DE102016202409B4 - Wireless color temperature sensor module with direction indicator unit for outputting a direction indicator signal and lighting system with such a color temperature sensor module - Google Patents

Abstract

Color temperature sensor module (1) comprising: - a light sensor (2) with a detection area (3) designed to receive light, wherein the light sensor (2) is capable of outputting detection signals to - a processing unit (4), wherein the processing unit (4) is capable of calculating a color temperature value and optionally also an intensity of the light received by the detection area (3) on the basis of the detection signals received by the light sensor (2) and outputting corresponding information, - an energy source (7) designed to electrically supply the light sensor (2) and the processing unit (4), and - a transmission unit (5) designed to transmit information representing the calculated color temperature value by using a wireless interface (6), wherein the color temperature sensor module (1) comprises a direction indicator unit (10) designed to output a direction indicator signal to the processing unit (4), and wherein the direction indicator signal is designed to indicate a spatial direction in which the detection area (3) of the light sensor (2).

Description

The invention relates to a wireless color temperature sensor module or CCT sensor module (CCT = Correlated Color Temperature) and in particular to a sensor module that is capable of detecting light and determining a color temperature, a light color and/or an intensity of the received light and outputting corresponding information.

Particularly in buildings, controlling the color temperature of the light emitted by lighting fixtures is an important aspect and influences the appearance of objects within buildings as well as the sensory perception of people inside. Especially in areas of the building where natural light is absent or only partially present, lighting that adapts to or compensates for the natural or ambient light outside the building is beneficial for perception inside the building.

The publication reveals, for example, DE 10 2012 108235 A1 a lighting device and a method for controlling the same with the aim of making a user feel comfortable in an area illuminated with artificial light and in particular when transitioning from an area illuminated by daylight to an area illuminated with artificial light.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a lighting system that adapts to or compensates for the lack of natural light by utilizing lighting fixtures installed within the building. However, to adapt the artificial light inside the building to the natural light outside the building, sensors are required to retrieve information about the natural light. These sensors cannot be built into the lighting fixtures because artificial light would distort the light measurements, as the artificial light would also be measured.

While the luminaires can independently adapt to specific configurations, which can be pre-configured within the luminaires or set by a central control unit to which the luminaires are connected, their adjustment must still be based on the same data to ensure that artificial light is adjusted according to a consistent pattern. In particular, it is important to determine the natural color point and/or the intensity of natural light.

Thus, the invention provides a color temperature detection module and a lighting system as claimed in the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are subject to the independent claims.

In a first aspect, a color temperature sensor module is provided, comprising: a light sensor having a detection area configured to receive light, the sensor being capable of supplying detection signals to a processing unit, the processing unit being capable of calculating a color temperature value and optionally also an intensity of the light received by the detection area on the basis of the detection signals received from the light sensor and outputting corresponding information, a power source configured to power the light sensor and the processing unit, and a transmission unit configured to transmit information representing the calculated color temperature value using a wireless interface.

The module comprises a direction indicator unit designed to output a direction indicator signal to the processing unit.

The direction indicator signal indicates a spatial direction in which the detection area of the light sensor is aligned.

The direction indicator unit can consist of a magnetometer and/or a gyroscope. The gyroscope can, in particular, output a spatial orientation of the module to the processing unit.

The processing unit may output direction indication information based on the direction indication signal output to the transmission unit.

The energy source may consist of a photoelement, an energy buffer, preferably a capacitor or a battery, or a combination of these.

The light sensor may comprise at least two light band filters and may determine at least two visible light bands, and preferably comprises at least two photodiodes with integrated color filters.

The processing unit may output the color temperature as a color coordinate and/or a calibrated color coordinate.

The transmission unit can receive signals using the wireless interface and can forward the received signal to the processing unit.

The processing unit can evaluate the received signal and adjust operating parameters of the color temperature sensor module based on the received signal.

The color temperature can be a correlated color temperature.

The light sensor may comprise at least one of the RGB, RGBC and/or IR sensors and is designed with light attenuation, a gray and/or a UV filter.

In a further aspect, a lighting system is provided which comprises a color temperature sensor module as described above and an actuating device for actuating a lighting device, in particular an LED, a transmission unit which is designed to receive data transmitted by the color temperature sensor module using a wireless interface, and a control unit which controls operating parameters of the lighting device, wherein
the actuating device is designed to control the lighting device on the basis of the data received from the color temperature sensor module.

The control unit can extract color temperature information, intensity information, and/or direction information from the received data and can change the operating parameters of the lighting device accordingly. The control unit can evaluate the direction information and can only change the operating parameters if the direction information matches a direction set for the actuating device.

The actuator may adjust the operating parameters corresponding to the light emitted by the lighting device to the color temperature and/or intensity indicated by the extracted color temperature information and/or intensity information.

The actuator may receive data from more than one color temperature sensor module and the control unit may evaluate the extracted temperature, intensity and/or direction information and adjust the operating parameters of the lighting device based on the direction information, preferably using a stored function.

• 1 zeigt eine schematische Anordnung eines Farbtemperatur-Erfassungsmoduls gemäß der Erfindung.
• 2 zeigt ein erfindungsgemäßes Beleuchtungssystem.

The invention is also described below with reference to the figures.

• 1 shows a schematic arrangement of a color temperature detection module according to the invention.
• 2 shows a lighting system according to the invention.

1 shows a wireless color temperature sensor module 1. The module typically includes a light sensor 2 with a detection area 3 for detecting light. The sensor 2 may be an RGB sensor and may output detection signals relating to a color, a color temperature, and/or a light intensity detected by the detection area 3 of the sensor 2. The module 1 includes a processing unit 4, such as a microcontroller, for calculating a color/color temperature from the signals provided to the processing unit 4 by the sensor 2. The processing unit 4 calculates and outputs values relating to the intensity, color, and/or color temperature of the detected (ambient and/or natural) light incident on the detection area 3.

The processing unit 4 can be connected to a transmission unit 5 with a wireless interface 6, e.g., an RF interface, for wirelessly transmitting information, and in particular the calculated and/or acquired information. Of course, the transmission unit 5 can also alternatively or additionally provide an interface for wired transmission.

The wireless interface 6 can transmit information via Wi-Fi/WLAN, Bluetooth, ZigBee, or using other wireless protocols or standards. For both a wired and a wireless interface 6, information can be transmitted using, for example, an IPV4 or IPV6 protocol. Thus, the transmission unit 6 is used to transmit the information calculated by the processing unit 4 and/or to directly transmit the detection signal received from the sensor.

The color temperature sensor module is also connected to an energy or current source 7, which supplies the sensor 2 and the processing unit 4. Preferably, the power source 7 of the module 1 is provided on or in the module 1, thus enabling a standalone power supply independent of a power grid. This standalone power or energy source 7 of the module 1 can be a photoelement 8, such as a photo/solar cell, and/or an electrical energy buffer, such as a capacitor 9 or a battery. rie,... (the photoelement 8 is, of course, mounted on the module in a position accessible to ambient or natural light). The transmission unit and the transmission unit interface can also be powered by this energy source 7. The capacitor 9 can also be provided in conjunction with the energy source 7 to store energy supplied by the power source 7.

To enable control of lighting fixtures, for example, to provide an indoor emulation of natural light outside a building, it may be advantageous to use more than one color temperature sensor module to determine the color temperature and/or intensity of natural and/or ambient light outside the building or the area where the detection should take place. Detection can, of course, also take place indoors, for example, if the color temperature sensor module should be used to detect the color temperature and/or intensity in a specific environment.

For such a control, it is advantageous to know the direction from which the color temperature information originates. The sensor 2 of the color temperature sensor module 1 normally "looks" in a specific direction; for example, it detects light from a specific direction in which the detection area 3 of the sensor 2 points. The module 1 can therefore comprise a magnetometer 10 and/or a gyroscope (not shown), which can be connected to the processing unit 4 and provide information about the direction in which the detection area 3 points. Thus, the module 1 can not only transmit information regarding the color temperature (correlated color temperature) and/or the intensity of the light detected by the sensor 2, but can also detect and transmit information regarding the viewing direction of the sensor 3.

With regard to 2 The transmission unit 5 and the interface 6 of the module 1 can transmit the information wirelessly. This information can be received by a central control unit 20 or by an actuating device 21 (e.g., a lighting fixture, ballast, and/or driver) in the building that directly or indirectly controls lighting devices within a building or in a defined area. In particular, the artificial lighting devices can be controlled depending on, and in particular in accordance with, the information received from the color temperature sensor module 1.

