Dynamically extensible and automatically configurable building automation system and architecture

Abstract

A building automation system (BAS) architecture is disclosed. The BAS comprises, in one embodiment, an architecture comprising a communication network and having a dynamic extensibility capability and an automatic configuration capability; an engine communicatively coupled to the communication network; and at least one control device communicatively coupled to the communication network, the control device being known or unknown to the engine. The engine can be adapted to selectively implement the dynamic extensibility capability to establish communications with and to control both known and unknown control devices. The engine can be further adapted to selectively implement the automatic configuration capability to determine at least one characteristic of both known and unknown control devices. A method of adding a control device to a building automation system (BAS) by dynamically extending and automatically configuring an architecture of the BAS is also disclosed.

1 . A building automation system (BAS) comprising:
 an architecture comprising a communication network and having a dynamic extensibility capability and an automatic configuration capability;   an engine communicatively coupled to the communication network; and   at least one control device communicatively coupled to the communication network, the control device being known or unknown to the engine,   wherein the engine is adapted to selectively implement the dynamic extensibility capability to establish communications with and to control both known and unknown control devices, and wherein the engine is adapted to selectively implement the automatic configuration capability to determine at least one characteristic of both known and unknown control devices.   
     
     
         2 . The BAS of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic is selected from the group consisting of a communication protocol, a communication protocol version, a vendor, a product, a type, and a version. 
     
     
         3 . The BAS of  claim 1 , wherein the characteristic is referenced as a definition and the definition is stored by the engine in a program. 
     
     
         4 . The BAS of  claim 3 , wherein the engine need not recompile the program after storing a definition. 
     
     
         5 . The BAS of  claim 3 , wherein the dynamic extensibility capability comprises a discovery routine to integrate an unknown control device into the architecture as a known control device by adding or altering a definition in the program. 
     
     
         6 . The BAS of  claim 5 , wherein the engine need not recompile the program after adding or altering a definition. 
     
     
         7 . The BAS of  claim 3 , further comprising a database communicatively coupled to the communication network and controlled by the engine, wherein the program is stored in the database. 
     
     
         8 . The BAS of  claim 3 , wherein the engine is capable of applying the definition to identify an unknown control device by the dynamic extensibility capability and the automatic configuration capability. 
     
     
         9 . The BAS of  claim 1 , wherein the engine comprises a generic communication protocol compatible with known and unknown control devices. 
     
     
         10 . The BAS of  claim 1 , wherein a first control device comprises a first communication protocol compatibility and a second control device comprises a second communication protocol compatibility different from the first communication protocol compatibility, and wherein the communication system and the engine comprises both the first and second communication protocol compatibilities. 
     
     
         11 . The BAS of  claim 10 , wherein the first and second communication protocol compatibilities differ according to a communication standard, a version, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         12 . The BAS of  claim 11 , wherein the engine is capable of concurrently implementing both the first and second protocol compatibilities. 
     
     
         13 . The BAS of  claim 1 , wherein the communication network comprises an Intranet network, an Internet network, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The BAS of  claim 13 , wherein the engine comprises a single address and the control device comprises a network address. 
     
     
         15 . The BAS of  claim 14 , wherein the engine discovers the network address according to the dynamic extensibility capability. 
     
     
         16 . The BAS of  claim 15 , wherein the engine receives the network address from an external source. 
     
     
         17 . A method of adding a control device to a building automation system (BAS) by dynamically extending and automatically configuring an architecture of the BAS, the method comprising the steps of:
 obtaining a network address of a previously unknown control device at a site;   implementing a discovery process to establish communications with and obtain metadata from the control device;   synchronizing the site by evaluating at least one characteristic of the metadata and storing the at least one characteristic as a definition in a program of the architecture;   altering a status of the control device from known to unknown; and   dynamically extending and automatically configuring the architecture by executing the program without recompilation.   
     
     
         18 . A method of adding a control device to a building automation system (BAS) by dynamically extending and automatically configuring an architecture of the BAS, the method comprising the steps of:
 obtaining a network address of a previously unknown control device at a site;   implementing a discovery process to attempt to automatically establish communications with and obtain metadata from the control device utilizing the network address;   synchronizing the site with the architecture of the BAS by evaluating at least one characteristic of the metadata and storing the at least one characteristic as a definition utilized in a program that characterizes at least a part of the architecture of the BAS;   altering a status of the control device from unknown to known; and   dynamically extending and automatically configuring the architecture to include the control device as a known device that is a part of the architecture of the BAS by executing the program without recompilation.   
     
     
         19 . A server engine for a building automation system (BAS), the server engine comprising:
 software instructions adapted to obtain a network address of a previously unknown control device at a site communicatively coupled to the BAS;   software instructions adapted to implement a discovery process to attempt to automatically establish communications with and obtain metadata from the control device utilizing the network address;   software instructions adapted to synchronize the site with the BAS by evaluating at least one characteristic of the metadata and storing the at least one characteristic as a definition utilized in a software program of the server engine;   software instructions adapted to alter a status of the control device from unknown to known; and   software instructions adapted to dynamically extend and automatically configure the BAS by executing the software program without recompilation.   
     
     
         20 . A building automation system (BAS) comprising:
 a database adapted to store data definitions; and   a relational directory of data definitions for the BAS stored in the database, the directory including:
 a site level comprising at least one site definition, the site definition including a site description and a site management description, wherein the site description relates a site with at least one portion of the BAS, and wherein the site management description defines at least one site operation; 
 a system level comprising at least one system definition, wherein the system definition describes an association of a system with a site and an interaction of the system with at least one device comprising a portion of the BAS; 
 a device level comprising at least one device definition, wherein the device definition relates a device with at least one site recognized by the BAS; and 
 an extension level comprising at least one extension definition, wherein each extension definition is associated with a device and defines an association of a device with at least one of a system, a site, or another device, 
 such that the site level, the system level, the device level, and the extension level are organized in a hierarchical relationship in the database. 
   
     
     
         21 . A building automation system (BAS) comprising:
 a plurality of end devices each associated with at least one of a space, a system, or a subsystem for at least a portion of a building or a campus;   at least one communication network communicatively coupling at least a portion of the plurality of end devices and supporting a plurality of communication protocols;   a protocol-independent server engine communicatively coupled to the at least one communication network, the server engine including:
 programming means for selectively implementing a dynamic extensibility capability for the BAS that establishes communications with and control of the plurality of end devices over at least one of the plurality of communication protocols; and 
 programming means for selectively implementing an automatic configuration capability for the BAS that supports addition of end devices to the plurality of end devices by determining at least one characteristic of each end device, the at least one characteristic being selected from the set consisting of a self-describing status and a non-self-describing status, including:
 for an end device having a self-describing status, programming means for accepting and storing data and metadata descriptors communicated from the end device; and 
 for an end device having a non-self-describing status, programming means for searching a database of data and metadata descriptors for end devices maintained by the server engine for data and metadata descriptors based on the non-self-describing status of the end device and for automatically requesting supplemental manually programmed data and metadata descriptors for the end device if the non-self-describing status of the device is not sufficient to retrieve data and metadata descriptors for the end device from the database. 
 
   
     
     
         22 . A method for establishing communications with unknown end devices in a building automation system (BAS) based upon metadata descriptors provided by known and unknown end devices, the method comprising the steps of:
 discovering an unknown end device on a communication network, the unknown end device associated with at least one of a point, a space, a system, or a subsystem for at least a portion of a building or campus;   querying the unknown end device for a communication protocol metadata descriptor;   classifying the unknown end device as a self-describing end device if the unknown end device provides a communication protocol metadata descriptor in response to the query and selecting a communication protocol that corresponds to the communication protocol metadata descriptor for the unknown end device; and   classifying the unknown end device as a non-self-describing end device if the unknown end device does not provide a communication protocol metadata descriptor in response to the query.