EP3409877A1 - Blinds control, system and method for synchronizing the system time of a blinds control - Google Patents

Abstract

The blind control (9) comprises a timer which defines a system time and a communication device (13) which is designed to receive a reference time (3) which is transmitted in a communication network from a further communication device (5) to the communication device (13 ) is transmitted.

Description

The invention relates to a blind control, a system and a method for synchronizing the system time of a blind control with a reference time according to the features of claims 1, 7 and 8.

• Ausrichtung bzw. Himmelsrichtung einer Fassade, an der sich ein Fenster oder allgemein eine Gebäudeaussparung mit einer Beschattungseinrichtung befindet;
• Abmessungen der Gebäudeaussparung und deren relative Lage an der Fassade;
• Sonnenstand bzw. die Einstrahlrichtung der Sonne bei der Gebäudeaussparung in Abhängigkeit der Tageszeit und der Jahreszeit;
• Bereiche bzw. Richtungen, aus denen bei der Gebäudeaussparung z.B. aufgrund schattenwerfender Objekte oder aufgrund der Lage des Horizonts keine Sonneneinstrahlung möglich ist;
• Einstellmöglichkeiten der Beschattungseinrichtung (zum Beispiel bei Lamellenstoren das Absenken und Hochziehen des Behangs sowie das Verstellen des Neigungswinkels der Lamellen) und deren Wirkung auf direkte Sonneneinstrahlung bei der Gebäudeaussparung;
• Witterungseinflüsse wie Wind, Regen, Hagel, Bewölkung, Temperatur usw.
• Tageszeit und Jahreszeit (insbesondere Lokalzeit bzw. Ortszeit)

Shading devices such as indoor blinds are widely controlled automatically by control devices in these buildings. The control of such shading devices can be carried out as a function of a multiplicity of influencing factors. Influencing factors may be, for example, sensory measured quantities and / or data stored in a memory of the blind control, in particular setpoints or general comparison variables for the measured variables. Here are some examples of such factors:

• Orientation or direction of a facade on which there is a window or generally a Gebäudeaussparung with a shading device;
• Dimensions of the building recess and their relative position on the facade;
• Position of the sun or the sun's direction when the building is being sunk depending on the time of day and the season;
• Areas or directions from which no solar radiation is possible during the building opening, for example because of shady objects or due to the position of the horizon;
• Adjustment options of the shading device (for example, in lamella blinds lowering and pulling up the curtain and adjusting the angle of inclination of the slats) and their effect on direct sunlight in the building opening;
• Weather influences such as wind, rain, hail, cloud cover, temperature etc.
• Time of day and season (especially local time or local time)

A blind controller comprises a program memory in which processing instructions are stored, which specify the processing of input variables to output variables. A blind control can be designed to take account of individual needs of persons in a room behind the building recess, for example, by giving priority to manual settings on an operating device as input variables. Inputs to controls are also influencing factors that are taken into account when controlling blinds.

Various functions of a shading control, e.g. the calculation of the position of the sun or the direction of the sun at a particular time of the day and season require precise specification of the date and the local time at the respective geodetic position of the building location. Local time is the solar time at a certain place, ie the time at which the sun is at 12 noon in the meridian or the sun is above the horizon highest. The local time can be calculated in particular from the coordinated world time (UTC) and from the geographical position of the respective place. Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is a global reference time that corresponds to local time at zero meridian. The local time calculated from the global reference time in this way is a local reference time usable at each location.

The local time may alternatively be e.g. also be derived from the time of the respective time zone and the geodetic position of the building location. The geodetic position is defined by the latitude and longitude of the building location.

From the EP 1069277 A2 is a sun protection system with a control is known in which a radio clock receiver receives the signals radiated by a radio clock and so provides a reference time with date. Thereby can Gaps deviations are avoided, as they occur with independent clocks or timers over the years. For reception of time signals, such radio clock receivers comprise an antenna at a suitable location. The geographic location of the sun protection system can be determined, for example, by means of a GPS receiver and stored in the controller. If such a GPS receiver is an integral part of the sun protection system, it must also be located at a location of the building where it can receive the signals of the GPS satellites, for example on the building roof.

From the WO 2007/006775 A1 a control device for blinds on buildings is known, which comprises a global positioning system (GPS) signal receiving means. The signals emitted by satellites of the GPS system and received by the receiving means constantly provide a reference time with date. Moreover, from the received signals from several satellites, the geodetic position of the receiving means can be determined.

Such known devices for synchronizing the system time of a controller with a reference time with date have the disadvantage that they are only partially usable. The weak radio signals from satellites or from a possibly far away Radio clock transmitters can only be reliably received outdoors. The cost and the cost of providing suitable receiving means for the reception of the time signals is relatively high. Moreover, the accuracy and repetition rate of such time signals is much higher than required, for example, to synchronize the system time of a blind control.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for inexpensively and easily synchronizing the system time of a blind control with sufficient accuracy with a current reference time.

This object is achieved by a blind control and by a system and a method for synchronizing the system time of a blind control according to the features of patent claims 1, 7 and 8.

The term "blind control" is to be understood in the context of the present invention. It generally comprises a controller which is designed to control technical equipment, in particular any shading devices in a building.

The system time is provided by a timer of the blind controller. The system time usually includes a time with date or generally a first time within a daily time interval (determined by earth rotation) and a second time within an annual time interval (determined by the circulation of the earth around the sun).

This system time can essentially correspond to the local local time at the building location. Alternatively, the system time may also have a known local time offset. This is the case, for example, if the system time is the coordinated world time (UTC), or alternatively the time (with or without the inclusion of summer time) in the time zone of the building site.
For a better understanding, the explanation of the invention is given by way of example under the assumption that the system time corresponds to the local time at the building location. The deviation of the system time from the actual local time or the local reference time should be as small as possible, for example less than 1 minute, preferably less than 30 s. Since timers that define a system time have gait differences from the reference time, the system time of such timers must be regularly synchronized with the reference time. For example, the current value of the local reference time as the new current value of the system time.
The invention makes use of the consideration that a global or local reference time, which is provided by a timer of a base site, can be transmitted with sufficient accuracy by means of a communication device from the base site to local blind controls. The timer of the base station is for example an NTP server and preferably synchronized with an atomic clock.

The time delays in the transmission of the global and / or local reference time are usually small and are for example in the order of a second. Even if delays of the order of 30s would have to be expected in the data transmission, this would still be tolerable. If a blind control receives a reference time, this is preferably processed with priority, ie the synchronization of the system time takes place with the least possible time delay. As a result, deviations of the system time from the reference time can be minimized. The processing instructions for acquiring the reference time and for synchronizing the system time are stored in the program memory.

The communication takes place in a communication network according to a predetermined communication protocol such as e.g. UDP / IP (NTP / SNTP) or LoRaWAN. The transmission of the data may in particular be effected via electrical conductors, optical fibers or by means of electromagnetic waves such as radio waves, e.g. via satellite or mobile according to a mobile standard such as GSM, GPRS, UMTS or LTE. This includes in particular the communication in proprietary networks on 868 MHz and 433 MHz.

At the local location of a blind control, the time information may e.g. are received by a router or receiver in general and made accessible to the blind control via a local, wireline or wireless network (e.g., WLAN). Alternatively, the blind controller itself may include a receiver for data from the base site.

The communication between the base station and one or more directly addressable routers or receivers of blind controllers at local building sites may be unidirectional or alternatively bidirectional. Additionally or alternatively, the base site may be configured to transmit data having a global or local reference time preferably simultaneously to multiple or all subscribers within the network. In the process, a specific multicast or broadcast telegram is activated predetermined participants sent within the network. In particular, the network can be designed, for example, as a VPN network. The blind controllers at the local sites can be defined as local addresses in this network. A server in this network balances its time via NTP with a time server and provides the global or local reference time for the blind controllers or the local nodes. Authenticated telegrams ensure the identity of the transmitter. Alternatively, the base station could also broadcast a global or local reference time via a preferably secure radio connection (eg LoRa). Authentication and / or encryption algorithms ensure that the system is functioning properly.

Optionally, data may be transmitted with the current global or local reference time according to a predetermined or selectable temporal pattern from the base site to the local blind controllers that have subscribed to that service. In particular, it can be provided that time information is transmitted by default, for example, daily, weekly or monthly from the base station to blind controls. Gate controllers designed for bidirectional communication with the base station can, if required, at any time transmit the global or local Request reference time at the base office. For example, when only the global reference time is transmitted, the blind controller calculates the local reference time using data from the local geographic location. For example, this allows for immediate synchronization of the system time with the local reference time during commissioning or after a restart of the blind control.

Preferably, the base site comprises a database in which essential information such as configuration data of store controls of buildings are stored at different locations.
Due to the individual addressability of the blind controllers, the base unit can transmit additional data, in particular further individual configuration data, to the respective blind controllers in addition to the reference time. Such configuration data may in particular contain data for the basic configuration of a blind control, eg data on the geodetic position of the respective building location, data for alignment of facades on the building concerned with respect to the cardinal directions, data on the width and height of windows and their shading device and their location on a particular facade , Data on directions that make up certain windows due to shadowing objects and / or due to the horizon no solar radiation is possible, etc. Such data, which relate to the basic configuration of a blind control, usually only once have to be transmitted to the respective blind control. They are stored there in a non-volatile memory of the blind control. The data that includes the current global or local reference time is also configuration data. In contrast to data of the basic configuration, however, the data of the respectively current global or local reference time are transmitted repeatedly (eg daily) from the base station to the blind control according to predefinable rules. Preferably, a global reference time is transmitted in each case from the base station to the blind controllers, since this is not dependent on the geodetic position of the individual buildings. It is therefore sufficient to send only one message with the information of the global reference time preferably simultaneously to all participating subscribers. Each blind controller can calculate from the global reference time the local reference time applicable at the respective location.

If the communication device is set up for bi-directional communication, each blind controller can send individual requests for transmission of the desired reference time or other configuration data to the base site.

Alternatively or additionally, the base station can also be designed to transmit the reference time to Storensteuerungen by means of Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB). The blind controllers in this case comprise a DAB receiver which is designed to detect at least the coded transmitted reference time (UTC).

Alternatively or additionally, the blind control may also receive other signals comprising information of a reference time, for example mobile radio signals such as GSM emergency call signals or signals emitted by satellites which are not suitable or intended for locating purposes.

Preferably, the blind control is adapted to receive signals with information of a reference time on a plurality of different communication paths. If the transmission quality of the signals on one of the communication channels is insufficient, the reference time can be transmitted to the controller via another communication path.

• Figur 1 ein System mit einer Basisstelle und einem Gebäude mit einer ersten synchronisierbaren Storensteuerung,
• Figur 2 ein System mit einer Basisstelle und einem Gebäude mit einer zweiten synchronisierbaren Storensteuerung,
• Figur 3 das System aus Figur 1 mit einer zusätzlichen mobilen Basisstelle,
• Figur 4 das System aus Figur 1 mit einer um eine Datenbank erweiterten Basisstelle.

Based on some figures, the invention will be briefly explained below. Show

• FIG. 1 a system with a base station and a building with a first synchronisable blind control,
• FIG. 2 a system with a base station and a building with a second synchronizable blind control,
• FIG. 3 the system off FIG. 1 with an additional mobile base,
• FIG. 4 the system off FIG. 1 with a database extended by a database.

In the schematic arrangement in FIG. 1 For example, a base site 1 comprises a time base or timer having a global reference time 3 synchronized with an atomic clock, for example, and a first communication device 5. A building 7 at a particular geodetic location is representative of a plurality of such buildings 7 at different geodesic locations Sites shown. In the building 7, a blind control 9 is arranged for controlling at least one store 11. The operative connection between the blind control 9 and the blind or blinds 11 is represented symbolically by a broken line 10. The blind control 9 comprises a second communication device 13 for the communication with the first communication device 5. This symbolically by a communication line shown broken line 15 allows at least one unidirectional transmission of the global reference time 3 or a derived local reference time 3 from the base site 1 to each blind controller 9. For this purpose, unique communication addresses of each blind controller 9 are stored in the base site 1. The communication can take place for example via the Internet. Preferably, the communication devices 5, 13 are designed for bidirectional communication. Each of the second communication devices 13 may thus request, as needed, the transmission of the global or local reference time 3 or other data at the first communication device 5 of the base site 1.

