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 lighting apparatuses or multiple assemblies of lighting apparatuses 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 lighting apparatuses installed therein.

Typically, each of these lighting apparatuses are connected to a lighting apparatus controller which controls the operation of the lighting apparatus, 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 lighting apparatuses. 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 lighting apparatus 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, 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. The central station is configured to create a scene including at least two lighting apparatuses corresponding to at least one LCG based on a first user input. The scene is indicative of operating the at least two lighting apparatuses in a predefined manner. The central station is further configured to set an operation setting for each of the at least two lighting apparatuses based on a second user input and transmit control instructions to the at least one LCG for implementing the operation setting on the at least two lighting apparatuses to execute the scene.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of operating at least two lighting apparatuses in a predefined manner is disclosed. The method includes creating, through a central station, a scene including the at least two lighting apparatuses, from a plurality of lighting apparatuses, corresponding to at least one Light Control Gateway (LCG) based on a first user input. The scene is indicative of operating the at least two lighting apparatuses in a predefined manner. The method includes setting, through the central station, an operation setting for each of the at least two lighting apparatuses based on a second user input. The method includes transmitting, from the central station, control instructions to the at least one LCG for implementing the operation setting on the at least two lighting apparatuses to execute the scene.

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 for operating lighting apparatuses in a predefined manner, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

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 embodiment, the LMS 100 includes a plurality of lighting apparatuses 102 and a plurality of controllers 104. In an embodiment, a controller 104 may be adapted to control operation of each lighting apparatus 102.

The LMS 100 further includes a plurality of Light Control Gateways (LCGs) 106. In the illustrated embodiment, the LMS 100 is shown to include two LCGs 106-1 and 106-2. 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.

In an example, each LCG 106 may be configured to control a set of controllers 104 and in turn operation of a set of associated lighting apparatuses 102. 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. Therefore, the LCGs 106 may be adapted to control the lighting apparatuses 102 through the controllers 104.

Further, the LMS 100 includes a central station 108. 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 LCGs 106 may control the operation of the controllers 104 to further operate the 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 lighting apparatuses, the user is required to individually control the operation of each of the lighting apparatuses. That is, the user individually locates the 106 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 the lighting apparatuses associated with the LCG may be controlled at a given time. But when a light apparatus associated with an LCG, another light apparatus associated with an LCG, and so on and so forth, are to be controlled, 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 lighting apparatuses.

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 scenes for controlling the operation of the lighting apparatuses 102. The scene may be indicative of operating at least two lighting apparatuses 102 in a predefined manner. As used herein, a scene may include at least two lighting apparatuses 102 corresponding to at least one LCG 106. The scene may further include an option to define an operation setting for each of the at least two lighting apparatuses 102. In an example, the operation setting may be a luminance level of the lighting apparatus 102. In another example, the operation setting may be an operational status, i.e., power ON/OFF, of the lighting apparatus 102. Thus, in other words, a scene may include multiple lighting apparatuses 102 corresponding to the same or multiple LCGs 106, along with the operation settings corresponding to the multiple lighting apparatuses 102. In an example, the operation settings are defined by the user, for example, an administrator of the LMS 100. An example scene 1 is shown below.

Example Scene 1

S. no. Light ID LCG ID Operation Setting
1 L1 LCG1 OFF
2 L2 LCG1 ON
3 L3 LCG4 80%
4 L4 LCG9 20%

As may be seen in the above example scene 1, two lighting apparatuses L1 and L2 are selected from LCG1, and one lighting apparatus each, L3 and L4 are selected from LCG4 and LCG9, respectively. In another example, all the lighting apparatuses L1 to L4 may be from the same LCG, say LCG 1.

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

In an embodiment, the central station 108 may be configured to select the at least two lighting apparatuses 102 corresponding to the at least one LCG 106 to create the scene based on the first user input. In an example, there are 10 LCGs 106. Now, the central station 108 may select one or more lighting apparatuses 102 from two LCGs 106, three LCGs 106, or all 10 LCGs 106, as determined from the first user input, to create the scene. In another example, the central station 108 may select the lighting apparatuses 102 only from a single LCG 106 to form the scene. Thus, the user is provided with the flexibility of selecting the lighting apparatuses 102 pertaining to different LCGs 106 or adding multiple lighting apparatuses 102 of a single LCG 106 to create the scene.

