GB2513757B

GB2513757B - Automated shade control in connection with electrochromic glass

Info

Publication number: GB2513757B
Application number: GB1413226.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Berman Joel; Berman Jan; Greenspan Alex; P Hebeisen Stephen
Original assignee: MechoShade Systems LLC
Current assignee: MechoShade Systems LLC
Priority date: 2012-01-27
Filing date: 2012-12-21
Publication date: 2019-09-18
Anticipated expiration: 2032-12-21
Also published as: GB201910406D0; GB2572913A8; WO2013112255A1; GB201413226D0; GB2513757A; GB2572913A; GB2572913B

Description

AUTOMATED SHADE CONTROL IN CONNECTION

WITH ELECTROCHROMIC GLASS

Field Of The I n ven liras

The present disclosure generally relates to automatic shade control, and morespecifically, to automated shade systems that facilitate control of glass having one or morevariable optical and/or thermal characteristics.

Background of the Invention .A variety of automated systems currently exist for controlling blinds, drapery, andother types of window coverings. These systems often employ photo sensors to detect thevisible light (daylight) entering through a window. The photo sensors may be connected toa computer and/or a motor that automatically opens or closes the window covering basedupon the photo sensor and/or temperature read-out.

While photo sensors and temperature sensors may be helpful in determining the idealshading for a window or interior, these sensors may not be entirely effective. As such, someshade control systems employ other criteria or factors to help define the shading parameters.For example, some systems employ detectors for detecting the angle of incidence ofsunlight, Other systems use rain sensors, artificial lighting controls, geographic locationinformation, date and time information, window orientation information, and exterior andinterior photo sensors to quantify and qualify an optimum position for a window' covering.However, no single system currently employs all of these types of systems and controls.

Moreover, most automated systems are designed for, and limited for use with,Venetian blinds, curtains and other traditional window coverings. Further, prior art systemsgenerally do not utilize information related to the variation of light level within the interiorof a structure. That is, most systems consider the effects of relatively uniform shadingand/or brightness and veiling glare, rather than graduated shading and/or brightness andveiling glare. Therefore, there is a need for an automated shade control system thatcontemplates graduated shading and optimum light detection and adaptation.

It has been determined that the most efficient energy design for buildings is to beable to take advantage of natural daylight which allows for the reduction In artificial lightingwhich in turn reduces the Air Conditioning load, which reduces the energy consumption of abuilding, To achieve these goals, the glazing has to allow a high percentage of daylight to penetrate the glazing, by using clear or high visible light transmitting glazing. But with thehigh amount of visible light there is also the bright orb of the sun, excessive heat gain, anddebilitating solar rays which will at different times of the year and on different solarorientations penetrate deeply into the building, effecting and impacting the persons workingor living therein. Thus, a need exists to manage and control the amount of solar load, solarpenetration, and temperatures of the window wall. In addition, there is a need to control theamount of solar radiation and brightness to acceptable norms that protect the comfort andhealth of the occupants, e.g. an energy conserving integrated sub-system.

Summary of the Invention

Systems and methods for automated control of shades and/or glass having variablecharacteristics are disclosed.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a systemaccording to claim 1.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a methodaccording to claim 9.

Brief Description of the Drawings

With reference to the following description, appended claims, and accompanyingdrawings: FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary automated shade control systemin accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 2A shows a schematic illustration of an exemplary window system with awindow covering retracted in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 2B shows a schematic illustration of an exemplary window system with awindow covering extended in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary method for automated shadecontrol in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary ASHRAE (RTM) model in accordance with variousembodiments; FIG. 5 shows a screen shot of an exemplary user interface (e.g. view of SolarTracsoftware) in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of exemplary solar heat gain and solar penetrationsensing and reaction in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of exemplary brightness sensing and reaction inaccordance with various embodiments; FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of exemplary shadow modeling and reaction inaccordance with various embodiments; FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of exemplary reflectance modeling and reaction inaccordance with various embodiments; FIGS. 10A - 10E illustrate reflectance modeling in accordance with variousembodiments; FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate control of a variable characteristic of a glass in auniform manner across a window in accordance with various examples; and FIG. 11C illustrates control of a variable characteristic of a glass in a banded manneracross a window in accordance with various embodiments.

Detailed Description

The detailed description of various embodiments herein shows principles of thepresent disclosure by way of illustration including the best mode. While these variousembodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practiceprinciples of the present disclosure, it should be understood that other embodiments may berealized and that logical and mechanical changes may be made. Thus, the detaileddescription herein is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation.Moreover, any of the functions or steps may be outsourced to or performed by one or morethird parties. Furthermore, any reference to singular includes plural embodiments, and anyreference to more than one component may include a singular embodiment.

Moreover, for the sake of brevity, certain sub-components of the individual operatingcomponents, conventional data networking, application development and other functional aspects of the systems may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, the connectinglines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplaryfunctional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It shouldbe noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connectionsmay be present in a practical system.

As used herein, “glass” shall include any substance or combination of substances thatat least partially or fully allow visible light to pass through. Accordingly, a reference to“glass” can include conventional soda-lime glass, borosilicate glass, doped and/or dyedglass, polycarbonates (for example, as sold under the trade names Lexan (RTM), MacroIon(RTM), and/or Macrolife (RTM)), poly-methyl methacrylate (sometimes referred to as“PMMA” or “acrylic glass”, for example as sold under the trade names Plexiglass (RTM),Lucite (RTM), and/or Perspex (RTM)), organic films, thin films, plastics, polyethelyne,polyethylene terephthalate (“PETE”), transparent and/or translucent ceramics, and/or thelike, and/or combinations of the same.

Moreover, as used herein, “glass” shall include glass used in windows, walls, doors,floors, ceilings, light fixtures, skylights, animal tanks, and/or the like. Additionally, “glass”shall include “switchable”, “dynamic” or “smart” glass having one or more variable opticaland/or thermal characteristics (e.g., glass having electrochromic coatings and/or layers, glasshaving magnetochromic layers and/or coatings, glass having suspended particle coatingsand/or layers, glass having polymer dispersed liquid crystal coatings and/or layers, glasshaving micro-blind coatings and/or layers, and/or the like).

Various embodiments may be described herein in terms of block diagrams, screenshots and flowcharts, optional selections and various processing steps. Such functionalblocks may be realized by any number of hardware and/or software components configuredto perform to specified functions. For example, various embodiments may employ variousintegrated circuit components (e.g., memory elements, processing elements, logic elements,look-up tables, and the like), which may carry out a variety of functions under the control ofone or more microprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the software elements ofvarious embodiments may be implemented with any programming or scripting languagesuch as C, C^, Java (RTM), COBOL (RTM), assembler, PERL (RTM), Delphi (RTM),extensible markup language (XML), smart card technologies with the various algorithmsbeing implemented with any combination of data structures, objects, processes, routines orother programming elements. Further, it should be noted that various embodiments mayemploy any number of conventional techniques for data transmission, signaling, data processing, network control,and the like. Still further, principles of the present disclosure could be used to detect orprevent security issues with a client-side scripting language, such as JavaScript (RTM),VBScript or the like. For a basic introduction of cryptography and network security, see anyof the following references: (1) “Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, and SourceCode In C,” by Bruce Schneier, published by John Wiley & Sons (second edition, 1996); (2)“Java Cryptography” by Jonathan Knudson, published by O’Reilly & Associates (1998); (3)“Cryptography and Network Security: Principles and Practice” by William Stallings,published by Prentice Hall; all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

As used herein, the term “network” shall include any electronic communicationsmeans which incorporates both hardware and software components of such.Communication among the parties in accordance with principles of the present disclosuremay be accomplished through any suitable communication channels, such as, for example, atelephone network, an extranet, an intranet, Internet, point-of-interaction device (point-of-sale device, personal digital assistant, cellular phone, kiosk, etc.), online communications,off-line communications, wireless communications, transponder communications, local areanetwork (LAN), wide area network (WAN), networked or linked devices and/or the like.Moreover, although various embodiments are frequently described herein as beingimplemented with TCP/IP communication protocols, principles of the present disclosuremay also be implemented using IPX (RTM), Appletalk (RTM), IP-6, NetBIOS, OSI (RTM),Lonworks (RTM) or any number of existing or future protocols. If the network is in thenature of a public network, such as the Internet, it may be advantageous to presume thenetwork to be insecure and open to eavesdroppers. Specific information related to theprotocols, standards, and application software utilized in connection with the Internet isgenerally known to those skilled in the art and, as such, need not be detailed herein. See, forexample, Dilip Naik, “Internet Standards and Protocols,” (1998); “Java 2 Complete,” variousauthors, (Sybex 1999); Deborah Ray and Eric Ray, “Mastering HTML 4.0,” (1997); Loshin,“TCP/IP Clearly Explained,” (1997); and David Gourley and Brian Totty, “HTTP, TheDefinitive Guide,” (2002), the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

The various system components may be independently, separately or collectivelysuitably coupled to the network via data links which include, for example, a connection to anInternet Service Provider (ISP) over the local loop as is typically used in connection with a standard modem communication, cable modem, Dish network, ISDN, Digital SubscriberLine (DSL), or various wireless communication methods, see, e.g,, Gilbert Heid,“Understanding Data Communications,” (1996), which is hereby incorporated by reference.It is noted that the network may be implemented as other types of networks, such as aninteractive television (ITV) network. Moreover, principles of the present disclosurecontemplate the use, sale or distribution of any goods, services or information over anynetwork having similar functionality described herein. FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary automated shade control (ASC) system 100 inaccordance with various embodiments. ASC 100 may comprise an analog and digitalinterface (ADI) 105 configured for communicating with centralized control system (CCS)110, one or more motors 130, and/or one or more sensors 125. ADI 105 may communicatewith CCS 110, motors 130, sensors 125 and/or any other components throughcommunication links 120. For example, in one embodiment, ADI 105 and CCS 110 areconfigured ίο communicate directly with motors 130 to minimize lag time betweencomputing commands and motor movement. Moreover, in various embodiments, CCS 110may communicate directly with other components of ASC 100 (for example, without routingcommunications through ADI 105). Additionally, ASC 100 may comprise one or more glasscontrollers 140. ADI 105 may be configured to facilitate transmitting shade position commandsand/or other commands and instructions, ADI 105 may also be configured to interfacebetween CCS 110 and motors 130 and/or glass controllers 140. ADI 105 may be configuredto facilitate user access to motors 130 and/or glass controllers 140. By facilitating useraccess, ADI 105 may be configured to facilitate communication between a user and motors130 and/or glass controllers 140. For example, ADI 105 may allow a user to access some orall of the functions of motors 130 and/or glass controllers 140 tor any number of zones.ADI 105 may use communication links 120 for communication, user input, and/or any othercommunication mechanism for providing user access. ADI 105 may be configured as hardware and/or software. While FIG. 1 depicts asingle ADI 105, ASC 100 may comprise multiple ADIs 105. In one embodiment, ADI 105may be configured ίο allow a user to control motors 130 for multiple window coveringsand/or to control glass controllers 140 for multiple glasses. As used herein, a zone refers toany area of a structure wherein ASC 1.00 is configured to control the shading (for example, via control of window coverings, variable characteristics of glass, and/or the like). Forexample, an office building may be divided into eight zones, each zone corresponding to adifferent floor. Each zone, in turn may have 50 different glazings, windows and/or windowcoverings. Thus, ADI 105 may facilitate controlling each motor in each zone, some or allwindow coverings for some or all floors (or portion thereof), each glass in each zone, and/ormultiple ADIs 105 (i.e., two, four, eight, or any other suitable number of different ADIs105) may be coupled together to collectively control some or all window coverings and/orglasses, wherein each ADI 105 controls the motors 130 and/or glass controllers 140 for eachfloor. Moreover, A SC 100 may log, record, classify, quantify, and otherwise measureand/or store information related to one or more window coverings and/or glasses.Additionally, each ADI 105 may be addressable, such as via an internet protocol (IP)address, a MAC address, and/or the like. ADI 105 may also be configured with one or more safety mechanisms. For example,ADI 105 may comprise one or more override buttons to facilitate manual operation of one ormore motors 130, glass controllers 140, and/or .ADIs 105. ADI 105 may also be configuredwith a security mechanism that requires entry of a password, code, biometric, or otheridentifier/indicia suitably configured to allow the user to interact or communicate with thesystem, such as, for example, authorization/access code, personal identification number(PIN), Internet code, bar code, transponder, digital certificate, biometric data, and/or otheridentification indicia.

In various embodiments, A SC 100 and/or components thereof (e.g., CCS 110, ADI105, glass controller 140, and/or the like) may be configured to (i) utilize informationrelating to one or more variable characteristics of glass comprising a building or a portionthereof (for example, window glass, wall glass, skylight glass, and/or the like) and/or (ii)modify, set, vary, monitor, and/or otherwise control and/or adjust one or more variablecharacteristics of glass comprising a building or a portion thereof. For example, ASC 100may be configured to implement and/or provide control and/or monitoring capabilities for“switchable”, “dynamic” or “smart” glass (e.g., glass having electrochromic coatings and/orlayers, glass having magnetochromic layers and/or coatings, glass having suspended particlecoatings and/or layers, glass having polymer dispersed liquid crystal coatings and/or layers,glass having micro-blind coatings and/or layers, and/or the like). In various embodiments,ASC 100 may be configured to control and/or vary one or more characteristics of a glass, for example, visible light transmission, shading coefficient, heat flow, reflectivity, color, and/orthe like. In various embodiments, ASC 100 and/or components thereof (for example, CCS110) may implement control of one or more characteristics of a glass directly. In othervarious embodiments, ASC 100 and/or components thereof (for example, CCS 110) mayutilize and/or work in tandem with a glass controller (for example, glass controller 140) tocontrol of one or more characteristics of a glass. CCS 110 may be used to facilitate communication with and/or control of ADI 105 orother components of ASC 100. CCS 110 may be configured to facilitate computing of oneor more algorithms to determine, for example, solar radiation levels, sky type (such as clear,overcast, bright overcast, and/or the like), interior lighting information, exterior lightinginformation, temperature information, glare information, shadow information, reflectanceinformation, and the like. CCS 110 algorithms may include proactive and reactivealgorithms configured to provide appropriate solar protection from direct solar penetration;reduce solar heat gain; reduce radiant surface temperatures and/or veiling glare; controlpenetration of the solar ray, optimize the interior natural daylighting of a structure, controlone or more variable characteristics of a glass, and/or optimize the efficiency of interiorlighting systems. CCS 110 algorithms may operate in real-time. CCS 110 may beconfigured with a RS-485 communication board to facilitate receiving and transmitting datafrom ADI 105. CCS 110 may be configured to automatically self-test, synchronize and/orstart the various other components of ASC 100. CCS 110 may be configured to run one ormore user interfaces to facilitate user interaction. An example of a user interface used inconjunction with CCS 110 is described in greater detail below. CCS 110 may be configured as any type of computing device, personal computer,network computer, work station, minicomputer, mainframe, or the like running anyoperating system such as any version of Windows (RTM), Windows NT (RTM), WindowsXP (RTM), Windows 2000 (RTM), Windows 98 (RTM), Windows 95 (RTM), MacOS(RTM), OS/2 (RTM), BeOS (RTM), Linux (RTM), UNIX (RTM), Solaris (RTM), MVS(RTM), DOS (RTM) or the like. The various CCS 110 components or any othercomponents discussed herein may include one or more of the following: a host server orother computing system including a processor for processing digital data; a memory coupledto the processor for storing digital data; an input digitizer coupled to the processor forinputting digital data; an application program stored in the memory and accessible by theprocessor for directing processing of digital data by the processor; a display device coupledto the processor and memory for displaying information derived from digital data processed by the processor;and a plurality of databases. The user may interact with the system via any input devicesuch as a keypad, keyboard, mouse, kiosk, persona! digital assistant, handheld computer(e.g., Palm Pilot®, Blackberry®), cellular phone and/or the like. CCS 110 may also be configured with one or more browsers, remote switches and/ortouch screens to further facilitate access and control of ASC 100. For example, each touchscreen communicating with CCS 110 can be configured to facilitate control of a section of abuilding’s floor plan, with motor zones and shade zones indicated (described further herein).A user may use the touch screen to select a motor zone and/or shade zone to provide controland/or obtain control and/or alert information about the shade position of that particularzone, current sky condition information, sky charts, global parameter information (such as,for example, local time and/or date information, sunrise and/or sunset information, solaraltitude or azimuth information, and/or any other similar information noted herein), floorplan information (including sensor status and location) and the like. The touch screen mayaiso be used to provide control and/or information about the brightness level of a localsensor, to provide override capabilities of the shade position to move a shade to a moredesired location, and/or to provide access to additional shade control data, that is captured foreach particular zone. The browser, touch screen and/or switches may also be configured tolog user-directed movement of the shades and/or adjustments of variable characteristics of aglass, manual over-rides of the shades and/or adjustments of variable characteristics of aglass, and other occupant-specific adaptations to ASC 100 and/or each shade and/or motorzone. As another example, the browser, touch screen and/or switches may aiso beconfigured to provide remote users access to particular data and shade and/or glass functionsdepending upon each remote user’s access level. For example, the access levels may, forexample, be configured to permit only certain individuals, levels of employees, companies,or other entities to access ASC 100, or to permit access to specific ASC 100 controlparameters. Furthermore, the access controls may restrict/permit only certain actions suchas opening, closing, and/or adjusting shades, and/or adjusting variable characteristics of aglass. Restrictions on radiometer controls, algorithms, and the like may also be included. CCS 110 may also be configured to be responsive to one or more alarms, warnings,error messages, and/or the like. For example, CCS 110 may be configured to move one ormore window coverings and/or adjust one or more variable characteristics of a glass responsive to a fire alarm signal, a smoke alarm signal, or other signal, such as a signalreceived from a building management system. Moreover, CCS 100 may further beconfigured to generate one or more alarms, warnings, error messages, and/or the like. CCS110 may transmit or otherwise communicate an alarm to a third party system, for example abuilding management system, as appropriate, CCS 110 may also be configured with one or more motor controllers. The motorcontroller may be equipped with one or more algorithms which enable it to position thewindow covering based on automated and/or manual control from the user through one or avariety of different user interfaces which communicate to the controller. CCS 110 mayprovide control of the motor controller via hardwired low voltage dry contact, hardwiredanalog, hardwired line voltage, voice, wireless IR, wireless RF or any one of a number oflow voltage, wireless and/or line voltage networking protocols such that a multiplicity ofdevices including, for example, switches, touch screens, PCs, Internet Appliances, infraredremotes, radio frequency remotes, voice commands, PDAs, ceil phones, PIMs, etc. arecapable of being employed by a user to automatically and/or manually override the positionof the window covering. CCS 110 and/or the motor controller may additionally beconfigured with a real time clock to facilitate real time synchronization and control ofenvironmental and manual override information. CCS HO and/or the motor controller may also be equipped with algorithms whichenable them to optimally position the window covering for function, energy efficiency, lightpollution control (depending on the environment and neighbors), cosmetic and/or comfortautomatically based on information originating from a variety of sensing device optionswhich can be configured to communicate with the controller via any of the communicationprotocols and/or devices described herein. The automation algorithms within the motorcontroller and/or CCS 110 may be equipped to apply both proactive and reactive routines ίοfacilitate control of motors 130. Proactive and reactive control algorithms are described ingreater detail herein. CCS 110 algorithms may use occupant-initiated override log data to learn what eachlocal zone occupant prefers for his optimal shading. This data tracking may then be used toautomatically readjust zone-specific CCS 110 algorithms to adjust one or more sensors 125,motors 130, glass controllers 140, and/or other ASC 100 system components to the needs,preferences, and/or desires of the occupants at a local level. That is, ASC 100 may be configured to actively track each occupant’s adjustments for each occupied zone andactively modify CCS 110 algorithms to automatically adapt to each adjustment for thatparticular occupied zone. CCS 110 algorithms may include a touch screen survey function.For example, this function may allow a user to select from a menu of reasons prior tooverriding a shade position and/or a variable characteristic of a glass from the touch screen.This data may be saved in a database associated with CCS 110 and used to fine tune ASC100 parameters in order to minimize the need for such overrides. Thus, CCS 110 canactively learn how a building’s occupants use the shades and/or the glass, and adjust to theseshade and/or glass uses. In this manner, CCS 110 may fine-tune, refine, and/or otherwisemodify one or more proactive and/or reactive algorithms responsive to historical data.

For example, proactive and reactive control algorithms may be used based on CCS110 knowledge of how a building’s occupants use window coverings and/or variablecharacteristics of a glass. CCS 110 may be configured with one or more proactive/reactivecontrol algorithms configured to proactively input information to/from the motor controllerand/or a glass controller to facilitate adaptability of ASC 100. Proactive control algorithmsinclude information such as, for example, the continuously varying solar angles establishedbetween the sun and the window opening over each day of the solar day. This solar trackinginformation may be combined with knowledge about the structure of the building andwindow opening, as well. This structural knowledge includes, for example, any shadowingfeatures of the building (such as, for example, buildings in the cityscape and topographicalconditions that may shadow the sun’s ray on the window opening at various timesthroughout the day/year). Further still, any inclination or declination angles of the windowopening (i.e., window, sloped window, and/or skylight), any scheduled positioning of thewindow covering throughout the day/year, information about the British Thermal Unit(BTU) (Joule) load impacting the window at anytime throughout the day/year; the glasscharacteristics which affect transmission of light and heat through the glass, and/or any otherhistorical knowledge about performance of the window covering in that position fromprevious days/years may be included in the proactive control algorithms. Proactivealgorithms can be setup to optimize the positioning of the window covering and/or avariable characteristic of a glass based on a typical day, worst case bright day or worst casedark day depending on the capabilities and information made available to the reactivecontrol algorithms. These algorithms further can incorporate at least one of the geodesic coordinates of a building; the actual and/or calculated solar position; the actual and/orcalculated solar angle; the actual and/or calculated solar penetration angle; the actual and/orcalculated solar penetration depth through the window, the actual and/or calculated solarradiation; the actual and/or calculated solar intensity; the time; the solar altitude; the solarazimuth; sunrise and sunset times; the surface orientation of a window; the slope of awindow; the window covering stopping positions for a window; and the actual and/orcalculated solar heat gain through the window.

Additionally, proactive and/or reactive control algorithms may be used based onmeasured and/or calculated brightness. For example, CCS 110 may be configured with oneor more proactive and/or reactive control algorithms configured to measure and/or calculatethe visible brightness on a window. Moreover, the proactive and/or reactive controlalgorithms may curve fit (e.g. regression analysis) measured radiation and/or solar heat gainin order to generate estimated and/or measured foot-candles on the glazing, foot-candlesinside the glass, foot-candles inside the shade and class combination, and the like.Additionally, the proactive and/or reactive control algorithms may utilize lightinginformation, radiation information, brightness information, reflectance information, solarheat gain, and/or any other appropriate factors to measure and/or calculate a total foot-candle load on a structure.

Further, proactive and/or reactive control algorithms may be used based on measuredand/or calculated BTU (Joule) loads on a window, glass, window covering, and/or the like.CCS 110 may be configured with one or more proactive and/or reactive control algorithmsconfigured to measure and/or calculate the BTU (Joule) load on a window. Moreover, theproactive and/or reactive control algorithms may take any appropriate action responsive to ameasured and/or calculated BTU (Joule) load, including, for example, (i) generating amovement request to one or more ADIs 105 and/or motors 130, and/or (ii) varying one ormore variable characteristics of a glass (e.g., shading coefficient, visible light transmission,heat flow, reflectivity, and/or the like), for example via generating an instruction to one ormore glass controllers 140. For example, CCS 110 may generate a movement request tomove a window covering into a first position in response to a measured load of 75 BTUs(79129 Joules) inside a window. CCS 110 may generate another movement request to movea window covering into a second position in response to a measured load of 125 BTUs(131882 Joules) inside a window. CCS 110 may generate yet another movement request tomove a window covering into a third position responsive to a measured load of 250 BTUs (263764 Joules) inside a window, andso on. Additionally, CCS 110 may calculate the position of a window covering based on ameasured and/or calculated BTU (Joule) load on a window.

Moreover, CCS 110 may set one or more variable characteristics of a glass to a firstvalue in response to a measured load of 75 BTUs (79129 Joules) inside a window. CCS 110may set one or more variable characteristics of a glass to a second value in response to ameasured load of 125 BTUs (131882 Joules) inside a window. CCS 110 may set one ormore variable characteristics of a glass to a third value responsive to a measured load of 250BTUs (263764 Joules) inside a window, and so on. Additionally, CCS 110 may calculate adesired value for one or more variable characteristics of a glass based on a measured and/orcalculated BTU (Joule) load on a window. Information regarding measured and/orcalculated BTU (Joule) loads, shade positions, glass characteristics, and the like may beviewed on any suitable display device

In various embodiments, CCS 110 may be configured with predefined BTU (Joule)loads associated with positions of a window covering. For example, a “fully open” positionof a window covering may be associated with a BTU (Joule) load of 500 BTUs (527528Joules) per square meter per hour. A “halfway open” position may be associated with aBTU (Joule) load of 300 BTUs (316517 Joules) per square meter per hour. A “fully closed”position may be associated with a BTU (Joule) load of 100 BTUs (105506 Joules) persquare meter per hour. Any number of predefined BTU (Joule) loads and/or windowcovering positions may be utilized. In this manner, CCS 110 may be configured to moveone or more window coverings into various predefined positions in order to modify theintensity of the solar penetration and resulting BTU (Joule) load on a structure.

Additionally, in various embodiments, CCS 110 may be configured with predefinedBTU (Joule) loads associated with values of one or more variable characteristics of a glass.For example, a “maximum solar transmission” value or values for visible light transmission,heat flow, shading coefficient, reflectivity, and/or the like may be associated with a BTU(Joule) load of about or exceeding 500 BTUs (527528 Joules) per square meter per hour. A“moderate solar transmission” value or values may be associated with a BTU (Joule) load ofabout 300 BTUs (316517 Joules) per square meter per hour. A “minimum solartransmission” value or values may be associated with a BTU (Joule) load of about or below100 BTUs (105506 Joules) per square meter per hour. Moreover, any number of predefinedBTU (Joule) loads and/or window covering positions may be utilized. In this manner, CCS110 may be configured to select, set, implement, and/or otherwise vary one or more variable characteristics of a glass in order to modify the intensity of the solarpenetration and resulting BTU (Joule) load on a structure.

Reactive control algorithms may be established to refine the proactive algorithmsand/or to compensate for areas of the building which may be difficult and/or undulyexpensive to model. Reactive control of ASC 100 may include, for example, using sensorscoupled with algorithms which determine the sky conditions, brightness of the externalhorizontal sky, brightness of the external vertical sky in any/all orientation(s), internalvertical brightness across the whole or a portion of a window, internal vertical brightnessmeasured across the whole or a portion of a window covered by the window covering,internal horizontal brightness of an internal task surface, brightness of a vertical orhorizontal internal surface such as the wall, floor or ceiling, comparative brightness betweendiffering internal horizontal and/or vertical surfaces, internal brightness of a PC displaymonitor, external temperature, internal temperature, manual positioning by theuser/occupant near or affected by the window covering setting, overrides of automatedwindow covering position and/or automated settings of variable characteristics of glass fromprevious time periods, real time information communicated from other motor controllersaffecting adjacent window coverings, real time information communicated from other glasscontrollers affecting adjacent glasses, and/or the like.

Typical sensors 125 facilitating these reactive control algorithms includeradiometers, photometers/photosensors, motion sensors, wind sensors, and/or temperaturesensors to detect, measure, and communicate information regarding temperature, motion,wind, brightness, radiation, and/or the like, or any combination of the foregoing. Forexample, motion sensors may be employed in order to track one or more occupants andchange reactive control algorithms in certain spaces, such as conference rooms, duringperiods where people are not present in order to optimize energy efficiency. The presentdisclosure contemplates various types of sensor mounts. For example, types of photosensorand temperature sensor mounts include handrail mounts (between the shade and glass),furniture mounts (e.g., on the room side of the shade), wall or column mounts that lookdirectly out the window from the room side of the shade, and external sensor mounts. Forexample, for brightness override protection, one or more photosensors and/or radiometersmay be configured to look through a specific portion of a window wall (e.g., the part of thewindow wall whose view gets covered by the window covering at some point during the movement of the window covering). If the brightness on the window wall portion is greaterthan a pre-determined ratio, the brightness override protection may be activated. The pre-determined ratio may be established from the brightness of the PC/VDU or actual measuredbrightness of a task surface. Each photosensor may be controlled, for example, by closedand/or open loop algorithms that include measurements from one or more flelds-of-view ofthe sensors. For example, each photosensor may look at a different part of the window' walland/or window covering. The information from these photosensors may be used toanticipate changes in brightness as the window covering travels across a window, indirectlymeasure the brightness coming through a portion of the window wall by looking at the! brightness reflecting off an interior surface, measure brightness detected on the incident sideof the window covering and/or to measure the brightness detected for any other field ofview'. The brightness control algorithms and/or other algorithms may also be configured totake into account whether any of the sensors are obstructed (for example, by a computermonitor, etc.). ASC 100 may also employ other sensors; for example, one or more motionsensors may be configured to employ stricter comfort control routines when the buildingspaces are occupied. That is, if a room’s motion sensors detect a large number of peopleinside a room, ASC 100 may facilitate movement of the window coverings and/oradjustment of one or more variable characteristics of a glass to provide greater shading andcooling of the room.

Moreover, ASC 100 may be configured to track radiation (e.g. solar rays and thelike) on all glazing of a building including, for example, windows, skylights, and the like.For example, ASC 100 may track the angle of incidence of radiation; profile solar radiationand solar surface angles; measure the wavelength of radiation; track solar penetration basedon the geometry of a window, skylight, or other opening; track solar heat gain and intensityfor some or all windows in a building; track shadow information; track reflectanceinformation; and track radiation for some or all orientations, i.e,, 360 degrees around abuilding. ASC 100 may track radiation, log radiation information, and/or perform any otherrelated operations or analysis in real time. Additionally, ASC 100 may utilize one or moreof tracking information, sensor inputs, data logs, reactive algorithms, proactive algorithms,and the like to perform a microclimate analysis for a particular enclosed space,

In another exemplary embodiment, the natural default operation of a motorcontroller, a glass controller 140, and/or other components of ASC 100 in “Automatic

Mode” may be governed by proactive control algorithms. When a reactive controlalgorithm interrupts operation of a proactive algorithm, a motor controller and/or glasscontroller 140 can be set up with specific conditions which determine how and when themotor controller and/or glass controller 140 can return to Automatic Mode. For example,5 this return to Automatic Mode may be based upon a configurable predetermined time, forexample 12:00 A.M. In another embodiment, ASC 100 or components thereof may return toAutomatic Mode at a predetermined time interval (such as an hour later), when apredetermined condition has been reached (for example, when the brightness returns below acertain level through certain sensors), when the brightness detected is a configurable) percentage less than the brightness detected when a brightness override was activated, if theproactive algorithms require the window covering to further cover the shade, if the proactivealgorithms require a variable characteristic of a glass to be adjusted (for example, to reducethe visible light transmission), when fuzzy logic routines weigh the probability that ASC100 or one or more components thereof can move back into automatic mode (based on5 information regarding actual brightness measurements internally, actual brightnessmeasurements externally, the profile angle of the sun, shadow conditions from adjacentbuildings or structures on the given building based on the solar altitude and/or azimuth,reflectance conditions from external buildings or environmental conditions, and/or the like,or any combination of the same), and/or at any other manual and/or predetermined condition} or control.

Motors 130 may be configured to control the movement of one or more windowcoverings. The window coverings are described in greater detail below. As used herein,motors 130 can include one or more motors and motor controllers. Motors 130 maycomprise AC and/or DC motors and may be mounted within or in proximity with a windowj covering which is affixed by a window7 using mechanical brackets attaching to the buildingstructure such that motors 130 enable the window covering to cover or reveal a portion ofthe window or glazing, As used herein, the term glazing refers to a glaze, glasswork,window, and/or the like. Motors 130 may be configured as any type of motor configuredto open, close and/or move the window coverings at select, random, predetermined,1 increasing, decreasing, algorithmic and/or any other increments, For example, in oneembodiment, motors 130 may be configured to move the window coverings in 1/16-inchincrements in order to graduate the shade movements such that the operation of the shade is almost imperceptible to the occupant to minimize distraction. In another embodiment,motors 130 may be configured to move the window coverings in 1/8-inch increments.

Motors 130 may also be configured to have each step and/or increment last a certain amountof time. Moreover, motors 130 may follow pre-set positions on an encoded motor. The1 time and/or settings of the increments may be any range of time and/or setting, for example,less than one second, one or more seconds, and/or multiple minutes, and/or a combination ofsettings programmed into the motor encoded, and/or the J ike. In one embodiment, each 1/8-inch increment of motors 130 may last five seconds, Motors 130 may be configured tomove the window coverings at a virtually imperceptible rate to a structure’s inhabitants. For! example, ASC 100 may be configured to continually iterate motors 130 down the windowwall in firrite increments thus establishing thousands of intermediate stopping positionsacross a window pane. The increments may be consistent in span and time or may vary inspan and/or time across the day and from day to day in order to optimize the comfortrequirements of the space and further minimize abrupt window covering positioningtransitions which may draw unnecessary attention from the occupants.

Motors 130 may vary between, for example, top-down, bottom-up, and even a dualmotors 130 design known as fabric tensioning system (FTS) or motor/spring-rollercombination. A bottom-tip, sloping, angled, and/or horizontal design(s) may be configuredto promote daylighting environments where light level through the top portion of the glassmay be reflected or even skydotned deep into the space. Bottom-up window' coveringsnaturally lend their application towards East facing facades where starting from sunrise theshade gradually moves up with the sun’s rising altitude up to solar noon. Top-down designsmay be configured to promote views whereby the penetration of the sun may be cutoffleaving a view through the lower portion of the glass. Top-down window coveringsnaturally lend their application towards the West facing facades where starting from solarnoon the altitude of the sun drops the shade through sunset. Moreover, angled and/orsloping shading may be used to complement horizontal, angular and/or sloping windows inths fapade. ADI 105 may be configured with one or more electrical components configured toreceive information from sensors 125 and/or to transmit information to CCS 110. In oneembodiment, ADI 105 may be configured to receive millivolt signals from sensors 125. ADI 105 may additionally be configured to convert the signals from sensors 125 into digitalinformation and/or to transmit the digital information to CCS 110. ASC 100 may comprise one or more sensors 125 such as, for example, radiometers,photometers, ultraviolet sensors, infrared sensors, temperature sensors, motion sensors, windsensors, and the like, in communication with ADI 105. In one embodiment, the moresensors 125 used in ASC 100, the more error protection (or reduction) for the system.“Radiometers” as used herein, may include traditional radiometers as well as other photosensors configured to measure various segments of the solar spectrum, visible light spectrumphoto sensors, infrared sensors, ultraviolet sensors, and the like. Sensors 125 may belocated in any part of a structure. For example, sensors 125 may be located on the roof of abuilding, outside a window, inside a window, on a work surface, on an interior and/orexterior wall, and/or any other part of a structure. In one embodiment, sensors 125 arelocated in clear, unobstructed areas. Sensors 125 may be connected to ADI 105 in anymanner through communication links 120. In one embodiment, sensors 125 may beconnected to ADI 105 by low voltage wiring. In another embodiment, sensors 125 may bewirelessly connected to ADI 105.

Sensors 125 may additionally be configured to initialize and/or synchronize uponstarting ASC 100. For example, various sensors 125, such as radiometers, may beconfigured to be initially set to zero, which may correspond to a cloudy sky conditionregardless of the actual sky condition. Various sensors 125 may then be configured to detectsunlight for a user-defined amount of time, for example three minutes, in order to facilitatebuilding a data file for the sensors. After the user-defined time has lapsed, sensors 125 maybe synchronized with this new data file.

As discussed herein, communication links 120 may be configured as any type ofcommunication links such as, for example, digital links, analog links, wireless links, opticallinks, radio frequency links, TCP/IP links, Bluetooth (RTM) links, wire links, and the like,and/or any combination of the above. Communication links 120 may be long-range and/orshort-range, and accordingly may enable remote and/or off-site communication. Moreover,communication links 120 may enable communication over any suitable distance and/or viaany suitable communication medium. For example, in one embodiment, communicationlink 120 may be configured as an RS422 serial communication link. ASC 100 may additionally be configured with one or more databases. Anydatabases discussed herein may be any type of database, such as relational, hierarchical,graphical, object-oriented, and/or other database configurations. Common databaseproducts that may be used to implement the databases include DB2 by IBM (RTM) (WhitePlains, New York), various database products available from Oracle Corporation (RTM)(Redwood Shores, California), Microsoft Access (RTM) or Microsoft SQL Server (RTM)by Microsoft Corporation (RTM) (Redmond, Washington), Base3 (RTM) by Base3 systems(RTM), Paradox (RTM) or any other suitable database product. Moreover, the databasesmay be organized in any suitable manner, for example, as data tables or lookup tables. Eachrecord may be a single file, a series of files, a linked series of data fields or any other datastructure. Association of certain data may be accomplished through any desired dataassociation technique such as those known or practiced in the art. For example, theassociation may be accomplished either manually or automatically. Automatic associationtechniques may include, for example, a database search, a database merge, GREP, AGREP,SQL, and/or the like. The association step may be accomplished by a database mergefunction, for example, using a “key field” in pre-selected databases or data sectors.

More particularly, a “key field” partitions the database according to the high-levelclass of objects defined by the key field. For example, certain types of data may bedesignated as a key field in a plurality of related data tables and the data tables may then belinked on the basis of the type of data in the key field. The data corresponding to the keyfield in each of the linked data tables is preferably the same or of the same type. However,data tables having similar, though not identical, data in the key fields may also be linked byusing AGREP, for example. In accordance with one aspect, any suitable data storagetechnique may be utilized to store data without a standard format. Data sets may be storedusing any suitable technique; implementing a domain whereby a dedicated file is selectedthat exposes one or more elementary files containing one or more data sets; using data setsstored in individual files using a hierarchical filing system; data sets stored as records in asingle file (including compression, SQL accessible, hashed via one or more keys, numeric,alphabetical by first tuple, etc.); block of binary (BLOB); stored as ungrouped data elementsencoded using ISO/IEC Abstract Syntax Notation (ASN.l) as in ISO/IEC 8824 and 8825;and/or other proprietary techniques that may include fractal compression methods, imagecompression methods, etc.

In one exemplary embodiment, the ability io store a wide variety of information indifferent formats is facilitated by storing the information as a Block of Binary (BLOB).Thus, any binary information can be stored in a storage space associated with a data set.The BLOB method may store data sets as ungrouped data elements formatted as a block ofi binary via a fixed memory offset using either fixed storage allocation, circular queuetechniques, or best practices with respect to memory management (e.g., paged memory, leastrecently used, etc.). By using BLOB methods, the ability to store various data sets that havedifferent formats facilitates the storage of data by multiple and unrelated owners of the datasets. For example, a first data set which may be stored may be provided by a first party, a> second data set which may be stored may be provided by an unrelated second party, and yeta third data set which may be stored, may be provided by a. third party unrelated to the firstand second party. Each of these three exemplary data sets may contain different informationthat is stored using different data storage formats and/or techniques. Further, each data setmay contain subsets of data that also may be distinct from other subsets. i As stated above, in various embodiments, the data can be stored without regard to a common format. However, in one exemplary embodiment, the data set (e.g., BLOB) maybe annotated in a standard manner when provided. The annotation may comprise a shortheader, trailer, or other appropriate indicator related to each data set that is configured toconvey information useful in managing the various data sets. For example, the annotation i may be called a “condition header,” “header,” “trailer,” or “status,” herein, and maycomprise an indication of the status of the data set or may include an identifier correlated toa specific issuer or owner of the data. In one example, the first three bytes of each data setBLOB may be configured or configurable to indicate the status of that particular data set(e.g., LOADED, INITIALIZED, READY, BLOCKED, REMOVABLE, or DELETED).

The data set annotation may also be used for other types of status information as wellas various other purposes. For example, the data set annotation may include securityinformation establishing access levels. The access levels may, for example, be configured topermit only certain Individuals, levels of employees, companies, or other entities to accessdata sets, or io permit access to specific data sets based on installation, initialization, user or1 the like. Furthermore, the security information may restrict/permit only certain actions suchas accessing, modifying, and/or deleting data sets. In one example, the data set annotationindicates that only the data set owner or the user are permitted to delete a data set, various identified employees are permitted to access the data set for reading, and others arealtogether excluded from accessing the data set. However, other access restrictionparameters may also be used allowing various other employees to access a data set withvarious permission levels as appropriate.

One skilled in the art will also appreciate that, for security reasons, any databases,systems, devices, servers or other components of the present disclosure may consist of anycombination thereof at a single location or at multiple locations, wherein each database orsystem includes any of various suitable security features, such as firewalls, access codes,encryption, decryption, compression, decompression, and/or the like.

The computers discussed herein may provide a suitable website or other Internet-based graphical user interface which is accessible by users. In one embodiment, theMicrosoft Internet Information Server (IIS) (RTM), Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS)(RTM), and Microsoft SQL Server (RTM), are used in conjunction with the Microsoft(RTM) operating system, Microsoft NT (RTM) web server software, a Microsoft SQLServer (RTM) database system, and a Microsoft Commerce Server (RTM). Additionally,components such as Access (RTM) or Microsoft SQL Server (RTM), Oracle (RTM),Sybase (RTM), Informix MySQL (RTM), Interbase (RTM), etc., may be used to provide anActive Data Object (ADO) compliant database management system.

Any of the communications (e.g., communication link 120), inputs, storage,databases or displays discussed herein may be facilitated through a website having webpages. The term “web page” as it is used herein is not meant to limit the type of documentsand applications that might be used to interact with the user. For example, a typical websitemight include, in addition to standard HTML documents, various forms, Java (RTM)applets, JavaScript (RTM), active server pages (ASP), common gateway interface scripts(CGI), extensible markup language (XML), dynamic HTML, cascading style sheets (CSS),helper applications, plug-ins, and the like. A server may include a web service that receivesa request from a web server, the request including a URL (http://yahoo.com/stockquotes/ge)and an IP address (123.45.6.78). The web server retrieves the appropriate web pages andsends the data or applications for the web pages to the IP address. Web services areapplications that are capable of interacting with other applications over a communicationsmeans, such as the Internet. Web services are typically based on standards or protocols suchas XML, SOAP, WSDL and UDDI. Web services methods are well known in the art, and are covered in many standard texts. See, e.g.. Alex Nghiem, “IT Web Services: A Roadmapfor foe Enterprise,” (2003), hereby incorporated herein by reference.

One or more computerized systems and/or users may facilitate control of ASC 100.As used herein, a user may include an employer, an employee, a structure inhabitant, abuilding administrator, a computer, a software program, facilities maintenance personnel,and/or any other user and/or system. In one embodiment, a user connected to a LAN mayaccess ASC 100 to facilitate movement of one or more window coverings and/or adjustmentof one or more variable characteristics of a glass. In another embodiment, ASC 100 may beconfigured to work with one or more third-party shade control systems, such as, for1 example, Draper’s IntelliFlex© Control System. In addition and/or in an alternativeembodiment, a Building Management System (BMS), a lighting system and/or an HVACSystem may be configured to control and/or communicate with ASC 100 to facilitateoptimum interior lighting and climate control. Further, ASC 100 may be configured to beremotely controlled and/or controllable by, for example, a service center. ASC 100 may beconfigured for both automated positioning of the window coverings (and/or automatedcontrol of one or more variable characteristics of a glass) and a manual override capability,either through a programmable user interface such as a computer or through a control userinterface such as a switch. Additionally, ASC 100 may be configured to receive updatedsoftware and/or firmware programming via a remote communication link, such ascommunication link 120. ASC 100 may also be configured to transmit and/or receiveinformation directed to operational reporting, system management reporting,troubleshooting, diagnostics, error reporting and the like via a remote communication link.Further, ASC 100 may be configured to transmit information generated by one or moresensors, such as motion sensors, wind sensors, radiometers, photosensors, temperaturesensors, and the like, to a remote location via a remote communication link. Moreover, ASC100 may be configured to transmit and/or receive any appropriate information via a remotecommunication link.

In one embodiment, an adaptive/proactive mode may be included. Theadaptive/proactive mode may be configured to operate upon first installation for presetduration, whereby manual overrides of the automated settings may be logged and/or criticalparameters identified which update the automated routines as to when a specific zone ofshades should be deployed to a specific position. Averaging algorithms may be employed to minimize overcompensation. The manual override may be accomplished via a number ofmethodologies based on how accessible the capability is made to the occupant. In oneembodiment, a manager or supervisor may be in charge of manually overriding the shadesettings and/or one or more variable characteristics of a glass in order to mitigate issuesi where there may be a variance in comfort settings between individuals. However, overridecapability may be provided, for example, through switches, a telephone interface, a browserfacility on the workstation, a PDA, touch screen, switch and/or by using a remote control.In open plan areas where multi-banded shades are employed, an infrared control may beemployed so that the user points directly at the shadeband which needs to be operated. I Thus, an infrared sensor may be applied by each band of a multibanded shade especially Ifthe sensor is somewhat concealed. ASC 100 may additionally be configured with a presettimer wherein automatic operation of the window coverings and/or automated control of oneor more variable characteristics of a glass will resume after a preset period after manualoverride of the system. i In another embodiment, ASC 100 is configured to facilitate control of one or more motor zones, shade bands and/or shade zone. Each motor zone may comprise one motor130 for one to six shade bands. The shade zones include one or more motor zones and/orfloor/elevation zones. For example, in a building that is twelve stories high, each tenantmay have six floors. Each floor may comprise one shade zone, containing 3 motor zones. i Each motor zone, In turn, may comprise 3 shade bands. A tenant on floors three and fourmay access ASC 100 to directly control at least one of the shade zones, motor zones and/orshade bands of its floors, without compromising or affecting the shade control of the othertenants.

In another embodiment, ASC 100 is configured with a “Shadow Program,” to adaptto shadows caused by nearby buildings and/or environmental components, for example hills,mountains, and the like. For example, the shadow program uses a computer model ofadjacent buildings and topography to model and characterize the shadows caused bysurrounding nearby buildings on different parts of the object building. That is, ASC 100may use the shadow program to raise the shades (and/or adjust one or more variablecharacteristics of a glass, for example increasing the visible light transmission) for ail motorzones and/or shade zones that are In shadow from an adjacent building, from trees andmountains, from other physical conditions in addition to buildings, and/or from any other obstruction of any kind. This further facilitates maximization of daylight for the time thespecific motor zones and/or shade zones are in shadow, When the shadow moves to othermotor and/or shade zones (as the sun moves), ASC 100 may revert to the normal operatingprogram protocols and override the shadow program. Thus ASC 100 can maximize natural > interior daylighting and help reduce artificial interior lighting needs.

In another embodiment, ASC 100 is configured with a “Reflectance Program,” toadapt to light reflected by reflective surfaces. As used herein, reflectance may be consideredto be beamed luminance and/or illumination from a specular surface. Light may be reflectedonto a building by a body of water, an expanse of snow, an expanse of sand, a glass surface) of a building, a metal surface of a building, and the like. For example, the reflectanceprogram uses a computer model of adjacent buildings and topography to model andcharacterize the light reflected by reflective surfaces onto different parts of the objectbuilding. That is, ASC 100 may use the reflectance program to move (lower and/or raise)one or more window coverings 255, for example a window covering 255 in a motor zone > and/or shade zones that are in reflected light from any reflected light surface and/or reflectedlight source of any kind. Additionally, ASC 100 may use the reflectance program to adjustone or more variable characteristics of a glass, for example glass that is in reflected lightfrom any reflected light surface and/or reflected light source of any kind. In this manner,undesirable glare may be reduced. Moreover, certain types of reflected beamed and/or s diffuse illumination may also provide additional daylighting, particularly when the light isdirected toward a ceiling. When the reflected light moves to other motor and/or shade zones(e.g., as the sun moves), ASC 100 may revert to the normal operating program protocolsand/or override the reflectance program. Thus, ASC 100 can maximize natural interiordaylighting, help reduce artificial interior lighting needs, and/or reduce glare and otherI lighting conditions.

In a reflectance program, reflective objects may be defined by the computer asindividual objects in a three-dimensional model, Moreover, reflective objects may bedefined as multiple objects coupled together or otherwise interrelated. Moreover, eachreflective object may have multiple reflective surfaces. Each reflective object may bei partially or fully, enabled or disabled (i.e., partially or fully included in reflectancecalculations or omitted from reflectance calculations). In this manner, if a particularreflective object (or any portion thereof) turns out, for example, to be less reflective than anticipated and/or insufficiently reflective to be of concern at a particular brightnessthreshold, then that particular reflective object may be fully or partially removed fromreflectance calculations without affecting reflectance calculations for other reflectiveobjects. Moreover, a reflectance program utilized by ASC 100 may be activated orinactivated, as desired. For example, the reflectance program may be configured to beactivated if external conditions are considered to be sunny, and the reflectance program may-be configured to be inactive if external conditions are considered to be overcast and/orcloudy.

Moreover, a reflectance program utilized by ASC 100 may be configured withinformation regarding the nature of each reflective object (e.g., dimensions, surfacecharacteristics, compositions of materials, etc). In this manner, ASC 100 may respondappropriately to various types of reflected light. For example, in the case of a reflectionfrom a building, the resulting apparent position of the sun has a positive altitude. Therefore,the reflected solar ray is coining downward onto the building in question, just as a directsolar ray is always coming down. Thus, in response, ASC 100 may utilize one or more solarpenetration algorithms in order to move a window covering incrementally downward to atleast partially block the incoming reflected solar ray. In another example, in the case ofreflectance from a body of water such as a pond, the resulting apparent position of the sunhas a negative altitude (e.g., the reflected light appears to originate from a sun shining upfrom below the horizon). In response, ASC 100 may move a window covering to a fullyclosed position (and/or adjust one or more variable characteristics of a glass, for exampledecreasing visible light transmission) to at least partially block the incoming reflected ray.However, ASC 100 may take any desired action, may move a window covering to anysuitable location and/or into any appropriate configuration, and/or may adjust one or morevariable characteristics of a glass, responsive to reflectance information, and ASC 100 is notlimited to the examples given.

In certain embodiments, ASC 100 may be configured with a minimum calculatedreflectance duration threshold before responding to calculated reflectance informationgenerated by a reflectance program. For example, a particular calculated portion of reflectedlight may be cast onto a particular surface only for a limited amount of time, for exampleone minute. Thus, movement of a window covering and/or adjustment of a variablecharacteristic of a glass responsive to this reflected light may be unnecessary. Moreover, movement of the window covering and/or adjustment of a variable characteristic of a glassmay not be able to be completed before the reflected light has ceased. Thus, in anembodiment, ASC 100 is configured to respond to calculated reflectance information only ifthe calculated reflected light will continuously impinge on a window for one (1) minute orlonger. In another embodiment, ASC 100 is configured to respond to calculated reflectanceinformation only if the calculated reflected light will continuously impinge upon a windowfor five (5) minutes or longer. Moreover, ASC 100 may be configured to respond tocalculated reflectance information wherein the calculated reflected light will continuouslyimpinge upon a window for any desired length of time.

Additionally, ASC 100 may be configured with various reflectance response times,for example advance and/or delay periods, associated with calculated reflectanceinformation. For example, ASC 100 may be configured to move a window covering and/oradjust a variable characteristic of a glass before a calculated reflected light ray will impingeon a window, for example one (1) minute before a calculated reflected light ray will impingeon the window. ASC 100 may also be configured to move a window covering and/or adjusta variable characteristic of a glass after a calculated reflected light ray has impinged on awindow, for example ten (10) seconds after a calculated reflected light ray has impinged ona window. Moreover, ASC 100 may be configured with any appropriate advance and/ordelay periods responsive to calculated reflectance information, as desired. Additionally, theadvance and/or delay periods may vary from zone to zone. Thus, ASC 100 may have a firstreflectance response time associated with a first zone, a second reflectance response timeassociated with a second zone, and so on, and the reflectance response times associated witheach zone may differ. Additionally, a user may update the reflectance response timeassociated with a particular zone, as desired. ASC 100 may thus be configured with anynumber of zone reflectance response times, default reflectance response times, user-inputreflectance response times, and the like.

In various embodiments, a reflectance program utilized by ASC 100 may beconfigured to model primary reflectance information and/or higher order reflectanceinformation, e.g., information regarding dispersion reflections. The reflection of light off anon-ideal surface will generate a primary reflection (a first order reflection) and higher orderdispersion reflections. In general, second order dispersion reflections and/or higher orderdispersion reflections may be modeled provided that sufficient information regarding the associated reflective surface is available (for example, information regarding materialcharacteristics, surface conditions, and/or the like). Information regarding primaryreflections from a reflective surface, as well as information regarding higher orderreflections from the reflective surface, may be stored in a database associated with thereflectance program. This stored information may be utilized by the reflectance program tocalculate the appearance of various reflected light rays. However, due to various factors (forexample, absorption at the reflective surface, absorption and/or scattering due to suspendedparticles in the air, and/or the like) the calculated reflected light rays may in fact beunobtrusive or even undetectable to a human observer where the calculated reflected light iscalculated to fall. Thus, no change in a position of a window covering and/or no adjustmentof a variable characteristic of a glass may be needed to maintain visual comfort. ASC 100may therefore ignore a calculated reflected light ray in order to avoid “ghosting” - i.e.,movement of window coverings and/or adjustment of a variable characteristic of a glass forno apparent reason to a human observer.

In general, a ray of light may be reflected any number of times (e.g., once, twice,three times, and so on). A reflectance program may therefore model repeated reflections inorder to account for reflected light on a particular target surface. For example, sunlight mayfail on a first budding with a reflective surface. The light directly reflected off this firstbuilding has been reflected one time; thus, this light may be considered once reflected light.The once reflected light may travel across the street and contact a second reflective building.After being reflected from the second building, the once reflected light becomes twicereflected light. The twice reflected light may be further reflected to become thrice reflectedlight, and so on. Because modeling multiple reflection interactions for a particular light rayresults in increased computational load, larger data sets, and other data, a reflectanceprogram may be configured to model a predetermined maximum number of reflections for aparticular light ray in order to achieve a desired degree of accuracy regarding reflected lightwithin a desired computation time. For example, in various embodiments, a reflectanceprogram may model only once reflected light (e.g., direct reflections only). In otherembodiments, a reflectance program may model once and twice reflected fight. Moreover, areflectance program may model reflected light which has been reflected off any number ofreflective surfaces, as desired.

Additionally, because surfaces are typically not perfectly reflective, reflected light isless intense than direct light. Thus, the intensity of light decreases each time it is reflected.Therefore, a reflectance program utilized by ASC 100 may limit the maximum number ofcalculated reflections for a particular light ray in order to generate calculated reflectancel information. For example, a thrice reflected light ray may be calculated to fall on a targetwindow. However, due to absorption caused by the various intermediate reflective surfaces,the intensity of the thrice reflected light ray may be very low, and may in fact be unobtrusiveor even undetectable to a human observer. Thus, no change in a position of a windowcovering and/or adjustment of a variable characteristic of a glass may be needed to maintaini visual comfort. ASC 100 may therefore ignore the calculated thrice reflected light ray inorder to avoid ghosting. Additionally, ASC 100 may calculate reflectance information foronly a small number of reflections interactions (for example, once reflected light or twicereflected light) in order to avoid ghosting.

In various embodiments, ASC 100 may utilize one or more data tables, for example awindow table, an elevation table, a floor table, a building table, a shadow table, a reflectivesurface table, and the like. A window table may comprise information associated with oneor more windows of a building (e.g., location information, index information, and the like).An elevation table may comprise information associated with one or more elevations of abuilding (e.g., location information, index information, and the like). A floor table maycomprise information associated with floor of a building (e.g., floor number, height fromground, and the like). A building table may comprise information about a building, forexample, orientation (e.g,, compass direction), 3-D coordinate information, and the like. Ashadow table may comprise information associated with one or more objects which may atleast partially block sunlight from striking a building, for example, the height of a mountain,the dimensions of an adjacent building, and the like. A reflective surfaces table maycomprise information associated with one or more reflective surfaces, for example, 3-Dcoordinate information, and the like. In this manner, ASC 100 may calculate desiredinformation, for example, when sunlight may be reflected from one or more reflectivesurfaces onto one or more locations on a building, when a portion of a building may be in ashadow cast by an adjacent building, and the like. ASC 100 solar tracking algorithms may be configured to assess and analyze theposition of the glazing (i.e., vertical, horizontal, sloped In any direction) to determine the solar heat gain and solar penetration. ASC 100 may also use solar tracking algorithms todetermine if there are shadows and/or reflections on the glazing, window wall and/or facadefrom the building’s own architectural features. These architectural features include, but arenot limited to, windows, skylights, bodies of water, overhangs, fins, louvers, and/or lightshelves. Thus, if the building is shaded by, and/or in reflected light from, any of thesearchitectural features, the window' covering and/or a variable characteristic of a glass may beadjusted accordingly using .ASC 100 algorithms. ASC 100 may be configured with one or more user interfaces to facilitate user accessand control. For example, as illustrated in an exemplary screen shot of a user interface 5001 in FIG. 5, a user interface may include a variety of clickable links, pull down menus 510,fill-in boxes 515, and the like. User interface 500 may be used for accessing and/or definingthe wide variety of ASC 100 information used to control the shading of a building,including, for example, geodesic coordinates of a building; the floor plan of the building;universal shade system commands (e.g., add shades up, down, etc.); universal glass controlcommands (e.g,, visible light transmission to maximum, visible light transmission tominimum, etc); event logging; the actual and calculated solar position; the actual andcalculated solar angle; the actual and calculated solar radiation; the actual and calculatedsolar penetration angle and/or depth; the actual and/or calculated solar intensity; themeasured brightness and veiling glare across the height of the window wall or a portion ofthe window (e.g. the vision panel) and/or on any facades, task surfaces and/or floors;shadow information; reflectance information; the current time; solar declination; solaraltitude; solar azimuth; sky conditions; sunrise and sunset time; location of the variousradiometers zones; the azimuth or surface orientation of each zone; the compass reading ofeach zone; the brightness at the window zones; the incidence angle of the sun striking theglass in each zone; the window covering positions for each zone; the values for one or morevariable characteristics for each glass; the heat gain; and/or any other parameters used ordefined by the ASC 100 components, the users, the radiometers, the light sensors, thetemperature sensors, and the like. ASC 100 may also be configured to generate one or more reports based on any of theASC 100 parameters as described above. For example, ASC 100 can generate daylighiingreports based on floor plans, power usage, event log data, sensor locations, shade positions,shade movements, adjustments to variable characteristics of a glass, shadow information, reflectance information, the relationship of sensor data to shade movements and/or tomanual over-rides and/or the like. The reporting feature may aiso allow users to analyzehistorical data detail. For example, historical data regarding shade movement and/oradjustment of a variable characteristic of a glass in conjunction with at least one of skycondition, brightness sensor data, shadow information, reflectance information, and the like,may allow users to continually optimize the system over time. As another example, data fora particular period can be compared from one year to the next, providing an opportunity tooptimize the system in ways that have never been possible or practical with existingsystems. ASC 100 may be configured to operate in automatic mode (based upon presetwindow covering movements and/or adjustments of a variable characteristic of a glass)and/or reactive modes (based upon readings from one or more sensors 125). For example,an array of one or more visible light spectrum photo sensors may be implemented in reactivemode where they are oriented on the roof towards the horizon. The photo sensors may beused to qualify and/or quantify the sky conditions, for example at sunrise and/or sunset.Further, the photo sensors may be configured inside the structure to detect the amount ofvisible light within a structure. ASC 100 may further communicate with one or moreartificial lighting systems to optimize the visible lighting within a structure based upon thephoto sensor readings.

With reference to an exemplary diagram Illustrated in FIG. 2A, an embodiment of awindow system 200 is depicted, Window system 200 comprises a structural surface 205configured with one or more windows 210. A housing 240 may be connected to structuralsurface 205. Housing 240 may comprise one or more motors 130 and/or opening devices250 configured for adjusting one or more window coverings 255. Based on factorsincluding, for example, time of day, time of year, window geometry, building geometry,building environment, and the like, a solar ray may achieve an actual solar penetration 260into an enclosed space through window' system 200. With reference now to FIG. 2B, one ormore window coverings 255 may be extended in order to partially and/or fully block and/orobstruct the solar ray in order to limit an actual solar penetration to a programmed solarpenetration 270.

With continued reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, structural surface 205 may comprise awall, a steel reinforcement beam, a ceiling, a floor, and/or any other structural surface or component. Windows 210 may comprise any type of window, including, for example,skylights and/or any other type of openings configured for sunlight penetration. Moreover,windows 210 may comprise “smart” glass having one or more variable characteristics.Housing 240 may be configured as any type of housing, including, for example, ceramicpipes, hardware housings, plastic housings, and/or any other type of housing. Openingdevices 250 may comprise pull cords, roller bars, drawstrings, ties, pulleys, levers, and/orany other type of device configured to facilitate adjusting, opening, closing, and/or varyingwindow coverings 255,

Window coverings 255 may be any type of covering for a window for facilitatingcontrol of solar glare, brightness and veiling glare, contrasting brightness and veiling glare,illuminance ratios, solar heat gain or loss, UV exposure, uniformity of design and/or forproviding a better interior environment for the occupants of a. structure supporting increasedproductivity. Window coverings 255 may be any type of covering for a window, such as,for example, blinds, drapes, shades, Venetian blinds, vertical blinds, adjustable louvers orpanels, fabric coverings with and/or without low E coatings, mesh, mesh coverings, windowslats, metallic coverings and/or the like.

Window coverings 255 may also comprise two or more different fabrics or types ofcoverings to achieve optimum shading. For example, window coverings 255 may beconfigured with both fabric and window slats. Furthermore, various embodiments mayemploy a dual window covering system whereby two window coverings 255 of differenttypes are employed to optimize the shading performance under two different modes ofoperation. For instance, under clear sky conditions a darker fabric color may face theinterior of the building (weave permitting a brighter surface to the exterior of the building toreflect incident energy back out of the building) to minimize reflections and glare thusprofnoting a view to the outside while reducing brightness and veiling glare and thermalload on the space. .Alternatively, during cloudy conditions a brighter fabric facing theinterior may be deployed to positively reflect interior brightness and veiling glare back intothe space thus minimizing gloom to promote productivity.

Window coverings 255 may also be configured to be aesthetically pleasing. Forexample, window coverings 255 may be adorned with various decorations, colors, textures,logos, pictures, and/or other features to provide aesthetic benefits. In one embodiment,window coverings 255 are configured with aesthetic features on both sides of the coverings.

In another embodiment, only one side of coverings 255 are adorned. Window coverings 255may aiso be configured with reflective surfaces, light-absorbent surfaces, wind resistancematerial, rain resistance material, and/or any other type of surface and/or resistance. WhileFIG. 2 depicts window coverings 255 configured within a structure, window coverings 255may be configured on the outside of a structure, both inside and outside a structure, betweentwo window panes and/or the like. Motors 130 and/or opening device 250 may beconfigured to facilitate adjusting window coverings 255 to one or more positions alongwindow 210 and/or structural surface 205. For example, as depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B,motor 130 and/or opening device 250 may be configured to move window coverings 255into any number of stop positions, such as into four different stop positions 215, 220, 225,and 230.

Moreover, window- coverings 255 may be configured to be moved independently.For example, window- coverings 255 associated with a single window and/or set of window-smay comprise a series of adjustable fins or louvers, Control of the upper fins may beseparate from control of the lower fins. Thus, fight from lower fins may be directed at a firstangle to protect people and daylighting, while light from upper fins may be directed at asecond angle to maximize illumination on the ceiling and into the space behind the fins. Inanother example, window coverings 255 associated with a single window and/or set ofwindows may comprise roller screens and/or horizontal blinds associated with a lowerportion of a single window and/or set of windows, and a series of adjustable fins or louversassociated with an upper portion of a single window and/or sei of windows. Control of thelower roller screens and/or lower horizontal blinds may be separate from the upper louvers.As before, the lower roller screens and/or lower horizontal blinds may protect people anddaylighting, while the upper louvers may direct light toward the ceiling to maximizeillumination on the celling and into the space behind the louvers.

Further, window coverings 255 may comprise any number of individual components,such as multiple shade tiers. For example, window coverings 255 associated with a singlewindow- and/or set of window-s may comprise multiple horizontal and/or vertical tiers, forexample three shade tiers -- a bottom tier, a middle tier, and a top tier. Control of each shadetier may be separate from control of each other shade tier. Thus, for example, the top shadetier may be moved down, then the middle tier may be moved down, and then the lower tiermay be moved down, and vice versa. Moreover, multiple shades may be configured to act in concert. For example, a 300 foot high window may be covered by three 100 foot shades,each of which are controlled individually. However, the three 100 foot shades may beconfigured to move in a concerted manner so as to provide continuous or nearly continuousdeployment of shading from top to bottom. Thus, multiple shade tiers may be moved in any • sequence and/or into any configuration suitable to facilitate control of one or .moreparameters such as, for example, interior brightness, interior temperature, solar heat gain,and the like.

Stop positions 215, 220, 225, and 230 may be determined based on the sky type.That is, CCS 110 may be configured to run one or more programs to automatically control I the movement of the motorized window' coverings 255 unless a user chooses to manuallyoverride the control of some or all of the coverings 255. One or more programs may beconfigured to move window coverings 255 to shade positions 215, 220, 225, and 230depending on a variety of factors, including, for example, latitude, the time of day, the timeof year, the measured solar radiation intensity, the orientation of window 210, the extent ofsolar penetration 235, shadow information, reflectance information, and/or any other user-defined modifiers. Additionally, window coverings 255 may be configured to speciallyoperate under a severe weather mode, such as, for example, during hurricanes, tornadoes,and the like. While FIGS. 2A and 2B depict four different stop positions, /kSC 100 maycomprise any number of shade and/or stop positions for facilitating automated shade control.

