AUTOMATED SHADE CONTROL SYSTEM UTILIZING BRIGHTNESS MODELING

• US 20150225999A1
• Filed: 04/22/2015
• Published: 08/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mechoshade Systems, LLC.
• Original Assignee: Mechoshade Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Berman, Joel, Berman, Jan, Greenspan, Alex, Hebeisen, Stephen P., Ramalingam, Muthukumar
• Granted Patent: US 9,938,765 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 2009/2464 featuring transparency control by applying voltage, e.g. LCD, electrochromic panels
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 2009/6818 using sensors
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 2009/6827 sensing light
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 9/68 Operating devices or mechanisms, e.g. with electric drive
• 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 11/46 Improving electric energy efficiency or saving
• 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: G05B 17/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2827 Reporting to a device within the home network; wherein the reception of the information reported automatically triggers the execution of a home appliance functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/11 by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 30/24 Structural elements or technologies for improving thermal insulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 80/00 Architectural or constructional elements improving the thermal performance of buildings

Abstract

Automated shade systems comprise motorized window coverings, sensors, and controllers that use algorithms to control operation of the automated shade control system. These algorithms may include information such as: 3-D models of a building and surrounding structures, shadow information, reflectance information, lighting and radiation information, ASHRAE clear sky algorithms, log information related to manual overrides, occupant preference information, motion information, real-time sky conditions, solar radiation on a building, a total foot-candle load on a structure, brightness overrides, actual and/or calculated BTU load, time-of-year information, and microclimate analysis. Modeled brightness information may be utilized to control shades.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

modeling, by an automated control system, at least a portion of a building and at least a portion of the surroundings of a building to create a shadow model;

using, by the automated control system, the shadow model to calculate the presence of calculated shadow at a location of interest; and

communicating, to a building management system, information regarding the presence of calculated shadow at the location of interest.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating, to an artificial lighting control system, information regarding the presence of calculated shadow at the location of interest.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information regarding the presence of calculated shadow at the location of interest is communicated to the building management system in advance of when the calculated shadow is calculated to be present at the location of interest.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the information regarding the presence of calculated shadow at the location of interest is configured to instruct the building management system to adjust a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning setting associated with the location of interest.

5. A method, comprising:

modeling, by an automated control system, at least a portion of a building and at least a portion of the surroundings of a building to create a reflectance model;

using, by the automated control system, the reflectance model to calculate the presence of calculated reflected light at a location of interest; and

communicating, to a building management system, information regarding the presence of calculated reflected light at the location of interest.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising communicating, to an artificial lighting control system, information regarding the presence of calculated reflected light at the location of interest.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the information regarding the presence of calculated reflected light at the location of interest is configured to instruct the artificial lighting control system to modify an artificial lighting setting associated with the location of interest.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the information regarding the presence of calculated reflected light at the location of interest is communicated to the building management system in advance of when the calculated reflected light is calculated to be present at the location of interest.

9. A method, comprising:

comparing, by an automated control system, a measured radiation value obtained from a radiometer to a predicted radiation value generated by a clear sky algorithm to obtain a comparison value; and

communicating, by the automated control system and to a building management system, an instruction associated with the comparison value.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising communicating, by the automated control system and to an artificial lighting system, an instruction associated with the comparison value.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the instruction associated with the comparison value is configured to instruct the artificial lighting control system to modify an artificial lighting setting associated with the location of interest.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the clear sky algorithm is an ASHRAE clear sky algorithm.

13. A method, comprising:

comparing, by an automated control system, a measured radiation value obtained from a radiometer to a predicted radiation value generated by a clear sky algorithm to obtain a comparison value; and

communicating, by the automated control system and to an artificial lighting control system, an instruction associated with the comparison value.

14. A method, comprising:

using, by an automated control system, information related to at least one of solar penetration through a window or solar load on the window to establish a standard management routine for the window; and

communicating, by the automated control system and to a building management system, information regarding a deviation from the standard management routine arising from an override condition.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising communicating, by the automated control system and to an artificial lighting control system, information regarding the deviation from the standard management routine arising from the override condition.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the override condition is at least one of:

determining, by the automated control system, the presence of calculated reflected light on the window;

determining, by the automated control system, the presence of calculated shadow on the window;

determining, by the automated control system, a modelled brightness value indicating the presence of excessive brightness at the window;

or

determining, by the automated control system, that at least one of an actual British thermal unit (BTU) load on the window or a calculated BTU load on the window exceeds a predetermined value.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the communicating to the building management system is performed in advance of a change in the environment of the window.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the communicating to the building management system is configured to instruct the building management system to adjust a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning setting associated with the window.