Configuring event system using generated device tags

Abstract

Devices, systems, and methods for configuring an event system using generated device tags are described herein. In some examples, one or more embodiments include receiving existing configuration data, where the existing configuration data describes a configuration of an existing event system; receiving facility data, where the facility data describes a particular facility; determining a configuration of an event system in the particular facility based on the existing configuration data and the facility data; and installing the event system in the facility according to the determined configuration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to devices, systems, and methods for configuring an event system using generated device tags. Background Art

[0002] Facilities, such as commercial facilities, office buildings, hospitals, campuses (e.g., including buildings and outdoor spaces), etc., may have an alarm system that can be triggered during an event, such as an emergency (e.g., fire, security incident, etc.). Such an alarm system may include an event system having a control panel (e.g., a fire control panel, an alarm system control panel, etc.) and multiple system devices (e.g., sensors, sounders, pull-type fire alarm boxes, etc.) located throughout the facility (e.g., on different floors of the facility and / or in different rooms), the multiple fire system devices can perform actions when a dangerous event occurs in the facility and provide notification of the dangerous event to occupants of the facility via an alarm or other mechanism. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] Figure 1 is an example of a system for verifying event responses in an event system according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0004] Figure 2 is a flow chart associated with configuring an event system using generated device tags according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0005] Figure 3 is an example of a computing device for configuring an event system using generated device tags according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0006] Devices, systems, and methods for configuring an event system using generated device tags are described herein. In some examples, one or more embodiments include: receiving existing configuration data, wherein the existing configuration data describes a configuration of an existing event system; receiving facility data, wherein the facility data describes a specific facility; based on the existing configuration data and the facility data, determining a configuration of an event system in the specific facility; and installing the event system in the facility according to the determined configuration.

[0007] A facility may utilize an event system in order to warn occupants of the facility of emergency events, such as fires, security events, and the like. As used herein, the term "event system" refers to a system of devices that provide audible and / or visual warnings in emergency events. For example, an event system may utilize event devices to warn occupants of emergency events, such as fires, security events, and the like, occurring in the space. As used herein, the term "event device" refers to a device that can receive inputs related to events and / or generate outputs related to events. Such event devices may be part of an event system for a space within / throughout a facility, and may include devices such as fire sensors, smoke detectors, heat detectors, carbon monoxide (CO) detectors, or a combination of these devices; motion detectors; entry sensors (e.g., door sensors, window sensors, glass breakage sensors, shock / vibration sensors, etc.); interfaces; manual call points (MCPs); pull alarm boxes; input / output modules; aspirated devices; and / or audio / visual devices (e.g., speakers, sounders, flashers, buzzers, microphones, cameras, video displays, video screens, etc.) and / or relay output modules as well as other types of event devices.

[0008] Configuring an event system includes determining how to install a system with its various component devices. For example, configuring an event system includes, among other things, determining what type of event device is to be installed, how many devices are to be installed, and where the devices to be installed are to be installed in the above-mentioned facilities. In the aforementioned method, these types of determinations are made by experts in the field of event systems. Such experts can view a map of the above-mentioned facilities and use their expertise and skills to think about the issues discussed above: which devices, how many devices, and where to install them. In addition to national, regional and / or local laws (e.g., regulations, laws, ordinances, etc.) governing event systems, such determinations can also be made based on the type, size and / or purpose of the above-mentioned facilities. Such rules are usually enforced for safety reasons and may include required redundancy, number of devices, type of devices, protocols, etc. In order to become an expert in the field of event systems, people usually need to accumulate rich experience and / or go through a lot of learning. In some cases, formal licensing documents from regulatory agencies may be essential. Therefore, experts may be scarce and / or expensive, and the aforementioned method may involve experts visiting facilities multiple times to configure and / or install event systems.

[0009] Embodiments of the present disclosure may use configuration data and facility-related data from an existing event system to implement automatic configuration of an event system in the facility. Embodiments herein may allow unskilled and / or inexperienced installers to configure and debug an event system with minimal support from an expert. Thus, cost savings may be achieved and time may be saved. In addition, embodiments herein may take into account labeling conventions of other systems already present within a facility, such as a heating and ventilation conditioning (HVAC) system and / or a building management system (BMS). According to embodiments herein, the conventions used by these systems when labeling equipment can be determined and extended to event system equipment. Because these systems typically use labeling that is easy to understand, standardized, and corresponds to specific areas of a facility, embodiments herein can be seamlessly integrated.

[0010] In the following Detailed Description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form part of the present Detailed Description. The drawings show, by way of illustration, the manner in which one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced.

[0011] These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and process, electrical and / or structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0012] It should be understood that the elements shown in the various embodiments herein may be added, exchanged, combined and / or eliminated to provide multiple additional embodiments of the present disclosure. The proportions and relative sizes of the elements provided in the drawings are intended to illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be limiting.

[0013] The figures herein follow the following numbering convention: the first digit or digits correspond to the figure number, and the remaining digits identify the element or component in the figure. Similar elements or components between different figures may be identified by using similar numerals. For example, 102 may refer to Figure 1 Component "02" in , and Figure 2 Similar elements in can be referenced as 202.

[0014] As used herein, "a" or "a number of" things may refer to one or more such things, and "a number of" things may refer to more than one such things. For example, "a number of components" may refer to one or more components, and "a number of components" may refer to more than one component.

[0015] Figure 1 is an example of a system 100 for verifying event responses in an event system according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The system 100 may include a mobile device 102, event devices 104-1, 104-2, 104-N, a remote computing device 106, and a control panel 108.

[0016] As described above, the system 100 can be included in a facility, a space in a facility, etc. The system 100 can include an event system. The event system can include a device / series of devices to detect events and / or process and / or analyze detected events to determine whether to generate an alarm for occupants of the facility.

[0017] Such devices for detecting events may include event devices 104-1, 104-2, 104-N. For example, event devices 104-1, 104-2, 104-N may be devices for detecting events and / or processing and / or analyzing detected events. As described above, event devices 104-1, 104-2, 104-N may include, for example, fire sensors, smoke detectors, heat detectors, carbon monoxide (CO) detectors, or combinations of these devices; motion detectors; entry sensors (e.g., door sensors, window sensors, glass breakage sensors, shock / vibration sensors, etc.); interfaces; manual call points (MCPs); pull alarm boxes; input / output modules; aspirating devices; and / or audio / visual devices (e.g., speakers, sounders, flashers, buzzers, microphones, cameras, video displays, video screens, etc.) and / or relay output modules as well as other types of event devices.

[0018] The system 100 may include a control panel 108. The control panel 108 may be used to control the various event devices 104 included in the system 100 as described above.

[0019] The system 100 may also include a mobile device 102. As used herein, a mobile device may include a device that is carried and / or worn by a user (or may be carried and / or worn by a user). The mobile device 102 may be a phone (e.g., a smart phone), a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop, smart glasses, and / or a wrist-worn device (e.g., a smart watch), among other types of mobile devices. Although not described herein for clarity and to not obscure the embodiments of the present disclosure, the mobile device 102 may include a mobile device 102 that is carried and / or worn by a user. Figure 1 Not shown, but mobile device 102 may include a user interface.

[0020] like Figure 1As shown, the mobile device 102 can be connected to a remote computing device 106. The mobile device 102 can be connected to the remote computing device 106 via a wired and / or wireless network relationship. Examples of such network relationships may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a personal area network (PAN), a distributed computing environment (e.g., a cloud computing environment), a storage area network (SAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a cellular communication network, long term evolution (LTE), visible light communication (VLC), Bluetooth, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), near field communication (NFC), infrared (IR) communication, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), radio waves, and / or the Internet, as well as other types of network relationships.

[0021] Portions of the system 100 may be installed in a facility. Facilities referred to herein include commercial facilities, office buildings, shopping centers, residential structures, hospitals, schools, campuses (eg, including buildings and outdoor spaces), and the like.

[0022] Figure 2 is a flow chart associated with configuring an event system using generated device tags according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. An artificial intelligence (AI) engine 214 receives training data at 210 and receives facility data at 212 .

[0023] The training data 210 may be referred to as "existing configuration data" and includes data describing the configuration of an existing event system. In other words, the training data 210 includes data about other facilities where the event system is installed. Such data may include the type of the facility, the type of event equipment included therein, and the location of these devices. In addition, the data may include local, regional and / or national standards and / or laws for event system management. Such rules are known to those skilled in the art and include, for example, English rules that a failure in one area does not affect any other area (implemented by placing an isolator at each area boundary). In another example (e.g., Germany), each zone should have at least one microprocessor and no more than 32 detectors. In addition, the data may include cause-effect (C&E) rules and / or matrices. The embodiments herein may examine a certain area and its topography in conjunction with adjacent areas (including areas above and below) to determine the logic of the evacuation strategy. In the example of a high-rise building, if a fire occurs in an area on the xth floor, the areas in the floors above the area x may be given priority in the evacuation (after the evacuation in the area x).

[0024] The facility data 212 describes the specific facility in which the above-mentioned system is to be installed and / or configured. The facility data 212 may include a floor plan, a map, a building information model (BIM), and / or a computer-aided design (CAD) drawing of the facility. The facility data 212 may include a description of the types of areas within the facility. For example, a facility may include classrooms, some of which may be specifically designated as laboratories, which may pose specific fire hazards. Other features that may be determined in the school example include a faculty lounge, a library, an auditorium, a recreation area, a lobby, etc.

[0025] In 218, the embodiments of the present invention may provide a recommendation including a fire partition map and / or C&E rules for the above-mentioned facility. In other words, some embodiments may determine the configuration of the event system in the above-mentioned facility based on the above-mentioned existing configuration data and the above-mentioned facility data. The determined configuration may be a file, which, for example, includes a mapping of the facility, which has the location, type and / or setting of the equipment to be installed in the facility. The configuration may include the correlation of the floor plan of the facility with the identified tags, thereby determining the event area mapping with the area number and the suggested area text based on the aforementioned determination. The determined configuration may include the recommended equipment type and / or location for each area. For example, a heat detector or MLT (motion, light, temperature) may be preferred in a chemical laboratory or kitchen, while a beam detector may be preferred in a large auditorium. In some embodiments, the determined configuration may include an audio sounder configuration depending on the area type. For example, a bedroom may be configured with an audio sounder with a lower volume than a hall and / or living room.

[0026] The recommendations may be reviewed by the expert at 216. In some embodiments, upon approval by the event system expert, the event system may be deployed (e.g., installed) based on the determined configuration at 220. In some embodiments, the determined configuration may be modified in response to one or more inputs from the expert, and the modified configuration may be deployed at 220.

[0027] As described above, embodiments of the present disclosure may take into account the labeling conventions of other systems that already exist within a facility, such as a heating and ventilation (HVAC) system and / or a building management system (BMS). According to embodiments herein, the conventions used by these systems when labeling equipment can be determined and extended to event system equipment. Because these systems typically use labeling that is well understood, standardized, and corresponds to specific areas of a facility, embodiments herein can be seamlessly integrated.

[0028] During an event, information is communicated to the user (e.g., facility operator) about which parts of the facility are affected. In this regard, labeling of equipment can play a role. In some embodiments, the labeling convention is based on a floor plan. In some embodiments, the labeling convention is based on the number of loops and / or nodes in the above system. Within the panel, both physical and logical labeling can be used. An example of a physical label is "P1 L1 N1". An example of a logical label is "East Building, 4th Floor". Labeling conventions may vary from company to company and may depend on the installation. The embodiments herein may utilize labeling of external systems (e.g., HVAC, BMS, lighting) to mark different equipment of the above event system.

[0029] In many cases, in a facility, the HVAC system is installed first, followed by the BMS system, which may include a security system and / or an access control system, and then the event system. The AI ​​engine 214 can receive tagging information from existing systems in the facility as part of the facility data 212. The AI ​​engine 214 can generate tags for the above-mentioned event system devices based on these tags. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention can reduce ambiguous strings and redundant strings. In some embodiments, spelling can be checked and corrected. Unexpected different spellings of the same entity (e.g., "Smith Wing" versus "Smythe Wing") can be unified. Redundant tags (e.g., "hallway sensor") can be avoided and replaced with more descriptive tags.

[0030] In one example, a surveillance camera near the first floor conference lobby has a label "FirstFloorconference_camera". The embodiments herein may determine that smoke detectors, heat sensors, and alarm flashers installed (or to be installed) in the same conference lobby should follow a similar naming convention. Therefore, these devices may be named "FirstFloorconference_smdetector", "FirstFloorconference_heatsensor", and "FirstFloorconference_AlarmFlasher", respectively. It should be understood that the reverse is also true: if the event system is installed before other facility systems, the embodiments herein may determine the labeling convention of the event system, and based on this convention, determine the labels of the devices of the other systems.

[0031] Figure 3 is an example of a computing device 306 for configuring an event system using a generated device tag according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The computing device 306 may be similar to the one described above in conjunction with Figure 1 The remote computing device 106, mobile device 102 and / or control panel 108 are described. Figure 3 As shown, computing device 306 may include memory 324 and processor 322 for configuring an event system using generated device tags, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] The memory 324 may be any type of storage medium that can be accessed by the processor 322 to perform various examples of the present disclosure. For example, the memory 324 may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-readable instructions (e.g., executable instructions / computer program instructions) that can be executed by the processor 322 to verify event responses in the event system according to the present disclosure.

[0033] The memory 324 may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory. The memory 324 may also be a removable (e.g., portable) memory or a non-removable (e.g., internal) memory. For example, the memory 324 may be a random access memory (RAM) (e.g., a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and / or a phase change random access memory (PCRAM)), a read-only memory (ROM) (e.g., an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) and / or a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM)), a flash memory, a laser disc, a digital versatile disc (DVD) or other optical storage device and / or a magnetic medium (such as a cassette, a tape or a disk), and other types of memory.

[0034] In addition, although the memory 324 is shown as being located within the computing device 306, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. For example, the memory 324 may also be located within another computing resource (e.g., enabling computer-readable instructions to be downloaded via the Internet or another wired or wireless connection).

[0035] Processor 322 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a semiconductor-based microprocessor, and / or other hardware device suitable for retrieving and executing machine-readable instructions stored in memory 324 .

[0036] Although specific implementations have been illustrated and described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same technique may be substituted for the specific implementations shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all modifications or variations of various implementations of the present disclosure.

[0037] It should be understood that the above description is given in an illustrative rather than limiting manner.By reading the above description, combinations of the above embodiments, as well as other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0038] The scope of the various embodiments of the present disclosure includes any other applications using the above-described structures and methods.The scope of the various embodiments of the present disclosure should therefore be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

[0039] In the above detailed description, various features are grouped together in the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings for the purpose of simplifying the disclosure. This method of disclosure should not be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the embodiments of the present disclosure require more features than are expressly recited in each claim.

[0040] Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment.Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

Claims

1. A method for configuring an event system, the method comprising: Receiving existing configuration data (210), wherein the existing configuration data (210) describes a configuration of an existing event system; receiving facility data (212), wherein the facility data (212) describes a particular facility; determining a configuration (218) of an event system in the particular facility based on the existing configuration data (210) and the facility data (212); and The event system is installed (220) in the facility according to the determined configuration.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Receiving the existing configuration data (210) includes: for each event system of the plurality of event systems receiving: The type of facility in which the event system is installed; The type of event device (104) included in the event system; and The event system includes the location of an event device (104).

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Receiving the facility data (212) includes receiving a map of the facility.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining the configuration of the event system includes determining: the type of event device (104) to be installed in the event system; the number of event devices (104) to be installed in the event system; the location of an event device (104) to be installed in the event system; as well as Causal rules for the system of events.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The method includes installing the event system after receiving approval of the determined configuration from an event system expert (216).

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The method comprises: In response to receiving input from an event system expert, modifying the determined configuration (216); and The event system is installed in the facility according to the modified determined configuration.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Receiving the facility data (212) includes: receiving data from a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system of the facility; Data is received from a building management system (BMS) of the facility, wherein the BMS includes a security system of the facility and an access system of the facility.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: Receiving the facility data (212) includes receiving equipment tags for a plurality of HVAC devices and a plurality of BMS devices installed in the facility.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The method includes determining a device tagging convention based on the device tag.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: Determining the configuration of the event system includes determining a device tag for each of a plurality of event devices (104) of the event system, wherein the determined device tags follow a determined device tagging convention.

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