Systems and methods for damper performance diagnostics
First Claim
1. A computerized method for diagnosing a damper condition in a flow control unit, the method comprising:
- providing a control signal to a damper, wherein the control signal instructs the damper to move into a target position or to achieve a target flow rate through the flow control unit;
obtaining a differential pressure value using a measurement from a pressure sensor of the flow control unit;
using the differential pressure value and the control signal to conduct a damper performance diagnostic process including an improperly-sized damper diagnostic process; and
outputting a result of the damper performance diagnostic process to at least one of;
a user interface device, a local memory, and communications electronics;
wherein the improperly-sized damper diagnostic process comprises;
receiving a damper size parameter;
instructing the damper to move into an operating position and using a measurement from the pressure sensor to determine a measured differential pressure, wherein the measurement is obtained after instructing the damper to move into the operating position;
estimating an expected differential pressure based on the damper size parameter and the operating position;
calculating a difference between the measured differential pressure and the expected differential pressure; and
diagnosing an improperly-sized damper condition in response to the difference exceeding a differential pressure threshold.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A computerized method for diagnosing a damper condition in a flow control unit includes providing a control signal to a damper. The control signal instructs the damper to move into a target position or to achieve a target flow rate through the flow control unit. The method further includes receiving pressure information including one or more pressure measurements from a differential pressure sensor of the flow control unit and using the pressure information and the control signal to conduct a damper performance diagnostic. The damper performance diagnostic includes at least one of: a stuck damper diagnostic, a predictive damper failure diagnostic, an improperly-sized damper diagnostic, and a damper leakage diagnostic.
14 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A computerized method for diagnosing a damper condition in a flow control unit, the method comprising:
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providing a control signal to a damper, wherein the control signal instructs the damper to move into a target position or to achieve a target flow rate through the flow control unit; obtaining a differential pressure value using a measurement from a pressure sensor of the flow control unit; using the differential pressure value and the control signal to conduct a damper performance diagnostic process including an improperly-sized damper diagnostic process; and outputting a result of the damper performance diagnostic process to at least one of;
a user interface device, a local memory, and communications electronics;wherein the improperly-sized damper diagnostic process comprises; receiving a damper size parameter; instructing the damper to move into an operating position and using a measurement from the pressure sensor to determine a measured differential pressure, wherein the measurement is obtained after instructing the damper to move into the operating position; estimating an expected differential pressure based on the damper size parameter and the operating position; calculating a difference between the measured differential pressure and the expected differential pressure; and diagnosing an improperly-sized damper condition in response to the difference exceeding a differential pressure threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for diagnosing a damper condition in a flow control unit, the system comprising:
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a pressure sensor configured to obtain one or more pressure measurements in the flow control unit; and a controller configured to obtain a differential pressure value using the one or more pressure measurements and to provide a control signal to a damper, wherein the control signal instructs the damper to move into a target position or to achieve a target flow rate through the flow control unit, wherein the controller is further configured to use the differential pressure value and the control signal to conduct a damper performance diagnostic process including an improperly-sized damper diagnostic process; wherein the controller is further configured to output a result of the damper performance diagnostic process to at least one of;
a user interface device, a local memory, and communications electronics;wherein the improperly-sized damper diagnostic process comprises the steps of; receiving a damper size parameter; instructing the damper to move into an operating position and using a measurement from the pressure sensor to determine a measure differential pressure, wherein the measurement is obtained after instructing the damper to move into the operating position; estimating an expected differential pressure based on the damper size parameter and the operating position; calculating a difference between the measured differential pressure and the expected differential pressure; diagnosing an improperly-sized damper condition in response to the difference exceeding a differential pressure threshold. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having instructions for diagnosing a damper condition in a flow control unit stored therein, the instructions being executable by one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
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providing a control signal to a damper, wherein the control signal instructs the damper to move into a target position or to achieve a target flow rate through the flow control unit; obtaining a differential pressure value using a measurement from a pressure sensor of the flow control unit; using the differential pressure value and the control signal to conduct a damper performance diagnostic process including an improperly-sized damper diagnostic process; and outputting a result of the damper performance diagnostic process to a user interface device; wherein the damper performance diagnostic is conducted by a local controller for the flow control unit using only the differential pressure value as a measured variable; wherein the improperly-sized damper diagnostic process comprises; receiving a damper size parameter; instructing the damper to move into an operating position and using a measurement from the pressure sensor to determine a measured differential pressure, wherein the measurement is obtained after instructing the damper to move into the operating position; estimating an expected differential pressure based on the damper size parameter and the operating position; calculating a difference between the measured differential pressure and the expected differential pressure; and diagnosing an improperly-sized damper condition in response to the difference exceeding a differential pressure threshold.
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Specification