Patents Assigned to Johnson Controls Technology
  • Publication number: 20200278141
    Abstract: A chiller assembly is provided. The chiller assembly includes a compressor (102), a condenser (106), an expansion device and an evaporator (108) connected in a closed refrigerant circuit. The chiller assembly further includes a motor (104) connected to the compressor to power the compressor, and a variable speed drive (110) connected to the motor to power the motor. The variable speed drive is operable to provide a variable voltage to the motor and a variable frequency to power the motor. The variable speed drive includes multiple sensors and an input current estimator that determines an estimated RMS input current based on sensor data received from the sensors. The chiller assembly further includes a control panel to control operation of the variable speed drive.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2018
    Publication date: September 3, 2020
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Ajit W. Kane, Scott V. Slothower
  • Patent number: 10760312
    Abstract: A hinge assembly is provided. The hinge assembly includes a first hinge component and a second hinge component. The first hinge component includes a leaf portion terminating in a first knuckle and a second knuckle. The first knuckle includes a protrusion and the second knuckle includes a recess. The second hinge component is rotatably coupled to the first hinge component and is structurally identical to the first hinge component. The protrusion of the first hinge component is configured to fit within the recess of the second hinge component, and the protrusion of the second hinge component is configured to fit within the recess of the first hinge component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Tim Butler, Victor E. Dodge, Aaron Jerabek, Kirk Henderson, Tai P. Luc, Dave P. DeBoer, Philip L. Bushong, Troy Wert, Debra L. Weich
  • Patent number: 10760809
    Abstract: A building controller for a building that includes a first zone and a second zone. The building controller includes a processing circuit configured to store zone modes for the building. The zone modes include zone activity modes each associated with an occupant activity within the zone and one or more environmental settings. The processing circuit is configured to receive an indication to operate the first zone in a first zone mode of the zone modes and an indication to operate the second zone in a second zone mode of the zone modes. The processing circuit is configured to operate one or more pieces of building equipment based on the first zone mode and operate the one or more pieces of building equipment based on the second zone mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Theresa N. Gillette, Shaun B. Atchison, Jonathan A. Burns
  • Patent number: 10760798
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a single compressor HVAC system with hot gas reheat. The system includes a single compressor, a pair of condensers, a reheat heat exchanger, an evaporator, and an expansion device. Within the system, the refrigerant exiting the compressor is separated into two portions. In the cooling mode, the first and second portions of the refrigerant are directed from the compressor through the two condensers in parallel. In the reheat mode, the first portion of the refrigerant is directed through the first condenser, while the second portion of the refrigerant is directed through the reheat heat exchanger. The system also may include a head pressure control device that is designed to maintain the compressor discharge pressure within a desired range by adjusting the condenser fan speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Norman J. Blanton, Stephen C. Wilson, Stephen B. Pickle
  • Patent number: 10761547
    Abstract: A building HVAC system includes a waterside system and an airside system. The waterside system consumes one or more resources from utility providers to generate a heated and/or chilled fluid. The airside system uses the heated and/or chilled fluid to heat and/or cool a supply airflow provided to the building. A HVAC controller performs an integrated airside/waterside optimization process to simultaneously determine control outputs for both the waterside system and the airside system. The optimization process includes optimizing a predictive cost model that predicts the cost of the resources consumed by the HVAC system, subject to a set of optimization constraints including temperature constraints for the building. The HVAC controller uses the determined control outputs to control the HVAC equipment of the waterside system and the airside system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Michael J. Risbeck, Robert D. Turney, Christos T. Maravelias
  • Patent number: 10761516
    Abstract: A building device for a building management system (BMS) includes a processing circuit configured to receive one or more health messages from one or more other building devices. The processing circuit is configured to update an existing health message stored in a memory of the building device based on the one or more health messages by updating a message list of the existing health message with message list data of the one or more health messages, updating a sick node list of the existing health message based on the updated message list, and updating a sick node matrix of the existing health message based on the updated sick node list and the received one or more health messages. The processing circuit is configured to communicate the updated health message to at least one of the one or more other building devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Sudhi Sinha, Youngchoon Park
  • Publication number: 20200274389
    Abstract: A building management system is communicably connected to an energy blockchain network to reduce energy costs of a building. The system includes an energy load balancer to distribute energy from a plurality of energy suppliers to power a load in the building, a processor, and memory storing instructions that causes the processor to: monitor energy pricing data from each of the energy suppliers; calculate a balanced load payload corresponding to an energy demand forecast for the building according to the energy pricing data from the energy suppliers; generate a smart contract corresponding to the balanced load payload in blocks of the energy blockchain network to procure energy from corresponding ones of the energy suppliers; and generate load balancing instructions for the energy load balancer based on the smart contract. The energy load balancer switches between the corresponding ones of the energy suppliers according to the load balancing instructions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2019
    Publication date: August 27, 2020
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Akib Islam, Amandeep Singh Johar, Ankur Thareja, Sachin Yashwant Pate
  • Publication number: 20200271339
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are related to a system, a method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium for controlling a central plant. In one aspect, the system obtains a control envelope for a device controlled by the controller. The control envelope comprises boundaries of a plurality of control regions in a multidimensional operating space for the device. Each control region is enclosed by a corresponding boundary. The system counts a number of times that a ray of the device crosses the boundary of a control region. The system determines whether an operating point of the device is within the control region based on the counted number. The system operates the device according to a predetermined control technique corresponding to the control region, in response to determining that the operating point of the device is within the control region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2019
    Publication date: August 27, 2020
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Tyler K. Paddock, Nathan Thomas Ostrye, Aron M. Seiler, Christopher R. Amundson
  • Publication number: 20200272114
    Abstract: A building management system (BMS) includes a storage device having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations. The operations include receiving an indication of an event relating to building equipment operable to serve spaces of a building, the indication identifying at least one of a space or a type of equipment associated with the event, determining, based on the indication, that the one or more criteria are satisfied for a first filter of a plurality of filters, each filter of the plurality of filters associated with a subset of users and specifying one or more criteria for satisfying the filter, the one or more criteria comprising at least one of a space criterion or an equipment criterion, and providing a notification of the event to the subset of users associated with the first filter in response to a determination that the one or more criteria are satisfied for the first filter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2020
    Publication date: August 27, 2020
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Adam R. Grabowski, Jonathan M. Schwabe, Charles C. Xing, Ahmad Khalid, Anagha Nyayadhish, Garrett Wiens-Kind, Dana A. Guthrie, Ryan A. Piaskowski, James C. Newell
  • Patent number: 10754623
    Abstract: A building management system includes a programming tool and a target device. The graphical tool includes a user interface generator configured to provide a user interface that allows a user to create a block design comprising a plurality of logical, mathematical, and functional object. The target device includes a block generator configured to receive a text file of the block design, convert the text file into an application block file, and assemble the application block file into a custom application for the target device. The target device further includes a device controller configured to execute the custom application to modify the behavior of the target device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Peter W. Moody, Neil E. Hickox, Canh T. Nguyen, Richard A. Horvet, II
  • Patent number: 10753623
    Abstract: A furnace includes a controller configured to instruct a blower of the furnace to increase an exhaust flowrate of the furnace, instruct a gas regulation device of the furnace to increase a fuel input rate of the furnace, or both in response to a determination that the fuel input rate is below a threshold fuel input rate for a threshold time period. In some embodiments, the controller is configured to instruct the blower to maintain an increased exhaust flowrate for a flame-stabilizing time period the gas regulation device to maintain an increased fuel input rate for the flame-stabilizing time period, or both.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventor: William M. Harris
  • Patent number: 10753663
    Abstract: A vapor compression system that includes a baffle that separates a first condenser and a first fan from a second condenser and a second fan. A controller that switches between first and second modes of operation. In the first mode of operation the controller closes a valve to block a flow of a refrigerant through a first condenser and turns off the first fan. In the second mode of operation the controller opens the valve to enable the flow of the refrigerant through the first condenser and turns on the first fan.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Randall C. Forristall, Vincent E. Ford, Theresa T. Dinh, Tyler S. Riddle, Curtis A. Trammell, Robert C. Haddad, Anthony J. Reardon
  • Publication number: 20200264236
    Abstract: A wireless device includes a battery that stores and discharges energy to power the wireless device, an event detector that detects one of more energy consumption events occurring in the wireless device, an event counter that accumulates a total number of each of the energy consumption events detected by the event detector, an energy database that stores energy data indicating the pre-determined amount of energy consumption associated with each of the energy consumption events, and a wireless radio configured to transmit a message containing the amount of energy remaining in the battery.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2019
