Thermostat including a vacation mode in which electrical devices within and proximate the conditioned space are operated by the thermostat to provide an occupied appearance
US6581846B1 · kind B1 · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 6, 2002 |
| Grant date | Jun 24, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 6, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF24F11/56
- WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A thermostat system for controlling space conditioning equipment includes a temperature sensor for providing an electrical signal indicative of the temperature of a conditioned space and a processor having a central processing unit, a memory for storing program and data information and an input/output unit. The input/output unit has a temperature sensor input, a control output sending control signals to the space conditioning equipment and also an electrical device interface adapted to establish communications between the processor and a plurality of addressable electrical devices. In operation, when the system is in a vacation mode the processor issues a pattern of commands to the devices to provide the illusion of ongoing occupancy. In one preferred embodiment, communications between the processor and the devices takes place over the local line power system. In another preferred embodiment, the processor sends commands via infrared to an electrical device controller which resends the commands over the local line power system to the devices.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.