Ambient light sensor auto-calibration in a lighting control system
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- (a) obtaining first measurement information A, wherein A is indicative of a brightness within a room when both a first group of lamps and a second group of lamps are off;
(b) obtaining second measurement information B, wherein B is indicative of a brightness within the room when both the first group of lamps and the second group of lamps are on;
(c) obtaining third measurement information C, wherein C is indicative of a brightness within the room when the first group of lamps is on and the second group of lamps is off;
(d) setting a first threshold value to be (B−
A);
(e) setting a second threshold value to be slightly larger than (B−
C)+(B−
A);
(f) obtaining fourth measurement information D, wherein D is indicative of a brightness within the room when the first group of lamps is on and the second group of lamps is off;
(g) determining that D is smaller than the first threshold value and in response to the determining of (g) causing the second group of lamps to be turned on;
(h) obtaining fifth measurement information E, wherein E is indicative of a brightness within the room when both the first group of lamps and the second group of lamps are on; and
(i) determining that E is larger than the second threshold value and in response to the determining of (i) causing the second group of lamps to be turned off, wherein the determining of (g) and the determining of (i) are performed by a device, wherein the device can cause the first group of lamps to be turned on and off, and wherein the device can cause the second group of lamps to be turned on and off.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A lighting system includes a master that controls a plurality of light fixtures via wireless RF communications. An ambient light sensor in the master is used to monitor total ambient light and to prevent excessive illumination. In an auto-calibration process, the master makes ambient light measurements A, B and C when the light fixtures are illuminating an area at a minimum setting, at a maximum setting, and at an intermediate setting, respectively. A first threshold is set to be approximately (B−A). A second threshold is set to be slightly larger than (B−A)+(B−C). In normal system operation, total ambient light measurements are taken and compared to the two thresholds. In one example, if detected brightness is lower than the first threshold then the system is set at its maximum illumination setting, whereas if detected brightness is greater than the second threshold then the system is set at its intermediate illumination setting.
22 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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(a) obtaining first measurement information A, wherein A is indicative of a brightness within a room when both a first group of lamps and a second group of lamps are off; (b) obtaining second measurement information B, wherein B is indicative of a brightness within the room when both the first group of lamps and the second group of lamps are on; (c) obtaining third measurement information C, wherein C is indicative of a brightness within the room when the first group of lamps is on and the second group of lamps is off; (d) setting a first threshold value to be (B−
A);(e) setting a second threshold value to be slightly larger than (B−
C)+(B−
A);(f) obtaining fourth measurement information D, wherein D is indicative of a brightness within the room when the first group of lamps is on and the second group of lamps is off; (g) determining that D is smaller than the first threshold value and in response to the determining of (g) causing the second group of lamps to be turned on; (h) obtaining fifth measurement information E, wherein E is indicative of a brightness within the room when both the first group of lamps and the second group of lamps are on; and (i) determining that E is larger than the second threshold value and in response to the determining of (i) causing the second group of lamps to be turned off, wherein the determining of (g) and the determining of (i) are performed by a device, wherein the device can cause the first group of lamps to be turned on and off, and wherein the device can cause the second group of lamps to be turned on and off. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method comprising:
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(a) obtaining first measurement information A, wherein A is indicative of a brightness within a room when a lighting system is set at a minimum illumination setting; (b) obtaining second measurement information B, wherein B is indicative of a brightness within the room when the lighting system is set at a maximum illumination setting; (c) obtaining third measurement information C, wherein C is indicative of a brightness within the room when the lighting system is set at an intermediate illumination setting; (d) setting a first threshold value to be (B−
A);(e) setting a second threshold value to be slightly larger than (B−
C)+(B−
A);(f) obtaining fourth measurement information D, wherein D is indicative of a brightness within the room when the lighting system is set at the intermediate illumination setting; (g) determining that D is smaller than the first threshold value and in response to the determining of (g) causing the lighting system to be set at the maximum illumination setting; (h) obtaining fifth measurement information E, wherein E is indicative of a brightness within the room when the lighting system is set at the maximum illumination setting; and (i) determining that E is larger than the second threshold value and in response to the determining of (i) causing the lighting system to be set at the intermediate illumination setting, wherein the determining of (g) and the determining of (i) are performed by a device, wherein the device can change an illumination setting of the lighting system. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. An apparatus comprising:
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an ambient light sensor functionality; a Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver; and a processor that sets a threshold value to be (B−
A), wherein A is a first ambient light measurement value obtained when an area was illuminated by a lighting system when the lighting system was set at a minimum illumination setting, wherein B is a second ambient light measurement value obtained when the area was illuminated by the lighting system when the lighting system was set at a maximum illumination setting, wherein the processor causes a third ambient light measurement to be taken when the lighting system is illuminating the area at a setting other than the maximum illumination setting, wherein the third ambient light measurement results in a third ambient light measurement value, and wherein the processor determines that the third ambient light measurement value is smaller than the threshold value and in response to the determining the processor causes a wireless RF command to be sent from the RF transceiver thereby causing the setting of the lighting system to be changed to a higher illumination setting. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method comprising:
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(a) obtaining first measurement information A, wherein A is indicative of a brightness within a room when a lighting system is set at a first illumination setting; (b) obtaining second measurement information B, wherein B is indicative of a brightness within the room when the lighting system is set at a second illumination setting, wherein the lighting system has a plurality of different dimming settings in addition to the first illumination setting and the second illumination setting; (c) setting a first threshold value to be (B−
A);(d) setting a second threshold value to be a value greater than the first threshold value; (e) obtaining third measurement information C; and (f) determining that C is larger than the second threshold value and in response to the determining of (f) causing the setting of the lighting system to be changed from the second illumination setting to one of the dimming settings. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification