ENHANCED ALARMING WITH BACNET OBJECTS

• US 20160041537A1
• Filed: 08/05/2014
• Published: 02/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Industry Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Industry Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Landou, Bruno P., Rule, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 10,007,240 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 19/00 Alarms responsive to two or more different undesired or abnormal conditions, e.g. burglary and fire, abnormal temperature and abnormal rate of flow
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/008 Alarm setting and unsetting, i.e. arming or disarming of the security system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/14 Central alarm receiver or annunciator arrangements
• 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

Abstract

Management systems, methods, and mediums are provided. A method includes monitoring a value of a data point associated with a device in an automation system using a set of pairs of event enrollment objects and notification class objects configured to generate and communicate an alarm according to a first protocol. Each of the pairs of objects corresponds to one of a set of offsets defined according to a second protocol. The method also includes writing property values of the pairs of objects for different alarm monitoring modes using a set of command objects. Additionally, the method includes generating and communicating, in response to detecting the value for the data point meeting conditions in at least one of the event enrollment objects, an alarm according to a notification class object paired with the at least one event enrollment object.

Claims

1. A method in a data processing system, the method comprising:

monitoring a value of a data point associated with a device in an automation system using a set of pairs of event enrollment objects and notification class objects configured to generate and communicate an alarm according to a first protocol, each of the pairs of objects corresponding to one of a set of offsets defined according to a second protocol;

writing property values of the pairs of objects for different alarm monitoring modes using a set of command objects; and

in response to detecting the value for the data point meeting conditions in at least one of the event enrollment objects, generating and communicating an alarm according to a notification class object paired with the at least one event enrollment object.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying which of the alarm monitoring modes is active using a present value property of at least one of the command objects.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein writing the property values of the pairs of objects for the different alarm monitoring modes comprises, in response to a change in which of the alarm monitoring modes is active, changing one or more of the property values of the pairs of objects using the set of command objects.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the alarm monitoring modes include different rules for generating an alarm according to which of the alarm monitoring modes is active.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the offsets include different priority levels for urgency of an alarm, different notification destinations, and different operator messages.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first protocol is a building automation and controls network (BACnet) protocol.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the value of the data point comprises using a floating limit algorithm in the event enrollment objects to monitor the value.

8. A data processing system comprising:

a storage device comprising an alarm manager application;

an accessible memory comprising instructions of the alarm manager application; and

a processor configured to execute the instructions of the alarm manager application to;

monitor a value of a data point associated with a device in an automation system using a set of pairs of event enrollment objects and notification class objects configured to generate and communicate an alarm according to a first protocol, each of the pairs of objects corresponding to one of a set of offsets defined according to a second protocol;

write property values of the pairs of objects for different alarm monitoring modes using a set of command objects; and

generate and communicate, in response to detecting the value for the data point meeting conditions in at least one of the event enrollment objects, an alarm according to a notification class object paired with the at least one event enrollment object.

9. The data processing system of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the instructions of the alarm manager application to identify which of the alarm monitoring modes is active using a present value property of at least one of the command objects.

10. The data processing system of claim 8, wherein to write the property values of the pairs of objects for the different alarm monitoring modes, the processor is further configured to execute the instructions of the alarm manager application to change, in response to a change in which of the alarm monitoring modes is active, one or more of the property values of the pairs of objects using the set of command objects.

11. The data processing system of claim 8, wherein the alarm monitoring modes include different rules for generating an alarm according to which of the alarm monitoring modes is active.

12. The data processing system of claim 8, wherein the offsets include different priority levels for urgency of an alarm, different notification destinations, and different operator messages.

13. The data processing system of claim 8, wherein the first protocol is a building automation and controls network (BACnet) protocol.

14. The data processing system of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to use a floating limit algorithm in the event enrollment objects to monitor the value.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more data processing systems to:

monitor a value of a data point associated with a device in an automation system using a set of pairs of event enrollment objects and notification class objects configured to generate and communicate an alarm according to a first protocol, each of the pairs of objects corresponding to one of a set of offsets defined according to a second protocol;

write property values of the pairs of objects for different alarm monitoring modes using a set of command objects; and

generate and communicate, in response to detecting the value for the data point meeting conditions in at least one of the event enrollment objects, an alarm according to a notification class object paired with the at least one event enrollment object.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the computer-readable medium is further encoded with executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more data processing systems to identify which of the alarm monitoring modes is active using a present value property of at least one of the command objects.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions that cause the one or more data processing systems to write the property values of the pairs of objects for the different alarm monitoring modes comprise instructions that cause the one or more data processing systems to change, in response to a change in which of the alarm monitoring modes is active, one or more of the property values of the pairs of objects using the set of command objects.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the alarm monitoring modes include different rules for generating an alarm according to which of the alarm monitoring modes is active.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the offsets include different priority levels for urgency of an alarm, different notification destinations, and different operator messages.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first protocol is a building automation and controls network (BACnet) protocol.