A motorized window treatment controls daylight entering a space through a window and includes a covering material, a drive shaft, lift cords received around the drive shaft and connected to the covering material, and a motor coupled to the drive shaft. It also includes a spring assist unit for the m
A motorized window treatment controls daylight entering a space through a window and includes a covering material, a drive shaft, lift cords received around the drive shaft and connected to the covering material, and a motor coupled to the drive shaft. It also includes a spring assist unit for the motor providing a torque that equals the torque provided by the weight on the lift cords at a position midway between fully-open and fully-closed positions, minimizing motor usage and conserving battery life. A photosensor for measuring the daylight outside the window and temperature sensors for measuring the temperatures inside and outside of the window may be provided. The position of the covering material is automatically controlled to save energy, or may also be controlled in response to an infrared or radio-frequency remote control.
대표청구항▼
1. A motorized window treatment comprising: a headrail having first and second opposite ends;a covering material having a top end connected to the headrail, the covering material extending from the headrail to a bottom end;a motor drive unit including a motor and located in the center of the headrai
1. A motorized window treatment comprising: a headrail having first and second opposite ends;a covering material having a top end connected to the headrail, the covering material extending from the headrail to a bottom end;a motor drive unit including a motor and located in the center of the headrail;two drive shafts extending from both sides of the motor drive unit and rotatably coupled to the motor drive unit, such that rotations of the motor result in rotations of the drive shafts;a first lift cord and second lift cord, the first lift cord located proximate to the first opposite end of the headrail and the second lift cord located proximate to the second opposite end of the headrail, each lift cord rotatably received around a respective one of the drive shafts and extending vertically to the bottom end of the covering material, such that the bottom end of the covering material is adjusted between a fully-closed position and a fully-open position in response to rotations of the drive shaft; andat least a first battery and a second battery for powering the motor drive unit;wherein the at least two batteries are located on each side of the motor drive unit, the first battery located between the first opposite end of the headrail and the first lift cord, and the second battery located between the second opposite end of the headrail and the second lift cord. 2. The motorized window treatment of claim 1, further comprising a battery-powered supply including the first and second batteries wherein the motor drive unit monitors the magnitude of the battery voltage of the battery-powered supply and has a low-battery mode; said battery powered supply entering said low-battery mode when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below a first predetermined low-battery threshold. 3. The motorized window treatment of claim 2, further comprising a controller, wherein the controller begins operating in a first low-battery mode when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below the first predetermined low-battery threshold, the controller operating the motor at a reduced motor speed from its speed before the battery voltage drops in the first low-battery mode; wherein the controller has a second low battery mode and enters said second mode when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below the first predetermined low-battery threshold a second time, the controller stopping the rotation of the motor in the second low-battery mode; andwherein the controller has a third low-battery mode and enters the third low-battery mode when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below the first predetermined low-battery threshold a third time, and shuts down in the third low-battery mode, such that approximately no current is drawn from the battery-powered supply. 4. The motorized window treatment of claim 2, wherein the motor drive unit drives the motor at a reduced motor speed in the low-battery mode compared to its speed when the battery voltage is above the first threshold. 5. The motorized window treatment of claim 2, wherein the motor drive unit prevents movements of the covering material in the low-battery mode except to allow for one additional movement of the covering material to the fully-open position. 6. The motorized window treatment of claim 2, wherein the motor drive unit prevents the motor from operating to lower the covering material until an upper limit for the covering material is reset after a loss of power. 7. The motorized window treatment of claim 1, wherein the at least two batteries are coupled in series for generating a battery voltage for powering the motor drive unit. 8. The motorized window treatment of claim 7, wherein the at least two batteries comprise at least four D-cell batteries. 9. The motorized window treatment of claim 8, wherein the batteries have a lifetime of approximately three years. 10. The motorized window treatment of claim 7, wherein the motor drive unit comprises a positive-temperature coefficient thermistor coupled in series with the batteries for limiting the current drawn from the batteries. 