EP3741192B1 - Installation and configuration of dali devices for lighting devices - Google Patents

Description

The invention generally relates to the installation and configuration of operating devices for lighting devices that can be addressed via a wired bus, such as a DALI bus. The invention relates in particular to a lighting system with a cloud-based control center, a hand-held device and several operating devices for lighting devices, which are connected to the cloud-based control center.

Operating devices for lighting devices with a DALI bus interface are well known from the prior art. The DALI protocol allows addressed communication with an operating device for lighting, for further details see e.g. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Addressable_Lighting_Interface

When installing/configuring such a DALI operating device, an operating address is assigned before actual operation.

The US 2006/125426 A1 discloses a distributed intelligence ballast system and an advanced lighting control protocol.

The WO 2015/148929A1 concerns the configuration of lighting electronics via database and mobile device.

The WO 03/077610 A1 shows the initialization of radio-controlled lighting systems.

The WO 2018/024528 A1 discloses a building automation system with commissioning device.

The WO2006/095315A1 relates to the identification of partitions for assigning control of a wireless lighting system.

The invention relates in particular to facilitating the allocation of operating addresses to such operating devices, as well as simplifying the configuration of operating devices when replacing a luminaire with an operating device by a new luminaire with a different operating device.

The invention is set out in the appended claims. This object is achieved according to the invention by the features of the independent claims. The dependent claims further develop the central idea of the invention in a particularly advantageous manner.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a bus-capable operating device for lighting devices is proposed, which has output connections for supplying at least one lighting device, such as one or more LEDs, OLEDs, etc.

Furthermore, the operating device has a bus interface for connecting a wired bus, for example in the form of a pair of bus lines and thus with two connections. The bus interface is designed for a DALI bus. The bus interface has a bus controller.

In addition to this wired bus interface, the operating device according to the invention has a wireless interface, namely a Bluetooth interface, with the wireless interface also having a controller.

According to the present invention, the operating device has a non-volatile memory that can be accessed by both the bus controller (of the wired bus) and the controller of the wireless interface. This has advantages in particular when installing and configuring the operating device according to the invention, such as when assigning operating addresses and/or replacing an operating device with a new operating device.

The operating device is designed to send a signal via the wireless interface, for example via a command via the bus interface indicates that the operating device has not yet been assigned an operating address. For example, an operating device according to the invention can send out a signal via Bluetooth that does not yet have an operating address assigned to the associated operating device.

The operating device is also designed to evaluate wirelessly transmitted Bluetooth beacons, namely with regard to their signal strength, but also, for example, with regard to a transmission ID contained in the beacon, i.e. identification information of the transmitting Bluetooth device. In particular, a beacon can be used that is based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or Bluetooth Smart technology. According to Wikipedia it is BLE
a radio technology that can be used to network devices within a range of around 10 meters. Compared to "classic " Bluetooth, BLE is said to have significantly lower power consumption and lower costs with a similar communication range. Technically, Bluetooth Smart is not backwards compatible; newer Bluetooth devices must also support the LE protocol stack in order to connect.

The invention also relates to a lamp that has such an operating device.

Furthermore, the invention proposes a system that has one or more operating devices of the type mentioned above, in combination with a hand-held device (for example tablet, smartphone, notebook computer, etc.). The handheld device is designed to evaluate the Bluetooth beacons wirelessly emitted by an operating device with regard to the signal strength. This can also be done with regard to the direction, but also with regard to a transmitter ID contained in the beacon.

The system also has a central office that is cloud-based. The operating devices can be connected to this control center wirelessly or by wire. The connection can be made directly between the operating devices and the control center, and/or by switching on a hand-held device. For example, can The communication between the operating device and the handheld device can take place according to the Bluetooth standard, while the communication between the handheld device and the control center can take place according to a WLAN protocol.

A heat map is created in the control center that shows the signal strengths and/or the IDs of the wireless interfaces (for example Bluetooth interfaces) of the operating devices at different coordinates of a room in which the operating devices are arranged. The heatmap is a kind of map regarding the Bluetooth signal strengths, assigned to the corresponding (2d) position.

A further aspect of the invention relates to a method for configuring an operating device that is preferably newly used in a system - as a replacement for an existing luminaire with an operating device. After replacing an operating device present in such a system with a new operating device, a comparison can be made as to how the heat map has changed in the course of the replacement (i.e. in particular the removal of the existing operating device), i.e. what the effect of removing the existing operating device is the heatmap was. From this “delta” it can be concluded what the identity of the light that was to be removed was. Thus, using this identity, configuration data can be downloaded, for example, from the control center to the newly used operating device, so that this operating device is then configured identically to the replaced device.

Further features, advantages and properties of the present invention will now be explained with reference to the single figure of the drawings.