In an example, the user may be presented with a layout illustrating all the lighting apparatuses 102 that are controlled by the LMS 100. In an example, the layout may be a map. In an example, the central station 108 may be configured to receive the user input on the layout for selecting the lighting apparatuses 102 to create the scene. In an example, the user input may be a drag operation performed on the layout and all the lighting apparatuses 102 falling under the drag area may be selected to create the scene. In an example, the user input may be an individual selection of each of the lighting apparatuses 102. In an example, subsequent to the selection of a lighting apparatus 102, the central station 108 may present the user with an option to add the lighting apparatus 102 to the scene.

After the lighting apparatuses 102 are selected to create the scene, in an example embodiment, the central station 108 may be configured to set an operation setting for each of the lighting apparatuses 102 included in the scene, based on a second user input. In an example, the central station 108 may receive the second user input defining the operation setting for each of the lighting apparatuses 102. In another example, the central station 108 may receive only one user input defining one operation setting, and that operation setting may be used for defining the operation settings for all the lighting apparatuses 102 included in the scene.

After defining the operation settings, in an example, the central station 108 may receive a user input for executing the scene. Accordingly, in an example, the central station 108 may transmit control instructions to the at least one LCG 106 corresponding to the lighting apparatuses 102 included in the scene. In an example, the control instructions may include instructions to implement the operation settings for the lighting apparatuses 102. Accordingly, the at least one LCG 106 may control the corresponding controllers 104 for controlling the lighting apparatuses 102, based on the received control instructions.

In an example embodiment, the central station 108 may be configured to remove the lighting apparatuses 102 from the scene, based on a user input. In an example, based on the user input, the central station 108, may select one or more lighting apparatuses 102 that are to be removed. Accordingly, the central station 108 may remove said lighting apparatuses 102 from the scene.

In an embodiment, the central station 108 may be further configured to check for conflicts between a scene-defined operation setting and a current operation setting of at least one lighting apparatus 102 included in the scene. In an example, where the central station 108 identifies a conflict, the central station 108 may be configured to provide a notification to the user. Accordingly, the user may either choose to continue with the scene-defined operation setting or, in another example, the user may choose to discard the scene-defined operation setting for the lighting apparatus 102.

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 scene.

Thus, according to embodiments of the present subject matter, the user is provided with the ability to create scenes which includes multiple lighting apparatuses 102 from a single LCG 106 or from different LCGs 106. Using these scenes, 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, 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 lighting apparatuses, such as the lighting apparatuses 102. In the fig, for the sake of brevity, each LCG 106 is shown to have only four lighting apparatuses. 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 create a scene (SC-A) and may add two lighting apparatuses from each of LCG 2, LCG 3, and LCG 4 to the scene SC-A. Subsequently, the user may define the operation setting for each of the lighting apparatuses included in the scene. As may be seen, the user may set the lighting apparatuses of LCG 2 to 50% and 80% brightness. Furthermore, the user may set the lighting apparatuses of LCG 3 to ON and OFF. Furthermore, the lighting apparatuses of LCG 4 may be set as 60% and OFF. Subsequently, at stage 204, when the user plays the scene SC-A, the lighting apparatuses operate as defined above.

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 scenes. As is further shown, a user interface 304 allows the user to provide user inputs for setting the operation settings for the light included in the scene.

Figure 4 illustrates a flow chart depicting a method 400 of operating at least two lighting apparatuses 102 in a predefined manner, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 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 a scene including the at least two lighting apparatuses 102 corresponding to the at least one Light Control Gateway (LCG) 106 based on the first user input.

At a block 404, the method 400 includes setting the operation setting for each of the at least two lighting apparatuses 102 based on the second user input.

At a block 406, the method 400 includes transmitting the control instructions to the at least one LCG 106 for implementing the operation setting on the at least two lighting apparatuses 102 to execute the scene.

In an embodiment, the method 400 may include receiving, by the at least one LCG 106, the control instructions and controlling, by the at least one LCG 106, an operation of the at least two lighting apparatuses 102, based on the operation setting defined in the control instructions.

In an embodiment, the method 400 may include controlling, by the controller 104, an operation of an associated lighting apparatus 102 based on the scene.

In an embodiment, the method 400 may include performing, through the central station 108, a conflict check for each of the at least two lighting apparatuses 102, based on the scene-defined operation setting and the current operation setting of the light. The method 400 may include providing, through the central station 108, a notification to the user, if a conflict between the scene-defined operation setting and the current operation setting of at least one lighting apparatus 102 from the at least two lighting apparatuses 102 is ascertained.

As would be gathered, the LMS 100 of the present disclosure offers a comprehensive approach to operate multiple lighting apparatuses 102 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, for example, to have a certain luminance level or have a predefined operational mode. Therefore, the user is now not required to individually operate each lighting apparatus 102. The user can create a scene depending on the requirement to include two or more lighting apparatuses 102 with their respective predefined operation setting. 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 (108), wherein the central station (108) is configured to:
create a scene including at least two lighting apparatuses (102) corresponding to at least one LCG (106) based on a first user input, wherein the scene is indicative of operating the at least two lighting apparatuses (102) in a predefined manner;
set an operation setting for each of the at least two lighting apparatuses (102) based on a second user input; and
transmit control instructions to the at least one LCG (106) for implementing the operation setting on the at least two lighting apparatuses (102) to execute the scene.

2. The LMS (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operation setting comprising at least one of a luminance level of a lighting apparatus (102) and an operational status of the lighting apparatus (102).

3. The LMS (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one LCG (106) is configured to:
receive the control instructions; and
control an operation of the at least two lighting apparatuses (102), based on the operation setting defined in the control instructions.

4. The LMS (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a plurality of controllers (104) coupled with the plurality of LCGs (106), wherein each controller (104) is configured to control an operation of an associated lighting apparatus (102) based on the scene.

5. The LMS (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the central station (108) is further configured to:
perform a conflict check for each of the at least two lighting apparatuses (102), based on a scene-defined operation setting and a current operation setting of the light; and
provide a notification to the user, if a conflict between the scene-defined operation setting and the current operation setting of at least one lighting apparatus (102) from the at least two lighting apparatuses (102) is ascertained.

6. A method (400) of operating at least two lighting apparatuses (102) in a predefined manner, the method (400) comprising:
creating, through a central station (108), a scene including the at least two lighting apparatuses (102), from a plurality of lighting apparatuses (102), corresponding to at least one Light Control Gateway (LCG) (106) based on a first user input, wherein the scene is indicative of operating the at least two lighting apparatuses (102) in a predefined manner;
setting, through the central station (108), an operation setting for each of the at least two lighting apparatuses (102) based on a second user input; and
transmitting, from the central station (108), control instructions to the at least one LCG (106) for implementing the operation setting on the at least two lighting apparatuses (102) to execute the scene.

7. The method (400) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the operation setting comprising at least one of a luminance level of a lighting apparatus (102) and an operational status of the lighting apparatus (102).

8. The method (400) as claimed in claim 6, comprising:
receiving, by the at least one LCG (106), the control instructions; and
controlling, by the at least one LCG (106), an operation of the at least two lighting apparatuses (102), based on the operation setting defined in the control instructions.

9. The method (400) as claimed in claim 6, comprising controlling, by a controller (104), an operation of an associated lighting apparatus (102) based on the scene.

10. The method (400) as claimed in claim 1, comprising:
performing, through the central station (108), a conflict check for each of the at least two lighting apparatuses (102), based on a scene-defined operation setting and a current operation setting of the light; and
providing, through the central station (108), a notification to the user, if a conflict between the scene-defined operation setting and the current operation setting of at least one lighting apparatus (102) from the at least two lighting apparatuses (102) is ascertained.