Migration of settings from a non-connected building controller to another building controller
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Solution Overview
Problem
Non-connected building controllers, such as HVAC controllers, lack a method for efficiently transferring customizable settings and data to new or connected controllers, making replacement or upgrade processes time-consuming and error-prone.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a user interface on the non-connected controller to encode settings in a machine-readable form, which can be captured and decoded using a camera and processed for transfer to a new or connected controller, utilizing image processing techniques to facilitate data transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual transfer of settings is used from non-connected controller to new controller, then data can be transferred, but the process is time-consuming and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses optical copying by displaying settings as machine-readable code (barcodes, QR codes, or other machine-readable patterns) on the controller display and capturing these codes with a camera. This creates an optical copy of the settings data that can be automatically decoded and transferred, replacing manual transcription and eliminating time-consuming manual entry while maintaining data accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/manual process of writing down or typing settings with an automated optical system. The camera captures the displayed machine-readable code, and image processing automatically decodes and transfers the settings, substituting manual mechanical operations with automated optical and computational processes.
2Reliability
If manual entry of settings is required, then data transfer is possible, but manual entry errors occur
Solution Approach 1:
By creating an optical copy of the settings through machine-readable codes displayed on the controller and captured by a camera, the system eliminates manual transcription errors. The optical copy preserves the exact settings data without human intervention in the copying process, ensuring high reliability while maintaining operational simplicity through automated capture and decode functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service data transfer where the controller automatically displays its own settings in machine-readable form, and the capturing device automatically decodes and transfers the data. This eliminates the need for manual intervention in the data transfer process, reducing errors while keeping the operation simple and intuitive.
3Adaptability or versatility
If non-connected controller has no network capability, then hardware remains simple, but data transfer to remote devices is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary device (smartphone, tablet, or computer with camera) that acts as a bridge between the non-connected controller and remote devices. The intermediary captures the machine-readable code displayed on the controller, decodes it locally, and then transfers the settings data to remote devices via network connections, enabling remote data sharing without modifying the original controller's hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a spatial dimension to data transfer by using optical display and camera capture in physical space, then converting to digital space for network transmission. This dimensional transition allows data to move from a non-networked physical device to the digital network realm through an optical interface, enabling remote accessibility without adding network hardware to the original controller.
Data Source
AI summary
A Heating, Ventilation, and/or Air Conditioning (HVAC) controller configured to control at least part of an HVAC system of a building. The HVAC controller may include a user interface and a controller. In response to a selection by a user at the user interface, the controller may assemble and present via the user interface an output that encodes settings in a machine readable form. The controller may display the encoded settings on the display with fixed segments of a fixed segment display. An application program code on a remote device may be utilized to capture the displayed fixed segments that encode the settings in an image. The captured image of fixed segments may be decoded at the remote device or may be sent to a remote computing device for processing and/or decoding.