Integrated Ambient and Task Lighting Control

• US 20130200809A1
• Filed: 03/13/2013
• Published: 08/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daintree Networks, Inc. (Current Group LLC), Daintree Networks Pty Ltd. (GE Aerospace)
• Original Assignee: Dallas Ivanhoe Iii Buchanan
• Inventors: Choong, Jason Yew Choo, Garcia, Tony, Buchanan, Dallas Ivanhoe III, Yu, Danny
• Granted Patent: US 9,936,564 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 315/154
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/10 Controlling the intensity of the light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/11 by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/115 by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/165 following a pre-assigned programmed sequence; Logic control [LC]
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/175 by remote control
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for cooperatively controlling ambient level lighting in a controlled area, and task-level lighting for task areas in the controlled area, where each task area is a separate sub-area of the controlled area.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a plurality of task-level sensor devices, each task-level sensor device including a sensor device that can sense a physical stimulus and to be positioned to monitor the physical stimulus of a respective task area and generate task-level sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the task area, wherein each of the task areas is a separate sub-portion of a controlled area, and each task-level sensor data provides measurements that are proportionally responsive to only the physical stimulus occurring within the task area it monitors; and

a load controller in data communication with the task-level sensor and a controlled area sensor, the controlled area sensor for monitoring the physical stimulus of the controlled area and generating controlled area sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the controlled area, wherein the controlled area sensor data are different from any given task-level sensor data and the load controller performs operations comprising controlling the illumination level of each task area based on the task-level sensor data from the task-level sensor monitoring the task area and the controlled area sensor data.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the task-level sensor device comprises a task-level photo sensor, and the physical stimulus is an illumination level of the task area; and

the controlled area sensor comprises a controlled area photo sensor, and the physical stimulus is an illumination level of the controlled area.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the task-level sensor device comprises a task-level occupancy sensor, and the physical stimulus includes an occupancy of the task area.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising:

for each task area, a corresponding task area light source for illuminating only the task area to which it corresponds;

an ambient light source, the ambient light source for illuminating the controlled area; and

wherein the load controller controls the illumination level of each task area by performing operations comprising;

determining task areas that are occupied; and

for each occupied task area;

determining an illumination level for the task area;

in response to determining that an illumination level for a task area is above a predefined illumination level, instructing the task area light source to decrease the illumination level for the task area until the illumination level of the task area is at the predefined illumination level; and

in response to determining that an illumination level for a task area is below the predefined illumination level, instructing the task area light source to increase the illumination level for the task area.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the load controller, in response to instructing the task area light source to increase the illumination level for a task area, performs operations comprising:

determining whether the illumination level for the task area is at the predefined illumination level;

in response to determining that the illumination level for the task area is below the predefined illumination level and determining that the task area light source is increased to a maximum setting, instructing the ambient light source to increase the illumination level of the controlled area until the illumination level of the task area is at the predefined illumination level; and

in response to determining that the illumination level for the task area is below the predefined illumination level and determining that the task area light source is below a maximum setting, instructing the task area light source to increase the illumination level for the task area.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the load controller, in response to instructing the task area light source to decrease the illumination level for a task area, performs operations comprising:

determines whether the illumination level for the task area is at the predefined illumination level;

in response to determining that the illumination level for the task area is above the predefined illumination level and determining that the task area light source is decreased to a minimum setting, then instructing the ambient light source to decreasing the illumination level of the controlled area until the illumination level of the task area is at the predefined illumination level; and

in response to determining that the illumination level for the task area is above the predefined illumination level and determining that the task area light source is above the minimum setting, instructing the task area light source to decrease the illumination level for the task area.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the load controller, in response to instructing the task area light source to decrease the illumination level for a task area, performs operations comprising:

determines whether the illumination level for the task area is at the predefined illumination level;

in response to determining that the illumination level for the task area is above the predefined illumination level and determining that the task area light source is decreased to a minimum setting, and further determining that no task area is below the predefined illumination level, then instructing the ambient light source to decrease the illumination level of the controlled area until the illumination level of the task area is at the predefined illumination level; and

in response to determining that the illumination level for the task area is above the predefined illumination level and determining that the task area light source is above the minimum setting, instructing the task area light source to decrease the illumination level for the task area.

8. The system of claim 3, further comprising:

for each task area, a corresponding task area light source for illuminating only the task area to which it corresponds;

an ambient light source, the ambient light source for illuminating the controlled area; and

wherein the load controller controls the illumination level of each task area by performing operations comprising;

determining an illumination level for the controlled area; and

in response to determining that an illumination level for the controlled area is above a first predefined illumination level, instructing the ambient light source to decrease the illumination level the controlled area only if the illumination level for each occupied task area is above a second predefined illumination level.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the first predefined illumination level is less than the second predefined illumination level.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the task-level sensor device further comprises a task-level occupancy sensor, and the physical stimulus further includes an occupancy of the task area; and

the controlled area sensor further comprises a controlled area occupancy sensor, and the physical stimulus further includes an occupancy of the controlled area.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

for each task area, a corresponding task area light source for illuminating only the task area to which it corresponds;

an ambient light source, the ambient light source for illuminating the controlled area; and

wherein the load controller controls the illumination level of each task area by performing operations comprising;

determining task areas that are occupied and task areas that are unoccupied;

for each unoccupied task area, decreasing the task area light source to a minimum setting; and

for each occupied task area, setting the illumination level of the task area by use the ambient light source and the task area light source corresponding to the task area.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein setting the illumination level of the task area by use the ambient light source and the task area light source corresponding to the task area comprises:

determining a power load associated with a first lighting configuration in which the ambient light source is set to a minimum level and each task area light source is set to an illumination level that provides a minimum acceptable level of task lighting;

determining a power load associated with a second lighting configuration in which the ambient light source is set to an illumination level that provides a minimum acceptable level of task lighting for each occupied task area and each task area light source is set to minimum level; and

selecting the lighting configuration with the minimum determined power load.

13. The system of claim 2, further comprising:

for each task area, a corresponding task area light source for illuminating only the task area to which it corresponds;

an ambient light source, the ambient light source for illuminating the controlled area; and

wherein the load controller controls the illumination level of each task area by performing operations comprising, for each task area;

determining an illumination level for the task area;

in response to determining that an illumination level for a task area is above a predefined illumination level, instructing the task area light source to decrease the illumination level for the task area until the illumination level of the task area is at the predefined illumination level; and

in response to determining that an illumination level for a task area is below the predefined illumination level, instructing the task area light source to increase the illumination level for the task area.

14. A system, comprising:

a lighting control device, comprising;

an illumination source that provides illumination for a task area;

a photo sensor that senses an illumination level for the task area;

an occupancy sensor that senses an occupancy of the task area;

processing circuitry configured to receive data from the photo sensor and the occupancy sensor and generate photo sensor data and occupancy sensor data describing the sensed illumination level and occupancy status of the task area; and

a wireless transceiver configured to transmit the photo sensor data and occupancy sensor data to a load controller that controls the illumination level of the task area and a controlled area in which the task area, and other different task areas are located, based at least in part on the photo sensor data, occupancy sensor data and controlled area sensor data that report measured physical stimuli of the controlled area, the controlled area sensor data being different from the photo sensor data and the occupancy sensor data, and wherein the task area and each of the other task areas is a separate sub-portion of the controlled area.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a manual control that controls the illumination of the illumination source; and

wherein;

the processing circuitry is further configured to generate an override signal that specifies an override condition that causes the load controller to not adjust the illumination level of the illumination source for the duration of the override condition; and

the wireless transceiver transmits the override signal to the load controller.

16. The system of claim 14, further comprising the load controller in data communication with the lighting control device and a controlled area sensor, the controlled area sensor for monitoring the physical stimulus of a controlled area and generating controlled area sensor data that reports the measured physical stimulus of the controlled area, wherein the load controller performs operations comprising controlling the illumination level of the task area based on the photo sensor data and occupancy sensor data the controlled area sensor data.

17. A method performed by a data processing apparatus, comprising:

receiving from a plurality of task-level sensor devices, each task-level sensor device including a sensor device that can sense a physical stimulus and positioned to monitor the physical stimulus of a task area, task-level sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the task area, wherein each of the task areas is a separate sub-portion of a controlled area, and each task-level sensor data provides measurements that are proportionally responsive to only the physical stimulus occurring within the task area it monitors;

receiving controlled area sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the controlled area, wherein the controlled area sensor data are different from any given task-level sensor data; and

controlling the illumination level of each task area based on the task-level sensor data from the task-level sensor monitoring the task area and the controlled area sensor data.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the task-level sensor device comprises a task-level photo sensor and a task-level occupancy sensor, and the physical stimuli include an illumination level of the task area and an occupancy of the task area;

the controlled area sensor comprises a controlled area photo sensor, and the physical stimulus is an illumination level of the controlled area; and

further comprising;

determining task areas that are occupied; and

for each occupied task area;

determining an illumination level for the task area;

in response to determining that an illumination level for a task area is above a predefined illumination level, instructing a task area light source to decrease the illumination level for the task area until the illumination level of the task area is at the predefined illumination level; and

in response to determining that an illumination level for a task area is below the predefined illumination level, instructing the task area light source to increase the illumination level for the task area.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the task-level sensor device further comprises a task-level occupancy sensor, and the physical stimulus further includes an occupancy of the task area;

the controlled area sensor further comprises a controlled area occupancy sensor, and the physical stimulus further includes an occupancy of the controlled area; and

further comprising;

determining task areas that are occupied and task areas that are unoccupied;

for each unoccupied task area, decreasing a task area light source to a minimum setting; and

for each occupied task area, setting an illumination level of the task area by use the ambient light source and the task area light source corresponding to the task area.

20. A system, comprising:

means for receiving from a plurality of task-level sensor devices, each task-level sensor device including a sensor device that can sense a physical stimulus and to be positioned to monitor the physical stimulus of a task area, task-level sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the task area, wherein each of the task areas is a separate sub-portion of a controlled area, and each task-level sensor data provides measurements that are proportionally responsive to only the physical stimulus occurring within the task area it monitors, and for receiving controlled area sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the controlled area, the controlled area sensor data being different from any given task-level sensor data; and

means for controlling the illumination level of each task area based on the task-level sensor data from the task-level sensor monitoring the task area and the controlled area sensor data.