Method and system for controlling a luminaire
First Claim
1. A system for controlling a light fixture comprising:
- memory for storing data and software;
a multi-tap capacitor having a plurality of tap capacitors integrated into a capacitor housing;
a plurality of switches, wherein each switch is coupled to one of the plurality of tap capacitors for selectively coupling the tap capacitors together to produce a multi-tap capacitance;
a processor coupled to the memory and the switches, wherein the processor, the switches, and the memory are cooperatively operable to facilitate;
detecting a trigger for changing a lumen level output by the light fixture;
determining a new lumen level in response to and corresponding to the trigger;
determining settings for the plurality of switches that correspond to the new lumen level; and
configuring the plurality of switches to produce a multi-tap capacitance that corresponds to the new lumen level;
wherein the multi-tap capacitor comprises a base capacitor integrated into the capacitor housing, wherein the base capacitor has first and second terminals connected, respectively, to a first and a second connector lug, wherein each of the plurality of tap capacitors has a first tap capacitor terminal and a second tap capacitor terminal, wherein the first terminal of the base capacitor and each of the first tap capacitor terminals is connected, respectively, to a corresponding connector pin in a multi-pin connector, and wherein the second tap capacitor terminals are connected to the second terminal and the second connector lug, wherein the multi-tap capacitance is measured between the first and second connector lugs, and can be configured to be equal to the base capacitor value plus values of one or more selected tap capacitors connected in parallel with the base capacitor by the plurality of switches.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and corresponding systems for controlling a light fixture include a memory for storing data and software. A multi-tap capacitor has a plurality of tap capacitors integrated into a capacitor housing. A plurality of switches are each coupled to one of the plurality of tap capacitors for selectively coupling the tap capacitors together to produce a variable multi-tap capacitance. A processor is coupled to the memory and the switches to facilitate: detecting a trigger for changing a lumen level output by the light fixture; determining a new lumen level in response to the trigger; determining a capacitance value that corresponds to the new lumen level; and configuring the plurality of switches to produce the multi-tap capacitance that corresponds to the new lumen level. The processor can record data in the memory that represents times of lumen changes and switch settings, which data correlates to power consumption.
-
Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A system for controlling a light fixture comprising:
-
memory for storing data and software; a multi-tap capacitor having a plurality of tap capacitors integrated into a capacitor housing; a plurality of switches, wherein each switch is coupled to one of the plurality of tap capacitors for selectively coupling the tap capacitors together to produce a multi-tap capacitance; a processor coupled to the memory and the switches, wherein the processor, the switches, and the memory are cooperatively operable to facilitate; detecting a trigger for changing a lumen level output by the light fixture; determining a new lumen level in response to and corresponding to the trigger; determining settings for the plurality of switches that correspond to the new lumen level; and configuring the plurality of switches to produce a multi-tap capacitance that corresponds to the new lumen level; wherein the multi-tap capacitor comprises a base capacitor integrated into the capacitor housing, wherein the base capacitor has first and second terminals connected, respectively, to a first and a second connector lug, wherein each of the plurality of tap capacitors has a first tap capacitor terminal and a second tap capacitor terminal, wherein the first terminal of the base capacitor and each of the first tap capacitor terminals is connected, respectively, to a corresponding connector pin in a multi-pin connector, and wherein the second tap capacitor terminals are connected to the second terminal and the second connector lug, wherein the multi-tap capacitance is measured between the first and second connector lugs, and can be configured to be equal to the base capacitor value plus values of one or more selected tap capacitors connected in parallel with the base capacitor by the plurality of switches. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A method for controlling a light fixture comprising:
-
configuring a multi-tap capacitor to produce a first capacitance for operating the light fixture at a first lumen level; reconfiguring the multi-tap capacitor to produce a second capacitance for operating the light fixture at a second lumen level; reading a lumen output of a lamp in the light fixture; comparing the lumen output with the second lumen level to produce a lumen level error; reconfiguring the multi-tap capacitor to produce an adjusted second capacitance to reduce the lumen level error, and wherein the reconfiguring the multi-tap capacitor to produce the second capacitance for operating the light fixture at the second lumen level comprises reconfiguring the multi-tap capacitor in response to receiving in a network receiver an instruction operative to change a capacitance; and logging, in response to reconfiguring of the multi-tap capacitor, data that indicates a prior configuration of the multi-tap capacitor and a time of operation of the light fixture in the prior configuration of the multi-tap capacitor. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
16. A method for controlling a light fixture comprising:
-
configuring a multi-tap capacitor to produce a first capacitance for operating the light fixture at a first lumen level; reconfiguring the multi-tap capacitor to produce a second capacitance for operating the light fixture at a second lumen level; reading a lumen output of a lamp in the light fixture; comparing the lumen output with the second lumen level to produce a lumen level error; and reconfiguring the multi-tap capacitor to produce an adjusted second capacitance to reduce the lumen level error, wherein the reconfiguring the multi-tap capacitor comprises; providing the multi-tap capacitor having a plurality of tap capacitors integrated within a capacitor housing; providing a plurality of switches, wherein each of the plurality of switches is connected to one of the tap capacitors; and automatically using a processor, reconfiguring the switches to connect selected ones of the plurality of tap capacitors in parallel to provide the second capacitance; and logging, in response to reconfiguring of the multi-tap capacitor, data that indicates a prior configuration of the multi-tap capacitor and a time of operation of the light fixture in the prior configuration of the multi-tap capacitor.
-
-
21. A method for controlling a light fixture comprising:
-
configuring a multi-tap capacitor to produce a first capacitance for operating the light fixture at a first lumen level; reconfiguring the multi-tap capacitor to produce a second capacitance for operating the light fixture at a second lumen level; reading a lumen output of a lamp in the light fixture; comparing the lumen output with the second lumen level to produce a lumen level error; reconfiguring the multi-tap capacitor to produce an adjusted second capacitance to reduce the lumen level error; and logging, in response to reconfiguring of the multi-tap capacitor, data that indicates a prior configuration of the multi-tap capacitor and a time of operation of the light fixture in the prior configuration of the multi-tap capacitor. - View Dependent Claims (22)
-
Specification