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1. JSON sjuoaunsn pe ano 0091 U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 43 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 Temperature set to 70 for the night M II m A 5 v 52 9 27 ES LL g 1522 U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 44 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 3 Room activity sensor Initial Learning done confidence achieved Adjust any time to Train Nest further Auto enabled Heating time calculation Cooling time calculation confidence achieved confidence achieved amp enabled 49 enabled Nest Learning has Adjusted the thermostat Schedule FIG 15C U S Patent Dec 23 2014 1600 1606 1610 1612 1602 1604 FIG 16A 1700 1712 1702 1704 FIG 17A Sheet 45 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 1600 1614 1610 1602 1604 FIG 16B 1700 1704 FIG 17B US 8 918 219 B2 1 USER FRIENDLY INTERFACE FOR CONTROL UNIT CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This patent is a continuation in part of U S Ser No 13 033 573 filed Feb 23 2011 This patent application also claims the benefit of U S Prov Ser No 61 415 771 filed Nov 19 2010 and ofU S Prov Ser No 61 429 093 filed Dec 31 2010 each of which is incorporated by reference herein The subject matter of this patent specification also relates to the subject matter of the following commonly assigned applic
2. AWAY 4 U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 39 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 Select NEW 4252 by inward click THURSDAY 8A 12P 4P 8P 12A Ring rotation Click adjusts set point temperature Ring rotation adjusts set point starting time Click 1258 THURSDAY 8 12 8P 12A CHANGE REMOVE DONE FIG 12B US 8 918 219 B2 Sheet 40 of 45 Dec 23 2014 U S Patent EL Ola Orel y 0 UMOp SEM oBesn 5 cOEL OLEL 9c dn sem oBesn d3S NNS OLNV 9 9 UMOP SEM oBesn OUD 6 dos IHd olny 8 YZEL 6 das I34 8LEL Joos veel 9385 NNS 0L 435 LVS 27 21 912 PLEL Sheet 41 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 Dec 23 2014 U S Patent COOLING 7 LUN 1402 US 8 918 219 B2 Sheet 42 of 45 Dec 23 2014 U S Patent Wd SEP 15 GZ 01195 VSL 914 sjueunsnf pe ui04J 1jouaq 159 sAep 151 104 yout ANNILNOD JnoA daay 0 y ysnipy 209
3. energy saving low temperature you would like while you are away 63 What s the energy saving high temperature you would like while you are away 636 CHANGE 648 What s the energy saving low temperature you would like Ne 638 What s the while you are away energy saving high temperature a 62 you would like while you are away D 84 CHANGE CHANGE 640 What s the energy saving high temperature you would like while you are away 80 Creating your comfort schedule U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 13 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 650 Choose to continue or to review JInternet and nest com v Heating and cooling v Your location Select TEMPERATURE 652 Should Nest start heating or cooling your home COOLING HEATING Select COOLING or HEATING 654 What are the lowest and highest temperatures you d like when you are away COOL TO HEAT TO FIG 6D U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 14 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 15 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 714 FIG U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 16 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 Click go to SETTINGS Screen 900 US 8 918 219 B2 Sheet 17 of 45 Dec 23 2014 U S Patent 916 UddIOS 0 SONILLAS YOUD 32119 SONILLAS
4. Page 5 56 References Cited International Preliminary Report on Patentability mailed Apr 8 2014 for International Patent Application No PCT US2012 058207 filed OTHER PUBLICATIONS Sep 30 2012 8 pages International Patent Application No PCT US2012 030084 Interna tional Search Report amp Written Opinion issued Jul 6 2012 7 pages cited by examiner U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 1 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 2 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 330 FIG 3A 300 4 309 308 z gt CLICK 309 gt FIG 3C N Se g SAGES gt U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 3 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 TER 316 324 309 FIG 4 U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 4 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 512 513 It takes a few minutes to set up Nest 516 Press to Setup steps CONTINUE Internet connection Heating and cooling Your location Your home 518 click Connect for remote Press to continue cola control automatic flip fupdates and local weathe information Select CONNECT ress to go to screen SKIP 520 You can connect at any time from your Nest thermostat s settings 522 Setup steps PIC Went CODmectun ap Your heating and cooling Press to pdt Your location CONTINUE flip Your home FIG 5A U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet
5. Wiring Error No cooling system present 580 Equipment detected Click 582 wires detected An Rh or Rc wire is required amp shutting down FIG 5E s 584 Confirm that your heating or cooling system is connected properly U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 9 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 588 586 Choose to continue Select or to review Your v Please answer YInternet and nest com location a few simple questions Heating and cooling so Nest can create a Your location location starting schedule CONTINUE Click 590 What is your location 592 What is your CANADA ZIP code Rotate ring and click 594 What is your ZIP code 96475 Set the current time and date CLB 21 2011 10 17 596 CONTINUE CHANGE Pacific Daylight Time FIG 5F U S Patent Dec 23 2014 600 602 Select Choose to continue or to review Intemet and nest com YOUR v Heating and cooling v Your location y Your home Is someone usually home at noon 604 Is everybody usually in bed by 11 PM Is there more than one 606 thermostat in the home Only ask this last question if didn t discover another Nest thermostat previously see FIG 5D 608 Name this Thermostat Hallway Living room Bedroom 607 Upstairs Downstairs TYPE NAME S
6. Nest Learning Click SCHEDULE learning AUTO AWAY training 9 TO TEMP ready g ready 928 LEARNING schedule auto away time to temp Nest Learning AUTO AWAY training 9 TO TEMP ready 4 ready Schedule Learning active for 3 days CONTINUE PAUSE LEARNING LEARNING Nest can use its activity sensors to determine when you Select SET TEMP 934 away Should Nest adjust CONTINUE to save energy A What are the lowest and highest temperatures you d like when you are away COOL TO when its senses that you are away HEAT TO DONE 4 YES 5 935 Activity sensor IN TRAINING 27 COMPLETE appears when you have adjusted Nest to an energy saving temperature Activity sensor TOO LOW FOR AUTO AWAY 936 FIG 9D gt U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 21 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 950 SETTINGS SETTINGS 955 Rotate Ring LEARNING active AUTO AWAY active Should Nest learn its schedule from your adjustments NO 951 Should Nest adjust the temperature when you are away to save energy NO Select YES Nest will alter its schedule based on your temperature adjustments CONTINUE Nest uses its activity sensors to determine w
7. Select EQUIPMENT both heating and cooling installed cooling only installed Select SAFETY TEMP both heating and cooling installed 1059 1055 Pre cool or pre heat to reach desired temperature on schedule Safety temperatures Nest will always YES NO HEAT COOL Select to reach desired EQUIPMENT temperature on heating only schedule Select SAFETY TEMP heating only installed installed NO Pre heat to reach desired temperature on schedule Safety temperatures 1056 Nest will always Select SAFETY TEMP coolin only installed HEAT YES NO Safety temperatures Nest will always COOL 1057 1061 FIG 10E U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 30 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 1062 Temperature range holds the room temperature between Does your heat pump have O common or B less common 1065 configuration a high and low setting O HEAT ON CHED B COOL ON CONTINUE I DON T KNOW Heat pump will only use its compressor above IDES 1063 A temperature range can use a lot HP of energy CONTINUE Heat pump will only use aux heat below 1067 Learning must be off to enable range temperatures LEARNING OF
8. si eM 5 Ji sieadde Ajuo uo sAenye SONILLAS v6 YAO 3212 216 Bury 76 914 0 6 Bury buly 906 806 L06 LOG VZ Old 995 UAS jejsouueuyj yoeq 21109 006 U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 18 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 Rotate Ring Go to 918 SETTINGS 916 LOCK unlocked Click Lock this if not connected thermostat 2 Click UNLOCKED If paired UNLOCKED LOCKED You need to connect Nest to a Wi Fi network to activate Nest locking SETTINGS DONE Select LOCKED 926 Click LOCK if not 920 locked paired Enter locking PIN 645 You need to add this thermostat to a Nest account to activate locking DONE Ente 927 Enter new locking PIN 645 Enter locking PIN 922 on mismatch Confirm PIN 00645 on ma ch go b cS to screen 938 and or 939 FIG 9B US 8 918 219 B2 Sheet 19 of 45 Dec 23 2014 U S Patent iejsouueu x pexoojun 533284109 Nid 2 Gp Nid S 2 U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 20 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 Rotate Ring Go to next sub menu item disk
9. Each thermostat maintains a group state information object that includes 1 a local auto away ready AAR flag that reflects whether that individual thermostat considers itself to be auto away ready and 11 one or more peer auto away ready AAR flags that reflect whether each other ther mostat in the group considers itself to be auto away ready The local AAR flag for each thermostat appears as a peer AAR flag in the group state information object of each other thermostat in the group Each thermostat is permitted to change its own local AAR flag but is only permitted to read its peer AAR flags It is a collective function of the central cloud based management server and the thermostats to com municate often enough such that the group state information US 8 918 219 B2 15 object in each thermostat is maintained with fresh informa tion and in particular that the peer AAR flags are kept fresh This can be achieved for example by programming each thermostat to immediately communicate any change in its local AAR flag to the management server at which time the management server can communicate that change immedi ately with each other thermostat in the group to update the corresponding peer AAR flag Other methods of direct peer to peer communication among the thermostats can also be used without departing from the scope of the present teach ings According to a preferred embodiment the thermostats operate in a consensus mode such
10. 3 31 11 06 15 FIG 10B U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 27 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 1024 7 SETTINGS 1028 Do you want to start automatic tests of your heating and cooling equipment Rotate ring go to screen 1052 1024a TEST Equipment detected G TEST FAILED Testing cooling 1030 Fan test failed NEXT TEST TEST FAILED END TEST Do you need to make a wiring change YES NO 1036 testing 1032 TEST COMPLETE or TEST COMPLETE OCooling a P abc OHeating OHeati heat OAux pue Se FIG 10C CONTINUE CONTINUE U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 28 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 Equipment Equipment detected CONTINUE 1042 Y1 cooling wire detected No cooling system 1040 present No power wires detected An Rh or Rc wire is Required CONTINUE ug Confirm that your heating or cooling system is connected properly 1048 Ci amp shutting down CONTINUE FIG 10D U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 29 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 Rotate ring go 10 screen 1002 m 7 Select HEAT PUMP 1054 Go 0 screen 1062 Click A lt q Select DONE ADVANCED SETTINGS Select RANGE Go to screen 1065 ADVANCED SETTINGS HEAT PUMP RANGE EQUIPMENT SAFETY TEMP
11. 345 D643 045 S 8 2011 Woo 2007 0221741 9 2007 Wagner et al D648 735 S 11 2011 Arnold et al 2007 0225867 Al 9 2007 Moorer et al D651 529 S 1 2012 Mongell et al 2007 0227721 Al 10 2007 Springer et al 8 091 794 B2 1 2012 Siddaramanna et al 2007 0228183 Al 10 2007 Kennedy et al 136052 B2 3 2012 Shin et al 2007 0241203 1 10 2007 Wagner et al D656950 S 4 2012 Shallcross et al 2007 0257120 Al 11 2007 Chapman etal D656 952 S 4 2012 Weir et al 2007 0278320 Al 12 2007 Lunacek et al 8 156 060 B2 4 2012 Borzestowski et al 2007 0296280 Al 12 2007 Sorgetal 8 166 395 B2 4 2012 et al 2008 0006709 Al 1 2008 Ashworth et al 658 674 S 5 2012 Shallcross et al 2008 0048046 Al 2 2008 Wagner et al D660 732 S 5 2012 Bould et al 2008 0054082 Al 3 2008 Evans et al 8 174381 B2 5 2012 Imes et al 2008 0054084 AI 3 2008 Olson 8 185 164 B2 5 2012 Kim 2008 0191045 Al 8 2008 Harter 8 195 313 6 2012 Fadell et al 2008 0215240 AI 9 2008 Howard et al D663 743 S 7 2012 Tanghe et al 2008 0245480 A1 10 2008 Knight et al D663 744 S 7 2012 Tanghe et al 2008 0256475 Al 10 2008 Amundson et al D664 559 S 7 2012 Ismail et al 2008 0290183 Al 11 2008 Laberge et al 8 223 134 7 2012 Forstall et al 2009 0001180 Al 1 2009 Siddaramanna et al 8 234 581 B2 7 2012 2009 0024927 Al 1 2009 Schrock et al D664 978 S 8 2012 Tanghe et al 2009 0140056 Al 6 2009 Leen D665 397 S 8 2012 Naranjo et al 2009 0140057 Al 6 2009 Leen 8 243 017 B2 8 2012 Bro
12. No 8717953007902 2009 2 pages Introducing the New Smart Si Thermostat Datasheet online Ecobee Mar 2012 retrieved on Feb 25 2013 Retrieved from the Internet URL https www ecobee com solutions home smart si 7 Mar 12 2012 4 pages The Clever Thermostat ICY BV Web Page http www icy nl en consumer products clever thermostat ICY BV 2012 1 page The Clever Thermostat User Manual and Installation Guide ICY BV ICY3815 Timer Thermostat 2009 pp 1 36 U S Appl No 60 512 886 Volkswagen Rotary Knob for Motor Vehicle English Translation of German Application filed Oct 20 2003 Arens et al Demand Response Electrical Appliance Manager User Interface Design Development and Testing Poster Demand Response Enabling Technology Development University of Califor nia Berkeley Retrieved from dr berkeley edu dream posters 2005 _ 6GUlIposter pdf 2005 1 page Arens et al Demand Response Enabled Thermostat Control Strategies and Interface Demand Response Enabling Technology Development Poster University of California Berkeley Retrieved from dr berkeley edu dream posters 2004 11CEC TstatPoster pdf 2004 1 page Arens et al Demand Response Enabling Technology Develop ment Phase I Report Jun 2003 Nov 2005 Jul 27 P DemandRes UC Papers DR PhaselReport Final DraftApril24 26 doc Univer sity of California Berkeley pp 1 108 Arens et al New Thermostat Demand Response Enabling Tec
13. a crucial link in the successful integration of self programming thermostats into widespread residential and business use and that even subtle visual and tactile cues can make an large difference in whether those efforts are successful Thus it would be desirable to provide a thermostat having an improved user interface that is simple intuitive elegant and easy to use such that the typical user is able to access many ofthe energy saving and comfort maintaining features while at the same time not being overwhelmed by the choices presented It would be further desirable to provide a user interface for a self programming or learning thermostat that provides a user setup and learning instantiation process that is relatively fast and easy to complete while at the same time inspiring confidence in the user that their setpoint wishes will be properly respected It would be still further desirable to provide a user interface for a self programming or learning thermostat that provides convenient access to the results of the learning algorithms and methods for fast intuitive alter ation of scheduled setpoints including learned setpoints It would be even further desirable to provide a user interface for a self programming or learning thermostat that provides insightful feedback and encouragement regarding energy saving behaviors performance and or results associated with the operation of the thermostat Notably although one or more of the embodime
14. background tick marks 1406 sweep from the current temperature tick mark 1402 to the setpoint tick mark 73 In the case of heating the high lighted background tick marks sweep in the opposite direc tion 20 40 45 50 55 34 FIGS 15A C show example screens relating to learning according to some alternate embodiments The screens shown according to some embodiments are displayed on a thermostat 300 on round dot matrix electronic display 316 having a rotatable ring 312 such as shown and described in FIGS 34 4 In FIG 15A screens 1500 1502 and 1504 display information to a user indicating in general terms how the thermostat will learn from their actions according to some embodiments During a learning period the thermostat learns from the user s adjustments according to some embodi ments Screens 1510 to 1512 show a user adjustment to set the setpoint to 75 degrees F by a ring rotation input The message LEARNING is flashed on and off twice to notify the user that the adjustment is being used to train the thermostat After flashing the regular message HEATING is displayed in screen 1516 which could also be a time to temperature display if confidence is high enough Screen 1518 is an example of a message reminding the user that the manual setpoint 75 degrees F will only be effective until 4 15 PM which can be due for example to an automatic setback imposed for training purposes which urges the us
15. com munications communications through one or more servers located on a private network or and or communications through a cloud based service FIG 4 illustrates a side view ofthe thermostat 300 includ ing a head unit 410 and a backplate or wall dock 440 thereof for ease of installation configuration and upgrading accord ing to some embodiments As is described hereinabove ther mostat 300 is wall mounted and has circular in shape and has an outer rotatable ring 312 for receiving user input Head unit 410 includes the outer cap 308 that includes the cover 314 and electronic display 316 Head unit 410 of round thermostat 300 is slidably mountable onto back plate 440 and slidably detachable therefrom According to some embodiments the connection of the head unit 410 to backplate 440 can be accomplished using magnets bayonet latches and catches tabs or ribs with matching indentations or simply friction on mating portions of the head unit 410 and backplate 440 According to some embodiments the head unit 410 includes a processing system 360 display driver 364 and a wireless communications system 366 Also shown is a rechargeable battery 420 that is recharged using recharging circuitry 422 that uses power from backplate that is either obtained via power harvesting also referred to as power stealing and or power sharing from the HVAC system control circuit s or from a common wire if available as described in further detail in co pen
16. embodiments In screen 938 the user is allowed to set the minimum setpoint temperature using the rotatable ring followed by an inward click in the case where a cooling system is present Screen 939 similarly allows the user to set the maximum setpoint temperature when a heat ing system is present After setting the limits in screens 938 and or 939 a coin flip transition returns to the main thermostat operation screen such as shown in screen 940 In the case shown in screen 940 a maximum setpoint of 73 degrees F has been input A lock icon 946 is displayed on the dial to notify the user that a maximum setpoint temperature has been set for the heating system Screens 941 942 943 944 and 945 show the behavior of the thermostat when locked according to some embodiments In this example the user is trying to adjust the setpoint temperature above the maximum of 73 degrees In screen 943 the user is asked for the PIN If the PIN is incorrect then the thermostat remains locked as shown in screen 944 If the PIN is correct the thermostat is unlocked and lock icon is removed as shown in screen 945 in which case the user can then proceed to change the current setpoint above 73 degrees F FIG 9D shows a sub menu for settings and information relating to learning according to some preferred embodi ments Screen 928 displays a learning sub menu disk 928a which when entered into by inward clicking leads to screen 929 From screen 929 four differe
17. is a neutral color such as black A fan logo 730 can be displayed indicat ing the fan is active without any associated heating or cooling Further a lock icon 732 can be displayed when the thermostat is locked FIG 7C shows a screen 702 which has the message 726 COOLING indicating that cooling is being called for in addition to a background color such as blue In this case the message 726 COOLING is displayed instead of the time to temp display since there may be low confidence in the time to temp number may such as due to insufficient data for amore accurate estimation In FIG 7D screen 703 shows an example similar to screen 702 but with the time to temp 728 displayed instead of message 726 indicating that there is a higher confidence in the time to temp estimation Note that the background color of screen 702 and 703 are bluish so as to indicate HVAC cooling is active although the color may be partially muted or partially transparent since the current set point temperature and current ambient temperature is rela tively close According to some embodiments to facilitate the protec tion of compressor equipment from damage such as with conventional cooling compressors or with heat pump heating compressors the thermostat prevents re activation of a com pressor within a specified time period lockout period from de activation so as to avoid compressor damage that can occur if the de activation to re activation interva
18. it is to be understood that the use of white or colored graphics and characters over black and colored backgrounds such is generally preferable for enhanc ing the user experience particularly for embodiments where the electronic display 316 is a backlit dot matrix LCD display similar to those used on handheld smartphones and touchpad computers Notably although the presently described color schemes have been found to be particularly effective it is to be appreciated that the scope of the present teachings is not necessarily so limited and that other impactful schemes could be developed for other types of known or hereinafter developed electronic display technologies e g e ink elec tronic paper displays organic LED displays etc in view of the present description without departing from the scope of the present teachings In FIG 7A screen 700 has a red orange background color with white central numerals 720 indicating the current set point of 72 degrees F The current setpoint of 72 degrees is also shown by the large tick mark 714 The current ambient temperature is 70 degrees as shown by the small numerals 718 and the tick mark 716 Other tick marks in a circular arrange ment are shown in a more transparent or more muted white color to give the user a sense of the range of adjustments and temperatures in keeping with the circular design of the ther mostat display area and rotatable ring According to some embodiments the circu
19. rotating main menu screen to a horizontally oriented week long schedule according to some embodiments is illustrated in the commonly assigned U S Ser No 29 399 636 supra Screens 1210 1212 and 1214 show portions of the animated transition Screen 1210 shows a shifting or translation to the schedule display that preferably begins with a removal of the circular main menu e g similar to FIG 7A followed by a shrinking or zoom out of the circular standard thermostat view 1204 Along with the shrinking the circular standard view 1204 begins to shift or translate to the left while the rectangular horizontally oriented week long schedule 1206 begins to appear from the right as shown in screen 1210 The week long schedule begins with Monday as shown in screen 1212 and continues to translate to a position that corresponds to the current time and day of the week which in this example is 2 15 PM on Thursday which is shown in screen 1214 The horizontally oriented schedule has a plot area in which the vertical axis represents the temperature value of the setpoints and the horizontal axis represents the effective time including the day of the setpoints The schedule display includes a day of the week label labels for each 4 hours e g 12 4A 8A 12 8P and 12 a central horizontal cursor bar 1220 marking the current schedule time as well as a small analog clock 1230 that displays hands indicating the current schedule time Se
20. select 84 degrees F According to some embodiments a schedule is then created while the screen 642 is displayed to the user If the user selects HEATING at screen 632 then in screen 644 the user is asked to set low energy using away heating temperature that should be maintained when the home or business is unoccupied According to some embodi ments the default value offered to the user is 65 degrees F the maximum value selectable by the user is 75 degrees F the minimum value selectable is 55 degrees F and a leaf or other suitable energy savings encouragement indicator is displayed when the user selects a value below 63 degrees F Screens 646 and 648 show examples of the user inputting 63 US 8 918 219 B2 19 and 62 degrees respectively According to some embodi ments a schedule is then created while the screen 642 is displayed to the user FIG 6D shows certain setup screens according to some preferred embodiments According to some embodiments screen 650 displays the first three setup steps completed and a fourth step Temperature that has not yet been completed If TEMPERATURE is selected then in screen 652 the user is asked if heating or cooling is currently being used at this time of year In screen 654 the user is asked to input the energy saving heating and cooling temperatures to be main tained in the case the home or business is unoccupied FIGS 7A 7K show aspects of a general layout
21. temperature and the setpoint temperature are displayed on the rounded display and input representing a desired change in the setpoint temperature is received from the user by user rotation of a rotatable ring surrounding the 30 40 45 50 4 rounded display The setpoint tick mark is moved in response to and in accordance with the received input such that the change in setpoint is visible to the user According to some embodiments a background color hav ing a red and or orange shade is displayed when the device is calling for heating and a background color having a bluish shade is displayed when the device is calling for cooling For some embodiments the displayed intensities of the colors correspond to an estimated amount of heating or cooling that will be used to reach the setpoint temperature According to some embodiments there is provided a pro grammable device for controlling the operation of an HVAC system the programmable device being configured to carry out a method for interacting with a user thereof the method comprising displaying a menu including a plurality of user selectable options in an arcuate area on a rounded display that is centrally mounted on a rounded body of the programmable device and receiving input from the user by user rotation ofa rotatable ring surrounding the rounded display Different user selectable options are highlighted in response to and in accor dance with the received input The arcuat
22. termed a metallic front grille portion Further description of the metallic portion front grille portion is provided in the commonly assigned U S Ser No 13 199 108 supra The thermostat 300 15 preferably con structed such that the electronic display 316 is at a fixed orientation and does not rotate with the outer ring 312 so that the electronic display 316 remains easily read by the user For some embodiments the cover 314 and metallic portion 324 also remain at a fixed orientation and do not rotate with the outer ring 312 According to one embodiment in which the diameter of the thermostat 300 is about 80 mm the diameter of the electronic display 316 is about 45 mm According to some embodiments an LED indicator 380 is positioned beneath portion 324 to act as a low power consuming indi cator of certain status conditions For example the LED indi cator 380 can be used to display blinking red when a recharge able battery ofthe thermostat see FIG 4A infra 1s very low and is being recharged More generally the LED indicator 380 can be used for communicating one or more status codes or error codes by virtue of red color green color various combinations of red and green various different blinking rates and so forth which can be useful for troubleshooting purposes Motion sensing as well as other techniques can be use used in the detection and or predict of occupancy as is described further in the commonly assigned U S Ser No 12
23. that each thermostat will only enter into an actual away state if all of the AAR flags for the group are set to yes or ready Therefore at any particular point in time either all of the thermostats in the group will be in an away state none of them will be in the away state In turn each thermostat is configured and pro grammed to set its AAR flag to yes if either or both of two sets of criteria are met The first set of criteria is met when all of the following are true i there has been a period of sensed inactivity for a requisite inactivity interval according to that thermostat s sensors such as its passive infrared PIR motion sensors active infrared proximity sensors PROX and other occupancy sensors with which it may be equipped ii the thermostat is auto away confident in that it has previously qualified itself as being capable of sensing statistically mean ingful occupant activity at a statistically sufficient number of meaningful times and iii other basic reasonableness crite ria for going into an auto away mode are met such as a the auto away function was not previously disabled by the user b the time is between 8 AM and 8 PM if the enclosure is not a business c the thermostat is not in OFF mode d the away state temperature is more energy efficient than the current setpoint temperature and e the user is not interact ing with the thermostat remotely through
24. that their setpoint of 68 degrees F will be in effect until 4 30 PM FIG 7G shows an example screen 706 in which a message HEAT TO is displayed which indicates that the thermostat 300 is in heating mode but that the heating system is not currently active 1 heat is not being called for by the ther mostat In this example the current temperature 70 degrees F is already higher than the setpoint of 68 degrees F so an active heating call is not necessary Note that screen 706 is shown with a black background with white characters and graphics to show an example of the preferred color scheme FIG 7H shows an example screen 707 in which a message 724 COOL TO is displayed which indicates that the cool ing system is in cooling mode but is not currently active i e 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 22 cooling is not being called for by the thermostat In this example the current temperature 70 degrees F is already lower than the setpoint of 68 degrees F so an active cooling callis not necessary This case is analogous to FIG 7G except that the system is in cooling mode FIG 7I shows an example screen 708 where the thermostat has manually been set to AWAY mode e g the user has walked up to the thermostat dial and invoked an AWAY state using user interface features to be described further infra which can be performed by the user when a period of expected non occupancy is
25. the new setpoint as shown in screen 1258 If the time cursor bar 1220 is positioned on an existing setpoint such as shown in screen 1270 an inward click brings up a menu screen 1272 in which the user can choose to change the setpoint remove the setpoint or return out of the schedule viewer editor If the user selects CHANGE then the user can make adjustments to the temperature and start time similar to the methods shown in screens 1252 and 1256 respectively According to some embodiments setpoints must be cre ated on even quarter hours i e on the hour or 15 30 or 45 minutes past and two setpoints cannot be created or moved to be less than 60 minutes apart Although the examples shown herein display a week long schedule according to US 8 918 219 B2 33 other embodiments other time periods can be used for the displayed schedule such as daily 3 day two weeks etc FIG 13 shows example screens relating to the display of energy usage information according to some embodiments The screens shown according to some embodiments are displayed on a thermostat 300 on round dot matrix electronic display 316 having a rotatable ring 312 such as shown and described in FIGS 3A 4 From the rotating main menu such as shown in FIG 8 if the ENERGY option is selected an interactive energy information viewer is displayed Accord ing to some embodiments a shrinking and shifting of the standard thermostat display transition is
26. the belt style rotatable ring 1606 with the exception that instead of the electronically displayed words moving around in a circular trajectory those words move around ina rectangular trajectory along the periphery of the electronic display 1604 FIGS 17A 17B illustrate a thermostat 1700 according to another alternative embodiment likewise having a different form factor that while not believed to be quite as advanta geous and or elegant as the circular form factor is neverthe less indeed within the scope of the present teachings Ther mostat 1700 comprises a body 1702 having a square or rectangular shape and further comprises a rectangular elec tronic display 1704 that is centrally positioned relative to the body 1702 The body 1702 and electronic display 1704 are configured such as by virtue of appropriate mechanical cou 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 36 plings to a common underlying support structure 1702 such that the body 1702 is manually rotatable by the user while the electronic display 1704 remains at a fixed horizontal angle and further such that the body 1702 can be inwardly pressed by the userto achieve an inward click input whereby the body 1702 itself forms and constitutes an inwardly pressable ring that is rotatable relative to an outwardly extending axis of rotation With the exception of the different form factor assumed by the rotating ring body 1702 and altered display layouts to confo
27. the cloud based management server The second set of criteria is met when all ofthe following are true 1 there has been a period of sensed inactivity for a requisite inactivity interval according to that thermostat s sensors ii the AAR flag of at least one other thermostat in the group is yes and iii the above described reasonableness criteria are all met Advantageously by special virtue of the second set of alternative criteria by which an individual thermostat can set its AAR flag to yes it can be the case that all of the thermostats in the group can con tribute the benefits of their occupancy sensor data to the group auto away determination even where one or more of them are not auto away confident as long as there is at least one member that is auto away confident This method has been found to increase both the reliability and scalability of the energy saving auto away feature with reliability being enhanced by virtue of multiple sensor locations around the enclosure and with scalability being enhanced in that the misplacement of one thermostat for example installed at an awkward location behind a barrier that limits PIR sensi tivity causing that thermostat to be away non confident will not jeopardize the effectiveness or applicability of the group consensus as a whole It is to be appreciated that the above described method is readily extended to the case where there are multiple pr
28. the heat pump system Screen 620 show an example of where all the setup steps are successfully completed If the user selects FIN ISH a summary screen 622 of the installation is displayed indicating the installed HVAC equipment FIG 6C shows screens relating to learning algorithms in thecase such algorithms are being used In screen 630 the user is informed that their subsequent manual temperature adjust ments will be used to train or teach the thermostat In screen 632 the user is asked to select between whether the thermo stat 300 should enter into a heating mode for example if it is currently winter time or a cooling mode for example if it is currently summer time If COOLING is selected then in screen 636 the user is asked to set the away cooling tem perature that is a low energy using cooling temperature that should be maintained when the home or business is unoccu pied in order to save energy and or money According to some embodiments the default value offered to the user is 80 degrees F the maximum value selectable by the user is 90 degrees F the minimum value selectable is 75 degrees F and a leaf or other suitable indicator is displayed when the user selects a value of at least 83 degrees Screen 640 shows an example of the display shown when the user is going to select 80 degrees F no leaf is displayed while screen 638 shows an example ofthe display shown when the useris going to
29. used similar to the transition to the schedule viewer editor described above For example screen 1310 see upper right side of FIG 13 includes a shrunken disk 1302 that corresponds to the current standard thermostat display such as FIG 7A except that it is reduced in size Rotating the ring shifts the energy viewerto display energy information for a progression of prior days each day being represented by a different window or disk For example rotating the ring from the initial position in screen 1310 leads first to screen 1312 showing energy infor mation for yesterday then to screen 1314 showing energy information for the day before yesterday then to screen 1316 for three days prior and then to screen 1318 for four days prior and so on Preferably the shifts between progressive disks representative of respectively progressive time periods proceeds as an animated shifting translation in a manner similar to that described for FIG 9A screens 900 902 908 and the commonly assigned U S Ser No 29 399 621 supra According to some embodiments the shifting information disks continue for 7 days prior after which summary infor mation is given for each successive prior week Shown on each energy information disk is a measure of the amount of energy used relative to an average For example in disk 1332 for yesterday the energy usage was 496 below average while in disk 1334 for Sunday September 11 the energy usage was up
30. 1 2006 Tanaka et al U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 7 142 948 B2 11 2006 Metz 7 152 806 B1 12 2006 Rosen 4 460 125 A 7 1984 Barker et al 7 156 318 B1 1 2007 Rosen 4 613 139 A 9 1986 Robinson II et al 7 159 789 B2 1 2007 Schwendinger et al 2361 4 621336 11 1986 Brown 7 159 790 B2 1 2007 Schwendinger et al 2361 4 669 654 6 1987 Levine et al 7 181 317 B2 2 2007 Amundson et al 4 741 76 5 1988 Russo et al 7 222 494 B2 5 2007 Peterson et al 4 751 961 A 6 1988 Levine et al 7 222 800 B2 5 2007 Wruck 4 768 706 9 1988 Parfitt 7 225 054 B2 5 2007 Amundson et al 4 971 136 A 11 1990 Mathur et al 7 225 057 B2 5 2007 Froman etal 700 284 5 005 365 4 1991 Lynch D544 877 S 6 2007 Sasser D321 903 S 11 1991 Chepaitis 7 258 280 B2 8 2007 Wolfson 5 065 813 A 11 1991 Berkeley et al D550 691 S 9 2007 Hally et al 5 224 649 A 7 1993 Brown et al 7 264 175 2 9 2007 Schwendinger et al 236 94 D341 848 S 11 1993 Bigelow et al 7 274 972 B2 9 2007 Amundson et al 5 294 047 3 1994 Schwer et al 7 287 709 B2 10 2007 Proffitt et al 5 303 612 A 4 1994 Odom et al 7 299 996 B2 11 2007 Garrett et al 5 395 042 A 3 1995 Riley et al 7 302 642 B2 11 2007 Smith et al 5 415 346 A 5 1995 Bishop 7 333 880 B2 2 2008 Brewster et al 5 482 209 A 1 1996 Cochran et al D566 587 S 4 2008 Rosen 5 485 954 A 1 1996 Guy et al 7 418 663 B2 8 2008 Pettinati et al 5 544 036 A 8 1996 Brown Jr et al 7 434 742 B2 10 2008 Muell
31. 157492 2 2010 EP 1703356 9 2011 GB 2212317 5 1992 JP 59106311 6 1984 JP 2002087050 3 2002 JP 2003054290 2 2003 NL 1024986 6 2005 WO 0248851 6 2002 WO 2005019740 3 2005 WO 2009073496 6 2009 WO 2011128416 10 2011 WO 2012068436 5 2012 WO 2012068437 5 2012 WO 2012068453 5 2012 WO 2012068459 5 2012 WO 2012068495 5 2012 WO 2012068503 5 2012 WO 2012068507 5 2012 WO 2012068447 1 2013 WO 2013052389 4 2013 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Advanced Model Owner s Manual Bay Web Thermostat manual online retrieved on Nov 7 2012 Retrieved from the Internet lt URL http www bayweb com wp content uploads BW WT4 2DOC pdf gt Oct 6 2011 31 pages Energy Joule Ambient Devices 2011 retrieved on Aug 1 2012 Retrieved from http web archive org web 20 1 1072321042 l http www ambientdevices com products energyjoule html 3 pages Honeywell CT2700 An Electronic Round Programmable Thermo stat User s Guide Honeywell Inc 1997 8 pages Honeywell CT8775A C The digital Round Non Programmable Thermostats Owner s Guide Honeywell International Inc 2003 20 pages Honeywell T8700C An Electronic Round Programmable Thermo stat Owner s Guide Honeywell Inc 1997 12 pages Honeywell T8775 The Digital Round Thermostat Honeywell 2003 2 pages Honeywell T8775AC Digital Round Thermostat Manual No 69 1679EF 1 www honeywell com yourhome Jun 2004 pp 1 16 ICY 3815TT 001 Timer Thermostat Package Box ICY BV Product Bar Code
32. 296 Additionally according to some embodiments an explanatory icon or logo is displayed where a primary reason for the change in energy usage can be determined or esti mated For example in screen 1322 a weather logo 1340 is displayed when the usage change is deemed primarily due to the weather and an auto away logo 1342 15 displayed when the usage change is deemed primarily due to the auto away detection and settings Other logos can be used for example to represent changes in usage due to manual setpoint changes by users Clicking on any of the information disk screens 1312 1314 and 1318 lead to more detailed information screens 1322 1324 and 1328 respectively FIG 14 shows example screens for displaying an animated tick sweep according to some embodiments The screens shown according to some embodiments are displayed on a thermostat 300 on round dot matrix electronic display 316 having a rotatable ring 312 such as shown and described in FIGS 34 4 An animation is preferably displayed to enhance the user interface experience in which several highlighted background tick marks sweep across the space starting at the current temperature tick mark and ending at the setpoint temperature tick mark One example of an animated tick sweep according to some embodiments is illustrated in the commonly assigned U S Ser No 29 399 630 supra In the case of cooling shown in successive screens 1410 1412 1414 1416 and 1418 highlighted
33. 5 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 528 530 524 amp Network2 amp Network3 526 click TYPE NAME DO NOT CONNECT SCAN AGAIN Network Enter 534 internet password and server connection Active Network2 successful 532 account Go to amp Connecting screen to Wi Fi network 552 o nest com Network2 Could not coin connect to N 536 y network y Network connected 937 Setup steps 538 but no Could not connect connection to Q Internet connection to Network2 server Heating and cooling Your location Your home screen 544 Do you want to run Network tests Select SKIP goto screen 522 542 Network error 7 Visit nest com for details If update on resolving network problems is required then goto CONTINUE 548 U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 6 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 Select NETWORK re scan for networks and go to screen 546 544 Could not reach nest com Do you want to try click a different network Connected locally to gt The Wi Fi network Network2 NETWORK CONTINUE SKIP N Select SKIP go to screen update required during reboot 548 Updating Nest 550 This will take up to Restarting Nest 10 minutes 549 Back in a bit de 554 Adding to tomsmith3 mailhost com only if connected and the ser
34. 548 shows a message informing the user that an automatic schedule adjustment has been made due to the learning algorithm FIGS 16A 16B illustrate a thermostat 1600 according to analternative embodiment having a different form factor that while not believed to be quite as advantageous and or elegant as the circular form factors of one or more previously described embodiments is nevertheless indeed within the scope of the present teachings Thermostat 1600 comprises a body 1602 having a generally rounded square or rounded rectangular shape An electronic display 1604 which is of a rectangular or rounded rectangular shape is centrally posi tioned relative to the body 1602 A belt style rotatable ring 1606 is provided around a periphery of the body 1602 As illustrated in FIGS 16 168 it is not required that the belt style rotatable ring 1606 extend around the centrally located electronic display 1604 by a full 360 degrees of subtended arc although it is preferable that it extend for at least 180 degrees therearound so that it can be conveniently contacted by the thumb on one side and one or more fingers on the other side and slidably rotated around the centrally located elec tronic display 1604 The body 1602 can be mounted on a US 8 918 219 B2 35 backplate not shown and configured to provide an inward click capability when the user s hand presses inwardly on or near the belt style rotatable ring 1606 Illustrated on the elec troni
35. 7 22 22 23 23 and so forth in an example in which the user is turning up the rotatable ring on the main thermostat display According to another embodiment there is another sub menu screen disk not shown that is equivalent to the Brightness and Click Sound disks in the menu hierarchy and which bears one of the two labels SCREEN ON when you approach and SCREEN ON when you press the user being able to toggle between these two options by an inward click when this disk is displayed When the SCREEN ON when you approach is active the proximity sensor based activation ofthe electronic display screen 316 is provided as described above with the description accompanying FIG 8C whereas when the SCREEN ON when you press option is selected the elec tronic display screen 316 does not turn on unless there is a ring rotation or inward click FIG 9G shows a sub menu for entering or modifying a name for the thermostat according to some embodiments Clicking on screen 968 leads to either screen 969 in the case of a home installation or screen 970 in the case of a business installation In screens 969 and 970 several common names are offered along with the option of entering a custom name If TYPE is selected from either screen a character 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 28 input interface 971 is presented through which the user can enter a custom name The newly selec
36. 7 192 131 10 12 MAC 4 Connecting 1 3432 1231 to Wi Fi network Network3 INTERFACE twlan1 DNS 192 168 1 1 PROXY ye none Network3 Securely connected to nest com FIG 9H U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 25 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 Rotate ring go 10 screen 1014 y es 1008 Rotate ring ZIP CODE h DATE amp TIME 94117 Mar 21 10 16 AM PDT Click connected yo 1008a Date and time 1002 Location set from Internet MON MAR 21 2011 10 17 AM PDT CANADA Click disconnected 1910 ZIP code Set the current time and date CID 21 2011 10 17 Daylight Time 956475 1012 Enter Y numbers What is your 2 1008 ZIP code 956475 CONTINUE CHANGE FIG 10A U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 26 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 1014 Rotate ring 10 screen 1020 1024 Rotate ring P b Click 1014 Click a 101 6 Click TECHNICAL INFO 1022 Copyright 2011 NAME Nest Labs Inc Nest All rights reserved CURRENT TEMP See 74 2 nest com about for full details SETPOINT 70 More legal info RELATIVE HUMIDITY 61 DONE J ACTIVITY SENSORS IP Long 1 Proximity 1 10 1 6 221 1018 74 12 WIRES CONNECTED EEG RH W1 Y1 G C MAC VERSION SW 1 02 HW1 01 2882184 NETWORK iron Network2 1 avg signal 34 BATTERY LAST PING TE 906ms e at
37. 881 430 supra According to some embodiments occupancy informa tion is used in generating an effective and efficient scheduled program Preferably an active proximity sensor 370A is pro vided to detect an approaching user by infrared light reflec US 8 918 219 B2 9 tion and an ambient light sensor 370B is provided to sense visible light proximity sensor 370A can be used to detect proximity in the range of about one meter so that the thermo stat 300 can initiate waking up when the user is approach ing the thermostat and prior to the user touching the thermo stat Such use of proximity sensing is useful for enhancing the user experience by being ready for interaction as soon as or very soon after the user is ready to interact with the thermo stat Further the wake up on proximity functionality also allows for energy savings within the thermostat by sleeping when no user interaction is taking place our about to take place The ambient light sensor 370B can be used for a variety of intelligence gathering purposes such as for facilitating confirmation of occupancy when sharp rising or falling edges are detected because it is likely that there are occupants who are turning the lights on and off and such as for detecting long term e g 24 hour patterns of ambient light intensity for confirming and or automatically establishing the time of day According to some embodiments for the combined pur poses of in
38. C 2012 0126019 5 2012 Warren et al 2005 0279841 Al 12 2005 Schwendinger et al 236 1 C 2012 0126020 A1 5 2012 Filson et al 2005 0287424 Al 12 2005 Schwendinger et al 429 100 2012 0126021 Al 5 2012 Warren et al 2006 0000919 AI 1 2006 Schwendinger et al 236 1 C 2012 0128025 Al 5 2012 Huppi et al 2006 0184284 Al 8 2006 Froman etal 700 284 2012 0130546 Al 5 2012 Matas et al 2006 0206220 Al 9 2006 Amundson 2012 0130547 Al 5 2012 Fadell et al 2007 0001830 Al 1 2007 Dagci et al 2012 0130548 Al 5 2012 Fadell et al 2007 0045430 AI 3 2007 Chapman et al 2012 0130679 Al 5 2012 Fadell et al 2007 0045433 Al 3 2007 Chapman et al 2012 0131504 Al 5 2012 Fadell et al US 8 918 219 B2 Page4 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 2012 0179300 Al 2012 0186774 Al 2012 0191257 Al 2012 0199660 Al 2012 0229521 Al 2012 0233478 Al 2012 0239207 Al 2012 0239221 Al 2012 0252430 Al 2012 0296488 Al 2013 0014057 Al 2013 0046397 Al 2014 0005837 Al 7 2012 Warren et al 7 2012 Matsuoka et al 7 2012 Corcoran et al 8 2012 Warren et al 9 2012 Hales IV et al 9 2012 Mucignat et al 9 2012 Fadell et al 9 2012 Mighdoll et al 10 2012 Imes et al 11 2012 Dharwada et al 1 2013 Reinpoldt et al 2 2013 Fadell et al 1 2014 Fadell et al FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS EP 434926 7 1991 EP 720077 7 1996 EP 802471 10 1997 EP 1065079 1 2001 EP 1184804 3 2002 EP 1731984 12 2006 EP 1283396 3 2007 EP 2
39. F AUX MAX E F Do you have 1070 electric heating NO GAS or OIL YES ELECTRIC I DON T KNOW 1068 1071 Turning off leaming Creating range schedule Do you have forced air heating FORCED AIR OTHER I DON T KNOW FIG 10F U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Tore Rotate ring 0 screen 1096 SETTINGS Click learning E iid 1073 Select LEARNING CANCEL LEARNING S TO DEFAULTS 4 RESTART Turn the dial z Reset to ama erase the current Your Nest to schedule and start Sheet 31 of 45 Reset 1077 Resetting will erase all information from this Nest thermostat including network and account connections RESET ALL Select TO DEFAULTS 4 Select RESET ALL factory defaults Nest Leaming again Select sack CANCEL LEARNING Rotate RESET LEARNING N ring 1079 1074 N Mp This reset erases SS 2 information SS the dial z Resetting in EQ toreset 10 seconds Rotate ring learning PRESS TO CANCEL Resetting in 10 seconds PRESS TO CANCEL 1076 FIG 1080 10G US 8 918 219 B2 U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 32 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 1082 Reset Select SCHEDULE TO DEFAULTS RESTART Select SCHEDULE thermostat without resetting information CANCEL 1086 Reset t
40. IGS 8A C show example screens ofa rotating main menu on a user friendly a programmable thermostat according to some preferred embodiments FIGS 9A H and 10A I illustrate example user interface screens on a user friendly a programmable thermostat for making various settings according to some embodiments FIGS 11A D show example screens for various error con ditions on a user friendly a programmable thermostat according to some embodiments 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 FIGS 12A and 12B show certain aspects of user interface navigation trough a multi day program schedule on a user friendly programmable thermostat according to some pre ferred embodiments FIG 13 shows example screens relating to the display of energy usage information on a user friendly a programmable thermostat according to some embodiments FIG 14 shows example screens for displaying an animated tick sweep on a user friendly a programmable thermostat according to some embodiments FIGS 15A C show example screens relating to learning on a user friendly a programmable thermostat according to some alternate embodiments FIGS 16A B illustrate a thermostat having a user friendly interface according to some embodiments and FIGS 17A B illustrate a thermostat having a user friendly interface according to some embodiments DETAILED DESCRIPTION A detailed description of the inventive body of work is provided below While se
41. R 15 no cooling U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 36 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 Display doesn t Match base 1120 The Nest display has been connected to a different base 1121 You can reset this Nest to factory settings if you want to use this combination REMOVE RESET CONTINUE 1122 Resetting will erase all information from this Nest thermostat including network and account connections RESET ALL 1123 My 2 Turn the dial ez Your Nest to factory defaults reset erases all information Resetting in 10 seconds PRESS TO CANCEL FIG 11C 1125 U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 37 of 45 Power stealing Is tripping HVAC 1130 Nest requires a C common wire to work with your equipment CONTINUE Now remove your Nest thermostat from the wall plate to correct the C wire 1131 P after removing from wall plate 3 Assembling technical information TECHNICAL INFO NEST SUPPORT nest com support 1133 ERROR 19 required FIG 11D US 8 918 219 B2 US 8 918 219 B2 Sheet 38 of 45 Dec 23 2014 U S Patent 092 U99498 0 OB 1 Meu JJA Vek 914 8SIMX9OJO jejunoo Ajpides vel
42. a tions U S Ser No 12 881 430 filed Sep 14 2010 U S Ser No 12 881 463 filed Sep 14 2010 U S Ser No 12 984 602 filed Jan 4 2011 U S Ser No 12 987 257 filed Jan 10 2011 U S Ser No 13 033 573 and US Ser No 29 386 021 filed Feb 23 2011 U S Ser No 13 034 666 U S Ser No 13 034 674 and U S Ser No 13 034 678 filed Feb 24 2011 U S Ser No 13 038 206 and U S Ser No 13 038 191 filed Mar 1 2011 U S Ser No 29 399 609 filed Aug 16 2011 USS Ser No 29 399 614 filed Aug 16 2011 U S Ser No 29 399 617 filed Aug 16 2011 U S Ser No 29 399 618 filed Aug 16 2011 U S Ser No 29 399 621 filed Aug 16 2011 U S Ser No 29 399 623 filed Aug 16 2011 U S Ser No 29 399 625 filed Aug 16 2011 U S Ser 29 399 627 filed Aug 16 2011 U S Ser No 29 399 630 filed Aug 16 2011 U S Ser No 29 399 632 filed Aug 16 2011 U S Ser No 29 399 633 filed Aug 16 2011 U S Ser No 29 399 636 filed Aug 16 2011 U S Ser No 29 399 637 filed Aug 16 2011 U S Ser No 13 199 108 filed Aug 17 2011 and U S Ser No 13 267 877 and U S Ser No 13 267 871 filed Oct 6 2011 Each of the above referenced patent applications is incorporated by reference herein The above referenced patent applications are collectively referenced hereinbelow as the commonly assigned incorporated applications FIELD This patent specification relates to systems methods and related computer p
43. about to occur The display 708 includes a large AWAY icon or text indicator 750 along with a leaf icon 740 Note that the current temperature numerals 718 and tick mark 716 continue to be displayed During the away mode the thermostat uses an energy saving setpoint according to default or user input values see for example screens 638 and 648 of FIG 6C and screen 654 of FIG 6D supra According to some embodiments ifthe user manually initiates an away mode as opposed to the thermostat auto matically detecting non occupancy then the thermostat will only come out of away mode by an explicit manual user input such as by manually using the user interface In other words when manual away mode is activated by the user then the thermostat will not use arrival to return to standard operation but rather the user must manually estab lish his her re arrival In contrast when the thermostat has automatically entered into an away state based on occupancy sensor data that indicates non occupancy for a certain period of time see FIG 7J and accompanying text below then the thermostat will exit the away state based on either of 1 occupancy sensor data indicating that occupants have returned or ii an explicit manual user input FIG 7J shows an example screen 709 where the thermostat has automatically entered into an AWAY mode referred to as AUTO AWAY mode as indicated by the message 752 and icon 750
44. ally test the power stealing jak 5 20 40 45 55 24 circuitry to see how much power can be tapped without trip ping the call relay s and if that amount is greater than a certain threshold then the display activation menu choices are provided but if that amount is less than the certain thresh old the display activation menu choices are not provided FIGS 8A C show example screens of a rotating main menu according to some preferred embodiments The screens shown according to some embodiments are dis played on a thermostat 300 on a round dot matrix electronic display 316 having a rotatable ring 312 such as shown and described in FIGS 3A 4 FIG 8A shows an example screen 800 in normal operations such as described in FIG 7A or 7 An inward click from the normal display screen 800 causes a circumferential main menu 820 to appear as shown in screen 801 In this example the main menu 820 displays about the perimeter ofthe circular display area various menu names such as SETTINGS ENERGY SCHEDULE AWAY DONE as well one or more icons The top of the circular menu 820 includes an active window 822 that shows the user which menu item will be selected if an inward click is performed at that time Upon user rotation of the rotatable ring 312 see FIG 3A supra the menu items turn clockwise or counter clockwise matching the direction of the rotatable ring 312 so as to allow different menu i
45. assword is being entered by virtue of the lock icon 526 After the password is entered screen 532 is displayed while the thermostat tries to establish a connection US 8 918 219 B2 13 to the indicated Wi Fi network If the network connection is established and the internet is available then the thermostat attempts to connect to the manufacturer s server A successful connection to the server is shown in screen 534 After a pause or a click to acknowledge screen 536 is displayed that indicates that the internet connection setup step has been successfully completed According to some embodiments a checkmark icon 537 is used to indicate successful completion of the step If no connection to the selected local network could be established screen 538 is displayed notifying the user of such and asking if a network testing procedure should be carried out If the user selects TEST then screen 540 with a spinner icon 541 is displayed while a network test is carried out If the test discovers an error a screen such as screen 542 is dis played to indicate the nature of the errors According to some embodiments the user is directed to further resources online for more detailed support If the local network connection was successful but no connection to the manufacturer s server could be established then in FIG 5C screen 544 the user is notified of the status and acknowledges by clicking CONTINUE In screen 546 the user is as
46. auses the thermostat 300 to scan for wireless networks and then to display screen 524 in FIG 5B Ifthe user selects SKIP then screen 520 15 displayed which informs the user that they can connect at any time from the settings menu The user acknowledges this by clicking which leads to screen 522 In screen 522 the first step Internet Connection is greyed out which indicates that this step has been intentionally skipped In FIG 5B screen 524 is shown after a scan is made for wireless networks e g using Wi Fi or ZigBee wireless com munication In the example shown in screen 524 two wire less networks have been found and are displayed Net work2 and Network3 The electronic display 316 preferably also includes a lock icon 526 to show that the network uses password security and also can show a wireless icon 528 to indicate the wireless connection to the network According to some embodiments wireless signal icon 528 can show a number of bars that indicates relative signal strength associated with that network If the user selects one ofthe found networks that requires a password screen 530 is displayed to obtain the password from the user Screen 530 uses an alphanumeric input interface where the user selects and enters characters by rotating the ring and clicking Fur ther details of this type of data entry interface 1s described in the commonly assigned U S Ser No 13 033 573 supra The user is reminded that a p
47. aving the wires connected and the HVAC functionality related to each This screen is analogous to screen 574 shown in FIG 5E According to some embodi ments the wiring and installation settings sub menu can also perform testing For example screen 1028 asks the user if an automatic test ofthe heating and cooling equipment should be undertaken Screen 1029 shows an example screen during the automatic testing process when the first item the fan 1s being tested Ifthe fan test returns satisfactory results screen 1030 the next testing step is carried out in this case cooling with a checkmark next to the word Fan notifying the user of the successful completion of the fan test Screen 1032 shows an example screen where all of the automatic tests have been successfully completed for an installation that includes a fan US 8 918 219 B2 29 heating cooling and auxiliary heating Screen 1034 shows an example of a failed automatic test in this case the fan test and asks the user if a wiring change should be made In screen 1036 the user can elect to continue with the other testing steps and screen 1038 shows an example ofthe completion of the testing where one of the steps had an error or test failure in this case the fan test In FIG 10D screen 1040 shows an example of a wiring warning which is denoted by a yellow or otherwise high lighted disk next to the connector terminal label cool An inward click input leads to an
48. az United States Patent US008918219B2 10 Patent No US 8 918 219 B2 Sloo et al 45 Date of Patent Dec 23 2014 54 USER FRIENDLY INTERFACE FOR 56 References Cited CONTROL UNIT U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 75 Inventors David Sloo Menlo Park CA US Anthony Michael Fadell Portola Valley 2 558 648 A 6 1951 Gausmann CA US Matthew Lee Rogers Los 4 316 577 A 2 1982 Adams et al Gatos CA US Michael Plitkins Continued Berkeley CA US Michael James Matas San Francisco CA US Fred FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS Bould Menlo Park CA US DE 19609390 9 1997 73 Assignee Google Inc Mountain View CA US EP 207295 1 1987 Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this Continued patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 340 days OTHER PUBCICATIONS This patent is subject to a terminal dis Rottwinkel Mar 6 2002 System for Image Reproduction claimer Machine Translation of EP 1184804 B1 21 Appl No 13 269 501 Continued 22 Filed Oct 7 2011 Primary Examiner Charles Kasenge ave 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Kilpatrick Townsend amp 65 Prior Publication Data Stockton LLP US 2012 0203379 A1 Aug 9 2012 Related U S Application Data 57 ABSTRACT 63 Continuation in part of application 13 033 573 user friendly programmable thermostat is described that filed on Feb 23 2011 includes a central electronic display surrounded by a ring that 60 Provisional ap
49. based on an automatically sensed state of non occupancy for a certain period oftime Note that according to some embodiments the leaf icon 740 is always displayed during away modes auto or manual to indicate that the away modes are energy saving modes Such display of leaf icon 740 has been found advantageous at this point because it is reassuring to the user that something green something good something positive and beneficial is going on in terms of energy savings by virtue of the away display According to some embodiments the leaf icon 740 is also displayed when the thermostat is in an OFF mode such as shown in example screen 710 in FIG 7K because energy is inherently being saved through non use of the HVAC system Notably the OFF mode is actually one of the working operational modes of the thermostat 300 and is to be distinguished from anon operational or dead state of the thermostat 300 In the OFF mode the thermostat 300 will still acquire sensor data communicate wirelessly with a central server and so forth but will simply not send heating or cooling calls or other operating calls such as humidification or dehumidification to the HVAC system The OFF mode can be invoked respon sive to an explicit menu selection by the user either through the rotatable ring 312 see screen 814 of FIG 8C infra or from a network command received via the Wi Fi capability from a cloud based server that p
50. bold display on at all times such as for cases in which the thermostat is located in a bedroom or in a media viewing room such as a television room The screens of FIGS can be considered as the main display for thermo stat 300 in that these are the screens that are most often shown to the user as they walk up to the thermostat 300 in correspon dence with normal everyday operation According to one embodiment the thermostat 300 15 pro grammed and configured such that upon the detection of a working wire at device installation and setup the user is automatically provided with a menu choice during the setup interview and then revised later at any time through the settings menu whether they would like the electronic display 316 to be the time or only upon detection of a proximal user If a C wire is not detected that menu choice is not provided variety of alternative display activation choices can also be provided such as allowing the user to set an active display timeout interval e g how long the display remains active after the user has walked away allowing the user to choose a functionality similar to night lighting or safety lighting 1 e upon detection of darkness inthe room by the ambient light sensor 370B the display will be always on and other useful functionalities According to yet another embodiment ifthe presence ofa wire is not detected the thermostat 300 will automatic
51. c display 1604 is a population of background tick marks 1608 arcuately arranged within a range area on the electronic display 1604 Although not circular in their distribution the background tick marks 1608 are arcuately arranged in that they subtend an arc from one angular location to another angular location relative to a center of the electronic display 1604 The particular arcuate arrangement of the background tick marks can be termed a rectangular arcuate arrangement analogous to the way the minutewise tick marks of a rectan gular or square clockface can be termed a rectangular arcuate arrangement It is to be appreciated that the arcuate arrange ment of tick marks can correspond to any of a variety of closed or semi closed shapes without departing from the scope ofthe present teachings including circular shapes oval shapes triangular shapes rectangular shapes pentagonal shapes hexagonal shapes and so forth In alternative embodi ments not shown the arrangement of background tick marks can be linear or quasi linear simply extending from left to right or bottom to top of the electronic display or in some other linear direction wherein an arc is subtended between a first line extending from a reference point such as the bottom center or center right side of the display to the beginning of the range and a second line extending from the reference point to the end of the tick mark range A setpoint tick mark 1610 is displayed in a ma
52. c display 316 shows a logo screen 510 upon initial startup The logo screen 510 adds a spinner icon 513 in screen 512 to indicate to the user that the boot up process is progressing According to some embodi ments information such as to inform the user of aspects ofthe thermostat 300 or aspects of the manufacturer is displayed to the user during the booting process After booting the screen 514 is displayed to inform the used that the initial setup 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 12 process may take a few minutes The user acknowledges the message by an inward click command after which screen 516 is displayed Screen 516 allows the user to select via the rotatable ring one of four setup steps According to some embodiments the user is not allowed to select the order ofthe set up steps but rather the list of four steps is shown so that the user has an indication of current progress within the setup process According to some preferred embodiments the user can select either the next step in the progression or any step that has already been completed so as to allow re doing of steps but is not allowed to selecta future step out oforder so as to prevent the user from inadvertently skipping any steps According to one embodiment the future steps that are not allowed yet are shown in a more transparent or greyed color so as to indicate their current unavailability In this case a click leads to screen 518
