USE OF A GEO-FENCING PERIMETER FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDING CONTROL

• US 20150094860A1
• Filed: 01/11/2014
• Published: 04/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Siemens Industry Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Industry Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Finnerty, Shaun, Pawlowski, Michael
• Application Number:
  US14/153,015
• Publication Number:
  US 20150094860A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/275
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2823 Reporting information sensed by appliance or service execution status of appliance services in a home automation network device-related reporting H04L43/065; arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method and system of associating the personal remote mobile communications devices of occupants with the room and spaces they occupy in a building or other facility and generating commands to a building automation system based on changes in the location of the mobile communications devices relative to the associated room or space.

Claims

1. A method of adjusting control devices of a building automation system (BAS), the method including the steps of:

generating a geo-fencing perimeter that defines a space in a building;

associating the space with an occupant authorized to occupy the space;

downloading a cloud-based application to a mobile communications device (MCD) under the control of the occupant; and

using location-based services (LBS) provided by the MCD to determine entering or leaving the geo-fencing perimeter.

2. The method of claim 1, further including the steps of

transmitting a command from the MCD to BAS configured to control the space when the LBS of the MCD detects the MCD entering or leaving of a geo-fencing perimeter.

3. The method of claim 2, further including the step of adjusting building control systems of the building responsive to the command received from the MCD.

4. The method of claim 3, where the BAS includes security systems, fire safety systems, lighting systems, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.

5. The method of claim 1, where the step of generating a geo-fencing perimeter further includes determining geographical coordinates of the space.

6. The method of claim 1, where the space in a building is a virtual space defined by geographical coordinates irrespective of physical dimensions.

7. The method of claim 1, where the step of comparing further includes:

determining a distance between the determined location of the MCD and the geo-fencing perimeter;

comparing the distance to a predetermined threshold limit; and

indicating a change of location if the threshold limit is exceeded.

8. An apparatus for adjusting control devices of a building automation system (BAS), comprising:

geo-fencing perimeters that define spaces in a building;

occupier identifiers that associate occupants with the geo-fencing perimeters;

a plurality of mobile communications devices under the control of the occupants;

a memory that stores the geo-fencing perimeters and the occupier identifiers;

an application in signal communication with the memory that executes a plurality of instructions that determines locations of each of the plurality of mobile communications devices and compares the locations against the corresponding geo-fencing perimeters.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, where the comparison of the locations of the mobile communications devices against the corresponding geo-fencing perimeters indicates whether the spaces are occupied or unoccupied.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, where the mobile communications devices include remote personal Global Positioning System (GPS)-enabled and Bluetooth-enabled mobile communications devices communicating over a wireless network with the BAS.