CONTROLLING GROUPS OF ELECTRICAL LOADS

• US 20180114434A1
• Filed: 10/20/2017
• Published: 04/26/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
• Original Assignee: Lutron Electronics Company Incorporated (Lutron Electronics)
• Inventors: Newman, JR., Robert C., Shi, Shan, Shukla, Jaykrishna A.
• Granted Patent: US 10,342,103 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 9/38 Other details
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/12 Power saving techniques of remote control or controlled devices
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/50 Receiving or transmitting feedback, e.g. replies, status updates, acknowledgements, from the controlled devices
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/70 Device selection
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/105 in response to determined parameters
• 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 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 30/24 Structural elements or technologies for improving thermal insulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 80/00 Architectural or constructional elements improving the thermal performance of buildings

Abstract

A load control system may include control devices for controlling electrical loads. The control devices may include load control devices, such as a lighting device for controlling an amount of power provided to a lighting load, and controller devices, such as a remote control device configured to transmit digital messages for controlling the lighting load via the load control device. The remote control device may communicate with the lighting devices via a hub device. The remote control device may detect a user interface event, such as a button press or a rotation of the remote control device. The remote control device or the hub device may determine whether to transmit digital messages as unicast messages or multicast messages based on the type of user interface event detected. The remote control device, or other master device, may synchronize and/or toggle an on/off state of lighting devices in the load control system.

Claims

1. A remote control device comprising:

a status indicator comprising at least one light source; and

a control circuit configured to;

receive device information regarding one or more devices that are responsive to the remote control device, wherein the device information comprises at least one of an address or a device type of each of the one or more devices;

select, based on the device information, a feedback type of a plurality of feedback types to be provided via the status indicator; and

provide feedback of the selected feedback type via the status indicator.

2. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of feedback types comprise at least one type of simple feedback and at least one type of advanced feedback, wherein the at least one type of simple feedback comprises feedback provided in response a user interface event on the remote control device, and wherein the at least one type of advanced feedback comprises feedback provided in response to a status of one or more load control devices associated with the remote control device or one or more electrical loads controlled thereby.

3. The remote control device of claim 2, wherein the control circuit is configured to:

when the one or more load control devices include multiple load control devices, determine whether the status of the multiple load control devices is in sync;

select the advanced feedback to be provided via the status indicator when the multiple load control devices are in sync; and

select the simple feedback to be provided via the status indicator when the multiple load control devices are out of sync.

4. The remote control device of claim 2, wherein the device information comprises association information for associating the one or more devices with the remote control device, wherein the association information comprises the at least one of the address or the device type of each of the one or more devices.

5. The remote control device of claim 2, wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

determine, based on the device information, whether a hub device is associated with the remote control device; and

select one of the simple feedback or the advanced feedback to be provided via the status indicator based on whether the hub device is associated with the remote control device.

6. The remote control device of claim 5, wherein the control circuit is configured to select the simple feedback to be provided via the status indicator when the hub device is unassociated with the remote control device, and wherein the control circuit is configured to select the advanced feedback to be provided via the status indicator when the hub device is associated with the remote control device.

7. The remote control device of claim 2, wherein the control circuit is configured to determine, based on the device information, a number of load control devices associated with the remote control device, wherein the control circuit is configured to select the simple feedback to be provided via the status indicator when more than one load control device is associated with the remote control device, and wherein the control circuit is configured to select the advanced feedback to be provided via the status indicator when one load control device is associated with the remote control device.

8. The remote control device of claim 2, wherein the at least one type of simple feedback comprises a plurality of types of simple feedback, wherein the at least one type of advanced feedback comprises a plurality of types of advanced feedback, and wherein the control circuit is further configured to select, based on the device type of each load control device of the one or more devices in the device information, the feedback type from the plurality of types of simple feedback or the plurality of types of advanced feedback that corresponds to each load control device of the one or more devices in the association information.

9. The remote control device of claim 2, wherein the remote control device further comprises a user interface, wherein the remote control device further comprises a communications circuit, and wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

detect a user interface event via the user interface; and

send, via the communications circuit, a command configured to control one or more electrical loads in response to the user interface event.

10. The remote control device of claim 9, wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

receive, via the communications circuit, at least one status message that indicates an updated status of the one or more electrical loads; and

update the feedback provided via the status indicator based on the updated status of the one or more electrical loads.

