Google Inc.

Nathan Lentz

Daniel Adam Warren

Eric Marschalkowski

Michael John Mitchell

Timothy Lai

A method of powering a controller using an intermediate device with power from an environmental system may include receiving current from a power wire from the environmental system; passing the current from the power wire to a second command wire from the controller; monitoring the current flowing between the power wire and the second command wire while the current is below a threshold indicative of an amount of current used to power the controller from the environmental system; detecting when the current flowing between the power wire and the second command wire exceeds the threshold indicating that the controller is sending a command to the environmental system to perform the function; and sending a command to environmental system using a first command wire from the environmental system after detecting that the current exceeds the threshold.

Power extender for smart-home controllers using 2-wire communication

A circuit for stealing power from an external system without interfering with a communication protocol may include wiring connectors configured to receive wires from the external system; a first voltage regulator to regulate a voltage on the plurality of wiring connectors at a plurality of voltage levels to encode a first multi-bit binary message according to the communication protocol to be sent to the external system; a current monitor to measure a plurality of current levels received through the plurality of wiring connectors and decode the plurality of current levels to determine a second multi-bit binary message sent from the external system according to the communication protocol; and a power converter that adjusts an amount of power stolen from the plurality of wiring connectors based at least in part on the voltage on the plurality of wiring connectors.

Communication circuit for 2-wire protocols between HVAC systems and smart-home devices

A circuit for stealing power from an external system without interfering with a communication protocol includes a plurality of wiring connectors configured to receive a plurality of wires, where the plurality of wiring connectors receive a plurality of current levels set by the external system according to the communication protocol; a first voltage regulator to regulate a voltage on the plurality of wiring connectors at a plurality of voltage levels according to the communication protocol; a current monitor to measure the plurality of current levels received through the plurality of wiring connectors; a second voltage regulator that provides a current-limiting output; and a power converter that optimizes an amount of power stolen from the plurality of wiring connectors based on the current-limiting output.

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Sacramento, CA, United States of America

Nathan Lentz