Lighting Control Panel Event Mapping via Mobile Configuration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mobile device control systems for lighting are cumbersome, making it difficult to identify and control specific lighting fixtures, and they lack the ability to associate mobile device actions with physical control panel events, leading to inefficient control of lighting systems.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize a mobile device to detect properties of a physical lighting control panel, identify events, associate control actions with these events, and transmit these associations to a lighting controller, enabling seamless control of lighting fixtures through a user-friendly interface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional mobile device control systems are used to control lighting fixtures, then remote control capability is provided, but the system becomes cumbersome and difficult to operate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a control panel as an intermediary device between the user and the lighting control system. The control panel with its simplified user interface acts as a mediator that translates user actions into system commands, eliminating the need for users to directly navigate complex mobile device applications or understand system architecture, thereby resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The control panel creates a simplified copy or representation of the lighting control interface. Instead of requiring users to interact with the full complexity of the digital control system through a mobile device, the patent provides a physical control panel that replicates essential control functions in a tangible, intuitive form factor that is easier to operate
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple lighting fixtures are available in the lighting infrastructure, then lighting control flexibility is improved, but it becomes difficult to identify representations of control for particular lighting fixtures
Solution Approach 1:
The control panel utilizes visual indicators such as colored LEDs or illuminated elements to represent different lighting fixtures and their states. Each lighting fixture can be associated with a distinct visual identifier that changes color or illumination level to indicate its current state, making it easy for users to identify and select the desired fixture for control without navigating through complex digital interfaces
Solution Approach 2:
The control panel creates physical representations or copies of lighting fixture identifiers that users can directly interact with. Each button or control element on the panel corresponds to a specific lighting fixture, providing a tangible mapping between physical controls and digital lighting elements, thereby resolving the difficulty of identifying control representations in multi-fixture systems
3Adaptability or versatility
If existing mobile device control systems are used, then remote control capability is provided, but the ability to associate mobile device actions with physical control panel events is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functionality of mobile device control with physical control panel events by integrating both control methods into a unified system. The control panel and mobile device can work together, where actions on either device can trigger the same lighting control functions, and the system maintains synchronization between both control interfaces, thereby providing both adaptability and ease of operation
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and apparatus for configuration of a physical control panel (120). In some embodiments at least one property (128) of a physical control panel (120) is detected at a mobile device (150); a plurality of events (122, 124, 126) that can be generated by the physical control panel (120) are identified; one or more control actions (154) are associated with one or more of the identified events, at the mobile device (150); and those associations are transmitted (159) to a controller (130).