Group Master Object for Building Automation Device Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional building automation systems face inefficiencies in managing and communicating with numerous field devices, particularly in adapting control programs to address identical or similar points across multiple field panel controllers, which complicates the process of adding new inputs or outputs and makes it difficult to determine device relationships.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a grouping system that uses group master and group member objects within building automation devices to facilitate efficient communication of common data across a network, allowing control programs to address groups of field devices uniformly, thereby simplifying the management and integration of new devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional building automation systems address each field device individually through separate control programs, then each device can be controlled precisely, but the system complexity increases significantly when adding new inputs or outputs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple individual field device addresses into a single group address that can be used by control programs. Instead of addressing each field device separately, the system creates a group object that represents multiple field devices, allowing control programs to operate on the group as a single entity. This reduces the complexity of adapting control programs when new field devices are added to the system.
Solution Approach 2:
The group object serves multiple functions: it can be used for monitoring, control, and configuration operations across multiple field devices simultaneously. The group address can replace individual field device addresses in control programs, providing a universal interface that works for both existing and newly added field devices without requiring program modifications.
2Loss of information
If building automation systems monitor and control numerous dispersed field devices, then comprehensive system monitoring is achieved, but determining device relationships becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the large number of dispersed field devices into logical groups based on their relationships and functional connections. By organizing field devices into groups with hierarchical structures, the system maintains comprehensive monitoring capability while making device relationships more visible and manageable through the group organization structure.
3Productivity
If control programs are customized for specific numbers of field device inputs, then precise control is achieved, but the process becomes inefficient when adding additional field devices
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-configuring group objects that can accommodate multiple field devices. Control programs are written to work with group addresses in advance, so when new field devices are added to the group, the control functionality is already in place and simply needs to be associated with the updated group composition, eliminating the need to rewrite or extensively modify control programs.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system and a method are provided for communicating common data associated with building automation objects between building automation devices across a network. The common data corresponds to a group of one or more building automation objects representing points associated with a plurality of field devices controlled or monitored in a building by the building automation devices. The system comprises a first building automation device having a group master object that includes a group identifier. A second building automation device includes a group member object having the same group identifier as the group master object. The group master object exchanges the common data to each of the building automation devices having a group member object that has the same group identifier as the group master object.