Control system for hvac blower

Abstract

A control system of a blower of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a blower motor connector having a plurality of ports, where each port of the plurality of ports is configured to receive a respective control signal, and a blower motor controller electrically coupled to each port of the plurality of ports, where the blower motor controller is configured to operate the blower at a plurality of air flow rates, and each air flow rate of the plurality of air flow rates corresponds to one of the respective control signals. The control system also includes a thermostat configured to concurrently transmit a first input signal and a second input signal indicative of a call for conditioning. The control system is configured to block transmission of the first input signal to a first port of the plurality of ports and configured to transmit the second input signal to a second port of the plurality of ports.

1 . A control system of a blower of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
 a blower motor connector comprising a plurality of ports, wherein each port of the plurality of ports is configured to receive a respective control signal;   a blower motor controller electrically coupled to each port of the plurality of ports, wherein the blower motor controller is configured to operate the blower at a plurality of air flow rates, and each air flow rate of the plurality of air flow rates corresponds to one of the respective control signals; and   a thermostat configured to concurrently transmit a first input signal and a second input signal indicative of a call for conditioning,   wherein the control system is configured to block transmission of the first input signal to a first port of the plurality of ports and configured to transmit the second input signal to a second port of the plurality of ports.   
     
     
         2 . The control system of  claim 1 , wherein the first input signal is a fan input signal, and the second input signal is a first stage cooling input signal. 
     
     
         3 . The control system of  claim 2 , comprising a relay configured to concurrently receive the fan input signal and the first stage cooling input signal from the thermostat. 
     
     
         4 . The control system of  claim 3 , wherein the relay is a normally-closed switch, the normally-closed switch is configured to transition to an open configuration in response to receipt of the first stage cooling input signal, and the normally-closed switch is configured to block transmission of the fan input signal in the open configuration. 
     
     
         5 . The control system of  claim 4 , wherein the normally-closed switch is configured to transmit the fan input signal directly to the first port of the plurality of ports in a closed configuration of the normally-closed switch. 
     
     
         6 . The control system of  claim 5 , comprising a refrigerant detection system, wherein the refrigerant detection system comprises the normally-closed switch. 
     
     
         7 . The control system of  claim 1 , wherein the first input signal is a first stage cooling input signal, and the second input signal is a second stage cooling input signal. 
     
     
         8 . The control system of  claim 7 , comprising a controller configured to control operation of a compressor of the HVAC system, wherein the controller is configured to concurrently receive the first stage cooling input signal and the second stage cooling input signal transmitted via the thermostat. 
     
     
         9 . The control system of  claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to:
 operate the compressor in a first stage, a second stage, and a third stage;   determine an active operating stage of the compressor; and   block transmission of the first stage cooling input signal to the first port of the plurality of ports and transmit the second stage cooling input signal to the second port of the plurality of ports in response to a determination that the active operating stage is the second stage.   
     
     
         10 . The control system of  claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to concurrently transmit the first stage cooling input signal to the first port of the plurality of ports and the second stage cooling input signal to the second port of the plurality of ports in response to a determination that the active operating stage is the third stage. 
     
     
         11 . The control system of  claim 10 , wherein the blower motor controller is configured to operate the blower at an additional air flow rate, different from the plurality of air flow rates, in response to concurrent receipt of the first stage cooling input signal via the first port of the plurality of ports and the second stage cooling input signal via the second port of the plurality of ports. 
     
     
         12 . The control system of  claim 10 , wherein the controller is disposed within an outdoor unit of the HVAC system, and the blower motor controller is disposed within an indoor unit of the HVAC system. 
     
     
         13 . The control system of  claim 1 , wherein the blower motor controller is configured to control a blower motor to operate the blower, and the blower motor is an electronically commutated motor. 
     
     
         14 . The control system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of ports is a first plurality of ports, the first plurality of ports comprises five speed taps, the blower motor connector comprises a second plurality of ports, and the second plurality of ports comprises:
 a line voltage port configured to receive a line voltage from a power source;   a common port configured to receive a common voltage, less than the line voltage;   a neutral port configured to electrically couple to the power source; and   a ground port configured to electrically couple to a ground point.   
     
     
         15 . A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
 a thermostat configured to transmit a fan input signal, a first stage cooling input signal, and a second stage cooling input signal;   a blower configured to force a conditioned air flow through the HVAC system;   a blower motor configured to drive rotation of the blower, wherein the blower motor comprises a blower motor controller and a motor connector, the motor connector comprises a first speed tap and a second speed tap, and the blower motor controller is configured to:
 operate the blower motor at a first speed in response to receipt of the first stage cooling input signal via the first speed tap and nonreceipt of the second stage cooling input signal via the second speed tap; 
 operate the blower motor at a second speed, greater than the first speed, in response to receipt of the second stage cooling input signal via the second speed tap and nonreceipt of the first stage cooling input signal via the first speed tap; and 
 operate the blower motor at a third speed, greater than the second speed, in response to concurrent receipt of the first stage cooling input signal via the first speed tap and the second stage cooling input signal via the second speed tap; and 
   a compressor controller configured to control operation of a compressor of the HVAC system, wherein the compressor controller is configured to concurrently receive the first stage cooling input signal and the second stage cooling input signal transmitted via the thermostat, and the compressor controller is configured to selectively block transmission of the first stage cooling input signal to the first speed tap based on an operating stage of the compressor.   
     
     
         16 . The HVAC system of  claim 15 , wherein the compressor controller is configured to operate the compressor in a first stage, a second stage, and a third stage, and the compressor controller is configured to block transmission of the first stage cooling input signal to the first speed tap based on operation of the compressor in the second stage. 
     
     
         17 . The HVAC system of  claim 16 , wherein the compressor controller is configured to concurrently transmit the first stage cooling input signal to the first speed tap and the second stage cooling input signal to the second speed tap based on operation of the compressor in the third stage. 
     
     
         18 . The HVAC system of  claim 16 , wherein the thermostat is configured to concurrently transmit the fan input signal and first stage cooling input signal in response to a first demand for cooling, and the thermostat is configured to concurrently transmit the first stage cooling input signal and the second stage cooling input signal in response to a second demand for cooling, wherein the second demand for cooling is greater than the first demand for cooling. 
     
     
         19 . The HVAC system of  claim 18 , comprising a normally-closed switch configured to concurrently receive the fan input signal and first stage cooling input signal transmitted via the thermostat, wherein the normally-closed switch is configured to transition from a normally-closed configuration to an open configuration in response to receipt of the first stage cooling input signal, the normally-closed switch is configured to block transmission of the fan input signal in the open configuration, and the normally-closed switch is configured to enable transmission of the first stage cooling input signal to the first speed tap in the open configuration. 
     
     
         20 . A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
 an indoor unit comprising a blower and a blower motor, wherein the blower is configured to force a conditioned air flow through the indoor unit, the blower motor comprises a motor controller and a motor connector, the motor connector comprises a first port configured to receive a first signal and a second port configured to receive a second signal, the motor controller is configured to operate the blower motor at a first speed in response to receipt of the first signal and nonreceipt of the second signal and to operate the blower motor at a second speed, greater than the first speed, in response to concurrent receipt of the first signal and the second signal;   a relay configured to concurrently receive the first signal and an additional signal via a thermostat, wherein the relay is configured to block transmission of the additional signal in response to receipt of the first signal and to enable transmission of the first signal to the first port; and   an outdoor unit comprising a compressor and an outdoor unit controller, wherein the outdoor unit controller is configured to control operation of the compressor, the outdoor unit controller is configured to concurrently receive the first signal and the second signal via the thermostat, and the outdoor unit controller is configured to concurrently transmit the first signal to the first port and the second signal to the second port.