Wireless lighting control system

• US 9,820,361 B1
• Filed: 07/20/2016
• Issued: 11/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ABL IP Holding LLC (Acuity Brands, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ABL IP Holding LLC (Acuity Brands, Inc.)
• Inventors: Turvy, Jr., Larry D., Scrimgeour, John W., Fultz, Tyler B., Roquemore, III, John Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Owens, Douglas W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fernandez, Pedro C
• Application Number:
  US15/214,944
• Time in Patent Office: 482 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/44 Star or tree networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0055 Physical resource allocation for ACK/NACK for physical mapping arrangements in ARQ protocols H04L1/1861
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/00 Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/1965 using handheld communication devices
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/199 Commissioning of light sources
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

A networked lighting control system includes a variety of lighting control devices, including intelligent luminaires, standalone intelligent control nodes, plug load controllers, and power packs that communicate over a wireless control network and a commissioning network. Each lighting control device includes a dual-band wireless radio communication interface system. The dual-band wireless radio communication interface system is configured for unicast and multicast communication over a first of two different wireless communication bands as well as point-to-point communication over a second wireless communication band. The standalone intelligence control node can be a wall switch or detector. Commissioning and provisioning of the lighting control system is performed over the second communication band via communications with a mobile device and lighting controls are carried out over the first communication band. The lighting control devices may be divided into light control groups or zones.

Claims

1. A lighting system, comprising:

intelligent luminaires, each respective one of the intelligent luminaires comprising;

(a) a light source;

(b) a driver circuit coupled to the light source;

(c) a processor coupled to the driver circuit and configured to control light source operation via the driver;

(d) a dual-band wireless radio communication interface system configured for two way wireless communication for;

(i) unicast and multicast communication via a control network, over a first of two different wireless communication bands, of control and systems operations information, during luminaire operation and during control network operation over the first wireless communication band; and

(ii) point-to-point communication via a commissioning network with a mobile commissioning device, over a second of the two different wireless communication bands, of commissioning or maintenance information other than the control and systems operations information;

(e) a memory accessible to the processor; and

(f) programming in the memory which configures the processor to control operations of the respective intelligent luminaire, including the communications over the two different wireless communication bands via the dual-band wireless radio communication interface system;

a standalone intelligent control node, comprising;

(a) a switch or a detector;

(b) a sense circuit responsive to the switch or a detector to generate a sensing signal;

(c) a processor coupled to the sense circuit and configured to receive and respond to the sensing signal;

(d) a dual-band wireless radio communication interface system configured for two way wireless communication for;

(i) unicast and multicast communication via the control network, over the first of the two different wireless communication bands, of control and systems operations information, during illumination operation of the system and during control network operation over the first wireless communication band; and

(ii) point-to-point communication via the commissioning network with the mobile commissioning device, over the second of the two different wireless communication bands, of commissioning or maintenance information other than the control and systems operations information;

(e) a memory accessible to the processor of the standalone intelligent control node; and

(f) programming in the memory which configures the processor of the standalone intelligent control node to transmit information based on the sensing signal over the first of the two different wireless communication bands via the dual-band wireless radio communication interface system;

wherein each dual-band wireless radio communication interface system comprises;

a sub-gigahertz band radio transceiver for the wireless communications over the first band; and

a two gigahertz or higher band radio transceiver for the wireless communications over the second band.

2. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein one of the intelligent luminaires is a monitor of a lighting control group having a plurality of lighting control devices that are connected together over the first communication band and the lighting control group is defined by a radio frequency (RF) channel and a lighting control group identifier.

3. The lighting system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of lighting control devices include a power pack and a plug load controller.

4. The lighting system of claim 2, wherein the lighting control group is subdivided into a plurality of control zones that are addressed at run time.

5. The lighting system of claim 4, wherein the one of the intelligent luminaires subscribes to a multicast group as identified by the lighting control group identifier and only reacts to messages on the RF channel of the lighting control group.

6. The lighting system of claim 4, further comprising:

a gateway having a processor, a memory, and a network communication interface;

wherein the gateway receives a unicast message from the detector of the standalone intelligent control node indicating the detector, state of the detector, the lighting control group of the standalone intelligent control node, and a control zone of the standalone intelligent control node.

7. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein the standalone intelligent control node is a battery powered wall switch.

8. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein the control network operation over the first communication band is defined as a star topology network having a singular lighting control group monitor at a center of a lighting control group comprised of lighting control devices.

9. The lighting system of claim 8, wherein the lighting control group monitor receives control events from one of the lighting control devices in the lighting control group and multicasts the control events to other members of the lighting control group over the first communication band.

