Electrical installation device with indoor air quality sensor for a home bus system

Abstract

Electrical installation device (1) with indoor air quality sensor for a home bus system • with a flush-mounted device insert (3), a central sensor part (13) and a cover frame (25), • wherein the flush-mounted device insert (3) has a bus coupler (10) which can be connected on the one hand to a home bus system (33) via a bus connection (11) and on the other hand to the central sensor part (13) via a contact (22), • wherein the central sensor part (13) has a CO2-determining indoor air quality sensor (17) and a control unit (15) and these components can be powered via the contact (22) from the home bus system (33), • wherein the control unit (15) evaluates the sensor signal of the indoor air quality sensor (17) by means of a sensor signal evaluation unit (35) and forwards it to the home bus system (33) via the bus coupler (10), • wherein the central sensor part (13) has a touch surface (14) which acts on a switching element (20) which switches an electrical consumer (30) on / off via the bus coupler (10) and the home bus system (33).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an electrical installation device with an indoor air quality sensor for a home bus system.

[0002] From DE 103 01 773 A1, an electrical installation device is known which is equipped with a carbon monoxide status indicator. The carbon monoxide status indicator is designed as a coating field with a chemical sensor material that indicates the presence of carbon monoxide by changing color. The carbon monoxide status indicator can be integrated into the rocker switch of a switching device. It is equally possible to provide the carbon monoxide status indicator in a frame component, frame, cover frame, cover, central plate, hinged cover, or blanking plate of an electrical installation device – such as a switch, push button, dimmer, socket, timer, room temperature controller, or data communication device like a telephone socket or radio / TV socket – at any desired position. The website http: / / www.theben.de / Home / Produkte / SYSTEME / KNX / AMUN-716-KNX, accessed on July 5, 2011, shows a photo of the AMUN 716 KNX product from theben and describes the functions of a CO2 indoor air quality sensor. The product is also referred to as "Theben 1769200 AMUN 716 KNX".

[0003] The installation and operating instructions for the "GIRA" product from Giersiepen GmbH & Co KG describe a CO2 room air sensor with a flush-mounted insert and a central sensor unit. The flush-mounted insert only has terminals for connecting to the mains power supply. The installation and operating instructions were available on July 4, 2011, at http: / / download.gira.de / data 2 / 23811110.pdf.

[0004] The Sonepar customer magazine "report", issue 111 from April 2010, describes the functions of a CO2 sensor and components for building control. Photos of the products are also shown.

[0005] DE 103 01 773 A1 describes an electrical installation device, for example a light switch, within a room, with a chemical carbon monoxide status indicator located in a display window.

[0006] The invention is based on the objective of providing an optimized electrical installation device with an indoor air quality sensor for a home bus system.

[0007] This problem is solved according to the invention by an electrical installation device with an indoor air quality sensor for a home bus system. • with a flush-mounted device insert, a central sensor unit and a cover frame, • wherein the flush-mounted device insert has a bus coupler which can be connected to a home bus system via a bus connection on the one hand and to the central sensor unit via a contact on the other hand, • wherein the central sensor unit has a CO2-determining indoor air quality sensor and a control unit, and these components can be powered via the home bus system, • wherein the control unit evaluates the sensor signal of the indoor air quality sensor using a sensor signal evaluation unit and forwards it to the home bus system via the bus coupler, • wherein the central sensor part (13) has a touch surface (14) which acts on a switching element (20) which switches an electrical consumer (30) on / off via the bus coupler (10) and the home bus system (33).

[0008] The advantages achievable with the invention consist in particular of the fact that a bus system-compatible installation device for a signaling system is proposed, which can be very easily integrated into an installation device program and continuously records the currently prevailing indoor air quality or indoor climate in a room of a building and reports it to a connected home bus system, whereupon the home bus system (or additional automation devices of the home bus system) can specifically initiate measures to improve the indoor air quality / indoor climate, such as humidifying or dehumidifying the indoor air, air conditioning or heating the indoor air, increasing or reducing the air circulation of the indoor air.

[0009] If the optional combination with a switching element is selected for the installation device, a simple replacement of an existing light switch with the installation device according to the invention is possible, whereby both the function of the light switch and the function of the indoor air quality sensor or indoor climate sensor are fulfilled by a single device (applies to a home automation system). Additional installation effort, such as installing an additional flush-mounted device box and mounting additional electrical components, is unnecessary.

[0010] The electrical installation device can be combined with any components from a conventional installation device range for sockets, switches, pushbuttons, and dimmers; likewise, a conventional cover frame from this conventional installation device range is used. Conventional installation device ranges are understood to be ranges distributed by numerous installation device manufacturers and include various rocker switch inserts, rocker pushbutton inserts, dimmer inserts, socket inserts, as well as rockers and cover frames in single, double, triple, and quadruple configurations in specific designs and colors.

[0011] Likewise, a simplified embodiment is possible in which the central sensor part and the cover frame form a (one-piece) unit.

[0012] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are characterized in the dependent claims.

