Dimming control system with distributed command processing
First Claim
1. A dimming control system with distributed command processing comprising:
- a dimmer rack having a first wall and a second wall opposite the first wall, the first and second wall each having a plurality of evenly spaced corresponding supports forming a plurality of slots;
at least one power bus connector mounted adjacent the first wall;
a plurality of load connectors mounted adjacent the second wall, at least one of said second plurality of load connectors in each slot;
a plurality of board connectors mounted adjacent the second wall intermediate the load connectors and the wall, at least one of said board connectors in each slot;
a pull out tray removably engaged by the first and second wall, said tray having supports forming at least one slot to removably receive at least one control module having means for communication of dimmer control levels electrically connected to the board connectors; and
at least one dimmer module having a chassis receivable in a respective one of said slots in the rack and incorporating mating connectors for the power bus, load connector and board connector associated with the respective one slot, said dimmer module further having a dimmer control circuit including a microcontroller for dimmer level control output, said microcontroller generating dimmer level control output responsive to the dimmer control levels from the communication means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A dimming control system includes dimmer modules which receive dimming level information from a control module. Each dimmer modules includes a microprocessor which provides internal intelligence for controlling power to a load in response to the dimming level information. The control module receives industry standard protocol dimming information from various sources, converts it to dimming level information, and communicates the dimming level information to the dimmer modules through serial communication lines. The dimmer modules and control module are mounted in a rack which includes a backplane having nonvolatile memory device that retains configuration data even if the control module is removed from the rack. The dimmer modules implement a zero cross prediction method which includes detecting an actual zero cross, calculating an error, and adding the error to the period of a line power signal. The error is calculated by applying a median filter to a plurality of previous error values, discarding the highest and lowest values of the previous error values, and averaging the remaining previous error values.
101 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A dimming control system with distributed command processing comprising:
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a dimmer rack having a first wall and a second wall opposite the first wall, the first and second wall each having a plurality of evenly spaced corresponding supports forming a plurality of slots; at least one power bus connector mounted adjacent the first wall; a plurality of load connectors mounted adjacent the second wall, at least one of said second plurality of load connectors in each slot; a plurality of board connectors mounted adjacent the second wall intermediate the load connectors and the wall, at least one of said board connectors in each slot; a pull out tray removably engaged by the first and second wall, said tray having supports forming at least one slot to removably receive at least one control module having means for communication of dimmer control levels electrically connected to the board connectors; and at least one dimmer module having a chassis receivable in a respective one of said slots in the rack and incorporating mating connectors for the power bus, load connector and board connector associated with the respective one slot, said dimmer module further having a dimmer control circuit including a microcontroller for dimmer level control output, said microcontroller generating dimmer level control output responsive to the dimmer control levels from the communication means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 21, 22, 23)
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10. A method for control of a dimmer system having a control module for communication of dimmer control levels and at least one dimmer module with an internal microcontroller for dimmer level control output and receiving communications from said control module, said method comprising the steps of:
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transmitting dimmer level information from a control module; receiving said dimmer level information in a microcontroller integral with at least one dimmer module; converting said dimmer level information to a dimmer level output in the microcontroller; outputting said dimmer level output from said at least one dimmer module; and monitoring power input and output from the at least one dimmer module. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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24. A method for control of a dimmer system having a control module for communication of dimmer control levels and at least one dimmer module with an internal microcontroller for dimmer level control output and receiving communications from said control module, said method comprising the steps of:
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transmitting dimmer level information from a control module; receiving said dimmer level information in a microcontroller integral with at least one dimmer module; converting said dimmer level information to a dimmer level output in the microcontroller; and outputting said dimmer level output from said at least one dimmer module. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A dimming control system comprising:
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a rack; a dimmer module mounted in the rack; and a control module mounted in the rack and communicatively coupled to the dimmer module; the control module including logic circuitry for transmitting dimming level information to the dimmer; the dimmer module including logic circuitry coupled to receive the dimming level information from the control module and control power to a load responsive to the dimming level information. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A dimming control system comprising:
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a rack; a control module mounted in the rack and including means for transmitting dimming level information; and a dimmer module mounted in the rack and including; a dimmer circuit having a power switch for controlling power to a load responsive to a gate signal; and means for receiving dimming level information and generating the gate signal responsive to the dimming level information.
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40. A dimmer module comprising:
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a dimmer circuit including a power switch for controlling power to a load; a communication port for receiving digital dimming level information; and logic circuitry coupled to the communication port to receive and decode the dimming level information and coupled to the dimmer circuit to control the dimmer circuit responsive to the digital dimming level information.
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41. A control module for a rack mounted dimming control system, the module comprising:
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means for receiving standard dimming control input; means for converting the standard dimming control input to dimming level information; and means for communicating the dimming level information to one or more dimming modules.
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Specification