For example, shading on a building may cause a number of effects, including, forexample, reduced heat gain, a variation in the shading coefficient, reduced visible lighttransmission to as low as 0-1%, lowered "U" value with the reduced conductive heat flowfrom "hot to cold” (for example, reduced heat flow into the building in summer), and/orreduced heat flow through the glazing in winter. Window coverings 255 may be configuredwith lower ”U" values to facilitate bringing the surface temperature of the inner surface ofwindow coverings 255 doser to the room temperature. That is, to facilitate making the innersurface of window coverings 255 i.e. cooler than the glazing in the summer and warmer thanthe glazing in the winter. As a result, window coverings 255 may help occupants near thewindow wail to not sense the warmer surface of the glass and therefore feel morecomfortable in the summer and require less air conditioning. Similarly, window coverings255 may help during the winter months by helping occupants maintain body heat whilesitting adjacent to the cooler glass, and thus require lower interior heating temperatures. The net effect is to facilitate a reduction in energy usage inside the building by minimizing roomtemperature modifications. ASC 100 may be configured to operate in a variety of sky modes to facilitatemovement of window coverings 255 and/or adjustment of one or more variablecharacteristics of windows 210 for optimum interior lighting. The sky modes include, forexample, overcast mode, night mode, clear sky mode, partly cloudy mode, sunrise mode,sunset mode and/or any other user configured operating mode. ASC 100 may be configuredto use clear sky solar algorithms developed by the American Society of Heating,Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE (RTM)) and/or any other clear skysolar algorithms known or used to calculate and quantify sky models. For example, andwith reference to FIG. 4, the ASHRAE (RTM) model 400 may include a curve of theASHRAE (RTM) theoretical clear sky solar radiation 405 as a function of time 410 and theintegrated solar radiation value 415. Time 410 depicts the time from sunrise to sunset. Themeasured solar radiation values 420 may then be plotted to show the measured values to thecalculated clear sky values. ASHRAE (RTM) model 400 may be used to facilitate trackingsky conditions throughout the day. CCS 110 may be configured to draw a new ASHRAE(RTM) model 400 every hour, every day, and/or at any other user-defined time interval.Additionally, ASC 100 may be configured to compare measured solar radiation values 420to threshold level 425. Threshold level 425 may represent a percentage of ASHRAE (RTM)calculated clear sky solar radiation 405. When measured solar radiation values 420 exceedthreshold level 425, ASC 100 may be configured to operate in a first sky mode, such as clearsky mode. Similarly, when measured solar radiation values 420 do not exceed thresholdlevel 425, ASC may be configured to operate in a second sky mode, such as overcast mode. ASC 100 may use the ASHRAE (RTM) clear sky models in conjunction with one ormore inputs from one or more sensors 125, such as radiometers, to measure theinstantaneous solar radiation levels within a structure and/or to determine the sky mode.CCS 110 may be configured to send commands to motors 130 and/or window openings 250to facilitate adjustment of the position of window coverings 255 in accordance with the skymode, the solar heat gain into the structure, the solar penetration into the structure, ambientillumination and/or any other user defined criteria. Moreover, CCS 110 may be configuredto send commands to glass controllers 140 to facilitate adjustment of one or more variablecharacteristics of windows 210 in accordance with the sky mode, the solar heat gain into the structure, the solar penetration into the structure, ambient illumination and/or any other userdefined criteria.

For example, in one embodiment, the ASHRAE (RTM) model can be used toprovide a reduced heat gain which is measured by the shading coefficient factor of a fabricwhich varies by density, weave and color. In addition the window covering, when extendedover the glass, may add a "U" Value (reciprocal to "R" value) and reduce conductive heatgain (i.e. reduction in temperature transfer by conduction.)

For example, with reference to a flowchart exemplified in FIG. 3, CCS 110 may beconfigured to receive solar radiation readings from one or more sensors 125, such asradiometers (step 301). CCS 110 may then determine whether any of the sensor readingsare out-of-range, thus indicating an error (step 303). If any of the readings/values are out-of-range, CCS 110 may be configured to average the readings of the in-range sensors to obtaina compare value (step 305) for comparison with an ASHRAE (RTM) clear sky solarradiation model (step 307). If all readings are in-range, then each sensor value may becompared to a theoretical solar radiation value predicted by the ASHRAE (RTM) clear skysolar radiation model (step 307). That is, each sensor 125 may have a reading that indicatesa definable deviation in percentage from the ASHRAE (RTM) clear sky theoretical value.Thus, if the sensor readings are all a certain percentage from the theoretical value, it can bedetermined that the conditions are cloudy or clear (step 308). CCS 110 may also be configured to calculate and/or incorporate the solar heat gain(SHG) period for one or more zones (step 309). By calculating the SHG, CCS 110 maycommunicate with one or more sun sensors configured within ASC 100. The sun sensorsmay be located on the windows, in the interior space, on the exterior of a structure and/or atany other location to facilitate measuring the solar penetration and/or solar radiation and/orheat gain at that location. CCS 110 may be configured to compare the current position ofone or more window coverings 255 to positions based on the most recent calculated SHG todetermine whether window coverings 255 should be moved. Moreover, CCS 110 may beconfigured to compare a current value of one or more variable characteristics of window 210to values based on the most recent calculated SHG to determine whether one or morevariable characteristics of window 210 should be adjusted. CCS 110 may additionallydetermine the time of the last movement of window coverings 255 (and/or the time of thelast adjustment of a variable characteristic of window 210) to determine if another movement (or adjustment) is needed. For example, if the user-specified minimum timeinterval has not yet elapsed, then CCS 110 may be configured to ignore the latest SHG andnot move window coverings 255 and/or adjust a variable characteristic of window 210 (step311). Alternately, CCS 110 may be configured to override the user-defined time interval forwindow coverings 255 movements and/or adjustments of a variable characteristic of window210. Thus, CCS 110 may facilitate movement of coverings 255 to correspond to the latestSHG value and/or adjustment of a variable characteristic of window 210 to correspond tothe latest SHG value (step 313).

While FIG. 3 depicts the movement of window coverings 255 and/or adjustment of avariable characteristic of window 210 in a specific manner with specific steps, any numberof these steps may be used to facilitate movement of window coverings 255 and/oradjustment of a variable characteristic of window 210. Further, while a certain order ofsteps is presented, any of the steps may occur in any order. Further still, while the methodof FIG. 3 anticipates using sensors and/or the SHG to facilitate movement of windowcoverings 255 and/or adjustment of a variable characteristic of window 210, a variety ofadditional and/or alternative factors may be used by CCS 110 to facilitate movement and/oradjustment, such as, for example, the calculated solar radiation intensity incident on eachzone, user requirements for light pollutions, structural insulation factors, light uniformityrequirements, seasonal requirements, and the like.

For example, ASC 100 may be configured to employ a variety of iterations for themovement of window coverings 255 and/or adjustment of a variable characteristic ofwindow 210. In one embodiment, ASC 100 may be configured to use a Variable AllowableSolar Penetration Program (VASPP), wherein ASC 100 may be configured to applydifferent maximum solar penetration settings based on the time of the year. These solarpenetrations may be configured to vary some of the operation of ASC 100 because of thevariations in sun angles during the course of a year. For example, in the wintertime (inNorth America), the sun will be at a lower angle and thus sensors 125, such as radiometersand/or any other sensors used in accordance with principles of the present disclosure, maydetect maximum BTUs (Joules), and there may be high solar penetration into a structure.That is, the brightness and veiling glare on the south and east orientations of the buildingwill have substantial sunshine and brightness on the window wall for the winter months, forextended periods of the day from at least 10 am to 2pm. Under these situations, theallowable solar penetration setting of ASC 100 may be set lower to facilitate more protection due to thelower solar angles and higher brightness and veiling glare levels across the facade of thestructure. In another embodiment, a shade cloth with a medium to medium dark value greyto the out side and a light medium grey to the interior at 2—3 % openness, depending on theinterior color may be used to control brightness, maximize view and allow for the more openfabric.

In contrast, in the summertime, the sun will be at a higher angle minimizing BTU(Joule) load, thus the allowable solar penetration for ASC 100 may be set higher to facilitateviewing during clear sky conditions. For example, the north, northwest and northeastorientations generally have much lower solar loads year round but do have the orb of the sunin the early morning and the late afternoon in summer, and may have brightness levels thatexceed 2000 NITS; 5500 Lux (5500 lumens per square meter) (current window brightnessdefault value) at various times of the year and day however for shorter periods. These highsolar intensities are most prevalent during the three month period centered on June 21, thesummer solstice. To combat this, ASC 100 may be configured so that the higher solarpenetration does not present a problem with light reaching an uncomfortable position withregard to interior surfaces. Under these conditions, the VASPP may be configured withroutine changes in solar penetration throughout the year, for example, by month or bychanges in season (i.e., by the seasonal solstices). A minimum BTU (Joule) load (“go”/“no-go”) may additionally be employed in ASC 100 whereby movement of window coverings255 and/or adjustment of a variable characteristic of window 210 may not commence unlessthe BTU (Joule) load on the facade of a structure is above a certain preset level.

The VASPP may also be configured to adjust the solar penetration based on the solarload on the glass. For example, if the south facing elevation has a stairwell, it may have adifferent solar penetration requirement than the office area and different from the corner atthe west elevation. Light may filter up and down the stairwell causing shades to moveasymmetrically. As a result, window coverings 255 may be lowered or raised (and/or avariable characteristic of window 210 may be adjusted) based upon the sun angle and solarheat gain levels (which may or may not be confirmed by active sensors before makingadjustments). The VASPP may also be configured with an internal brightness and veilingglare sensor to facilitate fine-tuning of the levels of window coverings 255 and/or values ofa variable characteristic of window 210. Additionally, there may be one or more pre- adjusted set position points of window coverings 255 and/or one ore more pre-adjustedvalues of a variable characteristic of window 210 based on a day/brightness analysis. Theday/brightness analysis may factor in any one or more of, for example, estimated BTU(Joule) loads, sky conditions, daylight times, veiling glare, averages from light sensorsand/or any other relevant algorithms and/or data.

In another exemplary embodiment, one or more optical photo sensors may be locatedin the interior, exterior or within a structure. The photo sensors may facilitatedaylight/brightness sensing and averaging for reactive protection of excessive brightness andveiling glare due to reflecting surfaces from the surrounding cityscape or urban landscape.These bright reflective surfaces may include but are not limited to, reflective glass onadjacent buildings, water surfaces, sand, snow, and/or any other bright surfaces exterior tothe building which under specific solar conditions will send visually debilitating reflectivelight into the building.

In one exemplary method, the sensors may be located about 30-36 inches from thefloor and about 6-inches from the fabric to emulate the field of view (FOV) from a desk top.One or more additional sensors may detect light by looking at the light through windowcoverings 255 while it moves through the various stop positions and/or while window 210moves through various values of one or more adjustable characteristics of window 210. TheFOV sensors and the additional sensors may be averaged to determine the daylight levels. Ifthe value of daylight levels is greater than a default value, ASC 100 may enter a brightnessoverride mode and move window coverings 255 to another position and/or adjust a variablecharacteristic of window 210. If the daylight levels do not exceed the default value, ASC100 may not enter a brightness override mode and thus not move window coverings 255and/or adjust a variable characteristic of window 210. Afterwards, ASC 100 may beconfigured for fine-tuning the illuminance levels of the window wall by averaging theshaded and unshaded portion of the window. Fine tuning may be used to adjust the field ofview from a desk top in accordance with the season, interior, exterior, and furnitureconsiderations and/or task and personal considerations.

In another embodiment, ASC 100 may be configured with about 6-10 photo sensorspositioned in the following exemplary locations: (1) one photo sensor looking at the fabricat about 3 feet 9 inches off the floor and about 3 inches from the fabric at a south elevation;(2) one sensor looking at the glass at about 3 feet 6 inches off the floor and about 3 inches from the glass at a south elevation; (3) one sensor looking at the dry wall at a southelevation; (4) one sensor mounted on a desk-top looking at the ceiling; (5) one sensormounted outside the structure looking south; (6) one sensor mounted outside the structurelooking west; (7) one sensor about 3 inches from the center of the extended windowcoverings 255 when window coverings 255 is about 25% closed; (8) one sensor about 3inches from the center of the extended window coverings 255 when coverings 255 is about25% to 50% closed: (9) one sensor about 3 inches from the center of the glass: and (10) onesensor about 3 inches from the middle of the lower section of a window, approximately 18inches off the floor. In one embodiment, ASC 100 may average the readings from, forexample, sensors 10 and 7 described above. If the average is above a default value and theASC has not moved window coverings 255 and/or adjusted a variable characteristic ofwindow 210, coverings 255 may be moved to an about 25% closed position. Next ASC 100may average the readings from sensors 10 and 8 to determine whether window coverings255 should be moved again.

In another embodiment, ASC 100 may be configured to average the reading fromsensors 2 and I above. ASC 100 may use the average of these two sensors to determine a“go” or “no go” value. That is, if the glass sensor (sensor 2) senses too much light and ASC100 has not moved window coverings 255 and/or adjusted a variable characteristic ofwindow 210, coverings 255 will be moved to a first position and/or a variable characteristicof window 210 will be adjusted. ASC 100 will then average the glass sensor (sensor 2) andthe sensor looking only at light through the fabric (sensor 1). If this a verage value is greaterthen a user-defined default value, window coverings 255 may be moved to the next positionand/or a variable characteristic of window 210 will be adjusted and this process will berepeated. If ASC 100 has previously dictated a window covering position and/or a variablecharacteristic of window 210 based upon the solar geometry and sky conditions (asdescribed above), ASC 100 may be configured to override this positioning to lower and/orraise window coverings 255 and/or adjust a variable characteristic of window 210. If theaverage light levels on the twzo sensors drop below the default value, the positioning and/orvalues from the solar geometry and sky conditions will take over. in another similar embodiment, a series of photo sensors may be employed discreetlybehind an available structural member such as a column or staircase whereby, for example,these sensors may be located approximately 3 to 5 feet off the fabric and glass surfaces.

Four sensors may be positioned across the height of the window wail corresponding inmounting height between each of potentially five alignment positions (including full up andfoil down). These sensors may even serve a temporary purpose whereby the levels detectedon these sensors may be mapped over a certain time period either to existing ceilingmounted photo sensors already installed to help control the brightness and veiling glare ofthe lighting system in the space or even to externally mounted photo sensors in order toultimately minimize the resources required to instrument the entire building.

In another exemplary embodiment, ASC 100 may be configured with one or moreadditional light sensors that look at a window wall. The sensors may be configured tocontinuously detect and report the light levels as the shades move down the window and/oras a variable characteristic of window 210 is adjusted. ASC 100 may use these light levelsto compute the luminous value of the entire window walls, and it may use these values tofacilitate adjustment of the shades and/or adjustment of a variable characteristic of window210. In one embodiment, three different sensors are positioned to detect light from thewindow wall. In another embodiment, two different sensors are positioned to detect lightfrom the window· wall. A first sensor may be positioned to view the window shade at aposition corresponding to window coverings 255 being about 25% closed, and a secondsensor may be positioned to view the window at a position of about 75% closed. Thesensors may be used to optimize light threshold, differentiate between artificial and naturallight, and/or utilize a brightness and veiling glare sensor to protect against overcompensationfor brightness and veiling glare. This method may also employ a solar geometry overrideoption. That is, if the light values drop to a default value, the movement of windowcoverings 255 and/or adjustment of a variable characteristic of window 210 may becontrolled by solar geometric position instead of light levels.

Additionally, ASC 100 may be configured with one or more sensors looking at a dry-interior wall. The sensors may detect interior illuminance and compare this value with theaverage illuminance of one or more sensors looking at the window wall. This ratio may beused to determine the positioning of window coverings 255 (and/or values for one or morevariable characteristics of window 210) by causing coverings 255 to move up or down(and/or by adjusting one or more variable characteristics of window 210) in order to achievean interior lighting ratio of dry wall illuminance to window' wall Illuminance ranging fromabout, for example, 9:1 to 15:1. Other industry standard configurations employ illuminance ratios of 3:1 regarding a 30 degree cone of view (central field of vision) around the VDU(Video Display Unit), 10:1 regarding a 90 degree cone of view around the VDU and a ratioof 30:1 regarding back wall illuminance to the VDU. Sensors may be placed strategicallythroughout the room environment in order to bring data to the controller to support thesetypes of algorithms.

In yet another embodiment, ASC 100 may also be configured to accommodatetransparent window facades following multi-story stair sections which tend to promote a“clerestory-Hke” condition down a stairway (i.e., the upper portion of a wall that containswindows supplies natural light to a building). ASC 100 may be configured to use the solartracking algorithm to consider a double-height facade to ensure that the penetration angle ofthe sun is properly accounted for and controlled. For example, the geometry of a window(including details such as height, overhangs, fins, position in the window wall, and/or thelike) may be programmed into ASC 100, which then calculates the impact of a solar ray onthe window. The photo sensor placement and algorithms may be placed to help detect andovercome any overriding brightness and veiling glare originating from reflections from lightpenetration through the upper floors.

In another embodiment, ASC 100 may employ any combination of photo sensorslocated on the exterior of the building and/or the interior space to detect uncomfortable lightlevels during sunrise and sunset which override the window covering settings and/or valuesfor variable characteristics of a glass established by the solar tracking under theseconditions.

