System, method and apparatus for augmenting a building management system with indoor air quality sensor information
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Solution Overview
Problem
Building Management Systems (BMS) are inflexible and costly to modify, limiting their ability to integrate new sensors and adapt to changing needs, such as new regulations or technologies, which reduces their effectiveness and return on investment.
Innovation Solution
A sensor network platform that includes gateway devices and sensor network nodes that communicate with external operation centers, supporting a variety of sensors through bridge units and universal interfaces, allowing for customized data processing and integration with existing control systems via industry-defined protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If Building Management Systems are modified to integrate new sensors and adapt to changing needs, then adaptability and versatility improve, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gateway device as an intermediary component that bridges the sensor network platform and the existing BMS. This gateway handles protocol translation and data formatting, allowing new sensors to be integrated without directly modifying the core BMS architecture. The gateway acts as a buffer that absorbs the complexity of integration, preserving the original BMS while enabling adaptability through the intermediate layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is divided into distinct modular components: sensor network nodes, bridge units, gateway devices, and the existing BMS. Each component operates independently with well-defined interfaces. This segmentation allows new sensors to be added by simply connecting additional modular units without reconfiguring the entire system, thereby improving adaptability while managing complexity through modular architecture.
2Adaptability or versatility
If Building Management Systems are modified to integrate new sensors and adapt to changing needs, then adaptability and versatility improve, but operational cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway device is designed with universal functionality to support multiple sensor types and communication protocols. Rather than requiring separate integration solutions for different sensors, the single gateway can handle various protocols (BACnet, Modbus, LonWorks, etc.), reducing the need for additional hardware and lowering operational costs while maintaining high adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses standardized protocol implementations and data formatting templates that can be replicated across different sensor integrations. Once a sensor type is integrated and its protocol is established, the same integration pattern can be copied for similar sensors, reducing the cost and effort of subsequent integrations while maintaining adaptability.
3Reliability
If sensor network platform is added to augment BMS, then monitoring and control capabilities improve, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a new dimensional layer (the sensor network platform) above the existing BMS architecture rather than modifying the existing layer. This vertical addition allows enhanced monitoring and control capabilities through indoor air quality sensors and environmental monitoring while keeping the original BMS intact. The gateway translates between the new dimension's data format and the existing system's expectations, managing complexity through dimensional separation.
Data Source
AI summary
A system, method and apparatus for augmenting a building control system domain. A sensor network platform can be configured to collect data based on measurements from sensors outside of a legacy building control system domain, and to present information based on the collected data to a known interface supported by the legacy building control system. In one embodiment, the collected data can undergo customized processing by an operation center outside of the legacy building control system domain.