Air conditioning system with improved coordination between a plurality of units

Abstract

An air conditioning system including a plurality of air conditioner units that work together in an optimized manner to meet conditioning requirements for a contiguous space. Specifically, a controller is in operative communication with a communication module of each of the plurality of air conditioner units and is configured for obtaining conditioning requirements for the contiguous space, determining individual unit commands for meeting those requirements, and communicating the unit commands to each respective air conditioner unit.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An air conditioning system for a contiguous space, the air conditioning system comprising:
 a plurality of air conditioner units in fluid communication with the contiguous space, wherein each of the plurality of air conditioner units comprises a communication module; and   a controller in operative communication with the communication module of each of the plurality of air conditioner units, the controller being configured for:
 obtaining conditioning requirements for the contiguous space; 
 determining unit commands for the plurality of air conditioner units to meet the conditioning requirements of the contiguous space; and 
 communicating one of the unit commands to each of the plurality of air conditioner units. 
   
     
     
         2 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein the unit commands for at least two of the plurality of air conditioner units are different. 
     
     
         3 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein one of the plurality of air conditioner units is designated a master unit that regulates operation of slave units of the plurality of air conditioner units. 
     
     
         4 . The air conditioning system of  claim 3 , wherein the unit commands comprise a setpoint temperature sent from the master unit to each of the slave units. 
     
     
         5 . The air conditioning system of  claim 3 , wherein a last adjusted unit of the plurality of air conditioner units is designated the master unit for regulating the operation of each of the slave units. 
     
     
         6 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of air conditioner units has a different heating/cooling capacity, the conditioning requirements comprise a total heating/cooling capacity, and wherein determining the unit commands comprises:
 operating fewer than all of the plurality of air conditioner units while achieving the total heating/cooling capacity.   
     
     
         7 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein determining the unit commands comprises:
 prioritizing operation of higher efficiency units of the plurality of air conditioner units.   
     
     
         8 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein determining the unit commands comprises:
 optimizing performance of the air conditioning system based at least in part on a capacity, an efficiency, a historical run time or cycle count, a measured temperature, environmental conditions, or a rate of temperature change of each of the plurality of air conditioner units.   
     
     
         9 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein the contiguous space comprises a movable partition, and wherein the air conditioning system includes:
 a partition sensor configured for detecting a position of the movable partition, and wherein determining the unit commands comprises adjusting the unit commands based at least in part on the position of the movable partition.   
     
     
         10 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of air conditioners is assigned a unit identification key that is communicated to the controller. 
     
     
         11 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is mounted within one of the plurality of air conditioner units. 
     
     
         12 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is a mounted in a central hub having a control interface and being positioned remote from each of the plurality of air conditioner units. 
     
     
         13 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein the contiguous space comprises a plurality of zones, and wherein each of the plurality of air conditioner units are positioned within one of the plurality of zones. 
     
     
         14 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of air conditioner units is a packaged terminal air conditioner, a single package vertical unit, or a modular air conditioner unit. 
     
     
         15 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of air conditioner units is a single stage air conditioner that operates only in an ON state or an OFF state. 
     
     
         16 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein the communication module is a wireless communication module in wireless communication with the controller. 
     
     
         17 . A method of operating an air conditioning system for a contiguous space, the air conditioning system comprising a plurality of air conditioner units in fluid communication with the contiguous space, the method comprising:
 obtaining conditioning requirements for the contiguous space;   determining unit commands for each of the plurality of air conditioner units to meet the conditioning requirements of the contiguous space; and   communicating one of the unit commands to each of the plurality of air conditioner units.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the unit commands for at least two of the plurality of air conditioner units are different. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein determining the unit commands comprises:
 optimizing performance of the air conditioning system based at least in part on a capacity, an efficiency, a historical run time or cycle count, a measured temperature, environmental conditions, or a rate of temperature change of each of the plurality of air conditioner units.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the contiguous space comprises a movable partition and a partition sensor for detecting a position of the moving partition, and wherein determining the unit commands comprises:
 adjusting the unit commands based at least in part on the position of the movable partition.