EP1689963A1

EP1689963A1 - Method for resetting and controlling a facility

Info

Publication number: EP1689963A1
Application number: EP04769557A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Serge Neuman; Bernard Grehant
Original assignee: Somfy SA
Current assignee: Somfy SA
Priority date: 2003-10-15
Filing date: 2004-10-05
Publication date: 2006-08-16
Anticipated expiration: 2024-10-05
Also published as: DE602004031754D1; ATE501335T1; FR2861123B1; WO2005038187A1; EP1689963B1; FR2861123A1

Abstract

The process involves enabling a folding action of a mobile unit when a value measured by a wind effect measuring sensor is greater than a wind effect threshold value. The mobile units are deployed when wind speed measured is lower than wind speed threshold value. Independent claims are also included for the following: (a) a learning process for controlling an installation (b) an installation comprising motorized devices.

Description

Method for initializing and controlling an installation.

The invention relates to the field of sun protection and in particular to the protection thereof against the effects of wind. It relates in particular to initialization methods for controlling an installation comprising at least one motorized device having a movable closure, concealment or sun protection element, each motorized device being provided with a sensor for measuring the effects wind on its moving element. It also relates to methods for controlling an installation initialized according to the preceding method and to installations for implementing these methods.

It is more and more common to equip sun shades of the terrace blind type with wind, sun and rain sensors, which allow both their automation and their protection against the harmful effects of climatic events.

In particular, gusts of wind can seriously damage the structure of a screen or the supporting structure and / or cause significant damage. Various wind sensors of several types, such as anemometers, accelerometers, torque or rotation detectors of the winding tube, are known.

The accelerometers and the detectors of torque or rotation of the winding tube integrated into the structure of the blind are the most representative of the forces due to the wind, undergone by the screen. Indeed, in the case of anemometers for example, it is only possible to measure a wind speed, in a determined zone. The anemometer is often placed on a building facade or on a roof, it is sometimes common for a set of sunscreens. As a result, the measured values are not always representative of the forces exerted on the screen. On the other hand, the major drawback of the sensors directly integrated into the structure of the screen is the inability to provide information on the state of the wind once the screen is retracted.

It is therefore necessary to carry out one or more tests of the unwinding of the screen, in particular when the screen has been folded back following a gust of wind, in order to know whether the wind force is again compatible with a deployed position of the screen. This solution is uncomfortable for the user, all the more so since timings are generally applied to prevent any progress after the detection of a certain wind threshold.

EP 1 134 508 discloses an installation automatically managing the air conditioning of premises. This installation generates a behavior model of the various electrical equipment linked to air conditioning (heating, ventilation, etc.) based on regional and local weather forecasts, measured data and thresholds. The behavior model is corrected by the different data and their comparison.

EP 1 054 134 also discloses a method for managing motorized closings of a building as a function of variable parameters of meteorological type from a database updated periodically by means of a server of outside information. This solution makes it possible to dispense with different local sensors corresponding to the different variable parameters.

The lessons from these various documents do not make it possible to secure the deployment of a wind-sensitive screen. EP 1 122 378 discloses a roller blind and a method for automatically controlling the unwinding and winding thereof. The awning includes on the load bar a sensor for measuring the effects of wind on the awning and a sensor for measuring the wind speed. The signals from these sensors are only used to control the winding of the blind. The unfolding of the blind is controlled by a light sensor.

EP 1 077 378 also discloses a sun protection device comprising a device for measuring wind speed. This sun protection device is controlled according to a method in which when a threshold wind value is exceeded the device is wound. The protection device can also include sensors of different types to solve problems of measurement accuracy.

The object of the invention is to provide, for controlling an installation, means of overcoming the drawbacks mentioned above and of improving the methods known from the prior art. The invention proposes in particular an initialization method which makes it possible on the one hand to improve the protection of screens or mobile elements against the effects of wind by precise detection of meteorological conditions at risk and, on the other hand, to allow the detection of weather conditions when the mobile element is folded in order to authorize or not its deployment.

A first objective of this request is to protect an initialization process for a simple installation comprising a minimum of sensors, making it possible on the one hand to ensure the protection of screens or mobile elements against the effects of wind. A second objective of this request is to protect a learning process for an installation, allowing precise detection of weather conditions when the mobile element is folded in order to authorize or not its deployment.

The invention also proposes a method for controlling an installation.

The initialization method according to the invention is characterized by the characterizing part of claim 1.

Variants of the initialization process are defined by claims 2 and 3.

A learning method according to the invention is defined by claim 4. I

Variants of this learning method are defined by claims 5 to 8.

A control method according to the invention is defined by claim 9.

Variants of this control method are defined by claims 10 to 11.

An installation according to the invention is defined by claim 12.

A learning method according to the invention is defined by claim 13. Variants of this learning method are defined by claims 14 to 18.

A control method according to the invention is defined by claim 19.

Variants of this control method are defined by claims 20 to 21.

An installation according to the invention is defined by claim 22.

A variant of this installation is defined by claim 23.

The accompanying drawing shows, by way of example, an embodiment of an installation for implementing the method according to the invention.

Figure 1 is a diagram of an installation for implementing the method according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an initialization method according to the invention.

Figure 3 is a flowchart of a control method according to a particular embodiment of the invention.

The installation 1, shown, mainly comprises three devices 7a1, 7a2, 7b each comprising a movable element 2i (2a1, 2a2, 2b) for closing, blocking or sun protection. These movable elements can be moved in a direction of deployment or in a direction of folding thanks to electric actuators 5i (5a1, 5a2, 5b) equipping the devices. The motorized devices 7ai (7a1, 7a2) and 7b are by example of blinds or roller shutters. The motorized devices 7ai are provided with force sensors 3i (3a1, 3a2) making it possible to detect the forces undergone by the mobile elements and caused by the wind. These sensors consist, for example, of torque sensors exerted on the winding drum of the movable element. These sensors are preferably on board the structure of the mobile element or integrated into the structure or the actuator. They are able to measure displacements, vibrations or stresses applied to the mobile element or its actuator and generated by the wind.

The various motorized devices 7ai, 7b are controlled by means of a control unit 6. The control orders issued by the control unit 6 have, for example, the form of radio waves. The control orders are for example emitted by a nomadic remote control actuated by a user in the direction of the control unit then returned to the various devices. Control orders issued by nomadic remote controls can also be received directly by motorized devices 7ai, 7b. The installation 1 also includes a device 4 for measuring the wind speed such as an anemometer. This sends wind speed information to the control unit, for example via a radio wave link. The control unit can, as a function of this information, generate and issue a control order for some or all of the motorized devices 7ai, 7b. The wind speed measuring device 4 is placed in the global environment of the moving elements, for example on the roof or on a facade of the building. Wind speed measurement can also be provided by an external server, such as a local weather station.

In an embodiment not shown, the various sensors 3i and the wind speed measuring device 4 communicate directly with the actuators 5 of the different motorized devices 7ai. In this case, the signals transmitted to the actuators are control orders and each device includes its own control card for the movement of its mobile element.

The measurement of the wind speed near the motorized devices 7ai, 7b provides permanent information on the presence or absence of wind, this regardless of the position of the mobile element. A single wind speed measurement device can be used for multiple devices. On the other hand, the measurement is not always relevant since it is not made at the precise place where the movable element is located. In addition, the relationship between the measurement of wind speed and its effects on moving parts is not always easy to determine.

The measurement of the effects of the wind, made directly on the mobile element, allows to obtain a very precise protection, adapted to each mobile element. On the other hand, once the movable element is folded, the measurement of the effects of the wind is no longer possible and there is no way of knowing whether the movable element can be unwound safely.

In the case of a folded mobile element according to the invention, the wind speed measurement is available and is used to determine whether the deployment of the mobile element must be authorized or not.

In the case of a mobile element deployed, the measurement of wind speed as well as the measurement of the effects of the wind are available. The measurement of the effects of the wind can then have priority. The measurement of the wind speed can also complement to ensure a wind trend. Optionally, this can influence the wind withdrawal thresholds in a control method in which the measurement of the effects of the wind is used to validate a withdrawal order of the mobile element. To initialize such an installation, it is toggled into an initialization mode and then a wind effect threshold value WEi is recorded for each motorized device 7ai allowing, when the wind effects measurement sensor 3i measures a value greater than this threshold value, to validate a fallback action of the mobile element 2i. Likewise, a wind speed threshold value WS1i is recorded for each motorized device 7ai allowing, when the installation measures a wind speed lower than this threshold value, to validate a deployment action of the mobile element. These threshold values can be recorded in a memory of the control unit 6 of the installation, in a memory of the wind speed measurement device 4 and / or in a memory at the level of each of the motorized devices 7ai. We then exit the initialization mode. The installation thus initialized is then operational.

A first operating mode is defined as follows: in the event of wind exceeding the set thresholds, a command to retreat the movable element is executed, and in the event of a wind speed lower than the set thresholds, a command to deployment of the mobile element is executed or a command to deploy the mobile element is authorized. The threshold values for wind effects WEi can be chosen to be identical for motorized devices of the same type.

The protection thresholds are in principle chosen so as to avoid damage to the structure or the screen, visual or sound comfort can however lead the user to prefer a lower threshold value, for example to avoid vibrations. too large of the screen. The joint use of two measuring devices allows learning at the mobile element between the measurement of wind speed and the effects of wind on the mobile element, possibly taking into account the position of the speed measuring device Wind. This learning can then be used to manage the timers following the folds of the mobile element, the fallback positions, while maintaining the mobile element in a safety position. It is thus possible to improve the teachings of devices as described in patent EP 0 916 161 for example.

The installation can be placed in a learning mode in which it records for its various motorized devices 7ai provided with wind effect sensors measured values of wind effects and measured values of wind speed at given instants. and correlates these values.

Several methods can be used to achieve this correlation. We can for example simply record the wind speed threshold WS2i equal to the wind speed value WS at the time when the value measured WE by the wind effects sensor exceeds the threshold value WEi. It is also possible, in a more complex manner, to record different values of wind speed and different values of wind effects and to establish a law linking these values. An example of a procedure is illustrated in FIG. 2. For each motorized device 7ai, the threshold values WS1i and WEi are recorded during an initialization step 10. When, during a step 11, the value measured WE by the wind effects sensor exceeds the threshold value WEi, the wind speed value WS is taken into account to define, during a step 12, a threshold value WS2i wind speed as a function of WS and possibly a previous value WS2i. A new wind speed threshold value WS3i, lower than WS2i, can then be calculated, during a step 13, as a function of WS2i.

This correlation can also take into account the position of the movable element. Indeed, the effects of the wind undergone by the mobile element are a function of the wind and the position of the mobile element. Once this correlation has been established, the installation exits learning mode.

The installation can operate according to a mode shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3, in which the wind speed threshold value WS2i or WS3i allows, when the screen has been deployed during a step 14 and when the device for measuring the speed of the wind measures a value WS greater than this threshold value in a test step 15, to validate a fallback action of the mobile element 2i during a step 16. A fallback order can be maintained as long as the wind speed WS has not gone back below a safety threshold, for example WS1i as shown diagrammatically in step 17. It can be coupled with a time delay. The fallback order is inhibited by information from the device 4, as soon as the wind speed is detected below the safety threshold WS1 L The sensors 3i then serve, in this operating mode, as double safety. In a variant, the fallback order can be ensured by the sensors 3i and the device 4, that is to say by the sensor for which the threshold is exceeded earlier.

It is also possible to provide, in this second operating mode, that the values supplied by the sensors 3i and the device 4 continue to be recorded according to the learning mode, so as to refine the correlation by additional measurements and / or calculations.

A third wind speed threshold value WS3i, lower than the threshold value WS2i can be saved for use as a threshold value triggering a fallback action of the movable element in place of the threshold value WS2i.

The wind speed threshold values WS1i, WS2i, WS3i can be identical for motorized devices installed on the same facade.

The behavior of the movable elements can follow an "all or nothing" law between their folded and deployed positions, but preferably, the movable elements are capable of adopting a plurality of positions according to the values supplied by both the device wind speed measurement and the wind effects measurement device.

The method according to the invention finds its application particularly in tertiary buildings, which generally comprise a plurality of mobile elements, arranged on different facades and therefore subject to stresses due to very diverse wind.

The installation can obviously include motorized devices (7b) devoid of sensor and reacting differently to threshold crossing detections.

The various measurement devices and sensors can be autonomous, powered by battery or by photovoltaic type energy source.

The installation may include several devices 4 for measuring the wind speed. It may in particular include a wind speed measurement device for each of the motorized devices 7ai.

The term "validating" a fallback action or a deployment action must be understood to have two meanings. It can be synonymous with "Order execution" or "authorize execution" of a fallback action or a deployment action.

Claims

Claims:

1. Initialization method for controlling an installation (1) comprising at least one motorized device (7ai) having a movable element for closing, concealing or sun protection, each motorized device (7ai) being provided with a sensor (3i) for measuring the effects of the wind on its mobile element (2i), characterized in that for each motorized device (7ai), at least: - a threshold value for wind effects (WEi) is recorded allowing , when the sensor (3i) for measuring the effects of wind measures a value greater than this threshold value, validating a fallback action of the mobile element (2i) and, a threshold value for wind speed (WS1i) allowing, when the installation (1) measures a wind speed below this threshold value, to validate a deployment action of the mobile element (2i).

2. initialization method according to claim 1, characterized in that it is applied to an installation comprising several motorized devices (7ai) each having a movable element for closing, concealment or sun protection and in that the measurement wind speed is used by the different motorized devices (7ai) and produced by the same device (4) for measuring wind speed.

3. Initialization method according to claim 2, characterized in that the threshold values of wind effects (WEi) are identical for motorized devices of the same type in the installation and / or in that the speed threshold value wind (WS1i) is the same for motorized devices of the installation, installed on the same facade of a building.

4. Learning method for controlling an initialized installation according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that it comprises a step of recording, for at least one of the mobile elements (2i), values wind effects and wind speed values measured at a given time and a correlation step between these values.

5. A learning method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the correlation step comprises a calculation step making it possible to establish a relationship also taking into account the position of the mobile element at the time of the measurements.

6. Learning method according to one of claims 4 or 5, characterized in that a second threshold value for wind speed (WS2i) is established by means of the correlation, such that it corresponds to the threshold value of wind effects (WEi).

7. Learning method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that a third wind speed threshold value (WS3i), allowing, when the installation measures a wind speed greater than this threshold value, to validate an action of withdrawal of the movable element, is defined so as to be less than the second threshold value for wind speed (WS2i).

8. A learning method according to one of claims 6 or 7, characterized in that the second and / or third wind speed threshold value (WS2i, WS3i) are updated over time.

9. A method of controlling an installation initialized according to the method according to claim 2 or 3 and comprising several motorized devices (7ai) each having a movable element (2i) for closure, concealment or sun protection and provided with a wind effects measuring sensor (3i) on their mobile element (2i), characterized in that a fallback action of said mobile element (2i) is controlled when the wind effects measuring sensor (3i) measures a value greater than the threshold value for wind effects (WEi) and in that a deployment action of this mobile element (2i) is authorized when the installation measures a wind speed less than the first threshold value for wind speed (WS1 i).

10. A method of controlling an installation configured according to the method according to one of claims 6 to 8 and comprising several motorized devices (7ai) each having a movable element (2i) for closing, occultation or sun protection and provided a sensor for measuring the effects of wind (3i) on their mobile element (2i), characterized in that a fallback action of said mobile element (2i) is controlled when the installation measures a wind speed greater than the second, respectively third threshold value for wind speed (WS2i, resp. WS3i) and in that a deployment action of this mobile element (2i) is authorized when the installation measures a wind speed lower than the first threshold value wind speed (WS1i).

11. Control method according to one of claims 9 to 10, characterized in that the actions of withdrawal of the movable elements (2i) are actions of partial withdrawal.

12. Installation (1) comprising several motorized devices (7ai) each having a movable element (2i) for closure, concealment or sun protection, and being provided with a sensor for measuring the effects of wind (3i) applied to this movable element (2i), the installation (1) further comprising a device (4) for measuring the wind speed, the device for measuring the wind speed being used for several motorized devices (7ia), and comprising means for implementing the method according to one of the preceding claims.

13. A learning method for controlling an installation initialized according to the method of claim 1, comprising at least one motorized device (7ai) having a movable element for closing, concealing or solar protection, the installation being provided with at least one wind speed sensor and each motorized device (7ai) being provided with a sensor (3i) for measuring the effects of the wind on its mobile element (2i) and such that for each device, a first value wind speed threshold (WS1i) and a wind effects threshold value (WEi) are recorded, the method being characterized in that it comprises a recording step, for at least one of the mobile elements (2i), wind effect values (WE) and wind speed values (WS) measured at a given instant and a correlation step between these values.

14. A learning method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the correlation step comprises a calculation step making it possible to establish a relationship also taking into account the position of the mobile element at the time of the measurements.

15. Learning method according to one of claims 13 or 14, characterized in that a second threshold value for wind speed (WS2i) is established by correlation, as it corresponds to the threshold value of wind effects (WEi).

16. The learning method as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that the second wind speed threshold value (WS2i) is established as a function of a wind speed value (WS) and possibly a previous value of the second wind speed threshold value (WS2i).

17. Learning method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that a third threshold value for wind speed (WS3i) allowing, when the installation measures a wind speed greater than this threshold value, to validate a fallback action of the movable element, is defined so as to be less than the second threshold value for wind speed (WS2i).

18. A learning method according to one of claims 16 or 17, characterized in that the second and / or third wind speed threshold value (WS2i, WS3i) are updated over time.

19. A method of controlling an installation configured according to the method according to claim 13 or 14 and comprising at least one motorized device (7ai) having a movable element (2i) for closing, blocking or sun protection and provided with a wind effects measuring sensor (3i) on its mobile element (2i), characterized in that a folding action of said mobile element (2i) is controlled when the wind effects measuring sensor (3i) measures a value greater than the threshold value of wind effects (WEi) and in that a deployment action of this element mobile (2i) is authorized when the installation measures a wind speed lower than the threshold wind speed value (WS1i).

20. A method of controlling an installation configured according to the method according to one of claims 15 to 18 and comprising at least one motorized device (7ai) having a movable element (2i) for closing, blocking or sun protection and provided with a sensor for measuring the effects of the wind (3i) on its mobile element (2i), characterized in that a folding action of said mobile element (2i) is controlled when the installation measures a wind speed greater than the second, respectively third threshold value for wind speed (WS2i, resp. WS3i) and in that a deployment action of this mobile element (2i) is authorized when the installation measures a wind speed lower than the first value wind speed threshold (WS1i).

21. Control method according to one of claims 19 to 20, characterized in that the actions of withdrawal of the movable elements (2i) are actions of partial withdrawal.

22. Installation (1) comprising at least one motorized device (7ai) having a movable element (2i) for closing, concealing or sun protection, each being provided with a sensor for measuring the effects of wind (3i) applied on this mobile element (2i), the installation (1) further comprising a device for measuring the wind speed and means for implementing the method according to one of claims 13 to 21.

23. Installation according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it comprises a device for measuring the wind speed whose measurements are used by several motorized devices (7ai).