According to one aspect of the invention, the actuating device 21 can be configured during commissioning of the actuating device 21 such that it only evaluates and uses information from specific modules. For example, it can be configured such that the operation of the lighting devices (e.g., LEDs) is only changed if the evaluation of the information received from the actuating device 21 indicates a specific direction.

Therefore, there may be actuators 21 that only respond to information transmitted by modules 1 that point in a specific direction, for example, north, east, west, or south, or an intermediate direction. 2 For example, the detection area 3 of module 1 could point to the east, and thus the information sent by this module 1 contains corresponding data.

A gyroscope can also be used to determine the spatial orientation of the module 1. This information can be used, for example, to compensate for the signals emitted by the sensor 2 or to modify the calculation performed by the processing unit 4 to account for a suboptimal spatial orientation of the detection area 3.

The module 1 can be part of a lighting system 22, and the actuating device 21 can actuate a lighting device 23 or a light source, which can in particular consist of an LED or an LED string. The actuating device can also comprise a transmission unit 24, which is designed to correspond to the transmission unit 5 present in the color temperature sensor module 1. Therefore, the transmission unit 24 of the actuating device 21 also comprises a wireless interface 25 if the transmission unit 5 in the module 1 is designed with a wireless interface 6.

The actuating device 21 also includes a control unit 26 that controls the parameters of the lighting device 23. The control unit 26 controls these parameters and the lighting device based on the information received from the module 1 via the transmission unit 24.

In particular, the control unit 26 can, on the basis of the information received from the module 1, adjust the operating parameters of the lighting device 23 so that the color temperature, the emitted intensity of the light, the brightness and other properties in the emitted light can be adjusted. The actuating device 21 preferably comprises a plurality of light sources, e.g. of different colors and/or color temperatures, to enable coordination between the colors/color temperatures. For example, there may be at least one RGB light source and/or at least two light sources emitting white light at different temperatures (e.g. 6000K and 5700K), and a change in the operating parameters leads to a change in the emitted light color and/or color temperature. In addition, the light sources can be dimmed. Thus, the light emitted by the lighting device can be adjusted to ambient or natural light in a specific area or spatial direction.

The actuator 21 can thus adjust the parameters according to a function stored in a memory unit (not shown) that is functionally connected to the actuator and/or based on information stored in the actuator. For example, a lookup table can be used to determine operating parameters associated with specific measurements of the color temperature sensor module 1 or their ranges. For each color temperature or arrangement of color temperatures recorded or detected by the module 1, the control unit 26 can adjust the operating parameters according to an evaluation of the function or the values stored in the lookup table.

It goes without saying that functional functions of the actuating device can be located in the central control unit 20. In this case, for example, a transmission unit 24', a wireless transmission interface 25', and/or a control unit 26' can be implemented in the central control unit 20. The central control unit 20 can then receive the information from the module, evaluate the information, and send control commands to connected actuating devices 21', which then adjust the control parameters of their lighting devices 23' accordingly.

In the lighting system 22, multiple modules 1, 1', 1" with detection areas 3, which can point in different directions, can also be used to influence the light emitted by the lighting devices 23, 23' of the system 22. In particular, the actuating device 21 and/or the central control unit 20 can take into account the information transmitted by the modules 1, 1', 1" in different proportions, which depend on the settings determined during the commissioning phase. A weighting factor can be set to indicate the extent to which information from sensors pointing in a specific direction should be considered. For example, information from modules 1, 1', 1" pointing in one direction is assigned more weight and thus has a greater influence on the operating parameters to be adjusted, while information evaluated as coming from another direction has a lesser influence. For example, colors and color temperatures may be mixed/matched according to information received from Module 1, which is set to be the primary information source, while the resulting match/mix is modified to some extent based on information from Module 1' and Module 1". Of course, it may also be the case that information is treated equally or that only a selection is used at all.

The actuating device 21 may further comprise a control element by which the respective direction from which information should be evaluated can be set. A potentiometer that can be rotated within a 360° range can, for example, be used to set the direction. When information is received from a module 1, 1', 1'', it should only be used to set operating parameters if the specified direction matches the direction of the received information. The direction in which the detection areas of the module 1, 1', 1'' point is indicated by arrows in 2 specified.

It will again 1 The light sensor 2 of the module 1, 1', 1" may have two or more light filters (marked as dotted, checkered, and dashed areas of the detection area 3) to filter light in the visible spectrum. Preferably, three or more of these filters are used. The processing unit 4 converts the sensor data into correlated color point data (e.g., in RGB, CCT, x, y, XYZ, UV, or similar coordinates) and/or intensity data. The transmission unit 5 sends the color and/or intensity data in a suitable format to the actuating device 21 or to the central control unit 20. The photo unit 8 serves as the power source of the module 1. When it is dark, for example, at night, no data is required from the module 1, and thus the module 1 does not need to be electrically operated.

The invention also enables independent control of tunable light sources. No wiring is required, as module 1 is self-contained and does not require any data or power connections. connections are required. While Module 1 can be commissioned, it does not need to be commissioned, and it can provide information for an entire building, depending on the range of the wireless transmission interface.

If the building contains matching actuators 21 with tunable light sources, these can be connected to a control network. The network can be based on any type of spatial structure, for example, 802.15.4 PHY. The selection can be made by programming, but a custom infrared network could also be used. Connecting to a bus using a bus interface, for example, for connecting to a DALI or DSI bus, would require an additional, and preferably wireless, gateway to wirelessly connect module 1 to the respective bus.

The actuating device 21 used in the building can operate independently in two modes: a first mode in which it adapts to natural light. In this mode, information about the color temperature (intensity) is required. Second, it can operate in a compensation mode in which natural light is compensated, for example, when there is no light, a low light level, or an extreme color temperature.

Due to the photoelectric element 8, the module is self-contained, and energy can be supplied by the light captured by the photoelectric element. The module 1 only detects when light is present on the photoelectric cell, since in absolute darkness, it is not necessary to transmit information via ambient or natural light. However, the module can have a buffer such as a battery or capacitor 9, which can be used when the light incident on the photoelectric element 8 falls below a predetermined minimum, i.e., the voltage supplied by the photoelectric element 8 falls below such a minimum value. This can be detected by the processing unit 4.

If the processing unit is powered by the buffer, this phase can be used to send a default signal or a signal indicating that no further information is expected from the module, for example, when there is normally a period during which information is sent from the module and expected by the actuator 21 or the central control unit 20. This can, for example, be a signal indicating that the module is entering sleep mode. The actuator can then send default information about the color temperature or intensity in order to change the operating parameters accordingly. In addition, the energy from the buffer can be used to save operating parameters of module 1 before all power is drawn.

Sensor 2, which consists of an RGB or RGBC sensor (an RGB clear pixel sensor), can include an integrated analog-to-digital converter (ADC) or a system-on-chip (SoC ADC). This sensor can be used to obtain the correlated color temperature (CCT sensor) and intensity of the ambient light. However, calibration of the sensor is required in most cases. Calibration can be performed automatically, for example, periodically, by processing unit 4, and corresponding calibration information can be stored in module 1.

Module 1 may also include an infrared sensor, integrated into sensor 2 or provided separately, to obtain a true 3- or 4-band analysis of ambient/natural light. Light attenuation (neutral density filter) and/or a UV filter is also preferably used to extend the sensor's lifetime.

Power source 7 supplies sensor 2 and the ADC/SoC ADC. Both can be operated in a low-power mode, consuming only a few mW (milliwatts), for example, 1-5 mA at 1.8 to 1.3 volts. Voltage stabilization can be achieved using either a low-dropout regulator (LDO) or a Zener diode 11. A capacitor 9 can be used as a buffer to absorb load peaks that occur on the radio frequency and/or the analog-to-digital converter parts of module 1.

For data processing and data transmission of module 1, a cost-effective SoC unit can be used, for example, a unit for 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.15.4-2006 and ZigBee transmission (e.g., TI CC2538). The SoC can provide an 802.15.4 physical layer for transmission, a large memory for the protocol stack, and low power consumption of the processing cores, as well as various input and output devices for AD conversion and runtime monitoring.

