Patents Assigned to Johnson Controls Technology
  • Patent number: 10949777
    Abstract: An energy cost optimization system for a building includes HVAC equipment configured to operate in the building and a controller. The controller is configure to generate a cost function defining a cost of operating the HVAC equipment over an optimization period as a function of one or more electric loads for the HVAC equipment. The controller is further configured to generate participation hours. The participation hours indicate one or more hours that the HVAC equipment will participate in an economic load demand response (ELDR) program. The controller is further configured to generate an ELDR term based on the participation hours, the ELDR term indicating revenue generated by participating in the ELDR program. The controller is further configured to modify the cost function to include the ELDR term and perform an optimization using the modified cost function to determine an optimal electric load for each hour of the participation hours.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Mohammad N. ElBsat, Michael J. Wenzel
  • Patent number: 10948213
    Abstract: An HVAC system includes HVAC components configured to adjust environmental conditions within a space. A control system is in communication with the HVAC components and is configured to execute in an efficiency operation mode. The efficiency operation mode is configured to receive configuration data related to the space and operational values for the HVAC components, monitor environmental parameters such as outdoor ambient temperature, indoor ambient temperature, and occupancy of the space, monitor an energy usage of the HVAC components based on the current operational values, determine new operational values configured to reduce the energy usage for the HVAC components based on the monitored energy usage and the environmental parameters, and transmit the new operating values to the HVAC components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Shaun B. Atchison, Theresa N. Gillette, John W. Uerkvitz, Jedidiah O. Bentz
  • Patent number: 10948203
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a climate management system having an outdoor coil of a refrigerant circuit, a first indoor coil of the refrigerant circuit, and a second indoor coil of the refrigerant circuit disposed downstream of the first indoor coil with respect to a flow of air directed across the first indoor coil and the second indoor coil. The climate management system is configured to, in a cooling mode, direct refrigerant flow in a first direction through the outdoor coil, direct refrigerant flow through the first indoor coil, and restrict refrigerant flow from the second indoor coil. The climate management system is also configured to, in a heating mode, direct refrigerant flow in a second direction through the outdoor coil, direct refrigerant flow through the second indoor coil, and restrict refrigerant flow from the first indoor coil. The second direction is opposite the first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventor: Norman J. Blanton
  • Patent number: 10948214
    Abstract: An HVAC system for a building includes an airside economizer, a plurality of sensors, and a controller. The airside economizer includes a first air intake configured to receive return air from within a building, a second air intake configured to receive outdoor air from outside the building, and an air discharge configured to provide discharge air to the building.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Soumyadeep Ray, Milan Mitra, Sayan Chakraborty, Anjani Kumari
  • Publication number: 20210072742
    Abstract: A method for performing model predictive maintenance (MPM) of building equipment includes obtaining a first objective function that defines a cost of operating the building equipment and at least one of replacing the building equipment or performing maintenance on the building equipment as a function of operating decisions and at least one of replacement decisions or maintenance decisions for the building equipment for multiple short-term time steps within a short-term horizon. The method also includes performing a first optimization of the first objective function to generate a short-term maintenance and replacement schedule for the building equipment over a duration of the short-term horizon. The method also includes using a result of the first optimization to perform a second optimization of a second objective function to generate a long-term maintenance and replacement schedule for the building equipment over a duration of a long-term horizon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2020
    Publication date: March 11, 2021
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Yaqing WU, Mohammad N. ELBSAT, Michael J. WENZEL, Christos T. MARAVELIAS
  • Publication number: 20210072709
    Abstract: A building system includes one or more storage devices having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to receive an unstructured user question from a user device of a user and query a graph database based on the unstructured user question to extract context associated with the unstructured user question from contextual information of a building stored by the graph database, wherein the graph database stores the contextual information of the building through nodes and edges between the nodes, wherein the nodes represent equipment, spaces, people, and events associated building and the edges represent relationships between the equipment, spaces, people, and events. The instructions further cause the one or more processors to retrieve data from one or more data sources based on the context and compose a presentation based on the retrieved data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2020
    Publication date: March 11, 2021
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: George R. Oliver, Justin J. Ploegert, Karl F. Reichenberger, Sudhi R. Sinha, Sujith Ebenezer, Youngchoon Park
  • Patent number: 10941951
    Abstract: A residential HVAC system includes, a compressor, and an outdoor unit controller in communication with the compressor. The outdoor unit controller is configured to receive an indoor ambient temperature and a temperature set point. The outdoor unit controller is further configured to determine an outdoor ambient temperature, and to determine an operating value for the compressor based on a percentage of a delta between a minimum operating value of the compressor and a maximum operating value of the compressor, plus the minimum operating value. The minimum operating value and the maximum operating value are based on the determined outdoor ambient temperature. The percentage of the delta is based on a predefined temperature differential multiplier and one or more time dependent multipliers. The outdoor unit controller is further configured to modify the current operating value of the compressor with the determined operating value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Shawn A. Hern, Brian D. Rigg, Tom R. Tasker, Jedidiah O. Bentz, Theresa N. Gillette, Shaun B. Atchison, Tyler McCune, Aneek M. Noor, Cody J. Kaiser, Daniel S. Middleton
