Patent Document

FOREIGN PRIORITY 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to Taiwan Patent Application No. 103146242, filed Dec. 30, 2014, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. §119, the contents of which in its entirety are herein incorporated by reference. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to illumination and in particular, relates to a monitoring and control device and method for an illumination apparatus and the illumination apparatus and an illumination system thereof. 
         [0003]    Illumination apparatuses are indispensable in people&#39;s living, and have played significant roles in the development of cities for a long time. Whether in the cities or the countries, illumination apparatuses are everywhere to be seen, such as at homes, offices, streets, public spaces, etc. 
         [0004]    When an illumination apparatus is damaged or has lumen depreciation, manual inspection is generally required for replacement or maintenance. However, manual inspection is extremely time-consuming and inefficient, and also has the shortcomings of delayed inspection/response. For illumination apparatuses installed on streets, if damages are not timely inspected/responded, issues in traffic and pedestrian safety may occur. 
         [0005]    In conventional technologies, a signal path may be configured at the same time when configuring power lines of the power plant, and the damaged illumination apparatus may be detected according to the power status and an alert may be sent using the signal path; however, such a scheme has a rather high cost. In another conventional technology, each street lamp has a GSM transceiver system or a SIM card to communicate with a control system, which requires additional equipment and telecommunication company charges, and the costs in both software and hardware are increased. In still another conventional technology, the above two schemes may be combined, yet the issue of higher costs in software and hardware remains. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    In one aspect, the present invention provides an illumination system, an illumination apparatus, a monitoring and control device, and a method thereof that have highly efficient identification and low costs in software and hardware. Timely replacements are facilitated when illumination apparatuses have failures, depreciations, or damages, and the invention is suitable for large extents and large areas. 
         [0007]    In one aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a monitoring and control device, applicable to an illumination apparatus comprising a lighting unit which outputs a signal representative of a status of the lighting unit. The illumination apparatus comprises an apparatus identifier. The monitoring and control device comprising: a monitoring circuit electrically coupled to the lighting unit and adapted for receiving the signal and determining whether the illumination apparatus needs to be replaced in response to the signal satisfying a condition; a controller electrically coupled to the monitoring circuit; and a receiving/transmitting unit electrically coupled to the controller. The controller controls the receiving/transmitting unit to transmit the apparatus identifier of the illumination apparatus to be replaced in response to the illumination apparatus being determined to be replaced. 
         [0008]    In one aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a monitoring and control method, applicable to an illumination apparatus comprising a monitoring circuit, a controller, a receiving/transmitting unit and a lighting unit which outputs a signal representative of a status of the lighting unit. The illumination apparatus comprises an apparatus identifier. The monitoring and control method comprising: the monitoring circuit receiving the signal and determining whether the illumination apparatus needs to be replaced in response to the signal satisfying a condition; and the controller controlling the receiving/transmitting unit to transmit the apparatus identifier of the illumination apparatus to be replaced in response to the illumination apparatus being determined to be replaced. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    In order that the advantages of the invention will be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings. 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  schematically shows an illumination system of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  schematically shows an illumination apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  schematically shows a circuit diagram of an illumination apparatus status detection unit of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  schematically shows a control method of illumination of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  schematically shows an illumination apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]    Citation of “a specific embodiment” or a similar expression in the specification means that specific features, structures, or characteristics described in the specific embodiments are included in at least one specific embodiment of the present invention. Hence, the wording “in a specific embodiment” or a similar expression in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same specific embodiment. 
         [0016]    Hereinafter, the present invention and various embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Nevertheless, it should be understood that the present invention could be modified by those skilled in the art in accordance with the following description to achieve the excellent results of the present invention. Therefore, the following description shall be considered as a pervasive and explanatory disclosure related to the present invention for those skilled in the art, not intended to limit the claims of the present invention. 
         [0017]    Citation of “an embodiment”, “a certain embodiment” or a similar expression in the specification means that related features, structures, or characteristics described in the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Hence, the wording “in a embodiment”, “in a certain embodiment” or a similar expression in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same specific embodiment. 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  shows an illumination system of an embodiment of the present invention, which includes illumination apparatuses and the illumination system thereof, and may provide a mechanism/system for control/alert. When a light bulb has a failure or damage, the user or manager may be timely notified in a highly efficient scheme for replacements.  FIG. 2  shows a function block diagram of the illumination apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0019]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , the illumination system  100  includes illumination apparatuses  104 ,  106 , and  108 , which may be light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, light bulbs, fluorescent lamps, table lamps, ceiling lamps, street lamps, indicating lamps, or other light-emitting devices. Although  FIG. 1  shows three LED lamps, there may be any number of lamps and the invention is not limited thereto. The illumination system  100  also includes a communication unit  112  and a display unit  116 . The communication unit  112  may be, for example, a radio-frequency (RF) transceiver module or other equivalent devices to receive a signal  114  transmitted from the illumination apparatuses  104 ,  106 , and  108 . The illumination apparatus  104  includes an illumination apparatus status detection unit  212  (shown in  FIG. 2  and described later), and the illumination apparatus status detection unit  212  includes a RF transceiver  304  (shown in  FIG. 3  and described later) that may transmit the signal  114  of the illumination apparatuses  104 ,  106 , and  108  to the corresponding communication unit  112 , and the communication unit  112  may also transmit signals to the RF transceiver  304  to achieve bidirectional communication purposes. The display unit  116  provides a typical monitoring function, such as a display, but the invention is not limited thereto. In one embodiment, the communication unit  112  and the display unit  116  may be further modularized together.  FIG. 1  also shows an information processing system  120 , which may communicate with the communication unit  112  by a signal  118  (such as a RF signal, but the invention is not limited thereto). 
