Start-up sequence for hvac controller

Abstract

In some examples, a device can control an HVAC system within a building. Includes an analog display including a set of markers, and where each marker of the set of markers corresponds to a respective parameter value of a parameter associated with the building; an electric motor; a pointer connected to the electric motor, where the electric motor is configured to rotate the pointer within a pointer range from a lower limit to an upper limit; and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to: determine a position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at one of the lower limit or the upper limit of the pointer range; and calibrate, a position function corresponding to the electric motor.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A device for controlling a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system within a building, the device comprising:
 an analog display comprising a set of markers, wherein each marker of the set of markers corresponds to a respective parameter value of a parameter associated with the building;   an electric motor;   a pointer connected to the electric motor, wherein the electric motor is configured to rotate the pointer within a pointer range from a lower limit to an upper limit; and   processing circuitry configured to:
 determine a position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at one of the lower limit or the upper limit of the pointer range; and 
 calibrate, based on the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the one of the lower limit or the upper limit, a position function corresponding to the electric motor to configure the electric motor to move the pointer to indicate the respective parameter value of the parameter associated with the building. 
   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the one of the lower limit or the upper limit represents a first one of the lower limit or the upper limit, and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
 determine, subsequent to determining the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the first one of the lower limit or the upper limit, a position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at a second one of the lower limit or the upper limit; and   calibrate the position function corresponding to the electric motor based on both of the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the first one of the lower limit or the upper limit and the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the second one of the lower limit or the upper limit.   
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the first one of the lower limit or the upper limit comprises the upper limit of the pointer range, and wherein the second one of the lower limit or the upper limit comprises the lower limit of the pointer range. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the first one of the lower limit or the upper limit comprises the lower limit of the pointer range, and wherein the second one of the lower limit or the upper limit comprises the upper limit of the pointer range. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
 identify a transition of the device from a deactivated state to an activated state;   determine, in response to identifying the transition, the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the upper limit; and   determine, in response to identifying the transition, the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the lower limit.   
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein to determine the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the lower limit, the processing circuitry is configured to:
 output an instruction to cause the electric motor to rotate the pointer to the lower limit of the pointer range; and   receive data indicative of the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the lower limit of the pointer range.   
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the first one of the lower limit or the upper limit comprises the upper limit of the pointer range, and wherein to determine the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the upper limit, the processing circuitry is configured to:
 output an instruction to cause the electric motor to rotate the pointer to the upper limit of the pointer range; and   receive data indicative of the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the upper limit of the pointer range.   
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the parameter comprises temperature, and wherein the respective parameter value comprises a current temperature within an area of the building. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 8 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
 output an instruction causing the electric motor to set a position of the pointer in order to indicate the current temperature within the area of the building.   
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the set of markers corresponds to a range of parameter values of the parameter associated with the building, and wherein to calibrate the position function corresponding to the electric motor, the processing circuitry is configured to:
 set a reference position of the electric motor corresponding to the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the one of the lower limit or the upper limit of the pointer range;   determine, based on the reference position, a transfer function which defines a relationship between the parameter associated with the building and the position of the electric motor.   
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device comprises a substantially circular shape including a circumference, wherein the set of markers extend at least partially around the circumference, and wherein the pointer is closer to the center of the circular shape than the set of markers. 
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first set of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to illuminate any one or combination of the set of markers; and   a second set of LEDs configured to emit a halo-shaped projection on the analog display, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:   output an instruction to activate, while the calibration is occurring, both of the first set of LEDs and the second set of LEDs; and   output, subsequent to the calibration, an instruction to deactivate the set of markers sequentially starting with a center marker of the set of markers and ending with a first marker of the set of markers and a last marker of the set of markers.   
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calibrate the position function in response to the device transitioning from a deactivated state to an activated state. 
     
     
         14 . A device for controlling a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system within a building, the device comprising:
 an analog display comprising a set of markers, wherein each marker of the set of markers corresponds to a respective parameter value of a parameter associated with the building;   an electric stepper motor;   a pointer connected to the electric stepper motor, wherein the electric stepper motor is configured to rotate the pointer within a pointer range from a lower limit to an upper limit; and   processing circuitry configured to:
 cause the electric stepper motor to position the pointer at one of the lower limit or the upper limit of the pointer range; 
 determine an initial value for the parameter; and 
 cause the electric stepper motor to move the pointer from the one of the lower limit or the upper limit of the pointer range to the marker corresponding to the determined initial value for the parameter. 
   
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 14 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
 determine a second value for the parameter;   cause the electric stepper motor to move the pointer from the marker corresponding to the determined initial value for the parameter to the marker corresponding to the determined second value for the parameter.   
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 14 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
 based on a difference between the initial value for the parameter and a value of the parameter associated with the one of the lower limit or the upper limit, determine a number of positions to cause the electric stepper motor to move the pointer from the one of the lower limit or the upper limit of the pointer range to the marker corresponding to the determined initial value for the parameter; and   cause the electric stepper motor to move the determined number of positions.   
     
     
         17 . The device of  claim 14 , further comprising: a physical stopper that prevents the pointer from moving beyond the one of lower limit or the upper limit; and
 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to cause the electric stepper motor to position the pointer at one of the lower limit or the upper limit of the pointer range by moving the pointer until the pointer is stopped by the physical stopper.   
     
     
         18 . A method comprising:
 determining, by processing circuitry, a position of an electric motor while a pointer is positioned at one of the lower limit or the upper limit of the pointer range, wherein the pointer is connected to the electric motor, and wherein the electric motor is configured to rotate the pointer within a pointer range from a lower limit to an upper limit; and   calibrating, by the processing circuitry based on the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the one of the lower limit or the upper limit, a position function corresponding to the electric motor to configure the electric motor to move the pointer to indicate the respective parameter value of the parameter associated with the building,   wherein an analog display comprises a set of markers, and wherein each marker of the set of markers corresponds to a respective parameter value of a parameter associated with the building.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the one of the lower limit or the upper limit represents a first one of the lower limit or the upper limit, and wherein the method further comprises:
 determining, by the processing circuitry subsequent to determining the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the first one of the lower limit or the upper limit, a position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at a second one of the lower limit or the upper limit; and   calibrating, by the processing circuitry, the position function corresponding to the electric motor based on both of the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the first one of the lower limit or the upper limit and the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the second one of the lower limit or the upper limit.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein method further comprises:
 identifying, by the processing circuitry, a transition of the device from a deactivated state to an activated state;   determining, by the processing circuitry in response to identifying the transition, the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the upper limit; and   determining, by the processing circuitry in response to identifying the transition, the position of the electric motor while the pointer is positioned at the lower limit.