GB2483091A

GB2483091A - Outdoor lighting system with remote control and alarm

Info

Publication number: GB2483091A
Application number: GB1014246.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sivapathalingham Sivavakeesar; Sivapathalingham Ravishankar
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-08-26
Filing date: 2010-08-26
Publication date: 2012-02-29
Also published as: GB201014246D0

Abstract

A remotely controlled outdoor light system 100 comprising of a control unit 190 that is physically interposed between one or more lighting fixtures 144 and a power supply 120, 124, 108 or 104, and a user remote controller 180 for the purpose of manipulating the light system and to trigger an audible alarm on the remote controller whenever a predefined criteria is met. The control unit and the said remote controller communicate with each other preferably via a wireless interface. One of the preset criteria is intrusion detection and for this purpose the control unit of the light system is equipped with an intrusion detection strategy employing a combination of both pyroelectric Âtype and microwave sensing and associated signal processing unit for correctly detecting the presence of an intruder. The light system may be equipped with a security camera enabling video surveillance that will be turned on upon detecting an intrusion and transmit the live video footage after having triggered the alarm so that the user will view events that may be taking place outdoor using either the remote controller or a preferred handheld device such as a mobile phone, PDA or notepad. The lighting fixtures may use LEDs.

Description

Multipurpose Light Apparatus, System and Methods thereof

Technical Field

The present invention relates to system, apparatus and method for realising secure outdoor LED light system and more particularly to enhancement of such systems for it to be wirelessly manipulated/controlled and to trigger an alarm in a user-handheld device in the event of detecting an intrusion.

Background

The present invention pertains to outdoor ground light system and apparatus that are normally installed for the purpose of providing floodlight or illuminating walkways, patio or garden. More specifically the present invention pertains to a method, system and apparatus for controlling the outdoor lighting remotely and using it for providing additional security.

Outdoor ground lighting systems have been introduced as a way to enhance the beauty of both private and business premises in addition to aiding building security. Most of them are either manually operated or timer-controlled.

On a different note, awareness of solar-energy becomes rapidly increasing because of world's commitment to cut-down carbon emission. In Europe alone, each state is required to commit to the 2020 target. and this in turn requires each household to cut down unnecessary energy usage. Hence, renewable energy sources are the better ones to power the outdoor lighting.

Use of LEDs for outdoor lighting has become an attractive solution. This is because LEDs are nowadays cheap and renowned conventionally for its low-current usage, dissipating uniform lumen (hence no light pollution) and durability (i.e., excellent life-time).

Therefore, nowadays with the increasing awareness and commitment to using renewable energy sources along with major advances in low-power LEDs that can easily excel conventional light source in terms of providing pollution-free uniform lumen output, solar-powered and/or wind-powered LED lighting systems have kept on gaining widespread popularity.

A solar-powered lamp often consists of one or plurality of rechargeable batteries that can be charged during the day time and provide electrical energy to light up the lamp when in dark. The main problem with existing solar-powered lighting is that electrical energy generation by the solar cell is so low that the generated electrical energy is not enough to power (i.e., light) up outdoor lighting with a reasonable lumen output especially at dusks continuously. Unless a significant number of solar cells are used to generate enough electricity to provide energy to the lamp throughout the night, the existing solar-powered lamps generate electricity that is only enough to power up the lamp only for a fraction of an hour, in case the lamps are allowed to light up continuously. Hence, there is a need to conserve the energy by lighting up only when needed.

Most of the currently available solar-powered outdoor lighting systems are equipped with either a photocell or a motion detection device to limit/minimise the unnecessary battery drainage. However, these mechanisms still lead to wastage of the hardly-generated electric energy quickly and unnecessarily. For instance, false motion sensing alarm will unnecessarily turn on the light and thus resulting in the unnecessary battery drainage. On the other hand, the photocell normally allows the solar-powered lamp to be turned on automatically at dusk, and hence leads to quick drainage of battery if used unnecessarily.

In one of the prior arts, in order to conserve energy, a remote-controlled outdoor LED light system was proposed (e.g., in US patent US 2008/0211412 Al). However, the remote controller is infra-red (IR) based and it may not work correctly in an outdoor environment as it needs a line-of-sight (LOS).

On the other hand, according to one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, a remote-controller is made to communicate bi-directionally with the outdoor LED lighting fixtures via a wireless interface.

