Time clock control for outside lighting
First Claim
1. A device to automatically control timing of outside lighting comprising:
- a GPS circuit for determining said device'"'"'s physical location;
a memory for storing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and Current Day (CD), and a program to calculate lighting on and off times based on said device'"'"'s physical location, said GMT and CD, and on the ephemeris movement of the sun relative to said device'"'"'s physical location on the earth;
a processor to run said program; and
a relay to turn lights on and off based on calculated said on and off times.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A device and method to automatically control timing of outside lighting are achieved. An ephemeris program and a calendar are loaded into memory on a timing device. Power is applied to the device wherein a GPS circuit on the device is energized, and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), Current Day (CD), and physical location of the device are determined from satellite signals through an antenna or alternately from a repeater circuit or a key fob type device. GMT and CD that are retrieved are stored in memory. Lighting on and off times are calculated by the ephemeris program based on physical location, the calendar, GMT, CD, and the user selected distance of the sun below the horizon. Lights are turned on and off based on the calculated on and off times.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A device to automatically control timing of outside lighting comprising:
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a GPS circuit for determining said device'"'"'s physical location; a memory for storing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and Current Day (CD), and a program to calculate lighting on and off times based on said device'"'"'s physical location, said GMT and CD, and on the ephemeris movement of the sun relative to said device'"'"'s physical location on the earth; a processor to run said program; and a relay to turn lights on and off based on calculated said on and off times. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method to automatically control timing of outside lighting comprising:
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loading a timing program and a calendar into memory on a timing device; applying power to said device, determining physical location of said device, and storing said physical location in said memory; retrieving Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and Current Day (CD) and storing GMT and CD in said memory; calculating lighting on and off times by said program based on said physical location, said calendar, said GMT, and said CD; and turning lights on and off based on calculated said on and off times. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A device to automatically control timing of outside lighting, comprising:
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a GPS circuit for determining said device'"'"'s physical location; dip switches or jumpers, wherein said dip switches or jumpers are set at time of manufacture or at a later time, indicating ephemeris movement of the sun relative to said physical location on the earth wherein setting of said dip switches or jumpers determines lighting on and off times at varying degrees of the sun'"'"'s position below the horizon; a memory for storing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and Current Day (CD) and for storing a program to calculate said lighting on and off times based on said device'"'"'s physical location said GMT and CD, and on said ephemeris movement of the sun relative to said physical location on the earth; a processor to run said program; and a relay to turn lights on and off based on calculated said on and off times. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31)
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Specification