Identification of load control devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9585226-B2
Application number	US-201313796877-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 12, 2013
Priority date	Mar 12, 2013
Publication date	Feb 28, 2017
Grant date	Feb 28, 2017

Abstract

A load control system may include a load control device for providing power to an electrical load and a control device that may send instructions to the load control device for providing the power to the electrical load. The control device may communicate with the load control device using a link address assigned to the load control device. The load control device may provide power to the electrical load in a manner that causes the electrical load to indicate the link address assigned to the load control device. The link address may be identified by a user or a user device. The identified link address may be associated with a load control device identifier that may identify a physical location of a load control device that is assigned the link address. A user may control a load control device at a physical location by sending instructions via the link address.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
a load control device configured to provide an amount of power to a lighting load; and
a control device configured to:
assign a link address to the load control device, wherein the link address is indicated by a number of digits;
instruct the load control device to perform a flashing of the lighting load in a manner that causes the lighting load to identify each digit of the link address assigned to the load control device by turning the lighting load on and off or increasing and decreasing an intensity of the lighting load; and
associate the link address that is identified from the flashing of the lighting load with a load control device identifier to define an association between the link address and the load control device identifier, wherein the load control device identifier indicates a physical location of the load control device and the associated link address is used to communicate instructions to the load control device.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a user device configured to identify the link address from the flashing of the lighting load.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the load control device is configured to identify each digit of the link address by flashing the lighting load a consecutive number of times corresponding to the digit.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the load control device is configured to identify each digit of the link address by flashing the lighting load for a period of time corresponding to the digit.

5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a user device that comprises a camera configured to generate a video that includes the identification of the link address, and wherein the user device is further configured to identify the link address by analyzing the video.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the load control device comprises a ballast and the control device comprises a ballast control device.

7. A method for identifying a link address assigned to a load control device, wherein the load control device controls an amount of power provided to a lighting load, the method comprising:
assigning the link address to the load control device, wherein the link address is indicated by a number of digits;
instructing the load control device to perform a flashing of the lighting load in a manner that causes the lighting load to identify each digit of the link address assigned to the load control device by turning the lighting load on and off or increasing and decreasing an intensity of the lighting load;
identifying the link address assigned to the load control device based on the flashing of the lighting load; and
associating the link address that is identified from the flashing of the lighting load with a load control device identifier to define an association between the link address and the load control device identifier, wherein the load control device identifier indicates a physical location of the load control device and the associated link address is used to communicate instructions to the load control device.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the link address is identified and associated with the load control device identifier by a user device.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the load control device comprises a ballast, and wherein the link address is identified and associated with the load control device identifier by a ballast control device.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein each digit of the link address is identified based on a number of consecutive flashes of the lighting load that correspond to the digit.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein each digit of the link address is identified based on an amount of time over which the amount of power is provided to the lighting load at an increased level or a decreased level when flashing the lighting load.

12. An apparatus configured to instruct a load control device to identify a link address assigned to the load control device, wherein the link address is indicated by a number of digits, and wherein the load control device controls an amount of power provided to a lighting load, the apparatus comprising:
a communication circuit configured to communicate instructions; and
a controller configured to:
assign the link address to the load control device;
instruct the load control device to perform a flashing of the lighting load in a manner that causes the lighting load to identify each digit of the link address assigned to the load control device by turning the lighting load on and off or increasing and decreasing an intensity of the lighting load; and
associate the link address that is identified from the flashing of the lighting load with a load control device identifier to define an association between the link address and the load control device identifier, wherein the load control device identifier indicates a physical location of the load control device and the associated link address is used to communicate the instructions to the load control device.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the controller is further configured to flash the lighting load a consecutive number of times corresponding to each digit of the link address to identify the link address.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein each digit of the link address is identified by providing the amount of power to the lighting load at an increased level or a decreased level for a period of time corresponding to the digit when flashing the lighting load.

15. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
receive a video of the lighting load;
detect, within the video, the flashing of the link address provided by the lighting load; and
identify the link address assigned to the load control device based on the manner in which the lighting load is flashed.

16. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the load control device is included in a group of load control devices that comprises other load control devices, wherein each of the other load control devices in the group is assigned a respective link address, and
wherein the controller is further configured to instruct each of the other load control devices in the group to flash a corresponding lighting load in a manner that identifies the respective link address by turning the corresponding lighting load on and off or increasing and decreasing an intensity of the corresponding lighting load.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the controller is further configured to instruct each of the load control devices in the group to flash the respective link address in a same period of time.

18. An electronic ballast for controlling an amount of power provided to a lighting load, the electronic ballast comprising;
a communication circuit configured to receive instructions; and
a controller configured to:
receive a command to identify a link address assigned to the electronic ballast, wherein the link address is indicated by a number of digits;
flash the lighting load in a manner that causes the lighting load to identify each digit of the link address assigned to the electronic ballast by turning the lighting load on and off or increasing and decreasing an intensity of the lighting load; and
receive the instructions from a control device via the link address identified by flashing the lighting load, wherein the link address is associated with a load control device identifier that indicates a physical location of the load control device and the associated link address is used to receive the instructions from the control device.

Assignees

• Lutron Electronics Co

Inventors

• Gajurel Rupesh
• Raghuram Sandeep Mudabail
• Baker Rhodes B
• Courtney Brian Michael

Classifications

• H05B47/1965

  using handheld communication devices · CPC title

• H05B47/198

  Grouping of control procedures or address assignation to light sources · CPC title

• H05B47/196

  characterised by user interface arrangements · CPC title

• H05B47/19

  via wireless transmission · CPC title

• H05B37/0254

  Electricity · mapped topic