Method of starting a HVAC system having an auxiliary controller

• US 9,574,784 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2014
• Issued: 02/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2010
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lennox Industries Incorporated (Lennox International Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Lennox Industries Incorporated (Lennox International Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kowald, Glenn Will, Hadzidedic, Darko
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ramesh
• Application Number:
  US14/304,443
• Publication Number:
  US 20140297041A1
• Time in Patent Office: 984 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/62 characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or estimation of values
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/64 using pre-stored data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49002 Electrical device making

Abstract

The disclosure provides, in one aspect, a method of starting a HVAC system is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method includes: (1) receiving an initiation signal at a main system controller of the HVAC system, (2) determining if main controller application information associated with the main system controller is stored thereon, (3) querying an auxiliary controller of the HVAC system when determining the main controller application information is not stored on the main system controller, (4) sending the main controller application information to the main system controller from the auxiliary controller when the auxiliary controller includes the main controller application information, and (5) initiating the HVAC system based on the initiation signal and employing the main controller application information sent to the main system controller from the auxiliary controller.

Claims

1. A method of starting a heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system of a particular model, the method comprising:

receiving an initiation signal at a main system controller of said HVAC system;

determining if the main system controller has main controller application information stored thereon, the main controller application information comprising model specific information that indicates feature sets that are applicable to the particular model of the HVAC system;

querying an auxiliary controller that had previously received the main controller application information from the main system controller or a previous main system controller, the querying performed when determining said main controller application information is not stored on said main system controller;

receiving said main controller application information from said auxiliary controller; and

initiating said HVAC system based on said initiation signal and employing said main controller application information received by said main system controller from said auxiliary controller.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said auxiliary controller is a predetermined auxiliary controller of said HVAC system.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said determining, querying and sending are performed automatically.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said receiving occurs after installing said main system controller as a replacement controller for said HVAC system.

5. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said main controller application information further includes model identification data associated with the HVAC system.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said main controller application information includes application specific data for said main system controller.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said main controller application is received from said main system controller during manufacturing.

8. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said auxiliary controller is designed to direct operation of a single component of said HVAC system.

9. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said storing said main controller application information in said main system controller and said auxiliary controller are performed substantially simultaneously.

10. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein a copy of said main controller application information is automatically sent from said main system controller to said auxiliary controller after storing said main controller application information in said main system controller.

11. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said HVAC system includes an indoor blower motor configured to move air through said HVAC system and wherein said auxiliary controller is a blower motor controller for said blower motor.

12. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said HVAC system includes a furnace and said main system controller is an integrated furnace controller.

13. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said HVAC system includes a coil blower unit and said main system controller is an integrated blower controller.

14. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said main system controller is configured to store said main controller application information thereon and automatically provide said copy of said main controller application information to said auxiliary controller as back-up data.

15. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the auxiliary controller corresponds to one of a plurality of auxiliary controllers from which the main controller system receives the main controller application information, each of the plurality of auxiliary controllers operable to indicate the feature sets that are applicable to a HVAC component controlled by the respective auxiliary controller.