Automated control process for the heatwave closure of a non-solar shutter

Abstract

Method for automated control of the heatwave closing of a non-solar shutter driven by an electric motor, each motor being connected to a control unit equipped with telecommunication means, and controllable by means of an individual remote control capable of being programmed by the user between an automated operating mode and a non-automated operating mode of the shutter, an additional remote control being associated with each shutter, said additional remote control comprising means for measuring the ambient temperature, method characterized in that it comprises: - the determination of conditions defined as being heatwave, - the determination that the current season presents high temperatures, - if the conditions are determined as being heatwave and if the current season is determined as presenting high temperatures, the sending to the motor by the control unit of a heatwave closing frame. Fig. of the abstract: Fig.1

Description

Title of the invention: Method for automated control of the heatwave closure of a non-solar shutter

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for controlling the so-called heatwave closure of a motorized non-solar shutter, ensuring automated movement of this shutter in the event of a proven heatwave. The objective is to make the closing of the shutter automatic via management according to a so-called heatwave mode, in particular depending on the rise in temperature, the closing only having to take place if the climatic conditions are considered to be characteristic of a heatwave. The most immediate aim of the invention is to improve the comfort of life in a home, in the more than ever current perspective of the occurrence of heatwave episodes. Secondarily, in the case of a building equipped with air conditioning systems, good management of the positioning of the solar shutters can lead to energy savings by reducing the need for air conditioning during hot summers.

[0002] The motorized shutters concerned by the invention are equipped with an electric drive motor connected to the mains voltage, the motor being furthermore connected to a control unit, generally an electronic card which groups together the components allowing the processing of information with a view to controlling the motor. Methods for closing shutters in heatwave conditions are already known, in particular for so-called solar shutters driven by a motor powered by solar energy obtained via solar panels to which a solar irradiance sensor is added for the purposes of its control. In this case, it is in fact the measurements of the solar irradiance which are used to determine the existence of heatwave conditions triggering the closing of the shutter.

[0003] For the non-solar shutters targeted by the invention, which can be connected to a home automation system, an automated closing system called twilight is known, programmable on the basis of a clock which controls the closing of the connected shutters at a pre-programmed time, for example entered by the user and which corresponds in theory to a time close to sunset. This is therefore a time-based programming. If the home automation system is connected to the internet network, an automation of the closing of the shutters can possibly be programmed according to the temperature forecast by the meteorological services for the region, data accessible on said network. The automation which can result from this does not then depend on a parameter measured at the location of the shutters, but on a purely theoretical and dematerialized test control value.

[0004] Automation, if programmed on such a basis, however, suffers from a lack of precision, a weather forecast temperature not being faithful to the reality on the ground. Above all, a program of this type struggles to correctly account for the emergence of heatwave characteristics at a time and in a place, because a temperature forecast in a region never takes into account the many potential particularities of the residential premises whose shutters must be controlled. These particularities can be architectural, with the depth of the walls and the distribution / size of the windows, situational with the orientation of the bays (north / south) or the location of the building (wooded location or not) etc.: one could multiply the examples of differences which require different heatwave treatment for homes located in the same place, and consequently make automation very dependent on the context.In this respect, it seems obvious to say that the ambient temperature measured inside a building, therefore directly felt by the inhabitants whom we seek to protect from the rigors of the heatwave, must be an essential factor to take into account.

[0005] The objective of the present invention is therefore to propose an evaluation of the heatwave conditions specific to each dwelling, in order to implement an automation treatment which is as adapted as possible to reality, that experienced by people living in buildings subject to high temperatures. In this perspective, the method of the invention aims to take as a reference value the ambient temperature in the part of the building whose heatwave closing of the shutters must be automated.

[0006] To this end, the invention consists of a method for automated control of the heatwave closing of a non-solar shutter, conventionally driven by an electric motor, each motor being connected to a control unit equipped with telecommunication means, and controllable by means of an individual remote control capable of being programmed by the user between an automated operating mode and a non-automated operating mode of the shutter, an additional remote control being associated - in the method of the invention - with each shutter, said additional remote control comprising means for measuring the ambient temperature.

