Motion sensing system with adaptive timing for controlling lighting fixtures

A system for selectively providing power from a power source to at least one load to operate in an area for at least one occupant, comprising:

• a switching device configured to provide a current conduction path between said power source and said load when in a closed position, and to interrupt said path when in an open position;
• a processing device connected to said switching device for controlling when said switching device is in said open position and when said switching device is in said closed position;
• a memory device associated with said processing device for storing program code, said processing device being programmable to control said switching device in accordance with said program code;
• and
• a single motion sensor connected to said processing device for detecting energy in said area and for providing a detector signal to said processing device;
• wherein said processing device is programmable to process said detector signal to determine if said detected energy indicates the presence of said occupant in said area and to generate an occupancy signal if said detected energy indicates the presence of said occupant in said area, to process a plurality of detector signals generated by said sensor until a corresponding plurality of said occupancy signals is generated, to store data corresponding to said plurality of detector signals, and to automatically modify processing of a future said detector signal in accordance with said stored data to adjust the amount of said detected energy that is required from said sensor to generate a corresponding said occupancy signal.

An apparatus for automatically adjusting the sensitivity of an occupancy detector comprising:

• slew rate determination means for determining the change in voltage measured at the output of said occupancy detector over a period of time;
• a first counter connected to said slew rate determination means, said slew rate determination means being operable to operate said first counter when an output signal generated by said occupancy detector is within a selected range of values representing desired changes in said voltage;
• analog-to-digital conversion means connected to said occupancy detector, a second counter,
• voltage threshold means connected to said analog-to-digital conversion means and said second counter and operable to determine when said occupancy detector operates outside a predetermined range of values representing desirable operating points;
• and
• a mixer connected to said slew rate determination means and said voltage threshold means for selecting a number of slew rate signals corresponding to respective said changes in said voltages and a number of trip voltage signals corresponding to said desirable operating points using said first counter and said second counter to determine when an occupant is detected.

An apparatus for controlling the ON/OFF state of an electrical device comprising:

• a passive infrared sensor operable to generate a first signal indicating the presence of an occupant in an area;
• a noise processing device operable to detect noise and to generate a second signal when said noise processing device determines that noise meets pre-defined criteria;
• a control device in electronic communication with said passive infrared sensor and said noise processing device, said control means being operable to maintain said electrical device in an ON state when said control means receives one of said first signal from said passive infrared sensor indicating the presence of said occupant in said area, and said second signal from said noise processing device when noise meets said pre-defined criteria;
• wherein said control device is operable to initiate an OFF state when said passive infrared sensor has not generated said first signal indicating the presence of said occupant in said area and said noise processing device determines that noise has not met said pre-defined criteria for a predetermined length of time;
• and
• said noise processing device is configurable to require said pre-defined criteria to meet different ones of a plurality of selected criteria corresponding to different levels of sensitivity of said noise processing device to noise.

A method of controlling an electrical load for an occupant in an area in which the load operates, comprising the steps of:

• detecting energy in said area;
• generating a detector signal representing said detected energy;
• processing said detector signal to determine if said detected energy indicates the presence of said occupant in said area and to generate an occupancy signal if said detected energy indicates the presence of said occupant in said area;
• repeating said detecting step, said generating step and said processing step to generate a plurality of said detector signals for which a corresponding plurality of said occupancy signals is generated;
• storing data corresponding to said plurality of said detector signals;
• and
• automatically modifying said processing step for processing a future said detector signal in accordance with said stored data to adjust the amount of said detected energy that is required to generate a corresponding said occupancy signal;
• wherein said processing step comprises the step of determining if a selected signal characteristic of said detector signal is within a predetermined range of values and said detector signal represents a change in voltage over a period of time measured at the output of a motion sensor, and said selected signal characteristic corresponds to a slew rate.

A method of controlling an electrical load for an occupant in an area in which the load operates, comprising the steps of:

• detecting energy in said area;
• generating a detector signal representing said detected energy;
• processing said detector signal to determine if said detected energy indicates the presence of said occupant in said area and to generate an occupancy signal if said detected energy indicates the presence of said occupant in said area;
• repeating said detecting step, said generating step and said processing step to generate a plurality of said detector signals for which a corresponding plurality of said occupancy signals is generated;
• storing data corresponding to said plurality of said detector signals;
• and
• automatically modifying said processing step for processing a future said detector signal in accordance with said stored data to adjust the amount of said detected energy that is required to generate a corresponding said occupancy signal;
• wherein said processing step comprises the step of determining if a selected signal characteristic of said detector signal is within a predetermined range of values and said storing step comprises the step of incrementing a counter when said detector signal is determined to be within said predetermined range of values.

A system for selectively providing power from a power source to at least one load to operate in an area for at least one occupant, comprising:

• a switching device configured to provide a current conduction path between said power source and said load when in a closed position, and to interrupt said path when in an open position;
• a processing device connected to said switching device for controlling when said switching device is in said open position and when said switching device is in said closed position;
• a memory device associated with said processing device for storing program code, said processing device being programmable to control said switching device in accordance with said program code;
• and
• a sensor connected to said processing device for detecting energy in said area and for providing a detector signal to said processing device;
• wherein said processing device is programmable to process said detector signal to determine if said detected energy indicates the presence of said occupant in said area and to generate an occupancy signal if said detected energy indicates the presence of said occupant in said area, to process a plurality of detector signals generated by said sensor until a corresponding plurality of said occupancy signals is generated, to store data corresponding to said plurality of detector signals, and to automatically modify processing of a future said detector signal in accordance with said stored data to adjust the amount of said detected energy that is required from said sensor to generate a corresponding said occupancy signal, and said processing device is operable to determine if a selected signal characteristic of said detector signal is within a predetermined range of values, said detector signal representing a change in voltage over a period of time measured at the output of a motion sensor, and said selected signal characteristic corresponding to a slew rate.

A system for selectively providing power from a power source to at least one load to operate in an area for at least one occupant, comprising:

• a switching device configured to provide a current conduction path between said power source and said load when in a closed position, and to interrupt said path when in an open position;
• a processing device connected to said switching device for controlling when said switching device is in said open position and when said switching device is in said closed position;
• a memory device associated with said processing device for storing program code, said processing device being programmable to control said switching device in accordance with said program code;
• a sensor connected to said processing device for detecting energy in said area and for providing a detector signal to said processing device, said processing device being programmable to process said detector signal to determine if said detected energy indicates the presence of said occupant in said area and to generate an occupancy signal if said detected energy indicates the presence of said occupant in said area, to process a plurality of detector signals generated by said sensor until a corresponding plurality of said occupancy signals is generated, to store data corresponding to said plurality of detector signals, and to automatically modify processing of a future said detector signal in accordance with said stored data to adjust the amount of said detected energy that is required from said sensor to generate a corresponding said occupancy signal, said processing device being operable to determine if a selected signal characteristic of said detector signal is within a predetermined range of values;
• and
• a counter associated with said processing device, said processing device being operable to increment said counter when said detector signal is determined to be within said predetermined range of values.