Low-power wireless network beacon for turning off and on fluorescent lamps
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- (a) in each of a plurality of intervals placing a receiver of a receiver unit into a receive mode, and then listening for a beacon during a predefined beacon slot time within the interval, and placing the receiver into a low-power sleep mode for substantially all the rest of the interval, wherein beacons are received by the receiver during the beacon slot times of some of the intervals but wherein no beacon is received during the beacon slot times of other of the intervals;
(b) using the beacons received in (a) to synchronize the placing of the receiver into the receive mode with respect to the beacon slot times of the intervals; and
(c) using a value in a field in one of the beacons to schedule a future initiation of an action by the receiver unit, wherein the action is scheduled to be initiated after said one beacon at a time when no beacon is being received, and wherein (a), (b) and (c) are carried out by the receiver unit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A low-power wireless network involves a plurality of RF-enabled fluorescent lamp starter units. In each of a plurality of intervals, a receiver of a starter unit operates in a receive mode during a beacon slot time, and for the majority of the rest of the interval operates in a low-power sleep mode. The starter unit wakes up and listens for a beacon each beacon slot time, regardless of whether a beacon is transmitted during that interval or not. A starter unit can be commanded to schedule a future action (for example, for a time between widely spaced synchronizing beacons) by making one of the beacons a scheduling beacon. The scheduling beacon includes a field that the starter unit uses to schedule the future action. If the scheduled action is to be canceled before the next widely spaced synchronizing beacon, then an action-canceling beacon is communicated in the next interval.
32 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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(a) in each of a plurality of intervals placing a receiver of a receiver unit into a receive mode, and then listening for a beacon during a predefined beacon slot time within the interval, and placing the receiver into a low-power sleep mode for substantially all the rest of the interval, wherein beacons are received by the receiver during the beacon slot times of some of the intervals but wherein no beacon is received during the beacon slot times of other of the intervals; (b) using the beacons received in (a) to synchronize the placing of the receiver into the receive mode with respect to the beacon slot times of the intervals; and (c) using a value in a field in one of the beacons to schedule a future initiation of an action by the receiver unit, wherein the action is scheduled to be initiated after said one beacon at a time when no beacon is being received, and wherein (a), (b) and (c) are carried out by the receiver unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system comprising:
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an occupancy detector that transmits a plurality of beacons, wherein each beacon is transmitted in a beacon slot time of a respective one of a plurality of intervals, wherein each beacon slot time has a predetermined location within a corresponding one of the intervals, wherein the occupancy detector transmits no beacon in some beacon slot times of some of the intervals but does transmit beacons in beacon slot times of other ones of the intervals; and a fluorescent lamp starter unit that receives the beacons and uses the beacons to synchronize the placing of a receiver of the fluorescent lamp starter unit into a receive mode with respect to the beacon slot times of the intervals, wherein the receiver is placed into the receive mode during the beacon slot time of every one of the plurality of intervals, wherein the fluorescent lamp starter unit uses a value in a field of one of the beacons to schedule a future initiation of an action. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A fluorescent lamp starter unit comprising:
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a Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver that receives a beacon; and means for using a value in a field of the beacon to schedule a future turning off of a fluorescent lamp by the fluorescent lamp starter unit, wherein a magnitude of the value determines a magnitude of time after the beacon is received until the fluorescent lamp starter unit is to turn off the fluorescent lamp.
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- 19. The fluorescent lamp starter unit of claim 19, wherein the means is also for using beacons to synchronize times when the RF transceiver is in a receive mode so that the times when the RF transceiver is in the receive mode coincide with times when the beacons occur.
Specification