DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to lighting management and more particularly, relates to a lighting management system for controlling an assembly of lighting apparatuses.

BACKGROUND

Lighting management systems are implemented in places where management of a large number of lights or multiple assemblies of lights is required. As an example, a lighting management system may be implemented for managing an assembly of streetlights or multiple such assemblies of streetlights. In another example, the lighting management system may be implemented in a manufacturing facility for managing the operations of the assemblies of lights installed therein.

Typically, each of these lights are connected to a light controller which controls the operation of the light and multiple such controllers are connected to a single light control gateway. In a lighting management system, one or more of such light control gateways are connected to and controlled by a central station, for example, a web server. Thus, an administrator, for example, an individual, may remotely control the operation of the lights. In more detail, the administrator may provide a user input to the central station. The central station, in turn, passes on the control instructions to the relevant light control gateway which corresponds to the light whose operation is to be changed. The light control gateway accordingly controls the operation of the light controller associated with said light to control the operation of the light.

Existing schemes for controlling operations of lighting apparatuses are limited in that the administrator may have to perform multiple control operations in cases where individual lighting apparatuses are to be operated. This, as may be understood, is a time-consuming operation. Furthermore, for a non-skilled person, this may also appear to be a cumbersome task.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a Lighting Management System (LMS) is disclosed. The LMS includes a plurality of lighting apparatuses and a plurality of Light Control Gateways (LCGs). Each LCG is coupled with a set of lighting apparatuses from the plurality of lighting apparatuses and configured to control an operation of the set of lighting apparatuses. The LMS includes a central station coupled to the plurality of LCGs and configured to create a dynamic group of lighting apparatuses including at least one lighting apparatus corresponding to each of at least two LCGs based on a first user input, set a group control action for the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses based on a second user input, and transmit control instructions to the at least two LCGs for implementing the group control action on the at least one lighting apparatus from the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of operating at least one lighting apparatus corresponding to each of at least two Light Control Gateways (LCGs) in a predefined manner. The method includes creating, through a central station, a dynamic group of lighting apparatuses including the at least one lighting apparatus corresponding to each of the at least two LCGs based on a first user input. The method includes setting, through the central station, a group control action for the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses based on a second user input. The method includes transmitting, from the central station, control instructions to the at least two LCGs for implementing the group control action on the at least one lighting apparatus from the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses.

To further clarify the advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 illustrates a lighting management system, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter;

Fig. 2 illustrates an example use case according to an embodiment of the present subject matter;

Fig. 3 illustrates examples of user interfaces, according to embodiments of the present subject matter; and

Fig. 4 illustrates a flow chart depicting a method of operating at least one lighting apparatus corresponding to each of at least two Light Control Gateways (LCGs) in a predefined manner, according to an embodiment of the present embodiment.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the present invention. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

The term “some” as used herein is defined as “none, or one, or more than one, or all.” Accordingly, the terms “none,” “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would all fall under the definition of “some.” The term “some embodiments” may refer to no embodiments or to one embodiment or to several embodiments or to all embodiments. Accordingly, the term “some embodiments” is defined as meaning “no embodiment, or one embodiment, or more than one embodiment, or all embodiments.”

The terminology and structure employed herein is for describing, teaching, and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and does not limit, restrict, or reduce the spirit and scope of the claims or their equivalents.

More specifically, any terms used herein such as but not limited to “includes,” “comprises,” “has,” “consists,” and grammatical variants thereof do NOT specify an exact limitation or restriction and certainly do NOT exclude the possible addition of one or more features or elements, unless otherwise stated, and furthermore must NOT be taken to exclude the possible removal of one or more of the listed features and elements, unless otherwise stated with the limiting language “MUST comprise” or “NEEDS TO include.”

Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, either way, it may still be referred to as “one or more features” or “one or more elements” or “at least one feature” or “at least one element.” Furthermore, the use of the terms “one or more” or “at least one” feature or element do NOT preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language such as “there NEEDS to be one or more . . . ” or “one or more element is REQUIRED.”

Unless otherwise defined, all terms, and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skills in the art.

Reference is made herein to some “embodiments.” It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements presented in the attached claims. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of illuminating one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the attached claims fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility, and non-obviousness.

Use of the phrases and/or terms such as but not limited to “a first embodiment,” “a further embodiment,” “an alternate embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “multiple embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “other embodiments,” “further embodiment”, “furthermore embodiment”, “additional embodiment” or variants thereof do NOT necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, one or more particular features and/or elements described in connection with one or more embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although one or more features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, or alternatively in the context of more than one embodiment, or further alternatively in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.

Any particular and all details set forth herein are used in the context of some embodiments and therefore should NOT be necessarily taken as limiting factors to the attached claims. The attached claims and their legal equivalents can be realized in the context of embodiments other than the ones used as illustrative examples in the description below.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 illustrates a Lighting Management System (LMS) 100, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter. In an example, the LMS 100 includes a plurality of lighting apparatuses 102 and a plurality of controllers 104 connected to the plurality of lighting apparatuses 102. In an example, each controller 104 may be configured to control an operation of a respective lighting apparatus 102 from the plurality of lighting apparatuses 102.

The LMS 100 further includes a plurality of Light Control Gateways (LCGs) 106 coupled to the plurality of lighting apparatuses 102. In an example, each LCG 106 may be configured to control a set of lighting apparatuses 102 from the plurality of lighting apparatuses 102. Particularly, each LCG 106 may be configured to control a set of controllers 104 and in turn to control the set of lighting apparatuses 102.

In the illustrated embodiment, only two LCGs 106-1 and 106-2 have been shown, for the sake of brevity. For instance, as shown in the figure, the LCG 106-1 may be configured to control a set A of controllers 104, whereas the LCG 106-2 may be configured to control a set B of controllers 104. . In other embodiments, the LMS 100 may include a greater number of LCGs 106, for example, depending on constructional and operational requirements of the LMS 100, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Furthermore, the LMS 100 includes a central station 108 coupled to the plurality of LCGs 106. Examples of the central station 108 may include a web server, a remote server, a local server, a desktop computer, a workstation computer, a personal computer, a tablet, a smartphone, etc. In an example, the central station 108 may be located at a remote location and may be coupled to the LCGs 106 using one or more of wired/wireless connections and intermediary network components, such as other servers, network nodes, etc. In an example, the central station 108 may be configured to control the operation of the LCGs 106. Based on the control instructions received from the central station 108, the LCG 106 may control the operation of one or all the controllers 104 coupled to the LCG 106. Accordingly, the controllers 104 control the operation of the corresponding lighting apparatuses 102.

In an example, to enable the controlling of the lighting apparatuses 102, the central station 108 may be coupled to at least one database (not shown in figure) that include data related to the implementation of the lighting apparatuses 102. More particularly, in a non-limiting example, the at least one database includes data related to the deployment locations of the LCGs 106. Furthermore, the at least one database includes data related to the lighting apparatuses 102, their corresponding controllers 104, and the set of controllers 104 associated with a given LCG 106.

In an example, a display 110 may be coupled to or integrated within the central station 108. The display 110, in an example, may be an LCD display, an LED display, a CRT monitor, etc. Furthermore, one or more input/output (I/O) interfaces 112 may also be coupled with the central station 108. Examples of the I/O interfaces 112 may include a keyboard, a mouse, a printer, a microphone, a speaker, a camera, etc.

In an example, a user, for example, an administrator, may use the I/O interfaces 112 for accessing the data stored in the at least one database. Furthermore, the data may be presented to the user using the display 110. Upon accessing the data, the user may control the operation of the lighting apparatuses 102 using the central station 108.

In an example, the user may remotely access the data. In such a case, a user device, for example, a tablet or a smartphone, of the user may be coupled with the I/O interfaces 112. Accordingly, these interfaces may further include wireless/wired communication units. In said example, the user may further remotely control the operation of the lighting apparatuses 102, by remotely using the central station 108.

