EP4099804A1 - Light with wireless data interface - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a light, in particular a street light, with a radio interface which is set up to receive data for controlling the operation of the light, the light also having a second interface which is set up to receive a coded infrared signal or a coded laser signal , and the lamp is further set up to activate the radio interface for receiving the data only after a coded infrared or laser signal has been detected at the second interface.

Description

The present invention relates to a lamp, in particular an outdoor lamp, e.g. street lamp, which has a radio interface for transmitting control data to the lamp.

Radio interfaces, e.g. WLAN or Bluetooth, which are protected for controlling the lamp, must be protected against unauthorized access in order to prevent possible damage to the lamp, e.g. a lamp in public space, through access by an unauthorized person. For this purpose, password encryption is generally used in the prior art. However, simple passwords can be easily decrypted. However, complicated passwords that offer more protection are often impractical to use, especially given that such a light rarely needs to be reprogrammed. Furthermore, with a luminaire typically having a service life of more than 20 years, there is a risk that the password will be decrypted if it is not changed regularly. However, this requires additional maintenance effort.

Furthermore, such lights have the disadvantage that the radio interface must be constantly active in order to receive a signal that may be encrypted with a password. In view of the fact that access to the data radio interface is generally very rare with such lights, this system has proven to be very inefficient in terms of energy consumption. Keeping a radio interface in stand-by mode can add up to several kilowatt hours over the years.

Alternatively, luminaires are also used that, for security reasons, only have a cable-based interface that is mechanically protected against unauthorized access. However, reprogramming such lights with new operating data proves to be very time-consuming. As a rule, a specialist is required to provide such a lamp with new operating data.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to find a solution for lights with data interfaces which is technically easy to implement, yet offers adequate protection against unauthorized access and can be designed to save as much energy as possible.

The problem is solved by a lamp according to claim 1.

According to the invention, the lamp is set up with two interfaces. An interface is a data radio interface via which the operating data required for controlling the lamp can be transmitted. Such an interface can include a WLAN or Bluetooth interface, for example. Other frequency bands that are common for garage door openers or in model building can also be used here. According to the present invention, this interface does not need to be protected in a particularly complex manner because a second interface is also provided, which detects a coded infrared signal or laser signal. The radio data transmission interface is only activated after the coded infrared or laser signal has been detected. External access would therefore require two different devices, namely the infrared or laser interface and the radio data interface, to be hacked. This is unlikely because it takes a lot of time. Furthermore, the infrared or laser interface has the advantage that it can only be controlled locally, in the Usually with direct visual contact to the lamp. A time-consuming trying out of different codes is therefore not easily possible, because a corresponding attempt with a luminaire in a public space would be noticed. Furthermore, the lamp according to the invention has the advantage that the radio interface does not have to be constantly operated in stand-by mode because it only becomes active when the second interface receives an infrared or laser signal. The stand-by mode of an infrared or laser interface is significantly more energy-efficient than a stand-by mode of a wireless interface. The combination of the two interfaces according to the invention is therefore particularly preferred for the use of outdoor lights, for example in public spaces, because access to the data interface in these devices is relatively rare anyway. For example, the lights are only accessed to reprogram the light for one-off events such as a street festival or the like.

According to a preferred embodiment, the light is also set up to activate the radio interface after detection of the coded infrared or laser signal only for a limited time, preferably a maximum of one minute. This not only saves energy, but also reduces the risk of unauthorized access, because a potential hacker, even if he breaks through the protection provided by the infrared or laser interface, then has little time to hack the radio interface as well.

According to a preferred embodiment, the second interface is set up in such a way that the coded infrared or laser signal can only be detected by a transmitter which has a clear line of sight to the second interface and/or is at a distance of less than 12 m, preferably at most 4 m, from the second interface is located. A possible attack on a light installed in a public space would be noticed because the attack would have to take place at the light's location.

According to a preferred embodiment, the lamp is also set up to only supply the radio interface with energy after the coded infrared and/or laser signal has been detected at the second interface. This achieves energy savings that are not insignificant when you consider the long service life of such lights in public spaces.

According to a preferred embodiment, the coded infrared or laser signal has a changeable code and the second interface is set up to be adapted to a changed coding of the infrared signal or laser signal, in particular by a wired connection or by a protected wireless connection. As a result, security against unauthorized access to the radio data transmission interface can be additionally increased.

According to a preferred embodiment, the radio interface and/or the second interface is/are integrated in a lamp head of the lamp, with the lamp head being mounted on the lamp in an elevated position, e.g. on a lamp mast. The arrangement of the interfaces, in particular the infrared or laser interface in the lamp head, has the advantage that this allows easy access to the interface from a hand-held transmitter, because the hand-held transmitter can easily be brought into visual contact with the lamp head in the elevated position.

Figur 1

zeigt schematisch eine Leuchte gemäß einer Ausführungsform, bei welcher die Funk-Schnittstelle noch inaktiv ist.

Figur 2

zeigt die Leuchte nach Figur 1 mit aktiver Funk-Schnittstelle.

Other Advantages Features of the present invention will become preferred embodiments from the following description clear, which is given in connection with the attached figures. The figures show the following:

figure 1

shows schematically a lamp according to an embodiment in which the radio interface is still inactive.

figure 2

shows the lamp figure 1 with active radio interface.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described taking a street lamp as an example. In general, embodiments of the present invention are preferred for lights that are typically installed in public spaces because these lights are subject to potential attacks by unauthorized persons.

The street lamp, as in figure 1 shown, has two separate interfaces, both of which are integrated in the lamp head 1 of the street light shown.

The two interfaces are set up for wireless communication, but the different interfaces are based on different technical principles. An interface 3 has a detector for infrared radiation or laser light (e.g. in the visible range). The second interface 2 has at least one antenna and is set up for wireless communication via radio.

The radio interface 2 is set up for a data connection and enables a user, for example, to transmit data required for the operation of the lamp into the lamp. For example, a lighting level can be set or switch-on and switch-off times for the light can be programmed.

However, the data connection is only activated via the radio interface 2 if an infrared or laser signal has previously been detected via the other interface 3 . The infrared or laser signal is also encoded and can be transmitted from an infrared or laser source in a hand-held device 4, for example. The infrared or laser interface is preferably set up in such a way that it only receives signals from transmitters that are in line of sight with the interface 3 or over a limited distance of four to a maximum of twelve meters. This means that it is not possible to activate the infrared or laser interface 3 from inside a building. The user must therefore be in the immediate vicinity of the luminaire to access the data communication. This is a deterrent for a possible attacker if the luminaire is in a public space, for example. Since unauthorized access to the luminaire takes some time, a possible attack would be easily noticed.

To activate data communication via the radio interface 2, the coded infrared or laser signal must first be sent. Preferably, the coding for the infrared or laser signal in the light can also be changed, but preferably only by mechanical access to the light or by specially protected communication.

If a possible attacker should succeed in overcoming the protection via the coded infrared or laser signal, the attacker would then also have to find out the data code for the radio interface. To make this more difficult, after receiving the coded infrared or laser signal the radio interface is preferably only activated for a short time, eg a maximum of one minute. As a result, a possible attacker has little time to crack the data code for the radio interface.

In normal operation of the light, the radio interface is completely deactivated. This also has the advantage that no energy is consumed at the radio interface. Furthermore, this also improves the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of the lamp. Increasingly, many applications are operated via radio and thus frequency ranges are also occupied several times (e.g. for WLAN, garage door controls, model making, etc.). These applications interfere with each other. It is therefore an advantage that the radio interface of the luminaire is completely inactive in the normal state.

As previously mentioned, after receiving the coded infrared or laser signal, the radio interface is only active for a certain time. Furthermore, it can also be provided that the radio interface can be switched off again via the infrared or laser interface and is therefore completely deactivated again before the end of the waiting time.

Activating and deactivating the radio interface can therefore further reduce energy consumption significantly. This is of particular advantage for street lights, because the radio interface is usually only required relatively seldom during the entire service life of the light, e.g. if the traffic density changes over the long term and a different lighting level is therefore necessary or if events such as Christmas markets or street festivals take place.

Since the entire process of activating and deactivating the radio interface does not require a power connection, no specialist is required to unlock the radio interface either, since there is no risk of coming into contact with live parts.

Furthermore, in embodiments of the invention, the coding of the infrared or laser signal can also serve as a password for the subsequent communication with the radio data link. This means that a password for the wireless connection can also be changed later if this becomes known to a person by chance.

The radio connection is used to transmit parameters that are used to operate the lamp, while the infrared or laser connection is preferably used exclusively for activating and possibly deactivating the radio interface. This can prevent complete access to the light simply by eavesdropping on the infrared or laser transmission, because the wireless connection can be protected by an additional password.

Other features are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, with two interfaces on a lamp according to one embodiment of the invention, it is also possible to control other lamps, which are preferably wired to the first lamp. For example, by controlling one street light, a whole series of street lights in the same local area can be controlled at the same time.

REFERENCE LIST

1

lamp head

2

radio interface

3

second interface

4

remote control

Claims (6)

Light, in particular street light, with a radio interface (2) which is set up to receive data for controlling the operation of the light, characterized in that the light also has a second interface (3) which is used to receive a coded infrared signal or a coded laser signal is set up, and the lamp is also set up to activate the radio interface (2) for receiving the data only after a coded infrared or laser signal has been detected at the second interface (3). Light according to claim 1, wherein the light is further set up to activate the radio interface (3) after detection of the coded infrared or laser signal only for a limited time, preferably a maximum of one minute. Luminaire according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the second interface (3) is set up in such a way that the coded infrared or laser signal can only be detected by a transmitter (4) which has a clear line of sight to the second interface (3) and /or located at a distance of less than 12 m, preferably at most 4 m, from the second interface (3). Luminaire according to one of the preceding claims, which is also set up to only supply the radio interface (2) with energy after the coded infrared and/or laser signal has been detected at the second interface (3). Light according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the coded infrared and / or laser signal has a changeable code and the second interface (3) is set up to be adapted to a changed coding of the infrared signal or laser signal, in particular by a wired connection or by a protected wireless connection. Light according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the radio interface (2) and/or the second interface (3) are integrated in a light head (1) of the light, the light head (1) being arranged in a raised position of the light.

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