Patent Description:
The invention further relates to a method of transmitting a sensor signal.

More and more sensor devices are being used as part of lighting systems, as they enable automatically switching the light to a desired setting based on a detected input. Sensor devices are getting more advanced, often combining multiple sensor modalities. For example, the Philips Hue Motion Sensor comprises an integrated light sensor, temperature and PIR sensor. This enables the implementation of smarter functions.

A sensor device that combines multiple modalities is also disclosed in <CIT>. The path light control device disclosed in the patent document can include a processor, light source and any combination of ambient light sensors, passive infrared sensors, accelerometers and compass sensors. In one embodiment, the orientation of the sensor is determined, a degree of sensor function in such orientation is determined and sensor operation is disabled when the detected orientation indicates the data of the sensor is not applicable for proper device control.

<CIT> discloses a lighting system controller, a lighting system control method and software program product for controlling a lighting device based on a trigger signal, such as a presence detection signal from a presence sensor. Instead of switching the lighting device to a fixed light setting at all times when the trigger signal is received, the initial light output of the lighting device is determined. The lighting device is then controlled according to a fixed light setting (e.g. white light at full brightness) if the determined initial light output is within a predetermined range, and else it is controlled according to a function relative to the determined initial light output.

<CIT> discloses a lighting device comprising a lighting unit and a user interface for controlling the lighting color and/or intensity of the lighting unit. The user interface comprises a physical object, which is shaped as a polyhedron, for instance a cube. Orienting the physical object, i.e. choosing which side is up, serves to select the color, and rotating the physical object about the side on which it rests serves to change the intensity setting. The user interface generates an output signal, which is the input for a processing unit. This processing unit converts this signal into a driving signal suitable for controlling the lighting unit.

<CIT> discloses a method that includes reading orientation data from an orientation sensor on the lighting unit as well as reading distance data from a distance sensor on the lighting unit. A controller is provided to control various light output surfaces on the lighting unit based on the orientation data and the distance data.

Sensor devices are not only used as part of lighting systems, but also for other applications, e.g. security. Each application typically uses its own sensor devices. This results in many sensor devices being installed in homes and offices, which increases power consumption and decreases the buildings' aesthetics.

It is a first object of the invention to provide an electronic device, which can be used to reduce the number of sensor devices that is needed for a certain set of applications.

It is a second object of the invention to provide a method of transmitting a sensor signal, which can be used to reduce the number of sensor devices that is needed for a certain set of applications.

In a first aspect of the invention, the first object is achieved by a system according to claim <NUM>. Said first device or application may be a lighting control device or application and said second device or application may be a device or application different from a lighting control device or application, for example.

The inventors have recognized that it is beneficial to allow a single electromagnetic radiation sensor to be used for multiple applications and that rotating a sensor device comprising the sensor (and thereby rotating the sensor itself) is a very intuitive way of switching between applications. The different applications may run on a single device or on a plurality of devices. The sensor signal is transmitted to one of the plurality of devices or applications in dependence on the orientation of the sensor. The orientation of the electromagnetic radiation sensor may be determined by a component that has the same orientation as this sensor. If the electromagnetic radiation sensor is not able to move (e.g. rotate) within the device in which it is incorporated, then the orientation of this sensor is the same as the orientation of this device.

Said first device or application may be a node in a lighting network and said second device or application may be configured to render on-screen information in dependence on said sensor signal. For example, said first device or application may be configured to control a light, e.g. turn on and/or off the light, in dependence on the sensor signal. Said second device or application may be configured to perform sleep monitoring, baby monitoring, security monitoring, people counting, pet monitoring, and/or health monitoring, for example. Rendering of on-screen information is beneficial for many applications other than light control applications and some of these other applications may also be able to advantageously benefit from sensor input.

Said second device or application may be configured to cause a speaker and/or a display to render textual information. Rendering of textual information is beneficial for many applications other than light control applications and some of these other applications may also be able to advantageously benefit from sensor input. The textual information may comprise an alert that motion or a person has been detected (e.g. for security monitoring) or that sound has been detected (e.g. for security or baby monitoring) or information on sleep states, for example. Textual information may be rendered via the speaker by using voice synthesis or by using a set of recorded voice messages, for example. The speaker and/or the display me be part of the second device or part of a different device.

