Thermostat user interface

A thermostat, comprising:

• a removable, wall-mountable back-plate;
• a shell body having a circular cross-section and a central axis generally perpendicular to a wall when the thermostat is wall-mounted, the shell body including a sidewall that extends along a length of the central axis between a first end and a second end of the shell body, the first end of the shell body being proximate the wall-mountable back-plate;
• a circular rotatable ring mounted proximate the second end of the shell body, wherein:
• the circular rotatable ring has an axis of rotation generally perpendicular to the wall when the thermostat is wall-mounted;
• the circular rotatable ring being user rotatable about the axis of rotation, the circular rotatable ring slides about a frame of the thermostat;
• the circular rotatable ring is depressible such that the circular rotatable ring travels along the axis of rotation towards the wall-mountable back-plate;
• and
• the circular rotatable ring receives user input by being rotated and depressed;
• a circular cover mounted proximate the second end of the shell body, the circular cover having a central axis generally perpendicular to the wall when the thermostat is wall-mounted, the circular cover comprising a clear circular center portion surrounded by a colored outer portion, wherein the clear circular center portion permits light emitted from a dot-matrix display to pass through the circular cover;
• one or more temperature sensors for use in sensing temperature;
• the dot-matrix display mounted within the shell body proximate to the circular cover, wherein the dot-matrix display and the circular cover do not rotate when the circular rotatable ring is rotated;
• and
• a processing system provided in operative communication with:
• the circular rotatable ring, the dot-matrix display, and the one or more temperature sensors, the processing system configured to:
• determine a user-selected setpoint temperature based on user input provided via the circular rotatable ring;
• cause the dot-matrix display to display a numerical value representative of the sensed ambient air temperature;
• and
• cause a control signal to be transmitted to a heating system, cooling system, ventilation system, and/or air handling system based at least in part on a comparison of the user-selected setpoint temperature and the sensed ambient air temperature.

A thermostat, comprising:

• a removable, wall-mountable back-plate;
• a first printed circuit board;
• a second printed circuit board;
• a rotation sensor mounted on the second printed circuit board;
• a shell body having a circular cross-section and a central axis generally perpendicular to a wall when the thermostat is wall-mounted, the shell body including a sidewall that extends along a length of the central axis between a first end and a second end of the shell body, the first end of the shell body being proximate the wall-mountable back-plate;
• a circular rotatable ring mounted proximate the second end of the shell body, wherein:
• the circular rotatable ring has an axis of rotation generally perpendicular to the wall when the thermostat is wall-mounted;
• the circular rotatable ring being user rotatable about the axis of rotation, the circular rotatable ring slides about a frame of the thermostat;
• the circular rotatable ring is depressible such that the circular rotatable ring travels along the axis of rotation towards the wall-mountable back-plate;
• and
• the circular rotatable ring receives user input by being rotated and depressed by a user;
• a circular cover mounted proximate the second end of the shell body, the circular cover having a central axis generally perpendicular to the wall when the thermostat is wall-mounted, the circular cover comprising a clear circular center portion surrounded by a colored outer portion, wherein the clear circular center portion permits light emitted from a dot-matrix display to pass through the circular cover;
• a temperature sensor for use in sensing temperature;
• the dot-matrix display mounted within the shell body proximate to the circular cover, wherein:
• the dot-matrix display and the circular cover do not rotate when the circular rotatable ring is rotated;
• the dot-matrix display is non-circular;
• and
• the colored outer portion of the circular cover masks a remaining portion of the dot-matrix display so as to create a visual appearance of a circular graphical user interface;
• and
• a processing system provided in operative communication with:
• the rotation sensor, the dot-matrix display, and the temperature sensor.