Load Controller Group Messaging Across Loops for Faster Zone Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lighting control systems face challenges in efficiently controlling electrical loads across multiple zones due to limitations in message types and group identifiers, leading to delays in load control and inefficient communication.
Innovation Solution
A load controller that communicates with controllable loads on multiple loops, using zone identifiers to group loads and select appropriate message types (broadcast, group, or individual) based on the number of loads and their distribution across loops, optimizing communication and reducing delays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If individual messages are transmitted to each controllable load on every loop, then precise control of each load is achieved, but communication time and system delay increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual load control messages into a single group message that can control multiple controllable loads simultaneously. By assigning group identifiers to sets of load control devices across different loops, the system transmits one message to affect multiple loads, thereby reducing communication time while maintaining control precision through the group messaging mechanism.
2Productivity
If group messages are used to control multiple loads simultaneously, then communication efficiency is improved, but the number of available group identifiers becomes a limiting factor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the system into multiple loops, where each loop can have its own set of group identifiers. This segmentation allows the system to support more controllable loads and zones overall by distributing group identifier usage across loops, thereby maintaining communication efficiency through group messaging while increasing the system's adaptability to different zone configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces loops as an additional dimension to the group identifier space. Instead of having a single pool of group identifiers for all loads, the system organizes group identifiers across multiple loops, effectively increasing the total number of available group identifiers and enabling more flexible zone configurations without sacrificing communication efficiency.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system supports a large number of zones with unique group identifiers, then zone control flexibility is improved, but the complexity of message routing and group management increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent simplifies message routing complexity by segmenting the system into loops and restricting group messages to work within each loop. This segmentation allows the load controller to manage group identifiers and routing on a per-loop basis rather than system-wide, reducing the complexity of message routing while still supporting a large number of zones through the combined capacity of multiple loops.
Data Source
AI summary
A load controller in a load control system may communicate messages with controllable loads on a plurality of loops for controlling electrical loads. Each controllable load may include a load control device and an associated electrical load. The messages received by the load controller may include a zone identifier. The zone identifier may be associated with the load control devices for being controlled together. The load controller may communicate messages to sets of load control devices for performing common control of the load control devices on each loop using group messages. The load controller may reconfigure the zones that are assigned group identifiers for receiving group messages on the loops, such that the group identifiers are assigned to the zones that have larger numbers of load control devices. The message types on a given loop may be selected based on the type of control being transmitted in the commands.