[0013] The invention is described below with reference to the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawing. The drawing shows: Fig. 1. A view of an installation device, Fig. 2 a side view of a central sensor part, Fig. 3 a section through a mounted installation device, Fig. 4, Fig. 5 perspective views of a central sensor part of different designs, Fig. 6 a perspective view of the cover frame and central sensor part, Fig. 7 a basic version of the installation device, Fig. 8 an embodiment of the installation device with an additional color display indicator light, Fig. 9 an embodiment of the installation device with an additional switching element, Fig. 10 an embodiment of the installation device optimized with regard to gas sensor technology and / or room climate detection.

[0014] In Fig. Figure 1 shows a view of an installation device 1. A central sensor unit 13 is visible, which has an optional central color display indicator 16. The central sensor unit 13 can optionally be equipped with a push button 14 for switching at least one electrical device, in particular room lighting, on / off. The central sensor unit 13 is framed by a cover frame 25 from a conventional installation device range.

[0015] In Fig. Figure 2 shows a side view of a central sensor part. A contact 22 located on the back of the central sensor part 13 can be seen, which engages with a corresponding contact of a flush-mounted device insert 3 (flush-mounted insert, see Figure 2). Fig. 3) serves. Furthermore, several fastening elements 23 are arranged on the rear of the central sensor part 13, which serve to engage in corresponding recesses of the flush-mounted device insert 3, thereby mechanically fixing the central sensor part 13 including the cover frame 25 to the flush-mounted device insert 3.

[0016] In Fig. Figure 3 shows a cross-section through a mounted installation device. A standard flush-mounted device box 27, mounted in a wall 28, is visible. The flush-mounted device insert 3 of the installation device 1 is installed in the box, preferably in a conventional manner using clamps that rest against the side wall of the flush-mounted device box 27, or using screws that engage in recesses in the mounting ring of the flush-mounted device insert and then in pockets of the flush-mounted device box 27. The installation device 1 is completed by the cover frame 25.

[0017] In Fig. Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a central sensor unit 13. Visible are the optional front-mounted color display indicator 16, the optional front-accessible touch surface 14 for switching an electrical device (room lighting) on / off, part of the rear-mounted mounting elements 23, the rear-mounted contacts 22, and ventilation slots 24 at the top and bottom through which room air can flow. In the Fig. The central sensor part 13 shown in Figure 5 does not include a color display indicator 16. The functional touch surface 14 may be present, but is not required; that is, in the basic version of the installation device, neither a color display indicator 16 nor a functional touch surface 14 is provided.

[0018] In Fig. Figure 6 shows a perspective view of the cover frame and central sensor unit. An arrow indicates the spatial relationship of the central sensor unit 13 to the cover frame 25. The central sensor unit 13 is labeled with its touch surface 14, color display indicator 16, ventilation slots 24, and one of the mounting elements 23.

[0019] In Fig. Figure 7 schematically depicts a basic embodiment of the installation device 1. On the one hand, it shows that the flush-mounted device insert 3 has a bus coupler 10, which is connected via its bus connection 11 to a home bus system 33, preferably KNX (standard for home and building automation of the Konnex Association) or PoE (Power over Ethernet). On the other hand, it can be seen that the central sensor unit 13 is connected via contact 22 to the other connection of the bus coupler 10, thereby conveniently providing power to a control unit 15 and an indoor air quality sensor 17 in addition to communication between the device and the bus. The control unit 15 is connected to the indoor air quality sensor 17, which, besides CO2, detects various gases – such as certain odorous gases and emissions – and calculates a CO2-equivalent signal from the measured gases and their quantities.

[0020] The control unit 15 activates the bus coupler 10 based on the measurement result detected by the indoor air quality sensor 17. As can be seen, the home bus system 33 can, depending on this activation, control devices for improving indoor air quality or indoor climate, or contribute to the regulation of these devices, such as a heating system 40 (optionally air conditioning / cooling), a humidification / dehumidification system 41, and a ventilation system 42. Furthermore, it is possible to forward or distribute the detected information regarding indoor air quality / indoor climate to a remote display unit, such as a central control panel, or to any point within the home bus system. The control panel can, for example, display not only current measured values ​​from different rooms in a building, but also their trends over time.

[0021] In Fig. Figure 8 shows an embodiment of the installation device with an additional color display indicator light. The color display indicator light 16 is powered via the home bus system 33 and the bus coupler 10. The control unit 15 activates not only the bus coupler 10 but also the color display indicator light 16, depending on the measurement result detected by the indoor air quality sensor 17. The optional color display indicator light 16 shows the detected indoor air quality, preferably in three colors. • The green area lighting up indicates that the indoor air quality is good, • The yellow area lighting up indicates that the indoor air quality has deteriorated. • The red area lighting up indicates that the room air quality should be improved by ventilation.

[0022] In a simplified embodiment, the quality of the indoor air quality is indicated, for example, by the green or red area lighting up.

[0023] In its simplest form, only a single area is provided for the corresponding signal; for example, when the red area is displayed, it indicates that the room air should be improved by ventilation. If the room air quality is satisfactory, no signal is displayed.

[0024] The color display indicator 16 can alternatively • be constructed in the form of an air quality warning light made up of green / yellow / red LEDs or • be constructed in the form of a flat display made of LCD and LED backlighting or • be based on an OLED display that either backlights an LCD display in color or displays the information (indoor air quality) in color and text.

[0025] The control unit 15 consists of a sensor signal evaluation unit 35, which receives the signal from the indoor air quality sensor 17 and supplies it in evaluated form to both the bus coupler 10 and a threshold logic unit 37. The threshold logic unit 37 converts the evaluated signal into a signal suitable for the color display indicator 16 and supplies it to a color display control unit 38, which correspondingly controls the power output of the color display indicator 16, so that, for example, • the color display indicator light 16 lights up green in the range up to 1000 ppm CO2, • the color display indicator light 16 lights up yellow in the range between 1000 ppm CO2 and 2000 ppm CO2, • the color display indicator light 16 lights up red in the range above 2000 ppm CO2.

[0026] In Fig. Figure 9 schematically shows an embodiment of the installation device 1 with an additional switching element. In addition to the embodiment according to... Fig. 7 The central sensor unit 13 has a switching element 20, in particular a push button, which can be actuated via the touch surface 14 and is connected to the bus coupler 10 via the contact 22. By actuating the switching element 20, an electrical load 30, in particular room lighting, can be switched on / off via the home bus system 33. The switching element 20 is actuated by actuating / touching / pressing the touch surface 14 to switch at least one electrical load on / off. The advantage of this embodiment is that a single installation device 1 can both switch the room lighting and record, process, and report values ​​significant for indoor air quality or indoor climate.An existing light switch can be replaced by the installation device according to the invention, which takes over the function of switching the room lighting on and off.

[0027] Of course, another embodiment of the proposed installation device is also feasible, in which the additional switching element 20 including touch surface 14 is provided, but not the color display indicator light 16.

[0028] In Fig. Figure 10 schematically depicts an embodiment of the installation device optimized for gas sensing and / or room climate monitoring. In this embodiment, the control unit 15 is connected to an indoor air quality sensor 17, a humidity sensor 18, and a temperature sensor 19, enabling optimal monitoring of the indoor climate. An air pressure sensor may also be included. The control unit 15 consists of sensor signal evaluation units 35 for the indoor air quality sensor 17, the humidity sensor 18, the temperature sensor 19, and optionally the air pressure sensor. These units receive the signals and the detected measurement results from the individual sensors and feed them in evaluated form to a sensor signal linking unit 36. This unit links these signals and feeds the resulting linkage value to the threshold logic 37 and the bus coupler 10.The threshold logic 37 converts the evaluated and linked signal into a signal suitable for the color display indicator 16 and supplies it to the color display control unit 38, which correspondingly causes the power control of the color display indicator 16, as shown below. Fig. 6 explained. Reference symbol list 1 installation device 2 - 3 Flush-mounted device inserts (UP inserts) 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 bus couplers 11 Bus connection 12 - 13 Central sensor part 14 Touch surface for switching at least one electrical device on / off 15 Control unit 16 color display indicator lights 17 Indoor air quality sensor, gas sensor, especially CO2 sensor 18 humidity sensors 19 Temperature Sensor 20 Switching element (pushbutton) 21 - 22 Contacting 23 Fastening element 24 ventilation slots 25 cover frames 26 - 27 flush-mounted device boxes 28 Wall 29 - 30 electrical appliances, especially room lighting 31 - 32 - 33 Home bus system 34 - 35 Sensor signal evaluation unit 36 Sensor signal linking unit 37 Threshold logic 38" color display control unit 39 - 40 Heating system 41 Humidification system / Dehumidification system 42 Ventilation system

Claims

[1] Electrical installation device (1) with indoor air quality sensor for a home bus system • with a flush-mounted device insert (3), a central sensor part (13) and a cover frame (25), • wherein the flush-mounted device insert (3) has a bus coupler (10) which can be connected on the one hand to a home bus system (33) via a bus connection (11) and on the other hand to the central sensor part (13) via a contact (22), • wherein the central sensor part (13) has a CO2-determining indoor air quality sensor (17) and a control unit (15) and these components can be powered via the contact (22) from the home bus system (33), • wherein the control unit (15) evaluates the sensor signal of the indoor air quality sensor (17) by means of a sensor signal evaluation unit (35) and forwards it to the home bus system (33) via the bus coupler (10), • wherein the central sensor part (13) has a touch surface (14) which acts on a switching element (20) which switches an electrical consumer (30) on / off via the bus coupler (10) and the home bus system (33). [2] Electrical installation device (1) according to claim 1, characterized by , that the central sensor part (13) has a color display indicator light (16) and the control unit (15) controls the color display indicator light (16) depending on the result of the sensor signal evaluation unit (35) via a threshold logic (37) and by means of a color display control unit (38). [3] Electrical installation device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by , that the central sensor part (13) has, in addition to the room air quality sensor (17), a humidity sensor (18) and / or a temperature sensor (19) and / or an air pressure sensor, and the control unit (15) links their signals by means of a sensor signal linking unit (36). [4] Electrical installation device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the central sensor part (13) and the cover frame (25) form a unit. [5] Electrical installation device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the electrical consumer (30) is a room light.

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