LIGHTING SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF AUTO-COMMISSIONING

• US 20110031897A1
• Filed: 08/10/2009
• Published: 02/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WTEC GmbH
• Original Assignee: Redwood Systems, Inc. (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Stieglitz, Jeremy, Fowler, David, Covaro, Mark, Leonard, David, HENIG, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 8,159,156 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 315/297
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/18 via data-bus transmission

Abstract

A lighting system for areal illumination is disclosed which includes a remote driver and a plurality of fixtures including luminaires, control devices, and/or standalone sensors. The luminaires include a light source whose output light level can be adjusted, a light sensor co-located therewith adapted to measure light received from adjacent fixtures, and a microcontroller capable of transmitting the output of the light sensor over wires to the remote driver. The remote driver is capable of bidirectional communication with the luminaires and provides independently controllable power for the light sources of the luminaires. A method of commissioning a lighting system is also disclosed which includes installing a plurality of luminaires above the area to be illuminated, causing a light source co-located with each luminaire to emit a signal, detecting the signal at light sensors co-located with each luminaire, converting the signals obtained by the light sensors into distance measurements between luminaires, creating a map recording the relative location of luminaires, and assigning luminaires to groups based on their relative locations in the map. A movable orb region large enough to containing a plurality of luminaires can also be defined and the light levels of individual luminaires can be set according to a defined mathematical function of their location within the orb region, where the defined mathematical function sets light levels which vary from the center to the periphery of said orb region.

Claims

1. A lighting system for areal illumination comprising a remote driver and a plurality of fixtures comprising three or more luminaires, optional control devices, and optional standalone sensors;

wherein each of said luminaires comprises a light source whose output light level can be adjusted, a light sensor co-located therewith adapted to measure light received from adjacent fixtures, and a microcontroller capable of transmitting the output of said light sensor over wires to said remote driver; and

wherein said remote driver is capable of bidirectional communication with said luminaires and providing independently controllable power for the light sources of said luminaires such that the output light level of each of said light sources can vary from zero to a maximum.

2. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of fixtures further comprises one or more control devices, wherein said control devices comprise switches and/or dimmers.

3. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of fixtures further comprises one or more standalone sensors, wherein said standalone sensors can sense any measureable quantity whose value is meaningful for control of lighting levels.

4. The lighting system of claim 3, wherein said measurable quantity is motion or presence of a person or animal.

5. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein said fixtures further comprise one or more signal sources separate from said light source.

6. The lighting system of claim 5, wherein said signal sources emit visible light, infrared light, sound, ultrasound, or radio waves.

7. The lighting system of claim 5, wherein one of said signal sources is co-located with one of said plurality of fixtures.

8. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein said light source comprises a set of light-emitting diodes.

9. The lighting system of claim 8, wherein said set of light-emitting diodes is wired in series and/or parallel such that the maximum required drive voltage is less than 60 V.

10. The lighting system of claim 9, wherein said communicating and said drive voltage is provided over twisted pair wiring whose wire gauge is 20 or larger.

11. A method of commissioning the lighting system of claim 1 comprising

installing said plurality of luminaires above the area to be illuminated,

connecting said plurality of luminaires to said remote driver using wires,

connecting any additional fixtures to said remote driver,

causing a signal source co-located with each of said plurality of fixtures to emit a signal,

detecting said signal at each of said light sensors and said additional sensors,

converting the signal obtained by each of said light sensors and said additional sensors into a distance measurement between the fixture whose co-located signal source is emitting the signal and the fixture co-located with the sensor, and

creating a fixture map recording the relative location of all fixtures.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said fixtures are assigned to groups based on their relative locations in said fixture map.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein light sources in fixtures assigned to the same group are set to a common output light level.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein a reference light level is recorded by measuring the signal at one or more of the light sensors co-located with fixtures near the center of one of said groups, and the light level of all light sources within said one of said groups is adjusted so that each co-located light sensor measures the same level.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein a movable orb region is overlaid on said fixture map, and the relative location of said luminaires within said orb region is determined.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein each light source in luminaires located within said orb region is set to a light level by setting a drive current, voltage, or pulse width that is determined by a defined mathematical function of its location within the orb region, and wherein said defined mathematical function sets light levels which decrease from the center to the periphery of said orb region.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein each light source in luminaires located within said orb region is set to a light level by setting a drive current, voltage, or pulse width that is determined by a defined mathematical function of its location within the orb region, and wherein said defined mathematical function sets light levels which increase from the center to the periphery of said orb region.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein each light source in luminaires located within said orb region is set to a light level by setting a drive current, voltage, or pulse width so that the signal detected by said light sensor co-located with each luminaire is determined by a defined mathematical function of its location within the orb region, and wherein said defined mathematical function sets light levels which decrease from the center to the periphery of said orb region.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein each light source in luminaires located within said orb region is set to a light level by setting a drive current, voltage, or pulse width so that the signal detected by said light sensor co-located with each luminaire is determined by a defined mathematical function of its location within the orb region, and wherein said defined mathematical function sets light levels which increase from the center to the periphery of said orb region.

20. A method of commissioning a lighting system comprising

installing a plurality of luminaires above the area to be illuminated,

causing a light source co-located with each of said plurality of luminaires to emit a signal,

detecting said signal at light sensors co-located with each of said plurality of luminaires,

converting the signals obtained by said light sensors into distance measurements between the signal sources emitting a signal and each of said light sensors,

creating a map recording the relative location of luminaires, and

assigning luminaires to groups based on their relative locations in said map.

21. A method of controlling light levels in a lighting system comprising

defining a movable orb region large enough to containing a plurality of luminaires,

setting the light level according to a defined mathematical function of its location within the orb region, and

wherein said defined mathematical function sets light levels which vary from the center to the periphery of said orb region.