System and method for dynamic load sharing between electronic displays
First Claim
1. An electronic display assembly comprising:
- an incoming AC current sensor which measures the total current being drawn from an AC supply circuit;
a common power load sharing controller in electrical connection with the AC current sensor;
a first display in electrical connection with the AC current sensor and having associated therewith;
an ambient light sensor in electrical connection with the common power load sharing controller, anda brightness controller in electrical connection with the common power load sharing controller; and
a second display in electrical connection with the AC current sensor and having associated therewith;
an ambient light sensor in electrical connection with the common power load sharing controller, anda brightness controller in electrical connection with the common power load sharing controller.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic display assembly which allocates power to a plurality of displays without exceeding a maximum current level for the circuit is disclosed. An exemplary system preferably includes an AC current sensor, a power load sharing controller, ambient light sensors for each display, and a brightness controller for each display. A maximum total current draw may be selected. The ambient light contacting each display may be measured and a corresponding desired brightness calculated. Depending on the present amount of current draw, the system determines if the displays can be driven at the desired brightness without exceeding the maximum total current draw. If yes, the displays are driven at their desired brightness. If no, the desired brightness for each display may be slightly reduced to prevent exceeding the maximum total current draw. Thus, as the ambient light varies between the displays, the available power may be shared.
74 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. An electronic display assembly comprising:
-
an incoming AC current sensor which measures the total current being drawn from an AC supply circuit; a common power load sharing controller in electrical connection with the AC current sensor; a first display in electrical connection with the AC current sensor and having associated therewith; an ambient light sensor in electrical connection with the common power load sharing controller, and a brightness controller in electrical connection with the common power load sharing controller; and a second display in electrical connection with the AC current sensor and having associated therewith; an ambient light sensor in electrical connection with the common power load sharing controller, and a brightness controller in electrical connection with the common power load sharing controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. An electronic display assembly comprising:
-
a plurality of electronic displays powered by a single AC circuit, each display having an ambient light sensor positioned to measure ambient light level, and a brightness controller; an incoming AC current sensor in electrical connection with the AC circuit and configured to measure the total current being drawn from the single AC circuit; a common power load sharing controller in electrical connection with the AC current sensor, as well as the ambient light sensor and the brightness controller of each electronic display, the common power load sharing controller programmed to allocate available power from the single AC circuit to each electronic display based on an analysis of data received from the ambient light sensors. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. An electronic display assembly comprising:
-
a plurality of electronic displays powered by a single AC circuit, each display having an ambient light sensor positioned to measure the ambient light level near the display and to produce resulting data, and a brightness controller that controls the brightness of the display; an incoming AC current sensor in electrical connection with the AC circuit and configured to measure the total current being drawn from the single AC circuit; a common power load sharing controller in electrical connection with the AC current sensor, as well as the ambient light sensor and the brightness controller of each electronic display, the common power and load sharing controller including a microprocessor, memory, and programming configured to; receive and analyze data from the ambient light sensors, calculate a brightness setting for each display that will produce a brightness level that is as close as possible to a desired brightness level based on the data from the ambient light sensors, while simultaneously prohibiting the total current draw on the AC circuit from exceeding some maximum value, and communicate to each brightness controller a calculated brightness level for its associated display. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification