US 9,995,501 B2Granted

Remote contractor system with data analytics for identifying site specific operational abnormalities

AssigneeHoneywell International Inc.

InventorsDavid Quam, Amy Ragland, Steve R. Peterson, Wendy Foslien, Jennifer Teves, Pedro Davolos, Soumitri Kolavennu, Henry Nahurski

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Abstract

A system that allows a contractor to remotely monitor and/or interact with its customers' building control systems, such as heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and analyze information obtained from the building control systems over time. Such a system may help the contractor monitor and diagnosis customer building control systems, setup service calls, achieve better customer relations, create more effective marketing opportunities, as well as other functions. In some cases, the disclosed system may help a contractor pro-actively identify possible issues with its customer's building control systems, and only then schedule maintenance as required. In some cases, based on the analysis of information obtained from the building control systems over time, the system may output indications of abnormalities in the operation of the building control systems from which information may be received.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A remote contractor system communicates with a plurality of client heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) controllers over a network, wherein each of the client HVAC controllers is part of a corresponding client HVAC system that services a corresponding client building, the remote contractor system including a plurality of client accounts wherein each of the client HVAC systems corresponds to a particular client account, the remote contractor system comprising:

a communications port operatively communicates with a plurality of client HVAC controllers, and receives data related to the operation of a plurality of client HVAC systems;
a memory for storing the received data related to the operation of the plurality of client HVAC systems;
a controller operatively coupled to the memory, wherein the controller includes a processor for processing at least some of the received data related to the operation of the plurality of client HVAC systems and to:
identify one or more trends over time using the received data from two or more of the client HVAC systems, wherein the one or more trends includes a trend over a period of time in one or more of humidity level, temperature level, fan activation, and particle count;
based on the identified one or more trends, identify one or more abnormalities in the operation of a particular one of the client HVAC systems using the received data;
generate an alert for one or more of the abnormalities in the operation of the particular one of the client HVAC systems;
associate the alert with the client account that corresponds to the particular one of the client HVAC systems;
and
provide easy access to the alert via the client account that corresponds to the particular one of the client HVAC systems.

6 more elements

A remote contractor system communicates with a plurality of client heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) controllers, wherein each of the HVAC controllers is for controlling one or more HVAC components of a corresponding client HVAC system, the remote contractor system including a plurality of client accounts wherein each of the client HVAC systems corresponds to a particular client account, the remote contractor system comprising:

a communications port for sending and/or receiving data related to the operation of two or more HVAC systems;
a memory for storing information comprising the received data related to the operation of the two or more HVAC systems;
a controller operatively coupled to the communications port and the memory;
and
wherein the controller:
processes at least some of the received data related to the operation of the two or more HVAC systems to identify one or more trends, wherein the one or more trends includes a trend over a period of time in one or more of humidity level, temperature level, fan activation, and particle count;
identifies one or more abnormalities in the operation of a particular HVAC system based on the processing of the received data related to the operation of the two or more HVAC systems;
generates an alert for one or more of the identified abnormalities in the operation of the particular HVAC system, along with one or more suggested causes of the identified one or more abnormalities in the operation of the particular HVAC system;
associates the alert with the client account that corresponds to the particular one of the client HVAC systems;
and
provides easy access to the alert via the client account that corresponds to the particular one of the client HVAC systems.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/531,495Filed 3 Nov 2014 · us provisional application
Priority: 4 Nov 2013
Published: US 2015/0127172 A17 May 2015
Granted: 12 Jun 2018
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification30 codes

F24F 11/56
Characterised by user interfaces or communication: remote control
F24F 11/30
Control or safety arrangements: for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
F24F 11/62
Control or safety arrangements: characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or…
F24F 11/63
Characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or estimation of values: electronic…