Wireless controlled damper
Contents
1. 0025 The foregoing objects are achieved according to the preferred embodiments of the invention by the provision of a wireless damper system which can remotely adjust the damper without the use of cables or wires BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0026 Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge from reading the detailed description hereinbelow of nonlimiting embodiments of the invention and examining the attached drawings wherein 0027 FIG 1A is a perspective view of a radial damper assembly according to the prior art showing the radial damper blade in a fully open position and a cable running to a panel 0028 FIG 1B is a perspective view of the damper assem bly of FIG 1A showing the damper blades in a closed posi tion 0029 FIG 2 is a perspective view of a wired 8 position panel layout according to the prior art showing the connection of a cable 0030 FIG 3 is a perspective view of a single position panel layout according to the prior art showing the connection of a cable 0031 FIG 4 is a perspective view of a wired panel and a hand held controller according to the prior art showing the cable connection between the same 0032 FIG 5A is perspective view of a radial damper according to the prior art showing the damper blades ina fully open position and a cable running to a panel 0033 FIG 5B is a perspective view of the damper assem bly of FIG 5A showing the damper blades i2. feet In other words the wireless remote control does not have to be in the line of sight of the RF receiver of the damper system There fore a user can control the operation of the damper assembly without connection between the wireless remote control and the RF receiver Thus the remote radio frequency control could be around a corner in a different room or even a dif ferent floor In the alternative other types of signals can be used besides RF signals For example an infrared IR signal and others known in the art could be used as well However an IR signal usually does not have the range of an RF signal and the IR signal of the IR remote control must be in the line of sight of the IR motor control Therefore an RF signal is preferred 0046 Inthe present embodiment the RF remote control is thermostat 90 as shown in FIG 7B Thermostat 90 is adjust able and programmable to control the temperature of a home office room or building through a heating ventilation and air conditioning HVAC system such as a furnace boiler air conditioner etc as is known in the art Thermostat 90 includes an RF emitter not shown which sends an RF signal to receiver 70 when the HVAC system turns on and off based on the programmed temperature of the thermometer inside thermostat 90 When receiver 70 receives the RF signal motor 50 operates to rotate central shaft 34 which activates the opening or closing of radial blades 32 of damper 30 There
3. manual dampers are not easily accessible 0008 Mechanically activated radial dampers are activated in a number of ways One such way is through the use of a cable and is known as a cable operated damper system such as those shown in U S Pat Nos 5 702 298 and 7 793 917 A rotary actuation cable is used to mechanically rotate the damper In this system the rotary actuation cable transmits torque from a remote torque inducing tool 1 e a nut driver a screwdriver or a knob to a damper regulator for regulating the damper The rotary actuation cable is attached to the damper using a cable bracket Another cable bracket may be used to secure the other end of the rotary actuation cable where the torque inducing tool is used to operate the damper which is remote from the damper This latter end of the rotary actuation cable is typically accessible through a ceiling in order to use the torque inducing tool to control the damper The actuation cable may also be accessible through a wall vent cover etc although such areas are usually close to the ceiling since the rotary actuation cable cannot be located very far from the damper in order for rotary actuation cable to function A cable termination fixture can be used to cover up this end of the rotary actuation cable at the ceiling wall vent cover etc 0009 Inorderto adjust the mechanically activated damper described above a person must be able to reach the termina tion fixture at the ceili
4. previously discussed 0051 Thermostat 70 or wireless remote control wireless wand or other wireless can display additional information other than temperature such as battery life identification of the damper being controlled the position of the dampers relative to the fully open closed position and other informa tion To accommodate these additional features thermostat 70 or wireless remote control wireless wand or other wire less may be provided with a visual or audible display Ther mostat 70 or wireless remote control wireless wand or other wireless may also include a memory to store data 0052 Having described the invention it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that alterations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention limited only by the appended claims I claim 1 A wireless radial damper system for use with a duct having an air inlet and air outlet inside the duct said wireless radial damper system comprising Mar 21 2013 at least one radial damper including a central shaft and radial blades operatively connected to said central shaft said radial blades being movable between an open position for opening the air inlet and air outlet and a closed position for closing the air inlet and air outlet a motor operatively connected to said central shaft for moving said radial blades between the open position the closed position or a position between the
5. FIGS 6A to 7B a temperature controlled wireless radial damper system 10 is disclosed Damper system 10 includes a radial damper 30 a motor 50 a receiver 70 and a thermostat 90 Radial damper 30 includes multiple bow tie shaped blades 32 which rotate about a US 2013 0068846 Al central shaft 34 In a fully open position shown in FIG 7A with a vertical blade axis blades 32 are stacked one on top of another Ina fully closed position shown in FIG 7B blades 32 are adjacent each other and not stacked one on top of another To achieve the fully closed position each blade 32 rotates one full blade position further than the previous adjacent blade as is known in the art of radial dampers based upon the rotation of central shaft 34 0040 A U shaped bracket 36 is used for mounting radial damper 30 inside a duct U shaped bracket 36 includes a hole 38 in the middle of bracket to allow central shaft 34 to pass therethrough U shaped bracket 36 is attached to a round starter collar 40 The length of U shaped bracket 36 is approximately the same as the inside diameter of round starter collar 40 U shaped bracket 36 attaches to round starter collar 40 using rivets or other known fasteners Round starter collar 40 and radial damper 30 is attached to a duct not shown using techniques known in the art such as by riveting 0041 After central shaft 34 passes through U shaped bracket central shaft 34 connects to motor 50 via a motor shaft 52
6. Motor 50 includes motor wires 54 which connect to a receiver 70 as further described below The motor used with the present invention can include various types of different motors known in the art and can be synchronous or geared The motor is typically rated at 24 volt but can also include 120 volt Although various types of motors are known in the prior art for use with dampers such dampers are single blade dampers or rectangular dampers where the shaft connected to the blade s only needs to rotate 90 degrees to open or close the blades Therefore most damper motors known in the art only have a rotation angle of 90 degrees However radial dampers require a shaft rotation of 180 degrees to achieve the fully open or fully closed positions Therefore motor 50 of the present invention must have a rotation angle of 180 degrees 0042 Motor 50 was modified to rotate from 90 degrees to 180 degrees in order to open and close radial damper 30 The 180 degree rotation is achieved by adjusting the cams inside the motor that activate the open or close limit switches at the end of the travel of the cam which stops the motor For example motor 50 could be Model A250 MOC 180 made by eControls Inc of Laguna Hills Calif Another type of motor that may be used is an econo spring return motor not shown This type of motor includes an automatic spring return for the damper to return to the fully closed position 0043 Although motor 50 in
7. US 20130068846A1 as United States a2 Patent Application Publication o Pub No US 2013 0068846 A1 Bluestone 43 Pub Date Mar 21 2013 54 WIRELESS CONTROLLED DAMPER Publication Classification 71 Applicant Alan Manufacturing Inc Wooster OH 51 Int Cl US F24F 11 053 2006 01 F24F 13 08 2006 01 72 Inventor Richard A Bluestone Mayfield 52 U S CL Heights OH US USPC ies tette 236 49 3 236 51 57 ABSTRACT 73 Assignee Alan Manufacturing Inc Wooster OH A wireless radial damper system includes at least one radial US damper having a motor connected thereto to rotate the radial damper between an open position and a closed position inside a duct A receiver is connected to the motor for communicat 21 Appi No 13 624 210 ing with the motor via a wireless signal A wireless thermostat remote from the receiver sends the wireless signal to the 22 Filed Sep 21 2012 receiver which in turn operates the motor to control the radial damper The wireless thermostat allows for the radial damper Related U S Application Data to be temperature controlled rather than user controlled A wireless remote controller a wireless wand or some other 60 Provisional application No 61 626 122 filed on Sep type of wireless device may be used in place of a wireless 21 2011 thermostat Patent Application Publication Mar 21 2013 Sheet 1 of 10 US 2013 0068846 A1 FIG 1A PRIOR ART Pat
8. ce interface to the respective jack or outlet which controls the damper to be adjusted In this instance the detachable elec trical connection at the surface interface is usually attached at the ceiling wall vent etc Such location is usually at a height where a person cannot reach without the use of an elevating device such as a stepladder or some type of reaching tool Once within reach a cover of the surface interface must be removed in order to grant access to the one or more jacks or outlets Additionally if the surface interface includes more than one jack or outlet the person must determine which jack or outlet controls the damper to be adjusted which may require consulting with a user manual to properly determine which jack or outlet controls the damper to be adjusted As noted earlier with respect to systems having mechanically activated dampers this can cause back strain and presents the danger of falling Thus the motorized gear and coupling US 2013 0068846 Al system dampers also includes problems and safety hazards for a person when adjusting the damper 0013 One major disadvantage of all of the above activated radial dampers is that they are only manually controlled by a person Thus a person must physically control the opening and closing of the radial damper based on feel In other words the person controls the radial damper based on the temperature that he or she feels in the room and is not based on a s
9. em utilizing various types of motors operatively connected to a wireless thermostat or wireless remote control 0004 2 Description of the Prior Art 0005 Various types of damper systems are known in the art and are used to control air flow in ventilation systems of homes apartments warehouses buildings etc 0006 Dampers vary the volume of air passing through an air outlet inlet or duct but do not significantly affect the shape of the delivery pattern Specifically a radial damper may be used to cut off central air conditioning heating or cooling to an unused room or to regulate it for room by room temperature and climate control Its operation can be manual mechanical or can include a motorized gear and coupling system Radial dampers are advantageous when there is limited space for installation in and around the air duct This is because the radial damper blades rotate clock wise or counterclockwise within a single plane of the duct On the other hand for example a single round damper blade must have enough space to rotate 90 degrees in order to fully open and fully close the damper and therefore this rotational movement is not limited to a single plane inside the duct 0007 Manual radial dampers are turned by a handle on the outside of a duct and thus one must have access to the outside of the duct in order to adjust the damper Since most ductwork and ventilation systems are hidden above finished ceilings or behind walls
10. ent Application Publication Mar 21 2013 Sheet 2 of 10 US 2013 0068846 A1 FIG 1B PRIOR ART Patent Application Publication Mar 21 2013 Sheet 3 of 10 US 2013 0068846 A1 FIG 2 PRIOR ART FIG 3 PRIOR ART US 2013 0068846 A1 Mar 21 2013 Sheet 4 of 10 Patent Application Publication LNV WODId y Id si duupq Patent Application Publication Mar 21 2013 Sheet 5 of 10 US 2013 0068846 A1 FIG 5A PRIOR ART Patent Application Publication Mar 21 2013 Sheet 6 of 10 US 2013 0068846 A1 FIG 5B PRIOR ART Patent Application Publication Mar 21 2013 Sheet 7 of 10 US 2013 0068846 A1 wx o 2 o o o na o m 36 FIG 6A Patent Application Publication Mar 21 2013 Sheet 8 of 10 US 2013 0068846 A1 Patent Application Publication Mar 21 2013 Sheet 9 of 10 US 2013 0068846 A1 FIG 7A Patent Application Publication Mar 21 2013 Sheet 10 of 10 US 2013 0068846 A1 FIG 7B US 2013 0068846 Al WIRELESS CONTROLLED DAMPER CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 0001 This application claims priority of U S Provisional Application Ser No 61 626 122 filed on Sep 21 2011 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0002 1 Field of the Invention 0003 The present invention relates to radial damper sys tems and more particularly to a wireless radial damper sys t
11. fore damper system 10 is temperature controlled since it automatically adjusts damper 30 to a fully open position a fully closed position or some position between the fully open and fully closed positions Of course damper system 10 can also be controlled based on a user using a portable RF remote controller or by manually adjusting the temperature setting on thermostat 90 0047 Receiver 70 can be mounted in a number of different places near the damper assembly and is preferably located outside of the airstream and therefore on the outside of damper assembly 10 As shown in FIG 7A receiver 70 is mounted to the damper assembly 10 using a bracket or take off 80 known in the art Such take offs are manufactured by Duratite and Acitvent and can be made from a number of materials including plastic and galvanized steel Take off 80 is mounted to the outside of round starter collar 40 using fasteners known in the art such as rivets not shown Addi tional fasteners such as screws not shown are used to mount receiver 70 to take off 80 0048 Receiver 70 is not limited to any specific location with respect to damper assembly 10 Receiver 70 may be connected to the same power source or transformer for motor 50 of damper assembly 10 Thus the wires from the receiver 770 and to motor 50 can come from the same transformer not shown Both receiver 70 and motor 50 typically require 24 volts andare considered to be oflow amperage Therefore
