Smart phone controlled wireless light bulb

• US 10,485,078 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2018
• Issued: 11/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: A9.com Incorporated (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: A9.com Incorporated (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Recker, Michael V., Levine, David B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bannan, Julie A
• Application Number:
  US15/985,496
• Publication Number:
  US 20180270936A1
• Time in Patent Office: 547 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 23/04 the elements being switches safety devices F21V25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/195 the transmission using visible or infrared light
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

The claimed subject matter provides systems and/or methods that employ a control component integrated in a light bulb to control the light bulb wirelessly. The wireless light bulb can include a light source, a control component that manages operation of the light source, an input component that wirelessly obtains input signals that can be utilized by the control component, and a power source. For instance, the light source can be one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) and/or the power source can be one or more batteries. Moreover, the input component can receive the input signals (e.g., radio frequency, infrared, . . . ) from a remote control, a sensor, a differing wireless light bulb, a radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag, etc. Further, the wireless light bulb can be mechanically coupled to a lighting fixture, where the lighting fixture may or may not be electrically coupled to an alternating current (AC) power source.

Claims

1. A lighting device comprising:

a light source;

a lighting fixture configured to electrically couple to an alternating current (AC) power source;

a direct current (DC) power source;

a wireless transceiver;

one or more processors; and

one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

determining a period of time has elapsed;

after the period of time has elapsed, causing the wireless transceiver to monitor for a command signal;

receiving, using the wireless transceiver, the command signal from a remote control;

causing the light source to operate in an illumination state after receiving the command signal; and

sending, using the wireless transceiver and to the remote control, data indicating the illumination state of the light source.

2. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein the DC power source comprises one or more rechargeable batteries.

3. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein the DC power source is configured to provide DC power to the light source after the AC power source is disconnected.

4. The lighting device of claim 1, further comprising a motion sensor, wherein the one or more computer-readable media store further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform further operations comprising:

detecting an object using the motion sensor; and

after detecting the object, transmitting, using the wireless transceiver, a motion detection signal to the remote control.

5. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein receiving the command signal is via at least one of a local area network, a wide area network, a cellular network, or a direct wireless communication channel.

6. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein the light source comprises one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs).

7. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein causing the light source to operate in the illumination state comprises at least one of:

causing the light source to emit light;

causing the light source to cease emitting the light;

or

causing the light source to change from emitting the light at a first intensity to emitting the light at a second intensity.

8. The lighting device of claim 1, the one or more computer-readable media storing further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform further operations comprising sending, using the wireless transceiver, the command signal to a second lighting device.

13. The lighting device of claim 1, the one or more computer-readable media storing further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform further operations comprising causing the wireless transceiver to periodically monitor for the command signal.

14. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein the data is first data and the illumination state is a first illumination state, and wherein the one or more computer-readable media store further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform further operations comprising:

storing second data indicating a time for causing the light source to operate in a second illumination state; and

at the time, causing the light source to operate in the second illumination state.

15. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein the data is first data and the illumination state is a first illumination state, and wherein the one or more computer-readable media store further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform further operations comprising:

storing second data representing a schedule; and

based at least in part on the second data, causing the light source to operate in a second illumination state.

9. A method comprising:

after a period of time has elapsed, causing a lighting device to monitor for a command signal;

receiving, at a wireless transceiver of the lighting device, the command signal from a remote control;

causing a light source of the lighting device to operate in an illumination state after receiving the command signal; and

sending, using the wireless transceiver and to the remote control, data indicating the illumination state of the light source.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

detecting an object using a motion sensor of the lighting device; and

after detecting the object, sending, using the wireless transceiver, a motion detection signal to the remote control.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the command signal from the remote control comprises receiving, at the wireless transceiver, the command signal from the remote control through at least one of a local area network, a wide area network, or a cellular network.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein causing the light source of the lighting device to operate in the illumination state comprises at least one of:

causing the light source to emit light;

causing the light source to cease emitting the light;

or

causing the light source to change from emitting the light at a first intensity to emitting the light at a second intensity.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising causing the wireless transceiver to periodically monitor for the command signal.

19. The method of claim 9, further comprising, after an additional period of time has elapsed, causing the lighting device to forgo monitoring for an additional command signal.

20. The method of claim 9, wherein the command signal represents a delay time for switching to the illumination state, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining that a current time includes the delay time,

wherein causing the light source of the lighting device to operate in the illumination state further occurs after determining that the current time includes the delay time.

17. An electronic device comprising:

a light source;

a wireless transceiver;

one or more processors; and

one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

causing the light source to operate in a first illumination state;

causing the wireless transceiver to periodically monitor for a signal;

receiving, using the wireless transceiver, the signal from a remote control;

after receiving the signal, causing the light source to operate in a second illumination state; and

sending, using the wireless transceiver and to the remote control, data indicating the second illumination state of the light source.

18. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the data is first data, and wherein the one or more computer-readable media store further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform further operations comprising:

storing second data indicating a time for causing the light source to operate in a third illumination state; and

at the time, causing the light source to operate in the third illumination state.