System and method to control indoor air quality in a multi-zone environment
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-zone HVAC environments, misplaced IAQ sensing devices can cause HVAC systems to operate based on incorrect IAQ parameters, affecting air quality levels across zones.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising HVAC devices, electronic locks, and IAQ sensing devices that communicate to track the position and motion of sensing devices, generating alerts and adjusting HVAC operations to maintain user-defined or default IAQ settings when devices are out of place, with features like user credential scanning and communication modules for secure zone management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If IAQ sensing devices are made mobile and user-friendly for easy placement, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to potential misplacement in wrong zones
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by having sensing devices continuously report their location and IAQ data to a central controller. The controller verifies whether each sensing device is in its assigned zone and generates alerts when misplacement is detected, enabling corrective action to maintain system reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-assigning specific zones to sensing devices and establishing expected location parameters before operation begins. This allows the system to proactively detect and alert about misplacement before it causes significant IAQ control issues
2Reliability
If electronic locks and communication modules are added to track sensing device position, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic locks serve multiple functions: they provide security access control for zones and simultaneously track the presence and location of sensing devices. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate tracking infrastructure, thereby limiting the increase in overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the location tracking function with the existing electronic lock and communication infrastructure. By combining these functions into existing components rather than adding separate dedicated tracking devices, the increase in complexity is minimized while still achieving reliable position monitoring
Data Source
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AI summary
A system (100) to control indoor air quality (IAQ) at zones (104) of an area of interest (AOI) (102) is disclosed. The system (100) comprises one or more HVAC devices (106) configured with one or more zones (104) of the AOI (102), one or more electronic locks (112) configured with a door of the one or more zones (104), and one or more IAQ sensing devices (110) provided at the one or more zones (104), wherein the one or more sensing devices (110) are configured to communicatively couple with the one or more electronic locks (112), and the one or more HVAC devices (106), and wherein each of the electronic locks (112) is configured to track position and motion of the sensing device (110) that is assigned to the zone (104) where the corresponding electronic lock (112) is installed; and generate an alert signal when the sensing device (110) assigned to any of the one or more zones (104) is detected to be out of the corresponding zone.