AU2002301200B2 - An improved air control system for an air-conditioning installation - Google Patents
An improved air control system for an air-conditioning installation Download PDFInfo
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- AU2002301200B2 AU2002301200B2 AU2002301200A AU2002301200A AU2002301200B2 AU 2002301200 B2 AU2002301200 B2 AU 2002301200B2 AU 2002301200 A AU2002301200 A AU 2002301200A AU 2002301200 A AU2002301200 A AU 2002301200A AU 2002301200 B2 AU2002301200 B2 AU 2002301200B2
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- zone
- set point
- distribution system
- temperature
- air
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- 238000004378 air conditioning Methods 0.000 title claims description 32
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 title claims description 9
- 230000003068 static effect Effects 0.000 claims description 15
- 230000001186 cumulative effect Effects 0.000 claims description 6
- 238000009529 body temperature measurement Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- 230000005355 Hall effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 230000001360 synchronised effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 235000009917 Crataegus X brevipes Nutrition 0.000 claims 1
- 235000013204 Crataegus X haemacarpa Nutrition 0.000 claims 1
- 235000009685 Crataegus X maligna Nutrition 0.000 claims 1
- 235000009444 Crataegus X rubrocarnea Nutrition 0.000 claims 1
- 235000009486 Crataegus bullatus Nutrition 0.000 claims 1
- 235000017181 Crataegus chrysocarpa Nutrition 0.000 claims 1
- 235000009682 Crataegus limnophila Nutrition 0.000 claims 1
- 235000004423 Crataegus monogyna Nutrition 0.000 claims 1
- 240000000171 Crataegus monogyna Species 0.000 claims 1
- 235000002313 Crataegus paludosa Nutrition 0.000 claims 1
- 235000009840 Crataegus x incaedua Nutrition 0.000 claims 1
- 241001676573 Minium Species 0.000 claims 1
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000009286 beneficial effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000002411 adverse Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000003466 anti-cipated effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000013459 approach Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007812 deficiency Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000002950 deficient Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001419 dependent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010348 incorporation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000000977 initiatory effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000002955 isolation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 1
Landscapes
- Air Conditioning Control Device (AREA)
Description
P/00/011 2815/91 Regulation 3.2(2)
AUSTRALIA
Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: AN IMPROVED AIR CONTROL SYSTEM FOR AN AIR-CONDITIONING INSTALLATION The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us AN IMPROVED AIR CONTROL SYSTEM FOR AN AIR-CONDITIONING INSTALLATION FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to air-conditioning, heating and cooling systems and industry gas heating systems, and in particular to control systems for controlling temperature and air-flow from an air-conditioning unit to a multiple of zones in a domestic environment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Within the Australian domestic market, air-conditioning installations generally comprise an air-conditioning unit, whose fan and compressor are controlled by a unit control system, and various collection and distribution apparatus.
For an air conditioning installation within a house, air is generally drawn in to the air-conditioning unit via a return air grille which is located centrally within the house. Adjacent the return air grille of the unit will be located a temperature transducer from which will be received data relating to the "average" temperature within the house. The unit control system reads this average temperature, and the set point determined by the occupant, then uses this data to determine the fan speed and operation of the compressor.
It follows that in this arrangement, and given certain conditions such as some zones being too hot, and others zones too cold, the "average" temperature within the house is ideal despite the fact that no single zone reflects the desired temperature.
A control system which may be placed over the top of the air conditioning unit control system solves this problem by delivering the supplied air flow from the unit to the zones but controlling the dampers in each zone so as to control the air flow to each zone based upon individual zone based upon individual zone requirements. Any excess air flow may consequently be dumped to non-critical zones so as not to affect critical zones. This system is described in Australian Patent Application 78240/01, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This "air side" control is useful in certain circumstances but is limited in its general application. It would therefore be advantageous to adopt a control system which has more universal control and thus be more generally applicable.
STATEMENT OF INVENTION It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a control system that provides for individual control in each zone without the need to "dump" air to noncritical zones.
