Ambient and task level load control

• US 8,415,897 B2
• Filed: 07/09/2010
• Issued: 04/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daintree Networks Pty Ltd. (GE Aerospace)
• Original Assignee: Daintree Networks Pty Ltd. (GE Aerospace)
• Inventors: Choong, Jason Yew Choo, Garcia, Tony, Buchanan, Dallas Ivanhoe III, Yu, Danny
• Primary Examiner(s): Cho, James H
• Application Number:
  US12/833,239
• Publication Number:
  US 20120007511A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,005 Days
• Field of Search: 315294-295, 315/297, 315/299, 315307-309
• US Class Current: 315/294
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/10 Controlling the intensity of the light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/11 by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/115 by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/165 following a pre-assigned programmed sequence; Logic control [LC]
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/175 by remote control
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for cooperatively controlling ambient level lighting in a controlled area, and task level lighting for task areas in the controlled area, wherein each task area is a separate sub-area of the controlled area.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a plurality of task-level sensor devices, each task-level sensor device including a sensor device that can sense physical stimuli and to be positioned to monitor a physical stimulus of a task area and generate task-level sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the task area, wherein each task area for each task-level sensor device is a separate sub-portion of a controlled area, and each task-level sensor data provides measurements that are proportionally responsive to only the physical stimulus occurring within the task area it monitors; and

a load controller in data communication with the task-level sensor devices and a controlled area sensor, the controlled area sensor for monitoring the physical stimulus of the controlled area and generating controlled area sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the controlled area, wherein the load controller performs operations comprising controlling the illumination level of each task area based on the task-level sensor data from the task-level sensor device monitoring the task area and the controlled area sensor data;

for each task area, a corresponding task area light source for illuminating only the task area to which it corresponds; and

an ambient light source, the ambient light source for illuminating the controlled area, and wherein the sensors included in the task-level sensor devices comprise a task-level occupancy sensor and a task-level photo sensor, physical stimuli of the task areas include an occupancy of a task area and an illumination level of a task area, the controlled area sensor comprises a controlled area photo sensor, the physical stimulus of the controlled area is an illumination level of the controlled area, and the load controller controls the illumination level of each task area by performing operations comprising;

determining task areas that are occupied; and

for each occupied task area;

determining an illumination level for the task area;

in response to determining that an illumination level for a task area is above a predefined illumination level, instructing the task area light source to decrease the illumination level for the task area until the illumination level of the task area is at the predefined illumination level; and

in response to determining that an illumination level for the task area is below the predefined illumination level, instructing the task area light source to increase the illumination level for the task area.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the load controller, in response instructing the task area light source to increase the illumination level for a task area, performs operations comprising:

determining whether the illumination level for the task area is at the predefined illumination level;

in response to determining that the illumination level for the task area is below the predefined illumination level and determining that the task area light source is increased to a maximum setting, instructing the ambient light source to increase the illumination level of the controlled area until the illumination level of the task area is at the predefined illumination level; and

in response to determining that the illumination level for the task area is below the predefined illumination level and determining that the task area light source is below a maximum setting, instructing the task area light source to increase the illumination level for the task area.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the load controller, in response instructing the task area light source to decrease the illumination level for a task area, performs operations comprising:

determines whether the illumination level for the task area is at the predefined illumination level;

in response to determining that the illumination level for the task area is above the predefined illumination level and determining that the task area light source is decreased to a minimum setting, then instructing the ambient light source to decreasing the illumination level of the controlled area until the illumination level of the task area is at the predefined illumination level; and

in response to determining that the illumination level for the task area is above the predefined illumination level and determining that the task area light source is above the minimum setting, instructing the task area light source to decrease the illumination level for the task area.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the load controller, in response instructing the task area light source to decrease the illumination level for a task area, performs operations comprising:

determines whether the illumination level for the task area is at the predefined illumination level;

in response to determining that the illumination level for the task area is above the predefined illumination level and determining that the task area light source is decreased to a minimum setting, and further determining that no task area is below the predefined illumination level, then instructing the ambient light source to decrease the illumination level of the controlled area until the illumination level of the task area is at the predefined illumination level; and

in response to determining that the illumination level for the task area is above the predefined illumination level and determining that the task area light source is above the minimum setting, instructing the task area light source to decrease the illumination level for the task area.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the controlled area sensor further comprises a controlled area occupancy sensor, and the physical stimulus of the controlled area further includes an occupancy of the controlled area.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising:

wherein the load controller controls the illumination level of each task area by performing operations comprising;

determining task areas that are unoccupied;

for each unoccupied task area, decreasing the task area light source to a minimum setting; and

for each occupied task area, setting the illumination level of the task area by use of the ambient light source and the task area light source corresponding to the task area.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein setting the illumination level of the task area by use of the ambient light source and the task area light source corresponding to the task area comprises:

determining a power load associated with a first lighting configuration in which the ambient light source is set to a minimum level and each task area light source is set to an illumination level that provides a minimum acceptable level of task lighting;

determining a power load associated with a second lighting configuration in which the ambient light source is set to an illumination level that provides a minimum acceptable level of task lighting for each occupied task area and each task area light source is set to minimum level; and

selecting the lighting configuration with the minimum determined power load.

8. A system comprising:

a plurality of task-level sensor devices, each task-level sensor device including a sensor device that can sense physical stimuli and to be positioned to monitor a physical stimulus of a task area and generate task-level sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the task area, wherein each task area for each task-level sensor device is a separate sub-portion of a controlled area, and each task-level sensor data provides measurements that are proportionally responsive to only the physical stimulus occurring within the task area it monitors; and

a load controller in data communication with the task-level sensor devices and a controlled area sensor, the controlled area sensor for monitoring the physical stimulus of the controlled area and generating controlled area sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the controlled area, wherein the load controller performs operations comprising controlling the illumination level of each task area based on the task-level sensor data from the task-level sensor device monitoring the task area and the controlled area sensor data;

for each task area, a corresponding task area light source for illuminating only the task area to which it corresponds;

an ambient light source, the ambient light source for illuminating the controlled area, and wherein the sensors included in the task level sensor devices comprise a task level photo sensor and a task level occupancy sensor, physical stimuli of the task areas include an illumination level of a task area and an occupancy of a task area, the controlled area sensor comprises a controlled area photo sensor, the physical stimulus is an illumination level of the controlled area, and the load controller controls the illumination level of each task area by performing operations comprising;

determining an illumination level for the controlled area; and

in response to determining that an illumination level for the controlled area is above a first predefined illumination level, instructing the ambient light source to decrease the illumination level the controlled area only if the illumination level for each occupied task area is above a second predefined illumination level.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the first predefined illumination level is less than the second predefined illumination level.

10. A system comprising:

a plurality of task-level sensor devices, each task-level sensor device including a sensor device that can sense physical stimuli and to be positioned to monitor a physical stimulus of a task area and generate task-level sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the task area, wherein each task area for each task-level sensor device is a separate sub-portion of a controlled area, and each task-level sensor data provides measurements that are proportionally responsive to only the physical stimulus occurring within the task area it monitors; and

a load controller in data communication with the task-level sensor devices and a controlled area sensor, the controlled area sensor for monitoring the physical stimulus of the controlled area and generating controlled area sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the controlled area, wherein the load controller performs operations comprising controlling the illumination level of each task area based on the task-level sensor data from the task-level sensor device monitoring the task area and the controlled area sensor data;

for each task area, a corresponding task area light source for illuminating only the task area to which it corresponds;

an ambient light source, the ambient light source for illuminating the controlled area; and

wherein the sensors included in the task level sensor devices comprise a task level photo sensor, a physical stimulus of a task area is an illumination level of the task area, the controlled area sensor comprises a controlled area photo sensor, the physical stimulus of the controlled area is an illumination level of the controlled area, and the load controller controls the illumination level of each task area by performing operations comprising, for each task area;

determining an illumination level for the task area;

in response to determining that an illumination level for a task area is above a predefined illumination level, instructing the task area light source to decrease the illumination level for the task area until the illumination level of the task area is at the predefined illumination level; and

in response to determining that an illumination level for a task area is below the predefined illumination level, instructing the task area light source to increase the illumination level for the task area.

11. A system, comprising:

a lighting control device, comprising;

an illumination source that provides illumination for a task area;

a photo sensor that senses an illumination level for the task area;

an occupancy sensor that senses an occupancy of the task area;

processing circuitry configured to receive data from the photo sensor and the occupancy sensor and generate photo sensor data and occupancy sensor data describing the sensed illumination level and occupancy status of the task area;

a wireless transceiver configured to transmit the photo sensor data and occupancy sensor data to a load controller that controls the illumination level of the task area and a controlled area in which the task area is located, wherein the task area is a sub-portion of the controlled area; and

a manual control that controls the illumination of the illumination source, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to generate an override signal that specifies an override condition that causes the load controller to not adjust the illumination level of the illumination source for the duration of the override condition, and the wireless transceiver transmits the override signal to the load controller.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising the load controller in data communication with the lighting control device and a controlled area sensor, the controlled area sensor for monitoring the physical stimulus of a controlled area and generating controlled area sensor data that reports the measured physical stimulus of the controlled area, wherein the load controller performs operations comprising controlling the illumination level of the task area based on the photo sensor data and occupancy sensor data the controlled area sensor data.

