REMOTE COMMUNICATIONS DIAGNOSTICS USING ANALOG DATA ANALYSIS

• US 20070159978A1
• Filed: 01/10/2006
• Published: 07/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Majewski, Joseph, Anglin, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 8,780,726 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/241
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0663 Performing the actions predefined by failover planning, e.g. switching to standby network elements

Abstract

Systems and methods for remotely diagnosing problems across the communications lines of an environmental control network using analog data analysis are disclosed. An illustrative system can include an executive controller, a communications bus including a number of communications lines connecting the controller to one or more slave modules, an analog-to-digital converter, and a diagnostics module for diagnosing problems on one or more of the communications lines from a remote location. The analog input lines for the analog-to-digital converter can be connected to the communications lines and one or more other sources. The diagnostics module can include various diagnostic tools that can be used to diagnose problems occurring across the communications lines as well as to determine other information about the system.

Claims

1. A method of diagnosing a problem across the communications bus of an environmental control system installed within a building or structure, the control system including an executive controller adapted to exchange digital data on the communications bus back and forth between one or more slave modules, the method comprising the steps of:

connecting a number of analog input lines of an analog-to-digital converter to the communications lines of the communications bus, the analog-to-digital converter adapted to convert analog signals transmitted over the communication lines into a digital output signal;

scanning the analog input lines of the analog-to-digital converter and analyzing the output signal from the converter using a diagnostics module; and

diagnosing a problem on one or more of the communications lines using analog data analysis of the output signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said communications bus is a differential communications bus.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of scanning the analog input lines of the analog-to-digital converter and analyzing the output signals therefrom is accomplished without halting digital communications across the communications lines.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of halting digital communications across the communications lines prior to said step of scanning the analog input lines of the analog-to-digital converter and analyzing the output signals therefrom.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of diagnosing a problem on one or more of the communications lines is accomplished at least in part automatically with an algorithm or routine of the diagnostics module.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of diagnosing a problem on one or more of the communications lines is accomplished from a remote location away from the building or structure.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of diagnosing a problem on one or more of the communications lines is accomplished using a graphical user interface.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

storing the output signals from the analog-to-digital converter into a memory unit;

recalling the stored output signals for one or more of the communications lines upon the detection of a problem on the communications bus; and

diagnosing a problem on one or more of the communications lines using the output signals stored within the memory unit.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

sampling and holding the analog signals received from each analog input line;

outputting a sampled portion of the digital output signal to the diagnostics module; and

diagnosing a problem on one or more of the communications lines using the sampled portion of the output signal.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

connecting one or more analog input lines of the analog-to-digital converter to at least one source not connected to the communications bus; and

monitoring one or more parameters of the control system using analog signals produced from said at least one source.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said at least one source includes a temperature sensor and/or an unregulated power source signal.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said environmental control system includes an HVAC system.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said environmental control system includes a refrigeration system.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said executive controller is a building executive controller.

15. A method of remotely diagnosing a problem across the communications bus of an environmental control system installed within a building or structure, the control system including an executive controller adapted to exchange digital data on the communications bus back and forth between one or more slave modules, the method comprising the steps of:

connecting a number of analog input lines of an analog-to-digital converter to the communications lines of the communications bus, the analog-to-digital converter adapted to convert analog signals transmitted over the communication lines into a digital output signal;

scanning the analog input lines of the analog-to-digital converter and analyzing the output signal from the converter using a diagnostics module;

outputting a response to a remote computer located away from the building or structure; and

remotely diagnosing a problem on one or more of the communications lines using a signal received from the executive controller.

16. A system for diagnosing problems across the communications lines of an environmental control network installed within a building or structure, the system comprising:

an executive controller;

a communications bus including a number of communications lines connecting the executive controller to one or more slave modules, the communications bus adapted to exchange digital data back and forth between the executive controller and said one or more slave modules;

an analog-to-digital converter having a number of analog input lines connected to the communications lines of said bus, said analog-to-digital converter adapted to convert analog signals transmitted over the communications lines into a digital output signal; and

a means for diagnosing problems on one or more of the communications lines from a remote location away from the building or structure.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said communications bus is an RS-485 communications bus.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the executive controller is adapted to run an algorithm or routine for automatically diagnosing problems occurring on one or more of the communications lines.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein said means for diagnosing problems on one or more of the communications lines includes a built-in diagnostics module of the executive controller.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein said means for diagnosing problems on one or more of the communications lines includes a graphical user interface.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein said graphical user interface is a web-based graphical user interface.

22. The system of claim 16, wherein said means for diagnosing problems on one or more of the communications lines includes a remote computer located away from the building or structure.

23. The system of claim 16, further comprising a memory unit for storing the output signals from the analog-to-digital converter.

24. A controller for controlling one or more slave modules connected to a communications bus having a number of communications lines, the controller comprising:

a processor;

an analog-to-digital converter including a number of analog input lines connected to the communications lines;

a memory unit for storing the output from the analog-to-digital converter; and

a built-in diagnostics module for analyzing the output from the analog-to-digital converter.