10. The lighting system of claim 8, wherein the lighting control group monitor:

sends a link test message to the lighting control devices in the lighting control group to determine a received strength signal indicator (RSSI);

receives a link test response acknowledgment indicating the RSSI from each of the lighting control devices; and

determines whether the RSSI is within a desired range.

11. The lighting system of claim 10, wherein the lighting control group monitor:

upon determining that the RSSI is not within the desired range, adjusts a transmission power for intra-lighting control group communications.

12. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein the programming of each respective one of the intelligent luminaires includes a real time operating system (RTOS) capable of supporting multiple concurrent processing threads for different simultaneous control or communication operations of the respective intelligent luminaire.

13. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein the unicast and multicast communication of the intelligent luminaires and the standalone intelligent control node over the first wireless communication band together implement a non-mesh wireless network topology.

14. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein the respective intelligent luminaire includes:

an occupancy or daylight sensor; and

wherein the processor of the respective intelligent luminaire detects a state change of the occupancy or daylight sensor via drive/sense circuitry and then unicasts a wireless message for control network operation to a lighting control group monitor of a lighting control group indicating the sensor state change.

15. The lighting system of claim 14, wherein the respective intelligent luminaire:

misses acknowledgment within a predetermined time period of the wireless message to the lighting control group monitor indicating the detected state change of the occupancy or daylight sensor; and

upon missing the acknowledgment within the predetermined time period of the wireless message to the lighting control group monitor indicating the detected state change of the occupancy or daylight sensor, generates and transmits a group multicast message indicating the detected state change.

16. The lighting system of claim 14, wherein the lighting control group monitor acknowledges receipt of the wireless message indicating the detected state change from the respective intelligent luminaire, creates a multicast message specifying a lighting control event and the lighting control group in response, and transmits the multicast message at least three times to the lighting control group.

17. The lighting system of claim 16, wherein:

the multicast message transmitted by the lighting control group monitor is received by recipient lighting control devices; and

upon receipt of the multicast message from the lighting control group monitor at a respective recipient lighting control device, the respective recipient lighting control device checks a lighting control group identifier to determine whether the respective recipient control device is a member of the specified lighting control group in the multicast message.

18. The lighting system of claim 17, wherein:

further upon receipt of the multicast message from the lighting control group monitor at the respective recipient lighting control device, the respective recipient lighting control device determines that the recipient lighting control device has already acted on the lighting control event specified in the multicast message, and discards the multicast message.

19. The lighting system of claim 17, wherein:

the respective recipient lighting control device is one of the intelligent luminaires; and

further upon receipt of the multicast message from the lighting control group monitor at the respective intelligent luminaire, the intelligent luminaire determines that the intelligent luminaire has not yet acted on the lighting control event specified in the multicast message, and adjusts the light source of the intelligent luminaire in accordance with the lighting control event in response.

20. A lighting system, comprising:

intelligent luminaires, each respective one of the intelligent luminaires comprising;

(a) a light source;

(b) a driver circuit coupled to the light source;

(c) a processor coupled to the driver circuit and configured to control light source operation via the driver;

(d) a dual-band wireless radio communication interface system configured for two way wireless communication;

(i) via a control network, over a first of two different wireless communication bands, of control and systems operations information, during luminaire operation and during control network operation over the first wireless communication band; and

(ii) via a commissioning network with a mobile commissioning device, over a second of the two different wireless communication bands, of commissioning or maintenance information other than the control and systems operations information;

(e) a memory accessible to the processor; and

(f) programming in the memory which configures the processor to control operations of the respective intelligent luminaire, including the communications over the two different wireless communication bands via the dual-band wireless radio communication interface system;

a standalone intelligent control node, comprising;

(a) a switch or a detector;

(b) a sense circuit responsive to the switch or a detector to generate a sensing signal;

(c) a processor coupled to the sense circuit and configured to receive and respond to the sensing signal;

(d) a dual-band wireless radio communication interface system configured for two way wireless communication;

(i) via the control network, over the first of the two different wireless communication bands, of control and systems operations information, during illumination operation of the system and during control network operation over the first wireless communication band; and

(ii) via the commissioning network with the mobile commissioning device, over the second of the two different wireless communication bands, of commissioning or maintenance information other than the control and systems operations information;

(e) a memory accessible to the processor of the standalone intelligent control node; and

(f) programming in the memory which configures the processor of the standalone intelligent control node to transmit information based on the sensing signal over the first of the two different wireless communication bands via the dual-band wireless radio communication interface system;

wherein each dual-band wireless radio communication interface system comprises;

a sub-gigahertz band radio transceiver for the wireless communications over the first band; and

a two gigahertz or higher band radio transceiver for the wireless communications over the second band.