EP0734196A1 - Verbessertes System zur individuellen Fernsteuerung räumlich getrennter Leuchteneinheiten - Google Patents

Verbessertes System zur individuellen Fernsteuerung räumlich getrennter Leuchteneinheiten Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0734196A1
EP0734196A1 EP96104446A EP96104446A EP0734196A1 EP 0734196 A1 EP0734196 A1 EP 0734196A1 EP 96104446 A EP96104446 A EP 96104446A EP 96104446 A EP96104446 A EP 96104446A EP 0734196 A1 EP0734196 A1 EP 0734196A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
radiation
fixture
infrared
receiver
housing
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP96104446A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Adam T. Lansing
Russell L. Macadam
Noel Mayo
Robert A. Reiss
Joel S. Spira
Scott C. Miller
Ian Rowbottom
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Lutron Electronics Co Inc
Original Assignee
Lutron Electronics Co Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US08/407,696 external-priority patent/US5637964A/en
Priority claimed from US08/585,111 external-priority patent/US6037721A/en
Application filed by Lutron Electronics Co Inc filed Critical Lutron Electronics Co Inc
Publication of EP0734196A1 publication Critical patent/EP0734196A1/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B41/00—Circuit arrangements or apparatus for igniting or operating discharge lamps
    • H05B41/14—Circuit arrangements
    • H05B41/36—Controlling
    • H05B41/38—Controlling the intensity of light
    • H05B41/39—Controlling the intensity of light continuously
    • H05B41/392—Controlling the intensity of light continuously using semiconductor devices, e.g. thyristor
    • H05B41/3921—Controlling the intensity of light continuously using semiconductor devices, e.g. thyristor with possibility of light intensity variations
    • H05B41/3922—Controlling the intensity of light continuously using semiconductor devices, e.g. thyristor with possibility of light intensity variations and measurement of the incident light
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
    • F21S8/00—Lighting devices intended for fixed installation
    • F21S8/02—Lighting devices intended for fixed installation of recess-mounted type, e.g. downlighters
    • F21S8/026—Lighting devices intended for fixed installation of recess-mounted type, e.g. downlighters intended to be recessed in a ceiling or like overhead structure, e.g. suspended ceiling
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
    • F21S8/00—Lighting devices intended for fixed installation
    • F21S8/04—Lighting devices intended for fixed installation intended only for mounting on a ceiling or the like overhead structures
    • F21S8/06—Lighting devices intended for fixed installation intended only for mounting on a ceiling or the like overhead structures by suspension
    • F21S8/061—Lighting devices intended for fixed installation intended only for mounting on a ceiling or the like overhead structures by suspension with a non-rigid pendant, i.e. a cable, wire or chain
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21V—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F21V23/00—Arrangement of electric circuit elements in or on lighting devices
    • F21V23/04—Arrangement of electric circuit elements in or on lighting devices the elements being switches
    • F21V23/0435—Arrangement of electric circuit elements in or on lighting devices the elements being switches activated by remote control means
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B39/00—Circuit arrangements or apparatus for operating incandescent light sources
    • H05B39/04—Controlling
    • H05B39/08—Controlling by shifting phase of trigger voltage applied to gas-filled controlling tubes also in controlled semiconductor devices
    • H05B39/083—Controlling by shifting phase of trigger voltage applied to gas-filled controlling tubes also in controlled semiconductor devices by the variation-rate of light intensity
    • H05B39/085—Controlling by shifting phase of trigger voltage applied to gas-filled controlling tubes also in controlled semiconductor devices by the variation-rate of light intensity by touch control
    • H05B39/086—Controlling by shifting phase of trigger voltage applied to gas-filled controlling tubes also in controlled semiconductor devices by the variation-rate of light intensity by touch control with possibility of remote control
    • H05B39/088—Controlling by shifting phase of trigger voltage applied to gas-filled controlling tubes also in controlled semiconductor devices by the variation-rate of light intensity by touch control with possibility of remote control by wireless means, e.g. infrared transmitting means
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B41/00—Circuit arrangements or apparatus for igniting or operating discharge lamps
    • H05B41/14—Circuit arrangements
    • H05B41/36—Controlling
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B47/00—Circuit arrangements for operating light sources in general, i.e. where the type of light source is not relevant
    • H05B47/10—Controlling the light source
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B47/00—Circuit arrangements for operating light sources in general, i.e. where the type of light source is not relevant
    • H05B47/10—Controlling the light source
    • H05B47/175—Controlling the light source by remote control
    • H05B47/19—Controlling the light source by remote control via wireless transmission
    • H05B47/195—Controlling the light source by remote control via wireless transmission the transmission using visible or infrared light
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08C—TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS FOR MEASURED VALUES, CONTROL OR SIMILAR SIGNALS
    • G08C2201/00—Transmission systems of control signals via wireless link
    • G08C2201/70—Device selection
    • G08C2201/71—Directional beams

Definitions

  • This invention relates to the remote control of lighting fixtures, and more specifically relates to an improved system and components therefor for the selective control of overhead lighting fixtures by a hand-held infrared radiation source, and is an improvement of the system and components described in copending application Serial No. , entitled REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR INDIVIDUAL CONTROL OF SPACED LIGHTING FIXTURES and filed on even date herewith, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
  • the lighting of spaces by a plurality of spaced gas discharge lamps for example, fluorescent lamps
  • incandescent lamps for example, fluorescent lamps
  • one or more fluorescent lamps are mounted in a fixture with a ballast, and such fixtures are spaced over a ceiling on four foot or eight foot centers.
  • overhead fixtures for incandescent lamps may be mounted on centers greater than about two feet.
  • Such lamp fixtures are commonly connected to a single power source and are simultaneously turned on and off or, if provided with dimming capability, are simultaneously dimmed.
  • Such overhead fixtures can be individually controlled or dimmed. For example, in a given office space, one worker may prefer or need more or less light intensity than another worker at a spaced work area. Dimming systems are known for selectively dimming the lamps of different fixtures to suit the needs of individual workers. For example, each fixture can be individually hard wired to its own remotely mounted dimmer. However, the installation of this wiring can be quite costly and the determination of which dimmer controls which fixture may not be immediately obvious to the user of the system.
  • the dimmers could be located within each fixture and controlled by signals sent over low voltage wiring or through signals transmitted over the line voltage wiring through a power line carrier system.
  • both of these approaches require expensive interfaces within each fixture to translate and/or decode the received signals for control of the dimmer.
  • a dimmer with a dimming adjustment control is provided at each fixture, and that control is manually operated, for example by rotating the control with a rigid pole long enough to reach the fixture. In this way, each fixture can be selectively adjusted.
  • the system is inconvenient to use and, once the fixture intensity is set, it is difficult or inconvenient to readjust. Moreover, it is difficult to retrofit an existing installation with a control system of this nature.