Therefore, according to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an air distribution system for an air conditioning installation, the system including: a distribution assembly for distributing a supply air flow from an air conditioning unit to a plurality of zones; a zone damper for each zone for controlling the supply air flow to said zone; a zone temperature measurement means for each zone for measuring zone temperature; a set point determination means for establishing a temperature set point for each zone; a global control system in communication with the zone temperature measurement means, the zone dampers and the air conditioning unit, wherein the global control system controls each zone damper to minimise the differential between each respective temperature set point and measured zone temperature and; controls the air conditioning unit to satisfy supply air temperature and/or cumulative supply air flow requirements of the zones.
The present invention is directed to a control system having a more global level of control as compared to either an air conditioning unit control system or the master control system according to Australian Patent Application No.
78240/01.
The control system for an air conditioning unit is by comparison isolated in that it is generally confined to an individual input from a central location with the control system acting upon this input to deliver a singular supply air flow to the plurality of zones. The control system according to Australian Patent Application.
78240/01 addresses this isolation by combining with the air conditioning unit control system to accommodate the deficiencies of the temperature input to the unit control system through delivering a required air flow to each zone based upon the original supply air flow. Being a secondary layer control system, the ability of said control system to satisfy the individual requirements of each zone is limited to the supply air flow which is based upon deficient information.
The present invention therefore provides a global control of both the unit and the individual zones so as to link the operation of, for instance, the fan and compressor of the unit to deliver a total volume of supply air flow and/or the required supply air temperature based upon the cumulative requirements of each of the individual zones. The control system of the present invention then takes the necessary action for each individual zone so as to divide up the air flow accordingly.
Whereas the control system of Australian Patent Application No. 78240/01 was required to dump the excess supply air flow and consequently adversely affect the environment of those zones in a preferred embodiment, the control system of the present invention may have sufficient global control to, instead of dumping excess air, be capable of reducing fan speed and so reducing the required volume of air.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the zone temperature set point may be determined by occupants of the respective zones so that the control system can take the necessary steps in order to control the dampers to deliver the required air flow. The cumulative requirements to satisfy the zone temperature set points set by the respective occupants in each zone are then calculated by the control system which then controls the air conditioning unit fan and compressor so as to deliver the required volume of air flow at the required temperature.
The means by which an occupant may determine the zone temperature set point may be through a wall mounted keypad in each zone or, alternatively, in combination with, a remote control device.
In a more preferred embodiment, there will be a plurality of remote control devices, being hand-held devices through which the zone temperature set point for each zone may be set and consequently set from any zone.
In a most preferred embodiment where there is a plurality of such remote control devices, there may be means by which on setting a zone set point using a particular remote control device, each subsequent remote control device is either manually or more preferably automatically synchronized so as to maintain consistency with the information held and delivered by each remote control device.
Alternative set point determination means may include devices to transmit the set point bywireless remote access, alternatively said means having including computer linked to the control system whereby an entry into the computer will determine the set point or in a further embodiment the set point for each or every zone may be set through a means using a computer network such as the Internet.
In controlling the zone dampers, it may be beneficial to have the position of each damper known by the control system or selectively measurable. At initiation or reset of the system, or through power failure, the global control system may lose stored information as to each zone damper position. By including means to determine this position, the global control system may be able to measure said position and consequently formulate actions based on zone requirements and supply air flow. In such a preferred embodiment, means to determine the position or location of each damper may include a potentiometric device or a Hall Effect Sensor.
In satisfying the requirements of a particular zone temperature set point, the global control system will provide an air flow at a certain temperature which for cooling purposes would be lower than the actual temperature and probably lower than the set point temperature. As the measured temperature in the zone approaches the set point, the global control system will accordingly control the air conditioning unit or the damper so as to converge the actual zone temperature with the set point temperature. It follows that to maintain a zone temperature at exactly a set point temperature is, for all intents and purposes, impossible.
Therefore the global control system will be adapted to maintain the actual zone temperature within a range around the set point temperature. For example, the temperature range for which the global control system will consider the requirements of a particular zone satisfied may be 0.250C of the set point temperature.
With this in mind, a preferred embodiment may be the inclusion ofan "economy mode" feature whereby the temperature range about the set point may be selectively increased, for instance from 0.250C to 0.500. This has the advantage of operating the air conditioning unit compressor for a shorter period of time or, at least, less frequently such that keeping the actual zone temperature within the bounds of the required temperature range permits an increased lag time between the upper temperature limit and the lower temperature limit.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT It will be convenient to further describe the present invention with respect to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate possible arrangements of the invention. Other arrangements of the invention are possible and consequently the particularity of the accompanying drawings is not to be understood as superseding the generality of the preceding description of the invention.
Figure 1 is a schematic view of the air distribution system according to the present invention.
Figure 1 shows the air distribution system 1 comprising an air conditioning unit 2 to which air is supplied through return air grille 3 and duct 4.
A required volume of air, determined by the fan speed within the unit 2, and the temperature at which the air is cooled, determined by the compressor of the unit 2, is fed to a plurality of zones 5 through ducts 10, 6, and eventually through diffuser 7. The volume of air flow provided by the unit 2 that reaches any individual zone 5 is determined by the zone damper 9 which can be closed or incrementally opened at a range of different positions and consequently the zone may be subject to a wide range of air flows from zero up to a maximum.
The zone 5 further incorporates a zone control system which includes a temperature sensor for measuring the actual temperature in the zone and a means to set a zone temperature set point within the zone by an occupant. The means for communicating the set point from an occupant to the zone control means can include a wall mounted keypad in each zone or, more preferably, a remote control. Within the distribution system there may be available a plurality of identical remote control devices whereby anywhere within the system an occupant can establish a temperature set point for each of the zones using the individual remote control device. Where there are several such devices spread through the air distribution system, there will further be incorporated a means to synchronize the set point for each zone between each remote control device.
Consequently, when the temperature set point for one zone is established using one remote control device, all other remote control devices will automatically be transmitted the new information and so avoid any inconsistencies in the information held by the remote control devices.
The air distribution system is distinguished from the prior art by the incorporation of a global control system 11 having inputs of supply air flow temperature 12, static pressure 13 within the distribution network, and the actual zone temperature and zone temperature set point provided by each zone control system.
The global control system 11 is further in communication with each of the zone dampers 9 and the air conditioning unit 2. Using the input information, the global control system 11 performs two generally distinct but interrelated functions.
Firstly, using the information provided by the zone control systems 8, the global control system 11 will control the dampers 9 so as to provide an appropriate air flow for each individual damper based upon the requirements of each individual zone. The global control system 11 being in communication 15 with the air conditioning unit 2 will calculate the cumulative requirements for air flow and temperature for the zones and correspondingly operate the fan and the compressor to provide the required volume of air at the required temperature to meet the cumulative requirements.
Whereas the control system for an air conditioning unit of the prior art determined fan speed and compressor function based upon one temperature input at the return air grille, the global control system 11 determines fan speed and compressor function based upon temperature input from each of the zones.
Having established the supply air flow at the required temperature from the air conditioning unit 2, the global control system 11 controls the dampers 9 for each zone and will consequently incrementally open, incrementally close, or completely close each damper dependent upon the balance between actual zone temperature and the differential to the zone temperature set point.
As an example, and using the cooling mode for this example, zones 1, 2 and 3 may have temperature set points of 250C, 260C, and 270C respectively. If the actual temperature in each of these zones was respectively 280C, 260C and 250C, the global control system would tend to open the damper for zone 1 either incrementally open, incrementally closed, or remain stationary the damper for zone 2 depending upon whether the actual temperature was scaling up, scaling down, or relatively constant and for zone 3 would close the damper so as to prevent further cold air entering into zone 3.
