Self learning control system and method for optimizing a consumable input variable
First Claim
1. A control system for controlling an operable flow system, comprising:
- one or more operable elements resulting in output variables, at least one of the operable elements including a respective variably controllable motor, wherein there is more than one operation point or path of system variables of the operable flow system that can provide a given output setpoint of a circulating medium, wherein at least one system variable at an operation point or path restricts operation of another system variable at the operation point or path; and
one or more controllers configured to operate in a control loop to;
detect input variables, the input variables including non-controllable variables and system controllable variables, the non-controllable variables including output demand, the system controllable variables include a speed of at least one of the variably controllable motors and at least one optimizable input variable, the at least one optimizable input variable including power consumed,detect the system variables including pressure and flow of the circulating medium for the operable flow system,update a model with respect to the at least one optimizable input variable, comprising calculating the updated model using established relationships between variables, the detected input variables and the detected system variables, the updated model providing, based on established relationships between variables, prediction of use of the input variables in all possible operation points or paths of the system variables, including the pressure and the flow, which achieve an output setpoint of the circulating medium, andoperate, based on one or more of the detected input variables and the detected system variables, the one or more operable elements in accordance with the updated model to provide an optimal operation point or path of the system variables which achieves the output setpoint and which optimizes consumption of the at least one optimizable input variable;
wherein for iterations of the control loop said updating of the model is based on said operating of the one or more operable elements during the control loop;
wherein the one or more controllers are configured to, during initial setup of the one or more operable elements in the operable flow system, without prior knowledge of the system variables, perform the control loop to determine the system variables for initially calculating the model.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A control system for an operable system such as a flow control system or temperature control system. The system operates in a control loop to regularly update a model with respect at least one optimizable input variable based on the detected variables. The model provides prediction of use of the input variables in all possible operation points or paths of the system variables which achieve an output setpoint. In some example embodiments, the control loop is performed during initial setup and subsequent operation of the one or more operable elements in the operable system. The control system is self-learning in that at least some of the initial and subsequent parameters of the system are determined automatically during runtime.
56 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A control system for controlling an operable flow system, comprising:
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one or more operable elements resulting in output variables, at least one of the operable elements including a respective variably controllable motor, wherein there is more than one operation point or path of system variables of the operable flow system that can provide a given output setpoint of a circulating medium, wherein at least one system variable at an operation point or path restricts operation of another system variable at the operation point or path; and one or more controllers configured to operate in a control loop to; detect input variables, the input variables including non-controllable variables and system controllable variables, the non-controllable variables including output demand, the system controllable variables include a speed of at least one of the variably controllable motors and at least one optimizable input variable, the at least one optimizable input variable including power consumed, detect the system variables including pressure and flow of the circulating medium for the operable flow system, update a model with respect to the at least one optimizable input variable, comprising calculating the updated model using established relationships between variables, the detected input variables and the detected system variables, the updated model providing, based on established relationships between variables, prediction of use of the input variables in all possible operation points or paths of the system variables, including the pressure and the flow, which achieve an output setpoint of the circulating medium, and operate, based on one or more of the detected input variables and the detected system variables, the one or more operable elements in accordance with the updated model to provide an optimal operation point or path of the system variables which achieves the output setpoint and which optimizes consumption of the at least one optimizable input variable; wherein for iterations of the control loop said updating of the model is based on said operating of the one or more operable elements during the control loop; wherein the one or more controllers are configured to, during initial setup of the one or more operable elements in the operable flow system, without prior knowledge of the system variables, perform the control loop to determine the system variables for initially calculating the model. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 31, 32, 33)
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13. A flow control system for controlling a flow system, comprising:
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one or more circulating pumps each having a respective variably controllable motor resulting in output variables including pressure and flow of a circulating medium for the flow system; and one or more controllers configured to operate in a control loop to; detect input variables, the input variables including non-controllable variables and system controllable variables, the non-controllable variables including output demand, the system controllable variables include a speed of at least one of the variably controllable motors and at least one optimizable input variable, the at least one optimizable input variable including power consumed, detect the output variables including pressure and flow of the circulating medium for the flow system, update a model with respect to the at least one optimizable input variable, comprising calculating the updated model using established relationships between variables, at least one of the detected input variables and the detected output variables, the updated model providing, based on established relationships between variables, prediction of use of the input variables in all possible operation points or paths of the output variables which achieve an output setpoint of the circulating medium, optimize a control curve in accordance with the updated model with respect to the at least one optimizable input variable based on the detected input variables and the detected output variables, the control curve providing co-ordination of the operation point or path of the pressure and flow in order to achieve the output setpoint of the circulating medium, and operate, based on one or more of the detected variables, at least one of the variably controllable motors of the one or more circulating pumps in accordance with the optimized control curve to provide the operation point or path of the pressure and flow to achieve the output setpoint and which optimizes consumption of the at least one optimizable input variable; wherein for iterations of the control loop said updating of the model is based on said operating of said at least one of the variably controllable motors during the control loop; wherein the one or more controllers are configured to, during initial setup of the circulating pumps in the flow system, without prior knowledge of the system variables, perform the control loop to determine the system variables for initially calculating the model. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 34, 35)
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25. A method for controlling an operable flow system, the operable flow system including one or more operable elements resulting in output variables, at least one of the operable elements including a respective variably controllable motor, wherein there is more than one operation point or path of system variables of the operable flow system that can provide a given output setpoint of a circulating medium, wherein at least one system variable at an operation point or path restricts operation of another system variable at the operation point or path, the method being performed as a control loop and comprising:
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detecting input variables, the input variables including non-controllable variables and system controllable variables, the non-controllable variables including output demand, the system controllable variables include a speed of at least one of the variably controllable motors and at least one optimizable input variable, the at least one optimizable input variable including power consumed; detecting the system variables including pressure and flow of the circulating medium for the operable flow system; updating a model with respect to the at least one optimizable input variable, comprising calculating the updated model using established relationships between variables, the detected input variables and the detected system variables, the updated model providing, based on established relationships between variables, prediction of use of the input variables in all possible operation points or paths of the system variables which achieve an output setpoint; and operating, based on one or more of the detected input variables and the detected system variables, the one or more operable elements in accordance with the updated model to provide an optimal operation point or path of the system variables which achieves the output setpoint and which optimizes consumption of the at least optimizable one input variable; wherein for iterations of the control loop said updating of the model is based on said operating of the one or more operable elements during the control loop; wherein the one or more controllers are configured to, during initial setup of the one or more operable elements in the operable flow system, without prior knowledge of the system variables, perform the control loop to determine the system variables for initially calculating the model.
