Device interface for a building appliance

A smart phone or a tablet may execute an application program code to identify a diagnostic status associated with a time-coded signal emitted by a low-cost user interface of a building appliance such as a furnace or water heater and suggest a recommended action to the user. The signal emitted by the low-cost user interface may be audio or a visual signal.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to building appliances, and more particularly, to devices, systems, and methods for facilitating diagnostics of building appliances.

BACKGROUND

A number of different building appliances may be located within a building or structure. For a typical domestic dwelling, such building appliances may include, a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, a humidifier/dehumidifier, an air cleaner, a water heater, a pool heater, a water softener, a dishwasher, a security system, a garage door opener, a sprinkler system, an oven, a clothes washer and/or any other suitable building appliance. Often because of cost constraints, some building appliances incorporate a low-cost user interface which has limited capabilities. For example, a low-cost user interface may include a blinking LED light. In some cases, the LED may emit a coded signal indicative of a diagnostic status of the building appliance. To help with maintenance and/or repair of the building appliance, the coded signal may be read and manually decoded by a user in order to derive the diagnostic status of the building appliance.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates generally to building appliances, and more particularly to devices, systems, and methods for facilitating diagnostics of building appliances. The present disclosure may provide a more reliable system for conveying information from a building appliance to a user, for conveying more information from a building appliance to a user, and/or for providing external information to the user based on the information conveyed from a building appliance to a user. These are just some examples.

In one illustrative embodiment, a portable device for diagnosing an HVAC component having a user interface that emits a human perceptible time-coded signal includes: a user interface having a display; one or more sensors for sensing the human perceptible time-coded signal of the HVAC component and for providing a corresponding time-coded input signal; a memory storing a database that identifies one or more patterns, wherein each pattern is associated with diagnostic information for an HVAC component; and a controller coupled to the one or more sensors, the user interface and the memory. In some instances, the controller may be configured to perform a pattern recognition on the time-coded input signal, and based on the pattern recognition, identify a corresponding one of the one or more patterns stored in the database. Based on the identified one of the one or more patterns, the controller may display at least selected diagnostic information that is associated with the identified one of the one or more patterns on the display of the portable device.

In some instances, the controller may be configured to send a corresponding time-coded input signal to a server or the like via a wireless input/output port, and to receive diagnostic information from the server that is associated with the corresponding time-coded input signal. The controller may be configured to display at least selected diagnostic information that is received from the server on the display of the portable device.

In another illustrative embodiment, a system for determining a diagnostic code based, at least in part, on a signal emitted by a combustion device, includes a remote device and a server. The remote device may include an input/output port for wirelessly sending and/or receiving data over a network, a user interface including a display, a memory, and a controller coupled to the input/output port, the user interface, and the memory. The remote device may be configured to receive a signal emitted by a combustion device and to transmit a first data package including the received signal via the input/output port. The server may include an input/output port for sending and/or receiving data over a network, a memory storing a database including one or more patterns each associated with one or more diagnostic codes for a combustion device, and a controller coupled to the input/output port and the memory. The controller may be configured to receive the first data package transmitted by the remote device. Upon receiving the signal from the remote device, the controller may perform a pattern recognition or the like and classify the signal received from the combustion device based, at least in part, on the one or more patterns stored in the database. The controller may also associate the signal with a particular diagnostic code.

In yet another illustrative embodiment, a method of classifying a signal emitted by a combustion or other device can include the steps of: receiving a first data package over a network from a remote device, the first data package including a signal indicative of a diagnostic code associated with a combustion device; performing a pattern recognition on the signal received from the remote device based, at least in part, on the one or more patterns stored in a database, each pattern associated with a different diagnostic code for the combustion device; associating the signal with a particular diagnostic code; and transmitting a second data package over the network, where the second data package includes a command that causes the remote device to display information indicative of the diagnostic code associated with the signal classification.

DESCRIPTION

The following description should be read with reference to the drawings wherein like reference numerals indicate like elements throughout the several views. The description and drawings show several embodiments which are meant to be illustrative in nature.

For the purposes of providing an illustrative example, the various embodiments of the present disclosure are described in the context of an HVAC system. However, it is generally understood that many of the embodiments described herein may be utilized in connection with other building appliances and are not limited to use with an HVAC system. Exemplary building appliances with which the various embodiments of the present disclosure may be utilized include, but are not limited, to a humidifier/dehumidifier, an air cleaner, a water heater, a pool heater, a water softener, a dishwasher, a security system, a garage door opener, a sprinkler system, an oven, a clothes washer and/or any other suitable building appliance.

