WO2013140292A2

WO2013140292A2 - A method for controlling blind slat angle and height of a single motor blind

Info

Publication number: WO2013140292A2
Application number: PCT/IB2013/051838
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jeremy Drysdale; John Edward Dean; Maulin Dahyabhai Patel
Original assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
Priority date: 2012-03-20
Filing date: 2013-03-08
Publication date: 2013-09-26
Also published as: WO2013140292A3

Abstract

A method and corresponding system is disclosed that controls the blind slat angle and height using a single window blind motor. The system includes, an integrated lighting and daylight control system including a window blind system having one motor for controlling height and angle of the window blind system, and a processor in communication with a memory, the memory including code which when accessed by the processor causes the processor to determine movement of the window blind position and the window blind orientation, wherein the processor converts a relative blind height and angle data to an absolute blind height and angle data based on predetermined specifications of the blind motor and window blind system, and sends the absolute data to the blind motor.

Description

A METHOD FOR CONTROLLING BLIND SLAT ANGLE AND HEIGHT OF A SINGLE

MOTOR BLIND

This application relates to the field of light management systems and more particularly to a method and a system for controlling light distribution in a space including multiple installed light sources and an external light source in a single blind motor lighting system.

With the increased emphasis on energy conservation, systems for controlling electrical energy consumed by lighting systems are being used. Energy efficiency and occupant comfort are the main drivers for total light management. Existing lighting control and shading systems typically operate independently, thereby leading to sub- optimal energy efficiency and causing inconvenience to users. Integrated control of artificial lights and motorized blinds is quintessential for optimal use of natural light and artificial light while enhancing user comfort and productivity.

To overcome the unintended consequence of only managing one aspect of energy consumption, integrated lighting and shading systems have been developed. For example, a Hybrid Integrated Lighting and Daylight Control (ILDC) system comprising of Philips sensors, lights, dimming ballasts, networking infrastructure incorporating motorized blinds has been developed. A key differentiator between a Hybrid ILDC and the other light management systems is the ability of the Hybrid ILDC system to opportunistically integrate daylight with artificial light without causing discomfort associated with bright windows and dull interiors.

Precise Venetian blind slat angle control is essential for the daylight harvesting (to save energy) and glare mitigation (for occupant comfort). Known blinds have one motor which supports blind height adaptations between fully up (raised) and fully down (deployed). These motors are specified with many factors in mind including torque, speed, quietness, compactness, etc. However, they are not typically used for high l resolution slat angle control. Without precise slat angle control the daylight control and glare mitigation strategies could not be implemented.

The commercially available blinds support commands to set blinds height between fully up (raised) and fully down (deployed), including commands to set the blinds to a specific height or to stop the blinds from moving. They may also report status messages such as the current height. When the direction of blind motion is reversed the slat angle changes by 180° i.e. if slats were pointing to the sky when blinds are moving up then the slats would be pointing to the ground when the blinds are moving down and vice-versa. The commercially available blinds do not support precise slat angle control commands (e.g. set slats to 45°). However other angles may be achieved using simple commands and a timer. For example, assuming the blinds are fully down, the following sequence is executed to produce a 90 degree angle: issue a lift command, wait 1 second, issue a stop command. The blinds move up for 1 second and open to 90 degrees. But this method would not to produce precise and repeatable angles due to system latencies, manufacturing variances, wear, etc. Also, if the command to lift for 1 second was issued with the blinds already at some slat angle; the result would be an unknown angle. Without a method for precise slat angle control the daylight control and glare mitigation strategies could not be implemented.

Hence, there is a need in the industry for a method of coordinating the blind movement both in regard to slat angle and height in a more efficient and cost effective manner.

In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, representative embodiments disclosing specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed invention. However, it will be apparent to one having ordinary skill in the art having had the benefit of the present disclosure that other embodiments according to the present teachings that depart from the specific details disclosed herein remain within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, descriptions of well-known apparatus and methods may be omitted so as to not obscure the description of the representative embodiments. Such methods and apparatus are clearly within the scope of the claimed invention. For example, aspects of the methods and apparatus disclosed herein are described in conjunction with and particularly suited for utilization in a lighting fixture. However, one or more aspects of the methods and apparatus described herein may be implemented in other configurations such as, for example, other recessed products such as cameras, speakers, and/or ventilation systems that may be installed in a recessed configuration.

The present invention has been made to provide for integrated control of a lighting system and a motorized window covering/window treatment system that enables precise blind slat angle control and the slat angel can be set at any height using only one blind motor. The slats can be dynamically set to the desired angle between 0° and 180° with 1° of precision. It is noted, however, that the precision is specific to the motor and its controller. The invention has value regardless of the degree of precision because the angle can be achieved in a reliable, repeatable way and between blinds that use the same motor type. If the slat height is adjusted then the slat angle is maintained after height adjustment.

For example, window coverings or treatments may be well-known Venetian blinds, where the blinds may be raised to expose the enclosed area to the outside environment or lowered to prevent exposure of the enclosed area to the outside environment. Similarly, the angle of the blinds may be set to allow discreet amount of light to enter the enclosed area. Other types of window coverings may be vertical blinds that operation similar to Venetian blinds moved in a horizontal direction and the angle of the blinds is with respect to a vertical axis. Other types of window treatments and coverings are known and considered in the scope of the invention claimed.

In one aspect of the invention, a system for controlling the blind slat angle and height in a single blind motor lighting system is disclosed The system comprises, an integrated lighting and daylight control system including a window blind system having one motor for controlling height and angle of the window blind system, and a processor in communication with a memory, the memory including code which when accessed by the processor causes the processor to determine movement of the window blind position and the window blind orientation, wherein the processor converts a relative blind height and angle data to an absolute blind height and angle data based on predetermined specifications of the blind motor and window blind system, and sends the absolute data to the blind motor.

The above and other exemplary features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a conventional integrated lighting and window covering system.

Figure 2 illustrates a schematic of conventional integrated lighting and window covering system.

Figures 3(a) and 3(b) illustrate an exemplary configuration illustrating factors used in determining lighting and blind settings.

Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary system for implementing controlling blind slat angle and height in a single motor integrated lighting blind system.

Figure 5 shows a method of controlling window blind height and angle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 illustrates a graph of orientation cut-off angle with respect to the time of day in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Figure 7 illustrates an exemplary system for implementing the processing shown herein.

It is to be understood that these drawings are solely for purposes of illustrating the concepts of the invention and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. It will be appreciated that the same reference numerals, possibly supplemented with reference characters, where appropriate, have been used throughout to identify corresponding parts.

Existing lighting control and shading systems typically operate independently, thereby leading to sub-optimal energy efficiency and causing inconvenience to users. Integrated control of artificial lights and motorized blinds provides for optimal use of natural light and artificial light while enhancing user comfort and productivity.

Figure 1 illustrates a conventional integrated ILDC system 100 wherein, each user's workstation or area is associated with corresponding sensors, window blinds and fixtures to enable personalized integrated control. The system combines user preferences with sensor readings (occupancy and light level) to harvest natural light through integrated control of motorized blinds and electric light.

Each workstation or area 1 10, 120 may incorporate motion sensors 130 and/or motorized blinds 140. In addition, light sensors 150 may be included, which monitor ambient light levels.

The motion sensors (occupancy sensors) 130 detect motion, as previously described, activate the lights 160. In addition, blinds 140 are capable of receiving commands to control the height of the blind and the angle of the blind with respect to a horizontal axis.

Each workstation or area further includes control sensors 170 that monitor the corresponding workstation and provide control signals to at least the motorized blinds.

The control sensors 170 are in communication, via a network 175, to a centralized control system 180 that maybe represented by server 185 and computer 190. The information obtained from the control units 170 may further be stored on permanent storage medium 195.

Figure 2 illustrates in further detail the integrated aspect of the ILDC system. In this case, occupational (occupancy) sensor 130 and glare control photo sensor 205 provide signals to integrated controller 210. The occupancy sensor 130, as discussed, provides a signal when motion is detected. The glare control photo sensor provides signals with regard to a level of glare or sunlight that is entering the workspace. Setpoint 220 provides a reference point against which the photo-sensor 230 output is compared. The deviation from setpoint 220 is deduced to derive the amount of artificial light from lighting system 160 that is needed, in combination with natural light, to satisfy the overall illumination needs of the user. That is artificial lights are regulated using occupancy sensor 130 and light sensors 150 and/or photosensor 230. The artificial lights are turned OFF when the space is vacant. When the space is occupied, blinds 140 are open to allow in daylight to an extent that the daylight does not cause discomfort (glare). The artificial light is dimmed so that the combination of artificial light and natural light meets the user's requirement.

The integrated controller 210 receives inputs from the setpoint 220, the occupancy sensor 130, photosensor 230 and the glare control sensor 205 to determine settings for the amount of artificial light and amount of natural light by adjusting the window covering (e.g., slat cutoff angle, window covering height, etc.). The photo sensor 230 monitors the level of light in the workspace and provides this information, as a feedback, to the integrated controller 210.

In determining the positions of the blinds, an open-loop blind height and slat angle control algorithm is implemented in ILDC system. Using a blind motor and a slat angle motor, the algorithm adapts blind height and slat angle periodically to avoid glare and enable daylight harvesting. A "cut-off angle" and "cut-off height" are calculated based factors such as latitude, longitude, orientation of window, date, local time and slat geometry. An example of the algorithm for computing the cut-off angle (defined as the angle beyond which no direct radiation is being transmitted through the slats) for blind slats may be found in "The Impact of Venetian Blind Geometry and Tilt Angle on View, Direct Light Transmission and Interior Illuminance," A. Tzempelikos, Solar Energy, vol. 82, no. 12, pp. 1 172-1 191 , December 2008, the contents of which are incorporated by reference, herein.

Figures 3(a) and 3(b) illustrate examples of the adjustment of the cut-off angle and cut-off height, wherein the cut-off angle and the cut-off height are based on factors such as sun angle (β), height of window from the ground (hi), distance of any overhang (di_), height of the window (h_w) and the distance of the user from the wall containing the window allowing the sun to enter. As would be appreciated, Figures 3(a) and 3(b) may, for example, represent an east facing window or a west facing window. In the former case (east facing), the blinds may be adjusted based on a rising sun. In the latter case, the blinds may be adjusted based on a setting sum. In Figure 3(a), the blind slat-angle 305 remains in a position that allows the sun light to enter the room and is directed toward the user, as indicated by the partial shading of the person sitting by the window. In Figure 3(b), the blind slats are set to cut-off angle 315 to block the sun from causing discomfort to the user, as indicated by the fully shading of the person sitting by the window.

In accordance with the principles of the invention, the blind height/slat angle is adjusted using only one motor. With one motor the control the blind height and angle or tilt must use a precise sequence of commands to achieve the desired result. Here, we assume that blind height is zero (0) when blind is fully deployed (e.g. fully lowered down) and blind height is one (1 ) when blind is fully retracted (i.e. fully raised up) and the motor has a range of motion from blinds fully lowered with tilt at 180° to blinds fully raised up with tilt at 0°. For implementation, these values are converted to units the motor understands. The motor height is controlled by sending absolute position commands in the range of 0 to MAX (the maximum is determined based on the height of the window and stored during the commissioning process) where the unit of measure is the "pulse count" within the motor. A "pulse" is defined as the highest precision unit of position that the motor can achieve. Note that this does not imply any particular type of motor (stepper, servo, etc.), just that the motor can achieve precise repeatable positions of some resolution. A typical implementation within a motor might be to use a DC motor, a gear reduction block, and an optical encoder wheel for feedback. Electronics would count the number of pulses necessary to achieve some position using the optical encoder as feedback. Absolute commands provide a high degree of precision in adjusting the blinds with for example, 3300 increments (pulses) in the case of a 62" implementation. In the preferred embodiment, this range is represented internally within the motor as a high resolution absolute scale of between 0 when the blinds are all the way up, and 3300 when the blinds are all the way down. However it is important to note that this represents a particular motor, in this case it is a Somfy Sonesse 30 ILT motor. The invention requires that the motor used can precisely control its position with a high precision. This degree of motor precision is necessary for high precision tilting at any height. Once given an absolute position command, it is assumed that the motor is able to achieve and maintain precise position by means of a close loop motor controller, shaft encoder and/or other means.

In Figure 4, a Zone Controller 410 sends the relative height and angle commands to a Blinds Microcontroller 420. The relative blind height and angle can be calculated based on the time of day and other factors (i.e., the latitude, longitude, and orientation of the window and geometric properties of the blinds and space, etc.) using the various elements of the integrated ILDC system 200 of Fig. 2, and described above. The blinds micro-controller (or processor) 420 in turn converts these to absolute units the blind motor 430 understands. The microcontroller 420 converts height commands - 0 to 100, where 0 is all the way up and 100 is all the way down - to absolute units. Likewise angle/tilt commands - 0 to 180 degrees, where 0 is tilted up and 180 is tilted down - are also converted to absolute units.

Figure 5 shows a method of controlling window blind height and angle according to an embodiment of the present invention. In step 500, the window Blind Microcontroller 420 receives relative height and angle commands from the Zone Controller 410. In step 510, window Blind Microcontroller 420 calculates blind height and angle by converting relative units to absolute units according to the following:

Calculating Blind Height

Converting height from relative units to absolute units is determined by the following equation:

Equation 1 :

Ha = (La/Lr)^*Hr, where

Ha is absolute height

Hr is relative height

La is absolute limit

Lr is relative limit

Absolute upper limit is 0 In the preferred embodiment, assuming La is 3300 and Lr is 100, an Hr of 50 would produce Ha = (3300/100)^*50 = 1650.

Calculating Blind Angle/Tilt

Converting tilt from degrees to absolute units is more complex and depends on establishing a reference height, which is defined as any height at which the tilt is guaranteed to be 0. Once the reference height is established, absolute height can be calculated for any tilt angle by the following equation:

Equation 2:

Ha = (Adeg/180)^*Hrot + Href, where

Ha is absolute height

Adeg is requested angle in degrees

Hrot is the height in absolute units for a full rotation

Href is the reference height prior to the rotation

For example, assume a tilt of 30 degrees is desired with Href at 3100 and Hrot at 1 10. This would produce Ha = (30/180)^*1 10 + 3100 = 31 18.

In step 520, the window Blind Microcontroller 420, repositions the blind height and angle and determine a transition time according to the following:

Transition Time

In general 180 degree rotations are typically very small up or down movements of the blinds; therefore it may be possible to achieve full 180 degree rotations in less than a second. For fixed speed motors this is a problem because it will likely be disruptive in an office environment to rotate the blinds so quickly. Therefore it is desirable to break up the move into a series of discrete moves spaced in time to look like continuous motion. In a preferred embodiment, the transition time specifies the total time it should take for the motor to be repositioned (e.g. reach the desired position). For example, a transition Time of 24 seconds means it would take 24 seconds to reach the desired position from the current position. This is done by dividing the move into equal increments across the transition Time span and repeatedly sending absolute height commands separated by appropriate time to the motor until the move is completed. For example, if a command is issued to move 180 degrees in 10 seconds. Assuming Hrot is 1 10, then it is necessary to move 1 10 absolute units (pulses) in 10 seconds. The command sequence would be (although it is noted that other sequence are available as well): move 1 1 pulses, wait ' second

move 1 1 pulses, wait ' second

Establishing Reference Position/Parameters

Configuration parameters are determined during system calibration or through optimization of the system performance. They are either hard-coded into the microcontroller or stored at some level in the system software. These include:

• 180 degree rotational span (Hrot, the number of pulses required to move 180 degrees - d determined by calibrating)

• Mechanical slack (Hslack, the number of pulses required to change direction determined by calibrating) • Time required to move 1 rotation extent (Trot, determined by calibrating)

• Maximum reporting interval (Trep, determined by high level system optimization requirements)

• Error checking interval (Temp, determined by high level system optimization requirements)

Establishment of the reference height is done in the following manner. In the preferred embodiment, the microcontroller queries the motor for its current absolute position and compares this to the previous position stored in microcontroller memory. If the two values don't agree, the microcontroller assumes something exceptional has happened (manual move, power-up, power glitch, etc.) and initializes a "reset position" sequence to re-establish a height reference for rotation. The reset consists of moving the blinds up by one rotation extent; i.e. the distance necessary to guarantee tilt of 0 degrees. For this embodiment, a rotation extent is equal to 140 absolute units of the motor.

Compensating for Slack

There is one additional complication with blinds systems that may occur whenever the blinds change direction. Due to their mechanical nature, tolerances and slack in the components create a decoupling effect between the motor and the blinds. When the motor changes the direction of rotation, the mechanical slack between the motor and drum will prevent the initial few degrees of motor rotation from being transferred to blind drum. The effect is that the blinds do not immediately change direction. In order to achieve precise angular control, this "slack" must be compensated by modifying equation 2. Slack is determined by calibrating the system and then storing the results in the processor's 520 memory. In the preferred embodiment we introduce parameter Hslack which is defined as the difference in absolute units between motor and blinds position whenever there is a change of direction. Equation 2 is now modified with new Hslack parameter as follows: Equation 3

if (rotationalState = UP) then

if (newAngle > oldAngle) then

Ha = (Adeg/180)^*Hrot + Href + Hslack // change in direction to down, must add slack

rotationalState = DOWN

else

Ha = (Adeg/180)^*Hrot + Href // continuing up

end if

else

if (newAngle < oldAngle) then

Ha = (Adeg/180)^*Hrot + Href // continuing down

else

Ha = (Adeg/180)^*Hrot + Href + Hslack // change in direction to up, must add slack

rotationalState = UP

end if

Figure 6 shows the blind slat angle control performance. The cut-off angle of the blind slat is shown in Figure 6. The cut-off angle is 90° at night (i.e. slats are flat). The cut-off angle is set to 0° at dawn at about 6:10 am to block direct sun on east facing window bothering the occupant. The cut-off angle increases as the sun rises and it reaches 90° at 9:40 am.

Figure 7 illustrates a system 700 for implementing the principles of the invention as depicted in the exemplary processing shown herein. In this exemplary system embodiment 700, input data is received from sources 705 over network 750 and is processed in accordance with one or more programs, either software or firmware, executed by processing system 710. The results of processing system 710 may then be transmitted over network 770 for viewing on display 780, reporting device 790 and/or a second processing system 795.

Processing system 710 includes one or more input/output devices 740 that receive data from the illustrated sources or devices 705 over network 750. The received data is then applied to processor 720, which is in communication with input/output device 740 and memory 730. Input/output devices 740, processor 720 and memory 730 may communicate over a communication medium 725. Communication medium 725 may represent a communication network, e.g., ISA, PCI, PCMCIA bus, one or more internal connections of a circuit, circuit card or other device, as well as portions and combinations of these and other communication media.

Processing system 710 and/or processor 720 may be representative of a handheld calculator, special purpose or general purpose processing system, desktop computer, laptop computer, palm computer, or personal digital assistant (PDA) device, etc., as well as portions or combinations of these and other devices that can perform the operations illustrated.

Processor 720 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or dedicated hardware/software, such as a PAL, ASIC, FGPA, operable to execute computer instruction code or a combination of code and logical operations. In one embodiment, processor 720 may include code which, when executed by the processor, performs the operations illustrated herein. The code may be contained in memory 730, may be read or downloaded from a memory medium such as a CD-ROM or floppy disk, represented as 783, may be provided by a manual input device 785, such as a keyboard or a keypad entry, or may be read from a magnetic or optical medium (not shown) or via a second I/O device 787 when needed. Information items provided by devices 783, 785, 787 may be accessible to processor 720 through input/output device 740, as shown. Further, the data received by input/output device 740 may be immediately accessible by processor 720 or may be stored in memory 730. Processor 720 may further provide the results of the processing to display 780, recording device 790 or a second processing unit 795. As one skilled in the art would recognize, the terms processor, processing system, computer or computer system may represent one or more processing units in communication with one or more memory units and other devices, e.g., peripherals, connected electronically to and communicating with the at least one processing unit. Furthermore, the devices illustrated may be electronically connected to the one or more processing units via internal busses, e.g., serial, parallel, ISA bus, microchannel bus, PCI bus, PCMCIA bus, USB, etc., or one or more internal connections of a circuit, circuit card or other device, as well as portions and combinations of these and other communication media, or an external network, e.g., the Internet and Intranet. In other embodiments, hardware circuitry may be used in place of, or in combination with, software instructions to implement the invention. For example, the elements illustrated herein may also be implemented as discrete hardware elements or may be integrated into a single unit.

As would be understood, the operations illustrated may be performed sequentially or in parallel using different processors to determine specific values. Processing system 710 may also be in two-way communication with each of the sources 705. Processing system 710 may further receive or transmit data over one or more network connections from a server or servers over, e.g., a global computer communications network such as the Internet, Intranet, a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a local area network (LAN), a terrestrial broadcast system, a cable network, a satellite network, a wireless network, or a telephone network (POTS), as well as portions or combinations of these and other types of networks. As will be appreciated, networks 750 and 770 may also be internal networks or one or more internal connections of a circuit, circuit card or other device, as well as portions and combinations of these and other communication media or an external network, e.g., the Internet and Intranet.

While there has been shown, described, and pointed out fundamental novel features of the present invention as applied to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the apparatus described, in the form and details of the devices disclosed, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements that perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Substitutions of elements from one described embodiment to another are also fully intended and contemplated. For example, any numerical values presented herein are considered only exemplary and are presented to provide examples of the subject matter claimed as the invention. Hence, the invention, as recited in the appended claims, is not limited by the numerical examples provided herein.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A system for controlling for light distribution in a space including multiple installed light sources and an external light source comprising: a lighting/daylight control system including a window blind system having one motor for controlling the blind height and angle of the window blind system; a processor in communication with a memory, the memory including code which when accessed by the processor causes the processor to determine movement of the window blind height and the window blind angle, and wherein the processor converts a relative blind height and angle data to an absolute blind height and angle data based on predetermined specifications of the blind motor and window blind system, and sends the absolute data to the blind motor.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is integrated into a hybrid integrated lighting and daylight control system.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one motor has a range of motion from the blinds fully down with an angle of 180° to blinds fully up with an angle of 0°.

4. The system of claim 1 , further including a zone controller that sends the relative blind height and angle data to the processor.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor converts the relative blind height data to the absolute blind height data using the following, Ha = (La/Lr)^*Hr where Ha is absolute height, Hr is relative height, La is absolute limit and Lr is relative limit.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor converts the relative blind angle data to the absolute blind angle data using the following,

Ha = (Adeg/180)^*Hrot + Href where Ha is absolute height, Adeg is requested angle in degrees, Hrot is height in absolute units for a full rotation, and Href is a reference height prior to the rotation

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor determines slack data, wherein the slack data is determined by calibrating the system and includes determining the difference in absolute units between the one motor and blinds position when there is a change of blind height or angle direction of the window blind system.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the processor uses the slack data to determine the absolute blind height and angle data when there is a change of direction in either the height or angle of the window blind system.

9. The system of claim 4, wherein the blind height and angle of the window blind system is based on a geographic location, a geographic orientation of the window blind system, a time of day, day of the year, geometric properties of the window blind system and geometric properties of the space.

10. The system of claim 5, wherein the blind motor causes the window blind height and angle to be repositioned to the determined window blind height and angle, wherein the repositioning has a transition time that specifies a total time for said repositioning, and wherein the repositioning includes dividing the transition time into equal increments and repeatedly sending absolute height commands separated by predetermined time to the motor until the repositioning is completed.

1 1 . A method for controlling for light distribution in a space including multiple installed light sources and an external light source, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a relative blind height and angle data from a lighting/daylight control system, wherein the lighting/daylight control system includes a window blind system having one motor for controlling the blind height and angle of the window blind system; determining, in a processor, an absolute blind height and angle data based on predetermined specifications of the blind motor and window blind system and the relative blind height and angle data, wherein the processor is in communication with a memory, the memory including code which when accessed by the processor causes the processor to determine movement data for the window blind height and the window blind angle; and sending the absolute data to the blind motor.

12. The method of claim 1 1 , wherein the one motor has a range of motion from the blinds fully down with an angle of 180° to the blinds fully up with an angle of 0°.

13. The method of claim 1 1 , wherein the step of receiving the relative blind height and angle data further includes a zone controller sending the relative blind height and angle data to the processor.

14. The method of claim 1 1 , wherein the determining the relative blind height data to the absolute blind height data uses the following,

Ha = (La/Lr)^*Hr where Ha is absolute height, Hr is relative height, La is absolute limit and Lr is relative limit.

15. The method of claim 1 1 , wherein the determining the relative blind angle data to the absolute blind angle data uses the following,

16. The method of claim 1 1 , wherein the determining step further includes

determining slack data, wherein the slack data is the difference in absolute units between the one motor and blinds position when there is a change of blind height or angle direction of the window blind system.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the determining step further includes using the slack data to determine the absolute blind height and angle data when there is a change of direction in either the height or angle of the window blind system.

18. The method of claim 13, further including the step of determining the relative blind height and angle, in the zone controller, based on a geographic location, a geographic orientation of the window blind system, a time of day, day of the year, geometric properties of the window blind system and geometric properties of the space.

19. The system of claim 14, further including the step of, the blind motor, causing the window blind height and angle to be repositioned to the determined window blind height and angle, wherein the repositioning has a transition time that specifies a total time for said repositioning, and wherein the repositioning includes dividing the transition time into equal increments and repeatedly sending absolute height commands separated by predetermined time to the motor until the repositioning is completed.