Systems and Methods for Providing Retroactive Wireless Connectivity to HVAC Systems

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for providing wireless connectivity to a system, e.g., an HVAC system, having at least one non-communicating unit, e.g., an outdoor unit such as an HVAC unit and/or an indoor unit such as an air handler or a furnace. The system may include a wireless connectivity device that may be mechanically and operatively coupled to or otherwise integrated with the non-communicating unit, to thereby provide communication capabilities to the non-communicating unit. Accordingly, via the wireless connectivity device, the non-communicating unit may communicate information with additional components of the system including, e.g., a communicating unit, a thermostat, and/or cloud storage for providing access to third parties.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A wireless connectivity device for a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system, the wireless connectivity device comprising:
 one or more sensors configured to be operatively coupled to a non-communicating unit of the HVAC system, and to measure one or more internal operations parameters of the non-communicating unit;   a communication module configured to wirelessly communicate data between the wireless connectivity device and the HVAC system;   at least one processor; and   memory having instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to determine a state of internal operations of the non-communicating unit based on the measured one or more internal operations parameters.   
     
     
         2 . The wireless connectivity device of  claim 1 , wherein the wireless connectivity device is configured to be mechanically and operatively coupled to the non-communicating unit. 
     
     
         3 . The wireless connectivity device of  claim 1 , wherein the wireless connectivity device is configured to be integrated with the non-communicating unit. 
     
     
         4 . The wireless connectivity device of  claim 1 , wherein the communication module is configured to communicate data between the wireless connectivity device and the HVAC system via at least one of a WiFi, Bluetooth, or cellular connection. 
     
     
         5 . The wireless connectivity device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to determine the state of internal operations of the non-communicating unit by comparing the measured one or more internal operations parameters with one or more baseline internal operations parameters. 
     
     
         6 . The wireless connectivity device of  claim 5 , wherein the processor is configured to adjust operations of the non-communicating unit if the measured one or more internal operations parameters is outside of a predetermined threshold range of the one or more baseline internal operations parameters. 
     
     
         7 . The wireless connectivity device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors comprises at least one of a current sensor configured to measure current associated with the non-communicating unit, a pressure sensor configured to measure pressure associated with the non-communicating unit, a temperature sensor configured to measure temperature associated with the non-communicating unit, an accelerometer configured to measure vibration associated with the non-communicating unit, or an audio sensor configured to measure noise associated with the non-communicating unit. 
     
     
         8 . The wireless connectivity device of  claim 1 , wherein the wireless connectivity device is configured to be communicatively coupled to a cloud storage for storing information indicative of the state of internal operations of the non-communicating unit received from the wireless connectivity device. 
     
     
         9 . The wireless connectivity device of  claim 8 , wherein the cloud storage is configured to share the information indicative of the state of internal operations of the non-communicating unit with one or more third parties, wherein the wireless connectivity device is configured to control operations of the non-communicating unit responsive to one or more commands received from the one or more third parties. 
     
     
         10 . The wireless connectivity device of  claim 1 , wherein the non-communicating unit comprises an outdoor unit, and wherein the wireless connectivity device is configured to be communicatively coupled to a thermostat. 
     
     
         11 . The wireless connectivity device of  claim 1 , wherein the non-communicating unit comprises an indoor unit, and wherein the wireless connectivity device is configured to be communicatively coupled to a mobile application configured to communicate user input to the wireless connectivity device. 
     
     
         12 . The HVAC system of  claim 11 , wherein the wireless connectivity device further comprises a thermostat communicatively coupled to the mobile application. 
     
     
         13 . An HVAC system comprising:
 an indoor unit;   an outdoor unit;   a wireless connectivity device configured to be operatively coupled to at least one of the indoor unit or the outdoor unit, the wireless connectivity unit comprising one or more sensors configured to measure one or more internal operations parameters of the at least one of the indoor unit or the outdoor unit, and a communication module configured to wirelessly communicate data between the wireless connectivity device and the HVAC system;   at least one processor; and   memory having instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to determine a state of internal operations of the at least one of the indoor unit or the outdoor unit based on the measured one or more internal operations parameters.   
     
     
         14 . The HVAC system of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is configured to adjust operations of the at least one of the indoor unit or the outdoor unit if the measured one or more internal operations parameters is outside of a predetermined threshold range. 
     
     
         15 . The HVAC system of  claim 13 , wherein the wireless connectivity device is configured to be communicatively coupled to a cloud storage for storing information indicative of the state of internal operations of the non-communicating unit received from the wireless connectivity device. 
     
     
         16 . The HVAC system of  claim 14 , wherein the cloud storage is configured to share the information indicative of the state of internal operations of the at least one of the indoor unit or the outdoor unit with one or more third parties, wherein the wireless connectivity device is configured to control operations of the non-communicating unit responsive to one or more commands received from the one or more third parties. 
     
     
         17 . The HVAC system of  claim 13 , wherein the indoor unit comprises at least one of an air handler or a furnace, and wherein the outdoor unit comprises an air conditioning unit or heat pump. 
     
     
         18 . The HVAC system of  claim 13 , wherein the indoor unit is communicating and the outdoor unit is non-communicating, wherein the wireless connectivity device is operatively coupled to the outdoor unit, and wherein the processor is configured to determine a state of internal operations of the outdoor unit based on one or more measured internal operations parameters associated with the outdoor unit. 
     
     
         19 . The HVAC system of  claim 13 , wherein the outdoor unit is communicating and the indoor unit is non-communicating, wherein the wireless connectivity device is operatively coupled to the indoor unit, and wherein the processor is configured to determine a state of internal operations of the indoor unit based on one or more measured internal operations parameters associated with the indoor unit. 
     
     
         20 . The HVAC system of  claim 13 , wherein the outdoor unit is non-communicating and the indoor unit is non-communicating, wherein the wireless connectivity device is operatively coupled to the indoor unit and a second wireless connectivity device is operatively coupled to the indoor unit, and wherein the second wireless connectivity device is communicatively coupled to the wireless connectivity device.