US 12,078,375 B2
Determination of blower flow rate
Rakesh Goel, Irving, TX (US); and Shiliang Wang, Dallas, TX (US)
Assigned to Lennox Industries Inc., Richardson, TX (US)
Filed by Lennox Industries Inc., Richardson, TX (US)
Filed on Jun. 26, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/341,043.
Application 18/341,043 is a continuation of application No. 18/047,469, filed on Oct. 18, 2022, granted, now 11,747,040.
Application 18/047,469 is a continuation of application No. 16/885,661, filed on May 28, 2020, granted, now 11,519,629, issued on Dec. 6, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0332797 A1, Oct. 19, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. F24F 11/67 (2018.01); G01F 9/00 (2006.01); G01R 31/34 (2020.01)
CPC F24F 11/67 (2018.01) [G01F 9/001 (2013.01); G01R 31/343 (2013.01)] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
a blower;
a motor drive configured to supply the electrical power to the motor of the blower; and
a controller communicatively coupled to the motor drive, the controller configured to:
receive a benchmark rate of the flow of air provided by the blower and a corresponding benchmark power output of the motor drive associated with operation of the blower at a test condition, wherein the test condition corresponds to operating the blower at a predefined motor drive frequency;
following operation of HVAC system for an initial period of time:
determine a current power output of the motor drive during operation of the blower at the test condition, wherein the current power output is different than the benchmark power output;
determine, based on the benchmark rate of the flow of air provided by the blower and a comparison of a current benchmark power output to the benchmark power output, an updated benchmark rate of the flow of air provided by the blower;
determine that the motor drive is operating at a particular motor drive frequency; and
determine, based on the updated benchmark rate of the flow of air provided by the blower and a comparison of the particular motor drive frequency to the predefined motor drive frequency, a particular rate of the flow of air provided by the blower.