Building control system with distributed control

• US 9,879,873 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2013
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Malve, Sharath Babu, Thanikachalam, Guhapriyan, Rajan, Kathrick Dasu, Trivedi, Ishit, Anand, Anurag, Shivashankar, Ganesh, Venugopal, Shankar M., Gudi, Balakrishna G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ramesh
• Application Number:
  US14/766,119
• Publication Number:
  US 20150369505A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,818 Days
• 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 11/49 ensuring correct operation, e.g. by trial operation or configuration checks
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/52 Indication arrangements, e.g. displays
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/54 using one central controller connected to several sub-controllers
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/58 using Internet communication
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/59 for presetting
• 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 11/64 using pre-stored data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/66 Sleep mode
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/70 Control systems characterised by their outputs; Constructional details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/80 for controlling the temperature of the supplied air
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/88 Electrical aspects, e.g. circuits
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/10 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/10 Occupancy
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/20 Feedback from users
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2140/00 Control inputs relating to system states
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2614 HVAC, heating, ventillation, climate control
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2638 Airconditioning
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 : Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A building control system that includes a central coordinator and one or more discrete air conditioner controllers configured to communicate with one or more discrete air conditioner units. The discrete air conditioner controller may include a wireless I/O block for receiving signals in a first signal format from the central coordinator and for transmitting signals to the one or more discrete air conditioner units in a second signal format. In some instances, the discrete air conditioner controller may be configured to wirelessly transmit a signal to at least one discrete air conditioner unit in response to receiving a signal from the central coordinator. This configuration may provide a measure of distributed control of the building control system in a cost effective and efficient manner.

Claims

1. A building control system for controlling one or more building components that service a building, the system comprising:

a discrete air conditioner controller configured to communicate with and control one or more discrete air conditioner units servicing the building, the discrete air conditioner controller including a memory and a controller located within a housing, the memory storing a programmable operating schedule for operating the one or more discrete air conditioner units, wherein the programmable operating schedule includes two or more time periods, and each time period includes a corresponding programmable temperature set point, the controller configured to send out one or more commands to the one or more discrete air conditioner units in accordance with the programmable operating schedule stored in the memory; and

a central coordinator including a user interface, a memory, and a controller, wherein the controller of the central coordinator is configured to accept one or more parameters of the programmable operating schedule from a user via the user interface of the central coordinator, and to send at least a portion of the programmable operating schedule, including one or more parameters accepted from a user, to the discrete air conditioner controller, wherein at least a portion of the programmable operating schedule sent to the discrete air conditioner controller is stored in the memory of the discrete air conditioner controller.

2. The building control system according to claim 1, wherein the discrete air conditioner controller includes a first wireless interface and a second wireless interface, wherein the central controller sends at least a portion of the programmable operating schedule via the first wireless interface, and the discrete air conditioner controller sends out one or more commands to the one or more discrete air conditioner units via the second wireless interface.

3. The building control system according to claim 2, wherein the first wireless interface includes a radio frequency (RF) wireless interface, and the second wireless interface includes an Infrared (IR) wireless interface.

4. The building control system according to claim 2, wherein the discrete air conditioner controller includes an occupancy sensor, and the controller of the discrete air conditioner controller sends an indication of occupancy to the central coordinator via the first wireless interface.

5. The building control system according to claim 4, wherein the controller of the central coordinator displays in indication of occupancy on the user interface of the central coordinator.

6. The building control system according to claim 4, wherein the controller of the central coordinator sends one or more signals to a lighting controller based on the indication of occupancy received from the discrete air conditioner controller.

7. The building control system according to claim 2, wherein the discrete air conditioner controller includes a temperature sensor, and the controller of the discrete air conditioner controller sends an indication of temperature to the central coordinator via the first wireless interface.

8. The building control system according to claim 7, wherein the controller of the central coordinator displays in indication of temperature on the user interface of the central coordinator.

9. The building control system according to claim 3, wherein the first wireless interface is a WiFi interface and the second wireless interface is a mesh wireless interface.

10. The building control system according to claim 1, wherein the user interface, the memory, and the controller of the central coordinator are all within a common housing.

11. The building control system according to claim 1, wherein the memory and the controller of the central coordinator are within a common housing, and the user interface is remote from the common housing.

12. The building control system according to claim 11, wherein user interface is part of a remote device that is located remotely from the common housing.

13. The building control system according to claim 12, wherein the remote device is a portable computing device, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a lap top computer, or a desktop computer.

14. The building control system according to claim 1, further comprising a discrete air conditioner unit for servicing the building configured to receive one or more commands from the discrete air conditioner controller.

15. The building control system according to claim 14, further comprising a current sensor unit operatively coupled the discrete air conditioner unit to monitor current drawn by the discrete air conditioner unit, wherein the current sensor unit is configured to send a signal indicative of the current drawn to the central coordinator.

16. The building control system according to claim 15, wherein the central coordinator uses the signal indicative of the current drawn to confirm that the one or more commands sent to the discrete air conditioner unit was actually received by the discrete air conditioner unit.

17. The building control system according to claim 1, further comprising one or more lighting banks including at least one light, wherein the one or more lighting banks are configured to receive a command from the central coordinator for operating the at least one light.

18. The building control system according to claim 1, wherein the controller of the discrete air conditioner controller is configured to learn one or more codes for controlling one or more discrete air conditioner units by receiving one or more infrared signals via a wireless interface, and to store the one or more codes in the memory of the discrete air conditioner controller.

19. A building control system for controlling one or more building components that service a building, the system comprising:

a central coordinator including an input/output port for sending and/or receiving one or more signals over a wireless network, a user interface for accepting one or more interactions from a user, and a controller operatively coupled to the input/output port, the user interface and the memory;

a discrete air conditioner controller configured to communicate with and control one or more discrete air conditioner units that service the building, the discrete air conditioner controller including a wireless I/O block for receiving signals in a first signal format from the central coordinator and for transmitting signals to the one or more discrete air conditioner units in a second signal format, a memory, and a controller operatively coupled to the wireless I/O block and the memory, the controller of the discrete air conditioner controller configured to wirelessly transmit a signal for controlling at least one discrete air conditioner unit in response to receiving a signal from the central coordinator; and

the discrete air conditioner controller including one or more of a temperature sensor and an occupancy sensor.

20. The building control system according to claim 19, wherein the wireless I/O block includes a wireless radio frequency (RF) interface and a wireless infrared (IR) interface.

21. The system according to claim 19, wherein the central coordinator is configured to send a signal to the discrete air conditioner controller for controlling the one or more discrete air conditioner units in response to a signal indicative of a sensed parameter received from the temperature sensor and/or the occupancy sensor.

22. A method of controlling a discrete air conditioner unit that is servicing a building, the method comprising:

receiving a signal indicative of a sensed parameter at a central coordinator, the central coordinator including a user interface for interacting with a user;

transmitting a command including a first signal format from the central coordinator to a discrete air conditioner controller located near a discrete air conditioner unit mounted in a ceiling, a wall or a window of the building; and

in response to receiving the transmitted command, transmitting a command including a second signal format from the discrete air conditioner controller to the discrete air conditioner unit for controlling operation of the discrete air conditioner unit, wherein the first signal format is different from the second signal format.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

transmitting an operating schedule for the discrete air conditioner unit in a first signal format from the central coordinator to the discrete air conditioner controller;

storing the operating schedule in a memory of the discrete air conditioner controller; and

sending a command signal in a second signal format from the discrete air conditioner controller to the discrete air conditioner unit in accordance with the operating schedule that is stored in the memory.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising receiving an updated operating schedule at the discrete air conditioner controller, the discrete air conditioner controller overwriting at least a portion of the operating schedule stored in the memory with the updated operating schedule.