The arrangement in FIG. 2 corresponds to the following difference those FIG. 1 :
The blind control 9 itself is not set up for direct communication with the base site 1. This function is performed by a second communication device 13 which is independent of the blind control 9 and which in turn is in communicative connection with the blind control 9, which is shown symbolically by a further broken line 12.

The arrangement in FIG. 3 corresponds to the following difference those FIG. 1 :
The communication between the first communication device 5 and the second communication device 13 is not directly, but indirectly via a relay station 17, which can communicate with the first communication device 5 analogous to the second communication device 13, and communicate with the second communication device 13 analogous to the first communication device 5 can. The relay station 17 may be designed to forward data received from the first communication device 5 immediately to the second communication device 13. The same applies in the reverse direction for the forwarding of data of the second communication device 13 to the first communication device 5. In this way, different communication means such as WLAN and mobile communications can be combined with each other for the communication. The relay station 17 preferably comprises its own time base, which can be synchronized with the global or local reference time 3 analogously to that of the blind control 9. Further data such as configuration data for blind controls 9 in one or more buildings 7 can optionally also be stored in a memory of the relay station 17. The relay station 17 may be formed, for example, as a stationary server which may be located, in particular, at the location of one of the buildings 7 or alternatively away from it. The relay station 17 can optionally be integrated in a weather station, which comprises one or more sensors for detecting one or more environmental parameters such as wind direction, wind speed, outside temperature, brightness, global radiation, humidity and precipitation. Such weather centers can be effectively connected to a blind control 9 or optionally formed directly as a blind control 9. As a rule, such weather centers are arranged on the roof of a building 7, where they are exposed to the weather and can detect the environmental measurements optimally.
The relay station 17 may alternatively be designed to be mobile. For example, a smartphone with a corresponding app can be used as a mobile relay station 17. This is particularly advantageous when a blind control 9 is put into operation. In this case, a service technician can transmit all relevant data including the global or local reference time 3 from the mobile relay station 17 to the blind controller 9.

The arrangement in FIG. 4 corresponds to the following difference those FIG. 1 :
The base 1 also includes a database 19, in the configuration data for blind controls 9 in a or multiple buildings 7 are stored. This makes it easy to configure or change the configuration of such controllers 9.

The special features and effects of the different embodiments according to the FIGS. 1 to 4 can also be combined with each other.

Claims (8)

Blind controller (9) comprising a timer defining a system time and a device for synchronizing the system time with a reference time (3), characterized in that the device comprises a communication device (13) addressable in a communication network and comprising a receiver for Receiving data according to a communication protocol in which rules for transmitting a global and / or local reference time (3) are defined; and that the blind controller (9) has processing instructions for synchronizing the system time with a global or local reference time received via the communication device (13) (3). Blind control (9) according to claim 1, characterized in that the device is designed to execute the synchronization of the system time with the reference time (3) with priority over other processes when receiving the reference time (3). Gate control (9) according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the communication network is formed for at least one of the following types of communication:
Internet, Radio Waves or Long Range Wide Area Network. Blind control (9) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the communication protocol comprises rules for transmitting further data. Blind control (9) according to claim 4, characterized in that the further data comprise configuration data for the blind control (9). A system for synchronizing the system time of a store controller (9), said store controller (9) comprises a timer that defines the system time, and a communication device (13) that is addressable in a communication network and configured to receive data according to a communication protocol, characterized in that a base site (1) or a relay station (17) comprises a timer with a reference time (3) and a further communication device (5), and that this communication device (5) is adapted according to the reference time (3) requirements of the Communication protocol to the communication device (13) of the blind control (9) to transmit. System according to Claim 6, characterized in that the base station (1) or the relay station (17) comprises a database in which configuration data for at least one shutter control (9) with respect to this shutter control (9) are stored. Method for synchronizing the system time of a blind control (9), characterized in that a first communication device (5) in a communication network transmits a reference time (3) to a second communication device (13) in this communication network, wherein the second communication device (13) is part of Storensteuerung (9) is or is in communication with this, and that the Storensteuerung (9) on receipt of the reference time (3) sets the system time according to the reference time (3).

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