WO2008032013A1

WO2008032013A1 - Devices, systems and methods relating to management of a building' s internal environment

Info

Publication number: WO2008032013A1
Application number: PCT/GB2007/003250
Authority: WO
Inventors: James Jay Bonwick
Original assignee: Trend Control Systems Limited
Priority date: 2006-09-13
Filing date: 2007-08-28
Publication date: 2008-03-20
Also published as: GB0618040D0; GB0904577D0; GB2456687A; GB2456687B

Abstract

A system (5) arranged to control the internal environment of a building. The system comprises a store (303) containing graphical view data relating to the system (5), a communication module (301) arranged to provide graphical view data relating to the system (5) in response to a request from a device for graphical view data, an ascertaining module (310) arranged to obtain details of the device making the request and a converter (304) arranged to convert graphical view data in a display independent format to graphical view data in a form suitable for display on the device. The communication module (301) is arranged to send the data converted by the converter (304) to the device.

Description

Devices, Systems and Methods Relating to Management of a Building' s Internal Environment

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to Building Management Systems (BMSs) , that is systems for controlling the environment within a building. More particularly, although not exclusively, the invention relates to the provision of graphical view data relating to BMSs.

Background Art

The environment within a building changes in response to changes in outside weather conditions and to local changes within the building. A BMS typically monitors services including heating, air-conditioning and ventilation, and controls them in an attempt to provide an environment suitable for those within the building, whilst ensuring operation at or near optimal efficiency and economy. A good BMS attempts to satisfy operating requirements whilst taking into account environmental conditions and energy usage. A BMS also usually provides information to building managers or the like, to keep them informed of the status of the building' s services and environment.

A BMS comprises a plurality of elements, typically comprising the following.

Field device monitors monitor the environment within the building or outside it. In most installations, a plurality of monitors is provided inside the building, each monitoring one or more parameters of its own area of the building.

Field device actuators provide direct control of one or more devices for changing the building's internal environment, either globally (the whole building) or locally to the actuator. Controllers receive monitoring signals from field device monitors and, depending on those signals and according to predetermined operating parameters, send control signals to field device actuators to change the building's internal environment .

Supervisors provide human-network interfaces to allow viewing or adjustment of system parameters. They often provide analysis and maintenance tools .

Networks provide interconnections between field devices, controllers and supervisors, allowing BMS elements to communicate with each other. The communications may be local (within a building) , across a wide-area network (WAN) or across the Internet to web browsers or other similar interfaces. Networks can thereby enable access to BMS data from within the building, at other buildings within a company or group, or anywhere in the world.

A supervisor will often comprise a web server. A web server provides data in HTML (hypertext markup language) format, as HTML "pages", in response to HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) requests over the network. HTTP requests are created for example by a web browser running on a remote computer, which then displays the HTML pages it receives from the web server. (This is the standard operation of a web browser, with HTML being the standard format for web pages.) Web servers can usually accept requests in protocols other than HTTP, for example WAP (wireless application protocol) requests for WML (wireless markup language) pages (this is a format designed for use on devices with low display ability, such as mobile phones) . The web server therefore provides a convenient way in which a supervisor can be accessed by any computer running a web browser. Such a computer could be on the same network as the web server, or could connect with the web server via the internet. The web server could for example provide a means by which a user can interact with a supervisor to view and adjust system parameters . A BMS can comprise a large number of elements spread over a large geographical area - for example over a building comprising many storeys - and handling a large number of different plant systems - for example central air conditioning systems, boiler systems, chilled water systems, energy monitoring. It is therefore often useful to have some visual representation of the BMS elements arranged in a logical manner, for example by geographical layout, by type of plant system, by user's role etc. To that end, BMSs often provide a facility whereby a user configuring the system can create a series of graphical views showing the various elements, in a manner appropriate to the end user's needs.

A known graphical view facility is provided by the applicant as part of their 963 Supervisor software. The 963 software allows a user to create a view of the BMS using a graphical "drag and drop" interface. The user creates the graphical view of the area (e.g. the structure of the floors in a building) using the interface, adding the elements of the BMS by placing "objects" provided by the interface in the graphical view, and then relating those objects to the elements in the BMS. The user requires no specialised computing knowledge to create the graphical view(s), such as knowledge of file systems or HTML. The graphical view data is stored in a proprietary binary format known as the "TSS" format .

