LIGHT FIXTURE AS AN ACCESS POINT IN A COMMUNICATION NETWORK

• US 20170079121A1
• Filed: 09/15/2015
• Published: 03/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eaton Intelligent Power Limited (Eaton Corporation PLC.)
• Original Assignee: Eaton Intelligent Power Limited (Eaton Corporation PLC.)
• Inventors: Jayawardena, Adikaramge Asiri, Manahan, Joseph Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,930,758 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/20 Responsive to malfunctions or to light source life; for protection
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

A light fixture is described herein. The light fixture can include a housing having at least one wall that forms a cavity. The light fixture can also include a controller configured to control and communicate with at least one sensor located outside the housing. The light fixture can further include at least one light fixture component coupled to the controller and disposed within the cavity of the housing, where the controller further controls the at least one light fixture component.

Claims

1. A light fixture, comprising:

a housing comprising at least one wall that forms a cavity;

a controller configured to control and communicate with at least one sensor located outside the housing; and

at least one light fixture component coupled to the controller and disposed within the cavity of the housing, wherein the controller further controls the at least one light fixture component.

2. The light fixture of claim 1, further comprising:

a power module disposed within the cavity, wherein the power module provides power to the controller and the at least one sensor.

3. The light fixture of claim 2, wherein the power module comprises an energy storage device.

4. The light fixture of claim 2, wherein the power module enters a reduced power mode when the controller is idle.

5. The light fixture of claim 2, further comprising:

an additional power module disposed within the cavity, wherein the additional power module supplies power to the at least one light fixture component.

6. The light fixture of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises a wireless transceiver.

7. The light fixture of claim 1, wherein the housing meets applicable standards for a hazardous environment.

8. The light fixture of claim 7, further comprising:

a safety barrier disposed within the housing, wherein the safety barrier is coupled to at least one electrical conductor that is coupled to another device outside the housing.

9. The light fixture of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises:

a hardware processor;

memory comprising a plurality of instructions;

a control engine that executes the plurality of instructions on the hardware processor to control and communicate with the at least one sensor; and

a communication module coupled to the control engine, wherein the communication module transfers communications between the controller and the at least one sensor located outside the housing.

10. The light fixture of claim 9, wherein the communication module transfers the communications between the controller and the at least one sensor using at least one time-synchronized communication protocol.

11. A controller of a light fixture, the controller comprising:

memory comprising a plurality of instructions;

a control engine coupled to the memory, wherein the controller is configured to send and receive communication signals with at least one sensor based on the plurality of instructions, wherein the at least one sensor is external to the light fixture; and

a communication module coupled to the control engine, wherein the communication module is configured to transmit the communication signals between the control engine and the at least one sensor,

wherein the control module transmits the communication signals using at least one time-synchronized communication protocol.

12. The controller of claim 11, wherein the memory and the control engine are disposed within a cavity formed by a housing of the light fixture.

13. The controller of claim 11, wherein the control engine further controls a power module that provides power to at least one light source of the light fixture.

14. An electrical system, comprising:

at least one sensor;

a light fixture communicably coupled to the at least one sensor, wherein the light fixture comprises;

a housing comprising at least one wall that forms a cavity;

a controller that controls and communicates with the at least one sensor; and

at least one light fixture component coupled to the controller and disposed within the cavity of the housing, wherein the controller further controls the at least one light fixture component,

wherein the at least one sensor is located outside the housing of the light fixture.

15. The electrical system of claim 14, wherein the controller is an access point with respect to the at least one sensor.

16. The electrical system of claim 14, further comprising:

a network manager communicably coupled to the controller.

17. The electrical system of claim 16, wherein the network manager and the controller are part of a mesh communication network.

18. The electrical system of claim 17, wherein network manager detects when the light fixture becomes unavailable and instructs another light fixture to initiate communication with the at least one sensor.

19. The electrical system of claim 14, wherein the light fixture and the at least one sensor are located in a hazardous environment.

20. The electrical system of claim 14, wherein signals are transferred between the controller and the at least one sensor using at least one time-synchronized protocol.