EP3217765B1 - Simplified commissioning concept for controlling actuators of an installation in a building - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to an arrangement comprising a control unit and a control unit for controlling at least one actuator which can be brought into different actuator positions in a building installation.

Luminaire or light source arrangements are in many cases part of a networked building installation. These actuators are connected to a building installation bus and are controlled via this using a light control program, such as DMX, DALI or LEDTRIX. In this way, it is possible to control individual luminaires or also light walls or luminous ceilings which have a multiplicity of individual light sources, typically RGB LEDs. In this way, large-format displays can be realized.

The commissioning of such a system to be controlled with the lights and / or light walls and / or ceilings, is complicated and can only be made by specially trained personnel. A set-up and commissioning software, it is necessary to program all the lights to be controlled or even individual light sources with respect to their control, for example, their integration into a light scene. This includes an appropriate addressing. Such a device opens up the possibility, for example, to individually program, for example, light scenes. Such a user-created or for a user individually programmed light scene is then placed on an actuation sensor as part of the installation, so that the light scene can be started and stopped over this. In this way, it is also possible to provide a plurality of light scenes, which are then assigned to different actuation sensors, which may well be combined in a control panel.

As an example of this is WO 2013/132416 A1 to call. This describes the setup of controls that control a home installation can, by means of a mobile terminal. It is the goal of this device to assign the arranged on the control panel operating sensors a specific Aktorstellung. Thus, it should be possible that, for example, a button on a control panel, a specific light scene can be assigned. When the manual button on the control panel is pressed, the respective action is then carried out.

Although this concept can be used to create, store, and then trigger a variety of different light scenes or lighting scenarios, the programming effort and knowledge of the system and light sources required to achieve satisfactory results is required. An inexperienced user can not make or modify such an installation.

In addition, the reveals DE 20 2014 104 933 U1 a process whereby communication can take place on the one hand through certified protocols and on the other hand through uncertified protocols. In addition, the data volume on the lines should be reduced. This is achieved by using a base as a translator. The keypads send uncertified signals to this base, whereupon the base uses a certified protocol to trigger the individual actuators.

This is where the invention, with the task of proposing an arrangement for the control of such actuators in a building installation, in particular, the commissioning can be made easily user side and selected in principle the required hardware at least in part on the user side and can be put together.

• bei dem in dem Steuergerät in Abhängigkeit von der Art des oder der anzusteuernden Aktoren mehrere vorgegebene Bedienprofile je Aktor gespeichert sind, wobei sich die Bedienprofile bezüglich in einem Bedienprofil zusammengefasster Einzelfunktionen unterscheiden und wobei die einem Bedienprofil zugeordneten Einzelfunktionen aus einer mögliche Aktoransteuerungen enthaltenen Funktionsdatenbank entnommen oder aus mehreren dieser Funktionen zusammengesetzt sind,
• bei dem jede Einzelfunktion in einem Bedienprofil zu dessen Auslösung einem manuell betätigbaren Betätigungssensor zugeordnet wird, und
• bei dem nach Anmelden des Bedienteils an dem Steuergerät während der Inbetriebnahme über eine Auswahlroutine einer bedienteilseitigen Applikation zunächst aus den für eine aktuelle Anwendung zur Verfügung stehenden Bedienprofilen eines ausgewählt wird und bei dem anschließend die bedienteilseitige Betätigungssensoren mit der jeweiligen, für diesen Betätigungssensor zugeordneten Einzelfunktion belegt werden, so dass dann die Einzelfunktionen des Bedienprofils durch Betätigen des der jeweiligen Einzelfunktion zugeordneten Betätigungssensors ausgelöst werden kann.

This object is achieved according to the invention by an arrangement of the type mentioned,

• in which several predetermined operating profiles per actuator are stored in the control unit depending on the type of or the actuators to be controlled, wherein the operating profiles differ with respect to combined in a control profile individual functions and wherein the one operating profile assigned Individual functions are taken from a functional database contained in a possible actuator control or are composed of several of these functions,
• in which each individual function is assigned in a control profile for triggering a manually operable actuation sensor, and
• in which, after the keypad has been registered to the control unit during startup via a selection routine of an operating-side application, first of all the operating profiles available for a current application are selected and the operating unit-side actuation sensors are then assigned the respective individual function assigned to this actuation sensor , so that then the individual functions of the operating profile can be triggered by pressing the respective individual function associated with the actuation sensor.

In this arrangement, the control unit, which is required for the control of the actuators, already provided with several predetermined operating profiles as templates. These operating profiles are profiles in which certain individual functions relating to activation of the actuator (s) are combined. The operating profiles differ with regard to the individual functions combined in each case, wherein these can differ from one another with regard to their composition and also in their number in the individual operating profiles. In this respect, the user immediately has a certain functionality available. Setup measures by trained personnel are then not needed.

The individual functions in such an operating profile are also each associated with an actuation sensor, for example a pushbutton. However, the actuation sensors are not in or on the control unit, but are outsourced to an external control unit with respect to the control unit. This concept allows a variety of operating parts for operating the individual functions of one and the same operating profile, since the Betätigungssensorzuordnung already control unit side is made. If, for example, eight individual functions are combined in an operating profile, each individual function being assigned to an actuation sensor, eight actuation sensors corresponding to the predetermined occupancy in the operating profile are assigned to the individual functions on the servicing part. The design of the actuation sensors as well as their number depends on the design of the control panel or its possibilities. In many cases, the control panel will be one with a touch-sensitive display, be it a fixed control panel or a mobile control panel, such as a smartphone, a tablet PC, or the like. In the latter case, graphic support and the graphic possibilities of such operating parts are used in order to display the actuation sensors in the manner of buttons on the touch-sensitive display. This may of course also be wiper sensors, which are shown on the display. Thus, the interface between such a control panel and the controller is not only kept simple, but preconfigured. Likewise, neither addressing of such a control panel nor addressing of the actuators to be addressed is required.

As a rule, several operating profiles are offered for selection with a first commissioning of a control panel. The number is typically small, for example, with three operating profiles. A larger selection is quite possible. However, the number of profiles to be formed should not be confusing for a user. It is sufficient if a few basic operating profiles are offered to a user for selection. These differ with regard to the individual functions combined in each profile. For example, it may be provided to provide only a few individual functions with a first operating profile, such as, for example, the switching on and off of a lighting device as an exemplary actuator and dimming thereof. In a second operating profile, for example, two additional individual functions can be implemented in addition to the aforementioned individual functions, such as two light scenes. In a third operating profile further individual functions may be implemented, such as influencing the light color by influencing corresponding channels, when it comes to the lighting to a Tunablewhite light source or driven RGB light sources.

The individual functions are selected from a function database available on the ECU side. The individual functions can be composed of one or more functions of the function database. This measure, which can otherwise only be performed by trained personnel, is thus predetermined in this concept, at least to the extent of the individual functions combined in an operating profile. This does not rule out that further individual functions can be defined via an appropriate access and implemented in an existing operating profile or that other operating profiles are created in a conventional manner.

The above-described arrangement is described above with reference to a lighting device as an exemplary actuator. This can also be transferred to actuators of other building installations, such as a blind control. It makes sense to have such control in such building installations in which the actuators, so for example, the lighting or a blind can be brought into different control positions.

