Microprocessor controlled lighting system

• US 4,716,344 A
• Filed: 03/20/1986
• Issued: 12/29/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Acculite Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Micro Research Incorporated
• Inventors: O'Brien, Mary C., Newell, Darrel E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chatmon, Saxfield
• Application Number:
  US06/841,790
• Time in Patent Office: 649 Days
• Field of Search: 315/294, 315/295, 315/296, 315/292, 315/312-319, 362/242, 362/250, 362/418, 362/420, 362/227, 362/2, 362/3, 362/426, 362/802
• US Class Current: 315/312
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0421 Multiprocessor system
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/155 Coordinated control of two or more light sources

Abstract

A system for directing a plurality of lighting instruments in accordance with an operator designed sequence. The system includes a control module and a plurality of satellite modules where each satellite module is, in turn, connected in a controlling relationship to a further plurality of drive motors which are mechanically connected to the light assemblies for directing the beams to move in accordance with a stored program of presets contained in the memory of a microprocessor in the control module.

Claims

1. A system for controlling the positioning of a plurality of lighting instruments, comprising:

(a) yoke means for individually suspending each of said lighting instruments from a stationary frame;

(b) first motor means attached to each of said yoke means and coupled in driving relation with said lighting instruments for rotating said instruments in a vertical plane;

(c) second motor means coupled in driving relation to each of said yoke means for rotating said lighting instruments in a horizontal plane;

(d) at least one satellite module means including a microprocessor having a serial data input port, a serial data output port and an input/output port;

(e) motor control means responsive to digital signals and coupled to said input/output port of said microprocessor means in said satellite module and to said first and second motor means for driving said first and second motor means in accordance with digital information received over said serial data input port;

(f) shaft encoder means driven by said first and second motor means for developing a digital pulse count indicative of the distance the shafts of said first and second motor means have moved from a given starting position;

(g) controller module means including microprocessor means and memory means for storing a program of instructions and lamp positioning preset data at addressable locations therein, said preset data comprising numerical counts indicative of position within the field of movement of said lighting instrument, said microprocessor means in said controller module having a serial data input port, a serial data output port and an input/output port;

(h) means coupling said serial data input port of said microprocessor means in said controller module to said serial data output port of said microprocessor means in said satellite module and said serial data input port of said microprocessor means in said satellite module to said serial data output port of said microprocessor means in said controller module; and

(i) keyboard means coupled to said input/output port of said microprocessor means in said controller module for first entering data into said microprocessor means in said controller module by moving said lighting instruments to desired orientations and subsequently entering said lighting instruments positioning data corresponding to said desired orientations into said memory means in said controller module as a preset data block when said system is operating in a "design" mode and for selecting presets from said preset data blocks stored in said memory means representing desired positions for said plurality of lighting instruments when said system is operating in a "run" mode.

2. The system as in claim 1 wherein said microprocessor means in said controller module is programmed to compute a pulse count and directional signal corresponding to the positional difference between a current lighting instrument location and a selected preset position, said pulse count and direction signal being transmitted as a serial digital quantity to said satellite module for controlling said first and second motor means.

3. The system as in claim 1 wherein a plurality of said satellite module means are coupled to said serial data input port and said serial data output port of said controller module means by multiplexing means.

4. The system as in claim 1 wherein said keybord means includes a plurality of mode control switches, a selection of a first of said plurality of mode control switches allowing lighting instrument presets to be created and subsequently stored in said preset data block in said memory means when said system is operating in said "design" mode and operation of a second of said plurality of mode control switches allowing said lamps to be moved from a current position to another preset position when said system is operating in said "Run" mode.

5. The system for controlling the positioning of a plurality of lighting instruments comprising:

(a) a plurality of lighting instruments, each including a lamp contained within a canister;

(b) means for individually mounting said canisters for limited rotational movement about mutually perpendicular axes so that the lighting instruments can tilt in a vertical plane and pan in a horizontal plane;

(c) first and second lighting instrument drive motors coupled to said means for mounting for selectively causing said limited rotational movement of said lighting instruments;

(d) a plurality of satellite modules, each including microprocessor means coupled in controlling relation to a plurality of said lighting instrument drive motors;

(e) means for monitoring the rotational movement of said lighting instruments and providing a digital count value to the microprocessor means in the satellite module associated with said lighting instruments;

(f) a controller module including microprocessor means and memory means for storing a program of instructions, desired positioning data and current actual positioning data for each of said lighting instruments at addressable locations therein; and

(g) means coupling said controller module to each of said satellite modules for bi-directional, serial data communication therebetween, said controller module providing lighting instrument movement commands to said satellite modules and said satellite modules providing lighting instrument positional data to said controller module upon execution of said instrument movement commands.

6. The system as in claim 5 and further including keyboard data entry means coupled to said microprocessor means in said controller module for selecting predetermined sequences from said program of instructions whereby said controller module provides differing modes of operation to said plurality of lighting instruments.

7. The system as in claim 5 wherein said means coupling said controller module to each of said satellite modules comprises a first serial data line connected between an output port of said microprocessor means in said controller module to an input port of said microprocessor means in said satellite modules and a second serial data line coupled between an outport of said microprocessor means in said satellite modules to an input port of said microprocessor means in said controller module.

8. The system as in claim 5 wherein said means for monitoring the rotational movement of said lighting instruments comprises shaft encoder wheels coupled to the shafts of said first and second lighting instrument drive motors for each lighting instrument associated with a given satellite module and means coupling said shaft encoder means to an input port of said microprocessor means in said given satellite module, whereby said microprocessor means in said given satellite module develops count value corresponding to the displacements of said lighting instruments from a predetermined "home" positions for each.