Apparatus and method for power management of a system of indicator light devices
First Claim
1. A system with energy management of visual capacity indicators for a facility, the system comprising:
- a controller;
a plurality of indicator light devices (ILDs), wherein each ILD of the plurality of ILDs is connected via a network to the controller, each ILD of the plurality of ILDs is associated with a physical location and is configured to activate or deactivate a light source associated with each of the physical locations, and each ILD is coupled to at least one presence detector, wherein, for each of the ILDs in the plurality of ILDs, the corresponding at least one presence detector is configured to detect whether each of the physical locations associated with the ILD is occupied;
a counting module operably coupled to the controller and configured to monitor an available supply of unoccupied physical locations in the plurality of physical locations;
a non-transitory computer-readable medium operably coupled to the controller, wherein the computer-readable medium comprises a program of instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the controller to perform operations to conserve power for the ILDs, the operations comprising;
receive an available supply signal from the counting module, the available supply signal representing the available supply of unoccupied physical locations in the plurality of physical locations;
determine, based on the received available supply signal, whether a percentage of all of the physical locations that are occupied meets a predetermined occupancy threshold;
receive a presence signal from each of the presence detectors coupled to each of the ILDs in the plurality of ILDs, the received presence signals identifying which of the physical locations is occupied;
if the percentage of all of the physical locations that are occupied meets the predetermined occupancy threshold, selectively activate, for each ILD of the plurality of ILDs, the light source associated with each of the physical locations that is not occupied; and
,if the percentage of all of the physical locations that are occupied does not meet the predetermined occupancy threshold, deactivate all of the light sources of all the ILDs in the plurality of ILDs.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Indicator light devices are useful in many applications for indicating properties of physical spaces respectively associated therewith and in physical proximity thereto. The indicator light devices are network-enabled and self-powered, and capable of participating in coordinated power-managed operation to provide a sufficient service life and lower installation and replacement costs. The indicator light devices may be used with or without associated sensors. The various embodiments described herein use various power management techniques singly or in combination to greatly increase the service life of self-power indicator light devices without diminishing their effectiveness in the application. These techniques include operating only the indicator light devices associated with the physical spaces having properties of interest, operating the indicator light devices with synchronized flashing, operating the indicator light devices in accordance with the detection of specific conditions, relevant time operation, in-vicinity activation, and ambient light responsiveness.
46 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A system with energy management of visual capacity indicators for a facility, the system comprising:
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a controller; a plurality of indicator light devices (ILDs), wherein each ILD of the plurality of ILDs is connected via a network to the controller, each ILD of the plurality of ILDs is associated with a physical location and is configured to activate or deactivate a light source associated with each of the physical locations, and each ILD is coupled to at least one presence detector, wherein, for each of the ILDs in the plurality of ILDs, the corresponding at least one presence detector is configured to detect whether each of the physical locations associated with the ILD is occupied; a counting module operably coupled to the controller and configured to monitor an available supply of unoccupied physical locations in the plurality of physical locations; a non-transitory computer-readable medium operably coupled to the controller, wherein the computer-readable medium comprises a program of instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the controller to perform operations to conserve power for the ILDs, the operations comprising; receive an available supply signal from the counting module, the available supply signal representing the available supply of unoccupied physical locations in the plurality of physical locations; determine, based on the received available supply signal, whether a percentage of all of the physical locations that are occupied meets a predetermined occupancy threshold; receive a presence signal from each of the presence detectors coupled to each of the ILDs in the plurality of ILDs, the received presence signals identifying which of the physical locations is occupied; if the percentage of all of the physical locations that are occupied meets the predetermined occupancy threshold, selectively activate, for each ILD of the plurality of ILDs, the light source associated with each of the physical locations that is not occupied; and
,if the percentage of all of the physical locations that are occupied does not meet the predetermined occupancy threshold, deactivate all of the light sources of all the ILDs in the plurality of ILDs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system with energy management of visual capacity indicators for a facility, the system comprising:
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a controller; a plurality of indicator light devices (ILDs), wherein each ILD of the plurality of ILDs is connected via a network to the controller, each ILD of the plurality of ILDs is associated with a physical location and is configured to activate or deactivate a light source associated with each of the physical locations, and each ILD is coupled to at least one presence detector, wherein, for each of the ILDs in the plurality of ILDs, the corresponding at least one presence detector is configured to detect whether each of the physical locations associated with the ILD is occupied; a non-transitory computer-readable medium operably coupled to the controller, wherein the computer-readable medium comprises a program of instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the controller to perform operations to conserve power for the ILDs, the operations comprising; determine whether a percentage of all of the physical locations that are occupied meets a predetermined occupancy threshold; if the percentage of all of the physical locations that are occupied meets the predetermined occupancy threshold, selectively activate, for each ILD of the plurality of ILDs, the light source associated with each of the physical locations that is not occupied; and
,if the percentage of all of the physical locations that are occupied does not meet the predetermined occupancy threshold, deactivate all of the light sources of all the ILDs in the plurality of ILDs. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system with energy management of visual capacity indicators for a facility, the system comprising:
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a controller; a plurality of indicator light devices (ILDs), wherein each ILD of the plurality of ILDs is connected via a network to the controller, each ILD of the plurality of ILDs is associated with a physical location and is configured to activate or deactivate a light source associated with each of the physical locations, and each ILD is coupled to at least one presence detector, wherein, for each of the ILDs in the plurality of ILDs, the corresponding at least one presence detector is configured to detect whether each of the physical locations associated with the ILD is occupied; a clock module operably coupled to the controller and configured to monitor operable times of the day; a non-transitory computer-readable medium operably coupled to the controller, wherein the computer-readable medium comprises a program of instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the controller to perform operations to conserve power for the ILDs, the operations comprising; determine an operable time of the day in accordance with a predetermined operating time, during the determined operable time of day; determine whether a percentage of all of the physical locations that are occupied meets a predetermined occupancy threshold; if the percentage of all of the physical locations that are occupied meets the predetermined occupancy threshold, selectively activate, for each ILD of the plurality of ILDs, the light source associated with each of the physical locations that is not occupied; and
,if the percentage of all of the physical locations that are occupied does not meet the predetermined occupancy threshold, deactivate all of the light sources of all the ILDs in the plurality of ILDs; and
,outside of the determined operable time of day; deactivate all of the light sources of each ILD of the plurality of ILDs until an operable time is determined.
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Specification