POWER-PRESERVING COMMUNICATIONS ARCHITECTURE WITH LONG-POLLING PERSISTENT CLOUD CHANNEL FOR WIRELESS NETWORK-CONNECTED THERMOSTAT

摘要

Methods and systems facilitate network communications between a wireless network-connected thermostat and a cloud-based management server in a manner that promotes reduced power usage and extended service life of a energy-storage device of the thermostat, while at the same time accomplishing timely data transfer between the thermostat and the cloud-based management server for suitable and time-appropriate control of an HVAC system. The thermostat further comprises powering circuitry configured to: extract electrical power from one or more HVAC control wires in a manner that does not require a “common” wire; supply electrical power for thermostat operation; recharge the energy-storage device (if needed) using any surplus extracted power; and discharge the energy-storage device to assist in supplying electrical power for thermostat operation during intervals in which the extracted power alone is insufficient for thermostat operation.

主权项

1. A thermostat, comprising:
a plurality of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) connectors; an energy-storage device; a charging circuit configured to harvest power from an HVAC system to charge the energy-storage device; a processor powered at least in part by the energy-storage device, wherein:
the processor is configured to operate in a low-power state; andthe processor is configured to operate in a high-power state; and a wireless communication module operatively coupled to the processor and configured to:
establish and maintain wireless communications with a router, including receiving transmissions from the router; andprocess the transmissions from the router by discriminating between a first type of transmission and a second type of transmission, wherein:
the first type of transmission comprises keep-alive messages associated with a communication channel between a remote thermostat-controller server and the thermostat, andthe second type of transmission comprises information associated with controlling the HVAC system; whereby transmissions of the second type received during times when the processor is operating in the low-power state cause the processor to transition from the low-power state to the high-power state.