FIG. 1is a schematic view of a building2having a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system4. WhileFIG. 1shows a typical forced air type HVAC system, other types of HVAC systems are contemplated including, but not limited to, boiler systems, radiant heating systems, electric heating systems, cooling systems, heat pump systems, and/or any other suitable type of HVAC system, as desired. The illustrative HVAC system4ofFIG. 1includes one or more building appliance6(e.g. furnace), a system of ductwork and air vents including a supply air duct10and a return air duct14, and one or more HVAC controllers18. The one or more building appliances6may include, but are not limited to, a furnace, a heat pump, an electric heat pump, a geothermal heat pump, an electric heating unit, an air conditioning unit, a humidifier, a dehumidifier, an air exchanger, an air cleaner, a damper, a valve, and/or the like.

At least one of the building appliances6may include a simple, low-cost user interface8electrically coupled to the building appliance6, and that is configured to emit a signal indicative of a diagnostic status or other information related to the component to which it is coupled. In some cases, each of the different building appliances6, listed above, may include a simple, low-cost user interface8that is configured to emit a signal indicative of a diagnostic status or other information. The signal emitted by the low-cost user interface8may be a human perceptible audio and/or visual signal and in some cases, may be a human perceptible, time-coded audio or visual signal. In one example, the low-cost user interface8may include a light-emitting diode (LED) that is configured to emit one or more pulses of light. The one or more pulses of light may form at least part of a LED code. The LED code may be a human perceptible, time-coded, visual signal. In other cases, the low-cost user interface8may include a sound transmitted that is configured to emit one or more audible beeps or other sounds. The one or more audible beeps may form at least part of a beep code. In some cases, the beep code may be considered a human perceptible time-coded audible signal. In some cases, the sound transmitted by the low-cost user interface8may be one of a plurality of well-known songs, where each song can be considered a time-coded audible signal. In some cases, different numbers and/or patterns of light pulses and/or audible signals may each correspond to a different diagnostic status of the component to which the low-cost user interface8is coupled. In some cases, the signal may be a combined audio/visual signal.

FIG. 2is a schematic view of a system50that facilitates interaction between a user's portable device62and low-cost user interface8of a building appliance6. The system50may facilitate interaction between a user's portable device62and any number of exemplary building appliances including, but not limited to a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, a humidifier/dehumidifier, an air cleaner, a water heater, a pool heater, a water softener, a dishwasher, a security system, a garage door opener, a sprinkler system, an oven, a clothes washer and/or any other suitable building appliance. In the illustrative example shown inFIG. 2, the building appliance6may be a combustion device such as, for example, a furnace or water heater.

The building appliance6may include a low-cost user interface8. The low-cost user interface8may be configured to emit a signal indicative of a diagnostic status or other information related to the operation of the building appliance6. In this case, the low-cost user interface8may be configured to emit a signal indicative of the diagnostic status of a building appliance6. The signal emitted by the low-cost user interface8may be an audio or visual signal. In some cases, the signal may be a combined visual/audio signal. In some cases, the signal may be a human perceptible time-coded signal. For example, different numbers and/or patterns of light pulses and/or audible beeps may each correspond to a different diagnostic status of the building appliance6. In some cases, the low-cost user interface8may transmit one of a plurality of well-known songs (e.g. Alphabet Song, A Hunting We Will Go, Do Re Mi, Three Blind Mice, etc.), where each song can be considered a time-coded audible signal that corresponds to a different diagnostic status of the building appliance6.

In some cases, the low-cost user interface8may include a light-emitting diode (LED) that is configured to emit one or more pulses of light. The one or more pulses of light may form at least part of a LED code, which may include a pattern of one or more emitted light pulses, and which, in some cases, may be a human-perceptible time-coded LED code. In some cases, the pattern may be too rapid or complex to be readily human-perceptible. In some cases, the pattern may be a simple pattern based on the number of emitted light pulses. For example, in some cases, the low-cost user interface8may be configured to emit a string of light pulses at a rate of one light pulse per second. Each different number of light pulses (e.g. 3 light pulses) in a string of light pulses emitted by the low-cost user interface may define a different pattern indicative of a diagnostic status of the building appliance6. In other cases, the pattern of emitted light pulses may be more complex. The pattern of emitted light pulses may include one or more emitted light pulses followed by a short pause followed by one or more additional emitted light pulses. In one example, the low-cost user interface8may emit three light pulses (e.g. one light pulse per second) followed by, for example, a two to five second pause followed by another two light pulses (e.g. one light pulse per second). Any combination of a number of emitted light pulses and pauses may be used. Patterns including longer sequences of emitted pulses and pauses may also be utilized. The duration of the light pulses may also determine a pattern. In another example, the pattern of light pulses may include a plurality of light pulses that alternate the brightness of the emitted light from one emitted light pulse to the next light pulse such that the emitted light pulses appear to pulsate. In still other examples, the pattern of emitted light pulses may include one or more light pulses of a first color followed by one or more light pulses of a second color. For example, the user interface8may emit two red light pulses followed by a green light pulse. Any combination of the number of emitted light pulses, intensity, duration and color may be utilized, as desired. These are just some examples.