11. The motorized window treatment of claim 1, wherein the motor drive unit further comprises a transistor-bridge drive circuit and a controller, the controller providing pulse width modulated (PWM) control signals to the drive circuit for driving the motor to control the rotational speed of the motor. 12. The motorized window treatment of claim 11, wherein the controller ramps the rotational speed up from zero to a desired rotational speed across a ramp time when starting the motor from a stopped condition. 13. The motorized window treatment of claim 11, wherein the transistor-bridge drive unit comprises an H-Bridge drive unit for controlling the rotational speed and direction of the motor. 14. The motorized window treatment of claim 11, wherein the PWM control signals increase in duty cycle as the covering material is raised from the midway position to the fully-open position and when the covering material is lowered from the midway position to the fully-closed position. 15. The motorized window treatment of claim 1, wherein the motor drive unit further comprises a rotational position sensor coupled to the drive shaft for sensing movement of the drive shaft and for determining the position of the bottom of the covering material. 16. The motorized window treatment of claim 15, wherein the covering material is manually engageable by a user to manually adjust the covering material, the motor drive unit determining the position of the covering material when the covering material is manually adjusted. 17. The motorized window treatment of claim 15, further comprising: a supplemental power source for the controller; anda memory for storing data related to the determined position, such that the battery-powered supply can be removed without loss of the position data. 18. The motorized window treatment of claim 1, wherein the motor drive unit further comprises a window-side temperature sensor measuring an external temperature representative of the temperature outside a window in front of which the motorized window treatment is located, and a room-side an interior temperature sensor measuring an interior temperature representative of the temperature in the room in which the window treatment is installed, the motor drive unit adjusting the position of the bottom end of the covering material in response to the external and internal temperatures. 19. The motorized window treatment of claim 18, wherein the motor drive unit is operable to wirelessly transmit at least one of the interior temperature and the external temperature. 20. The motorized window treatment of claim 1, wherein the motor drive unit further comprises a gear assembly operatively coupled to an output shaft of the motor and two output gears located on each side of the motor drive unit, each of the output gears coupled to one of the drive shafts. 21. The motorized window treatment of claim 20, wherein the motor drive unit further comprises a coupling member coupled between the gear assembly and the output gears, such that rotations of the output shaft of the motor result in rotations of the drive shafts. 22. The motorized window treatment of claim 1, further comprising: a spring assist assembly coupled to the drive shaft for providing torque on the drive shaft in a direction opposite a direction of a torque provided on the drive shaft by the lift cord. 23. The motorized window treatment of claim 22, wherein the spring assist assembly comprises one of a constant-force spring and a negative-gradient spring. 24. The motorized window treatment of claim 1, wherein the motor drive unit further comprises an RF receiver coupled to the controller for receiving RF signals from an RF transmitter, such that the controller is operable to control the motor in response to the received RF signals, the RF transmitter comprising one of a battery-powered remote control, an occupancy sensor, a vacancy sensor, a daylight sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a security sensor, a proximity sensor, a keypad, a key fob, a cell phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a personal digital assistant, a personal computer, a timeclock, an audio-visual control, a safety device, a central control transmitter, or any combination of these RF transmitters. 25. A motor drive unit for a motorized window treatment, the motorized window treatment including a covering material, a drive shaft, and at least one lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and extending to a bottom of the covering material for raising and lowering the covering material between a fully-open and fully-closed position and to any position intermediate the fully-open and fully-closed positions, the motorized window treatment further comprising a battery-powered supply having at least one battery for generating a battery voltage for powering the motor drive unit, the motor drive unit comprising: a motor coupled to the drive shaft, such that the motor drive unit raises and lowers the covering material by rotating the drive shaft; anda controller for controlling the motor to raise and lower the covering material;wherein the controller monitors the magnitude of the battery voltage of the battery-powered supply when the motor is not raising or lowering the covering material and has a low-battery mode which is entered when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below