Circadian Lighting Control via Outdoor Sensor Bridge

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing circadian lighting systems struggle to effectively implement dynamic and responsive lighting solutions in diverse home automation systems, as they often fail to account for varying lighting device capabilities and outdoor environmental conditions, leading to unnatural lighting effects and reduced user experience.

Innovation Solution

An architecture that utilizes outdoor sensors to capture current intensity and color temperature data, dynamically adjusting circadian lighting curves based on outdoor conditions, and translates these adjustments into compatible commands for diverse lighting devices through a dynamic color manager process, ensuring responsive and natural lighting simulations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If circadian lighting is implemented on only a portion of lighting devices, then implementation cost is reduced, but the benefit of circadian lighting is greatly reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveimplementation costVSAvoidbenefit of circadian lighting
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system introduces a bridge device that acts as an intermediary between the controller and existing lighting devices. This bridge device includes a controllable light source that can be precisely controlled for circadian lighting, while also having the capability to control legacy lighting devices through various protocols (0-10V, DALI, PWM, phase-cut). This intermediary approach allows the system to achieve full circadian lighting benefits without requiring replacement of all existing lighting devices, thus resolving the contradiction between implementation cost and lighting benefit.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If outdoor sensors are added to dynamically adjust lighting, then responsiveness to environmental conditions is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresponsiveness to environmental conditionsVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The bridge device is designed with multi-functionality, serving as both a controllable light source for circadian lighting and a controller for legacy lighting devices. It can receive and process various control protocols (0-10V, DALI, PWM, phase-cut) and convert them to appropriate control signals. This universal design allows the system to add environmental sensing and dynamic adjustment capabilities without proportionally increasing overall system complexity, as the bridge device consolidates multiple functions in a single component.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP4029353B1Circadian lighting in a diverse home automation system
Publication Date: 2024.11.27 SAVANT SYSTEMS INC
  • EP4029353B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4029353B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4029353B1 patent drawingFigure 3A

AI summary

In various embodiments, an architecture is provided for implementing circadian lighting in a home automation system having diverse lighting devices of different ca-pabilities and manners of control. The architecture utilizes an outdoor sensor to capture current intensity and color temperature data for the outdoor environment. Color tem-peratures and intensities from a user-created circadian lighting curve are dynamically adjusted based on the current intensity and color temperature data for the outdoor en-vironment to approximate changes that are occurring. The diverse lighting devices are controlled based on the dynamically adjusted temperatures and intensities.