Control system for environmental conditioning units

Claim 2

A control system for operating a plurality of heating and cooling units comprising: command means for producing a heating or cooling command; counter means for counting up and down; counter control means responsive to said command means for controlling siad counter means to count up, count down, reset to a null state, and maintain a given count; pulsing means for transmitting periodic pulse to said Counter means; and, air conditioning control means for controlling said heating and cooling units in response to said counter means'' output.

Claim 3

A system as in claim 1 wherein said counter control means rests said counter means to a null state when said system is turned on, or when said heating and cooling units are operating simultaneously.

Claim 4

A system as in claim 1 wherein said plurality of units are activated sequentially at a rate defined by said periodic pulses.

Claim 5

A system as in claim 3 wherein said plurality of units are deactivated sequentially.

Claim 6

A system as in claim 4 wherein said counter control means allows said counter means to count in a first direction for a heating command and in the opposite direction for a cooling command.

Claim 7

A system as in claim 5 wherein said counter control means allows said counter means to count in said first direction upon cessation of said cooling command and in said opposite direction upon cessation of said heating command.

Claim 8

A system as in claim 6 wherein said counter control means prevents further counting in response to a cessation of said command signal when said counter means reaches said null state.

Claim 9

A system as in claim 1 wherein said counter control means causes said counter means to maintain its present count when: there is a heating command and the last heating stage is activated; or there is a cooling command and the last cooling stage is activated; or said counter is in said null state and there is no heating or cooling command.

Claim 10

A system as in claim 1 wherein said air conditioning control means includes: a plurality of switching means for activating a corresponding heating or cooling unit; and decoder means responsive to said counter means'' output to activate the appropriate switching means.

Claim 11

A system as in claim 9 wherein each of said switching means includes a selection means for causing said switching means to: be responsive to said decoder means; or be activated continuously; or be deactivated continuously.

Claim 12

A system as in claim 9 wherein said decoder means activates said heating units sequentially and maintains previously activated heating units activated.

Claim 13

A system as in claim 11 wherein said decoder means activates said cooling units sequentially and maintains previously activated cooling units activated.

Claim 14

A system as in claim 12 wherein said decoder means deactivates the last to be activated unit first.

Claim 15

A system as in claim 13 wherein said sequence of activation and deactivation is at a rate defined by said periodic pulses.

Claim 16

A control system for operating a plurality of heating and cooling units in a defined environment, comprising: means for generating a heating or a cooling command in response to environmental conditions; means for sequentially activating said heating units in response to the presence of a heating command if less than all said heating units are activated and all said cooling units are deactivated; means for sequentially deactivating said heating units in response to the absence of a heating command or the presence of a cooling command; means for sequentially activating said cooling units in response to the presence of a cooling command if less than all said cooling units are activated and all said heating units are deactivated; means for sequentially deactivating said cooling units in response to the absence of a cooling command or the presence of a heating command; and means for deactivating all said cooling and heating units in response to a cooling and heating unit being simultaneously active.

Claim 17

A control system for operating a plurality of heating and cooling units in a defined environment, comprising: means for generating a heating or a cooling command in response to environmental conditions; means for sequentially activating said heating units in response to the presence of a heating command if less than all said heating units are activated and all said cooling units are deactivated; means for sequentially deactivating said heating units in response to the absence of a heating command or the presence of a cooling command; means for sequentially activating said cooling units in response to the presence of a cooling command if less than all said cooling units are activated and all said heating units are deactivated; means for sequentially deactivating said cooling units in response to the absence of a cooling command or the presence of a heating command; and means for deactivating all said cooling and heating units in response to a cooling and heating unit being simultaneously active.

Claim 18

The control system of claim 15 wherein said heating units deactivating means deactivates the last activated heating unit first.

Claim 19

The control system of claim 15 wherein said cooling units deactivating means deactivates the last activated cooling unit first.

Claim 20

The control system of claim 15 further comprising means for resetting said heating anD cooling units activating and deactivating means to a null state when the control system is turned off.