Illumination control network

Abstract

The present invention addresses the problem of providing illumination in a manner that is energy efficient and intelligent. In particular, the present invention uses distributed processing across a network of illuminators to control the illumination for a given environment. The network controls the illumination level and pattern in response to light, sound, and motion. The network may also be trained according to uploaded software behavior modules, and subsets of the network may be organized into groups for illumination control and maintenance reporting.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A lighting system comprising a plurality of illuminators displaced relative to each other, each of plural illuminators comprising:
 a light source;   a sensor;   a communications interface communicating with other illuminators in a network;   a processor responsive to the sensor, the processor controlling the illuminator; the processors of plural illuminators configured to make illumination decisions through distributed processing across the network based on information exchange among the illuminators through the communication interfaces; and   a plurality of radio-frequency gateways that allow isolated portions of the system to communicate with each other.   
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the gateways are integrated into plural illuminators. 
     
     
       3. A lighting system comprising a plurality of illuminators displaced relative to each other, each of plural illuminators comprising:
 a light source;   a sensor;   a communications interface communicating with other illuminators in a network; and   a processor responsive to the sensor, the processor controlling the illuminator; the processors of plural illuminators configured to make illumination decisions through distributed processing across the network based on information exchange among the illuminators through the communication interfaces, wherein the processors forming the distributed network make lighting decisions according to a polling algorithm.   
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 3 , wherein the polling algorithm weights stimuli sensed across the distributed network. 
     
     
       5. A method for providing illumination comprising:
 at each of plural illuminators, emitting light from an illuminator, sensing stimuli with a sensor, and communicating with other illuminators through a communications interface;   processing responses to the sensed stimuli across a distributed network of the plural illuminators to make illumination decisions; and   using radio-frequency gateways that allow isolated portions of the distributed network to communicate with each other.   
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 5 , wherein the gateways are integrated into plural illuminators. 
     
     
       7. A method for providing illumination comprising:
 at each of plural illuminators, emitting light from an illuminator, sensing stimuli with a sensor, and communicating with other illuminators through a communications interface; and   processing responses to the sensed stimuli across a distributed network of the plural illuminators to make illumination decisions, wherein the processing across the distributed network makes lighting decisions according to a polling algorithm.   
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the polling algorithm weights the stimuli sensed across the distributed network. 
     
     
       9. A method for providing illumination comprising:
 at each of plural illuminators, emitting light from an illuminator, sensing stimuli with a sensor, and communicating with other illuminators through a communications interface; and   processing responses to the sensed stimuli across a distributed network of the plural illuminators to make illumination decisions, wherein the processing comprises using a clock to control the timing of lighting decisions across the network.   
     
     
       10. A method for providing illumination comprising:
 at each of plural illuminators, emitting light from an illuminator, sensing stimuli with a sensor, and communicating with other illuminators through a communications interface; and   processing responses to the sensed stimuli across a distributed network of the plural illuminators to make illumination decisions, wherein the processing comprises responding to instructions for reduced emission at an illuminator by controlling emissions by neighboring illuminators to produce patterns of illumination.   
     
     
       11. A method for providing illumination comprising:
 at each of plural illuminators, emitting light from an illuminator, sensing stimuli with a sensor, and communicating with other illuminators through a communications interface; and   processing responses to the sensed stimuli across a distributed network of the plural illuminators to make illumination decisions, wherein the processing comprises learning reactions to stimuli according to a training set.   
     
     
       12. An illuminator comprising:
 an LED light source;   at least one motion sensor;   a wireless communication interface; and   processing circuitry coupled to the LED light source, the at least one motion sensor, and the wireless communication interface; and   a memory coupled to the processing circuitry and storing instructions, which, when executed by the processing circuitry cause the illuminator to:
 determine an occupancy state of an area; 
 during a time when the area is not expected to be occupied, monitor the at least one motion sensor using a first detection threshold; 
 during a time when the area is expected to be occupied, monitor the at least one motion sensor using a second detection threshold, which is different from the first detection threshold; and 
 control light emitted by the LED light source based on occupancy of the area. 
   
     
     
       13. The illuminator of claim 12 wherein the memory stores further instructions, which, when executed by the processing circuitry cause the illuminator to:
 in response to detection of occupancy when the area should not be occupied, transmit a sensor output over the wireless communication interface toward a monitoring system; and   in response to detection of occupancy when it is appropriate for the area to be occupied, control the light emitted by the LED light source based on the occupancy state.   
     
     
       14. The illuminator of claim 13 wherein the sensor output is an image. 
     
     
       15. The illuminator of claim 13 wherein the sensor output corresponds to sound. 
     
     
       16. The illuminator of claim 13 wherein the sensor output corresponds to temperature. 
     
     
       17. The illuminator of claim 13 wherein the sensor output corresponds to power. 
     
     
       18. The illuminator of claim 13 wherein the memory stores further instructions, which, when executed by the processing circuitry cause the illuminator to receive a control request via the wireless communication interface from at least one illuminator and control the light emitted by the LED light source based on the control request. 
     
     
       19. The illuminator of claim 13 wherein the memory stores further instructions, which, when executed by the processing circuitry cause the illuminator to send a control request via the wireless communication interface to at least one illuminator. 
     
     
       20. The illuminator of claim 12 wherein the memory stores further instructions, which, when executed by the processing circuitry cause the illuminator to receive a control request via the wireless communication interface from at least one illuminator and control the light emitted by the LED light source based on the control request. 
     
     
       21. The illuminator of claim 12 wherein the memory stores further instructions, which, when executed by the processing circuitry cause the illuminator to send a control request via the wireless communication interface to at least one illuminator.