阅读说明：本技术 楼宇自动化系统中的故障检测和诊断规则的配置 (Configuration of fault detection and diagnostic rules in a building automation system ) 是由 詹姆斯·马雷斯科 于 2018-06-01 设计创作，主要内容包括：用于楼宇自动化系统(BAS)的配置的装置和方法,其中：经由图形用户界面(900)选择(1502)项目的值类别,诸如“能量”；然后经由图形用户界面(1102)选择(1504)BAS中存在的装备；响应于值类别和装备的选择,根据BAS的数据库中包含的数据生成(500、1506)点映射；经由图形用户界面(1300)选择(1508)项目规则,其中响应于为项目所选择的值类别和装备来呈现多个项目规则；可检查和选择(1510)适用于与项目规则相关联的一件装备的装备规则(1510)；然后检查所选择的规则和装备是否准备就绪(1512)；如果点或映射被识别为丢失(1512),则需要定义它们以使规则正常作用(1506-1510),否则可定义(5014)并实现配置文件。规则是预定义的,从规则目录中访问。规则目录可位于云服务器(132)或处理器控制的设备(102)上。(Apparatus and method for configuration of a Building Automation System (BAS), wherein: selecting (1502) a value category for the item, such as "energy", via a graphical user interface (900); then selecting (1504) equipment present in the BAS via the graphical user interface (1102); generating (500, 1506) a point map from data contained in a database of the BAS in response to the selection of the value category and the equipment; selecting (1508) a project rule via the graphical user interface (1300), wherein the plurality of project rules are presented in response to the value categories and equipment selected for the project; equipment rules (1510) applicable to a piece of equipment associated with the project rule may be checked and selected (1510); then checks if the selected rules and equipment are ready (1512); if the points or mappings are identified as missing (1512), they need to be defined so that the rules function properly (1506-. The rules are predefined and accessed from a rule directory. The rule directory may be located on a cloud server (132) or on a processor-controlled device (102).)

1. A method for configuring fault detection and diagnostic rules in a Building Automation System (BAS), comprising:

selecting a value category;

selecting equipment present in the BAS;

generating, by a processor, a point map from data contained in a database of the BAS in response to the selection of the value category and the equipment;

identifying an item rule in response to the selection of the value category and the equipment;

displaying a list of the item rules on a display coupled to the processor in response to the value categories and the equipment; and

selecting at least one executable project rule from the list of project rules, wherein the project rule is associated with at least a subset of a plurality of points generated in the point map associated with the equipment.

2. The method for configuring fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS of claim 1, displaying further comprising displaying each project rule associated with the list of points required to execute the project rule on the display coupled to the processor; and displaying an availability indicator for each of the plurality of points identified as being present in the point map.

3. The method for configuring fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS of claim 1, wherein selecting a value category further comprises selecting the value category from a list comprising energy and finance.

4. The method for configuring fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS of claim 1, wherein selecting an equipment further comprises accessing a database of the BAS to provide the selected equipment.

5. The method for configuring fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS of claim 4, comprising copying an original database from the BAS to a database.

6. The method for configuring fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS of claim 1, including verifying that the point map includes all points and equipment required for the project rules.

7. The method for configuring fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS of claim 6, further comprising modifying the point map in response to verifying that the point map contains all points and equipment required for the project rule.

8. The method for configuring fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS of claim 1, further comprising generating a list of item rules from a set of item rules residing in a remote server.

9. An apparatus to configure fault detection and diagnostic rules in a Building Automation System (BAS), comprising:

a graphical user interface displayed by a processor on a display associated with a processor-controlled device, the graphical user interface allowing selection of a value category and an equipment, wherein the equipment is present in the BAS;

a point map generated by the processor from data contained in a database of the BAS in response to the selection of the value category and equipment;

a list of project rules displayed on the display screen in response to the value categories and equipment selections; and

at least one executable item rule selected from the list of item rules, wherein the at least one executable item rule is associated with at least a subset of a plurality of points generated in the point map associated with the equipment.

10. The apparatus to configure fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS of claim 9, comprising: a list of points required to execute the project rule associated with each project rule on the display coupled to the processor; and an availability indicator for each of the plurality of points identified as being present in the point map also displayed on the display.

11. The apparatus to configure fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS of claim 9, wherein the selection of a value category further comprises: a list of value categories including energy and finance.

12. The apparatus to configure fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS of claim 9, wherein the equipment selection further comprises equipment in the database of the BAS.