This wireless interface can preferably be implemented based on a new short range wireless communication standard (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4) that can be realised at low-cost and demands low-power transmission. This wireless interface allows the user to remotely exert various controls on the outdoor LED light system using the remote-controller and receive some alerts on the same remote-controller. This wireless interface may not constantly need line-of-sight (LOS) and this allows a user to control the outdoor lighting from within a building. In addition, the present invention expects the outdoor LED light system to function as an intrusion detection tool as well. This is because the general house burglar alarm systems are useless when a given house is occupied. Unde suèh circumstances, a house burglar alarm cannot be activated and as a result many houses have been broken into even at the time of house being occupied. In order to prevent this, it is vital to give an advance warning to the occupants of a property of an imminent burglary. For this purpose, external light system is empowered to provide such an early warning/alert on the user's remote-controller US Patent US 5831391 proposes an outdoor lighting system possessing an iitruder detecion device such that on detecting an intrusion the monitoring-zone (i.e., the theatre of interest) will be illuminated by the lighting system.

The only deficiency with this approach is that numerous false intrusion alarms will unnecessarily illuminate the area and drain the battery.

On the other hand, US patent US2006/0146524 Al proposes a solar-powered garden light having a uniqie shape. This system, however, does not accept any remote-controlled commands nor does it have any security feature. This is the case with another garden light system as proposed in a US patent US 2007/009 1598 Al.

Accordingly, an objective of the present invention is to devise an outdoor LED light systemlapparatus that can be remotely controlled and manipulated by the user only when needed using a purpose built handheld device or a wall-mounted device or even a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, a laptop or a similar device as long as each of these devices is equipped with a transceiver being cable of supporting one or plurality of short-range wireless communication standards -this device that controls the lighting systemlapparatus remotely is referred to as a remote-controller throughout this patent.

Another objective of the present invention is to equip the outdoor LED light system/apparatus such that on detecting an intrusion (especially a human intrusion), it triggers an alarm remotely in a handheld device (i.e., the remote-controller) that is used to control the lighting remotely. With an addition of security camera enabling video surveillance of the preferred monitoring-zone (i.e., the theatre of interest) along with a built-in microphone, the outdoor LED light system/apparatus can be made multifunctional that can send the live audio/video footage of the monitoring-zone to the said remote-controller for the user to listen/view in the event of a pre-defined criteria being met.

According to one another embodiment of the present invention, the outdoor LED light systemlapparatus is powered by solar/wind energy. For this purpose, the light system includes one or plurality of solar cells and/or wind turbines. In another embodiment, the electrical source is a down-converted house power supply.

According to one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, on detecting an intrusion, the outdoor LED light systemlapparatus will trigger an audible alarm in the handheld device. According to another preferred embodiment, on detecting an intrusion, the outdoor LED light system/apparatus will capture and send the live video footage to the handheld device remotely in real-time.

According to another preferred embodiment, the intrusion detection mechanism of the outdoor LED light system/apparatus can also be connected * to the house alarm system, and hence can alert the police or other law-enforcement officials via a fixed landline or cellular connectivity on detecting a possible intrusion (especially a human intrusion).

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the outdoor LED light system/apparatus can preferably be equipped with a distance measuring * mechanism that. measures the distance between the control point and an * intruder on detecting an intrusion in order to minimise false alarms. For instance, if it is programmed that the intrusion detection mechanism should alert the user only when the intruder is within the 2 metre radius of the control point (i.e., active monitoring-zone), and whenever this threshold is breached, it will trigger the alarm. According to one embodiment of the present invention, such a threshold for the monitoring-zone is set at the discretion by the user.

According to one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention the user is able to change the lumen output of the lighting fixtures, if needed, via the remote-controller or the handheld device. For this purpose, the remote-controller has one or more additional control buttons, and the outdoor LED light system/apparatus includes a dimming circuitry.

This way the solutions proposed by the present invention empowering the outdoor LED light systemlapparatus to have multifunctional capabilities is economical and convenient (because it is remotely activated/deactivated and manipulated when needed using a remote-controller that does not require line-of-sight), and provides additional security (because it possesses intrusion detection functionality, video/audio surveillance with an addition of microphone built-in security camera) to the end-user when compared to the solutions as envisaged by other patents as described earlier.

The use of LEDs in outdoor LED light system/apparatus is beneficial since their power consumption and heat dissipation are very low. Further, given that it does not necessitate ducting, its installation is safe. In addition, given the envisaged LED outdoor LED light systernlapparatus operates at low-voltage, its life expectancy will be much higher. On the other hand, its light intensity is good enough to illuminate a given outdoor area economically.

