Luminous element arrangement for the dynamic display of a machine-readable code

• US 9,922,581 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2015
• Issued: 03/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tridonic GmbH & Co. KG (Zumtobel Group AG)
• Original Assignee: Tridonic GmbH & Co. KG (Zumtobel Group AG)
• Inventors: Herter, Jens
• Primary Examiner(s): WALSH, DANIEL I
• Application Number:
  US15/503,066
• Publication Number:
  US 20170236454A1
• Time in Patent Office: 950 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06112 the marking being simulated using a light source, e.g. a barcode shown on a display or a laser beam with time-varying intensity profile
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 3/0297 including a machine-readable marking, e.g. a bar code digitally marked record carriers in general G06K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 3/208 Electronic labels, Labels integrating electronic displays
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/30 in which the desired character or characters are formed by combining individual elements panels comprising a number of electrodes in a single cell controlling light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. electro-optical or magneto-optical cell, G02F1/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/33 being semiconductor devices, e.g. diodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks

Abstract

The invention relates to a luminous element arrangement (A), in particular a luminous element field, comprising a plurality of luminous elements, at least one communication interface (5), in particular a bus and/or radio interface, and a converter unit (2), said converter unit (2) activating and/or deactivating the plurality of luminous elements of the luminous element arrangement (A) in response to a signal received via the communication interface (5) such that in top view onto the luminous element arrangement (A) a machine-readable code, in particular a one-dimensional or two-dimensional, machine-readable code is represented.

Claims

1. A lighting and building technology system comprising:

a plurality of system participants, each having an address identifying the location of the participant in the system, within a building of the lighting and building technology system;

a central control unit that sets operating and configuration parameters in system participants connected to the system;

at least one lamp which is a system participant;

a converter unit that is adapted to activate the lamp for lighting purposes and also is adapted to encode operating and configuration parameters for the plurality of system participants into a machine-readable code, comprising one of a one-dimensional machine-readable code and a two-dimensional machine-readable code;

at least one communication interface, comprising one of a bus and a radio interface, between the central control unit and the converter unit;

a luminous element field comprising a plurality of luminous elements;

and

wherein the luminous element field is is operated by the converter unit such that when viewed from above, the machine-readable code, comprising one of a one-dimensional machine-readable code and a two-dimensional machine-readable code, is depicted dynamically on the luminous element field; and

a mobile communication device is configured to optically scan the machine-readable code depicted on the luminous element field, to extract, and modify, operating and configuration parameters therefrom, and to transmit the modified operating and configuration parameters to the central control unit;

wherein the transmitted operating and configuration parameters received by the central control unit are evaluated in order to set operating and configuration parameters in system participants connected to the system based on the modified operating and configuration parameters; and

wherein the mobile communication device further comprises means for determining the positioning of the mobile communication device, and the position of the mobile communication device is linked to the machine readable code when optically scanning by the mobile communication device from the luminous field element.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the system has a further communication interface, comprising a radio interface, and the central control unit is configured to receive operating and configuration parameters via the further communication interface, from a mobile communication device.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the system evaluates the operating and configuration parameters received via the further communication interface, and outputs evaluation information to system participants.

4. The system according to claim 2, wherein at least one system participant transmits operating and configuration parameters to the converter unit, and the converter unit sets or modifies the machine-readable code in response thereto.

5. The system according to claim 2, wherein the mobile communication device comprises at least one camera for optically scanning the machine-readable code, and an interface for communication with the further communication interface.

6. The system according to claim 2, wherein the operating and configuration parameters comprise at least one identifier, which identifies a participant of the system for which the operating and configuration parameters are set.

7. The system according to claim 2, wherein the mobile communication device comprises software that decodes the machine-readable code and enables modification of the operating and configuration parameters through a user interface.

8. The system according to claim 2 wherein the further communication interface is a WLAN/WiFi interface.

9. The system according to claim 2 wherein the further communication interface is a low power wireless interface.

10. The system according to claim 1 wherein the mobile communication device and the the central control unit communicate via a mobile data communication interface.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the luminous element field is removably connected to the system and is activated temporarily when connected to the system to depict the machine readable code dynamically.

12. A method for setting operating and configuration parameters of a system participant in a lighting or building technology system, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of system participants, each having an address identifying a location of the participant in the system, wherein at least one system participant comprises one of a lamp, a switch or a sensor within a building of the lighting and building technology system;

depicting, via a converter unit, operating and configuration parameters that indicate a state of a selected one of the plurality of system participants on a luminous element field in the form of a machine-readable code, wherein the converter unit activates the selected one of the plurality of system participants;

optically scanning the machine-readable code on a mobile communication device having a camera;

decoding the registered machine readable code so that the depicted operating and configuration parameters are available using the mobile communication device;

modifying the operating and configuration parameters using a user interface on the mobile communication device;

transmitting the modified operating and configuration parameters to the system, in the modified form, from the mobile communication device;

setting the operating and configuration parameters of the selected one of the plurality of system participants based on the transmitted modified operating and configuration parameters and determining, by the mobile communication device, the position of the mobile communication device, and linking the position of the mobile communication device to the machine readable code when optically scanned by the mobile communication device from the luminous field element.