As is known, in conventional techniques, when a user intends to control the operation of a plurality of lights, the user is required to individually control the operation of each of the lighting apparatuses. That is, the user individually locates the LCG associated with each of the lighting apparatuses and then provides inputs for controlling the lighting apparatuses. The group control action, i.e., an action of selecting multiple lighting apparatuses and performing an operation thereon, is limited to only the lighting apparatuses associated with a single LCG. That is, in conventional technique, only all the lighting apparatuses associated with the LCG may be controlled at a given time. But when a lighting apparatus associated with LCG, another lighting apparatus associated with LCG, and so on and so forth, are to be controlled, then the user has to individually select each LCG and subsequently control the operation of the lighting apparatus. Thus, prior art techniques are limited when it comes to performing group control actions for controlling the lighting apparatuses pertaining to different LCGs.

Aspects of the present subject matter provide for embodiments to overcome the aforementioned limitation(s) of the existing technique(s) of controlling operation of the lighting apparatuses 102.

In an example, a user seeking to control the operations of the lighting apparatuses 102 may access the central station 108. Accessing the central station 108 includes establishing a connection thereto and/or logging in to the central station 108 using login credentials. Subsequent to accessing the central station 108, the user may be presented with a dashboard using the display 110, that provides the user with various user interfaces and options for controlling the operation of the lighting apparatuses 102. Using the I/O interfaces 112, one or more user inputs may be received from the user via the interfaces and options for controlling the operation of the lighting apparatuses 102.

According to an embodiment of the present subject matter, the central station 108 may be configured to facilitate creation of dynamic groups for controlling the operation of the lighting apparatuses 102. In said embodiment, the central station 108 may be configured to create dynamic groups of lighting apparatuses 102 based on one or more user inputs, say, a first user input, for controlling the operation of the lighting apparatuses 102. As used herein, a dynamic group of lighting apparatuses 102 may be understood as a group including at least one lighting apparatus 102 from each of a plurality of LCGs 106. For instance, a lighting apparatus 102 from each of two LCGs 106 may be used to form a dynamic group. In another example, a lighting apparatus 102 from the LCG 106-1 and two lighting apparatuses 102 from LCG 106-2 may be selected to form a dynamic group. Thus, in general, the central station 108 may be configured to create a dynamic group, say dynamic group DG-A, such that the dynamic group includes one or more lighting apparatuses 102 from LCG 106-1, one or more lighting apparatuses from LCG 106-2, and so on and so forth, as determined based on the user inputs.

According to an embodiment of the present subject matter, the central station 108 may be configured to create a dynamic group based on the first user input. In an example, this dynamic group may be created in the at least one database. In another example, the dynamic group may be created in an ad-hoc manner or for a temporary time-period. For instance, the ad-hoc group may be created only for the current user session, or a for a predetermined time.

In an embodiment, after the creation of group, the central station 108 may be configured to add one or more lighting apparatuses 102 corresponding to each of the plurality of LCGs 106 to the dynamic group based on the user input. In an example, say there are 10 LCG 106. Now, the central station 108 may add one or more lighting apparatuses 102 from two LCGs 106, three LCGs 106, or all 10 LCGs 106, as determined from the user input, to the dynamic group. Thus, the user is provided with the flexibility of selecting the lighting apparatuses 102 pertaining to different LCGs 106 to a form single dynamic group.

Continuing further, in an embodiment, the central station 108 may be configured to set group control actions for the lighting apparatuses 102 included in the dynamic group, based on a second user input. In an example, a group control action may include setting an operational status for the lighting apparatuses 102. The operational status may be one of ON and OFF and may be set based on the second user input. In an example, where the user selects the operational status as ON, the central station 108 may be further configured to set another group control action. In this group control action, the central station 108 may be configured to set a luminance level of the lighting apparatuses 102 included in the dynamic group based on the user input. In an example, the user may set the luminance level as 10%, 20%, 30%..., 100%, of the rated luminance output of the lighting apparatuses 102.

In an embodiment, upon receiving the user inputs, the central station 108 may be configured to control the operation of the lighting apparatuses 102 included in the dynamic group. To that end, the central station 108 may transmit control instructions to the LCGs 106 corresponding to the lighting apparatuses 102 included in the dynamic group. Accordingly, the LCGs 106 may control the corresponding controllers 104 for controlling the lighting apparatuses 102.

In an embodiment, where the luminance level is also set, the control instructions may further include the information associated with the luminance level. Thus, the controllers 104 may accordingly control the operation of the lighting apparatuses 102 based on the information associated with the luminance level.

In an embodiment, the central station 108 may be further configured to check for conflicts between one or more group control actions set for the dynamic group and the current operation setting of the lighting apparatuses 102 included in one or more existing groups. The existing groups may be regular groups or other dynamic groups. In an example, where the central station 108 identifies a conflict between a group control action and a current operation setting of at least one lighting apparatus 102, the central station 108 provides a notification to the user. Accordingly, the user may either choose to continue with the group action or, in another example, the user may choose to discard the group action.

In another example, the central station 108 may be further configured to providing the user with an option to remove the lighting apparatuses 102 for which the conflict is identified. Accordingly, the user may choose to remove such lighting apparatuses 102 from the dynamic group.

Thus, according to embodiments of the present subject matter, the user is provided with the ability to create dynamic groups which includes lighting apparatuses 102 from different LCGs 106. Using these dynamic groups, the user is able to control the operation of these lighting apparatuses 102 using a single control operation. As a result, providing multiple inputs for controlling operation of multiple lighting apparatuses 102 is averted. This helps in reducing the complexity and time associated with controlling operations of the lighting apparatuses 102.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example use case according to an embodiment of the present subject matter. As shown in the fig., a plurality of LCGs 1 to 4, such as the LCG 106 are shown. Each of the LCGs 1 to 4 includes one or more lights, such as the lighting apparatuses 102. In the fig, for the sake of brevity, each LCG is shown to have only four lights. In an example, the lighting apparatuses 102 corresponding to a given LCG may be referred to as a group. Thus, lighting apparatuses corresponding to LCG 1 may form one group, lighting apparatuses corresponding to LCG 2 may form another group, and so on and so forth.

Now, consider a case where in a first stage 200, all the lighting apparatuses are off. In a stage 202, a user may select a dynamic group A (DG-A), by selecting two lighting apparatuses from each of LCG 2, LCG 3, and LCG 4. In a stage 204, the user may provide a user input for setting a group control action for switching ON these lights. Furthermore, in a stage 206, the user may provide a user input for setting a group control action for setting the luminance level at 50% for the lighting apparatuses 102 included in the DG-A. At stage 208, the user may provide a user input for creating another dynamic group B (DG-B) and may set them ON at 80%. Accordingly, the central station may provide a notification to the user regarding conflict with DG-A. In case the user chooses to still proceed with DG-B and its settings, the central station 108 controls the operations of the lighting apparatuses 102 of the DG-B accordingly.

Fig. 3 illustrates examples of user interfaces, according to embodiments of the present subject matter. Shown in the fig. is a user interface 302 that the user may use for creating the dynamic groups. As is further shown, a user interface 304 allows the user to provide user inputs for setting the group control actions.

Fig. 4 illustrates a flow chart depicting a method 400 of operating the at least one lighting apparatus 102 corresponding to each of the at least two Light Control Gateways (LCGs) 106 in a predefined manner, according to an embodiment of the present embodiment. The method 400 may be a computer-implemented method executed, for example, by the different components of the LMS 100. For the sake of brevity, constructional and operational features of the LMS 100 that are already explained in the description of Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3 are not explained in detail in the description of Figure 4.

At a block 402, the method 400 includes creating, through the central station 108, the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses 102 including the at least one lighting apparatus 102 corresponding to each of the at least two LCGs 106 based on the first user input.

At a block 404, the method 400 includes setting, through the central station 108, a group control action for the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses 102 based on a second user input.

At a block 406, the method 400 includes transmitting, from the central station 108, the control instructions to the at least two LCGs 106 for implementing the group control action on the at least one lighting apparatus 102 from the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses 102.

In an embodiment, the method 400 may include controlling, by the controller 104, an operation of a respective lighting apparatus 102 based on the group control action.

In an embodiment, the method 400 may include setting, through the central station 108, another group control action for controlling a luminance level of each lighting apparatus 102 included in the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses 102, based on a user input.

In an embodiment, the method 400 may include receiving, by each of the at least two LCGs 106, the control instructions. The method 400 may then include controlling, by each of the at least two LCGs 106, an operation of the at least one lighting apparatus 102 that are included in the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses 102 for implementing the group control action.

In an embodiment, the method 400 may include performing, by the central station 108, a conflict check based on the group control action and a current operation setting of the lighting apparatuses 102 included in the dynamic group. The method 400 may then include providing, through the central station 108, a notification to the user, if a conflict between the group control action and the current operation setting of at least one lighting apparatus 102 is ascertained.

As would be gathered, the LMS 100 of the present disclosure offers a comprehensive approach to operate multiple lighting apparatuses 102 corresponding to at least two LCGs 106 in a predefined manner. The user is provided with a flexibility to select any number of lighting apparatuses 102 to operate in the predefined manner. Therefore, the user is now not required to individually operate each lighting apparatus 102. The user can create a group action depending on the requirement to include two or more lighting apparatuses 102 associated with at least two LCGs 106. Moreover, the LMS 100 is simple to operate and therefore do not require skilled labour.

While specific language has been used to describe the present subject matter, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment.
,CLAIMS:1. A Lighting Management System (LMS) (100), comprising:
a plurality of lighting apparatuses (102);
a plurality of Light Control Gateways (LCGs) (106), wherein each LCG (106) is coupled with a set of lighting apparatuses (102) from the plurality of lighting apparatuses (102) and configured to control an operation of the set of lighting apparatuses (102); and
a central station (108) coupled to the plurality of LCGs (106), wherein the central station (108) is configured to:
create a dynamic group of lighting apparatuses (102) including at least one lighting apparatus (102) corresponding to each of at least two LCGs (106) based on a first user input;
set a group control action for the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses (102) based on a second user input; and
transmit control instructions to the at least two LCGs (106) for implementing the group control action on the at least one lighting apparatus (102) from the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses (102).

2. The LMS (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a plurality of controllers (104) connected to the plurality of lighting apparatuses (102), wherein each controller (104) is configured to control an operation of a respective lighting apparatus (102).

3. The LMS (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the central station (108) is further configured to set another group control action for controlling a luminance level of each lighting apparatus (102) included in the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses (102), based on a user input.

4. The LMS (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the at least two LCGs (106) is configured to:
receive the control instructions; and
control an operation of the at least one lighting apparatus (102) that are included in the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses (102) for implementing the group control action.

5. The LMS (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the central station (108) is configured to:
perform a conflict check based on the group control action and a current operation setting of the lighting apparatuses (102) included in the dynamic group; and
provide a notification to the user, if a conflict between the group control action and the current operation setting of at least one lighting apparatus (102) is ascertained.

6. A method (400) of operating at least one lighting apparatus (102) corresponding to each of at least two Light Control Gateways (LCGs) (106) in a predefined manner, the method (400) comprising:
creating, through a central station (108), a dynamic group of lighting apparatuses (102) including the at least one lighting apparatus (102) corresponding to each of the at least two LCGs (106) based on a first user input;
setting, through the central station (108), a group control action for the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses (102) based on a second user input; and
transmitting, from the central station (108), control instructions to the at least two LCGs (106) for implementing the group control action on the at least one lighting apparatus (102) from the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses (102).

7. The method (400) as claimed in claim 6, comprising controlling, by a controller (104), an operation of a respective lighting apparatus (102) based on the group control action.

8. The method (400) as claimed in claim 6, comprising setting, through the central station (108), another group control action for controlling a luminance level of each lighting apparatus (102) included in the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses (102), based on a user input.

9. The method (400) as claimed in claim 6, comprising:
receiving, by each of the at least two LCGs (106), the control instructions; and
controlling, by each of the at least two LCGs (106), an operation of the at least one lighting apparatus (102) that are included in the dynamic group of lighting apparatuses (102) for implementing the group control action.

10. The method (400) as claimed in claim 6, comprising:
performing, by the central station (108), a conflict check based on the group control action and a current operation setting of the lighting apparatuses (102) included in the dynamic group; and
providing, through the central station (108), a notification to the user, if a conflict between the group control action and the current operation setting of at least one lighting apparatus (102) is ascertained.