U.S. patent application number 14/857040 was filed with the patent office on 2017-03-23 for thermostat with display screen and control dial having vertical and horizontal mounting configurations.
The applicant listed for this patent is Lux Products Corporation. Invention is credited to Fabrice BENICHOU, Alexander MCAULEY, Fabrice PY.
Application Number | 20170082313 14/857040 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 58276961 |
Filed Date | 2017-03-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170082313 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
BENICHOU; Fabrice ; et
al. |
March 23, 2017 |
THERMOSTAT WITH DISPLAY SCREEN AND CONTROL DIAL HAVING VERTICAL AND
HORIZONTAL MOUNTING CONFIGURATIONS
Abstract
A temperature control apparatus for controlling operation of at
least one temperature-modifying device includes a housing, a
rotationally symmetrical display disposed within or on the housing,
a rotary dial disposed on or partially in the housing and being
rotatable with respect to the housing, and a controller configured
to control operation of the at least one temperature modifying
device in response to a comparison of a measured ambient
temperature with a user-selected setpoint temperature, and present
a menu on the display, from which the user is able to select, using
the rotary dial, one of a plurality of orientations of the display
with respect to the housing.
Inventors: |
BENICHOU; Fabrice;
(Pont-Eveque, FR) ; PY; Fabrice; (Pont-Eveque,
FR) ; MCAULEY; Alexander; (Geneva, CH) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Lux Products Corporation |
Philadelphia |
PA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
58276961 |
Appl. No.: |
14/857040 |
Filed: |
September 17, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 11/56 20180101;
F24F 11/62 20180101; F24F 11/52 20180101; G05D 23/1904 20130101;
F24F 11/30 20180101 |
International
Class: |
F24F 11/00 20060101
F24F011/00 |
Claims
1. A temperature control apparatus for controlling operation of at
least one temperature-modifying device, the apparatus comprising:
(a) a housing; (b) a rotationally symmetrical display disposed
within or on the housing; (c) a rotary dial disposed on or
partially in the housing and being rotatable with respect to the
housing; and (d) a controller configured to: (i) control operation
of the at least one temperature modifying device in response to a
comparison of a measured ambient temperature with a user-selected
setpoint temperature, and (ii) present a menu on the display, from
which the user is able to select, using the rotary dial, one of a
plurality of orientations of the display with respect to the
housing.
2. The temperature control apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a
portion of the rotary dial is axially movable with respect to the
housing.
3. The temperature control apparatus of claim 2, wherein the rotary
dial includes at least two depressible switch portions.
4. The temperature control apparatus of claim 3, wherein the
housing includes a button label proximate each of the at least two
depressible switch portions.
5. The temperature control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the menu
provided by the controller further allows the user to select, using
the rotary dial, at least one of the setpoint temperature, a date,
a time, or a time duration.
6. The temperature control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
display is in the shape of a square.
7. The temperature control apparatus of claim 1, further comprising
a temperature sensor in communication with the controller for
detecting the ambient temperature.
8. The temperature control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
housing includes at least one mounting slot configured to allow the
housing to be coupled to a surface in one of a plurality of
orientations with respect to the surface.
9. The temperature control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
plurality of orientations includes a first orientation and a second
orientation, the second orientation being rotated ninety degrees
from the first orientation.
10. The temperature control apparatus of claim 1, further
comprising a wireless communication module connected to the
controller.
11. A temperature control apparatus for controlling operation of at
least one temperature-modifying device, the apparatus comprising:
(a) a housing selectively orientable on a support surface in a
horizontal configuration or a vertical configuration; (b) a
rotationally symmetrical display disposed within or on the housing;
(c) a rotary dial disposed on or partially in the housing and being
rotatable with respect to the housing, a center of the rotary dial
and a center of the display being vertically aligned when the
housing is in the vertical configuration and being horizontally
aligned when the housing is in the horizontal configuration; and
(d) a controller configured to: (i) control operation of the at
least one temperature modifying device in response to a comparison
of a measured ambient temperature with a user-selected setpoint
temperature, (ii) present a menu on the display, from which the
user is able to select, using the rotary dial, one of a horizontal
orientation or a vertical orientation of the display with respect
to the housing.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates generally to
a temperature control device, and more particularly, to a
temperature control device having a display screen and control dial
mountable in multiple orientations, all of which provide the same
user experience.
