Dimming control system with distributed command processing
First Claim
1. A dimming control system comprising:
- a rack having a plurality of dimmer slots for receiving dimmer modules and at least two control module slots for receiving at least two control modules, wherein the at least two control module slots are coupled to the dimmer slots to allow one of the at least two control modules to control the dimmer modules; and
a non-volatile memory mounted to the rack for storing operational information for the rack, whereby the at least two control modules can be removed from the rack without affecting the information stored in the nonvolatile memory.
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Abstract
A dimming control system includes dimmer modules that receive dimming level information from one of at least two control modules. Each dimmer module includes a microprocessor that provides internal intelligence for controlling power to a load in response to dimming level information. Control modules receive industry standard protocol dimming information from various sources, convert it to dimming level information, and serially communicate the dimming level information to the dimmer modules. Dimmer modules and control modules are mounted in a rack which includes a backplane having a nonvolatile memory device that retains configuration data even if control modules are removed from the rack. An inactive control module can assume control of the rack when an active control module fails.
68 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A dimming control system comprising:
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a rack having a plurality of dimmer slots for receiving dimmer modules and at least two control module slots for receiving at least two control modules, wherein the at least two control module slots are coupled to the dimmer slots to allow one of the at least two control modules to control the dimmer modules; and
a non-volatile memory mounted to the rack for storing operational information for the rack, whereby the at least two control modules can be removed from the rack without affecting the information stored in the nonvolatile memory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for operating a dimming control system comprising a rack having a plurality of dimmer slots for receiving dimmer modules and a control module slot for receiving a control module, wherein the control module slot is coupled to the dimmer slots to allow the control module to control the dimmer modules, the method comprising:
a step for storing operational information for the rack in a non-volatile memory mounted to the rack, whereby the control module can be removed from the rack without affecting the information stored in the nonvolatile memory. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for control of a dimmer system having a control module and at least one dimmer module with an integral microcontroller, the method comprising:
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a step for transmitting dimmer level information from the control module;
a step for receiving the dimmer level information in the microcontroller;
a step for converting the dimmer level information to a dimmer level output in the microcontroller; and
a step for outputting the dimmer level output from the at least one dimmer module. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification