Illumination control network

• US 20080265799A1
• Filed: 04/18/2008
• Published: 10/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IDEAL Industries Lighting, LLC (Ideal Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Julie Claire Sibert
• Inventors: Sibert, W. Olin
• Granted Patent: US 8,035,320 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 315/292
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/12 by detecting audible sound
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/155 Coordinated control of two or more light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/175 by remote control
• 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

The present invention addresses the problem of providing illumination in a manner that is energy efficient and intelligent. In particular, the present invention uses distributed processing across a network of illuminators to control the illumination for a given environment. The network controls the illumination level and pattern in response to light, sound, and motion. The network may also be trained according to uploaded software behavior modules, and subsets of the network may be organized into groups for illumination control and maintenance reporting.

Claims

1. A lighting system comprising a plurality of illuminators displaced relative to each other, each of plural illuminators comprising:

a light source;

a sensor;

a communications interface communicating with other illuminators in a network; and

a processor responsive to the sensor, the processor controlling the illuminator;

the processors of plural illuminators configured to make illumination decisions through distributed processing across the network based on information exchange among the illuminators through the communication interfaces.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the light source comprises a plurality of LED light sources.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of LED light sources comprises LED light sources of at least two different colors.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor detects an electrical parameter of the light source.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor responds to light.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor responds to sound.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the processor responds to human voice commands detected by the sensor.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor responds to motion.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the communications interface communicates using infrared radiation.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured using a handheld remote control unit.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the handheld remote control unit uploads software modules to the system, the software modules influencing the lighting decisions of the system.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising radio-frequency gateways that allow isolated portions of the system to communicate with each other.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the gateways are integrated into plural illuminators.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the processors forming the distributed network make lighting decisions according to a polling algorithm.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the polling algorithm weights stimuli sensed across the distributed network.

16. An illuminator comprising:

a light source;

a sensor;

a communications interface to communicate with other illuminators in a network; and

a processor responsive to the sensor, the processor controlling the illuminator;

the processor configured to make illumination decisions through distributed processing across a network of plural illuminators based on information exchange among the illuminators through the communications interface.

17. A method for providing illumination comprising:

at each of plural illuminators, emitting light from an illuminator, sensing stimuli with a sensor, and communicating with other illuminators through a communications interface; and

processing responses to the sensed stimuli across a distributed network of the plural illuminators to make illumination decisions.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the light source comprises a plurality of LED light sources.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the plurality of LED light sources comprises LED light sources of at least two different colors.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the sensor responds to an electrical parameter of the illuminator.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the sensor responds to light.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the illuminator periodically stops emitting light so the sensor can measure ambient light conditions.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the sensor responds to sound.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the distributed network processes responses to human voice commands detected by the sensor.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein the sensor responds to motion.

26. The method of claim 17, wherein the communications interface communicates using infrared radiation.

27. The method of claim 17, further comprising configuring the illuminators using a handheld remote control unit.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the handheld remote control unit uploads software modules to the distributed network, the software modules influencing the lighting decisions of the distributed network.

29. The method of claim 17, further comprising radio-frequency gateways that allow isolated portions of the distributed network to communicate with each other.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the gateways are integrated into plural illuminators.

31. The method of claim 17, wherein the processing across the distributed network makes lighting decisions according to a polling algorithm.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the polling algorithm weights the stimuli sensed across the distributed network.

33. The method of claim 17, wherein the processing comprises using a clock to control the timing of lighting decisions across the network.

34. The method of claim 17, wherein the processing comprises responding to instructions for reduced emission at an illuminator by controlling emissions by neighboring illuminators to produce patterns of illumination.

35. The method of claim 17, wherein the processing comprises learning reactions to stimuli according to a training set.

36. An illuminator comprising:

means for emitting light;

means for sensing stimuli;

means for communicating with other illuminators; and

means for processing responses to sensed stimuli and the communications from other illuminators to make illumination decisions.

37. A lighting system comprising:

a distributed network of illuminators;

a handheld remote control unit communicating with the distributed network to upload a software module to the distributed network, the software module influencing illumination decisions of the distributed network.

38. A method of configuring a distributed network of illuminators, the method comprising:

from a handheld remote control unit, uploading a software module to the distributed network; and

influencing illumination decisions of the distributed network according to the software module.

39. A method for providing illumination comprising:

at each of plural illuminators, emitting light from an illuminator, providing settings for the emitted light, and communicating with other illuminators through a communications interface; and

enabling the settings across a distributed network of the plural illuminators based on a contract.