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US 11,768,924 B2Granted
HVAC authentication system and method
AssigneeGoodman Manufacturing Company, L.P.
InventorsAdway Dogra, Roberto Flores
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An authentication method and system for an HVAC system are provided. Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to an access-control or authentication system for an HVAC system, in which access to certain functions of the HVAC system is conditioned on a user performing certain basic operational instructions for the HVAC system in a provided sequence, thereby providing evidence that the user has authorization to access and operate the HVAC system wirelessly.
Claims17
A method for authenticating a user for an HVAC system of a structure, the method comprising:
- generating a wireless signal with the HVAC system at a low-power signal strength with a communication device that is part of an indoor unit of the HVAC system;
- detecting the wireless signal with a portable device carried by the user and effecting an initial proximity-based wireless communication pairing function between the portable device and the communication device only if the portable device is in close physical proximity to, and thus the user has access to, the indoor unit;
- providing, via the HVAC system, a plurality of instructions for operating the HVAC system in a provided sequence to the portable device for the user to perform;
- physically operating a thermostat at the structure to operate the HVAC system to perform the plurality of instructions;
- and
- pairing the HVAC system with the portable device for wireless communication if the HVAC system detects the plurality of instructions have been performed by the user, thus providing evidence that the user has possession and control of and authorization to access and operate the HVAC system;
- once paired, increasing the signal strength of the wireless signal to allow the user to maintain wireless communication between the portable device and the HVAC system while no longer in close proximity to the indoor unit;
- and
- once paired, permitting the portable device to access at least one additional function of the HVAC system.
6 more elements
A system for authenticating a user for an HVAC system of a structure, the system comprising:
- an HVAC system comprising a thermostat and an indoor unit comprising a communication device, the HVAC system configured to:
- generate a wireless signal at a low-power signal strength with the communication device;
- effect an initial proximity-based wireless communication pairing function between the communication device and a portable device carried by the user when the wireless signal is detected by the portable device only if the portable device is in close physical proximity to, and thus the user has access to, the indoor unit;
- provide a plurality of instructions for operating the HVAC system in a provided sequence to the portable device for the user to perform using the portable device;
- and
- pair the HVAC system with the portable device for wireless communication if the HVAC system detects the plurality of instructions have been performed by the user using the portable device, thus providing evidence that the user has possession and control of and authorization to access and operate the HVAC system;
- once paired, increase the signal strength of the wireless signal to allow the user to maintain wireless communication between the portable device and the HVAC system while no longer in close proximity to the indoor unit;
- and
- once paired, permitting the portable device access to at least one additional function of the HVAC system.
6 more elements
A method for authenticating a user for an HVAC system, the method comprising:
- generating a wireless signal with the HVAC system at a low-power signal strength with a communication device that is separate from a thermostat;
- detecting the wireless signal with a portable device carried by the user and effecting an initial proximity-based wireless communication pairing function between the portable device and the communication device only if the portable device is in close physical proximity to, and thus the user has access to, an indoor unit of the HVAC system;
- displaying a code generated by a control board located in the indoor unit to the user on a display of the indoor unit;
- pairing the HVAC system with the portable device for wireless communication if the control board detects the code has been entered by the user on the portable device, thus providing evidence that the user has possession and control of and authorization to access and operate the HVAC system;
- once paired, increasing the signal strength of the wireless signal to allow the user to maintain wireless communication between the portable device and the HVAC system while no longer in close proximity to the indoor unit;
- and
- once paired, permitting the portable device to access at least one additional function of the HVAC system.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.