US 11,909,204 B2Granted

Direct-current power distribution in a control system

AssigneeLutron Technology Company LLC

InventorsEdward J. Blair, Joseph R. Parks, John H. Bull, Samuel F. Chambers, Stuart W. DeJonge

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A control system may include a direct-current (DC) power bus for charging (e.g., trickle charging) internal energy storage elements in control devices of the control system. For example, the control devices may be motorized window treatments configured to adjust a position of a covering material to control the amount of daylight entering a space. The system may include a DC power supply that may generate a DC voltage on the DC power bus. For example, the DC power bus may extend from the DC power supply around the perimeter of a floor of the building and may be connected to all of the motorized window treatments on the floor (e.g., in a daisy-chain configuration). Wiring the DC power bus in such a manner may dramatically reduce the installation labor and wiring costs of an installation, as well as decreasing the chance of a miswire.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A load control system for controlling a plurality of electrical loads, the load control system comprising:

a direct-current (DC) power bus configured to be electrically coupled to a DC power supply, wherein the DC power supply is configured to generate a DC bus voltage on the DC power bus;
a plurality of load control devices configured to be coupled in parallel with each other across the DC power bus, wherein each load control device comprises:
a power connector configured to receive the DC bus voltage from the DC power bus;
an internal energy storage element configured to charge from the DC bus voltage;
an internal power supply configured to conduct current from the internal energy storage element and generate a supply voltage;
a load control circuit configured to receive the supply voltage and control power delivered to an electrical load;
and
a control circuit configured to:
control the load control circuit for controlling the power delivered to the electrical load;
control when the internal energy storage element charges from the DC bus voltage;
send an indication of a storage level of the internal energy storage element;
receive an indication of a storage level of an internal energy storage element of a second load control device of the plurality of load control devices;
and
determine to charge the internal energy storage element from the DC power bus based on a comparison between the storage level of the internal energy storage element and the received storage level of the internal energy storage element of the second load control device.

11 more elements

A load control device for controlling an electrical load in a load control system, the load control system having a plurality of load control devices for controlling a plurality of electrical loads, wherein the plurality of load control devices are configured to be coupled in parallel with each other across a DC power bus to receive a DC bus voltage from a DC power supply, the load control device comprising:

a power connector configured to receive the DC bus voltage from the DC power bus;
an internal energy storage element configured to charge from the DC bus voltage;
an internal power supply configured to conduct current from the internal energy storage element and generate a supply voltage;
a load control circuit configured to receive the supply voltage and control power delivered to the electrical load;
and
a control circuit configured to:
control the load control circuit for controlling the power delivered to the electrical load;
control when the internal energy storage element charges from the DC bus voltage;
send an indication of a storage level of the internal energy storage element;
receive an indication of a storage level of an energy storage element of another load control device;
and
determine to charge the internal energy storage element from the DC power bus based on the storage level of the internal energy storage element and the received storage level of the energy storage element of the other load control device.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/809,508Filed 4 Mar 2020 · us provisional application
Priority: 4 Mar 2019
Published: US 2020/0300037 A124 Sep 2020
Granted: 20 Feb 2024
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

H02J 1/08
Circuit arrangements for DC mains or DC distribution networks: three-wire DC power distribution systems; Systems having more than three wires
H02J 1/084
Three-wire DC power distribution systems; Systems having more than three wires: for selectively connecting the load or loads to one or several…
H02J 7/02
Circuit arrangements for charging or discharging batteries or for supplying loads from batteries: for charging batteries from AC mains by converters
H02J 7/342
Parallel operation in networks using both storage and other DC sources, e.g. providing buffering: the other DC source being a battery actively…

Family

Application62/813,552Us provisional application · filed 4 Mar 2019
US 2020/0300037 A1Pre-grant publication · published 24 Sep 2020
US 11,909,204 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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