CONTROL SYSTEM, CONTROL SYSTEM OPERATION METHOD, AND ENVIRONMENT CONTROL SYSTEM

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to Patent Application No. 113113883 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Apr. 12, 2024, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The instant disclosure relates to a control system, a control system operation method, and an environment control system, in particular, to a control system, a control system operation method, and an environment control system which are capable of performing power-stealing detection.

Related Art

The control system of a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system known to the inventor would utilize power stealing technique upon no C wire is electrically connected thereto or under other certain situations. However, if the control system per se has a display or performs several functions to cause the load of the control system to be heavy, malfunction of the relay in the HVAC system may occur easily during the power-stealing procedure.

SUMMARY

In view of this, according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure, a control system, a control system operation method, and an environment control system are provided to address technical issues which are currently encountered.

In view of the above, according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure, a control system comprises a plurality of connection terminals, a rectifier module, and a control module. The connection terminals are configured to provide electrical connection for a plurality of terminals of an environment regulation system configured externally, wherein the terminals comprise a live terminal and at least one load terminal, and the connection terminals comprise at least one load connection terminal configured to be electrically connected to the at least one load terminal. The rectifier module is configured to, in response to that the rectifier module receives at least one stolen current transmitted from the connection terminals, rectify the at least one stolen current. The control module is configured to, in response to an event, execute a test procedure to determine a connection status and a power-stealing range of each of the at least one load connection terminal and execute a power-stealing procedure to obtain electrical energy from the connection terminals.

According to some embodiments of the instant disclosure, a control system operation method comprises: providing electrical connections between a plurality of terminals of an environment regulation system configured externally and a plurality of connection terminals, wherein the terminals comprise a live terminal and at least one load terminal, and the connection terminals comprise at least one load connection terminal configured to be electrically connected to the at least one load terminal; in response to that a rectifier module receives at least one stolen current transmitted from the connection terminals, rectifying the at least one stolen current by the rectifier module; and in response to an event, executing a test procedure to determine a connection status and a power-stealing range of each of the at least one load connection terminal and executing a power-stealing procedure to obtain electrical energy from the connection terminals by a control module.

According to some embodiments of the instant disclosure, an environment control system comprises an environment regulation system and a control system. The environment regulation system comprises a plurality of terminals and at least one load, wherein the terminals comprise a live terminal and at least one load terminal, and the at least one load terminal is coupled to the at least one load. The control system comprises a plurality of connection terminals, a rectifier module, and a control module. The connection terminals are configured to provide electrical connection for the terminals of the environment regulation system configured externally, wherein the connection terminals comprise at least one load connection terminal configured to be electrically connected to the at least one load terminal. The rectifier module is configured to, in response to that the rectifier module receives at least one stolen current transmitted from the connection terminals, rectify the at least one stolen current. The control module configured to, in response to an event, execute a test procedure to determine a connection status and a power-stealing range of each of the at least one load connection terminal and execute a power-stealing procedure to obtain electrical energy from the connection terminals.

Based on the above, in the control system, the control system operation method, and the environment control system according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure, at least one stolen current is rectified by the rectifier module, so that electrical energy can be stolen from the environment regulation system through the connection terminals. Stealing electrical energy from the environment regulation system through the connection terminals can reduce the current passing through the connection terminals so as to reduce the possibility of the malfunction of the relay of the environment control system. Moreover, by firstly executing a testing procedure to determine the connection status and the power-stealing range of each of the load connection terminals, not only the load connection terminals with a better power-stealing range can be selected for performing the power-stealing procedure, but also the possibility of the malfunction of the relay of the environment control system can be reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, and thus not limitative of the disclosure, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a control system according to an exemplary embodiment of the instant disclosure;

FIG. 2A illustrates a circuit diagram of a rectifier module according to an exemplary embodiment of the instant disclosure;

FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C illustrate schematic circuit operation diagrams of the rectifier module according to the exemplary embodiment of the instant disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a circuit diagram of an environment regulation system according to an exemplary embodiment of the instant disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a control system according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a control module according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an environment control system according to an exemplary embodiment of the instant disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a testing procedure according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a power-stealing procedure according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a testing procedure according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a power-stealing procedure according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of a testing procedure according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure; and

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of a power-stealing procedure according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The aforementioned and other technical contents, features and effects of the instant disclosure will be clearly presented in the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the drawings. The thickness or size of each component in the drawings is exaggerated, omitted, or schematically expressed for the purpose of understanding and reading by persons having ordinary skills in the art, and the size of each component is not the actual size of the component and is not intended to limit the conditions under which the instant disclosure can be implemented, and thus the size of the component does not have substantive technical meaning. Moreover, it is understood that any structural modifications, changes in proportions, or adjustments in size should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed in the instant disclosure without affecting the effects that can be produced and the purposes that can be achieved by the instant disclosure. The same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similar elements. The term “coupled/coupling” mentioned in the following embodiments may refer to any direct or indirect connection.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a control system according to an exemplary embodiment of the instant disclosure. The control system 100 is configured to control an environment regulation system 108. The environment regulation system 108 may be, for example, an HVAC system. The environment regulation system 108 comprises terminals 1081, 1082-1 to 1082-N, 1083, where N is a positive integer. The environment regulation system 108 comprises at least one transformer to supply electrical energy for the environment regulation system 108. The terminal 1081 is electrically connected to the hot side (also referred to as the high potential side) of one of the transformers, and thus the terminal 1081 is also referred to as the live terminal of the environment regulation system 108. The terminal 1083 is electrically connected to the common side of the same transformer, and thus the terminal 1083 is also referred to as the C wire terminal of the environment regulation system 108. The environment regulation system 108 comprises at least one load (for example, a fan or a compressor), each of the terminals 1082-1 to 1082-N corresponds to a corresponding one of the loads, and the control system 100 turns on the load by electrically connecting the terminals 1081 to the terminals of the load. For example, supposed that the terminal 1082-1 corresponds to the fan, the control system 100 turns on the fan by electrically connecting the terminal 1081 to the terminal 1082-1. It should be noted that the control system 100 of this embodiment may be applied to various types of environment regulation systems 108. For example, the environment regulation system 108 may have two transformers to supply electrical energy for the load for heating a subsystem and for the load for cooling the subsystem, respectively. The C wire terminal of the environment regulation system 108 may be hidden and thus cannot be electrically connected to the control system 100.

To allow the control system 100 to be operated normally, the control system 100 needs to steal electrical energy from the environment regulation system 108. The control system 100 comprises a plurality of connection terminals 101, 102-1 to 102-N, 103, a control module 104, and a rectifier module 105, where N is a positive integer. The connection terminal 101 is configured to be electrically connected to the terminal 1081 (the live terminal) of the environment regulation system 108 external to the control system 100. The connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N and 103 are configured to provide electrical connection for the terminals 1082-1 to 1082-N and 1083 of the environment regulation system 108, and thus the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N are also referred to as the load connection terminals. The connection terminal 103 is configured to be electrically connected to the terminal 1083 of the environment regulation system 108 (the C terminal of the environment regulation system 108), and thus the connection terminal 103 is also referred to as the C wire connection terminal.

The rectifier module 105 comprises input terminals a, c, b₁ to b_N. The input terminal a is configured to be coupled to the connection terminal 101, the input terminal c is configured to be coupled to the connection terminal 103, and the input terminals b₁ to b_N are coupled to the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N respectively. The control module 104 can respectively control the conduction between the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N and the input terminals b₁ to b_N. In the following, the condition that the control module 104 controls the conduction between the input terminal b₁ and the connection terminal 102-1 is taken as an example. When the control module 104 controls the conduction between the input terminal b₁ and the connection terminal 102-1, the control module 104 and the path formed by the input terminal a and the connection terminal 101 together form a loop so that the connection terminal 101 and the connection terminal 102-1 obtain alternating current from the environment regulation system 108, where the alternating current is referred to as the stolen current. The rectifier module 105 can receive the stolen current from the connection terminal 101 and the connection terminal 102-1. Likewise, when the control module 104 controls the conduction between the input terminal b_N and the connection terminal 102-N, the control module 104 and the path formed by the input terminal a and the connection terminal 101 together form a loop so that the rectifier module 105 can receive the stolen current from the connection terminal 101 and the connection terminal 102-N. Further, in the case that not only one input terminal and one connection terminal are conducted with each other, the rectifier module 105 will receive several stolen currents. In some embodiments, the frequencies and the phases of the stolen currents are identical, and the rectifier module 105 rectifies the stolen currents having identical frequencies and phases.

The control module 104 is configured to control the relays 107-1 to 107-N to be turned on. As shown in FIG. 1, the relays 107-1 to 107-N are respectively coupled to the connection terminal 101 and the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N. When the control module 104 controls one of the relays 107-1 to 107-N (for example, the relay 107-1) to be turned on, the terminal 1081 is electrically connected to the terminal corresponding to the relay (for example, the terminal 1082-1) through the relay to turn on the load corresponding to the environment regulation system 108. The control module 104 is configured to detect whether the connection terminal 103 (the C wire connection terminal) is electrically connected (for example, the control module 104 can simply detect whether a current passes through the connection terminal 103 to determine whether the connection terminal 103 is electrically connected).

Refer to FIG. 1. In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, the control system 100 comprises current detection modules 106-1 to 106-N. For any positive integer k, 1≤k≤N, the current detection module 106-k is configured to be arranged between an output terminal of the relay 107-k and a connection terminal 102-k to detect the current value of the current passing through the output terminal of the relay 107-k and the connection terminal 102-k.

In the following paragraphs, descriptions and accompanied drawings are provided to show how the cooperation between components of the control system 100 and the control system operation method according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure can be achieved.

Refer to FIG. 1. In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, the control system operation method comprises: providing electrical connections between terminals 1081, 1082-1 to 1082-N, 1083 of an environment regulation system 108 configured externally and connection terminals 101, 102-1 to 102-N, 103, wherein the terminals 1081, 1082-1 to 1082-N, 1083 comprise a live terminal (the terminal 1081) and load terminals (the terminals 1082-1 to 1082-N), and the connection terminals 101, 102-1 to 102-N, 103 comprise load connection terminals (the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N) configured to be electrically connected to the load terminals (the terminals 1082-1 to 1082-N); in response to that a rectifier module 105 receives at least one stolen current transmitted from the connection terminals 101, 102-1 to 102-N, 103, rectifying the stolen current(s) by the rectifier module 105; and in response to an event, executing a test procedure to determine a connection status and a power-stealing range of each of the load connection terminals (the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N) by a control module 104 and executing a power-stealing procedure to obtain electrical energy from the connection terminals 101, 102-1 to 102-N, 103 by the control module 104.

In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, the event is that the control system 100 is booted.

In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, the event is that the control module 104 detects that the C wire connection terminal (the terminal 103) is not electrically connected.

In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, when the control module 104 detects that the C wire connection terminal (the terminal 103) is electrically connected, the control module 104 obtains electrical energy through the C wire connection terminal.

However, even though the control module 104 detects that the C wire connection terminal (the terminal 103) is electrically connected, the control module 104 can obtain electrical energy through a suitable connection terminal among the terminals 101, 102-1 to 102-N according to other demands. In the following embodiments, how to select a suitable connection terminal will be described.

In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, rectifying the stolen current by the rectifier module 105 comprises the following steps. In response to that the number of the received stolen current is one, the rectifier module 105 rectifies the received stolen current; and in response to that the number of the received stolen current is plural, the rectifier module 105 concurrently rectifies the received stolen currents.

The description “concurrently rectifies the stolen currents which are received” indicates that the stolen currents are rectified independently by using the same rectification manner at the same time so that the stolen currents which are rectified provide electrical energy parallelly. The rectification manner may be, for example, the full-wave rectification. In the following paragraphs, one circuit embodiment is provided to describe how to rectify the received stolen current in response to that the number of the received stolen current is one and how to concurrently rectify the received stolen current in response to that the number of the received stolen current is plural.

FIG. 2A illustrates a circuit diagram of a rectifier module according to an exemplary embodiment of the instant disclosure. FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C illustrate schematic circuit operation diagrams of the rectifier module according to the exemplary embodiment of the instant disclosure. Refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A to FIG. 2C, in some embodiments of the instant disclosure, the rectifier module 105 comprises diode pairs 201, 202, 2031 to 203N, and each of the diode pairs 201, 202, 2031 to 203N comprises a first diode and a second diode connected in series. The diode pair 201 comprises a first diode 201-1 and a second diode 201-2, the diode pair 202 comprises a first diode 202-1 and a second diode 202-2, the diode pair 2031 comprises a first diode 2031-1 and a second diode 2031-2, the diode pair 2032 comprises a first diode 2032-1 and a second diode 2032-2, the diode pair 203N comprises a first diode 203N-1 and a second diode 203N-2, and so on. The cathode of the first diode of each of the diode pairs 201, 202, 2031 to 203N is coupled to the output node 205. The anode of the second diode of each of the diode pairs 201, 202, 2031 to 203N is coupled to a reference ground terminal 204. The anode of the first diode and the cathode of the second diode of each of the diode pairs 201, 202, 2031 to 203N are connected to a middle node, wherein the middle node of the diode pair 201 is the middle node 206, the middle node of the diode pair 202 is the middle node 207, the middle node of the diode pair 2031 is the middle node 208-1, the middle node of the diode pair 203N is the middle node 208-N, and so on. The middle nodes of the diode pairs 201, 202, 2031 to 203N are respectively coupled to the connection terminals 101, 102-1 to 102-N, 103, wherein the middle node 206 is coupled to the connection terminal 101 through the input terminal a, the middle node 207 is coupled to the connection terminal 103 through the input terminal c, and the middle nodes 208-1 to 208-N are coupled to the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N through the input terminals b₁ to b_N, respectively.

Refer to FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C. In FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C, the condition that the control module 104 controls the conduction between the input terminal b₁ and the connection terminal 102-1 and the conduction between the input terminal b₂ and the connection terminals 102-2 is taken as an example. In this example, the rectifier module 105 can receive the stolen current from the connection terminal 101 and the connection terminal 102-1 as well the stolen current from the connection terminal 101 and the connection terminal 102-2. As shown in FIG. 2B, during the positive half cycle of the stolen currents (that is, in this embodiment, one of the stolen currents flows in through the connection terminal 101 and flows out through the connection terminal 102-1, and the other one of the stolen currents flows in through the connection terminal 101 and flows out through the connection terminal 102-2), the two stolen currents both flow to the output node 205 through the path 209. One of the two stolen currents flows back to the input terminal b₁ through the path 210, and the other one of the two stolen currents flows back to the input terminal b₂ through the path 211.

As shown in FIG. 2C, during the negative half cycle of the stolen currents (that is, in this embodiment, one of the stolen currents flows in through the connection terminal 102-1 and flows out through the connection terminal 101, and the other one of the stolen currents flows in through the connection terminal 102-2 and flows out through the connection terminal 101), one of the two stolen currents flows from the input terminal b₁ to the output node 205 through the path 213, the other one of the two stolen currents flows from the input terminal b₂ to the output node 205 through the path 214, and the two stolen currents both flow back to the input terminal a through the path 212.

Accordingly, in one or some embodiments, through the operation mentioned above, in the case that the rectifier module 105 receives only one stolen current (for example, the stolen current from the input terminal b₁), the rectifier module 105 can perform full-wave rectification on the stolen current through the diode pair corresponding to the stolen current (for example, the diode pair 2031 corresponding to the input terminal b₁) and the diode pair 201 corresponding to the input terminal a. In the case that rectifier module 105 receives several stolen currents (for example, the stolen currents from the input terminals b₁, b₂, b_N), the rectifier module 105 can perform full-wave rectification concurrently and independently on the stolen currents through the diode pairs corresponding to the stolen currents (for example, the diode pair 201 corresponding to the input terminal b₁, the diode pair 2031 corresponding to the input terminal b₂, and the diode pair 203N corresponding to the input terminal b_N) and the diode pair 201 corresponding to the input terminal a, so that the rectifier module 105 can concurrently rectify several (two or more) received stolen currents. In the case that the rectifier module 105 receives several stolen currents (for example, the stolen currents from the input terminals b₁, b₂, b_N), because the stolen currents come from the connection terminals 101, 102-1 to 102-N, 103 of the environment regulation system 108, the stolen currents have identical frequencies and phases, thereby allowing the rectified stolen currents can provide electrical energy parallelly.

FIG. 3 illustrates a circuit diagram of an environment regulation system according to an exemplary embodiment of the instant disclosure. Refer to FIG. 3. In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, the internal circuit of the environment regulation system 108 is identical to the internal circuit of the environment regulation system 300. The environment regulation system 300 comprises a transformer 301 having a primary side 3011 and a secondary side 3012. The terminal 1081 is coupled to the hot side 3013 of the transformer 301, and the terminal 1083 is coupled to the common side 3014 of the same transformer 301. The environment regulation system 300 has loads 303-1 to 303-N, where N is a positive integer. When N=1, it indicates that the environment regulation system 300 has only one load. The environment regulation system 300 has relays 302-1 to 302-N. For any positive integer k, 1≤k≤N, the two input terminals of the relay 302-K are respectively coupled to the terminal 1082-k and the common side 3014 of the transformer 301, one terminal of the load 303-k is coupled to one output terminal of the relay 302-k, the other one terminal of the load 303-k is coupled to the low potential side of the primary side 3011 of the transformer 301, and the other one output terminal of the relay 302-k is coupled to the high potential side of the primary side 3011 of the transformer 301. Accordingly, in one or some embodiments, the aforementioned connection allows the control system 100, through electrically connecting the terminal 1081 to the terminal of a to-be-turned-on load, to turn on the relay corresponding to the to-be-turned-on load, thereby allowing the secondary side 3012 of the transformer 301 to supply electrical energy for the to-be-turned-on load to turn on the to-be-turned-on load.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a control system according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure. As compared with the control system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, in FIG. 4, the control system 400 comprises switch modules 401-1 to 401-N, a direct current (DC) voltage conversion module 402, a charging module 403, a DC voltage conversion module 404, a battery module 405, a toggle module 406, a DC voltage conversion module 407, and a display module 408. The switch modules 401-1 to 401-N are arranged between the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N and the input terminals b₁ to b_N of the rectifier module 105 and are configured to control the conduction between the connection terminal 102-1 to 102-N and the rectifier module 105. For any positive integer k, 1≤k≤N, the switch module 401-k has an input terminal h_k and a switch input terminal s_k. The input terminal h_k is coupled to the connection terminal 102-k through the current detection module 106-k, and the control module 104 controls the switch module 401-k to be turned on or off through the switch input terminal s_k (when the switch module 401-k is turned on, the switch module 401-k is conducted).

In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, each of the switch modules 401-1 to 401-k has a relay.

The DC voltage conversion module 402 is configured to convert the DC voltage outputted by the rectifier module 105 into a voltage suitable for the charging module 403. In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, the DC voltage conversion module 402 comprises a buck converter. The charging module 403 is configured to be coupled to the rectifier module 105, the control module 104, and the display module 408. Therefore, in response to that the charging module 403 receives the voltage outputted by the DC voltage conversion module 402, the charging module 403 can output electrical energy for the control module 104 and the display module 408, and in response to that the charging module 403 does not receive the voltage outputted by the DC voltage conversion module 402, the charging module 403 can provide a path to allow the battery module 405 to supply electrical energy for the control module 104 and the display module 408. The battery module 405 is configured to be coupled to the charging module 403, the control module 104, and the display module 408. The DC voltage conversion module 404 is configured to convert the DC voltage outputted to the control module 104 into a voltage suitable for the control module 104, and the voltage suitable for the control module 104 is inputted to the control through 104 through an electrical energy input terminal e of the control module 104. The display module 408 is configured to display a control status information. In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, the DC voltage conversion module 404 comprises a buck converter.

The toggle module 406 comprises an input terminal PWR, an input terminal VBAT, and a switch input terminal s_w. The input terminal PWR of the toggle module 406 receives electrical energy outputted from the charging module 403, the input terminal VBAT of the toggle module 406 receives electrical energy outputted from the battery module 405, and the control module 104 controls the source of electrical energy of the display module 408 through the switch input terminal s_w. The DC voltage conversion module 407 is configured to convert the DC voltage which is outputted from the toggle module 406 and to be inputted to the display module 408 into a voltage suitable for the display module 408.

In the following paragraphs, descriptions and accompanied drawings are provided to show how the cooperation between components of the control system 400 and the control system operation method according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure can be achieved.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a testing procedure according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure. Refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 7, in some embodiments of the instant disclosure, the control system operation method comprises a detecting and controlling step, and the test procedure comprises executing steps S901 to S904 in the control system 400.

In the detecting and controlling step, the current detection modules 106-1 to 106-N detect the current values of the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N (the load connection terminals of the control system 400) respectively; and the switch modules 401-1 to 401-N control the conduction between the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N (the load connection terminals of the control system 400) and the rectifier module 105.

In the step S901, to a to-be-tested connection terminal (for example, the connection terminal 102-1) among the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N (the load connection terminals of the control system 400), the control module 104 turns on a to-be-tested switch (for example, the switch module 401-1 coupled to the connection terminal 102-1) corresponding to the to-be-tested connection terminal among the switch modules 401-1 to 401-N. The control module 104 extracts at least one load current of the to-be-tested connection terminal, and the control module 104 obtains the connection status and the power-stealing range of the to-be-tested connection terminal according to at least one extracting current value of the at least one load current detected by a to-be-tested current detection module (for example, the current detection module 106-1 coupled to the connection terminal 102-1) corresponding to the to-be-tested connection terminal among the current detection modules 106-1 to 106-N. Wherein, the connection status of the to-be-tested connection terminal is that whether the to-be-tested connection terminal is connected to the terminal of the environment regulation system 108. During the power-stealing procedure, when a current value of a current providing to the rectifier module 105 is less than the power-stealing range of the to-be-tested connection terminal, the load (for example, the load 303-1 corresponding to the terminal 1082-1) in the environment regulation system 108 corresponding to the terminal (for example, the terminal 1082-1) electrically connected to the present connection terminal can be prevented from being turned on mistakenly.

In this embodiment, when the control system 400 is initializing, the control module 104 takes each of the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N (the load connection terminals of the control system 400) as the to-be-tested connection terminal mentioned above to obtain the connection status and the power-stealing range of each of the load connection terminals (as mentioned in the steps S902 to S904 below). When the control system 400 is initializing, the control system 400 is just booted and to perform initialization setting on the control system 400. At this moment, the control system 400 does not transmit the control signal to the environment regulation system 108 yet to regulate the environment, and thus each of the load connection terminals (the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N) can be tested.

In the step S902, the control module 104 determines whether untested load connection terminal(s) exists among the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N (the load connection terminals of the control system 400). If the result of the step S902 is yes, the step S903 is executed, and if the result of the step S902 is no, the step S904 is executed. In the step S903, in response to that untested load connection terminal(s) exists among the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N, the control module 104 selects one of the untested load connection terminals among the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N as the to-be-tested connection terminal and the operation method goes back to execute the step S901. In the step S904, in response to that untested load connection terminal(s) does not exist among the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N, the control module 104 exits the testing procedure.

In the foregoing embodiments, because the testing procedure is executed upon the control system 400 is initializing, and at that time the control system 400 does not transmit the control signal to the environment regulation system 108 yet to turn on the corresponding load to regulate the environment, all the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N can be tested.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a power-stealing procedure according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure. Refer to FIG. 4, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8. Following the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, after the control module 104 determines the connection status and the power-stealing range of each of the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N (the load connection terminals of the control system 400), the control module 104 determines a power-stealing connection terminal according to the connection status and the power-stealing range of each of the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N so as to obtain electrical energy from the power-stealing connection terminal. In other words, in this embodiment, the control module 104 determines which connection terminals are taken as the power-stealing connection terminals according to the connection status and the power-stealing range of each of the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N so as to obtain electrical energy. In the step S1001, the control module 104 reads the connection status and the power-stealing range of each of the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N (the load connection terminals of the control system 400). In the step S1002, the control module 104 determines whether a power-stealing connection terminal exists among the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N, wherein the connection status of the power-stealing connection terminal is electrically connected, the power-stealing range of the power-stealing connection terminal is greater than or equal to a preset form current value, and a load corresponding to the power-stealing connection terminal in the environment regulation system is not turned on. If the result of the step S1002 is yes, the step S1003 is executed, and if the result of the step S1002 is no, the step S1004 is executed. In the step S1003, in response to that at least one power-stealing connection terminal (for example, the connection terminal 102-1 and the connection terminal 102-3) exists, the control module 104 controls the power-stealing switches (for example, the switch 401-1 corresponding to the connection terminal 102-1 and the switch 401-3 corresponding to the connection terminal 102-3) corresponding to the power-stealing connection terminals among the switch modules 401-1 to 401-N to be turned on to obtain electrical energy from the power-stealing connection terminals. In the step S1004, because no power-stealing connection terminal exists, the control module 104 exits the power-stealing procedure.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the testing procedure is executed when the control system 400 is initializing. However, it is understood that, according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure, the testing procedure may be executed after the control system 400 already controls the environment regulation system 108. FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a testing procedure according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure. Refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 9, in some embodiments of the instant disclosure, the control system operation method comprises the detecting and controlling step mentioned above, and the testing procedure comprises steps S1101 to S1104. The step S1101 is identical to the step S901. In the step S1101, to a to-be-tested connection terminal (for example, the connection terminal 102-1) among the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N (the load connection terminals of the control system 400), the control module 104 turns on a to-be-tested switch (for example, the switch module 401-1 coupled to the connection terminal 102-1) corresponding to the to-be-tested connection terminal among the switch modules 401-1 to 401-N. The control module 104 extracts at least one load current of the to-be-tested connection terminal, and the control module 104 obtains the connection status and the power-stealing range of the to-be-tested connection terminal according to at least one load current value of the at least one load current detected by a to-be-tested current detection module (for example, the current detection module 106-1 coupled to the connection terminal 102-1) corresponding to the to-be-tested connection terminal among the current detection modules 106-1 to 106-N. Wherein, the connection status of the to-be-tested connection terminal is that whether the to-be-tested connection terminal is connected to the terminal of the environment regulation system 108. During the power-stealing procedure, when a current value of a current providing to the rectifier module 105 is less than the power-stealing range of the to-be-tested connection terminal, the load (for example, the load 303-1 corresponding to the terminal 1082-1) in the environment regulation system 108 corresponding to the terminal (for example, the terminal 1082-1) electrically connected to the present connection terminal can be prevented from being turned on mistakenly.

In this embodiment, the control module 104 firstly determines whether at least one testable load connection terminal which is not turned on and not tested among the load connection terminals. Then, in response to that the at least one testable load connection terminal exists, the at least one testable load connection terminal is taken as the to-be-tested connection terminal to obtain the connection status and the power-stealing range of each of the testable load connection terminal (as mentioned in the steps S1102 to S1104 below).

In the step S1102, the control module 104 determines whether at least one load connection terminal which is not turned on and not tested (which can be referred to as the testable load connection terminal) exists among the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N (the load connection terminals of the control system 400). If the result of the step S1102 is yes, the step S1103 is executed, and if the result of the step S1102 is no, the step S1104 is executed. In the step S1103, in response to that the at least one testable load connection terminal exists among the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N, the control module 104 selects one of the testable load connection terminals among the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N as the to-be-tested connection terminal and the operation method goes back to execute the step S1101. In the step S1104, in response to that testable load connection terminal(s) does not exist among the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N, the control module 104 exits the testing procedure.

It is noted that, according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure, because the loads corresponding to some connection terminals are turned on, these connection terminals cannot be selected. Upon the control module 104 executes the steps S1101 to S1104, the control module 104 will execute the testing procedure to the untested connection terminals after the loads corresponding to the untested connection terminals are turned off, and the control module 104 will stop executing the testing procedure after all the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N are tested.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a power-stealing procedure according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure. Refer to FIG. 4, FIG. 9, and FIG. 10. Following the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, upon the testing procedure illustrated in FIG. 9 is executed, some connection terminals among the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N are already processed by the testing procedure to obtain the connection status and the power-stealing range thereof, so that the power-stealing procedure can be executed to obtain electrical energy. In the step S1201, the control module 104 reads the connection status and the power-stealing range of the at least one processed load connection terminal already processed by the testing procedure among the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N (the load connection terminals of the control system 400).

In the step S1202, the control module 104 determines whether at least one power-stealing connection terminal exists among at least one processed load connection terminal which is already processed by the testing procedure in the connection terminals 102-1 to 102-N, wherein the connection status of each of the power-stealing connection terminal is electrically connected, the power-stealing range of the power-stealing connection terminal is greater than or equal to a preset form current value, and a load corresponding to the power-stealing connection terminal in the environment regulation system is not turned on. If the result of the step S1202 is yes, the step S1203 is executed, and if the result of the step S1202 is no, the step S1204 is executed. In the step S1203, in response to that at least one power-stealing connection terminal exists, the control module 104 controls the power-stealing switch(s) corresponding to the power-stealing connection terminal(s) among the switch modules 401-1 to 401-N to be turned on to obtain electrical energy from the power-stealing connection terminal(s). In the step S1204, because no power-stealing connection terminal exists, the control module 104 stops executing the power-stealing procedure. The control module 104 can wait until a new processed load connection terminal is added and then execute the power-stealing procedure.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of a testing procedure according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure. Refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 11. In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, the steps of extracting, by the control module 104, at least one load current of the to-be-tested connection terminal and obtaining, by the control module 104, the connection status and the power-stealing range of the to-be-tested connection terminal according to at least one load current value of the at least one load current detected by the to-be-tested current detection module corresponding to the to-be-tested connection terminal among the current detection modules 106-1 to 106-N in the steps S901 and the step S1101 may respectively comprise the steps S1301 to S1308 to obtain the connection status and the power-stealing range of the to-be-tested connection terminal. In the step S1301, the control module 104 takes a preset current value as a present current value. The preset current value may be 5 mA. In the step S1302, the present current having the present current value is extracted from the to-be-tested connection terminal. In this embodiment, the control module 104 can extract the present current having the present current value through a current-limiting chip. In the step S1303, the control module 104 determines whether the current value detected by the to-be-tested current detection module corresponding to the to-be-tested connection terminal is zero. If the result of the step S1303 is yes, the step S1304 is executed, and if the result of the step S1303 is no, the step S1305 is executed. In the step S1304, the control module 104 determines that the to-be-tested connection terminal is not electrically connected and the operation method exits the step S901 to the next step or exits the step S1101 to the next step (if the steps S1301 to S1308 are executed in the step S901, the operation method exits the step S901; if the steps S1301 to S1308 are executed in the step S1301, the operation method exits the step S1101).

In the step S1305, the control module 104 adds an increased current value (for example, 10 mA) to the present current value as a next current value, and the control module 104 extracts a next current having the next current value from the to-be-tested connection terminal. In the step S1306, the control module 104 determines whether the current value detected by the to-be-tested current module is the next current value. In the step S1307, in response to that the current value detected by the to-be-tested current detection module is not the next current value or the current value detected by the to-be-tested current detection module is zero, which indicates that the load corresponding to the to-be-tested connection terminal in the environment regulation system 108 is mistakenly turned on, the power-stealing range of the to-be-tested connection terminal is configured as the present current value and the operation method exits the step S901 to the next step or exits the step S1101 to the next step. In the step S1308, in response to that the current value detected by the to-be-tested connection terminal is the next current value, the control module 104 configures the present current value as the next current value and the operation method goes back to execute the step S1305.

In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, in the step S1304, when the control module 104 determines that the to-be-tested connection terminal is not electrically connected, the control module 104 displays that the to-be-tested connection terminal is not electrically connected on the display module 408 to remind the user of checking the connection condition again.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of a power-stealing procedure according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure. Refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 12, in some embodiments of the instant disclosure, the power-stealing procedure comprises steps S1401 to S1403. In the step S1401, the control module 104 detects the supply current value of each of the power-stealing connection terminals through at least one power-stealing current detection module corresponding to the at least one power-stealing connection terminal among the current detection modules 106-1 to 106-N. In the step S1402, the control module 104 determines whether the supply current value of one overload connection terminal among the at least one power-stealing connection terminal is detected to be greater than the power-stealing range of the overload connection terminal. If the result of the step S1402 is yes, the step S1403 is executed, and if the result of the step S1402 is no, the operation method goes back to execute the step S1401. In the step S1403, in response to that the control module 104 detects that the supply current value of one overload connection terminal among the power-stealing connection terminal is greater than the power-stealing range of the overload connection terminal, the control module 104 stops the charging module 403 from supplying electrical energy to the display module 408. The configuration that the control module 104 stops the charging module 403 from supplying electrical energy to the display module 408 allows the supply load to be decreased, thereby reducing the current value of the current passing through the power-stealing connection terminal.

In some embodiments, in the power-stealing procedure, in response to that the display module 408 is turned off, the control module 104 controls the charging module 403 to charge the battery module 405. That is, the power-stealing procedure comprises the step of controlling the charging module 403, by the control module 104, to charge the battery module 405 in response to the display module 408 being turned off.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a control module according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure. Refer to FIG. 5. In some embodiments of the instant disclosure, the control module 104 illustrated in FIG. 1 is constructed as the control module 500. The control module 500 comprises a processing unit 501, an internal memory 502, and a non-volatile memory 503. The internal memory 502 may be, for example, a random-access memory (RAM). The processing unit 501 may be, for example, a processor. The internal memory 502 and the non-volatile memory 503 are configured to store programs, the program may comprise codes, and the codes comprise computer instructions. The processor 501 reads the corresponding computer program from the non-volatile memory 503 to the internal memory 502 and loads the computer program to execute the steps mentioned above.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an environment control system according to an exemplary embodiment of the instant disclosure. Refer to FIG. 6. The environment control system 600 comprises a control system 601 and an environment regulation system 602. The environment regulation system 602 may adopt the environment regulation system 300 shown in FIG. 3. The control system 601 may adopt the control system 100 or the control system 400 shown in the foregoing embodiments.

Based on the above, in the control system, the control system operation method, and the environment control system according to some embodiments of the instant disclosure, at least one stolen current is rectified by the rectifier module, so that electrical energy can be stolen from the environment regulation system through the connection terminals. Stealing electrical energy from the environment regulation system through the connection terminals can reduce the current passing through the connection terminals so as to reduce the possibility of the malfunction of the relay of the environment control system. Moreover, by firstly executing a testing procedure to determine the connection status and the power-stealing range of each of the load connection terminals, not only the load connection terminals with a better power-stealing range can be selected for performing the power-stealing procedure, but also the possibility of the malfunction of the relay of the environment control system can be reduced.

While the instant disclosure has been described by the way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention need not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, the scope of which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.