Automatic mapping of devices in a distributed lighting network

• US 10,251,245 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2016
• Issued: 04/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IDEAL Industries Lighting, LLC (Ideal Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: CREE Incorporated (Wolfspeed, Inc.)
• Inventors: Roberts, John, Chobot, Joseph P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Owens, Douglas W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chai, Raymond R
• Application Number:
  US15/192,035
• Publication Number:
  US 20170231066A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,012 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 8/086 with lighting device attached sideways of the standard, e.g. for roads and highways
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 9/026 rechargeable by using wind power, e.g. using wind turbines
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 9/028 rechargeable by using hydropower, e.g. using water powered turbines
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 9/03 rechargeable by exposure to light
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 23/003 the elements being electronics drivers or controllers for operating the light source, e.g. for a LED array
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 23/005 the substrate is supporting also the light source
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 5/04 of lens shape
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 7/22 characterised by materials, surface treatments or coatings, e.g. dichroic reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2131/103 of streets or roads
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2103/10 comprising a linear array of point-like light-generating elements
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/08 Use of electric radiation detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/08 Systems for measuring distance only indirect measurement G01S13/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/08 Systems for measuring distance only indirect measurement G01S15/46
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20216 Image averaging
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/50 by performing operations within image blocks; by using histograms, e.g. histogram of oriented gradients [HoG]; by summing image-intensity values; Projection analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/56 relating to colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/751 : Comparing pixel values or logical combinations thereof, or feature values having positional relevance, e.g. template matching
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/95 : structured as a network, e.g. client-server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/44 : Event detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 : Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0068 : Battery or charger load switching, e.g. concurrent charging and load supply H02J7/0013 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/35 : with light sensitive cells
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 : based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/00 : Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00; network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00; security arrangements for protecting computers or computer systems against unauthorised activity G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 : based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 : specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/20 : Controlling the colour of the light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/325 : Pulse-width modulation [PWM]
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/3725 : Switched mode power supply [SMPS]
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/395 : Linear regulators
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/46 : having LEDs disposed in parallel lines
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/105 : in response to determined parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/11 : by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/16 : by timing means
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/175 : by remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/18 : via data-bus transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 : via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 : Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/50 : Energy storage in industry with an added climate change mitigation effect
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 : Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

A method includes the steps of obtaining distance measurements between a device and a number of lighting fixtures, processing the distance measurements to assign coordinates to each one of the lighting fixtures, and facilitating registration of the coordinates of a subset of the lighting fixtures to obtain registered coordinates for all of the lighting fixtures. The coordinates indicate a relative location of each one of the lighting fixtures with respect to one another. The registered coordinates indicate a location of each lighting fixture in a desired coordinate space. Accordingly, a location of a lighting fixture within a desired coordinate space can be easily obtained, which may enable significant additional functionality of the lighting fixture.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining a plurality of distance measurements between a plurality of lighting fixtures and a non-lighting fixture device;

verifying the existence of distance measurements between each lighting fixture of the plurality of lighting fixtures and the non-lighting fixture device;

determining a distance measurement for any lighting fixture of the plurality of lighting fixtures not having the distance measurement;

processing the plurality of distance measurements to assign coordinates to each one of the plurality of lighting fixtures, wherein the coordinates indicate a relative location of each one of the plurality of lighting fixtures with respect to one another; and

facilitating registration of the coordinates assigned to a subset of the plurality of lighting fixtures to a coordinate space to obtain registered coordinates for each one of the plurality of lighting fixtures, wherein the registered coordinates indicate a location of a lighting fixture in the coordinate space that corresponds to a floorplan of a structure such that each one of the plurality of lighting fixtures in the subset of the plurality of lighting fixtures is coordinated with respect to each other and the floorplan of the structure via a drag-and-drop operation with respect to the floorplan via a user interface of the non-lighting fixture device, thereby facilitating the registration of the coordinates.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of distance measurements are determined based on radio frequency (RF) ranging between the non-lighting fixture device and the plurality of lighting fixtures.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of distance measurements are determined based on images captured from a camera on the non-lighting fixture device.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of distance measurements are determined based on acoustic ranging between the non-lighting fixture device and the plurality of lighting fixtures.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein processing the plurality of distance measurements to assign the coordinates to each one of the plurality of lighting fixtures comprises processing the plurality of distance measurements using simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM).

6. The method of claim 5 wherein facilitating the registration of the coordinates assigned to the subset of the plurality of lighting fixtures to the coordinate space comprises facilitating a manual association of the coordinates of the subset of the plurality of lighting fixtures with coordinates in the coordinate space.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein facilitating the registration of the coordinates assigned to the subset of the plurality of lighting fixtures to the coordinate space comprises facilitating a manual association of the coordinates of the subset of the plurality of lighting fixtures with coordinates in the coordinate space.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining locations for each one of the lighting fixtures in the coordinate space based on the coordinates of the lighting fixtures and the registered coordinates of the subset of lighting fixtures.

9. An apparatus comprising:

communications circuitry;

processing circuitry coupled to the communications circuitry; and

a memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the processing circuitry cause the apparatus to;

obtain a plurality of distance measurements between the apparatus and a plurality of lighting fixtures via the communications circuitry where the apparatus is a non-lighting fixture;

verifying the existence of distance measurements between each lighting fixture of the plurality of lighting fixtures and the apparatus;

determining a distance measurement for any lighting fixture of the plurality of lighting fixtures not having the distance measurement;

process the plurality of distance measurements to assign coordinates to each one of the plurality of lighting fixtures, wherein the coordinates indicate a relative location of each one of the plurality of lighting fixtures with respect to one another; and

facilitate registration of the coordinates assigned to a subset of the plurality of lighting fixtures to a coordinate space to obtain registered coordinates for each one of the plurality of lighting fixtures, wherein the registered coordinates indicate a location of a lighting fixture in the coordinate space that corresponds to a floorplan of a structure such that each one of the plurality of lighting fixtures in the subset of the plurality of lighting fixtures is coordinated with respect to each other and the floorplan of the structure via a drag-and-drop operation with respect to the floorplan via a user interface of the apparatus, thereby facilitating the registration of the coordinates.