Building Controller Synchronization for Fast, Consistent Commissioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Configuring and updating multiple controllers in building management systems is a time-consuming and error-prone process, as each controller needs to be individually configured and updated, which is inefficient and prone to errors.
Innovation Solution
A method where a source controller is programmed with control logic and synchronizes it with target controllers over a network, allowing for easy updates by storing the source-target relationship, and selectively synchronizing control parameters using a master sync property to ensure only specific parameters are updated, reducing the effort required for users.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If each controller is configured and updated individually, then each controller can be precisely controlled, but the configuration process becomes time-consuming and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a source controller and target controller architecture where control logic and parameters can be copied from one controller to another. The system allows users to define source-target relationships and automatically replicate configurations across multiple controllers, eliminating manual reconfiguration while maintaining consistency and precision through the copying mechanism.
2Stability of the object's composition
If control logic is updated across multiple controllers, then system consistency is improved, but the complexity of managing multiple controllers increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a building management system as an intermediary that manages the source-target relationships between controllers. This intermediary layer handles the complexity of synchronization automatically, allowing users to define relationships once and letting the system manage updates consistently across all controllers without direct manual intervention for each controller.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows users to pre-define source-target relationships and tag specific parameters with master sync properties before updates are needed. This preliminary configuration setup reduces the complexity of managing multiple controllers during actual updates, as the framework is already in place to handle synchronizations efficiently.
3Ease of operation
If all control parameters are synchronized across controllers, then uniformity is achieved, but the ability to maintain local customizations is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables selective synchronization by allowing users to tag specific parameters with master sync properties. This local quality approach ensures that only certain parameters are synchronized across controllers while others remain local to each controller, maintaining both uniformity where needed and local customization where required.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of commissioning a plurality of controllers includes identifying a plurality of controllers that are operably coupled to a network in a building management system. Each of the plurality of controllers are configured to control one or more of a plurality of building management system components within a building management system. A first controller is selected as a source controller. Two or more of the remaining controllers are selected as target controllers. A synch operation is initiated that synchs the control logic of the source controller with each of the two or more target controllers over the network, resulting in each of the two or more target controllers having the control logic of the source controller. The source controller and the two or more target controllers are subsequently used to control one or more respective building management system components of the building management system.