Building management system with exchangeable communication interfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing building management systems (BMS) lack the ability to efficiently integrate and control diverse building equipment across different communication protocols and networks, limiting remote access and management capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A building management system (BMS) with a gateway device and network adapter that facilitates communication between building equipment and a cloud-based platform, enabling data exchange and command execution across wired and wireless MS/TP networks, and supporting multiple communication protocols like BACnet, allowing for automatic equipment discovery and model distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a gateway device with fixed communication interface is used, then the system structure is simple, but the adaptability to different communication protocols and networks is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The communication interface is segmented into a removable network adapter component that can be detached and replaced. This allows the gateway device to support multiple communication protocols without requiring multiple fixed interfaces, as each protocol requires only a specific adapter to be connected to the gateway's universal interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway device is designed with a universal communication interface that can accommodate different types of network adapters. This multi-functional design enables a single gateway device to work across various communication protocols and networks by simply changing the attached adapter, rather than requiring protocol-specific gateway variants.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple fixed communication interfaces are integrated into the gateway, then the adaptability improves, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of integrating multiple communication interfaces into a single complex device, the solution segments the communication capability into separate, standalone network adapters. Each adapter handles a specific protocol, and only one adapter is active at a time, reducing the gateway's internal complexity while maintaining overall system adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication interface configuration becomes dynamic rather than static. The system adapts to different protocols by physically or logically switching between different network adapters based on the required communication standard, allowing the gateway to remain simple in structure while achieving protocol versatility through dynamic reconfiguration.
3Ease of manufacture
If proprietary communication interfaces are used for different equipment, then the integration is straightforward for each protocol, but the overall system integration becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway device acts as an intermediary between building equipment with proprietary interfaces and the cloud-based platform. By equipping the gateway with appropriate network adapters, it mediates the communication between different protocol domains, translating and routing data without requiring direct integration between all equipment pieces, thus simplifying overall system integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway device serves as a universal integration point that can connect to various building equipment types through different network adapters. This multi-functional capability allows a single gateway to handle multiple communication protocols, reducing the need for multiple specialized integration devices and simplifying the overall system architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
A building management system (BMS) includes building equipment operable to affect a physical state or condition of a building, a gateway device coupled to the building equipment, and a network adapter removably coupled to the gateway device. The network adapter couples the gateway device to a cloud-based platform. The cloud-based platform is configured to receive building data from the gateway device via the network adapter, and includes a hub to receive the building data and a plurality of cloud applications configured to receive the building data from the hub and process the building data to provide a building data output. The cloud-based platform is configured to communicate the building data output to and receive a command based on the building data from at least one of a control application, an analytic application, or a monitoring application. The gateway device is further configured to operate according to the command.