  • a known fluorescent controller system is also sold by Colortran Inc. of Burbank, CA, termed a "sector fluorescent controller" in which an infrared receiver is mounted at a location spaced from its respective fluorescent lamp fixture. Thus, the receiver is fixed to a T-bar, on the wall, on a louver or is counter-sunk flush with wall or ceiling.
  • a ballast controller may be mounted in the lighting fixture, in addition to a conventional dimming ballast. Wiring is then run from the external infrared receiver into the interior of the fixture to the ballast controller.
  • a hand-held remote control infrared transmitter illuminates the infrared receiver at one or more fixtures to control their dimming level.
  • the need to run wiring from the external sensor complicates the installation of such devices. Further, since the sensor is spaced from the fixture, it requires separate installation, and is visible to view. Moreover, the infrared transmitter of the Colortran device has a transmitting angle of 30°. Therefore, several receivers can be illuminated simultaneously, making selection of control of only one fixture difficult unless the user places himself in a precise location within the room under the fixture to be controlled.
  • a similar system is sold by the Silvertown Hitech Corporation, where the infrared receiver is mounted to the louvers of a fluorescent fixture.
  • the infrared receiver is specifically adapted to be mounted to a specific fluorescent fixture, and it tends to block light output from the fixture.
  • a further system is sold by Matsushita wherein a single transmitter can be used for independent control of two or more different receivers. This is achieved by adjusting a switch on the transmitter to correspond to a switch setting which has been previously set at the receiver corresponding to the fixture desired to be controlled. For example, fixture A could be controlled when the switch is in position 1 and fixture B could be controlled when the switch is in position 2. In this system, the user must remember which fixture corresponds to which switch position, i.e., A corresponds to 1 and B corresponds to 2.
  • the transmitter is simply pointed at the receiver in the fixture which it is desired to control. This is simple, unambiguous and transparently ergonomic. Further, it does not require any preprogramming or reprogramming of the receiv
  • an infrared transmitter for the control of a wall box mounted dimmer, such as the "Grafik Eye” Preset Dimming Control sold by Lutron Electronics Co., Inc., the assignee of the present invention. Also see U.S. Patent 5,191,265 which describes such transmitters.
  • the Gardner Eye Dimmer Control system provides for the remote control of fixtures and other lamps by a control circuit located at the wall box which controls those fixtures and lamps.
  • An infrared transmitter aimed at the wall box housing produces a beam which contains information to turn on and off and to set the light dimming level of the fixtures being controlled to one of a plurality of preset levels, or to continuously increase or decrease the light level.
  • Other similar systems are sold by Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. under the trademark RanaX-Wireless Dimming Control System. Such systems are not intended to control individual ceiling fixtures in a room independently of other closely spaced fixtures (those fixtures spaced up to about two feet apart).
  • each fixture to be controlled has a radiation receiver and ballast control circuit mounted in the interior of the fixture housing and is wired internally of the fixture housing to a dimming ballast in the case of a fluorescent fixture.
  • each light to be controlled has a radiation receiver and dimmer, which is connected to the lamp to be controlled.
  • a small opening in the fixture housing allows optical communication with the radiation receiver and is easily illuminated from substantially any location in the room containing the fixtures.
  • a narrow beam radiation transmitter with a beam angle, for example, of about 8° is employed to illuminate the radiation-receiving opening in the fixture without illuminating the fixtures spaced greater than about two feet from the fixture to be controlled.
  • a beam angle for example, of about 8°
  • fixtures two feet apart can be easily discriminated between one another.
  • the user can reposition himself to discriminate between closely spaced fixtures.
  • the receiver is a novel structure containing a printed circuit board mounted across a central area of a typical back box.
  • a radiation sensor is mounted on the printed circuit board and faces an open side of the box which is covered by a yoke.
  • the radiation employed is preferably infrared light and the yoke has an infrared transparent portion to allow infrared radiation to reach the radiation sensor. Narrowly focused, high frequency ultrasound could also be employed.
  • either a visible or invisible laser beam with information encoded on it in known manner could be used, with the laser beam being spread by optical means such as a divergent lens. In the case of a visible beam, this would produce a beam like a flashlight pointer which would aid in pointing the transmitter at the receiver.
  • radio frequency waves could be used. These could be emitted from a parabolic reflector on the transmitter, using a parabolic reflector of approximately 4.3 cm in diameter and a frequency of 60 GHz. The beam spread would be approximately 8°. The opening used for optical signals would, of course, be modified if radio frequency waves are used.
  • a novel mounting structure whereby a plastic hook and loop type fastener surface is fixed to the yoke and a cooperating hook and loop type surface is attached to the interior of the fixture, preferably on the wire way cover within the fixture. All wires can then be interconnected within the fixture wire-way.
  • An opening is formed in the wire-way cover of the fixture and optically communicates with the radiation receiver within the receiver housing.
  • the receiver housing is easily located within the wire-way housing to communicate with the opening in the wire-way cover and is then pressed in place.
  • An optical lens insert can be installed in the yoke to assist in focusing input radiation on the radiation receiver sensing element. This lens insert can be interchangeable and different lens inserts can be designed to have different angles of acceptance of input radiation.
  • the lens protrudes slightly through an opening in the fixture housing to receive infrared radiation from the transmitter.
  • the transmitter is an infrared transmitter of the type employed in the Lutron Land Eye system previously identified for use with wall box dimmer systems.
  • the Gardner Eye transmitter is an infrared transmitter which transmits signals with twelve different code combinations.
  • the transmitter is operable to transmit a beam angle of about 8° and can, therefore, selectively illuminate relatively closely spaced ceiling fixtures.
  • a selected fixture can be dimmed to one of a plurality of preset dim conditions, or can be dimmed continuously up or down.
  • the transmitter can accomplish raise/lower, presets, low/high end trim and the like.
  • a transmitter with a movable slide or rotary actuator could be used to provide continuous dimming control.
  • This novel structure had a major advantage in retrofitting an existing installation. Thus, it is only necessary to drill a small opening in the wire-way cover, and mount an infrared receiver/ballast controller to the wire-way cover in line with the opening within the wire-way cover. Light dimming ballasts are then mounted within the fixture wire-way and are interconnected with the receiver/ballast controller within the fixture wire-way without need for external wiring. The wire-way cover with receiver/ballast controller attached is then reinstalled in the fixture.
  • the primary application of the invention of application Serial No. is in large open plan office areas illuminated by overhead fluorescent fixtures, particularly where video display units (e.g., personal computers) are used.
  • the invention also has applications in areas which are used for audio visual presentations, in hospitals and elder care facilities, in manufacturing areas and in control rooms, the control of security lighting either indoor or outdoor and to reduce lighting levels for energy conservation.
  • a further application of the prior invention is in wet or damp locations where normal wall controls cannot be used due to the danger of electric shock or in areas with hazardous atmospheres where there is a danger of explosion if a line voltage wall control is operated and causes a spark.
  • the receiver can be located in a protected fixture and the lights controlled by the low voltage hand-held remote control transmitter.
  • the output from the receiver could be adapted in known manner to control motor speed and/or position such as the position of the motors in window shade control systems.
  • the output from the receiver could further be adapted to control other types of actuators such as solenoids.
  • a further problem with the system of application Serial No. was that an expensive fiber optic cable was required when the end of the IR receiver was removed some distance, for example, up to 24 inches from the IR receiver housing.
  • the radiation receiver extending from the radiation receiver housing is an elongated radiation conductor or antenna which has a length which is sufficiently long that it extends from the fixture wire way to which receiver is attached to a free end which is flush with or penetrates beyond the plane of the fixture reflector surface or lens cover.
  • typical fixtures employ parabolic or prismatic lens covers or baffle structures which tend to shadow or block line-of-sight radiation from a location at an angle to a vertical from the fixture.
  • the radiation receiver is a thin, rigid, molded plastic (such as an acrylic or polycarbonate) radiation conductive rod of non-critical diameter, for example, of 1/4 inch and a length, which is non-critical, but typically may be about 5 inches, depending on the structure of the fixture lens.
  • the outer or free end of the receiver rod can be cut either round, or square at its end, while the inner end of the rod facing a sensor in the receiver housing may preferably have a convex radius.
  • the rod may be formed with any desired axial elongation, for example, as a straight rod which extends perpendicularly from the yoke of the receiver housing, or with a bend or curve to meet the needs of mounting the radiation receiver within a fixture. Whatever shape is used, it is critical that the free end of the radiation receiver is sufficiently long that it is not shadowed by the fixture baffle or lens.
  • the receiver rod which may be any desired infrared (IR) transmitting plastic rod may be co-molded with numerous differently shaped rods in a common mold which are shipped with the light receiver housing and/or system equipment so that the user can select the rod shape best adapted to his fixture.
  • IR infrared
  • a portion of the receiver may be covered with an infrared shielding material or structure which blocks lamp infrared and thus improves signal to noise ratio, thus giving greater reception range.
  • the shield structure may be a parabolic curve to not only shield infrared noise, but also focus infrared signals onto the receiver rod.
  • the radiation receiver rod or guide can be connected to the receiver housing by a snap-fit which permits the rod to rotate about its axis at its connection to the receiver.
  • the end connected to the receiver housing is always fixed relative to the LED or other radiation sensor within the housing, while still permitting rotation of the rod to enable the adjustment of the position of the free end of the rod at the outer plane of the fixture lens.
  • other connections can be used, such as compression fittings, a screw type connection, a lock and key arrangement or a simple bayonet-type connection.
  • the receiver housing of the present invention must often be mounted remote from the location at which a transmitter signal can be received.
  • an elongated, flexible radiation conductor or light pipe of up to 2 feet in length is employed, with one end fixed to the receiver housing, and the free end secured, for example, in the ceiling tile adjacent the fixture.
  • a conventional but expensive fiber optical cable light pipe has been used, with one end located adjacent the IR sensor in the receiver housing and the other "free end" fixed to a connector to connect the free end through a ceiling tile or the like to be exposed to the interior of the room containing the lighting fixture. End ferrule terminals are needed at the ends of such a light pipe. It is desirable to employ a less expensive infrared conductor in place of the flexible light fiber conductor.
  • Visible light conductors are available which are flexible thin cables with a bend radius as small as 1 inch. These are termed "end light fiber optics" and consist of an elongated light transmitting silicon monomer gel core which has a Teflon® cladding layer and an outer black plastic jacket. Such devices are used for visible light conduction for spot, flood light and underwater applications. The Teflon® cladding acts as a light shield and the black jacket is for U.V. protection and prevents yellowing of the gel core.
  • One such cable is part number EL 100 made by Lumenyte International Corporation of Costa Mesa, California having a length of about 24 inches and a diameter of about 3/16 inch. Such conductors are less expensive than conventional infrared fiber optic conductors.
  • end light fiber optics severely attenuates infrared radiation, for example, radiation with a wave length of about 880 nanometers.
  • an end light fiber optics cable with a visible light conducting gel core does not attenuate infrared (at about 880 nanometers) sufficiently to interfere with its use as an elongated (up to about 24 inch) infrared conductor for the present invention.
  • the invention can employ an inexpensive elongated end light fiber optics conductor in place of an expensive elongated infrared fiber optics conductor.
  • the fixed end of the end light fiber optics can be adapted to snap into or be fixed to the radiation receiver housing in the same manner as the shorter rigid plastic rod previously described.
  • the structure of the housing which can universally receive radiation conductors of various types.
  • end light fiber optics cable it is not necessary to make the cable rotatable relative to the housing in view of the inherent flexibility of the cable.
  • a special connector is provided to fix the free end of the fiber optics cable to and through a ceiling tile.
  • the connector contains an elongated hollow cylindrical bushing which has an elongated hollow sleeve which fits snugly in an opening in the ceiling tile.
  • a flange is integral with one end of the cylindrical body and seats on top of the surface of the ceiling tile surrounding the opening in the tile.
  • the black jacket is stripped from the free end of the end light fiber optics and is threaded through the cylindrical bushing until its free end protrudes about 1 inch beneath the bottom of the ceiling tile.
  • a trim ring which can receive a focusing lens is then pressed onto the free end of the cable and into the bushing sleeve to fix the cable and bushing to the tile.
  • a further feature of the novel bushing structure consists of serrating the bottom end of the bushing to form a circular saw edge. This serrated edge can then be used to cut a circular opening through the ceiling tile which will exactly match the outer diameter of the bushing. The saw edge is covered by the trim ring after installation.
  • the radiation conductor can pick up and respond to external radiation, for example infrared from the lamps in the fixture. For this reason, the "signal sensitivity" of the receiver is reduced so that it is activated only by signals from the remote transmitter. This however slows down the response time of the receiver to coded signals from the transmitter.
  • the receiver circuit is, in essence, switched from an insensitive "wait” state (during which it does not respond to extraneous infrared signals) to an "active" and more sensitive state upon the reception of a valid start signal sequence.
  • the system will respond to further signal data more easily.
  • each signal train produced by the infrared transmitter contains a start byte of 8 bits and three data bytes or 24 bits.
  • Each of the start bits is sampled 4 times by the receiver, and all 4 samples must confirm that the bit is high (termed 4 of 4 voting) to comprise a valid high bit.
  • the microcontroller will identify a valid input signal and act on the data signal. However, the next 24 data bits and all succeeding signals are subject to only 3 of 4 voting to be considered valid, thus allowing the control system to operate more smoothly. That is, while all bits are sampled 4 times, only 3 need to be high to consider the bit to be high.
