CN117598031A

CN117598031A - System for building automation

Info

Publication number: CN117598031A
Application number: CN202280047349.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: D·布雷斯拉夫斯基; C·吉伦-贝克
Original assignee: Schneider Electric Industries SAS
Current assignee: Schneider Electric Industries SAS
Priority date: 2021-06-30
Filing date: 2022-06-30
Publication date: 2024-02-23
Also published as: WO2023275294A1; AU2022305111A1; DE102021116895A1; EP4353053A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for building automation, comprising at least one control device, wherein the control device comprises at least one wired interface, in particular for outputting signals according to the DALI protocol. The control device includes: at least one first wireless interface for establishing a point-to-point connection, in particular with a terminal device; and at least one second wireless interface for establishing a connection with the mesh network. The system has one or more operating devices which communicate with the control device via a wired interface, wherein the control device is configured to store status data of the operating device and/or to retrieve status data from the operating device and/or to notify the operating device of a change. The system has a terminal device which communicates with the control device via a point-to-point connection. The system includes a plurality of mesh devices that together form a mesh network, wherein at least one of the mesh devices communicates with the control device over a second wireless interface.

Description

System for building automation

Technical Field

The invention relates to a system for building automation with at least one control device, wherein the control device has at least one wired interface, in particular for outputting signals according to the DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface, digitally addressable lighting interface) protocol.

Background

In building automation, the wired DALI protocol for controlling lighting technology operating equipment has been established. The operating device is connected in each case via lines to a control and input device, which parameterizes the operating device and thus controls the operating device. The control device may be, for example, a so-called master device or a multi-master device.

A disadvantage of such building automation is that a large amount of installation effort has to be handled in order to access the DALI system from different locations in the building, since all control centers have to be equipped with DALI control devices and connected to the DALI system. Furthermore, it is disadvantageous that in principle a DALI control device has to be used for controlling the operating device, which makes integration of the DALI system, for example into a switching program of a different manufacturer, difficult.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a simpler system for building automation, which requires in particular reduced installation outlay and enables simplified control.

The above-mentioned technical problem is solved by a system according to claim 1.

According to the invention, a system for building automation is provided, which has at least one control device, wherein the control device has at least one wired interface, in particular for outputting signals according to the DALI protocol. The control device comprises at least one first wireless interface, in particular a data interface, for establishing a point-to-point connection, in particular with a (mobile) terminal device. Furthermore, the control device comprises at least one second wireless interface, in particular also a data interface, for establishing a connection with a Mesh-Netzwerk. The system has one or more operating devices that communicate with the control device through a wired interface. For example, the operating device is connected to the control device in a wired manner, for example via a control line and/or a power supply line. The control device is configured for storing and/or retrieving status data of the operating device and/or informing the operating device about the change. That is, the control device may be, for example, a DALI control device. The system furthermore has a (mobile) terminal device which communicates with the control device via a point-to-point connection. The terminal device may be, for example, a smart phone or a tablet computer. Finally, the system includes a plurality of mesh devices that together form a mesh network, wherein at least one of the mesh devices communicates with the control device over a second wireless interface.

Thus, according to the invention, the control device can be connected via a wired interface, for example, to the DALI operating device, wherein the control device can also establish, for example, a point-to-point connection via the first wireless interface with the smart phone, in order to control the operating device, in particular via the point-to-point connection. Furthermore, the control device can be connected to the mesh network, i.e. to at least one of the mesh devices, via the second wireless interface, wherein the control device is then enabled to control the operating device via the mesh network, for example.

That is, according to the present invention, it is advantageous that the control solely via the wired interface can be extended by the control via the first and second wireless interfaces. In this way, in a building, even when an operator is located only in an area of the mesh network, the control device can be accessed and the running device can be accessed by the control device, although there is no wired input device or switching device communicating with the control device via a wired interface, for example. The same applies to the communication with the control device via the first wireless interface, for example by means of bluetooth.

That is, according to the present invention, the installation overhead is reduced because, for example, it is not necessary to lay a line in each building section in order to be able to respond to the wired interface. Furthermore, the automation of the building is more flexible, since for the operator there may be a plurality of possibilities for accessing the control device, and thus for example the operating device and/or the mesh device.

The control device is configured to store the status data of the operating device and/or to retrieve the status data from the operating device and/or to notify the operating device of a change in the status data. Here, the status data may include all data, settings, parameters, commands, etc. required to operate the operation of the apparatus. In particular, the change of status data (e.g. of the operating device) implemented or notified by the control device may be implemented or notified by a control command to the operating device.

Alternatively or additionally, the status data may in principle be data which reproduce, for example, the operating status of the operating device and/or of the mesh device and/or which enable the operating status of the operating device and/or of the mesh device to be changed. The status data may also contain, for example, configuration data, in particular configuration data for grouping in a DALI system.

A wireless or wired interface may in this context mean in particular that the control device can exchange data via the interface in a wired or wireless manner, for example with one of the operating device, the terminal device or with the mesh device. For communication, the control device may have a wired transceiver and/or a (wireless) radio transceiver. One or more radio transceivers may, for example, emit frequencies of about 2.4GHz and may include suitable antennas.

In particular, it may be provided that the first and the second radio interface are not activated simultaneously, but that the first and the second radio interface are realized by switchable radio interfaces, which will be described in more detail later. For example, a connection may be automatically established with the mesh network (or vice versa) after termination of the point-to-point connection. In addition, a switch between radio interfaces can be made regularly and briefly to check whether a connection with a point-to-point connection or with a mesh network is exactly required.

The operating device may in particular be a lighting operating device, such as a ballast or the like. The operating devices may also include other devices of the building automation, such as devices for heating, sun shading, ventilation, etc. The operating device can be electrically coupled to the wired interface of the control device by means of a line.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention can be seen from the description, the claims and the drawing.

According to a first advantageous embodiment, the control device is configured for outputting status data via the first and/or second wireless interface and/or for enabling a change by means of the first and/or second wireless interface. The status data can, for example, reproduce the operating status (on, off, dimmed, etc.) of the operating device. The status data may be obtained by the control device from the running device via a wired interface. The control device may then output the status data to at least one of the end devices via the first wireless interface and/or to the mesh device via the second wireless interface, for example. In this way, there is the possibility of retrieving and displaying status data of the operating device (that is to say of the DALI system, for example) on the terminal device, for example. The status data can likewise be changed at the terminal, wherein the change is transmitted to the control device via the first wireless interface, and the control device then forwards the change to the operating device (for example as a control command) in order to change the operating state of the operating device in this way. Thus, the operating device can be switched on or off, for example, by the terminal device, or can be dimmed, for example.

The same procedure is also possible in the case of at least one of the mesh network and/or the mesh device. The status data can be transmitted to the mesh device via the second wireless interface. The mesh device (e.g., a mesh device with display capabilities) may then visualize the status data, and/or the mesh device may enable an operator to change the status data. The control device can then in turn be notified of the change via the second wireless interface, wherein the control device forwards the change to the operating device (for example as a control command), so that the operating state of the operating device can be changed accordingly. In particular, this means that the control of the operating device is possible starting from the terminal device and/or the mesh device. Many new usage scenarios are thus obtained which cannot be realized by wired control alone.

The control device may also control one or more of the mesh devices via the second wireless interface. In particular, the mesh device may be operated by a control device, for example a running device, so that the mesh device may be switched, for example by means of a switch or the like connected via a wired interface.

According to another advantageous embodiment, the control device is configured for at least one data exchange between one of the wireless interfaces and the wired interface. As already indicated above, the control device may forward the status data of the operating device received over the wireless interface (and vice versa) to the operating device, for example by means of a wired interface. That is, the control device enables data exchange between the wireless interface and the wired interface, wherein the control device may be configured, for example, to convert data for another protocol. In particular, data may be received via the DALI protocol over the wired interface, while transmission over the first wired interface may be in accordance with a protocol compatible with bluetooth or bluetooth low energy (Bluetooth Low Energy, BLE). The transmission over the second wireless interface may be according to a protocol for the mesh network, such as Zigbee or Z-Wave. In particular, the control device also enables direct transfer of data between the wireless interface and the wired interface, wherein the valid data remains unchanged, the control device for example only changing the header and/or address data.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, the control device is configured for enabling control of the operating device by the terminal device and/or by at least one of the mesh devices. As already described above, changes in status data of the operating device (e.g. in the form of control commands) received over one of the wireless interfaces may be forwarded to the operating device. In particular, the control device may also be configured to recognize a change in status data and/or a control command of at least one of the terminal device and/or the mesh device and to convert it into a corresponding control command for the operating device. In this way, control of the operating device is enabled starting from at least one of the terminal device and/or the mesh device.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, the terminal device is designed to establish a connection with an external data store, in particular a cloud storage, and to store at least a part of the status data of the operating device in the external data store. The terminal device may be connected to the internet, for example, through a WLAN network. The terminal device may, for example, first retrieve at least a part of the status data of the operating device and then transmit the retrieved status data to the external data storage, in particular via the internet. For example, the configuration of the DALI system can thus be stored in the cloud, so that the configuration can be restored in a simple manner. Furthermore, state data stored in the cloud may be evaluated and/or optimized.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, the mesh network is configured for establishing a connection with an external data store, in particular a cloud storage, and for storing at least a part of the status data of the operating device in the external data store. Alternatively or in addition to the storage of the operating device in the external data memory by means of the terminal device, the mesh network can also be used to store the status data of the operating device in the external data memory. Thus, in particular, alternative data paths may be involved. The external data store and/or cloud storage may preferably be the same store as described in relation to the terminal device. At least one of the mesh devices can preferably also establish a connection to the internet, for example, via a WLAN network, wherein the status data can then be retrieved from the control device via the second wireless interface and stored in an external data memory. Accordingly, the implementation of the storage in the external data memory by means of the terminal device is correspondingly applicable.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, the mesh network and/or the terminal device is configured for automatically and/or repeatedly storing at least a part of the status data of the operating device in an external data memory. In this way, data recording (daterlogging) is possible. The storage may in particular take place regularly and/or after a determination of a change of state data. By means of the data recording, the operating device (e.g. of the DALI system) can be error-eliminated and optimized with respect to time or the operating state of the operating device can be visualized.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, at least a part of the mesh network and/or the mesh device is configured to change its operating state based on the state data. The status data may be processed in at least one of the mesh devices and/or in the control device to change the operational status. The operating state of the mesh device and/or the mesh network is understood to mean, for example, the mesh device being switched on or off, being dimmed, being provided with a timer function, etc. The mesh network may, for example, extract status data that a predetermined operating device has been activated or deactivated, and then one or more mesh devices then change their operating status and, for example, likewise activate or deactivate one or more mesh devices, change light colors, output sound signals and/or trigger a timer. For example, it may be provided that, when the operating device (for example of a lighting device in the entrance area) is switched on, the mesh device (which controls or comprises the lighting device in the adjacent room) is then likewise activated.

Furthermore, the status data may also be changed based on an operational status of at least a portion of the mesh network and/or the mesh device. In this way, a change in the operating state in the mesh network may then bring about a functional change in at least one of the operating devices. For example, switching on of a mesh device (e.g., of a lighting device) may result in activation or deactivation of an operating device. In this way interoperability between DALI and Zigbee systems, for example, is achieved, whereby a completely new sequence of functions can be achieved.

The control device may have a man-machine interface. For example, the control device may have a display, touch screen, keyboard, switches, or other suitable input and output devices. The control device likewise enables status data of the operating device to be displayed and/or changed via the man-machine interface (and in this way the operating device is controlled). The control device can likewise control the mesh device, in particular also via the man-machine interface.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, the wired interface comprises a DALI interface and/or a KNX interface. The operating device can be a DALI operating device or an operating device that can be controlled using a KNX field bus.

According to another advantageous embodiment, the first wireless interface comprises a bluetooth interface or a low power bluetooth interface (BLE interface). The point-to-point connection, which is a connection between the control-only device and the terminal device, may be established by bluetooth or bluetooth low energy. Other devices cannot participate in the point-to-point connection. Direct data forwarding to other devices is preferably also not provided in the point-to-point connection.

According to another advantageous embodiment, the second wireless interface comprises a Zigbee interface and/or a bluetooth mesh interface (e.g. BLE mesh interface). The mesh network may correspondingly comprise a Zigbee mesh network and/or a bluetooth mesh network and/or a low power bluetooth mesh network. Furthermore, the mesh network may also include a Z-Wave network.

In connection with a mesh network, unlike point-to-point connections, it is not possible to (directly) transfer data only between two parties. Alternatively, when connecting to a mesh network, the precondition is the forwarding of data between mesh devices. In this way, the control device may also communicate with the remote mesh device, for example, in that the mesh device forwards data of the control device to the remote mesh device.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, the first and the second radio interface use the same transceiver, wherein the control device is configured to use the transceiver preferably at a certain point in time, respectively, only the first or only the second radio interface. That is, only one transceiver hardware must be present for both wireless interfaces, so that the control device can be constructed to be compact and economical to manufacture. In particular, communication over the first wireless interface may be ended before communication over the second wireless interface is started, and vice versa.

According to another advantageous embodiment, the control device uses Software Defined Radio (SDR) to establish the point-to-point connection and the connection with the mesh network. In particular, in order to establish a wireless point-to-point connection and a wireless connection with a mesh network, the same software defined radio (with correspondingly different software configurations) is used. A software defined radio is in particular a transceiver in which a part, preferably a main part, of the signal processing is implemented by means of software or at least affected by the software.

The preferred control device establishes a Point-to-Point connection using a PTP software image (PTP stands for Point-to-Point) and establishes a connection with the mesh network using a mesh software image. The software images preferably correspondingly contain the data required for the software defined radio to be able to communicate by means of a point-to-point connection or a mesh network, respectively. By using a software defined radio in the control device, the transition of the point-to-point connection and the establishment of the connection to the mesh network takes place in particular in a simple manner, since the PTP software image has to be replaced by the mesh software image in the control device only. Once the mesh software image is used in the software defined radio, a wireless point-to-point connection cannot then be established, but for this a connection can be established with the mesh network.

According to another advantageous embodiment, both the PTP software image and the mesh software image are stored in the control device. Alternatively or additionally, the mesh software image (and/or PTP software image) is transmitted to the control device by means of a point-to-point connection. Further alternatively or additionally, the PTP software image (and/or mesh software image) is transmitted to the control device by means of a mesh network. In both cases, the PTP software image or mesh software image may be downloaded from an external memory, e.g. a cloud.

If both images are stored in the control device, the execution of the just required software image can be made correspondingly, for example by means of a software defined radio. For example, the control device may include a data store (e.g., a flash memory) in which the PTP software image and the mesh software image are stored. In addition to these two software images, a factory set software image may be stored that enables the control device to be reset to its factory state.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, at least a part of the running device and/or the mesh device is a lighting device or a component of a lighting device. The mesh device may be, for example, a lighting device with a built-in radio transceiver that connects the mesh device as a mesh network. The operating device and/or the mesh device can also be designed for controlling and/or evaluating actuators and/or sensors in the construction automation. The actuator may be, for example, a motor of a roller shutter and/or an air conditioning system, and the sensor may be, for example, a wind sensor, a humidity sensor and/or a temperature sensor.

In principle, the mesh network may also be extended by other radio networks or by wire connections to extensions or other wired networks.

Another subject of the invention is a method for building automation, in which method,

the control device communicates with the operating device by means of a wired interface and the control device stores and/or retrieves status data from the operating device and/or informs the operating device of the change,

the control device establishes a point-to-point connection with the terminal device by means of the first wireless interface, and the terminal device communicates with the control device via the point-to-point connection,

-the control device establishes a connection with a mesh network formed by a plurality of mesh devices by means of a second wireless interface, and at least one of the mesh devices communicates with the control device via the second wireless interface.

The invention also relates to a control device for building automation, comprising:

at least one wired interface, in particular for outputting signals according to the DALI protocol,

at least one first radio interface for establishing a point-to-point connection, in particular with a (mobile) terminal device, and

at least one second wireless interface for establishing a connection with the mesh network,

wherein the control device is configured for storing and/or retrieving status data of the operating device and/or informing the operating device of the change.

The method according to the invention and the control device according to the invention are correspondingly suitable with regard to the implementation of the system according to the invention, which is especially advantageous and preferred embodiments.

Drawings

The invention is described below purely by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings:

fig. 1 shows a schematic view of a system for building automation.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a system 10 for building automation. The system 10 comprises a control device 12, which control device 12 is coupled by means of a wired interface 14 to an operating device 16 of a DALI system 18. Here, a multi master (Multimaster) can also be considered as a running device 16.

The control device 12 comprises only one radio transceiver 20, which radio transceiver 20 provides two wireless interfaces via an antenna 22. The first wireless interface 24 enables a bluetooth or BLE connection with a terminal device configured as a smart phone 26. The second wireless interface 28 establishes a connection with the mesh network 30 by means of Zigbee. The mesh network 30 includes a plurality of mesh devices a through J.

The control device 12 establishes a connection with at least one mesh device a to J, in fig. 1 mesh device D, via a second wireless interface 28.

At least one of the mesh devices a to J and also the smart phone 26 establish a connection with the cloud storage 36 by means of the WLAN 32 and the WLAN router 34.

Now, while the system 10 is running, the control device 12 may collect status data of the running device 16 of the DALI system 18 and may forward to the smart phone 26 or one of the mesh devices a-J for display, for example. Further, the status data may be changed from the smart phone 26 or from one of the mesh devices a-J, wherein the control device 12 is notified of the change via one of the wireless interfaces 24, 28, and then the control device 12 sends the changed status data (i.e., command) to the operation device 16 via the wired interface 14 to change the operation state of the operation device 16. Thus, for example, a lighting device (not shown) connected to the running device 16 may be activated or deactivated by the smart phone 26.

Through the WLAN 32, an image of the momentary status data can be transferred not only by means of the smart phone 26, but also by means of the mesh network 30 to the cloud storage 36 for storage therein. The status data may then be evaluated in cloud storage 36. In addition, status data may be returned, for example, upon resetting the DALI system 18.

The radio transceiver 20 may provide either the first radio interface 24 or the second radio interface 28 at a point in time, and thus may switch between the two radio interfaces 24, 28. The switch may be made by loading a software image.

In this way, a connection may be established with little hardware overhead, not only with the smart phone 26, but also with the mesh network 30. In combination with the wired interface 14, a flexible data exchange, in particular a status data exchange, is thus enabled, so that the system 10 can be adapted in a simple manner to the corresponding conditions in the building and the operating device 16 and the mesh devices a to J can be controlled flexibly with little effort.

List of reference numerals

10 system

12 control apparatus

14 wire interface

16 operating device

18DALI system

20 radio transceiver

22 antenna

24 first radio interface

26 intelligent telephone

28 second radio interface

30 mesh network

32WLAN

34WLAN router

36 cloud storage

A to J mesh device

Claims

1. A system (10) for building automation, the system having:

at least one control device (12), wherein the control device (12) has at least one wired interface (14), in particular for outputting signals according to the DALI protocol, comprising at least one first wireless interface (24) for establishing a point-to-point connection, in particular with a terminal device (26), and comprising at least one second wireless interface (28) for establishing a connection with a mesh network (30),

wherein the system (10) has one or more operating devices (16) which communicate with the control device (12) via the wired interface (14), wherein the control device (12) is configured for storing status data of the operating device (16) and/or retrieving the status data from the operating device (16) and/or informing the operating device (16) of a change,

wherein the system (10) has a terminal device (26) which communicates with the control device (12) via the point-to-point connection,

wherein the system (10) comprises a plurality of mesh devices (a to J) that together form a mesh network (30), wherein at least one of the mesh devices (a to J) communicates with the control device (12) via the second wireless interface (28).

2. The system (10) according to claim 1,

wherein the control device (12) is configured for outputting the status data via the first and/or second wireless interface (24, 28) and/or for enabling a change by means of the first and/or second wireless interface (24, 28).

3. The system (10) according to claim 1 or 2,

wherein the control device (12) is configured for at least one data exchange between one of the wireless interfaces and the wired interface.

4. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims,

wherein the control device (12) is designed to enable control of the operating device (16) by means of at least one of the terminal device (26) and/or the mesh devices (A to J).

5. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims,

wherein the terminal device (26) is designed to establish a connection to an external data memory (36), in particular a cloud memory, and to store at least a portion of the status data of the operating device (16) in the external data memory (36).

6. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims,

wherein the mesh network (30) is designed to establish a connection to an external data store (36), in particular a cloud storage, and to store at least a portion of the status data of the operating device (16) in the external data store (36).

7. The system (10) according to claim 6,

wherein the mesh network (30) is configured for automatically and repeatedly storing at least a portion of the status data of the operating device (16) in the external data memory (36).

8. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims,

wherein at least a part of the mesh network (30) and/or the mesh devices (a to J) is configured to change its operational state based on the state data.

9. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims,

wherein the wired interface (14) comprises a DALI interface and/or a KNX interface.

10. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims,

wherein the first wireless interface (24) comprises a bluetooth interface or a low power bluetooth interface.

11. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims,

wherein the second wireless interface (28) comprises a Zigbee interface and/or a bluetooth mesh interface.

12. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims,

wherein the first and second wireless interfaces (24, 28) use the same transceiver (20), wherein the control device (12) is configured to use the transceiver (20) preferably at a point in time by only the first or second wireless interfaces (24, 28), respectively.

13. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims,

wherein the running device (16) and/or at least a part of the mesh devices (a to J) are lighting devices or components of lighting devices.

14. A method for building automation, in which method,

-a control device (12) communicates with an operating device (16) by means of a wired interface, and-the control device (12) stores status data of the operating device (16) and/or retrieves status data from the operating device (16) and/or informs the operating device (16) of a change,

-the control device (12) establishes a point-to-point connection with a terminal device (26) by means of a first wireless interface (24), and-the terminal device (26) communicates with the control device (12) via the point-to-point connection,

-the control device (12) establishes a connection with a mesh network (30) made up of a plurality of mesh devices (a to J) by means of a second wireless interface (28), and at least one of the mesh devices (a to J) communicates with the control device (12) through the second wireless interface (28).

15. A control device (12) for building automation, the control device having:

at least one wired interface (14) for outputting signals, in particular according to the DALI protocol,

at least one first radio interface (24) for establishing a point-to-point connection, in particular with a terminal device (26), and

at least one second wireless interface (28) for establishing a connection with a mesh network (30),

wherein the control device (12) is configured for storing status data of an operating device (16) and/or retrieving the status data from the operating device (16) and/or informing the operating device (16) about a change.