HVAC Controller User Interaction Logging for Troubleshooting

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Solution Overview

Problem

Diagnosing issues in HVAC systems can be challenging as they often involve user interactions that may not be immediately apparent, making it difficult to determine if the problem lies with the system or user actions.

Innovation Solution

An HVAC controller that logs and displays user interactions, allowing users to recall and classify them, helping to identify potential user-related issues that may contribute to system problems.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Difficulty of detecting and measuring

If HVAC controller logs and stores user interactions, then diagnostic capability is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvediagnostic capabilityVSAvoiddevice complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Difficulty of detecting and measuringVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The HVAC controller proactively logs user interactions and system operations in advance, creating a historical record that can be reviewed during diagnostics. This preliminary recording action eliminates the need for users to manually track or report their actions, providing contractors with ready-to-analyze data about user behavior patterns that may have caused system issues.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary data structure (log file or database) that mediates between user interactions and diagnostic analysis. This intermediary stores structured information about user actions, system responses, and temporal sequences, allowing contractors to objectively analyze the relationship between user behavior and system performance without directly observing the actual usage events.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If HVAC controller displays recalled user interactions, then troubleshooting efficiency is improved, but information processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetroubleshooting efficiencyVSAvoidinformation processing requirements

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts and displays only the relevant user interactions that are most likely related to the diagnosed problem, rather than presenting all logged data. This selective extraction allows contractors to focus on critical information (such as unusual user actions or deviations from normal operation patterns) while minimizing the cognitive load of processing excessive data.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The displayed user interactions provide immediate feedback to contractors about actual usage patterns, enabling them to correlate user actions with system responses in real-time during troubleshooting. This feedback loop allows for iterative hypothesis testing where contractors can adjust their diagnostic approach based on the observed user behavior patterns.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS9157647B2HVAC controller including user interaction log

Publication Date: 2015.10.13 RESIDEO LLC

AI summary

An HVAC controller is configured to log one more user interactions into a user interaction log stored in its memory such that at least some of the user interactions may be recalled from the user interaction log and displayed on the user interface of the HVAC controller in response to a request by a user. The user may use the information contained in the user interaction log as an aid in troubleshooting an HVAC system.