Lighting audit docking station device and method thereof

Abstract

A lighting audit system includes a lighting audit docking station in communication with the smart device and a database, where the lighting audit docking station includes a targeting unit and a camera. A lighting audit method includes providing a physical parameter to a lighting audit table for a space-under-study, representing the space-under-study on a virtual map presented on a display, adding surface characteristic data for the space-under-study into the lighting audit table, measuring the physical dimensions of the space-under-study using the targeting unit, the physical dimension measurements being stored in the lighting audit table, entering into the lighting audit table parameters for a luminaire located in the space-under-study, and calculating a lighting audit for the space-under-study based on data in the lighting audit table.

1 . A lighting audit docking station comprising:
 a docking port connectable to a port on a smart device;   a targeting unit configured to determine a distance measurement to a target;   a camera unit configured to provide an image of the target;   wherein the distance measurement and the image are provided to the smart device through the docking port.   
     
     
         2 . The lighting audit docking station of  claim 1 , including:
 a surface having a pivotable mount; and   the targeting unit mechanically connected to the pivotable mount.   
     
     
         3 . The lighting audit docking station of  claim 1 , including a surface having a tripod mount interface. 
     
     
         4 . The lighting audit docking station of  claim 1 , the targeting unit including a laser measurement device configured to transmit a laser beam towards the target to determine the distance measurement. 
     
     
         5 . The lighting audit docking station of  claim 1 , wherein the distance measurement and the image are viewable on a display. 
     
     
         6 . The lighting audit docking station of  claim 5 , wherein the display is located on the smart device. 
     
     
         7 . The lighting audit docking station of  claim 1 , wherein the smart device is one of a smart phone, tablet, netbook, and a computing device. 
     
     
         8 . The lighting audit docking station of  claim 1 , including a communication unit configured to be in wireless communication with at least one of a remote server and the smart device. 
     
     
         9 . The lighting audit docking station of  claim 1 , wherein the targeting unit and the camera unit are configured to be optically aligned to sight at the same target. 
     
     
         10 . The lighting audit docking station of  claim 9 , wherein the targeting unit and the camera unit are mechanically liked to maintain the optical alignment. 
     
     
         11 . The lighting audit docking station of  claim 9 , wherein the targeting unit and the camera unit are co-located in one optical unit. 
     
     
         12 . A lighting audit system comprising:
 a smart device;   a lighting audit docking station in communication with the smart device;   a database in communication with at least one of the lighting audit docking station and the smart device; and   the lighting audit docking station including:   a targeting unit configured to determine a distance measurement to a target;   a camera unit configured to provide an image of the target;   wherein the distance measurement and the image are communicated from the lighting audit docking station to the smart device.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , including:
 a remote server in communication with the database:   the remote server in communication with at least one of the lighting audit docking station and the smart device; and   the remote server including a processor configured to control operation of the remote server.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , the database including a lighting audit data table and a surface characteristic table. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12 , the database located in a memory of at least one of the lighting audit docking station, the smart device, and a remote data store. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 12 , the lighting audit docking station including:
 a laser measurement device in the targeting unit, the laser measurement device configured to transmit a laser beam towards the target to determine the distance measurement.   
     
     
         17 . A method for performing a lighting audit by providing data to a lighting audit system having a smart device in communication with a lighting audit docking station and a database, the lighting audit docking station having a targeting unit and a camera unit, the method comprising:
 providing a physical parameter to a lighting audit table for a space-under-study;   representing the space-under-study on a virtual map presented on a display;   adding surface characteristic data for the space-under-study into the lighting audit table;   measuring the physical dimensions of the space-under-study using the targeting unit, the physical dimension measurements being stored in the lighting audit table;   entering into the lighting audit table parameters for a luminaire located in the space-under-study; and   calculating a lighting audit for the space-under-study based on data in the lighting audit table.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , including partitioning the virtual map into multiple sections corresponding to spatial regions of the space-under-study. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , including assigning identifying labels to at least one of the multiple sections. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the measuring step includes determining distances and angles by triangulation from data obtained with the targeting unit and the camera.