Devices, systems, and methods for communicating with rooftop air handling units and other hvac components

Abstract

A device for communicating information from a controller for a rooftop air handling unit to a portable electronic device includes a wire terminal for wiring to the controller and for receiving a signal including information from the controller. The device further includes a transceiver configured to form a direct wireless communications link between the transceiver and portable electronic device. The device yet further includes a circuit coupled to the wire terminal and the transceiver. The circuit is configured to extract the information from the signal. The circuit is further configured to format the information into a format in which the information can be presented to a user by the portable electronic device and to provide the translated information from the transceiver to the portable electronic device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A device for communicating information from a controller for a rooftop air handling unit to a portable electronic device, the device comprising:
 a wire terminal for wiring to the controller for the rooftop air handling unit and for receiving a signal comprising information from the controller for the rooftop air handling unit, wherein the wire terminal is a part of the device and is not a part of the controller and is not a part of the portable electronic device;   a transceiver configured to form a direct wireless communications link between the transceiver and the portable electronic device, wherein the transceiver is configured to wirelessly transmit the information directly to the portable electronic device via the direct wireless communications link, wherein the transceiver is not a part of the controller and is not a part of the portable electronic device; and   a circuit coupled to the wire terminal and the transceiver, the circuit configured to extract the information from the signal according to a communications protocol compatible with the controller for the rooftop air handling unit, the circuit further configured to provide the information from the wire terminal to the transceiver, wherein the circuit operates the wire terminal and the transceiver to cause the device to serve as a wireless communications bridge between the controller for the rooftop air handling unit and the portable electronic device,   wherein the circuit is configured to format the information into a format in which the information can be presented to a user by the portable electronic device and to provide the translated information from the transceiver directly to the portable electronic device via the direct wireless communications link.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the circuit is further configured to interpret the information according to the communications protocol compatible with the controller for the rooftop air handling unit and to use the interpretation to reform the information according to a second data communications protocol. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the first data communications protocol is at least one of a BACnet protocol, a LON protocol, a Modbus protocol, and a proprietary protocol. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the second data communications protocol is a wireless application protocol (WAP) and wherein the information is described according to at least one of an XML language, an XHTML language, and a WML language. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the second data communications protocol is an HTTP protocol and wherein the information is described according to at least one of an XML, XHTML, and HTML language. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the wire terminal is at least one of an RS-485 terminal, an EIA-485 terminal, and a TIA-485-A terminal. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the wire terminal is a universal serial bus terminal and the transceiver is compatible with a wireless USB protocol. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the information comprises at least one of operational status information, alert information, sensor information, naming information, historical information, diagnostics information, and setpoint information. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the portable electronic device is at least one of a mobile phone, a laptop, and a personal digital assistant. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to communicate the information from the controller to the portable electronic device without using an application gateway. 
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to form a plurality of communications links with a plurality of rooftop air handling units,
 wherein at least one of the plurality of communications links is a wired communications link and at least one of the plurality of communications links is a wireless communications link.   
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device does not include a user interface for viewing the translated information. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the circuit comprises a server module configured to conduct wireless communications with the portable electronic device, wherein the server module is configured to directly serve the translated information to the portable electronic device. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to communicate with the portable electronic device without joining a larger communications network. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the circuit is configured to form commands and provide the commands to the controller for the rooftop air handling unit in response to an input received wirelessly. 
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device is a portable device contained within a single portable housing. 
     
     
         17 . A method for providing information from a controller for a rooftop air handling unit to a portable electronic device, the method comprising:
 connecting a device to a wire terminal of the controller for the rooftop unit using a cable;   receiving a signal comprising information at the device, the signal from the wire terminal of the controller for the rooftop unit, over the cable;   extracting, at the device and using a circuit of the device, the information from the signal;   providing the information to a transceiver of the device;   forming a direct wireless communications link with between the transceiver and the portable electronic device;   translating the information into a format in which the information can be presented to a user by the portable electronic device; and   providing the translated information from the transceiver directly to the portable electronic device via the direct wireless communications link,   wherein the connecting, receiving, extracting, forming, and providing steps create a wireless communications bridge between the controller for the rooftop air handling unit and the portable electronic device.