Control system for user-activated selection of control functionality

• US 10,111,306 B1
• Filed: 09/18/2017
• Issued: 10/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Current Lighting Solutions, LLC (f/k/a GE Lighting Solutions, LLC) (American Industrial Partners)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Yon, Jeremy Wayne, Miller, Timothy Lawrence
• Primary Examiner(s): King, Monica C
• Application Number:
  US15/706,816
• Time in Patent Office: 400 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 using a wireless architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/30 Driver circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/11 by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/125 by using cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/13 by using passive infrared detectors
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/175 by remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission

Abstract

A lighting control system includes control devices each configured to be coupled with one or more lighting devices. Each of the control devices includes sensor(s) configured to measure a characteristic of an environment, and hardware circuitry configured to connect with a network for one or more of remotely controlling operation of the one or more lighting devices, communicating the characteristic that is sensed, or monitoring information received through the network. The hardware circuitry of the control devices are configured to operate between different operational modes to perform different functions to control the one or more lighting devices based on the characteristic that is measured by the one or more sensors, based on the information received via the network, or based on both the characteristic that is measured and the information received via the network. The system also includes switching hardware configured to change the operational mode of the control devices.

Claims

1. A lighting control system comprising:

two or more control devices each configured to be coupled with one or more lighting devices and that each include;

(a) one or more sensors configured to measure a characteristic of an environment, and

(b) hardware circuitry configured to connect with a network for one or more of remotely controlling operation of the one or more lighting devices, communicating the characteristic that is sensed, or monitoring information received through the network,

wherein the hardware circuitry of the control devices are configured to operate between different operational modes to perform different functions to control the one or more lighting devices based on the characteristic that is measured by the one or more sensors, based on the information received via the network, or based on both the characteristic that is measured and the information received via the network; and

hardware circuitry configured to change the operational mode of the control devices.

2. The lighting control system of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to measure the characteristic as one or more of occupancy of an area by a person or object, presence of the area by the person or object, daylight, ambient light, audible noise, temperature, humidity, composition of air, vibration, acceleration, position, or spectral content.

3. The lighting control system of claim 1, wherein the hardware circuitry of the control devices are configured to connect with the network that controls operation of the one or more lighting devices using one or more of wired analog control, wired digital control, or wireless control.

4. The lighting control system of claim 1, wherein the hardware circuitry of the control devices are configured to connect with the network that includes one or more of a peer-to-peer network, a hub network, or a cloud based network.

5. The lighting control system of claim 1, wherein each of the control devices includes a separate assembly of the hardware circuitry that is configured to separately perform a different function than the other control devices.

6. The lighting control system of claim 1, wherein the hardware circuitry is configured to be wirelessly connected with the two or more control devices.

7. The lighting control system of claim 1, wherein the hardware circuitry is configured to automatically change the operational mode of the control devices based on the characteristic that is measured.

8. The lighting control system of claim 1, wherein the hardware circuitry is configured to only change the operational mode of the control devices responsive to manual actuation of the hardware circuitry.

9. The lighting control system of claim 1, wherein the control devices and the one or more lighting devices are separate hardware entities that are connected via one or more wired or wireless connections.

10. A system comprising:

control devices each configured to be coupled with one or more lighting devices, each of the control devices configured to switch between operational modes that include a first operational mode involving receiving a characteristic measured by one or more sensors, a second operational mode involving connecting with a computer network for remotely controlling operation of the one or more lighting devices, and a third operational mode involving both receiving the characteristic that is measured by the one or more sensors and remotely controlling the operation of the one or more lighting devices based on the characteristic that is measured; and

hardware circuitry configured to change the operational mode of the control devices.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the control devices are configured to operate in both the first and second operational modes but is prevented from operating in the second operational mode by the hardware circuitry while operating in the first operational mode.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the control devices are configured to implement manual control of illumination of one or more locations by the one or more lighting devices in the first operational mode, and wherein the control devices are configured to automatically control the illumination of the one or more locations by the one or more lighting devices in the second operational mode.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the control devices are configured to control of illumination of one or more locations by the one or more lighting devices while in the first operational mode and the control devices are configured to control a function other than the illumination of the one or more locations while in the second operational mode.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the control devices are configured to implement manual control of illumination of one or more locations by the one or more lighting devices while operating in the first operational mode, and wherein the control devices are configured to monitor one or more characteristics of an environment in which the one or more lighting devices are located while operating in the second operational mode.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the control devices are configured to implement manual control of illumination of one or more locations by the one or more operational modes while operating in the first operational mode, and wherein the control devices are configured to communicate with a back-end control unit for remotely controlling operation of the one or more lighting devices while operating in the second operational mode.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the control devices are configured to implement manual control of illumination of one or more locations by the one or more lighting devices while operating in the first operational mode, wherein the control devices are configured to communicate with circuitry of one or more other lighting devices while operating in the second operational mode.

17. A method comprising:

controlling one or more functions in a first set of functions using circuitry of an assembly;

determining whether hardware circuitry has been intentionally actuated to change an operational mode of the circuitry from a first operational mode to a different, second operational mode; and

controlling one or more different functions in a different, second set of functions using the circuitry of the assembly responsive to determining that the hardware circuitry has been intentionally actuated,

wherein the circuitry is configured to perform only the first set of functions while in the first operational mode and the circuitry is configured to perform both the first and second set of functions while in the second operational mode.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the circuitry is capable of performing the first and second set of functions in both the first and second operational modes, and wherein the method also includes preventing the circuitry from performing the second set of functions while operating in the first operational mode.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the one or more functions in the first set of functions include implementing manual control of illumination of one or more locations by a light device, and wherein the one or more functions in the second set of functions include automatic control of the illumination of the one or more locations by the light device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the one or more functions in the second set of functions include detecting motion and automatically controlling the illumination of the one or more locations by the light device responsive to detecting the motion.