Said at least one processor may be configured to determine a user identity and transmit said sensor signal to one of said plurality of devices or applications further in dependence on said user identity. This allows different sensor modes to be configured for different users. For example, one user may want to use a lighting control application and a baby monitoring application, while another user may want to use a lighting control application and a security monitoring application.

Said at least one processor may be configured to determine said orientation from an orientation signal received from an orientation sensor in a device which further comprises said electromagnetic radiation sensor, e.g. a sensor device. The use of a separate orientation sensor is especially beneficial for certain types of electromagnetic radiation sensors, e.g. an RF sensor or a microwave senor.

Said at least one processor may be configured to determine said orientation from said sensor signal. If the electromagnetic radiation sensor is a camera, for example, then a separate orientation sensor may not be necessary.

The system comprises such an electronic device, e.g. a bridge, and a sensor device with a plurality of support surfaces, said orientation indicating on which of said plurality of support surfaces said sensor device is resting. It is typically easiest to distinguish between different orientations if the sensor device has different support surfaces. Since there is normally no doubt about the support surface on which the sensor device is resting, there is normally no doubt about the orientation of the sensor device in this case.

A method is described, which method comprises receiving a sensor signal from an electromagnetic radiation sensor, determining an orientation of said electromagnetic radiation sensor based on said sensor signal or based on an orientation signal received from an orientation sensor comprised in said electromagnetic radiation sensor, and if said electromagnetic sensor is oriented in a first orientation, transmitting said sensor signal to a first device or application of a plurality of devices or applications, and if said electromagnetic sensor is oriented in a second orientation, transmitting said sensor signal to a second device or application of said plurality of devices or applications. Said method may be performed by software running on a programmable device. This software may be provided as a computer program product.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores at least one software code portion, the software code portion, when executed or processed by a computer, being configured to perform executable operations comprising: receiving a sensor signal from an electromagnetic radiation sensor, determining an orientation of said electromagnetic radiation sensor, and transmitting said sensor signal to one of a plurality of devices or applications in dependence on said determined orientation, said plurality of devices or applications comprising a first device or application and a second device or application.

<FIG> shows a first embodiment of the electronic device of the invention: a sensor device <NUM>. The sensor device <NUM> communicates with/via a bridge <NUM>, e.g. via Zigbee. A light device <NUM> also communication with/via the bridge <NUM>, e.g. via Zigbee. The bridge <NUM> may be a Philips Hue bridge and the light <NUM> may be a Philips Hue light, for example. The bridge <NUM> is connected to a wireless LAN access point <NUM>, e.g. via Ethernet. The wireless LAN access point <NUM> is connected to the Internet <NUM>. A mobile device <NUM> and an Internet server <NUM> are also connected to the Internet <NUM>.

The sensor device <NUM> comprises a processor <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, an electromagnetic radiation sensor <NUM> and an orientation sensor <NUM>. The processor <NUM> is configured to receive a sensor signal from the electromagnetic radiation sensor <NUM>, determine an orientation of the electromagnetic radiation sensor <NUM>, and transmit the sensor signal to one of a plurality of devices or applications in dependence on the determined orientation. The processor is configured to, if said electromagnetic sensor is oriented in a first orientation, transmit said sensor signal to a first device or application, and, if said electromagnetic sensor is oriented in a second orientation, transmit said sensor signal to a second device or application. In the embodiment of <FIG>, the processor <NUM> is configured to determine the orientation from an orientation signal received from the orientation sensor <NUM>. The electromagnetic radiation sensor <NUM> may comprise a PIR sensor, a camera, an RF sensor and/or a microwave sensor, for example. The orientation sensor <NUM> may, for example, comprise an accelerometer or may comprise multiple light sensors, e.g. on difference surfaces of the sensor device <NUM> for detecting on which of these surfaces the sensor device <NUM> is resting.

The plurality of devices or applications comprises a first device or application and a second device or application. In the example of <FIG>, the first device or application is a lighting control device or application, namely a bridge <NUM>, and the second device or application is a device or application different from a lighting control device or application. The bridge <NUM> is configured to cause a light to turn on in dependence on the sensor signal and the second device or application is configured to render textual information in dependence on the sensor signal.

In the example of <FIG>, the Internet server <NUM> offers a plurality of applications in the cloud, including security monitoring and people counting. In dependence on the orientation determined orientation, the sensor signal is transmitted to the bridge <NUM>, to the security monitor application on the Internet server <NUM> or to the people counting application on the Internet server <NUM>. The Internet server <NUM> may comprise a single device or plurality of devices.

The security monitoring and people counting applications, and thus the Internet server <NUM> on which they are running, are configured to cause a speaker and/or a display of the mobile device <NUM> to render the textual information, e.g. by transmitting a chat message to the mobile device <NUM> or by transmitting data to an app running on the mobile device <NUM>, which forms the client part of the application. The textual information may comprise an alert that motion or a person has been detected or the number of persons that have been counted, for example. In addition to or instead of for a security monitoring application and/or for a people counting application, the sensor device <NUM> may be used for a sleep monitoring application and/or a baby monitoring application.

In the embodiment of the sensor device <NUM> shown in <FIG>, the sensor device <NUM> comprises one processor <NUM>. In an alternative embodiment, the sensor device <NUM> comprises multiple processors. The processor <NUM> of the sensor device <NUM> may be a general-purpose processor or an application-specific processor. The processor <NUM> of the sensor device <NUM> may or may not run an operating system. The memory <NUM> may comprise one or more memory units. The memory <NUM> may comprise solid-state memory, for example. The memory <NUM> may be used to store associations between orientations and device or application addresses, for example.

In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, a receiver and a transmitter have been combined into a transceiver <NUM>. In an alternative embodiment, one or more separate receiver components and one or more separate transmitter components are used. In an alternative embodiment, multiple transceivers are used instead of a single transceiver. The transceiver <NUM> may use one or more wireless communication technologies to communicate with bridge <NUM>, e.g. Zigbee. In an alternative embodiment, the sensor device <NUM> only comprises a transmitter. The sensor device <NUM> may comprise other components typical for a sensor device such as a power connector or a battery. A battery makes the sensor device <NUM> especially portable.

<FIG> shows a second embodiment of the electronic device of the invention: a bridge <NUM>, e.g. a Philips Hue bridge. The bridge <NUM> comprises a processor <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM>, and a memory <NUM>. The processor <NUM> is configured to receive a sensor signal from an electromagnetic radiation sensor, determine an orientation of the electromagnetic radiation sensor, and transmit the sensor signal to one of a plurality of devices or applications in dependence on the determined orientation.

In the embodiment of <FIG>, the processor <NUM> is configured to receive the sensor signal from a sensor device <NUM>, which comprises the electromagnetic radiation sensor, and determine the orientation from an orientation signal received from an orientation sensor in the sensor device <NUM>. In an alternative embodiment, the processor <NUM> is configured to determine the orientation from the sensor signal. For example, if the electromagnetic radiation sensor is a camera, the processor <NUM> may be configured to determine its orientation from the orientation of objects, e.g. doors, in images captured by the camera.

The plurality of devices or applications comprises a first device or application and a second device or application. In the example of <FIG>, the first device or application is a lighting control device or application, namely the light device <NUM>, and the second device or application is a device or application different from a lighting control device or application. The light device <NUM> comprises a light source and circuitry configured to cause the light source to turn on in dependence on the sensor signal and the second device or application is configured to render textual information in dependence on the sensor signal, as described in relation to <FIG>.

<FIG> also shows an embodiment of the system of the invention: system <NUM>. The system comprises the bridge <NUM> and the sensor device <NUM>. In the embodiment of <FIG>, the system <NUM> also comprises the light device <NUM>.

In the embodiment of the bridge <NUM> shown in <FIG>, the bridge <NUM> comprises one processor <NUM>. In an alternative embodiment, the bridge <NUM> comprises multiple processors. The processor <NUM> of the bridge <NUM> may be a general-purpose processor, e.g. ARM-based, or an application-specific processor. The processor <NUM> of the bridge <NUM> may run a Unix-based operating system for example. The memory <NUM> may comprise one or more memory units. The memory <NUM> may comprise one or more hard disks and/or solid-state memory, for example. The memory <NUM> may be used to store a table of connected lights, for example. The memory <NUM> may be used to store associations between orientations and device or application addresses, for example.

The transceiver <NUM> may use one or more communication technologies to communicate with the wireless LAN access point <NUM>, e.g. Ethernet. In an alternative embodiment, multiple transceivers are used instead of a single transceiver. In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, a receiver and a transmitter have been combined into a transceiver <NUM>. In an alternative embodiment, one or more separate receiver components and one or more separate transmitter components are used. The bridge <NUM> may comprise other components typical for a network device such as a power connector. The invention may be implemented using a computer program running on one or more processors.

In a different embodiment, the processor <NUM> or the processor <NUM> is configured to determine a user identity and transmit the sensor signal to one of the plurality of devices or applications further in dependence on the user identity. For example, a first orientation of the sensor may be associated with a lighting control device or application for all users, while a second orientation of the sensor may be associated with a security device or application for one user and with a baby monitoring device or application for another user.

The sensor device <NUM>, the sensor device <NUM> or another sensor device for use with the invention has a plurality of support surfaces. This is shown in <FIG> for sensor device <NUM>. The sensor device <NUM> has six surfaces and is intended to rest on one of the support surfaces <NUM>-<NUM>. The orientation of the sensor device <NUM> indicates on which of the plurality of support surfaces the sensor device <NUM> is resting. The electromagnetic radiation sensor <NUM> is positioned in the center of the front surface of the sensor device <NUM>.

When the sensor device <NUM> rests on the front surface, the sensor <NUM> is obstructed and cannot be used. In the embodiment of <FIG>, the sensor device <NUM> can be turned off by resting the sensor device <NUM> on the third support surface <NUM>, which results in a third orientation. In an alternative embodiment, the sensor device can be switched off by resting the sensor device on the front surface. Since the electromagnetic radiation sensor <NUM> is positioned in the center of the front surface of the sensor device <NUM>, the sensor device <NUM> can rest on any of the support surfaces <NUM>-<NUM> without impacting the functioning of the sensor <NUM> and its field of view, if the sensor <NUM> has a symmetrical viewing angle. When the sensor device <NUM> rests on the back surface, the sensor <NUM> points upwards, which makes the sensor <NUM> less useful.

In the embodiment of <FIG>, a lighting control device or application is selected when the sensor device <NUM> is placed on the first support surface <NUM>, a security device or application is selected when the sensor device <NUM> is placed on the second support surface <NUM> and a people counting device or application is selected when the sensor device <NUM> is placed on the fourth support surface <NUM>. Where the sensor signal is transmitted by the sensor device <NUM> in dependence on the determined orientation may be pre-configured in the sensor device <NUM> or may be remotely configurable, e.g. using a mobile device.

<FIG> depicts an example of an environment in which the sensor device <NUM> may be used. In this example, the sensor device <NUM> has been put on a table <NUM>. The sensor device <NUM> may transmit the sensor signal continuously or only when motion is detected. If the invention is implemented in the bridge <NUM> of <FIG>, the sensor signal from the sensor <NUM> is transmitted to the bridge <NUM> independent of the orientation of the sensor <NUM>.

The bridge <NUM> transmits the sensor signal to a light device <NUM> if the orientation of the sensor <NUM> is the first orientation. The light device <NUM> determines from the sensor signal if a person has been detected and turns the light source <NUM> on if a person has been detected. The bridge <NUM> transmits the sensor signal to a security application on the Internet server <NUM> if the orientation of the sensor <NUM> is the second orientation and to a people counting application on the Internet server <NUM> if the orientation of the sensor <NUM> is the fourth orientation. The bridge <NUM> may determine the orientation from the sensor signal or from an orientation signal received from the sensor device <NUM>.

