Determination of the Type of Heaving, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) System
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a control circuit configured to control a first load of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system;
a sampling circuit configured to apply a test signal to a first output terminal, wherein the first output terminal corresponds to the first load; and
a processor configured to;
instruct the control circuit to deactivate the first load;
instruct the sampling circuit to apply the test signal to the first output terminal;
determine whether the first load is connected to the first output terminal based on a first resulting signal caused by the test signal; and
determine a HVAC type of the HVAC system based on whether the first load is connected to the first output terminal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides apparatuses and computer readable media for obtaining information about a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system and sending the information to a remote networked device. A control circuit deactivates loads of a HVAC system so that a sampling circuit can inject a test signal into the loads. Based on a resulting signal, a processor determines what loads are connected to a thermostat. The processor can consequently determine the type of the HVAC system. The processor may further utilize a lookup table that maps possible values of the resulting signal with different types of HVAC systems. The thermostat may consequently send information about the load configuration to a networked device. The thermostat may further detect a change of the load configuration and notify the networked device and may periodically inject the test signal into the connected loads when the control relays are deactivated.
76 Citations
24 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a control circuit configured to control a first load of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system; a sampling circuit configured to apply a test signal to a first output terminal, wherein the first output terminal corresponds to the first load; and a processor configured to; instruct the control circuit to deactivate the first load; instruct the sampling circuit to apply the test signal to the first output terminal; determine whether the first load is connected to the first output terminal based on a first resulting signal caused by the test signal; and determine a HVAC type of the HVAC system based on whether the first load is connected to the first output terminal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions that when executed perform:
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instructing a control circuit to deactivate a first load of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system; instructing a sampling circuit to apply a test signal to a first output terminal, wherein the first output terminal is associated with the first load; determining whether the first load is connected to the first output terminal based on a first resulting signal caused by the test signal; and determining a HVAC type of the HVAC system based on whether the first load is connected to the first output terminal. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An apparatus comprising:
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a control circuit configured to control a first load of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system; a sampling circuit configured to apply a test signal to a first output terminal, wherein the first output terminal corresponds to the first load; and a processor configured to; instruct the control circuit to deactivate the first load; instruct the sampling circuit to apply the test signal to the first output terminal; determine whether the first load is connected to the first output terminal based on a first resulting signal caused by the test signal; determine a load configuration based in whether the first load is connected to the first output terminal; and determine a HVAC type of the HVAC system from the load configuration. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification