Variable capacity climate control system for multi-zone space
First Claim
1. A climate control system having two or more stages of cooling operation for supplying conditioned air to a plurality of zones within a space to be conditioned, the system comprising:
- a plurality of zone temperature sensors for periodically sensing temperature at preset intervals, and for transmitting sensed temperature information when the temperature of the zone has changed by more than a predetermined amount;
a plurality of controllable zone dampers for controlling the supply of conditioned air to each of the plurality of zones in the space;
a multi-speed circulating air blower for varying the flow rate of conditioned air to be supplied to the zones; and
a thermostat capable of receiving transmitted temperature information from the plurality of zone temperature sensors, where the thermostat responsively initiates the operation of the circulating air blower and cooling system at less than full capacity when at least one zone temperature sensor transmits a sensed temperature that differs from the set point temperature by more than a specific amount, and the thermostat responsively initiates the opening of one or more controllable zone dampers corresponding to the at least one zone temperature sensor which transmitted a sensed temperature differing from the set point temperature by more than a specific amount to supply conditioned air to the at least one zone; and
wherein the thermostat discontinues the use of temperature information from the at least one zone temperature sensor and displays a system error if the at least one zone temperature sensor does not transmit a significant change in sensed temperature for the at least one zone after a predetermined period of cooling system operation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A climate control system having two or more stages of cooling operation or heating operation is provided for supplying conditioned air to a plurality of zones within a space, where the climate control system comprises a plurality of controllable zone dampers for controlling the supply of conditioned air to each of the plurality of zones, and a plurality of zone temperature sensors for periodically sensing temperature at preset intervals and transmitting sensed temperature information when the temperature of the zone has changed by more than a predetermined amount. The climate control system further comprises a thermostat that is adapted to initiate operation of the circulating air blower and the cooling system at less than full capacity when at least one zone temperature sensor transmits a sensed temperature that differs from the set point temperature by more than a specific amount, wherein the thermostat switches the circulating air blower and cooling system to full capacity operation when either the cooling system has operated at less than full capacity for more than a predetermined time or when more than a predetermined number of zone temperature sensors transmit sensed temperatures that differ from the set point temperature by more than a specific amount.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A climate control system having two or more stages of cooling operation for supplying conditioned air to a plurality of zones within a space to be conditioned, the system comprising:
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a plurality of zone temperature sensors for periodically sensing temperature at preset intervals, and for transmitting sensed temperature information when the temperature of the zone has changed by more than a predetermined amount;
a plurality of controllable zone dampers for controlling the supply of conditioned air to each of the plurality of zones in the space;
a multi-speed circulating air blower for varying the flow rate of conditioned air to be supplied to the zones; and
a thermostat capable of receiving transmitted temperature information from the plurality of zone temperature sensors, where the thermostat responsively initiates the operation of the circulating air blower and cooling system at less than full capacity when at least one zone temperature sensor transmits a sensed temperature that differs from the set point temperature by more than a specific amount, and the thermostat responsively initiates the opening of one or more controllable zone dampers corresponding to the at least one zone temperature sensor which transmitted a sensed temperature differing from the set point temperature by more than a specific amount to supply conditioned air to the at least one zone; and
wherein the thermostat discontinues the use of temperature information from the at least one zone temperature sensor and displays a system error if the at least one zone temperature sensor does not transmit a significant change in sensed temperature for the at least one zone after a predetermined period of cooling system operation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A climate control system having two or more heating and cooling stages of operation for supplying conditioned air to a plurality of zones within a space to be conditioned, the system comprising:
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a plurality of battery powered zone temperature sensors for sensing temperature at preset intervals, the temperature sensor being configured to transmit temperature information only when the sensed temperature has changed by more than a predetermined amount so as to reduce transmissions and prolong battery life when conditioned air is not being supplied to the space;
a plurality of controllable zone dampers for controlling the supply of conditioned air to each of the plurality of zones in the space;
a multi-speed circulating air blower for varying the flow rate of conditioned air to be supplied to the zones;
a thermostat for receiving transmitted temperature information from the plurality of zone temperature sensors and controlling the operation of the two or more heating and cooling stages and plurality of zone dampers to supply conditioned air to the plurality of zones, the thermostat being adapted to initiate operation of the circulating air blower and heating or cooling system at less than full capacity when fewer than a predetermined number of zones have a sensed temperature that differ from the set point temperature by more than a predetermined amount, and to switch the circulating air blower and heating or cooling system from less than full capacity operation to full capacity operation after either a predetermined time period of less than full capacity operation has transpired or when more than a predetermined number of zones have a sensed temperature that differ from the set point temperature by more than a predetermined amount. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A climate control system having two or more heating and cooling stages of operation for supplying conditioned air to a plurality of zones within a space to be conditioned, the system comprising:
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a plurality of battery powered zone temperature sensors for sensing the temperature in a zone at a preset frequency, the temperature sensor being configured to transmit temperature information only when the sensed temperature has changed by more than a predetermined amount so as to reduce transmissions and prolong battery life when conditioned air is not being supplied to the space;
a plurality of controllable zone dampers for controlling the supply of conditioned air to each of the plurality of zones in the space;
a multi-speed circulating air blower for varying the flow rate of conditioned air to be supplied to the zones;
a thermostat for receiving transmitted temperature information from the zone temperature sensors and controlling the operation of the two or more heating and cooling stages and plurality of zone dampers to supply conditioned air to the plurality of zones, wherein the thermostat initiates operation of the circulating air blower and heating or cooling system at less than full capacity when a single zone temperature sensor transmits a temperature value that differs from the set point temperature by more than a predetermined amount, and the thermostat switch the circulating air blower and heating or cooling system from less than full capacity operation to full capacity operation when more than two zone temperature sensors transmit temperature values that differ from the set point temperature by more than a predetermined amount. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification