Method, apparatus, and system for occupancy sensing
AssigneeDigital Lumens Incorporated
InventorsBrian Chemel, Colin N. Piepgras, Frederick Morgan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention include an occupancy sensing unit configured to monitor an environment illuminated by a lighting fixture. An inventive occupancy sensing unit may include an occupancy sensor to detect radiation indicative of at least one occupancy event in the environment illuminated by the lighting fixture according to sensing parameters. The occupancy sensor can be coupled to a memory that logs sensor data, which represent the occupancy events, provided by the occupancy sensor. A processor coupled to the memory performs an analysis of the sensor data logged in the memory and adjusts the sensing parameters of the occupancy sensor based on the analysis.
Claims33
An occupancy sensing unit to monitor an environment illuminated by a lighting fixture, the occupancy sensing unit comprising:
- A) at least one occupancy sensor to detect radiation indicative of at least one occupancy event, in the environment illuminated by the lighting fixture, according to sensing parameters;
- B) a memory, operatively coupled to the at least one occupancy sensor, to log sensor data, representing the at least one occupancy event, provided by the at least one occupancy sensor;
- and
- C) a processor, operatively coupled to the memory, to:
- C1) perform an analysis of the sensor data logged in the memory, the analysis comprising forming a representation of the sensor data logged in the memory based on at least one of a frequency, an amplitude, a duration, or a rate of change of the sensor data logged in the memory,
- C2) perform a classification of the sensor data according to the representation of the sensor data logged in the memory performed in C1),
- C3) store, in the memory, results of the classification performed in C2) for analysis of future sensor data from the at least one occupancy sensor, and
- C4) adjust at least one of a gain, a threshold, an offset, a timeout, or a sensitivity of the at least one occupancy sensor based on the results stored in the memory in C3).
A method of monitoring an environment illuminated by a lighting fixture, the method comprising:
- A) providing, with an occupancy sensor having sensing parameters, sensor data representative of at least one occupancy event in the environment illuminated by the lighting fixture according to sensing parameters;
- B) logging the sensor data in a memory;
- C) performing an analysis of the sensor data logged in the memory in B), the analysis comprising forming a representation of the sensor data logged in the memory based on at least one of a frequency, an amplitude, a duration, or a rate of change of the sensor data logged in the memory,
- D) performing a classification of the sensor data according to the representation of the sensor data logged in the memory performed in C),
- E) store, in the memory, results of the classification performed in D) for analysis of future sensor data from the occupancy sensor, and
- F) adjusting at least one of a gain, a threshold, an offset, a timeout, or a sensitivity of the occupancy sensor based on the results stored in the memory in E).
A lighting system to provide variable occupancy-based illumination of an environment, the lighting system comprising:
- a plurality of lighting fixtures, wherein each lighting fixture in the plurality of lighting fixtures comprises:
- A) at least one occupancy sensor to provide a first occupancy signal representing at least one occupancy event;
- B) a communications interface to transmit the first occupancy signal to at least one other lighting fixture in the plurality of lighting fixtures and to receive a second occupancy signal from another lighting fixture in the plurality of lighting fixtures;
- C) a memory, operatively coupled to the communications interface, to store sensor data representing the first and second occupancy signals;
- and
- D) at least one light source to illuminate the environment in response to at least one of the first occupancy signal or the second occupancy signal;
- E) a controller, operatively coupled to the light source, the communications interface, and the memory, to:
- E1) place the at least one light source in an inactive state after elapse of a predetermined delay period following an end of the at least one occupancy event,
- E2) perform an analysis of the sensor data logged in the memory, the analysis comprising forming a representation of the sensor data logged in the memory based on at least one of a frequency, an amplitude, a duration, or a rate of change of the sensor data logged in the memory,
- E3) perform a classification of the sensor data according to the representation of the sensor data logged in the memory performed in E2),
- E4) store, in the memory, results of the classification performed in E3) for analysis of future sensor data from the at least one occupancy sensor, and
- E5) adjust the predetermined delay period of the at least one occupancy sensor based on the results stored in the memory in E4).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.