US-12628258-B2 - System and methods for controlling intensity level and color of lighting devices according to a show

US12628258B2US 12628258 B2US12628258 B2US 12628258B2US-12628258-B2

Abstract

A lighting device may include one or more light sources, a load control circuit configured to control an amount of power delivered to each of the one or more light sources, and a control circuit for controlling the load control circuit to control an intensity level and a color of the cumulative light emitted by the one or more light sources. The control circuit may be configured to generate a show. For example, the control circuit may be configured to receive, via the communication circuit, show information and auxiliary information from a computing device in one or more messages. The control circuit may be configured to store the show information and the auxiliary information in memory of the lighting device. The control circuit may be configured to receive, via the communication circuit, a command to execute a show in a message, and in response, generate the show.

Inventors

Henry Garant
Andrew Robert Heller-Jones
Dat Ho
Charles Kelley
Braeden Morrison

Assignees

LUTRON TECHNOLOGY COMPANY LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230928

Claims (20)

1 . A lighting device comprising: one or more light sources, wherein each light source is configured to emit light; a load control circuit configured to control an amount of power delivered to each of the one or more light sources; a communication circuit configured to receive messages; and a control circuit for controlling the load control circuit to control an intensity level and a color of the cumulative light emitted by the one or more light sources, wherein the control circuit is configured to: receive, via the communication circuit, show information and auxiliary information from a computing device in one or more messages; store the show information and the auxiliary information in memory of the lighting device, wherein the show information is defined by one or more default tracks; receive, via the communication circuit, a command to execute a show in a message; generate a counterpart show based on the one or more default tracks and the auxiliary information stored in the memory of the lighting device; and control the load control circuit to control the intensity level and the color of the cumulative light emitted from the one or more light sources with respect to time to generate the counterpart show.
2 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the show information defines a relationship of intensity values with respect to time over a time duration for the show and at least one relationship of color values with respect to time over the time duration for the show.
3 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary information comprises a time duration, a time offset value, a frequency adjustment value, or an intensity adjustment value.
4 . The lighting device of claim 3 , wherein each default track defines a relationship of a characteristic of the light emitted from the one or more light sources over time, and wherein the characteristic of the light comprises intensity level or color.
5 . The lighting device of claim 4 , wherein a default track of the one or more default tracks defines a correlated color temperature (CCT) value over time.
6 . The lighting device of claim 4 , wherein a default track of the one or more default tracks defines an x-chromaticity coordinate value over time and a y-chromaticity coordinate value over time.
7 . The lighting device of claim 4 , wherein a default track of the one or more default tracks defines a red value over time, a green value over time, and a blue value over time.
8 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to generate the counterpart show using a spline function that is dependent on the show information and the auxiliary information.
9 . The lighting device of claim 8 , wherein the show information received by the control circuit includes one or more breakpoints for the spline function.
10 . The lighting device of claim 9 , wherein the control circuit is configured generate the one or more default tracks using the breakpoints of spline function comprised within the show information, wherein each default track defines a relationship of a characteristic of the light emitted from the one or more light sources over time, and wherein the characteristic of the light comprises intensity level or color.
11 . The lighting device of claim 10 , wherein the control circuit is configured generate one or more counterpart tracks from the one or more default tracks using the auxiliary information stored in memory, wherein the counterpart show comprises the one or more counterpart tracks.
12 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the intensity level and the color of the cumulative light emitted from the one or more light sources is determined using a function that is dependent upon the counterpart show.
13 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary information comprises a time duration for the show, and wherein changes to the time duration affect a frequency of the show.
14 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary information comprises a time offset, wherein the time offset indicates a time delay that the lighting device is to apply to start of the show relative to the receipt of the command.
15 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to: receive an adjustment command during a time duration for the show defined by the auxiliary information, wherein the adjustment command comprises a command to adjust a characteristic of the emitted light, wherein the characteristic of the emitted light comprises the intensity level or the color of the emitted light; and control the load control circuit for adjusting the characteristic of the emitted light during the time duration based on the adjustment command.
16 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the show information is common to a plurality of lighting devices, and wherein the auxiliary information is specific for the lighting device.
17 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary information comprises a color offset, wherein the color offset indicates a change to the color defined by the show information.
18 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary information is specific for the lighting device, such that different auxiliary information is provided to at least one other lighting device.
19 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to, in response to the command, retrieve the show information and the auxiliary information from the memory of the lighting device prior to controlling the load control circuit to control the intensity level and the color of the cumulative light emitted from the one or more light sources with respect to time to generate the show.
20 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the show information defines predefined illumination content that is stored in memory of the lighting device prior to the reception of the command to execute the show; and wherein the predefined illumination content comprising illumination instructions that causes the plurality of lighting devices to emit light that mimics a cycling rainbow, mimics candlelight flickers, mimics sunlight shining through a forest canopy, mimics a beathing pattern, or mimics a weather show.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority from Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 63/410,951, filed Sep. 28, 2022, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. BACKGROUND A user environment, such as a residence or an office building for example, may be configured using various types of load control systems. A lighting control system may be used to control the lighting loads in the user environment. Each load control system may include various control devices, including input devices and load control devices. The load control devices may receive digital messages, which may include load control instructions, for controlling an electrical load from one or more of the load control devices. The load control devices may be capable of directly controlling an electrical load. The input devices may be capable of indirectly controlling the electrical load via the load control device. Examples of load control devices may include lighting control devices (e.g., a dimmer, a dimmer switch, an electronic switch, a ballast, or a light-emitting diode (LED) driver), a motorized window treatment, a temperature control device (e.g., a thermostat), an AC plug-in load control device, and/or the like. Examples of input devices may include remote control devices, occupancy sensors, daylight sensors, temperature sensors, and/or the like. Lamps and displays using efficient light sources, such as light-emitting diodes (LED) light sources, for illumination are becoming increasingly popular in many different markets. LED light sources provide a number of advantages over traditional light sources, such as incandescent and fluorescent lamps. For example, LED light sources may have a lower power consumption and a longer lifetime than traditional light sources. In addition, the LED light sources may have no hazardous materials, and may provide additional specific advantages for different applications. When used for general illumination, LED light sources provide the opportunity to adjust the color (e.g., from white, to blue, to green, etc.) or the color temperature (e.g., from warm white to cool white) of the light emitted from the LED light sources to produce different lighting effects. SUMMARY As described herein, a lighting control system (e.g., any combination of a system controller, a computing device, a dimmer, a lighting control device, a lighting device, and/or non-lighting devices) may be configured to generate a show. Lighting devices and lighting control systems are described herein. A lighting device may include one or more light sources, such as emitters, where each emitter is configured to emit light (e.g., at different colors). Further, in some examples, such as with a light-emitting diode (LED) drive, the lighting device may not include the emitters (e.g., the emitters may be separately provided). The lighting device may include a load control circuit, such as a drive circuit, that is configured to control an amount of power delivered to each of the one or more emitters. The lighting device may include a communication circuit configured to receive messages. The lighting device may include a control circuit for controlling the drive circuit to control an intensity level and a color of the cumulative light emitted by the one or more emitters. The control circuit may be configured to generate a show. For example, the control circuit may be configured to receive, via the communication circuit, show information and auxiliary information from a computing device in one or more messages. The control circuit may be configured to store the show information and the auxiliary information in memory of the lighting device (e.g., non-volatile memory). The control circuit may be configured to receive, via the communication circuit, a command to execute a show in a message (e.g., a command message that, for instance, may be different from the one or more messages that provide the show information and/or auxiliary information). The control circuit may be configured to control the drive circuit to control the intensity level and the color of the cumulative light emitted from the one or more emitters with respect to time to generate the show. The intensity level and the color of the cumulative light emitted from the one or more emitters may be determined using a function that is dependent upon the show information and the auxiliary information stored in the memory of the lighting device. The show information may define a relationship of intensity values with respect to time over a time duration for the show and a relationship of color values with respect to time over the time duration for the show. For example, the show information is defined by one or more tracks, where each track defines a relationship of a characteristic of the light emitted from the one or more emitters over time, and where the characteristic of the light comprises intensity level or color. F