Abstract:
An approach for making shifted schedules from a regular or master schedule of a building automation system. Shifted schedules may be obtained by applying shifts to the scheduled-on and scheduled-off periods of the days in the master schedule. One set of shifts may apply uniformly to all days of the week or several sets of different shifts may apply to various days of the week. Special events with certain scheduled-on and scheduled-off periods and assigned to particular days may override the regular scheduled-on and scheduled-off periods of those days. The shifted schedules may also contain special events with their periods shifted. The master schedule may govern the regular operating hours of a building and the shifted schedules may control, for example, HVAC equipment in particular zones, certain employee areas, parking lot lights, and so on. Changes to the master schedule may be applied as updates to the shifted schedules.

Description:
The present application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/260,046, filed Oct. 28, 2008, entitled “A Building Management Configuration System”. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/260,046, filed Oct. 28, 2008, is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The invention pertains to schedules and particularly to making additional schedules relating to the aforementioned schedules. More particularly, the invention pertains to schedules for various components of a building. 
     SUMMARY 
     The invention is an approach for deriving additional schedules from a master schedule but with different scheduled-on time periods. The additional schedules may be shifted master or reference schedules. The scheduled-on and scheduled-off periods of the reference schedule may be shifted for the additional schedules. The reference schedule may have special events which may have their own scheduled-on and scheduled-off periods which may override the scheduled-on and scheduled-off periods of the day to which the special event is assigned. The scheduled-on and scheduled-off periods of the special events may be shifted for the shifted schedules. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram of a screen showing shifted schedule components; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram of a screen showing a selection of a shifted schedule showing key properties highlighted by a rectangle in the screen; 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram of a screen showing a selection of a daily shifted schedule showing key properties highlighted by a rectangle in the screen; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram showing how a master weekly schedule may be created by clicking on an item of a navigation portion in the screen; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram of an illustrative example of a scheduled-on period of a master weekly schedule, with the highlighted times in an oval for Wednesday&#39;s scheduled-on period in the screen; 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram showing a schedule with a special event&#39;s scheduled-on period highlighted by an oval in the screen; 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram showing a shifted schedule with programmed settings highlighted by a rectangle in the screen; 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram showing a shifted schedule with Sunday&#39;s shifted scheduled-on period highlighted by an oval in the screen; 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram showing a shifted schedule with Wednesday&#39;s shifted scheduled-on period highlighted by an oval in the screen; 
         FIG. 10  is a diagram showing a shifted schedule with a special event&#39;s shifted scheduled-on period highlighted in the screen; 
         FIG. 11  is a diagram showing a daily shifted schedule with programmed settings highlighted by a rectangle in the screen; 
         FIG. 12  is a diagram of a daily shifted schedule with Sunday&#39;s shifted scheduled-on period highlighted in the screen; 
         FIG. 13  is a diagram of a daily shifted schedule with Wednesday&#39;s shifted scheduled-on period highlighted in the screen; and 
         FIG. 14  is a diagram of a daily shifted schedule with a special event&#39;s shifted scheduled-on period highlighted in the screen. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     In building automation systems, there is a desire to manage system control activities with a single master weekly schedule. Zones or equipment could then be controlled by creating shifted schedules which shift the time-of-day events of the master schedule. The overhead and complexity of system management and maintenance can be greatly reduced. Changes in occupancy or hours of operation may be implemented by adjusting just the master schedule. 
     The present approach relates to a building control system (“BCS”) built upon a NiagaraAX™ (NiagaraAX or Niagara) Framework™ (framework) by Tridium, Inc. The NiagaraAX framework may provide a set of weekly schedule components. A weekly schedule may define a sequence of repeating time-of-day events for each day of the week as well as exceptions to the normal weekly schedule (called “special events”). 
     System control activities (i.e., lights on/off, air conditioning on/off) may then be managed by creating schedules which shift the time of day events of the master schedule. System management may be much simpler when changes to the building&#39;s hours of operation are implemented by editing or shifting just the master schedule. The shifted schedules may simply apply their shifts to an updated master schedule. 
     The building control system may be configured with multiple zones. For example, a zone may be a department within a large retail store. Each zone may include heating, ventilation and air conditioning (“HVAC”) equipment and lighting controls. To efficiently manage the building&#39;s energy usage, temperature setpoints and lights in each zone may be controlled separately. Additionally, the controls should be scheduled based on the building&#39;s operating mode. The store may be open for business from 8:00 AM until 8:00 PM; however, employee-specific zones may be in use before and after normal store hours. 
     In an existing building control system, a weekly schedule may be created for each zone. The schedule may be customized to the zone&#39;s usage. Areas open to the public may be scheduled-on or open during normal operating hours and scheduled-off or closed outside normal operating hours. Employee-specific areas may be scheduled-on earlier and later times than those of the public areas. For safety reasons, parking lot lights should be scheduled to be on prior to the store opening and stay on for a period after the store closes. Therefore, parking lot lights require a weekly schedule that needs to be managed. Any time that there is a change in occupancy or hours of operation, multiple weekly schedules need to be manipulated. As a building size grows and the mixed usage of building space increases, the complexity and overhead of managing and controlling schedules may increase. 
     With the present approach, a single master weekly schedule may be defined for the building. To control each zone, separate shifted schedules may be established. These separate schedules may control setpoints and lighting by shifting the on-to-off and off-to-on transitions of the master schedule. For instance, the normal weekly schedule for Monday may transition from off-to-on at 8:00 AM and transition from on-to-off at 8:00 PM. A shifted schedule for an employee mode may need to, for example, transition from scheduled-off to scheduled-on one hour earlier and transition from scheduled-on to scheduled-off one hour later. The employee mode schedule may be assigned to employee specific zones within the building such as the warehouse and break room. The complexity and overhead of schedule management and control may be greatly reduced. Again, a change in occupancy or hours of operation may be implemented by adjusting just the master schedule. 
     The present approach has two kinds of shifted schedules. A first kind is a ShiftedSchedule (shifted schedule) which provides a single set of off-to-on and on-to-off shifts. These shifts may be applied to every day of the week and special events. The second kind is a DailyShiftedSchedule (daily shifted schedule) which provides a set of separate off-to-on and on-to-off shifts for each day of the week and for special events. That is, there may be more than one set of shifts for the week with the second kind of shifted schedule and one set of shifts with the first kind of shifted schedule. 
     The NiagaraAX framework may provide four types of weekly schedule components. These types of components may vary by data value. The data values for these types may include Boolean, numeric, enumeration and string. Shifted schedule and daily shifted schedule types may be implemented for each of the weekly schedule types. The examples described herein are of the Boolean type for illustrative purposes; however, these examples may be described in terms of a numeric, enumeration or string type of data values. 
     One approach may be illustrated with examples described herein which invoke components for the Boolean weekly schedule type. These components may be referred to as a BooleanShiftedSchedule (shifted schedule) and a BooleanDailyShiftedSchedule (daily shifted schedule). 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram of a screen  11  showing shifted schedule components. The navigation (Nav) portion  12  for the network shows a listing of schedules  13  with the Boolean shifted schedule and the Boolean daily shifted schedule as highlighted by rectangle  14 . A palette portion  15  for Opus™ (Opus) applications lists the Boolean shifted schedule and Boolean daily shifted schedule as highlighted by rectangle  16 . 
     Details of schedules  13  are shown in a portion  17  of screen  11 . Information about the Boolean shifted schedule is shown in block  18 , and information about Boolean daily shifted schedule is shown in block  19 . Also, details of BooleanSchedule 01  and BooleanSchedule 02  (regular or master schedules) are shown in blocks  21  and  22 , respectively. 
     Applying Boolean logic to scheduling, the schedule state may be said to be true during a “scheduled-on” period and false during a “scheduled-off” period. When transitioning from a scheduled-off period to a scheduled-on period, the transition is from false to true. Similarly, when transitioning from a scheduled-on period to a scheduled-off period, the transition is from true to false. 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram of screen  11  showing a selection of a shifted schedule showing key properties highlighted with a rectangle  24 . The shifted schedule may have a regular NiagaraAX Boolean schedule with additional properties as highlighted by rectangle  24  in the shifted schedule presentation  23  selected by clicking on item  27  in Nav portion  12 . “Ref” may identify the reference Boolean schedule to be shifted. “False to True” may define the amount of time by which the false-to-true transitions will be shifted. “True to False” may define the amount of time by which the true-to-false transitions will be shifted. “Update Time” may be the frequency with which the reference schedule should be checked for changes to time-of-day events or special events. 
     The Boolean daily shifted schedule may have a regular NiagaraAX Boolean schedule with the following additional properties as highlighted by rectangle  26  in presentation  25  of screen  11  shown in  FIG. 3 . The daily shifted schedule presentation  25  may be obtained by clicking on item  28  in Nav portion  12  of screen  11 . “Ref” may identify the reference schedule to be shifted. “Update Time” may be the frequency with which the reference schedule should be checked for changes to time-of-day events or special events. “Schedule Shift” is an object type which defines a set of time shifts. An instance of this object type may exist for each day of the week and for the special events. It may have “False to True” which defines the amount of time by which the false-to-true transitions will be shifted, and “True to False” which defines the amount of time by which the true-to-false transitions will be shifted. 