         [0020]    In one embodiment, the illumination apparatuses  104 ,  106 , and  108  are LED lamps; as shown in  FIG. 2 , the LED lamp  104  includes a reflection unit  204 , a light-emitting unit  208 , an illumination apparatus status detection unit  212 , a light-emitting unit power supply driving unit  216 , and an ampere-meter  224 . The reflection unit  204  may be a typical reflector. The light-emitting unit  208  may be a typical packaged LED having an housing and multiple LED chips. The light-emitting unit power supply driving unit  216  is electrically connected to the light-emitting unit  208 , and may be a power supply driving circuit implemented on a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) or other electronic devices that may be used to drive the light-emitting unit  208  to emit light. In one embodiment, the light-emitting unit power supply driving unit  216  is implemented on a printed circuit board assembly which integrates a logic integrated circuit (IC)  316  (shown in  FIG. 3 ) and other related circuits. The illumination apparatus status detection unit  212  may be a circuit detecting whether the illumination apparatus  104  is damaged or has depreciation reaching inadequacy, and the details and operations thereof shall be described later. In one embodiment, the illumination apparatus status detection unit  212  may have an identifier ID  220 , and the exclusive identifier ID  220  of the illumination apparatus status detection unit  212  of a certain illumination apparatus may be transmitted to the communication unit  112  by the RF transceiver  304  ( FIG. 3 ) of the illumination apparatus status detection unit  212 . In another embodiment, the identifier ID  220  may also be embedded in other electronic circuit devices of the illumination apparatus status detection unit  212 , and the invention is not limited to that shown in the figure. Each of the illumination apparatuses  104 ,  106 , and  108  of the illumination system  100  correspond to different identifier IDs, respectively, for identifying each of the illumination apparatuses  104 ,  106 , and  108 . In other words, the illumination apparatus status detection unit  212  and the communication unit  112  collectively operate to transmit and communicate the corresponding identifier ID of a certain illumination apparatus. In other embodiments, the identifier ID  220  may be implemented on other components of the illumination apparatus  104  in suitable configurations. 
         [0021]    In fact, the identifier ID  220  may be a unique identifier related to the illumination apparatuses  104 ,  106 ,  108 , or other illumination apparatuses of the illumination system  100 . In one embodiment, the identifier ID  220  may be any combination of numerals, alphabets, and special characters. 
         [0022]    In one embodiment, the ampere-meter  224  of the illumination apparatus  104  may be a typical ampere-meter implemented in the light-emitting unit power supply driving unit  216  which is mainly used for measuring the current passing through the illumination apparatus  104  or the light-emitting unit  208  or other physical quantities, and for providing current-related or other information. The ampere-meter  224  may be implemented on the printed circuit board assembly of the light-emitting unit power supply driving unit  216 . In other embodiments, the ampere-meter  224  may be implemented on other components of the illumination apparatus  104  in suitable configurations. 
         [0023]    The identifier ID  220  may be stored in a non-volatile memory (not shown) of the light-emitting unit power supply driving unit  216 , which may be a flash read-only memory (ROM), a non-volatile electrically-erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), etc., but the invention is not limited thereto. The non-volatile memory includes a protected area and a flashable area. The protected area stores non-erasable codes, such as, but not limited to, the identifier ID  220 , additional function information, etc. The flashable area may store other erasable information. The above technology is already well known to those skilled in the related art. In addition, the identifier ID  220  may be implemented on other components of the illumination apparatus  104  in suitable configurations. 
         [0024]      FIG. 3  shows a circuit diagram of the illumination apparatus status detection unit  212  of an embodiment of the present invention. The illumination apparatus status detection unit  212  includes a RF transceiver  304 , a battery  308 , an ampere monitor  312 , a logic IC  316 , and a ground  320 . The ampere monitor  312  is electrically coupled to the ampere-meter  224  and the logic IC  316 , the logic IC  316  is electrically coupled to the RF transceiver  304  and the battery  308 , and the RF transceiver  304  is electrically coupled to the battery  308 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , the circuit of the light-emitting unit  208  and the ground  320  is also shown in addition to the above circuit. The logic IC  316  includes components of a controller  324 , a switch  328 , and a fuse (not shown). The logic IC  316  is implemented to control operations of the RF transceiver  304  such as transmitting the identifier ID  220  in response to a current level, voltage level, or power level outputted by the ampere-meter  224 . The switch  328  is a typical electronic device that opens a circuit, stops a current, or redirects a current to other circuits. On the other hand, the fuse is mainly for protection by preventing overvoltage, such as during lightening when light bulbs are used, for example. The battery  308  is mainly for supplying power when the illumination apparatus  104  is damaged to transmit the aforementioned signals. The battery  308 , the switch  328 , and the fuse are well known to those skilled in the related art and the details are not described here. 
         [0025]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , the ampere monitor  312  may be implemented as a control logic IC. The ampere-meter  224  has an initial output value and a signal of the ampere-meter  224  passes through the ampere monitor  312 . The switch  314  is conducting when the ampere monitor  312  detects that the signal of the ampere-meter  224  satisfies a certain condition. The certain condition may be that the output power of the ampere-meter  224  is zero, such as, but not limited to, when the illumination apparatus  104  is damaged and requires to be replaced. The certain condition may also be that the output of the ampere-meter  224  is lower than a certain proportion (such as 50%, but the invention is not limited thereto) of the initial output value of the ampere-meter  224 , which indicates that the illumination apparatus  104  has depreciation reaching inadequacy and requires to be replaced. The certain condition may also be other situations in which the illumination apparatus  104  requires to be replaced. In the above situations, the illumination apparatus status detection unit  212  may be operated, yet it should be noted the operations of the illumination apparatus status detection unit  212  are not limited thereto. 
         [0026]    In one embodiment, the ampere monitor  312  detects the output current level of the ampere-meter  224 , and when the detected current level is lower than a certain level (or when the detected current level is lower than or equal to a certain level), a corresponding signal is triggered to operate the controller  324 . In actual practices, the ampere monitor  312  detects the current passing though the illumination apparatus  104  or the light-emitting unit  208  in amperes which represents the power of light emission. In an example using LED lamps, if the replacement provision of LED lamps is that a failure rate of LED chips above 50% requires replacement, when the passing current in amperes is 50% than that of the rated current, the LED lamp may be considered to be at the threshold of damaging and replacement should be prepared. When the passing current in amperes lower than 50% than that of the rated current (i.e., the failure rate of LED chips in the LED lamp is above 50%), the LED lamp may be considered requiring replacement. However, the above embodiments should be understood as only illustrative and not restrictive in every aspect. In fact, the certain proportion by which the passing current is lower than the rated current in amperes (or the certain proportion by which the passing current is lower than or equal to the rated current in amperes) to trigger the replacement event of the illumination apparatus  104  may be determined according to actual environments and requirements, such as between 10% and 50%, but the invention is not limited thereto. 
         [0027]    In another embodiment, when the output power of the ampere-meter  224  is zero, the illumination apparatus  104  is damaged and requires to be replaced. According to the present invention, the corresponding signal is triggered to operate the controller  324 . 
         [0028]    As described in above, the ampere monitor  312  may detect the proportion of the output of the ampere-meter  224  to the initial output value of the ampere-meter  224 , or detect whether the output of the ampere-meter  224  is zero, so that the ampere monitor  312  may trigger the controller  324  to transmit a control signal to control the switch  314  to operate and conduct, and the RF transceiver  304  subsequently transmits a signal, such as, but not limited to, the identifier ID  220  of the illumination apparatus status detection unit  212 . In response to the signal of the ampere-meter  224 , the ampere monitor  312  triggers the transmission of the control signal by the above mechanism, and the damage and aging of the illumination apparatus  104  may be transmitted to the communication unit  112  by a method that is highly efficient and has low cost; the steps and details thereof shall be further described later. 
         [0029]    Referring to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3 , in one embodiment, a plurality of illumination systems  100  is used to serve a larger area, such as, but not limited to, a building area (not shown). The building area includes a plurality of illumination systems  100 , and each illumination system  100  includes a plurality of illumination apparatuses, which is shown here as the illumination apparatuses  104 ,  106 , and  108  as an example. The plurality of illumination systems  100  are controlled to manage the plurality of illumination apparatuses of the building area. As described in above, when the illumination apparatus is damaged or has lumen depreciation, the RF transceiver  304  of the illumination apparatus being damaged or having lumen depreciation is automatically operated to transmit a corresponding signal of the illumination apparatus being damaged or having lumen depreciation to the communication unit  112  or to an adjacent illumination apparatus to be recursively transmitted to subsequent illumination apparatuses until the signal is transmitted to the closest or corresponding communication unit  112 , and is subsequently transmitted to the information processing system  120  for subsequent overall control and management of the system, such as management by a central control information processing system (not shown; such as a central management server, but the invention is not limited thereto). In other embodiments, the area may be an illumination area of a street, an illumination area of a market, an illumination area of a park, etc.; however, the above embodiments should be understood as only illustrative and not restrictive in every aspect. 
         [0030]      FIG. 4  shows a flow chart of an exemplifying embodiment of the present invention, which describes an illumination control method  400  of the present invention in accordance with the examples in  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3 . As shown at block  404 , the method  400  starts. Next, as shown at block  408 , the method  400  includes determining whether the illumination apparatus  104  functions properly; if not (such as, but not limited to, due to power failure), the flow proceeds to block  428 ; if yes, the flow proceeds to block  412 . 
         [0031]    As shown at block  412 , the method  400  includes determining whether the illumination apparatus  104  needs to be replaced; if not, the method  400  proceeds to block  428 ; if yes, the method  400  proceeds to block  416 . In one embodiment, the illumination apparatus  104  is conducting and current passes through the illumination apparatus  104 , which may be measured by the ampere-meter  224 , and the ampere-meter  224  has an initial output value. The signal of the ampere-meter  224  passes through the ampere monitor  312 . When the ampere monitor  312  detects that the signal of the ampere-meter  224  satisfies a certain condition, the illumination apparatus  104  is determined to be replaced. In one embodiment, the certain condition may be that the output power of the ampere-meter  224  is zero, such as, but not limited to, when the illumination apparatus  104  is damaged and requires to be replaced. In another embodiment, the certain condition may be that the output of the ampere-meter  224  is lower than a certain proportion (such as 50%, but the invention is not limited thereto) of the initial output value of the ampere-meter  224 , which indicates that the illumination apparatus  104  has depreciation reaching inadequacy and requires to be replaced. 
         [0032]    Next, as shown at block  416 , the method  400  includes conducting the switch  314  of the illumination apparatus  104  to be replaced. In one embodiment, the switch  314  is conducting when the output power of the ampere-meter  224  is zero. In another embodiment, the switch  314  is conducting when the output of the ampere-meter  224  is lower than a certain proportion (such as 50%, but the invention is not limited thereto) of the initial output value of the ampere-meter  224 . 
         [0033]    Next, as shown at block  420 , the method  400  includes periodically transmitting an identification signal by the RF transceiver  304  of the illumination apparatus  104  to be replaced. In one embodiment, the identification signal may be the identifier ID  220  of the illumination apparatus  104  to be replaced. 
         [0034]    Next, as shown at block  424 , the method  400  includes the communication unit  112  receiving the identification signal. In one embodiment, the communication unit  112  receives the identifier ID  220  of the illumination apparatus  104  to be replaced. 
         [0035]    Next, as shown at block  432 , the method  400  includes the communication unit  112  transmitting a control signal to the RF transceiver  304  so that the RF transceiver  304  stops transmitting the identification signal (the identifier ID  220  of the illumination apparatus  104  to be replaced) in response to the communication unit  112  receiving the identifier ID  220 . Next, as shown at block  428 , the method  400  ends. Subsequently, the maintenance personnel may locate the illumination apparatus  104  to be replaced by the transmitted signal in above and carry out subsequent processes. 
         [0036]      FIG. 5  shows a light bulb  500  of an embodiment of the present invention. The light bulb  500  includes a glass bulb  504 , a cap  508 , a screw thread base  512 , and contacts  516  and  520 . The illumination apparatus status detection unit  212  may be configured in the screw thread base  512  or other components of the light bulb  500 , but the invention is not limited thereto. The light bulbs are well known to those skilled in the related art and the details are not described here. 
         [0037]    The present invention may be implemented in illumination systems of any extent and any area, especially to timely manage large extents of illumination apparatuses or wide areas. In various embodiments, the illumination system may be domestic or building illumination systems, factory illumination systems, park illumination systems, street lamp systems, etc., and the invention is not limited thereto. It should be noted that, for applications in large extents and wide areas, the usage of RF transceivers reduces the costs in software and hardware and provides highly efficient identification of illumination apparatuses. 
         [0038]    The foregoing detailed description of the embodiments is used to further clearly describe the features and spirit of the present invention. The foregoing description for each embodiment is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. All kinds of modifications made to the foregoing embodiments and equivalent arrangements should fall within the protected scope of the present invention. Hence, the scope of the present invention should be explained most widely according to the claims described thereafter in connection with the detailed description, and should cover all the possibly equivalent variations and equivalent arrangements.

Technology Category: h