Networked Lighting Devices with Adaptive Master-Slave Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lighting systems with a master-slave architecture require users to access the system through a single control unit, limiting intervention and control from other locations within the environment.
Innovation Solution
A networked lighting system where each device acts as both a master and slave, allowing communication and data exchange among all nodes, enabling user input at any point to control and activate the system, with adaptive logic for coordinated operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a master-slave control architecture is used, then the system has a centralized control structure, but the user can only access and control the system from a single control unit location
Solution Approach 1:
The centralized control system is segmented into multiple independent control units, each capable of functioning as a master controller. This segmentation allows users to access and control the lighting system from any location rather than being restricted to a single control point, directly resolving the accessibility limitation while maintaining manageable complexity through modular design
Solution Approach 2:
Each control unit is designed with universal functionality to operate both as a master controller (independent control) and as a slave controller (remote control). This multi-functionality enables any control unit to initiate and manage lighting operations, eliminating the single-point access constraint without requiring separate dedicated master and slave units
2Adaptability or versatility
If instructions are transmitted from one lighting device to all other devices, then coordinated lighting control is achieved, but communication network complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The communication network implements feedback mechanisms where control instructions transmitted from any lighting device are acknowledged and executed by receiving devices. This feedback loop ensures reliable coordinated control across the network while maintaining manageable complexity through standardized communication protocols and automated response handling
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
A lighting system (1) comprises a plurality of lighting devices (2) interconnected with one another in a communication network (3), preferably a wireless communication network; the lighting devices (2) define respective equivalent nodes (7) of the network (3) and are configured so that any one of said lighting devices (2) of the lighting system (1) selectively acts as a master, if an initial control input is received directly by that lighting device (2); and as a slave, if the initial control input is received by another lighting device (2).