Patent Publication Number: US-2020288547-A1

Title: Systems and Methods for Lighting Controls and Sensors

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/139,854, entitled “Systems and Methods for Lighting Controls and Sensors,” filed Sep. 24, 2018, which claims a benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/562,532 filed on Sep. 25, 2017, each of which is fully incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
     Field of the Disclosure 
     Examples of the present disclosure are related to systems and methods for hardware and software associated with lighting controls and sensors. More particularly, embodiments disclose hardware and software control solutions for controlling lighting levels of LED fixtures for use within horticulture systems. 
     Background 
     Lighting control systems are systems that incorporate communications between various systems inputs and outputs related for lighting controls. Conventionally, lighting control systems are used on both indoor and outdoor lighting of commercial, industrial, and residential spaces. Lighting control systems are generally used to provide the right amount of light when and where the light is needed. 
     Conventional lighting control systems are employed to maximize energy savings from the lighting systems, comply with conservations programs, and produce efficient harvest of plants. Conventionally, lighting control systems may operate using the temperature inside of a building and/or the photon levels of the lighting to implement a schedule. However, conventional systems do not allow a user to remotely receive data associated with multiple sensor readings within a customer&#39;s premise and/or remotely control and schedule the lighting within the customer premise. 
     Accordingly, needs exist for more effective and efficient systems and methods for lighting controls and sensors that allow a user to remotely control lighting fixtures based on received environmental sensor data. 
     SUMMARY 
     Examples of the present disclosure are related to systems and methods for lighting controls and sensors. Embodiments described herein may utilize a user interface and/or embedded systems using wireless transceivers to allow a user to set-up and control real-time dimming of light fixtures. Using the systems, the user may be able to remotely monitor and control lighting schedules for a plurality of overlapping light fixtures, while also receiving real time sensor data associated with the environment at a customer&#39;s premise (i.e. greenhouse, indoor horticulture system, outdoor farm, etc.). 
     Embodiments described herein may utilize a control server that is wirelessly coupled with a control gateway and user interfaces on client computing devices. 
     The control gateway may be wirelessly coupled with sensor modules and lighting modules located at light fixtures, wherein the sensor modules and lighting modules are physically located at the customer&#39;s premise. 
     The user interfaces on the client computing devices may be configured to receive instructions from a user to remotely change, modify, etc. the lights associated with the light fixtures. More specifically, the client computing devices may be configured to transmit data to the control server associated with control settings for the light fixtures (i.e. schedules, intensity percentages, etc.). The user interfaces may also be configured to present sensor data to the user on the client computing devices. The sensor data may include environmental data within the customer&#39;s premise, building, etc., such as temperatures, carbon monoxide, relative humidity, UV-index data, soil moisture readings, pH level data, PAR data, etc. 
     The control server may be configured to receive and transmit data from the client computing devices and a control gateway. The control server may be configured to receive control data from the client computing devices to change lighting settings associated with the light fixtures, and forward the control data to the control gateway. The control server may be configured to receive sensor data from the control gateway and forward the sensor data to the client computing devices. 
     In embodiments, the control gateway may a communications bridge that is physically located within the customer&#39;s premise. The control gateway may be configured to be wirelessly coupled with the control server, lighting modules, and sensor modules. The control gateway may be configured to communicate with the control server over a first wireless protocol and with the lighting modules and sensor modules over a second wireless protocol. For example, the control gateway may be configured to communicate with the lighting modules and the sensor modules over Bluetooth, BLE mesh, ZigBee, wireless 800/900 MHz, etc. 
     The modules, including the sensor modules and the lighting modules, may be physically located within the customer&#39;s premise, which may be remote from the client computing devices. The lighting modules may be configured to be affixed directly to or remote to light fixtures that are configured to emit light over an area of interest. The sensor modules may be positioned within the ambient environment, soil, and other locations where it would be advantageous to gather data. The lighting modules may be configured to receive control data from the control gateway. Responsive to receiving the control data, the lighting modules may alter settings of the light fixtures, such as emitting light pattern, percentage of light output settings, etc. The sensor modules may be configured to determine environmental data, and transmit the environmental data to the control gateway. 
     These, and other, aspects of the invention will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. The following description, while indicating various embodiments of the invention and numerous specific details thereof, is given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many substitutions, modifications, additions or rearrangements may be made within the scope of the invention, and the invention includes all such substitutions, modifications, additions or rearrangements. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified. 
