Electro-optic window control system

• US 10,137,764 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2017
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gentex Corporation
• Original Assignee: Gentex Corporation
• Inventors: Driscoll, David I., Adamski, Christopher J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ben, Loha
• Application Number:
  US15/599,510
• Publication Number:
  US 20170334271A1
• Time in Patent Office: 557 Days
• Field of Search: 359245, 359265, 359275, 700 3, 700 7- 9, 700 11, 700 19, 700 20, 345 76, 345 77, 345 84, 345105, 398106, 398128, 398130, 398135, 398140, 398153, 398162, 398182, 398202
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 3/04 adjustable in transparency
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/001 integrated in the windows, e.g. Fresnel lenses
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/0018 Electro-optical materials
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/0123 Circuits for the control or stabilisation of the bias voltage, e.g. automatic bias control [ABC] feedback loops
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 11/01 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/18 Numerical control [NC], i.e. automatically operating machines, in particular machine tools, e.g. in a manufacturing environment, so as to execute positioning, movement or co-ordinated operations by means of programme data in numerical form G05B19/418 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]

Abstract

A window control system is provided that includes a plurality of electro-optic windows each having a variable transmittance level, a portable control unit for generating wireless control signals for controlling the transmittance level of the electro-optic windows, and a plurality of window control circuits each coupled to a respective one of the electro-optic windows and each having a transceiver for receiving the wireless control signals from the portable control unit. Each window control circuit is configured to adjust the transmittance level of the respective one of the electro-optic windows in response to a wireless control signal received by the transceiver from the portable control unit.

Claims

1. A window control system comprising:

a plurality of electro-optic windows each having a variable transmittance level;

a portable control unit for generating wireless control signals for controlling transmittance levels of the plurality of electro-optic windows; and

a plurality of window control circuits each coupled to a respective one of the plurality of electro-optic windows and each comprising a transceiver for receiving the wireless control signals from the portable control unit, and each configured to adjust the transmittance level of the respective one of the plurality of electro-optic windows in response to a wireless control signal received by the transceiver from the portable control unit.

2. The window control system of claim 1, wherein the portable control unit includes a touch screen user interface that displays a physical arrangement of the plurality of electro-optic windows to allow a user to select which of the plurality of electro-optic windows are to be adjusted.

3. The window control system of claim 2, wherein the touch screen user interface further displays an input slider for allowing the user to adjust transmittance levels of the selected electro-optic windows.

4. The window control system of claim 3, wherein the touch screen user interface further displays an automatic control input for allowing a user to turn on or off automatic control of the transmittance levels of the selected electro-optic windows whereby the transmittance levels of the selected electro-optic windows are automatically controlled in response to a sensed ambient light level.

5. The window control system of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of electro-optic windows has a unique ID and wherein the portable control unit stores the unique ID of each of the plurality of electro-optic windows such that, upon selection of windows to control, the portable control unit incorporates the unique ID of the selected electro-optic windows into the wireless control signals.

6. The window control system of claim 5, wherein each of the window control circuits stores the unique ID for the respective one of the plurality of electro-optic windows.

7. The window control system of claim 1, wherein the portable control unit is selected from the group consisting of a smartphone, a tablet or a laptop.

8. The window control system of claim 1, wherein the transceiver of each of the plurality of window control circuits is a Bluetooth transceiver and wherein the portable control unit comprises a Bluetooth transceiver for communicating the wireless control signals via a Bluetooth protocol.

9. An aircraft comprising the window control system of claim 1.

10. A non-transitory tangible computer readable medium having stored thereon software instructions that, when executed by a processor of a portable control unit, cause the processor to control transmittance levels of a plurality of electro-optic windows, by executing the steps comprising:

generating a display on a touch screen of the portable control unit showing a physical arrangement of the plurality of electro-optic windows to allow a user to select which of the plurality of electro-optic windows are to be adjusted;

receiving the user'"'"'s selection of which of the plurality of electro-optic windows are to be adjusted; and

generating wireless control signals for controlling transmittance levels of the selected electro-optic windows of the plurality of electro-optic windows.

11. The non-transitory tangible computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the software instructions further cause the processor to execute the step of further generating a display on the touch screen of the portable control unit showing an input slider for allowing the user to adjust the transmittance levels of the selected electro-optic windows.

12. The non-transitory tangible computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the software instructions further cause the processor to execute the step of further generating a display on the touch screen of the portable control unit showing an automatic control input for allowing a user to turn on or off automatic control of the transmittance levels of the selected electro-optic windows whereby the transmittance levels of the selected electro-optic windows are automatically controlled in response to a sensed ambient light level.

13. The non-transitory tangible computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of electro-optic windows has a unique ID and wherein the software instructions further cause the processor to execute the step of storing the unique ID of each of the plurality of electro-optic windows such that, upon selection of windows to control, the processor incorporates the unique ID of the selected electro-optic windows into the wireless control signals.

14. An aircraft comprising:

a plurality of electro-optic windows each having a variable transmittance level; and

a plurality of window control circuits each coupled to a respective one of the plurality of electro-optic windows and each comprising a transceiver for receiving wireless control signals from a portable control unit, and each configured to adjust the transmittance level of the respective one of the plurality of electro-optic windows in response to a wireless control signal received by the transceiver from the portable control unit.

15. The aircraft of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of electro-optic windows has a unique ID and wherein the portable control unit stores the unique ID of each of the plurality of electro-optic windows such that, upon selection of windows to control, the portable control unit incorporates the unique ID of the selected electro-optic windows into the wireless control signals.

16. The aircraft of claim 15, wherein each of the window control circuits stores the unique ID for the respective one of the plurality of electro-optic windows.

17. The aircraft of claim 14, wherein the transceiver of each of the plurality of window control circuits is a Bluetooth transceiver and wherein the portable control unit comprises a Bluetooth transceiver for communicating the wireless control signals via a Bluetooth protocol.

18. The aircraft of claim 17, wherein each of the plurality of electro-optic windows has a unique ID corresponding to an ID of the Bluetooth transceiver of the respective window control circuit and wherein the portable control unit stores the unique ID of each of the plurality of electro-optic windows such that, upon selection of windows to control, the portable control unit incorporates the unique ID of the selected electro-optic windows into the wireless control signals.

19. A window control system comprising:

a plurality of electro-optic windows each having a variable transmittance level;

a portable control unit for generating wireless control signals for controlling transmittance levels of the plurality of electro-optic windows;

a transceiver for receiving the wireless control signals from the portable control unit; and

a plurality of window control circuits each coupled to at least one of the plurality of electro-optic windows and configured to adjust the transmittance level of the at least one of the plurality of electro-optic windows in response to a wireless control signal received by the transceiver from the portable control unit.

20. The window control system of claim 19, wherein the portable control unit includes a touch screen user interface that displays a physical arrangement of the plurality of electro-optic windows to allow a user to select which of the plurality of electro-optic windows are to be adjusted.

21. The window control system of claim 20, wherein the touch screen user interface further displays an input slider for allowing the user to adjust transmittance levels of the selected electro-optic windows.

22. The window control system of claim 21, wherein the touch screen user interface further displays an automatic control input for allowing the user to turn on or off automatic control of the transmittance levels of the selected electro-optic windows whereby the transmittance levels of the selected electro-optic windows are automatically controlled in response to a sensed ambient light level.

23. The window control system of claim 20, wherein each of the plurality of electro-optic windows has a unique ID and wherein the portable control unit stores the unique ID of each of the plurality of electro-optic windows such that, upon selection of windows to control, the portable control unit incorporates the unique ID of the selected electro-optic windows into the wireless control signals.

24. The window control system of claim 23, wherein each of the window control circuits stores the unique ID for the respective one of the plurality of electro-optic windows.

25. The window control system of claim 19, wherein the portable control unit is selected from the group consisting of a smartphone, a tablet or a laptop.

26. The window control system of claim 19, wherein the transceiver is a Bluetooth transceiver and wherein the portable control unit comprises a Bluetooth transceiver for communicating the wireless control signals via a Bluetooth protocol.