Electrical window control system and method thereof

• US 7,535,614 B1
• Filed: 05/27/2008
• Issued: 05/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gentex Corporation
• Original Assignee: Gentex Corporation
• Inventors: Tapley, Donald L., Turnbull, Robert R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Choi; William C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dinh; Jack
• Application Number:
  US12/127,571
• Time in Patent Office: 357 Days
• Field of Search: 359265-275, 359/609, 359/900, 359/239, 359/241, 345/49, 345/105
• US Class Current: 359/265
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 3/04 adjustable in transparency
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 359/90 Methods

Abstract

An electrical window control system and method thereof are provided, wherein the system includes a variable transmission window having first and second substantially transparent substrates that define an area, and a variable transmittance material that occupies at least a portion of the area. The system further includes a power source that supplies an electrical power, at least one light source that emits light towards the variable transmission window, and at least one sensor in optical communication with the light source, wherein the at least one sensor receives at least a portion of the light that propagates through at least one of the first and second substantially transparent substrates, and communicates a signal that corresponds to the received light. The system further includes a controller in communication with the at least one sensor, wherein the controller receives and compares the signal communicated from the at least one sensor to a reference value, and controls the electrical power supplied to the variable transmittance material, such that a transmittance of the variable transmission window is altered with respect to the light received by the at least one sensor.

Claims

1. An electrical window control system comprising:

a variable transmission window comprising;

a first substantially transparent substrate;

a second substantially transparent substrate, wherein said first and second substantially transparent substrates define an area; and

a variable transmittance material that occupies at least a portion of said area;

a power source that supplies an electrical power to said variable transmittance material, wherein an altering of a transmittance state of said variable transmittance material is based upon altering said supplied electrical power;

at least one light source that emits light towards said variable transmission window, such that said emitted light is adapted to substantially propagate through at least one of said first and second substantially transparent substrates based upon said transmittance state of said variable transmittance material;

at least one sensor in optical communication with said at least one of light source, wherein said at least one sensor receives at least a portion of said emitted light that propagates through at least one of said first and second substantially transparent substrates, and communicates a signal that corresponds to said received light; and

a controller in communication with said at least one sensor, wherein said controller receives and compares said signal communicated from said at least one sensor to a reference value, and said controller controls an electrical power supplied from said power source to said variable transmittance material based upon said comparison of said communicated signal and said reference value, such that said transmittance state of said variable transmittance material is altered with respect to said light received by said at least one sensor.

2. The electrical window control system of claim 1, wherein said variable transmittance material is an electrochromatic (EC) material.

3. The electrical window control system of claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor is on an exterior side of said first substantially transparent substrate, and said at least one light source is on an exterior side of said second substantially transparent substrate, such that said at least one light source emits light through said first and second substantially transparent substrates and said variable transmittance material, so that at least a portion of said emitted light is received by said at least one sensor.

4. The electrical window control system of claim 1, wherein said reference value corresponds to a value representative of light received by said at least one sensor when said variable transmission window is configured to be substantially transparent.

5. The electrical window control system of claim 1, wherein said at least one light source and said at least one sensor are separate devices and housed as separate components.

6. The electrical window control system of claim 1, wherein said at least one light source and said at least one sensor are a single device, such that said at least one light source and said at least one sensor are substantially enclosed in a housing.

7. The electrical window control system of claim 1, wherein said at least one light source and said at least one sensor are on an exterior side of one of said first and second substantially transparent substrates.

8. The electrical window control system of claim 7, wherein a reflective surface is integrated with one of said first and second substantially transparent substrates opposite of said at least one light source and said at least one sensor, such that at least a portion of said light emitted from said at least one light source is reflected by said reflective surface and received by said at least one sensor.

9. The electrical window control system of claim 8, wherein said first and second substantially transparent substrates that comprise said reflective surface, further comprise an exterior surface and an interior surface, such that said reflective surface is integrated on one of said exterior and interior surfaces so that at least a portion of said light emitted from said at least one light source propagates from said at least one light source through said variable transmittance material, is reflected by said reflective surface, and propagates through said variable transmittance material and received by said sensor.

10. The electrical window control system of claim 8, wherein said reflective surface is a specular reflective surface.

11. The electrical window control system of claim 8, wherein said reflective surface is a Lambertian reflective surface.

12. The electrical window control system of claim 1, wherein said at least one light source is at least one of a light emitting diode (LED), an incandescent lamp, a laser diode, and an ambient light source.

13. The electrical window control system of claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor comprises a first sensor and a second sensor that are located on one of said first and second substantially transparent substrates opposite said light source.

