Method of determining indoor or outdoor temperature limits
First Claim
1. A method of determining a tolerable outdoor temperature limit for a temperature conditioning apparatus having a capacity that varies up to a maximum capacity, comprising:
- determining a target indoor temperature;
sensing an outdoor temperature;
sensing an actual indoor temperature;
repeatedly comparing the outdoor temperature to at least one of the actual indoor temperature and the target indoor temperature to determine a plurality of load values;
varying the capacity of the temperature conditioning apparatus to help maintain the actual indoor temperature within a predetermined range of the target indoor temperature;
creating performance data by comparing the capacity to the plurality of load values; and
extrapolating the performance data to the maximum capacity to predict the tolerable outdoor temperature limit at which the temperature conditioning apparatus is expected to be able to maintain the actual indoor temperature within the predetermined range of the target indoor temperature.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method identifies at what outdoor temperature a heating or cooling system will need to operate at full capacity (e.g., 100% duty cycle) to maintain a desired indoor temperature. The tolerable outdoor temperature limit is identified by extrapolating data collected upon sampling the system'"'"'s performance (e.g., duty cycle) at various loads (e.g., difference between outdoor temperature and the indoor temperature). In a similar manner, the method can also predict a best achievable indoor temperature for a given outdoor temperature. The tolerable outdoor temperature limit and best achievable indoor temperature can be displayed to indicate whether the system needs servicing.
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Citations
59 Claims
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1. A method of determining a tolerable outdoor temperature limit for a temperature conditioning apparatus having a capacity that varies up to a maximum capacity, comprising:
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determining a target indoor temperature; sensing an outdoor temperature; sensing an actual indoor temperature; repeatedly comparing the outdoor temperature to at least one of the actual indoor temperature and the target indoor temperature to determine a plurality of load values; varying the capacity of the temperature conditioning apparatus to help maintain the actual indoor temperature within a predetermined range of the target indoor temperature; creating performance data by comparing the capacity to the plurality of load values; and extrapolating the performance data to the maximum capacity to predict the tolerable outdoor temperature limit at which the temperature conditioning apparatus is expected to be able to maintain the actual indoor temperature within the predetermined range of the target indoor temperature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of determining a tolerable outdoor temperature limit for a temperature conditioning apparatus, comprising:
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determining a target indoor temperature; sensing an outdoor temperature; sensing an actual indoor temperature; repeatedly comparing the outdoor temperature to at least one of the actual indoor temperature and the target indoor temperature to determine a plurality of load values; cycling the temperature conditioning apparatus on and off to create a plurality of on-times and plurality of off-times, whereby cycling the temperature conditioning apparatus helps maintain the actual indoor temperature within a predetermined range of the target indoor temperature; determining a plurality of duty cycles of the temperature conditioning apparatus by comparing the plurality of on-times to the plurality of off-times; creating performance data by comparing the plurality of duty cycles to the plurality of load values; and extrapolating the performance data to predict the tolerable outdoor temperature limit at which the temperature conditioning apparatus is expected to be able to maintain the actual indoor temperature within the predetermined range of the target indoor temperature. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of determining a tolerable outdoor temperature limit for a temperature conditioning apparatus, comprising:
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determining a target indoor temperature; sensing an outdoor temperature; sensing an actual indoor temperature; repeatedly comparing the outdoor temperature to at least one of the actual indoor temperature and the target indoor temperature to determine a plurality of load values; cycling the temperature conditioning apparatus on and off to create a plurality of on-times and plurality of off-times, whereby cycling the temperature conditioning apparatus helps maintain the actual indoor temperature within a predetermined range of the target indoor temperature; determining a plurality of duty cycles of the temperature conditioning apparatus by comparing the plurality of on-times to the plurality of off-times; creating performance data by comparing the plurality of duty cycles to the plurality of load values; based on the performance data, predicting the tolerable outdoor temperature limit at which the temperature conditioning apparatus is expected to be able to maintain the indoor temperature within the predetermined range of the target indoor temperature; establishing a specified temperature limit; comparing the tolerable outdoor temperature limit to the specified temperature limit, thereby creating a comparison; and displaying a signal that reflects the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method of determining a tolerable outdoor temperature limit for a temperature conditioning apparatus, comprising:
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determining a target indoor temperature; sensing an outdoor temperature; sensing an actual indoor temperature; repeatedly comparing the outdoor temperature to at least one of the actual indoor temperature and the target indoor temperature to determine a plurality of load values; cycling the temperature conditioning apparatus on and off to create a plurality of on-times and plurality of off-times, whereby cycling the temperature conditioning apparatus helps maintain the actual indoor temperature within a predetermined range of the target indoor temperature; determining a plurality of duty cycles of the temperature conditioning apparatus by comparing the plurality of on-times to the plurality of off-times; creating performance data by comparing the plurality of duty cycles to the plurality of load values; fitting a line through the performance data; extrapolating the performance data via the line to predict the tolerable outdoor temperature limit at which the temperature conditioning apparatus is expected to be able to maintain the actual indoor temperature within the predetermined range of the target indoor temperature; establishing a specified temperature limit; comparing the tolerable outdoor temperature limit to the specified temperature limit, thereby creating a comparison; and displaying a signal that reflects the comparison, wherein the signal indicates that the temperature conditioning apparatus may need servicing. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A method of determining a tolerable outdoor limit for a conditioning apparatus having a capacity that varies up to a maximum capacity, comprising:
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determining a target indoor condition; sensing an outdoor condition; sensing an actual indoor condition; repeatedly comparing the outdoor condition to at least one of the actual indoor condition and the target indoor condition to determine a plurality of load values; varying the capacity of the conditioning apparatus to help maintain the actual indoor condition within a predetermined range of the target indoor condition; creating performance data by comparing the capacity to the plurality of load values; and extrapolating the performance data to the maximum capacity to predict the tolerable outdoor condition limit at which the conditioning apparatus is expected to be able to maintain the actual indoor condition within the predetermined range of the target indoor condition. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A temperature conditioning apparatus having a capacity that varies up to a maximum capacity, comprising:
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means for determining a target indoor temperature; means for sensing an outdoor temperature; means for sensing an actual indoor temperature; means for repeatedly comparing the outdoor temperature to at least one of the actual indoor temperature and the target indoor temperature to determine a plurality of load values; means for varying the capacity of the temperature conditioning apparatus to help maintain the actual indoor temperature within a predetermined range of the target indoor temperature; means for creating performance data by comparing the capacity to the plurality of load values; and means for extrapolating the performance data to the maximum capacity to predict the tolerable outdoor temperature limit at which the temperature conditioning apparatus is expected to be able to maintain the actual indoor temperature within the predetermined range of the target indoor temperature. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. A temperature conditioning apparatus, comprising:
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means for determining a target indoor temperature; means for sensing an outdoor temperature; means for sensing an actual indoor temperature; means for repeatedly comparing the outdoor temperature to at least one of the actual indoor temperature and the target indoor temperature to determine a plurality of load values; means for cycling the temperature conditioning apparatus on and off to create a plurality of on-times and plurality of off-times, whereby cycling the temperature conditioning apparatus helps maintain the actual indoor temperature within a predetermined range of the target indoor temperature; means for determining a plurality of duty cycles of the temperature conditioning apparatus by comparing the plurality of on-times to the plurality of off-times; means for creating performance data by comparing the plurality of duty cycles to the plurality of load values; and means for extrapolating the performance data to predict the tolerable outdoor temperature limit at which the temperature conditioning apparatus is expected to be able to maintain the actual indoor temperature within the predetermined range of the target indoor temperature. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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Specification