Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1 DISCLoSURE DOCUMENT: 2 ~ ~ 8 3 3 3 SELF-ACTIVATING SETBACK THERMOSTAT
FLEI,D OF INV~LQN~
The invention belongs -to a class oE devices that are used in the
regulation of heating and cooling equipment.
~LC~IQ~ARY ~ 5~2~ L9r~ g~D-I~EQBMaIlQ~
THERMOSTAT - A device designed to automatically control the -tempera-
ture oE air, liquid, or materials. The -thermostat usually consists oE
two elements, a sensing element and an actuating element. The sensing
element is sensitive to temperature changes. The act.uating element
translates the action of the sensing elemen-t to a con-trolling device,
such as an electric switch.
A thermostat has two functions. The firs-t is to sense the temperature
of a given area. The second is to regulate the mechanical systems,
such as the heating, ventilating, or air-conditioning equipment to
maintain the desired temperature. The sensing elements are usually
either bimetal, solid-state, or fluid. The majority of residen-tial
room thermostats are usually supplied with 24 volt power supplies.
SENSOR - A device used in many modern electronic products such as
burglar alarms to determine the presence of specific conditions or
objects.
USE OF THERMOSTATS IN THE CONTROL OF RESIDENTIAL AIR HEATING - The
thermostat is usually located in the living room or kitchen. When the
room temperature drops below the desired temperature, the thermostat
closes the circuit and activates the furnace or burner. When the
temperature rlses to the desired temperature, the -thermostat opens
- the circuit and s-tops the furnace or burner. Thus, the room thermo-
stat controls the opera-tion of the hea-t source, and consequen-tly, the
air temperature.
HEAT/INFRARED SENSOR - A device commonly known as a ~Passive Infra-
Red detector." De-tects motion by watching for changes in -the area
under surveillance. Passive infrared sensors are sensitive to rapid
changes in temperature within the protected zone. All objects having
a temperature above absolute ~ero (that is, above minus 273 degrees
Centigrade) give off infrared radiations to a greater or less degree.
This includes all the inanimate objects in the protected zone, such
as walls, floors, ceiling, and furniture - which -the sensor can be
adjus-ted to accept as normal. The sensor is programmed to ignore
gradual fluctuations in temperature that occur over the course of the
day, like those from sunligh-t, air-conditioning, and winter heating
systems. Instead, i-t reacts only when there is some rapid change in
tempera-ture caused by radiation emanating from -the body of a person
passing through the protected ~one. Passive infrared detectors do not
generate or project their own radia-tion, but react to the radiation
they receive from objects in the range of 98 degrees Fahrenheit, or
normal human body temperature.
NOISE/HUMAN VOICE SENSOR - A microphone-type device -tha-t listens for
the existence of sounds, and preferably filtered to listed specifi-
cally for the range of human voices, i.e. - 80 to 400 cycles per
second Radar - An electronic device with the ability -to detect ob-
jects by sending out radio waves and listening for -the reflected
waves. ~Radar" is an acronym for "radio detec-ting and ranging. N It
has the advantage of being able to locate objec-ts -thru most materi-
als, except me-tal. Radar was originally developed in the 1930's and
Dlsclosuro. SeU-Actjvatlna Setbacl~ Thermostat. Pa~o I
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1 used by the mili-tary during World War II.
ULTRASONIC MOTION DETECTOR - De-tects motion using -the same principle
as flying bats and dolphins. This active de-tector uses ultrasound,
which are acoustic waves above the audible range. ~he frequenc:ies are
usually greater than 19,000 per second (19kHz). The standard ul-tra-
sonic sources are piezoelectric and magnetostrictive oscilla.-tors.
Ultrasonic -transducers were used duri.ng World War [I. The device
senses motion by sending out ultrasound waves and listening for -the
reflected waves. Ultrasonics are commonly used for burglar alarms.
REFLECTED LIGHT WAVES - This de-tector is an active system design. It
is similar to the radar and ultrasound detectors, excep-t that ligh-t
waves are used in place of radio and sound waves. This technology has
been used for automatic focus mechanisms in modern cameras.
NOVEL COMBI~aTI~N QE ~LE~N~
This inven-tion combines the existi.ng -technologi.es of a "-thermostat"
along with various sensing systems to come up with a novel and useful
device for saving energy.
~:aaL ~aTE~
Various types of thermos-tats, such as for temperature con-trol of a
home furnace, already exist. The older -type of thermosta-t uses only
the abili-ty to sense actual temperature regula-te heating or cooling
equipment.
Currently, the latest energy-saving" design uses user-programmed
time-and-date-dependent settings to lower and raise -temperature. This
thermostat usually allows for 7-day programming by -the user. However,
this type has various shortcomings, such as:
a) It does not know if the residen-ts are s-till in the building.
Consequen-tly, it may was-te energy if the programming does not always
coincide wi-th the actual needs of the occupan-ts.
b) This said time-dependent thermos-tat design usually has a "manual
override" bu-tton. However, the bu-tton simply overrides the current
setting and tends to waste energy when -the resident is only present
for say, 1 hour, and the override function affects an 8-hour timed
setting.
c) The task of programming the time-dependent thermostat for an
optimum setting is difficult. Often, residents do not go to sleep at
the same time each night. Consequently, if the timed se-tback is pro-
grammed for 11:00PM each night, it wastes energy whenever the resi-
dents go to bed at 9:00PM, or some earli.er times.
d) Programming these thermosta-ts for various days of the week is
complicated and require extensive reading of the manual. Often, the
task is too daunting for children and homeowners withou-t a technical
background.
e) When residen-ts go on holidays, or do not follow their normal
daily pa-ttern, the pre-programmed settings are oEten not suitable and
waste energy needlessly.
~OVELTY_~E~ ITY:
At the present time, the only commonly-available setback thermostats
on the market base their logic on simple timed-settings; this commer-
cial product is commonly known as "programmable thermostats." It isdesirable, therefore, to come up with a thermostat design -that does
not depend on simple timed-settings, but rather, an ability to detec-t
the presence of humans who actually need this comfortable environ-
men-t.
~isc~osure. SeU~ g~ S~tback Tl~e~mostat. Paao 2
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1 ~UMMa~Y~E_I~YE~.Igi_
The present inven-tion relates to a device for changing the desired
temperature set-ting to an al-terna-te range (i.e.-for heat energy sav-
ings, to set the desired -temperature to a lower setting.) by using
sensors to determine -the absence or presence of human act:Lvlty.
The purpose of the present inven-tion, the /'Self-Activating Setback
Thermosta-t, N iS to reduce energy consump-tion when the occupants of
the house are not present, or when -the occupants are asleep. This
smar-t thermostat design will also return to normal temperature se-t-
-tings when occupants are deemed to be present, and awake.
The USelf-Activating Setback Thermosta-t" has ma:ny advantages over
"programmable," or atime-based" thermostats: One, this new design is
much simpler to use; two, it is also more flexi:ble, as it does not
rely on "timed set-tings, N; -three, because it does not necessita-te
complex programming, it is more user-friendly.
SUMMAP~Y OF DRAWING~
Figure 1 is a frontal view of a the preferred embodiment of the
//self-Activating Setback Thermostat"; Figure 2 is a simpli:Eied dia-
gram of the invention's concept, and a drawing showing -the appara-tus
in practical use; and Figure 3 is a schema-tic diagram of -the interac-
tion between various elements.
D~TAILEl~SCRIP~ION: .
The "Self-Activating Setback Thermostat" is a device for automa-ti- :
cally controlling heating and air conditioning equipment. The device
measures human activity in an area under surveillance. The device has
two programmable temperature set points, a /'normal" set point, and a
"setback" set point.
The device's logic, incorpora-ted in a microprocessor or elec-tronic
circuit, uses one or more passive and/or active sensors to determine
the presence of human activity. If the device senses human ac-tivity
present, it remains at the normal set poin-t. If human activity if not
detected within a programmed polling interval, -the device's logic
will revert operation to the programmed "setback" set point to con-
serve energy.
The /'Self-Activating Setback Thermostat" is a thermostat design that
combines already existent elements to come up with an apparatus that
is capable of determining the presence of human activity.
Referring to the drawing, /'Figure 1/', supplied with -this patent ap-
plica-tion, the various elements are described as follows:
40 A. An element sensitive to temperature changes. (This is an internal
component, and i.s no-t shown in the external drawings.)
B. The actuating element translates the action of the sensing element
to a controlling device, such as an electric switch. (This is an
internal component, and is no-t shown in the external drawings.)
C. One or more active or passive sensors, to determine -the presence
of specific conditions, objects, or human ac-tivi-ty. A more detailed
description can be found in the subsequent paragraphs.
D. System logic incorporated in one or more electronic circuits,
microprocessors, or other means, which said logical means capable of
deciding whether to run at a Nnormal" set point or the al-ternative
"se-tback" set point temperature.
. Optional. One or more switches or similar means to operate the
device in HEAT mode, COOL mode, or OFF.
F. Optional. one or more swi-tches or similar means -to turn a fan
Disclosure. Sel~-Activqtlna Setback Thermostat. Pa~ ~
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1 motor into Automatic, or ON mode.
G. Input devices in the form of swi-tches to select the desired normal
tempera-ture.
H. Input devices in the form oE switches -to select -the desired Set-
back tempera-ture (which is also called the NFallback" elsewhere in
this pa-ten-t application)~
I. Optional. An element which allows the user to control -the sensi-
tivity oE -the passive or active sensors. In the drawi.ng, a sliding
swi-tch is shown, al-though o-ther means may be used.
J. Optional. An element which allows -the user -to set the polling
interval for the sys-tem logic. For example, the thermos-ta-t could be
set to revert to Setback mode if human ac-ti.vi-ty was no-t detected in
30 minutes, or any other time interval. tThis is an internal compo-
nent, and is not shown in the ex-ternal drawings.)
X. Optional. An element which indica-tes if the Normal mode is cur-
rently active. A ligh-t-emit-ting-diode or small light bulb could be
used for this element.
L. Optional. An element which indicates if -the thermosta-t is operat-
ing in the Setback/Fallback mode. A light-emitting-diode or small
light bulb could be used for this el.emen-t.
M. An element indicating the ac-tual temperature.
N. An element indicating the desired Normal Tempera-ture.
O. An element indicating the desired Setback temperature (whi.ch is
also called Fallback temperature.)
* NOTE: The "optional/' items are shown only for the purpose of show-
ing a possible commercial produc-t, and may be dele-ted from an alter-
- nate design. This paten-t application covers any and all combi.nation
of components that result in the same function described in the said
"Self-Ac-tivating Setback Thermostat".
~~IniL The /'Self-Activating Setback
Thermostat" relies on one or more Nsensors" to determine whether
occupants are present and ac-tive. Sensors can be either of an "ac-
tive" or "passive" type. An "active" sensor sends out energy and
deciphers the reflected waves. The "passive" sensors take periodic
readings of the area under surveillance, and compare the latest read-
ings for variance.
Listed below are some of the possible sensing systems which could be
used to activate the "Self-Activating Setback Thermostat":
1) Heat/Infrared (passive).
2) Noise/Human volce (passive).
3) Radar (active).
4) Ultrasonic (active).
5) Reflec-ted light waves (active).
6) Any combination of some, or all, of -the above.
Note that other sensing technologies (not listed above) may be used
as well. The /'Self-Activa-ting Setback Thermosta-t/' will determine that
the occupants are inactive if the sensors have not had any "reading"
within a specified time, say 15 minutes (or whatever time frame the
user requires.)
When the occupants are inactive, the /'Self-Activating Setback Thermo-
sta-tN will lower -the building temperature to -the Fallback Setting.
When the occupants return, or wake up, the thermostat will bring the
temperature back to the Normal Setting.
The said apparatus can be used for both Heating and Cooling systems.
Dls~losura. SaU-A~l~vatlna Sfitk~ Th~rm~sra~. Paaa 4
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