Patent WO-2019122933-A1 (WO)
Title: Central control system and method
Inventor: LAM MEILENE
IPC: B60W20/00
Filed: 2018-12-21
Abstract: A computer-implemented central control system (10) for generating control signals for controlling one or more remotely-located interaction units (18A-D) via a wide-area communications network (22), each of the one or more remotely located interaction units (18A-D) being operatively coupled to a local control system in a local environment (20A-D) of the respective remotely located interaction units (18A-D) and each of the remotely located interaction units (18A-D) arranged to interact with and alter operating conditions of the respective operatively-coupled local control system, where the central control system (10) comprises:a request interface processor (30) for receiving a request (230) for a control signal configured to alter a value of a requested control parameter (238) (RCP) relating to a specified environmental requirement (SER) (216A, 240) from one of the one or more remotely-located interaction units (18A-D), where the value of the RCP (238) governs the operating conditions of the at least one corresponding local control system in the local environment (20A-D) of the respective remotely located interaction units (18A-D) and the SER (216A, 240) comprises a constraining environmental requirement of the local environment (20A-D) of the respective remotely located interaction units (18A-D) which is to be met by altering the value of the RCP (238); the request including: a current value of the RCP (238), a specified value of the SER (240); and current values of one or more local environmental parameters (local CERs) (216B, 216C, 242, 244) related to the SER (216A, 240), where the local CERs (216B, 216C, 242, 244) comprise constraining environmental requirements local to the environment (20A-D) of the respective remotely located interaction units (18A-D), which constrain the value that the RCP (238) can take; wherein a current value of the SER (216A, 240) can be calculated from the current values of the RCP (238) and the one or more local CERs (242, 244) of the one or more remotely-located interaction units (18A-D);a parameter calculation system (36) for processing the request (230) received at the request interface processor (30) in accordance with predefined calculation rules (11A) which instruct the parameter calculation system (36) to process the request (230) and to generate the control signal concerning the value of the requested control parameter (238) (RCP); and a transmitter (40) for transmitting the generated control signal to a requesting remotely-located interaction unit (18A-D), wherein the parameter calculation system (36) comprises: a classification engine (92) for classifying a plurality of current external environmental parameters (external CERs) (190A-C) associated with the remotely-located interaction unit (18A-D) into a single external CER parameter (202A-C); and a parameter calculation processor (94) arranged to:calculate the current value of the SER (200A-E) by applying the calculation rules (11A) to the current value of the RCP (238) and the current values of the one or more local CERs (242, 244) of the one or more remotely-located interaction units (18A-D); categorise the current value of the SER (200A-E) with the value of the single external CER parameter (202A-C) to determine the effect of the plurality of current external CERs (190A-C) on the current value of the SER; compare the categorised current value of the SER with the specified value of the SER (216A, 240) and depending on classification of a degree of difference between the current and specified values of the SER (216A, 240), to select a corresponding predetermined action from a plurality of predetermined actions to adjust the value of the RCP (238) to make the current value of the SER and the specified value of the SER equivalent; and using the selected predetermined action to form the control signal to adjust the current value of the RCP for the requesting remotely-located interaction unit (18A-D) to meet the specified value of the SER.