PDA diagnosis of thermostats

Abstract

A system PDA-based on line diagnostics for automatically discovering a thermostat configuration, turning off normal controller delays, temporary overriding sensor inputs and set points, and verifying proper output action including the monitoring the discharge air temperature for the resulting temperature behavior based on the equipment stages activated. The diagnosis may include the testing of sensors, set points, the fan, cooling equipment, heating equipment and the wiring connecting the controls with the fan, and the cooling and heating equipment. Problems discovered may be reported, automatically recorded and the original operating parameters may be restored.

Description

BACKGROUND The present invention pertains to thermostats and particularly to the control of air management systems. More particularly, it pertains to the testing and diagnosis of programmable thermostat operation in conjunction with the air management systems. Commissioning, testing and diagnosis of thermostat systems may be time consuming and confusing. The thermostat configuration must first be understood and then the commissioning process may be run through valid operational modes with inputs and set points temporarily manipulated while waiting for the delays built into the controller to verify operation. The setting and adjusting of air management system thermostats, especially programming thermostats, to control air conditioning, heating, humidity, volume of moved air, and the like, may have settings and conditions that determine which equipment is turned on or off, and for when and what duration. Many commercial and residential places may have complex and confusing controls ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention minimizes the issues of complexities, user unfriendliness, and the amount of time and inconvenience involved in commissioning, testing and diagnosing a thermostat system. A personal digital assistant (PDA) may be used significantly easing such activities. PDA-based on line diagnostics may automatically discover the thermostat configuration, turn off normal controller delays, temporary override sensor inputs and set points, and verify proper output action including the monitoring the discharge air temperature for the resulting temperature behavior based on the equipment stages activated. Problems discovered are reported, automatically recorded and the original operating parameters can be restored. This means that less expertise may be required the technicians sent to install and trouble shoot thermostat installations.

The diagnostic application may minimize the issues of complexities, user unfriendliness, and the amount of time and convenience involved in setting up, adjusting and controlling an air management system, such as an air handling and conditioning system. Additionally, it is possible for one at a convenient time at any place to set and adjust a thermostat, controller or computer having numerous parameters and options that may be selected for a desired operation of the air management system. One does not need to be at the thermostat, controller or computer of the air management system to configure, set or adjust the parameters of it. The parameters may include, but not be limited to, temperatures, humidity, sensor selection, volume of air movement, fan or air mover behavior such as continuous or intermittent and speed, the percentage of added fresh air, stages of cooling and heating at various zones, control of heat pumps, heaters and air conditioners, modes of occupied, unoccupied or standby of respective spaces in a building, for day and night, between specific times, at certain days, for certain buildings at specific locations. The system may enable one to easily and conveniently achieve these tasks with an interfacing of a PDA (viz., a personal digital assistant) to the control system. These tasks may be accomplished on a PDA in an armchair remote from the facility with the air management system.

A technical person, installer, representative or technician, trained for configuring, setting and adjusting control mechanisms of air management system thermostats, may go to various buildings such as stores, factories or offices and do control changes for the air management systems of those places. The control mechanism of the air management system of each place may have its own specific configuration and settings which may be different from the others. The technician may go from place to place and download specific configurations and settings with the PDA very quickly and efficiently to the air management system thermostats at these places.

Even though there are many ways that programmable thermostats, controllers, control mechanisms, computers, control modules or their equivalents (hereinafter each of these may be referred to as a “thermostat”) of air management systems may be communicated with, relative to the setting and configuration inputs, the PDA using the infrared interface is inexpensive and easily adaptable. Many individuals have a PDA of one kind or another which may have an infrared or direct connection port. No modification is of these devices needed to use them with the present system. One merely may go to the respective thermostat of the PDA and upload a program that has the appropriate protocol, configuration and setting information of the system. Then one may enter the desired settings, adjustments and schedule information relative to the control of the air management system. The information is presented on the PDA in a clear and step by step instructive manner. And as indicated above, the PDA may contain numerous and differing configurations and settings applicable to specific systems at different places. Anyone with a PDA or the like may participate in this program. However, there may be security measures requiring codes or other permission granting procedures so that the integrity of the control of air management systems may be maintained.

By removing the thermostat configuration installer interface from the thermostat operator interface to a PDA, as in the present system, the following benefits are noted. There is an easy to use configuration process with context checking on previous selections so only valid options are presented and errors cannot be made, and also easy to use navigation of thermostat configuration screens. Novice users may be directed to the next appropriate parameter entry screen based on the context of previous configuration selections. Configurations can be done ahead of time and downloaded quickly at installation time. Similar configurations do not have to be repeated on every device but simply recalled from storage and downloaded. The PDA based thermostat configuration application may generate a code that represents the raw configuration. This code can be recorded (for example on paper) and entered by hand quickly into the thermostat keyboard if a PDA is not available at the job site. There is context dependent control loop tuning. The thermostat PID (viz., proportional, integral and derivative gains) control loop tuning parameters may be automatically adjusted as a function of equipment type, number of output stages, output type (modulating or discrete), the HVAC process, and other factors as desired.

A thermostat may be designed to interface to a PDA or other handy low cost device with an easy wire, IR or RF connection that will allow it do fast, accurate automatic thermostat testing, diagnosing and trouble-shooting. The PDA may automatically obtain the thermostat configuration, turn off normal controller delays, temporarily override sensor inputs and set points, and verify proper output action including monitoring the entry and discharge air temperatures for the resulting temperature behavior based on the equipment stages activated. Problems discovered can be reported, automatically recorded and the original operating parameters can be restored. This means that less expertise is required by the technicians sent to install and trouble shoot thermostats. Smart status reporting simplifies the thermostat installers' field-commissioning task of selecting and monitoring the appropriate real time data. The smart status report content and layout may be based on a theme of management by exclusion. The report generator may respond to real time parameter and data changes in the thermostat environment. There may be a possible web-based system in which the installer or technician need not to go out to the site of the air management system. The installer or technician may be able to diagnose and can fix the system over the internet, Ethernet or the like. However, using the PDA and its infrared interface may be as or more reasonable than the configuring or diagnosing a thermostat, its sub-base and corresponding air management system. PDA configuring and diagnostics may be utilized in residential homes as well as commercial facilities.

Problems solved by technology

Commissioning, testing and diagnosis of thermostat systems may be time consuming and confusing.

Many commercial and residential places may have complex and confusing controls for air management systems which have features such as programmable thermostats.

However, they may have frustrations with the adjusting and operating those kinds of systems and often stop trying to take advantage of certain control features of the systems.

An installer may initially set a system up and get it operating satisfactorily; however, the adjusting and setting the system may not be easy for the new recipient or owner of the system because of the apparent complexity, user unfriendliness, and the lack of convenient and sufficient time to learn, set and adjust various parameters of the system for controlling, for instance, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC).

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