Patent · US Expired

Phase independent signaling for multiple channel, multiple scene dimming system

US5646490A · kind A · utility

13Cited by
2References
6Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 28, 1995
Grant dateJul 8, 1997
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 28, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH05B47/1985
  • WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A lighting control and dimming system utilizes a single traveler conductor for transmitting analog data signals corresponding to a particular light intensity level of a dimmer group. A predetermined binary data word is retrieved from the read-only memory of a remote controller, and is transmitted serially in an analog pulse train over the traveler conductor to each dimmer unit. Each dimmer unit includes a microcontroller and read-only memory in which a group of binary numbers are stored. The analog data signal received by each dimmer is converted to binary and is compared bit-by-bit with each binary number stored in the dimmer memory. A serial bit comparator produces an enable signal in response to a bit-by-bit identity match between the converted analogy data signal and the preset binary number stored in the dimmer ROM. All the dimmers are enabled by the transmitted analog data signal, thus producing a predetermined scene at a particular brightness level corresponding with one of the stored binary numbers.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.