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EP-4738867-A2 - CONTROL A DIMMING LEVEL OF AN ILLUMINATION LOAD BY A DIMMER DEVICE

EP4738867A2EP 4738867 A2EP4738867 A2EP 4738867A2EP-4738867-A2

Abstract

Disclosed herein are system, apparatus, article of manufacture, method and/or computer program product embodiments, and/or combinations and sub-combinations thereof, for a dimmer device including a driver, and a controller communicatively coupled to the driver and to a monitor device. The monitor device can include a camera and is configured to take a plurality of images of the illumination load. The controller provides a control signal that indicates to the driver to adjust power supplied to an illumination load. The control signal is provided in response to a determination that a performance of the illumination load fails to satisfy a predetermined performance indicator. The performance of the illumination load is determined based on information related to the plurality of images of the illumination load taken by the camera of the monitor device. The controller can adjust a dimming level of the illumination load by providing the control signal to the driver.

Inventors

  • GARNER, GREGORY MACK

Assignees

  • Roku, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20221117

Claims (15)

  1. A dimmer device, comprising: a driver configured to be coupled to an illumination load; and a controller communicatively coupled to the driver, wherein the controller is configured to perform operations comprising: providing a control signal to the driver that indicates to the driver to adjust a dimming level of the illumination load, wherein the control signal is provided in response to a determination that a performance of the illumination load fails to satisfy a predetermined performance indicator, wherein the performance of the illumination load is based on flicker of the illumination load, and wherein the performance of the illumination load is determined based on sensor data from a monitor device; and wherein the driver is further configured to adjust the dimming level of the illumination load based on the control signal.
  2. The dimmer device of claim 1, wherein the control signal indicates to the driver to adjust the dimming level of the illumination load by adjusting an on time and an off time duty cycle for the illumination load.
  3. The dimmer device of claim 1, wherein providing the control signal comprises providing the control signal based on a command received from the monitor device, wherein the command is provided by the monitor device based on the determination that the performance of the illumination load fails to satisfy the predetermined performance indicator.
  4. The dimmer device of claim 1, wherein providing the control signal comprises: determining, based on the information related to a plurality of images of the illumination load, that the performance of the illumination load does not meet the predetermined performance indicator; and generating the control signal to change the dimming level of the illumination load.
  5. The dimmer device of claim 1, wherein the performance of the illumination load is related to one of a flicker percentage, a flicker index, or a flicker frequency.
  6. The dimmer device of claim 1, wherein a plurality of images of the illumination load are taken by a camera of the monitor device according to a first frequency, and the illumination load is a light emitting diode (LED) light having a second frequency, and the first frequency is higher than the second frequency.
  7. The dimmer device of claim 6, wherein the monitor device is a mobile phone, and the camera is located in the mobile phone.
  8. The dimmer device of claim 1, further comprising: a mechanical switch coupled to the controller, and configured to enable the controller to generate the control signal to adjust the driver to change the dimming level of the illumination load.
  9. A method for operating a dimmer device, comprising: providing a control signal to a driver that indicates to the driver to adjust a dimming level of the illumination load, wherein the control signal is provided in response to a determination that a performance of the illumination load fails to satisfy a predetermined performance indicator, wherein the performance of the illumination load is based on flicker of the illumination load, and wherein the performance of the illumination load is determined based on sensor data from a monitor device; and wherein the driver is further configured to adjust the dimming level of the illumination load based on the control signal.
  10. The method of claim 9, wherein the control signal indicates to the driver to adjust the dimming level of the illumination load by adjusting an on time and an off time duty cycle for the illumination load.
  11. The method of claim 9, wherein providing the control signal comprises providing the control signal based on a command received from the monitor device, wherein the command is provided by the monitor device based on the determination that the performance of the illumination load fails to satisfy the predetermined performance indicator.
  12. The method of claim 9, wherein providing the control signal comprises: determining, based on the information related to a plurality of images of the illumination load, that the performance of the illumination load does not meet the predetermined performance indicator; and generating the control signal to change the dimming level of the illumination load.
  13. The method of claim 9, wherein the performance of the illumination load is related to one of a flicker percentage, a flicker index, or a flicker frequency.
  14. The method of claim 9, wherein a plurality of images of the illumination load are taken by a camera of the monitor device according to a first frequency, and the illumination load is a light emitting diode (LED) light having a second frequency, and the first frequency is higher than the second frequency.
  15. The method of claim 14, wherein the monitor device is a mobile phone, and the camera is located in the mobile phone.

Description

BACKGROUND FIELD This disclosure is generally directed to a dimmer device, and more particularly to the control of a dimming level of an illumination load by a dimmer device. BACKGROUND Lights are essential in daily lives. A light source (e.g., a lamp or a luminaire) can be generally referred to as an illumination load. There are many kinds of electric lighting technologies, such as an incandescent light, a halogen light, a metal halide light, a fluorescent light, a light emitting diode (LED) light, a red, blue and green (RGB) LED light, or more. LED lighting continues to take market share from the traditional lighting, due to the advantages of solid state lighting. In general, dimming an illumination load refers to the property of a light source to vary its intensity and brightness, and adjust the diming level between a fully on level and a minimum value level for the light source. Dimming is a useful technology in the lighting industry. There are many kinds of dimmer devices performing the dimming functions. However, how to control the dimming level of an illumination load is still a challenge. SUMMARY Provided herein are system, apparatus, article of manufacture, method and/or computer program product embodiments, and/or combinations and sub-combinations thereof, for a dimmer device to change a diming level of an illumination load based on a determination that a performance of the illumination load does not meet a predetermined performance indicator. The performance of the illumination load is determined based on information related to a plurality of images of the illumination load taken by a camera of a monitor device. An example embodiment of a dimmer device can include a driver configured to be coupled to an illumination load, and a controller communicatively coupled to the driver and to a monitor device. The monitor device can include a camera and is configured to take a plurality of images of the illumination load. The controller is configured to provide a control signal that indicates to the driver to adjust power supplied to the illumination load. The control signal is provided in response to a determination that a performance of the illumination load fails to satisfy a predetermined performance indicator. The performance of the illumination load is determined based on information related to the plurality of images of the illumination load taken by the camera of the monitor device. The controller is further configured to adjust a dimming level of the illumination load by providing the control signal to the driver. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The accompanying drawings are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification. FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate a lighting system including a dimmer device to adjust a diming level of an illumination load based on a plurality of images of the illumination load taken by a camera of a monitor device, according to some embodiments.FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate example lighting systems including a dimmer device to adjust a diming level of an illumination load based on a plurality of images of the illumination load taken by a camera of a monitor device, according to some embodiments.FIG. 3 illustrates an example process for adjusting a diming level of an illumination load based on a plurality of images of the illumination load taken by a camera of a monitor device, according to some embodiments.FIG. 4 illustrates an example dimming curve for a light emitting diode (LED) light, according to some embodiments.FIG. 5 illustrates an example computer system useful for implementing various embodiments. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical or similar elements. Additionally, generally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears. DETAILED DESCRIPTION A lighting system may include a control device to control one or more light sources to light a space. A light source, such as a lamp, a luminaire, or a light emitting diode (LED) light, can be generally referred to as an illumination load. Dimming an illumination load refers to the property of a light source to vary its intensity and brightness, and adjust the diming level between a fully on level and a minimum value level for the light source. A dimmer device can perform the dimming control function for one or more illumination loads. LED lighting continues to take market share from the traditional lighting, due to the advantages of solid state lighting. The LED dimming control can save energy, customize light scenes, control color tuning of the lights, extend the service life of the LED lights, among many other advantages. A major issue plaguing the lighting industry is flicker, which is defined as "variations of luminance in time" in The Lighting Handbook, published by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA). Flicker may be inherent to the design of a luminaire but can also be introduced by external factors.