Wireless Control Command Timing for Consistent Lighting Actions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional control elements, especially energy-restricted ones, struggle to differentiate between short and long activations in wireless lighting control systems, leading to inconsistent control actions due to delays in multi-hop networks, where intermediate devices introduce processing and communication delays, causing some devices to perform on/off while others dim to different levels.
Innovation Solution
Implementing two time thresholds using timers to determine the interval between control commands, with a 'dead zone' between these thresholds to ignore boundary actions, ensuring consistent control actions and allowing for energy-efficient signaling of activation durations, and forwarding derived control actions to reduce network delays and ensure compatibility with legacy devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If energy-restricted control elements send separate start and end activation commands in wireless mesh networks, then energy consumption is reduced, but network delays from intermediate devices cause inconsistent control actions across different receivers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the control element send a start activation command that includes a predetermined time interval (dead zone) before the expected end activation command. This allows receivers to anticipate when the end command should arrive and compensates for network delays, ensuring all receivers interpret the activation duration consistently despite varying network conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism by having intermediate network devices forward not only the raw control commands but also derived control actions. This intermediary approach allows receivers to obtain both the original commands and pre-processed interpretations, enabling them to compensate for network delays and maintain consistent control actions across the mesh network.
2Measurement precision
If conventional control elements measure press duration locally to differentiate short and long activations, then control precision is improved, but energy-restricted control elements cannot differentiate activations due to energy constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies taking out by extracting the activation duration measurement function from the energy-restricted control element and relocating it to the receivers. The control element only sends start and end activation commands without measuring duration, while the receivers perform the duration calculation and interpretation, enabling energy-efficient control elements to maintain precise control capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of who performs the measurement by shifting the measurement responsibility from the control element to the receivers. This parameter change allows energy-restricted control elements to operate without local measurement capabilities while still achieving precise activation duration differentiation through receiver-based interpretation of the time interval between commands.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple receivers are controlled simultaneously via group communication in multi-hop networks, then control versatility is improved, but different time intervals between received commands lead to different derived control actions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing the control command structure to serve multiple functions simultaneously. The start activation command not only initiates the activation but also carries information about the predetermined time interval that all receivers use to interpret the activation duration. This universal approach ensures that all receivers, regardless of their position in the mesh network, can derive the same control action from the same commands.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by having receivers send acknowledgments or status information back to the control element and other receivers. This feedback mechanism allows the system to verify that all receivers have correctly interpreted the control commands and are executing the intended control actions, enabling detection and correction of any inconsistencies arising from network delays.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for interpreting control commands received from a control element, wherein the control element sends control commands indicating start of activation (e.g., press operation) and end of activation (e.g., release operation) separately. Two time thresholds provided by respective timers (T1, T2) are used at the controlled device (20), a lower time threshold for determining the short activation and a higher time threshold for determining the long activation; the difference between the two time thresholds indicates a "dead zone" of no control action.