Systems and methods for displaying a hierarchical set of building management system information

• US 9,475,359 B2
• Filed: 10/05/2010
• Issued: 10/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Mackay, Douglas P.
• Primary Examiner(s): TAN, ALVIN H
• Application Number:
  US12/898,599
• Publication Number:
  US 20110088000A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,212 Days
• Field of Search: 715/853
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 11/52 Indication arrangements, e.g. displays
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/00 Control inputs relating to air properties
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/16 Real estate
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/005 Tree description, e.g. octree, quadtree
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/00 Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2210/04 Architectural design, interior design
• 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

Abstract

A computing system for displaying hierarchical set of building management system information is shown and described. The computing system includes a processing circuit configured to render a shape for each software defined building object and to render the shapes for lower level software defined building objects as nested within the shapes for the higher level software defined building objects.

Claims

1. A computerized method for graphically displaying a non-graphical hierarchical set of information from a building management system (BMS) information, the method comprising:

receiving a causal relationship model that defines directional causal relationships between a plurality of software defined building objects;

using the causal relationship model to generate a non-graphical hierarchical set of BMS information having multiple hierarchical levels, wherein each level of the non-graphical hierarchical set of BMS information includes at least one of the software defined building objects hierarchically arranged according to the directional causal relationships defined by the causal relationship model, wherein at least one of the software defined building objects is a lower level software defined building object which has an attribute mapped to an input from a sensory device of the building management system, wherein the input is based on a variable measured by the sensory device, and wherein another of the software defined building objects is a higher level software defined building object representing building equipment configured to affect the measured attribute of the lower level software defined building object, as defined by the causal relationship model, by operating the building equipment;

processing the non-graphical hierarchical set of BMS information to determine and render a graphical shape for each of the software defined building objects, wherein the shapes for lower level software defined building objects are rendered as nested within the shapes for higher level software defined building objects; and

causing display of the rendered and nested shapes on a graphical user interface shown on an electronic display system, wherein each shape is displayed with indicia for the software defined building object associated with each shape and wherein the display of a shape for a higher level software defined building object concurrently displays a hierarchically nested shape for a lower level software defined building object at each lower level of the hierarchical set.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the hierarchical BMS information includes at least one of event or alarm information for a building.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the software defined building objects includes inputs mapped from a plurality of BMS subsystems.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the shapes are at least one of sized, shaded, colored, and outlined to represent each shape'"'"'s level in the hierarchical set of BMS information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the shapes are at least one of sized, shaded, colored, and outlined to represent the type of building object associated with the shape.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the shapes are at least one of sized, shaded, colored, and outlined to represent the importance of information associated with the software defined building object.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the shape are at least one of sized, shaded, colored, and outlined to represent the urgency of an event or alarm associated with the software defined building object.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the shape are at least one of sized, shaded, colored, and outlined to represent a number of faults associated with the software defined building object.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising using a processing algorithm to change a shape displayed in the graphical user interface in response to and representing a detected change in the hierarchical set of BMS information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the processing algorithm is configured to conduct the change based on at least one of a user selection and receiving a new event from the BMS associated with the software defined building object for the shape.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the change comprises reorganizing the graphical user interface so that the selected shape is displayed as at least one of a higher level or a top level in the graphical user interface.

12. A computer system for displaying a hierarchical set of information from a building management system (BMS), the computer system comprising:

a processing circuit configured to;

receive a causal relationship model that defines directional causal relationships between a plurality of software defined building objects;

use the causal relationship model to generate a non-graphical hierarchical set of BMS information having multiple hierarchical levels, wherein each level of the non-graphical hierarchical set of BMS information includes at least one of the software defined building objects hierarchically arranged according to the directional causal relationships defined by the causal relationship model, wherein at least one of the software defined building objects is a lower level software defined building object which has an attribute mapped to an input from a sensory device of the building management system, wherein the input is based on a variable measured by the sensory device, and wherein another of the software defined building objects is a higher level software defined building object representing building equipment configured to affect the measured attribute of the lower level software defined building object, as defined by the causal relationship model, by operating the building equipment;

process the non-graphical hierarchical set of BMS information to determine and render a graphical shape for each of the software defined building objects, wherein the shapes for lower level software defined building objects are rendered as nested within the shapes for higher level software defined building objects; and

cause display of the rendered and nested shapes on a graphical user interface shown on an electronic display system, wherein the display of a shape for a higher level software defined building object concurrently displays a hierarchically nested shape for a lower level software defined building object at each lower level of the hierarchical set.

13. The computer system of claim 12, wherein each shape is displayed with indicia for the software defined building object associated with each shape.

14. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the hierarchical BMS information includes at least one of event or alarm information for a building.

15. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the processing circuit is configured to change a shape displayed in the graphical user interface in response to and representing a detected change in the hierarchical set of BMS information.

16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the processing circuit is configured to conduct the change based on at least one of a user selection and receiving a new event from the BMS associated with the software defined building object for the shape, wherein the change comprises at least one of:

reorganizing the graphical user interface so that the selected shape is displayed as at least one of a higher level or a top level in the graphical user interface; and

expanding the shape to display increased information regarding the shape.

17. Computer-readable media with computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that when executed by a computing system perform a method for displaying a hierarchical set of information from a building management system (BMS), wherein each level of the hierarchical set of BMS information includes at least one software defined building object, the media comprising:

instructions for receiving a causal relationship model that defines directional causal relationships between a plurality of software defined building objects

instructions for using the causal relationship model to generate a non-graphical hierarchical set of BMS information having multiple hierarchical levels, wherein each level of the non-graphical hierarchical set of BMS information includes at least one of the software defined building objects hierarchically arranged according to the directional causal relationships defined by the causal relationship model, wherein at least one of the software defined building objects is a lower level software defined building object which has an attribute mapped to an input from a sensory device of the building management system, wherein the input is based on a variable measured by the sensory device, and wherein another of the software defined building objects is a higher level software defined building object representing building equipment configured to affect the measured attribute of the lower level software defined building object, as defined by the causal relationship model, by operating the building equipment;

instructions for processing the non-graphical hierarchical set of BMS information to determine and render a graphical shape for each of the software defined building objects;

instructions for rendering the shapes for lower level software defined building objects as nested within the shapes for higher level software defined building objects; and

instructions for causing display of the rendered and nested shapes on a graphical user interface shown on an electronic display system, wherein each shape is displayed with indicia for the software defined building object associated with each shape and wherein the display of a shape for a higher level software defined building object concurrently displays a hierarchically nested shape for a lower level software defined building object at each lower level of the hierarchical set.