Patent ID: 8669712

Claim:
A method for operating a lighting system, the lighting system comprising a plurality of lighting modules, each of said lighting modules comprising at least one communication unit wherein each lighting module is adapted to communicate with at least one neighboring lighting module via one of said at least one communication unit, said lighting system further comprising a control device adapted to communicate control signals to at least one of said lighting modules, wherein each of the lighting modules is adapted to further communicate control signals, communicated to said lighting module, to a neighboring lighting module; said method comprising: a) for each of a predetermined plurality of communication units, reading and incrementing a value comprised in a control signal-received by said communication unit by a predetermined increment, said value being indicative of the number of lighting modules said control signal has passed through before reaching said communication unit, and storing a control signal path-length value (V) comprising the incremented value within said communications unit; and b) for each of the lighting modules associated with said predetermined plurality of communication units, assigning the communication unit of said each lighting module associated with a minimum control signal path length value (V min ) with respect to all of the communication units of said lighting module to be an active communication unit, such that communication of control signals via said active communication unit is optimal with regards to control signal path-length compared to communication of control signals via any other communication unit of said lighting module, whereby optimal control signal data paths, each data path being adapted to communicate control signals from said control device to a lighting module, are formed.