Such graphical view(s) can be used in the interface of a supervisor to display information relating to the status of devices, and show the readings given by sensors in the system. The graphical view(s) may also indicate to a user the location of a particular element, for example enabling them to easily select the correct element when they wish to make changes to the configuration of the BMS. The graphical view(s) may also be used by an engineer when locating an element that needs maintenance work. In both of the above cases, the user may see the graphical view(s) using a web browser, which requests graphical view data from the web server. Many different web browsers are available (for example Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Opera, all of which are available in a number of different versions) , and often the different web browsers will require the HTML pages they receive to be formatted differently if they are to be displayed correctly. Further, an engineer may use a mobile device such as a PDA (personal digital assistant) to display graphical view(s), so that they are able to use it while locating the element that requires maintenance. Due to their small screen size and the relatively slow data speeds of their connections to a network, it is often desirable or necessary for data to be sent to a mobile device to be in a format that reduces the amount of data that is sent. The known 963 system only supports a limited number of browsers and systems, and so if unsupported browsers or systems are used the graphical view(s) will be displayed incorrectly or not at all. Other known BMSs are able to send graphical view data, and can be configured to send graphical view data in the required format for additional browsers and systems. However, a user when configuring the system must enter details of how to convert the graphical view data in proprietary format to the particular desired format. Such configuring is complicated, and requires the user to know details of the target browser. Also, with both the known 963 system and other known BMSs, when a new version of a browser or system is to be used to access graphical view data, the system may not provide the graphical view data in the correct format, even if the new browser or system requires a format already entered into the system. (As will often be the case with an updated version of a known browser.) The system will therefore have to be configured for use with the new browser or system (if possible) .

The invention aims to provide a system, method and device that ameliorate or eliminate problems arising in a Building Management System when providing graphical view data. Disclosure of the Invention

In a first aspect, the invention provides a system arranged to control the internal environment of a building, the system comprising: (i) a store containing graphical view data relating to the system; (ii) a communication module arranged to provide graphical view data relating to the system in response to a request from a device for graphical view data; (iϋ) an ascertaining module arranged to obtain details of the device making the request; (iv) a converter arranged to convert graphical view data in a display independent format to graphical view data in a form suitable for display on the device; wherein the communication module is arranged to send the data converted by the converter to the device.

The use of an ascertaining module allows the system to identify details of the device making the request, including in particular the display capabilities of that device. The converter then converts the graphical view data into a form suitable for that device. The use of a display independent format means that the graphical view data can be easily converted into the form required.

Preferably, the display independent format is XML, although other display independent formats such as SGML could be used. Advantageously, the converter comprises a store containing one or more XSLT style sheets for converting the graphical view data in XML format. This allows the converter to be easily updated to allow it to provide graphical view data in a form suitable for a new device, by simply adding a new XSLT style sheet written for the new device.

Preferably, the converter is arranged to convert the graphical view data into HTML format.

The graphical view data in the store may be stored in a format other than the display independent format, and the converter arranged to convert the graphical view data to the display independent format prior to converting it to graphical view data in a form suitable for display on the device. This allows the converter to be used in an existing system in which graphical view data is stored in a non-display independent format, such as a proprietary format. Advantageously, the communication module is a web server. Web servers are well-known, easy to provide, and well-suited for communication over a network or the internet.

Preferably, the web server is arranged to accept requests for graphical view data as HTTP requests. Advantageously, the ascertaining module is arranged to obtain the details of the device making the request from the header of the HTTP request. All HTTP request headers contain details of the device making the request, so this provides an easy way of ascertaining that information using existing technology. Advantageously, the ascertaining module is arranged to obtain the details of the device making the request from the header of the HTTP request using pattern matching. This allows the ascertaining module to identify which general family of devices a device is in without using all the information about the device that is given in the HTTP header. In particular, this allows the ascertaining module to identify the general family of devices even for devices that were not considered or had not yet been made when the ascertaining module was configured.

The communication module may be arranged to accept requests from and send graphical view data to a Java Applet running on the device.

The system may further comprise at least one networked device selected from the following: a field device monitor, a field device actuator, a controller, and a supervisor. The system may further comprise at least one device connected to a networked field device monitor and/or a networked field device actuator and arranged to provide at least one service selected from the following: heating, air-conditioning and ventilation.

In a second aspect, the invention provides a method for providing graphical view data relating to a system arranged to control the internal environment of a building in response to a request from a device for graphical view data, the method comprising the steps of: (a) ascertaining details of the device making the request; (b) obtaining the graphical view data in a display independent format; (c) converting the graphical view data in the display independent format to a form suitable for display on the device; (d) sending the converted data to the device.

In a third aspect, the invention provides a device for inclusion in a system arranged to control the internal environment of a building, comprising: (i) a communication module arranged to provide graphical view data relating to the system in response to a request from a device for graphical view data; (ii) an ascertaining module arranged to obtain details of the device making the request; (iii) a converter arranged to convert graphical view data in a display independent format to graphical view data in a form suitable for display on the device; wherein the communication module is arranged to send the data converted by the converter to the device . It will be appreciated that features of the present invention described in relation to any aspect of the present invention are equally applicable to any other aspect of the present invention; for example, features described in relation to the system according to the first aspect of the invention are equally applicable to a method according to the second aspect or a device according to the third aspect.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Certain illustrative embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an example embodiment of a building management system according to the invention; Fig. 2 is an example embodiment of a supervisor according to the invention; Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of part of the building management system according to an example embodiment of a method according to the invention.

The BMS 5 of Fig. 1 comprises devices for changing and monitoring the building's internal environment. Examples of such devices, shown in Fig. 1, are: air-conditioning units 10, 110; climate sensors 20, 120 for monitoring temperature, humidity and other climate variables; ventilation units 30, 130; and heating units 40, 140. The building control system also comprises a data network comprising networked devices including field device monitors 60, 160, field device actuators 50, 70, 80, 150, 170, 180, controller 200, field device controllers 210, 220, 230 and supervisor 300, all connected over a local-area network (LAN) 400.

The climate sensors 20, 120 are monitored by field device monitors 60, 160 and the other devices in this example are controlled by field device actuators 50, 70, 80, 150, 170, 180. More specifically, air-conditioning unit 10 and climate sensors 20 are interfaced respectively with actuator 50 and monitor 60, which are together controlled by controller 210, which is connected to the LAN 400. Ventilation 30 and heating 40 are interfaced respectively with actuators 70 and 80, which are together controlled by controller 220, which is connected to the LAN 400. Air-conditioning 110 and heating 140 are interfaced respectively with actuators 150 and 180, which are together controlled by controller 230, which is connected to the LAN 400. Climate sensors 120 are monitored by monitor 160, which is connected directly to the LAN 400. Ventilation 130 is actuated by actuator 170, which is also connected directly to the LAN 400. (Monitor 160 and actuator 170 include internal controller function.) Controllers 210, 220 and 230, monitor 160 and actuator 170 are themselves directly- controlled across the network by controller 200. Controllers 200, 210, 220, 230 receive over the LAN 400 signals from field device monitors 60, 160 and, depending on those signals and according to predetermined operating parameters, sends control signals over the LAN 400 to field device actuators 50, 70, 80, 150, 170, 180 to change the building's internal environment. Supervisor 300 provides an interface to allow viewing or adjustment of system parameters by a human operator. Supervisor 300 also provides analysis and maintenance tools for the operator.

A personal computer (PC) 600 and a mobile device 610 connected to the network 400 (either locally or via the internet) allow respective users to interact with the supervisor 300.

The supervisor 300 is shown in more detail in Fig. 2. The supervisor comprises a web server 301, which in use is connected to the network 400. Connected to the web server 301 is a TSS to XML converter 302, which is in turn connected to a store 303 containing graphical view data for the BMS in the proprietary TSS format. XML (extensible Markup Language) is a markup language related to HTML, which was designed to allow data from different contexts to be presented and manipulated easily. An XML compressor 306 is also connected to the web server 301. The XML compressor 306 is able to accept XML documents from the TSS to XML converter 302.

Also connected to the web server 301 is an XML to HTML converter 304. The XML to HTML converter 304 has an associated set of XSLT style sheets 305. XSLT (extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) style sheets define transformations that can be performed upon XML documents. The XML to HTML converter 304 is able to accept XML documents from the TSS to XML converter 302.

Finally, a device analyser 310 is also connected to the web server 301. The device analyser 310 has an associated User Agent Lookup File 311. The device analyser 310 is able to send information to the XML to HTML converter 304. The supervisor will of course also contain apparatus for the viewing or adjustment of system parameters and other such standard functionality (not shown in Fig. 2) .

The PC 600 is a Java Applet enabled device. A Java Applet is a program written in the Java programming language which can be run within a suitable web browser (which includes most standard web browsers) . Java Applets are particularly suited for applications that require data to be transferred across the internet (or a local network using internet data transfer protocols, e.g. TCP/IP) and require a rich user interface. When the PC 600 connects to the web server 301, the web server 301 will send a Java Applet to the PC 600. The Java applet is able to communicate with the web server 301 directly, and in particular can receive compressed XML graphical view data from the web server 301, and can receive data and send instructions regarding the elements in the BMS - for example read/write instructions (to determine the status of elements/change their behaviour) and historical log data. Fig. 3 shows the operation of the BMS when a user requests graphical view data. In step 700, the PC 600 or mobile device 610 makes a request for graphical view data from the web server 301. In response, the web server 301 identifies the user and the page of the graphical view data requested (step 701) . The web server 301 then instructs the TSS to XML converter 302 to load the desired page from the TSS store 303 and convert it into XML (step 702) . An example fragment of XML for a page containing a single sensor is shown in Table 1.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>

<Backdrop>\Backdrops\Albery\Blank. jpg</Backdrop>

<DynamicObj Color=" #0 " Visible=" l " TeIe=" " Lan=" 4 " Os=" 97 " ItCTi=¹¹Sl " DeviceType=" : " Rate=" 30 " Pin=" 0 " Style=" 0 " DisplayAs=" [ $ ] [V] [ % ] " Label="Room Temperature " Units="degC" On=¹¹On" Off="Off" Alarm="In Alarm" Error="<ERROR>" Waiting="wait" OvrOn="<FLASHBORDER>On" 0vr0ff="<FLASHBORDER>Off" Shadow="0" Tooltip="Room Temperature" Decplaces="l" Transparent="O" Transcolor="0" Framerate="10" Autoresize="l">

</DynamicModuleStatus>

</DynamicObj>

</Objects>

</Schematic>

Table 1

At the same time as steps 701 and 702 are taking place, the web server 301 determines the relevant characteristics of the device making the request for graphical view data (step 703) . This is done by reading the header of the HTTP request for the graphical view data, in particular the "user Agent" field of the header which gives details of the browser and system requesting the page. Some example User Agent fields are shown in Table 2.

Internet Explorer 6 running on Windows XP :

User Agent = ^NλMozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SVl; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)" Nokia 9110 Mobile Phone: User Agent = "Nokia-Coiruτιunicator-WWW-Browser/3. Q (Geos 3.0 Nokia 9110)"

Nokia 921Oi Mobile Phone:

User Agent = ^ΛλMozilla/4.1 (compatible; MSIE 5.0; EPOC) Opera 6.0 [en] Nokia/Series-9200"

Table 2

Once the web server 301 determines the relevant characteristics of the device, its next behaviour is dependent on whether the device is Java Applet capable and the user has elected to use Java (step 704) , in which case the device will be running a Java Applet provided by the web server 301. In the first example of Table 2, the header specifies that the browser is Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 and Windows XP (NT 5.1). Therefore, it is known that this device is capable of running a suitable Java Virtual Machine.

If the device is Java Applet enabled, the web server 301 instructs the XML compressor 306 to compress the XML graphical view data that was converted from the TSS data in step 702, and sends the compressed XML data to the Java Applet on the device (step 705) . The Java Applet then uses the compressed XML data to display the requested graphical view. XML is compressed using a lossless ZLIB data compression method. If, on the other hand, the device is not Java Applet capable (or the user has elected not to use Java) , the web server 301 instructs the device analyser 310 to analyse further the details of the device given in "User Agent" portion of the HTTP request header, to determine the family to which the device belongs (first part of step 706) . In order to do this, the web server 301 uses pattern matching to consider only the relevant aspects of the details. For example, in the header for the Nokia 921Oi mobile phone in Table 2, only the text ^MNokia/Series-9200" would be relevant, and would match any mobile phone within the same series. The pattern matching criteria for the different device families are stored in the User Agent Look-up File 311.

Once the family of the device making the request has been identified by the device analyser 310, the family details are sent to the XML to HTML converter 304, which selects the most appropriate XSLT Style Sheet from among the set of style sheets 305 (second part of step 706) , and applies that style sheet to the XML graphical view data that was converted from the TSS data in step 702 to convert it into HTML suitable for the device that has requested the graphical view data (step

707) . The HTML graphical view data is then sent to the device for display. An example fragment of an XSLT style sheet is shown in Table 3, and the HTML that results from applying the style sheet of Table 3 to the XML of Table 2 is shown in Table 4.

</xsl : attribute> <xsl : attribute name = "src">

</xsl :attribute> <xsl : attribute name = "TYPE">

</xsl : attribute> <xsl .'attribute name = "TITLE">

</xsl : attribute> </xsl : element> <xsl: element name = "INPUT">

</xsl : attribute> <xsl : attribute name = "TYPE">

</xsl : attribute> <xsl : attribute name = "VALUE">

</xsl : element>

<xsl: element name = "INPUT">

<xsl : attribute name =

"NAME">

</xsl : attribute>

<xsl : attribute name =

"TYPE">

</xsl :attribute>

<xsl : attribute name =

"VALUE">

</xsl : attribute>

</xsl : element>

</xsl :element>

</xsl : template>

Table 3

<tr>

<IMG SRC="/html/images/sensor.gif"

ALIGN="absBottom" TITLE="Sensor"> Room Temperature</td> <td class="data">100.0</td> <td class="data">degC</td> <td bgcolor="#FF0000">

<INPϋT NAME="PointRef" TYPE="hidden" VALUE="L4O97S1" ID="Hiddenl">

</F0RM> </td> </tr>

Table 4

Although the above embodiment describes the graphical view data being converted to HTML to be sent to devices that are not Java Applet enabled, the graphical view data could also be converted to and sent in other suitable formats.

