Method of identifying a lighting fixture

• US 10,506,688 B2
• Filed: 08/24/2017
• Issued: 12/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
• Original Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
• Inventors: Abraham, Arya, Braskey, Nicholas J., Courtney, Brian M., Howe, William H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Philogene, Haissa
• Application Number:
  US15/685,750
• Publication Number:
  US 20180063927A1
• Time in Patent Office: 838 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 23/0435 activated by remote control means
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 11/28 using pulse-height modulation; using pulse-width modulation
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• 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 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: H05B 47/175 by remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/199 Commissioning of light sources
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

Control-source devices may be associated with control-target devices of a load control system during a configuration procedure, such that the control-target devices are responsive to the associated control-source devices during normal operation. The configuration procedure may be executed using a network device having a visual display for associating the control-source devices and control-target devices. The control-source devices may be associated with the control-target devices on an area-by-area basis using an area configuration procedure. The control-target devices may be configured to flash a controlled lighting load according to a flashing profile during the configuration procedure. The flashing profile may be characterized by at least one abrupt transition between off and on, and at least one gradual transition between off and on, where the abrupt and gradual transitions are repeated on a periodic basis.

Claims

1. A method of flashing a lighting load, the method comprising:

generating a controlled intensity for the lighting load;

decreasing the controlled intensity from a high-end intensity to off across a first period of time;

after the controlled intensity has been decreased from the high-end intensity to off, maintaining the controlled intensity at off for a second period of time;

after the second period of time, abruptly increasing the controlled intensity from off to the high-end intensity;

after the controlled intensity has been increased from off to the high-end intensity, maintaining the controlled intensity at the high-end intensity for a third period of time; and

periodically repeating the steps of decreasing, maintaining, increasing, and maintaining.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a control signal to a lighting control device that is controlling the lighting load, where the control signal is representative of the controlled intensity for the lighting load.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first period of time is substantially one second, the second period of time is substantially 1.5 seconds, and the third period of time is substantially two seconds.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein abruptly increasing the controlled intensity from off to the high-end intensity comprises increasing the controlled intensity from off to the high-end intensity using a fade rate of substantially zero seconds.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the high-end intensity comprises a full-on setting.

6. An apparatus for controlling a lighting load, the apparatus comprising:

a control circuit configured to control the amount of power delivered to the lighting load, the control circuit configured to flash the lighting load according to a flashing profile;

wherein the flashing profile is characterized by at least one abrupt transition between off and a high-end intensity, and at least one gradual transition between off and the high-end intensity, the abrupt and gradual transitions repeated on a periodic basis.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the control circuit is configured to generate a controlled intensity for controlling the lighting load, the control circuit configured to abruptly increase the controlled intensity from off to the high-end intensity to generate the abrupt transition in the flashing profile.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the control circuit is configured to decrease the controlled intensity from the high-end intensity to off across a first period of time to generate the gradual transition in the flashing profile.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the control circuit is configured to maintain the controlled intensity at off for a second period of time after the controlled intensity has been decreased from the high-end intensity to off and before the controlled intensity is increased from off to the high-end intensity, the control circuit further configured to maintain the controlled intensity at the high-end intensity for a third period of time after the controlled intensity has been increased from off to the high-end intensity.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first period of time is substantially one second, the second period of time is substantially 1.5 seconds, and the third period of time is substantially two seconds.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the control circuit is configured to abruptly increase the controlled intensity from off to the high-end intensity using a fade rate of substantially zero seconds.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the high-end intensity comprises a full-on setting.

13. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the control circuit is configured to abruptly increase the controlled intensity from off to the high-end intensity using a fade rate of substantially zero seconds.

14. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising:

a control signal generation circuit configured to provide a control signal to a lighting control device that is controlling the lighting load.

15. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising:

a load control circuit configured to control the amount of power delivered to the lighting load.

16. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the high-end intensity comprises a full-on setting.