Method and system for lighting control and monitoring

• US 8,686,665 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2010
• Issued: 04/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LSI Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Virticus Corporation (LSI Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Horbst, Joseph E., VanWagoner, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Owens, Douglas W
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAMMOND, DEDEI KHALIEAH
• Application Number:
  US12/783,109
• Publication Number:
  US 20110215736A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,413 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 315/297
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/418 Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 31/00 Electric arc lamps regulating electric characteristics of arcs G05F1/02
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/165 following a pre-assigned programmed sequence; Logic control [LC]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/00 Energy efficient lighting technologies, e.g. halogen lamps or gas discharge lamps
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to control of lighting systems at individual-light-fixture, local, regional, and larger-geographical-area levels. One embodiment of the present invention comprises a hierarchical lighting-control system including an automated network-control center that may control up to many millions of individual lighting fixtures and lighting elements, regional routers interconnected to the network-control center or network-control centers by public communications networks, each of which controls hundreds to thousands of individual light fixtures, and light-management units, interconnected to regional routers by radio-frequency communications and/or power-line communications, each of which controls components within a lighting fixture, including lighting elements, LED-luminaire drivers, sensors, and other devices.

Claims

1. A lighting-control system comprising:

two or more lighting fixtures, each containing one or more light-emitting-diode-based lighting elements;

two or more lighting-fixture management units, each of the lighting fixtures including a lighting-fixture management unit, each lighting-fixture management unit including a light-emitting-diode-based-luminaire driver and storing control information and status information and controlling the intensity of light emitted by the light-emitting-diode-based lighting elements, over a range of intensities, within the lighting-fixture that contains the lighting-fixture management unit according to the stored control information; and

a router that provides a user interface for creation and modification of operational schedules for automated control of the light-emitting-diode-based lighting elements within the lighting fixtures and that communicates with lighting-fixture management units, using a first communications medium between the router and at least one lighting-fixture management unit and additionally by an inter-lighting-fixture-management-unit communications medium, in order to transmit control information to the lighting-fixture management units and receive status information from the lighting-fixture management units;

wherein lighting-fixture management units include bridge lighting-fixture management units and end-point lighting-fixture management units;

wherein each end-point lighting-fixture management unit controls intensity of light emission from light-emitting-diode-based lighting elements within the lighting fixture that contains the end-point lighting-fixture management unit, according to an operational schedule and additional control directives stored within the end-point lighting-fixture management unit;

wherein each end-point lighting-fixture management unit monitors input from one or more sensors and generates events, based on sensor input; and

wherein each end-point lighting-fixture management unit collects and stores status information related to operation of components within the lighting fixture that contains the end-point lighting-fixture management unit.

2. The lighting-control system of claim 1 wherein one or more end-point lighting-fixture management units communicate with the router directly by power-line communications.

3. The lighting-control system of claim 1 wherein one or more end-point lighting-fixture management units communicate with the router directly by radio-frequency communications.

4. The lighting-control system of claim 1 wherein one or more end-point lighting-fixture management units communicate with the router indirectly through power-line communications to a bridge lighting-fixture management unit.

5. The lighting-control system of claim 1

wherein each bridge lighting-fixture management unit controls intensity of light emission from light-emitting-diode-based lighting elements within the lighting fixture that contains the bridge lighting-fixture management unit, according to an operational schedule and additional control directives stored within the bridge lighting-fixture management unit;

wherein each bridge lighting-fixture management unit monitors input from one or more sensors and generates events, based on sensor input;

wherein each bridge lighting-fixture management unit collects and stores status information related to operation of components within the lighting fixture that contains the bridge lighting-fixture management unit; and

wherein each bridge lighting-fixture management unit receives commands from the router for an end-point lighting-fixture management unit through the first communications medium and forwards the commands to the end-point lighting-fixture management unit by the inter-lighting-fixture-management-unit communications medium.

6. The lighting-control system of claim 1 wherein each lighting-fixture management unit stores status information related to operation of components within the lighting fixture that contains the lighting-fixture management unit that includes:

current voltage input to the lighting fixture;

current drawn by the lighting fixture;

power consumed by the lighting fixture over an interval of time;

indications of the occurrences of events indicated by sensor inputs;

total hours of operation of light-emitting-diode-based lighting elements; and

number of power-on events associated with light-emitting-diode-based lighting elements.

7. The lighting-control system of claim 1 wherein each lighting-fixture management unit comprises:

inter-lighting-fixture-management-unit communications medium chip or chip set that provides for power-line reception and transmission of command and response packets;

a noise filter that band-pass filters noise from a power-line connection,

a CPU and associated memories for running internal control programs that collect and store data, that control lighting-element operation according to stored data and stored programs;

an internal power supply that converts AC input power to DC internal power for supplying DC power to digital components,

an optocouple isolation unit that isolates the CPU from power surges;

the light-emitting-diode-based-luminaire driver that controls voltage and current output to the light-emitting-diode-based lighting elements to provide a range of output current for operating light-emitting-diode-based lighting elements over a range of light-intensity output;

a switched relay for controlling AC power supply to various devices or components within the lighting fixture that contains the lighting-fixture management unit;

a switched relay for controlling DC power supply to various devices or components within the lighting fixture that contains the lighting-fixture management unit; and

an integrated-circuit power meter.

8. The lighting-control system of claim 1 wherein each lighting-fixture management unit stores data structures, in a memory component, that contain entries which represent:

an operational status of one or more light-emitting-diode-based lighting elements;

one or more group identifiers that identify groups to which the lighting-fixture management unit is assigned;

one or more input signals that can be monitored by the lighting-fixture management unit;

a status for each of one or more different events; and

a schedule that includes one or more operational directives.

9. The lighting-control system of claim 1 wherein the first communications medium is a radio-frequency communications medium and wherein the inter-lighting-fixture-management-unit communications medium is a power-line communications medium.

10. The lighting-control system of claim 9 wherein the router additionally communicates with remote computers by network communications, wherein the router additionally communicates with lighting-fixture management units by power-line communications, and wherein both the router and one or more lighting-fixture management units communicate with hand-held telecommunications devices using cellular-telephone communications.

11. The lighting-control system of claim 1 further including one or more additional routers that each communicates with one or more additional lighting-fixture management units.

12. The lighting-control system of claim 11 further including a network-control center that communicates, through network communications, with, and controls operation of, the routers.

13. The lighting-control system of claim 1 wherein the lighting-fixture management units include sensor components that monitor one or more of:

current;

voltage;

sound;

camera data;

volatile chemical substances;

power consumption by lighting-fixture components;

temperature; and

pressure.