11. The remote control device of claim 10, wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

awaken from a sleep state;

send, via the communications circuit, a status query message to the hub device or the one or more load control devices; and

receive, via the communications circuit, the at least one status message in response to the status query message.

12. The remote control device of claim 11, wherein the control circuit is configured to:

determine whether the command is configured for performing absolute control of multiple load control devices or for performing relative control of a single load control device;

select the advanced feedback to be provided via the status indicator when the command is configured for performing absolute control; and

select the simple feedback to be provided via the status indicator when the command is configured for performing relative control.

13. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the one or more devices comprise at least one of a lighting device, a temperature control device, a motorized window treatment, a fan, or an audio device.

14. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is configured to receive a user selection of the feedback type of the plurality of feedback types to be provided via the status indicator for a corresponding scenario, and wherein the feedback type is selected based on the user selection.

15. A method for providing feedback via a status indicator on a remote control device, the status indicator comprising at least one light source, the method comprising:

receiving device information regarding one or more devices that are responsive to the remote control device, wherein the device information comprises at least one of an address or a device type of each of the one or more devices;

selecting, based on the device information, a feedback type of a plurality of feedback types to be provided via the status indicator; and

providing the feedback of the selected feedback type via the status indicator.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of feedback types comprise at least one type of simple feedback and at least one type of advanced feedback, wherein the at least one type of simple feedback comprises feedback provided in response a user interface event on the remote control device, and wherein the at least one type of advanced feedback comprises feedback provided in response to a status of one or more load control devices associated with the remote control device or one or more electrical loads controlled thereby.

17. The method of claim 16, the method further comprising when the one or more load control devices include multiple load control devices, determining whether the status of the multiple load control devices is in sync, wherein the advanced feedback is selected to be provided via the status indicator when the multiple load control devices are in sync, and wherein the simple feedback is selected to be provided via the status indicator when the multiple load control devices are out of sync.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the device information comprises association information for associating the one or more devices with the remote control device, wherein the association information comprises the at least one of the address or the device type of each of the one or more devices.

19. The method of claim 16, the method further comprising determining, based on the device information, whether a hub device is associated with the remote control device, wherein one of the simple feedback or the advanced feedback are selected to be provided via the status indicator based on whether the hub device is associated with the remote control device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the simple feedback is selected to be provided via the status indicator when the hub device is unassociated with the remote control device, and wherein the advanced feedback is selected to be provided via the status indicator when the hub device is associated with the remote control device.

21. The method of claim 16, further comprising determining, based on the device information, a number of load control devices associated with the remote control device, wherein the simple feedback is selected to be provided via the status indicator when more than one load control device is associated with the remote control device, and wherein the advanced feedback is selected to be provided via the status indicator when one load control device is associated with the remote control device.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one type of simple feedback comprises a plurality of types of simple feedback, wherein the at least one type of advanced feedback comprises a plurality of types of advanced feedback, and wherein the feedback type is selected from the plurality of types of simple feedback or the plurality of types of advanced feedback based on the device type corresponding to each load control device of the one or more devices in the device information.

23. The method of claim 16, the method further comprising:

detecting a user interface event on the remote control device; and

sending a command configured to control one or more electrical loads in response to the user interface event.

24. The method of claim 23, the method further comprising:

receiving at least one status message that indicates an updated status of the one or more electrical loads; and

updating the feedback provided via the status indicator based on the updated status of the one or more electrical loads.

25. The method of claim 24, the method further comprising:

awakening from a sleep state;

sending a status query message to the hub device or the one or more load control devices; and

receiving the at least one status message in response to the status query message.

26. The method of claim 23, the method further comprising determining whether the command is configured for performing absolute control of multiple load control devices or for performing relative control of a single load control device, wherein the advanced feedback is selected to be provided via the status indicator when the command is configured for performing absolute control, and wherein the simple feedback is selected to be provided via the status indicator when the command is configured for performing relative control.

27. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more devices comprise at least one of a lighting device, a temperature control device, a motorized window treatment, a fan, or an audio device.

28. The method of claim 15, further comprising receiving a user selection of the feedback type of the plurality of feedback types to be provided via the status indicator for a corresponding scenario, and wherein the feedback type is selected based on the user selection.