13. The apparatus to configure fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS of claim 12, wherein an original database from the BAS is copied to a database.

14. The apparatus to configure fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS of claim 9, wherein points and equipment needed by the project rules are verified to exist in the point map.

15. The apparatus to configure fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS of claim 14, further comprising: missing points added to the point map in response to verification of the point map include all points and equipment required by the project rules to identify the missing points.

16. The apparatus to configure fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS of claim 9, further comprising: a set of project rules from which the rule list is generated, wherein the set of project rules resides in a remote server.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having a plurality of instructions that when executed implement a method for discovering a configuration of fault detection and diagnostic rules in a Building Automation System (BAS), comprising:

selecting a value category;

selecting equipment present in the BAS;

generating, by a processor, a point map from data contained in a database of the BAS in response to the selection of the value category and the equipment;

identifying a project rule in response to selection of the value category and the equipment;

displaying, in response to the value category and the equipment, a list of the item rules on a display coupled to the processor; and

selecting at least one executable project rule from the list of project rules, wherein the project rule is associated with at least a subset of a plurality of points generated in the point map associated with the equipment.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 having a plurality of instructions that when executed implement a method for discovering a configuration of fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS, wherein displaying further comprises displaying each project rule associated with a list of the plurality of points needed to execute the project rule on the display coupled to the processor; and displaying an availability indicator for each of the plurality of points identified as being present in the point map.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 having a plurality of instructions that when executed perform a method for discovering a configuration of fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS, wherein selecting a value category further comprises selecting the value category from a list comprising energy and finance.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 having a plurality of instructions that when executed implement a method for discovering a configuration of fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS, wherein selecting equipment further comprises accessing a database of the BAS to provide the selected equipment.

21. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 20 having a plurality of instructions that when executed implement a method for discovering a configuration of fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS, comprising copying an original database from the BAS to a database.

22. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 having a plurality of instructions that when executed implement a method for discovering a configuration of fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS, including verifying that the point map contains all points and equipment needed for the project rules.

23. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 22 having a plurality of instructions that when executed perform a method for discovering a configuration of fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS, further comprising modifying the point map in response to identifying all points and equipment needed for the point map to contain the project rules.

24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 having a plurality of instructions that when executed perform a method for discovering a configuration of fault detection and diagnostic rules in the BAS, further comprising generating the list of project rules from a set of project rules residing in a remote server.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to building automation systems and more particularly to configuration of fault detection and diagnostic rules.

Background

Most modern buildings are built with security systems, emergency systems, Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, all of which have many sensors, fans, values and actuators. These systems are often collectively referred to as a Building Automation System (BAS). Many of these devices are controlled by microcontrollers or microprocessors located in the field panels. The programming of each panel is typically unique based on the different devices coupled to the panel. Initial configuration of the BAS can take hours to layout, develop programming for panels and other programmable devices, program devices, adjust devices, and test devices and programs. The configuration of the BAS is typically stored in a database accessible to the BAS. Over time, additional changes and modifications may be made to the BAS and its corresponding database. These changes and modifications typically occur with different naming conventions and descriptions, resulting in similar devices in the BAS using different naming conventions for equipment and data points in the BAS. Thus, in some BAS, the naming convention is not strictly defined and enforced, allowing strings to be used as tags (referred to as "weak naming").

Typically, different types of tools, such as fault detection tools and performance analysis tools, require a subset of solution points (physical and logical elements of the BAS) and hardware subsystems in the BAS to be identified. Furthermore, information about the function and meaning of the points and associated metadata is typically required to give the meaning of the system analysis, and such information is typically not embedded in a traditional BAS. Identification of such subsets is a manual process that is prone to error due to the weak naming conventions and typing patterns used in configuring the BAS.

Fault Detection and Diagnostics (FDD) in BASs typically require predefined rules and manual identification and configuration of data collected from points in the BAS. The more complex the rule, the more identification and configuration of points is required. Furthermore, the more complex the rule, the greater the chance of error in implementing the FDD rule. The identification and configuration of FDD rules becomes more complex in the case of weak naming conventions.

In view of the foregoing, there is a continuing need for systems, apparatuses, and methods for correctly identifying elements in a BAS database associated with subsystems and elements required for FDD rule configuration.

Disclosure of Invention

A method for selecting Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) rules and implementing the FDD rules in a Building Automation System (BAS) controlled by a process that selects FDD rules based on business outcomes. In response to the selected FDD rule, an entry in the BAS database required for the FDD rule is identified. Additionally, missing required elements are also identified and can be configured.

Other apparatuses, devices, systems, methods, features, and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

Drawings

The invention may be better understood by reference to the following drawings. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.

Fig. 1 is an illustration of a processor controlled device capable of accessing a database associated with a Building Automation System (BAS), according to an example embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of an HVAC building air handler subsystem implementation according to an example embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a graphical user interface controlled by the processor of fig. 1 depicting a list of available panels associated with subsystems in the BAS with unidentified entries, according to an example embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a listing of a method for identifying associations (i.e., mappings) between items in subsystems of the BAS of fig. 1, according to an example embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for identifying unidentified items associated with subsystems of the BAS of fig. 1, according to an example embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) depicting a first iteration of selecting elements associated with the selected air handler subsystem of FIG. 3, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a graphical user interface depicting a method of mapping undiscovered unidentified elements via the "edit map" button of FIG. 6, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of updating a definition file of strings and suffixes based on the discovery and recognition equipment and output of the point application residing in the application memory of FIG. 1, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a graphical user interface depicting selectable business efforts on a display, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a table of alternative business outcomes, according to an example embodiment.

Figure 11 is a graphical user interface depicting equipment types to be monitored by a selected FDD rule, according to an example embodiment.

Fig. 12 is a graphical user interface based on FDD rule status of elements from a database of the BAS, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a graphical user interface for project rules, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a graphical user interface depicting a summary of the rules and equipment that need to be defined for a selected business outcome.

Figure 15 is a flow diagram of a method for selecting FDD rules based on business outcomes and equipment, according to an example embodiment.

Detailed Description

As used herein, a method for selecting and configuring fault detection and diagnostic rules based on business outcomes.

Turning to fig. 1, a diagram 100 of a processor-controlled device 102 capable of accessing a database 126 associated with a BAS136 in accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention. The processor-controlled device 102 may have a controller 104 (processor) coupled to a memory 106, a network interface 108, a video controller 110, and an input/output (I/O) interface 112 through an address/data bus 114. The network interface 108 may couple the processor-controlled appliance 102 to a network, such as one or more Local Area Networks (LANs)/internet/clouds 116 and servers (such as server 132 located in the cloud) and a BAS 136. The connection to the LAN/internet/cloud 116 may be wired or wireless (such as IEEE 802.11g or 802.11n standards). The video controller 110 may be coupled to one or more displays, such as display 118. The display is typically a digital video display, such as an HD television or VGA computer display. The I/O interface 112 may be coupled to a keyboard 122, an optical disc reader 120, and a mouse 124.

The controller 104 executes instructions, which may be stored in the memory 106, that facilitate operation of the processor-controlled device 102. The memory 106 may be logically or physically divided into an operations memory 128 and an applications processor 130 that may provide operating instructions for the processor-controlled device 102. The memory 106 may have one or more databases, such as database 126 stored therein, for access by applications when executed by the controller 104 stored in the application memory 130. In other embodiments, application memory 130 may be application specific. An initial naming convention may be first loaded into application memory 130, where the initial naming definition file is a typical method of naming the different elements in database 126 and contains part names, such as suffixes and/or text strings.

The database 126 is copied from the database 125 in the BAS136 and may be downloaded or copied by the controller 104 into the memory 106. In other embodiments, the database 125 may be read in real-time from a BAS or a server located in the cloud or external network serving the BAS. In other embodiments, the database from BAS136 may have been previously stored in memory or disk storage of server 132. The database 125 and replica 126 contain the elements and configuration data of the BAS136, including hardware, points, and associated data.

The BAS136 may also have a proxy process 140 that sends collected data (e.g., trend data) from the BAS136 to a measurement/analysis service (MAS)142 implemented on the server 132. The MAS 142 may be internal to the BAS136 in other embodiments. In other implementations, the MAS 142 may be implemented on a remote device, such as the processor-controlled device 102. The collected data may be real-time data or data stored in the database 125 and may be periodically sent to the metrics/analysis service 142 via the agent process 140.

Applications in the application memory 130 are executed by the controller 104 and cause a graphical user interface 138 to appear on the display 118 for identifying elements of the subsystems that comprise the BAS 136. These elements may include points, panels, hardware, and data associated with a subsystem (such as the simplified subsystem of fig. 2).

In FIG. 2, a diagram of an HVAC building implementation 200 according to an example embodiment of the present invention is depicted. The building 202 with the room 204 has a supply air outlet 206 and a return air outlet 208. Outside air enters the building through an outside air inlet 210 and exits through an outside air outlet 212. The air mixer 214 may have an exhaust damper 216, an outdoor air damper 218, a return air damper 220, and a supply air damper 222. The supply fan 224 may assist in moving the supply air and has a supply air variable frequency drive 226. The heating control valve 228 may control heating of the supply air and, similarly, the supply air cooling valve 230 may control cooling of the supply air and a thermostat 232 may also be present in the room 204. The return air exits the room 204 via a return air opening 208 and may be assisted by a return air fan 234, which may be controlled by a return air inverter drive 236. The return air enters the air mixer 214 via a return air damper 220. The room 204 may also have a lighting controller 238 and a blind controller 240 as shown in fig. 2. All of the equipment may be controlled by one or more field panels, such as panel 242 that controls different elements of the BAS 136. The field panels may be directly or indirectly coupled to the building's telecommunications network 239 and/or the internet/cloud. The field panel may have one or more microcontrollers programmed to operate different components of the BAS 136.

Turning to fig. 3, a Graphical User Interface (GUI)300 controlled by the processor of fig. 1 depicting a list of available panels 302 associated with subsystems in the BAS136 having unidentified terms is shown, according to an example embodiment of the invention. The panel 304 is selected from a list of available panels 304. In the current implementation, the panel is added to the list of selected panels 306 via the "Add" button 308. Other methods of selecting items may be employed, such as check boxes, drag and drop, or other known graphical user interface selection methods. A button, such as the "Add All" button 310, may be used to Add All panels in the list of available panels 302. Similarly, an item such as a panel may be selected in the list of selected panels 306, and a button may be used to delete the selected panel from the list of selected panels 306. Examples of such buttons include a "Remove" button 312 and a "Remove All" button 314. In other implementations, other known methods of selecting and deleting items in a graphical user interface may be employed. Once all desired selections have been made for an area or a group of equipment (such as the air handler of FIG. 2), the selections may be submitted or accepted using the "OK" button 316. If the user wishes not to continue, the "Cancel" button may be selected.

Once an item, such as a panel of the air handler of FIG. 2, is selected and accepted, the associated equipment and points are found in the database with the help of the initial definition file. Unlike methods with strong naming types, weak naming allows names to be user-defined strings in the database, and associations cannot be found even using the initial definition file. To resolve undiscovered associations, a number of approaches are implemented. In fig. 4, a list of methods 400 for identifying associations (i.e., mappings) between items in subsystems of the BAS136 of fig. 1 is depicted, according to example embodiments of the invention. There are five possible outcomes from the selection that occurs in fig. 3. First, equipment such as any of the devices 208 and 240 in FIG. 2 may not be found 402. For example, equipment or items present in the BAS136 subsystem cannot be found from the selected items or panels. Second, the error is discovered 404 equipment or items. For example, in response to a selection using GUI 300 to list equipment or items, these equipment or items do not actually exist. Third, duplicate equipment 406 is listed in response to a selection using the GUI 300. The same piece of equipment is listed more than once in response to a selection using GUI 300. Fourth, an error mapped point associated with the selected panel 408. The point functions assigned to the points are mapped incorrectly in response to a selection using the GUI 300. A fifth possible result is that no point is mapped 410 to any panel or item. The selected panel in fig. 3 would produce a plurality of point maps, but some points are not mapped.

Turning to fig. 5, a flow diagram 500 of a method for identifying unidentified items associated with subsystems of the BAS136 of fig. 1 according to an example embodiment of the invention is shown. The controller 104 executes the application from the application store 130 reading the definition file 502. A copy of the database is accessed in step 504 and a panel list is provided in the GUI 300 of fig. 3. Panels or elements associated with areas in the building or subsystem of the BAS136 are selected in step 506. The controller then searches the copy of the BAS136 database 126 using the definition file in step 508 and generates a mapping of points and equipment associated with the selected item or panel or element in step 508. A report with the results is then generated in step 510 that includes points or missing points with inconsistencies that require further processing. If the equipment associated with the selected panel is not found but is known to be present in step 512, the equipment that is not found but is known to be present is identified in step 514. If an erroneously found equipment is identified in step 516, the erroneous equipment is removed from the list of sub-system equipment and points in step 518. If duplicate equipment is identified in step 520, it is removed from the list of sub-system equipment and points in step 522. In some embodiments, step 522 includes merging duplicate equipment and combining their mappings. If the unmapped point is in the resulting list of subsystem equipment and point 528 and is identified as inconsistent, then the unmapped point is mapped to the correct equipment or device in step 530 using techniques further described herein. The resulting list of points that have been modified may then be saved in step 532 to account for at least some of the inconsistencies in the mapping list that produced the complete list of mapped and unmapped points for the desired room or subsystem. In other embodiments, the order of checking and/or correcting the list may be performed in a different order, or the resulting list of points and equipment may be checked less than five times.

In FIG. 6, a Graphical User Interface (GUI)600 depicting a first iteration of a selection element 602 associated with a selected air handler 300 subsystem of FIG. 3 is depicted, according to an example embodiment. When the air handler 604 is selected in the GUI 600 and the Discovery is Run via the "Run Discovery" button 610, a list of point functions 606 is provided via a mapping of points and functions present in the database. Also depicted are unmapped points or elements 608 that appear to map to the air handler 604. If all elements or points are correct and the subsystem mapping is complete, the resulting list of elements may be derived using the "Export" button 612. The "Edit Mapping" button 614 is used to map the un-mapped points function 608 of the air handler 604 and enter the association or Mapping.

Turning to FIG. 7, a graphical user interface 700 depicting a method of Mapping undiscovered unidentified elements via the "Edit Mapping" button of FIG. 6 is depicted, according to an example embodiment. Identified unknown equipment strings 702 for equipment types 704 are listed. The arming string may be added 706 or deleted 708. The equipment strings 702 may each be associated or mapped with a point function 710. Similarly, a point suffix 712 can be added 714 or deleted 716 to further map unmapped points or items. Once the mapping is complete, they can be committed or saved by selecting the "OK" button 718 or cancelled by the "Cancel" button 720. Thus, instrumented strings, mapping point functions, and adding and deleting point suffixes can be added, deleted to account for unmapped or mismapped elements.

Depicted in fig. 8 is a schematic diagram 800 of updating 810 a definition file 804 of a string and suffix 804 based on the output of a discovery and identification equipment and point application 802 residing in the application memory 130 of fig. 1, according to an example embodiment. Discovery and recognition equipment and points applications 802 (which use a string and suffix definition file 804) are used to select subsystems or locations in the BAS136, resulting in an updated string and suffix definition file 806 and, in some cases, unmapped items 808 that are not part of the selected subsystems or locations. The controller 104 performs a string and suffix definition file feedback process 810 using the updated string and suffix definition file 806 and, in some embodiments, portions of the string and suffix from the unmapped item 808 as input. To identify strings and suffixes, new strings may be identified and added using methods such as random forest test classification or multiple naive bayes text classification to classify points and elements used in the mapping. The file is divided into training data and test data. Training data is used with the string and suffix definition file 804 and different types of weighting algorithms (such as those available in the PYTHON programming language) are applied to the training data and the string and suffix definition file 804, thereby producing an updated string and suffix definition file that is used with test data and the discovery and recognition device and point application 802 to verify improvements in performance using the updated file. If an improvement in performance is achieved, the updated string and suffix definition file replaces the current string and suffix definition file 804.

Turning to FIG. 9, according to an example embodiment, GUI 900 depicts on a display selectable business outcome or value categories 902. The value categories 902 in the current embodiment include "energy", "environmental", "Financial", "sustainability", "life cycle", "System", and "compliance". Once the value category 902 is selected, an "OK" button 904 may be used to accept selections or make other inputs. If no selection is required, a "Cancel" button may be selected.

In FIG. 10, a table 1000 of value classes 1002 and descriptions 1004 according to an example embodiment is depicted. The "finance" 1006 value category is a category of FDD rules that reduces maintenance costs and maximizes return on investment. The "sustainability" 1008 value category employs FDD rules that achieve sustainability goals and authentication. The "environment" 1010 value category uses FDD rules optimized for comfort, security, and security. The "energy" 1012 value category employs the FDD rule that maximizes energy efficiency. The "system" 1014 value category uses FDD rules to enhance system performance. The "lifecycle" 1016 value category FDD rules attempt to extend equipment life. The "compliance" 1018 value category FDD rules meet regulatory requirements. The "reliability" 1020 class FFD rules seek to maximize system uptime. In other embodiments, more or fewer value categories may be employed.

Turning to fig. 11, a GUI 1100 depicting equipment types 1102 to be monitored by a selected FDD rule is depicted, according to an example embodiment. In the current embodiment, a check box 1104 may be used to select the desired equipment to be monitored. Accordingly, the value category and the selected equipment type are used to generate an FDD rule mapping between the BAS element and the FDD rule.

In fig. 12, a GUI 1200 based on FDD rule status 1202 of elements from a database of the BAS136 is shown, according to an example embodiment. The element from the depicted BAS136 database is a point associated with the selected equipment 1204. The availability rules are listed 1206 and the availability of the desired point in the BAS136 is depicted using a color code 1208. A green color point is a point in the BAS136 that is available and mapped to the equipment 1204 (where the green code reflects the availability indicator). The red dot is the dot that is not available but is required by rule 1206 (where the red code reflects the unavailability indicator). The FDD rule 1206 may be selected using a "check box" and then submitted using an "OK" button 1210.

Turning to FIG. 13, a GUI 1300 is depicted for project rules 1302, according to an example embodiment. Selected project rules associated with the system (subsystem) are depicted, as well as ready-to-run value categories. Thus, the rules with all points defined in FIG. 12 are listed along with the selected equipment 1304 and ready to run in GUI 1300. Similarly, a GUI1400 is depicted in FIG. 14, which depicts a summary of the rules and equipment that need to be defined for a selected business outcome. The GUI1400 identifies the number of rules selected for each piece of equipment and the number of elements 1402 that need to be mapped or configured.

Turning to fig. 15, a flow diagram 1500 of a method for selecting FDD rules based on business outcomes and equipment according to an example embodiment. A value category, such as "energy," is selected for the item in step 1502. This selection may be accomplished via the graphical user interface 900 of fig. 9. The equipment to be the subject of FDD is then selected in step 1504. Equipment selection is performed using the GUI 1102 to select equipment that is part of the BAS. A point map is then generated in step 1506. The point map is generated in the current example according to the method depicted by the flow chart 500 of fig. 5. In step 1508, the project rule is selected using the GUI depicted in FIG. 13. A plurality of project rules are presented in response to the selected value categories and the selected equipment for the project. The rules are predefined and can be accessed from a rule directory. The rule directory may be located on a server 132 that resides in the cloud and is accessible over the internet. In other embodiments, the rule directory may reside on the processor-controlled device 102. The equipment rules that apply to a piece of equipment associated with the project rule may be checked and selected in step 1510.

The selected rules and readiness of the equipment are then checked in step 1512. Since each rule requires multiple points to be implemented and mapped correctly for proper execution, a report is generated to verify the readiness of the rule to be implemented. If points or mappings are identified as missing in step 1512, they need to be defined so that the rules function correctly, and step 1506 is performed to define the missing points or mappings. If FDD is ready and fully defined in step 1512, a configuration file may be defined 5014 and implemented.

In other embodiments, the string and suffix definition file 804 may be stored in a library in a variety of styles or versions. Each style or version may be associated with an engineer, an engineering team, an installer of the BAS, a manufacturer of the BAS, a size of the BAS, or similar attributes. Such attributes may be included in a database of the BAS 136. The string and suffix definition file 804 or a library of string and suffix definition files may be stored on one or more servers located in the cloud, such as server 132.

Those of skill in the art will understand and appreciate that one or more of the processes, sub-processes, or process steps described in conjunction with fig. 15 may be performed by hardware and/or software (machine-readable instructions). If the method is performed by software, the software may reside in application memory in a suitable electronic processing component or system, such as one or more of the functional components or modules schematically depicted in the figures.

The software in the application memory may comprise an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions (i.e., "logic" that may be implemented in digital form such as digital circuitry or source code or in analog form such as analog circuitry or an analog source such as an analog electrical, sound, or video signal), and may optionally be implemented in any tangible computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that may selectively fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In the context of this disclosure, a "computer-readable medium" is any tangible apparatus that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The tangible computer readable medium may optionally be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device. More specific examples (but a non-exhaustive list) of the tangible computer-readable medium would include the following: a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a RAM (electronic), a read-only memory "ROM" (electronic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory) (electronic), and a portable compact disc read-only memory "CDROM" (optical). Note that the computer-readable medium could even be paper (punch cards or tape) or another suitable medium upon which the instructions are electronically captured, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.

The foregoing detailed description of one or more embodiments of a method for selection of and implementation of FDD rules in a BAS controlled by a process for selecting FDD rules based on business outcomes is presented herein by way of example only and not limitation. It will be recognized that certain individual features and functional advantages described herein may be obtained without the incorporation of other features and functions described herein. Moreover, it will be appreciated that various alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements of the above disclosed embodiments, as well as other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different embodiments, systems or applications. Presently, unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims. Therefore, the spirit and scope of any appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein.