EMBEDDED BUILDING CONROLLER WITH STORED SOFTWARE LICENSE INFORMATION

• US 20090048691A1
• Filed: 08/16/2007
• Published: 02/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Donaldson, Stuart G.
• Granted Patent: US 9,147,049 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/90
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]

Abstract

A building controller unit having a building controller adapted to control one or more building components of a building, and a license file stored within the building controller unit for storing software license information. In some cases, the building controller unit may include a license server for granting and/or denying software access requests from one or more software applications running external to the building controller unit based on the software license information stored in the building controller unit.

Claims

1. An embedded building controller unit, comprising:

an embedded building controller adapted to control one or more building components of a building; and

a license stored within the embedded building controller unit, the license including license information.

2. The embedded building controller unit of claim 1, wherein the embedded building controller is an HVAC building controller.

3. The embedded building controller unit of claim 1, wherein the embedded building controller is a security controller.

4. The embedded building controller unit of claim 1, wherein the embedded building controller is a fire controller.

5. The embedded building controller unit of claim 1, wherein the embedded building controller is a lighting controller.

6. The embedded building controller unit of claim 1, wherein the embedded building controller includes a license server.

7. The embedded building controller unit of claim 1, further comprising a network interface for interfacing with a network.

8. The embedded building controller unit of claim 7, further comprising one or more I/O interfaces for interfacing with the one or more building components.

9. The embedded building controller unit of claim 8, wherein the one or more building components are adapted to monitor and/or control one or more physical properties of the building.

10. The embedded building controller unit of claim 9, wherein the one or more physical properties of the building include one or more of temperature, humidity, ventilation, building access, lighting, fire detection and fire suppression.

11. The building control system of claim 1 further comprising:

wherein the embedded building controller is coupled to a building control network; and

a license server coupled to the network, the license server providing at least some of the license information of the license upon request from an application.

12. The building control system of claim 11 wherein the license server is in one or more of the embedded building controllers.

13. The building control system of claim 11 further comprising one or more general purpose computers or workstations coupled to the network.

14. The building control system of claim 13, wherein the license server is in one or more of the general purpose computers or workstations.

15. The building control system of claim 13 further comprising a building control software package running on one or more of the general purpose computers or workstations.

16. The building control system of claim 15 wherein the building control software package has one or more functions that are enabled and/or limited by the license information of the license.

17. The building control system of claim 11 wherein at least one function of one or more of the embedded building controllers are enabled by the license information of the license.

18. An embedded building controller unit, comprising:

an embedded building controller adapted to control one or more building components of a building; and

an interface for receiving license access requests from one or more software applications that are running external to the embedded building controller unit;

a license server within the embedded building controller unit coupled to the interface, the license server granting or denying the access requests based in license information stored within the embedded building controller unit.

19. An embedded building controller unit, comprising:

an embedded building controller adapted to control one or more building components of a building; and

an interface for receiving license access requests from one or more software applications that are running external to the embedded building controller unit;

a license server within the embedded building controller unit coupled to the interface; and

an application requesting the license information, the application granting or denying access requests based on the license information stored within the embedded building controller unit.

20. The embedded building controller unit of claim 19, further comprising one or more I/O interfaces for interfacing with the one or more building components, wherein the one or more building components are adapted to monitor and/or control one or more physical properties of the building, wherein the one or more physical properties of the building include one or more of temperature, humidity, ventilation, building access, lighting, fire detection and fire suppression.