SYSTEMS AND APPARATUS FOR THE LIGHT-BASED COMMUNICATION OF SERVICE ORDERS AND PERSONAL OBJECTS IDENTIFICATION

• US 20110316451A1
• Filed: 02/12/2010
• Published: 12/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Signify Holding B.V. (Signify N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Loveland, Damien Gerard, Van Der Poel, Lucas Leo Desiree, Sekulovski, Dragan, Vermeulen, Arend Jan Wilhelmus Abraham
• Granted Patent: US 9,524,622 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 315/312
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/74 Systems using reradiation of radio waves, e.g. secondary radar systems; Analogous systems
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/36 using visible light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/42 Transmitting or receiving remote control signals via a network
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/195 the transmission using visible or infrared light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/1965 using handheld communication devices

Abstract

Light-based systems for communicating information associated with service orders and/or the identification of personal objects are disclosed. A personal mobile electronic communication device is used in conjunction with a communication network and a lighting controller to communicate service orders by lighting with one or more individually controllable luminaries in a lighting network. A personal mobile electronic communication device is, alternatively or additionally, used in conjunction with a communication network, a memory, and a lighting controller controlling to indicate by lighting whether there is an association between the personal mobile electronic communication device and a personal item.

Claims

1. A light-based system for communicating service orders comprising:

a personal mobile electronic communication device transmitting a first signal for indicating a location and a second signal corresponding to a service order;

a processor approximately ascertaining the location of the personal mobile electronic communication device;

a communication network receiving the first signal and the second signal from the personal mobile electronic communication device and, in response to the first signal and the second signal, transmitting an illumination command; and

a lighting controller receiving the illumination command from the communication network and, in response to the illumination command, controlling an illumination proximate to the personal mobile electronic communication device by at least one individually-controllable luminaire in a lighting network such that the illumination proximate to the personal mobile electronic communication device visually indicates the service order.

2. The light-based system of claim 1, wherein the lighting controller controls the illumination by creating a visible light effect near a ceiling or a floor proximate to the personal mobile electronic communication device.

3. The light-based system of claim 1, further comprising making the illumination proximate to the personal mobile electronic communication device visible through a pair of electronically shuttered spectacles, wherein the pair of electronically shuttered spectacles comprise blocked time slices and light pulses introduced into the blocked time slices.

4. The light-based system of claim 1, wherein the processor approximately ascertains the location of the personal mobile electronic communication device by a technology consisting of at least one of GPS, assisted GPS, triangulation, signal strength analysis, and accelerometer technology.

5. The light-based system of claim 1, wherein the communication network, in response to the second signal, ascertains information pertaining to a payment facility associated with the personal mobile electronic communication device and transfers a fee based on the service order corresponding to the second signal from the payment facility.

6. The light-based system of claim 5, wherein the communication network ascertains information pertaining to the payment facility using personal identification information comprising a personal identification number and a fingerprint.

7. The light-based system of claim 1, wherein the personal mobile electronic communication device is further tracked by the illumination visually indicating the service order, the tracking comprising:

the communication network periodically receiving a first signal for indicating a location and a second signal corresponding to the service order from the personal mobile electronic communication device and, periodically transmitting an illumination command based upon the updated first signal and updated second signal; and

the lighting controller periodically receiving the illumination command from the communication network interface and, in response to the illumination command, controlling the illumination proximate to the personal mobile electronic communication device such that the illumination visually indicates the service order.

8. The light-based system of claim 1, further comprising a surface, wherein a portion of the surface is illuminated by a second illumination, the second illumination visually indicating the service order and visually identifying a location from where the service order is to be collected;

and wherein the second illumination and the illumination proximate to the personal mobile electronic communication device are terminated after the service order is collected.

9. The light-based system of claim 1, wherein the personal mobile electronic communication device comprises the processor.

10. The light-based system of claim 1, wherein the communication network comprises the processor.

11. The light-based system of claim 1, wherein the illumination proximate to the personal mobile electronic communication device comprises a single colored light or a sequence of colored lights.

12. The light-based system of claim 1, further comprising

at least a second personal mobile electronic communication device transmitting a third signal for indicating a second location and a fourth signal corresponding to a second service order;

wherein the communication network receives the second signal and the fourth signal, associates a first priority with the service order and a second priority with the second service order, and transmits a second illumination command, and

wherein the lighting controller receives the second illumination command and controls a second illumination proximate to the second personal mobile electronic communication device such that the second illumination visually indicates the second service order and the second priority of the second service order.

13. The light-based system of claim 1, wherein

the illumination proximate to the personal mobile electronic communication device is further encoded with a modulated signal corresponding to the service order,

the personal mobile electronic communication device further comprises at least one sensor for detecting the modulated signal, and

the second signal for indicating a service order further comprises an indication of the modulated signal detected by and captured by the personal mobile electronic communication device.

14. The light-based system of claim 1, further comprising

a memory device storing an association between the service order and a venue, and wherein the processor accesses the service order from the memory.

15. A light-based system for identifying personal items comprising:

a personal mobile electronic communication device transmitting a first signal for indicating a device identifier;

a processor approximately ascertaining the location of the personal mobile electronic communication device;

a personal item transmitting a second signal for indicating an item identifier;

a memory associating the device identifier with the item identifier;

a communication network receiving the first signal from the personal mobile electronic communication device and the second signal from the personal item, determining the device identifier from the first signal and the item identifier from the second signal, and transmitting the device identifier and the item identifier to the processor,

wherein the processor checks the memory for an association between the device identifier and the item identifier, and generates an illumination command dependent on the association; and

a lighting controller receiving the illumination command and, in response to the illumination command, controlling an illumination proximate to the personal item by at least one individually-controllable luminaire in a lighting network such that the illumination proximate to the personal item visually indicates the association between the personal item and the personal mobile electronic communication device.

16. The light-based system of claim 15, further comprising a user interface for entering the association between the device identifier and the item identifier into the memory.

17. The light-based system of claim 15, wherein the processor generates a sound command dependent on the association, and wherein a sound controller receives the sound command and controls a sound proximate to the personal item such that the sound indicates the association between the personal item and the personal mobile electronic communication device.

18. The light-based system of claim 15, wherein the lighting controller further controls the illumination to visually indicate the association in the memory with a first colored illumination and to visually indicate a lack of association in the memory with a second colored illumination.

19. The light-based system of claim 15, wherein

the processor, after checking the memory for an association between the device identifier and the item identifier and failing to find the association, further checks a second memory for the item identifier, creating an initial association between the device identifier and the item identifier in the memory and adding the item identifier to the second memory when the second memory does not contain the item identifier, and further generates a second illumination command based on the initial association, and

the lighting controller receiving the second illumination command, controls a second illumination proximate to the personal item such that the second illumination visually indicates the initial association between the personal item and the personal mobile electronic communication device.

20. The light-based system of claim 15, wherein the personal mobile electronic communication device further transmits a mode signal, the mode signal encoding a lighting scheme by which to illuminate the personal item, the lighting scheme comprising the use of lights in one or more colors and the use of a sequence of colored-lights, and

wherein the lighting controller controls the illumination proximate to the personal item to visually indicate the association between the personal item and the personal mobile electronic communication device such that the illumination is consistent with the lighting scheme encoded in the mode single.

21. The light-based system of claim 15, wherein the communication network further identifies the device identifier as associated with a non-patron before transmitting the item identifier to the processor, and wherein the processor further checks the memory for a second association involving the item identifier and deletes the second association from the memory.

22. The light-based system of claim 15, wherein the personal item includes one or more light emitting diodes and the at least one individually controllable luminaire comprises the one or more light emitting diodes.

23. A light-based system for identifying personal items comprising:

a personal item transmitting a first signal encoding a first item identifier;

a personal mobile electronic communication device, wherein the personal mobile electronic communication device comprises

a memory storing the first item identifier;

a receiver receiving the first signal from the first personal item,

a processor determining the first item identifier from the first signal, checking the memory for the first item identifier, and generating a report dependent on storage of the first item identifier in the memory; and

a transmitter transmitting a second signal encoding the report and a third signal for indicating a location of the personal mobile electronic communication device; and

a communication network receiving the second signal and the third signal from the personal mobile electronic communication device and transmitting an illumination command; and

a lighting controller receiving the illumination command and, in response to the illumination command, controlling an illumination proximate to the personal item by at least one individually-controllable luminaire in a lighting network such that the illumination proximate to the personal item visually indicates the inclusion of the item identifier in the memory of the personal mobile electronic communication device.

24. The light-based system of claim 23, further comprising a user interface for entering the item identifier into the memory.

25. The light-based system of claim 23, wherein the illumination command is generated by a second processor communicatively coupled to the communication network.

26. The light-based system of claim 23, wherein the communication network receiving the third signal from the personal mobile electronic communication device approximately ascertains the location of the personal mobile electronic communication device by a technology consisting of at least one of GPS, assisted GPS, triangulation, signal strength analysis, and accelerometer technology.

27. The light-based system of claim 23, wherein

the processor, after checking the memory for the item identifier and failing to find the item identifier in the memory, checks a second memory via the communication network for the item identifier, and adds the item identifier to the memory in the event that the second memory does not contain the item identifier.

28. A light-based system for identifying personal items comprising:

a personal mobile electronic communication device for transmitting a first signal for indicating an item identifier;

a processor for at least approximately ascertaining the location of the personal mobile electronic communication device;

a memory for associating the item identifier with an item location;

a communication network for receiving the first signal from the personal mobile electronic communication device, for determining the item identifier from the first signal, and for transmitting the item identifier to the processor,

wherein the processor checks the memory for the presence of the item location associated with the item identifier and generates an illumination command based upon the association; and

a lighting controller for receiving the illumination command and, in response to the illumination command, for controlling

a first illumination proximate to the personal item and

a second illumination proximate to the personal mobile electronic communication device,

by at least one individually-controllable luminaire in a lighting network, for visually indicating a link between the personal item and the personal mobile electronic communication device using the first illumination and the second illumination.

29. The light-based system of claim 28, further comprising a pair of electronically shuttered spectacles for making the illumination visible and for blocking vision using time slices and light pulses introduced into the blocked time slices.