    Publication date: August 20, 2020
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventor: Timothy C. Gamroth
  • Patent number: 10746428
    Abstract: A method for dynamic cloud based control of building equipment via a cloud based building management system includes instantiating a sequencer in response to receiving a startup request, receiving, via the cloud based building management system, a sequence package, wherein the sequence package includes configuration information for interfacing the cloud based building management system with the building site, collecting building data from the building equipment of the building site based on the sequence package, causing a control process to execute based on the collected data, and dispatching a command to the building equipment based on a result of the execution of the control process, wherein the command includes a command to control the building equipment to control an environmental condition of the building site.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Andrew J. Przybylski, Jon T. Mueller
  • Patent number: 10747183
    Abstract: A building management system (BMS) including a controller having an adaptive interaction manager and an agent manager. The system further includes one or more input-output (I/O) devices, in communication with the adaptive interaction manager. The controller further including a number of BMS field devices. The I/O devices are configured to receive an input from a user, and further configured to communicate the input to the adaptive interaction manager. The agent manager is configured to determine if one or more existing software agents are capable of performing the desired action, and to automatically transmit the existing software agents to one or more of the BMS field devices based on the agent manager determining the existing software agents are capable of performing the desired action. The software agents are configured to automatically be installed in a processing circuit of the BMS field device to perform the required action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Sudhi Sinha, Daniel M. Curtis, Donald Albinger, Youngchoon Park, Joseph Mueller, Karl Reichenberger
  • Patent number: 10747187
    Abstract: A building management system includes sensors configured to measure a plurality of monitored variables and fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) system configured to identify an operating state associated with the monitored variables. The FDD system includes a communications interface configured to receive samples of the monitored variables from the plurality of sensors. The FDD system includes a direction extractor configured to use locations, in a multidimensional modeling space, of a plurality of stored operating states to extract a direction from each of the stored operating states to each of the other stored operating states. The FDD system includes a fault diagnoser configured to use the extracted directions in a voting-based diagnosis to determine an operating state for each of the samples of the monitored variables.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventor: Carlos Felipe Alcala Perez
  • Patent number: 10747527
    Abstract: A system for performing software updates for building devices of a building includes a thermostat associated with one of multiple zones of the building and a controller. The controller includes a processing circuit configured to store thermostat software in a memory device of the processing circuit, the stored software being software for the thermostat and determine, by communicating with the thermostat, whether thermostat software run on the thermostat is newer or older than the thermostat software stored in the memory device. The processing circuit is configured to update the thermostat software run on the thermostat with the thermostat software stored in the memory device in response to a determination that the thermostat software run on the thermostat is older than the thermostat software stored in the memory device and operate building equipment to control an environmental condition of the building.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Shaun B. Atchison, Theresa N. Gillette, Jonathan A. Burns
  • Publication number: 20200259394
    Abstract: A sealed induction motor for a chiller assembly is provided. The induction motor includes a stator, a rotor, and a shaft with a first end and a second end. The rotor and the shaft are configured to rotate relative to the stator. The induction motor further includes a first magnetic bearing assembly located proximate the first end of the shaft and a second magnetic bearing assembly located proximate the second end of the shaft. The first and the second magnetic bearing assemblies are configured to support the shaft. The shaft is coupled to a centrifugal compressor using a direct drive connection.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2020
    Publication date: August 13, 2020
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Paul W. Snell, Ian Casper, Jeb W. Schreiber, Daniela Bilmanis, Ajit Kane
  • Patent number: 10739741
    Abstract: A method for operating HVAC equipment includes obtaining building data for each of a plurality of time steps. The building data relates to resource usage of HVAC equipment. The method also includes calculating a recursive residual for each of a plurality of overlapping time periods using the building data. Each overlapping time period includes a subset of the plurality of time steps. The method also includes, for each of the plurality of time steps, calculating a metric based on the recursive residuals for overlapping time periods that end on or before the time step and automatically detecting a change in static factors for one or more buildings served by the HVAC equipment by comparing the metrics for the plurality of time steps based on a statistical property of the metrics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Michael J. Wenzel, Mohammad N. EIBsat, Kirk H. Drees
  • Patent number: D894021
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventor: Damon Bryan Smith