In another embodiment, ASC 100 may be configured to detect bright overcast daysand establish the appropriate window covering settings and/or values for variablecharacteristics of a glass under these conditions. Bright overcast days tend to have auniform brightness in the east and west while the zenith tends to be approximately one-thirdthe brightness of the horizons which is contrary to a bright, clear day where the zenith istypically three times brighter than the horizon. Exterior sensors 12.5, such as photo sensorsand/or radiometers, may be configured to detect these conditions. Under these conditions,the window coverings (top-down) may be pulled down to just below the desk height in orderto promote proper illumination at the desk surface while providing a view to the cityscape.Internal photo sensors may also be helpful in determining this condition and may allow thewindow coverings to come down to only 50% and yet preserve the brightness and veiling glare comfort derived by illuminance ratios in the space. For example, various sensors 125,such as photosensors and/or radiometers, may be placed on all sides and/or roof surfaces ofa building. For example, a rectangular building with a flat roof may have various sensors125 placed on all four sides of the building and on the roof. Thus, ASC 110 may detectdirectional sunlighting on a clear day. Additionally, ASC 110 may detect a bright overcastcondition, wherein sunlighting may have a relatively diffuse, uniform luminous character.Accordingly, ASC 110 may implement various algorithms in order to control excessive skybrightness. Moreover, ASC 100 may comprise any various sensors 125 placed on all sidesand/or facades of a building which has many orientations due to the shape of the buildingand/or the directions a building facade faces.

In various embodiments, overriding sensors 125 may also be strategically placed oneach floor and connected to ASC 100 to help detect glare reflections from the urbanlandscape as well as to handle changes made in the urban landscape and ensure the propersetting for the shades and/or variable characteristics of a glass to maintain visual comfort.These sensors 125 may also be employed to help reduce veiling glare and brightnessproblems at night in urban settings where minimal signage thresholds imposed onsurrounding buildings and the instrumented building may pose unusual lighting conditionswhich may be difficult to model. In some cases, these situations may be static, whereby asensor 125 may be unnecessary and a timer may simply be employed to handle theseconditions based on occupancy which is information that may be provided from thebuilding’s fighting system. Moreover, a reflectance algorithm may be employed by ASC100 in order to account for reflected light, including reflected sunlight, reflected artificiallight from nearby sources, and the like.

In accordance with various embodiments, and with reference now to FIG. 6, ASC100 may be configured to implement an algorithm, such as algorithm 600, incorporating atleast one of solar heat gain information, sky condition information, shadow information,reflectance information, information regarding one or more variable characteristics of aglass, solar profile information and/or solar penetration information. CCS 110 may beconfigured to receive information from one or more sensors 125, such as radiometers orother total solar measuring sensors (step 601). CSS 110 may then compare the receivedinformation to one or more model values (step 603). Based on the results of the comparison,CCS 110 may determine if the sky conditions are cloudy or clear (step 605). CCS 110 may then calculate the solar heat gain for the interior space in question (step 607). CCS i 10 maythen evaluate if the solar heat gain is above a desired threshold (step 609). If the solar heatgain is below a desired threshold, for example, one or more actions may be taken, Forexample, (i) a window covering may be moved at least partially toward to a fully openedposition, and/or (ii) one or more characteristics of a glass (e.g., shading coefficient, visiblelight transmission, reflectivity, heat flow, and/or the like) may be varied via electricalcontrol, for example in order ίο increase heat flow and/or visible light transmission (step611). Correspondingly, if (i) one or more window coverings are already in a fully openedposition, the window coverings may not be moved. Additionally, if one or more variablecharacteristics of a glass are already at or near desired values, the variable characteristicsmay not be changed.

Continuing to reference FIG. 6, if the solar heat gain is above a desired threshold,CCS 110 may use sky condition information determined in step 605 to evaluate the need totake an action, such as moving one or more window coverings, and/or varying one or morevariable characteristics of a glass (step 613). If the sky conditions are determined to beovercast, (i) one or more window coverings may be moved at least partially toward a fullyopened position and/or kept in a fully opened position, and/or (i) one or more variablecharacteristics of a glass may be modified (for example, to reduce the heat flow and/orvisible fight transmission of a glass) (step 615). If the sky conditions are determined to beclear, CCS 110 may use at ieast one of shadow information, reflectance information, and thelike, to determine if one or more windows in question are exposed to sunlight (step 617). Ifthe one or more windows in question are not exposed to sunlight, (1) the one or morewindow coverings may be moved at least partially toward a fully opened position and/orkept in a fully opened position, and/or (ii) one or more variable characteristics of a glassmay be modified (for example, to increase the visible light transmission of a glass, and/orreduce the shading coefficient) (step 619). If the one or more windows in question areexposed to sunlight, CCS 110 may calculate and/or measure the profile angle and/or incidentangle of the sunlight (step 621).

With continued reference to FIG. 6, based on information including but not limitedto solar profile angle, solar incident angle, window geometry, building features, position ofone or more window coverings, shadow information, reflectance information, variablecharacteristics of a glass, sky conditions and/or the like, CCS 110 may then calculate the current solar penetration. If the current solar penetration is below a threshold solarpenetration (step 623), (i) one or more windows coverings may be moved at least partiallytoward a fully open position and/or kept in a fully opened position, and/or (ii) one or morevariable characteristics of a glass may be modified (for example, to increase the visible lighttransmission of a glass, and/or reduce the shading coefficient) (step 625). Alternatively, ifthe current solar penetration is above a threshold solar penetration, CCS 110 may take anaction, for example (1) issuing instructions configured to move one or more windowcoverings at least partway toward a fully closed position in order to reduce the current solarpenetration below the threshold solar penetration, and/or (ii) Issuing instructions configuredto modify one or more variable characteristics of a glass (for example, to decrease thevisible light transmission of a glass, and/or reduce the shading coefficient) (step 627).

Moreover, in certain embodiments, CCS 110 and/or ASC 100 may be configuredwith a delay period before responding to information received from a sensor (for example,reflectance information, brightness information, shadow information, and/or the like). Forexample, certain reflected light, such as light reflected from a moving vehicle, may be castonto a particular surface only for a limited amount of time. Thus, movement of a windowcovering (and/or varying a variable characteristic of a glass) responsive to this reflected lightmay be unnecessary. Moreover, movement of the window covering (and/or varying avariable characteristic of a glass) may not be able to be completed before the reflected fighthas ceased. .Additionally, responding to repeated transient reflected light rays (e.g.,reflections from a procession of vehicles, from the unsettled surface of a body of water, andthe like) may result in near-constant window covering movement (and/or frequent variationof one or more variable characteristics of a glass) in an attempt to keep up with the ever-changing lighting conditions. In another example, a certain shadow condition may onlypersist for a brief period of time, for example a shadow condition caused by the sun beingmomentarily obscured by a cloud. Therefore, movement of a window covering (and/orvarying a variable characteristic of a glass) responsive to this change in lighting may beunnecessary.

Thus, in an embodiment, ASC 100 and/or CCS 110 are configured to respond toinformation from a sensor only after the sensor has reported a changed lighting condition(e.g., the appearance of reflected light, the appearance of shadow, and/or the like) persistingfor a selected period of time, tor example five (5) seconds. In another embodiment, ASC 100 and/or CCS 110 are configured to respond to information from a sensor only after thesensor has reported a changed fighting condition persisting for ten (10) seconds. In anotherembodiment, ASC 100 and/or CCS 110 are configured to respond to information from asensor only after the sensor has reported a changed lighting condition persisting for sixty(60) seconds. Moreover, any suitable response time may be utilized, and the foregoingexamples are by way of illustration and not of limitation. Additionally, ASC 100 and/orCCS 110 may have a first response time associated with a first zone, a second response timeassociated with a second zone, and so on, and the response times associated with each zonemay differ. A user may update the response time associated with a particular zone, asdesired. ASC 100 and/or CCS 110 may thus be configured with any number of zoneresponse times, default response times, user-input response times, and the like,

Turning now to FIG. 7, and in accordance with various embodiments, ASC 100 may-be configured to implement an algorithm, such as algorithm 700, incorporating brightnessinformation, CCS 110 may be configured to receive brightness information from one ormore photosensors. CCS 110 may also be configured to receive information from othersensors, such as radiometers, ultraviolet sensors, infrared sensors, and the like (step 701).CCS 110 may then evaluate the current luminance, and compare the current luminance to athreshold luminance (step 703). If the current luminance exceeds a threshold luminance,CCS 110 may implement a brightness override, and (i) one or more window coverings may-be moved at least partway toward a fully closed position, and/or (ii) one or more variablecharacteristics of a glass may be modified (for example, to decrease the visible lighttransmission of a glass, and/or increase the shading coefficient) (step 705). If the currentluminance does not exceed a threshold luminance, CCS 110 may not implement a brightnessoverride, and (i) one or more window coverings may be left in their current positions and/ormoved at least partway toward a fully open position, and/or (ii) one or more variablecharacteristics of a glass may be left in their current state and/or modified (for example, toincrease the visible light transmission of a glass, and/or reduce the shading coefficient) (step707).

Moreover, ASC 100 may be configured to utilize one or more external sensors, forexample visible light sensors, in order to implement a brightness override. In this manner,individual building zone brightness sensors may be reduced and/or eliminated, leading tosignificant cost savings, as the building zone brightness sensors may be costly to purchase and/or install, and difficult to calibrate and/or maintain. Moreover, ASC 100 may beconfigured to utilize one or more interior photo sensors in conjunction with one or moreexternal photo sensors in order to determine if a brightness override is needed for any of themotor zones in a particular building.

With reference now to FIG. 8, and in accordance with various embodiments, ASC100 may be configured to implement an algorithm, such as algorithm 800, incorporatingshadow information. CCS 110 may be configured to query a shadow model (step 801) whichmay contain information regarding shadowing of a building due to the environment, such asnearby structures, landscape features (e.g., mountains, hills, and the like), and other itemswhich may cast a shade onto a building at any point during a day and/or year. CCS 110 maythen evaluate the current shadow information to determine if one or more windows and/ormotor zones are in a shadowed condition (step 803). If the one or more windows and/ormotor zones are shadowed, CCS 110 may implement a shadow override, and (i) one or morewindow coverings may be moved at least partway toward a fully open position, and/or (ii)one or more variable characteristics of a glass may be modified (for example, to increase thevisible light transmission of a glass, and/or reduce the shading coefficient) (step 805). If oneor more windows and/or motor zones are not shadowed, CCS 110 may not implement ashadow override, and (i) one or more window coverings may be left in their currentpositions and/or moved at least partway towards a fully closed position, and/or (ii) one ormore variable characteristics of a glass may be left in their current state and/or modified (forexample, to decrease the visible light transmission of a glass, and/or increase the shadingcoefficient) (step 807). Additionally, CCS 110 may be configured to not implement ashadow override if one or more windows and/or motor zones will be shadowed for a limitedperiod of time, such as between about one minute and thirty minutes. Moreover, CCS 110may be configured to not implement a shadow override if one or more windows and/ormotor zones will be shadowed for any desired length of time.

In various embodiments, CCS 110 may be configured to implement a shadowoverride when ASC 100 is operating in clear sky mode. In other various embodiments, CCS110 may be configured to implement a shadow override when ASC 100 observes measuredsolar radiation equal to or in excess of 75 percent of ASHRAE (RTM) calculated clear skysolar radiation. Moreover, in certain various embodiments, CCS 110 may be overridden bya bright overcast sky mode calculation wherein (i) one or more window coverings aremoved to a predetermined position, for example 50% of fully open, and/or (ii) one or more variablecharacteristics of a glass may be set to a predetermined value (for example, visible lighttransmission of from about 0.3 to about. 0.9, a shading coefficient of from about 0.3 to about0.9, and/or the like),

With reference now to FIG. 9, and in accordance with various embodiments, ASC100 may be configured to implement an algorithm (e.g., algorithm 900) incorporatingreflectance information. CCS 110 may be configured to query a reflectance model (step901) which may contain information regarding fight reflected onto a building due to theenvironment, for example bv reflective components of nearby structures, landscape features(e.g., water, sand, snow, and the like), and other items which may reflect light onto abuilding at any point during any time period (e.g., day, season, year). CCS 110 may thenevaluate the current reflectance information to determine if one or more windows and/ormotor zones are in a reflectance condition (step 903). If reflected light is cast on at least aportion of one or more windows and/or motor zones, the window and/or motor zone may bedeemed to be in a reflectance condition. Moreover, if only a subset of the windowscomprising a motor zone is in a reflectance condition, that motor zone may be considered tobe in a reflectance condition.

However, ASC 100 may be configured to assess each window in a motor zone anddetermine if each window is In a non-reflectance condition (e.g., no reflected light. Is fallingon the window), a full reflectance condition (e.g., reflected light is failing on all portions ofthe window), a partial reflectance condition (e.g., reflected light is falling on only a portionof the window), and the like. ASC 100 may thus consider a window and/or motor zone tobe in a reflectance condition based on a user preference. For example, in an embodiment, .ASC 100 is configured to consider a window to be in a reflectance condition when thewindow- is fully or partially in reflected light. In other embodiments, ASC 100 is configuredto consider a window to be in a reflectance condition when the window is fully in reflectedlight. In still other embodiments, ASC 100 is configured to consider a window to be in areflectance cond ition when at least 10% of the window is in reflected light. Moreover, ASC100 may consider a window to be in a reflectance condition by using any appropriatethresholds, measurements, and/or the like.

If the one or more windows and/or motor zones are in reflected light, CCS 110 mayimplement a reflectance override, and (i) one or more window coverings may be moved at least partway toward a fully closed position, and/or (ii) one or more variable characteristicsof a glass may be modified (for example, to decrease the visible light transmission of aglass, decrease the heat flow, and/or increase the shading coefficient) (step 905). If one ormore windows and/or motor zones are not in reflected light, CCS 110 may not implement areflectance override, and (i) one or more window coverings may be left in their currentpositions and/or moved at least partway towards a fully open position, and/or (ii) one ormore variable characteristics of a glass may be left in their current state and/or modified (forexample, to increase the visible light transmission of a glass, increase the heat flow, and/ordecrease the shading coefficient) (step 907). Additionally, CCS 110 may be configured tonot implement a reflectance override in response to one or more windows and/or motorzones being in reflected light for a limited period of time, such as between about one minuteand thirty minutes. Moreover, CCS 110 may be configured to not implement a reflectanceoverride if one or more windows and/or motor zones will be in reflected light for anydesired length of time. ASC 100 may further be configured to enable and/or disable a reflectance overridebased on any suitable criteria, for example: the current ASHRAE (RTM) and/or radiometersky data readings (i.e., full spectrum information); the sky data readings from one or morephotometers (i.e., oriented in any suitable manner, for example east-facing, west-facing,zenith-oriented, and/or the like); a combination of radiometer and photometer data readings;and/or the like. Moreover, data from one or more photometers may be utilized by ASC 100in order to calculate the need for a reflectance override. However, data from one or moreradiometers may also be utilized. Further, in various embodiments, ASC 100 may beconfigured to implement various averaging algorithms, thresholds, and the like in order toreduce the need for (i) repeated movements or “cycling” of one or more window coverings255, and/or (ii) repeated variation of one or more variable characteristics of a glass.

In various embodiments, CCS 110 may be configured to implement a reflectanceoverride when ASC 100 is operating in clear sky mode. However, CCS 110 may alsoimplement a reflection override, for example responsive to radiometer sky data, when ASCis operating in any mode. In other various embodiments, CCS 110 may be configured toimplement a reflectance override when ASC 100 observes measured solar radiation equal toor in excess of a particular threshold, for example 75 percent of ASHRAE (RTM) calculatedclear sky solar radiation. Further, the threshold utilized for implementing a reflectanceoverride may be related to the threshold utilized for determining a sky condition (clear, cloudy, brightovercast, partly sunny, and the like). For example, in an embodiment, the threshold utilizedfor implementing a reflectance override may be 5% greater than the threshold fordetermining a clear sky condition, Additionally, when radiometers and photometers areemployed, CCS 110 may be configured to implement a reflectance override only when ASC100 is operating under a particular mode or modes (clear sky, partly clear sky, and so forth).CCS 110 may thus assess data received from one or more photometers in order to see if theambient lighting level is above a particular threshold. Moreover, in certain variousembodiments, CCS 110 may be overridden by a bright overcast sky mode calculation (i) oneor more window coverings are moved to a predetermined position, for example 50% of fullyopen, and/or (ii) one or more variable characteristics of a glass may be set to apredetermined value (for example, visible light transmission of from about 0.3 to about 0,9,a shading coefficient of from about 0.3 to about 0.9, and/or the like),

With reference now to FIGS. 10A to 10D, in various embodiments, a reflectanceprogram is configured to determine If reflected light falls on a particular location on abuilding. A three-dimensional computer model of the building is constructed. As depictedin FIG. 10A, a virtual camera is placed at the location on the building model wherereflectance is to be assessed. A three-dimensional computer model of surrounding objects(other buildings, bodies of water, and the like) is constructed. With this information, thevirtual camera constructs a 180 degree hemispherical projection of ail objects visible in thedirection the camera is facing, as depicted in FIG. 10B. The position of the sun is plotted inthe hemispherical projection. Depending on the position of the sun and the properties of theobjects visible to the camera (e.g., reflective, non-reflective, and the like), the virtual cameralocation may be in a direct sunlight condition, shaded condition, a reflectance condition, andthe like. For example, if the position of the sun is within the boundary of another building,and the building Is not reflective, the building will cast a shadow onto the virtual cameralocation, resulting in a shaded condition.

With reference now to FIG. 10C, in accordance with various embodiments, one ormore reflecting surfaces are plotted in the hemispherical projection. Information aboutreflecting surfaces may be stored in a reflector table. For example, a reflector table maycontain information characterizing the dimensions of the reflecting surface, the location of areflecting surface, the azimuth of a reflecting surface, the altitude of a reflecting surface, and/or the like. Information from the reflector table may be utilized to plot one or morereflecting surfaces in the hemispherical projection. Moreover, for a defined sun position inthe sky (azimuth and altitude), the sun may be reflected onto the virtual camera location byone or more of the reflecting surfaces. The reflected sun (and associated sunlight) has aposition (azimuth and altitude) different from the actual sun location in the sky. Thereflected sun is plotted on the hemispherical projection.

At this point, the reflected sun may fall within the bounds of at least one reflectingsurface. If this occurs, the reflected sunlight will fall on the virtual camera, as illustrated inFIG. IOC. Alternately, the reflected sun may fall outside the bounds of any reflectingsurface. In this event, no reflected sunlight falls on the virtual camera, as illustrated in FIG.10D.

Moreover, as illustrated by FIG. 10E, a reflecting surface may itself be shaded. Areflectance program may test the location of the reflected sun to determine if the reflectedsun is in the shaded or sunlit portion of a reflecting surface. If the reflected sun is on thesunlit part of the reflecting surface, the reflected sunlight will fall on the virtual camera. Ifthe reflected sun is on the shaded part of the reflecting surface, no reflected sunlight will fallon the virtual camera. Moreover, a reflectance program may be configured to account forand properly model “self-shading”, wherein a portion of a building casts a shadow ontoanother portion of the building, and “self-reflectance”, wherein a portion of a buildingreflects light onto another portion of the building. In this manner, a reflectance algorithmmay model, plot, determine, and/or otherwise calculate the presence and/or absence ofspecular reflections and/or diffuse reflections at any desired location. Moreover, reflectanceinformation for complex building shapes (e.g., cruciform buildings, pinwheel-shapedbuildings, irregular buildings, and/or the like) may thus be modeled, and (i) one or morewindow coverings 255 may be moved accordingly, and/or (ii) one or more variablecharacteristics of a glass may be modified accordingly.

Turning now to FIGS. 11A and 11B, in various examples, ASC 100, CCS 110,and/or glass controller 140 may be configured to adjust one or more variable characteristicsof a glass at a window-wide level. Stated another way, glass controller 140 may beconfigured to adjust one or more variable characteristics of a glass, wherein thecharacteristic is adjusted at a generally equal level across an entire window 210. Forexample, on a bright overcast day, glass controller 140 may adjust the visible light transmission of a glass such that a window 210 Is configured with an approximately uniformvisible light transmission (e.g., about 70%) at most or ail locations on window 210.

With reference now to FIG. 11C, in various embodiments, ASC 100. CCS Γ10,and/or glass control 140 are configured to adjust one or more variable characteristics of aglass in a “banded”, “ombre”, or otherwise variable and/or staggered manner, For example,a window 210 may be configured with a plurality' of bands (e.g., horizontal bands Blthrough B4 extending from top to bottom of window 210), wherein one or more variablecharacteristics of a glass may be adjusted in each band independently from the other bands.In various embodiments, a window 210 may be configured with horizontal, vertical,diagonal, curved, irregular and/or other geometric shaped bands. The bands may be similarin size and/or the bands may vary in size from one another. For example, bands closer to afloor may be larger than bands higher up on window 210.

With respect to any particular variable characteristic of a glass comprising window210, the bands in window 210 may be configured in a variety of patterns (e.g., ascending,descending, striped, etc). A particular pattern may be selected based on one or moreappropriate factors, for example solar orientation, window pitch, slope, or tilt, ambientbrightness, modeled shadow, modeled reflectance, position of an associated windowcovering, brightness factor of a fabric comprising an associated window covering, and/or thelike.

One or more variable characteristics of a glass may be adjusted via one or more glasscontrollers 140 in order to configure window 210 in a desired manner. Thus, for example,via a glass controller 140, a window 210 may be configured with a visible light transmissionof about 20% in band Bl, a visible light transmission of about 30% in band B2, a visiblelight transmission of about 40% in band B3, and a visible light transmission of about 70% inband B4. In this manner, window 210 may be configured to achieve a desired overalllighting schema in an associated room, for example by limiting solar penetration, while stillallowing a desired level of light into a room.

In various embodiments, one or more variable characteristics of a glass for multiplewindows 210 may be adjusted via a single glass controller 140. Multiple glass controllers140 may also be associated with a single window 210 (for example, one glass controller 140per band).

In various embodiments, ASC 100 or components thereof may utilize adjustment ofone or more variable characteristics of a glass in connection with artificial lighting control,thermal management, and/or the like. For example, ASC 100 or components thereof may beconfigured to model and/or anticipate solar load on a window 210 as discussed herein.Because there is often a significant time delay between the initiation of an adjustment to avariable characteristic of a glass and the completion of the adjustment to a variablecharacteristic of a glass (for example, the process of reducing the visible light transmissionof electrochromic glass by changing an applied voltage can take many minutes), ASC 100 orcomponents thereof may initiate an adjustment to a variable characteristic of a glass inadvance of such adjustment being desirable due to a change in the environment of a window210. In this manner, ASC 100 or components thereof can avoid or minimize undesirablesituations, for example wherein a building occupant experiences excessive brightness orveiling glare, due to the often extended period of time associated with an adjustment of avariable characteristic of a glass. Because ASC 100 or components thereof may beconfigured to proactively model and/or anticipate desirability of a change to a variablecharacteristic of a glass, ASC 100 may achieve improved occupant comfort, thermalregulation, brightness regulation, reduced cooling expenses, and the like.

It will be appreciated that one or more variable characteristics of a glass may beadjusted and/or controlled based on one or more of a measured or calculated BTU (Joule)load on the glass, inside temperature, outside temperature, calendar scheduling, skyconditions, user override history, control of one or more associated window coverings 255,and/or the like,

In various embodiments, CCS 110 may occasionally calculate (i) conflictingmovement information for a motor zone, and/or (ii) conflicting variable glass characteristicsfor a motor zone (for example, via use one or more of algorithm 600, algorithm 700,algorithm 800, algorithm 900, and/or the like). For example, a first portion of a motor zonemay be in a shadowed condition, resulting in CCS 110 calculating a need to move at leastone window covering toward a fully open position (and/or vary one or more variablecharacteristics of a glass, for example in order to increase the visible light transmission) inaccordance with algorithm 800. At the same time, a second portion of a motor zone may bein a reflectance condition - resulting in CCS 110 calculating a need to move at least onewindow covering toward a fully closed position (and/or vary one or more variablecharacteristics of a glass, for example in order to decrease the visible light transmission) in accordance with algorithm 900. In order to maintain brightness comfort, CCS 110 may beconfigured to allow the results of algorithm 900 to take priority over the results of algorithm800. Stated another way, CCS 110 may be configured to give reflectance priority overshadow. Moreover, CCS 110 and/or ASC 100 may be configured to allow the results of anyparticular algorithm to take priority over the results of any other algorithm, as desired. CCS 110 may be configured to execute one or more algorithms, including but notlimited to algorithms 600, 700, 800, and/or 900, on a continuous and/or real-time basis, on ascheduled basis (every ten seconds, every minute, every ten minutes, every hour, and thelike), on an interrupt basis (responsive to information received from one or more sensors,responsive to input received from a user, responsive to a remote command, and the like),and/or any combination of the above, Moreover, CCS 110 may be configured to execute analgorithm, such as algorithm 600, independently. CCS 110 may also be configured toexecute an algorithm, such as algorithm 600, simultaneously with one or more additionalalgorithms, such as algorithm 700, algorithm 800, algorithm 900, and the like. Further, CCS110 may be configured to turn off and/or otherwise disable use of one or more algorithms,such as algorithm 800, as desired, for example when conditions are overcast, cloudy, and thelike. Moreover, CCS 110 may be configured to implement and/or execute any suitablenumber of algorithms at any suitable times in order to achieve a desired effect on anenclosed space.

As mentioned herein, ASC 100 may be configured to communicate with a BuildingManagement System (BMS), a lighting system and/or a HVAC system to facilitate optimuminterior lighting and climate control, Moreover, ASC 100 may communicate with a BMSfor any suitable reason, for example, responsive to overheating of a zone, responsive tosafety considerations, responsive to instructions from a system operator, and/or the like. Forexample, ASC 100 may be used to determine the solar load on a structure and communicatethis information to the BMS. The BMS. in turn, may use this information to proactivelyand/or reactiveiy set the interior temperatures and/or light levels throughout the structure toavoid having to expend excessive energy required to mitigate already uncomfortable levels,and to avoid a lag time in response to temperature changes on a building. For example, intypical systems, a BMS responds to the heat load on a building once that heat load has beenregistered. Because changing the interior environment of a building takes significantenergy, time and resources, there is a substantial lag in response time by a BMS to that heat load gain. In contrast, the proactive and reactive algorithms and systems of ASC 100 maybe configured to actively communicate to BMS regarding changes in brightness, solar angle,heat, and the like, such that BMS can proactively adjust the interior environment before anyuncomfortable heat load and/or other condition on and/or in a building is actually registered,

Furthermore, ASC 100 may be given priority to optimize window covering settingsand/or variable characteristics of a glass based on energy management and personal comfortcriteria, after which the lighting system and HVAC system may be used to supplement theexisting condition where the available natural daylight condition may be inadequate to meetthe comfort requirements. Communication with a lighting system may be useful to helpminimize the required photo sensor resources where possible and to help minimizesituations where closed loop sensors for both shading and fighting control algorithms may beaffected by each other. For example, based on information from one or more brightnesssensors, ASC 100 may (i) move at least one window covering into a first position, and/or (ii)vary one or more variable characteristics of a glass. After ASC 100 has moved a windowcovering and/or varied one or more variable characteristics of a glass, a lighting system may-then be activated and select appropriate dimming for the room. However, oftentimes thelighting system may overcompensate an existing bright window wall where the fightingsystem may lower the dimming setting too far and thus create a “cave effect” whereby theilluminance ratio from the window wall to the surrounding wall and task surfaces may betoo great for comfort, Proper photo sensor instrumentation for illuminance ratio control maybe configured to help establish the correct setting for the shades, the variable characteristicsof a glass, and/or lights even though it may cost more energy to accomplish this comfortsetting. In addition, the lighting sensor may also provide the shading system withoccupancy information which may be utilized in multi-use spaces to help accommodatedifferent modes of operation and functionality. For instance, an unoccupied conferenceroom may go Into an energy conservation mode with the window coverings being deployedall the way up or down (and/or the variable characteristics of a glass set as desired, forexample visible light transmission set to a minimum value, a maximum value, and/or anintermediate value) in conjunction with the lights and HVAC to minimize solar heat gain ormaximize heat retention, Furthermore, the window coverings (and/or the variablecharacteristics of a glass) may otherwise enter into a comfort control mode when the space isoccupied unless overridden for presentation purposes. ASC 100 may also be configured to be customizable and/or fine-tuned to meet theneeds of a structure and/or its inhabitants. For example, the different operating zones maybe defined by the size, geometry and solar orientation of the window openings. ASC 100control may be configured to be responsive to specific window types by zone and/or toindividual occupants. ASC 100 may also be configured to give a structure a substantiallyuniform interior and/or exterior appearance, instead of a “snaggletooth” look that isassociated with irregular positioning of window attachments, and/or instead of a“checkerboard” look that may be associated with irregular settings of one or more variablecharacteristics of a glass (for example, greatly differing values of visible light transmissionamong the glass of nearby windows in a structure), ASC 100 may also be configured to receive and/or report any fine-tuning requestand/or change. Thus, a remote controller and/or local controller may better assist and/orfine-tune any feature of ASC 100. ASC 100 may aiso be configured with one or moreglobal parameters for optimizing control and use of the system. Such global parameters mayinclude, for example, the structure location, latitude, longitude, local median, windowdimensions, window angles, date, sunrise and sunset schedules, one or more communicationports, clear sky factors, clear sky error rates, overcast sky error rates, solar heat gain limitsfor one or more window covering positions, solar heat gain limits for one or more variablecharacteristics of a glass, positioning timers, the local time, the time that a control systemwill wait before adjusting the shades from cloudy to clear sky conditions (or vice versa), thetime that a control system will wait before adjusting the a variable characteristic of a glassfrom cloudy to clear sky conditions (or vice versa), and/or any other user-defined globalparameter or parameters. ASC 100 may also be configured to operate, for example, in a specific mode forsunrise and/or sunset because of the low heat levels, but high sun spot, brightness,reflectance and veiling glare associated with these sun times, For example, in oneembodiment, ASC 100 may be configured with a solar override during the sunrise that (1)brings window coverings 255 down in the east side of the structure and moves them up asthe sun moves to the zenith, and/or (ii) sets one or more variable characteristics of a glass toa certain value (for example, setting visible light transmission to a value below 0.2) on theeast side of the structure, and then varying one or more variable characteristics of a glass asthe sun moves to the zenith (for example, increasing visible light transmission to a value at or exceeding 0.5), Conversely, during sunset, ASC 100 may be configured to move windowcoverings 255 down on the west side of the structure (and/or decrease the visible lighttransmission of a glass) to correspond to the changing solar angle during this time period. Inanother embodiment, ASC 100 may be configured with a reflectance override during thesunrise that brings window coverings 255 down (and/or decreases the visible lighttransmission of a glass) in the west side of the structure due at least in part to light reflectedonto the west side of the structure, for example light reflected off an adjacent building with areflective exterior. Moreover, when trying to preserve a view under unobtrusive lightingconditions, a Sunrise Offset Override or a Sunset Offset Override may lock in a shadeposition (and/or a value for one or more variable characteristics of a glass) and prevent ASC100 from reacting to solar conditions for a preset length of time after sunrise or a presetlength of time before sunset.

Moreover, ASC 100 may be configured with a particular subset of components,functionality and/or features, for example to obtain a desired price point for a particularversion of ASC 100. For example, due to memory constraints or other limitations, ASC 100may be configured to utilize the average solar position of each week of a solar year, ratherthan the average solar position of each day of a solar year. Stated another way, ASC 100may be configured to determine changes to the solar curve on a weekly basis, rather than ona daily basis. Moreover, ASC 100 may be configured to support a limited number of motorzones, radiometers and/or photometers, proactive and/or reactive algorithms, data logging,and/or the like, as appropriate, in order to obtain a particular system complexity level, pricepoint, or other desired configuration and/or attribute. Further, ASC 100 may be configuredto support an increased number of a particular feature (for example, motor zones), inexchange for support of a corresponding decreased number of another feature (for example,solar days per year). In particular, an ASC 100 having a limited feature set may be desirablefor use in small-scale deployments, retrofits, and/or the like. Additionally, an ASC 100having a limited feature set is desirable to achieve improved energy conservation,daylighting, brightness control, and/or the like, for a particular building. Moreover, ASC100 may be configured as a stand-alone unit having internal processing functionality', suchthat ASC 100 may operate without requiring computational resources of a PC or othergeneral purpose computer and associated software.

For example, in various embodiments, ASC 100 comprises a programmablemicrocontroller configured to support 12 motor zones. The programmable microcontrolleris further configured to receive input from 2 solar radiometers. Moreover, in order toprovide scalability, multiple instances of an ASC 100 may be operatively linked (i.e.“ganged”) together to support additional zones. For example, four ASCs 100 may beganged together to support 48 zones. Additionally, ASC 100 may be configured with an IPinterface in order to provide networking and communications functionality. Moreover, ASC100 may be configured with a local communication interface, for example an RS-232interface, to facilitate interoperation with and/or control of or by third-party systems. ASC100 may also be configured with one or more of a graphical user interface, buttons,switches, indicators, lights, and the like, in order to facilitate interaction with and/or controlby a system user.

Further, in this exemplary embodiment, ASC 100 may be configured with a basicevent scheduler, for example a scheduler capable of supporting weekly, bi-weekly, monthly,and/or bi-monthly events. ASC 100 may also be configured with a time-limited data log, forexample a log containing information regarding manual and/or automatic shade moves, thesolar condition for one or more days, system troubleshooting information, and/or the like,for a limited period of time (e.g., 30 days, or other limited period selected based on costconsiderations, information storage space considerations, processing power considerations,and/or the like).

Moreover, in this exemplary embodiment, the programmable microcontroller of ASC100 may be configured to utilize a limited data set in order to calculate one or moremovements for a window shade. For example, ASC 100 may be configured to utilize one ormore of ASHRAE (RTM) algorithms, window geometry, window size, window tilt angle,height of the window head and sill off the floor, motor zone information, solar orientation,overhang information, and/or window glazing specifications (i.e., shading coefficient,visible light transmission, and the like). ASC 100 may then calculate solar angles and/orsolar intensity (i.e., in BTUs (Joules) or watts per square meter) for each motor zone and/orsolar penetration for each motor zone. Based on a measured and/or calculated skycondition, (i) one or more window shades may then be moved to an appropriate position,and/or (ii) one or more variable characteristics of a glass may be set to an appropriate value.ASC 100 may further utilize both (i) shade movements and/or glass characteristic changesresulting from real-time calculations (for example, calculations based on sensor readings) as well as (ii) scheduledshade movements and/or glass characteristic changes.

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, various embodiments maybe embodied as a customization of an existing system, an add-on product, upgradedsoftware, a stand-alone system, a distributed system, a method, a data processing system, adevice for data processing, and/or a computer program product. Accordingly, variousembodiments may take the form of an entirely software embodiment, an entirely hardwareembodiment, or an embodiment combining aspects of both software and hardware.Furthermore, various embodiments may take the form of a computer program product on acomputer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code meansembodied in the storage medium. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may beutilized, including hard disks, CD-ROM, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices,and/or the like.

These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions that execute on the computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus create means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block or blocks. These computer program instructions may alsobe stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions storedin the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instructionmeans which implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks. Thecomputer program instructions may aiso be loaded onto a computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented processsuch that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatusprovide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described hereinwith regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions toproblems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur orbecome more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential featuresor elements of any or all the claims. As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that aprocess, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include onlythose elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to suchprocess, method, article, or apparatus. Further, no element described herein is requiredunless expressly described as “essential” or “critical.” When "at least one of A, B, or C" isused in the claims, the phrase is intended to mean any of the following: (1) al least one of A;(2) at least one of B; (3) at least one of C; (4) at least one of A and at least one of B; (5) atleast one of B and at least one of C; (6) at least one of A and at least one of C: or (7) at leastone of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C.

In various embodiments, a method comprises modeling at least a portion of areflective surface to create a reflectance model, querying the reflectance model a first time tocalculate the presence of calculated reflected light at a location of interest, and adjusting avariable characteristic of a glass responsive to the calculated reflected light at the location ofinterest. The method may further comprise querying the reflectance model a second time todetermine a duration of the calculated reflected light at the location of interest, Adjusting avariable characteristic of the glass may be in response to the duration exceeding a defaultreflectance duration. Adjusting a variable characteristic of the glass may be in response tothe duration exceeding a user-input duration. The method may further comprise receivinginformation from a photometer indicating a presence of measured reflected light at thelocation of interest.

Adjusting a variable characteristic of the glass may be in response to the measuredreflected light. A plurality of reflective surfaces may be modeled to create the reflectancemodel. Querying the reflectance model a first time may comprise calculating reflectioninformation for each of the plurality of reflective surfaces. Calculating reflectioninformation may comprise calculating dispersion reflection information. Querying thereflectance model a first time may comprise calculating reflection information for at leastone of the plurality of reflective surfaces, and calculating no reflection information for atleast one of the plurality of reflective surfaces.

The method may further comprise querying the reflectance model to calculate anapparent altitude of the calculated reflected light at the location of interest. The method mayfurther comprise adjusting the visible light transmission of the glass to a minimum valueresponsive to the apparent altitude having a negative value. The method may further comprise querying the reflectance model to determi ne a calculated intensity of the calculatedreflected light at the location of interest. The adjusting a variable characteristic of the glassmay be in response to the calculated intensity exceeding a default intensity.

In another exemplary embodiment, a system comprises a motor configured to actuatea window covering, a central controller configured to control the motor using reflectanceinformation, and a glass controller configured to adjust a variable characteristic of a glassusing reflectance information. The reflectance information may be obtained by querying areflectance model to calculate the presence of calculated reflected light on the window. Thesystem may further comprise a photometer associated with the window. The reflectanceinformation may be obtained from the photometer.

In another exemplary embodiment, a system comprises a motor configured to actuatea window covering, and a central controller configured to control the motor in connectionwith a proactive algorithm. The proactive algorithm incorporates at least one of shadowinformation or reflectance information, and the proactive algorithm incorporates informationregarding a variable characteristic of glass associated with the window covering. Thereflectance information may be based on at least one of cityscape conditions ortopographical conditions. The shadow information may be based on at least one of cityscapeconditions or topographical conditions.

The reflectance information may be calculated based on at least one of a body ofwater, an expanse of snow, an expanse of sand, a glass surface, or a metal surface. Thereflectance information may comprise a reflective surface table. The system may furthercomprise at least one of a radiometer or a photometer to detect at least one of lightinginformation or radiation information. The proactive algorithm may be configured to utilizeat least one of the lighting information, the radiation information, the reflectanceinformation, the shadow information, brightness information, information regarding one ormore variable characteristics of a glass, or solar heat gain information to calculate a totalfoot-candle load on a structure. The central controller may use the proactive algorithm. Thecentral controller may incorporate the proactive algorithm. The central controller may be acentralized control system (CCS). The central controller may control the motor via a motorcontroller. The central controller may control the glass via a glass controller.

In another exemplary embodiment, a method comprises providing a systemconfigured to facilitate control of daylighting of an interior space. The system is configured with at least one of a shadow program or a reflectance program. The method furthercomprises coupling the system to a remote communication link, and communicating a firstinstruction configured to adjust a variable characteristic of a first glass to a first glasscontroller via the remote communication link. The first instruction is generated responsive toat least one of shadow information or reflectance information.

The first instruction may be generated responsive to the system determining theexistence of a clear sky condition. The method may further comprise communicating asecond instruction configured to adjust a variable characteristic of a second glass to a secondglass controller via the remote communication link, and the second instruction may begenerated responsive to at least one of shadow information or reflectance information. Thefirst glass may be part of a first zone, and the second glass may be part of a second motorzone. The first zone may be associated with a first tenant, and the second zone may beassociated with a second tenant. The first tenant may be associated with a first part of abuilding, and the second tenant may be associated with a second part of said building.

In another exemplary embodiment, a method comprises generating, at a centralizedcontrol system configured with a shadow program, and responsive to shadow information, afirst instruction configured to adjust a variable characteristic of a first glass to a first value.The method further comprises generating, at the centralized control system, and responsiveto shadow information, a second instruction configured to adjust the variable characteristicof a second glass to a second value. The first value and the second value are different.

The method may further comprise generating, at the centralized control system, andresponsive to shadow information, a third instruction configured to adjust the variablecharacteristic of a third glass to a third value. The first value, the second value, and the thirdvalue may be different. The method may further comprise storing information related to atleast one of variable characteristic information for the first glass and the second glass, orvariable characteristic history information for the first glass and the second glass. The firstinstruction may be generated responsive to a measured solar radiation value exceeding 60%of an ASHRAE (RTM) theoretical clear sky solar radiation value. The first instruction andthe second instruction may be generated responsive to brightness information acquired by atleast one of a photometer or a radiometer exceeding a predetermined value. The at least oneof a photometer or a radiometer may be located on the external portion of a building.

In another exemplary embodiment, a system comprise a glass having one or morevariable characteristics, and a central controller configured to control the one or morevariable characteristics of the glass in connection with a proactive algorithm. The proactivealgorithm incorporates at least one of lighting information or radiation information. Thecentral controller is configured to control the glass using shadow information based on atleast one of cityscape conditions or topographical conditions.

The system may further comprise at least one of a radiometer or a photometer todetect at least one of the lighting information or the radiation information. The proactivealgorithm may acquire at least a portion of the lighting information or the radiationinformation from a database. The central controller may be configured with a reactivealgorithm incorporating at least one of the lighting information or the radiation information.The reactive algorithm may be configured to facilitate control of the glass under conditionsnot modeled by the proactive algorithm.

In another exemplary embodiment, a system comprise a glass having one or morevariable characteristics, and a central controller configured to control the one or morevariable characteristics of the glass in connection with a proactive algorithm. The proactivealgorithm incorporates at least one of lighting information or radiation information. Thecentral controller is configured to incorporate a clear sky algorithm.

The clear sky algorithm may be an ASHRAE (RTM) clear sky algorithm. Theproactive algorithm may be configured to implement a brightness override. The brightnessoverride may be triggered responsive to a measured brightness exceeding a user definedratio between the measured brightness and ambient illumination.

In another exemplary embodiment, a system comprise a glass having one or morevariable characteristics, and a central controller configured to control the one or morevariable characteristics of the glass in connection with a proactive algorithm. The proactivealgorithm incorporates at least one of lighting information or radiation information. Thesystem further comprises a motion sensor to detect motion information. The motioninformation is used to modify the proactive algorithm.

The proactive algorithm may acquire at least a portion of the lighting information orthe radiation information from a database.

In another exemplary embodiment, a system comprise a glass having one or morevariable characteristics, and a central controller configured to control the one or more variable characteristics of the glass in connection with a proactive algorithm. The proactivealgorithm incorporates at least one of lighting information or radiation information. Theproactive algorithm is configured to utilize at least one of the lighting information, theradiation information, brightness information, or solar heat gain to calculate a total foot-candle load on a structure.

The system may further comprise at least one of a radiometer or a photometer todetect at least one of the lighting information or the radiation information. in another exemplary embodiment, a system comprise a glass having one or morevariable characteristics, and a central controller configured to control the one or morevariable characteristics of the glass in connection with a proactive algorithm. The proactivealgorithm incorporates at least one of lighting information or radiation information. Theproactive algorithm is configured to utilize at least one of an actual British thermal unit(BTU) load or a calculated BTU load to control the one or more variable characteristics ofthe glass.

In another exemplary embodiment, a method comprises receiving, at a centralcontroller, an input comprising at least one of lighting information, radiation information,temperature information, or motion information. The method further comprises analyzingthe input using a reactive algorithm to form an instruction configured to adjust a variablecharacteristic of a glass, communicating the instruction to a glass controller, and inputtingoccupant tracking information into the reactive algorithm to adjust for manual overrides,

At least one of the lighting information, radiation information, temperatureinformation, or motion information may be detected by a sensor in communication with thecentral controller. At least one of the lighting information, radiation information,temperature information, or motion information may be provided to the central controllerfrom a database.

In another exemplary embodiment, a system for facilitating control of daylighting ofan interior space comprises a motor configured to actuate a window covering, at least one ofa radiometer or a photometer to detect lighting information, and a central controllerconfigured to control the motor in connection with a proactive algorithm incorporating thelighting information. The proactive algorithm incorporates information regarding at leastone variable characteristic of a glass associated with the window covering.

The central controller may use the proactive algorithm. The central controller mayincorporate ths proactive algorithm. The central controller may be a centralized controlsystem (CCS). The central controller may control the motor via a motor controller. Thecentral controller may control at least one- variable characteristic of the glass via a glasscontroller.

Claims

WE CLAIM:

1. A system, comprising: a glass controller configured to independently adjust one or more variablecharacteristics of each band of a plurality of bands in a glass; and an automated control system configured to control the glass controller,the automated control system configured to calculate and quantify a model,wherein the model includes at least one of: a shadow model of at least a portion of a building and at least a portion of thesurroundings of the building to calculate the presence of shadow at a location ofinterest; or a reflectance model of at least a portion of a building and at least a portion ofthe surroundings of the building to calculate the presence of reflectance at a locationof interest; and the automated control system uses input from the model to determine theindependent adjustment to the one or more variable characteristics of each band ofthe plurality of bands in the glass before an undesirable condition occurs, whereinthe independent adjustment is independent of the other bands in the plurality ofbands.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more variable characteristics ofeach band in the plurality of bands is determined based on at least one of solar orientation,window pitch, window slope, window tilt, ambient brightness, modeled shadow, modeledreflectance, position of an associated window covering, and brightness factor of a fabriccomprising the associated window covering.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the proactive algorithm incorporates at leastone of shadow information or reflectance information.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the automated control system instructs theglass controller to adjust the variable characteristic of the glass in advance of a change in theenvironment of the glass.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the proactivealgorithm calculates andquantifies a sky model that includes a curve of theoretical clear sky solar radiation as afunction of time and an integrated solar radiation value.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of bands in the glass vary insize.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the bands are at least one of horizontal,vertical, diagonal, curved, irregular or geometric shaped.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one of a radiometer or aphotometer to detect at least one of lighting information or radiation information.

9. A method, comprising: modeling, by an automated control system, at least a portion of a building and atleast a portion of the surroundings of a building to create a shadow model or a reflectancemodel; using, by the automated control system, at least one of the shadow model orthe reflectance model a time to calculate the presence of at least one of calculated shadow orcalculated reflected light, respectively, at a location of interest; and communicating, to a glass controller, a first instruction configured to independentlyadjust one or more variable characteristics of a band of a plurality of bands in a glassresponsive to at least one of the calculated shadow or the calculated light, respectively, at thelocation of interest, wherein the first instruction is configured to independently adjust theone or more variable characteristics of the band of the plurality of bands before anundesirable condition occurs, wherein the independent adjustment is independent of theother bands in the plurality of bands.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising determining the independentadjustment to the one or more variable characteristics of a first band to include a visible lighttransmission of about 20%, a second band to include a visible light transmission of about 30%, a third band to include a visible light transmission of about 40%, and fourth band toinclude a visible light transmission of about 70%.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein a first instruction and a second instructionare generated by the automated control system via use of a proactive algorithm incorporatinga clear sky model.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein a second instruction is generated responsiveto the automated control system determining that at least one of an actual British thermalunit (BTU) (Joule) load on the glass or a calculated BTU (Joule) load on the glass exceeds apredetermined value.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein, responsive to the automated control systemdetermining the existence of a cloudy sky condition, the first instruction is notcommunicated to the glass controller.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the first instruction is communicatedresponsive to a measured solar radiation value exceeding 60% of a theoretical clear sky solarradiation value.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising communicating, to the glasscontroller, a second instruction configured to adjust the variable characteristic of the glassresponsive to the reflectance model indicating the presence of calculated reflected light atthe first location of interest at the same time that a shadow model indicates the presence ofcalculated shadow at the first location of interest.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the variable characteristic of the glass isadjusted to reduce the visible light transmission of the glass.

17. The method of claim 9, further comprising: using, by the automated control system, information related to at least one of solarpenetration through a window or solar load on the window to establish a standardmanagement routine for a glass having the variable characteristic; receiving, at the automated control system, reflectance information indicating thepresence of calculated reflected light on the glass; and overriding, by the automated control system, the standard managementroutine responsive to the presence of the calculated reflected light on the glass.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the glass controller is configured to adjust thevariable characteristic of the glass by: communicating a first instruction configured to adjust a variablecharacteristic of the glass in a first band; and communicating a second instruction configured to adjust the variablecharacteristic of the glass in a second band.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the first instruction and the secondinstruction are generated responsive to at least one of shadow information or reflectanceinformation.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the glass comprises a window, wherein thefirst band comprises an upper portion of the window, and wherein the second bandcomprises a lower portion of the window.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the variable characteristic is visible lighttransmission, and wherein the variable light transmission of the second band is higher thanthe variable light transmission of the first band.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the glass controller includes a plurality ofglass controllers associated with a single window such that each glass controller controls adifferent band in the single window.

23. The system of claim 18, wherein the first instruction and the secondinstruction are communicated responsive to the automated control system determining theexistence of a clear sky condition.

24. The method of claim 9, further comprising: using, by the automated control system, information related to at least one of solarpenetration through the glass or solar load on the glass to establish a standard managementroutine for the glass; and overriding, by the automated control system, the standard management routineresponsive to the presence of at least one of: determining, by the automated control system, the presence of the calculatedreflected light on the glass; determining, by the automate control system, the presence of calculated shadow onthe glass; or determining, by the automated control system, that at least one of an actual Britishthermal unit (BTU) (Joule) load on the glass or a calculated BTU (Joule) load of the glassexceeds a predetermined value.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the glass at least partially forms at least oneof a window, a wall, a door, a skylight, or an animal enclosure.