Communication port control module for lighting systems
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for receiving signals from a control computer and for using the signals to control a lighting device, the apparatus comprising:
- a hardware device including a serial to parallel converter operable to convert the signals from serial form to parallel form; and
a lighting device microprocessor in electrical communication with the hardware device, wherein the lighting device microprocessor is operable to receive the signals in parallel form from the hardware device, and wherein the lighting device microprocessor is further operable to interpret the signals as commands for controlling the lighting device.
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Abstract
An improved technique of interfacing a computer lighting device to a control computer is disclosed, wherein a hardware device is interposed between the control computer and the lighting device. The hardware device handles certain functions in hardware, thereby permitting the microprocessor at the lighting device to incur substantially less processing load.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. An apparatus for receiving signals from a control computer and for using the signals to control a lighting device, the apparatus comprising:
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a hardware device including a serial to parallel converter operable to convert the signals from serial form to parallel form; and
a lighting device microprocessor in electrical communication with the hardware device, wherein the lighting device microprocessor is operable to receive the signals in parallel form from the hardware device, and wherein the lighting device microprocessor is further operable to interpret the signals as commands for controlling the lighting device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for receiving and processing a lighting control signal from a central computer, the method comprising:
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operating a hardware circuit to perform serial to parallel conversion and error detection of the lighting control signal;
subsequently conveying the lighting control signal in parallel form from the hardware circuit to a lighting device microprocessor; and
operating the lighting device microprocessor to decode the lighting control signal to thereby control a lighting device. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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10. A hardware device for interposing between a computer controlled lighting device and a control computer that controls the lighting hardware device, the hardware device comprising:
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means for transmitting and receiving serial signals indicative of commands and data to control the lighting device;
means for ensuring that said data and commands include edges at predetermined times; and
means for converting the serial signals in parallel form and conveying the signals in parallel form to a microprocessor for decoding and for utilization in controlling the lighting device.
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11. A method of receiving a signal from a central computer to control a lighting device, the method comprising:
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(a) placing a first portion of the signal into a preshift register, and checking the first portion of the signal for errors;
(b) shifting the first portion of the signal from the preshift register into a shift register if the first portion is error free; and
(c) repeating (a) and (b) for each remaining portion of the signal before shifting the signal out of the shift register to thereby control the lighting device. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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Specification