a first predetermined low-battery threshold to move said covering material at a reduced speed in the low-battery mode. 26. The motor drive unit of claim 25, wherein the controller has a first low-battery mode which is entered when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below the first predetermined low-battery threshold and drives the motor at a reduced motor speed in the first low-battery mode; and wherein the controller has a second low battery mode which is entered when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below the first predetermined low-battery threshold a second time, the controller stopping the rotation of the motor in the second low-battery mode. 27. The motor drive unit of claim 25, wherein the at least one battery comprises a number of series-connected batteries, and the first predetermined low-battery threshold is approximately 0.8 volt per battery. 28. The motor drive unit of claim 27, wherein the controller recalls the number of batteries from memory for determining the value of the first predetermined low-battery threshold. 29. The motor drive unit of claim 26, wherein the controller has a third low-battery mode which is entered when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below the first predetermined low-battery threshold a third time, the controller shutting down in the third low-battery mode, such that approximately no current is drawn from the battery-powered supply. 30. The motor drive unit of claim 26, further comprising: a light-emitting diode coupled to the controller for providing feedback to a user of the motorized window treatment;wherein the controller causes the light-emitting diode to blink when the controller is operating in the second low-battery mode. 31. The motor drive unit of claim 25, further comprising: an RF transceiver coupled to the controller for transmitting and receiving RF signals;wherein the controller is operable to control the motor in response to the received RF signals. 32. The motor drive unit of claim 31, wherein the RF transceiver is disabled in the low-battery mode. 33. The motor drive unit of claim 31, wherein the controller is operable to transmit a digital message representative of the magnitude of the battery voltage. 34. The motor drive unit of claim 31, wherein the controller is operable to transmit a digital message indicating that the battery voltage is low via the RF signals when operating in the low-battery mode. 35. The motor drive unit of claim 25, wherein, when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below a second predetermined threshold less than the first predetermined threshold, the controller prevents movements of the covering material except to allow for one additional movement of the covering material to the fully-open position. 36. The motor drive unit of claim 35, wherein, when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below a third predetermined threshold less than the second predetermined threshold, the controller shuts down, such that approximately no current is drawn from the battery-powered supply. 37. The motor drive unit of claim 25, wherein the reduced speed of the motor and movement of the covering material comprises a low-battery indication to a user. 38. The motor drive unit of claim 25, further comprising: a power supply for receiving the battery voltage and generating a DC supply voltage having a first nominal magnitude for powering the controller;wherein the controller increases the magnitude of the DC supply voltage to a second increased magnitude greater than the first magnitude when the controller is controlling the motor to rotate the drive shaft. 39. The motor drive unit of claim 25, further comprising: a battery monitoring circuit connected to monitor the battery voltage of the battery-powered supply and to provide a control signal representative of the magnitude of the battery voltage to the controller. 40. A motorized window treatment comprising: a covering material;a motor drive unit including a motor moving the covering material between a fully-open position and a fully-closed position; anda battery-powered supply for providing a battery voltage for powering the motor drive unit;wherein the motor drive unit monitors the state of charge of the battery and, when the state of charge is reduced below a first predetermined threshold, operates the motor at a reduced motor speed. 41. The motorized window treatment of claim 40, wherein the motor drive unit comprises a motor coupled to the covering material for adjusting the position of the covering material and a controller coupled to the motor for controlling the motor. 42. The motorized window treatment of claim 41, wherein the controller is has a first low-battery mode which is entered when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below the first predetermined low-battery threshold, the controller operating the motor at a reduced motor speed in the first low-battery mode; and wherein the controller has a second low battery mode which is entered when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below the first predetermined low-battery threshold a second time, the controller stopping the rotation of the motor in the second low-battery mode; andwherein the controller has a third low-battery mode which is entered when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below the first predetermined low-battery threshold a third time, the controller shutting down in the third low-battery mode, such that approximately no current is drawn from the battery-powered supply. 