Lighting control system including server for receiving and processing lighting control requests

A lighting control system for controlling multiple lighting loads, the system comprising:

• a computer network;
• a server including memory encoded with executable instructions, the instructions, when executed, instructing the server to receive lighting control requests on the computer network and respond to the lighting control requests by generating digital commands, each lighting control request identifying a lighting load and indicating a lighting load state, the digital commands directly identifying the lighting load and indicating the lighting load state;
• a power/communications bus;
• an interface module, responsive to proprietary digital commands, for generating analog relay requests and placing the analog relay requests on the power/communications bus;
• and
• a plurality of relays connected to the power communications bus, the relays controlling power and communications to the lighting loads in response to the analog relay commands.

A server connected between a computer network and an interface module for a lighting control system, the server comprising:

• a central processing unit;
• and
• computer memory encoded with a lighting control program, the lighting control program, when running on the server, instructing the central processing unit to listen for lighting control requests on the computer network, generate digital commands in response to the lighting control requests, and send the digital commands to the interface module;
• each lighting control request identifying a lighting load and indicating a lighting load state;
• each digital command directly identifying the lighting load and indicating the lighting load state.

An article of manufacture for a server connected between a computer network and an interface module of a lighting control system, the article comprising:

• computer memory;
• and
• a plurality of executable instructions encoded in the computer memory, the instructions, when executed, causing the server to listen for lighting control requests on the computer network;
• generate proprietary digital commands in response to the lighting control requests;
• and send the digital commands to the interface module;
• each lighting control request identifying a lighting load and indicating a lighting load state, each digital command directly identifying the lighting load and indicating the lighting load state.