Disclosure of the Invention

According to the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus comprising: 1) one or plurality of low-voltage lighting fixtures connected to each other electrically in order to be placed in an outdoor location at the discretion of a user; 2) a source of electrical energy providing the needed electrical energy to the said outdoor lighting apparatus; 3) an electronic device of first type and the associated electronic circuitries being interposed between the said source of electrical energy and said lighting fixtures; 4) a user wearable electronic device of second type; Wherein the said electronic devices of first type and second type interacts there between via a communication interface of first type for the purpose of: a) manipulating the said lighting fixtures remotely such that the said outdoor lighting fixtures can be turned on/off using the electronic device of second type which in turn passes the necessary instructions onto the said electronic device of the first type for the latter to execute; b) triggering an audible alert/alarm on the said electronic device of the second type by the said electronic device of the first type and/or turning the said lighting fixtures ON when a set of predefined criteria is met.

It is preferred that the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the said electronic device of first type is physically attached to the said lighting fixtures and takes the role of a control unit, and the electronic device of second type is a user carried remote-controller, wherein the said electronic devices of the first type and the second type possess a wireless transceiver each.

Preferably the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the said electronic device of first type and the electronic device of second type possess a wireless transceiver each providing the communication interface of first type.

It is preferred that the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the communication interface of first type is any short-range wireless standard such as Zigbee (i.e., IEEE 802.15.4), DECT, Bluetooth (i.e., IEEE 802.15.1) or the like.

Preferably the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein one of the said set predefined criteria is intrusion detection within the monitoring-zone (i.e., theatre of interest) of the said lighting apparatus, and to detect the human intrusion the said electronic device of first type incorporates an intrusion detection unit.

It is preferred that the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein 5. said intrusion detection unit employs a combination of both pyroelectric-type and microwave sensing being configured to trigger an alarm to the said electronic device of the first type on detecting an intrusion in the monitoring- zone. -Preferably the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein in order to minimise false alarm the said intrusion detection unit works with the distance measuring unit wherein on receiving an intrusion notification from the said intrusion detection unit, the said electronic device of first type getting the said distance measuring unit to measure the distance of the intruding object from the location of itself and only when the intruding object is within a pre-set distance threshold defining the radius of the active monitoring-zone, an alarm/alert will be triggered on the said electronic device of second type.

It ispreferred that the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the active monitoring-zone is defined as being part of a circular area that takes the location of the said control unit as the centre and the user set distance threshold as the radius where the intrusion detection sensors and distance measuring sensors are pointing at.

Preferably the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the user is able to set the threshold distance for the active monitoring-zone using the said electronic device of second type and for this purpose the said electronic device of second type has the necessary control buttons/keys and both electronic devices of first type and second type have the associated electronic circuitries.

It is preferred that the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the said distance measuring unit comprising: 1) a plurality of infrared emitting devices which are arranged in various directions in order to cover a given monitoring-zone; and 2) a position sensing device to receive all the infrared ray that traverses from the intruding object's body after having been reflected.

Wherein the position sensing device measures the distance and outputs it to the said electronic device of first type of the said outdoor lighting apparatus to act upon it.

Preferably the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein one of the said set predefined criteria is the ambient light condition such that the said lighting fixtures are turned ON in the event of an intrusion only when the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below a given threshold, and for this purpose the said electronic device of the first type employs a dawn-dusk control unit.

It is preferred that the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the said dawn-dusk control unit of the said outdoor lighting apparatus is equipped with one or plurality of photocells being controlled/actuated by a predetermined increase in ambient lighting such that the said dawn-dusk control unit will allow the said electronic device of first type of the said outdoor lighting apparatus to turn on one or plurality of lighting fixtures in the event of an intrusion only when the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below a given threshold.

Preferably the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the said lighting fixtures are turned on only for a limited time period when the preset criteria are met.

It is preferred that the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the said electronic device of first type of the said outdoor lighting apparatus allows the user to set a timeout in terms of a day, hour, minutes and/or seconds using the said electronic device of second type, wherein one or plurality of lighting fixtures, once has come to life, will be automatically turned off after the elapse of the set timeout. 20'

* Preferably the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the user is able to set the timeout using the said electronic device of second type, vherein for this* purpose the said electronic device of second type has the necessary control buttons/keys and both electronic devices of first type and second type have the associated electronic circuitries.

It is preferred that the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the said electronic device of first type of the said outdoor lighting apparatus will trigger an alarm in the said electronic device of second type on detecting an intrusion and the alarm will last for a time-period being set by the user or until the user manually turns off the alarm.

Preferably the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the said electronic device of first type of the said outdoor lighting apparatus is connected to the house alarm system, wherein a fixed landline or cellular connection can be used to alert the police, security, other law-enforcement officials or guardian of the property on detecting a possible intrusion.

It is preferred that the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein each set of the said lighting fixtures comprise a plurality of LEDs making up the main lighting source.

Preferably the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the said electronic device of first type incorporates a dimming circuitry such that the user is able to control the intensity of the lumen output of the said lighting fixtures using the said electronic device of second type, wherein for this purpose the said electronic device of second type has the necessary control buttons/keys.

It is preferred that the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the said electronic device of first type incorporates an audio/video surveillance unit that captures the live multimedia streams (e.g., live video footage) pertaining to the monitoring-zone (i.e., the theatre of interest) and transmits them to the user whenever the said preset criteria are met.

Preferably the multi-functionj outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the live multimedia streams being transmitted by the said audio/video surveillance unit are rendered/viewed on the said electronic device of second type, wherein for this purpose the said electronic device of second type has the necessary software/hardware functionalitjes and has the ability to let a user perform such video/image processing operations as changing the contrast, brightness, zooming in, zooming out and the like.

It is preferred that the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein the said lighting apparatus has a predefined operation procedure, and on detecting an intrusion, the said intrusion detection unit notifying the said electronic device of first type which in turn will alert the user and this procedure comprising the steps of: a) on receiving an intrusion notification from the said intrusion detection unit, getting the said distance measuring unit to measure the distance of the intruding object from the location of the said electronic device of first type; and, b) on noticing that the intrusion is well within the active monitoring-zone and the dawn-dusk control determining that the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below the threshold, turning the lights of the said outdoor lighting apparatus on and alerting the user remotely of a possible intrusion via a communication interface of first type.

Preferably the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein said electronic device of second type has a specific set of keys and the said specific set of keys includes Settings keys and side/up/down arrow keys, wherein the said electronic device of second type has the purpose-built firmware running locally that liaises with other hardware and sofiware drivers enabling the user to adjust the picture quality by varying brightness, colour, and contrast, to manipulate the volume control, to perform zoom-in and zoom-out operations, to control the said outdoor lighting apparatus remotely, to perform timer, monitoring-zone threshold and dimming settings and to manipulate the trajectory of the security camera as many times as preferred depending on how the side-arrow and down/up arrow keys are pressed by the user and this is governed by the following preset setting process: i) the first short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key will let user perform network setup procedure in order to associate the electronic device of second type with the said outdoor lighting apparatus; ii) the. Second short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key will let user set a timeout in terms of a day, hour, minutes and/or seconds using down/up arrow keys and the middle enter button, wherein one or plurality of lighting fixtures of the said light system, once has come to life, will be automatically turned off after the elapse of the set timeout; iii) the third short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key will let user set the threshold distance for the monitoring-zone (i.e., theatre of interest) using down/up arrow keys and the middle enter button; Iv) the fourth short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key will let user adjust contrast using down! up arrow keys and the middle enter button; v) the fifth short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key will let user adjust brightness using down/up arrow keys and the middle enter button; Vi) the Sixth short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key will let user adjust the volume using down/up arrow keys and the middle enter button; and, vii) if supported, the Seventh short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key will let user manipulate the trajectory of the video cameras of the said audio/video surveillance unit; Wherein Continuous short pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key rotates through all the setting options (i.e., the setting sequence goes through a cycle) and this sequence cycle enables any user to skip any of these setting options and gev'revjsjt to the preferred setting sequence with a Continuous short pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key, and once the required setting mode is chosen by pressing the middle button, the user preferred value can be set using the up/down arrow keys, and once the middle enter button is pressed some settings are locally stored whereas some other settings pertaining to timer, active monitoring-zone threshold, network setup, and security camera trajectory passed on to the said outdoor lighting apparatus, actuated and stored therein in a non-volatile memory for them to be effective in every subsequent power cycle.

