Hvac controller with checkout utility

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016195296-A1
Application number	US-201615073220-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 17, 2016
Priority date	Nov 30, 2006
Publication date	Jul 7, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A zone control panel that is easy and intuitive to use and to program. In some embodiments, a zone control panel may be configured to have an easy to use, single level menu structure with, for example, a configuration mode and/or a checkout mode. The configuration mode may, if present, include a number of menu screens sometimes without any sub-menu levels. Likewise, the checkout mode may, if present, include a number of menu screens sometimes without any sub-menu levels. A mode selector may be provided to select a particular mode, after which, the menu screens that correspond to the selected mode may be sequentially displayed to the user. Other features and aspects are also disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) controller for controlling one or more pieces of HVAC equipment, the HVAC controller comprising:
a housing; a controller housed by the housing, the controller implementing a control algorithm for controlling the one or more pieces of HVAC equipment; a plurality of pins each for carrying a corresponding electrical control signal, the plurality of pins being operatively coupled to the controller and accessible from outside of the housing; a liquid crystal display (LCD) housed by the housing and visible from outside of the housing, the LCD display operatively coupled to the controller; and the controller is configured to display on the LCD display whether the electrical control signal that is currently being carried by each of one or more of the plurality of pins of the HVAC controller is in an energized state or not.

2 . The HVAC controller of claim 1 , wherein the controller includes an operating mode and a checkout mode, and wherein:
in the checkout mode, the controller permits the LCD display to display whether the electrical control signal that is currently being carried by each of two or more of the plurality of pins is in the energized state or not; and in the operating mode, the controller does not permit the LCD display to display whether the electrical control signal that is currently being carried by each of two or more of the plurality of pins is in the energized state or not.

3 . The HVAC controller of claim 1 , wherein the LCD display is configured to further display a name for each electrical control signal that is currently in the energized state.

4 . The HVAC controller of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of pins include a call for heating pin (W) and a call for fan pin (G), and wherein the LCD display displays a call for heating indicator on the LCD display when the corresponding electrical control signal currently carried by the call for heating pin (W) is in the energized state, and wherein the LCD display displays a call for fan indicator on the LCD display when the corresponding electrical control signal currently carried by the call for fan pin (G) is in the energized state.

5 . The HVAC controller of claim 4 , wherein the call for heating indicator includes a “W” designation and the call for fan indicator includes a “G” designation.

6 . The HVAC controller of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of pins include a call for cooling pin (Y) and a call for fan pin (G), and wherein the LCD display displays a call for cooling indicator on the LCD display when the corresponding electrical control signal currently carried by the call for cooling pin (Y) is in the energized state, and wherein the LCD display displays a call for fan indicator on the LCD display when the corresponding electrical control signal currently carried by the call for fan pin (G) is in the energized state.

7 . The HVAC controller of claim 6 , wherein the call for cooling indicator includes a “Y” designation and the call for fan indicator includes a “G” designation.

8 . The HVAC controller of claim 1 , wherein the HVAC controller is a zone control panel, and the plurality of pins comprise input pins for receiving corresponding electrical control signals from one or more zone control thermostats.

9 . The HVAC controller of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to concurrently display on the LCD display whether the electrical control signal that is currently being carried by each of two or more of the plurality of pins is in the energized state or not.

10 . The HVAC controller of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of pins carry one or more thermostat call signals.

11 . The HVAC controller of claim 10 , wherein the one or more thermostat call signals comprises one or more of a heat call signal (W), a cool call signal (Y) and a fan call signal (G).

12 . The HVAC controller of claim 11 , wherein the one or more thermostat call signals are generated by a thermostat.

13 . The HVAC controller of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of pins are input pins for receiving corresponding electrical control signals from a remote device.

14 . A zone control panel for controlling one or more pieces of HVAC equipment, the zone control panel comprising:
a housing; a controller housed by the housing, the controller implementing a control algorithm for controlling the one or more pieces of HVAC equipment; a plurality of input pins for receiving electrical control signals generated by one or more zone control thermostats, the plurality of input pins being operatively coupled to the controller and accessible from outside of the housing; a liquid crystal display (LCD) housed by the housing and visible from outside of the housing, the LCD display operatively coupled to the controller; and the controller is configured to display on the LCD display whether the electrical control signal that is currently being carried by each of one or more of the plurality of input pins is in an energized state or not.

15 . The zone control panel of claim 14 , wherein the controller includes an operating mode and a checkout mode, and wherein:
in the checkout mode, the controller permits the LCD display to display whether the electrical control signal that is currently being carried by each of two or more of the plurality of input pins is in the energized state or not; and in the operating mode, the controller does not permit the LCD display to display whether the electrical control signal that is currently being carried by each of two or more of the plurality of input pins is in the energized state or not.

16 . The zone control panel of claim 14 , wherein the LCD display is configured to further display a name of each electrical control signal that is currently in the energized state.

17 . The zone control panel of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of input pins include a call for heating pin (W) and a call for fan pin (G), and wherein the LCD display displays a call for heating indicator on the LCD display when the corresponding electrical control signal currently carried by the call for heating pin (W) is in the energized state, and wherein the LCD display displays a call for fan indicator on the LCD display when the corresponding electrical control signal currently carried by the call for fan pin (G) is in the energized state.

18 . A zone control panel for controlling one or more pieces of HVAC equipment, the zone control panel comprising:
a liquid crystal display (LCD); a bank of HVAC status indicators remote from the LCD display that indicate operational status of at least one of the one or more pieces of HVAC equipment; a bank of zone indicators remote from the LCD display that indicate operational status of each of two or more zones; a plurality of input pins for receiving electrical control signals from one or more remote zone control thermostats; a controller implementing a control algorithm for controlling the one or more pieces of HVAC equipment, the controller operatively coupled to the plurality of input pins and the LCD display; and the controller is configured to display on the LCD display whether the electrical control signal that is currently being received by each of one or more of the plurality of input pins is in an energized state or not.

19 . The zone control panel of claim 18 , wherein the controller includes an operating mode and a checkout mode, and wherein:
in the checkout mode, the controller permits the LCD display to display whether the elect

Assignees

• Honeywell Int Inc

Inventors

• Hoglund Steven
• Schwendinger Paul G

Classifications

• F24F2110/10

  Temperature · CPC title

• G06F3/0481

  based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance · CPC title

• F24F11/63

  Electronic processing · CPC title

• F24F11/80

  for controlling the temperature of the supplied air · CPC title

• F24F11/64

  using pre-stored data · CPC title