[0007] According to the present invention, the method is such that it comprises:

[0008] - the measurement, at regular intervals, of the ambient temperature Tamb by the additional remote control;

[0009] - the determination of conditions defined as being heatwave, if the temperature ambient Tamb measured meets the following characteristics: • the ambient temperature Tamb > A + Tamb min, with A = 1 if the minimum ambient temperature Tamb min > 24° C or A = 2 if the minimum ambient temperature 22° C < Tamb min < 24° C; or • the ambient temperature Tamb > 26° C;

[0010] - determining that the current season has high temperatures, if the measured ambient temperature meets the following characteristics: • the average calculated over a predetermined duration of the minimum ambient temperatures Tamb min and maximum ambient temperatures Tamb max is greater than a threshold value Ts min and Ts max respectively;

[0011] - if the conditions are determined to be heatwave and if the current season is determined to have high temperatures, the control unit sends a heatwave closure frame to the engine.

[0012] The control method of the invention is remarkable in that it is based only on the ambient temperature in a living space, which simplifies the measurements but at the same time complicates the evaluation of the existence of a heatwave situation. In the approach of the invention, it is not sufficient to determine the existence of a high ambient temperature, because one may find oneself in the case of an interior temperature (which is the ambient temperature within the meaning of the invention) which is if the home is well heated, for example in the middle of winter. In addition to a correction mechanism which relates to the measured ambient temperature, the invention introduces an additional condition which is that of determining the current season, to ensure that a rise in temperatures means that it is indeed a heatwave.

[0013] Since the temperature of a room obviously varies depending on the time of day, the determination of heatwave conditions within the meaning of the invention is based on a minimum ambient temperature Tamb min in the home, with correction if necessary by adding a factor A which varies according to the measured ambient temperature. This factor is equal to one (1) or two (2), depending on whether the ambient temperature is more or less moderate, knowing that according to the invention this ambient temperature must always be greater than 22°C so that the determination of heatwave conditions can be undertaken. It should be noted that the values Tamb min and Tamb max have a tolerance of 1°C.

[0014] To determine the current season - in fact, to verify that there are indeed high temperatures outside over time - by means of ambient temperatures, with a view to avoiding the scorching closing of a shutter in the middle of winter in an overheated apartment, the method of the invention is based on establishing averages relating to the lowest and highest ambient temperatures over a statistically significant period, average values which are then compared to predetermined thresholds. It is necessary to be able to confirm that the climatic phenomenon at the origin of the minimum and maximum temperatures measured is not an epiphenomenon or a peak without significant duration.

[0015] According to the invention, the minimum threshold value Tsmin is between 19°C and 21°C, and preferably equal to 20°C, and the maximum threshold value Ts max is between 24°C and 26°C, and preferably equal to 25°C. If, throughout the significant duration predetermined by the method of the invention, the minimum and maximum ambient temperatures are higher than these threshold values, this means that said ambient temperatures are not simply due to internal heating of a living space or to a brief temperature peak.

[0016] It should be noted that within the meaning of the invention, the minimum ambient temperatures Tamb min and maximum ambient temperatures Tamb max are determined by successive measurements of the ambient temperature Tamb over a period of 24 hours, the value retained for the minimum ambient temperature Tamb min being the lowest temperature recorded over this period and the value retained for the maximum ambient temperature Tamb max being the highest temperature over this period.

[0017] The duration that was previously described as significant for determining that the current season presents high temperatures, justifying, if necessary, a heatwave closure of a shutter, that is to say the predetermined duration for calculating the average of the minimum ambient temperatures Tamb min and maximum ambient temperatures Tamb max is, in the method of the invention, between 4 and 6 days, and preferably equal to 5 days. This means that the lasting nature of the existence of high ambient temperatures is tested by monitoring the minimum and maximum ambient temperatures each day over a period of 5 days, to confirm that these temperatures are indeed due to external climatic conditions.

[0018] In determining the conditions defined as being heatwaves within the meaning of the invention, the ambient temperature measurement interval may be equal to:

[0019] - 24h if the ambient temperature is < 18° C,

[0020] - 3h if: • the ambient temperature Tamb is > 18° C, or • if conditions are hot, or • if Tamb > Tamb of the previous measurement + 3°C.

[0021] The variation of the ambient temperature measurement interval Tamb for the purpose of implementing the method of the invention results very naturally from the value of the temperature measured at time t: if this does not a priori present a high character, it is not necessary to impose on the unit or the system to carry out additional checks. On the other hand, past a certain threshold, or if the conditions defined as heat waves by the method of the invention are satisfied, or if the variation in temperatures is high between two consecutive measurements, the temperature measurement is carried out much more frequently for heat wave treatment purposes.

[0022] According to a possibility specific to the present invention, after sending a heatwave closing frame to the motor, the control unit can activate a time delay inhibiting for its duration any new sending of a heatwave closing frame, said duration being between 2 and 4 hours, preferably equal to 3 hours. In practice, this involves preventing the method from continuing to operate idle when all the checks and tests that it implements indicate a heatwave but the shutter has already been closed by a previous automated control frame. In addition, this characteristic makes it possible to inhibit an automated lowering of the shutter, in the logic of said method, even if the user has decided to reopen it.

[0023] According to the invention, the determination of heatwave conditions and the current summer season can be carried out by the shutter control unit, the temperatures measured by the additional remote control then being sent to the control unit. Management is in this case centralized in the control unit, which is generally powered by electrical energy from the home's own network.

[0024] Alternatively, the determination of the heatwave conditions and the current summer season can also be carried out by and in the additional remote control, the results of said determinations then being sent to the control unit. The additional remote control in fact includes the temperature sensor, and therefore carries out the ambient temperature measurements from which the method of the invention is implemented. The tests and comparisons based on the measured temperatures can be carried out quite easily at the level of the remote control, only the final results, namely the determinations of the heatwave conditions and the current season, then being sent to the control unit which processes them with a view to possibly controlling the movement of the shutter. This alternative is however more energy-consuming for the remote control, which is powered by a battery that then has to be recharged or changed more frequently.

[0025] Other aims and advantages of the present invention will become apparent during the description which follows, relating to an embodiment given as an indicative example. Understanding of this description will be facilitated in particular by reference to the figures attached in the appendix:

[0026] [Fig. 1] shows a block diagram of the overall operation of the automated control method of a non-solar shutter for heatwave closure according to the invention;

[0027] [Fig.2] shows a block diagram explaining the determination of the conditions defined as being hot; and

[0028] [Fig.3] shows a block diagram of how the determination that the current season does indeed have high temperatures that could potentially give rise to a heatwave works.

[0029] With reference to [Fig. 1], the method for controlling the heatwave closure of a non-solar shutter is based on the existence of a hardware configuration based on a shutter whose movements are carried out by means of an electric drive motor generally powered by the mains. A control unit manages this hardware system, in particular with a view to coupling the control, whether manual via an individual remote control specific to the shutter or automated, with the movements of the shutter. During automated operation, in this case aimed at heatwave management of the shutter movements, the control unit preferably collects signals emitted by an additional remote control equipped with a temperature sensor. The control unit can also work on the basis of shutter end-of-travel sensors. All these signals are processed with a view to implementing pre-programmed actions.

[0030] According to [Fig.l], to satisfy the main objective of the invention of automating the drive for closing a shutter when implementing a heatwave operating mode, the ambient temperature is measured at a regular frequency which it has been mentioned can change depending on the recorded temperature level. The value of the ambient temperature is measured by the additional remote control. Thus, in a hypothesis where the recorded ambient temperatures are relatively low, below 18°C, the conditions do not justify carrying out too frequent measurements, nor heatwave treatment a priori, and the measurement interval is 24 hours, which is notably justified by the concern to keep the additional remote control as autonomous as possible.

