Method and system for lighting control

• US 7,710,271 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2006
• Issued: 05/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Philips Lighting Holding BV (Signify N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Frumau, Constantinus Carolus Franciscus
• Primary Examiner(s): Owens; Douglas W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vu; Jimmy T
• Application Number:
  US11/912,165
• Publication Number:
  US 20080197782A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,476 Days
• Field of Search: 3405721-5728, 340/825.21, 340/825.52, 340/10.1, 340/10.4, 340/10.42, 340/10.52, 250/214.R, 250/227.21, 250/227.22, 362/227, 362/233, 362/319, 362/800
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission

Abstract

A method and a system control at least one lighting arrangement, in which the lighting arrangement modulates the light it emits by lighting arrangement data that contains an identification code identifying the lighting arrangement. A user control device is suitable to receive the light from the lighting arrangement and to derive therefrom the lighting arrangement data. The user controlled device measures a property of the received light, apart from it representing data, to provide additional data which is associated with the lighting arrangement which is associated with the identification code contained in the received data. Data about a location of the user control device is determined, the user controlled device transmits the data it gained, and a main control device is suitable to receive the data transmitted by the user control device and to control the at least one lighting arrangement dependent on all the data.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a lighting system, which comprises a lighting arrangement, a user controlled device and a main control device, the method comprising the acts of:

providing the lighting arrangement with an identification code;

at the lighting arrangement;

modulating light emitted by the lighting arrangement by lighting arrangement data, the lighting arrangement data containing the identification code of the lighting arrangement;

at the user controlled device;

receiving the light from the lighting arrangement;

deriving the received lighting arrangement data from the light received from the lighting arrangement;

generating by a user interface additional data which is associated with the identification code contained in the received lighting arrangement data;

transmitting the received lighting arrangement data and the additional data;

at the main control device;

receiving the lighting arrangement data and the additional data from the user controlled device;

controlling operation of the lighting arrangement dependent on the received lighting arrangement data and the additional data;

wherein the user controlled device determines at least one property of the received light, apart from any identification code contained therein, to provide light property data, a location of the user controlled device to provide location data, and light tracking commands from a user to provide tracking command data, and

wherein the user controlled device transmits the identification code, the additional data, the light property data, the location data and the tracking command data to the main control device, and the main control device controls the lighting arrangement in accordance with the identification code, the additional data, the light property data, the location data and the tracking command data.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a further light property, apart from an identification code, is determined at the lighting arrangement to provide further light property data, which is transmitted by modulating the light emitted by the lighting arrangement, and the user controllable device relays the further light property data to the main control device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one light property, apart from an identification code, is determined at the user controllable device by measuring the light for said at least one light property.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein dependent on the light property data, the location data and the tracking command data received by the main control device, the main control device controls the lighting arrangement to maintain a lighting effect, which said lighting arrangement has at a location of the user controllable device.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein before controlling said lighting arrangement, the main control device is provided with a priori data about a lighting effect said lighting arrangement has at several locations, and during said controlling, the main control device takes said a priori data in account.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein before controlling said lighting arrangement, the main control device is provided with a priori data about an environment which can be lighted by said lighting arrangement, and during said controlling, the main control device takes said a priori data in account.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one property includes at least one of intensity of a composite of light received by the user controlled device, intensities of light of different colors of the light received by the user controlled device, and emission directions of the light received by the user controlled device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the central control device receives specification of the lighting arrangement, the specification including power, time and temperature dependent light emission from the lighting arrangement, the central control device taking the specification in account for controlling the lighting arrangement concurrent with controlling further lighting arrangements to provide a light effect having the at least one light property determined by the user controlled device, the user controlled device being configured to drag the lighting effect to further locations upon being located at the further locations.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the lighting effect comprises a light spot having the at least one light property determined by the user controlled device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the central control device is configured to control the lighting arrangement to provide light having the at least one property to a further location upon moving the user controlled device to the further location.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the user controlled device determines the at least one property by measuring the light received by a sensor of the user controlled device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the user controlled

device is configured to issue a track command to the central control device to track movement of the user controlled device and to maintain a lighting effect at changed locations of the user controlled device.

13. A lighting system, comprising:

a lighting arrangement having a modulator to modulate a light output of the lighting arrangement by lighting arrangement data, which contains an identification code of the lighting arrangement;

a user controlled device having a receiver to receive light including the lighting arrangement data from the lighting arrangement and a transmitter to transmit the received lighting arrangement data contained in the received light and additional data generated by a user interface, the additional data being associated with the identification code contained in the received lighting arrangement data; and

a main control device having a main receiver to receive data transmitted by the user controlled device including the lighting arrangement data and the additional data, and to control operation of the lighting arrangement dependent on the data received from the user controlled device,

wherein the user controlled device comprises a sensor to determine at least one property of the received light, apart from any identification code contained therein, and to provide light property data, the user interface receiving light tracking commands from a user to provide tracking command data to the main control device, the user controlled device being configured to determine a lighting location of the lighting arrangement and a device location of the user controlled device to provide location data, wherein the user controlled device transmits data to the main control device, the transmitted data including the identification code, the additional data, the lighting location, the device location and the light property data, and the main control device controls the lighting arrangement in accordance with the transmitted data.

14. The lighting system according to claim 13, wherein the main control device contains a control program, which, dependent on the transmitted data, controls the lighting arrangement to maintain a lighting effect, which said lighting arrangement has on the user controlled device.

15. The lighting system according to claim 14, wherein the control program, before controlling said lighting arrangement, is supplied with a priori data about a lighting effect said lighting arrangement has at several locations, and during said controlling the control program takes said a priori data in account.

16. The lighting system according to claim 14, wherein the control program, before controlling said lighting arrangement, is supplied with a priori data about an environment which can be lighted by said lighting arrangement, and during said controlling the control program takes said a priori data in account.

17. The lighting system of claim 13, wherein the main control device receives specification of the lighting arrangement, the specification including power, time and temperature dependent light emission from the lighting arrangement, the main control device taking the specification in account for controlling the lighting arrangement concurrent with controlling further lighting arrangements to provide a light effect having the at least one light property determined by the user controlled device, the user controlled device being configured to drag the lighting effect to further locations upon being located at the further locations.

18. The lighting system of claim 13, wherein the main control device is configured to control the lighting arrangement to provide light having the at least one property to a further location upon moving the user controlled device to the further location.

19. The lighting system of claim 18, wherein the user controlled device determines the at least one property by measuring the light received by a sensor of the user controlled device.

20. The lighting system of claim 13, wherein the user controlled device is configured to issue a track command to the main control device to track movement of the user controlled device and to maintain a lighting effect at changed locations of the user controlled device.