REMOTE CONTRACTOR SYSTEM WITH DATA ANALYTICS FOR IDENTIFYING NEEDED PRODUCTS OR SERVICES

• US 20150127171A1
• Filed: 11/03/2014
• Published: 05/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ademco Inc. (Resideo Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Quam, David, Ragland, Amy, Peterson, Steve R., Paine, Brad
• Granted Patent: US 9,915,439 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/276
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/38 Failure diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/56 Remote control
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/58 using Internet communication
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/62 characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or estimation of values
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/63 Electronic processing
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/64 using pre-stored data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/70 Control systems characterised by their outputs; Constructional details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/89 Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/00 Control inputs relating to air properties
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24033 Failure, fault detection and isolation
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2614 HVAC, heating, ventillation, climate control
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/34477 Fault prediction, analyzing signal trends
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2825 Reporting to a device located outside the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with telemetering systems H04M11/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 : specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 : involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/82 : Energy audits or management systems therefor
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 : Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

A system that allows a contractor to remotely monitor and/or interact with its customers'"'"' building control systems, such as heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and analyze information obtained from the building control systems over time. Such a system may help the contractor monitor and diagnosis customer building control systems, setup service calls, achieve better customer relations, create more effective marketing opportunities, as well as other functions. In some cases, the disclosed system may include a controller that analyzes data from HVAC systems, determines if one or more of the HVAC systems may benefit from a particular product or service, and outputs the HVAC systems that are determined to benefit from a particular product or service.

Claims

1. A remote contractor system configured to communicate with a plurality of client HVAC controllers over a network, wherein each of the client HVAC controllers is part of a corresponding client HVAC system that services a corresponding client building, the remote contractor system comprising:

a communications port configured to operatively communicate with a plurality of client HVAC controllers, and to receive data related to the operation of a plurality of client HVAC systems;

a memory for storing received data related to the operation of the plurality of client HVAC systems;

a controller operatively coupled to the communications port and the memory, wherein the controller is configured to analyze the data related to the operation of the plurality of client HVAC systems and, based at least in part on the analysis of the data, determine if one or more of the plurality of client HVAC systems would benefit from a particular product or service; and

the controller further configured to output via the communications port one or more indications that identify which, if any, of the plurality of client HVAC systems would benefit from the particular product or service.

2. The remote contractor system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine if the client HVAC systems would benefit from the particular product or service by determining if the particular product or service would improve one or more of comfort provided by, efficiency of, maintenance of, and performance of the client HVAC system.

3. The remote contractor system of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more indications is tailored to a particular client HVAC system.

4. The remote contractor system of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more indications identifies the particular product or service and provides data that supports the determination that the client HVAC system would benefit from the particular product or service.

5. The remote contractor system of claim 1, wherein the one or more indications are communicated to and displayed on a display accessible by a user of the remote contractor system.

6. The remote contractor system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more indications is communicated to and displayed on a display of a client HVAC controller.

7. The remote contractor system of claim 1, wherein the controller outputs the one or more indications for display on a display.

8. The remote contractor system of claim 7, wherein the display is a display of a smart phone, a tablet, a laptop, or a personal computer.

9. A remote contractor system configured to communicate with a plurality of client building automation controllers over a network, wherein each of the client building automation controllers is part of a corresponding client building automation system that services a corresponding client building, the remote contractor system comprising:

a communications port configured to operatively communicate with a plurality of client building automation controllers, and to receive data related to the operation of a plurality of client building automation systems;

a memory for storing received data related to the operation of the plurality of client building automation systems;

a controller operatively coupled to the communications port and the memory, wherein the controller is configured to analyze the data related to the operation of the plurality of client building automation systems and, based at least in part on the analysis of the data, determine if one or more of the plurality of client HVAC systems would benefit from a particular product or service; and

the controller further configured to output via the communications port one or more notifications that each encourage a contractor to contact a consumer associated with a client building automation system that would benefit from the particular product or service.

10. The remote contractor system of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to search for a pattern in the received data that is related to the operation of the plurality of client building automation systems.

11. The remote contractor system of claim 10, wherein the notifications include a recommendation to provide a suggestion to the consumer, where the suggestion is for a product and/or service that addresses an identified pattern in the received data for a particular client building automation system.

12. The remote contractor system of claim 10, wherein the controller is configured to search for one or more of a pattern of humidity level over a period of time, a pattern of temperature level over a period of time, a pattern of fan activation over a period of time, and a pattern of particle count over a period of time.

13. The remote contractor system of claim 10, wherein at least one of the notifications identifies a promotion for a product and/or service that addresses an identified pattern in the received data for a particular client building automation system.

14. The remote contractor system of claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured to output the identified promotion to the consumer via the communications port after receiving approval from the contractor.

15. The remote contractor system of claim 14, wherein the controller is further configured to receive an acceptance of the identified promotion by the consumer via the communications port.

16. The remote contractor system of claim 14, wherein the controller is further configured to receive a scheduled service time of the identified promotion by the consumer via the communications port.

17. A method for identifying clients with building automation needs for contractors that service one or more building automation systems, the method comprising:

receiving and storing data related to the operation of a plurality of client building automation systems;

analyzing the data related to the operation of the plurality of client building automation systems using a processor, and based at least in part on the analysis of the received data, determining if one or more of the plurality of client building automation systems would benefit from a particular product or service;

generating one or more indications that identify which, if any, of the plurality of client building automation systems would benefit from the particular product or service; and

outputting the generated indications to a display for viewing by the contractor.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein analyzing the data comprises searching for a pattern in the received data that is related to the operation of the plurality of client building automation systems.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the generated indications include a recommendation to provide a suggestion, where the suggestion is for a product and/or service that addresses an identified pattern in the received data for the client building automation system.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein searching for a pattern comprises searching for one or more of a pattern of humidity level over a period of time, a pattern of temperature level over a period of time, a pattern of fan activation over a period of time, and a pattern of particle count over a period of time.