  • the standard remains at 3 of 4 voting if and only if a repeatable command has been decoded (raise light level, lower light level or program mode). If the command is not repeatable (go to 100% light or go to another preset light level), the voting standards are changed back to 4 of 4. Repeatable commands such as raise or lower only cause a small change to the light level.
  • the unit In order to go from a low light level to a high light level, for example, the unit must receive many commands. By relaxing the voting standard, the change is perceived as smoother. This process continues until 1.5 seconds (or any other selected time) has elapsed without a command, and the system then reverts to 4 of 4 voting, termed herein, the "insensitive" state. Note that while the terms used above are "4 of 4 voting” and “3 of 4 voting" respectively, they could more broadly be understood to refer to 100% voting and 75% voting respectively.
  • the receiver housing contains a positive switch for example, relay contacts or a triac or the like in series with the ballast power circuit for switching off its respective ballast.
  • This positive switch is mounted within the receiver housing.
  • the novel receiver structure and circuit is incorporated into the ballast housing, and the radiation signal is brought through an infrared transparent portion, typically, an opening in the ballast housing and into the radiation receiving circuitry.
  • the combination of these two parts within a common housing produces cost and space savings from the common use of circuits and supports and eliminates the external wiring between the two circuits.
  • a common housing permits the use, for example, of a common power supply, common output drivers and a common printed circuit board.
  • Figure 1 is a block diagram of the lighting fixture adapted with a radiation receiver/ballast control circuit with remote radiation transmitters and which can employ the present invention.
  • Figure 2 is an elevational view of the receiver/ballast control circuit housing which can employ the present invention.
  • Figure 3 is, in part, a cross-section of Figure 2 taken along the section line 3-3 in Figure 2 and also shows the plastic yoke, fixture rear surface and wire-way cover, and a hook and loop type fastener in a partly exploded view.
  • Figure 4 is a bottom view of the receiver/ballast control circuit housing of Figures 2 and 3.
  • Figure 5 shows 4 differently shaped plastic radiation conductors or lenses fastened to a common mold sprue.
  • Figure 5a shows the lens structure on the housing of Figure 3 as disclosed in earlier application Serial No. 08/407,696.
  • Figure 6 shows one of the conductors of Figure 5 and shows the detail of its mounting flange and snaps.
  • Figure 7 is a top view of Figure 6.
  • Figure 8 is a detailed view of the mounting flange and snaps of Figures 6 and 7.
  • Figure 9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the receiver/ballast control circuit of Figure 3 with the lens of Figures 6 and 7 located within the wire-way of the fixture, and connected internally of the fixture to the dimming ballast leads.
  • Figure 9a is an enlarged detail drawing of the connector structure of Figure 9.
  • Figure 10 is a view of the bottom or light output side of a fluorescent light fixture with a prismatic lens which contains the novel infrared receiver of the invention.
  • Figure 11 is a cross-section of Figure 10, taken across the section line 11-11 in Figure 10.
  • Figure 12a shows a novel radiation receiver/ballast control with an infrared shield covering the radiation conductor except for its very tip.
  • Figure 12b shows a radiation receiver/ballast control with an infrared shield and focusing cone.
  • Figure 13 is a cross-section of a fixture like that of Figure 11 but with a parabolic louver instead of a prismatic lens and shows the manner in which the radiation receiver protrudes through the bottom plane of the lens.
  • Figure 14 is a perspective view of an alternative type of fixture with a parabolic louver showing an alternative placement of the radiation receiver/ballast control circuit and its infrared conductor rod.
  • Figure 15 is a schematic cross-section of a compact fluorescent down-light fixture equipped with the receiver/ballast control circuit and the radiation receiver of the invention.
  • Figure 16 is a schematic cross-section like that of Figure 15 of a modified compact down-light fixture containing the receiver/ballast control circuit and the novel end light fiber optics of the invention.
  • Figure 16a is a cross-sectional view of a known end light fiber optics for conduction of visible light.
  • Figure 17 is an exploded cross-sectional view of the mounting bushing which mounts the end light fiber optics of Figure 16 to the ceiling tile.
  • Figure 18 is a cross-section of Figure 17 taken across section lines 18-18 in Figure 17.
  • FIG 19 schematically shows the application of the novel invention to an incandescent canopy fixture.
  • Figure 20 is a flow diagram of the program installed in the microcontroller of Figure 1 to prevent operation of the system by stray infrared radiation.
  • Figure 21 is a block diagram showing the receiver circuit and ballast circuit integrated into a common housing.
  • Figure 22 shows a semi-rigid lightpipe structure.
  • Figure 23 shows another semi-rigid lightpipe.
  • a single radiation receiver/ballast control circuit 20 contains a circuit consisting of a power supply 21, an infrared signal receiver 22, an EEPROM circuit 23, a microcontroller 24 and a dimmer circuit 25 which includes an appropriate semiconductor power switching device.
  • An on/off power switching device 26 such as a triac or relay contacts or the like can be included in series with the ballast power wire and is operable from an output from microcontroller 24.
  • receiver 22 could respond to any desired narrow band radiation, it is preferably a receiver of radiation in the infrared band.
  • Radiation receiver/ballast control circuit 20 is mounted within a lighting fixture 30 as will be later described in more detail.
  • Fixture 30 also contains a dimming ballast 31 of known variety which can energize one or more gas discharge lamps, such as 32-watt fluorescent lamps, in a controlled manner.
  • Ballast 31 may be a dimming ballast known as the "Hi-Lume” ballast or the "ECO-10" ballast, each sold by Lutron Electronics Co., Inc., the assignee of the present invention.
  • Ballast 31 typically has three input leads taken from radiation receiver/ballast control circuit 20, including lead SH (switched hot), lead DH (dim hot) and N (neutral).
  • the ballast can, however, have control arrangements other than those using three input leads. For example, a 0-10 volt control can be used, with its typical four-lead wire system (hot, neutral, purple and gray), as used for low voltage controlled ballasts.
  • Input leads SH (switched hot) and N (neutral) in Figure 1 are connected to receiver/ballast control circuit 20.
  • receiver/ballast control circuit 20 and ballast 31 are both within fixture 30, all wiring interconnections between the two are also within the fixture.
  • an infrared transmitter of known variety is employed.
  • transmitter 40 which is a known type of raise/lower transmitter.
  • Transmitter 40 is a small hand-held unit which has an "up" control button 41 and a down control button 42. Pressing either of these buttons 41 or 42 will cause the generation of a narrowly focused coded beam of infrared radiation 43 (with an 8° beam angle) which can illuminate the IR sensor in receiver 22 to cause the lamps controlled by ballast to increase or decrease, respectively, their output light.
  • a plurality of spaced fixtures 30 in a single room can be individually controlled by a single transmitter 40 from almost any location in most rooms.
  • transmitter 50 may be used in place of transmitter 40.
