Building equipment-based communication system

• US 10,375,802 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2015
• Issued: 08/06/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tridonic GmbH & Co. KG (Zumtobel Group AG)
• Original Assignee: Tridonic GmbH & Co. KG (Zumtobel Group AG)
• Inventors: Bachmann, Johannes, Lochmann, Frank, Marte, Patrick, Moosmann, Florian, Oblak, Daniel, Troppacher, Rainer
• Primary Examiner(s): Owens, Douglas W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yang, Amy X
• Application Number:
  US15/525,974
• Publication Number:
  US 20170325322A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,329 Days
• Field of Search: 315321
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/403 with centralised control, e.g. polling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission

Abstract

The invention relates to a building equipment-based communication system (1) comprising at least one building equipment-based device as a master unit (20), in particular a light fixture, to which at least one slave unit (13, 14), in particular a sensor and/or actuator, can be connected via a network, preferably in a wireless manner; the slave unit (13) is designed to communicate with the master unit (10) via the network connection either directly or indirectly by way of other slave units (14); and the master unit (10) is designed to send, via a communication interface (18), information received from the at least one slave unit (13,14).

Claims

1. A building equipment-based communication system having:

at least one building equipment-based device comprising a light fixture with an operating device having a communication interface for an IP network connection serving as a master unit;

multiple slave units, each comprising a sensor and/or actuator, that are connected to the master unit, through an ad hoc network, wherein each slave unit is configured to communicate, directly, or indirectly by means of other slave units, with the master unit via the ad hoc network and at least one slave unit is configured to communicate indirectly by means of the other slave units with the master unit via the ad hoc network; and

wherein the master unit (10) is configured to transmit data received from at least one of the slave units to the IP network via said communication interface;

wherein the master unit stores a complete pathway to each slave unit connected to the master unit through the ad hoc network; and

further wherein a first slave unit is configured to establish an ad hoc, radio communication connection with the master unit and a second slave unit;

where the first and second slave units and the master unit are configured to store information regarding the unit from which a message has been received and the unit to which the message has been sent; and

each slave unit that has received the message from another slave unit is configured to forward this message, and to store information regarding the slave unit from which the message has been received and the slave unit to which the message has been forwarded.

2. The building equipment-based communication system according to claim 1, wherein:

the master unit is configured to transmit data received via the communication interface to at least some of the slave units connected thereto;

the master unit is configured to establish communication connections between the slave units connected thereto;

the master unit (10) is configured to store data regarding communication connections to each slave unit connected to it; and

the master unit is configured to establish a communication connection for communicating with another master unit indirectly or directly, with a central processing unit.

3. The building equipment-based communication system according to claim 2 wherein the master units are connected to one another by a data bus.

4. The building equipment-based communication system according to claim 1 wherein the master unit stores an address of a slave unit dedicated to another slave unit via which the dedicated slave unit can be reached and through which the at dedicated slave unit transmits a message regarding a detected event to the master unit.

5. The building equipment-based communication system according to claim 1 wherein at least one slave unit is configured to receive configuration data from the master unit;

and the master unit is configured to transmit configuration data to the at least one slave unit upon receiving a query signal.

6. The building equipment-based communication system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one slave unit is configured to transmit a detection message to the master unit when a detection event has been detected by the at least one slave unit and wherein the master unit is configured to transmit/ the detection message, by means of the communication interface;

and the master unit is configured to receive transmitted configuration parameters by means of an input device, based on which setting parameters for the master unit or the at least one slave unit can be set.

7. The building equipment-based communication system according to claim 1 wherein the master unit is a building equipment-based device, comprising a light fixture having an operating unit for operating an LED lamp, and the at least one slave unit comprises at least one of:

a motion sensor, smoke detector, humidity sensor, temperature sensor, light sensor, access monitoring sensor, rolling gate motor, blind motor, and a heating system.

8. The building equipment-based communication system according to claim 1 wherein the communication interface transmits messages by means of IP protocols comprising at least one of email, messenger services, and SMS.

9. The building equipment-based communication system according to claim 1 wherein the master unit is configured to selectively transmit the data received from the slave units to different users or different master units, depending on a detection event and depending on the type of slave unit.

10. A building equipment-based communication system having:

at least one building equipment-based device comprising an LED light fixture with an operating device having a communication interface for an IP network connection serving as a master unit;

multiple slave units, each comprising a sensor and/or actuator, that are connected to the master unit, through an ad hoc network, wherein each slave unit is configured to communicate, directly, or indirectly by means of other slave units, with the master unit via the ad hoc network and at least one slave unit is configured to communicate indirectly by means of the other slave units with the master unit via the ad hoc network; and

wherein the master unit (10) is configured to transmit data received from at least one of the slave units to the IP network via said communication interface;

wherein the master unit stores a complete pathway to each slave unit connected to the master unit through the ad hoc network; and

wherein at least one slave unit is a sensor and is configured to transmit a detection signal to the master unit when a detection event has been detected by the at least one slave unit and wherein the master unit is configured to change the operating mode of the LED light fixture upon receiving the detection signal, and said changed operating mode comprises at least one of a blinking mode, a color change or dimming upon receiving the detection signal.

11. The building equipment-based communication system according to claim 10 where the changed operating mode serves as a visual warning.

12. A building equipment-based communication system having:

at least one building equipment-based device comprising an LED light fixture with an operating device having a communication interface for an IP network connection serving as a master unit;

multiple slave units, each comprising a sensor and/or actuator, that are connected to the master unit, through an ad hoc network, wherein each slave unit is configured to communicate, directly, or indirectly by means of other slave units, with the master unit via the ad hoc network and at least one slave unit is configured to communicate indirectly by means of the other slave units with the master unit via the ad hoc network; and

wherein the master unit (10) is configured to transmit data received from at least one of the slave units to the IP network via said communication interface;

wherein the master unit stores a complete pathway to each slave unit connected to the master unit through the ad hoc network;

wherein at least one slave unit is a sensor and is configured to transmit a detection signal to the master unit when a detection event has been detected by the at least one slave unit, and the master unit is configured to selectively transmit the data received from said at least one slave unit to different users or different master units, depending on a detection event and depending on the type of slave unit.