The figure shows schematically a luminaire 1, which has a DALI controller with interface 5 and a Bluetooth module 2 in terms of communication capabilities. According to the invention, this lamp 1 has a persistent memory with a DALI configuration, whereby both the Bluetooth module 2 and the DALI controller 5 can access this memory 4.

The lamp 1 also has lighting means that are controlled by an assigned control circuit. This control takes place depending on signals received via the DALI interface 5, which is connected to the DALI bus 6. These can be, for example, on and off commands, dimming commands, etc.

In addition to the lamp 1, the system also includes other lamps 7, 8, all of which are connected via the DALI bus 6, with a bus control center 30 typically also being provided on the DALI bus. This bus control center 30 can also take over the power supply for the DALI bus. Alternatively or additionally, decentralized bus voltage supplies for the DALI bus 6 can also be provided in one or more of the lights 1, 7, 8.

The system shown also has a handheld device 9, which can be, for example, a smartphone, tablet, etc. The handheld device 9 is equipped with a Bluetooth interface 10, by means of which it can communicate with the lights 1, 7, 8. Furthermore, it has a further wireless communication module 11, for example according to a WLAN, UMTS, LTE, etc. standard, by means of which it can communicate, for example, with a cloud-based central office 12.

The Bluetooth communication between the lights and/or between lights and the handheld device 9 is such that the receiver can determine the Bluetooth signal strength, but preferably also ID information that identifies the transmitting Bluetooth participant.

• Beispielsweise kann bei der Vergabe von Betriebsadressen an die DALI-Betriebsgeräte der Leuchten 1, 7, 8 ein menschlicher Installateur mit einem Handgerät 9 in dem Raum, in dem die Leuchten 1, 7, 8 angeordnet sind, die Bluetooth-Beacons der Leuchten empfangen. Dabei sind die Betriebsgeräte der Leuchten 1, 7, 8 derart ausgestaltet, dass nur diejenigen Leuchten Bluetooth-Beacons aussenden, denen noch keine Betriebsadresse zugeteilt wurde. Es kann beispielsweise durch eine entsprechende Betriebsart erreicht werden, in die die Betriebsgeräte der Leuchten 1, 7, 8 durch ein Signal über den DALI-Bus 6 versetzt werden.
  • Alternativ oder zusätzlich kann indessen auch in der Bluetooth-Information selbst kodiert sein, dass das sendende Betriebsgerät noch keine Betriebsadresse zugewiesen hat.
  • Die Zuordnung eines sendenden Bluetooth-Gerätes zu der tatsächlichen physikalischen Leuchte erfolgt anhand der Signalstärke.
• Die erfindungsgemäße Ausgestaltung gemäß der Figur kann auch vorteilhafterweise angewandt werden, um bei Austausch von Leuchten die Neukonfiguration zu vereinfachen.
  • Wenn eine zuvor bereits konfigurierte Leuchte ausgetauscht wird, kann die neu eingesetzte Leuchte die Adresse (Betriebsadresse) und die Konfiguration der zuvor installierten Leuchte übernehmen, indem sie über die Bluetooth-Beacons feststellt, welche Leuchte sie ersetzt hat. Sie ersetzt natürlich diejenige Leuchte, deren Bluetooth-Beacon in den zugehörigen Raum nicht mehr vorhanden ist.
  • Die Konfigurationsdaten sämtlicher Leuchten oder aber nur einer zu ersetzenden Leuchte können beispielsweise in der Cloud-basierten Zentrale 12 vorab abgelegt sein. Die Kommunikation zwischen der Cloud-basierten Zentrale 12 und den Leuchten 1, 7, 8 kann entweder direkt (über DALI oder Bluetooth) oder unter Einschaltung des Handgerätes 9 erfolgen.
  • Unter "Cloud-basiert" ist dabei zu verstehen, dass auf die Zentrale über das Internet zugegriffen werden kann.
  • Nach dem Einsetzen der neuen Leuchte kann diese die Konfigurationsdaten der ersetzten Leuchte übernehmen.
• In der vorzugsweise Cloud-basierten Zentrale 12 kann eine sogenannte 2d oder 3d Heatmap hinsichtlich der Bluetooth-Signalstärken angelegt sein. Eine Heatmap im Sinne der vorliegenden Erfindung ist eine kartographische Darstellung der Bluetooth-Beacon-Signalstärken mit zugeordneten Positionen in dem Raum, in dem die Leuchten 1, 7, 8 angeordnet sind. Diese Heatmap kann beispielsweise angelegt werden, indem ein menschlicher Benutzer den Raum beispielsweise mit dem Handgerät 9 abläuft, und somit das Handgerät 9 die Bluetooth-Signalstärke an den entsprechenden Positionen an dem Raum abspeichert und/oder an die Zentrale 12 übermittelt.
  Wenn eine Leuchte ausgetauscht wird, ändert sich natürlich auch die Heatmap, da natürlich die Bluetooth-Signalstärke der ersetzten Leuchte fehlen wird. Gemäß der Erfindung ist ein weiteres erneutes Kartographieren durch Ablaufen des entsprechenden Raumes nicht notwendig, wenn sich die neu eingesetzte Leuchte bei der Zentrale 12 anmeldet und dort automatisch in der Heatmap die neue Leuchte hinsichtlich ihrer Identifikation, Konfigurationsdaten und Signalstärke eingepflegt wird.

The following will now explain how a system according to the figure shown and explained above can be operated in an advantageous manner during installation and configuration:

• For example, when assigning operating addresses to the DALI operating devices of the lights 1, 7, 8, a human installer with a hand-held device 9 in the room in which the lights 1, 7, 8 are arranged Receive Bluetooth beacons from the lights. The operating devices of the lights 1, 7, 8 are designed in such a way that only those lights that have not yet been assigned an operating address emit Bluetooth beacons. It can be achieved, for example, by a corresponding operating mode in which the operating devices of the lights 1, 7, 8 are set by a signal via the DALI bus 6.
  • Alternatively or additionally, it can also be encoded in the Bluetooth information itself that the sending operating device has not yet assigned an operating address.
  • The assignment of a transmitting Bluetooth device to the actual physical light is based on the signal strength.
• The inventive design according to the figure can also be used advantageously to simplify reconfiguration when replacing lights.
  • If a previously configured light is replaced, the newly installed light can take over the address (operating address) and configuration of the previously installed light by determining which light it replaced via the Bluetooth beacons. Of course, it replaces the light whose Bluetooth beacon is no longer available in the corresponding room.
  • The configuration data of all lights or just one light to be replaced can, for example, be stored in advance in the cloud-based control center 12. The communication between the cloud-based control center 12 and the lights 1, 7, 8 can take place either directly (via DALI or Bluetooth) or by switching on the handheld device 9.
  • “Cloud-based” means that the headquarters can be accessed via the Internet.
  • After inserting the new light, it can adopt the configuration data of the replaced light.
• In the preferably cloud-based control center 12, a so-called 2d or 3d heatmap can be created with regard to the Bluetooth signal strengths. A heatmap in the sense of the present invention is a cartographic representation of the Bluetooth beacon signal strengths with assigned positions in the room in which the lights 1, 7, 8 are arranged. This heat map can be created, for example, by a human user walking through the room, for example with the handheld device 9, and thus the handheld device 9 stores the Bluetooth signal strength at the corresponding positions in the room and/or transmits it to the control center 12.
  If a light is replaced, the heatmap will of course also change, as the Bluetooth signal strength of the replaced light will of course be missing. According to the invention, further re-mapping by running through the corresponding room is not necessary if the newly inserted lamp registers at the control center 12 and the new lamp is automatically entered into the heat map there with regard to its identification, configuration data and signal strength.

Claims (3)

1. A lighting system comprising:

   - a cloud-based control center (12);

   - a hand-held device (9); and

   - a plurality of operating devices for lamps, wherein the operating devices are linked to the cloud-based control center (12);

   - wherein each operating device comprises:

   ∘ connections for supplying power to at least one lamp,

   ∘ a bus interface for connecting a wired DALI bus, wherein the bus interface comprises a bus controller (5),

   ∘ a Bluetooth interface (2), wherein the Bluetooth interface (2) comprises a controller,

   ∘ a non-volatile memory (4), wherein both the bus controller (5) and the controller of the Bluetooth interface (2) are configured to access the non-volatile memory (4),

   ∘ wherein the operating device is configured to emit a signal via a command via the bus interface by means of the Bluetooth interface (2), which signal indicates that an operating address has not yet been allocated to the operating device, and

   ∘ wherein the operating device is further configured to evaluate wirelessly transmitted Bluetooth beacons with regard to their signal strength;

   - wherein a heat map is established in the cloud-based control center (12) which represents the Bluetooth signal strengths of the operating devices at different coordinates of a space in which the operating devices are arranged; and

   - wherein the hand-held device (9) is designed to evaluate Bluetooth beacons transmitted wirelessly by each operating device with regard to their signal strength and to transmit them to the cloud-based control center for establishing the heat map.
2. The lighting system according to claim 1,
   wherein the operating devices communicate with the cloud-based control center (12) via the hand-held device (9), which is configured to communicate wirelessly with the cloud-based control center (12).
3. The lighting system according to claim 1 or 2,
   wherein configuration data relating to the operating devices and/or the luminaires associated with the operating devices are stored in the cloud-based control center (12).

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