  • transmitter 50 is of the type sold by Lutron for the remote control of wall mounted dimmer controls sold under the trademark, Gardner Eye.
  • the transmitter 50 has an up/down control 51 and a plurality of push buttons 52 which correspond to, and place the ballast 31 in one of a plurality of preset dimmer conditions. Its structure and operation is described in U.S. Patent 5,191,265.
  • either of the transmitters 40 or 50 may also be used to calibrate the dim settings of the lamps being controlled in the manner described in U.S. Patent 5,191,265.
  • low end calibration, high end calibration, and other parameter calibrations can be accomplished by pressing combinations of preset buttons 52 to send out appropriately coded signals.
  • the structure of radiation receiver/ballast control circuit 20 of Figure 1 is shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4.
  • the radiation receiver/ballast control circuit 20 is housed in a conventional plastic back box 60 which has projecting mounting ears 61 and 62.
  • a circuit board 63 is mounted to yoke plate 70 on conventional snap-in posts 64 and 65 ( Figure 3).
  • Circuit board 63 carries infrared sensor 22, or an equivalent radiation sensor for the particular carrier used to carry the remote signal and also carries integrated circuits including the power supply 21, microcontroller 24 and EEPROM 23 and, in some cases, the power semiconductor 25 of Figure 1.
  • Leads SH, DH and N extend through an opening 66 in the housing 60.
  • a further positive on/off switching device can also be added to act as a positive on/off sensor switching device to switch the ballast power.
  • the side of housing 60 is ordinarily closed by a metal yoke.
  • the yoke plate 70 is formed of plastic and has a hole 71 cut in it which is transparent to the infrared or other signal carrying radiation which is used.
  • the sensor 22 can be illuminated through plate 70.
  • Velcro tape supplied in reel form, has two cooperating tapes releasably fastened together with a pressure-sensitive adhesive on their outer surfaces. The adhesive surfaces are covered by release strips. Two lengths 75 of such tape are cut to fit over portions of yoke 70 as shown best in Figure 4. The release strips are removed from upper Velcro strips 76 and the Velcro strips are adhered to the bottom of yoke 70. When the housing 60 is to be mounted, the release strip on the bottoms of tape strips 77 are removed ( Figure 3).
  • the housing 60 is then positioned so that the light sensor 22 is disposed above the radiation receiving openings 80 and 71 ( Figure 3) in wire-way cover 79 or on some other portion of the fixture.
  • the lower strip is then pressed into contact with the rear interior surface of the lighting fixture wire-way cover 79 ( Figure 3).
  • Other fasteners can be used such as bolts, rivets, magnets, double-sided tape and the like to fix housing 20 to the fixture 30.
  • a snap-in infrared lens 81 was snapped into opening 71 as shown in Figure 5a.
  • the lens 81 is designed to have any desired angle of acceptance of incident radiation, and hence different lenses may be used to suit the requirements of a particular application.
  • the lens 81 may be a fresnel lens 82 so that infrared radiation coming toward lens 81 from even very shallow angles to the ceiling surface will be refracted along its axis and toward sensor 22, through hole 71 in yoke 70.
  • a light (infrared) conducting fiber can convey sensed radiation to the sensor 22 if the sensor 22 is removed from the receiver.
  • the fresnel lens 82 is replaced by an elongated light conductor 83 ( Figures 5 to 9 and 9a).
  • Lens 83 in a preferred embodiment of the invention, is a molded plastic lens which may be co-molded with a plurality of other lenses of diverse shape, such as lenses 84, 85 and 86 in Figure 5 which share a common sprue 87 from which they can be easily removed.
  • the lens 83 is preferably made from an acrylic plastic.
  • Other plastics can be used, for example, polycarbonates, which conduct the sensed radiation used in the system from an exterior end to an interior end near a radiation sensor.
  • the assemblage of 4 lenses 83 to 87 can be shipped to all customers, who will select the shape best adapted to their installation, as will be later discussed.
  • the lens 83 has a radiused end 83a and a square end 83b.
  • the radiused end 83a faces the radiation sensor 22 (see Figure 9) and the square end 83b is the end facing outwardly of the fixture as will be described.
  • FIG. 9 shows receiver housing 60 fixed in position between a fixture rear surface 78 and wire-way cover 79 as previously described.
  • Figure 9 also shows the dimming ballast 90 which is also fixed to fixture surface 78 in any suitable manner.
  • Ballast 90 which may replace a non-dimming ballast in a retrofit installation, has three input leads SH, DH and N which are conveniently connected to corresponding leads from radiation receiver/ballast control circuit 20 within the fixture interior.
  • Output ballast leads 91 are connected to the lamps.
  • Ballast 90 can be any desired dimming ballast, for example, the Lutron® Hi-Lume® ballast.
  • the installer need only drill the small hole 80 in the wire-way cover 79.
  • the ballast 90 and radiation receiver/ballast control circuit 20 are then easily installed and wired together and the wire-way cover is reinstalled with lens 83 aligned to the position of hole 80 in wire-way cover 79.
  • retrofitting is easily done in a short time.
  • the elongated lens for example lens 83 of Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 is arranged to snap into the opening 71.
  • lens 83 may be molded with a flange 83c ( Figures 6 to 8 and 9a) and with spaced projections or snaps 83d, 83e and 83f ( Figures 8 and 9a).
  • the projections can be forced through opening 71 to snap over the top of plate 70 to hold flange 83c against the bottom surface of plate 70.
  • the fit is sufficiently loose to allow the rotation of lens 83 within opening 81.
  • the molded lens 83 had a length from flange 83c to end 83b of about 4 inches, with the bottom section from flange 83c to end 83a being about 0.45 inch.
  • the diameter of the rod 83 was about 0.248 inch and the diameter of flange 83c was about 0.348 inch and its axial length was about 0.050 inch.
  • the space between flange 83c and the plane of the facing surfaces of projections 83d, 83e and 83f was about 0.060 inch.
  • the projections are tapered barbs having a length of about 0.030 inch and a height of 0.015 inch.
  • the end 83a had a radius of 0.125 inch.
  • connection structures could be employed.
  • a friction fit could be used, and a permanent bolted arrangement could be employed.
  • the same fit is used for any of the molded lenses of Figure 5 or of a fiber optic cable if one is used so that the connection of housing 60 to external optics is universal.
  • Figures 10 and 11 show a conventional fluorescent light fixture 100 with a prismatic lens cover 101.
  • a typical fixture of this type will be two feet wide and four feet long and will contain four 32-watt fluorescent bulbs 102, 103, 104 and 105.
  • All wiring and the ballast 90 for the lamps is contained behind wire-way cover 79 which may be bolted or otherwise fastened to the fixture rear 78.
  • Ballast 90 and radiation receiver/ballast control circuit 20 are contained within the fixture so that wiring connecting the two is not exterior of the fixture.
  • the lens 84 projects out of the plane of the bottom surface of the lens cover 101 and through an opening in the lens cover, or in its support. Note that in Figure 11 the rod 84 is straight.
  • the lens 83 would be used, with its elongated portion projecting vertically.
  • the end of the lens project beyond the surface of lens cover 101, any shadowing effect of the lens to line of sight radiation, and unanticipated reflection is eliminated.
  • the end of the rod 84 either flush with, or protrudes beyond the bottom plane of lens 101. Best results have been found with the lens protruding about 1 ⁇ 2", but it can protrude by other distances.
  • Figure 13 shows a fluorescent light fixture with a louver or parabolic lens cover 110 in place of the prismatic lens 101 of Figure 11.
  • the fixture of Figure 13 has two wire-way covers 111 and 112 for three lamps 113, 114 and 115.
  • the ballast (not shown) and the radiation receiver/ballast control circuit 20 are mounted within cover 111.
  • the radiation receiver/ballast control circuit 20 is preferably mounted on one of the sloped sides of cover 111.
  • Its lens 83 in accordance with the invention, projects to or beyond the plane of the bottom of lens cover 110 to be free of any shadowing or reflection of the line of sight radiation from the remote transmitter of Figure 1 at lens 83. Note that lens 83 can be rotated to any position necessary. Best results have been obtained with the lens protruding about 1 ⁇ 2", but it can protrude any amount.
  • Figure 12a shows a further improvement wherein lens 83 is covered with an infrared shield 502 except for the very end which is exposed. This blocks unwanted direct IR radiation from the lamps from reaching the IR sensor, but allows desired IR signals to be received at the exposed end and conducted along rod 83 to the IR sensor.
  • This IR shield is shown with the bent rod 83, but can be used with a rod of any shape.
  • Figure 14 shows a fixture 116 with a pivotally mounted louvered lens cover 117, shown in the open position.
  • a ballast 90 is fixed to the interior of the fixture.
  • a housing 60 is then fixed to the bottom of end channel 118, and a straight plastic lens 84 extends outwardly and is of sufficient length to extend to or beyond the bottom plane 117a of the lens cover 117 when the cover is closed.
  • a cut-out 117b is formed in the lens cover flange 117c to permit opening and closing of the lens cover 117 and permits the lens 84 to protrude through the cover 117 when closed and to provide sufficient clearance to open the cover 117 without disconnecting lens 84.
  • FIG 15 shows the manner in which the invention may be applied to a compact fluorescent down-light fixture housing 120.
  • a compact fluorescent lamp 121 is contained within reflector 122.
  • a dimming ballast 123 is fixed to the exterior of housing 120 and its input wires 124 (SH, DH and N leads) are connected to related output wires 125 of radiation receiver/ballast control circuit 20.
  • Radiation receiver/ballast control circuit 20 is mounted internally of fixture housing 120 as desired and lens 86 protrudes through an opening in housing 120 to be exposed to infrared signal illumination.
  • the wiring connections between radiation receiver/ballast control circuit 20 and ballast 123 are made within the interior of housing 120.
  • the output wiring 126 from ballast 123 to lamps 121 is also contained within the interior of housing 120.
  • All input power lines (Switched Hot and Neutral) 127 come into housing 120 through wiring conduit 128.
  • an unobtrusive infrared sensor is fixed to or retrofitted into an existing fixture 120 and all wiring connections are kept within the interior of housing 120.
  • Figure 16 shows another type of fixture for compact fluorescent lamp 121 and a novel means for bringing the infrared signal to the sensor in housing 60.
  • the housing 130 is a cone which is suitably mounted flush with the ceiling tiles of a ceiling 131.
  • a wiring box 132 is fixed to cone 130 and a dimming ballast 133 and radiation receiver/ballast control circuit 20 are mounted on opposite sides of box 132 and are interconnected within the box 132.
  • Input power is brought into the fixture via metal conduit 137 and the output lines to lamp 121 are contained within conduit 134. Since this structure physically removes radiation receiver/ballast control circuit 20 from the area of ceiling 131, a "light pipe" 135 which terminates at lens 81 is snap-mounted into the ceiling tile 131.
  • the light pipe previously used has been a flexible fiber optics line with connection ferules at either end. Such structures are quite expensive.
  • a much less expensive flexible conductor is used for light pipe 135 which was previously thought useful only for visible light rather than infrared at 880 nanometers.
  • end light fiber optics is employed for light pipe 135 which consists of a silicon monomer gel core 135a wrapped with a Teflon® sheath 135b and a black plastic jacket 135c.
  • the Teflon® sheath 135b is employed to ensure internal reflection as radiation traverses the length of the core 135a and the black jacket 135c is employed to shield the core 135a from ultraviolet light which tends to cause the core 135a to yellow.
  • the gel core which has a diameter, for example, of 1/8 inch was believed to attenuate infrared severely and could not be used for infrared transmission. We have found that lengths up to 24 inches of such light pipes transmit ample infrared at 880 nanometers to be perfectly adequate for use in most systems.
  • the line 135 is an end light fiber optics, for example, part No. EL 100 sold by Lumenyte International Corporation. It has a length less than about 24 inches and a minimum bend radius of about 1 inch. The material is much less expensive than convention infrared fiber optics with connection ferrules.
  • the novel connector consists of a plastic bushing 201 having a flange end 202 and a thin integral rigid extending hollow cylinder 203.
  • the cylinder 203 may have a serrated or saw-tooth end 204 so that the bushing 201 can be used by hand oscillation about its axis, to cut a hole in the tile 131 which will snugly receive the cylinder 203 used to cut the hole.
  • Flange 202 has a central opening which snugly receives the outer diameter of a short length of light pipe 135.
  • the black jacket 135c ( Figure 16a) is removed from the light pipe for an end portion of its length that fits through bushing 201.
  • An external coupler 210 or trim ring which is a molded plastic part, has a finishing flange 211, adapted to cover the end of cylinder 203 and the opening in tile 131 and press against the bottom of ceiling tile 131.
  • Ring 210 has a hollow central extension 232.
  • the external diameter of extension 232 snugly into the interior of sleeve 203 while the end of light pipe 135 fits through the center of and beyond the bottom of ring 210.
  • a plastic red fresnel lens 235 (which is like lens 81 of Figure 5a) fits snugly into the bottom of fitting 210 to cover the free input end of light pipe 135.
  • the fitting 210 will fit against the bottom surface of tile 131 when assembled, as shown in Figure 16.
  • Figure 22 shows a novel semi-rigid optical structure. This combines features of the rigid lenses 83-86 with those of the flexible light pipe 135.
  • the rigid lenses do not require the free end to be secured, but the position of the free end is predetermined by the shape of the lens.
  • the free end of the flexible light pipe can be placed in any location, but must be secured in order to maintain a given position.
  • the novel semi-rigid optical structure illustrated in Fig. 22 is constructed so that it can be bent by hand to place the free end at any desired location for best reception of an IR signal and will retain that position without having to be secured.
  • the novel light pipe 510 is similar to light pipe 135 with the addition of a semi-flexible wire 512 which is positioned under shielding 514.
  • Wire 512 is semi-flexible and the entire assembly can be bent to any desired shape by hand. However, the assembly is still rigid enough that, when the bending force is removed, the assembly is self-supporting and retains the desired shape in the manner of a pipe cleaner.
  • Figure 23 shows another novel semi-rigid optical structure. This structure also has the flexibility of the flexible light pipe and the ability to maintain a given position like the rigid lenses.
  • the novel semi-rigid optical structure illustrated in Figure 23 is of similar material to the rigid lens 83 (e.g., an acrylic plastic) but the polymerization process has been shortened to allow the lens to be flexible and also maintain a given shape without the need for the semi-flexible wire 512.
  • the rigid lens 83 e.g., an acrylic plastic
  • a copper wire 512 of #16 AWG has been found to provide adequate stiffening but still allows the light pipe 510 to be semi-flexible and bendable by hand to a given desired permanent position.
  • the copper wire is shown in parallel with the fiber, but it could be wrapped around fiber or made into a continuous shield. Materials with similar properties to copper can be used.
  • an incandescent canopy fixture 140 includes a wiring box 141 fixed to ceiling 142.
  • a support plate 143 extends across box 141 and receives a hollow threaded screw 144 which supports a lamp holder 145 from chain 146.
  • a radiation receiver/dimmer housing 20 having a lens 83 protruding external of housing 140 is mounted within the housing 140.
  • Power wiring from box 141 is connected to radiation receiver/dimmer 20 which contains a power semiconductor dimmer (25 in Figure 1) which is controlled by infrared signals received through lens 83.
  • Output wiring from radiation receiver/dimmer 20, including the dim hot and neutral wires, extends through the center of support screw 144 to the incandescent lamp or lamps in holder 145.
  • incandescent lamp fixtures distributed over the surface of a ceiling can each be adapted as shown and described in Figure 19 to be selectively dimmed to suit individual users in different locations in the room.
  • such lamps can be mounted on centers greater than about two feet and still be discriminated from one another by an infrared transmitter having a beam dispersion of about 8°.
  • novel receiver of the invention can also be used on wall sconces and lamp cords and the like, as well as on recessed incandescent downlights similar in design to those of Figures 15 and 16 but designed for use with incandescent rather than fluorescent lamps.
  • the invention can be applied to track lighting fixtures where the receiver/dimmer is built into an adaptor which mounts to the track and the fixture to be controlled is mounted to the adaptor.
  • a single receiver can control a plurality of ballasts which are in spaced fixtures.
  • Fixtures equipped with the receiver of the invention can be used with added inputs, such as photocell detectors for adjusting lamp intensity in accordance with ambient light.
  • the novel receiver can also be used with external dimming controls in which dimming of lamps can be accomplished under the control of an infrared transmitter, an occupancy detector, or a manual control or timer or the like as is described in copending application Serial No.
  • a novel control is employed for the microcontroller 24 which increases the sensitivity of the system to input infrared data signals. More specifically, since there is extraneous infrared in the ambient coming, for example, from the light being controlled and other sources, means are necessary to ensure that a valid signal was received from the remote transmitter before a change was executed.
  • the infrared signal consists of a continuing sequence of 8 start bits, followed by 24 data bits. To ensure the presence of valid signals, each of the bits is sampled four times to see if they are high. All four samples must be high for the bit to be considered high. This system is termed "4 of 4 voting".
  • the system recognizes a valid start bit.
  • the voting is then relaxed to a more sensitive "3 of 4 voting" standard.
  • the system remains at 3 of 4 voting if and only if a repeatable command has been decoded (raise or lower light level or program mode). If the command is not repeatable, the voting returns to 4 of 4.
  • the system then acts with the 3 of 4 voting standard until no new data is received or until 1.5 seconds have elapsed since the last command was received. Thus, the system will revert to an "insensitive" state when no valid signal is present (and thus is less responsive to spurious infrared signals) but will be more sensitive in the presence of a valid signal.
  • Figure 20 is a flow chart of the novel system described above.
  • the processor operates with a 4 of 4 voting standard.
  • Data enters the sample infrared port 300, and the 4 of 4 determination is made with respect to the first 8 start bits of whether all 32 samples (4 for each bit) have been high (block 301). If so, a determination is made that a valid start byte has been detected (block 302).
  • the microcontroller relaxes the voting standard to 3 of 4 voting (block 303) and the next 24 bits (data bits) are sampled with the relaxed standard (block 304).
  • the data received is decoded and acted upon (block 305).
  • the system is constantly sampling its IR port.
  • the sampling occurs at a rate that will yield 4 samples per transmitted bit.
  • four adjacent samples must be high if the microcontroller is going to consider a bit high.
  • the system stays in its insensitive state until it has received 32 consecutive high samples (8 high bits). After the 32nd high sample, the system has interpreted a start bit, and relaxes the voting standards to 3 of 4 (3 out of the last 4 or 4 out of the last 4 samples must be high to interpret a high bit).
  • the voting standards remain at 3 of 4 until the 24 bits of data information are received and decoded.
  • the standards remain at 3 of 4 if and only if a repeatable command has been decoded (raise or lower light level or program mode). If the command is not repeatable (go to 100% light or go to lowest light level), then the voting standards are changed back to 4 of 4.
  • the voting standards are put back to 4 of 4 voting to prevent false start byte triggers.
  • the ballast 31 and the radiation receiver ballast control circuit may be combined in a common single housing and share a common power supply and other commonalities.
  • the novel combination is shown in Figure 21 in block diagram and schematic form. More specifically, in Figure 21, all components are mounted within a common housing 400, shown in dotted line, and having approximately the same volume as the housing for ballast 31 of Figure 1.
  • the wall of housing 400 is penetrated by a light pipe 135 of structure similar to that of Figure 16, although any desired light receiver including those of the other preceding figures and of application Serial No. could be used.
  • the light pipe 135, however, is preferred because of the usual remote location of the ballast in the fixture.
  • the components within the housing 400 will include an RF1 filter 401 connected to the a-c mains and a rectifier 402.
  • the d-c output of rectifier 402 is connected through inductor 403 and diode 404 to the inverter comprising MOSFETs 405 and 406.
  • the node between MOSFETs 405 and 406 is connected to ballast transformer 407 which is coupled to the fluorescent lamp 408 or plural lamps, as desired.
  • Capacitor 411 is in series with inductor 407 and resonates therewith at the desired frequency at which lamp 408 is driven.
