Patents by Inventor Kirk H. Drees

Kirk H. Drees has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240312330
    Abstract: A pathogen detection system for a building includes multiple pathogen detectors positioned in the building at different locations. The pathogen detectors are configured to output detection data including a detected presence of a pathogen. The pathogen detection system includes processing circuitry configured to obtain the detection data from the pathogen detectors. The processing circuitry is also configured to determine a responsive action based on the detected presence of the pathogen, and the locations. The responsive action includes a magnitude of effect and a magnitude of locality. The processing circuitry is configured to perform the responsive action or initiate the responsive action.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2022
    Publication date: September 19, 2024
    Inventors: Kirk H. Drees, Jonathan D. Douglas, Bernard P. Clement
  • Publication number: 20240302062
    Abstract: A method for providing filtered air to a zone of a building includes operating an air handler to pass unfiltered air through a filter and output filtered air to the zone of the building. The method includes determining an amount of filtered air provided to the zone of the building by the air handler. The method includes determining if additional air filtration is required to satisfy at least one of a desired amount of clean airflow or a desired reduction of a risk of infection. The method includes activating an in-zone filtration device and operating the in-zone filtration device to draw air from the zone into an inner volume, filter the air, and recirculate the filtered air to the zone of the building in response to determining additional air filtration is required.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2024
    Publication date: September 12, 2024
    Inventors: Jonathan D. Douglas, Kirk H. Drees, Michael J. Risbeck
  • Patent number: 12085900
    Abstract: A system includes a processing circuit configured to provide an energy use setpoint based on energy data including an energy characteristic and subject to a constraint based on a variable condition of a building. The processing circuit is configured to estimate a value for the energy use setpoint that will result in the variable condition of the building satisfying the constraint and provide a control signal for equipment based on a difference between the energy use setpoint and a measured energy use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2024
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Michael J. Wenzel, Kirk H. Drees
  • Patent number: 12078367
    Abstract: A system that modifies an environmental condition of a building zone is provided. The system includes an airside processing circuit and a waterside processing circuit. The airside processing circuit drives a damper actuator to a first setpoint based on an air flow rate setpoint and a first pressure measurement, receives an air flow error signal based on the air flow rate setpoint and a second pressure measurement, determines a setpoint based on the air flow error signal, and drives the damper actuator to the second setpoint. The waterside processing circuit drives a valve actuator to a first setpoint based on a fluid flow rate setpoint and a first flow rate measurement, receives a fluid flow error signal based on the fluid flow rate setpoint and a second flow rate measurement, determines a second setpoint based on the fluid flow error signal, and drives the valve actuator to the second setpoint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2024
    Assignee: Tyco Fire & Security GmbH
    Inventors: Donald R. Albinger, Kirk H. Drees
  • Patent number: 12055309
    Abstract: A freeze protection system for a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system is shown. The freeze protection system includes a temperature sensor positioned at an inlet of a coil within which a liquid is at risk of freezing, and a controller comprising a processor and memory. The memory stores instructions that are executed by the processor. The processor is instructed to obtain a measured temperature of the liquid at the inlet of the coil from the temperature sensor, compare the measured temperature of the liquid at the inlet of the coil with a freeze prevention temperature threshold, engage a freeze prevention action in response to a determination that the measured temperature of the liquid at the inlet of the coil is less than or equal to the freeze prevention temperature threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2024
    Assignee: Tyco Fire & Security GmbH
    Inventors: Kirk H. Drees, Homero L. Noboa, Brennan H. Fentzlaff
  • Patent number: 12044424
    Abstract: A variable air volume (VAV) box includes a fan operable to induce airflow from a building space through the VAV box and discharge the airflow back to the building space, an air cleaning device positioned to clean the airflow through the VAV box before discharging the airflow back to the building space and configured to affect an air quality of the airflow, and a controller configured to operate the fan to modulate the airflow through the VAV box to achieve a target air quality for at least one of the airflow discharged from the VAV box or air within the building space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2024
    Assignee: TYCO FIRE & SECURITY GMBH
    Inventors: Bernard P. Clement, Jonathan D. Douglas, Kirk H. Drees, Clay G. Nesler, Tyler A. Smith, Juliet A. Pagliaro Herman
  • Publication number: 20240219947
    Abstract: A building manager includes a communications interface configured to receive time-of-use information from a smart energy grid and a processing circuit configured to process the time-of-use information received from the smart energy grid to generate load shedding decisions for building subsystems or devices including determining when to utilize energy from energy storage equipment. The processing circuit is configured to determine an amount of greenhouse gas emissions corresponding to the load shedding decisions and convert the amount of greenhouse gas emissions into tradable carbon credits. The processing circuit is configured to generate a graphical user interface including modules indicating the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, the tradable carbon credits, or energy savings resulting from the load shedding decisions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2024
    Publication date: July 4, 2024
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Clay G. Nesler, Kirk H. Drees, James P. Kummer, Derek Supple, Marc D. Andraca, John I. Ruiz, Paul Harrison Rode
  • Patent number: 12007732
    Abstract: A heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for one or more building zones includes airside HVAC equipment that provide air to the one or more building zones and a controller. The controller obtains predictive models to predict values of a first control objective and a second control objective for the one or more building zones as a function of control decision variables for the airside HVAC equipment. The controller performs a Pareto optimization for a time period using the one or more predictive models to determine multiple sets of Pareto optimal values of the control decision variables and corresponding sets of Pareto optimal values of the first control objective and the second control objective for the time period. The controller operates the airside HVAC equipment to provide the air to the one or more building zones in accordance with a selected set of the Pareto optimal values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2024
    Assignee: JOHNSON CONTROLS TYCO IP HOLDINGS LLP
    Inventors: Michael J. Risbeck, Kirk H. Drees, Jonathan D. Douglas
  • Publication number: 20240176319
    Abstract: A controller for heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) equipment operable to affect an environmental condition of a building is configured to obtain predictive models that predict values of an energy control objective and an air quality control objective as a function of control decision variables for the HVAC equipment. The controller executes a multi-objective optimization process using the predictive models to produce multiple sets of optimization results corresponding to different values of the control decision variables, the energy control objective, and the air quality control objective. The controller selects one or more of the sets of optimization results based on the values of the energy control objective and the air quality control objective. The controller operates the HVAC equipment to affect the environmental condition of the building in accordance with the values of the control decision variables corresponding to a selected set of the optimization results.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2024
    Publication date: May 30, 2024
    Inventors: Michael J. Risbeck, Kirk H. Drees, Jonathan D. Douglas
  • Publication number: 20240168503
    Abstract: A building management system (BMS) operates a plurality of HVAC devices to affect a physical state or condition and detects a fault condition at a second HVAC device affected by the physical state or condition and having causal relationships with the plurality of HVAC devices such that faulty operation of one or more of the plurality of HVAC devices causes a detectable effect at the second HVAC device. The BMS identifies, based on the fault condition, a predetermined set of system parameters corresponding to the fault condition and comprising a plurality of system parameters of the plurality of HVAC devices that are potential causes of the fault condition. The BMS retrieves operating data for the predetermined set of system parameters and transmits a signal to display a user interface comprising the operating data on a display screen.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2024
    Publication date: May 23, 2024
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP
    Inventors: Homero L. Noboa, Kirk H. Drees, Vivek V. Gupta, Mark T. Fischbach
  • Publication number: 20240126220
    Abstract: A building system including one or more memory devices configured to store instructions that, when executed on one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to collect building device data of a building device, generate a time correlated data stream for a data point, and generate a time correlated reliability data stream for the data point. The building device data includes a plurality of data samples of the data point. The time correlated data stream includes values of the plurality of data samples of the data point. The time correlated reliability data stream includes a plurality of reliability values time correlated to corresponding values of the plurality of data samples of the data point and indicating reliability of the values of the plurality of data samples of the data point.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2023
    Publication date: April 18, 2024
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP
    Inventors: Kirk H. Drees, Donald R. Albinger, Shawn D. Schubert, Karl F. Reichenberger, Daniel M. Curtis, Andrew J. Boettcher, Jason T. Sawyer, Miguel Galvez, Walter Martin, Ryan A. Piaskowski, Vaidhyanathan Venkiteswaran, Clay G. Nesler, Siddharth Goyal, Thomas M. Seneczko, Young M. Lee, Sudhi R. Sinha
  • Patent number: 11960261
    Abstract: A controller for heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) equipment that is operable to affect an environmental condition of a building is configured to obtain predictive models that predict values of a carbon emissions control objective and another control objective as a function of control decision variables for the HVAC equipment. The controller executes an optimization process using the predictive models to produce sets of optimization results corresponding to different values of the control decision variables, the carbon emissions control objective, and the other control objective. The controller selects from the sets of optimization results based on the values of the carbon emissions control objective and the other control objective. The controller operates the HVAC equipment to affect the environmental condition of the building in accordance with the values of the control decision variables corresponding to a selected set of the optimization results.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: JOHNSON CONTROLS TYCO IP HOLDINGS LLP
    Inventors: Michael J. Risbeck, Kirk H. Drees, Jonathan D. Douglas
  • Patent number: 11927977
    Abstract: A building manager includes a communications interface configured to receive information from a smart energy grid. The building manager further includes an integrated control layer configured to receive inputs from and to provide outputs to a plurality of building subsystems. The integrated control layer includes a plurality of control algorithm modules configured to process the inputs and to determine the outputs. The building manager further includes a fault detection and diagnostics layer configured to use statistical analysis on the inputs received from the integrated control layer to detect and diagnose faults. The building manager yet further includes a demand response layer configured to process the information received from the smart energy grid to determine adjustments to the plurality of control algorithms of the integrated control layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Clay G. Nesler, Kirk H. Drees, James P. Kummer, Derek Supple, Marc D. Andraca, John I. Ruiz, Paul Harrison Rode
  • Patent number: 11927925
