Control installation for a lighting system and method for configuring and putting into service said control installation

• US 10,285,247 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2015
• Issued: 05/07/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trilux GmbH & Company KG
• Original Assignee: ITZ Innovations- und Technologiezentrum GmbH
• Inventors: Mueller, Sven
• Primary Examiner(s): Alunkal, Thomas D
• Application Number:
  US15/329,838
• Publication Number:
  US 20170311421A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,463 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 31/50 specially adapted for ac
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/11 by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/115 by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/13 by using passive infrared detectors
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/155 Coordinated control of two or more light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/16 by timing means
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/18 via data-bus transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/1965 using handheld communication devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

The invention relates to a control system for a lighting system comprising at least one control adapter having a digital interface for connection to an assigned digital control bus, to which a plurality of light-technology operating components such as control gear, ballast devices, sensor units, and/or switch units are connectable as bus users by means of a respective digital interface, wherein the at least one control adapter furthermore has a controller and a wireless interface for data coupling of the control adapter to a wireless network terminal. The control facility according to the invention is distinguished in that for at least one lighting system template, the respective comprised light-technology operating components and at least some of configurations and/or parameterizations assigned to the operating components are stored in a memory, which can be read out by the wireless network terminal, wherein the bus users connected to the digital control bus are detected for the configuration and startup of the lighting system. The invention furthermore relates to a method for the configuration and startup of such a facility.

Claims

1. A control facility for a lighting system comprising:

at least one control adapter having a digital interface for connection to an assigned digital control bus, to which a plurality of light-technology operating components are connectable as bus users by a respective digital interface;

wherein the at least one control adapter furthermore has a controller and a wireless interface for data coupling of the at least one control adapter to a wireless network terminal;

wherein, for a plurality of lighting system templates, for each of said templates, the light-technology operating components and at least some configurations and/or parameterizations assigned to the light-technology operating components are stored in a memory, which is readable by the wireless network terminal; and

wherein, for a configuration and a startup of the lighting system, all bus users connected to the digital control bus are detected, and one of said plurality of lighting system templates having a predefined configuration and/or parameterization of the light-technology operating components is ascertainable in a computer-assisted manner by comparison of the detected light-technology operating components to the light technology operating components stored for the plurality of lighting system templates, which lighting system template is used as a basis for a following further configuration and/or parameterization of the lighting system.

2. The control facility according to claim 1, wherein the memory for storing the light-technology operating components by the at least one or the plurality of lighting system templates and at least some of the configurations and/or parameterizations assigned to the light-technology operating components is arranged in the wireless network terminal.

3. The control facility according to claim 1, wherein target values and/or functionalities for detected light-technology operating components are inputable via the wireless network terminal.

4. The control facility according to claim 1, wherein lighting scenes are inputable via the wireless network terminal.

5. The control facility according to claim 1, wherein the control facility has a plurality of control adapters having a digital interface for connection to an assigned digital control bus, a controller, and a wireless interface, wherein the plurality of control adapters are users of the wireless network, configured as a wireless client, wireless base station (wireless access point), and/or as a wireless router, and wherein the wireless network is a WLAN network.

6. A method for a configuration and/or a startup of a control facility for a lighting system having at least one control adapter having a digital interface for connection to an assigned digital control bus, to which a plurality of light-technology operating components are connected by a respective digital interface as bus users, wherein the at least one control adapter furthermore has a controller and a wireless interface for data coupling of the at least one control adapter to a wireless network terminal, the method comprising the following steps:

setting up a wireless network comprising the at least one control adapter as a wireless network user;

detecting the light-technology operating components connected to the digital control bus of a control adapter for the at least one control adapter which is networked in the wireless network;

comparing the ascertained lighting system construction to stored plurality of lighting system templates according to predetermined criteria; and

in response to the comparison, selecting a lighting system template from said stored plurality of lighting system templates, wherein configuration and/or parameterization of the lighting system is carried out according to the selected lighting system template.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the following step precedes the step of selecting a lighting system template:

identifying a lighting system template having the greatest correspondence according to the predetermined criteria.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the following step precedes the step of selecting a lighting system template:

identifying a plurality of stored lighting system templates having the greatest correspondence according to the predetermined criteria and listing lighting system templates according to the extent of the correspondence with respect to the predetermined criteria.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the lighting system template for configuring the lighting system is selected manually from the list.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein the configuration of a wireless network comprises the following steps:

scanning a specified wireless network frequency range to ascertain wireless network users, which are configured as a base station (wireless access point) or wireless router and are recognizable with respect to data as control adapters by specification of a unique identifier assigned to a control adapter; and

selecting a subset or all ascertained control adapters and configuring the selected control adapters as wireless network users associated with the specific wireless network.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the step of selecting control adapters comprises, for each ascertained control adapter:

displaying the ascertained control adapter on a display screen by an assigned symbol;

marking of a symbol assigned to the control adapter on the display screen by a user;

activating the control adapter marked on the display screen to emit an optical and/or acoustic signal; and

in response to the signal, selecting of the control adapter by the user as a control adapter associated with the wireless network.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein a plurality of the selected control adapters are each reconfigured as a client within the specific wireless network.

13. The method according to claim 6, during the configuration of a wireless network, the authenticity of an ascertained control adapter is verified by user input and/or reading in a public key assigned to the control adapter.

14. The method according to claim 6, wherein a self-signed certificate comprising a private key and a public key is stored on the control adapters for encrypting communication data.

15. The method according to claim 6, wherein after the finishing of the configuration and/or parameterization of the lighting system, configuration data and/or parameterization data of the lighting system are used to update and/or expand a stored lighting system template, or items of information on the lighting system are stored with the associated configuration data and/or parameterization data as a further lighting system template.

16. The method according to claim 6, wherein geometrical specifications about a room design and specifications about at least one group of lights arranged in the room and also at least one sensor unit and/or one switch unit are stored in the at least one lighting system template.

17. The method according to claim 6, wherein after the configuration of the control facility, an interconnection of a plurality of software modules to create a control program for the at least one control adapter is carried out automatically and in a program-controlled manner as a function of the operating components connected to the control adapter and the configuration thereof.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, on which a program code is stored for a wireless network terminal for executing the method according to claim 6.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, on which a program code is stored for a control adapter for executing the method according to claim 6.

20. A wireless network terminal such as a smartphone or a notebook, having a display screen and an input unit and also having a storage medium according to claim 18.

21. A control adapter having a controller, a wireless interface for data coupling of the control adapter to a wireless network terminal, a digital interface for connection to an assigned digital control bus, and also having a storage medium according to claim 19.