53. d however that crucial and substantial issues arise when it comes to the practical integration of self programming behaviors into mainstream residential and or business use issues that appear unad dressed and unresolved in such self programming thermostat proposals By way of example just as there are many users who are intimidated by dizzying arrays of controls on user programmable thermostats there are also many users who would be equally uncomfortable with a thermostat that fails to give the user a sense of control and self determination over theirown comfort orthat otherwise fails to give confidence to the user that their wishes are indeed being properly accepted and carried out at the proper times At a more general level because of the fact that human beings must inevitably be US 8 918 219 B2 3 involved there is a tension that arises between 1 the amount of energy saving sophistication that can be offered by an HVAC control system and ii the extent to which that energy saving sophistication can be put to practical everyday use in a large number of homes Similar issues arise in the context of multi unit apartment buildings hotels retail stores office buildings industrial buildings and more gener ally any living space or work space having one or more HVAC systems It has been found that the user interface of a thermo stat which so often seems to be an afterthought in known commercially available products represents
54. dded to the existing account as shown in screens 554 and 556 After adding the current thermostat to the online account If there is more than one thermostat on the account a procedure is offered to copy settings beginning with screen 558 In FIG 5D screen 558 notifies the user that another thermostat in this case named Living Room is also associated with the user s account and asks the user if the settings should be copies If the user selects COPY SETTINGS then the screen 560 is displayed with a spinner 561 while settings are copied to the new ther mostat According to some embodiments one or more of the following settings are copied account pairing learning pref erences e g learning on or learning off heating or cooling mode if feasible location setup interview answers current schedule and off season schedule if any Advantageous functionalities can be provided by two dif ferent instances of the thermostat unit 300 located in a com mon enclosure such as a family home that are associated with a same user account in the cloud based management server such as the account tomsmith3 mailhost com in 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 14 FIGS 5C 5D For purposes of the present description it can be presumed that each thermostat is a primary thermostat characterized in that it is connected to an HVAC system and is responsible for controlling that HVAC system which can be di
55. de format for the following screen In this case USA is selected and the ZIP code is entered on screens 1004 and 1006 Screen 1008 shows a sub menu disk 1008a having the current time and date Click ing when the thermostat is connected to the Internet and in communication with the associated cloud based server auto matically sets the time and date as shown in screen 1010 If the thermostat is not connected to the Internet clicking leads to screen 1012 in which the user can manually enter the time date and daylight savings time information FIG 10B shows settings screens relating to technical and legal information according to some embodiments Screen 1014 shows a sub menu disk 1014a bearing the TECHNI CAL INFO moniker whereupon clicking on screen 1014 leads to screen 1016 which displays a long list 1018 of tech nical information which is viewed by scrolling via the rotat able ring 312 Similarly screen 1020 shows a sub menu disk 1020a bearing the LEGAL INFO moniker whereupon click ing on screen 1020 leads to screen 1022 which displays vari ous legal information FIGS 10C and 10D show settings screens relating to wir ing and installation according to some embodiments In FIG 10C screen 1024 shows a sub menu disk 1024a the provides entry to the wiring settings sub menu If no wiring warnings or errors are detected then the wiring is considered good wiring and a click displays screen 1026 which shows the connection terminals h
56. dersen et al 2009 0143916 6 2009 Boll et al 8 253 704 B2 8 2012 Jang 2009 0143918 Al 6 2009 Amundson et al 8 253 747 B2 8 2012 Niles et al 2009 0158188 Al 6 2009 Bray etal 715 771 8 265 798 B2 9 2012 Imes 2009 0195349 Al 8 2009 Frader Thompson et al 8 280 536 10 2012 Fadell et al 2009 0215534 Al 8 2009 Wilson et al 8 281 244 B2 10 2012 Neuman et al 2009 0263773 Al 10 2009 Kotlyar et al 8 292 494 B2 10 2012 Rosaetal 3741 2009 0273610 Al 11 2009 Busch et al D671 136 S 11 2012 Barnett et al 2009 0283603 Al 11 2009 Peterson et al 8 316 022 B2 11 2012 Matsuda et al 2010 0000417 A1 1 2010 Tetreault et al 99 325 D673 171 S 12 2012 Peters et al 2010 0070085 Al 3 2010 Harrod et al D673 172 S 12 2012 Peters et al 2010 0070086 Al 3 2010 Harrod et al 8 341 557 B2 12 2012 Pisula et al 2010 0070089 A1 3 2010 Harrod etal 700 277 D677 180 S 3 2013 Plitkins et al 2010 0070093 Al 3 2010 Harrod et al 8 406 816 B2 3 2013 Marui etal 455 566 2010 0070907 Al 3 2010 Harrod et al 8 442 695 B2 5 2013 Imes etal 2010 0076605 A1 3 2010 Harrod et al 8 442 752 B2 5 2013 Wijaya et al 2010 0084482 AI 4 2010 Kennedy et al 8 446 381 B2 5 2013 Molard etal 345 173 2010 0106305 A1 4 2010 Pavlak et al 8 489 243 B2 7 2013 Fadell et al 2010 0106322 Al 4 2010 Grohman 8 689 572 B2 4 2014 Evans etal 62 126 2010 0107070 Al 4 2010 De
57. ding patent application U S Ser Nos 13 034 674 and 13 034 678 which are incorporated by reference herein According to some embodiments rechargeable bat tery 420 is a single cell lithium ion or a lithium polymer battery Backplate 440 includes electronics 482 and a temperature humidity sensor 484 in housing 460 which are ventilated via vents 442 Two or more temperature sensors not shown are also located in the head unit 410 and cooperate to acquire reliable and accurate room temperature data Wire connectors 470 are provided to allow for connection to HVAC system wires Connection terminal 480 provides electrical connec tions between the head unit 410 and backplate 440 Backplate electronics 482 also includes power sharing circuitry for sens ing and harvesting power available power from the HVAC system circuitry FIGS 5A F and 6A D are display output flow diagrams illustrating a user friendly graphical user interface for a pro grammable thermostat upon initial set up according to some embodiments The initial setup flow takes place for example when the thermostat 300 is removed from the box for the first time or after a factory default reset instruction is made The screens shown according to some embodiments are dis played on the thermostat 300 on round dot matrix electronic display 316 having a rotatable ring 312 such as shown and described supra with respect to FIGS 4 In FIG 5A the thermostat 300 with electroni
58. e area is preferably a circular outer area of the rounded display disposed along a periphery thereof and the plurality of user selectable options are distributed about the circular area and are rotated about the display in response to the received input For some embodiments a highlighting window preferably remains in a fixed position relative to the device while the plurality of user selectable options are progressively rotated through the win dow such that only one ofthe user selectable options at a time is visible within the window The currently highlighted option can be selected by the user by pressing the rotatable ring According to some embodiments there is provided a pro grammable device for controlling the operation of an HVAC system the programmable device being configured to carry out a method for interacting with a user thereof the method comprising displaying a visible portion of a schedule plot on an electronic display that is centrally mounted on a body of the programmable device the schedule plot having a time axis and including a plurality of programmed setpoints dis posed at respective locations along the time axis The method further comprises receiving input from the user by user rota tion of a rotatable ring surrounding the rounded display and progressively changing the visible portion of the schedule plot display in response to the received input stationary cursor is preferably overlaid on the displayed visible po
59. e device such as described in the commonly assigned U S Ser No 13 033 573 supra In other embodiments plural additional buttons such as a menu button and so forth could be provided on the side of the device For one embodiment the actuation of the additional buttons would be fully optional on the part of the user that is the device could still be fully controlled using only the ring rotations and inward clicks However for users that really want to use the menu and back buttons because of the habits they may have formed with other computing devices such as smartphones and the like the device would accommodate and respond accordingly to such menu and back button inputs By way of even further example other forms of user input modalities could be provided by the above described thermo stat as additions and or alternative to the above described ring rotations and inward clicks without necessarily departing from the scope of the present teachings Examples include optically sensed gesture based user inputs similar to those provided with modern video game consoles and voice inputs implemented using known speech recognition algorithms It is to be appreciated that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the processes and apparatuses described herein Accordingly the present embodiments are to be con sidered as illustrative and not restrictive and the inventive body of work is not to be limited to t
60. e embodiment the mode icon 809 can be replaced with the text string HEAT COOL OFF simply the word MODE If in inward click is performed from screen 808 a menu screen 814 appears e g using a coin flip transition In screen 814 the user can view the current mode marked with a check mark and select another mode such as COOL or OFF If COOL is selected then the thermostat will change over to cooling mode such changeover as might be performed in the springtime and the cooling disk icon will highlighted on screens 814 and 808 menu can also be used to turn the thermostat off by selecting OFF In cases the connected HVAC system only has heating or cooling but not both the words HEAT or COOL or OFF are displayed on the menu 820 instead of the colored disks FIGS 9 and 10A I illustrate example user interface screens for making various settings according to some embodiments The screens shown according to some embodiments are displayed on a thermostat 300 on round US 8 918 219 B2 25 dot matrix electronic display 316 having a rotatable ring 312 such as shown and described in FIGS 3A 4 In FIG 9A screen 900 is initially displayed following a user selection of SETTINGS from the main menu such as shown in screen 804 of FIG 8A The general layout ofthe settings menu in this example is a series of sub menus that are navigated using the rotatable ring 312 For exa
61. e schedule plot the cursor being representative of a time value by virtue of its location along the time axis of the schedule plot wherein the changing the visible portion includes moving the schedule plot in a direction ofthe time axis relative to the stationary cursor such that a progression of time intervals is represented on the electronic display as a function of the received user input wherein each said programmed setpoint has an effective time that is characterized by the location of the pro 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 40 grammed setpoint along said time axis and wherein each said programmed setpoint further has a tempera ture value that is characterized by the location of the programmed setpoint along a temperature axis of the schedule plot 22 A method according to claim 21 wherein said time axis is oriented along a horizontal direction of the rounded elec tronic display and wherein said temperature axis is disposed along a vertical direction of the rounded electronic display 23 A method according to claim 22 wherein the setpoint effective time and setpoint temperature value of each setpoint can be adjusted by the user using the rotatable ring 24 A programmable device for controlling an HVAC sys tem adapted and configured to interface with a user according to the method of claim 21 25 A non transitory computer readable medium having executable instructions that when executed by a proce
62. ed when the clock has been reset to the firmware default values FIG 6A shows example user interface screens of setup interview questions for the user to answer according to some embodiments The screens shown according to some embodiments are displayed on a thermostat 300 on round dot matrix electronic display 316 having a rotating ring 312 such as shown and described in FIGS 3A 4 Screen 600 shows the setup steps screen that is displayed once the first three steps have been completed Note that if one of the steps has not been successful a symbol can be marked instead of a check mark For example if the internet connection was not made or skipped a minus symbol precedes the inter net step If Your Home is selected screen 602 asks the user if the thermostat is being installed in a home or business If HOME is selected a number of questions 604 can be asked to aid in establishing a basic schedule for the user Following the interview questions in screen 608 the user is asked to give the thermostat a name Notably the step 608 is only carried out if there was not already a name requested previ ously see FIG 5D step 562 that is if the thermostat cur 40 45 55 18 rently being setup is not the first such thermostat being asso ciated with the user s cloud based service account A list of common names 607 is displayed for the user to choose by scrolling via the rotatable ring The user can a
63. en 955 is dis played which allows entry to the auto away sub menu Screen 956 asks if the auto away feature should be active Screen 957 notifies the user about the auto away feature Screen 958 is an example showing the user the status of training and or confi dence in the occupancy sensors Other examples instead of screen 958 include LOW FOR AUTO AWAY and ENOUGH FOR AUTO AWAY as appropriate FIG 9F shows sub menu screen examples for settings for brightness click sounds and Celsius Fahrenheit units according to some embodiments Screens 960 961 962 and 963 toggle among four different brightness settings using the inward click input as shown in FIG 9F Specifically the settings for auto brightness low medium and high can be selected According to some embodiments the brightness of the display is changed to match the current selection so as to aid the user in selecting an appropriate brightness setting Screens 964 and 965 toggle between providing and not pro viding audible clicking sounds as the user rotates the rotat able ring 312 which is a form of sensory feedback that some users prefer and other users do not prefer Screens 966 and 967 are used to toggle between Celsius and Fahrenheit units according to some embodiments According to some embodi ments if Celsius units is selected then half degrees are dis played by the thermostat when numerical temperature is pro vided for example a succession of 21 21
64. en textures when viewed from many different angles The shell portion 309 has the shape of a frustum that is gently curved when viewed in cross section and comprises a side wall 376 that is made of a clear solid material such as poly carbonate plastic The sidewall 376 is backpainted with a substantially flat silver or nickel colored paint the paint being applied to an inside surface 378 of the sidewall 376 but not to an outside surface 377 thereof The outside surface 377 is smooth and glossy but is not painted The sidewall 376 can have a thickness T of about 1 5 mm a diameter d1 of about 78 8 mm at a first end that is nearer to the wall when mounted and a diameter d2 of about 81 2 mm at a second end that is farther from the wall when mounted the diameter change taking place across an outward width dimension h of about 22 5 mm the diameter change taking place in either a linear fashion or more preferably a slightly nonlinear fashion with increasing outward distance to form a slightly curved shape when viewed in profile as shown in FIG 3C The outer ring 312 of outer cap 308 is preferably constructed to match the diameter d2 where disposed near the second end of the shell portion 309 across a modestly sized gap gltherefrom and then to gently arc back inwardly to meet the cover 314 across a small gap 22 It is to be appreciated of course that FIG 3C only illustrates the outer shell portion 309 of the thermostat 300 and that there a
65. er et al 5 555 927 A 9 1996 Shah 7 451 937 B2 11 2008 Flood et al 5 603 451 A 2 1997 Helander et al 7 455 240 B2 11 2008 Chapman Jr et al 5 627 531 A 5 1997 Posso et al D588 152 5 3 2009 Okada 5 673 850 A 10 1997 Uptegraph 7 509 753 B2 3 2009 Nicosia et al 5 690 277 11 1997 Flood D589 792 S 4 2009 Clabough et al D396 488 S 7 1998 Kunkler D590 412 S 4 2009 Saft et al 5 779 143 A 7 1998 Michaud et al D593 120 5 5 2009 Bouchard et al 5 808 602 A 9 1998 Sellers 7 537 171 B2 5 2009 Mueller et al 5 931 378 8 1999 Schramm D594 015 S 6 2009 Singh et al 5 959 621 A 9 1999 Nawaz et al D595 309 5 6 2009 Sasaki et al 6 020 881 A 2 2000 Naughton et al 7 555 364 2 6 2009 Poth et al 6 032 867 3 2000 Dushane et al D596 194 S 7 2009 Vu et al D428 399 S 7 2000 Kahn et al D597 101 S 7 2009 Chaudhri et al 6 093 914 7 2000 Diekmann et al 219 462 1 7 558 648 B2 7 2009 Hoglund et al 6 164 374 12 2000 Rhodes et al D598 463 S 8 2009 Hirsch et al 6 206 295 Bl 3 2001 LaCoste 7 571 014 8 2009 Lambourne et al 6 211 921 B1 4 2001 Cherian et al 7 575 179 B2 8 2009 Morrow et al 6 213 404 B1 4 2001 Dushane et al D599 810 S 9 2009 Scalisi et al 6 286 764 Bl 9 2001 Garvey et al 7 584 899 B2 9 2009 de Pauw et al 6 298 285 Bl 10 2001 Addink et al 7 600 694 B2 10 2009 Helt et al D450 059 S 11 2001 Itou D603 277 S 11 2009 Clausen et al 6 3 18 639 11 2001 Toth D603 421 S 11 2009 Ebeling et al 6 351 003 BI 2 2002 Monie e
66. er to make another manual setpoint adjustment In FIG 15B screen 1520 shows an example of a case in which the setpoint tem perature has automatically been set back to a low temperature value in this case 62 degrees which will encourage the user can make a setpoint change according to his her preference Screen 1522 reminds the user that for the learning algorithm the user should set the temperature to a comfortable level for the current time of day which is has been done a shown in screen 1524 According to some embodiments during the evening hours the automatic setback to a low temperature such as 62 degrees F is not carried out so as to improve comfort during the night In screen 1530 1532 and 1534 the temperature in the evening is automatically set to 70 degrees for user comfort In FIG 15C screen 1540 shows a message informing the user that the initial learning period has com pleted Screen 1542 informs the user that the auto away con fidence is suitably high and the auto away feature is therefore enabled Screens 1544 and 1546 inform the user that suffi cient cooling and heating time calculation confidence has been achieved respectively for enabling sufficiently accurate time to temperature calculations and also to notify the user that since enough information for suitable energy saving encouragement using the leaf logo has taken place the leaf logo will be appearing in ways that encourage energy saving behavior Screen 1
67. explanation of the warning in this case being an error in which there is a wire insertion detected at terminal Y1 but no electronic signature consistent with a cooling system can be sensed Note that the wiring warning shown in this example is not serious enough to block operation However some wiring errors are serious enough such that HVAC operation is blocked An example is shown in screen 1044 where the wires are detected on the C and Rc terminals but no power is detected A red disk appears next to the terminal connected labeled cool which indicates a wir ing error Clicking leads to an explanation screen 1046 and a notification screen 1048 followed by a mandatory thermostat shut down blank screen 1050 Examples of detected wiring warnings that do not block operation and wiring errors that block operation are discussed supra with respect to FIG 5E FIGS 10E and 10F show screens relating to certain advanced settings according to some embodiments Screen 1052 shows entry to the advanced settings sub menu Inward clicking on the sub menu disk at screen 1052 leads to an advanced settings sub menu selection screen 1054 Selecting EQUIPMENT leads to some advanced equipment related settings For example screens 1055 1056 and 1057 allow the user to activate pre heating or pre cooling according to what type of equipment is installed Selecting SAFETY TEMP from screen 1054 leads to screens 1059 1060 and 1061 that allow se
68. hat represents heat e g orange red or red dish orange is used if the setpoint temperature is at least 5 degrees F higher than the current ambient temperature and while a selected background color that represents cooling e g blue is used if the setpoint temperature is at least 5 degrees F lower than the current ambient temperature Fur ther according to preferred embodiments the color can be faded or transitioned between the neutral color black and the HVAC active color red orange for heating or blue for cool ing to indicate the increasing amount of work the HVAC system must do to change the ambient temperature to reach the current setpoint For example according to some pre ferred embodiments decreasing levels of transparency 1 an increasing visibility or loudness of the HVAC active color are used to correspond to increasing discrepancy between the current ambient temperature and the setpoint temperature Thus as the discrepancy between the setpoint temperature and the current ambient temperature increases from 1 to 5 degrees the loudness of the background HVAC active color increases from an almost completely transparent overlay on the black background to a completely non trans parent loud heating or cooling color It has been found that the use of variations in color display such as described can be extremely useful in giving the user a feel for the amount of work and therefore the am
69. he details given herein which may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims What is claimed is 1 In a programmable device for controlling an HVAC system a method for interacting with a user of the program mable device comprising displaying a plurality of background tick marks arcuately arranged within a range area on an electronic display that is centrally mounted on a body of the programmable device said electronic display and said body each being rounded in shape displaying a setpoint tick mark on the electronic display within the range area such that the setpoint tick mark is more prominently visible to the user than the back ground tick marks the setpoint tick mark representing a setpoint temperature displaying a numerical representation of the setpoint tem perature in a central location on the rounded electronic display and displaying on the rounded electronic display a background color having a red and or orange shade when the pro grammable device is calling for heating from the HVAC system 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 38 2 method according to claim 1 wherein the background color is displayed with an intensity that varies according to an amount of heating to be used to reach the setpoint tempera ture 3 method according to claim 1 further comprising dis playing a current temperature tick mark on the rounded elec tronic display within the ra
70. he head unit see FIG 4 head unit 410 had US 8 918 219 B2 31 detected that the back plate see FIG 4 back plate 440 has failed in some way In FIG 11C thermostat screens 1120 1121 1122 1123 1124 and 1125 show an example of when the head unit detects that it has been attached to a different baseplate than it expects The user given the option in screen 1120 to either remove the head unit from the baseplate or reset the thermostat to its factory default settings In FIG 11D screens 1130 1131 1132 and 1133 show an example in which power stealing or power harvesting is causing inad vertent tripping or switching of the HVAC function e g heating or cooling In this case the user is informed that a common wire is required to provide power to the thermostat FIGS 12A and 12B show certain aspects of user interface navigation through a multi day program schedule according to some preferred embodiments The screens shown accord ing to some embodiments are displayed on a thermostat 300 on round dot matrix electronic display 316 having a rotatable ring 312 such as shown and described in FIGS 3A 4 In FIG 12 screen 1200 includes a rotating main menu 820 with an active window 822 as shown and described with respect to FIG 8A Selecting SCHEDULE leads to an animated tran sition from the rotating main menu screen to a horizontally oriented week long schedule viewer editor One example of an animated transition from the
71. he next setup topic is Heating and Cooling FIG 5E shows example screens according to some embodiments fora thermostat that has the capability to detect wiring status and errors such as described in the commonly assigned U S Ser No 13 034 666 supra by detecting both the physical presence of a wire connected to the terminal as well as using an analog to digital converter ADC to sense the presence of appropriate electrical signals on the con nected wire According to some embodiments the combina tion of physical wire presence detection and ADC appropriate signal detection can be used to detect wiring conditions such as errors for example by detecting whether the signal on an inserted wire is fully energized or half rectified Screen 574 is an example when no wiring warnings or errors are detected According to some preferred embodiments the connectors that have wires attached are shown in a different color and additionally small wire stubs such as stub 575 are shown indicating to the user that a wire is connected to that connector terminal According to some preferred embodiments the wire stubs such as stub 575 are shown in a color that corresponds to the most common wire color that is found in the expected installation environment For example in the case of screen 574 the wire stub for connector Ry is red the wire stub for connector Y is yellow the wire stub for connector G is green and so on Screen 578 is an examp
72. he screens shown according to some embodiments are displayed on a thermo stat 300 on round dot matrix electronic display 316 having a rotatable ring 312 such as shown and described in FIGS 4 In FIG screens 1100 1101 1103 1104 and 1105 show an example of a power wiring error A red disk next to the power connector terminal label in screen 1100 shows the there is a power wire related error Clicking leads to screen 1101 that explains the wiring error condition including an error number associated with the error Screen 1103 instructs the user to remove the thermostat head unit from the back plate and to make corrective wiring connections if possible Screen 1104 is displayed while the thermostat 1s performing a test of the wiring condition following re attachment of the head unit to the back plate If the error persists screen 1105 displays information for the user to obtain technical support as well as an error number for reference Screens 1106 1107 1108 and 1109 show an example for an error where HVAC auto detection found a problem during its initial automated testing e g performed during the initial installation of the thermostat such initial automated testing being described for example in U S Ser No 13 038 191 supra In FIG 11B screens 1110 1111 1112 1113 and 1114 show an example for an error where HVAC auto detection found a problem during later testing Screens 1116 1117 and 1118 show an example where t
73. hedule time cursor bar 1220 and the analog clock 1230 spins backward in displayed time According to some preferred embodiments the schedule time adjustment using the rotatable ring is acceleration based That is the speed that the schedule time is adjusted is based on the speed of rotation of the ring such that detailed adjustments in the current schedule time can be made by slowly rotating the ring while shifts from day to day or over multiple days can be made by rapidly rotating the ring According to some embodiments the difference in acceleration rate factor is about 4 to 1 between the fastest and slowest rotating speeds to achieve both adequate precision and easy movement between days or to the end of the week Screen 1244 shows an example of more rapid movement of the rotatable ring where the sched ule has been shifted at a higher rate factor than in screen 1242 According to some embodiments the schedule time adjust ments are accompanied by audible click sound or other noise to provide further feedback and further enhance the user interface experience According to some preferred embodi ments the audible clicks correspond to each 15 minutes of schedule time that passes the time cursor bar 1220 Ifthe time cursor bar 1220 is not positioned on an existing setpoint such as shown in screen 1214 and an inward click is received a create new setpoint option will be offered as in screen 1250 of FIG 12B In screen 1250 if the use
74. heet 10 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 Is this a home or a business BUSINESS Select BUSINESS Is this business open evenings Is this business open Saturdays Is this business open Sundays Is there more than on thermostat in this business Only ask this last question if didn t discover another Nest thermostat previously see FIG 5D U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 11 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 These questions appear if W is connected 610 Do you have electric heat NO GAS or OIL YES ELECTRIC I DON T KNOW i Setup steps 4 Internet and nest com 612 Heating and cooling Do you have Y Your location forced air heating home FORCED AIR NOT FORCED AIR DON T KNOW 622 Click 614 Nest needs to test your heat pump Installed This might take 15 min heat pump heating auxiliary heating heat pump cooling fan CONTINUE CONTINUE Testing heat pump 616 2 5 min FIG 6B U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 12 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 632 630 Should Nest start heating or cooling your home HEATING COOLING Your adjustments Click train Nest your preferred temperature and schedule CONTINUE Select HEAT Whats 644 energy saving 646 Select low temperature COOLING you would like 7X while you are away What s the
75. hen you are away CONTINUE PN if learning was already on Nest learning active for 2 days Occupancy sensor confidence IN TRAINING 21 COMPLETE CONTINUE TURN OFF LEARNING You need to turn off RANGE schedule to activate Nest Learning TURN OFF RANGE SKIP FIG 9E U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 22 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 SETTINGS SETTINGS 964 BRIGHTNESS auto Rotate Ring Rotate Click i Ring 961 ente Click SETTINGS SETTINGS CLICK SOUND off SETTINGS Click A Click SETTINGS 963 Click SETTINGS Rotat Ring Go to screen 968 967 FIG 9F U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 23 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 Rotate Go to screen 974 MM 968 Click Click Business Home Name this 969 Name this Thermostat Thermostat _ Nest j CHED Hallway Office Living room Bedroom Upstairs Downstairs TYPE NAME FIG 9G Rotate Ring go to screen U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 24 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 NETWORK Network2 975 Network3 974a Select TECH DETAILS DISCONNECT TECH DETAILS DONE gt AS TECH DETAILS s NETWORK WiFi CONNECTION enabled 802 11n Select Network3 NETWORK 2 LAST PING 906 ms 979 password At 2 26 11 06 15 IP 97
76. hermostat from the wall plate to correct the wiring and check your equipment after removing from after removing from y wall plate wall plate amp Assembling 1104 technical information amp Assembling technical information TECHNICAL INFO NEST SUPPORT nest com support TECHNICAL INFO NEST SUPPORT nest com support ERROR 7 no power 1105 FIG 11A ERROR 15 no cooling U S Patent Dec 23 2014 HVAC auto detection found a problem during later testing 1110 Auto test failed Turning on cooling Y did not cool your room Error 15 CONTINUE 1111 F You can switch to heat only or remove Nest to check connections HEAT ONLY REMOVE 1112 after removing from wall plate 1113 lt Assembling technical information Now remove your Nest thermostat from the wall plate to correct the wiring and check your equipment Sheet 35 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 The backplate has failed in some way and the head unit knows it 1116 The Nest base has failed and must be replaced Error 1 CONTINUE after removing from wall plate 1117 amp Assembling technical information 1118 TECHNICAL INFO NEST SUPPORT nest com support ERROR 1 base 1114 TECHNICAL INFO FIG 11B NEST SUPPORT nest com support ERRO
77. hnol ogy Poster University of California Berkeley Jun 10 2004 Auslander et al Berkeley DR Research Energy Management Group Power Point Presentation DR ETD Workshop State of California Energy Commission Jun 11 2007 pp 1 35 Chen et al Demand Response Enabled Residential Thermostat Controls Abstract ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings Mechanical Engineering Dept and Architecture Dept University of California Berkeley 2008 pp 1 24 through 1 36 Detroitborg Nest Learning Thermostat Unboxing and Review online Feb 2012 retrieved on Aug 22 2008 Retrieved from the Internet URL http www youtube com watch v KrgcOL4oLzc gt Green Thermo Heat Tech Cool Popular Mechanics Electronic Thermostat Guide Oct 1985 pp 155 158 Meier et al Thermostat Interface Usability A Survey Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Environmental Energy Technologies Division Berkeley California Sep 2010 pp 1 73 International Patent Application No PCT US201 1 061470 Interna tional Search Report amp Written Opinion mailed Apr 3 2012 11 pages International Patent Application No PCT US2012 058207 Interna tional Search Report amp Written Opinion mailed Jan 11 2013 10 pages Peffer et al A Tale of Two Houses The Human Dimension of Demand Response Enabling Technology from a Case Study of Adap tive Wireless Thermostat Abstract ACEEE Summe
78. ick will lead to screen 918 Atscreen 918 theusercan vary the highlighting between the displayed selections by rotating the rotatable ring 312 and then can select the currently displayed menu item by inward clicking the rotatable ring 312 If LOCKED is selected then the user is asked to enter a locking PIN in screen 920 If the thermostat is already locked then screen 925 is displayed instead of screen 916 Ifthe thermostat is unlocked then a PIN confirmation 15 requested such as in screen 922 If the confir mation PIN does not match then the user is asked to enter a new PIN in screen 924 If the confirmation PIN matches then the temperature limits are set in screens 938 and or 939 in _ 0 a 5 40 45 50 55 26 FIG 9 The described locking capability can be useful in a variety of contexts such as where a parent desires the limit the ability of their teenager to set the temperature too high in winter or too low in summer According to some embodi ments locking of the thermostat is not permitted if the ther mostat is not connected to the Internet or is not paired to an account so that an online backup method of unlocking the thermostat is available should the user forget the PIN number In such case if the thermostat is not connected to the Internet then screen 926 is displayed and if the thermostat is not paired then screen 927 is displayed FIG 9C shows further details of the locking feature according to some
79. imary thermostats and or multiple auxiliary thermostats It is to be further appreciated that as the term primary thermostat is used herein it is not required that there be a one to one correspondence between primary thermostats and distinct HVAC systems in the enclosure For example there are many installations in which plural zones in the enclosure may be served by a single HVAC system by virtue of controllable 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 16 dampers that can stop and or redirect airflow to and among the different zones from the HVAC system In such cases there can be a primary thermostat for each zone each of the primary thermostats being wired to the HVAC system as well as to the appropriate dampers to regulate the climate of its respective zone Referring now again to FIG 5D in screen 562 a name is entered for the thermostat assuming the thermostat is being installed in a dwelling rather than in a business The list of choices 563 is larger than the screen allows so according to some embodiments the list 563 scrolls up and down respon sive to user ring rotation so the user can view all the available choices For purposes of clarity of description it is to be appreciated that when a listing of menu choices is illustrated in the drawings of the present disclosure as going beyond the spatial limits of a screen such as shown with listing 563 of screen 562 those menu choices will automatically scr
80. ing temperature ranges can use high levels of energy and that automatic learning has to be disabled Screens 1070 and 1071 show examples of questions to ascertain the type of heating system installed FIGS 10G 10H and 101 show screens relating to resetting the thermostat according to some embodiments Screen 1072 shows entry into the reset settings sub menu If learning is 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 30 currently active clicking at screen 1072 leads to screen 1073 If LEARNING is selected then in screens 1074 1075 and 1076 the user can reset the learning so as to erase the current schedule and learning data Note that screen 1075 provides a way of confirming the user s agreement with the procedure which includes forgetting the data learned up until the present time by asking the user to rotate the rotatable ring to that the large tick mark moves through the background tick arc as shown Further the user in screen 1076 is given a time interval in this case 10 seconds in which to cancel the learn ing reset process The reset dial and the cancellation interval effectively reduce the risk of the user inadvertently perform ing certain reset operations involving learned data loss Selecting DEFAULTS from screen 1073 leads to screens 1077 1078 1079 and 1080 which erases all information from the unit and returns the thermostat unit to factory defaults This operation could be useful for example if the
81. int temperature conve niently folded together with the satisfying physical sensation of inward clicking together with accommodating natural focus on the electronic display in the central midst of their fingers activity adds significantly to an intuitive seamless and downright fun user experience Further descriptions of advantageous mechanical user interfaces and related designs which are employed according to some embodiments can be found in U S Ser No 13 033 573 supra U S Ser No 29 386 021 supra and U S Ser No 13 199 108 supra FIG 3C illustrates a cross sectional view ofa shell portion 309 of a frame of the thermostat of FIGS 3A B which has been found to provide a particularly pleasing and adaptable visual appearance ofthe overall thermostat 300 when viewed against a variety of different wall colors and wall textures in a variety of different home environments and home settings While the thermostat itself will functionally adapt to the user s schedule as described herein and in one or more ofthe commonly assigned incorporated applications supra the outer shell portion 309 is specially configured to convey a chameleon quality or characteristic such that the overall device appears to naturally blend in in a visual and decorative sense with many of the most common wall colors and wall textures found in home and business environments at least in part because it will appear to assume the surrounding colors and ev
82. is more prominent than the back ground tick marks the current temperature tick mark repre senting a current temperature 18 A method according to claim 17 further comprising displaying a numerical representation ofthe current tempera ture on the rounded electronic display in close proximity to said current temperature tick mark 19 A method according to claim 13 further comprising receiving input from a user at least in part using a rotatable ring surrounding the rounded electronic display the input representing a change in the setpoint temperature 20 A method according to claim 19 further comprising moving the setpoint tick mark in response to and in accor dance with the received input such that the change in setpoint is visible to the user 21 In a programmable device for controlling an HVAC system a method for interacting with a user of the program mable device comprising displaying a visible portion of a schedule plot on an elec tronic display that is centrally mounted on a body of the programmable device the schedule plot having a time axis and including a plurality of programmed setpoints disposed at respective locations along the time axis receiving input from the user by user rotation of a rotatable ring surrounding the electronic display progressively changing the visible portion of the schedule plot in response to the received input and displaying a stationary cursor overlaid on the displayed visible portion of th
83. is too low for the auto away feature the automated auto away invo cation based on to be effective Screen 937 is an example of a screen shown when the activity occupancy sensor is in training and the progress in percentage is displayed If and when the activity occupancy sensor confidence is high US 8 918 219 B2 27 enough for the auto away function to be effective then another message not shown is displayed to notify the user of such Screen 936 is an example of information displayed to the user pertaining to the leaficon and is accessed by selecting the leaf icon from the screen 929 FIG 9E shows settings sub menus for learning and for auto away according to some alternate embodiments Screens 950 958 show alternative screens to those shown in FIG 9D Upon clicking at the screen 950 in screen 951 the user is asked if learning should be activated based on the user s adjustments and if yes then in screen 952 the user is informed that the thermostat will automatically adjust the program schedule based on the user s manual temperature adjustments In screen 953 the user is notified ofhow long the learning feature has been active if applicable In screen 954 the user is notified that learning cannot be activated due to a conflict with another setting inthis case the use ofa RANGE mode of operation in which both upper and lower setpoint temperatures are enforced by the thermostat Upon user ring rotation at screen 950 scre
84. ked if they wish to try a different network If the user selects NETWORK then the thermostat scans for available networks and then moves to screen 524 If the user selects SKIP then screen 522 is displayed Under some circumstances for example following a net work test screen 540 the system determines that a software and or firmware update is needed In such cases screen 548 is displayed while the update process is carried out Since some processes such as downloading and installing updates can take a relatively long time a notice combined with a spinner 549 having a percent indicator can be shown to keep the user informed of the progress Following the update the system usually needs to be rebooted Screen 550 informs the user of this According to some embodiments in cases where more than one thermostat is located in the same dwelling or busi ness location the units can be associated with one another as both being paired to the user s account on a cloud based management server When a successful network and server connection is established screen 534 and ifthe server notes that there is already an online account associated with the current location by comparison of a network address of the thermostat 300 with that of other currently registered thermo stats then screen 552 15 displayed asking the user ifthey want to add the current thermostat to the existing account If the user selects ADD the thermostat is a
85. l is too short For example the thermostat can be programmed to prevent re activation of the compressor within a lockout interval of 2 minutes after de activation regardless of what happens with the current ambient temperature and or current setpoint tem perature within that lockout interval Longer or shorter lock out periods can be provided with 2 minutes being just one example of a typical lockout period During this lockout period according to some embodiments a message such as message 762 in screen 704 of FIG 7E is displayed which provides a visually observable countdown until the end of the lockout interval so as to keep the user informed and avoid confusion on the user s part as to why the compressor has not yet started up again According to some embodiments a manual setpoint change will be active until an effective time of the next pro grammed setpoint For example if at 2 38 PM the user walks up to the thermostat 300 and rotates the outer ring 312 see FIG 3A supra to manually adjust the setpoint to 68 degrees F and if the thermostat 300 has a programmed schedule containing a setpoint that is supposed to take effect at 4 30 PM with a setpoint temperature that is different than 68 degrees F then the manual setpoint temperature change will only be effective until 4 30 PM According to some embodi ments a message such as message 766 till 4 30 PM will be displayed on screen 705 in FIG 7F which informs the user
86. lar arrangement of background tick marks are sized and spaced apart so that 180 tick marks would complete circle but 40 tick marks are skipped at the bottom such that a maximum of 140 tick marks are displayed The setpoint tick mark 714 and the current temperature tick mark 716 may replace some the of the background tick marks such that not all of the background tick marks are displayed Addi tionally the current temperature is displayed numerically using numerals 718 which can also be overlaid or displayed in muted or transparent fashion over the background tick marks According to some embodiments so as to accentuate visibility the setpoint tick mark 714 is displayed in 100 opacity or 0 transparency is sized such that it extends 20 farther towards the display center than the background tick marks and is further emphasized by the adjacent back ground tick marks not being displayed According to some embodiments a time to temperature display 722 is used to indicate the estimated time needed to reach the current set point as is described more fully co pending commonly assigned patent application U S Ser No 12 984 602 FIG 7B shows a screen 701 which displays a HEAT TO mes sage 724 indicating that the HVAC system is in heating mode US 8 918 219 B2 21 although currently is not active amp HEATING will be dis played when the HVAC system is active According to some embodiments the background color of screen 701
87. le of a wiring warning indication screen In general a wiring warning is used when US 8 918 219 B2 17 potential wiring problem is detected but HVAC functionality is not blocked In this case a cooling wire Y1 is detected but no cooling system appears to be present as notified to the user in screen 579 Other examples of wiring warnings according to some embodiments include Rh pin detected i e the insertion ofa wire into the Rh terminal has been detected but that Rh wire is not live Rc pin detected but Rc wire not live W1 pin detected but W1 wire not live AUX pin detected but AUX wire not live G pin detected but G wire not live and OB pin detected but OB wire not live Screen 580 is an example of a wiring error indication screen In general wiring errors are detected problems that are serious enough such that HVAC functionality is blocked In this case the wiring error shown in screen 580 is the absence of detected power wires i e neither Rc nor Rh wires are detected as shown in screen 582 In screen 584 the user is asked to confirm that the heating or cooling system is connected properly after which the system shuts down as indicated by the blank or black screen 585 Other examples of wiring errors according to some embodi ments include neither a Y1 nor a W1 pin has been detected C pin detected but that C wire is not live Y1 pin has been detected but that Y1 wire is not live and a C wire is required i e an aut
88. lly mounted on a body ofthe programmable device said electronic display and said body each being rounded in shape US 8 918 219 B2 39 displaying a setpoint tick mark on the electronic display within the range area such that the setpoint tick mark is more prominently visible to the user than the back ground tick marks the setpoint tick mark representing a setpoint temperature displaying a numerical representation of the setpoint tem perature in a central location on the rounded electronic display and displaying on the rounded electronic display a background color having a bluish shade when the device is calling for cooling from the HVAC system 14 A method according to claim 13 wherein the back ground color is displayed with an intensity that varies accord ing to an amount of cooling to be used to reach the setpoint temperature 15 A programmable device for controlling an HVAC sys tem adapted and configured to interface with a user according to the method of claim 13 16 A non transitory computer readable medium having executable instructions that when executed by a processor of a programmable device for controlling an HVAC system cause the programmable device to interface with a user thereof according to the method of claim 13 17 A method according to claim 13 further comprising displaying a current temperature tick mark on the rounded electronic display within the range area such that the current temperature tick mark
89. lso select TYPE to enter a custom name via character input interface 609 If the indicates that the thermostat is being installed in a business then a set of interview questions 606 can be presented to aid in establishing a basic schedule Following questions 606 the user is asked to give the ther mostat a name in an analogous fashion as described in the case of a home installation FIG 6B shows further interview questions associated with an initial setup procedure according to some embodiments Following the thermostat naming in screen 610 the user is asked if electric heat is used in the home or business Accord ing to some embodiments the heating questions shown are only asked if a wire is connected to the W1 and or W2 terminals In screen 612 the user is asked if forced air heating is used Screen 614 informs the user that a testing procedure is being carried out in the case where a heat pump heating system is used For example the test could be to determine proper polarity for the heat pump control system by activating the system and detecting resulting temperature changes as described in the commonly assigned U S Ser No 13 038 191 supra Screen 616 shows an example displayed to the user to inform the user that a relatively long procedure is being carried out According to some embodiments the heat pump test is not carried out if the user is able to correctly answer questions relating to the polarity of
90. med setpoint the user rotates the rotatable ring until the stationary cursor is coincident with the effective time thereof presses the rotatable ring to select that pro grammed setpoint rotates the rotatable ring to adjust the time axis location presses the rotatable ring to select the desired time location and allow adjustment of the temperature value rotates the rotatable ring to adjust the temperature value and again presses the rotatable ring to establish the new effective time and temperature value of the programmed setpoint According to some embodiments a programmable device for controlling an HVAC system is provided The device includes an electronic display positioned inside a circular outer ring that is user rotatable and user pressable and a processor adapted and configured to drive the electronic dis play responsive to user presses and rotations of the outer ring The processor is programmed to cause the electronic display to show recent energy usage performance information for a succession of recent historical time intervals Energy perfor mance information for respective time intervals can be dis played to the user in separate respective windows the elec tronic display showing animated transitions between respective time intervals responsive to user rotations of the ring It will be appreciated that these systems and methods are novel as are applications thereof and many of the compo nents systems methods and algorith
91. mily dwelling According to other embodiments the enclosure can be for example a duplex an apartment within an apartment build ing a light commercial structure such as an office or retail store or a structure or enclosure that is a combination of the above Thermostat 110 controls HVAC system 120 as will be described in further detail below According to some embodi ments the HVAC system 120 is has a cooling capacity less than about 5 tons According to some embodiments a remote device 112 wirelessly communicates with the thermostat 110 and can be used to display information to a user and to receive user input from the remote location of the device 112 Although many of the embodiments are described herein as being carried out by a thermostat such as thermostat 110 according to some embodiments the same or similar tech niques are employed using a remote device such as device 112 FIG 2 is a diagram of an HVAC system according to some embodiments HVAC system 120 provides heating cooling ventilation and or air handling for the enclosure such as a single family home 100 depicted in FIG 1 The system 120 depicts a forced air type heating system although according to other embodiments other types of systems could be used In heating heating coils or elements 242 within air handler 240 provide a source of heat using electricity or gas via line 236 Cool air is drawn from the enclosure via return air duct 246 through filter 270 usi
92. mostat 29 A device according to claim 28 the device being further programmed according to a method comprising displaying a menu including a plurality of user selectable options in an arcuate area on the electronic display said user selectable options including an energy information display option highlighting different ones of said user selectable options in response to and in accordance with rotation input generated by user rotation of the outer ring detecting press input generated by user pressing of the outer ring and regarding as a selected option from said menu the user selectable option that is highlighted at a time of said detecting press input generated by user pressing wherein said recent energy usage performance information is shown responsive to selection of the energy informa tion display option from said menu
93. mple with reference to FIG 9A the user can cause the initial screen 900 to be shifted or translated to the left by a clockwise rotation of the rotatable ring 312 as shown in the succession of screens 902 and 908 The animated translation or shifting effect is illustrated in FIG 9A by virtue ofa portion ofthe previous screen disk 901 and a portion of the new screen disk 906 shifting as shown andis similarto the animated shifting translation illustrated in the commonly assigned U S Ser No 29 399 621 supra Further rotation of the ring leads to successive sub menu items such as system on screen 912 and lock setting screen 916 see FIG 9B Rotating the ring in the opposite direction i e counterclockwise translates or shifts the screens in the opposite direction e g from 916 to 908 to 900 The initial screen 900 is thus also used as a way to exit the settings menu by an inward click This exit function is also identified by the label on the screen 900 Note that inner disk 901 shows the large central numerals that correspond to the cur rent setpoint temperature and can include a background color to match the thermostat background color scheme as described with respect to FIG 7A so as to indicate to a user in an intuitive way that this screen 900 is a way of exiting the menu and going back to the main thermostat display such as shown in FIGS 7A K According to some embodiments another initial done screen
94. ms employed and included therein It should be appreciated that embodiments of the presently described inventive body of work can be implemented in numerous ways including as processes apparata systems devices methods computer readable media computational algorithms embedded or distributed software and or as a combination thereof Several illustrative embodiments are described below BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The inventive body of work will be readily understood by referring to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which FIG 1 is a diagram of an enclosure in which environmental conditions are controlled according to some embodiments FIG 2 is a diagram of an HVAC system according to some embodiments FIGS 3A 3B illustrate a thermostat having a user friendly interface according to some embodiments FIG 3C illustrates a cross sectional view of a shell portion of a frame of the thermostat of FIGS 3A 3B FIG 4 illustrates a thermostat having a head unit and a backplate or wall dock for ease of installation configuration and upgrading according to some embodiments FIGS 5A F and 6A D illustrate display screens on a user friendly graphical user interface for a programmable thermo stat upon initial set up according to some embodiments FIGS 7A 7K show aspects of a general layout of a graphi cal user interface for a thermostat according to some embodi ments F
95. n away mode of operation is invoked only if both of the thermostats have sensed a lack of activity for a requisite period of time For one embodiment each thermostat will send an away state vote to the management server if it has detected inactivity for the requisite period but will not go into an away state until it receives permission to do so from the management server In the meantime each thermostat will send a revocation of its away state vote if it detects occupancy activity in the enclo sure The central management server will send away state permission to both thermostats only if there are current away state votes from each of them Once in the collective away state if either thermostat senses occupancy activity that ther mostat will send a revocation to the cloud based management server which in turn will send away state permission revo cation or an arrival command to both of the thermostats Many other types of cooperation among the commonly paired thermostats 1 thermostats associated with the same account at the management server can be provided without departing from the scope of the present teachings Where there is more than one thermostat for a particular enclosure and those thermostats are associated with the same account on the cloud based management server one pre ferred method by which that group of thermostats can coop erate to provide enhanced auto away functionality is as fol lows
96. ng fan 238 and is heated heating coils or elements 242 The heated air flows back into the enclosure at one or more locations via supply air duct system 252 and supply air grills such as grill 250 In cooling an outside compressor 230 passes gas such a Freon through a set of heat exchanger coils to cool the gas The gas then goes to the cooling coils 234 in the air handlers 240 where it expands cools and cools the air being circulated through the enclosure via fan 238 According to some embodiments a humidifier 25415 also provided Although not shown in FIG 2 according to some embodiments the HVAC system has other known functionality such as venting air to and from the outside and one or more dampers to control airflow within the duct sys tems The system is controlled by control electronics 212 whose operation is governed by a thermostat such as the thermostat 110 Thermostat 110 controls the HVAC system 120 through a number of control circuits Thermostat 110 also includes a processing system 260 such as a microprocessor that is adapted and programmed to controlling the HVAC system and to carry out the techniques described in detail herein FIGS 3A B illustrate a thermostat having a user friendly interface according to some embodiments Unlike many prior art thermostats thermostat 300 preferably has a sleek simple uncluttered and elegant design that does not detract from home decoration and indeed can serve as a visually pleasing cente
97. ng system that would be considered resi dential would have a cooling capacity ofless than about 5 tons of refrigeration 1 ton of refrigeration 12 000 Btu h As used herein the term light commercial when referring to an HVAC system means a type of HVAC system that is suitable to heat cool and or otherwise condition the interior of a building that is primarily used for commercial purposes but is of a size and construction that a residential HVAC system is considered suitable An example of a cooling sys tem that would be considered residential would have a cool ing capacity of less than about 5 tons of refrigeration As used herein the term thermostat means a device or system for regulating parameters such as temperature and or humidity within at least a part of an enclosure The term thermostat may include a control unit for a heating and or cooling system or a component part of a heater or air condi tioner As used herein the term thermostat can also refer generally to a versatile sensing and control unit VSCU unit that is configured and adapted to provide sophisticated cus tomized energy saving HVAC control functionality while at US 8 918 219 B2 7 the same time being visually appealing non intimidating elegant to behold and delightfully easy to use FIG 1 is a diagram of an enclosure in which environmental conditions are controlled according to some embodiments Enclosure 100 in this example is a single fa
98. nge area such that the current temperature tick mark is more prominent than the back ground tick marks the current temperature tick mark repre senting a current temperature 4 method according to claim 3 further comprising dis playing a numerical representation ofthe current temperature on the rounded electronic display in close proximity to said current temperature tick mark 5 A method according to claim 1 further comprising receiving input from a user at least in part using a rotatable ring surrounding the rounded electronic display the input representing a change in the setpoint temperature 6 A method according to claim 5 further comprising mov ing the setpoint tick mark in response to and in accordance with the received input such that the change in setpoint is visible to the user 7 programmable device for controlling an HVAC system adapted and configured to interface with a user according to the method of claim 1 8 A non transitory computer readable medium having executable instructions that when executed by a processor of a programmable device for controlling an HVAC system cause the programmable device to interface with a user thereof according to the method of claim 1 9 A method of claim 1 further comprising displaying a menu including a plurality of user selectable options in an arcuate area on the electronic display that is centrally mounted on the body of the programmable device receiving input from a
99. nner that is more visible to the user than the background tick marks 1608 and a numerical set point representation 1612 is prominently displayed in the center of the electronic display 1604 As illustrated in FIGS 16A 16B the user can perform a ring rotation to change the setpoint with FIG 16B showing a new setpoint of 73 degrees along with a shift in the setpoint tick mark 1610 to a different arc location representative ofthe higher setpoint and with a current temperature tick mark 1614 and current temperature numerical display 1616 appear ing as shown As with other embodiments there is preferably a sweeping visual display of tick marks not illustrated in FIGS 16A 16B that sweeps from the current temperature tick mark 1614 to the setpoint temperature tick mark 1610 analogous to the tick mark sweep shown in FIG 14 supra With the exception of the differently implemented ring rota tion facility and the changing of various display layouts to conform to the rectangular electronic display screen 1604 operation of the thermostat 1600 is preferably similar to that of the circularly shaped thermostat embodiments described supra Thus by way of non limiting example the thermostat 1600 is configured to provide a menu options screen not shown on electronic display 1604 that contains menu options such as Heat Cool Schedule Energy Settings Away and Done and to function similarly to that shown in FIGS 8A 8C responsive to rotation of
100. nt options can be selected If SCHEDULE learning is selected then in screen 930 the user is notified of how long the learning algorithm has been active in the example shown learning has been active for three days If the user selects PAUSE LEARNING then learning is paused which is reflected in the screen 931 Ifthe user selects AUTO AWAY training then the user is notified of the auto away function in screen 932 By clicking to con tinue the user is asked if the auto away feature should be active in screen 933 If the user selects SET TEMP then in screen 934 the user can input the energy saving temperatures to be used when the home or business is non occupied these temperatures being applicable upon either an automatically invoked or a manually invoked away condition In an alter native embodiment not shown the user is able to enter different temperature limits for the automatically invoked away condition versus the manually invoked away condition According to some embodiments an energy saving icon such as the leaficon is displayed next to the temperatures in screen 934 if those selected temperatures conforms to energy saving standards or other desirable energy saving behavior If the user selects YES from screen 933 then the user is notified of the confidence status of the activity occupancy sensor used for automated auto away invocation Screen 935 is an example showing that the activity sensor confidence
101. nts described infra is particularly advantageous when incorporated with a self programming or learning thermostat it is to be appreciated that their incorpo ration into non learning thermostats can be advantageous as well and is within the scope of the present teachings Other issues arise as would be apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading the present disclosure SUMMARY Provided according to one or more embodiments is a user interface for a programmable device such as a programmable thermostat that controls the operation of one or more energy consuming systems household devices or other resource consuming systems such as a heating ventilation and air conditioning HVAC system Further provided are systems methods computer program products and related business methods associated with the user interface and programmable device For some embodiments the programmable device is configured to carry out a method for interacting with a user thereof the method comprising displaying a plurality of background tick marks arcuately arranged within a range area on a rounded display that is centrally mounted on a rounded body of the programmable device A setpoint tick mark is displayed on the rounded display within the range area such that the setpoint tick mark is more prominently visible to the user than the background tick marks the setpoint tick mark representing a setpoint temperature Numerical representa tions of the current
102. o create a new schedule by answering a few simple questions RESET SCHEDULE Select RESET Restarting Nest SCHEDULE Back in a bit Turn the dial to reset the schedule CANCEL Rotate ring t Resetting in 10 seconds FIG 10H PRESS TO CANCEL 1085 U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 33 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 1088 SETTINGS Is this a home or a business BUSINESS ems Click back Is someone usually Should Nest to main home at noon start heating or thermostat cooling your screen e g home FIG 7A 1090 Is everybody usually in bed by 11 PM COOLING Is there more than one thermostat in the home Is this business open evenings Is this business open Saturdays Creating your 4 basic schedule 1092 Is this business open ve 4 Sundays Is there more than on thermostat in this business FIG 10 U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 34 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 1100 HVAC auto detection found a problem during first test Equipment detected 1106 Auto test failed Tuming on cooling Y did not cool your room Error 15 CONTINUE CONTINUE No power wires detected An Rh or Rc wire is Required Error 7 PRESS TO CONTINUE 1101 Now remove your Nest thermostat from the wall plate to correct the wiring and check your equipment 1103 Now remove your Nest t
103. of a graphi cal user interface for a thermostat according to some embodi ments The screens shown according to some embodiments are displayed on a thermostat 300 on round dot matrix elec tronic display 316 having a rotatable ring 312 such as shown and described in FIGS 3A 4 FIG 7A shows a basic thermo stat screen 700 in heating mode According to some embodi ments the foreground symbols and characters remain a con stant color such as white while the background color of the screen can vary according to thermostat and HVAC system function to provide an intuitive visual indication thereof For example according to a preferred embodiment a background orange red color e g R G B values 231 68 0 is used to indicate that the thermostat is currently calling for heating from the HVAC system a background blueish color e g R G B values 0 65 226 is used to indicate that the thermo stat is currently calling for cooling from the HVAC system Further according to some embodiments the intensity hue saturation opacity or transparency of the background color can be changed to indicate how much heating and or cooling will be required or how hard the HVAC system will have to work to achieve the current setpoint For example according to some preferred embodiments a black background is used when the HVAC system is not activated i e when neither heating or cooling is being called for while a selected back ground color t
