ASSRESS INITIALIZATION OF LIGHTING DEVICE UNITS

• US 20130293153A1
• Filed: 12/19/2011
• Published: 11/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Signify Holding B.V. (Signify N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Van Endert, Tony Petrus, Coopmans, Markus Wilhelmus Maria
• Granted Patent: US 9,380,677 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 315/297
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/48 having LEDs organised in strings and incorporating parallel shunting devices
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/10 Controlling the light source
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/17 Operational modes, e.g. switching from manual to automatic mode or prohibiting specific operations
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/18 via data-bus transmission

Abstract

In a lighting device, a primary control unit (103) and a group of light units (107) are arranged in a power supply chain, each light unit (107) of said group being arranged for receiving commands from the primary control unit (103) via a light unit interface (117) of the light unit (107), wherein each succeeding unit (103; 107) of the chain has a power input (145) which is connected to a switchable power output (147) of a respective preceding unit (103; 107), each preceding unit (103; 107) being arranged to supply power at the power output (147) only after initializing an address identification of the unit, and each succeeding unit (103; 107) being arranged to initialize an address identification of the unit upon being supplied with power at the power input (145).

Claims

1. A lighting device, comprising:

a primary control unit comprising a control unit interface; and

a group of light units, each light unit of said group being arranged for receiving commands from the primary control unit via a light unit interface of the light unit,

wherein said group of light units and said primary control unit are arranged in a power supply chain, wherein each succeeding unit comprises a power input which is connected to a switchable power output of a respective preceding unit,

wherein each preceding unit is configured to supply power at the power output in response to initializing an address identification of the unit,

wherein each succeeding unit is configured to initialize an address identification of the unit in response to being supplied with power at the power input.

2. The lighting device according to claim 1,

wherein each unit of the power supply chain is configured to assign, if said unit is the first unit in the power supply chain, a different address

identification to at least one succeeding unit and communicate said address identification to the at least one respective succeeding unit, and

wherein each unit of the power supply chain is configured to receive, if said unit is a succeeding unit, in the power supply chain, an address identification from the first unit in the power supply chain.

3. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein said initializing an address identification of a unit comprises:

assigning, if the unit is the first unit in the power supply chain, an address identification; and

receiving, in case the unit is a succeeding unit in the power supply chain, an address identification from the first unit in the power supply chain.

4. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein said initializing an address identification of a unit comprises

assigning, in case the unit is the primary control unit, a predetermined primary control unit address identification.

5. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit interface is a bus interface, and the light unit interfaces are bus interfaces connected to the bus interface of the primary control unit via a lighting device bus.

6. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein each unit of the power supply chain is arranged to operate, in case said unit is a succeeding unit in the power supply chain, its respective control unit interface or light unit interface in a slave communication mode only, at least until completion of said initializing an address identification of the unit.

7. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein said initializing an address identification of the unit comprises changing a default address identification to an individual address identification.

8. The lighting device according to claim 1,

wherein said units of the power supply chain each comprise an address initializer for initializing an address identification of the unit, which initializer is connected to said interface of the respective unit and arranged to obtain an address identification of the unit.

9. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein each light unit of said group of light units is arranged to notify, in case said light unit is the first unit in the power supply chain, the primary control unit of completion of the address initialization of all succeeding units of the power supply chain.

10. The lighting device according to claim 1, said lighting device being one of a luminaire and a light source.

11. A light system, comprising a plurality of lighting devices according to claim 1, and a system interface which is arranged for communicating lighting device control commands to at least one primary control unit of said lighting devices via lighting device interfaces of said lighting devices.

12. Lighting device unit for being arranged in a power supply chain of a lighting device, comprising:

an interface for sending or receiving lighting device unit control commands;

a power input connectable to a preceding lighting device unit;

a switchable power output connectable to a succeeding lighting device unit;

wherein the lighting device unit is arranged to initialize an address identification of the unit upon being supplied with power at the power input, and

wherein the lighting device unit is arranged to supply power at the power output only after initializing an address identification of the unit.

13. Lighting device unit according to claim 12, wherein the lighting device unit is a light unit that comprises at least one light element and at least one light element controller connected to the at least one light element and arranged to generate light element drive signals on the basis of a light generation control command received via the interface of the light unit.

14. A method of initializing addresses of lighting device units of a lighting device, which lighting device units are arranged in a power supply chain of lighting device units, the method comprising steps of:

initializing a lighting device unit address identification by a preceding lighting device unit; and

supplying power to a succeeding lighting device unit by the preceding lighting device units;

initializing a lighting device unit address identification by the succeeding lighting device unit;

wherein supplying and initializing steps being repeated for each succeeding lighting device unit of said power supply chain of lighting device units.

15. The method according to claim 14, comprising:

assigning a different address identification to at least one succeeding unit and communicating said address identification to the respective at least one succeeding units by a first unit in the power supply chain,

wherein initializing comprises receiving an address identification from said first unit by the succeeding lighting device unit.