Closed loop lighting control system
AssigneeThe Watt Stopper, Inc.
InventorRadu Pitigoi-Aron
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention provides a lighting control circuit having a light sensor that outputs a first signal in response to being exposed to radiation. The lighting control circuit has a detection circuit that is coupled to the light sensor and is configured to generate a second signal from the first signal. The lighting control circuit has a driver circuit that is coupled to the detection circuit and is configured to generate a third signal to control an illumination level of a light, wherein an amplitude of the third signal is varied in response to the second signal and a reference signal. The lighting control circuit also has a shifting reference circuit configured to shift a reference voltage of the driver circuit to compensate for a supplemental sunlight energy contributed to the ambient light in a room.
Claims27
A lighting control circuit comprising:
- a light sensor that outputs a first signal in response to being exposed to radiation;
- a detection circuit coupled to the light sensor, the detection circuit configured to generate a second signal from the first signal;
- a driver circuit coupled to the detection circuit, the driver circuit configured to generate a third signal to control an illumination level of a light, wherein an amplitude of the third signal is varied in response to the second signal and a reference voltage;
- and
- a shifting reference circuit configured to shift the reference voltage of the driver circuit to compensate for a supplemental sunlight energy contributed to the ambient light in a room;
- wherein the driver circuit receives the second signal and compares it to the reference voltage, and wherein the driver circuit is configured to match a voltage level of the second signal to the reference voltage via a feedback loop, thereby either raising or lowering the illumination level of a light until the voltage of the second signal matches that of the reference voltage.
The circuit of claim 8 wherein a non-inverting input of the op-amp couples to the anode of a reference diode via a first resistor and couples to a ground potential via a second resistor, and wherein an inverting input of the op-amp couples to a voltage divider via a third resistor, and wherein the inverting input of the op-amp couples to an output of the op-amp via the first potentiometer, and wherein the output of the op-amp couples to the driver circuit.
A lighting control circuit comprising:
- a light sensor that outputs a first signal in response to being exposed to radiation;
- a detection circuit coupled to the light sensor, the detection circuit configured to generate a second signal from the first signal;
- a driver circuit coupled to the detection circuit, the driver circuit configured to generate a third signal to control an illumination level of a light, wherein an amplitude of the third signal is varied in response to the second signal, wherein the driver circuit receives the second signal and compares it to the reference signal, and wherein the driver circuit is configured to match a voltage level of the second signal to a voltage level of the reference signal via a feedback loop, thereby either raising or lowering the illumination level of a light until the voltage of the second signal matches that of the reference signal;
- and
- a shifting reference circuit configured to shift a reference voltage of the driver circuit to compensate for a supplemental sunlight energy contributed to the ambient light in a room, wherein the shifting reference circuit generates a correction voltage proportional to the supplemental sunlight energy contributed to the ambient light in a room, and wherein the shifting reference circuit adds the correction voltage to the reference voltage in the driver circuit, thereby compensating for the supplemental sunlight energy.
A method for controlling the brightness level of a light, the method comprising:
- exposing a light sensor to radiation;
- outputting from the light sensor a first signal in response to the radiation exposure;
- generating a second signal from the first signal;
- generating a third signal to control an illumination level of a light, wherein an amplitude of the third signal is varied in response to the second signal;
- and
- shifting a reference voltage to compensate for a supplemental sunlight energy contributed to the ambient light in a room.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.