US 12,438,744 B2
Extending BACnet systems to scale up to large topologies
Bernhard Isler, Wilen b. Wollerau (CH); and Kai Rohrbacher, Hünenberg (CH)
Assigned to SIEMENS SCHWEIZ AG, Zurich (CH)
Appl. No. 18/550,350
Filed by Siemens Schweiz AG, Zürich (CH)
PCT Filed Mar. 31, 2022, PCT No. PCT/EP2022/058542
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 13, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/214383, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 13, 2022.
Claims priority of application No. 21167436 (EP), filed on Apr. 8, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0154840 A1, May 9, 2024
Int. Cl. H04L 12/28 (2006.01); H04L 67/02 (2022.01)
CPC H04L 12/283 (2013.01) [H04L 67/02 (2013.01)] 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method to extend BACnet network systems for building automation systems to scale up to large topologies, wherein the BACnet network system comprises a network of BACnet devices organized as a virtual hub-and-spoke network, wherein one of the BACnet devices includes a directed hub-device to which all other BACnet devices are connected as node-devices using WebSocket connections, the method comprising:
providing node-devices with a system scope of a building to view and modify the entire building automation system;
providing node-devices with a building scope of a building to realize central functions for the entire building automation system or do the supervisory demand control of floors and supply by primary plants;
assigning the node-devices of the system scope and/or the node-devices of the building scope to supervisory scope BACnet devices;
providing node-devices with a floor scope of a building to realize room control functions and/or floor level control functions;
providing node-devices with a plant scope of a building to realize the central supply and equipment control of primary plants and supply;
assigning the node-devices with floor scope and/or the node-devices of the plant scope to directed scope BACnet devices;
wherein the directed hub-device hosts two WebSocket listeners;
using the first WebSocket listener to accept uplink-connections for supervisory scope node-devices;
using the BACnet Secure Connect standard for broadcast distribution of messages from an uplink-connection among all uplink-connections and all downlink-connections;
using the second WebSocket listener to accept downlink-connections from directed scope node-devices;
using the directed hub-device to limit the broadcast distribution of broadcast messages from a downlink-connection to each uplink-connection, and not to any other downlink-connection; and
using the directed hub-device to forward or block unicast messages from one downlink-connection to another downlink-connection.