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;   a sensor configured to provide a sensor output indicative of motion;   a wireless communication interface;   processing circuitry coupled to the LED light source, the 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:
 communicate with at least one other illuminator via the wireless communication interface; 
 determine to turn off the LED light source based on the sensor output; 
 prior to turning off the LED light source, provide a human perceptible signal and increase a sensitivity of the sensor; and 
 avoid turning off the LED light source if the sensor output indicates an occupant has responded to the human perceptible signal. 
   
     
     
       13. The illuminator of claim 12 wherein the human perceptible signal comprises at least one of blinking or dimming light emitted from the LED light source. 
     
     
       14. The illuminator of claim 12 wherein the human perceptible signal is an audible sound. 
     
     
       15. The illuminator of claim 12 wherein the illuminator is a mesh network node in a lighting network and the memory stores further instructions, which, when executed by the processing circuitry cause the illuminator to receive a message from at least one illuminator and send the message to the at least one other illuminator. 
     
     
       16. The illuminator of claim 15 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 the at least one illuminator and control light emitted by the LED light source based on the control request. 
     
     
       17. The illuminator of claim 15 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 the at least one illuminator.