         FIG. 1  depicts a system to remotely control lighting modules and sensors, according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  depicts a method for remotely controlling lighting modules and sensors, according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  depicts a lighting schedule configured to be implemented by a lighting module and/or group of lighting modules, according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  depicts a dashboard that may be presented on a client computing device, according to an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to one having ordinary skill in the art that the specific detail need not be employed to practice the present embodiments. In other instances, well-known materials or methods have not been described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the present embodiments. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 1  depicts a system  100  to remotely control lighting modules and sensors, according to an embodiment. System  100  may include control server  110 , client computing devices  115 ,  117 , control gateway  130 , lighting modules  155 , and sensor modules  160 , which are configured to commutate over first network  120  and second network  145 . 
     Control server  110  may be a computing device, such as a general hardware platform server configured to support mobile applications, software, content, and the like executed on client computing devices  115 ,  117 . Control server  110  may include physical computing devices residing at a particular location or may be deployed in a cloud computing network environment. In this description, “cloud computing” may be defined as a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned via virtualization and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction, and then scaled accordingly. A cloud model can be composed of various characteristics (e.g., on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, measured service, etc.), service models (e.g., Software as a Service (“SaaS”), Platform as a Service (“PaaS”), Infrastructure as a Service (“IaaS”), and deployment models (e.g., private cloud, community cloud, public cloud, hybrid cloud, etc.). Control server  110  may include any combination of one or more computer-usable or computer-readable content. Control server  110  may be configured to receive control data from client computing devices  115 ,  117 , and forward the control data over network  120  to control gateway  130 . The control data may be configured to control lighting modules  155  located at a customer&#39;s premise. Control server  110  may be configured to receive sensor data from sensor modules  160  via control gateway  130  over network  120 . The sensor data may be determined by sensor modules  160  located at the customer&#39;s premise. 
     Client computing devices  115 ,  117  may be a smart phone, tablet computer, desktop computer, laptop computer, wearable computer, personal data assistant, or any other type of computing device with a hardware processor that is configured to process instructions and connect to control server  110 . Client computing devices  115 ,  117  may include graphical user interfaces that are configured to allow a user to be presented with data, and allow the user to transmit data. For example, the graphical user interface may be a mobile application, web application, software configured to run on a browser, etc. In embodiments, when a user utilizes the graphical user interface the user may perform actions to transmit a grouping command to the control gateway, wherein the grouping command groups a set of light fixtures. Specifically, the grouping command may be a timer, wherein any light fixtures that are initialized during a predetermined time period, time window, duration, etc., such as within the next fifteen minutes, will be automatically registered to a selected group. 
     First network  120  may be a wired or wireless network such as the Internet, an intranet, a LAN, a WAN, a cellular network, or another type of network. It will be understood that first network  120  may be a combination of multiple different kinds of wired or wireless networks. 
     Control gateway  130  may be a computing device that is physically located at the customer&#39;s premise. Control gateway  130  may be configured to be communicatively coupled with control server  110 , and to lighting modules  155  and sensor modules  160  over network  145 . Control gateway  130  may be a communications bridge that is configured as a data-link between different elements within system  100 . For example, control gateway  130  may be configured to communicate to control server  110  over an internet protocol, and communicate with lighting modules  155  and sensor modules  160  over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. 
     Second network  145  may be a wireless network that is configured to transmit data over a short distance. For example, second type of network may be Bluetooth, Zigbee, Wi-Fi, mesh network, radio, etc. Second network  145  may be configured to allow for local transmission of control data and sensor data at the customer&#39;s premise. 
     Lighting modules  155  may include light fixtures and modules configured to communicate sensor data and control data, wherein lighting modules  155  may be physically located at the light fixtures. In embodiments, each lighting module  155  may be given a unique identifier, such as a string of alphanumerical characters, which are utilized to identify the specific lighting module  155 . Utilizing the unique identifiers, lighting modules  155  may be grouped together in different lighting groups. For example, lighting groups may be assigned to a given room, floor, section of a greenhouse, etc. Different lighting modules  155  may be grouped together in groupings of various sizes. The grouped light fixtures may be configured to operate with the same or substantially similar lighting controls, which may reduce the number of steps required to control the lighting and/or environment within a customer&#39;s premise. In further embodiments, lighting modules  155  may be different types of light fixtures, wherein a first lighting module  155  is a first type of light fixture that is optimized to control emitted light over an area of interest and a second lighting module  155  is a second type of light fixture is optimized to control heat generated by the second type of light fixture. Lighting modules  155  may be configured to receive control data to dynamically change light emissions associated with the light fixture, program a lighting schedule, transmit data associated with the lighting fixture, etc. 
