Clock device with automatic simulation of sunrise or sunset
AssigneeLutron Technology Company LLC
InventorsErica Patton, Daniel Raneri
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A clock comprises an alarm clock housing having a front face, a clock display occupying at least a portion of the front face, a control on the housing for activating a shade positioning function, and a processor within the housing. The processor is responsive to the control for generating at least one shade positioning command to be transmitted to at least one motorized window shade, so as to cause the motorized window shade to move to one or more position at one or more corresponding predetermined interval relative to an alarm time.
Claims24
A control apparatus communicatively couplable to a portable electronic device, the control apparatus comprising:
- a portable electronic device interface, the portable electronic device interface to enable a direct communicative coupling between the control apparatus and the host portable electronic device;
- wireless communication interface circuitry;
- electrical load control circuitry to, while communicatively coupled to the portable electronic device:
- receive a first message from the portable electronic device, wherein the first message includes data representative of:
- an alarm time;
- an event type;
- an interval length between shade movements;
- and
- a number of intervals;
- responsive to the receipt of the first message and prior to the received alarm time, autonomously determine respective ones of a plurality of window treatment command times, each determined based on the received alarm time, event type, interval length between shade movements, and number of intervals;
- at each of the determined plurality of shade window treatment command times, generate at least one command to cause a window treatment to travel to a position to adjust an amount of ambient light passed by the window treatment;
- and
- transmit, via the wireless communication interface circuitry, the generated at least one command to the window treatment at each of the plurality of window treatment command times.
A method of automatically simulating a sunrise or sunset condition using a control apparatus communicatively couplable to a host portable electronic device, the method comprising, while communicatively coupled to the portable electronic device:
- receive a first message from the portable electronic device, wherein the first message includes data representative of:
- an alarm time;
- an event type;
- an interval length between shade movements;
- and
- a number of intervals;
- and
- responsive to the receipt of the first message and prior to the received alarm time, autonomously:
- determining, by electric load control circuitry, respective ones of a plurality of window treatment command times, each determined based on the received alarm time, event type, interval length between shade movements, and number of intervals;
- generating, by electric load control circuitry at each of the determined plurality of window treatment command times, at least one command to cause a window treatment to travel to a position to adjust an amount of ambient light passed by the window treatment;
- and
- transmitting, by the electric load control circuitry via a communicatively coupled wireless communication interface circuitry, the generated at least one command to the window treatment at each of the plurality of window treatment command times.
A non-transitory, machine-readable, storage device that includes instructions that, when executed by electric load control circuitry disposed in a control apparatus communicatively couplable to a host portable electronic device, causes the electric load control circuitry to, while communicatively coupled to the portable electronic device:
- receive, a first message from the portable electronic device, wherein the first message includes data representative of:
- an alarm time;
- an event type;
- an interval length between shade movements;
- and
- a number of intervals;
- and
- responsive to the receipt of the first message and prior to the received alarm time:
- autonomously determine respective ones of a plurality of window treatment command times, each determined based on the received alarm time, event type, interval length between shade movements, and number of intervals;
- at each of the determined plurality of window treatment command times, generate at least one command to cause a window treatment to travel to a position to adjust an amount of ambient light passed by the window treatment at each of the one or more shade command times;
- and
- transmit, via a communicatively coupled wireless communication interface circuitry, the generated at least one command to the window treatment at each of the plurality of window treatment command times.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.