    Abstract: A building system including one or more memory devices configured to store instructions that, when executed on one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to collect building device data of a building device, the building device data comprising a plurality of data samples of a data point and generate a time correlated data stream for the data point, the time correlated data stream comprising values of the plurality of data samples of the data point. The instructions cause the one or more processors to generate a time correlated reliability data stream for the data point, the time correlated reliability data stream comprising a plurality of reliability values indicating reliability of the values of the plurality of data samples of the data point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP
    Inventors: Kirk H. Drees, Donald R. Albinger, Shawn D. Schubert, Karl F. Reichenberger, Daniel M. Curtis, Andrew J. Boettcher, Jason T. Sawyer, Miguel Galvez, Walter Martin, Ryan A. Piaskowski, Vaidhyanathan Venkiteswaran, Clay G. Nesler, Siddharth Goyal, Thomas M. Seneczko, Young M. Lee, Sudhi R. Sinha
  • Patent number: 11913655
    Abstract: A building management system (BMS) for filtering a fluid within a building is shown. The system includes one or more sensors configured to measure one or more characteristics of a first fluid within an air duct of the BMS and measure one or more characteristics of a second fluid after the second fluid has been filtered. The system further includes a pollutant management system configured to receive data from the one or more sensors and control a filtration process. The filtration process selects a filter of a plurality of filters based on at least one of a level of the one or more characteristics of the first fluid or the one or more characteristics of the second fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP
    Inventors: Timothy C. Gamroth, Michael J. Wenzel, Mohammad N. ElBsat, David S. Eidson, James Burke, Kirk H. Drees, Thomas M. Seneczko
  • Publication number: 20240061404
    Abstract: A controller for equipment that operate to provide heating or cooling to a building or campus includes a processing circuit configured to obtain utility rate data indicating a price of resources consumed by the equipment to serve energy loads of the building or campus, obtain an objective function that expresses a total monetary cost of operating the equipment over an optimization period as a function of the utility rate data and an amount of the resources consumed by the equipment, determine a relationship between resource consumption and load production of the equipment, optimize the objective function over the optimization subject to a constraint based on the relationship between the resource consumption and the load production of the equipment to determine a distribution of the load production across the equipment, and operate the equipment to achieve the distribution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 15, 2023
    Publication date: February 22, 2024
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Michael J. Wenzel, Robert D. Turney, Kirk H. Drees, Matthew J. Asmus
  • Publication number: 20240053715
    Abstract: An energy storage system for a building includes a battery asset configured to store electricity and discharge the stored electricity for use in satisfying a building electric load. The system includes a planning tool configured to identify one or more selected functionalities of the energy storage system and generate a cost function defining a cost of operating the energy storage system over an optimization period. The cost function includes a term for each of the selected functionalities. The planning tool is configured to generate optimization constraints based on the selected functionalities, attributes of the battery asset, and the electric energy load to be satisfied. The planning tool is configured to optimize the cost function to determine optimal power setpoints for the battery asset at each of a plurality of time steps of the optimization period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2023
    Publication date: February 15, 2024
    Inventors: Mohammad N. Elbsat, Michael J. Wenzel, Kirk H. Drees
  • Publication number: 20240045385
    Abstract: A method for initiating and automatically improving model-driven operations in a low-data scenario includes creating a regression model using pre-operation data prior to initiating the model-driven operations, using the regression model to initiate and perform the model-driven operations during an operational stage, collecting operational data during the operational stage, creating a first artificial neural network model using the operational data, transitioning from using the regression model to perform the model-driven operations to using the first artificial neural network model to perform the model-driven operations responsive to the operational data satisfying a first sufficiency threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2023
    Publication date: February 8, 2024
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP
    Inventor: Kirk H. Drees
  • Publication number: 20240035697
    Abstract: A mobile sensor for a building includes a sensor, and a wireless transceiver. The sensor is configured to measure an indoor air quality parameter in an air sample at a current location of the mobile sensor as the mobile sensor transports through the building. The wireless transceiver is configured to transmit the measurement of the indoor air quality parameter and an indication of the current location of the mobile sensor to a building controller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2021
    Publication date: February 1, 2024
    Applicant: Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP
    Inventors: Jonathan D. Douglas, Kirk H. Drees
  • Patent number: 11885510
    Abstract: A method for providing filtered air to a zone of a building includes operating an air handler to pass unfiltered air through a filter and output filtered air to the zone of the building. The method includes determining an amount of filtered air provided to the zone of the building by the air handler. The method includes determining if additional air filtration is required to satisfy at least one of a desired amount of clean airflow or a desired reduction of a risk of infection. The method includes activating an in-zone filtration device and operating the in-zone filtration device to draw air from the zone into an inner volume, filter the air, and recirculate the filtered air to the zone of the building in response to determining additional air filtration is required.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: JOHNSON CONTROLS TYCO IP HOLDINGS LLP
    Inventors: Jonathan D. Douglas, Kirk H. Drees, Michael J. Risbeck