Zone thermostat for zone heating and cooling
OwnerLawrence Katesinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A zone thermostat for use in connection with an Electronically-Controlled Register vent (ECRV) that can be easily installed by a homeowner or general handyman is disclosed. The ECRV can be used to convert a non-zoned HVAC system into a zoned system. The ECRV can also be used in connection with a conventional zoned HVAC system to provide additional control and additional zones not provided by the conventional zoned HVAC system. In one embodiment, the ECRV is configured have a size and form-factor that conforms to a standard manually-controlled register vent. In one embodiment, the zone thermostat is configured to provide thermostat information to the ECRV. In one embodiment, the zone thermostat communicates with a central monitoring system that coordinates operation of the heating and cooling zones.
Claims54
A zone thermostat, comprising:
- a controller;
- a temperature sensor provided to said controller, said temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of air in a first zone;
- a display;
- at least one user input device;
- and
- a communication system provided to said controller;
- said controller configured to communicate temperature readings to a central system in response to a first query from said central system, said at least one user input device configured to allow a user to specify a zone setpoint temperature and a zone priority, said controller configured to communicate said zone setpoint temperature and said zone priority to said central system in response to a second query from said central system.
A zone thermostat, comprising:
- a controller;
- a temperature sensor provided to said controller, said temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of air in a first zone;
- a display;
- at least one user input device;
- and
- a communication system provided to said controller;
- said controller configured to communicate temperature readings to a zone control system in response to a first query from said zone control system, said at least one user input device configured to allow a user to specify a zone setpoint temperature and a zone priority, said controller configured to communicate said zone setpoint temperature and said zone priority to said zone control system in response to a second query from said zone control system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.