Thermostat facilitating user-friendly installation thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9684317-B2
Application number	US-201414292642-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 30, 2014
Priority date	Sep 14, 2010
Publication date	Jun 20, 2017
Grant date	Jun 20, 2017

Abstract

A thermostat for controlling an HVAC system and related systems, methods, and computer program products for facilitating user-friendly installation of the thermostat are described. For one embodiment, automated installation verification is performed by the thermostat by automatically sensing which wires have been inserted, selecting a candidate HVAC operating function (e.g., heating or cooling) that is consistent with a subset of HVAC signal types indicated by the inserted wires, applying control signals to the HVAC system to invoke that HVAC operating function, and processing a time sequence of acquired temperature readings to determine whether that HVAC operating function was successfully carried out. For one embodiment, the initial automated testing of the heating and cooling functions are only carried out at times for which such heating or cooling function would normally be invoked during normal operation of the thermostat. Automated determination of a heat pump call convention is also described.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A thermostat for controlling an operation of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system having a plurality of wires for connection to the thermostat, each of the plurality of wires being associated with a distinct HVAC signal type, the thermostat comprising:
a control unit including at least one processor and at least one environmental sensor;
a plurality of connection ports, each of the plurality of connection ports being associated with a predetermined HVAC signal type, each of the plurality of connection ports being configured to receive one of the plurality of wires, and each of the plurality of connection ports having an associated wire insertion sensing circuit that identifies to the control unit the presence or absence of an inserted wire therein; and
a user interface operatively coupled to the control unit, the user interface including at least one output device for providing information and at least one input device for receiving one or more inputs;
wherein the control unit is configured and programmed to:
operate the wire insertion sensing circuits to identify that a cooling call signal wire and a heat pump signal wire have been inserted;
receive a user request through the user interface to activate a cooling function of the HVAC system;
apply a first set of control signals to the HVAC system corresponding to a heat pump cooling call according to a first heat pump control signal convention;
acquire, after the application of the first set of control signals, a first time sequence of environmental readings using the at least one environmental sensor;
process the first time sequence of environmental readings to automatically determine, without requiring user input, that the HVAC system has not successfully operated according to the requested cooling function; and
automatically apply, without requiring user input, a second set of control signals to the HVAC system corresponding to a heat pump cooling call according to a second heat pump control signal convention.

2. The thermostat of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further configured and programmed to:
acquire, after the application of the second set of control signals, a second time sequence of environmental readings using the at least one environmental sensor;
process the second time sequence of environmental readings to automatically determine, without requiring user input, that the HVAC system has not successfully operated according to the requested cooling function; and
provide an indication of an error condition on at least on output device.

3. The thermostat of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further configured and programmed to:
acquire, after the application of the second set of control signals, a second time sequence of environmental readings using the at least one environmental sensor;
process the second time sequence of environmental readings to automatically determine, without requiring user input, that the HVAC system has successfully operated according to the requested cooling function; and
continue operation of the thermostat according to the second heat pump control signal convention.

4. The thermostat of claim 1 , wherein:
the first heat pump control signal convention comprises energizing the cooling call signal wire while not energizing the heat pump signal wire; and
the second heat pump control signal convention comprises energizing the cooling call signal wire while energizing the heat pump signal wire.

5. The thermostat of claim 1 , wherein processing the first time sequence of environmental readings comprises determining that the first time sequence of environmental readings is not indicative of a corresponding temperature decrease.

6. A thermostat for controlling an operation of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system having a plurality of wires for connection to the thermostat, each of the plurality of wires being associated with a distinct HVAC signal type, the thermostat comprising:
a control unit including at least one processor and at least one environmental sensor;
a plurality of connection ports, each of the plurality of connection ports being associated with a predetermined HVAC signal type, each of the plurality of connection ports being configured to receive one of the plurality of wires, and each of the plurality of connection ports having an associated wire insertion sensing circuit that identifies to the control unit the presence or absence of an inserted wire therein; and
a user interface operatively coupled to the control unit, the user interface including at least one output device for providing information and at least one input device for receiving one or more inputs;
wherein the control unit is configured and programmed to:
operate the wire insertion sensing circuits to identify that a heating call signal wire and a heat pump signal wire have been inserted;
receive a user request through the user interface to activate a heating function of the HVAC system;
apply a first set of control signals to the HVAC system corresponding to a heat pump heating call according to a first heat pump control signal convention;
acquire, after the application of the first set of control signals, a first time sequence of environmental readings using the at least one environmental sensor;
process the first time sequence of environmental readings to automatically determine, without requiring user input, that the HVAC system has not successfully operated according to the requested heating function; and
automatically apply, without requiring user input, a second set of control signals to the HVAC system corresponding to a heat pump heating call according to a second heat pump control signal convention.

7. The thermostat of claim 6 , wherein the control unit is further configured and programmed to:
acquire, after the application of the second set of control signals, a second time sequence of environmental readings using the at least one environmental sensor;
process the second time sequence of environmental readings to automatically determine, without requiring user input, that the HVAC system has not successfully operated according to the requested heating function; and
provide an indication of an error condition on at least on output device.

8. The thermostat of claim 6 , wherein the control unit is further configured and programmed to:
acquire, after the application of the second set of control signals, a second time sequence of environmental readings using the at least one environmental sensor;
process the second time sequence of environmental readings to automatically determine, without requiring user input, that the HVAC system has successfully operated according to the requested heating function; and
continue operation of the thermostat according to the second heat pump control signal convention.

9. The thermostat of claim 6 , wherein:
the first heat pump control signal convention comprises energizing the heating call signal wire while not energizing the heat pump signal wire; and
the second heat pump control signal convention comprises energizing the heating call signal wire while energizing the heat pump signal wire.

10. The thermostat of claim 6 , wherein processing the first time sequence of environmental readings comprises determining that the first time sequence of environmental readings is not indicative of a corresponding temperature increase.

11. A method of controlling an operation of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system having a plurality of wires for connection to a thermostat, each of the plurality of wires being associated with a distinct HVAC signal type, the

Assignees

• Google Inc

Inventors

• Fadell Anthony Michael
• Matsuoka Yoky
• Rogers Matthew Lee
• Sloo David
• Plitkins Michael
• Sharan Rangoli
• Ruff Joseph Adam

Classifications

• F24F11/62

  characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or estimation of values · CPC title

• B01D46/0086

  Filter condition indicators · CPC title

• Y02B10/20

  Solar thermal · CPC title

• F24F2110/00

  Control inputs relating to air properties · CPC title

• G05D23/1902

  characterised by the use of a variable reference value · CPC title