Installation of a retrofit HVAC zone control system
AssigneeHome Comfort Zones, Inc.
InventorHarold G. Alles
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of retrofitting a home automation zone climate control system into an existing HVAC system. A respective air tube is pulled through each vent of the ductwork, directly or by an intermediate line, by a parachute which is sucked from the vent to the plenum by a blower attached to the plenum or to a primary trunk of the ductwork. The vent end of each air tube is coupled to a respective inflatable bladder which is disposed within the vent or its duct, and the plenum ends of the air tubes are coupled to a valve system located on or near the plenum. The valve system inflates the bladders to block airflow through their respective ducts, and deflates the bladders to permit airflow, thereby controlling which rooms receive conditioned air.
Claims18
In a forced air HVAC system having a network of air ducts connecting a central discharge plenum to a plurality of air vents, a method for installing an air tube from said plenum to at least one of said air vents, comprising:
- 1) connecting a blower to said plenum;
- 2) providing a flexible and expandable air flow restricting device adapted for passing through said air ducts and substantially restricting airflow at any location in said air ducts;
- 3) providing a string connecting to said restricting device, said string sufficiently long to connect from said air ducts to said plenum, and sufficiently flexible to easily follow a path through said air ducts, and sufficiently strong so as not to break when used to pull an air tube through said air ducts;
- 4) blocking all of the air vents but one air vent;
- 5) inserting said restricting device into said one air vent;
- 6) running said blower such that air flows at a rate sufficiently fast to pull said restricting device and said string from said one air vent to said plenum;
- 7) providing tension on said string while letting out said string such that said restricting device moves through said air ducts at a practical and reasonable speed until said restricting device reaches said plenum;
- 8) stopping said blower when said restricting device arrives at said plenum;
- 9) connecting said air tube to said string at said one of air vents;
- 10) accessing said string at said plenum;
- and
- 11) pulling said string at said plenum such that said air tube is pulled from said one of air vents through said air ducts to said plenum;
- whereby said air tube is installed from said one of air vents to side plenum by accessing said air ducts only at said one of air vents and at said plenum.
A method of installing a control system in an HVAC system which includes a plenum, at least one trunk, and a plurality of ducts each having a vent, the method comprising:
- coupling a blower to one of the plenum and the trunk;
- operating the blower to provide airflow through the ducts into the one of the plenum and the trunk;
- inserting an air drag device into one of the vents, the air drag device having coupled thereto one of a line and an air tube;
- waiting until the air drag device has traveled from the vent substantially to the blower;
- removing the air drag device from the HVAC system;
- if the air drag device had the line coupled thereto, using the line to pull the air tube from the vent substantially to the blower;
- coupling a vent end of the air tube to an inflatable bladder disposed within one of the vent and a duct coupled to the vent;
- and
- extending a plenum end of the air tube into the plenum.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.