Fault condition management for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
HVAC systems face inefficiencies in fault condition management, as existing technologies fail to efficiently identify and communicate multiple fault conditions to service technicians, often relying on accumulated reports or summarized notifications, which can lead to delayed repairs and system downtime.
Innovation Solution
A fault condition management system with a controller that displays individual fault codes and lockout status indicators in a serialized manner, allowing service technicians to address issues efficiently through a user interface with a display and input devices, enabling clear and direct communication of fault information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If accumulated reports or summarized notifications are used to communicate fault conditions, then the system can handle multiple faults, but the service technician cannot quickly identify specific issues leading to delayed repairs and system downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments multiple fault conditions into individual fault codes that are displayed separately and sequentially. Each fault code represents a specific issue rather than aggregating all faults into a summary, allowing technicians to identify and address each problem individually without confusion or delay.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs periodic action by cycling through and displaying each fault code in sequence over time. The controller presents multiple fault codes in a repeating loop, allowing technicians to observe all active faults during different time intervals rather than requiring them to interpret accumulated reports.
2Productivity
If individual fault codes are displayed for each fault condition, then service technicians can quickly identify specific issues, but the system complexity increases due to managing multiple fault presentations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by using a single display device to present multiple fault codes sequentially. The same display hardware serves the dual function of showing individual fault details and managing the overall fault communication system, eliminating the need for separate indicators for each fault type.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the presentation of multiple fault codes into a unified cyclic display sequence. Rather than using separate mechanisms for each fault code, the system combines all fault presentations into a single repeating loop that cycles through active faults, simplifying the control architecture.
3Loss of information
If the display shows all fault codes continuously, then complete fault information is available, but the display becomes difficult to read and interpret
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic action by displaying fault codes in a cyclic sequence with rest periods between them. Each fault code is presented for a limited duration, then the display pauses before cycling to the next fault, allowing technicians to read and process each code without visual overload or confusion from simultaneous multiple displays.
Data Source
AI summary
Presently disclosed is a fault condition management system of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. The system includes a controller having a user interface with a display and a lockout status indicator. The controller is configured to determine that the HVAC system is in a plurality of fault conditions and to individually present, on the display of the user interface, a respective fault code corresponding to each respective fault condition of the plurality of fault conditions in a repeating loop. Each respective fault code is presented for a fault code presentation duration followed by a rest duration. The controller is configured to control illumination of the lockout status indicator during the fault code presentation duration of each respective fault code to indicate a respective lockout status of the corresponding respective fault condition.