104. oll up and down as necessary to be viewable by the user as they rotate the rotatable ring 312 The available choices of names in this case are shown including an option to enter a custom name by selecting TYPE NAME The first entry Nest 2 is a generic thermostat name and assumes there is already a thermostat on the account named Nest 1 If there already is a Nest 2 thermostat then the name Nest 3 will be offered and so on If the user selects NAME then a character entry user interface 565 is used to enter a name Screen 564 shows a thermostat naming screen analogous to screen 562 except that is represents a case in which the thermostat 300 is being installed in a business rather than a dwelling Screen 566 is displayed when thermostat learning or self program ing features are turned on In this case the user is asked if the current schedule from the other thermostat should be copied Screens 568 570 and 572 show what is displayed after completion of the Internet connection server connection and pairing procedures are completed Screen 568 is used in the case there an Internet connection is established but no pairing is made with a user account on the server Screen 570 is used in the case where both an Internet connection and pairing the user s account on the server is established Finally screen 572 is used in the case where no internet connection was successfully established In all cases t
105. omated power stealing test has been performed in which it has been found that the power stealing circuitry in thermostat 300 will undesirably cause one or more HVAC call relays to trip and so power stealing cannot be used in this installation and therefore it is required that a C wire be provided to the thermostat 300 FIG 5F show user interface screens relating to location and time date according to some embodiments Screen 586 shows an example of the electronic display 316 when the first two steps of the setup process are completed Upon user selection of Your location screen 588 is displayed to notify the user that a few questions should be answered to create a starting schedule In screen 590 the user s location country is identified Note that the list of countries in this example is only USA and Canada but in general other or larger lists of countries could be used Screen 592 shows an example of a fixed length character entry field in this case entry of a numerical five digit United States ZIP code The use rotates the rotatable ring 312 see FIG 3A supra to change the value of the highlighted character followed by a click to select that value Screen 594 shows an example after all five digits have been entered Screen 596 shows an example ofa screen that is used if the thermostat is not connected to the Internet for entering date and time information According to some embodiments the time and date entry are only display
106. ount of energy and cost that is going to be expended by the HVAC system at the currently displayed setpoint value This in turn can be extremely use ful in saving energy particularly when the user is manually adjusting the setpoint temperature in real time because the 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 20 background color provides an immediate feedback relating to the energy consequences of the user s temperature setting behavior According to some alternate embodiments parameters other than simply the difference in current to setpoint tem perature can be used in displaying background colors and intensity For example time to temp the estimated amount of time it will take to reach the current setpoint temperature amount of energy and or cost ifaccurately known can also be used alone or in combination determine which color and how intense or opaque is used for the background of the thermo stat display According to some preferred embodiments the characters and other graphics are mainly displayed in white overlying the black orange or blue backgrounds as described above Other colors for certain displayed features such green for the leaf logo are also used according to some embodiments Although many of the screens shown and described herein are provided in the accompanying drawings with black charac ters and graphics overlaying a white background for purposes of clarity and print reproduction
107. play 316 extension of the hardware life of the electronic display 316 and also aesthetic reasons for domestic installations The savings of electrical power is particularly advantageous for installations in which there is no C wire provided by the HVAC system since it will often be the case that the average power that can safely obtained from power stealing methods will be less than the average power used by a visually pleasing hardware implementation of the electronic display 316 when active Advantageously by designing the thermostat 300 with the rechargeable battery 482 and programming its operation such that the electronic display 316 will only be active when there is a proximal viewer the electronic display 316 itself can be selected and sized to be bright bold informative and visually pleasing even where such operation takes more instantaneous average electrical power than the power steal ing can provide because the rechargeable battery 482 can be used to provide the excess power needed for active display and then can be recharged during periods of lesser power usage when the display is not active This is to be contrasted with many known prior art electronic thermostats whose dis plays are made very low power and less visually pleasing in order to keep the thermostat s instantaneous power usage at budget power stealing levels Notably it is also consistent with the aesthetics of many home environments not to have a bright and
108. plication No 61 415 771 filed on Nov be rotated and Esse d inwardly to provide user input in a 19 2010 provisional a lication No 61 429 093 simple and elegant fashion The current temperature and set fil d D 31 2010 point are graphically displayed as prominent tick marks Dif ferent colors and intensities can be displayed to indicate cur 51 Int Cl rently active HVAC functions and an amount of heating or 51 CD 2 3 19 2006 01 cooling required to reach a target temperature The setpoint 91 can be altered by user rotation ofthe ring The schedule can be F24F 11 00 2006 01 displayed and altered by virtue of rotations and inward press 52 U S Cl ings of the ring Initial device set up and installation the CPC G05D 23 19 2013 01 F24F 2011 0091 viewing of device operation the editing of various settings 2013 01 G05D 23 1902 2013 01 F24F the viewing of historical energy usage information are 2221 32 2013 01 F24F 11 0086 2013 01 made simple and elegant by virtue of the described form USB niet eene 700 276 236 1 C 236 9 D factor display modalities and user input modalities of the 58 Field of Classification Search device USPC ee 700 276 236 1 C 91 D 91 R 94 See application file for complete search history 29 Claims 45 Drawing Sheets US 8 918 219 B2 Page2 56 References Cited 7 140 551 B2 11 2006 de Pauw etal 236 94 7 141 748 B2 1
109. put while the cover 314 and metallic portion 324 remain motionless It is to be appreciated that a variety of different selections and combi nations of the particular mechanical elements that will travel inwardly to achieve the inward click input are within the scope of the present teachings whether it be the outer ring 312 itself some part of the cover 314 or some combination thereof However it has been found particularly advanta geous to provide the user with an ability to quickly go back and forth between registering ring rotations and inward clicks with a single hand and with minimal amount of time and effort involved and so the ability to provide an inward click directly by pressing the outer ring 312 has been found particularly advantageous since the user s fingers do not need to be lifted out of contact with the device or slid along its surface in order to go between ring rotations and inward clicks Moreover by virtue of the strategic placement of the electronic display 316 centrally inside the rotatable ring 312 a further advantage is provided in that the user can naturally focus their attention on the electronic display throughout the input process right in the middle of where their hand is performing its functions The combination of intuitive outer ring rotation especially as applied to but not limited to the um 0 an 5 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 changing of a thermostat s setpo
110. r Study of Energy Efficiency in Buildings Architecture Dept and Mechanical Engineering Dept University of California Berkeley 2006 pp 7 242 through 7 253 Peffer et al Smart Comfort At Home Design of a Residential Thermostat to Achieve Thermal Comfort and Save Money and Peak Energy University of California Berkeley 2007 1 page Salus S Series Digital Thermostat Instruction Manual ST620 Model No Instruction Manual www salus tech com Version 005 Apr 29 2010 24 pages Sanford iPod Click Wheel 2004 www apple history com retrieved on Apr 9 2012 Retrieved from http apple history com ipod Apr 9 2012 2 pages Wright et al DR ETD Summary of New Thermostate TempNode amp New Meter UC Berkeley Project Power Point Presentation Public Interest Energy Research University of Califor nia Berkeley Retrieved from http dr berkeley edu dream presenta tions 2005__6CEC pdf 2005 pp 1 49 Energy Joule Ambient Devices Jul 23 2011 retrieved on Aug 1 2012 Retrieved from http web archive org web 2011072321042 1 http www ambientdevices com products energyjoule html 2 pages Gao et al The Self Programming Thermostat Optimizing Setback Schedules Based on Home Occupancy Patterns Proceedings of the First ACM Workshop on Embedded Sensing Systems for Energy Efficiency in Buildings Association for Computing Machinery Nov 2009 pp 67 72 US 8 918 219 B2
111. r selects NEW then a new setpoint disk 1254 will appear on the time cursor bar 1220 as shown in screen 1252 For some embodi ments this birth of the new setpoint disk 1254 proceeds by virtue of an animation similar to that illustrated in the com monly assigned U S Ser No 29 399 637 supra wherein as soon as the user clicks on NEW a very small disk much smaller than the disk 1254 at screen 1252 appears near the top of the cursor bar 1220 and then progressively grows into its full size version 1254 as it visibly slides downward to land at a vertical location corresponding to a starting tem perature setpoint value For some embodiments the starting temperature setpoint value is equal to that of an immediately preceding setpoint in the schedule Rotating the ring will then adjust the setpoint temperature of the new setpoint disk 1254 upward or downward from that starting temperature setpoint value According to some embodiments an energy savings encouragement indicator such as the leaf logo 1260 is dis played when the new setpoint temperature corresponds to energy saving and or cost saving parameters which aids the user in making energy saving decisions Once the tem perature for the new setpoint is satisfactory an inward click allows adjustment of the setpoint time via the rotatable ring as shown in screen 1256 Once the start time for the new setpoint is satisfactory another inward click establishes
112. re often intimidated by a dizzying array of switches and controls laid out in various configurations on the face ofthe thermostat or behind a panel door on the thermostat and seldom adjust the manufacturer defaults to optimize their own energy usage Thus even though the installed programmable thermostats in a large number of homes are technologically capable of oper ating the HVAC equipment with energy saving profiles it is often the case that only the one size fits all manufacturer default profiles are ever implemented in a large number of homes Indeed in an unfortunately large number of cases a home user may permanently operate the unit in a temporary or hold mode manually manipulating the displayed set temperature as if the unit were a simple non programmable thermostat Proposals have been made for so called self programming thermostats including a proposal for establishing learned setpoints based on patterns of recent manual user setpoint entries as discussed in US20080191045A1 and including a proposal for automatic computation of a setback schedule based on sensed occupancy patterns in the home as discussed in G Gao and Whitehouse The Self Programming Ther mostat Optimizing Setback Schedules Based on Home Occupancy Patterns Proceedings of the First ACM Work shop on Embedded Sensing Systems for Energy Efficiency in Buildings pp 67 72 Association for Computing Machinery November 2009 It has been foun
113. re many electronic components internal thereto that are omitted from FIG 3C for clarity of presenta tion such electronic components being described further hereinbelow and or in other ones of the commonly assigned incorporated applications such as U S Ser No 13 199 108 supra According to some embodiments the thermostat 300 includes a processing system 360 display driver 364 and a wireless communications system 366 The processing system 360 is adapted to cause the display driver 364 and display area 316 to display information to the user and to receiver user input via the rotatable ring 312 The processing system 360 according to some embodiments is capable of carrying out the governance of the operation of thermostat 300 including the user interface features described herein The processing system 360 is further programmed and configured to carry out other operations as described further hereinbelow and or in other ones of the commonly assigned incorporated applica US 8 918 219 B2 11 tions For example processing system 360 is further pro grammed and configured to maintain and update a thermo dynamic model for the enclosure in which the HVAC system is installed such as described in U S Ser No 12 881 463 supra According to some embodiments the wireless com munications system 366 is used to communicate with devices such as personal computers and or other thermostats or HVAC system components which can be peer to peer
114. rm to the rectangular electronic display screen 1704 operation of the thermostat 1700 is preferably similar to that of the circularly shaped thermostat embodi ments described supra Background tick marks 1708 setpoint tick mark 1710 current temperature tick mark 1714 numeri cal current setpoint 1712 and numerical current setpoint 1716 appear and function similarly to their counterpart num bered elements 1608 1610 1614 1612 and 1616 of FIGS 16A 16B responsive to ring rotations and inward clicks It is to be appreciated that the square or rectangular form factor of the body rotatable ring 1702 and or electronic display 1704 can be selected and or and mixed and matched from among a variety of different shapes without departing from the scope of the present teachings including circular shapes oval shapes triangular shapes pentagonal shapes hexagonal shapes and so forth Although the foregoing has been described in some detail for purposes of clarity it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles thereof By way of example it is within the scope of the present teachings for the rotatable ring of the above described thermostat to be provided in a virtual static or solid state form instead of a mechanical form whereby the outer periphery of the thermostat body contains a touch sensitive material similar to that used on touchpad computing displays and smar
115. rogram products for the monitoring and control of energy consuming systems or other resource con suming systems More particularly this patent specification relates to user interfaces for control units that govern the operation of energy consuming systems household devices or other resource consuming systems including user inter faces for thermostats that govern the operation of heating ventilation and air conditioning HVAC systems BACKGROUND While substantial effort and attention continues toward the development of newer and more sustainable energy supplies the conservation of energy by increased energy efficiency remains crucial to the world s energy future According to an October 2010 report from the U S Department of Energy heating and cooling account for 56 of the energy use in a typical U S home making it the largest energy expense for most homes Along with improvements in the physical plant associated with home heating and cooling e g improved insulation higher efficiency furnaces substantial increases in energy efficiency can be achieved by better control and regulation of home heating and cooling equipment By acti vating heating ventilation and air conditioning HVAC equipment for judiciously selected time intervals and care 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 65 2 fully chosen operating levels substantial energy can be saved while at the same time keeping the living space suitably comfo
116. rovides a web browser screen or smartphone user interface to the user and receives an OFF command thereby As illustrated in FIG 7K the current tem perature numerals 718 and current temperature tick mark 716 are preferably displayed along with the leaf 740 when the thermostat is in OFF mode In alternative embodiments background tick marks can also be displayed in OFF mode US 8 918 219 B2 23 According to a preferred embodiment all of the opera tional screens of the thermostat 300 described herein that correspond to normal everyday operations such as the screens of FIGS 7A 7K will actually only appear when the proximity sensor 370A see FIG 3A supra indicates the presence of a user or occupant in relatively close proximity e g 50 cm 200 cm or closer to the thermostat 300 and the electronic display 316 will otherwise be dark While the user is proximal to the thermostat 300 the electronic display 316 will remain active and when the user walks away out of proximity the electronic display 316 will remain active for a predetermined period of time such as 20 seconds and then will go dark In contrast to an alternative of keeping the electronic display 316 active all of the time this selective turn on and turn off of the electronic display has been found to be a preferable method of operation for several reasons including the savings of electrical power that would other wise be needed for an always on electronic dis
117. rpiece for the immediate location in which it is installed Moreover user interaction with thermostat 300 is facilitated and greatly enhanced over known conventional thermostats by the design of thermostat 300 The thermostat 300 includes control circuitry and is electrically connected to an HVAC system such as is shown with thermostat 110 in FIGS 1 and 2 Thermostat 300 is wall mounted is circular in shape and has an outer rotatable ring 312 for receiving user input Thermostat 300 is circular in shape in that it appears as a generally disk like circular object when mounted on the wall Thermostat 300 has a large front face lying inside the 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 outer ring 312 According to some embodiments thermostat 300 is approximately 80 mm in diameter The outer rotatable ring 312 allows the user to make adjustments such as select ing a new target temperature For example by rotating the outer ring 312 clockwise the target temperature can be increased and by rotating the outer ring 312 counter clock wise the target temperature can be decreased The front face ofthe thermostat 300 comprises clear cover 314 that accord ing to some embodiments is polycarbonate and a metallic portion 324 preferably having a number of slots formed therein as shown According to some embodiments the sur face of cover 314 and metallic portion 324 form a common outward arc or spherical shape gently arcing ou
118. rtable for its occupants Historically however most known HVAC thermostatic control systems have tended to fall into one of two opposing categories neither of which is believed be optimal in most practical home environments In a first category are many simple non programmable home thermostats each typically consisting of a single mechanical or electrical dial for setting a desired temperature and a single HEAT FAN OFF AC switch While being easy to use for even the most unsophis ticated occupant any energy saving control activity such as adjusting the nighttime temperature or turning off all heating cooling just before departing the home must be performed manually by the user As such substantial energy saving opportunities are often missed for all but the most vigilant users Moreover more advanced energy saving capabilities are not provided such as the ability for the thermostat to be programmed for less energy intensive temperature setpoints setback temperatures during planned intervals of non occupancy and for more comfortable temperature setpoints during planned intervals of occupancy Ina second category on the other hand are many program mable thermostats which have become more prevalent in recent years in view of Energy Star US and TCO Europe standards and which have progressed considerably in the number of different settings for an HVAC system that can be individually manipulated Unfortunately however users a
119. rtion ofthe schedule plot the cursor being representative of a time value by virtue of its location along the time axis of the schedule plot The schedule plot is preferably moved in a direction ofthe time axis relative to the stationary cursor such that a progression of time intervals is represented on the display as a function of the received user input Each pro grammed setpoint has an effective time that 15 characterized by its location along the time axis and further has a tempera ture value that 1s characterized by its location along a tem perature axis ofthe schedule plot For some embodiments the time axis is disposed along a horizontal direction while the temperature axis is disposed along a vertical direction New programmed setpoints can be established and existing pro grammed setpoints can be adjusted in terms of their effective time and ortemperature values by intuitive sequences of user pressing and user rotation of the rotatable ring To establish a new programmed setpoint the user rotates the rotatable ring until the stationary cursor is coincident with the desired effec tive time presses the rotatable ring to establish a new setpoint at that time axis location rotates the rotatable ring to adjust the temperature value of the new setpoint and then presses the rotatable ring again to establish the programmed setpoint US 8 918 219 B2 5 at that effective time and that temperature value To adjust existing program
