System and Method for Ensuring Minimal Control Delay to Grouped Illumination Devices Configured Within a Wireless Network

Abstract

A lighting control system and method is disclosed for not only controlling visual content loaded within a group set of illumination devices configured within a wireless network, but also for ensuring minimal control delay to those grouped devices. The lighting control system can include a lighting controller device that controls a plurality of lamps within a mesh network, not only to group those lamps but also to assign content to lamps within that group. The combination of a guaranteed groupcast to each of the group of lamps and an acknowledge back from those lamps that is aggregated over a single path achieves the improved lighting control system disclosed herein.

1 - 5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . A lighting control system, comprising:
 a plurality of lamps interconnected within a residence by a wireless network;   a subset of the plurality of lamps corresponding to a group of lamps having the same pre-defined scene or show content stored therein based on their function and location within the residence; and   a control device comprising a button which is configured to forward a groupcast message addressed to only the group of lamps and to activate the group of lamps at substantially the same time based on their stored content.   
     
     
         7 . The lighting control system as recited in  claim 6 , wherein each lamp of the group of lamps comprises:
 at least one light emitting diode (LED);   a memory for storing the pre-defined content and a plurality of addresses of the group of lamps;   a processor coupled between the LED and the memory for sending an activation signal to the LED when the message causes the processor to fetch from the memory an address from among the plurality of addresses of the group of lamps.   
     
     
         8 . The lighting control system as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the pre-defined content is selected from a library of content prior to assigning the subset of the plurality of lamps to the group of lamps. 
     
     
         9 . The lighting control system as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the pre-defined content comprises color and brightness. 
     
     
         10 . The lighting control system as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the pre-defined content further comprises chromaticity, spectrum, vibrancy and tint. 
     
     
         11 . The lighting control system as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the pre-defined content comprises color, brightness and chromaticity as a function of time. 
     
     
         12 . The lighting control system as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the pre-defined content further comprises chromaticity, spectrum, vibrancy and tint as a function of time. 
     
     
         13 . The lighting control system as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the network comprises a mesh wireless personal area network (WPAN). 
     
     
         14 . The lighting control system as recited in  claim 13 , wherein the WPAN communicates among the plurality of lamps using an IEEE 802.15 or ZigBee communication protocol. 
     
     
         15 . The lighting control system as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the control device comprises a keypad coupled to the AC mains of the residence and in communication with the wireless network via a button arranged on a face of the keypad. 
     
     
         16 . The lighting control system as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the control device comprises:
 a mobile device comprising a radio transmitter; and   a graphical user interface for displaying a button wherein, upon activation of the button, the mobile device forwards the groupcast message.   
     
     
         17 - 19 . (canceled)