It is preferred that the multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus, wherein various functional elements of the said electronic device of first type such as the intrusion detection unit, distance measuring unit, circuitries for timeout settings, dimming circuitry, short-range wireless transceiver, dawn-dusk control unit, and the audio/video surveillance unit are housed together to form a single unit.

According to the Second aspect of the present invention there is provided a multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip (SoC) which is connected to one or plurality of lighting fixtures and one or plurality of power supplies for the light system to be controlled/manipulated remotely and to trigger an alarm on detecting an intrusion, and the System on a chip comprising: i) a bus, ii) a peripheral controller being coupled to said bus for connecting a multitude of I/O peripheral devices namely an intrusion detection unit, audio/video surveillance unit consisting of one or plurality of security video cameras, distance measuring unit, timer setting unit, dawn-dusk control unit, and lighting control unit; iii) one or plurality of microprocessors being coupled to said bus and said microprocessors configured to perform the required signal processing S associated with the video surveillance multimedia traffic and to provide control functions of a multitude of functional elements connected via the said peripheral controller; iv) a wireless transceiver being coupled to said bus for exchanging control commands and multimedia traffic; and, v) a memory that is coupled to said bus into which a plurality of instructions are loaded, wherein the said System on a chip accepts control commands from the user remotely through a communication interface of first type provided by the said wireless transceiver in order to manipulate the said lighting fixtures such that the said lighting fixtures can be turned onfoff remotely and the said System on a chip accepts user setting inputs and subsequently coordinates with other functional units to realise the user settings in the said outdoor light system, and on detecting an intrusion, the said intrusion detection unit notifying the said System on a chip which in turn will alert the user and this procedure comprising the steps of: a) on receiing an intrusion notification from the said intrusjoj detection unit, getiing the said distance measuring unit to measure the distance of the intruding object from the location of the said control unit; b) on noticing that the intrusion is well within the active monitoring-zone and the dawn-dusk control determining that the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below the threshold, turning the lighting fixtures on and alerting the user remotely of a possible intrusion via a communication interface of first type; and, c) getting the said audio/video surveillance unit to capture and transmit the live video footage of the monitoring-zone via the said wireless transceiver to the user.

Preferably the said the multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip with its microprocessor containing the software stack, wherein the said software stack comprising functionalities for: i) master settings and overall control; ii) intrusion detection handling; iii) timer setting; iv) distance measuring; v) dawn-dusk control; vi) diming and lighting control; vii) multimedia surveillance; and, viii) connection manager, wherein system on a chip with its microprocessor containing the software stack will essentially provide the overall control of the said lighting fixtures and its associated functionalities.

Preferably the multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip with its microprocessor containing the said software stack, wherein the user is prompted to set the threshold distance for the active monitoring-zone arid this allows the said multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip to determine whether an intrusion is well within the active monitoring-zone as set by the user, where the active monitoring-zone is defined as being part of a circular area that takes the location of the multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip as the centre and the user set distance threshold as the radius where the intrusion detection sensors and distance measuring sensors are pointing at.

It is preferred that the multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip with its microprocessor containing the said software stack, wherein the communication interface of first type being provided by the said wireless transceiver is any short-range wireless standard such as Zigbee (i.e., IEEE 802.15.4), DECT, Bluetooth (i.e., IEEE 802.15.1 and the like.

Preferably the multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip with its microprocessor containing the said software stack, wherein the said intrusion detection unit employs a combination of both pyroelectric-type and microwave sensing being configured through the associated modules of the said software stack in order to trigger an alarm to the said outdoor lighting system on a chip on detecting an intrusion in the monitoring-zone.

It is preferred that the multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip with its microprocessor containing the said software stack, wherein the said distance measuring unit is triggered by the said multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip to determine the distance of the intruding object from the location of the said multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip, and such distance measuring unit comprising: 1) a plurality of infrared emitting devices which are arranged in various directions in order to cover a given monitoring-zone; and 2) a position sensing device to receive all the infrared ray that traverses from the human body after having been reflected.

Wherein the position sensing device and the associated functionality of the said software stack measures the distance and output it to the said multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip to act upon it.

Preferably the multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip with its microprocessor containing the said software stack, wherein the said dawn-dusk control unit is equipped with one or plurality of photocells being controlled/actuated by a predetermined increase in ambient lighting such that the said dawn-dusk control unit and the associated functionality of the said software stack will allow the said multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip to turn on one or plurality of lighting fixtures in the event of an intrusion only when the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below a given threshold.

