Environment, Lighting and Security Control System

• US 20090018673A1
• Filed: 07/09/2007
• Published: 01/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Venstar Incorporated (Daikin Industries Ltd)
• Original Assignee: Venstar Incorporated (Daikin Industries Ltd)
• Inventors: Tudhope, Stephen, Oransel, Mustafa, Russo, Richard, Godwin, Craig, Dushane, Steven
• Granted Patent: US 7,565,225 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/9
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/042 using digital processors G05B19/05 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23043 Remote and local control panel, programming unit, switch
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25168 Domotique, access through internet protocols

Abstract

The present invention provides an environment measurement monitoring and response system. The present invention provides a method, system and program for managing multiple environmental systems in retail store locations geographically remote from each other.

Claims

1. A system for controlling the operation of energy consuming devices within multiple retail store locations, where at each said location is adapted to permit consumers to enter a conditioned space in an enclosed building structure to view or purchase goods or services and all said locations are owned and controlled by a single business entity, whereby each said location further comprises equipment for heating the conditioned space, equipment for cooling the conditioned space, ducts for delivery of cooled or heated air to the conditioned space, ducts for return air flow from the conditioned space to the equipment for heating or cooling the conditioned space, and a plurality of sets of lights adapted to light physical zones of said location, each set of lights being operable by a single switch, the improvement comprising:

a central server located at a central office of said business entity remote from any of said locations and comprising a first central processing unit, a first memory and a first input/output unit operating under a central control program that determines and stores in the first memory control data, whereby at least one computer node with a user interface adapted to communicate with the first input/output unit for receiving output from the first memory and transmitting input to the first memory that can change control data;

the first input/output unit further comprising wide area network communication means for transmitting control data to each of said locations and for receiving sensor data or operations data from said locations;

each of said locations further comprises a single data concentrator comprising a second central processing unit, a second memory and a second input/output unit connected for communications with the central server, one or more equipment control packs, and a lighting pack, where the data concentrator operates under a data concentrator control program stored in the second memory adapted to receive and store transmissions of control data from the central server and transmit them to one of one or more equipment control packs or to a lighting control pack according to a sorting means of the data concentrator control program that associates separable data parts of the control data with a specific equipment control pack or lighting control pack;

each equipment control pack comprises a third central processing unit, a third memory and a third input/output unit connected for communications with the data concentrator, a controlled programmable thermostat, and one or more temperature sensors as well as switches for heating equipment and cooling equipment, where each equipment control pack operates under an equipment control pack control program in the third memory adapted to receive and store transmissions of control data from the data concentrator and store control data in the third memory, such that each equipment control pack receives and stores temperature sensor signals determining current temperatures in at least a portion of the conditioned space and compares the current temperature with one or more temperature setpoints from the control data, whereafter heating equipment or cooling equipment controlled by a equipment control pack may be turned on until said current temperature is within a range of setpoints for heating or cooling of the conditioned space;

each lighting control pack comprises a fourth central processing unit, a fourth memory and a fourth input/output unit connected for communications with the data concentrator and one or more lighting level sensors arranged at said location under each of said sets of lights as well as switches for one or more sets of lights, where each lighting control pack operates under a lighting control pack control program in the fourth memory adapted to receive and store transmissions of control data from the data concentrator, such that each lighting control pack receives and stores lighting level sensor signals determining current lighting levels under each of said sets of lights, whereafter one or more sets of lights may be turned on or off by operation of the lighting control pack control program operating under the control data;

one or more controlled programmable thermostats, each comprising a fifth central processing unit, a fifth memory and a fifth input/output unit connected for communications with a single equipment control pack and a thermostat user interface for input of at least heating or cooling setpoints, where each controlled programmable thermostat operates under a thermostat control program adapted to receive and store temperature sensor signals from its communicating equipment control pack, such that each controlled programmable thermostat cannot cause a change in the operation of heating or cooling equipment controlled by its communicating equipment control pack unless a local user activates an override function of the thermostat control program via the thermostat user interface, whereafter temperature setpoints are transmitted from a controlled programmable thermostat to its equipment control pack to replace for a pre-determined period of time the temperature setpoints from control data used by the equipment control pack program and such that at the end of the pre-determined period of time the temperature setpoints of the control data replace those from the controlled programmable thermostat used by the equipment control program.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein each equipment control pack comprises circuits, circuit support boards, and input and output equipment housed in a single housing substantially sealed against the atmosphere.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein cooling equipment operable by a single equipment control package resides in a single cooling equipment housing, wherein said single equipment control package is secured.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein heating equipment operable by a single equipment control package resides in a single heating equipment housing, wherein said single equipment control package is secured.

5. The system of claim 2 wherein cooling and heating equipment operable by a single equipment control package resides in a single equipment housing, said single equipment control package is secured within the equipment housing, a supply duct connects a conditioned air outlet from the cooling and heating equipment to the conditioned space, a return duct connects a conditioned air inlet from the conditioned space to the cooling and heating equipment and temperature sensors detect and transmit to the single equipment control package temperatures of air flow in the supply duct and return duct and air flow in the supply duct.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein equipment control programs at each said location operate to, for pre-determined periods of time, calculate periods of operation of each piece of heating and cooling equipment, store temperature sensor and air flow sensor data, and calculate periods of time in which an override from controlled programmable thermostats as a package of location sensor and operations data and thereafter transmit it to the data concentrator, whereafter said location sensor and operations data is transmitted to and stored at the central server.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the central control program operates to increase the cooling setpoint for an energy controlled location by one degree at pre-determined intervals.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the central server receives input of one or more customer complaints from the energy controlled location that the conditioned space therein is too hot during a pre-determined cooling period.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the central control program compares frequency of said customer complaints over a pre-determined period with a pre-set customer complaint level, whereby if the frequency of said customer complaints is greater than the pre-set customer complaint level, the central control program decreases the cooling setpoint for the energy controlled location and transmits it thereto.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein after a pre-determined period, the central control program operates to increase the cooling setpoint for the energy controlled location by one degree at pre-determined intervals.

11. The system of claim 6 wherein the central control program operates to decrease the heating setpoint for an energy controlled location by one degree at pre-determined intervals.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the central server receives input of one or more customer complaints from the energy controlled location that the conditioned space therein is too cold during a pre-determined heating period.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the central control program compares frequency of said customer complaints over a pre-determined period with a pre-set customer complaint level, whereby if the frequency of said customer complaints is greater than the pre-set customer complaint level, the central control program increases the heating setpoint for the energy controlled location and transmits it thereto.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein after a pre-determined period, the central control program operates to decrease the heating setpoint for the energy controlled location by one degree at pre-determined intervals.

15. A system of for remote monitoring and operation of environmental control for conditioned spaces for each of multiple commercial locations, wherein environmental control equipment at each commercial location comprises one or more of an air conditioner compressor, an evaporation coil connected with the air conditioner condenser, a furnace heater and a blower fan and are all located in a common housing, the improvement comprising:

(a) a data concentrator with a first housing enclosing a first microprocessor operating a first control program and a first input/output unit connected with the first microprocessor, where said first housing is located in a room of each commercial location;

(b) an equipment control package with a second housing enclosing a second microprocessor operating a second control program and a second input/output unit connected with the second microprocessor, where said second housing is located on or within the common housing and the second input/output unit is connected with the first input/output unit;

(c) multiple operation sensor means connected with the second input/output unit for detecting and transmitting to the second microprocessor one or more operating conditions in the conditioned spaces and one or more operating conditions in one or more air flows into or out of the environmental control equipment;

(d) on/off means connecting the second input/output unit with the environmental control equipment for control thereof by the second control program;

(e) a local interface thermostat with a third housing enclosing a third microprocessor operating a third control program and a third input/output unit connected with the third microprocessor, where said third housing is located in the conditioned space of each commercial location, wherein the third input/output unit is connected with a local user interface comprising a local display screen adapted to display to a local viewer one or more operating conditions and one or more setpoints for operation of the environmental control equipment;

(f) the second control program having equipment control means for comparing one or more setpoints with sensed environmental conditions and to turn on or off the environmental control equipment based upon said comparison; and

(g) a remote computer operations center comprising means for communicating by way of a packet computer network with each data concentrator and for transmitting to one or more data concentrators a set of one or more control functions which are thereafter transmitted to and stored at the second microprocessor of the equipment control package, where said set of control functions changes a previous local control function of the second control program for operation of the environmental control equipment.

16. A system of for remote monitoring and operation of environmental control for conditioned spaces for each of multiple commercial locations, wherein environmental control equipment at each commercial location comprises one or more of an air conditioner compressor, an evaporation coil connected with the air conditioner condenser, a furnace heater and a blower fan and are all located in a common housing, the improvement comprising:

(a) a data concentrator with a first housing enclosing a first microprocessor operating a first control program and a first input/output unit connected with the first microprocessor, where said first housing is located in a room of each commercial location;

(b) an equipment control package with a second housing enclosing a second microprocessor operating a second control program and a second input/output unit connected with the second microprocessor, where said second housing is located on or within the common housing and the second input/output unit is connected with the first input/output unit;

(c) multiple operation sensor means connected with the second input/output unit for detecting and transmitting to the second microprocessor one or more operating conditions in the conditioned spaces and one or more operating conditions in one or more air flows into or out of the environmental control equipment, whereupon the second microprocessor acts to transmit operating conditions to the first microprocessor for storage;

(d) on/off means connecting the second input/output unit with the environmental control equipment for control thereof by the second control program;

(e) the first control program having equipment control means for comparing one or more setpoints with sensed environmental conditions and to turn on or off the environmental control equipment based upon said comparison and thereafter transmit to the second microprocessor command signals to turn environmental equipment on or off; and

(f) a remote computer operations center comprising means for communicating by way of a packet computer network with each data concentrator and for transmitting to one or more data concentrators a set of one or more control functions which are thereafter transmitted to and stored at the first microprocessor of the data concentrator, where said set of control functions changes a previous local control function of the first control program for operation of the environmental control equipment.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein after a pre-determined period the remote computer operations center transmits a set of control functions to one or more data concentrators a change in the first control program whereby the first control program operates to decrease a heating setpoint by one degree at pre-determined intervals.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein after a pre-determined period the remote computer operations center transmits a set of control functions to one or more data concentrators a change in the first control program whereby the first control program operates to increase an air conditioning setpoint by one degree at pre-determined intervals.

19. The system of claim 16 wherein said change in a local control functions occurs for two or more data concentrators at separate commercial locations by way of a single transmission from the remote computer operations center.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein said change in a local control functions occurs for all data concentrators at separate commercial locations by way of a single transmission from the remote computer operations center.