LOW COST PROGRAMMABLE HVAC CONTROLLER HAVING LIMITED MEMORY RESOURCES
First Claim
1. A programmable HVAC controller having non-volatile memory and random-access memory (RAM) comprising:
- a function block engine having at least one program, the function block engine being resident in the non-volatile memory;
a block execution list identifying one or more function blocks, the block execution list being resident in the non-volatile memory; and
a parameter and/or variable storage space being resident in the RAM;
wherein the function block engine program is executed from the non-volatile memory.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A programmable controller and method of operating a programmable controller are provided. In one illustrative embodiment, the programmable controller may have non-volatile memory and random-access memory (RAM), which, in some cases, may be implemented in a single microcontroller. The illustrative programmable controller may include a function block engine resident in the non-volatile memory, a block execution list being resident in the non-volatile memory, and a parameter and/or variable storage space being resident in RAM. The function block engine may execute a program according to a list of function blocks identified in the block execution list. In some cases, the program can be executed from the non-volatile memory, which in some cases may be FLASH memory. Additionally, in some cases, the non-volatile memory may include a firmware portion and a user programmable portion. The block execution list may be stored in the user programmable portion, allowing field programmability and configuration of the function blocks.
45 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A programmable HVAC controller having non-volatile memory and random-access memory (RAM) comprising:
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a function block engine having at least one program, the function block engine being resident in the non-volatile memory; a block execution list identifying one or more function blocks, the block execution list being resident in the non-volatile memory; and a parameter and/or variable storage space being resident in the RAM; wherein the function block engine program is executed from the non-volatile memory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A programmable HVAC controller having non-volatile memory and random-access memory (RAM), wherein the non-volatile memory has at least two portions, a first portion for storing firmware and a second portion that is user programmable, comprising:
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a function block engine resident in the first portion of the non-volatile memory; a block execution list resident in the second portion of the non-volatile memory; and a parameter and/or variable storage space resident in the RAM; wherein the block execution list is field programmable. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of operating a HVAC controller having non-volatile memory and random-access memory (RAM), the method comprising:
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storing a list of function blocks in non-volatile memory; executing a program according to the configured list of function blocks; when executing a function block; executing the function blocks from the non-volatile memory; reading variables stored from the RAM; and writing values to the RAM. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A HVAC controller having non-volatile memory and random-access memory (RAM) comprising:
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one or more execution modules resident in the non-volatile memory; one or more application configuration modules resident in the non-volatile memory; and a parameter storage space resident in the RAM; wherein one or more execution modules execute at least one program from the non-volatile memory; wherein the one or more application configuration modules are field programmable. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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Specification