IP Library › Granted Patent US 10,612,807
Granted Patent B2
US 10,612,807 · App. 15/874,580 · Granted Apr 7, 2020

HVAC, refrigeration, and automation equipment management

Inventors: David J. Bon (Gunter, TX); Charles Thomas Ferguson (Flower Mound, TX); Anna Vishinsky (Little Elm, TX); Veera Reddy Vemula (McKinney, TX); Farhad Abrishamkar (Dallas, TX)
Assignee: Lennox Industries Inc.
F24F11/58F24F11/32F24F11/38F24F11/46F24F11/52F25D29/008G05B15/02F24F11/61F24F2140/60G05B2219/2642
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,612,807
App. No.
15/874,580
Granted
Apr 7, 2020
Kind
B2
Abstract

An equipment management system including a controller and a server. The controller communicatively couples to one or more remote systems. At least one of the remote systems includes a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, a refrigeration system, or a building automation system. The controller receives telemetry data associated with the operation of the one or more remote systems and with individual components of the one or more remote systems. The controller communicates at least a portion of the received telemetry data to the server. The server determines one or more operational commands for the one or more remote systems. The one or more operational commands are determined based on the telemetry data communicated from the controller to the server. The server communicates the one or more operational commands to the controller. The controller communicates the one or more operational commands to the one or more remote systems.

Claims (118)

1. An equipment management system, comprising:

a controller and a server, wherein the controller is configured to:

communicatively couple to one or more remote systems, at least one of the remote systems comprising a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, a refrigeration system, or a building automation system;

receive telemetry data associated with the operation of the one or more remote systems, wherein the received telemetry data comprises data associated with individual components of the one or more remote systems; and

communicate at least a portion of the received telemetry data to the server;

the server configured to:

determine one or more operational commands for the one or more remote systems, the one or more operational commands determined based on the telemetry data communicated from the controller to the server; and

communicate the one or more operational commands to the controller;

the controller further configured to:

communicate the one or more operational commands to the one or more remote systems;

wherein:

the received telemetry data further comprises energy usage information of individual components of the one or more remote systems; and

the operational commands are based on the energy usage information.

2. The equipment management system of claim 1 , the equipment management system further configured to:

analyze the received telemetry data in order to make a prediction of when the one or more remote systems will require maintenance; and

communicate an indication to a user that indicates the prediction of when the one or more remote systems will require maintenance.

3. The equipment management system of claim 1 , wherein:

the server is further configured to instruct the controller to suppress one or more types of alerts;

the controller is further configured to:

receive a plurality of alerts from the remote systems;

suppress a subset of the alerts that correspond to the one or more types of alerts that the server has instructed the controller to suppress; and

communicate to the server a subset of the alerts other than the one or more types of alerts that the server has instructed the controller to suppress.

4. The equipment management system of claim 1 , wherein the server is further configured to:

receive an instruction to suppress one or more types of alerts from being communicated to a user;

receive a plurality of alerts from the one or more remote systems, the plurality of alerts received via the controller;

suppress a subset of the alerts that correspond to the one or more types of alerts that the server has been instructed to suppress; and

communicate to the user a subset of the alerts other than the one or more types of alerts that the server has been instructed to suppress.

5. The equipment management system of claim 1 , wherein the operational commands are further based on a predetermined schedule and/or predetermined dependency rules between one or more individual components of the one or more remote systems.

6. The equipment management system of claim 1 , wherein:

the equipment management system is configured to receive user-input over a network and to use the user input to control the operation of the one or more remote systems.

7. The equipment management system of claim 1 , wherein:

the one or more remote systems comprise a first remote system associated with a first customer and a second remote system associated with a second customer that is different than the first customer;

the equipment management system is configured to:

receive user input form the first customer;

control the operation of the first remote system based on the user input received from the first customer; and

when controlling the operation of the second remote system, ignore the user input received from the first user.

8. A method for managing equipment, comprising:

receiving telemetry data associated with the operation of one or more remote systems, wherein:

the received telemetry data comprises data associated with individual components of the one or more remote systems; and

at least one of the remote systems comprises a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, a refrigeration system, or a building automation system;

determining one or more operational commands for the one or more remote systems, the one or more operational commands determined based on at least a portion of the telemetry data; and

communicating the one or more operational commands to the one or more remote systems;

wherein:

the received telemetry data further comprises energy usage information of individual components of the one or more remote systems; and

the operational commands are based on the energy usage information.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

analyzing the received telemetry data in order to make a prediction of when the one or more remote systems will require maintenance; and

communicating an indication to a user that indicates the prediction of when the one or more remote systems will require maintenance.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving a plurality of alerts from the remote systems; and

suppressing a subset of the alerts based on at least the received telemetry data associated with the operation of one or more remote systems.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving an instruction to suppress one or more types of alerts from being communicated to a user;

receive a plurality of alerts from the one or more remote systems;

suppressing a subset of the alerts that correspond to the one or more types of alerts that the server has been instructed to suppress; and

communicating to the user a subset of the alerts other than the one or more types of alerts that has been instructed to suppress.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the operational commands are further based on a predetermined schedule and/or predetermined dependency rules between one or more individual components of the one or more remote systems.

13. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving user-input over a network; and

using the user input to control the operation of the one or more remote systems.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein:

the one or more remote systems comprise a first remote system associated with a first customer and a second remote system associated with a second customer that is different than the first customer; and

the method further comprises:

receiving user input form the first customer;

controlling the operation of the first remote system based on the user input received from the first customer; and

when controlling the operation of the second remote system, ignoring the user input received from the first user.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions for causing processing circuitry to:

receive telemetry data associated with the operation of one or more remote systems, wherein:

the received telemetry data comprises data associated with individual components of the one or more remote systems; and

at least one of the remote systems comprises a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, a refrigeration system, or a building automation system;

determine one or more operational commands for the one or more remote systems, the one or more operational commands determined based on at least a portion of the telemetry data; and

communicate the one or more operational commands to the one or more remote systems;

wherein:

the received telemetry data further comprises energy usage information of individual components of the one or more remote systems; and

the operational commands are based on the energy usage information.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the processing circuitry to:

analyze the received telemetry data in order to make a prediction of when the one or more remote systems will require maintenance; and

communicate an indication to a user that indicates the prediction of when the one or more remote systems will require maintenance.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the processing circuitry to:

receive a plurality of alerts from the remote systems; and

suppress a subset of the alerts based on at least the received telemetry data associated with the operation of one or more remote systems.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein:

the one or more remote systems comprise a first remote system associated with a first customer and a second remote system associated with a second customer that is different than the first customer; and

the instructions further cause the processing circuitry to:

receive user input form the first customer;

control the operation of the first remote system based on the user input received from the first customer; and

when controlling the operation of the second remote system, ignore the user input received from the first user.

19. An equipment management system, comprising:

a controller and a server, wherein the controller is configured to:

communicatively couple to one or more remote systems, at least one of the remote systems comprising a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, a refrigeration system, or a building automation system;

receive telemetry data associated with the operation of the one or more remote systems, wherein the received telemetry data comprises data associated with individual components of the one or more remote systems; and

communicate at least a portion of the received telemetry data to the server;

the server configured to:

determine one or more operational commands for the one or more remote systems, the one or more operational commands determined based on the telemetry data communicated from the controller to the server;

communicate the one or more operational commands to the controller;

receive an instruction to suppress one or more types of alerts from being communicated to a user;

receive a plurality of alerts from the one or more remote systems, the plurality of alerts received via the controller;

suppress a subset of the alerts that correspond to the one or more types of alerts that the server has been instructed to suppress; and

communicate to the user a subset of the alerts other than the one or more types of alerts that the server has been instructed to suppress; and

the controller further configured to communicate the one or more operational commands to the one or more remote systems.

20. A method for managing equipment, comprising:

receiving telemetry data associated with the operation of one or more remote systems, wherein:

the received telemetry data comprises data associated with individual components of the one or more remote systems; and

at least one of the remote systems comprises a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, a refrigeration system, or a building automation system;

determining one or more operational commands for the one or more remote systems, the one or more operational commands determined based on at least a portion of the telemetry data;

communicating the one or more operational commands to the one or more remote systems;

receiving a plurality of alerts from the remote systems; and

suppressing a subset of the alerts based on at least the received telemetry data associated with the operation of one or more remote systems.

21. A method for managing equipment, comprising:

receiving telemetry data associated with the operation of one or more remote systems, wherein:

the received telemetry data comprises data associated with individual components of the one or more remote systems; and

at least one of the remote systems comprises a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, a refrigeration system, or a building automation system;

determining one or more operational commands for the one or more remote systems, the one or more operational commands determined based on at least a portion of the telemetry data;

communicating the one or more operational commands to the one or more remote systems;

receiving an instruction to suppress one or more types of alerts from being communicated to a user;

receive a plurality of alerts from the one or more remote systems;

suppressing a subset of the alerts that correspond to the one or more types of alerts that the server has been instructed to suppress; and

communicating to the user a subset of the alerts other than the one or more types of alerts that has been instructed to suppress.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 1, 2019
From: FERGUSON, CHARLES THOMAS; ABRISHAMKAR, FARHAD; VEMULA, VEERA REDDY; BON, DAVID J.; VISHINSKY, ANNA
To: LENNOX INDUSTRIES INC.
Reel/Frame 050594/0439 →
Continuity (3)
Provisional Application 62448692 · Jan 20, 2017
Provisional Application 62448597 · Jan 20, 2017
Related Publication 20180209679A1 · Jul 26, 2018