     Lighting modules  155  may include a processing device, communication device, memory device, light sources, and lighting controls  150 . 
     The processing device may include memory, e.g., read only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM), storing processor-executable instructions and one or more processors that execute the processor-executable instructions. In embodiments where the processing device includes two or more processors, the processors may operate in a parallel or distributed manner. For example, the processing device may be configured to implement lighting controls and/or a schedule responsive to receiving control data from control gateway  130 . 
     The communication device may be a hardware processing device that allows a lighting module  155  to communicate with another device over second network  145 . The communication device may include one or more wireless transceivers for performing wireless communication and/or one or more communication ports for performing wired communication. In implementations, the communication device may be configured to communicate data over a plurality of different standards and/or protocols. For example, the communications device may be configured to receive control data from control gateway  130  to change the settings of the light fixture. 
     The memory device may be a device that stores data generated or received by lighting modules  155 . The memory device may include, but is not limited to a hard disc drive, an optical disc drive, and/or a flash memory drive. In embodiments, the memory device may be configured to store control data to implement lighting controls  150 . 
     The light source may be an artificial light source that is configured to stimulate plant growth by emitting light. For example, the light source may be LEDs. The light source may be utilized to create light or supplement natural light to the area of interest. The light source may provide a light spectrum that is similar to the sun, or provide a spectrum that is tailored to the needs of particular pants being cultivated. 
     The lighting controls  150  may be configured to control the light sources on a lighting module  155  and/or a group of lighting modules  155 . For example, the lighting controls  150  may be configured to implement a clock time to initiate/turn on the light sources, a clock time to turn off the light sources, ramp-up and ramp-down times to turn on or turn off the light sources, light level percentages during the various time segments, etc. 
     Sensor modules  160  may include sensors that are configured to determine and communicate sensor data. Sensor modules  160  may be positioned on the various lighting modules  155  and/or any location within the customer&#39;s premise, including: within the ambient environment, within the soil, on the soil, at a lighting fixture, etc. Each sensor module  160  may include a unique identifier, such that an individual sensor and corresponding location may be determined. Each sensor module  160  may include a processing device, communication device, memory device, light sources, and lighting controls  150 . 
     The processing device may include memory, e.g., read only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM), storing processor-executable instructions and one or more processors that execute the processor-executable instructions. In embodiments where the processing device includes two or more processors, the processors may operate in a parallel or distributed manner. For example, the processing device may be configured to determine a schedule of when to obtain sensor data from sensor modules  160 . 
     The communication device may be a hardware processing device that allows sensor modules  160  to communicate with another device over second network  145 . The communication device may include one or more wireless transceivers for performing wireless communication and/or one or more communication ports for performing wired communication. In implementations, the communication device may be configured to communicate data over a plurality of different standards and/or protocols. For example, the communications device may be configured to transmit sensor data to control gateway  130 . 
     The memory device may be a device that stores data generated or received by sensor modules  160 . The memory device may include, but is not limited to a hard disc drive, an optical disc drive, and/or a flash memory drive. In embodiments, the memory device may be configured to store sensor data that is obtained by sensor modules  160 . In embodiments, the memory device may be configured to store a data record associated with each sensor module  160 . The data record may include captured data from sensors associated with daily light levels at given times via timestamps, data categorized to customer&#39;s crop and grow cycles, analytics, etc. 
     The sensor may be configured to determine sensor data associated with temperature, RH values, pH values, CO2 values, moisture values, Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) values, energy consumption (watts) by a lighting module  155 , determine a power level of the lighting fixtures in use based on light level settings with actual PAR values, etc. The sensor data may be configured to be displayed at a graphical user interface on client computing devices  115 ,  117 . 
     In implementations, control gateway  130  may be configured to automatically group lighting modules  155  and/or sensors modules  160  together, which may be completed upon initialization, before installation at the customer premise, and/or after use. In embodiments, control gateway  130  may be configured to automatically group lighting modules  155  and/or sensors modules  160  together through a pairing request that is triggered by a specific request from a user on the user interfaces to generate a bond between control gateway  130  and lighting modules  155  and/or sensors modules  160  that are in range of second network  145 . 
     In other implementations, the pairing request may be triggered automatically upon lighting modules  155  and/or sensor modules  160  initializing and transmitting their corresponding unique identifiers over second network  145  to control gateway  130 . Accordingly, upon initialization lighting modules  155  and/or sensors modules  160  may broadcast their unique identifiers over second network  145 , such as utilizing a radio frequency protocol. 
