherein the connect option is inaccessible at the front surface of the control unit.

10. The control unit of claim 8 , wherein the connect option is behind a removable face plate.

11. The control unit of claim 1 , wherein the user interface of the control unit does not include a display screen.

12. A control unit for use with an HVAC system that is controlled by at least one thermostat, wherein at least one of the at least one thermostat has one or more system modes including at least one of a heating mode and a cooling mode and including a temporary hold mode, at least one of the heating mode and cooling mode including both a first operating sub-mode and a second operating sub-mode, the temporary hold mode having a temporary hold temperature set point, which over-rides a programmable schedule for a temporary hold mode duration, the first operating sub-mode including a corresponding existing first temperature set point programmed into the thermostat and the second operating sub-mode including a corresponding existing second temperature set point programmed into the thermostat, wherein the first temperature set point is different from the second temperature setpoint, the control unit comprising:
a housing;
a user interface including a first dedicated electro-mechanical button housed by the housing that may be pressed in order to select the first operating sub-mode and a second dedicated electro-mechanical button housed by the housing that may be pressed in order to select the second operating sub-mode;
a controller in communication with the user interface, wherein upon selection of the first selectable mode option, the controller sends an instruction to the at least one thermostat of the HVAC system instructing the at least one thermostat to operate in the first operating sub-mode using the existing first temperature set point programmed into the thermostat to cause the at least one thermostat to operate in the first operating sub-mode at the first temperature set point for remainder of the temporary hold mode duration, and wherein upon selection of the second selectable mode option, the controller sends an instruction to the at least one thermostat of the HVAC system instructing the at least one thermostat of the HVAC system to operate in the second operating sub-mode using the existing second temperature set point programmed into the thermostat to cause the at least one thermostat to operate in the second operating sub-mode at the second temperature set point for remainder of the temporary hold mode duration; and
a communications interface for communicating the one or more commands to the at least one thermostat, wherein the communications interface is a wireless interface.

13. The control unit of claim 1 , wherein the user interface of the control unit further includes an LED indicator.

14. The control unit of claim 13 , wherein the user interface of the control unit does not include a display screen.

15. A thermostat for controlling an HVAC system, the thermostat comprising:
a user interface;
a controller coupled to the user interface, the controller having one or more system modes including at least one of a heating mode and a cooling mode, one or more of the system modes having a first operating

Assignees

• Zywicki Stan
• Boll Jeffrey
• Simounet Daniel
• Ademco Inc

Inventors

• Zywicki Stan
• Boll Jeffrey
• Simounet Daniel

Classifications

• F24F2110/10

  Temperature · CPC title

• G05D23/1905 Primary

  associated with tele control · CPC title

• F24F11/30

  for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring · CPC title

• F24F11/56 Primary

  Remote control · CPC title

• F24F11/61

  using timers · CPC title