43. The motorized window treatment of claim 41, wherein the controller determines if the magnitude of the battery voltage is below a second predetermined threshold less than the first predetermined threshold, the second predetermined threshold having a value to allow at least one more movement of the window treatment so that if the window treatment is down, it can be moved at least once more to an up position. 44. The motorized window treatment of claim 41, wherein the controller determines if the magnitude of the battery voltage is below a second predetermined threshold less than the first predetermined threshold, in order to avoid damage due to battery leakage. 45. The motorized window treatment of claim 41, wherein the battery-powered supply comprises a plurality of batteries coupled in series for generating the battery voltage for powering both the controller and the motor of the motor drive unit. 46. The motorized window treatment of claim 41, wherein the battery-powered supply comprises a first series combination of batteries for generating a first battery voltage for powering the motor, and a second series-combination of batteries for generating a second battery voltage for powering the controller. 47. The motorized window treatment of claim 41, further comprising: a headrail for housing the motor drive unit;a drive shaft located in the headrail and coupled to the motor; andat least one lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and extending to a bottom of the covering material for raising and lowering the covering material between a fully-open and fully-closed position;wherein the battery-powered supply comprises a plurality of batteries located in the headrail of the motor drive unit. 48. The motorized window treatment of claim 40, wherein the reduced speed of the motor drive unit and movement of the covering material comprises a low battery indication to a user. 49. A motorized window treatment comprising: a covering material;a motor drive unit including a motor coupled to said covering material to move the covering material between a fully-open position and a fully-closed position;a battery-powered supply connected to and providing a voltage for powering the motor drive unit; andwherein the motor drive unit determines when the magnitude of the voltage is too low for continued operation and reserves enough energy in the battery to allow for at least one additional movement of the covering material to the fully-open position. 50. The motorized window treatment of claim 49, wherein the motor drive unit comprises a motor coupled to the covering material for adjusting the position of the covering material to any position and a controller connected to and controlling the motor. 51. The motorized window treatment of claim 50, wherein the controller shuts down the motor drive unit to prevent electrical current from being drawn from said battery-powered power supply to prevent a battery from leaking. 52. The motorized window treatment of claim 50, wherein the controller is connected to and monitors the state of charge of the battery and when the state of charge is reduced below a predetermined threshold reduces the motor speed. 53. A motor drive unit for a motorized window treatment, the motorized window treatment including a covering material, a drive shaft, and at least one lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and extending to a bottom of the covering material for raising and lowering the covering material between a fully-open and fully-closed position and to any position intermediate the fully-open and fully-closed positions, the motorized window treatment further comprising a battery-powered supply having at least one battery for generating a battery voltage for powering the motor drive unit, the motor drive unit comprising: a motor coupled to the drive shaft, such that the motor drive unit raises and lowers the covering material by rotating the drive shaft;a controller for controlling the motor to raise and lower the covering material; anda power supply for receiving the battery voltage and generating a DC supply voltage having a first nominal magnitude for powering the controller;wherein the controller increases the magnitude of the DC supply voltage to a second increased magnitude greater than the first magnitude when the controller is driving the motor to rotate the drive shaft. 54. The motor drive unit of claim 53, wherein the controller monitors magnitude of the battery voltage of the battery-powered supply and reduces the motor speed when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below a first predetermined low-battery threshold. 55. The motor drive unit of claim 54, wherein, when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below a second predetermined threshold less than the first predetermined threshold, the controller prevents movements of the covering material except to allow for one additional movement of the covering material to the fully-open position. 56. The motor drive unit of claim 55, wherein, when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below a third predetermined threshold less than the second predetermined threshold, the controller shuts down, such that approximately no current is drawn from the battery-powered supply. 57. The motor drive unit of claim 53, further comprising: an RF transceiver coupled to the controller for transmitting and receiving RF signals. 58. The motor drive unit of claim 57, wherein the controller is operable to transmit a digital message representative of the battery voltage via the RF signals. 59. The motor drive unit of claim 57, wherein the controller is operable to control the motor in response to RF signals received from an RF transmitter, the RF transmitter comprising one of a battery-powered remote control, an occupancy sensor, a vacancy sensor, a daylight sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a security sensor, a proximity sensor, a keypad, a key fob, a cell phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a personal digital assistant, a personal computer, a timeclock, an audio-visual control, a safety device, a central control transmitter, or any combination of these RF transmitters. 60. The motor drive unit of claim 53, further comprising: an IR receiver receiving Manchester-encoded digital messages via IR signals received from an IR remote control, the Manchester-encoded digital messages having a plurality of consecutive bit times, the logic low and high bits of the digital message being encoded in the transitions of the digital message during each bit time;wherein the controller is coupled to the IR receiver for receiving the Manchester-encoded digital messages and controlling the motor in response to the received digital messages, the controller operating the IR receiver in a sleep mode by disabling the IR receiver and periodically enabling the IR receiver for a sample time to determine if the IR remote control is presently transmitting IR signals, the controller enabling the IR receiver for a period of time longer than the sample time in response to detecting a transition during the sample time in order to receive a digital message transmitted by the remote control, the length of the sample time being approximately equal to the length of each bit time of the Manchester-encoded digital messages. 61. The motor drive unit of claim 53, wherein the motor is connected to and powered directly from the battery voltage. 62. A motorized window treatment comprising: a covering material for the window moveable between a fully-open and fully-closed position and any position intermediate the fully-open and fully-closed positions:a drive shaft;at least one lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and extending to a bottom of the covering material for raising and lowering the covering material;a motor drive unit having a motor coupled to the drive shaft such that the motor drive unit raises and lowers the covering material by rotating the drive shaft, the motor drive unit having a sensor arrangement coupled to the drive shaft for sensing movement of the drive shaft and used for determining the position of the bottom of the covering material, the motor drive unit having a control unit coupled to the sensor arrangement for determining from at least one sensor signal from the sensor arrangement the position of the bottom of the covering material between the fully-open and fully-closed positions, the motor drive unit having a memory in the control unit for storing data related to the determined position;a battery-powered supply for powering the motor drive unit;a supplemental power source for the control unit;said supplemental power source maintaining a charged voltage for a period of time adequate to maintain covering material position data when the battery powered supply is removed and changed;whereby the battery-powered supply can be removed without loss of the position data. 63. The motorized window treatment of claim 62, further comprising: an RF receiver coupled to the controller for receiving RF signals from an RF remote control;wherein the control unit is operable to control the motor in response to the received RF signals. 64. The motorized window treatment of claim 63, wherein the fully-open and fully-closed positions of the motorized window treatment may be adjusted by actuating one or more buttons on the remote control. 65. The motorized window treatment of claim 64, wherein the remote control is associated with the motorized window treatment by actuating an actuator on the motor drive unit and then actuating at least one of the buttons on the remote control. 66. The motorized window treatment of claim 62, wherein the supplemental power source comprises a capacitor coupled to the battery powered supply. 67. The motorized window treatment of claim 66, wherein the capacitor comprises one of a bus capacitor and an ultracapacitor. 68. The motorized window treatment of claim 62, wherein a back EMF generated across the motor when the motor is manually moved charges a capacitor for powering the control unit of the motor drive unit. 69. The motorized window treatment of claim 62, wherein the supplemental power source comprises a further battery coupled to said control unit for providing power to said control unit to maintain power to the control unit when the battery powered supply is removed. 70. The motorized window treatment of claim 62, wherein the covering material is manually moveable without loss of the position data when the battery powered supply is removed. 