System comprising a main electrical unit and a peripheral electrical unit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9720489-B2
Application number	US-201214239162-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 17, 2012
Priority date	Aug 23, 2011
Publication date	Aug 1, 2017
Grant date	Aug 1, 2017

Abstract

The invention relates to a system comprising a main electrical unit ( 2 ) and a peripheral electrical unit ( 3, 4,5 ), wherein the main electrical unit and the peripheral electrical unit are switchable between a low-power mode and a high-power mode. The main electrical unit is adapted to hand over a control of the system to the peripheral electrical unit, if the peripheral electrical unit is in the high-power mode, and to switch from the high-power mode to the low-power mode, after the control has been handed over. The peripheral electrical unit is adapted to receive the control from the main electrical unit and to control the system, if the peripheral electrical unit is in the high-power mode. This allows the system to be still in operation mode, although the main electrical unit has been switched to the low-power mode, thereby reducing the power consumption of the system.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system comprising a main electrical circuit and a given peripheral electrical circuit, wherein the main electrical circuit is adapted to initially control the system, wherein the peripheral electrical circuit is adapted for being initially controlled by the main electrical circuit,
wherein the main electrical circuit and the peripheral electrical circuit are switchable between a low-power consumption mode and a high-power consumption mode,
wherein the main electrical circuit is adapted to hand over a control of the system to the peripheral electrical circuit on condition that the peripheral electrical circuit is in the high-power consumption mode, and to switch from the high-power consumption mode to the low-power consumption mode, after the control has been handed over,
wherein the peripheral electrical circuit is adapted to receive the control from the main electrical circuit and to control the system if the peripheral electrical circuit is in the high-power consumption mode,
wherein the system comprises a plurality of peripheral electrical circuits including the given peripheral electrical circuit and wherein the main electrical circuit implements any hand over of the control of the system only on condition that a total number of peripheral electrical circuits that are in the high-power consumption mode is less than or equal to a predefined number.

2. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the main electrical circuit comprises forward handover rules defining under which conditions the control is to be handed over to the given peripheral electrical circuit and wherein the main electrical circuit is adapted to hand over the control to the given peripheral electrical circuit, if the conditions defined by the forward handover rules are fulfilled.

3. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the predefined number is one.

4. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the given peripheral electrical circuit is adapted to send an acknowledgement to the main electrical circuit, if the given peripheral electrical circuit has received the control, wherein the main electrical circuit is adapted to switch from the high-power consumption mode to the low-power consumption mode, after the main electrical circuit has received the acknowledgement.

5. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the given peripheral electrical circuit comprises back handover rules defining under which conditions the control is to be handed over back to the main electrical circuit and wherein the given peripheral electrical circuit is adapted to hand over the control back to the main electrical circuit, if the conditions defined by the back handover rules are fulfilled.

6. The system as defined in claim 5 , wherein the main electrical circuit is adapted to send an acknowledgement to the given peripheral electrical circuit, if the main electrical circuit has received the control, wherein the given peripheral electrical circuit is adapted to continue controlling the system until the given peripheral electrical circuit has received the acknowledgement.

7. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the main electrical circuit is a microcontroller and one or several of the plurality of peripheral electrical circuits are part of at least one of a sensor, a transceiver, an interface, and a light source.

8. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the main electrical circuit is adapted to hand over control rules with handing over the control to the given peripheral electrical circuit, wherein the control rules define the control performed by the given peripheral electrical circuit.

9. The system as defined in claim 8 , wherein the control rules define requests that can be sent by the given peripheral electrical circuit having the control to at least one other peripheral electrical circuit of the plurality of peripheral electrical circuits.

10. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of peripheral electrical circuits are switchable between a low-power consumption mode and a high-power consumption mode,
wherein the main electrical circuit is adapted to hand over a control of the system to the one or several of the plurality of peripheral electrical circuits on condition that the respective one or several peripheral electrical circuits are in the high-power consumption mode, and to switch the main electrical circuits from the high-power consumption mode to the low-power consumption mode, after the control has been handed over,
wherein the one or several of the plurality peripheral electrical circuits are adapted to receive the control from the respective main electrical circuit and to control the system if the respective peripheral electrical circuit is in the high-power consumption mode.

11. A method for controlling a system comprising a main electrical circuit and a given peripheral electrical circuit, wherein the main electrical circuit is adapted to initially control the system, wherein the peripheral electrical circuit is adapted for being initially controlled by the main electrical circuit, wherein the main electrical circuit and the peripheral electrical circuit are switchable between a low-power consumption mode and a high-power consumption mode, the method comprising:
handing over a control of the system from the main electrical circuit to the peripheral electrical circuit on condition that the peripheral electrical circuit is in the high-power consumption mode;
controlling the system by the peripheral electrical circuit if the peripheral electrical circuit is in the high-power consumption mode and has received the control from the main electrical circuit; and
switching the main electrical circuit from the high-power consumption mode to the low-power consumption mode, after the control has been handed over,
wherein the system comprises a plurality of peripheral electrical circuits including the given peripheral electrical circuit and wherein any hand over of the control of the system is implemented only on condition that a total number of peripheral electrical circuits that are in the high-power consumption mode is less than or equal to a predefined number.

12. A computer program stored on a non-transitory storage medium for controlling a system comprising a main electrical circuit and a peripheral electrical circuit, wherein the main electrical circuit and the peripheral electrical circuit are switchable between a low-power consumption mode and a high-power consumption mode, the computer program comprising program code for causing the system to carry out the steps of the method as defined in claim 11 , when the computer program is run on a computer controlling the system.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the predefined number is one.

Assignees

• Sreedharan Nair Biju Kumar
• Pasveer Willem Franke
• Philips Lighting Holding Bv

Inventors

• Sreedharan Nair Biju Kumar
• Pasveer Willem Franke

Classifications

• H05B47/10

  Controlling the light source · CPC title

• H05B47/18

  via data-bus transmission · CPC title

• H05B37/0227

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H05B37/0245

  Electricity · mapped topic

• G06F1/3293 Primary

  by switching to a less power-consuming processor, e.g. sub-CPU · CPC title