  • Patent number: 10941961
    Abstract: A fluid handling system includes an ultrasonic transducer configured to atomize fluid condensate generated by the fluid handling system into atomized fluid particles. The fluid handling system also includes a solid desiccant configured to absorb the atomized fluid particles. The fluid handling system also includes a fluid conduit extending through or against the solid desiccant such that the solid desiccant is configured to cool a heat exchange fluid passing along the fluid conduit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventor: Nicholas P. Mislak
  • Patent number: 10941967
    Abstract: A system for reducing the refrigerant pressure in an oil sump or in a cavity of a housing. The invention is particularly useful for reducing pressure in a compressor for heat pump applications that has been validated for water chiller operations or in turbine and generator systems in ORC systems generating electricity using refrigerant, the ORC systems essentially being a heat pump application operating in reverse. An auxiliary compressor, an auxiliary condenser or an ejector pump may be used to reduce pressure in the oil sump, to separate refrigerant from oil. The auxiliary compressor, the auxiliary condenser or the ejector pump may also be used to reduce the pressure of refrigerant in the housing of a compressor in heat pump applications at temperatures and pressures at which the compressor was validated for water chiller applications and of the turbine and generator in ORC applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Paul Marie De Larminat, Damien Jean Daniel Arnou
  • Publication number: 20210062549
    Abstract: A housing includes an upper housing member, a lower housing member, a first interlocking member, and a second interlocking member. The first interlocking member includes an engagement portion, and a first interlocking portion. The engagement portion is at a proximate end and is configured to engage a corresponding contact surface of the upper housing member. The first interlocking portion is at a distal end. The second member extends from the lower housing member into an inner volume of the upper housing member. The second interlocking member includes an opening and a second interlocking portion. The opening is positioned between a proximate end and a distal end of the second interlocking member. The window is configured to at least partially receive the first interlocking portion of the first interlocking member. The second interlocking portion is configured to engage a corresponding engagement portion of the upper housing member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 26, 2019
    Publication date: March 4, 2021
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Daulat Dattatray Shelke, Wesley Irek, Sriganesh Thangavel Chandrasekaran, Mayuresh Yashodhan Sapre, Lakhan Shivaji Doke
  • Publication number: 20210063976
    Abstract: A system controlling equipment to serve energy loads of a building includes a cost function generator configured to obtain a cost function of decision variables representing an amount of resources consumed or produced by the equipment, an optimizer configured to perform a first optimization of the cost function subject to a first set of constraints defining first values of constraint variables to generate a first result defining first values of decision variables, a constraint modifier configured determine a cost gradient, recommend changes to constraint variables, and modify constraint variables to modified values in response to changes. The optimizer is configured to perform an optimization of the cost function subject to a second set of constraints to generate a second optimization result defining second values of the decision variables. The system includes a controller that operates equipment to consume or produce resources defined by second values of the decision variables.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2019
    Publication date: March 4, 2021
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: John H. Burroughs, Andrew J. Przybylski, Michael J. Wenzel
  • Patent number: 10935454
    Abstract: A refrigerant leak management system of a HVAC unit includes a sensor configured to detect a refrigerant in an interior of an air handling enclosure. The refrigerant leak management system includes a plurality of airflow management assemblies configured to fluidly isolate the interior of the air handling enclosure in a closed configuration. The plurality of airflow management assemblies includes a return inlet assembly, a supply outlet assembly, and a purge exhaust outlet assembly. The refrigerant leak management system includes a controller configured to actuate the purge exhaust outlet assembly based on detection of the refrigerant by the sensor such that the purge exhaust outlet assembly transitions from a closed position of the purge exhaust outlet assembly to an open position of the purge exhaust outlet assembly that opens the interior of the air handling enclosure to an external environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventor: Douglas A. Kester
  • Patent number: 10935940
    Abstract: A building management system is provided. The building management system includes a database, a trust region identifier configured to perform a cluster analysis technique to identify trust regions, and a regression model predictor configured to utilize a regression model technique to calculate a regression model prediction. The building management system further includes a distance metric calculator configured to calculate a distance metric, an artificial neural network model predictor configured to utilize an artificial neural network model technique to calculate an artificial neural network model prediction, and a combined prediction calculator configured to determine a combined prediction based on the distance metric, the regression model prediction, and the artificial neural network model prediction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventor: Kirk H. Drees
  • Patent number: 10935998
    Abstract: A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system includes a plurality of sensors including a first sensor configured to measure an outside air temperature of outside air, a second sensor configured to measure a return air temperature of return air, and a third sensor configured to measure a mixed air temperature of mixed air. The system also includes a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of sensors. The controller is configured to determine that data from one of the plurality of sensors is unavailable and estimate the data from the one of the plurality of sensors based on data from other sensors of the plurality of sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Aron M. Seiler, Chandra S. Yelamanchili, Nathan T. Ostrye
  • Patent number: 10935263
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system that has a first circuit and a second circuit that each have a compressor and a condenser, a conduit extending from the second circuit downstream of the condenser to the first circuit upstream of the compressor, a valve along the conduit that may manage flow therethrough, and a controller that may operate the HVAC system in a first mode such that each circuit separately circulates the refrigerant in each circuit and transition to a second mode such that refrigerant-sharing occurs between the circuits. In response to a request to transition from the second mode to the first mode, the controller may determine an amount of refrigerant subcooling, compare the amount to a threshold value associated with the first mode, and instruct opening of the valve upon a determination that the amount is less than the threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Baskaran K, Karan Garg, Curtis W. Caskey, Norman J. Blanton, Anthony J. Reardon, Zhiwei Huang
  • Publication number: 20210055702
    Abstract: A method for operating equipment according to sequence of operation using geometric models including obtaining a first geometric model for a first set of equipment and a second geometric model for a second set of equipment, the first set of equipment and the second set of equipment defined by the sequence of operation for the equipment, locating, on the first geometric model, a first nearest operating point based on a desired operating point, generating a first modified geometric model by removing one or more operating points that do not satisfy the first nearest operating point, generating a merged geometric model by merging the first modified geometric model with the second geometric model, locating a second nearest operating point based on a modified desired operating point, and operating the equipment in accordance with the first nearest operating point and the second nearest operating point.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 22, 2019
    Publication date: February 25, 2021
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Andrew J. Przybylski, Michael J. Wenzel, John H. Burroughs
  • Publication number: 20210055698
    Abstract: A method for operating a subplant included in a central plant includes obtaining instruction-based equipment models associated with devices included in the subplant and comprises operating points that define an operation of the devices, generating, for each instruction-based equipment models, a geometric equipment model using the operating points from a particular instruction-based equipment model, the geometric equipment model defining at least one operating domain associated with the particular device, merging geometric equipment models to form a geometric subplant model, the geometric subplant model defining an operation of the subplant comprising devices associated with the geometric equipment models, receiving a desired operating point comprising a load value, determining, relative to the desired operating point, a nearest operating point on the geometric subplant model, setting the nearest operating point on the geometric subplant model as an actual operating point, and operating the subplant at the act
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 23, 2019
    Publication date: February 25, 2021
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Andrew J. Przybylski, John H. Burroughs, Michael J. Wenzel
  • Publication number: 20210055701
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are related to a system, a method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium for operating an energy plant. In one aspect, the system generates a regression model of a produced thermal energy load produced by a supply device of the plurality of devices. The system predicts the produced thermal energy load produced by the supply device for a first time period based on the regression model. The system determines a heat capacity of gas or liquid in the loop based on the predicted produced thermal energy load. The system generates a model of mass storage based on the heat capacity. The system predicts an induced thermal energy load during a second time period at a consuming device of the plurality of devices based on the model of the mass storage. The system operates the energy plant according to the predicted induced thermal energy load.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2020
    Publication date: February 25, 2021
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Mohammad N. ELBSAT, Michael J. WENZEL, Graeme WILLMOTT, Matthew J. ASMUS
  • Publication number: 20210055016
    Abstract: A building control system includes one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions. When executed by the one or more processors, the instructions cause the one or more processors to perform operations including using an artificial intelligence model to adjust a threshold value of a constraint based on user input provided via one or more user devices during a first time period. The user input indicates user satisfaction with an environmental condition of a building space during the first time period. The operations include using the threshold value of the constraint to operate equipment that affect the environmental condition of the building space during a second time period subsequent to the first time period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2020
    Publication date: February 25, 2021
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventor: Robert D. Turney
  • Patent number: 10928089
    Abstract: A system for controlling temperature of a building space includes HVAC equipment configured to serve the building space, a plurality of sensors configured to measure a plurality of parameters relating to the building space, and a control system. The control system is configured to receive data from the plurality of sensors, generate a plurality of disturbance heat flow estimates for the building space based on the data from the plurality of sensors, determine a feedforward heat flow contribution based on the disturbance heat flow estimates, determine a feedback heat flow contribution based on a measured temperature of the building space and a temperature setpoint for the building space, combine the feedforward heat flow contribution and the feedback heat flow contribution to determine a rate of heat flow to be provided to the building space by the HVAC equipment, and control the HVAC equipment to provide the rate of heat flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Timothy C. Gamroth, Craig E. Trivelpiece, Joseph Piccolo, III, Kirk H. Drees