Lighting control system configurable by control device

• US 10,383,200 B1
• Filed: 12/19/2018
• Issued: 08/13/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Building Robotics, Inc. (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Enlighted, Inc. (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Romano, John, Perkins, David, Senescu, Reid, Kurashige, Jason, Ouchida, Wayne, Mohan, Tanuj
• Primary Examiner(s): Hammond, Dedei K
• Application Number:
  US16/226,479
• Time in Patent Office: 237 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2807 Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving network analysis for automatically determining the actual topology of a network H04L41/12; hardware or software tools for network management using graphical user interfaces H04L41/22; address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/105 in response to determined parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/115 by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings
• 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

Abstract

There is described a lighting control system of a building environment comprising a control device and a lighting device. The control device is capable of detecting an activation of a configuration mode of the lighting control system and controlling illumination for the building environment in response to command inputs received at a user interface. The lighting device is capable of receiving a message indicating that the activation of the configuration mode has been detected by the control device and receiving a directional signal from a directional device subsequent to receiving the message. A membership status of the lighting device in a device group is changed in response to receiving the directional signal.

Claims

1. A lighting control system of a building environment comprising:

a control device including a user interface to detect an activation of a configuration mode of the lighting control system, the control device being configured to control illumination for at least a portion of the building environment in response to a command input received at the user interface; and

a lighting device configured to receive wirelessly a message indicating that the activation of the configuration mode has been detected by the control device, the lighting device being further configured to receive wirelessly a directional signal from a directional device subsequent to receiving the message,

wherein a membership status of the lighting device in a device group is changed in response to receiving the directional signal.

2. The system as described in claim 1, wherein the control device is a switch configured to control remotely a light level of the lighting device.

3. The system as described in claim 1, wherein the lighting device comprises a light fixture interface and a sensor communicating with the light fixture interface, the light fixture interface being coupled to a light fixture that is configured to provide illumination to the at least a portion of the building environment.

4. The system as described in claim 1, wherein the lighting device comprises a light fixture configured to provide illumination to the at least a portion of the building environment and a sensor communicating with the light fixture.

5. The system as described in claim 1, wherein the directional signal is an amplified or oscillated light signal directed toward a sensor of the lighting device.

6. The system as described in claim 1, wherein one of either the lighting device or the control device adds the lighting device to the device group in response to determining that the lighting device is not a member of the device group.

7. The system as described in claim 1, wherein one of either the lighting device or the control device removes the lighting device from the device group in response to determining that the lighting device is a member of the device group.

8. A method for configuring a lighting control system of a building environment, the method comprising:

detecting an activation of a configuration mode of the lighting control system at a user interface of a control device;

receiving wirelessly, at a lighting device, a message indicating that the activation of the configuration mode has been detected by the control device;

receiving wirelessly, at the lighting device, a directional signal from a directional device subsequent to receiving the message; and

changing a membership status of the lighting device in a device group in response to receiving the directional signal; and

controlling remotely, at the control device, the lighting device in response to detecting a command input at the user interface of the control device.

9. The method as described in claim 8, wherein controlling remotely the lighting device includes controlling a light level of the lighting device.

10. The method as described in claim 8, wherein receiving wirelessly the message includes receiving wirelessly the message via radio wave-based technology at the lighting device.

11. The method as described in claim 8, wherein receiving wirelessly the directional signal includes receiving wirelessly the directional signal via light-based technology at the lighting device.

12. The method as described in claim 11, wherein the directional signal is an amplified or oscillated light signal directed toward the lighting device.

13. The method as described in claim 8, wherein changing the membership status of the lighting device in the device group includes adding the lighting device to the device group in response to determining that the lighting device is not a member of the device group.

14. The method as described in claim 8, wherein changing the membership status of the lighting device in the device group includes removing the lighting device from the device group in response to determining that the lighting device is a member of the device group.

15. A lighting device for configuring a lighting control system of a building environment comprising:

a communication component configured to receive wirelessly a message indicating that an activation of a configuration mode has been detected by a first remote device;

a sensor component configured to receive wirelessly a directional signal from a second remote device subsequent to receiving the message; and

a controller configured to change a membership status of the lighting device in a device group in response to receiving the directional signal.

16. The lighting device described by claim 15, wherein the first remote device is a switch configured to control remotely a light level of the lighting device.

17. The lighting device described by claim 15, wherein the directional signal is an amplified or oscillated light signal directed toward the lighting device.

18. The lighting device described by claim 15, wherein the lighting device comprises a sensor communicating with a light fixture or a light fixture interface, wherein the sensor includes the communication component, the sensor component, and the controller.

19. The lighting device described by claim 15, wherein the controller adds the lighting device to the device group in response to determining that the lighting device is not a member of the device group.

20. The lighting device described by claim 15, wherein the controller removes the lighting device from the device group in response to determining that the lighting device is a member of the device group.