Thermostat with area light system and occupancy sensor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020128646-A1
Application number	US-201916717887-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 17, 2019
Priority date	Oct 28, 2015
Publication date	Apr 23, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

A thermostat for a building includes a light emitting diode (LED) system including one or more LEDs configured to emit light to illuminate a floor area beneath the thermostat. The thermostat incorporates an occupancy sensor to sense the approach of a user based on changes in conditions in proximity to the thermostat and detect an ambient light level. The thermostat includes a processing circuit configured to receive data outputs from the occupancy sensor, determine whether the data outputs indicate the approach of a user, cause the one or more LEDs to emit the light towards the floor in response to an indication that a user is approaching the thermostat based on occupancy sensor data correlated with occupancy conditions, and record and store LED activations and deactivations for later retrieval as historic data. The one or more LEDs may be configured as an illumination module removably attachable to the thermostat.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A thermostat for a building, the thermostat comprising:
an occupancy sensor; one or more LEDs configured to emit light in a direction toward a floor beneath the thermostat; and a processing circuit configured to cause the one or more LEDs to emit the light towards the floor in response to data from the occupancy sensor.

2 . The thermostat of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit causes the one or more LEDs to emit the light towards the floor in response to a determination that a user has approached the thermostat determined at least in part using the data from the occupancy sensor.

3 . The thermostat of claims 1 , further comprising:
an ambient light sensor configured to detect an ambient light level in proximity to the thermostat and provide an output of ambient light level data to the processing circuit, wherein the processing circuit causes the one or more LEDs to emit the light towards the floor in response to a determination that a user has approached the thermostat determined at least in part using the data from the occupancy sensor and in response to the ambient light level being less than a threshold.

4 . The thermostat of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit comprises one or more of a processor module, a memory module, an occupancy sensor module, an LED module, an input interface, and an output interface.

5 . The thermostat of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is configured to receive the data from the occupancy sensor and determine an occupancy condition based on correlation of the data and to one or more occupancy conditions stored in the processing circuit.

6 . The thermostat of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit causes the one or more LEDs to emit the light towards the floor in response to a determination that a user has approached the thermostat determined at least in part using a history of the data from the occupancy sensor.

7 . The thermostat of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to deactivate of the one or more LEDs in response to a determination that a user is not within an of the thermostat.

8 . The thermostat of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to continue to causes the one or more LEDs to emit the light towards the floor in response to a determination that a user is within an area proximate the thermostat.

9 . The thermostat of claim 1 , wherein the one or more LEDs is configured to emit the light in the direction toward the floor beneath the thermostat are arrayed on at least a portion of an outer bottom edge of the thermostat.

10 . The thermostat of claim 1 wherein the one or more LEDs is configured to illuminate one or more surfaces in proximity to the thermostat.

11 . The thermostat of claim 1 , wherein the one or more LEDs is configured to emit the light in the direction toward the floor beneath the thermostat are arrayed as a halo light emitting diode (LED) system comprising the one or more LEDs configured to emit the light in the direction toward the floor beneath the thermostat and a halo diffuser structured around at least a portion of an outer edge of the thermostat, wherein the halo diffuser is configured to diffuse the emitted light of the one or more LEDs around at least the portion of the outer edge of the thermostat.

12 . The thermostat of claim 1 , further comprising:
a network interface for receiving alarm data, wherein the processing circuit is configured to cause the one or more LEDs to emit the light towards the floor in response to the alarm data, wherein the one or more LEDs provide the light in a first color for an alarm condition and in a second color for a non-alarm condition.

13 . A building sensor, the building sensor comprising:
a housing; an environment sensor; an occupancy sensor; one or more LEDs configured to emit light in a direction toward a floor below the housing; and a processing circuit configured to cause the one or more LEDs to emit the light towards the floor in response to a user being within an area of the building sensor, the processing circuit determining that the user is within the area of the building sensor using at least one signal from the occupancy sensor.

14 . The building sensor of claim 13 , wherein the housing provides a mount removably connected to the building sensor and wherein the housing provides for mounting of a power source connection, the occupancy sensor, one or more LEDs, and the processing circuit.

15 . The building sensor of claim 13 , wherein the building sensor is a thermostat and the environment sensor is a temperature sensor.

16 . The building sensor of claim 13 , wherein the occupancy sensor is configured to detect changes in one of more of motion, heat, sound, or light conditions in proximity to the building sensor.

17 . The building sensor of claim 13 , wherein the building sensor is pressure sensor and the environment sensor is a differential pressure sensor.

18 . A method of operating a thermostat, the method comprising:
receiving an occupancy signal form an occupancy signal of the thermostat; determining that a person is proximate the thermostat using the occupancy signal; providing light toward a floor associated in response to a user being proximate the thermostat.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the light is not provided during daylight hours as determined using clock data.

20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the light is provided form an LED through a translucent portion at a bottom of a housing of the thermostat.

Assignees

• Johnson Controls Tech Co

Inventors

• Sinha Sudhi
• Ribbich Joseph R
• Ribbich Michael L
• Gaidish Charles J
• Cipolla John P
• Smith Damon B
• Taylor Jr John R
• Reiszl John M
• Alberth Jr William P
• Mease Kurt Joseph

Classifications

• H05B45/22

  using optical feedback · CPC title

• H05B47/11

  by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light · CPC title

• H05B45/28

  using temperature feedback · CPC title

• H05B1/028 Primary

  Airconditioning · CPC title

• H05B47/115

  by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings · CPC title