CONTROLLER AND METHOD FOR MULTI-ZONE AIR HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEM WITH MOTORIZED VENTS
First Claim
1. A building air heating, cooling and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
- a plurality of temperature-controlled zones, each zone with at least one motorized air ventilation port;
at least one of a heating source and a cooling source, the at least one of the heating source and the cooling source including a fan fluidly connected to the ventilation ports with air ducts;
a plurality of zone temperature sensors source positioned to measure the air temperatures in the plurality of temperature-controlled zones;
at least one return-air port fluidly coupled to at least one of the heating source and the cooling source;
a controller in communication with the plurality of motorized air ventilation ports, the plurality of zone temperature sensors, and the at least one of the heating source and the cooling source, the controller including;
a sensor interface configured to communicate with the plurality of temperature-controlled zones;
a plurality of sensors configured to receive zone temperature sensor data;
a monitoring module configured to monitor the zone temperature sensor data in substantially real-time;
a trigger module configured to generate a trigger signal when the zone temperature sensor data is different from a predefined zone temperature sensor threshold value;
a ranking module configured to rank the plurality of temperature-controlled zones based at least on the difference between the real-time zone temperature and the predefined zone temperature sensor threshold value;
an actuator module configured to communicate with the trigger module and the ranking module and configured to generate control signals to;
adjust the opening and closing of the plurality of air ventilation ports according to the rankings of the temperature-controlled zones; and
activate the at least one of the heating source and the cooling source and the fan.
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Abstract
A method of controlling a zoned, building air heating, cooling or air conditioning system to control the temperature environment of the individual zones without the use of on-demand heating and cooling sources that consume energy includes collecting data from a plurality of zone temperature sensors; monitoring the temperature sensor data in substantially real-time; generating a trigger signal when zone temperature sensor data is different from predefined zone temperature sensor threshold values; ranking the plurality of temperature-controlled zones based at least on the difference between the real-time zone temperature and the predefined zone temperature sensor threshold value; and adjusting the opening and closing of a plurality of motorized air ventilation ports in the zones according to the rankings of the zones, and activating a fan that moves air between the zones that have open ventilation ports, when the trigger signal is present.
11 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A building air heating, cooling and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
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a plurality of temperature-controlled zones, each zone with at least one motorized air ventilation port; at least one of a heating source and a cooling source, the at least one of the heating source and the cooling source including a fan fluidly connected to the ventilation ports with air ducts; a plurality of zone temperature sensors source positioned to measure the air temperatures in the plurality of temperature-controlled zones; at least one return-air port fluidly coupled to at least one of the heating source and the cooling source; a controller in communication with the plurality of motorized air ventilation ports, the plurality of zone temperature sensors, and the at least one of the heating source and the cooling source, the controller including; a sensor interface configured to communicate with the plurality of temperature-controlled zones; a plurality of sensors configured to receive zone temperature sensor data; a monitoring module configured to monitor the zone temperature sensor data in substantially real-time; a trigger module configured to generate a trigger signal when the zone temperature sensor data is different from a predefined zone temperature sensor threshold value; a ranking module configured to rank the plurality of temperature-controlled zones based at least on the difference between the real-time zone temperature and the predefined zone temperature sensor threshold value; an actuator module configured to communicate with the trigger module and the ranking module and configured to generate control signals to; adjust the opening and closing of the plurality of air ventilation ports according to the rankings of the temperature-controlled zones; and activate the at least one of the heating source and the cooling source and the fan. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A controller for controlling a building air heating, cooling and air conditioning (HVAC) system, that communicates with a plurality of motorized air ventilation ports, a plurality of zone temperature sensors, and an on-demand heating or cooling source including a fan, the controller comprising:
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a sensor interface configured to communicate with the plurality of zone temperature sensors to receive zone temperature sensor data; a monitoring module configured to monitor zone temperature sensor data in substantially real-time; a trigger module configured to generator a trigger signal when the zone temperature sensor data is different from predefined zone temperature sensor threshold value; a ranking module configured to rank the plurality of temperature-controlled zones based at least on the difference between the real-time zone temperature and the predefined zone temperature sensor threshold value; an actuator module configured to communicate with the trigger module and the ranking module and generates control signals to; adjust the opening and closing of the plurality of air ventilation ports according to the rankings of the temperature-controlled zones; and activate the at least one of the heating source and the cooling source and the fan. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of controlling a zoned, building air heating, cooling or air conditioning system to control the temperature environment of the individual zones without the use of on-demand heating and cooling sources that consume energy, the method comprising:
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collecting data from a plurality of zone temperature sensors; monitoring the temperature sensor data in substantially real-time; generating a trigger signal when zone temperature sensor data is different from predefined zone temperature sensor threshold values; ranking the plurality of temperature-controlled zones based at least on the difference between the real-time zone temperature and the predefined zone temperature sensor threshold value; adjusting the opening and closing of a plurality of motorized air ventilation ports in the zones according to the rankings of the zones, and activating a fan that moves air between the zones that have open ventilation ports, when the trigger signal is present.
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Specification