Building Equipment Data Binding Across Multi-Protocol BMS Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current building management systems (BMS) face challenges in efficiently monitoring and controlling building equipment across multiple communication buses and protocols, requiring manual intervention for equipment discovery and lacking seamless integration of data from various sources.
Innovation Solution
A BMS architecture that enables automatic equipment discovery and model distribution across multiple communication buses and protocols, using active node tables and equipment models to facilitate communication and data integration, along with a cloud-based platform for centralized data management and control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If manual intervention is used for equipment discovery in BMS, then equipment can be monitored and controlled, but the system requires user intervention and lacks automation
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables equipment to automatically discover itself and other equipment on the network without requiring manual user intervention. The automatic equipment discovery mechanism allows devices to autonomously register their presence and establish communication relationships, eliminating the need for users to manually configure equipment connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring communication protocols and data structures (such as active node tables and equipment models) that enable automatic equipment discovery and integration. These preparatory measures are established in advance to facilitate seamless automatic equipment registration and data binding when new equipment is added to the system.
2Adaptability or versatility
If data from various communication buses and protocols is integrated, then comprehensive equipment monitoring is achieved, but data integration and management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a universal data binding mechanism that can handle multiple communication protocols and buses through a unified approach. The active node tables and equipment models serve as universal data structures that can represent different equipment types and protocols in a consistent format, allowing the system to integrate data from diverse sources without requiring separate handling mechanisms for each protocol.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces intermediary components including active node tables that act as mediators between different communication buses and the central management system. These intermediary data structures translate and normalize data from various protocols into a unified format, simplifying the integration process and reducing management complexity by providing a standardized interface layer.
3Reliability
If equipment models are distributed across the system, then seamless integration is achieved, but the system requires complex model distribution mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments equipment information into structured models that can be independently distributed and managed. Each equipment model represents a discrete unit of information that can be separately created, stored in active node tables, and distributed to relevant system components. This segmentation allows for modular model distribution without requiring complex coordinated updates across the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses copying mechanisms to distribute equipment models from source definitions to active node tables and other system components. Rather than maintaining complex real-time synchronization, the system creates copies of equipment model data that can be independently managed at different locations, ensuring data consistency while simplifying the distribution mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A building management system includes building equipment operable to affect a physical state or condition of a building, a system manager coupled to equipment via a system bus, and a cloud-based data platform. The system manager is configured to obtain timeseries data from the building equipment and generate a request for a timeseries identifier based on the timeseries data. The cloud-based data platform includes a timeseries service configured to receive the request for the timeseries identifier from the system manager, create a timeseries for the building equipment, assign the timeseries identifier to the timeseries, and send the timeseries identifier to the system manager. The system manager is configured to generate a timeseries sample comprising the timeseries data and send the timeseries sample to the timeseries service along with the timeseries identifier which identifies the timeseries sample as a sample of the timeseries.