Method and System for Lighting Control

• US 20080197782A1
• Filed: 04/19/2006
• Published: 08/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Philips Lighting Holding BV (Signify N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Frumau, Constantinus Carolus Franciscus
• Granted Patent: US 7,710,271 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 315/151
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission

Abstract

A method and a system for controlling at least one lighting arrangement (2), in which the lighting arrangement modulates the light it emits by lighting arrangement data, which contains an identification code identifying the lighting arrangement, a user control device (12) is suitable to receive the light from the lighting arrangement and to derive therefrom the lighting arrangement data, the user controlled device measures a property of the received light, apart from it representing data, to provide additional data which is associated with the lighting arrangement which is associated with the identification code contained in the received data, data about a location of the user control device is determined, the user controlled device transmits the data it gained, and a main control device (10) is suitable to receive the data transmitted by the user control device and to control the at least one lighting arrangement dependent on all said data.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a lighting system, which comprises at least one lighting arrangement, a user controlled device and a main control device, the method comprising the steps of:

providing the lighting arrangement with an identification code;

at the lighting arrangement;

modulating light emitted by the lighting arrangement by lighting arrangement data, which contains the identification code of the lighting arrangement;

at the user controlled device;

receiving light from the lighting arrangement;

deriving received lighting arrangement data from the light received from the lighting arrangement;

generating additional data, which is associated with an identification code contained in the received lighting arrangement data;

transmitting the received lighting arrangement data and the additional data;

at the main control device;

receiving the data from the user controlled device;

controlling the operation of the lighting arrangement dependent on the received data;

characterized in that,

the user controlled device determines at least one property of the received light, apart from any identification code contained therein, to provide light property data, a location of the user controlled device is determined to provide location data, the user controlled device determines light tracking commands from a user to provide tracking command data, the user controlled device transmits data it determined to the main control device, and the main control device controls the at least one lighting arrangement in accordance with all said data.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the at least one light property, apart from an identification code, is determined at the lighting arrangement to provide the light property data, which is transmitted by modulating the light emitted by the lighting arrangement, and the user controllable device relays the light property data to the main control device.

3. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the at least one light property, apart from an identification code, is determined at the user controllable device by measuring the light for said property.

4. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, dependent on said data received by it, the main control device controls the at least one lighting arrangement to maintain a lighting effect, which said at least one lighting arrangement has on the user controllable device.

5. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that, before controlling said at least one lighting arrangement, the main control device is provided with a priori data about a lighting effect said at least one lighting arrangement has at several locations, and during said controlling the main control device takes said a priori data in account.

6. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that, before controlling said at least one lighting arrangement, the main control device is provided with a priori data about an environment which can be lighted by said at least one lighting arrangement, and during said controlling the main control device takes said a priori data in account.

7. A lighting system, comprising:

at least one lighting arrangement, which has a modulator, which modulates the light output of the arrangement by lighting arrangement data, which contains an identification code of the lighting arrangement;

a user controlled device, which has means to receive light from the lighting arrangement to provide received lighting arrangement data contained in the received light, means to generate additional data which is associated with the an identification code contained in the received lighting arrangement data, and means to transmit the received lighting arrangement data and the additional data; and

a main control device, which has means to receive data transmitted by the user controlled device and to control the operation of the lighting arrangement dependent on the data received from the user controlled device,

characterized in that,

the user controlled device comprises means to determine at least one property of the received light, apart from any identification code contained therein, to provide light property data, means to determine light tracking commands from a user to provide tracking command data, means are provided to determine a location of the at lest one lighting arrangement to provide location data, whereby the user controlled device transmits the data it determined to the main control device, and the main control device controls the at least one lighting arrangement in accordance with all said data.

8. System according to claim 7, characterized in that, the at least one lighting arrangement has means to determine said at least one property of the light, apart from an identification code, and means to transmit said at least one light property.

9. System according to claim 7, characterized in that, the user controllable device has means to measure said at least one property of the light, apart from an identification code, received by it.

10. System according to claim 7, characterized in that, the main control device contains a control program, which, dependent on said data received by it, controls the at least one lighting arrangement to maintain a lighting effect, which said at least one lighting arrangement has on the user controlled device.

11. System according to claim 10, characterized in that, the main control device has means to supply the control program, before controlling said at least one lighting arrangement, with a priori data about a lighting effect said at least one lighting arrangement has at several locations, and during said controlling the control program takes said a priori data in account.

12. System according to claim 10, characterized in that, the main control device has means to supply the control program, before controlling said at least one lighting arrangement, with a priori data about an environment which can be lighted by said at least one lighting arrangement, and during said controlling the control program takes said a priori data in account.