Apartment Intercom Network Using Distributed Building Control Units
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional intercommunication systems for apartment complexes require a control apparatus with enhanced processing ability as the number of residential buildings increases, leading to higher costs, and necessitate redesign and reconfiguration when the number of buildings changes.
Innovation Solution
An intercommunication system where each residential building has room parent devices connected via an intercom line to a building control unit, which is connected to other buildings through a network using a general-purpose protocol, allowing signal processing to be handled locally and eliminating the need for a high-performance control apparatus that scales with the number of dwelling units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a control apparatus manages call signals intensively from all residential buildings, then system control capability is improved, but cost increases with the number of dwelling units
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the centralized control function into distributed building control units, where each residential building has its own control unit that handles call signals locally. This segmentation eliminates the need for a single high-performance control apparatus that must manage all buildings, thereby reducing overall system cost while maintaining control capability across multiple buildings.
2Productivity
If the processing ability of the control apparatus is enhanced to manage more residential buildings, then system capacity is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of enhancing a single control apparatus to handle more buildings, the patent segments the control function so that each building control unit independently manages its local building. This allows the system to scale to any number of buildings without increasing the performance requirements or cost of individual control units.
Solution Approach 2:
Each building control unit autonomously handles call signal processing for its own building without requiring assistance from a central control apparatus. This self-service capability eliminates the need for expensive high-performance centralized processing while maintaining overall system capacity.
3Stability of the object's composition
If a centralized control apparatus is used to manage call signals, then system integration is improved, but flexibility to accommodate plan changes decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the control system into independent building control units that can be added or removed from the network without affecting other buildings. This modular architecture maintains system integration through network connectivity while providing flexibility to accommodate changes in the number of residential buildings without requiring redesign of the control apparatus.
Data Source
AI summary
An intercommunication system in an apartment complex comprises residential buildings, each including room parent devices installed in respective rooms; a collective entrance device having a call unit enabling a call manipulation for calling a visit destination room parent device; a storage unit stored with a call table having room numbers correlated with pieces of room parent device IDs for identification of the room parent devices, respectively; a processing unit performing processing of converting a signal input to the call unit into the room parent device ID of a call target room parent device based on the call table; and a transmission unit transmitting the room parent device ID to the room parent devices in the building of the terminal device; and a building control unit connecting the collective entrance device to the room parent devices of the rooms of the building of the building control unit, by an intercom line.