[0031] If the ambient temperature - therefore indoor temperature - measured is higher than 18°C, or if it increases significantly (by 3 degrees between two successive measurements), a measurement is taken more frequently, every 3 hours. The probability of having to initiate a heatwave treatment increases in fact in these hypotheses, as well as if the conditions are already determined to be heatwave based on the parameters recorded in the system, explained in more detail below.

[0032] The electronic control unit can in fact determine, from the measured ambient temperature, whether conditions are defined as being heatwave, as shown in [Fig.2]. This determination does not depend solely on the value of the ambient temperature measured at time t but, depending on the level of said value, on a corrective coefficient A itself variable as a function of this level and on a minimum value observed for the ambient temperature Tamb min. This value Tamb min is in fact the lowest temperature recorded over a previous period typically 24 hours. Depending on the temperature value measured at time t, there are then several treatment options.

[0033] Thus, if the minimum ambient temperature over the 24 hours preceding the measurement is between 22°C and 24°C, the system considers that there is a heatwave situation if the measured ambient temperature is higher than this minimum temperature Tamb min + 2 (Tamb > A + Tamb min, with A = 2). For example, if the last minimum ambient temperature Tamb min obtained is 23°C, heatwave conditions are recognized if the measured ambient temperature Tamb is strictly higher than 25°C.

[0034] If the minimum ambient temperature Tamb min over the 24 hours preceding the measurement is greater than or equal to 24°C, the system considers that the situation is a heatwave if the ambient temperature T^measured is greater than this minimum temperature + 1 (Tamb > A + Tamb min, with A = 1). For example, if the last minimum ambient temperature Tamb min obtained is 25°C, heatwave conditions are recognized if the ambient temperature Tambmeasured is strictly greater than 26°C.

[0035] Finally, if the minimum ambient temperature Tamb min over the 24 hours preceding the measurement is greater than or equal to 26°C, the system considers that the situation is a heatwave if the ambient temperature Tambmesurée is greater than this threshold temperature of 26°C, without correction coefficient.

[0036] The recognition of these conditions defined as heatwaves is not, however, sufficient, within the meaning of the method of the invention, since the ambient temperatures inside buildings may result from factors other than meteorological heatwaves. Thus, as already mentioned, one could find oneself in the same ambient temperature conditions Tamb if, for example, a stove were in intensive operation in the middle of winter, or more generally depending on the setting of the interior heating in the room. In these cases, a heatwave closure of the shutter obviously makes no sense.

[0037] This is the reason why, in the method of the invention, a second stage of tests is provided, which checks - still by means of ambient temperatures - that the current season is likely to present high temperatures, justifying an automated heatwave treatment of the closing of the shutters. This is what is shown in [Fig.3].

[0038] This control is based on an average of temperatures measured over several days, for example the five (5) days preceding the control, the average also relating to the minimum and maximum ambient temperature values Tamb min and Tamb max measured over these few days. There are therefore two averages which are established, an average of the minimum ambient temperatures and an average of the maximum ambient temperatures. These ambient temperatures respectively minimum Tamb min and maximum Tamb max result in practice themselves from successive measurements, preferably carried out at regular intervals, of the ambient temperature Tamb over a period of 24 hours. The value retained for the minimum ambient temperature Tamb min is then the lowest temperature recorded over 24 hours and, symmetrically, the value retained for the maximum ambient temperature Tamb max is the highest temperature measured over the same period of 24 hours.

[0039] Minimum and maximum temperature threshold values Ts min and Ts max are stored by the system, in this case in the control unit or possibly in the additional remote control. Typically, Tsmin can be chosen to be around 20°C and Tsmax to be around 25°C. The two averages calculated on the minimum and maximum ambient temperature values Tamb min and max are then compared with said threshold values Tsmin = 0°C and Tsmax = 25°C. If the average of the minimum ambient temperatures 7^ min is greater than 20°C and the average of the maximum ambient temperatures Tamb max is greater than 25°C, the system considers that the current season has high temperatures, and consequently that the high ambient temperature measurements do not result from heating the premises.

[0040] To return to [Fig.l], the double determination by the system of the existence of heatwave conditions on the one hand, during a season which is likely to present them on the other hand, makes it possible to trigger the so-called heatwave closure of the shutter.

[0041] In this case, according to the method of the invention, the closing is indeed automated, that is to say controlled and carried out by the system. The invention however provides a form of inhibition of the automatic nature of the method, to avoid the repetitive implementation of the closing if the conditions do not change, that is to say that the system considers that there is a heat wave and that it must send a frame to close the shutter, but that for various reasons the occupant of the building has decided to raise, at least partially, said shutter. After an automated closing, a time delay is then automatically triggered by the control unit, typically for a few hours, for example 3 hours.

[0042] The configuration examples which are the subject of the figures should not be considered as exhaustive of the invention, which includes for example variants in the durations or periods mentioned.

Claims

Claims

1. Method for automated control of the heatwave closing of a non-solar shutter driven by an electric motor, each motor being connected to a control unit equipped with telecommunication means, and controllable by means of an individual remote control capable of being programmed by the user between an automated operating mode and a non-automated operating mode of the shutter, an additional remote control being associated with each shutter, said additional remote control comprising means for measuring the ambient temperature, method characterized in that it comprises: - measurement, at regular intervals, of the ambient temperature Tamb by the additional remote control; - the determination of conditions defined as being heatwave, if the measured ambient temperature Tamb meets the following characteristics: • the ambient temperature Tamb > A + Tamb min, with A = 1 if the minimum ambient temperature Tamb min > 24° C or A = 2 if the minimum ambient temperature 22° C < Tamb min < 24° C; or • the ambient temperature Tamb > 26° C; - the determination that the current season presents high temperatures, if the measured ambient temperature satisfies the following characteristics: • the average calculated over a predetermined duration of the minimum ambient temperatures Tamb min and maximum ambient temperatures Tamb max is greater than a threshold value Ts min and T respectively -1 s max 9 - if the conditions are determined to be heatwave and if the current season is determined to have high temperatures, the control unit sends a heatwave closure frame to the engine.

2. Method for automated control of the heatwave closure of a non-solar shutter according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the Tamb min and Tamb max values have a tolerance of 1°C.

3. Method for automated control of the heatwave closure of a non-solar shutter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the threshold value Tsmin is between 19°C and 21°C, and preferably equal to 20°C, and the threshold value Ts max is between 24°C and 26°C, and preferably equal to 25°C.

4. Method for automated control of the heatwave closure of a non-solar shutter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the minimum ambient temperatures Tamb min and maximum ambient temperatures Tamb max are determined by successive measurements of the ambient temperature Tamb over a period of 24 hours, the value retained for the minimum ambient temperature Tamb min being the lowest temperature recorded over this period and the value retained for the maximum ambient temperature Tamb max being the highest temperature over this period.

5. Method for automated control of the heatwave closure of a non-solar shutter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the predetermined duration for calculating the average of the minimum min and maximum Tamb max ambient temperatures respectively is between 4 and 6 days, and preferably equal to 5 days.

6. Method for automated control of the heatwave closure of a non-solar shutter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the ambient temperature measurement interval is equal to: - 24 hours if the ambient temperature Tamb is < 18° C, - 3 hours if: • the ambient temperature Tamb is > 18° C, or • if the conditions are heatwave, or • if Tamb > Tamb of the previous measurement + 3°C.

7. Method for automated control of the heatwave closing of a non-solar shutter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, after sending a heatwave closing frame to the motor, the control unit activates a time delay inhibiting during its duration any further sending of a heatwave closing frame, said duration being between 2 and 4 hours, preferably equal to 3 hours.

8. Method for automated control of the heatwave closure of a non-solar shutter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the determination of the heatwave conditions and the season 11 current summer is carried out by the shutter control unit, the temperatures measured by the additional remote control being sent to the control unit.

9. Method for automated control of the heatwave closure of a non-solar shutter according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the determination of the heatwave conditions and the current summer season is carried out by the additional remote control, the results of said determinations being sent to the control unit.

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