14. The electrical window control system of claim 13, wherein said first sensor is configured to receive said light emitted from said at least one light source that propagates through said first and second substantially transparent substrates and said variable transmittance material.

15. The electrical window control system of claim 14, wherein said second sensor is configured to receive light emitted from said at least one light source that propagates through said first and second substantially transparent substrates, such that said area between said first and second substantially transparent substrates that said light propagates through does not contain said variable transmittance material.

16. The electrical window control system of claim 15, wherein a first output communicated from said first sensor and a second output communicated from said second sensor are compared, such that said reference value comprises said second output, wherein said electrical power supplied to said variable transmittance material is altered based upon said comparison of said first output and said second output.

17. The electrical window control system of claim 1 further comprising at least one filter in optical communication with said at least one sensor, wherein said at least one filter passes said light at a predetermined wavelength, such that said predetermined wavelength corresponds to a wavelength of light emitted by said at least one light source.

18. The electrical window control system of claim 17, wherein said at least one filter is a spectral weighting filter.

19. The electrical window control system of claim 17, wherein said at least one filter is a neutral density filter.

20. The electrical window control system of claim 1, wherein said controller controls said electrical power supplied to said variable transmittance material based upon a plurality of said sensor outputs that are received by said controller over a predetermined period of time.

21. The electrical window control system of claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor is at least one of a cadmium sulfide (CdS) cell, a phototransistor, a photodiode, and a light sensing integrated circuit.

22. The electrical window control system of claim 1, wherein said at least one light source pulses said light emitted and received by said sensor.

23. The electrical window control system of claim 1, wherein a temperature of said at least one light source is determined, such that said reference value compared to said output of said sensor is altered based upon said determined temperature.

24. The electrical window control system of claim 1, wherein when said controller substantially does not supply said electrical power to said variable transmittance material, said variable transmittance material is configured to be substantially transparent.

25. The electrical window control system of claim 1 further comprising a surge protection that comprises a remote power distribution unit (RPDU) and a thermal detection device, such that a short circuit in said controller trips at least one of said RPDU and said thermal detection device.

26. A method of electrically controlling a variable transmission window, said method comprising the steps of:

emitting light towards a variable transmission window;

propagating at least a portion of said emitted light substantially through first and second substantially transparent substrates of said variable transmission window that define an area, wherein a variable transmittance material occupies at least a portion of said area;

supplying an electrical power to said variable transmittance material to control a transmittance state of said variable transmittance material;

detecting said emitted light that is adapted to propagate through said first and second substantially transparent substrates;

communicating a signal representative of said detected light;

receiving said communicated signal, such that said received signal is compared to a reference value; and

altering said electrical power supplied to said variable transmittance material based upon said comparison of said received signal and said reference value, such that said transmittance state of said variable transmittance material is altered based upon said detected light.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein said variable transmittance material is an electrochromatic (EC) material.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein said emitted light is emitted from an exterior side of said second substantially transparent substrate, and said emitted light is received at an exterior side of said first substantially transparent substrate, such that said emitted light propagates through said first and second substantially transparent substrates and said variable transmittance material, so that at least a portion of said emitted light is received by said at least one sensor.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein said reference value corresponds to a value representative of light received by said at least one sensor when the variable transmission window is configured to be substantially transparent.

30. The method of claim 26, wherein said emitted light is emitted and detected at an exterior side of one of said first and second substantially transparent substrates.

31. The method of claim 30 further comprising the step of reflecting said emitted light, such that said light is reflected at one of said first and second substantially transparent substrates opposite of where said light is emitted and detected, so that at least a portion of said emitted light is reflected and detected.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein said emitted light is reflected by a Lambertian reflective surface.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein said emitted light is reflected by a specular reflective surface.

34. The method of claim 26, wherein said emitted light is emitted by at least one of a light emitting diode (LED), an incandescent lamp, a laser diode, and an ambient light source.

35. The method of claim 26, wherein said step of detecting said emitted light further comprises providing a first sensor and a second sensor that are located on one of said first and second substantially transparent substrates opposite where said light is emitted.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein said first sensor is configured to receive said emitted light that propagates through said first and second substantially transparent substrates and said variable transmittance material.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein said second sensor is configured to receive light emitted from said light source that propagates through said first and second substantially transparent substrates, such that said area between said first and second substantially transparent substrates that said light propagates through does not contain said variable transmittance material.

38. The method of claim 37 further comprising the step of comparing a first output communicated from said first sensor and a second output communicated from said second sensor, such that said reference value comprises said second output, wherein said electrical power supplied to said variable transmittance material is altered based upon said comparison of said first output and said second output.

39. The method of claim 26 further comprising the step of filtering said detected light, such that said filtered light corresponds to a wavelength of said emitted light.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein said filtered detected light is filtered by a spectral weighting filter.

41. The method of claim 39, wherein said filtered detected light is filtered by a neutral density filter.

42. The method of claim 26 further comprising the step of receiving a plurality of outputs based upon said detected light that are received over a predetermined period of time.

43. The method of claim 26, wherein said step of detecting said emitted light further comprises providing at least one sensor, wherein said at least one sensor is at least one of a cadmium sulfide (CdS) cell, a phototransistor, a photodiode, and a light sensing integrated circuit.

44. The method of claim 26, wherein said light emitted from said light source is pulsed.

45. The method of claim 26 further comprising the step of determining said reference value based upon a temperature of a light source that emits said emitted light.

46. The method of claim 26 further comprising the step of configuring said variable transmittance material to be substantially transparent when said electrical power is substantially not supplied to said variable transmittance material.

47. A feedback control system comprising:

a variable transmission window comprising;

a first substantially transparent substrate;

a second substantially transparent substrate, wherein said first and second substantially transparent substrates define an area; and

a variable transmittance material that occupies at least a portion of said area;

a power source that supplies an electrical power to said variable transmittance material, wherein an altering of a transmittance state of said variable transmittance material is based upon altering said supplied electrical power;

at least one light source that emits light towards said variable transmission window, such that at least a portion of said emitted light propagates through at least one of said first and second substantially transparent substrates based upon said transmittance state of said variable transmittance material;

at least one sensor in optical communication with said at least one light source, wherein said at least one sensor receives at least a portion of said emitted light that propagates through at least one of said first and second substantially transparent substrates, and communicates a feedback signal that corresponds to said received light; and

a controller in communication with said at least one sensor to form a closed loop, wherein said controller receives said feedback signal, and controls said electrical power supplied from said at least one power source to said variable transmittance material based upon said feedback signal, such that said transmittance state of said variable transmittance material is altered with respect to said light received by said at least one sensor.

48. The feedback control system of claim 47, wherein said variable transmittance material is an electrochromatic (EC) material.

49. The feedback control system of claim 47, wherein said at least one sensor is on an exterior side of said first substantially transparent substrate, and said at least one light source is on an exterior side of said second substantially transparent substrate, such that said at least one light source emits light through said first and second substantially transparent substrates and said variable transmittance material, so that at least a portion of said emitted light is received by said at least one sensor.

50. The feedback control system of claim 47, wherein said at least one light source and said at least one sensor are separate devices and housed as separate components.

51. The feedback control system of claim 47, wherein said at least one light source and said at least one sensor are a single device, such that said at least one light source and said at least one sensor are substantially enclosed in a housing.

52. The feedback control system of claim 47, wherein said at least one light source and said at least one sensor are on an exterior side of one of said first and second substantially transparent substrates.

53. The feedback control system of claim 52, wherein a reflective surface is integrated with one of said first and second substantially transparent substrates opposite of said at least one light source and said at least one sensor, such that at least a portion of said light emitted from said at least one light source is reflected by said reflective surface and received by said at least one sensor.

54. The feedback control system of claim 53, wherein said first and second substantially transparent substrates that comprise said reflective surface, further comprise an exterior surface and an interior surface, such that said reflective surface is integrated on one of said exterior and interior surfaces so that at least a portion of said light emitted from said at least one light source propagates from said at least one light source through said variable transmittance material, is reflected by said reflective surface, and propagates through said variable transmittance material and received by said sensor.

55. The feedback control system of claim 47, wherein said at least one light source is at least one of a light emitting diode (LED), an incandescent lamp, a laser diode, and an ambient light source.

56. The feedback control system of claim 47, wherein said at least one sensor comprises a first sensor and a second sensor that are located on one of said first and second substantially transparent substrates opposite said light source.

57. The feedback control system of claim 56, wherein said first sensor is configured to receive said light emitted from said at least one light source that propagates through said first and second substantially transparent substrates and said variable transmittance material.

58. The feedback control system of claim 57, wherein said second sensor is configured to receive light emitted from said at least one light source that propagates through said first and second substantially transparent substrates, such that said area between said first and second substantially transparent substrates that said light propagates through does not contain said variable transmittance material.

59. The feedback control system of claim 47 further comprising at least one filter in optical communication with said at least one sensor, wherein said at least one filter passes said light at a predetermined wavelength, such that said predetermined wavelength corresponds to a wavelength of light emitted by said at least one light source.

60. The feedback control system of claim 47, wherein said at least one sensor is at least one of a cadmium sulfide (CdS) cell, a phototransistor, a photodiode, and a light sensing integrated circuit.