In the processing unit 4, calibration data of the sensor 2 can be stored, for example, in a memory unit of the processing unit. This information can be updated, for example, when a signal is received from the wireless interface 6. The SoC can also include the RF module, which is equipped with antenna matching (balun, which switches between a balanced signal (two signals operating against each other, where ground is irrelevant) and an unbalanced signal (a single signal operating against ground or pseudo-ground)) and an antenna. Instead of radio frequency transmission, an infrared transmitter and/or receiver can also be included in the color temperature sensor module 1 to enable infrared transmission.

It goes without saying that the module can also be contacted wirelessly by the central control unit 20 or a configuration terminal, for example, a portable computer terminal, to enable configuration of the module. Thus, the processing unit 4 can adjust parameters such as the sensor's calibration parameters when corresponding information is received from the transmission unit 5 and via the interface 6.

The magnetometer or compass, as in 1 shown, delivers the data on the sensor's direction to the transmission partners, and in particular to a building transmission network. This makes commissioning the sensors and/or the combination of multiple sensor data very simple, since, in particular, only the directional information provided with the information from a module needs to be evaluated to determine whether the information is relevant or to determine the extent to which this information should be used by the central control unit 20 or the actuating devices 21.

Claims (14)

A color temperature sensor module (1) comprising: - a light sensor (2) with a detection area (3) designed to receive light, wherein the light sensor (2) is capable of outputting detection signals to - a processing unit (4), wherein the processing unit (4) is capable of calculating a color temperature value and optionally also an intensity of the light received by the detection area (3) based on the detection signals received by the light sensor (2) and outputting corresponding information, - a power source (7) designed to electrically supply the light sensor (2) and the processing unit (4), and - a transmission unit (5) designed to transmit information representing the calculated color temperature value using a wireless interface (6), wherein the color temperature sensor module (1) comprises a direction indicator unit (10) designed to output a direction indicator signal to the processing unit (4), and wherein the direction indicator signal is designed to indicate a spatial direction, in which the detection area (3) of the light sensor (2) is directed. Color temperature sensor module (1) according to Claim 1 , wherein the direction indicator unit (10) consists of a magnetometer and/or a gyroscope. Color temperature sensor module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the processing unit (4) is designed to output direction indication information based on the direction indication signal to the transmission unit (5). Color temperature sensor module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the energy source (7) is a photoelement (8), an energy buffer (8), preferably a capacitor or a battery, or a combination thereof. Color temperature sensor module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the light sensor (2) comprises at least two light band filters and is configured to detect at least two visible light bands, and preferably comprises at least two photodiodes with integrated color filters. Color temperature sensor module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the processing unit (4) outputs the color temperature as a color coordinate and/or a calibrated color coordinate. Color temperature sensor module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the transmission unit (5) is designed to receive signals using the wireless interface (6) and is capable of forwarding the received signal to the processing unit (4). Color temperature sensor module (1) according to Claim 7 , wherein the processing unit (4) is designed to evaluate the received signal and to adjust operating parameters of the color temperature sensor module (1) on the basis of the received signal. Color temperature sensor module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the color temperature is a correlated color temperature. Color temperature sensor module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the Light sensor (2) comprises at least one of the RGB, RGBC and/or IR sensors and is designed with light attenuation, a gray and/or a UV filter. Lighting system (22) with a color temperature sensor module (1) as in Claim 1 claimed, and an actuating device (21) for actuating a lighting device (23), in particular an LED, with - a transmission unit (24) which is designed using a wireless interface (25) for receiving data which is transmitted from the color temperature sensor module (1), and - a control unit (26) which controls operating parameters of the lighting device (23), wherein the actuating device (21) is designed to control the lighting device (21) on the basis of the data received from the color temperature sensor module (1). Lighting system (22) according to Claim 11 , wherein the control unit (26) is designed to extract color temperature information, intensity information and/or direction information from the received data, and is designed to change operating parameters of the lighting device (23) accordingly. Lighting system (22) according to Claim 12 , wherein the actuating device (21) adjusts the operating parameters so as to match the light emitted by the illumination device (23) to the color temperature and/or intensity indicated by the extracted color temperature information and/or intensity information. Lighting system (22) according to Claim 12 or 13 , wherein the actuating device receives data from more than one color temperature sensor module (1, 1', 1'') and wherein the control unit (26) evaluates the extracted color temperature, intensity and/or direction information and adjusts the operating parameters of the lighting device on the basis of the direction information, preferably using a stored function.