Building Equipment Schedule Synchronization Across Multiple Sites

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current building management systems (BMS) face challenges in synchronizing and managing schedules across multiple building sites efficiently, detecting equipment malfunctions, and securing diagnostic data, leading to inefficiencies and potential security risks.

Innovation Solution

A BMS with a system manager that includes a schedule manager for synchronizing schedules, a malfunction detector for diagnosing issues, and an encrypted code generator for secure data access, allowing for centralized control and monitoring of building equipment across multiple sites.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If building management systems manually manage schedules across multiple building sites, then individual site control is maintained, but synchronization efficiency and time consumption deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveschedule synchronization efficiencyVSAvoidtime for schedule management

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines multiple building site schedules into a centralized system manager that automatically synchronizes schedules across all sites. The schedule manager consolidates schedule data from multiple sources and distributes updated schedules automatically, eliminating the need for manual schedule management at each individual site and significantly improving synchronization efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-synchronizing schedules before they are needed at individual building sites. The centralized schedule manager maintains updated schedule templates and automatically pushes them to remote devices in advance, ensuring that all sites have current schedules without requiring real-time manual intervention.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If building management systems implement comprehensive equipment monitoring, then malfunction detection capability is improved, but system complexity and resource requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveequipment malfunction detectionVSAvoidmonitoring system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a system manager as an intermediary component that centralizes equipment monitoring functions. Rather than each building site requiring complex independent monitoring systems, the centralized manager receives equipment data from multiple sites, processes malfunction detection algorithms, and generates diagnostic reports, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive monitoring capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Loss of information

If building management systems store diagnostic data in accessible format, then data usability is improved, but security risks and unauthorized access potential increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvediagnostic data accessibilityVSAvoidsecurity risks

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements local quality by applying different security characteristics to different portions of the diagnostic data system. The system manager stores diagnostic data in an accessible format for authorized users while implementing encryption and access control mechanisms that restrict unauthorized access. Different levels of data have different security requirements, and the system applies appropriate security measures to each data type and user category.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

4Productivity

If building management systems implement centralized control across multiple sites, then operational efficiency is improved, but communication requirements and network infrastructure demands increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoperational efficiencyVSAvoidcommunication resources

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts communication-intensive functions from individual building sites and consolidates them at the centralized system manager. Remote devices at each site have minimal communication requirements, only needing to send basic equipment status data to the system manager and receive schedule updates. The complex synchronization and data processing operations are performed centrally, reducing the communication burden on individual sites and optimizing network resource utilization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS11774931B2Building management system with equipment schedule and setpoint synchronization and control

Publication Date: 2023.10.03 TYCO FIRE & SECURITY GMBH

AI summary

A building management system includes building equipment operable to affect a physical state of a building. The building management system includes a system manager coupled to the building equipment via a system bus, the system manager comprising a schedule manager configured to control an operation schedule of the building equipment. A client device is configured to communicate with the schedule manager to modify operation schedules of the building equipment or add new operation schedules for the building equipment. The schedule manager comprises a list of available schedules for the building equipment and is configured to, in response to modification of the operation schedules or addition of new operation schedules, update the list of available schedules to include the modification or the new operation schedule. The enterprise batch synchronization module is configured to create, copy, modify and apply schedule and setpoint configuration templates to multiple cloud connected building equipment simultaneously.