Patent ID: 8723466

Claim:
A method of automatically controlling a motorized venetian blind system while minimizing occupant distractions, the motorized venetian blind system adapted to control the amount of sunlight entering a space of a building through a window located in a façade of the building by adjusting position of a bottom rail and a tilt angle of rectangular slats that extend across the width of the window to control a direct sunlight penetration distance within the space and a reflected sunlight penetration distance on a ceiling of the space, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a desired maximum direct sunlight penetration distance and a desired maximum reflected sunlight penetration distance for the space; building a timeclock schedule having a start time and an end time, the timeclock schedule including a number of timeclock events that will occur between the start time and the end time; receiving a minimum time period that may occur between any two consecutive timeclock events; determining, for each of the timeclock events, an event time between the start time and the end time, such that at least the minimum time period exists between the event times of any two consecutive timeclock events; determining, for each of the timeclock events, a respective bottom rail position to which the bottom rail of the motorized venetian blind system will be controlled at the respective event time, and a respective tilt angle to which the slats of the motorized venetian blind system will be tilted at the respective event time, such that the direct sunlight penetration distance will not exceed the desired maximum direct sunlight penetration distance and the reflected sunlight penetration distance on the ceiling of the space will not exceed the desired maximum reflected penetration distance for all of the events between the start time and the end time of the timeclock schedule; and automatically controlling the motorized venetian blind system according to the timeclock schedule by adjusting the position of bottom rail of the motorized venetian blind system to the respective position of each of the timeclock events at the respective event time, and the tilt angle of the slats of the motorized venetian blind system to the respective tilt angle of each of the timeclock events at the respective event time.