     One approach for schedule shifting may be made as in the following. A master or regular weekly schedule  31  may be created by clicking on item  32  of Nav portion  12  and on tab  29  at the bottom of schedule  31 , as shown in screen  11  of  FIG. 4 . Appropriate scheduled-off and scheduled-on periods  33 - 39  may be viewed for each day of the week by clicking on the period and seeing the times at indicators shown in oval  41  in screen  11 . For example, screen  11  shows a NiagaraAX Boolean schedule  31  with a Sunday&#39;s scheduled-on period  33  in terms of times highlighted by oval  41 .  FIG. 5  is a diagram of a screen  11  showing a NiagaraAX Boolean schedule with Wednesday&#39;s scheduled-on period  36 , as another example, highlighted by oval  41 . Additionally, special event times may be viewed by clicking on tab  30  at the bottom of schedule  31 . 
       FIG. 6  is a diagram of screen  11  showing a NiagaraAX Boolean schedule in presentation  42  with a special event&#39;s scheduled-on period  43  with times highlighted by oval  41 . The special event may be set to run from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM on July 9 and 18 as indicated in period  43  and calendar  49  presentation  42 , respectively. 
     A shifted schedule presentation  23  may then be added by clicking on item  27  in Nav portion  12  of screen  11  in  FIG. 7 . To configure the schedule, one may select a regular schedule as the reference or master schedule, define the false-to-true and true-to-false shift values, and set the update time within rectangle  44 . Screen  11  shows shifted schedule items in presentation  23  which include programmed settings highlighted by rectangle  44 . At a programmed update frequency or by a user triggered action, a shifted schedule may be obtained by applying the defined false-to-true and true-to-false shifts in presentation  23  to the reference schedule&#39;s time-of-day events and/or special events. 
       FIG. 8  is a diagram of screen  11  showing shifted schedule presentation  45  with Sunday&#39;s shifted scheduled-on period  33  highlighted by oval  41 . In presentation  31  of  FIG. 4 , highlighted times in oval  41  for Sunday&#39;s scheduled-on period  33  are shown to be from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Programmed false-to-true and true-to-false shift settings indicate a minus 30 minutes and a positive 30 minutes, as highlighted by rectangle  44  in presentation  23  of screen  11  in  FIG. 7 . Application of the shifted schedule with the programmed shift settings of presentation  23  in screen  11  of  FIG. 7 , as applied to the Sunday&#39;s scheduled-on period  33  in  FIG. 4 , may result in a Sunday&#39;s “shifted” schedule on period  33  in  FIG. 8  as highlighted by oval  41  in a shifted schedule presentation  45 . 
     In presentation  31  of  FIG. 5 , for another illustrative example of a shifted scheduled-on period, the highlighted times in oval  41  for Wednesday&#39;s regular scheduled-on period  36 , are shown to be from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Programmed false-to-true and true-to-false shifts are settings that show a minus 30 minutes and a positive 30 minutes as highlighted with rectangle  44  in presentation  23  of screen in  FIG. 7 . Application of the shifted schedule with the programmed shift settings of presentation  23 , as applied to the Wednesday&#39;s scheduled-on period  36  in  FIG. 5 , may result in a Wednesday&#39;s “shifted” scheduled-on period  36  in presentation  45  of screen  11  in  FIG. 9 , as highlighted by oval  41  in the shifted schedule presentation  45 . It may be noted that the scheduled-on period  36  in  FIG. 9  begins 30 minutes earlier and ends 30 minutes later than the regular scheduled-on period  36  in  FIG. 5 , in accordance with the shift entered in the false-to-true and true-to-false items, respectively, as highlighted by rectangle  44  in  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 10  is a diagram of screen  11  showing a shifted schedule with a special event&#39;s shifted scheduled-on period  43 , as highlighted in oval  41  of presentation  46 . Presentation  42  of  FIG. 6  shows highlighted event start and finish times in oval  41  for a NiagaraAX Boolean regular schedule with a special event&#39;s scheduled-on period  43 , which is revealed to be from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM, respectively, for July 9 and 18 in calendar  49 . As indicated herein,  FIG. 7  shows a shifted schedule presentation  23  with programmed false-to-true and true-to-false shift settings having a minus 30 minutes and a positive 30 minutes, respectively, as highlighted with rectangle  44 . Application of the shifted schedule with the programmed shift settings of presentation  23  in screen  11 , as applied to the special event&#39;s scheduled-on period  43  in  FIG. 6 , may result in a special event&#39;s “shifted” scheduled-on period  43  in  FIG. 10 . It may be noted that the scheduled-on period  43  begins 30 minutes earlier and ends 30 minutes later than the special event regular scheduled-on period  43  in  FIG. 6  in accordance with the shift entered in the false-to-true and the true-to-false items, respectively, as highlighted by rectangle  44  in  FIG. 7 . 
     A daily shifted schedule may be effected. To configure the component, one may select a regular schedule as the reference schedule, set the update time, and assign false-to-true and true-to-false shift values for each day of the week and for special events in a single presentation of screen  11 . 
     A diagram of screen  11  in  FIG. 11  shows a daily shifted schedule with key properties highlighted with a rectangle  48 . To configure the schedule, a regular schedule may be selected as a reference schedule (i.e., master schedule) like the one in presentation  31  of  FIG. 4 . One may click on item  28  of Nav portion  12  to get presentation  47  where the reference Boolean schedule (“Ref”) can be selected and the false-to-true and the true-to-false values can be assigned for each day of the week and for special events via programmed settings as highlighted by a rectangle  48 . At a programmed update frequency or by a user triggered action, a daily shifted schedule may apply an appropriately defined set of false-to-true and true-to-false shifts to the time of day events for each day of the week and the special events of the reference schedule. The schedule shift may be set for each day of the week within one window or presentation  47  in screen  11  of  FIG. 11 , as highlighted by rectangle  48 . Also, a schedule shift for special events may also be set along with the schedule shift for each day of the week. 
     In the illustrative example shown in  FIG. 11 , schedule shifts may be made for Sunday, Wednesday, and a special event in one presentation  47 . However, additional settings may be made for each day of the week and the special events with the settings highlighted by rectangle  48 . 
     In sum, the shifted schedule described herein shows a presentation with one set of settings which may be applied separately to each day of the week and each special event, whereas the daily shifted schedule may be applied simultaneously to all days of the week and special events which can have different shift settings for each day and special events. 
     At the programmed update frequency or by user triggered action, the daily shifted schedule may apply the appropriately defined set of false-to-true and true-to-false shifts to the time-of-day events for each day of the week and special events of the reference schedule. The results of the defined set in rectangle  48  of presentation  47  in  FIG. 11  are illustrated in  FIGS. 12-14 . 
       FIG. 12  is a diagram of screen  11  showing a daily shifted schedule presentation  51 , with Sunday&#39;s shifted scheduled-on period  33  as highlighted within an oval  55  which shows a start at 11:30 AM and a finish at 5:30 PM which is 30 minutes earlier than the normal start time and 30 minutes later than the normal finish time, as indicated in the settings highlighted by rectangle  48  of presentation  47  in screen  11  of  FIG. 11 . These settings may be shown for Sunday by clicking on period  33 . 
       FIG. 13  is a diagram of screen  11  showing a daily shifted schedule presentation  51  with Wednesday&#39;s shifted scheduled-on period  36  highlighted with an oval  55  which shows a start at 6:00 AM and a finish at 6:45 PM which is one hour earlier than the normal start time and 45 minutes later than the normal finish time, as indicated in the settings highlighted by rectangle  48  of presentation  47  in screen  11  of  FIG. 11 . These settings may be shown for Wednesday by clicking on period  36 . Settings for another day of the week may be shown in oval  55  by clicking on the respective period. 
       FIG. 14  is a diagram of a screen  11  showing a daily shifted schedule presentation  52  with a special event&#39;s shifted schedule on period  43  with start and finish times as highlighted by oval  41 . The start time is 5:20 AM and the finish time is 10:45 PM for the shifted scheduled-on period  43 . It may be noted that period  43  begins 20 minutes later and ends 15 minutes earlier than normally scheduled according to the programmed settings as highlighted by rectangle  48  of the daily shifted schedule in presentation  47  of  FIG. 11 . A date or dates of a special event may be shown in calendar  49 . 
     In the present specification, some of the matter may be of a hypothetical or prophetic nature although stated in another manner or tense. 
     Although the present system has been described with respect to at least one illustrative example, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the specification. It is therefore the intention that the appended claims be interpreted as broadly as possible in view of the prior art to include all such variations and modifications.