  • a further MOSFET 409 and capacitor 410 are provided for the conventional boost converter shown.
  • a ballast control IC 420 which is a MOSFET driver, is provided to control the MOSFETs 409, 405 and 406 in an appropriate and known manner.
  • the driver 420 is controlled, in turn, by microcontroller 24 ( Figure 1).
  • ballast 31 All of the structure given above, except for the microcontroller 24, are parts of the conventional ballast 31 of Figure 1. Also included within the housing of ballast 31 is a power supply for driving the control ICs 420. A power supply for ICs 420 is shown in Figure 21 as power supply 421. Power supply 421 derives its power from the positive output terminal of power supply 402, shown as the output line "A" which is connected to the input of chip power supply 421. The receiver structure in Figure 21 also has the IR receiver circuit 22, microcontroller 24 and E 2 23 within the housing 400.
  • the placement of the components of receiver 20 of Figure 1 results in economies of commonality of components and a reduction of space.
  • the same power supply 421 for ballast control 420 can also serve the purpose of power supply 21 of Figure 1.
  • a single circuit board could be used for all circuits.
  • the separate housing 60 of Figure 2, 3 and 4 is eliminated.
  • microcontroller 24 and ballast control IC 420 can be combined together to further reduce cost.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Arrangement Of Elements, Cooling, Sealing, Or The Like Of Lighting Devices (AREA)
  • Non-Portable Lighting Devices Or Systems Thereof (AREA)
  • Circuit Arrangement For Electric Light Sources In General (AREA)
EP96104446A 1995-03-21 1996-03-20 Verbessertes System zur individuellen Fernsteuerung räumlich getrennter Leuchteneinheiten Withdrawn EP0734196A1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US08/407,696 US5637964A (en) 1995-03-21 1995-03-21 Remote control system for individual control of spaced lighting fixtures
US585111 1996-01-11
US407696 1996-01-11
US08/585,111 US6037721A (en) 1996-01-11 1996-01-11 System for individual and remote control of spaced lighting fixtures

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0734196A1 true EP0734196A1 (de) 1996-09-25

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EP96104446A Withdrawn EP0734196A1 (de) 1995-03-21 1996-03-20 Verbessertes System zur individuellen Fernsteuerung räumlich getrennter Leuchteneinheiten

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Country Link
EP (1) EP0734196A1 (de)
JP (2) JP3955339B2 (de)
KR (1) KR960036860A (de)
AU (1) AU701880B2 (de)
CA (1) CA2172190A1 (de)

Cited By (8)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0871105A1 (de) * 1997-04-12 1998-10-14 TRILUX-LENZE GmbH & Co. KG Beleuchtungssystem
WO1999012401A1 (de) * 1997-08-29 1999-03-11 Robert Bosch Gmbh Schaltungsanordnung zur ansteuerung wenigstens einer kaltkathodenfluoreszenzlampe
WO2003043384A1 (en) * 2001-11-14 2003-05-22 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Architecture of ballast with integrated rf interface
EP1408276A2 (de) * 2002-10-09 2004-04-14 Manfred Kluth Beleuchtungseinrichtung mit Sensoren
EP1894446A2 (de) * 2005-06-06 2008-03-05 Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. Dimmerschalter für beleuchtungsschaltungen mit einem dreiwegschalter
WO2008118412A2 (en) * 2007-03-24 2008-10-02 Laserweld, Inc. Targeted switching of electrical appliances and method
US8201965B2 (en) 2009-03-19 2012-06-19 Jose Luiz Yamada Modular light fixtures
CN102588765A (zh) * 2011-01-13 2012-07-18 阳泰电子股份有限公司 感应控制的灯具装置

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US4236101A (en) * 1978-08-18 1980-11-25 Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. Light control system
EP0062004A1 (de) * 1981-03-31 1982-10-06 Giuseppe Baccanelli Elektrische Lichtenergiesparvorrichtung
EP0482680A1 (de) * 1991-02-27 1992-04-29 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Programmierbares Beleuchtungssystem
DE4124794A1 (de) * 1991-07-26 1993-01-28 Werner Mielke Beleuchtungsanlage
US5404080A (en) * 1989-09-21 1995-04-04 Etta Industries, Inc. Lamp brightness control circuit with ambient light compensation

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5637964A (en) * 1995-03-21 1997-06-10 Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. Remote control system for individual control of spaced lighting fixtures

Patent Citations (5)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4236101A (en) * 1978-08-18 1980-11-25 Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. Light control system
EP0062004A1 (de) * 1981-03-31 1982-10-06 Giuseppe Baccanelli Elektrische Lichtenergiesparvorrichtung
US5404080A (en) * 1989-09-21 1995-04-04 Etta Industries, Inc. Lamp brightness control circuit with ambient light compensation
EP0482680A1 (de) * 1991-02-27 1992-04-29 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Programmierbares Beleuchtungssystem
DE4124794A1 (de) * 1991-07-26 1993-01-28 Werner Mielke Beleuchtungsanlage

Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0871105A1 (de) * 1997-04-12 1998-10-14 TRILUX-LENZE GmbH & Co. KG Beleuchtungssystem
WO1999012401A1 (de) * 1997-08-29 1999-03-11 Robert Bosch Gmbh Schaltungsanordnung zur ansteuerung wenigstens einer kaltkathodenfluoreszenzlampe
WO2003043384A1 (en) * 2001-11-14 2003-05-22 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Architecture of ballast with integrated rf interface
EP1408276A2 (de) * 2002-10-09 2004-04-14 Manfred Kluth Beleuchtungseinrichtung mit Sensoren
EP1408276A3 (de) * 2002-10-09 2006-06-21 Manfred Kluth Beleuchtungseinrichtung mit Sensoren
EP1894446A2 (de) * 2005-06-06 2008-03-05 Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. Dimmerschalter für beleuchtungsschaltungen mit einem dreiwegschalter
EP1894446B1 (de) * 2005-06-06 2019-08-28 Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. Dimmerschalter für beleuchtungsschaltungen mit einem dreiwegschalter
WO2008118412A2 (en) * 2007-03-24 2008-10-02 Laserweld, Inc. Targeted switching of electrical appliances and method
WO2008118412A3 (en) * 2007-03-24 2009-04-30 Laserweld Inc Targeted switching of electrical appliances and method
US8201965B2 (en) 2009-03-19 2012-06-19 Jose Luiz Yamada Modular light fixtures
CN102588765A (zh) * 2011-01-13 2012-07-18 阳泰电子股份有限公司 感应控制的灯具装置

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JP2006066403A (ja) 2006-03-09
CA2172190A1 (en) 1996-09-22
AU4820196A (en) 1996-10-03
JP3955339B2 (ja) 2007-08-08
AU701880B2 (en) 1999-02-11
KR960036860A (ko) 1996-10-28
JPH08321209A (ja) 1996-12-03

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