Building management system with distributed data storage and processing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Building management systems (BMS) face bandwidth and computing power challenges due to centralized data processing, which leads to increased costs and potential bottlenecks in data transmission and storage.

Innovation Solution

Distributing data processing across device controllers, where each controller processes and stores time-series data locally, with the BMS controller generating sub-requests and joining results from multiple controllers to provide a unified response, thereby reducing the load on the central system.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If centralized data processing is used where all sensor and actuator data is sent to the BMS controller, then the BMS controller can perform all processing functions itself, but the available bandwidth decreases and the BMS controller requires high computing power and large database storage

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecentralized processing capabilityVSAvoidbandwidth consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the centralized BMS controller into multiple distributed device controllers, each responsible for processing data from specific sensors and actuators. This segmentation allows processing to occur locally at device level rather than concentrating all data transmission and processing at a central point, thereby reducing bandwidth consumption while maintaining processing capabilities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Ease of operation

If centralized data processing is used where all sensor and actuator data is sent to the BMS controller, then the BMS controller can perform all processing functions itself, but the BMS controller requires high computing power and large database storage

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecentralized processing capabilityVSAvoidcomputing power requirement

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSPower

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the computing workload by distributing it across multiple device controllers. Each device controller handles processing for its local sensors and actuators, eliminating the need for a single BMS controller to possess high computing power for all processing tasks.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Device controllers are empowered to perform processing functions independently without requiring all data to be sent to the central BMS controller. Each device controller serves itself by processing its own data locally, reducing the computing power requirements of the central system.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Productivity

If distributed data processing is implemented across device controllers, then processing capacity is enhanced and bandwidth is conserved, but the system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprocessing capacityVSAvoidsystem architecture complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

While segmentation into distributed device controllers enhances processing capacity, the patent manages the resulting complexity through standardized communication protocols and a coordinator architecture that orchestrates interactions between controllers, making the distributed system manageable despite its complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

4Reliability

If distributed data storage is implemented across device controllers, then single points of failure are eliminated and system reliability is improved, but the difficulty of data retrieval and aggregation increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem availabilityVSAvoiddata retrieval complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a data coordinator as an intermediary that manages data retrieval and aggregation from distributed device controllers. This mediator simplifies the complexity of accessing distributed data by providing a unified interface, thereby maintaining high system availability through distributed storage while reducing the difficulty of data retrieval.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS10955157B2Building management system with distributed data storage and processing

Publication Date: 2021.03.23 TYCO FIRE & SECURITY GMBH

AI summary

A building management system (BMS) including device controllers configured to monitor and control one or more heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) devices and to store and process time-series data associated with the HVAC devices. The BMS includes a BMS controller that is communicably coupled to the device controllers. The BMS controller is configured to generate and send one or more processing sub-requests to at least one of the device controllers based on a processing request requesting time-series data associated with an HVAC device. The BMS controller is configured to receive one or more processing results from the at least one of the device controllers and join the one or more processing results into a joined result. The BMS controller is configured to provide the joined result to a requesting entity. The device controllers are configured to receive and process processing sub-requests and send results to the BMS controller.