Remotely controllable track lighting system

• US 8,258,721 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2009
• Issued: 09/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lucidity Lights, Inc., Nova Scotia Limited (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Evolution Lighting LLC (Evolution Lighting Holdings LLC)
• Inventors: Meyer, A. Corydon
• Primary Examiner(s): Tan, Vibol
• Application Number:
  US12/363,834
• Publication Number:
  US 20100066267A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,310 Days
• Field of Search: 315/291, 315/294, 315/149, 315/313, 315/308, 315/312, 315/316, 340/825.25, 340/825.21, 340/825.2, 340/825.22, 362/236, 362/227, 362/233
• US Class Current: 315/294
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 21/15 specially adapted for power operation, e.g. by remote control
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 21/34 Supporting elements displaceable along a guiding element telescopic mounting of lighting devices F21V21/22
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 23/0435 activated by remote control means
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/155 Coordinated control of two or more light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission

Abstract

A remotely controllable track lighting system includes a track mountable to a support structure, such as a wall or ceiling, with lamps that are supported on the track that are individually controlled by a wireless remote. Each lamp on the track may be set to respectively different intensity levels (e.g., high, mid, low, off) or the user can uniformly control the lamps to be set to the same intensity level. Advantageously, all of the lamps may be set, upon initially turning on the lamps or at another time as desired, to their respective previously set intensity levels. The track system may also be powered via a wall switch where initially turning on the lamps via the wall switch advantageously causes all of the lamps to return to their respective previously set intensity levels or the user can move the wall switch off then on within a short period of time (e.g., 3 seconds) to cause all of the lamps to be set high. Other features and variations also are provided.

Claims

1. A track lighting system, comprising:

a track adapted to be mounted to a support structure;

a plurality of lamps supported by the track, each of the lamps having a separate line for providing power and being supported on a different location of the track;

a wireless remote having a plurality of buttons and adapted to wirelessly transmit a control signal in accordance with depression of the buttons by a user of the wireless remote, the wireless remote including a dedicated processor, a memory, and a plurality of dedicated buttons, each of the dedicated buttons associated with a respective lamp supported by the track; and

a single central controller coupled to the track and adapted to receive the control signal wirelessly transmitted by the wireless remote and to selectively provide power to separate lines to establish each of the lamps supported by the track to a respective intensity level in accordance with the received control signal, the controller being adapted to selectively change an intensity level of the lamp associated with the dedicated button of the wireless remote upon depression by a user.

2. The track lighting system of claim 1, wherein the controller is adapted to selectively cycle one of the lamps through a plurality of intensity levels upon multiple depressions of the respective dedicated button on the wireless remote associated with said one of the lamps.

3. A track lighting system, comprising:

a track adapted to be mounted to a support structure;

a plurality of lamps supported by the track, each of the lamps supported on a different location of the track;

a wireless remote having a plurality of buttons including a pre-set level button, and being adapted to wirelessly transmit a control signal in accordance with depression of the buttons by a user of the wireless remote;

a controller coupled to the track and adapted to receive the control signal wirelessly transmitted by the wireless remote and to selectively establish each of the lamps supported by the track to a respective intensity level in accordance with the received control signal, said controller further comprising memory for storing data identifying a previously set intensity level of each of the lamps;

the controller, upon depression by the user of the pre-set level button of the wireless remote, ascertaining current levels of all of the lamps and establishing all of the lamps to their respective previously set intensity levels if the current levels are different from the previously set intensity levels, and establishing all of the lamps to off if the current levels are the same as the previously set intensity levels.

4. A track lighting system as claimed in claim 3, further comprising said controller, upon receiving multiple signals within a predetermined length of time from said pre-set level button of said wireless remote, cycles between a plurality of said intensity levels of said lamps, said plurality of states comprising at least two of the following:

a first state in which all of said lamps are set to their respectively previously set intensity levels;

a second state in which all of said lamps are set to off;

a third state in which all of said lamps are set to their maximum intensity levels;

a fourth state in which all of said lamps are set to their initial intensity levels prior to the receipt of said multiple signals within said predetermined length of time from said pre-set level button of said wireless remote;

a fifth state in which all of said lamps are set to a previously-established default intensity level.

5. A track lighting system, comprising:

a track adapted to be mounted to a support structure, the track having a plurality of track segments, each of the track segments including a respective power conductor, each of the power conductors being electrically isolated from one another;

a plurality of lamps, each of the lamps supported by a select one of the track segments, and each of the lamps electrically coupled to the respective power conductor of the track segment supporting the respective lamp;

a wireless remote comprising a controller and having a plurality of buttons and adapted to wirelessly transmit a control signal in accordance with depression of the buttons by a user of the wireless remote; and

a single controller coupled to the track and comprising a memory, said single controller controlling the intensity level of each said lamp, said single controller being adapted to receive the control signal wirelessly transmitted by the wireless remote and to selectively power each of the power conductors to a respective power level in accordance with the received control signal.

6. The track lighting system of claim 5, wherein each of the power conductors extends substantially along an entire length of the respective track segment.

7. The track lighting system of claim 5, wherein the controller is adapted to receive a source of power through a power switch switchable between an on position, in which power is supplied to the controller, and an off position, in which power is not supplied to the controller;

and the controller includes memory for storing data identifying a previously set power level of each of the power conductors, and the controller is adapted to establish each of the power conductors to their respective previously set power levels based on the data stored in the memory when power is initially received by the controller as a result of the power switch being moved from the off position to the on position.

8. The track lighting system of claim 5, wherein at least two of the lamps are supported by a same one of the track segments, and said at least two of the lamps are electrically coupled to the respective power conductor of said same one of the track segments.