If a user has selected his operating profile, the individual functionalities combined in this operating profile are immediately ready for operation without having to make any further setup. Control unit side only such operating profiles are proposed to a user during commissioning, which can actually be controlled by the controller and are actually available as a building installation. In this respect, a selection of operating profiles offered during commissioning already takes place on the control device side as a function of the activatable actuators. In one embodiment, this is made possible by the fact that the control unit has a plurality of free slots. The free slots are populated with actuator-specific hardware modules, each hardware module is designed to control a specific actuators, such as a lighting device on a specific fieldbus. The slots are encoded with respect to the hardware modules to be plugged therein. Depending on which slot is equipped with a hardware module, the control unit side detects which actuator is to be controlled. If the building installation to be activated is, for example, a lighting device, this preselection can be made as a function of the placement of the slot and the actuator system that is thus announced by the control unit, which type of lights or light sources are to be controlled. If, for example, a tunable-white illumination device is connected to the control device, only those which have a reference to a tunable-white illumination device are proposed as operating profiles. Accordingly, no operating profiles are offered which include as an individual function influencing RGB channels. The same applies to an RGB illumination device and also to an RGBW illumination device.

In this arrangement, it is provided in a preferred embodiment that, after a first start-up, to which the selection of the desired operating profile counts, the operating profile selection is skipped during subsequent calls to the operating application on the operating unit and an operation of the operating sensor or sensors is possible directly. Typically, you will interpret the operation of the control panel so that a recourse to the then initially skipped control profile selection is possible. Finally, it may be desired on the user side to want to change one operating profile for another.

It is quite possible that influence can be exerted on the control unit by several control units and that different operating profiles have been selected in different control units.

The invention is described below with reference to an embodiment with reference to the accompanying figure. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram in the manner of a simplified flow chart to illustrate the inventive arrangement for simplified startup and operation of a building installation. The following example is described with reference to a lighting device. The controller is a sequencer. The sequencer is equipped with a basic functionality and has several free slots into which a hardware module is to be plugged depending on the actuator to be controlled. In the illustrated embodiment, the control unit is designed in principle to carry out a control of a tunable-white illumination device, an RGB illumination device and / or an RGBW illumination device. In the present case, a fieldbus module for controlling an RGB illumination device is plugged into one of these free slots. For this reason is in the column "control unit" in FIG. 1 This actuator has been highlighted.

In the control unit several operating profiles are stored for each of the actuators to be controlled. In this embodiment, three operating profiles are stored under the RGB control, namely a standard operating profile, a universal operating profile and an Eco operating profile. In the illustrated embodiment, the further actuators to be actuated have the same operating profiles. Each operating profile is equipped with a different number of individual functions. By way of example, the operating profile "universal" is shown in the figure. In this embodiment, the operating profile "universal" includes the functions on / off, symbolized by I / O, a dimming function D and two predetermined light scenes LZ1, LZ2. Each of these individual functions is in the operating profile "Universal" an operating sensor, shown in the figure by way of example as virtual buttons assigned. Thus, the individual function I / O lies on the operating sensor B1, the dimming function on the operating sensor B2, the light scene LZ1 on the operating sensor B3 and the light scene LZ2 on the operating sensor B4. This button assignment is transmitted to the control panel or its actuation sensors when selecting this operating profile. Each individual function is taken from a function database or composed of individual functions of the function database. The function database contains the total number of options for influencing the actuators to be activated. In the case of conventional methods, this function database is used directly to create light scenes or to define other functionalities. In the described concept, this is also possible, but a user in the exemplary selection of the operating profile "universal" the default four Individual functions provided, which are directly usable by the user.

A control of the control unit is made in the illustrated embodiment with a mobile control panel, typically a smartphone or a tablet PC. For this purpose, the control panel has a corresponding user routine (application). After registering the keypad on the control unit for which log-on can be accessed using conventional log-on procedures, the display of the keypad displays the three possible operating profiles "Standard" "Universal" and "Eco". That these operating profiles relate to a control of RGB light sources, as already described, already predetermine the control unit side. It is quite possible, on the control side, to control the actuators to be activated, here: RGB light sources, on the display of the control panel. A preselection is not required in this embodiment, since in the control unit only that slot is equipped with a hardware module, can be controlled by the RGB light sources.

If a plurality of slots in the control unit are equipped with corresponding hardware modules, that actuator is displayed with the start of the application in front of the display shown in the figure for selecting an operating profile, which can be operated via the control unit. If, in addition to an RGB lighting device, a tunable-white illumination device (TW illumination device) can also be controlled via the control device, for example, a selection between these two illumination devices would be displayed on the display of the control unit. After selecting the actuators to be controlled, the operating profiles stored in the control unit for the selected actuators would then be displayed.

In the embodiment shown in the figure, the user selects the operating profile "Universal". From the control unit, the control panel then receives the predetermined actuation sensor occupancy. Therefore, after selecting the operating profile, here: the operating profile "Universal", on the display of the control panel, a display with four actuation sensors shown as a button with the control unit side appears deposited occupancy. Typically, the actuation sensors displayed on the display of the control panel are characterized in terms of their function to be actuated, letter abbreviations having been used in the figure for this purpose. The individual functions placed on the actuation sensors can now be operated by the user.

Typically, the service-part-side user routine is terminated after such a startup and a possible first actuator control. If this application is called again, the operator profile selection step is skipped so that the operator display appears immediately.

In order to change a selected operating profile, for example, to change from the operating profile "Universal" on the operating profile "standard", since this includes a larger number of individual functions, is provided in the described embodiment that for jumping back into the selection mode, the operating sensors E / A and LZ2 must be pressed simultaneously for about two seconds. This jumps the application into the selection menu. The steps already taken up follow.

Claims (10)

1. System comprising a control unit and an operating unit to control at least one actuator in a building installation which can be set into different actuator settings, by which operating unit the at least one actuator can be controlled and which operating unit serves to operate the control unit, characterized by the fact that

   - in the control unit, depending on the type of actuator or actuators to be controlled, several preset operating profiles per actuator are stored as available operating profiles, wherein the operating profiles differ with regard to the individual functions combined in one operating profile and wherein the individual functions assigned to one operating profile are taken out of a function database containing possible actuator controls or are composed of several of these functions,

   - the system is set up in a way that in the control unit, in order to trigger the operating profile, each individual function in an operating profile is assigned to one manually operable operating sensor, and

   - the system is set up in a way that after logging on the operating unit to the control unit during commissioning via a selection routine of an application on the side of the operating unit, at first one profile out of the operating profiles available for the current application is selected, and that afterwards the relevant assigned individual function is assigned to the operating sensors on the side of the operating unit, so that in the following the individual functions of the operating profile can be released by actuating the operating sensor assigned to the relevant individual function.
2. System in accordance with Claim 1, characterized by the fact that the system is set up to store a selected operating profile as presetting on the side of the operating unit, so that with implementation of the application on the side of the operating unit following a first selection of operating profiles, an operation of the operating sensor or sensors is possible immediately.
3. System in accordance with Claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that the operating unit has got a touch display and the operating sensors are displayed graphically after selection of the operating profile.
4. System in accordance with Claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that the operating unit has got several physical keys as operating sensors.
5. System in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 4, characterized by the fact that the operating unit is designed as wall sensor and is connected to the control unit via cable.
6. System in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 4, characterized by the fact that the operating unit is connected to the control unit via radio communication if the operating unit shall have an effect on the control unit.
7. System in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 6, characterized by the fact that by means of the control unit light sources or light source modules are controlled as actuators, especially those of a luminous ceiling or wall.
8. System in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 7, characterized by the fact that a pre-selection of the individual functions combined in one operating profile depends on a hardware control assembly of the control unit.
9. System in accordance with Claim 8, characterized by the fact that the control unit, in addition to a main printed circuit board, has got several slots for connection of different modules, and that the slots are coded for connection of one further module each in cooperation with the module to be placed in a certain slot, so that only one predefined module can be placed in the relevant slot.
10. System in accordance with Claim 8 or 9, characterized by the fact that the module to be placed in such a slot is a field bus module in the shape of a plug-in printed circuit board.

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