Patent ID: 11873980
Assignee: ABL IP HOLDING LLC
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC F  H  Y | IPC F  H

Claim 13:
14. A photocontrol for a lighting fixture, the photocontrol comprising:
a color filter having multiple filter sections, each particular filter section configured to admit ambient light having a particular color, wherein each particular filter section receives various ambient light levels at various periods of a diurnal cycle,
a photosensor configured to generate one or more color data signals, each particular color data signal indicating an intensity of the ambient light having the particular color admitted via the particular filter section, and
a microprocessor configured for:
receiving, from the photosensor and at a first time period of the diurnal cycle, a first color data signal indicating a first intensity of ambient light having a first color admitted via a first filter section and a second color data signal indicating a second intensity of ambient light having a second color admitted via a second filter section;
determining, based on the first color data signal and the second color data signal, a first instant ambient light differential between the first intensity of the ambient light and the second intensity of the ambient light at the first time period of the diurnal cycle;
receiving, from the photosensor and at a second time period of the diurnal cycle, a third color data signal indicating a third intensity of the ambient light having the first color admitted via the first filter section and a fourth color data signal indicating a fourth intensity of the ambient light having the second color admitted via the second filter section;
determining, based on the first color data signal and the second color data signal, a second instant ambient light differential between the third intensity of the ambient light and the fourth intensity of the ambient light at the second time period of the diurnal cycle;
calculating, based on the first instant ambient light differential and the second instant ambient light differential, a temporal ambient light differential between the first filter section and the second filter section, the temporal ambient light differential being between the first time period and second time period of the diurnal cycle;
determining, based on the temporal ambient light differential, a variation of ambient light intensities admitted via the first filter section and the second filter section between the first and second time periods of the diurnal cycle;
identifying, based on the temporal ambient light differential, a triggering section of the photocontrol, wherein the triggering section is identified based on a combination of the one or more color data signals of the photosensor; and
modifying, based on an additional light intensity admitted via the triggering section, an output level of a lighting element of the lighting fixture.