METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED LIGHTING CONTROL AND MONITORING

• US 20110215735A1
• Filed: 03/08/2010
• Published: 09/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LSI Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: LSI Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Herbst, Joseph E., VanWagoner, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 8,686,664 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 315/297
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/10 Controlling the light source
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to automated control of lighting systems at individual-light-fixture, local, regional, and larger-geographical-area levels. One embodiment of the present invention comprises a hierarchical lighting-control system including an automated network-control center that may control up to many millions of individual lighting fixtures and lighting elements, regional routers interconnected to the network-control center or network-control centers by public communications networks, each of which controls hundreds to thousands of individual light fixtures, and light-management units, interconnected to regional routers by radio-frequency communications and/or power-line communications, each of which controls components within a lighting fixture, including lighting elements, associated ballasts, sensors, and other devices.

Claims

1. An automated lighting-control system comprising:

two or more lighting fixtures, each containing one or more lighting elements;

two or more lighting-fixture management units, each of the lighting fixtures including a lighting-fixture management unit, each lighting-fixture management unit storing control information and status information and controlling the intensity of light emitted by the lighting elements within the lighting-fixture that contains the lighting-fixture management unit according to the stored control information; and

a router that provides a user interface for creation and modification of operational schedules for automated control of the lighting elements within the lighting fixtures and that communicates with lighting-fixture management units, using a first communications medium between the router and at least one lighting-fixture management unit and additionally by an inter-lighting-fixture-management-unit communications medium, in order to transmit control information to the lighting-fixture management units and receive status information from the lighting-fixture management units.

2. The automated lighting-control system of claim 1 wherein lighting-fixture management units include bridge lighting-fixture management units and end-point lighting-fixture management units.

3. The automated lighting-control system of claim 2

wherein each end-point lighting-fixture management unit controls intensity of light emission from lighting elements within the lighting fixture that contains the end-point lighting-fixture management unit, according to an operational schedule and additional control directives stored within the end-point lighting-fixture management unit;

wherein each end-point lighting-fixture management unit monitors input from one or more sensors and generates events, based on sensor input; and

wherein each end-point lighting-fixture management unit collects and stores status information related to operation of components within the lighting fixture that contains the end-point lighting-fixture management unit.

4. The automated lighting-control system of claim 2 wherein one or more end-point lighting-fixture management units communicate with the router directly by power-line communications.

5. The automated lighting-control system of claim 2 wherein one or more end-point lighting-fixture management units communicate with the router directly by radio-frequency communications.

6. The automated lighting-control system of claim 2 wherein one or more end-point lighting-fixture management units communicate with the router indirectly through power-line communications to a bridge lighting-fixture management unit.

7. The automated lighting-control system of claim 2

wherein each bridge lighting-fixture management unit controls intensity of light emission from lighting elements within the lighting fixture that contains the bridge lighting-fixture management unit, according to an operational schedule and additional control directives stored within the bridge lighting-fixture management unit;

wherein each bridge lighting-fixture management unit monitors input from one or more sensors and generates events, based on sensor input;

wherein each bridge lighting-fixture management unit collects and stores status information related to operation of components within the lighting fixture that contains the bridge lighting-fixture management unit; and

wherein each bridge lighting-fixture management unit receives commands from the router for an end-point lighting-fixture management unit through the first communications medium and forwards the commands to the end-point lighting-fixture management unit by the inter-lighting-fixture-management-unit communications medium.

8. The automated lighting-control system of claim 2 wherein each lighting-fixture management unit stores status information related to operation of components within the lighting fixture that contains the lighting-fixture management unit that includes:

current voltage input to the lighting fixture;

current drawn by the lighting fixture;

power consumed by the lighting fixture over an interval of time;

indications of the occurrences of events indicated by sensor inputs;

total hours of operation of lighting elements; and

number of power-on events associated with lighting elements.

9. The automated lighting-control system of claim 2 wherein each lighting-fixture management unit stores an operational schedule comprising one or more schedule entries, each schedule entry specifying a time interval, status for lighting-elements, and a group identifier.

10. The automated lighting-control system of claim 2 wherein each lighting-fixture management unit comprises:

inter-lighting-fixture-management-unit communications medium chip or chip set that provides for power-line reception and transmission of command and response packets;

a noise filter that band-pass filters noise from a power-line connection,

a CPU and associated memories for running internal control programs that collect and store data, that control lighting-element operation according to stored data and stored programs;

an internal power supply that converts AC input power to DC internal power for supplying DC power to digital components,

an optocouple isolation unit that isolates the CPU from power surges;

a dimming circuit that provides digital pulse-width modulation of the electrical output to lighting elements to provide a range of output current for operating lighting elements over a range of light-intensity output;

a digital-to-analog circuit that provides controlled voltage output to lighting elements and/or other components; and

a switched relay 716 for controlling power supply to various devices or components within the lighting fixture that contains the lighting-fixture management unit.

12. The automated lighting-control system of claim 2 wherein each lighting-fixture management unit stores data structures, in a memory component, that contain entries which represent:

an operational status of one or more lighting elements;

one or more group identifiers that identify groups to which the lighting-fixture management unit is assigned;

one or more input signals that can be monitored by the lighting-fixture management unit;

a status for each of one or more different events; and

a schedule that includes one or more operational directives.

13. The automated lighting-control system of claim 1 wherein the first communications medium is a radio-frequency communications medium and wherein the inter-lighting-fixture-management-unit communications medium is a power-line communications medium.

14. The automated lighting-control system of claim 13 wherein the router additionally communicates with remote computers by network communications, wherein the router additionally communicates with lighting-fixture management units by power-line communications, and wherein both the router and one or more lighting-fixture management units communicate with hand-held telecommunications devices using cellular-telephone communications.

15. The automated lighting-control system of claim 1 wherein the router is implemented by one of:

software routines executed by a mobile personal computer and hardware components for transmitting messages to, and receiving messages from, the first communications medium; and

a standalone hardware component that includes a processor, memory, software and/or firmware routines, and hardware components for transmitting messages to, and receiving messages from, the first communications medium.

16. The automated lighting-control system of claim 1 wherein the router stores data in a data-storage component that includes:

the types and descriptions of automated-lighting-control-system component;

information about manufacturers, maintainers, administrators, suppliers of power to automated-lighting-control-system components;

information about automated-lighting-control-system components;

information about relationships between automated-lighting-control-system components, including the relationships “

contains” and

“

manages;

”

information about groups of lighting-fixture management units.

17. The automated lighting-control system of claim 1 wherein the router provides a user interface through which schedules for operation of lighting elements within lighting fixtures are defined, modified, and deleted, through which manual control of lighting elements within lighting fixtures can be exercised, and through which the status and operational characteristics of lighting elements and other components within lighting fixtures can be viewed.

18. The automated lighting-control system of claim 1 further including one or more additional routers that each communicates with one or more additional lighting-fixture management units.

20. The automated lighting-control system of claim 1 wherein the lighting-fixture management units include sensor components that monitor one or more of:

current;

voltage;

sound;

camera data;

volatile chemical substances;

power consumption by lighting-fixture components;

temperature; and

pressure.

11. The automated lighting-control system of claim 11 wherein each bridge lighting-fixture management unit additionally includes a first-communications-medium chip or chip set that provides for reception and transmission of command and response messages, and executable code for forwarding communications messages received through the first communications medium from the router to end-point lighting-fixture management units through the inter-lighting-fixture-management-unit communications medium and for forwarding communications messages received through the inter-lighting-fixture-management-unit communications medium from one or more end-point lighting-fixture management units to the router through the first communications medium.

19. The automated lighting-control system of claim 19 further including a network-control center that communicates, through network communications, with, and controls operation of, the routers.