12. n a fully closed position and a cable running to a panel 0034 FIG 6A is a perspective view a wireless radial damper according to the present invention showing the damper blades in a fully open position 0035 FIG 6B is an exploded perspective view of the wireless radial damper of FIG 6A showing the various parts of the wireless radial damper 0036 FIG 7A is a perspective view a wireless radial damper assembly according to the present invention showing the damper blades in a fully open position in a duct 0037 FIG 7B isa perspective view of the wireless damper assembly of FIG 7A showing a wireless thermostat sending a signal to the wireless damper with an electronics cover removed from the damper assembly DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 0038 Disclosed according to the present invention is a wireless controlled damper system The wireless controlled damper system can be operated by a wireless remote control a wireless thermostat a wireless wand or any other type of wireless device having means to operate a motor of the damper In other words the wireless remote control the wire less thermostat the wireless wand etc does not have a wire or cable connected directly or indirectly from it to the damper and specifically to the motor of the damper Alternatively the damper assembly can be controlled with a motor which con trols a normally wired thermostat or zone control panel 0039 With reference to
13. natively the cable from the motor can be connected to a wall plate having multiple electrical connections at a surface interface and the detachable electrical connector of the hand held remote is then attached to one of the detachable electrical connectors at the surface interface to control the damper Use of these types of detachable electrical connectors requires a person to physi cally plug or unplug the electrical connectors 0011 Ifthe hand held remote is connected directly to the motor of the damper the cable of the remote control will be exposed at the ceiling wall vent etc to wherever the remote control is stored This is very unsightly because the cable is visible and hanging from the ceiling wall vent etc Addi tionally exposed cables can also be a potential shock hazard When operated the user must be careful not to pull the hand held remote farther than the cable will reach since this results in the cable being disconnected or torn from the motor If this happens the person must reconnect the cable to the motor which can be tedious and time consuming since the motor is located at the damper which is not easily accessible 0012 There are also drawbacks to a system where the cable from the motor is attached to a detachable electrical connection at a surface interface having one or more jacks or outlets and the other cable from the hand held remote is then attached to the detachable electrical connection at the surfa
14. ng wall vent cover etc Since most ceilings are at least eight feet high and sometimes consider Mar 21 2013 ably higher such as vaulted ceilings a person must use a step ladder or some other device to be able to reach the termination fixture Once within reach a cover of the termination fixture must be removed in order to grant access to the end of the rotary actuation cable After the cover of termination fixture is removed the person must use the torque inducing tool while standing on the step ladder or other similar device to physi cally turn the rotary actuation cable in order to adjust the damper This position can put strain on the person s back due to excessive reaching Additionally the person is susceptible to falling off the step ladder since one or both hands are used to turn the torque inducing tool which may result in serious injury to the person Thus this type of mechanically activated damper includes a number of safety hazards for a person when adjusting the damper 0010 Another type of damper is a motorized gear and coupling system such as those disclosed in U S Publication Nos 2009011373 and 20090181611 These patent publica tions disclose battery powered damper systems controlled by a hand held remote with a long cable from the motor of the damper to a detachable electrical connector i e a mini power jack for connection to a corresponding detachable electrical connector of the hand held remote Alter
15. number of ways to adjust the damper Such dampers systems require numerous steps by a user in order to adjust the damper including potential safety hazards to the user 0017 An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless damper system which can be remotely operated from virtually anywhere in a home or building 0018 Another object ofthe present invention is to provide a wireless damper system which is easier to install than pre vious damper systems 0019 Still another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless damper system which can control multiple dampers 0020 Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless damper system which can be operated from a wireless remote control 0021 Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless damper which is temperature controlled without the need for a user to physically open or close the damper 0022 A further object of the present invention is to pro vide a wireless damper system which can be operated by a wireless thermostat 0023 Another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless damper system which does not require the use of an elevating device or reaching device to adjust the damper 0024 Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless damper system which can be used without requiring access by the user to the damper s or items for adjusting the damper s Mar 21 2013
16. open and closed positions areceiver operatively connected to said motor for receiving a wireless signal to control said motor and a programmable wireless thermostat for selectively trans mitting the wireless signal to said receiver wherein said radial damper system is capable of being temperature controlled based on the programming of said wireless thermostat 2 A wireless radial damper system according to claim 1 wherein said motor is an econo spring return motor 3 A wireless radial damper system according to claim 1 wherein said motor is located within the air inlet and outlet of the duct 4 A wireless radial damper system according to claim 1 wherein said motor is located outside ofthe air inlet and outlet of the duct 5 A wireless radial damper system according to claim 1 and further comprising a take off operatively connected to the outside of the duct for mounting said receiver outside of the duct 6 A wireless radial damper system according to claim 4 and further comprising a cable connected from said motor outside of the duct to said central shaft inside of the duct 7 A wireless radial damper system according to claim 1 wherein said motor has a rotation angle of 180 degrees 8 A wireless radial damper system according to claim 1 wherein said thermostat is a wireless remote controller 9 A wireless radial damper system according to claim 1 wherein said thermostat is a wireless wand
17. pecific temperature reading according to a thermostat Thus these radial dampers according to the prior art are not temperature controlled since there is no temperature reading associated with the adjustment of the radial damper 0014 Accordingly there is a need in the art of damper systems for a device which can control the damper remotely without the use of cables or wires Additionally there is a need for a wireless damper system which can be controlled at normal user heights without the need of a step ladder or other similar device There is also a need for a wireless damper system which can be temperature controlled without the need for a user to physically open or close the radial damper Such a wireless damper system would utilize a wireless thermostat which is programmable and easily accessible on a wall or other similar surface A wireless remote control wireless wand or other wireless remote control device could also be used in place of a thermostat 0015 As can be seen from the foregoing a need exists for a wireless damper system which eliminates the above men tioned problems limitations and disadvantages of conven tional mechanically activated dampers and conventional motorized gear and coupling dampers It is to this need that the present invention is directed SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 0016 As described in the Description of the Prior Art various types of damper systems are known in the art and can be activated in a
18. the transformer could easily supply power for multiple units i e more than one motor 50 and receiver 70 for additional damp ers 0049 The present invention can also be used with a zone control panel for controlling multiple radial dampers in mul tiple rooms i e zones ofahome or building In this scenario multiple receivers are wired in parallel or in series together in US 2013 0068846 Al order to communicate with a single thermostat If different temperatures are desired in the different rooms or zones an additional thermostat is installed in each room or zone There fore the radial damper in one zone is controlled by a desired temperature and the radial damper in another zone is con trolled by a different desired temperature Thus a zone con trolled system allows for the independent adjustment of the temperature in each zone 0050 In another possible embodiment of the present invention not shown a wireless remote control a wireless wand or any other type of wireless device could be used in place of thermostat 70 The wireless remote control wireless wand or other type of wireless device would function in a similar manner as thermostat 70 That is wireless remote control wireless wand or other type of wireless device would include an RF emitter which would send an RF signal from the wireless remote control a wireless wand or other wireless device to receiver 70 and the damper system would operate in the same manner as
19. the present embodiment is located inside the duct and thus inside the air stream it may be preferable for motor 50 to be located outside of the air stream in order to reduce any blockage of air in the duct If motor 50 is located outside of air stream a short cable not shown will need to connect from motor shaft 54 outside of the duct to central shaft 34 of radial damper 30 inside of the duct Upon rotation of motor shaft 54 cable will rotate which in turn will rotate central shaft 34 inside damper assembly 10 0044 Receiver 70 in its preferred form includes a radio frequency RF receiver which is attached to motor 50 by motor wires 54 as shown in FIGS 7A 7B RF receivers are well known in the art and various types can be used with the present invention RF receivers pick up an RF signal or radio wave from an RF remote control and convert it to an electrical signal The electrical signal then runs through wires and a connecting block to radio frequency emitters RF emitter that reproduce the original radio frequency remote control signal When the RF remote control signal is received by the Mar 21 2013 RF receiver 70 motor 50 of radial damper 30 is activated to control the position of damper blades 32 The RF remote control signal is advantageous because walls corners etc do not impede the transmission of the radio waves 0045 The RF remote control signal according to the pre ferred embodiment has a range of roughly 100
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