Integrated Evacuation Controller for High-Rise Building Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-rise buildings pose unique challenges in building evacuation due to longer egress times, safety concerns, and complexities in emergency responder accessibility, smoke movement, and fire control, which existing systems have not adequately addressed.
Innovation Solution
An integrated building evacuation system that includes an evacuation controller interfacing with various systems such as fire alarms, HVAC, security, elevator systems, and a content server to generate dynamic evacuation paths, control elevator operations, and provide real-time guidance to occupants through output devices, while also managing smoke and fire suppression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional evacuation systems are used in high-rise buildings, then system simplicity is maintained, but evacuation time increases and safety reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple independent building systems (fire alarm, HVAC, security, elevator, broadcast, and evacuation path guidance) into a single integrated evacuation system coordinated by a central controller. This merging enables simultaneous activation of all subsystems, providing comprehensive evacuation support including real-time path calculation, environmental control, and occupant guidance, thereby reducing evacuation time while improving safety reliability through coordinated multi-system operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The evacuation path guidance system dynamically calculates and updates evacuation paths in real-time based on current building conditions, occupant locations, and emergency status. The system adapts evacuation routes as the emergency situation evolves, providing dynamic rather than static guidance, which optimizes evacuation efficiency and responds to changing conditions throughout the evacuation process.
2Productivity
If multiple intelligent systems are integrated for evacuation control, then evacuation efficiency and safety improve, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The central evacuation controller serves as a universal coordination hub that manages multiple different subsystems (fire alarm, HVAC, security, elevator, broadcast, and path guidance) through a single interface. This multi-functional controller simplifies the overall system architecture by providing a unified command structure, reducing the complexity that would otherwise arise from managing multiple independent control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The evacuation controller acts as an intermediary between various building subsystems and the evacuation management function. It receives data from sensors and subsystems, processes evacuation logic, and distributes commands to appropriate subsystems, thereby mediating the complex interactions between multiple intelligent systems and simplifying their coordination through a central intelligent layer.
3Measurement precision
If real-time data from multiple systems is processed to generate evacuation paths, then path accuracy and reliability improve, but information processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates and stores building geometry data, normal evacuation paths, and subsystem location information in advance. When an emergency occurs, the evacuation controller retrieves this pre-prepared data and combines it with real-time sensor data, rather than calculating everything from scratch. This preliminary preparation reduces the processing complexity during the actual evacuation event while maintaining high path accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously receives feedback from fire alarm sensors, HVAC status, security system data, and elevator positions, and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust evacuation path calculations. The feedback loop enables the system to refine path accuracy in real-time based on actual building conditions, balancing the need for precise paths with manageable data processing through iterative refinement rather than complete recalculation.
Data Source
AI summary
An integrated building evacuation system includes an evacuation controller; a fire alarm system in communication with the evacuation controller; an HVAC system in communication with the evacuation controller; a security system in communication with the evacuation controller; an elevator system in communication with the evacuation controller; and an output device in communication with the evacuation controller; the evacuation controller receiving data from the fire alarm system, the HVAC system, the security system and the elevator system to generate an evacuation path, during an evacuation event, for occupants of a building in response to the data from the fire alarm system, HVAC system, security system and elevator system, the evacuation controller providing the evacuation path to the output device.