Building management system with automatic equipment discovery and equipment model distribution

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12561269-B2
Application number	US-202418412052-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 12, 2024
Priority date	Jun 10, 2016
Publication date	Feb 24, 2026
Grant date	Feb 24, 2026

Abstract

A building management system includes a communications bus, and devices coupled to the communications bus. The devices are coupled to the communications bus and configured to communicate on the communications bus using a master-slave token passing protocol. A first one of the devices has an active node table stored therein. The active node table includes multiple nodes. Each node represents one of the devices participating in a token passing ring used to exchange information among the devices via the communications bus using the master-slave token passing protocol. The first device is configured to monitor the active node table for new nodes and to identify a new device communicating on the communications bus in response to a determination that the active node table includes a new node.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A building management system comprising:
a zone bus; a system bus; and a plurality of devices coupled to the zone bus or the system bus and configured to communicate on the system bus or the zone bus using a protocol, a first device of the plurality of devices having a memory comprising data representing each of the plurality of devices that exchange information among the plurality of devices using the protocol; wherein the first device is configured to monitor the data and to identify a new device communicating on the zone bus or the system bus in response to a determination that the data indicates that the new device is communicating on the system bus or the zone bus, wherein the first device generates a list of devices communicating on the system bus and a list of devices communicating on the zone bus and provides a device tree identifying at least the devices communicating on the system bus or the devices communicating on the zone bus.

2 . The building management system of claim 1 , wherein:
the memory comprises an active node table comprising a table change counter; the first device is configured to increment the table change counter when a change to the active node table occurs; and a second device of the plurality of devices is configured to read the active node table in response to a change of value (COV) of the table change counter.

3 . The building management system of claim 2 , wherein the first device comprises a device list generator configured to use information from the active node table to generate a device list identifying the plurality of devices.

4 . The building management system of claim 1 , wherein the first device is configured to automatically identify the new device communicating without requiring the new device to be placed in discovery mode and without sending a discovery command to the new device.

5 . The building management system of claim 1 , wherein the first device is configured to retrieve an equipment model from the new device and to generate a user interface comprising one or more point values identified by the equipment model.

6 . The building management system of claim 1 , wherein the first device is configured to:
determine whether the new device provides its own equipment model; automatically generate a new equipment model for the new device in response to a determination that the new device does not provide its own equipment model; and store the new equipment model within the first device.

7 . The building management system of claim 6 , wherein the equipment model comprises a plurality of point objects that provide information about the new device and store present values of variables or parameters used by the new device.

8 . The building management system of claim 1 , wherein a second device of the plurality of devices that communicates on the zone bus or the system bus is configured to:
communicate on a second communications bus other than the zone bus or the system bus; maintain the list of devices communicating on the second communications bus; and generate the device tree comprising the devices communicating on the second communications bus.

9 . A method for interacting with equipment in a building management system, the method comprising:
identifying, by a first device, a new device communicating on a bus using data representing each of a plurality of devices that exchange information among the plurality of devices; determining whether the new device provides its own equipment model; and automatically generating, by the first device, a new equipment model for the new device in response to a determination that the new device does not provide its own equipment model.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the equipment model comprises a plurality of point objects, each point object mapped to a variable or parameter stored within the new device.

11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the equipment model comprises a plurality of point objects that provide information about the new device and store present values of variables or parameters used by the new device.

12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein determining whether the new device provides its own equipment model comprises:
sending a request for the equipment model to the new device; and determining that the new device provides its own equipment model based on a reply received from the new device in response to the request for the equipment model.

13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein automatically generating the new equipment model comprises:
retrieving a plurality of point values from the new device; and generating the new equipment model using the plurality of point values.

14 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising interacting with the new device through the equipment model by reading and writing values to the equipment model.

15 . A first device for use in a building system, the building system comprising a first bus or a second bus and a plurality of devices coupled to the first bus or the second bus, the first device comprising:
a circuit configured to communicate on the first bus or the second bus, the first device having a memory comprising data representing each of the plurality of devices that exchange information among the plurality of devices, wherein the circuit is configured to monitor the data and to identify a new device communicating on the first bus or the second bus in response to a determination that the data indicates that the new device is communicating on the first bus or the second bus, wherein the first device generates a list devices communicating on the first bus and a list of devices communicating on the second bus and provides a device tree identifying the devices.

16 . The first device of claim 15 , wherein the circuit is configured to determine whether the new device provides its own equipment model and automatically generates a new equipment model for the new device in response to a determination that the new device does not provide its own equipment model.

17 . The first device of claim 16 , wherein the circuit configured to determine whether the new device provides its own equipment model by:
sending a request for the equipment model to the new device; and determining that the new device provides its own equipment model based on a reply received from the new device in response to the request for the equipment model.

18 . The first device of claim 17 , wherein the circuit is configured to generate the new equipment model by:
receiving a plurality of point values from the new device; and generating the new equipment model using the plurality of point values.

19 . The first device of claim 15 , wherein the first device is configured to interact with the new device through the equipment model by reading and writing values to the equipment model.

20 . The first device of claim 15 , wherein the data is associated with an active node table comprising a table change counter and the circuit
is configured to increment the table change counter when a change to the active node table occurs.

21 . The building management system of claim 1 , wherein the first device comprises a zone coordinator.

22 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the first device comprises a zone coordinator.

23 . The first device of claim 15 , wherein the first device comprises a zone coordinator.

Assignees

• Tyco Fire & Security Gmbh

Inventors

• Cayemberg Jennifer S
• Strand Lisa E
• Bykowski Ryan J
• Gottschalk Daniel R
• Hamber Eric W

Classifications

• H04L12/2816

  Controlling appliance services of a home automation network by calling their functionalities (arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station; in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom H04Q9/00) · CPC title

• G06F13/362

  with centralised access control · CPC title

• H04L41/0809

  Plug-and-play configuration · CPC title

• H04L12/2809

  indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network (monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51) · CPC title

• G05B2219/2642

  Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house · CPC title