Fusion-based occupancy sensing for building systems
US11193688B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 23, 2019 |
| Grant date | Dec 7, 2021 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 28, 2039 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG05B2219/2614
- WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Sensing and control apparatus for a building HVAC system includes interior and boundary sensors, such as cameras and thermal sensors, generating sensor signals conveying occupancy-related features for an area. A controller uses the sensor signals to produce an occupancy estimate and to generate equipment-control signals to cause the HVAC system to supply conditioned air to the area based on the occupancy estimate. The controller includes fusion systems collectively generating the occupancy estimate by corresponding fusion calculations, the fusion systems producing a boundary occupancy-count change based on sensor signals from the boundary sensors, an interior occupancy count based on sensor signals from the interior sensors, and the overall occupancy estimate. Fusion may be of one or multiple types including cross-modality fusion across different sensor types, within-modality fusion across different instances of same-type sensors, and cross-algorithm fusion using different algorithms for the same sensor(s).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.