Building automation system data management
First Claim
1. A building automation system (BAS) comprising:
- a plurality of end devices each associated with at least one of a space, a system, or a subsystem for at least a portion of a building or a campus;
at least one communication network communicatively coupling at least a portion of the plurality of end devices and supporting a plurality of communication protocols;
a protocol-independent server engine communicatively coupled to the at least one communication network, the server engine including;
programming means for selectively implementing a dynamic extensibility capability for the BAS that establishes communications with and control of the plurality of end devices over at least one of the plurality of communication protocols; and
programming means for selectively implementing an automatic configuration capability for the BAS that supports addition of end devices to the plurality of end devices by determining at least one characteristic of each end device, the at least one characteristic being selected from the set consisting of a self-describing status and a non-self-describing status, including;
for an end device having a self-describing status, programming means for accepting and storing data and metadata descriptors communicated from the end device; and
for an end device having a non-self-describing status, programming means for searching a database of data and metadata descriptors for end devices maintained by the server engine for data and metadata descriptors based on the non-self-describing status of the end device and for automatically requesting supplemental manually programmed data and metadata descriptors for the end device if the non-self-describing status of the device is not sufficient to retrieve data and metadata descriptors for the end device from the database.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A building automation system (BAS) comprising a plurality of end devices, at least one communication network, and a protocol-independent server engine. The end devices are each associated with at least one of a space, a system, or a subsystem for at least a portion of a building or a campus. The communication network supports a plurality of communication protocols and communicatively couples at least a portion of the plurality of end devices. The server engine is communicatively coupled to the at least one communication network and includes means for selectively implementing a dynamic extensibility capability for the BAS that establishes communications with and control of the plurality of end devices over the plurality of communication protocols, and means for selectively implementing an automatic configuration capability for the BAS that supports addition of end devices to the plurality of end devices by determining at least one characteristic of each end device. Methods of establishing communications with unknown end devices in a building automation system (BAS) based upon metadata descriptors provided by known and unknown end devices are also disclosed.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A building automation system (BAS) comprising:
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a plurality of end devices each associated with at least one of a space, a system, or a subsystem for at least a portion of a building or a campus;
at least one communication network communicatively coupling at least a portion of the plurality of end devices and supporting a plurality of communication protocols;
a protocol-independent server engine communicatively coupled to the at least one communication network, the server engine including;
programming means for selectively implementing a dynamic extensibility capability for the BAS that establishes communications with and control of the plurality of end devices over at least one of the plurality of communication protocols; and
programming means for selectively implementing an automatic configuration capability for the BAS that supports addition of end devices to the plurality of end devices by determining at least one characteristic of each end device, the at least one characteristic being selected from the set consisting of a self-describing status and a non-self-describing status, including;
for an end device having a self-describing status, programming means for accepting and storing data and metadata descriptors communicated from the end device; and
for an end device having a non-self-describing status, programming means for searching a database of data and metadata descriptors for end devices maintained by the server engine for data and metadata descriptors based on the non-self-describing status of the end device and for automatically requesting supplemental manually programmed data and metadata descriptors for the end device if the non-self-describing status of the device is not sufficient to retrieve data and metadata descriptors for the end device from the database. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for establishing communications with unknown end devices in a building automation system (BAS) based upon metadata descriptors provided by known and unknown end devices, the method comprising the steps of:
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discovering an unknown end device on a communication network, the unknown end device associated with at least one of a point, a space, a system, or a subsystem for at least a portion of a building or campus;
querying the unknown end device for a communication protocol metadata descriptor;
classifying the unknown end device as a self-describing end device if the unknown end device provides a communication protocol metadata descriptor in response to the query and selecting a communication protocol that corresponds to the communication protocol metadata descriptor for the unknown end device; and
classifying the unknown end device as a non-self-describing end device if the unknown end device does not provide a communication protocol metadata descriptor in response to the query. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. A building automation system (BAS) comprising:
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a plurality of control/sensor means for measuring and communicating data about at least one of a point, a space, a system, or a subsystem for at least a portion of a building or campus;
communication means for communicatively coupling at least a portion of the plurality of control/sensor means and supporting a plurality of communication protocols; and
protocol-independent computing and storage means for controlling the plurality of control/sensor means through the communication means, the computing and storage means including;
programming means for selectively implementing a dynamic extensibility capability for the BAS that establishes communications with and control of the plurality of control/sensor means over the plurality of communication protocols; and
programming means for selectively implementing an automatic configuration capability for the BAS that supports addition of control/sensor means to the plurality of control/sensor means by determining at least one characteristic of each control/sensor means, the at least one characteristic being selected from the set consisting of a self-describing status and a non-self-describing status, including;
for a control/sensor means having a self-describing status, programming means for accepting and storing data and metadata descriptors communicated from the control/sensor means; and
for a control/sensor means having a non-self-describing status, programming means for searching a database of data and metadata descriptors for control/sensor means maintained by the computing and storage means for data and metadata descriptors based on the non-self-describing status of the end device and automatically requesting supplemental manually programmed data and metadata descriptors for the end device if the non-self-describing status of the device is not sufficient to retrieve data and metadata descriptors for the end device from the database. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A building automation system (BAS) comprising:
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a plurality of end devices each associated with at least one of a space, a system, or a subsystem for at least a portion of a building or a campus;
at least one communication network communicatively coupling at least a portion of the plurality of end devices and supporting a plurality of communication protocols;
a protocol-independent server engine communicatively coupled to the at least one communication network, the server engine including;
software instructions adapted to implement a dynamic extensibility capability for the BAS and establish communications with and control of the plurality of end devices over at least one of the plurality of communication protocols; and
software instructions adapted to implement an automatic configuration capability for the BAS to support addition of end devices to the plurality of end devices by determining at least one characteristic of each end device, the at least one characteristic being selected from the set consisting of a self-describing status and a non-self-describing status, including;
for an end device having a self-describing status, software instructions adapted to accept and store data and metadata descriptors communicated from the end device; and
for an end device having a non-self-describing status, software instructions adapted to search a database of data and metadata descriptors for end devices maintained by the server engine for data and metadata descriptors based on the non-self-describing status of the end device and to requesting supplemental manually programmed data and metadata descriptors for the end device if the non-self-describing status of the device is not sufficient to retrieve data and metadata descriptors for the end device from the database.
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16. A building automation system (BAS) comprising:
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means for discovering an unknown end device on a communication network, the unknown end device associated with at least one of a point, a space, a system, or a subsystem for at least a portion of a building or campus;
means for querying the unknown end device for a communication protocol metadata descriptor;
means for classifying the unknown end device as a self-describing end device if the unknown end device provides a communication protocol metadata descriptor in response to the query and for selecting a communication protocol that corresponds to the communication protocol metadata descriptor for the unknown end device; and
means for classifying the unknown end device as a non-self-describing end device if the unknown end device does not provide a communication protocol metadata descriptor in response to the query. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification