Building Control Device Cloud Server Intermediary
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Solution Overview
Problem
Building control systems face limitations in storage capacity and computational power for long-term history data, making it difficult to perform diagnostics and system performance analysis without adding a high-end server, which increases costs and contradicts the small physical footprint and low cost requirements of embedded supervisor controllers.
Innovation Solution
The system utilizes a computing cloud environment as an optional server for building control devices, allowing on-demand server functionality by partitioning the application into client and server systems, with the client providing a user interface and the server routing requests to the cloud for additional features like trend log data analysis, thereby enhancing functionality without increasing the device's physical footprint.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a high-end server is added to provide long-term history data storage and analysis functionality, then the storage capacity and computational power are improved, but the system cost and device complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an external server as an intermediary component that mediates between the building control device and the user interface. This external server handles long-term history data storage and complex computational tasks, allowing the embedded building control device to maintain its small footprint while still providing advanced diagnostic and analysis capabilities through the intermediary server.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into multiple independent components: the embedded building control device, the external server, and the user interface. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the building control device remains compact and cost-effective, while the external server provides the necessary storage and computational resources for long-term data management and analysis.
2Power
If a high-end server is added to provide long-term history data storage and analysis functionality, then the computational power is improved, but the system cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The external server acts as an intermediary that provides high computational power for data analysis and diagnostics without requiring the embedded building control device to be upgraded. This allows the system to gain advanced analytical capabilities while keeping the core building control device cost-effective and simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The external server provides multiple functions including long-term data storage, historical trend analysis, diagnostic capabilities, and reporting functions. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate high-end components, reducing overall system cost while providing comprehensive computational power for building management tasks.
3Volume of moving object
If the building control device is kept as an embedded device with small physical footprint, then the device size is reduced, but the storage capacity for history data is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The external server serves as an intermediary storage repository that compensates for the limited local storage capacity of the embedded building control device. The device maintains its compact size while the external server provides extensive storage capacity for long-term history data, effectively decoupling device size from storage capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution moves the storage dimension from the local embedded device to a remote external server, effectively adding a spatial dimension to the storage architecture. This allows the building control device to remain small while accessing virtually unlimited storage capacity through network-connected external resources.
4Device complexity
If the building control device is kept as an embedded device with low cost, then the device cost is reduced, but the functionality for diagnostics and analysis is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The external server acts as an intermediary that enhances the functionality of the cost-effective embedded building control device. It provides advanced diagnostic tools, historical data analysis, and reporting capabilities that would be too expensive to include in the embedded device itself, thereby extending versatility without increasing device cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The external server provides a universal platform that can serve multiple building control devices and provide a wide range of functions including real-time monitoring, historical analysis, predictive maintenance, and generating reports. This multi-functional approach allows a single low-cost embedded device to access comprehensive building management capabilities through the shared external server infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
A system having a building control device with on-demand outside server functionality. It may have a building control device connected to a thin user interface client and/or a rich client user interface. The building control device may be connected to an external server from a computing cloud environment to extend the functionality, storage and processing, among other things, of the building control device.