Abstract:
Various arrangements of smart devices are presented. Such a smart device may include a case, a wireless interface, a light sensor that detects an ambient brightness level of an ambient environment of the smart device, a motion sensor that detects motion of a user in the ambient environment of the smart device, a light that is capable of outputting light into the ambient environment of the smart device, and a processing system. The processing system may cause the light to illuminate based on: the message indicating that the lighting feature has been activated; the ambient brightness level being below the threshold brightness value; and the user moving in the ambient environment of the smart device.
Abstract:
A control system may include a thermostat device and boiler control device. The thermostat device may be configured to receive electrical power from second wiring terminals and provide control signals to boiler control device using a second radio when wires are not present in first wiring terminals. The thermostat device may also be configured to receive electrical power from the first wiring terminals and provide the coded control signals to the boiler control device through the first wiring terminals when wires are present in the first wiring terminals. The boiler control device may be configured to receive the control signals from the thermostat device using a third radio and selectively couple the third wiring terminals to fifth wiring terminals to selectively control activation of the boiler-based heating system when wires are not present in fourth wiring terminals.
Abstract:
A hazard detector may include a light sensor that senses a brightness level in an ambient environment. The hazard detector can have a processing system that receives an indication of the brightness level in the ambient environment from the light sensor. The processing system may then determine whether illumination in the ambient environment has been dimmed. Responsive to the dimming, the processing system may access information representative of a status of one or more components of the hazard detector. An illumination state may then be selected from a plurality of illumination states based on the accessed information representative of the status of the one or more components of the hazard detector. A light may then be illuminated based on the selected illumination state.
Abstract:
HVAC schedules may be programmed for a thermostat using a combination of pre-existing schedules or templates and automated schedule learning. For example, a pre-existing schedule may be initiated on the thermostat and the automated schedule learning may be used to update the pre-existing schedule based on users' interactions with the thermostat. The preexisting HVAC schedules may be stored on a device or received from a social networking service or another online service that includes shared HVAC schedules.
Abstract:
A thermostat user interface for a network-connected thermostat is described. The thermostat includes a frustum-shaped shell body having a circular cross-section and a sidewall extending between first and second ends, the second end being user-facing when the thermostat is wall-mounted; a circular rotatable ring being user rotatable for adjusting a setting of the thermostat; and a circular cover including a clear circular center portion surrounded by a painted outer portion. The clear circular center portion permits a corresponding circular portion of a non-circular dot-matrix color display element to be visible through the circular cover and the painted outer portion masks a remaining portion of the non-circular dot-matrix color display element so as to create a circular graphical user interface.
Abstract:
An occupancy sensing electronic thermostat is described that includes a thermostat body, an electronic display that is viewable by a user in front of the thermostat, a passive infrared sensor for measuring infrared energy and an infrared energy directing element formed integrally with a front surface of the thermostat body. The passive infrared sensor may be positioned behind the infrared energy directing element such that infrared energy is directed thereonto by the infrared energy directing element. The thermostat may also include a temperature sensor and a microprocessor programmed to detect occupancy based on measurements from the passive infrared sensor.
Abstract:
A thermostat management system facilitates an automatic pairing of a thermostat with a thermostat communication account. The thermostat management system receives a public network address associated with a computer device on a private network accessing the thermostat management account. The system retrieves the thermostat metadata including a public network address associated with a registration of the thermostat with the thermostat management system. The public network address registered with the thermostat metadata is provided by a router on the private network and therefore should match the public network address used by computer devices on the private network. The thermostat management account is paired with the thermostat if the thermostat has the same public network address as the computer device accessing the thermostat management account. Pairing the thermostat management account to the thermostat allows the thermostat management account to communicate with the thermostat over the public network through the thermostat management system.
Abstract:
A user-friendly, network-connected learning thermostat is described. The thermostat is made up of (1) a wall-mountable backplate that includes a low-power consuming microcontroller used for activities such as polling sensors and switching on and off the HVAC functions, and (2) separable head unit that includes a higher-power consuming microprocessor, color LCD backlit display, user input devices, and wireless communications modules. The thermostat also includes a rechargeable battery and power-stealing circuitry adapted to harvest power from HVAC triggering circuits. By maintaining the microprocessor in a “sleep” state often compared to the lower-power microcontroller, high-power consuming activities, such as learning computations, wireless network communications and interfacing with a user, can be temporarily performed by the microprocessor even though the activities use energy at a greater rate than is available from the power stealing circuitry.
Abstract:
A thermostat device may include a processing system configured to learn a heating schedule at a first location according to an automated schedule learning algorithm that processes inputs including user inputs and occupancy sensing inputs and derives schedule-affecting parameters therefrom that are processed to compute the heating schedule. The processing system may also be configured to determine whether the thermostat has been moved to a new location, and if it is determined that the thermostat has been moved to the new location, then determine one or more parameters associated with the new location and establish a new heating schedule for the new location, and where zero or more of the previously measured schedule-affecting parameters are re-used based on the one or more parameters associated with the new location.
Abstract:
The current application is directed to intelligent controllers that continuously, periodically, or intermittently monitor progress towards one or more control goals under one or more constraints in order to achieve control that satisfies potentially conflicting goals. An intelligent controller may alter aspects of control, dynamically, while the control is being carried out, in order to ensure that goals are obtained and a balance is achieved between potentially conflicting goals. The intelligent controller uses various types of information to determine an initial control strategy as well as to dynamically adjust the control strategy as the control is being carried out.