CLIAMS:N/A ,TagSPECI:TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to remote access systems and in particularly relates to smart remote access and/or control of air conditioner systems.

BACKGROUND

Air conditioners or air conditioning systems (often referred to as A/C, AC systems) are used to maintain air properties, primarily temperature and humidity, to a comfortable level and distribute the conditioned air to an occupied space to improve thermal comfort and indoor air quality.

Air conditioning systems are typically operated through a handheld remote control, which enables a user to operate an AC system from a certain distance. Once set to a particular temperature and/or humidity level, a typical AC system would take around 10-30 minutes to condition the ambient air to reach a comfortable level, depending upon the environment conditions.

Nonetheless, one has to wait for a considerable amount of time after turning on an AC system before one can find the conditioned ambient air comforting to his/her or liking. Moreover, in case someone forgets to switch off the AC system installed, for example, at home or an office before leaving said place for the day, there is not any mechanism to switch the AC system off from a remote location and avoid wastage of power.

OBJECTS

Some of the objects of the system of the present disclosure which at least one embodiment herein satisfies are as follows:
It is an object of the system of the present disclosure to provide remote access and/or control of an AC system through some most commonly available devices, such as a smartphone, using an application specifically designed for such purpose.

An object of the system of the present disclosure is to enable control and access of an AC system using Wifi communication technology.

Another object of the system of the present disclosure is to enable control and access of an AC system through a 2G/3G based mobile communication system.

Another object of the system of the present disclosure is to enable control and access of an AC system through GPS based mobile communication system.

Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The disclosure will now be explained in relation to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary environment for the implementation of a smart system for access and/or control of an air conditioning system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 2 shows a block diagram illustrating a matching and/or control process of the smart system of Figure 1 over WiFi, in accordance with an embodiment.
Figure 3 shows a block diagram illustrating a matching and/or control process of the smart system of Figure 1 over a mobile data network system, in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A smart system for access and/or control of an air conditioning (AC) system of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the embodiments which do not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration.

According to the present disclosure, the smart system for access and/or control of an air-conditioner system includes a Wifi receiver which is connected to a main control unit of an AC system that is to be smartly controlled. The Wifi receiver is configured to receive signals from a data enabled mobile communication device, such as smartphones, tablets, and the like, of an authorized user, over a mobile data communication network such as WiFi, 2G, 3G, or 4G network.

Further, a uniquely designed application is downloaded and installed onto the mobile communication device, such as an Android™-based smartphone, over the Internet using GPRS/WiFi capabilities. The application may facilitate the user to view on a display of the mobile communication device an interface reflecting current settings of the AC system, desirable settings to choose from, and other such features designed to be user friendly and easy to navigate. All these features would be available in addition to the regular, in person handling and control of the AC using a conventional, handheld remote control.

In an embodiment, the unique application may be made available to users through a service provider. Following downloading, a user may need to get himself/herself registered with the service provider by providing his or her email ID or mobile number.

Following registration, a WiFi module of the AC system that needs to be smartly controlled and a WiFi device of the mobile communication device are matched with a WiFi router in the vicinity. For this, the smartphone is linked with the WiFi router available in the vicinity, say “V-Guest 2”. Once linked, the user may view AC systems available for matching on a ‘matching’ interface of the application installed on mobile communication device. The user may select an AC system that needs to be matched and may send a matching request by clicking on the AC system. In an embodiment, the user may be asked to enter a WiFi password for linking with the WiFi. The control unit of AC system is also activated or turned ON using the handheld remote controller simultaneously. Once activated, the ‘matching’ process may take place.

If the WiFi module is successfully matched, the application will then be able to select details of the AC system such as the product name, etc. A user may then enter the product line, and enter a ‘control’ interface of the application to remotely access and control the AC system. The AC system can also be operated using the conventional remote handset, If certain changes are made to the settings of the AC system, the same will appear on the control interface.

There may be a case where the user may wish to change an SSID (service set identifier) for the WiFi module, from the one to which it is presently connected. Suppose the mobile communication device is linked with “vmobile3” SSID, the WiFi module will also automatically link with same SSID after matching. The user may change the SSID of the mobile communication device, from the one already connected to the SSID of the WiFi receiver “Vguest2,” by changing the WiFi name. There is no need to start the match operation. However, if the user switches to another WiFi module or has reinstalled the application, then matching process needs to be carried out.

Further, as exemplary scenarios, LEDs (Light emitting diodes) on a WiFi board of the WiFi receiver may reflect the following cases:

(1) RED LED OFF & GREEN LED ON:-Ready to carry out the linking/matching process.

(2) RED LED ON & The GREEN LED blinking:- The WIFI module trying to connect to the Internet.

(3) RED & GREEN LED blinking alternately:- The WIFI module working Well.

(4) RED LED ON & GREEN led OFF:-The WIFI module is unable to connect to the Internet; Network not good.

(5) Both Red & Green Led ON: Wifi module is linked to Wifi SSID, but cannot access the Internet. In such a case, one may use ‘Convenient’ login, as discussed below.

There may arise a situation where the mobile communication device is linked with WiFi SSID “Vguest2” and the WiFi module is also configured to “Vguest2,” then one can login through ‘Convenient’ login, in which ‘account name’ and ‘password’ are not required.
Further, the smart system as disclosed herein provides the user with an option wherein the user can set a ‘temperature offset,’ while the AC system is in AUTO mode. In AUTO mode, the AC system automatically selects cooling, heating, or fan only depending on the room temperature/humidity levels. Once this option is selected, the AC system automatically offsets the current temperature to a predetermined value, for example, -2,-1, 0, 1, or 2.

Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary environment for the implementation of a smart system for access and/or control of an air conditioning system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. An AC system is shown in communication with a WiFi router placed in the vicinity, the WiFi router further in communication with a smartphone with the unique application installed in it. Once a WiFi module of the application is matched with the AC system, a user can control the operations of the AC system from anywhere using the smartphone, over any mobile data communication network, for example, 3G network. The network may further be in communication with one or more servers, such as a control server, a server for online services, and the like, that would provide users with associated web related services such as downloading of the unique application, registration, etc. A customer relationship management system of the service provider may also be accessed using these servers.

Further, in Figure 2, the matching and/or process of the smart system of the present disclosure is depicted, wherein an indoor unit control circuit is communicating with the WiFi router through a WiFi module of the AC system and the smartphone is also shown communicating with the WiFi router through a WiFi device of the smartphone.

In Figure 3, the matching and/or control process of the smart system is depicted, wherein the smartphone, using a mobile data communication network, like 3G network, is shown to be communicating with the WiFi router through a server to control an indoor unit of the AC system, which is in communication with the WiFi router through a WiFi module of the AC system.

TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS

The remote access system in accordance with the present disclosure has several technical advantages including but not limited to the realization of:

• Providing an alternative remote access and control of an AC system installed in a facility or house from anywhere within the facility, without requiring any line of sight as is required in conventional handheld remote controls.
• Providing a remote access of an AC system from any remote location over a mobile data communication network.
• Allowing users to set their AC systems on to their preferred temperature before even reaching the place where such a smart system is installed.