13. A method performed by a data processing apparatus, comprising:

receiving from a plurality of task-level sensor devices, each task-level sensor device including a sensor device that can sense physical stimuli and positioned to monitor a physical stimulus of a task area, task-level sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the task area, wherein each task area for each task-level sensor is a separate sub-portion of a controlled area, and each task-level sensor data provides measurements that are proportionally responsive to only the physical stimulus occurring within the task area it monitors; and

receiving controlled area sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the controlled area;

controlling the illumination level of each task area based on the task-level sensor data from the task-level sensor device monitoring the task area and the controlled area sensor data; and

wherein the sensors included in the task level sensor devices comprise a task level photo sensor and a task level occupancy sensor, physical stimuli of the task areas include an illumination level of a task area and an occupancy of a task area, the controlled area sensor comprises a controlled area photo sensor, the physical stimulus of the controlled area is an illumination level of the controlled area, and the method further comprises;

determining task areas that are occupied; and

for each occupied task area;

determining an illumination level for the task area;

in response to determining that an illumination level for a task area is above a predefined illumination level, instructing a task area light source to decrease the illumination level for the task area until the illumination level of the task area is at the predefined illumination level; and

in response to determining that an illumination level for the task area is below the predefined illumination level, instructing the task area light source to increase the illumination level for the task area.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the controlled area sensor further comprises a controlled area occupancy sensor, and the physical stimulus of the controlled area further includes an occupancy of the controlled area; and

the method further comprises;

determining task areas that are unoccupied;

for each unoccupied task area, decreasing a task area light source to a minimum setting; and

for each occupied task area, setting an illumination level of the task area by use the ambient light source and the task area light source corresponding to the task area.

15. A system, comprising:

means for receiving from a plurality of task-level sensor devices, each task-level sensor device including a sensor device that can sense physical stimuli and to be positioned to monitor a physical stimulus of a task area, task-level sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the task area, wherein each task area for each task-level sensor device is a separate sub-portion of a controlled area, and each task-level sensor data provides measurements that are proportionally responsive to only the physical stimulus occurring within the task area it monitors, and for receiving controlled area sensor data that reports a measured physical stimulus of the controlled area; and

means for controlling the illumination level of each task area based on the task-level sensor data from the task level sensor device monitoring the task area and the controlled area sensor data, wherein the sensors included in the task level sensor devices comprise a task level photo sensor and a task level occupancy sensor, physical stimuli of the task areas include an illumination level of a task area and an occupancy of a task area, the controlled area sensor comprises a controlled area photo sensor, the physical stimulus of the controlled area is an illumination level of the controlled area;

means for determining task areas that are occupied;

means for determining, for each occupied task area, an illumination level for the task area;

means for instructing, for each occupied task area, a task area light source to decrease the illumination level for the task area until the illumination level of the task area is at the predefined illumination level in response to determining that an illumination level for the task area is above a predefined illumination level; and

means for instructing, for each occupied task area, the task area light source to increase the illumination level for the task area in response to determining that an illumination level for the task area is below the predefined illumination level.

16. A lighting control device, comprising:

a casing;

a photo sensor attached to the casing and that senses an illumination level for a task area;

an occupancy sensor attached to the casing and that senses an occupancy of the task area;

processing circuitry configured to receive data from the photo sensor and the occupancy sensor and generate photo sensor data and occupancy sensor data describing the sensed illumination level and occupancy status of the task area;

a wireless transceiver within the casing and configured to transmit the photo sensor data and occupancy sensor data to a load controller that controls the illumination level of the task area and a controlled area in which the task area is located, wherein the task area is a sub-portion of the controlled area,

an illumination source that provides illumination for the task area, the illumination source coupled to the processing circuitry and controlled by the processing circuitry, and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to control the illumination source in response to data received over the wireless transceiver; and

a manual control that controls the illumination of the illumination source, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to generate an override signal that specifies an override condition that causes the load controller to not adjust the illumination level of the illumination source for the duration of the override condition, and the wireless transceiver transmits the override signal to the load controller.