Smart thermostat for controlling adjacent room temperatures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional thermostats fail to effectively regulate ambient air temperature in multi-room environments, as a single internal thermal sensor located in a central area cannot quickly respond to temperature changes in other rooms, leading to inadequate temperature control.
Innovation Solution
A smart thermostat system that includes a temperature sensor, HVAC interface, memory, and processor to receive temperature readings from the sensor, automatically determine a modified setpoint temperature based on desired settings and factors like time, season, orientation, and weather, and control HVAC equipment to maintain optimal temperatures across multiple areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single thermostat is located in a central area to control ambient air temperature in all rooms, then the thermostat can be used to control the ambient air temperature in multiple rooms, but the thermostat fails to maintain the ambient air temperature within each room adequately due to delayed response to temperature changes in specific rooms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the control function into segments by providing individual thermostats for different zones or rooms rather than using a single centralized thermostat. Each thermostat independently controls the temperature in its specific zone, allowing for localized temperature management that responds quickly to environmental changes in each area while maintaining the ability to control multiple rooms through the distributed thermostat network
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a spatial dimension to temperature control by distributing thermostats across multiple locations rather than concentrating control in a single central point. This dimensional expansion allows each thermostat to accurately sense and control temperatures in its specific vicinity while the system as a whole manages multiple rooms, resolving the contradiction between centralized control capability and localized response accuracy
2Ease of operation
If the thermostat is located in a hallway or on the northern side of the home, then the thermostat can be positioned in a central location, but the ambient air temperature near the thermostat does not rise until many minutes or even hours after sudden heating of southern facing rooms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the temperature sensing and control functions by placing thermostats in or near the specific rooms they control, including southern-facing rooms. This eliminates the time delay caused by central location positioning because each thermostat immediately senses temperature changes in its local environment without waiting for thermal propagation to a centralized hallway or northern side location
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by positioning thermostats strategically in locations where they can immediately detect temperature changes before they propagate to central areas. Southern-facing room thermostats are placed to detect solar heating effects immediately when sunlight hits the rooms, allowing the HVAC system to respond proactively rather than reactively after delayed detection at a central thermostat location
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The smart thermostat system improves temperature regulation by dynamically adjusting setpoint temperatures, ensuring better control and consistency across rooms, even when external factors like sunlight exposure cause rapid temperature changes.
Implementation Method 1
A smart thermostat is described, comprising a temperature sensor, an HVAC interface, a memory for storing processor-executable instructions
Data Source
AI summary
A smart thermostat for controlling the ambient air temperature in a first area when the smart thermostat is located in a second area. One or more desired setpoint temperatures are changed automatically by the smart thermostat based on one or more setpoint modification factors, such as the time of day, current season, location, orientation and present and future weather conditions.