Lighting fixture sensor network

• US 9,888,546 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2016
• Issued: 02/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IDEAL Industries Lighting, LLC (Ideal Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: CREE Incorporated (Wolfspeed, Inc.)
• Inventors: Deese, Matthew, McBryde, James, Dungan, William L., Trainor, John J., Bowser, Robert, Snell, Nathan R.
• Primary Examiner(s): WHITE, DYLAN C
• Application Number:
  US15/334,853
• Publication Number:
  US 20170048950A1
• Time in Patent Office: 468 Days
• Field of Search: 315291
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/20 Controlling the colour of the light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/175 by remote control

Abstract

A lighting fixture includes a light source, a housing coupled to the light source, communications circuitry, and control circuitry. The housing includes an opening through which light from the light source is provided. The control circuitry includes a memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the control circuitry cause the lighting fixture to adjust one or more light output parameters of the light source, and store fixture location information describing a location of the lighting fixture in response to receipt of the fixture location information from the communications circuitry. By storing fixture location information describing the location of the lighting fixture, the location of the lighting fixture may be used to send messages to lighting fixtures in the same location and/or retrieve data from lighting fixtures in the same location, which may be beneficial in many circumstances.

Claims

1. A lighting fixture comprising:

a light source;

a housing coupled to the light source and comprising an opening through which light from the light source is provided;

communications circuitry; and

control circuitry comprising a memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the control circuitry cause the lighting fixture to;

adjust one or more light output parameters of the light source;

store fixture location information describing a location of the lighting fixture in response to receipt of the fixture location information by the communications circuitry; and

provide the fixture location information in response to a request for the fixture location information received by the communications circuitry.

2. The lighting fixture of claim 1 wherein the one or more light output parameters include one or more of a light intensity, a color, and a color temperature.

3. The lighting fixture of claim 1 wherein the memory stores further instructions, which, when executed by the control circuitry cause the lighting fixture to:

receive a message via the communications circuitry, the message including instructions and recipient location information indicating one or more locations intended to receive the instructions;

determine if the recipient location information includes the fixture location information; and

if the recipient location information includes the fixture location information, process the message.

4. The lighting fixture of claim 3 wherein:

the instructions include a command to adjust the one or more light output parameters of the light source; and

processing the message comprises adjusting the one or more light output parameters.

5. The lighting fixture of claim 4 wherein the one or more light output parameters include one or more of a light intensity, a color, and a color temperature.

6. The lighting fixture of claim 3 wherein:

the instructions include a command to adjust one or more sensor operating parameters of one or more sensors in the lighting fixture; and

processing the message comprises adjusting the one or more sensor operating parameters.

7. The lighting fixture of claim 6 wherein the one or more sensor operating parameters include one or more of an ambient light sensor sensitivity, an occupancy sensor sensitivity, and a sensor detection mode.

8. The lighting fixture of claim 3 wherein:

the instructions include a command to adjust one or more operational parameters of the lighting fixture; and

processing the message comprises adjusting the one or more operational parameters.

9. The lighting fixture of claim 8 wherein the one or more operational parameters include one or more of an energy consumption operational parameter, a control group operational parameter, and an occupancy group operational parameter.

10. The lighting fixture of claim 3 wherein:

the instructions include a request for information from the lighting fixture; and

processing the message comprises providing the requested information via the communications circuitry.

11. The lighting fixture of claim 10 wherein the request for information is a request for data from one or more sensors in the lighting fixture.

12. The lighting fixture of claim 1 wherein the fixture location information comprises a human readable text string.

13. A method of operating a lighting fixture comprising:

receiving fixture location information describing a location of the lighting fixture from communications circuitry in the lighting fixture;

in response to receipt of the fixture location information, storing the fixture location information to a memory of the lighting fixture;

receiving a request for the fixture location information via the communications circuitry in the lighting fixture; and

in response to the request for the fixture location information, providing the fixture location.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

receiving a message via the communications circuitry, the message including instructions and recipient location information indicating one or more locations intended to receive the instructions;

determining that the recipient location information includes the fixture location information; and

processing the message based on determining that the recipient location information includes fixture location information.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein:

the instructions include a command to adjust one or more light output parameters of the light source; and

processing the message comprises adjusting the one or more light output parameters.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the one or more light output parameters include one or more of a light intensity, a color, and a color temperature.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein:

the instructions include a command to adjust one or more sensor operating parameters of one or more sensors in the lighting fixture; and

processing the message comprises adjusting the one or more sensor operating parameters.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the one or more sensor operating parameters include one or more of an ambient light sensor sensitivity, an occupancy sensor sensitivity, and a sensor detection mode.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein:

the instructions include a command to adjust one or more operational parameters of the lighting fixture; and

processing the message comprises adjusting the one or more operational parameters.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the one or more operational parameters include one or more of an energy consumption operational parameter, a control group operational parameter, and an occupancy group operational parameter.

21. The method of claim 14 wherein:

the instructions include a request for information from the lighting fixture; and

processing the message comprises providing the requested information via the communications circuitry.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the request for information is a request for data from one or more sensors in the lighting fixture.

23. The method of claim 13 wherein the fixture location information comprises a human readable text string.