Light display control system with remote control

A decorative lighting control apparatus configured to independently and selectively activate decorative lighting in an illumination control zone, comprising:

• a zone controller, comprising:
• a first processor;
• a wireless communication interface operably coupled with the first processor;
• an input/output interface, operably coupled with the first processor, wherein the input/output interface is adapted to selectively and independently power and control a plurality of lighting elements operably coupled with the input/output interface;
• and,
• a first memory that is not a transitory propagating signal, the first memory connected to the first processor and encoding computer readable instructions, including processor executable program instructions, the computer readable instructions accessible to the first processor, wherein the processor executable program instructions, when executed by the first processor, cause the first processor to perform operations comprising:
• sending an electronic message comprising an indication the zone controller is available to be programmed;
• receiving an electronic message comprising an indication of the zone controller to be programmed;
• receiving an electronic message comprising a lighting command;
• and,
• automatically providing a remotely configurable lighting display in the lighting zone based on independently activating the lighting command in the zone controller;
• and
• a remote control, comprising:
• a second processor;
• a wireless communication interface operably coupled with the second processor;
• and,
• a second memory that is not a transitory propagating signal, the second memory connected to the second processor and encoding computer readable instructions, including processor executable program instructions, the computer readable instructions accessible to the second processor, wherein the processor executable program instructions, when executed by the second processor, cause the second processor to perform operations comprising:
• receiving an electronic message comprising an indication of a zone controller available to be programmed;
• selecting an available zone controller to control the lighting in the illumination control zone;
• configuring the selected zone controller to control the lighting in the illumination control zone based on sending to the selected zone controller an electronic message comprising a lighting command;
• and,
• automatically providing a remotely configurable lighting display in the illumination control zone based on sending to the selected zone controller an electronic message causing the selected zone controller to implement the lighting command;
• wherein the second memory further comprises data encoding a listing of a plurality of remote controls addressable by the second processor;
• and, the operations performed by the second processor further comprise:
• sending an electronic message to initiate negotiation among a plurality of remote controls to select one remote control as an illumination control session coordination leader;
• receiving an electronic message comprising an indication of available illumination control session coordination leader candidates;
• and
• receiving an electronic message comprising selection of the second processor as the illumination control session coordination leader.

A decorative lighting control apparatus configured to independently and selectively activate decorative lighting in an illumination control zone, comprising:

• a zone controller, comprising:
• a first processor;
• a wireless communication interface operably coupled with the first processor;
• an input/output interface, operably coupled with the first processor, wherein the input/output interface is adapted to selectively and independently power and control a plurality of lighting elements operably coupled with the input/output interface;
• and,
• a first memory that is not a transitory propagating signal, the first memory connected to the first processor and encoding computer readable instructions, including processor executable program instructions, the computer readable instructions accessible to the first processor, wherein the processor executable program instructions, when executed by the first processor, cause the first processor to perform operations comprising:
• sending an electronic message comprising an indication the zone controller is available to be programmed;
• receiving an electronic message comprising an indication of the zone controller to be programmed;
• receiving an electronic message comprising a lighting command;
• and,
• automatically providing a remotely configurable lighting display in the lighting zone based on independently activating the lighting command in the zone controller;
• a remote control, comprising:
• a second processor;
• a wireless communication interface operably coupled with the second processor;
• and,
• a second memory that is not a transitory propagating signal, the second memory connected to the second processor and encoding computer readable instructions, including processor executable program instructions, the computer readable instructions accessible to the second processor, wherein the processor executable program instructions, when executed by the second processor, cause the second processor to perform operations comprising:
• receiving an electronic message comprising an indication of a zone controller available to be programmed;
• selecting an available zone controller to control the lighting in the illumination control zone;
• configuring the selected zone controller to control the lighting in the illumination control zone based on sending to the selected zone controller an electronic message comprising a lighting command;
• and,
• automatically providing a remotely configurable lighting display in the illumination control zone based on sending to the selected zone controller an electronic message causing the selected zone controller to implement the lighting command;
• wherein the remote control further comprises a user interface operably coupled with the second processor, and wherein the operations performed by the second processor further comprise selecting the available zone controller as a function of user input received by the second processor in response to the second processor presenting a representation of available zone controllers to the user through the user interface;
• and
• wherein the second memory further comprises data encoding a listing of a plurality of remote controls addressable by the second processor;
• and, the operations performed by the second processor further comprise:
• sending an electronic message to initiate negotiation among a plurality of remote controls to select one remote control as an illumination control session coordination leader;
• receiving an electronic message comprising an indication of available illumination control session coordination leader candidates;
• receiving an electronic message comprising selection of the second processor as the illumination control session coordination leader;
• and
• sending to at least one of the plurality of remote controls an electronic message comprising a lighting command to be activated in at least one zone controller governed by the at least one of the plurality of remote controls.