Wireless Lighting Control Network Staggered Acknowledgment Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless lighting control systems experience delays in responding to lighting commands, especially when controlling a large number of light fixtures, due to simultaneous acknowledgments from devices causing message loss and increased computing overhead.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a wireless lighting control system with a cloud-based server, a wireless gateway for cellular communication, and a mesh network that assigns preset time delays to devices for acknowledging broadcast messages, allowing staggered responses and reducing conflicts, and using a bitmap to designate intended devices for messages, thereby minimizing latency and improving system efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all devices respond simultaneously to broadcast messages, then all devices can acknowledge receipt of commands, but message loss and delays occur due to network conflicts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the simultaneous acknowledgment responses by assigning each device a unique delay time offset. This divides the single simultaneous response into multiple staggered responses, eliminating network conflicts while ensuring all devices acknowledge receipt of broadcast messages
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-assigning delay time offsets to devices during network initialization or commissioning. This pre-planned staggering of responses prevents message conflicts before they occur, ensuring reliable message delivery without runtime delays
2Loss of information
If individual acknowledgment messages are sent by each device, then message delivery can be confirmed, but computing overhead and network traffic increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges individual device acknowledgment messages into a single consolidated acknowledgment sent by the gateway. This combines multiple confirmation signals into one message, reducing network traffic and computing overhead while maintaining complete acknowledgment confirmation for all devices
3Adaptability or versatility
If broadcast messages are sent to all devices, then group control is achieved, but unintended devices may respond causing conflicts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by including device-specific identifiers (such as group IDs or device addresses) within broadcast messages. This allows each device to locally determine whether it should respond based on its own characteristics, enabling precise group control while preventing unintended devices from responding
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure decrease conflicts between individual lighting devices in a wireless network when responding to a broadcast/multicast message sent to a group of devices. In some embodiments the devices delay sending their acknowledgment to commands until after a specific time period. Some embodiments limit the number of time delays to one of a predetermined number of time delays, where the number of time delays are assigned by an external source, such as the gateway. Still other embodiments include assigning each device one of a limited number of preset time delays, where the total number of preset time delays are less than the number of devices, for example, ten (10) percent of the number of devices (here some devices will have the same time delays as other devices). Still other embodiments use bitmaps to designating which one or more individual devices the message is intended for.