Architectural Covering Control Pairing With Live Position Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Configuring user devices to remotely control architectural structural coverings, such as blinds and shades, is challenging due to the difficulty in determining which controls are initially connected to which coverings, especially in large buildings with multiple rooms, leading to a time-consuming trial-and-error process.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where user devices provide a user interface that detects nearby coverings through broadcast signals, offering real-time updates with covering IDs and positions, allowing users to easily identify and pair controls with their corresponding coverings, and enabling simultaneous control of multiple coverings through combination controls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If trial and error method is used to identify control pairings, then control functionality can be established, but configuration time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides real-time visual feedback by displaying a representation of the architectural structural covering on the user interface that moves synchronously with the actual covering. When the covering moves to different positions, the representation updates accordingly, allowing users to immediately verify which control corresponds to which covering without trial and error.
Solution Approach 2:
A visual representation acts as an intermediary between the physical covering and the control interface. This representation serves as a mediator that provides immediate visual confirmation of control pairing, eliminating the need for time-consuming trial and error methods while ensuring accurate control assignment.
2Reliability
If individual control configuration is performed for each covering, then precise control pairing is achieved, but setup complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system combines multiple coverings into a group that can be controlled simultaneously through a single combination control on the user interface. When this control is activated, all coverings in the group move together, and their representations update synchronously, simplifying the configuration process while maintaining accurate control pairing.
Solution Approach 2:
The user interface control is designed to serve multiple functions: it can control individual coverings separately or multiple coverings simultaneously as a group. This multi-functionality reduces setup complexity by allowing users to configure coverings in batches rather than requiring separate configuration for each covering.
3Measurement precision
If real-time position tracking is implemented, then user interface accuracy is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous real-time tracking, the system updates the position of the covering representation periodically based on discrete position updates from the covering. This periodic update approach maintains adequate position synchronization accuracy while significantly reducing power consumption compared to continuous tracking.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for configuring a user device to remotely control an architectural structural covering. The method comprises receiving a signal from the architectural structural covering, the signal relays position information for the architectural structural covering. The method further comprises associating the signal with an entry in a list of one or more entries displayed on a user interface of the user device, the entry comprises a representation of the architectural structural covering having a displayed position that matches position information from the signal. The method further comprises receiving user input via a position control for the representation of the architectural structural covering. The method further comprises based on the user input, sending an adjusted position instruction to the architectural structural covering. The method further comprises changing the displayed position of the representation of the architectural structural covering to mirror a change in a physical position of the architectural structural covering.