Advanced starting control for multiple zone system

• US 6,467,537 B1
• Filed: 05/17/2000
• Issued: 10/22/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Carrier Corporation (Carrier Global Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Carrier Corporation (Carrier Global Corporation)
• Inventors: Bujak, Walter E. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): CIRIC, LJILJANA V
• Application Number:
  US09/572,901
• Time in Patent Office: 888 Days
• Field of Search: 165/205, 165/208, 165/209, 165/218, 165/219, 165/220, 165/221, 165/238, 165/239, 165/236, 165/200, 165/201, 237/2.R, 237/2.B, 621/32, 62/56, 621/15, 621/766, 621/961, 621/97, 621/58, 621/73, 621/75, 364/148, 700/8, 700/17
• US Class Current: 165/209
• CPC Class Codes: F24D 2220/0207 Pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/54 using one central controller connected to several sub-controllers
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/83 by controlling the supply of heat-exchange fluids to heat-exchangers
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/84 using valves
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2140/20 Heat-exchange fluid temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2221/54 Heating and cooling, simultaneously or alternatively
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 3/06 characterised by the arrangements for the supply of heat-exchange fluid for the subsequent treatment of primary air in the room units
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1934 each space being provided with one sensor acting on one or more control means
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating

Abstract

A system for controlling delivery of conditioned water to a plurality of heat exchangers includes a system controller which gathers information as to the current and future demands for conditioned water by a plurality of zone controllers associated with the plurality of heat exchangers. The system controller is operative to provide conditioned water to the heat exchangers even though current demands for conditioned water may not be sufficient to require the provision of conditioned water to the heat exchangers. The system contoller does this by analyzing current demands for conditioned water in combination with future demands for conditioned water to determine if the combined demands exceed a minimum level or number of demands necessary to authorize provision of conditioned water to the heat exchangers. A start time for the provision of the conditioned water is thereafter determined by the system controller in the event that any combination of current and future demands for conditioned water exceeds the minimum level or number of demands necessary to authorize a provision of conditioned water.

Claims

1. A control system for controlling a source for conditioning water to be delivered to a plurality of heat exchangers, said control system comprising:

a plurality of zone controllers, each zone controller connected to a respective heat exchanger so as to control delivery of conditioned water from the water conditioning source to the respective heat exchanger, each zone controller being operative to generate information concerning a demand for conditioned water as well as information concerning any next to occur future demand for conditioned water;

a system controller in communication with each of said zone controllers, said system controller being operative to periodically receive information concerning each zone controller'"'"'s current demand for conditioned water as well as information concerning each zone controller'"'"'s next to occur future demand for conditioned water, said system controller being furthermore operative to periodically determine whether there is a sufficient level of current demands for conditioned water being received from said zone controllers so as to normally activate the source for conditioning water, said system controller being furthermore operative to determine whether there is a sufficient level of current and future demands for conditioned water so as to timely activate the source for conditioning water in the event that there is not a sufficient level of current demands for conditioned water being received from said zone controllers.

2. The control system of claim 1 wherein said system controller is furthermore operative to store the periodically received information concerning each zone controller'"'"'s current demand for conditioned water and the information concerning each zone controller'"'"'s next to occur future demand for conditioned water.

3. The control system of claim 2 wherein said system controller is furthermore operative to generate and store certain parameters relating to future demands for conditioned water by the zone controllers, said parameters including a computed start time for any zone controller not having a present demand for conditioned water.

4. The control system of claim 3 wherein the information stored concerning each zone controller'"'"'s next to occur future demand for conditioned water includes the next future setpoint and the associated start time for the next future setpoint for the zone controller, and a currently sensed temperature for the zone associated with the zone controller;

and

wherein any start time computed by said system controller is computed as a function of the difference between the next future setpoint for the zone controller and the currently sensed temperature for the zone controller, said difference being multiplied by a factor for that zone controller, the factor defining the amount of time necessary to adjust the sensed temperature in the respective zone associated with the zone controller by one degree.

5. The control system of claim 3 wherein said system controller is operative to determine the number of current and future demands for conditioned water by adding the number of current demands for conditioned water produced by the zone controllers to the number of computed start times.

6. The control system of claim 5 wherein said system controller is operative to determine whether there is a sufficient level of current and future demands for conditioned water by comparing the number of current demands and the number of future demands for conditioned water with a minimum acceptable level of demands for conditioned water.

7. The control system of claim 6 wherein said system controller is furthermore operative to compute a start time for providing conditioned water to any heat exchanger associated with a zone controller having a current or computed future demand for conditioned water when there is a sufficient level of current and future demands for conditioned water.

8. The control system of claim 7 wherein said system controller is operative to determine a start time for providing conditioned water by determining the number of current demands for conditioned water in the stored information, determining the number of computed start times that need to be counted and combined with the number of current demands for conditioned water in the stored information in order to exceed a minimum number of zone controllers necessary to be demanding current or future conditioned water and successively selecting the next to occur computed start time until the determined number of computed start times have been counted and selecting the last counted next to occur computed start time as the start time for providing conditioned water.

9. The control system of claim 1 wherein the source for conditioning water is a source which heats water and wherein the current and future demands for conditioned water are demands for heat.

10. The control system of claim 1 wherein the source for conditioning water is a source which cools water and wherein the current and future demands for conditioned water are demands for cooling.

11. A control system for controlling a source for conditioning water to be delivered to a plurality of heat exchangers, said control system comprising:

a plurality of zone controllers, each zone controller connected to a respective heat exchanger so as to control delivery of conditioned water from the water conditioning source to the respective heat exchanger, each zone controller being operative to generate information concerning a demand for conditioned water as well as information concerning any next-to occur future demand for conditioned water;

a system controller in communication with each of said zone controllers, said system controller including a programmed processor that includes executable logic that is operative to periodically receive information concerning each zone controller'"'"'s current demand for conditioned water as well as information concerning each zone controller'"'"'s next to occur future demand for conditioned water, said programmed processor furthermore including executable logic that is operative to periodically determine whether there is a sufficient level of current demands for conditioned water being received from said zone controllers so as to normally activate the source for conditioning water, said programmed processor furthermore including executable logic that is operative to determine whether there is a sufficient level of current and future demands for conditioned water so as to timely activate the source for conditioning water in the event that there is not a sufficient level of current demands for conditioned water being received from said zone controllers.

12. The control system of claim 11 wherein said programmed processor furthermore includes executable logic that is operative to store the periodically received information concerning each zone controller'"'"'s current demand for conditioned water and the information concerning each zone controller'"'"'s next to occur future demand for conditioned water in a memory associated with said programmed processor.

13. The control system of claim 12 wherein said programmed processor furthermore includes executable logic that is operative to compute and store certain parameters relating to future demands for conditioned water by the zone controllers in said memory associated with said processor, said parameters including a computed start time for any zone controller not having a present demand for conditioned water.

14. The control system of claim 13 wherein the information stored in said memory associated with said programmed processor concerning each zone controller'"'"'s next to occur future demand for conditioned water includes the next future setpoint and the associated start time for the next future setpoint for the zone controller, and a currently sensed temperature for the zone associated with the zone controller;

and

wherein any start time computed by said system controller is computed as a function of the difference between the next future setpoint for the zone controller and the currently sensed temperature for the zone controller, said difference being multiplied by a factor for that zone controller stored in said memory associated with said programmed processor, the factor defining the amount of time necessary to adjust the sensed temperature in the respective zone associated with the zone controller by one degree.

15. The control system of claim 13 wherein said programmed processor includes executable logic that is operative to determine the number of current and future demands for conditioned water by adding the number of current demands for conditioned water produced by the zone controllers to the number of computed start times.

16. The control system of claim 15 wherein said programmed processor includes executable logic that is operative to determine whether there is a sufficient level of current and future demands for conditioned water by comparing the number of current demands and the number of future demands for conditioned water with a minimum acceptable level of demands for conditioned water.

17. The control system of claim 16 wherein said programmed processor furthermore includes executable logic that is operative to compute a start time for providing conditioned water to any heat exchanger associated with a zone controller having a current or computed future demand for conditioned water when there is a sufficient level of current and future demands for conditioned water.

18. The control system of claim 17 wherein said programmed processor includes executable logic that is operative to determine a start time for providing conditioned water by determining the number of current demands for conditioned water in the stored information, determining the number of computed start times that need to be counted and combined with the number of current demands for conditioned water in the stored information in order to exceed a minimum number of zone controllers necessary to be demanding current or future conditioned water and successively selecting the next to occur computed start time until the determined number of computed start times have been counted and selecting the last counted next to occur computed start time as the start time for providing conditioned water.

19. The control system of claim 11 wherein the source for conditioning water is a source which heats water and wherein the current and future demands for conditioned water are demands for heat.

20. The control system of claim 11 wherein the source for conditioning water is a source which cools water and wherein the current and future demands for conditioned water are demands for cooling.