In other cases, the low-cost user interface8may include a sound transmitter that is configured to emit one or more audible beeps, tones, melodies and/or other audible sounds. In some cases, one or more audible beeps may form at least part of a beep code, which may include a pattern of one or more emitted audible beeps, and which, in some cases, may be a human perceptible time-coded beep code. In some cases, the audible beeps may be too rapid or complex to be readily human-perceptible. In some cases, the pattern may be a simple pattern based on the number of emitted audible beeps. For example, in some cases, the low-cost user interface8may be configured to emit a string of audible beeps at a rate of one beep per second. Each different number of audible beeps (e.g. 3 audible beeps) in a string of audible beeps emitted by the low-cost user interface may define a different pattern indicative of a diagnostic status of the building appliance6. In other cases, the pattern of audible beeps may be more complex. The pattern of audible beeps may include one or more audible beeps followed by a short pause followed by one or more additional audible beeps. In one example, the low-cost user interface8may emit three audible beeps (e.g. one audible beep per second) followed by, for example, a two to five second pause followed by another two audible beeps (e.g. one audible beeps per second). Any combination of a number of emitted audible beeps and pauses may be used. Patterns including longer sequences of audible beeps and pauses may also be utilized. The duration of the audible beeps may also determine a pattern. In another example, the pattern of audible beeps may include a plurality of audible beeps that change the intensity or loudness from one emitted audible beep to the next audible beep. In still other examples, the pattern of audible beeps may include one or more audible beeps of a first frequency (i.e. note on a musical scale) followed by one or more audible beeps at a second frequency. For example, the user interface8may emit two c-note audible beeps followed by a g-note audible beep. Any combination of the number of audible beeps, intensity, duration and frequency may be utilized, as desired. These are just some examples.

The user's portable device62may be configured to receive and, in some cases, interpret the signal emitted by the low-cost user interface8. The user's portable device62may be, for example, a hand-held portable device such as a smart phone, a tablet computer and/or any other suitable portable device, as desired. In some cases, the user's portable device62may be a dedicated portable device62configured to perform diagnostics on selected building appliances such as, for example, a furnace. The portable device62may include a video camera and/or a microphone configured to receive and record the signal emitted by the low-cost user interface8. The signal may be stored locally, at least temporarily, in the memory of the portable device62. Using a device to receive and interpret the signal emitted by the low-cost user interface8rather than relying on human perception may increase the accuracy of the interpretation of the signal and reduce human error. Increasing the accuracy of interpreting the signal, sometimes indicative of the diagnostic status of the building appliance6, may also decrease the amount of time that may be required to trouble-shoot the building appliance6, which may reduce the amount of time that a technician or installer may need to spend on a service call. In some cases, using a portable device to receive and interpret the signal emitted by the low-cost user interface8may allow more information to be conveyed from the building appliance6. Additionally, it may reduce user frustration.

In some cases, the portable device62may be configured to execute a program code that is stored in the memory of the portable device62for identifying the diagnostic status and/or other information corresponding to the signal emitted by the low-cost user interface8. The program code may cause the portable device62to perform pattern recognition on the signal and identify the diagnostic status and/or other information based on the recognized pattern of, for example, the emitted light pulses or audible beeps or tones. In some cases, the portable device may identify the diagnostic status and/or other information based on the signal pattern using a look-up table or a database stored in the memory of the portable device62. In some cases, the look-up table or database may contain a number of different signal pattern/diagnostic status pairs that may be used to associate an identified signal pattern with a particular diagnostic status related to the building appliance6. Upon identifying the diagnostic status of the building appliance6based on the emitted signal, the portable device62may be programmed to display the diagnostic status of the building appliance6to the user via a display of the user's portable device62. The user may then use this information to determine a suitable action. In some cases, context sensitive information, which pertains to the identified diagnostic status, may be automatically retrieved and presented to the user via the display of the user's portable device.

In some instances, the portable device62may be configured to transmit or upload the signal that it received from the low-cost user interface8to an external web server66via one or more networks54. An exemplary web server66is Honeywell's TOTAL CONNECT™ web server. The portable device62may be configured to communicate wirelessly over one or more networks54and/or one or more wired networks with the web server66. The wireless network, when used, may include any number of wireless communications protocols including, but not limited to, cellular communication, ZigBee, REDLINK™, Bluetooth, WiFi, IrDA, dedicated short range communication (DSRC), EnOcean, and/or any other suitable common or proprietary wireless protocol, as desired. In some cases, the network54may include a cellular communications network such as a 3G or 4G network, and the portable device62may be configured to communicate over the network54using a cellular communications protocol. In other cases, the portable device62may be configured to communicate with the external web server66by first connecting to a wireless local area network (WAN) via a gateway that is then used to access the external web server66via a wide area network such as, for example, the Internet. In this example, the portable device62may utilize a wireless communication protocol such as for example, WiFi or ZigBee to connect to the wireless local area network. For example, the wireless local area network may be the homeowner's secure wireless local area network located within the home within which the building appliance6is also located.

The external web server66may be programmed to execute a program code for identifying the pattern and/or the diagnostic status to which the signal emitted by the low-cost user interface8corresponds. The program code may cause the web server66to perform a pattern recognition on the signal delivered from the portable device62and identify the diagnostic status of the building appliance6based on the recognized pattern on the emitted light pulses or audible beeps or tones. In some cases, the web server66may identify the diagnostic status based on the signal pattern using a look-up table or a database stored on the server66. The look-up table or database may contain a number of different signal pattern/diagnostic status pairs that may be used to associate the signal pattern with selected diagnostic information related to the building appliance6. After identifying the diagnostic status and/or other information to which the signal emitted by the low-cost user interface8corresponds, the web server66may be configured to transmit the information containing the diagnostic status to the user's portable device62over the network54. The user's portable wireless device62may then display the information containing the diagnostic status to the user via the display of the user's portable wireless device62. The user may use this information to determine a suitable action. In some cases, the user's portable device62may display a recommended action such as, for example, in the form of written, audio, and/or visual instructions.

In some instances, the portable device62may receive information regarding the manufacturer and/or model of the building appliance6. This information may be encoded in the coded signal emitted by the low-cost user interface8, entered into the portable device62via the user interface of the portable device62using text and/or audio input, provided by the web server66, or in any other manner. This information may be used in identifying the diagnostic status of the building appliance6based on the recognized pattern on the emitted light pulses or audible beeps or tones.

FIG. 3is a schematic view of an exemplary portable device62that may be configured to receive and interpret the signal emitted by the low-cost user interface8as described above with reference toFIG. 2. As discussed herein, the portable device62may be a hand-held portable device, and may be any one of a smart phone, a tablet computer and/or any other suitable portable device. In some cases, the portable device62may be a dedicated portable device62configured to perform diagnostics on a selected building appliance such as, for example, a furnace.

In some instances, the portable device62may include one or more sensors70for sensing a time-coded signal emitted by the low-cost user interface8as discussed in greater detail with reference toFIG. 2. In some cases, the one or more sensors70may include a microphone and/or a video camera for capturing and recording the time-coded signal emitted by the low-cost user interface8. The one or more sensors70may be configured to transfer the recorded signal to a memory72where it may be at least temporarily stored. As shown inFIG. 3, the portable device62may include at least one input/output port76for communicating over one or more networks (e.g. a wireless local area network (wLAN), cellular network, and/or a wide area network (WAN) such as, for example, the Internet). The input/output port76may include at least one wireless transceiver for wirelessly sending and/or receiving signals over the one or more networks. Additionally, the illustrative portable device62may include a processor (e.g. microprocessor, microcontroller, etc.)74coupled to and in communication with the one or more sensors70, the memory72, an input/output port76, and a user interface80. In many cases, the user interface80may include a graphical user interface80including a touch screen liquid crystal display (LCD), but this is not required.

The memory72may be any suitable type of storage device including, but not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, flash memory, a hard drive, user-removable memory, and/or the like. In some cases, the processor74may store information within the memory72, and may subsequently retrieve the stored information from the memory72.

The processor74may be configured to retrieve and execute application program code84stored in the memory72of the portable device62. It will be generally recognized that multiple application codes for executing different functions may be stored in the memory72of the portable device62. According to various embodiments, the memory72may include an application program code84stored thereon for performing a pattern recognition on a time-coded signal emitted by a low-cost user interface8associated with a building appliance6such as, for example, a furnace or water heater. The application program code84may be suitable for use with any current or future smart phone and/or tablet operating system including, for example, but not limited to Apple Inc.'s iOS, Google Inc.'s Android operating systems (e.g. Jelly Bean or Ice Cream Sandwich), and/or Microsoft Inc.'s Windows operating systems (e.g. Windows). The application program code84may also be executable by, for example, Amazon.com Inc.'s KINDLE or KINDLE FIRE. The application program code84may be available for download from a variety of online sources including Apple Inc.'s ITUNES®, Google Inc.'s Google Play, or Amazon.com (www.amazon.com). In some cases, the application program code84may be available for download from a web server or service associated with a building appliance manufacturer such as, for example, Honeywell's TOTAL CONNECT™ web server. These are just some examples

In some instances, the application program code84may cause the processor74to perform pattern recognition on the signal emitted by the low-cost user interface8and identify the diagnostic status based on the recognized pattern of the emitted light pulses or audible beeps. In some cases, the application program code84may include, or have access to, at least part of a database or a look-up table that identifies one or more patterns, with each pattern associated with diagnostic and/or other information for a building appliance6. In some cases, the database or look-up table may be downloaded from an external web server (e.g. web server66) via the input/output port76where it may then be stored in the memory72. The database or look-up table may contain a number of different signal pattern/diagnostic status pairs that may be utilized by the processor74to associate the identified signal pattern with a particular diagnostic status related to the building appliance6. In some cases, the database may be a database specific to the particular building appliance6that is being installed or serviced by a technician. For example, the database associated with the application program code84may include diagnostic information specific to the building appliance6, shown inFIG. 1, as well as various components (e.g. valves, sensors, dampers, blower fan, etc.) that may be associated with the building appliance6. In other cases, it may be a larger database that includes a plurality of patterns, each pattern associated with diagnostic information for multiple building appliances, sometimes with different manufacturers. It will be generally understood that the size of the database is dependent upon the capacity of the memory72of the portable device62. Upon identifying the diagnostic status of the building appliance6based on the emitted signal, the application program code84may cause the processor74to display the diagnostic status of the building appliance6to the user via the display of the user interface80. The user may then use this information to determine a suitable action. In some cases, the application program code84may cause the processor74to display a recommended action to the user via the user interface80such as, for example, in the form of written, audio, and/or visual instructions.

In another example, as will be discussed in greater detail below, the application program code84may cause the processor74to transmit a data package including the signal that it received from the low-cost user interface8to an external web server66over one or more networks54via the input/output port76. The data package transmitted by the processor74may also include information about the building appliance6such as, for example, manufacturer name and model number and/or part number of the building appliance6. To get the model number, etc., the portable device62may be configured to scan and/or read a bar code or a quick-response (QR) code that is mounted to the building appliance6using a camera functionality of the portable device62. An illustrative device and method for reading a QR Code are shown and described in U.S. application Ser. No. 13/603,306 entitled SYSTEM AND APPROACH TO CONVEY DATA WITH A HANDHELD DEVICE VIA A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL CODE, filed on Sep. 4, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

When so provided, the portable device62may be configured to include the information from the QR code in a data package transmitted to the web server66. The QR code may include information about the building appliance6such as, for example, the manufacturer name and model number and/or part number. This information may be used by the web server66to select an appropriate database or look-up table for identifying the signal pattern.

The web server66may be programmed to perform a pattern recognition on the signal and classify the diagnostic status of the building appliance6based on the recognized pattern on the emitted light pulses or audible beeps. The web server66may transmit a return data package to the portable device62over the network54including a command that causes the portable device62to display information indicative of the diagnostic status associated with the emitted signal on the display of the user interface80of the portable device62. In some cases, the return data package may include a command that causes the user's portable device62to display a recommended action to the user via the user interface80such as, for example, in the form of written, audio, and/or visual instructions. The user may then use this information to determine a suitable action.

FIG. 4is a schematic view of an external web server66that may be configured to interact with a portable device62over a network such as for example, a cellular network or the Internet. The portable device62may be, for example, any one of the portable devices62described herein. In some cases, the external web server66may host an external web service that is adapted to serve up one or more web pages via the network54and that may be viewable on the display of a portable device62.

As shown inFIG. 4, the external web server66can include at least one input/output port116for sending and/or receiving data over the network54to and from a portable device62. It will be generally understood that the external web server66is capable of interacting with multiple devices via the input/output port. The external web server66can also include a memory device114and a controller118coupled to the input/output port116and the memory device114.

The memory device114of the external web server66may include at least one database126containing a number of different signal pattern/diagnostic status pairs that may be utilized by the controller118to associate the signal pattern with a diagnostic status related to a particular building appliance6. In some cases, the database126may be a database specific to the particular building appliance that is being installed or serviced by a technician. In other cases, the database126may be a larger database that includes a plurality of patterns, each pattern associated with diagnostic information for multiple building appliances, sometimes across different manufacturers. In still other cases, the memory device114may include multiple databases126, each database126containing a number of different signal pattern/diagnostic status pairs related to a number of different building appliances.

In some cases, the controller118may be configured to implement an application program code122for performing pattern recognition on a signal emitted by a low-cost user interface8of a building appliance6. The signal may be included in a data package transmitted by a portable device62over the network54and received by the external web server66via the input/output port116. The data package received by the controller118via the input/output port116may also include information about the building appliance6, such as the manufacturer name and model number and/or part number. This information may be used by the controller118to select an appropriate database or look-up table126associated with the particular building appliance6for identifying the signal pattern.

The application program code122may cause the controller118to use the information stored in the database126to identify the diagnostic status based on the recognized pattern of the emitted light pulses or audible beeps. Upon identifying the diagnostic status of the building appliance6based on the emitted signal, the application program code122may cause the controller118to transmit a return data package to the portable device62over the network54via the input/output port116including information regarding the diagnostic status of the building appliance6. Additionally, the data package transmitted by the controller118to the portable device62may include a command that causes the portable device62to display information indicative of the diagnostic status of the building appliance6associated with the emitted signal on the display of the user interface80of the portable device62such that it may be viewed by a user. Additional support information associated with the diagnostic status may be delivered to the portable device62and displayed on the user interface80. This additional support information may be stored in the database126and may be indexed to the identified diagnostic status. The user may then use this information to determine a suitable action.

In some cases, the additional support information may describe some suitable action. For example, in some cases, the additional support information may include a video showing the user what actions to take, step-by-step. When the diagnostic code or other information indicates a service call is warranted, contact information for a service contractor may be displayed on the display of the portable device62. In some case, the service providers would be charged a fee to be displayed in this fashion. Further, the portable device62and/or external web-server may send additional diagnostic information to the service provider before the service provide arrives on scene. This may help the service provider determine the proper personnel and/or parts to send, thereby reducing the cost of the service calls. In some case, if the diagnostic code indicates a particular part needs to be replaced, the portable device62may display a button or link on the display that may allow the user of the portable device62to order the part immediately.

FIG. 5shows an exemplary still frame132of a video that may be displayed on a display130of a user interface80of a portable device62after the signal emitted by the low-cost user interface8of a building appliance6is captured and/or recorded by the portable device62. In this example, a video camera was used to capture and record a visual signal including a series of flashing lights emitted by the low-cost user interface8of a building appliance6. The low-cost user interface8is depicted in the first still frame132.

FIG. 6shows an exemplary screen136that may be displayed on the display130of the user interface80of the portable device62after a pattern recognition on the emitted signal captured by the video camera has been performed. As discussed herein, the pattern recognition may be performed by the portable device62or another device such as, for example, an external web server66. As shown inFIG. 6, the diagnostic status associated with the pattern of 7 flashes emitted by low-cost user interface8has been classified as a “Temperature Sensor Fault.” Additionally, as shown inFIG. 6, screen136includes two recommended actions to the user. For example, screen136includes a first user recommendation140which instructs the user to check the sensor wiring. Additionally, screen136includes a second user recommendation142which instructs the user to verify the sensor resistance. It will be generally understood that other device statuses and/or other user recommendations may be displayed.

Having thus described several illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure, those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that yet other embodiments may be made and used within the scope of the claims hereto attached. Numerous advantages of the disclosure covered by this document have been set forth in the foregoing description. It will be understood, however, that this disclosure is, in many respect, only illustrative. Changes may be made in details, particularly in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts without exceeding the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure's scope is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed