Device and system for detecting tampering in components

Abstract

Described herein is a method for tampering detection in at least one passive component of a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC-R) system, the method comprising attaching one or more devices to a corresponding fastener of the at least one passive component, wherein the one or more devices are configured to transmit an alert signal based on at least one of a position of a sensing element of the one or more devices, vibration detections between the one or more devices and the at least one passive component, and/or unresponsiveness of at least one neighboring device, determining, by a controller, a tamper state of the at least one passive component based on the alert signal, and transmitting, by the controller, an electronic control signal to at least one of the one or more devices and/or the HVAC-R system based on the tamper state.

1 . A method for tampering detection in at least one passive component of a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC-R) system, the method comprising:
 attaching one or more devices to a corresponding fastener of the at least one passive component, wherein the one or more devices are configured to transmit an alert signal based on at least one of: a position of a sensing element of the one or more devices, vibration detections between the one or more devices and the at least one passive component, and/or unresponsiveness of at least one neighboring device;   determining, by a controller, a tamper state of the at least one passive component based on the alert signal; and   transmitting, by the controller, an electronic control signal to at least one of: the one or more devices and/or the HVAC-R system based on the tamper state.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sensing element comprises a switch configured to move between an actuated position and a de-actuated position, the alert signal comprising the position of the sensing element, and wherein the step of determining the tamper state of the at least one passive component comprises determining, by the controller, the at least one passive component to be tampered when the alert signal comprises the de-actuated position. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the device comprises a vibration sensor configured to determine the vibration detections of the one or more devices with respect to the at least one passive component. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the step of determining the tamper state of the at least one passive component comprises determining, by the controller, the tamper state of the at least one passive component based on the vibration detections being greater than a baseline vibration threshold. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the step of determining the tamper state of the at least one passive component comprises determining, by the controller, the tamper state of the at least one passive component based on anomaly detection in the vibration detections received over a preceding time interval. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic control signal comprises a reset signal, the reset signal being transmitted to the one or more devices based on authorization of an entity operating the controller. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising authorizing, by the controller, the entity to operate the controller based on verification of credentials provided by the entity. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, by the controller, a control request signal to a building management system (BMS) in response to determining the tamper state of the at least one passive component. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the controller, an operational control signal from the BMS; and   transmitting, by the controller, the electronic control signal to change an operational stage of the HVAC-R system based on the operational control signal.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining, by the controller, the at least one passive component to be tampered when the one or more devices are unresponsive for a threshold number of time intervals. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of: the alert signal and/or the electronic control signal is encrypted based on an identifier of the controller. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more devices comprise a unique identifier, and wherein the method further comprises transmitting, by the controller, the electronic control signal comprising the unique identifier of the one or more devices to at least one registered computing device. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a processing unit of the one or more devices is configured to the alert signal to the controller based on the at least one neighboring device being unresponsive for a threshold number of time intervals. 
     
     
         14 . A system for tampering detection in at least one passive component of a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC-R) system, the system comprising:
 one or more devices attached to a corresponding fastener of the at least one passive component, wherein the one or more devices are configured to transmit an alert signal based on at least one of: a position of a sensing element, vibration detections between the one or more devices and the at least one passive component, and/or unresponsiveness of at least one neighboring device; and   a controller operatively coupled to the one or more devices and the HVAC-R system, the controller comprising a processor configured to execute instructions stored in a memory, wherein execution of the instructions causes the processor to:
 receive the alert signal from the one or more devices; 
 determine a tamper state of the at least one passive component based on the alert signal; and 
 transmit an electronic control signal to at least one of: the one or more devices and/or the HVAC-R system based on the tamper state. 
   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more devices comprise the sensing element, the sensing element comprising a switch configured to move between an actuated position and a de-actuated position, the alert signal comprising the position of the sensing element, and wherein the controller is further configured to determine the at least one passive component to be tampered when the alert signal comprises the de-actuated position. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more devices comprise a vibration sensor configured to determine the vibration detections of the one or more devices with respect to the at least one passive component. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the controller is configured to determine the tamper state of the at least one passive component based on anomaly detection in the vibration detections received over a preceding time interval. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the electronic control signal comprises a reset signal, and wherein the controller is further configured to transmit the reset signal to the one or more devices based on authorization of an entity operating the controller. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 14 , further comprising a building management system (BMS) operatively coupled to the controller, wherein execution of the instructions further causes the processor to transmit a control request signal to the BMS in response to the determination of the tamper state of the at least one passive component. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the controller is configured to determine the at least one passive component to be tampered when the one or more devices fail to transmit a status signal for a threshold number of time intervals.