Wireless load control system

• US 9,851,735 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2014
• Issued: 12/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
• Original Assignee: Lutron Electronics Company Incorporated (Lutron Electronics)
• Inventors: Bard, Benjamin F., Dolan, David J., Mann, Timothy, Riedl, Christopher M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lin, Jason
• Application Number:
  US14/578,602
• Publication Number:
  US 20150185752A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,100 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: G05F 1/66 Regulating electric power
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]

Abstract

A wireless load control system for controlling one or more electrical loads comprises a wireless control device (e.g., a gateway device) able to obtain a present time from a server via a network (e.g., the Internet), control the electrical loads according to a timeclock schedule, and disable the timeclock schedule if the present time is not able to be obtained from the server via the network. The wireless control device may also be able to obtain the present time from a digital message received from an external device (e.g., a smart phone or a tablet device) via the network. The wireless control device may be configured to receive a control signal indicating a power outage (e.g., from a battery backup device), and to operate in a low-power mode in response to receiving the control signal indicating the power outage.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a communication circuit configured to transmit signals;

a control circuit communicatively coupled to the communication circuit, the control circuit configured to;

maintain a time of day;

based at least in part on the maintained time of day, transmit, to a load control device, digital messages via the communication circuit at event times of a timeclock schedule, the digital messages each including a command instructing the load control device to control at least one electrical load according to the timeclock schedule, wherein the timeclock scheduled is stored in a memory of the apparatus;

attempt to obtain a present time from a server in order to re-synchronize the maintained time of day;

determine that the present time is not obtainable from the server; and

when the present time is not obtainable from the server, disable the timeclock schedule, wherein to disable the timeclock schedule comprises to not transmit digital messages to the load control device at the event times of the timeclock schedule so that the at least one electrical load is not controlled according to the timeclock schedule; and

wherein the at least one electrical load is controlled according to the timeclock schedule when the present time is obtainable from the server.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is configured to attempt to obtain the present time from a time server via the Internet.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein to attempt to obtain the present time from the server comprises to attempt to obtain the present time when the control circuit is powered on in order to re-synchronize the maintained time of day.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein to attempt to obtain the present time from the server comprises to attempt to obtain the present time when the control circuit is reset in order to re-synchronize the maintained time of day.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein to disable the timeclock schedule comprises to disable the timeclock schedule after a predetermined timeout period after determining that the present time is not obtainable from the server.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

detect actuation of a button at an external device;

based at least in part on detecting actuation of the button, instruct the load control device to control the at least one electrical load;

obtain a present time from a digital message received from the external device; and

based at least in part on obtaining the present time from the digital message received from the external device, re-synchronize the maintained time and re-enable the time clock schedule.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

store a geographical location in the memory;

obtain a geographical location of the external device from a digital message received from the external device;

determine that the geographical location of the external device is the same as the geographical location stored in the memory; and

based at least in part on determining that the geographical location of the external device is the same as the geographical location stored in the memory, re-enable the time clock schedule.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a power supply connector for receiving a supply voltage for powering the control circuit and the communication circuit;

wherein the control circuit is further configured to receive a control signal indicating a power outage via the power supply connector, and to operate in a low-power mode in response to receiving the control signal indicating the power outage.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the control circuit is further configured to detect the power outage in response to detecting an impedance between data terminals of the power supply connector.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the power supply connector comprises a micro-USB port.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

subsequent to disabling the timeclock schedule, attempt to obtain a present time from a server to re-synchronize the maintained time of day;

based on the attempt, obtain the present time from the server; and

re-synchronize the maintained time of day based on the obtained present time; and

based at least in part on re-synchronizing the maintained time of day, re-enable the time clock schedule.

12. A control device comprising:

a first communication circuit configured to transmit signals;

a second communication circuit configured to be communicatively coupled to a network;

a control circuit communicatively coupled to the first and second communication circuits, the control circuit configured to obtain a present time from a server via the second communication circuit, the control circuit configured to transmit digital messages via the first communication circuit at event times of a timeclock schedule, the digital messages each including a command for controlling at least one electrical load according to the timeclock schedule,

wherein the control circuit is configured to cease transmitting the digital messages at the event times of the timeclock schedule if the present time is not able to be obtained from the server via the network;

wherein the control circuit is configured to obtain the present time from a first digital message received from an external device via the second communication circuit;

wherein the control circuit is configured to obtain a location of the external device from a second digital message received from the external device via the second communication circuit, and to store the location in a memory; and

wherein the control circuit is configured to subsequently confirm that a location of the external device is the same as the location stored in the memory, and to obtain the present time from a third digital message received from the external device via the second communication circuit if the location of the external device is the same as the location stored in the memory.

13. An apparatus comprising a control circuit configured to:

maintain a time of day;

obtain a time from a server via a network;

re-synchronize the maintained time of day based on the obtained time;

based at least in part on the re-synchronized time of day, control one or more electrical loads according to a timeclock schedule, wherein the timeclock scheduled is stored in a memory of the apparatus;

attempt to obtain a present time from the server via the network;

determine that the present time is not obtainable from the server; and

disable the timeclock schedule when the present time is not obtainable from the server;

wherein to disable the timeclock schedule comprises to not control the one or more electrical loads according to the timeclock schedule; and

wherein the one or more electrical loads are controlled according to the timeclock schedule when the present time is obtainable from the server.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein to attempt to obtain the present time from the server via the network further comprises to attempt to obtain the present time from a time server via the Internet.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein to attempt to obtain the present time from the server comprises to attempt to obtain the present time when the control circuit is first powered on to re-synchronize the maintained time of day.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein to attempt to obtain the present time from the server comprises to attempt to obtain the present time when the control circuit is reset to re-synchronize the maintained time of day.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein to disable the timeclock schedule further comprises to disable the timeclock schedule after a predetermined timeout period after determining that the present time is not obtainable from the server.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

detect actuation of a button at an external device;

based at least in part on detecting actuation of the button, control the one or more electrical loads;

obtain a present time from a digital message received from the external device; and

based at least in part on obtaining the present time from the digital message received from the external device, re-synchronize the maintained time and re-enable the time clock schedule.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

store a geographical location in the memory;

obtain a geographical location of the external device from a digital message received from the external device;

determine that the geographical location of the external device is the same as the geographical location stored in the memory; and

based at least in part on determining that the geographical location of the external device is the same as the geographical location stored in the memory, re-enable the time clock schedule.

20. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

receive a control signal indicating a power outage; and

operate in a low-power mode in response to receiving the control signal indicating the power outage.

21. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein to control the one or more electrical loads according to the timeclock schedule comprises to transmit digital messages to control the one or more electrical loads.

22. An apparatus for controlling one or more electrical loads, the apparatus comprising a control circuit configured to:

obtain a present time from a server via a network;

control the electrical loads according to a timeclock schedule;

disable the timeclock schedule if the present time is not able to be obtained from the server via the network;

obtain the present time from a first digital message received from an external device via the network;

obtain a location of the external device from a second digital message received from the external device via the network;

store the location in a memory;

subsequently confirm that a location of the external device is the same as the location stored in the memory; and

obtain the present time from a third digital message received from the external device via the network if the location of the external device is the same as the location stored in the memory.