     Control gateway  130  may be configured to receive a grouping command from the client computing devices  115 ,  117  to form a group of lighting modules  155  and/or sensors  160 . Control gateway may form a grouping of light modules  155  and/or sensors  160  based on unique identifiers that are received during a given time period after receiving the grouping command from the client computing devices  115 ,  117 . In some embodiments, a group of light fixtures may include a unique group identifier that is utilized to simultaneously control each lighting module  155  and/or sensor  160  within a group, wherein the unique group identifier is transmitted to control server  110  by the client computing devices  115 ,  117  along with a command. Responsive to receiving a unique identifier from a lighting module  155  and/or sensor  160 , control gateway  130  may transmit a link key back to the lighting module  155  and/or sensor  160  to automatically pair the control gateway  130  and lighting modules  155  and/or sensor  160 . In further implementations, different groupings of lighting modules  155  and/or sensor modules  160  may be manually created by a user performing actions on a client computing device  115 ,  117 , such as a user typing the unique identifiers of the desired light modules  155  and/or sensors  160  within an interface to form a group, or scanning QR codes, bar codes, or other identifiers that are associated with the unique identifiers of the light modules  155  and/or sensors  160 . 
       FIG. 2  depicts a method  200  for remotely controlling lighting modules and sensors, according to an embodiment. The operations of method  200  presented below are intended to be illustrative. In some embodiments, method  200  may be accomplished with one or more additional operations not described, and/or without one or more of the operations discussed. Additionally, the order in which the operations of method  200  are illustrated in  FIG. 2  and described below is not intended to be limiting. 
     At operation  210 , lighting modules and sensor modules may be installed at a customer&#39;s premise. 
     At operation  220 , the lighting modules and sensor modules may be automatically grouped together via a control gateway located at the customer&#39;s premise. The lighting modules and sensor modules may be automatically paired and grouped with the control gateway responsive to the lighting modules and sensor modules being initialized. 
     At operation  230 , client computing devices may be configured to be wirelessly connected to the lighting modules and sensor modules by via a control server that is connected to the first gateway over a first type of network. 
     At operation  240 , the client computing devices may receive data associated with the lighting modules and the sensor modules. 
     At operation  250 , the client computing device may modify controls of the lighting modules by interacting with a user interface on the client computing device. Responsive to the user interacting with the user interface, the client computing device may transmit control data to control server that forwards the control data to the control gateway, which broadcasts the control data to the corresponding grouping of lighting modules and/or sensor modules. 
       FIG. 3  depicts a lighting schedule  300  configured to be implemented by a lighting module  155  and/or group of lighting modules  155 . Elements depicted in  FIG. 3  may be substantially described above. For the sake of brevity, another description of these elements is omitted. 
     As depicted in  FIG. 3 , a light schedule may have a ramp up period, a photo period, and a ramp down period. During the ramp up period, the light intensity percentage associated with the light source may increase. During the photo period, the light intensity percentage associated with the light source may be substantially constant. During the ramp down period, the light intensity percentage associated with the light source may decrease. In embodiments, each factor associated with these time periods and light intensity percentages can be programed by an end user. For example, the duration of each period may be altered, as well as the light intensity percentages. 
       FIG. 4  depicts a dashboard  400  that may be presented on a client computing device, according to an embodiment. Elements depicted in FIG.  4  may be substantially described above. For the sake of brevity, another description of these elements is omitted. 
     As depicted in  FIG. 4 , a graphical user interface on a client computing device may present real time sensor values to a user. The graphical user interface may include a group associated with a sensor and/or a light fixture, as well as a unique identifier associated with the sensors and/or the lighting module. Utilizing the graphical user interface, a user may view the sensor data, and transmit control data to change lighting controls associated with a lighting module. By changing the lighting controls associated with a lighting module, the user may cause changes to the sensor data. 
     Although the present technology has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration based on what is currently considered to be the most practical and preferred implementations, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that the technology is not limited to the disclosed implementations, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it is to be understood that the present technology contemplates that, to the extent possible, one or more features of any implementation can be combined with one or more features of any other implementation. 
     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “one example” or “an example” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, “one example” or “an example” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable combinations and/or sub-combinations in one or more embodiments or examples. In addition, it is appreciated that the figures provided herewith are for explanation purposes to persons ordinarily skilled in the art and that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. 
     The flowcharts and block diagrams in the flow diagrams illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowcharts or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.