Method and apparatus for controlling water heater, water heater, and controlling system thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11525585-B2
Application number	US-201716606173-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 25, 2017
Priority date	Apr 19, 2017
Publication date	Dec 13, 2022
Grant date	Dec 13, 2022

Abstract

A method for controlling a water heater comprising: receiving report information transmitted by a user-wearable device at a predetermined frequency; determining whether a user is coming back according to user location information included in the report information; and if the user is coming back, turning on a return water pump to permit water outputted from a water outlet of the water heater to return to the water heater through a water return port. The present disclosure determines a movement direction and the user location by using report information transmitted by the user-wearable device. If the user is coming back, the return water pump is turned on to permit water to return, so that the user can take a hot bath immediately after arriving home, thereby improving user's experience.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for controlling a water heater, the method comprising:
receiving report information transmitted by a device of a user at a predetermined frequency;
determining whether the user is moving toward a location of the water heater according to the user location information comprised in the report information;
determining that the user is moving toward the location of the water heater, and then determining whether a distance between a current user location and the location of the water heater is less than a second predetermined distance;
determining that the distance between the current user location and the location of the water heater is less than the second predetermined distance, and then starting the water heater to heat when the water heater is in a non-heating state, and further determining whether the distance between the current user location and the location of the water heater is less than a first predetermined distance, wherein the second predetermined distance is greater than the first predetermined distance; and
determining that the distance between the current user location and the location of the water heater is less than the first predetermined distance, and then determining that the user is coming back, and turning on a return water pump to permit water outputted from a water outlet of the water heater to return to the water heater through a water return port.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
detecting a temperature of water output from the water outlet;
determining that the temperature of the water output from the water outlet exceeds a preset temperature value, and then turning off the return water pump.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
acquiring weather conditions of a day;
presetting a temperature value according to the weather conditions of the day.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
adjusting the preset temperature value according to the user's physiological indexes comprised in the report information; or
adjusting the present temperature value according to preferences of the user.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
after the receiving the report information transmitted by the device of the user at the predetermined frequency, the method further comprises:
determining whether the water heater is currently in a specified work mode;
determining that the water heater is currently in the specified work mode, and then further determining whether current time is within a preset time range of the specified work mode; and
determining that the current time is within the preset time range of the specified work mode, and then performing the determining whether the user is moving toward a location of the water heater according to the user location information comprised in the report information.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the step of determining whether the user is moving toward the location of the water heater according to the user location information comprised in the report information comprises:
setting the distance between the current user location and the location of the water heater to be a first distance;
setting the distance between the user location before a predetermined time interval and the location of the water heater to be a second distance; and
determining that the first distance is less than the second distance, and then determining that the user is moving toward the location of the water heater.

Assignees

• Gree Electric Appliances Wuhan Co Ltd
• Gree Electric Appliances Inc Zhuhai

Inventors

• Qiao Xuewen
• Tao Wenxuan
• Chen Biao

Classifications

• F24D17/0078

  Recirculation systems · CPC title

• F24D19/1051 Primary

  for domestic hot water · CPC title

• F24H9/2021

  Storage heaters · CPC title

• F24H15/262

  Weather information or forecast · CPC title

• F24D19/1006

  for water heating systems · CPC title