For this example, there are a number of variables that would need to be taken into account to determine whether the global control system 11 would vary the compressor or the fan speed. One such parameter being the relative size of zones 1, 2 and 3.
A consideration in the fan speed is the determination of the static pressure within the air distribution system in cases where many of the zones are either partially or fully closed. With the master control system of Australian Patent Application No. 78240/01, where the static pressure exceeded a predetermined maximum, the zone control systems for non-critical zones were overridden and consequently the dampers associated with these zones were opened. This led to the "dumping" of excess air flow. In one embodiment of the present invention, it may be beneficial to exclude the static pressure sensor 13 from the installed system. In this case, the static pressure in the system would be unknown and consequently in the previous embodiment of the present invention, control of the fan speed to reduce static pressure would be unavailable. To overcome this condition for this particular embodiment, a predetermined number of zone dampers may be permanently or selectively fully opened and so avoiding the build-up of static pressure within the system. The number of zones to be determined will vary with the air conditioning installation but it is anticipated that in 8 many installations two fully opened zone dampers may' be sufficient to accommodate this condition.
In a further preferred embodiment, as position of each damper may be known, an equivalent of opened zones may be sufficient to relieve the static pressure.
Claims (18)
1. An air distribution system for an air conditioning installation, the system including: a distribution assembly for distributing a supply air flow from an air conditioning unit to a plurality of zones; a zone damper for each zone for controlling the supply air flow to said zone; a zone temperature measurement means for each zone for measuring zone temperature; a set point determination means for establishing a temperature set point for each zone; a global control system in communication with the zone temperature measurement means, the zone dampers and the air conditioning unit, wherein the global control system controls each zone damper to minimise the differential between each respective temperature set point and measured zone temperature and; controls the air conditioning unit to satisfy supply air temperature and/or cumulative supply air flow requirements of the zones.
2. The air distribution system according to claim 1, further including a means to measure static pressure within the distribution assembly, and compare to a static pressure set point.
3. The air distribution system according to claim 2, wherein when the static pressure exceeds the static pressure set point, the global control system reduces the supply air flow by controlling the air conditioning unit.
4. The air disyribution system according to claim 2 wherein when the staitc pressure drpos below a predetermined minium static pressure the global control system increases the supply air flow by controlling the air conditioning unit. 00 The air distribution system according to claim 1, wherein a static pressure within the distribution assembly is maintained at a level below a maximum static pressure by having a predetermined number of zone dampers constantly open.
6. The air distribution system according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined number of zones is at least one.
7. The air distribution system according to claim 6, wherein the N predetermined number of zones is in the range one to three.
8. The air distribution system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the zone temperature set point is determined by an occupant of the respective zone.
9. The air distribution system according to claim 8, wherein the zone temperature set point is set by an occupant using a set point determination means. The air distribution system according to claim 9, wherein the set point determination means is a remote control device.
11. The air distribution system according to claim 9, wherein the set point determination means is a wall mounted keypad.
12. The air distribution system according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the set point determination means is capable of determining the set point in a plurality of zones.
13. The air distribution system according to any one of claims 9 to 12, further including a plurality of set point determination means, each capable of determining the set point in each of the zones such that on determining the set point in a particular zone using a particular set point determination means, all set point determination means are synchronized to reflect the newly determined set point for that zone.
14. The air distribution system according to any one of claim 9 to 12, wherein the set point determination means transmits the set point viaremove wireless access. The air distribution system according to any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein the set point determination means includes a computer linked to the master control system.
16. The air distribution system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the zone dampers are capable of incremental movement.
17. The air distribution system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a position of each zone damper is determined by a positional location means.
18. The air distribution system according to claim 17, wherein the positional location means includes one or a combination of a potentiometric device and a Hall Effect Sensor.
19. The air distribution system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the global control system will commence control of a damper for a respective zone when the measured zone temperature falls outside a predetermined temperature range having the set point at the mean temperature of said range. The air distribution system according to claim 19, the global control system further including an economy mode wherein the temperature range is selectively changeable so as to increase the temperature range.
21. The air distribution system according to claims 20 or 21, wherein the temperature range is 0.5 0 C of the set point temperature.
22. The air distribution system according to claims 20 or 21, wherein in economy mode the temperature range is increased to 1°C of the set point temperature. DATED this 25th day of September 2002 ADVANTAGE AIR (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD WATERMARK PATENT TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS 290 BURWOOD ROAD HAWTHORN VICTORIA 3122 AUSTRALIA
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| AU2002301200A AU2002301200B2 (en) | 2000-10-05 | 2002-09-25 | An improved air control system for an air-conditioning installation |
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUPR0587A AUPR058700A0 (en) | 2000-10-05 | 2000-10-05 | Air control system for an air-conditioning installation |
| AU78240/01A AU776392B2 (en) | 2000-10-05 | 2001-10-05 | Air control system for an air-conditioning installation |
| AU2002301200A AU2002301200B2 (en) | 2000-10-05 | 2002-09-25 | An improved air control system for an air-conditioning installation |
Related Parent Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AU78240/01A Addition AU776392B2 (en) | 2000-10-05 | 2001-10-05 | Air control system for an air-conditioning installation |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| AU2002301200A1 AU2002301200A1 (en) | 2004-04-08 |
| AU2002301200B2 true AU2002301200B2 (en) | 2008-05-15 |
Family
ID=34195157
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AU2002301200A Ceased AU2002301200B2 (en) | 2000-10-05 | 2002-09-25 | An improved air control system for an air-conditioning installation |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| AU (1) | AU2002301200B2 (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US10234159B2 (en) | 2014-12-11 | 2019-03-19 | Mitsubishi Electric Corporation | Duct type air conditioning system |
Families Citing this family (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR3096118A1 (en) * | 2019-05-17 | 2020-11-20 | Baillindustrie | Method and installation of hot and / or cold thermal regulation of a building |
Citations (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB1433407A (en) * | 1972-06-29 | 1976-04-28 | Mcfarlan Alden I | Air conditioning system and method for controlling the same |
| US4186655A (en) * | 1978-05-22 | 1980-02-05 | Dean Bob W | Method and apparatus for controlling forced air heating and/or cooling |
| EP0518131B1 (en) * | 1991-06-11 | 1996-08-28 | Landis & Gyr Powers, Inc. | Apparatus for controlling unit ventilators |
| JPH0960924A (en) * | 1995-08-29 | 1997-03-04 | Matsushita Seiko Co Ltd | Underfloor air-conditioner |
| JPH1047738A (en) * | 1996-07-30 | 1998-02-20 | Takasago Thermal Eng Co Ltd | Vav type air conditioning system and its control method |
-
2002
- 2002-09-25 AU AU2002301200A patent/AU2002301200B2/en not_active Ceased
Patent Citations (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB1433407A (en) * | 1972-06-29 | 1976-04-28 | Mcfarlan Alden I | Air conditioning system and method for controlling the same |
| US4186655A (en) * | 1978-05-22 | 1980-02-05 | Dean Bob W | Method and apparatus for controlling forced air heating and/or cooling |
| EP0518131B1 (en) * | 1991-06-11 | 1996-08-28 | Landis & Gyr Powers, Inc. | Apparatus for controlling unit ventilators |
| JPH0960924A (en) * | 1995-08-29 | 1997-03-04 | Matsushita Seiko Co Ltd | Underfloor air-conditioner |
| JPH1047738A (en) * | 1996-07-30 | 1998-02-20 | Takasago Thermal Eng Co Ltd | Vav type air conditioning system and its control method |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US10234159B2 (en) | 2014-12-11 | 2019-03-19 | Mitsubishi Electric Corporation | Duct type air conditioning system |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| AU2002301200A1 (en) | 2004-04-08 |
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| FGA | Letters patent sealed or granted (standard patent) | ||
| MK14 | Patent ceased section 143(a) (annual fees not paid) or expired |