Thermostat with a plurality of ranked levels of access control

Abstract

A system and method for configuring an HVAC thermostat provides multiple users of varying rank with different levels of permission to access different sets of thermostat functions. The thermostat distinguishes users by the passcodes they enter. In some examples, a cascade hierarchy enables multiple levels of higher ranking users to limit the function accessibility of lower ranking users. In some examples, higher ranking users determine which home screen is presented to users that do not enter a passcode.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for controlling access to a plurality of functions of a thermostat, the method comprising:
 without receiving a passcode via a user interface of the thermostat, providing access to a basic set of functions of the plurality of functions of the thermostat via the user interface of the thermostat;   in response to receiving a lower tier passcode via the user interface of the thermostat, providing a lower tier set of functions of the thermostat via the user interface of the thermostat;   in response to receiving an upper tier passcode via the user interface of the thermostat, providing an upper tier set of functions of the thermostat via the user interface of the thermostat;   wherein the lower tier set of functions of the thermostat includes the basic set of functions plus one or more other functions, and the upper tier set of functions of the thermostat includes the basic set of functions, the lower tier set of functions plus one or more other functions; and   providing control signals to an HVAC system based at least in part on one or more thermostat settings set by one or more of the plurality of functions of the thermostat.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 in response to receiving an intermediate tier passcode via the user interface of the thermostat, providing an intermediate tier set of functions of the thermostat via the user interface of the thermostat, wherein the intermediate tier set of functions of the thermostat includes the basic set of functions, and the lower tier set of functions plus one or more other functions, and the upper tier set of functions of the thermostat includes the basic set of functions, the lower tier set of functions, and the intermediate tier set of functions plus one or more other functions.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the basic set of functions includes waking up the user interface of the thermostat from a sleep state to view a home screen. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the basic set of functions includes a function for changing a home screen that is displayed on the user interface of the thermostat. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the upper tier set of functions includes a function to set which of a plurality of home screens are made available to select by the basic set of functions. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the basic set of functions includes a function to change a temperature set point of the thermostat to a set point value within a predetermined range of set point values. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the upper tier set of functions includes a function to set the predetermined range of set point values. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the upper tier set of functions includes a function to set which of the plurality of functions of the thermostat are part of the basic set of functions. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the function to set which of the plurality of functions of the thermostat are part of the basic set of functions include:
 displaying a user permission screen showing a plurality of selectively lockable functions corresponding to at least some of the plurality of functions of the thermostat;   enabling selective locking and unlocking of one or more of the plurality of selectively lockable functions;   making the unlocked ones of the one or more of the plurality of selectively lockable functions part of the basic set of functions; and   not making the locked ones of the one or more of the plurality of selectively lockable functions part of the basic set of functions.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the upper tier set of functions includes a function to set which of the plurality of functions of the thermostat are part of the lower tier set of functions. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the lower tier set of functions includes a function to set which of the plurality of functions of the thermostat are part of the basic set of functions. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 in response to receiving a selection of a passcode icon displayed on a home screen of the thermostat, displaying a passcode input screen on the user interface of the thermostat, the passcode input screen for receiving the lower tier passcode and the upper tier passcode.   
     
     
         13 . A thermostat comprising:
 a housing;   a user interface housed by the housing;   a controller housed by the housing and operatively coupled to the user interface, the controller having a plurality of functions, the controller configured to:
 without receiving a passcode via the user interface, provide access to a basic set of functions of the plurality of functions of the thermostat via the user interface of the thermostat; 
 in response to receiving a lower tier passcode via the user interface, provide a lower tier set of functions of the plurality of functions of the thermostat via the user interface of the thermostat; 
 in response to receiving an upper tier passcode via the user interface, provide an upper tier set of functions of the plurality of functions of the thermostat via the user interface of the thermostat; 
 wherein the lower tier set of functions of the thermostat includes the basic set of functions plus one or more other functions, and the upper tier set of functions of the thermostat includes the basic set of functions, the lower tier set of functions plus one or more other functions; and 
 provide control signals to an HVAC system based at least in part on one or more thermostat settings set by one or more of the plurality of functions of the thermostat. 
   
     
     
         14 . The thermostat of  claim 13 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 in response to receiving an intermediate tier passcode via the user interface of the thermostat, providing an intermediate tier set of functions of the plurality of functions of the thermostat via the user interface, wherein the intermediate tier set of functions of the thermostat includes the basic set of functions, and the lower tier set of functions plus one or more other functions, and the upper tier set of functions of the thermostat includes the basic set of functions, the lower tier set of functions, and the intermediate tier set of functions plus one or more other functions.   
     
     
         15 . The thermostat of  claim 13 , wherein the upper tier set of functions includes a function to set which of a plurality of home screens are made available to select by the basic set of functions. 
     
     
         16 . The thermostat of  claim 13 , wherein the upper tier set of functions includes a function to set which of the plurality of functions of the thermostat are part of the lower tier set of functions. 
     
     
         17 . The thermostat of  claim 13 , wherein the lower tier set of functions includes a function to set which of the plurality of functions of the thermostat are part of the basic set of functions. 
     
     
         18 . A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon software instructions that, when executed by a processor of a thermostat, cause the processor to:
 without receiving a passcode via a user interface of the thermostat, provide access to a basic set of functions of a plurality of functions of the thermostat via the user interface of the thermostat;   in response to receiving a lower tier passcode via the user interface of the thermostat, provide a lower tier set of functions of the thermostat via the user interface of the thermostat;   in response to receiving an upper tier passcode via the user interface of the thermostat, provide an upper tier set of functions of the thermostat via the user interface of the thermostat;   wherein the lower tier set of functions of the thermostat includes one or more functions not part of the basic set of functions, and the upper tier set of functions of the thermostat includes one or more functions not part of the basic set of functions and the lower tier set of functions; and   providing control signals to an HVAC system based at least in part on one or more thermostat settings set by one or more of the plurality of functions of the thermostat.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the software instructions, when executed by the processor of the thermostat, cause the processor to:
 in response to receiving an intermediate tier passcode via the user interface of the thermostat, provide an intermediate tier set of functions of the thermostat via the user interface of the thermostat, wherein the intermediate tier set of functions of the thermostat include one or more functions not part of the basic set of functions and not part of the lower tier set of functions.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the lower tier set of functions includes a function to set which of the plurality of functions of the thermostat are part of the basic set of functions.