[0002] Digital programmable thermostats are common devices used to
control the operation of heating and/or air conditioning systems in
home or office buildings and other spaces requiring the regulation
of air temperature. Often, such thermostats include an electronic
display for providing the user with information related to
operation. However, such thermostats are typically only mountable
in one orientation (e.g., horizontal), which can cause problems
when the mounting location, by way of shape, obstacles, wiring, or
the like, makes the single orientation mounting difficult to
achieve.
[0003] The thermostat described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No.
6,951,306 was an attempt to provide a device that could be mounted
in multiple orientations in order to alleviate such issues caused
by the mounting location. In the described embodiment, jumpers
could be used to rotate the display ninety degrees to a vertical
orientation, so that the thermostat could be mounted vertically as
well as horizontally.
[0004] However, the embodiment shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,951,306
included a number of buttons for controlling the thermostat, the
orientations of which change as the thermostat rotates from a
horizontal configuration to a vertical configuration. For example,
the "up" arrow button in the horizontal configuration became a
"right" arrow when the thermostat was mounted vertically. As a
result, the user does not have the same experience using the
thermostat in the horizontal configuration as in the vertical
configuration. A repositioning of the controls for the thermostat
is not always intuitive, and the user may be disoriented by the
change.
[0005] It is therefore desirable to provide a thermostat that is
reconfigurable into multiple mounting orientations, but also
provides the user with a virtually identical experience in each
orientation, allowing for intuitive control of elements where
direction/orientation are important (e.g., increasing or decreasing
a value), regardless of how the user elects to mount the
device.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Briefly stated, an embodiment of the present invention
comprises a temperature control apparatus for controlling operation
of at least one temperature-modifying device. The apparatus
includes a housing, a rotationally symmetrical display disposed
within or on the housing, a rotary dial disposed on or partially in
the housing and being rotatable with respect to the housing, and a
controller configured to control operation of the at least one
temperature modifying device in response to a comparison of a
measured ambient temperature with a user-selected setpoint
temperature, and present a menu on the display, from which the user
is able to select, using the rotary dial, one of a plurality of
orientations of the display with respect to the housing.
[0007] In another embodiment, the present invention comprises a
temperature control apparatus for controlling operation of at least
one temperature-modifying device. The apparatus includes a housing
selectively orientable on a support surface in a horizontal
configuration or a vertical configuration, a rotationally
symmetrical display disposed within or on the housing, and a rotary
dial disposed on or partially in the housing and being rotatable
with respect to the housing. A center of the rotary dial and a
center of the display are vertically aligned when the housing is in
the vertical configuration and are horizontally aligned when the
housing is in the horizontal configuration. A controller is
configured to control operation of the at least one temperature
modifying device in response to a comparison of a measured ambient
temperature with a user-selected setpoint temperature, and present
a menu on the display, from which the user is able to select, using
the rotary dial, one of a horizontal orientation or a vertical
orientation of the display with respect to the housing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The following detailed description of preferred embodiments
of the invention will be better understood when read in conjunction
with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustration, there
are shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently
preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is
not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities
shown.
[0009] FIG. 1 is front side elevational view of a temperature
control apparatus oriented horizontally in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a front side elevational view of the temperature
control apparatus of FIG. 1 oriented vertically;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a rear side elevational view of the temperature
control apparatus of FIG. 1;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the temperature control
apparatus of FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a tree of menu items available for selection on
the temperature control apparatus of FIG. 1 in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention; and
[0014] FIG. 6 is a screenshot of a menu for selecting an
orientation of the display of the temperature control apparatus of
FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0015] Certain terminology is used in the following description for
convenience only and is not limiting. The words "right", "left",
"lower", and "upper" designate directions in the drawings to which
reference is made. The words "inwardly" and "outwardly" refer to
directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center
of the device and designated parts thereof The terminology includes
the above-listed words, derivatives thereof, and words of similar
import. Additionally, the words "a" and "an", as used in the claims
and in the corresponding portions of the specification, mean "at
least one."
[0016] Referring to the drawings in detail there is shown in FIG. 1
a first embodiment of a temperature control apparatus 10,
preferably a thermostat, for controlling operation of at least one
temperature-modifying device (not shown), such as an air
conditioning unit, a heating unit, or the like. The temperature
control apparatus 10 includes a housing 12 that is preferably
formed by a front portion 12a and a rear portion 12b. The front and
rear portions 12a, 12b of the housing 12 are preferably coupled to
one another via snap-fit or a like coupling so as to be separable
to allow access to internal components described hereinafter. The
housing 12 may also include other external or internal portions
(not shown) that may be integrally formed with or fixedly or
removably attached to at least one of the front or rear portions
12a, 12b. The front and rear portions 12a, 12b of the housing 12
are preferably made from a plastic material, although other types
of materials may be used, as is generally known.
[0017] The housing 12 is preferably mountable to a support surface
(not shown), such as a wall or the like. For example, the housing
12 may include, as part of the rear portion 12b, at least one, and
preferably two mounting slots 14 for coupling the housing 12 to the
support surface. In one embodiment, a screw or a like fastener (not
shown) can be inserted through each mounting slot 14 and into the
support surface to secure the rear portion 12b of the housing 12 to
the support surface. The front portion 12a may then be re-connected
to the rear portion 12b to complete the mounting. Of course, other
methods for mounting the housing 12 to the support surface can be
utilized as well without departing from the spirit of the
invention.
[0018] During mounting, the housing 12 is selectively orientable in
one of a plurality of configurations. That is, rather than being
required to mount the housing 12 in a particular orientation on the
support surface, the user may select one of a plurality of
configurations. In a preferred embodiment, the housing 12 can be
mounted in a horizontal configuration (as shown in FIG. 1) or a
vertical configuration (as shown in FIG. 2).
[0019] The temperature control apparatus 10 also includes a display
16 that is disposed within or on the housing 12. The display 16 is
preferably a liquid crystal display, although other types of
electronic displays may be viable, and is used to provide
information to the user, such as current temperature, time, date,
operational status of the temperature-modifying device, and the
like, and also provides operational menus as described further
below for controlling operation of the temperature control
apparatus 10. The display 16 is preferably in the shape of a square
so as to provide the same user experience regardless of whether the
housing 12 is mounted in the horizontal or vertical configuration.
However, the display 16 may take any desired rotationally
symmetrical shape, particularly when necessary to provide the user
with the same experience regardless of the selected
configuration.
[0020] The temperature control apparatus 10 further includes a
rotary dial 18 that is disposed on or at least partially within the
housing 12 and is rotatable with respect to the housing 12. The
rotary dial 18 can be used to navigate menus on the display 16 or
undertake other functions for controlling operation of the
temperature control apparatus 10. The rotary dial 18 is most
preferably used for functions where relative location or direction
have meaning such as selecting setpoint temperatures or the like.
In this manner, regardless of whether the temperature control
apparatus 10 is in a horizontal or vertical configuration, the user
will always rotate the rotary dial 18 in a clockwise direction to
increase settings, such as temperature setpoint, date, time, a
duration of time, or the like, and counter-clockwise for decreasing
the same. In other words, there is no change for the user with
respect to such direction or orientation-dependent functions when
moving from one configuration to another. In addition, since the
rotary dial maintains the same logical functionality in either
orientation of the temperature control apparatus 10, there is no
need for any additional software that would otherwise be required
for reconfiguring the control functions in response to a change in
orientation.
[0021] The rotary dial 18 also may include at least one portion
which is axially movable with respect to the housing 12. For
example, in one embodiment, the rotary dial 18 includes two
depressible switch portions 18a, 18b that can be actuated by the
user to make selections in the menus on the display 16 or perform
other functions. In other embodiments, the rotary dial 18 may
include fewer or more depressible portions. In still further
embodiments, the rotary dial 18 is not movable axially and
additional push buttons or switches (not shown) may be provided for
certain operations. Preferably such push buttons or switches are
provided only for functions that are not dependent on orientation,
such as making a selection or cancelling a selection.
[0022] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the housing 12 includes a
button label 20a, 20b proximate each of the depressible switch
portions 18a, 18b as a visual indicator to the user of the
functionality of each depressible switch portion 18a, 18b. However,
other indicators in other locations may be used as well.
[0023] In a preferred embodiment, a center of the rotary dial 18 is
horizontally aligned with a center of the display 16 when the
housing 12 is in the horizontal configuration (FIG. 1), and
similarly, the center of the rotary dial 18 is vertically aligned
with the center of the display 16 when the housing 12 is in the
vertical configuration (FIG. 2). In this way, the user experience
in the two configurations can be kept as similar as possible.
However, the centers of the rotary dial 18 and the display 16 can
be offset in one or more configurations.
[0024] Referring to FIG. 4, the temperature control apparatus 10
also includes a controller U1 contained within the housing 12 and
that is operatively connected to the display 16, the rotary dial
18, and any additional inputs or interfaces provided on or in the
housing 12. The controller U1 can be a microprocessor, application
specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a logic circuit, combinations
thereof, or the like. The controller U1 may be powered by
conventional methods, such as household wiring (not shown),
batteries (not shown), or the like, or combinations thereof The
controller U1 is also connected to the temperature modifying
device(s) for controlling operation thereof. The connection may be
made directly or indirectly using wires (not shown), for which an
opening 22 is provided in the rear portion 12b of the housing 12
(FIG. 3). The wiring for such devices is conventionally known. The
temperature control apparatus 10 may also include a wireless
communication module 24, which may operate using Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH,
ZIGBEE, Z-WAVE, 3G or 4G cellular or other like types of wireless
protocols for communicating with the temperature modifying
device(s) or other devices.
[0025] The controller U1 further includes or is connected to a
memory U2, such as RAM, SRAM, DRAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash
memory, or the like for storing programming functions, user
selections and settings, and other data.
[0026] The temperature control apparatus 10 preferably also
includes one or more temperature sensors 26, in communication with
the controller U1, for detecting an ambient temperature of the
medium to be controlled. It is preferred that the temperature
sensor 26 is disposed within the housing 12, as shown in FIG. 4,
although the temperature control apparatus 10 can be utilized with
temperature sensors 26 located exterior of the housing 12 as well.
Thus, the medium in which the temperature is to be measured can be
air, water, or other liquids/gasses. The temperature sensor 26 may
include, for example, a thermistor, thermocouple, memory metal
(e.g., a nickel-titanium alloy), a bimetallic metal strip, or other
type of temperature transducer.
[0027] As is conventional, the controller U1 receives from the
temperature sensor 26 the measured ambient temperature, which the
controller U1 then compares to a setpoint temperature, which is
preferably user-selected. In response to the comparison, the
controller U1 controls operation of the appropriate temperature
modifying device. For example, depending on a comparison of the
measured ambient temperature and a first setpoint temperature, the
controller U1 may determine to turn a heater on or off. Similarly,
depending on a comparison of the measured ambient temperature and a
second setpoint temperature, the controller U1 may determine to
turn an air conditioning unit on or off.
[0028] The user is preferably able to select the setpoint
temperature using the rotary dial 18. For example, the controller
U1 may provide a menu (see menu tree in FIG. 5) on the display 16
that allows the user to select a heating or cooling mode, and to
set heating and cooling schedules by selecting different setpoint
temperatures corresponding to different parts of the day. The user
may also select the setpoint temperature to hold constant until
further changes are made, rather than establishing a schedule.
Additionally, from the home screen (e.g., FIG. 1), when a heating
or cooling mode is operational, the user may simply rotate the
rotary dial 18 to set an override setpoint temperature that
bypasses a programmed schedule for a user-selectable amount of
time.
[0029] The controller U1 further provides the user with a menu, via
the display 16, from which the user is able to select, using the
rotary dial 18, an orientation of the display 16 with respect to
the housing 12. For example, the user may select between the
horizontal (FIG. 1) and vertical (FIG. 2) orientations of the
display 16 using the rotary dial 18. Thus, using the rotary dial
18, the text and other symbols provided by the display 16 may be
rotated on the display 16 until properly aligned with the mounting
configuration of the housing 12. FIG. 6 is a screenshot of an
exemplary display orientation menu. The user is able to rotate the
rotary dial 18 until the desired orientation is presented for the
display 16. The user may then press depressible switch portion 18a
to confirm the selection.
[0030] The controller U1 can provide further menus for the user to
access and manipulate using the rotary dial 18. For example, the
controller U1 can provide the user with options for selecting fan
settings, resetting filter alerts, viewing runtimes of the various
temperature control devices, setting the time and date, configuring
access to a wireless network, changing settings for backlight
duration, selecting formatting of information display (e.g.,
time/date format or using Fahrenheit or Celsius for the temperature
display), selecting the type of heating system, selecting whether
the temperature control apparatus 10 is to be used in heat- or
cool-only mode or can control both heating and cooling, setting
temperature limits, setting minimum run/off times, calibrating the
system, or like operations. Of course, other types of menus can be
provided in keeping with the invention. In addition, not all menus
need to be usable with the rotary dial 18, and may take other
inputs, including external inputs, as from a networked mobile
device or the like.
[0031] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that
changes could be made to the embodiments described above without
departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is
understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the
particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover
modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention
as defined by the appended claims.
* * * * *