71. The motorized window treatment of claim 62, wherein the memory comprises an internal memory of the control unit. 72. A motorized window treatment comprising: a covering material for a window moveable between a fully-open and fully-closed position and any position intermediate the fully-open and fully-closed positions:a drive shaft;at least one lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and extending to a bottom of the covering material for raising and lowering the covering material;a motor drive unit having a motor coupled to the drive shaft such that the motor drive unit raises and lowers the covering material by rotating the drive shaft, the motor drive unit having a sensor arrangement coupled to the drive shaft for sensing movement of the drive shaft and used for determining the position of the bottom of the covering material, the motor drive unit having a control unit coupled to the sensor arrangement for determining from at least one sensor signal from the sensor arrangement the position of the bottom of the covering material between the fully-open and fully-closed positions; anda battery-powered supply for powering the motor drive unit;wherein the control unit for the motor drive unit prevents the motor drive unit from operating to lower the covering material until an upper limit for the covering material is reset after a loss of power. 73. The motorized window treatment of claim 72, further comprising: an RF receiver coupled to the controller for receiving RF signals from an RF remote control;wherein the control unit is operable to control the motor in response to the received RF signals. 74. The motorized window treatment of claim 73, wherein the fully-open and fully-closed positions of the motorized window treatment may be adjusted by actuating one or more buttons on the remote control. 75. The motorized window treatment of claim 72, wherein the loss of power loss comprises the removal of the battery powered supply. 76. A motorized window treatment comprising: a covering material for a window moveable between a fully-open and a fully-closed position and any position intermediate the fully-open and fully-closed positions:a drive shaft;at least one lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and extending to a bottom of the covering material for raising and lowering the covering material;a motor drive unit having a motor coupled to the drive shaft such that the motor drive unit raises and lowers the covering material by rotating the drive shaft, the motor drive unit having a sensor arrangement coupled to the drive shaft for sensing movement of the drive shaft and used for determining the position of the bottom of the covering material, the motor drive unit having a control unit coupled to the sensor arrangement for determining from at least one sensor signal from the sensor arrangement the position of the bottom of the covering material between the fully-open and fully-closed positions;wherein the covering material is engageable by a user to manually position the covering material at any position between the fully-open and fully-closed positions and wherein the sensor arrangement provides said at least one sensor signal to the control unit so that the control unit can determine the position of the covering material when the covering material is manually adjusted. 77. The motorized window treatment of claim 76, further comprising: a battery coupled to and powering the motor drive unit and wherein the sensor arrangement provides the sensor signal to the control unit when the battery is removed. 78. The motorized window treatment of claim 76, further comprising: a spring assist assembly coupled to the drive shaft for providing torque on the drive shaft in a direction opposite a direction of the torque provided on the drive shaft by the lift cord. 79. A battery-powered motorized window treatment comprising: a covering material for a window moveable between a fully-open and a fully-closed position and any position intermediate the fully-open and fully-closed positions:a drive shaft;at least one lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and extending to a bottom of the covering material for raising and lowering the covering material; anda motor drive unit having a motor coupled to the drive shaft such that the motor drive unit raises and lowers the covering material by rotating the drive shaft, the motor drive unit having a sensor arrangement coupled to the drive shaft for sensing movement of the drive shaft and used for determining the position of the bottom of the covering material, the motor drive unit having a control unit coupled to the sensor arrangement for determining from at least one sensor signal from the sensor arrangement the position of the bottom of the covering material between the fully-open and fully-closed positions, the control unit further comprising a microprocessor having a sleep mode, the microprocessor using reduced electrical power during the sleep mode to conserve battery power;wherein the covering material is engageable by a user to manually position the covering material at any position between the fully-open and fully-closed positions and wherein the sensor arrangement provides said at least one sensor signal to the control unit so that the control unit can determine the position of the covering material when the covering material is manually adjusted, the motor producing an electromotive force when the window treatment is moved manually, the electromotive force being coupled to an input of the control unit to cause the microprocessor to change from the sleep mode to an active mode, whereby the control unit receives and processes the sensor signal to determine the position of the covering material when the covering material is manually adjusted. 80. A wireless digital signal receiver designed to conserve battery power comprising: a receiver circuit for detecting edge-encoded digital data signals, the digital data signals comprising bits, each having a bit width; anda control circuit for turning on the receiver circuit for an on-time during which on-time the receiver circuit senses whether a digital data signal is present and turns off the receiver circuit for an off-time if a digital data signal is not present, the on-time being greater than the bit width of the digital data signals and the longest off-time between digital data signals so that it is ensured that if a digital data signal is present it will be detected;the digital data signals being transmitted by a transmitter circuit in a packet, the packet being repeated a plurality of times for a single data transmission. 81. The wireless digital signal receiver of claim 80, wherein the packet is repeated nine times. 82. The wireless digital signal receiver of claim 80, wherein the on-time is approximately seven times the bit width and the off-time is approximately 41 times the on-time. 83. A motorized window treatment comprising: a covering material;a drive shaft;at least one lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and extending to a bottom end of the covering material, such that the lift cord provides a torque on the drive shaft;a motor drive unit having a motor coupled to the drive shaft, such that the motor drive unit raises and lowers the covering material by rotating the drive shaft; anda spring assist assembly coupled to the drive shaft for providing torque on the drive shaft in a direction opposite a direction of the torque provided on the drive shaft by the lift cord;wherein an amount of energy required by the motor to drive the drive shaft is reduced by the spring assist assembly. 84. The motorized window treatment of claim 83, wherein the motor drive unit is coupled to and moves the covering material between a fully-open position and a fully-closed position; and wherein the constant amount of torque provided by the spring assist assembly is approximately equal to the torque provided on the drive shaft by the at least one lift cord when the bottom end of the covering material is positioned half-way between the fully-open position and the fully-closed position. 85. The motorized window treatment of claim 84, wherein an amount of energy required by the motor to drive the drive shaft is reduced by the spring assist assembly such that net energy is provided by the motor to raise the covering material during approximately half the distance between the fully-closed and fully-open position. 86. The motorized window treatment of claim 85, wherein net energy is provided by the motor when the covering material is raised between half-way and the fully-open position and when the covering material is lowered between half-way and the fully-closed position. 87. The motorized window treatment of claim 83, further comprising: a plurality of batteries coupled in series for generating a battery voltage for powering the motor drive unit. 88. The motorized window treatment of claim 87, wherein the batteries have a lifetime of approximately three years. 89. The motorized window treatment of claim 88, wherein the batteries comprise at least four D-cell batteries. 90. The motorized window treatment of claim 83, further comprising: a headrail for housing the motor drive unit, the drive shaft, and the batteries. 91. The motorized window treatment of claim 83, wherein the spring assist assembly comprises a constant-force spring for providing a constant torque on the drive shaft in a direction opposite a direction of the torque provided on the drive shaft by the lift cord. 92. The motorized window treatment of claim 83, wherein the spring assist assembly comprises a negative-gradient spring for providing a varying torque on the drive shaft in a direction opposite a direction of the torque provided on the drive shaft by the lift cord. 93. A motorized window treatment comprising: a covering material for a window, the covering material moveable between a fully-closed and a fully-open position;a drive shaft;at least one cord rotatably wound around the drive shaft for raising and lowering the covering material when the drive shaft is rotated in first and second directions, the cord providing a torque on the drive shaft due to the weight of the covering material;a motor drive unit comprising a motor for driving the drive shaft and a controller for controlling the direction of rotation of the motor and the speed of the motor; anda spring assist unit coupled to the drive shaft for providing a torque on the drive shaft opposite a torque provided by the at least one cord, the spring assist unit providing a torque to the drive shaft to raise the covering material to a position approximately midway between the fully-closed and fully-open position without substantial energy being provided by said motor, the spring assist unit assisting the motor to raise the covering material above the midway position to the fully-open position, the spring assist unit acting to provide a torque on the drive shaft resisting downward motion of the covering material when the covering material is lowered from the fully-open position to the fully-closed position;wherein the motor provides a torque on the drive shaft to wind up the spring assist unit when the covering material is lowered from the midway position to the fully-closed position. 94. The motorized window treatment of claim 93, wherein the motor drive unit further comprises a sensor arrangement coupled to the drive shaft for providing a sensor signal to the controller for determining the position of the covering material. 95. The motorized window treatment of claim 84, further comprising: a first battery for powering the motor drive unit. 96. The motorized window treatment of claim 95, wherein the motor drive unit further comprises a wireless receiver for receiving a wireless signal from a remote control device for controlling the motor. 97. The motorized window treatment of claim 96, wherein the controller comprises a processor receiving signals from the wireless receiver and controlling the wireless receiver, the processor controlling the wireless receiver to place it in a low power mode or turn it off to conserve battery power. 98. The motorized window treatment of claim 97, wherein the wireless receiver turns on periodically to sense whether the remote control device is transmitting wireless signals. 99. The motorized window treatment of claim 98, wherein the wireless receiver turns on for a sufficient period of time to sense at least one control determining feature of the wireless signal. 100. The motorized window treatment of claim 99, wherein the at least one control determining feature comprises a transition of said wireless signal between a low level and a high level or vice versa. 101. The motorized window treatment of claim 97, wherein the wireless receiver comprises an IR receiver adapted to receive Manchester-encoded digital messages via IR signals, the Manchester-encoded digital messages having a plurality of consecutive bit times, the logic low and high bits of the digital message being encoded in the transitions of the digital message during each bit time, the processor periodically enabling the IR receiver for a sample time to determine if an IR signal is presently being transmitted, the processor enabling the IR receiver in order to receive a digital message via the IR signals in response to detecting a transition during the sample time, the length of the sample time being approximately equal to the length of each bit time of the Manchester-encoded digital messages. 102. The motorized window treatment of claim 96, wherein the wireless receiver comprises an infrared, radio frequency, or ultrasonic receiver. 103. The motorized window treatment of claim 95, further comprising: a supplemental power supply coupled to said first battery for storing energy for a time period to enable the first battery to be changed without loss of position data determined from the sensor signal and stored in the memory of the motor drive unit. 104. The motorized window treatment of claim 103, wherein the supplemental power supply comprises one of: a second battery, a bus capacitor coupled to a power bus for the motor controller, and an ultra capacitor coupled to said power bus. 105. The motorized window treatment of claim 95, wherein a back EMF generated across the motor when the drive shaft is manually rotated charges a capacitor coupled to and powering the motor drive unit. 106. The motorized window treatment of claim 94, wherein the spring assist unit comprises a constant-force spring for providing a substantially constant torque to said drive shaft. 107. The motorized window treatment of claim 94, wherein the spring assist unit comprises a negative-gradient spring for providing a varying torque to said drive shaft in dependence upon the position of the covering material. 108. The motorized window treatment of claim 94, wherein the sensor arrangement comprises at least one of a transmissive optical sensor circuit, a Hall-effect sensor circuit, an optical sensor circuit, or a resistive sensor circuit. 109. The motorized window treatment of claim 94, wherein the motor comprises a DC permanent magnet motor having a cogging torque generated by magnets in the motor and further comprising a gear reduction for reducing the speed of the motor coupled to the drive shaft and wherein the cogging torque of the motor multiplied by the gear reduction provides a force to hold the covering material in a fixed position. 110. A motorized window treatment comprising: a covering material;a drive shaft;at least one lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and extending to a bottom end of the covering material, such that the lift cord provides a torque on the drive shaft;a motor drive unit having a motor coupled to the drive shaft, such that the motor drive unit raises and lowers the covering material by rotating the drive shaft;a first battery-powered supply for powering the motor drive unit;a spring assist assembly coupled to the drive shaft for providing a torque on the drive shaft in a direction opposite a direction of the torque provided on the drive shaft by the lift cord;a control unit for controlling the motor drive unit, the control unit having a memory for retaining position data related to the position of the covering material between the fully-open and fully closed positions; anda second battery-powered supply for providing electrical power to the control unit independent of said first battery powered supply for said motor drive unit.
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