120. scribed embodiments but would otherwise have the same purpose and effect as the above described inward clicks of the rotatable ring Optionally an audible beep or clicking sound can be provided from an internal speaker or other sound transducer to provide feedback that the user has sufficiently pressed inward on the rotatable ring or virtual solid state rotatable ring Although not believed to be as desirable as the previously described embodiments whose inwardly moving rotatable ring and sheet metal style US 8 918 219 B2 37 rebounding mechanical click has been found to be particu larly satisfying to users such embodiments may be advanta geous for reasons including reduced fabrication cost It is likewise within the scope of the present teachings for the described thermostat to provide both the ring rotations and inward clicks in virtual or solid state form whereby the overall device could be provided in fully solid state form with no moving parts at all By way of further example although described above as having ring rotations and inward clicks as the exclusive user input modalities which has been found particularly advanta geous in terms of device elegance and simplicity it is never theless within the scope of the present teachings to alterna tively provide the described thermostat with an additional button such as a back button In one option the back button could be provided on the side of th
121. spiring user confidence and further promoting visual and functional elegance the thermostat 300 is con trolled by only two types of user input the first being a rotation ofthe outerring 312 as shown in FIG 3A referenced hereafter as a rotate ring or ring rotation input and the second being an inward push on an outer cap 308 see FIG 3B until an audible and or tactile click occurs referenced hereafter as an inward click or simply click input For the embodiment of FIGS 3A 3B the outer cap 308 is an assembly that includes all of the outer ring 312 cover 314 electronic display 316 and metallic portion 324 When pressed inwardly by the user the outer cap 308 travels inwardly by a small amount such as 0 5 mm against an interior metallic dome switch not shown and then spring ably travels back outwardly by that same amount when the inward pressure is released providing a satisfying tactile click sensation to the user s hand along with a correspond ing gentle audible clicking sound Thus for the embodiment of FIGS an inward click can be achieved by direct pressing on the outer ring 312 itself or by indirect pressing of the outer ring by virtue of providing inward pressure on the cover 314 metallic portion 314 or by various combinations thereof For other embodiments the thermostat 300 can be mechanically configured such that only the outer ring 312 travels inwardly for the inward click in
122. ssor of a programmable device for controlling an HVAC system cause the programmable device to interface with a user thereof according to the method of claim 21 26 A programmable device for controlling an HVAC sys tem comprising an electronic display positioned inside an outer ring that is user rotatable to generate rotation input and user press able along a direction of an axis of rotation of the outer ring to generate press input and a processor adapted and configured to drive the electronic display responsive to rotation input generated by user rotation of the outer ring and press input generated by user pressing of the outer ring wherein the processor is programmed to cause the elec tronic display to show recent energy usage performance information for a succession of recent historical time intervals that appear on the electronic display according to rotation input generated by user rotation of the outer ring 27 device according to claim 26 wherein each of the outer ring and the electronic display is circular in shape and wherein the energy performance information for each time interval is displayed in a separate window the electronic display showing transitions between adjacent historical inter vals using animated lateral movement transitions between windows that are responsive to rotation input generated by user rotation of the outer ring 28 A device according to claim 27 wherein the device is a programmable ther
123. stinguished from an auxiliary thermostat having many of the same sensing and processing capabilities of the thermo stat 300 except that an auxiliary thermostat does not con nect to an HVAC system but rather influences the operation of one or more HVAC systems by virtue of its direct or indirect communication with one or more primary thermo stats However the scope of the present disclosure is not so limited and thus in other embodiments there can be coopera tion among various combinations of primary and or auxiliary thermostats A particular enclosure such as a family home can use two primary thermostats 300 where there are two different HVAC systems to control such as a downstairs HVAC system located on a downstairs floor and an upstairs HVAC system located on an upstairs floor Where the thermostats have become logically associated with a same user account at the cloud based management server such as by operation of the screens 552 554 556 the two thermostats advantageously cooperate with one another in providing optimal HVAC con trol of the enclosure as a whole Such cooperation between thetwo thermostats can be direct peer to peer cooperation or can be supervised cooperation in which the central cloud based management server supervises them as one or more of a master referee mediator arbitrator and or messenger on behalf of the two thermostats In one example an enhanced auto away capability is provided wherein a
124. such as screen 900 is displayed at the other end the far end of the settings menu so as to allow means of exit from the settings menu from either end Accord ing to some embodiments the sub menus are repeated with continued rotation in one direction so that they cycle through in a circular fashion and thus any sub menu can eventually be accessed by rotating the ring continuously in either one of the two directions Screen 908 has a central disk 906 indicating the name of the sub menu in this case the Fan mode Some sub menus only containa few options which can be selected or toggled among by inward clicking alone For example the Fan sub menu 908 only has two settings automatic shown in screen 908 and always on shown in screen 910 In this case the fan mode is changed by inward clicking which simply toggles between the two available options Ring rotation shifts to the next or previous settings sub menu item Thus rotating the ring from the fan sub menu shift to the system on off sub menu shown in screens 912 in the case of system ON and 914 in the case of system OFF The system on off sub menu is another example of simply toggling between the two avail able options using the inward click user input In FIG 9B screen 916 is the top level of the lock sub menu If the thermostat is connected and paired 1 has Internet access and is appropriately paired with a user account on a cloud based server an inward cl
125. t al D604 740 5 11 2009 Matheny et al 6 438 241 B1 8 2002 Silfvastetal 381 119 7 614 567 B2 11 2009 Chapman etal 236 1 6 453 687 B2 9 2002 Sharood et al 7 620 996 B2 11 2009 Torres et al D464 660 S 10 2002 Weng et al D607 001 S 12 2009 Ording 6 502 758 B2 1 2003 Cottrell 7 624 931 B2 12 2009 Chapman Jr et al 6 519 509 B1 2 2003 Nierlich et al 7 684 504 B2 12 2009 Amundson D471 825 S 3 2003 Peabody 7 641 126 B2 1 2010 Schultz et al 6 595 430 BL 7 2003 Shah 7 667 163 B2 2 2010 Ashworth et al 6 622 925 B2 9 2003 Carner et al D613 301 5 4 2010 Lee et al D480 401 S 10 2003 Kahn et al D614 194 5 4 2010 Guntaur et al 6 636 197 B1 10 2003 Goldenberg et al D614 196 S 4 2010 Guntaur et al 6 641 054 B2 11 2003 Morey 7 693 582 B2 4 2010 Bergman et al 6 641 055 BL 11 2003 Tiernan 7 703 694 B2 4 2010 Mueller et al 6 644 557 B1 11 2003 Jacobs D614 976 S 5 2010 Skafdrup et al D485279 S 1 2004 DeCombe D615 546 S 5 2010 Lundy et al 6 726 1 12 Bl 4 2004 Ho D616 460 5 5 2010 Pearson et al D491 956 S 6 2004 Ombao et al 7 721 209 B2 5 2010 Tilton D497 617 S 10 2004 Decombe et al 7 726 581 B2 6 2010 Naujoketal 236 1 6 814 299 B1 11 2004 Carey D619 613 5 7 2010 Dunn 6 824 069 B2 11 2004 Rosen 7 761 189 B2 7 2010 Froman etal 700 284 6 851 621 B1 2 2005 Wacker et al 7 802 618 B2 9 2010 Simon et al D503 631 S 4 2005 Peabody D625 325 S 10 2010 Vu et al 6 951 306 B2 10 2005 DeL
126. ted or inputted name for the thermostat is displayed in the central disk as shown in screen 972 FIG 9H shows sub menu screens relating to network con nection according to some embodiments In FIG 9H screen 974 shows a network sub menu disk 974a showing the current connected network name in this case Network2 The wire less symbol next to the network name indicates that the wire less connection to that network is currently active Clicking leads to screen 975 which allows the user to select a different wireless network if available in this case there is another available network called Network3 disconnect or obtain technical network details If TECH DETAILS is selected then screen 976 is displayed which by scrolling using the rotatable ring 312 the user can view various technical net work details such as shown in the list 977 If a different network is selected from screen 975 then the user is prompted to enter a security password if applicable using interface 978 after which a connection attempt is made while screen 979 is displayed If the connection is successful then screen 980 is displayed FIG 10A shows settings screens relating to location and time according to some embodiments Screen 1000 shows a sub menu disk 1000a having the currently assigned zip code or postal code Clicking leads to screen 1002 for selecting the country Selecting the country e g USA provides the appropriate ZIP code postal co
127. tems to be selected For example screen 802 and 804 show examples displayed in response to a clockwise rotation of the rotatable ring 312 One example of a rotating menu that rotates responsive to ring rotations according to some embodiments is illustrated in the commonly assigned U S Ser No 29 399 632 supra From screen 804 if an inward click is performed by the user then the Settings menu is entered It has been found that a circular rotating menu such as shown when combined with a rotat able ring and round display area allows for highly intuitive and easy input and so therefore greatly enhances the user interface experience for many users FIG 8B shows an example screen 806 that allows for the schedule mode to be entered FIG 8C shows the selection of a mode icon 809 representing a heating cooling off mode screen the mode icon 809 comprising two disks 810 and 812 and causing the display ofa mode menu if it appears in the active window 822 when the user makes an inward click In screen 808 a small blue disk 810 represents cooling mode and a small orange red disk 812 represents heating mode According to some embodiments the colors of the disks 810 and 812 match the background colors used for the thermostat as described with respect to FIG 7A One of the disks in this case the heating disk 812 is highlighted with a colored outline to indicate the current operating mode i e heating or cooling of the ther mostat In one alternativ
128. tphone displays For such embodiments the manipulation by the user s hand would be a swipe across the touch sensitive material rather than a literal rota tion ofa mechanical ring the user s fingers sliding around the periphery but not actually causing mechanical movement This form of user input which could be termed a virtual ring rotation static ring rotation solid state ring rotation or a rotational swipe would otherwise have the same purpose and effect of the above described mechanical rotations but would obviate the need for a mechanical ring on the device Although not believed to be as desirable as a mechanically rotatable ring insofar as there may be a lesser amount of tactile satisfaction on the part of the user such embodiments may be advantageous for reasons such as reduced fabrication cost By way of further example it is within the scope of the present teachings for the inward mechanical pressability or inward click functionality of the rotatable ring to be pro vided ina virtual or solid state form instead ofa mechani cal form whereby an inward pressing effort by the user s hand or fingers is detected using internal solid state sensors forexample solid state piezoelectric transducers coupled to the outer body of the thermostat For such embodiments the inward pressing by the user s hand or fingers would not cause actual inward movement ofthe front face ofthe thermostat as with the above de
129. tpoints are indicated as circles with numbers correspond ing to the setpoint temperature and having a position corre sponding to the setpoint temperature and the time that the setpoint becomes effective According to some embodiments the setpoint disks are filled with a color that corresponds to heating or cooling e g orange or blue Additionally a con tinuation indicator mark 1222 may be included periodically for example at each day at midnight that show the current setpoint temperature at that point in time The continuation indicator mark can be especially useful for example when there are large time gaps between setpoints such that the most recent setpoint i e the active setpoint may no longer be visible on the current display According to some embodiments timewise navigation within the week long schedule is accomplished using the rotatable ring 312 shown in FIG 3A Rotating the ring clockwise shifts the schedule in one direction such as in screen 1240 which is moves forward in time 1 e the schedule plot area shifts to the left relative to the centrally located _ 0 20 25 30 40 45 65 32 current schedule time cursor bar 1220 and the analog clock 1230 spins forward in displayed time Rotating the ring counter clockwise does the opposite as shown in screen 1242 shifting the schedule backwards in time i e the sched ule plot area shifts to the right relative to the centrally located current sc
130. ttings for safety temperatures which are minimum and maximum temperatures that will be maintained so long as the thermostat is operational Safety temperatures can be useful for example to prevent damage such as frozen pipes due to extreme temperatures Selecting HEAT PUMP leads to screen 1062 in FIG 10F Note that according to some preferred embodiments the heat pump option in screen 1054 will only appear if a heat pump is installed Screens 1062 1063 and 1064 allow settings for heat pump and auxiliary heating configurations Since heat pump effectiveness decreases with decreasing outside temperature the user is provided with an option at screen 1063 to not invoke the heat pump below a selected outside temperature Since auxiliary resistive electric heating is very energy intensive the user is provided with an option at screen 1064 to not invoke the auxiliary heat above a selected outside temperature By low ering the temperature in screen 1064 the user can save aux iliary heating energy that might otherwise be used simply to speed up the heating being provided by the slower but more energy efficient heat pump For some embodiments the real time or near real time outside temperature is provided to the thermostat 300 by the cloud based server based on the ZIP code or postal code of the dwelling Selecting RANGE from screen 1054 leads to temperature range settings screens 1065 1066 1067 and 1068 The user is warned that enabl
131. tward and this gentle arcing shape is continued by the outer ring 312 Although being formed from a single lens like piece of material such as polycarbonate the cover 314 has two differ ent regions or portions including an outer portion 314o and a central portion 3147 According to some embodiments the cover 314 is painted or smoked around the outer portion 314o but leaves the central portion 314i visibly clear so as to facili tate viewing of an electronic display 316 disposed thereun derneath According to some embodiments the curved cover 314 acts as a lens that tends to magnify the information being displayed in electronic display 316 to users According to some embodiments the central electronic display 316 is a dot matrix layout individually addressable such that arbi trary shapes can be generated rather than being a segmented layout According to some embodiments a combination of dot matrix layout and segmented layout is employed According to some embodiments central display 316 is a backlit color liquid crystal display LCD An example of information displayed on the electronic display 316 is illus trated in FIG 3A and includes central numerals 320 that are representative ofa current setpoint temperature According to some embodiments metallic portion 324 has number of slot like openings so as to facilitate the use of a passive infrared motion sensor 330 mounted therebeneath The metallic por tion 324 can alternatively be
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133. user at least in part using a rotatable ring surrounding the rounded electronic display and highlighting different user selectable options in response to and in accordance with the received input 10 A method according to claim 9 said electronic display and said body each being rounded in shape wherein the arcuate area is a circular outer area of the rounded electronic display and wherein the plurality of user selectable options are distributed about the circular area and are rotated about the rounded electronic display in response to the received input 11 A method according to claim 10 wherein the highlight ing includes a highlighting window that remains in a fixed position relative to the device while the plurality of user selectable options are progressively rotated through the win dow such that only one ofthe user selectable options appears within the window 12 A method according to claim 11 wherein said receiving input from the user includes detecting an inward pressure from the user placed on the device and regarding as the user s selected option the user selectable option that appears within the highlighting window at a time of the detected inward pressure 13 In a programmable device for controlling an HVAC system a method for interacting with a user of the program mable device comprising displaying a plurality of background tick marks arcuately arranged within a range area on an electronic display thatiscentra
134. user wishes to sell the unit to someone else If learning is not active when screen 1072 is clicked then screen 1082 is displayed instead of screen 1073 Selecting SCHEDULE at screen 1082 leads to screens 1083 1084 and 1085 which allow the user to reset the current schedule information Selecting RESTART leads to screens 1086 and 1087 in which the user can re boot the thermostat again providing some protection against unin tended data loss in this case the particular schedule that the user may have taken some time to establish FIG 10I shows example screens following a reset opera tion Ifthe reset operation erased the information about home or business installation then screen 1088 can be displayed to obtain this setting According to some embodiments basic questions are used to establish a basic schedule Example questions 1090 are for a home installation and example ques tions 1092 are for a business installation Screens 1094 and 1095 show further screens in preparing a basic schedule Screen 1096 shows the final settings screen which is reach able by rotating the ring from screen 1072 allowing for a way for the user to exit the settings menu and return to standard thermostat operation According to some embodiments one or more other exit methods can be provided such as click ing and holding to exit the settings menus FIGS 11A D show example screens for various error con ditions according to some embodiments T
135. veral embodiments are described it should be understood that the inventive body of work is not limited to any one embodiment but instead encompasses numerous alternatives modifications and equivalents In addition while numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough under standing of the inventive body of work some embodiments can be practiced without some or all of these details More over for the purpose of clarity certain technical material that is known in the related art has not been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the inventive body of work As used herein the term HVAC includes systems provid ing both heating and cooling heating only cooling only as well as systems that provide other occupant comfort and or conditioning functionality such as humidification dehumidi fication and ventilation As used herein the terms power harvesting sharing and stealing when referring to HVAC thermostats all refer to the thermostat are designed to derive power from the power transformer through the equipment load without using a direct or common wire source directly from the transformer As used herein the term residential when referring to an HVAC system means a type of HVAC system that is suitable to heat cool and or otherwise condition the interior of a building that is primarily used as a single family dwelling An example of a cooli
136. vice says there is an account More than 1 thermostat on this account rd Go to screen Select 558 ML 552 Do you want to Add Nest to tomsmith3 Added this Nest to mailhost com Only 1 thermostat tomsmith3 on account mailhost com Go to screen 568 FIG 5C DON T ADD CONTINUE U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Sheet 7 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 558 Living Room is also connected to nest com Do you want to copy its settings Copying settings from your existing COPY SETTINGS Nest thermostat DO NOT COPY Name this Thermostat business Grp Hallway Living room Name this Bedroom Thermostat 563 Upstairs Select Downstairs NAME TYPE NAME paired 570 Choose to continue or to review Y Internet and nest com Heating and cooling not paired 568 learning is on 566 Choose to continue or to review not connected Do you want to Internet connection Copy the schedule from Heating and cooling The other thermostat ys Choose to continue 3X or to review COPY SCHEDULE DO NOT COPY Internet connection Heating and cooling e n Y Sheet 8 of 45 US 8 918 219 B2 U S Patent Dec 23 2014 Wiring Warning Good wiring 578 Equipment Equipment detected Y1 cooling wire detected 579
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138. which asks the user to connect to the internet to establish and or confirm their unique cloud based service account for features such as remote control automatic updates and local weather information According to some embodiments the transitions between some screens use a coin flip transition and or a translation or shifting of displayed elements as described in U S patent application Ser No 13 033 573 supra The animated coin flip transition between progressions of thermostat display screens which is also illustrated in the commonly assigned U S Ser No 29 399 625 supra has been found to be advan tageous in providing a pleasing and satisfying user experi ence not only in terms of intrinsic visual delight but also because it provides a unique balance between logical segre gation a sense that one is moving on to something new and logical flow a sense of connectedness and causation between the previous screen and the next screen Although the type of transitions may not all be labeled in the figures herein it is understood that different types of screen to screen transitions could be used so as to enhance the user interface experience for example by indicating to the user a transition to a different step or setting or a return to a previous screen or menu In screen 518 the user proceeds to the connection setup steps by selecting CONNECT with the rotatable ring fol lowed by an inward click Selecting CONNECT c

User friendly interface for control unit

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