Where in the foregoing description, integers or elements are mentioned which have known, obvious or foreseeable equivalents, then such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth. Reference should be made to the claims for determining the true scope of the present invention, which should be construed so as to encompass any such equivalents . It will also be appreciated by the reader that integers of features of the invention that are described as preferable advantageous, convenient or the like are optional and do not limit the scope of the independent claims.

Whilst the present invention has been described and illustrated with reference to particular embodiments, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the invention lends itself to many different variations not specifically illustrated herein. For that reason, reference should be made to the claims for determining the true scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A system arranged to control the internal environment of a building, the system comprising: (i) a store containing graphical view data relating to the system;

(ii) a communication module arranged to provide graphical view data relating to the system in response to a request from a device for graphical view data; (iϋ) an ascertaining module arranged to obtain details of the device making the request;

(iv) a converter arranged to convert graphical view data in a display independent format to graphical view data in a form suitable for display on the device; wherein the communication module is arranged to send the data converted by the converter to the device.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display independent format is XML.

3. A system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the converter comprises a store containing one or more XSLT style sheets for converting the graphical view data in XML format.

4. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the converter is arranged to convert the graphical view data into HTML format.

5. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the graphical view data in the store is stored in a format other than the display independent format, and the converter is arranged to convert the graphical view data to the display independent format prior to converting it to graphical view data in a form suitable for display on the device.

6. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the communication module is a web server.

7. A system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the web server is arranged to accept requests for graphical view data as HTTP requests .

8. A system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the ascertaining module is arranged to obtain the details of the device making the request from the header of the HTTP request.

9. A system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the ascertaining module is arranged to obtain the details of the device making the request from the header of the HTTP request using pattern matching.

10. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the communication module is arranged to accept requests from and send graphical view data to a Java Applet running on the device.

11. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising at least one networked device selected from the following: a field device monitor, a field device actuator, a controller, and a supervisor.

12. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising at least one device connected to a networked field device monitor and/or a networked field device actuator and arranged to provide at least one service selected from the following: heating, air-conditioning and ventilation.

13. A method for providing graphical view data relating to a system arranged to control the internal environment of a building in response to a request from a device for graphical view data, the method comprising the steps of: (a) ascertaining details of the device making the request;

(b) obtaining the graphical view data in a display independent format;

(c) converting the graphical view data in the display independent format to a form suitable for display on the device;

(d) sending the converted data to the device.

14. A system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the display independent format is XML.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the graphical view data in XML format is converted using an XSLT style sheet .

16. A method as claimed in any of claims 13 to 15, wherein the converted data is in HTML format.

17. A method as claimed in any of claims 13 to 16, wherein step (b) comprises the sub-steps of:

(bl) obtaining the graphical view data in a format other than XML;

(b2) converting the graphical view data to the display independent format .

18. A method as claimed in any of claims 13 to 17, wherein the request from the device is an HTTP request.

19. A method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the details of the device making the request are ascertained from the header of the HTTP request.

20. A method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the details of the device making the request are ascertained from the header of the HTTP request using pattern matching.

21. A method as claimed in any of claims 13 to 20, wherein the converted data is sent to a Java Applet running on the device .

22. A device for inclusion in a system arranged to control the internal environment of a building, comprising:

(i) a communication module arranged to provide graphical view data relating to the system in response to a request from a device for graphical view data; (ϋ) an ascertaining module arranged to obtain details of the device making the request;

(iii) a converter arranged to convert graphical view data in a display independent format to graphical view data in a form suitable for display on the device; wherein the communication module is arranged to send the data converted by the converter to the device.

23. A device as claimed in claim 22, wherein the display independent format is XML.

24. A device as claimed in claim 22 or 23, wherein the converter is arranged to convert graphical view data to the display independent format prior to converting it to graphical view data in a form suitable for display on the device.

25. A device as claimed in any of claims 22 or 24, further comprising a store containing graphical view data relating to the system.

26. A method substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings .

27. A system substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings .