Communication interface device for a solid-state luminaire

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10636290-B2
Application number	US-201514668727-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 25, 2015
Priority date	Mar 25, 2014
Publication date	Apr 28, 2020
Grant date	Apr 28, 2020

Abstract

A device is disclosed for providing a communication interface for a solid-state luminaire. The disclosed device may be configured, for example, as a dongle to be electrically coupled with power lines between a driver and solid-state light source. The device may draw power from the power lines, while also adjusting and, if desired, monitoring current going to the light source. In some embodiments, the device splits current received from the driver into a first portion that is returned to the driver or consumed within the device and a second portion that is time-modulated and delivered to the light source. In some other embodiments, the device provides a time-varying impedance in series with the driver, reducing current received by the light source in a time-modulated manner. In either case, the device optionally may be configured to cause the light source to output a pulsing light signal encoded with data.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. Device comprising:
a power input configured to be electrically coupled in parallel with an output of a driver of a solid-state luminaire to draw power therefrom;
a power output configured to be electrically coupled in parallel with an input of a solid-state light source of the solid-state luminaire; and
a power conditioning module electrically coupled between the power input and the power output and configured to communicate with at least one of:
the driver; and
a communication module operatively coupled with the power conditioning module and configured to communicate with a signal source external to the device.

2. The device of claim 1 further comprising the communication module, wherein:
the communication module is configured to communicate with the external signal source using at least one of a digital multiplexer (DMX) interface protocol, a Wi-Fi protocol, a Bluetooth protocol, a digital addressable lighting interface (DALI) protocol, and a ZigBee protocol; and
the device is configured to adjust power provided to the solid-state light source in response to receipt of a signal by the communication module from the external signal source.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured as a wireless radio beacon configured to at least one of transmit and receive data about at least one of positioning and indoor navigation routing.

4. The device of claim 1 further comprising a power-line communication (PLC) module configured to output a PLC signal to the driver, the PLC signal including instruction for adjustment in the output of the driver.

5. The device of claim 1 further comprising at least one of an ambient light sensor and an occupancy sensor, wherein the device is configured to use data output by the at least one of an ambient light sensor and an occupancy sensor in adjusting power provided to the solid-state light source by the driver.

6. The device of claim 1 further comprising a filtering circuit electrically coupled between the power input and the power conditioning module and configured to reduce ripple current in the output of the driver.

7. The device of claim 6 , wherein the filtering circuit comprises:
a first diode at the power input of the device and configured to be electrically coupled with the output of the driver, wherein the first diode comprises at least one of a PN diode, a PIN diode, and a Schottky diode, and wherein the first diode provides at least one of:
energy storage while the driver is not outputting energy during an off time of a pulse-width modulation (PWM) cycle; and
protection against damage that would result if a reverse-polarity connection is made when electrically coupling the device with the output of the driver;

a second diode electrically coupled in series with the first diode, wherein the second diode comprises a current-limiting diode (CLD);
an inductor electrically coupled in series with the second diode, wherein the inductor and the second diode prevent the driver from going into an over-current fault state during startup;
an electrolytic capacitor electrically coupled in parallel with the power input of the device; and
a varistor electrically coupled in parallel with the power input of the device.

8. The device of claim 6 , wherein the filtering circuit comprises at least one of a low-pass filter, a linear regulator, and a switch-mode regulator electrically coupled with a first diode.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein the power conditioning module comprises at least one of a linear regulator, a buck converter, a boost converter, a single-ended primary-inductor converter (SEPIC), and a boost-buck converter and is configured to provide at least one of:
overvoltage protection for the device; and
galvanic isolation between the power input and the power output of the device.

10. The device of claim 1 , wherein:
the solid-state light source is a light-emitting diode (LED);
the driver is an LED driver; and
the power input of the device is configured to be electrically coupled in parallel with an LED output of the LED driver to draw power therefrom.

11. The device of claim 1 further comprising a controller configured to sample an output voltage of the driver to determine at least one of:
whether the output voltage exhibits dips with rising edges having a dV/dt that exceeds a threshold; and
whether deviation between sampled measurements exceeds a threshold.

12. The device of claim 1 further comprising a phase-locked loop (PLL) configured to synchronize on a pulse-width modulation (PWM) clock of the driver.

13. The device of claim 1 , wherein the power conditioning module is configured to modulate power provided to the solid-state light source, providing the solid-state light source with the ability to output a pulsing light signal encoded with data.

14. The device of claim 13 , wherein in providing the solid-state light source with the ability to output the pulsing light signal encoded with data, the device is configured to split current received from the driver into at least:
a first current portion that is at least one of returned to the driver and used by the device to power a constituent component thereof; and
a second current portion that is time-modulated and delivered to the solid-state light source to cause it to output the pulsing light signal encoded with data.

15. The device of claim 14 further comprising an infrared (IR) emitter, wherein:
the first current portion is used by the device to drive the IR emitter; and
an intensity of IR light emitted by the IR emitter is time-modulated in a manner that mirrors modulation of the pulsing light signal encoded with data emitted by the solid-state light source, such that the pulsing light signal and the IR light are at least partially redundant in data.

16. The device of claim 13 , wherein in providing the solid-state light source with the ability to output the pulsing light signal encoded with data, the device is configured to provide a time-varying impedance that reduces current received by the solid-state light source from the driver in a time-modulated manner, wherein a sum of the time-varying impedance of the device and an impedance of the solid-state light source appears at the output of the driver as its load.

17. The device of claim 13 , wherein the device is configured as a wireless radio beacon configured to cause the solid-state light source to emit a pulsing light signal encoded with data about at least one of positioning and indoor navigation routing information.

18. A method of communicating using a solid-state luminaire, the method comprising:
receiving, via a power conditioning module electrically coupled in parallel with an output power line of a driver of the solid-state luminaire and an input power line of a solid-state light source of the solid-state luminaire, a first signal from at least one of:
a sensor operatively coupled with the power conditioning module; and
a communication module operatively coupled with the power conditioning module and configured to communicate with a signal source external to the solid-state luminaire; and

outputting, via the power conditioning module, a second signal to at least one of the driver and the communication module.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the communication module is configured to communicate with the external signal source using at least one of a digital multiplexer (DMX) interface protocol, a Wi-Fi protocol, a Bluetooth protocol, a digital addressable lighting interface (DALI) protocol, and

Assignees

• Breuer Christian
• Siessegger Bernhard
• Osram Sylvania Inc

Inventors

• Breuer Christian
• Siessegger Bernhard

Classifications

• G08C2201/50

  Receiving or transmitting feedback, e.g. replies, status updates, acknowledgements, from the controlled devices · CPC title

• G08C23/04

  using light waves, e.g. infrared · CPC title

• H05B41/44

  for providing special optical effects, e.g. progressive motion of light · CPC title

• G08C19/16 Primary

  in which transmission is by pulses · CPC title

• G08C17/02

  using a radio link · CPC title