HVAC CONTROLLER WITH SAVE A WIRE TERMINAL
First Claim
1. A HVAC controller comprising:
- a control module for controlling the comfort level of at least a portion of the building by providing two or more control signals for activating and deactivating one or more HVAC components of the HVAC system;
two or more terminals coupled to the control module, the two or more terminals configured to receive two or more wires electrically connected to the one or more HVAC components; and
a multiplexer having one or more inputs connected to the control module and an output connected to a first one of the two or more terminals, wherein the multiplexer is configured to multiplex two or more control signals of the control module onto the first one of the two or more terminals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A HVAC controller for controlling the comfort level of at least a portion of a building is described. In one illustrative embodiment, an HVAC controller for controlling the comfort level of at least a portion of a building by activating and deactivating one or more HVAC components is provided. The HVAC controller may include a special purpose save a wire terminal that provides a multiplexed or otherwise encoded control signal. The HVAC controller may be configured to multiplex, for example, two or more of a call for heat (W) signal, a call for cool (Y) signal, and/or a call for fan (G) signal onto the special purpose save a wire terminal of the HVAC controller. This may free up a wire in a four wire installation to carry, for example, a common (C) signal. A demultiplexer module may be provided adjacent to the one or more HVAC components to demultiplex the multiplexed control signal. This may substantially reduce the cost and complexity of, for example, retrofitting a four wire installation with a 24 VAC powered HVAC controller.
110 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A HVAC controller comprising:
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a control module for controlling the comfort level of at least a portion of the building by providing two or more control signals for activating and deactivating one or more HVAC components of the HVAC system; two or more terminals coupled to the control module, the two or more terminals configured to receive two or more wires electrically connected to the one or more HVAC components; and a multiplexer having one or more inputs connected to the control module and an output connected to a first one of the two or more terminals, wherein the multiplexer is configured to multiplex two or more control signals of the control module onto the first one of the two or more terminals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A thermostat comprising:
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a control module for controlling the comfort level of at least a portion of the building by activating and deactivating one or more HVAC components of the HVAC system; a first terminal coupled to the control module, the first terminal configured to provide a heating control signal; a second terminal coupled to the control module, the second terminal configured to provide a cooling control signal; a third terminal coupled to the control module, the third terminal configured to provide a fan control signal; and a fourth terminal coupled to the control module, the fourth terminal configured to provide a multiplexed control signal for two or more of the heating control signal, the cooling control signal, and the fan control signal. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A building control system comprising:
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one or more HVAC components; a wall mountable thermostat configured to control the comfort level of at least a portion of the building control system by providing two or more control signals for activating and deactivating the one or more HVAC components, wherein two of the two or more control signals are multiplexed onto a single multiplexed output signal; and a demultiplexer module configured to be connected to the multiplexed output signal of the thermostat and connected to at least one of the one or more HVAC components. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification