KR20140106976A - Building automation system, gateway comprised therein and method of operating the gateway - Google Patents

Abstract

The technical objective of the present invention to solve the conventional problems is to provide a building automation system for connecting devices having different network variable sets to one gateway, and a gateway and a method for operating the same. As a means to achieve the above-mentioned technical objective, the gateway of the present invention, which is a gateway for mutually connecting a first network using a first protocol supporting a communications method by binding of network variables and a plurality of devices and/or a second network using a second protocol in a building automation system, comprises: an NV table including a network variable set for the devices and/or the second network referenced to perform communications between the first network and the devices/and or the second network according to the communications method by binding, wherein the network variable set of the NV table is dynamically configured according to the devices and/or the second network which are objects communicated through the gateway. The building automation system, the gateway, and the method for operating the same according to the present invention have an effect of connecting devices having different network variable sets to one gateway.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a building automation system, a gateway automation system, a gateway automation system, a gateway automation system, a gateway automation system,

The present invention relates to a building automation system, and more particularly, to a gateway included in a building automation system and an operation method thereof.

Control devices such as PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) or DDC (Direct Digital Controller) are required to control the facilities and each facility in order to produce products at the factory or manage various facilities in buildings. In addition, various sensors and actuators must be connected to the input / output device in order for each device to operate normally.

In the conventional automation system, the sensors installed in the field are transmitted to the central control computer in a point-to-point manner, and the control signals generated by the control computer are also transmitted to the actuators on a one-to-one basis. In the case of a large-sized and complicated system, a large number of wires are connected to each other. Therefore, it takes a great deal of effort and cost to maintain and repair the system in the event of an error. There has been a problem that the entire system becomes inoperable.

However, in a distributed system, the controller processor and the input / output device are also connected to each other in a distributed manner. It was tied up with a single device and could only be connected one-to-one with sensors or actuators installed in the field.

In order to improve this, a field bus (input / output device), which is modified to be installed close to a sensor or an actuator, is provided on the field. The field bus dramatically simplifies wiring, effectively processes large amounts of data requiring rapid processing in process control and building control, and facilitates further configuration of field devices to provide flexibility in system configuration.

Recently, a fieldbus network used in a building automation system (a concept including a factory automation system, etc., which is not limited to an automation system but abbreviated as a building automation system in this specification) includes CAN, DeviceNet, Profibus, Interbus, LonWorks Among them, LonWorks can be easily connected to the Internet using OSI 7 layer, so that it can be monitored and controlled through the Internet. Therefore, it is widely used and its importance is gradually increasing.

The building automation system 10 includes a building management system (BMS) 1, a gateway 2 and devices 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a, 4b, and 5, And first and second networks N1 and N2 connecting them.

The devices 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a, 4b and 5 may be various types of equipment used in a building, such as a HAVC (Heating, Ventilation, Air-Condition), a power, a lighting, an elevator system, (1) is a means for monitoring and / or controlling the equipment and the like. The building management system (1) and the at least one or more devices (3a, 3b, 3c, 4a, 4b, 5) 1 network (N1). At this time, the first network N1 may preferably be a LonWorks network.

At this time, some of the devices 5 may be directly connected to the first network N1 by being able to communicate according to a first protocol used in the first network N1, The devices 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a and 4b performing the communication according to the protocol can not be directly connected to the first network N1 and indirectly connected to the first network N1 through the gateway 2 do.

That is, the gateway 2 is a means for connecting between the networks N1 and N2 having different communication methods. One of the devices 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a and 4b connected to the gateway 2 may be one, As shown in FIG. 1, may be two or more, which form the second network N2. In the case of the second network N2, it may be a network having a serial communication scheme such as RS-485, but is not limited thereto.

Accordingly, the building comprehensive management system 1 controls the appliance 5 through the first network N1 or controls the indoor units 3a, 3b, and 3c through the first network N1 and the second network N2, The information inputted to each of the indoor units 3a, 3b and 3c through the remote controllers 3a ', 3b' and 3c 'can be controlled by the first network N1 and the second network N1, The status information on the device 5 directly connected to the first network N1 can be transmitted to the building comprehensive management system 1 through the network N2 and the like, To the system (1).

If the first protocol used by the first network N1 supports a communication method by binding a network variable, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 2, Only at least one device having a network variable set can be connected and communicated.

That is, at least one device 31, 32, 33 connected to each of the gateways 21, 22, 23 has a kind of network variable set, which means that each gateway 21, 22, 31, 32, and 33).

As an example, the network parameters of the AC device 31 connected to the AC (Air Conditioner) gateway 21 and the network parameters of the AWHP device 33 connected to the AWHP (Air-to-Water Heat Pump) As shown in Table 1.

Therefore, the AC device 31 can be connected only to the AC gateway 21, and the DXHRV device 32 can be connected only to the DX-Heat Reclaim Ventilation (DXHRV) gateway 22 like the conventional gateways 21, 22, And the AWHP device 33 can be connected only to the AWHP gateway 23, so that there is a problem that a separate gateway is required to be connected to the first network N1 for each type of device or network variable set.

Therefore, there is an urgent need for a technique for solving the above problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a building automation system, a gateway, and an operation method for connecting devices having different network parameter sets to one gateway have.

As a means for solving the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides a system and method for controlling a plurality of devices and / or devices using a first protocol and a second protocol using a first protocol supporting a communication method by binding a network variable in a building automation system, Or a second network, wherein the first network and the second network are connected to the device and / or the second network, which are referred to for performing communication according to a communication method by the binding between the first network and the second network and / An NV table containing a set of network variables for; Wherein the NV table is configured such that a set of network variables is dynamically configured according to the device and / or the second network, which is the object with which the gateway is communicating.

Preferably, the set of network parameters for each of the plurality of devices and / or the second network may be different.

Preferably, each of the plurality of devices and / or the second network may use a different protocol.

Preferably, the gateway comprises: a storage unit storing a set of network parameters for the plurality of devices and / or the second network connectable to the gateway; And a network parameter set corresponding to the device and / or the second network, which is an object to be communicated by the method of binding with the first network, among the at least one network parameter set stored in the storage unit, to the NV table Update module; . ≪ / RTI >

Preferably, the update module is able to recognize the device and / or the second network, which is an object communicating with the first network, and update the NV variable for the recognized device and / or the second network .

Preferably, the NV table includes at least one network variable common to the plurality of devices and / or a set of network variables for the second network; And a variation unit for updating a network variable except for at least one network variable corresponding to the fixed unit among sets of network parameters used in each of the devices and / or the second network; . ≪ / RTI >

Preferably, the NV table includes at least one network variable common to the plurality of devices and / or a set of network variables for the second network; And a variable part in which a network variable excluding at least one network variable corresponding to the fixed part among a set of network parameters used in the device and / or the second network is updated; Wherein the update module can update only the variable portion.

In addition, the present invention provides a network connection method comprising: a gateway connecting a first network using a first protocol supporting a communication method by binding a network variable and at least one device using a second protocol or a second network; Wherein the gateway is further configured to determine a network variable for the device and / or the second network to be referred to for performing communication by the communication method between the first network and the device and / or the second network, NV table with set; Wherein the NV table is configured such that a network parameter set is dynamically configured according to the device and / or the second network, which is the object through which the gateway communicates.

The gateway included in the building automation system further includes a first network using a first protocol supporting a communication method by binding of network variables and at least one device using a second protocol or between a second network Transmitting and receiving a signal; Wherein the step of transmitting and receiving the data comprises the steps of: updating a set of network parameters of the NV table according to the device and / or the second network to which the update module communicates via the gateway; And a method of operating the gateway.

Preferably, the device and / or the second network connected to the gateway are configured in a plurality, each of which may have a different set of network parameters.

Preferably, the step of updating the network parameter set further comprises the steps of the updating module recognizing the device and / or the second network, which is an object with which the first network communicates; And the update module updating a set of network parameters for the recognized device and / or the second network to the NV table; . ≪ / RTI >

Preferably, the step of updating the set of network variables further comprises the step of updating only a part of the set of network variables of the NV table, wherein the updated part is a set of network variables for the plurality of devices and / They may be remained except for portions common to each other.

Further, the present invention provides a computer readable recording medium on which a computer program for executing the method of operating the gateway is recorded.

The above-described building automation system, gateway, and operation method according to the present invention can connect devices having different network variable sets to one gateway.

