Smart lighting control system

• US 8,880,199 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2011
• Issued: 11/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Southern Taiwan University
• Original Assignee: Southern Taiwan University
• Inventors: Wei, Chao-Huang, Yang, Chia-Wei, Chen, Wan-Tzu
• Primary Examiner(s): Padmanabhan, Kavita
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, DOUGLAS S
• Application Number:
  US13/234,220
• Publication Number:
  US 20130073058A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,145 Days
• Field of Search: 700/11, 700/295, 307/66, 315/159, 362/276
• US Class Current: 700/11
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/12 using optical feedback
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/325 Pulse-width modulation [PWM]
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/18 via data-bus transmission
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

A smart lighting control system has a central control unit and at least one lighting module. The lighting module has its own controller, an ambient light sensor, a current sensor, and an emergency button and is connected to the central control unit and other modules via a serial port. Each lighting module can follow commands from the central control unit to display a specific lighting effect or adjust its brightness according to the ambient light automatically or to switch to another color or lighting effect to generate a warning signal.

Claims

1. A smart lighting control system comprising,

a central control unit;

a transmission interface;

first and second control modules each downloading a control signal and uploading a response signal;

a serial transmission interface;

first and second digital signal processing units;

first and second light sensors;

first and second current detectors;

first and second control circuits;

first and second collection modules; and

first and second light emitting devices;

wherein the central control unit is coupled through the transmission interface to the first control module, with the first control module coupled to the second control module through the serial transmission interface to provide bi-directional flow of data, with the first and second control modules comprising the first and second digital signal processing units, the first and second light sensors, the first and second current detectors, the first and second control circuits, the first and second collection modules, and the first and second light emitting devices respectively,

wherein the first digital signal processing unit is coupled to the first light sensor, the first current detector, and the first control circuit, with the first control circuit coupled to the first collection module, with the first collection module coupled to the first light emitting device, and

wherein the second digital signal processing unit is coupled to the second light sensor, the second current detector, and the second control circuit, with the second control circuit coupled to the second collection module, and with the second collection module coupled to the second light emitting device.

2. The smart lighting control system of claim 1, wherein the first control circuit coupled to the first light emitting device comprises a white-light LED, a yellow-light LED and a red-light LED, with the first control circuit controlling ON/OFF/brightness of the first collection module of the first light emitting device, and wherein the first collection module comprises a white-light LED control circuit, a yellow-light LED control circuit and a red-light LED control circuit, and an emergency button.

3. The smart lighting control system of claim 1, wherein the central control unit is a numerical processor, a computer, a personal digital assistant or a mobile device with the transmission interface.

4. The smart lighting control system of claim 1, wherein the serial transmission interface is a RS485 serial interface.

5. The smart lighting control system of claim 1, wherein the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device includes a pulse width modulation control circuit.

6. A smart light emitting device control method for checking a first control module coupled to a first light emitting device, and a second control module coupled to a second light emitting device;

wherein the first control module is coupled through a serial transmission interface to the second control module to provide bi-directional flow of data, with each control module downloading a control signal and uploading a response signal, comprising the steps of;

(a) setting a number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device to N, and setting N to 1;

(b) transmitting the number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device resulting in a first transmitted number to a collection module of the first light emitting device, wherein the first transmitted number is the control signal;

(c) transmitting a confirmation signal providing a confirmation of whether or not the first transmitted number is received, wherein the confirmation signal is the response signal;

(d) incrementing a number of the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device to N+1 resulting in a incremented number, and returning to Step (b) if the incremented number is received;

(e) detecting whether or not a timeout has occurred, if the incremented number is not received;

(f) returning to Step (c) if the timeout has not occurred; and

(g) reducing the number of the second control modules coupled to the second light emitting device to N−

1 if the timeout has occurred, the reduction of the number of the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device comprising a reduced number.

7. The smart lighting control system of claim 6, wherein setting the numbers of the first and second control modules coupled to the first and second light emitting devices respectively, comprises the steps of:

(a) setting the number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device to zero;

(b) detecting whether or not the number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device is received;

(c) detecting whether or not the number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device is zero, if the number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device is received;

(d) transmitting an acknowledge signal of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device, and returning to Step (b);

(e) detecting whether or not an acknowledge signal of another control module coupled to the other light emitting device is received, if the number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device is not received;

(f) continuously transmitting the acknowledge signal of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device, and returning to Step (b) if the acknowledge signal of other control module coupled to the other light emitting device is received;

(g) returning to Step (b) if the acknowledge signal of the control module coupled to the other light emitting device is not received; and

(h) continuously transmitting the incremented number, and returning to Step (b) if the number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device is not equal to zero.

10. The smart lighting control system of claim 7, wherein transmitting control data of the first and second control modules coupled to the first and second light emitting devices respectively comprises the steps of:

(a) transmitting a data packet to the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device coupled to a central control unit through a transmission interface with bi-directional flow of data, wherein the data packet includes the incremented number of the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device, a control instruction and a control datum of the light emitting device;

(b) checking whether or not the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device receives the data packet;

(c) checking whether or not the incremented number of the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device in the data packet matches with the number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device, if the data packet as described in Step (a) is received;

(d) executing a control instruction in the data packet by a digital signal processing unit installed in the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device and controlling a display effect of the first light emitting device according to the control datum, and repeating Step (b), if the number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device matches the number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device;

(e) continuously transmitting the data packet to the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device, and repeating Step (b), if the number of the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device of Step (c) is not matched with the incremented number of the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device;

(f) continuously transmitting the data packet to the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device, and repeating Step (b), if the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device receives the data packet returned from the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device, wherein the data packet includes the incremented number of the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device and LED status information of the light emitting device; and

(g) repeating Steps (b) to (f) for another control module coupled to another light emitting device.

8. A smart light emitting device control method, applied to first and second control modules coupled to first and second light emitting devices respectively, with a central control unit installed therein for numbering, comprising the steps of:

(a) setting a number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device to 1;

(b) setting a number of the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device to an incremented number;

(c) transmitting a response signal of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device, and detecting whether or not the response signal of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device is received;

(d) detecting whether or not the response signal of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device corresponds to the number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device, if the response signal of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device is received;

(e) setting a quantity of first and second control modules coupled to the first and second light emitting devices, respectively to n, if the number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device is confirmed;

(f) determining whether or not a timeout has occurred, if the response signal of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device is not received;

(g) returning to Step (a) if the timeout has occurred;

(h) returning to Step (c) if the timeout has not occurred; and

(i) returning to Step (a) if the response signal of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device does not correspond to the incremented number of the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device.

9. The smart lighting control system of claim 8, wherein setting the numbers of the first and second control modules coupled to the first and second light emitting devices respectively, comprises the steps of:

(a) detecting whether or not the number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device is received;

(b) registering the number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device if the number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device is received, and incrementing the number of the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device to N+1 resulting in the incremented number, and transmitting the incremented number of the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device to the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device;

(c) detecting whether or not the incremented number of the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device is received;

(d) continuously transmitting the module number of the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device to the first control module coupled to the first light emitting device, if the incremented number of the second control module coupled to the light emitting device is received;

(e) returning to Step (a) if the incremented number of the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device is not received;

(f) detecting whether or not the timeout has occurred, if the incremented number of the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device is not received;

(g) returning to Step (c), if the timeout has not occurred; and

(h) transmitting the incremented number of the second control module coupled to the second light emitting device to the first control module coupled to the second light emitting device if the timeout has occurred.