SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A LIGHTING SYSTEM WITH A PLURALITY OF LIGHT SOURCES

• US 20110169413A1
• Filed: 09/18/2009
• Published: 07/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Signify Holding B.V. (Signify N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Leyten, Paul, Wendt, Matthias, Radermacher, Harald J. G.
• Granted Patent: US 8,552,666 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 315/152
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/155 Coordinated control of two or more light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/165 following a pre-assigned programmed sequence; Logic control [LC]
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/17 Operational modes, e.g. switching from manual to automatic mode or prohibiting specific operations
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/199 Commissioning of light sources

Abstract

The invention relates to the controlling of a lighting system with a plurality of light sources, particularly to the semi-automatic commissioning of light sources of the lighting system or controlling of the creation of lighting scenes with the lighting system. A basic idea of the invention is to use a spatial coding of light for controlling a lighting system, particularly for commissioning of light sources of the lighting system instead of or in addition to the temporal light coding as applied in the prior art. An embodiment of the invention relates to a system for controlling a lighting system with a plurality of light sources (1, 2) comprising a light system controller (5) for controlling the light sources in that a spatial light pattern (11, 12, 21, 22) is created, which codes one or more attributes (512) of the light sources (511), and a light pattern capturing device (3) for capturing the created spatial light pattern and communicating (32, 52) with the light system controller (5) in order to enable the controlling of the one or more light sources based on the captured spatial light pattern. A spatial coding is particularly suitable for wallwasher light sources, and thus especially assists personnel in commissioning wallwasher light sources of a lighting system.

Claims

1. A system for controlling a lighting system having a plurality of light sources, the system comprising

a light system controller for controlling the light sources so that a spatial light pattern is created, which codes one or more attributes of the light sources,

a light pattern capturing device for capturing the created spatial light pattern and communicating with the light system controller in order to enable the controlling of the one or more light sources based on the captured spatial light pattern.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the light system controller is configured to control the light sources by transmitting a control code to the light sources in order to set up the light sources to create the spatial light pattern.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein light system controller is configured to control the light sources to create the spatial light pattern in that an unique identifier of each of the light sources is coded.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein a processing of the captured spatial light pattern is provided and

the processing of the captured spatial light pattern comprises decoding the unique identifiers of each of the light sources and

the communicating with the light system controller comprises transmitting the decoded unique identifiers from the light pattern capturing device to the light system controller.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the light system controller is configured to control the light sources to create temporal changing spatial light patterns in that during a predetermined period of time, different spatial light patterns are created.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein

the capturing of the created spatial light pattern comprises scanning the created spatial light patterns during the predetermined period of time and

a processing of the captured spatial light patterns comprises detecting the pointing position of the light pattern capturing device by analyzing the scanned spatial light patterns in that differences between consecutive spatial light patterns are processed for detecting the pointing position.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising

selecting a number of pointing positions of the light pattern capturing device for adjusting the light effect at these locations, and

calculating of interpolated light setting parameters for the light sources located between the selected pointing positions.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the communicating with the light system controller comprises transmitting a user command instructing the light system controller to commission the light sources in the lighting system based on the captured spatial light pattern.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the communicating with the light system controller comprises transmitting a user command instructing the light system controller to create a desired lighting scene with the light sources in the lighting system based on the captured spatial light pattern and user inputs.

10. A light source being adapted for application with a system of claim 1 and comprising a light pattern generator, which creates a spatial light pattern, which codes attributes of the light source, upon receipt of a control code from a light system controller.

11. The light source of claim 10, wherein the light pattern generator is further adapted to code the address of the light source in the created spatial pattern.

12. A light pattern capturing device being adapted for application with a system of any of claim 1 and comprising

a spatial light pattern capturing unit being adapted to capture a spatial light pattern created by one or more light sources,

a light pattern processing and decoding unit being adapted to decode attributes of the light sources decoded in the captured light pattern, and

a communication unit being adapted to communicate decoded attributes to a light system controller for controlling the light sources, to which the received attributes relate.

13. A method for controlling a lighting system with a plurality of light sources comprising the acts of

controlling the light sources in order to set up the light sources to create a spatial light pattern, which codes one or more attributes of the light sources,

capturing the created spatial light pattern and controlling the light sources based on the captured spatial light pattern.

14. A computer program enabling a processor to carry out the method according to claim 13.

15. A record carrier storing a computer program according to claim 14.