Digital control manager

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention provide a digital control manager comprising a first transceiver configured to provide one or more wireless communication links to one or more energy autonomous end devices; a second transceiver configured to provide one or more wireless communication links to one or more digital control managers and one or more end devices; a local database; an intellectualize function module configured to execute a computer program to provide intelligence to the digital control manager and to end devices in communication therewith. A digital control manager system comprises a network of communication links between the digital control managers to enable data exchange between the digital control managers; a plurality of end devices, wherein each end device is in communication with at least one digital control manager by a communication link to enable data exchange between the end device and the at least one digital control manager; and at least one distributed database comprising a copy of the objects of the local databases of at least some of the digital control managers.

1 . A digital control manager comprising:
 a first transceiver configured to provide one or more wireless communication links to one or more energy autonomous end devices;   a second transceiver configured to provide one or more wireless communication links to one or more digital control managers;   a local database; and   an intellectualize function module configured to execute a computer program to provide intelligence to the digital control manager and to end devices in communication therewith.   
     
     
         2 . The digital control manager of  claim 1  further comprising an Ethernet interface configured to provide one or more wired communication links and one or more wireless communications links to one or more digital control managers and one or more end devices. 
     
     
         3 . The digital control manager of  claim 1  further comprising a WiFi transceiver to provide one or more wireless communications links to one or more digital control managers and one or more end devices. 
     
     
         4 . The digital control manager of  claim 1  further comprising a sharing kernel configured to manage the local database. 
     
     
         5 . The digital control manager of  claim 1  further comprising an embedded software interface to configure and monitor the digital control manager and end devices in communication therewith. 
     
     
         6 . A digital control manager system comprising:
 a plurality of digital control managers comprising a communication interface and a local database;   a network of communication links between the digital control managers to enable data exchange between the digital control managers;   a plurality of end devices, wherein each end device is in communication with at least one digital control manager by a communication link to enable data exchange between the end device and the at least one digital control manager; and   at least one distributed database comprising a copy of the objects of the local databases of at least some of the digital control managers.   
     
     
         7 . The digital control manager system  claim 6  wherein the plurality of digital control managers further comprises at least one gateway control manager; wherein the at least one gateway control manager is configured to communicate with an external device to provide access to the local database of the at least one gateway control manager, wherein the local database of the at least one gateway control manager comprises a copy of the objects of the local database of at least one other digital control manager. 
     
     
         8 . The digital control manager system of  claim 6  wherein the plurality of digital control managers further comprises a first gateway control manager, wherein the local database of the first gateway control manager comprises a copy of the objects of the local database of at least one other digital control manager;
 wherein the plurality of digital control managers further comprises a second gateway control manager, wherein the local database of the second gateway control manager comprises a copy of the objects of the local database of at least one other digital control manager; 
 wherein the first gateway control manager is configured to communicate with the second gateway control manager and is configured to provide the second gateway controller with a copy of the objects of the local database of the first gateway control manager; 
 wherein the first gateway control manager is configured to communicate with an external device and provide the external device with a copy of the objects of the local database of the first gateway control manager; and 
 wherein the second gateway control manager is configured to communicate with an external device and provide the external device with the copy of the objects of the local database of the first gateway control manager and a copy of the objects of the local database of the second gateway control manager. 
 
     
     
         9 . A database management method for a low bit rate communication network comprising:
 establishing communication links between a plurality of digital control managers and a plurality of end devices, wherein each digital control manager comprises a local database of objects;   designating at least one of the digital control managers to be a gateway control manager;   for at least one digital control manager, storing a copy of the objects of the local database of the at least one digital control manager in the local database of the gateway control manager;   determining whether an object of the local database of the at least one digital control manager is updated;   upon determining that an object is updated, synchronizing the local database of the gateway control manager by making a corresponding update to the copy of the object that was updated.   
     
     
         10 . The database management method of  claim 9  further comprising:
 establishing a communication link between the gateway control manager and a web browser; 
 receiving a data request from the web browser at the gateway control manager; 
 providing the web browser with access to the local database of the gateway control manager. 
 
     
     
         11 . The database management method of  claim 10  wherein providing access comprises exporting a copy of the local database of the gateway control manager to the web browser. 
     
     
         12 . The database management method of  claim 9  further comprising:
 establishing a communication link between the gateway control manager and a web browser; 
 receiving a synchronization request from the web browser at the gateway control manager, wherein the synchronization request identifies one or more digital control managers; 
 determining whether an object of the local database of the one or more digital control managers is updated; and 
 upon determining that an object is updated, synchronizing the local database of the gateway control manager by making a corresponding update to the copy of the object that was updated. 
 
     
     
         13 . The database management method of  claim 9  further comprising:
 establishing a communication link between the gateway control manager and a web browser; 
 establishing a communication link between an end device and a digital control manager, wherein the local database of the digital control manager stores objects corresponding to a state of the end device; 
 storing a copy of the objects corresponding to the state of the end device of the local database of the at least one digital control manager in the local database of the gateway control manager; 
 receiving a state request from the web browser, wherein the state request identifies the end device; 
 providing the web browser with access to the copy of the objects corresponding to the state of the end device in the local database of the gateway control manager. 
 
     
     
         14 . A database management method for a low bit rate communication network comprising:
 establishing communication links between a plurality of digital control managers and a plurality of end devices, wherein each digital control manager comprises a local database;   designating one of the digital control managers to be a first gateway control manager;   designating one of the digital control managers to be a second gateway control manager;   for at least one digital control manager, storing a copy of the objects of the local database of the at least one digital control manager in the local database of the first gateway control manager;   for at least one other digital control manager, storing a copy of the objects of the local database of the at least one other digital control manager in the local database of the second gateway control manager;   storing a copy of the objects of the local database of the first gateway control manager in the local database of the second gateway control manager;   determining whether an object of the local database of the at least one digital control manager is updated;   upon determining that an object is updated, synchronizing the local database of the first gateway control manager by making a corresponding update to the copy of the object that was updated.   determining whether an object of the local database of the first gateway control manager is updated; and   upon determining that an object is updated, synchronizing the local database of the second gateway control manager by making a corresponding update to the copy of the object that was updated.   
     
     
         15 . A digital control manager comprising:
 at least one communication interface configured to provide a communication link to one or more digital control managers, one or more end devices, and a web browser;   a local database comprising objects; and   an embedded software interface to configure and monitor the digital control manager and end devices in communication therewith.   
     
     
         16 . A method for synchronizing a local database comprising:
 providing at least one digital control manager as in  claim 15 ;   establishing a communication link between the digital control manager and a web browser running on a computing device;   executing the embedded software interface in the web browser; and   exporting a copy of the objects of the local database of the digital control manager to the web browser.   
     
     
         17 . The method for synchronizing a local database of  claim 16  further comprising:
 establishing communication links between a plurality of digital control managers; 
 designating at least one of the digital control managers to be a gateway control manager; 
 for at least one digital control manager, storing a copy of the objects of the local database of the at least one digital control manager in the local database of the gateway control manager; 
 establishing a communication link between the gateway control manager and the web browser running on the computing device; 
 at the gateway control manager, receiving, a data retrieval request from the web browser identifying the at least one digital control manager; 
 exporting a copy of the objects from the local database of the gateway control manager to the web browser. 
 
     
     
         18 . The method for synchronizing a local database of  claim 17  wherein the exporting the copy of the objects from the local database of the gateway control manager to the web browser uses a cross-site HTTP request. 
     
     
         19 . The method for synchronizing a local database of  claim 17  further comprising:
 providing the embedded software interface in the memory of the gateway control manager; 
 exporting a copy of the web interface application and a copy of the local database of the gateway control manager to the computing device running the web browser; 
 terminating the communication link between the gateway control manager and the web browser running on the computing device; 
 deleting the copy of the embedded software interface and the copy of the local database of the gateway control manager on the computing device running the web browser. 
 
     
     
         20 . The digital control manager of  claim 1  further comprising a communication function module configured to convert from a plurality of protocols to a plurality of protocols using corresponding protocol stacks and drivers. 
     
     
         21 . The digital control manager of  claim 1  further comprising a control function module configured to manage input and output interfaces and further configured to control physical parameters through a set of control strategies. 
     
     
         22 . The digital control manager of  claim 1  further comprising a sharing kernel configured to provide a common data exchange scheme to link components of the digital control manager via communication channels. 
     
     
         23 . The digital control manager of  claim 15  wherein the at least one communication interface comprises a first transceiver configured to provide one or more wireless communication links to one or more end devices having no active power source. 
     
     
         24 . The digital control manager of  claim 15  wherein the at least one communication interface comprises a second transceiver configured to provide one or more wireless communication links to one or more digital control managers and one or more end devices; 
     
     
         25 . The digital control manager of  claim 15  further comprising an intellectualize function module configured to execute a computer program to provide intelligence to the digital control manager and to end devices in communication therewith. 
     
     
         26 . The digital control manager of  claim 15  further comprising an Ethernet interface configured to provide one or more wired communication links and one or more wireless communications links to one or more digital control managers and one or more end devices. 
     
     
         27 . The digital control manager of  claim 15  further comprising an WiFi transceiver to provide one or more wireless communications links to one or more digital control managers and one or more end devices. 
     
     
         28 . The digital control manager of  claim 15  further comprising a sharing kernel configured to manage the local database. 
     
     
         29 . The digital control manager of  claim 15  further comprising a communication function module configured to provide an interface for converting from a plurality of protocols to a plurality of protocols using corresponding protocol stacks and drivers 
     
     
         30 . The digital control manager of  claim 15  further comprising a control function module configured to manage input and output interfaces and further configured to control physical parameters through a set of control strategies. 
     
     
         31 . The digital control manager of  claim 15  further comprising a sharing kernel configured to provide a common data exchange scheme to link components of the digital control manager via communication channels. 
     
     
         32 . The digital control manager system of  claim 6  wherein the data exchange between digital control managers is based on an observer scheme and uses network objects and network nodes. 
     
     
         33 . A building automation system comprising:
 a plurality of digital control managers in a building, wherein the plurality of digital control managers are grouped into clusters, wherein each cluster is configured to manage a segment of a building,   a network of communication links between the digital control managers to enable data exchange between the digital control managers;   a plurality of end devices in the building, wherein each end device is in communication with at least one digital control manager by a communication link to enable the at least one digital control manager to control and monitor the end device; and   at least one distributed database comprising copies of the objects of the local databases of at least some of the digital control managers.   
     
     
         34 . A method of building automation comprising:
 providing a plurality of digital control managers in a building to monitor and control a plurality of end devices, each digital control manager comprising a memory storing a local database;   establishing a communication link between each end device and a digital control manager;   establishing communication links between the plurality of digital control managers to form a self healing mesh network;   providing a distributed database comprising copies of objects of the local memories of the plurality of digital controllers.   
     
     
         35 . A building automation system comprising a self healing mesh network of a multitude of autonomous wireless digital control managers, wherein the each digital control manager comprises a wireless communication interface and a control module to control one or more devices; and a distributed database comprising data for all of the controlled devices in a building. 
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 35  in which controlled device commands are enacted via updates to the distributed database. 
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 35  wherein any digital control manager having network access outside the self healing mesh network will act as a gateway control managers within the self healing mesh network. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 35  wherein the entirety of the contents of the distributed database of the self healing mesh network is exported to any authorized remote computer that logs into the gateway control managers. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 35  further comprising an application on a remote computer, wherein the application is configured to update its local database and such updates are then redistributed automatically back to the gateway control manager and digital control managers in the mesh network. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 35  in which individual digital control managers make any necessary changes in the controlled devices to cause the controlled devices to match the state of the databases. 
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 35  wherein a gateway control manager contains a browser application which is exported to any authorized computer that logs into the gateway controller along with a copy of all of the individual digital control managers databases in the mesh network. 
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 35  wherein the browser application exported from the gateway controller is used to control the building via database updates. 
     
     
         43 . The digital control manager of  claim 1  further comprising an actuator and a sensor. 
     
     
         44 . The digital control manager of  claim 1  further comprising a pressure sensor. 
     
     
         45 . A building automation system comprising:
 a plurality of digital control managers, each digital control manager comprising two wireless transceivers operating at two different frequencies;   a network of communication links between the plurality of digital control managers; and   a plurality of end devices, each end device in communication with at least one digital control manager to enable the digital control manager to control and monitor the end device.   
     
     
         46 . A digital control manager system comprising:
 a plurality of digital control managers as in  claim 1 ;   a network of communication links between the digital control managers to enable data exchange between the digital control managers;   a plurality of end devices, wherein each end device is in communication with at least one digital control manager by a communication link to enable data exchange between the end device and the at least one digital control manager; and   at least one distributed database comprising a copy of the objects of the local databases of at least some of the digital control managers.