If the invention is implemented in the sensor device <NUM>, the sensor device <NUM> transmits the sensor signal from the sensor <NUM> to the bridge <NUM> of <FIG> if the orientation of the sensor <NUM> is the first orientation. The bridge <NUM> then commands the light device <NUM> to turn the light source <NUM> on if the sensor signal indicates that a person's presence has been detected. The sensor device <NUM> transmits the sensor signal to a security application on the Internet server <NUM> if the orientation of the sensor <NUM> is the second orientation and to a people counting application on the Internet server <NUM> if the orientation of the sensor <NUM> is the fourth orientation.

In the example of <FIG> and <FIG>, three sensor modes (orientations) have been configured: lighting control, security, and people counting. Other sensors modes may be configured instead of or in addition to one or more of these three sensor modes. These sensor modes may be pre-configured or may be remotely configurable, for example. Although at least two of the sensor modes result in sensor data being transmitted to different devices or applications, there may also be sensor modes which result in sensor data being transmitted to the same device or application, but further result in the device or application behaving differently and/or further result in the sensor device itself behaving differently.

For instance, the following behavior may depend on the orientation:.

As a first example, different modes may be configured for day and night. The Philips Hue system currently offers the opportunity for the user to set up a day and night mode in which day behavior or night behavior is selected automatically based on time. However, since the user may not always go to bed at the same time, nor wake up at the same time, it would require endless adjustment of these times to fit the schedule of the user, or it can lead to frustration. By assigning one side of the sensor device to the 'day' behavior and the other side of the sensor device to the 'night' behavior, the user remains in control of what behavior is active and can easily switch. Furthermore, this could be taken as input for other components in the system as well. If the user rotates the sensor device to the night mode this could - for instance - directly activate 'go to sleep' settings and dim the lights down gradually over time. Additionally, when the user rotates back to the 'day' mode, this may activate wake up settings and for example switch on energizing light in the bathroom.

As a second example, the behavior in a living room may be adjusted in similar manner. One side of the sensor device could be associated with a 'functional' light mode for use during the day and another side of the sensor device could be associated with a 'decorative' light mode for during the evening. In the functional light mode, the light is bright and quickly responds to the user's motion. In the decorative light mode, the light contains more colors and it may take longer for the sensor to switch lights off, or the lights may not even switch off at all.

A first embodiment of the method of the invention is shown in <FIG>. A step <NUM> comprises receiving a sensor signal from an electromagnetic radiation sensor. A step <NUM> comprises determining an orientation of the electromagnetic radiation sensor. A step <NUM> comprises transmitting the sensor signal to one of a plurality of devices or applications in dependence on the determined orientation. The plurality of devices or applications comprises a first device or application and a second device or application.

<FIG> depicts a block diagram illustrating an exemplary data processing system that may perform the method as described with reference to <FIG>.

Claim 1:
A system (<NUM>) comprising an electronic device (<NUM>) and a sensor device (<NUM>) with a plurality of support surfaces (<NUM>-<NUM>), said sensor device comprising an electromagnetic radiation sensor (<NUM>, <NUM>), the electronic device (<NUM>, <NUM>) comprising a transceiver and at least one processor (<NUM>,<NUM>) configured to:
- receive, via said transceiver, a sensor signal from said electromagnetic radiation sensor (<NUM>),
- determine an orientation of said electromagnetic radiation sensor (<NUM>) based on said sensor signal or based on an orientation signal received from an orientation sensor (<NUM>) comprised in said sensor device (<NUM>), said orientation indicating on which of said plurality of support surfaces (<NUM>-<NUM>) said sensor device (<NUM>) is resting,
- if said electromagnetic radiation sensor is oriented in a first orientation, transmit, via said transceiver, said sensor signal to a first device or application (<NUM>,<NUM>) of a plurality of devices or applications, and
- if said electromagnetic radiation sensor is oriented in a second orientation, transmit, via said transceiver, said sensor signal to a second device or application (<NUM>,<NUM>) of said plurality of devices or applications.