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26. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by one or more controllers, cause the controllers to control an operable flow system in a control loop, the operable system including one or more operable elements resulting in output variables, at least one of the operable elements including a respective variably controllable motor, wherein there is more than one operation point or path of system variables of the operable flow system that can provide a given output setpoint of a circulating medium, wherein at least one system variable at an operation point or path restricts operation of another system variable at the operation point or path, the instructions comprising:
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instructions for detecting input variables, the input variables including non-controllable variables and system controllable variables, the non-controllable variables including output demand, the system controllable variables include a speed of at least one of the variably controllable motors and at least one optimizable input variable, the at least one optimizable input variable including power consumed; instructions for detecting the system variables including pressure and flow of the circulating medium for the operable flow system; instructions for updating a model with respect to the at least one optimizable input variable, comprising calculating the updated model using established relationships between variables, the detected input variables and the detected system variables, the updated model providing, based on established relationships between variables, prediction of use of the input variables in all possible operation points or paths of the system variables which achieve an output setpoint of the circulating medium; and instructions for operating, based on one or more of the detected input variables and the detected system variables, the one or more operable elements in accordance with the updated model to provide an optimal operation point or path of the system variables which achieves the output setpoint and which optimizes consumption of the at least one optimizable input variable; wherein for iterations of the control loop said updating of the model is based on said operating of the one or more operable elements during the control loop; wherein the one or more controllers are configured to, during initial setup of the one or more operable elements in the operable flow system, without prior knowledge of the system variables, perform the control loop to determine the system variables for initially calculating the model.
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27. A flow control system for controlling a chilled circulating system having a refrigerant, comprising:
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one or more compressors each having a respective variably controllable one or more operable elements, including a respective motor, resulting in output variables including lift and flow for the refrigerant of the chilled circulating system; and one or more controllers configured to operate in a control loop to; detect input variables, the input variables including non-controllable variables and system controllable variables, the non-controllable variables including output demand, the system controllable variables including a speed of at least one of the motors and at least one optimizable input variable, the at least one optimizable input variable including power consumed, detect the output variables including the lift and the flow of the refrigerant, update a model with respect to the at least one optimizable input variable, comprising calculating the updated model using established relationships between variables, at least one of the detected input variables and the detected output variables, the updated model providing, based on established relationships between variables, prediction of use of the input variables in all possible operation points or paths of the output variables which achieve an output setpoint, optimize a control curve in accordance with the updated model with respect to the at least one optimizable input variable based on the detected input variables and the detected output variables, the updated model providing co-ordination of the operation point or path of the outputs in order to achieve the output setpoint, and operate, based on one or more of the detected variables, the variably controllable one or more operable elements in accordance with the optimized control curve to provide the operation point or path of the outputs to achieve the output setpoint and with optimizes consumption of the at least one optimizable input variable including power consumed; wherein for iterations of the control loop said updating of the model is based on said operating of the one or more operable elements during the control loop; wherein the one or more controllers are configured to, during initial setup of the one or more operable elements in the chilled circulating system, without prior knowledge of the system variables, perform the control loop to determine the system variables for initially calculating the model. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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36. A temperature control system for controlling a circulating system, the circulating system having a circulating medium and an interface in thermal communication with a secondary circulating system, comprising:
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one or more operable elements resulting in output variables, at least one of the operable elements including a respective variably controllable motor, wherein there is more than one operation point or path of system variables of the circulating system that can provide a given output setpoint, wherein at least one system variable at an operation point or path restricts operation of another system variable at the operation point or path; and one or more controllers configured to operate in a control loop to; detect input variables, the input variables including non-controllable variables and system controllable variables, the non-controllable variables including output demand, the system controllable variables include a speed of at least one of the variably controllable motors and at least one optimizable input variable, the at least one optimizable input variable including power consumed, detect the system variables including temperature for the circulating system, update a model with respect to the at least one optimizable input variable, comprising calculating the updated model using established relationships between variables, the detected input variables and the detected system variables, the updated model providing, based on established relationships between variables, prediction of use of the input variables in all possible operation points or paths of the system variables which achieve an output setpoint, and operate, based on one or more of the detected input variables and the detected system variables, the one or more operable elements in accordance with the updated model to provide an optimal operation point or path of the system variables which achieves the output setpoint and which optimizes consumption of the at least one optimizable input variable; wherein for iterations of the control loop said updating of the model is based on said operating of the one or more operable elements during the control loop; wherein the one or more controllers are configured to, during initial setup of the one or more operable elements in the circulating system, without prior knowledge of the system variables, perform the control loop to determine the system variables for initially calculating the model. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification