HVAC Visual Alert System Using LED Indicators for Fault Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users near HVAC systems cannot easily identify maintenance or repair needs without a secondary device or thermostat, as existing systems lack direct visual indicators for issues like maintenance or repair requirements.
Innovation Solution
A visual alert system using LED lights on the HVAC system's exterior surface, employing various colors and blinking patterns to indicate maintenance or repair needs, eliminating the need for a separate thermostat or device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a secondary device or thermostat is used to communicate HVAC status, then maintenance and repair information can be conveyed, but users near the HVAC system cannot readily identify issues and the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the alert system directly into the HVAC unit by integrating LED indicators and control circuitry within the HVAC housing. This merging eliminates the need for separate secondary devices while ensuring maintenance information is immediately visible to users standing next to the unit, thus resolving the contradiction between information delivery and user accessibility
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces LED lights as visual intermediaries that translate internal HVAC sensor data and fault conditions into easily observable visual signals. These LEDs act as mediators between the complex internal system state and the user, providing intuitive maintenance information without requiring users to interact with complex thermostats or secondary devices
2Loss of information
If a secondary device or thermostat is used to indicate HVAC issues, then maintenance alerts can be displayed, but the overall system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the alert system components (LEDs, control circuitry, power supply) directly into the HVAC unit's existing structure and electrical system. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate secondary devices and their associated wiring and power requirements, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive maintenance information display capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The HVAC unit's existing control system and sensors directly drive the LED alert indicators without requiring external thermostats or secondary control devices. The system uses its own internal resources (power supply, microcontroller, sensors) to generate and display maintenance information, eliminating the need for additional complex external systems
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates quick identification of maintenance or repair issues by users near the HVAC system through visual alerts, enhancing user convenience and reducing the complexity of observing potential problems.
Implementation Method 1
The visual alert system of the present disclosure displays alerts via LED lights disposed on the exterior surface of the HVAC system
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods utilized to create and perform an alert system in a heating, ventilation, and air conditioner (HVAC) system. One implementation includes a visual alert system to alert of a fault in the HVAC system. The system includes one or more LED lights indicating the fault and disposed on an exterior surface of a housing of the HVAC system. The system includes a programmable logic relay (PLR) having one or more relay outputs configured to activate, based on a type of the fault and according to fault/error codes, an alert notification. The alert system can operate without another device having a display for input and output, the other device displaying one or more parameters of the HVAC system. The system includes at least one of a high pressure switch, a low pressure switch, a differential air pressure switch, or an access panel switch.