UTILITY CONTROL SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A utility control system, comprising:
- a. one or more processor mounted controllers controlling lighting and/or utility provision characterized in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (“
HVAC”
) in the building zone comprised of at least one common use territory;
b. at least one bus routing hub;
c. one or more light fixtures installed in said building zone controlled by said controller;
d. one or more occupancy sensors monitoring occupancy within a common use territory of said building zone;
e. an interactive sensor monitoring an occupant crossing a door partitioning two territories, wherein at least one territory is a common use territory within said building zone;
f. one or more elevator car detection sensors monitoring real-time location, landing and departure of operating elevator cars installed in the building;
g. a timer tracking duration of a time period for lighting provision and/or HVAC provision assigned to each occupant or each group of occupants making entry into said common use territory, the lighting provision and/or HVAC provision is in an operation mode during said time period.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A utility control system governs provision of genuine on-demand lighting, as well other utilities as in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (“HVAC”) in territories of a building in accordance with occupant demand. In lighting control, the present invention enacts on-demand illumination anterior to the occupant entering a normally dimmed/unlighted territory; lighting is provided immediately anterior to occupant entry into an oncoming territory. As the occupant leaves each territory, lighting provision is suspended/terminated in that territory for energy conservation. Signals and commands received by the utility control system from a plurality of override switches, interactive sensors and occupancy sensors within each monitored territory, as well as the control units of an elevator control system (“ECS”), a Building Management System (“BMS”) and a client computer govern the utility control system for configuring automated lighting provision. The utility control system predicts an occupant traversal path and provides the occupant with the best-suited lighted environments in each territory of the occupant traversal path.
65 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A utility control system, comprising:
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a. one or more processor mounted controllers controlling lighting and/or utility provision characterized in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (“
HVAC”
) in the building zone comprised of at least one common use territory;b. at least one bus routing hub; c. one or more light fixtures installed in said building zone controlled by said controller; d. one or more occupancy sensors monitoring occupancy within a common use territory of said building zone; e. an interactive sensor monitoring an occupant crossing a door partitioning two territories, wherein at least one territory is a common use territory within said building zone; f. one or more elevator car detection sensors monitoring real-time location, landing and departure of operating elevator cars installed in the building; g. a timer tracking duration of a time period for lighting provision and/or HVAC provision assigned to each occupant or each group of occupants making entry into said common use territory, the lighting provision and/or HVAC provision is in an operation mode during said time period. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10)
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8. A method of operating a utility control system, comprising:
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a. sending signals, commands and/or information by one or more said controllers to one or more external control systems for determining the respective unique configurations and activation of separate operations; b. receiving by one or more said controllers sensor signals, commands and/or information sent from one or more said external control systems for controlling one or more said light fixtures and/or utility provision characterized in HVAC in said building zone; c. receiving signals by one or more said controllers sent from an occupancy sensor through a wired or wireless linkage; d. receiving signals by one or more said controllers sent from an interactive sensor through a wired or wireless linkage; e. receiving signals by one or more said controllers sent from elevator detection sensors through a wired or wireless linkage; f. receiving signals by one or more said controllers sent from an override switch for time extension of lighting and/or utility provision through a wired or wireless linkage; g. switching, by one or more said controllers, between an operation mode and a power reduction mode on electrical devices in accordance with received sensors signals, commands and/or information sent from one or more said external control systems; h. assigning, by one or more said controllers, a time period for each detected occupant in a territory of said building zone, setting said light fixtures to operation mode during said time period, providing illumination as a utility provision within said territory.
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9. A method comprising said controller utilizing sensor signals in adaptive control for automated provision of lighting and said utility in accordance with detected occupancy and clock time, comprising:
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a. recording frequencies of occupants entering and exiting via the main entrance door into and out of an apartment unit in a building through sensor signals receiving from said interactive sensor and/or said occupancy sensor; b. determining the time duration of the open state of said main entrance door; c. determining if said tenant household has moved out of said apartment unit, in conformity with said time duration; and d. eliminating recorded data pertaining to the vacated apartment unit used for said adaptive control; e. determining if a new tenant household has moved into said tenant household unit thereby adjusting related data pertaining to predicted occupancy routines used for said adaptive control.
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11. A method of operating a utility control system utilizing information received from said elevator control system, comprising:
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a. receiving signals, commands and/or information by one or more said controllers from an elevator control system controlling one or more operating elevator cars;
whereas, said signals, commands and/or information are based on real-time data pertaining to traveling passengers and/or car scheduling of one or more said elevator cars;b. sending signals, commands and/or information pertaining to occupancy and/or HVAC provision in one or more said territories of each landing floor by one or more said controllers to said elevator control system in an operation mode; c. switching, by one or more said controllers on electrical devices, from an operation mode to a power reduction mode, or, from a power reduction mode to an operation mode, in one or more said territories in each said landing floor in accordance with signals, commands and/or information received from said elevator control system.
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12. The method of operating a utility control system, wherein said controller determining occupant entry into a door partitioned, common use territory of a building zone anterior to or during the opening of said door, comprising:
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a. receiving sensor signals, by said controller, sent from an interactive sensor detecting occupant-initiated action in activating a reader of an integrated circuit chip embedded entity such as a card and/or a personal electronic device, before opening a closed door;
orb. receiving sensor signals, by said controller, sent from an interactive sensor detecting occupant-initiated action in moving the knob or lever of a door lock, before opening a closed door;
orc. receiving sensor signals, by said controller, sent from an interactive sensor detecting occupant-initiated action in opening a door;
ord. receiving sensor signals, by said controller, sent from elevator detection sensors detecting the location, landing of an elevator car at a landing floor and opening of the respective elevator doors; e. receiving signals, commands and/or information pertaining to car scheduling and/or landing by said controller, sent from an elevator control system anterior to landing of an elevator car at a landing floor and opening of the respective elevator doors. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A modular utility control system controlling utility provision, the utility provision includes on-demand, antecedent lighting provision in at least one building zone, comprising:
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a. a controller controlling lighting and/or said HVAC provision in at least one said building zone comprised of at least one common use territory; b. said controller controlling at least one light fixture installed in said territory; c. said controller receiving signals from an occupancy sensor through a first communication linkage; d. said controller receiving signals from an interactive sensor through a second communication linkage; e. said controller receiving signals from the elevator detection sensors through a forth communication linkage; f. said controller receiving signals from an override switch through a fifth communication linkage; g. said controller sending information to a client computer and receiving information from said client computer via a communication linkage; h. said controller sending information to an elevator control system and receiving information from said elevator control system via a communication linkage; i. said controller controlling lighting provision and/or HVAC provision in said territory of said building zone in accordance with sensor signals, preinstalled program code, preconfigurations and operation specifications, received data, commands and/or information from said client computer, and received commands and information from said elevator control system.
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Specification