In addition, the gateway according to the present invention can improve the update speed by dividing the NV table into the fixed part and the variable part, and update only the variable part excluding the fixed part when updating the NV table, and can improve the communication efficiency between the update module and the NV table There is an effect that can be increased.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a configuration of a conventional building automation system.
2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration in which a gateway of a network using a conventional network variable binding method is connected to a device.
3 is a block diagram of a building automation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a block diagram of a building automation system according to another embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view showing the configuration of a gateway according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a diagram illustrating an NV matching table of an update module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an NV table according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a gateway according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly explain the present invention in the drawings, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by similar reference numerals throughout the specification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Gateway and building automation systems

3 is a block diagram of a building automation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the building automation system 100 according to the present invention also includes a gateway 200 as means for connecting devices and / or networks having different communication methods.

The first network N1 connected to the gateway 200 uses a first protocol supporting a communication method by binding a network variable and the gateway 200 uses a first protocol The gateway 200 according to the present invention uses a conventional gateway (refer to FIG. 2), and the gateway 200 according to the present invention uses a second protocol different from the first protocol, while the connected devices 31, 32 and 33 and / The devices 31, 32 and 33 connected to the gateway 200 and / or the second network N2 have different network parameter sets.

That is, the object having different network parameter sets connected to the gateway 200 may include at least one device 31, 32, 33 as shown in FIG. 3, and as shown in FIG. 4, , And at least one second network (N2) comprising at least one or more devices (31a, 31b, 41a) having the same set of network variables. At this time, it is needless to say that the second network N2 does not limit the topology or the number of nodes constituting the constituting node.

As shown in FIG. 3, only one connection line is directly connected to the gateway 200, and the connection line is distributed to the device and / or the second network, Or may be in the form of a connection in which each device and / or the second network is directly connected to the gateway 200, as shown in FIG.

In addition, the device connected to the gateway 200 and using the second protocol and / or the second network may use two or more different protocols. That is, the expression of the second protocol used herein is not intended to be limited to a single protocol.

5, the gateway 200 according to the present invention includes a communication module 201 for communicating with the first network N1, an NV table 210, an update module 220, and a storage unit 231, 232, 233).

First of all, the NV table 210 is a table in which the first network N1 according to the communication method by binding of the network variables is referred to as a second network for performing communication with a device according to another communication method and / And / or a network variable set for the second network so that communication is established according to a communication method of binding network variables between the first network (N1) and the device and / or the second network do.

The network parameter set of the NV table 210 is dynamically configured and adaptively changed in accordance with the device and / or the second network to be communicated, which is connected to the first network N1 via the gateway 200. [ Accordingly, when the first network N1 refers to the adaptive NV table 210 of the gateway 200 in the case of the network variable binding, the device connected to the gateway 200 and / Even if a network variable set is used, the device and / or the second network and the first network N1 can communicate with each other.

At this time, the NV table 210 of the gateway 200 is variably configured to have different sets of network variables depending on the devices having two or more kinds of network variable sets and / or the objects communicating with the first network N1 in the second network A storage for integrally storing two or more sets of network parameters for the device and / or the second network.

As an example of the integrated network variables stored in the storage unit, the network variables incorporating the network parameters shown in Table 1 can be represented as shown in Table 2 below.

At this time, the integrated network parameter set stored in the storage unit may be divided into network variables common to the device and / or the second network and network parameters that are unique to the device and / or the second network , And may be classified and stored by types of network variable sets 231, 232, and 233 of a device connected to the gateway 200 and / or a second network, as shown in FIG.

In this way, when the update module 220 updates the NV table 210 due to the difference in the method of storing the network variables in the storage unit, all of the network variable sets are set according to the objects communicating with the first network N1 Or to update only the variable portion 212 in more detail than a portion of the NV table 210. [

Meanwhile, the update module 220 stores a network parameter set corresponding to a device and / or a second network, which is an object to be communicated, with the first network among the at least one network variable stored in the storage unit, 210).

Specifically, the update module 220 recognizes an object communicating with the first network N1 through the gateway 200, and finds the network variable corresponding to the recognized device and / or the second network in cooperation with the storage unit And to update the corresponding NV variable in the NV table 210. [

At this time, the update module 220 may update all or a part of the network variable set at the time of updating the NV table 210, but it is preferable to update only a part thereof. It is possible to improve the update rate for the NV table 210 and improve the communication efficiency between the update module 220 and the NV table 210 at the time of partial update.

Accordingly, the NV table 210 can include the fixed portion 211 and the variable portion 212 as shown in FIG. That is, the NV table 210 includes a plurality of devices connected to the gateway 200 and / or a plurality of devices connected to the gateway 200, including the variable part 212, which is a set of network variables updated by the update module 220, Or a set of network variables for the second network, and sets the set of at least one network parameter common to the set of network parameters for the second network, And the set of the network variables other than the at least one network variable corresponding to the set of network variables is updated.

7, when the first network N1 and the AC device 31 communicate with each other, the NV table 220 stores the network parameters of nviOnOff, nviHeatCool, nviLock, nviSetPoint, and nviSpaceTemp as the network parameters, (211), and the network variables of nviSwing and nviFanSpeedCmd may be composed of the variable part (212). Thereafter, when the first network N1 communicates with the AWHP device 33 to update the NV table 220, the variable portion 212 is updated to nviHotwaterTemp, nviTempSelection, nviHotwaterEnable except for the fixing portion 211 NV table 220 can be configured.

When the update module 220 updates the fixing unit 211 and the variation unit 212 described above, the NV matching table included in the update module 220 can be used as shown in FIG.

The update module 220, in cooperation with the storage unit, uses the integrated network variables for the device connected to the gateway 200 and / or the second network, as shown in Table 2, And / or to update the NV table 210 using mapping information according to a network variable or NV match table used in the second network.

It is preferable that only the unique network variable for the changed communication object among the integrated network variables is updated in the variation part 212 of the NV table 210 when the object communicating with the first network N1 is changed.

Alternatively, the common network parameters among the network parameter sets used in the device connected to the gateway 200 and / or the second network may be updated in the fixing unit 211 of the NV table 210, The update for the gateway 200 is updated only once at the time of initial operation of the gateway 200 or when the setting for the gateway 200 is changed.

6 is a diagram illustrating an NV matching table of an update module according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the NV matching table is an example of the NV matching table. The NV matching table includes nviOnOff, nviHeatCool, nviLock, and nviSetPoint, which are common network variables in the AC device 31, the DXHRV device 32 and the AWHP device 33 , nviSpaceTemp is updated in the fixed portion 211 of the NV table 210 and the unique network variables nviSwing and nviFanSpeedCmd of the AC device 31 and nviFanSpeedCmd, nviUser, nviHeater, and nviSaving, which are unique network variables of the DXHRV device 32, nviTurbo, nviHumid, nviSetFilterFree, nviSetIDUrun and nviSetIDUmode and the unique network variables nviHotwaterTemp, nviTempSelection and nviHotwaterEnable of the AWHP device 33 are stored in the variable portion 212 of the NV table 210 according to the object communicating with the first network N1 Updated.

The gateway 200 according to the present invention and the building automation system including the gateway 200 according to the present invention need to be provided as a network variable set of a device connected to the gateway 20 of the conventional building automation system 10 and / (See FIG. 2), unified management of the gateway 200 is possible, and it is possible to free from the spatial or economic constraints in the installation of the gateway 200.

How the gateway works

Hereinafter, an operation method of the gateway according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5 and the like, and the description of the gateway and the building automation system including the same will be omitted and a detailed description will be omitted.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a gateway according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, a method of operating a gateway includes a step (S10) in which a gateway communicates data between a first network and a device and / or a second network to transmit and receive data, Updating the network parameter set of the NV table according to the device and / or the second network through which the module communicates with the first network via the gateway (SlOO).

At this time, the first network N1 uses a first protocol supporting a communication method by binding a network variable, and the first network N1 communicates with the first network N1 through the gateway 200 The second network and / or the second network connected to the gateway 200 may be at least one device (31, 32, 33) and / or a second network (N2) A set can be used. In addition, the two or more devices and / or the second network may use different protocols.

The update module 220 updates the network parameter set S100 according to an embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. (S101), and updating the network parameter set for the device and / or the second network to the NV table 210 by the update module 220 (S102).

The means or method by which the update module 220 recognizes an object communicating with the first network N1 through the gateway 200 is not particularly limited and may be implemented by any of various known means or methods.

On the other hand, the update module 220 can update all of the network variable sets of the NV table 210 or update some network variables of the NV table 210, ) And the NV table 210 in terms of communication efficiency.

At this time, a part of the set of network variables to be updated may be remained except for a common part among a plurality of devices connected to the gateway 200 and / or a set of network parameters for the second network.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, it is preferable to update only the variable portion 222 of the NV table 210 included in the gateway 200 except for the fixed portion 221, The at least one network variable may be a unique portion of a set of network variables used by one of the devices and / or the second network communicating with the first network.

Computer readable recording medium

The method of operating the gateway according to an embodiment of the present invention described above can be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer components and recorded in a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium may include program commands, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the computer-readable recording medium may be those specially designed and configured for the present invention or may be those known and used by those skilled in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; optical media), and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include machine language code such as those generated by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device may be configured to operate as one or more software modules for performing the processing according to the present invention, and vice versa.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. It will be appreciated that such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the following claims.

1: Integrated Management System for Building 2: Gateway
3, 4, 5: Devices 3a ', 3b', 3c ': Remote control
10: Building Automation System 21: AC Gateway
22: DXHRV gateway 23: AWHP gateway
31: AC device 32: DXHRV device
33: AWHP device 100: Building automation system
200: Gateway 210: NV table
211: Fixed portion 212: Variable portion
220: update module 231, 232, 233:
N1, N2: Network

Claims (13)

A gateway for interconnecting a first network using a first protocol supporting a communication method by binding a network variable in a building automation system, a plurality of devices using a second protocol and / or a second network,
An NV table including a set of network parameters for the device and / or the second network, which are referred to for performing communication according to a communication method by the binding between the first network and the device and / or the second network; ≪ / RTI >
Wherein the NV table is configured such that a set of network variables is dynamically configured according to the device and / or the second network to which the gateway communicates. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the set of network variables for each of the plurality of devices and / or the second network is different. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of devices and / or the second network each use a different protocol. 3. The method of claim 2,
The gateway comprises:
A storage unit for storing a set of network parameters for the plurality of devices and / or the second network connectable to the gateway; And
An update for updating, in the NV table, a network variable set corresponding to the device and / or the second network, which is an object to be communicated by the method of binding with the first network, among the at least one network parameter set stored in the storage unit module;
≪ / RTI > 5. The method of claim 4,
The update module comprising:
Recognizes the device and / or the second network, which are objects to be communicated with the first network, and updates network parameters for the recognized device and / or the second network to the NV table. 3. The method of claim 2,
The NV table,
A fixing unit including at least one network parameter common among the plurality of devices and / or a set of network parameters for the second network; And
A variation unit for updating a network variable except for at least one network variable corresponding to the fixed unit among a set of network parameters used in each of the devices and / or the second network;
Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 1, < / RTI > 5. The method of claim 4,
The NV table,
A fixing unit including at least one network parameter common among the plurality of devices and / or a set of network parameters for the second network; And
A variation unit for updating a network variable except for at least one network variable corresponding to the fixed unit among a set of network parameters used in each of the apparatus and the second network;
Wherein the update module updates only the variable portion. A gateway for connecting a first network using a first protocol supporting a communication method by binding of network variables and at least one or more devices using a second protocol or a second network; 1. A building automation system comprising:
The gateway comprises:
An NV table including a set of network parameters for the device and / or the second network, referred to for performing communication by the communication method between the first network and the device and / or the second network; ≪ / RTI >
Wherein the NV table is configured such that a set of network variables is dynamically configured according to the device and / or the second network to which the gateway communicates via the gateway. The gateway included in the building automation system includes: transmitting and receiving data between a first network using a first protocol supporting a communication method by binding of network variables and at least one or more devices using a second protocol or a second network;
A method of operating a gateway,
The step of transmitting /
Updating module updates a set of network parameters of the NV table according to the device and / or the second network, which are the objects through which the gateway communicates;
Lt; / RTI > 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the device and / or the second network connected to the gateway are configured in a plurality, each having a different set of network parameters. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein updating the network variable set comprises:
The update module recognizing the device and / or the second network that is an object with which the first network communicates; And
The update module updating a set of network variables for the recognized device and / or the second network to the NV table;
Gt; a < / RTI > gateway. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein updating the network variable set comprises:
Wherein the update module updates only a part of the network variable sets of the NV table, and the updated part is the remaining part of the set of network variables for the plurality of devices and / or the second network except for the common parts. How the gateway works. A computer program for executing a method of operating a gateway according to any one of claims 9 to 12.

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