According to the third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system by integrating namely the components comprising: 1) one or plurality of low-voltage lighting fixtures connected to each other electrically in order to be placed in an outdoor location at the discretion of a user; 2) a source of electrical energy providing the needed electrical energy to the said outdoor lighting apparatus; 3) an electronic device of first type being interposed between the said source of electrical energy and said lighting fixtures; 4) an electronic device of second type; Wherein the said electronic devices of first type and second type are made to interact there between via a communication interface of first type for the purpose of: a) manipulating the said lighting fixtures remotely such that the said outdoor lighting fixtures can be turned onloff using the electronic device of second type which in turn passes the necessary instructions onto the said electronic device of the first type for the latter to execute; b) triggering an audible alert/alarm on the said electronic device of the second type by the said electronic device of the first type andlor turning the said lighting fixtures ON when a set of predefined criteria is met.

It is preferred that the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein the said electronic device of first type is primarily made up of the following functional elements: a) an intrusion detection unit for triggering an alarm on detecting any intrusion in the monitoring-zone; b) audio/video surveillance unit consisting of one or plurality of security video cameras for the purpose of capturing the live multimedia streams (e.g., live video footage) pertaining to the monitoring-zone (i.e., the theatre of interest) and transmitting them to the user whenever the said preset criteria are met; c) distance measuring unit in order to measure the actual distance of the intruding object from the electronic device of first type; d) timer setting unit allowing the user to set a timeout in terms of a day, hour, minutes and/or seconds using the said electronic device of second type, wherein one or plurality of lighting fixtures, once has come to life, will be automatically turned off after the elapse of the set timeout; e) dawn-dusk control unit for the purpose of checking whether the intensity of the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below a certain threshold; and, 0 lighting control unit for the purpose of controlling the lumen output of the said lighting fixtures.

Preferably the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein an existing mobile phone, smart-phone, notepad, laptop or similar device being transformed to function as the electronic device of second type through softwarethardwe solutions, and the existing mobile device should: a) have a touch-screen functionality; b) be capable enough to be installed and run a special purpose-built client software providing the necessary user interface on the said touch screen for the user to manipulate the said outdoor lighting fixtures in the intended way; c) has the shortrange wireless transceiver supporting a communication interface of first type; wherein the electronic device of first type has a globally unique alphanumeric being assigned and this transformation procedure comprising the steps of i) noting down the globally unique alphanumeric being assigned to the eletronic device of first type; and, ii) installing, running the said purpose-built client software on the mobile device that is going to be transformed into an electronic device of second type and pairing mobile device with the electronic device of first type by entring the said globally unique alphanumeric in the user interface of first type when prompted; wherein this transformation procedure will make sure that a given existing mobile phone, smart-phone, notepad, laptop or similar device being transformed to function as the electronic device of second type can be used to control the said outdoor lighting fixtures.

It is preferred that the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein the said electronic device of first type is physically attached to the said lighting fixtures while the electronic device of second type is a user carried remote-controller, wherein the said electronic devices of the first type and the second type possess a wireless transceiver each providing communication of interface of first type and the said wireless transceiver is implemented based on a short-range wireless standard like Zigbee (i.e., IEEE 802.15.4), DECT, Bluetooth (i.e., IEEE 802.15.1) or a similar standard.

Preferably the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein for the said method to work one of the said set predefined criteria is intrusion detection within the monitoring-zone (i.e., theatre of interest) of the said lighting apparatus, wherein in order to detect the human intrusion the said electronic device of first type incorporates an intrusion detection unit.

It is preferred that the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein said intrusion detection unit is made up of a combination of both pyroelectric-type and microwave sensing being configured to trigger an alarm to the said electronic device of the first type on detecting an intrusion in the monitoring-zone.

Preferably the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein in order to minimise false alarm, intrusion detection unit is made to work with the distance measuring unit by the said method such that on receiving an intrusion notification from the said intrusion detection unit, the said electronic device of first type getting the said distance measuring unit to measure the distance of the intruding object from the location of itself.

wherein only when the intruding object is within a pre-set distance threshold defining the radius of the active monitoring-zone, an alarm)ajert will be triggered on the said electronic device of second type.

It is preferred that the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein for the said method to work the active monitoring-zone is defined as being part of a circular area that takes the location of the said control unit as the centre and the user set distance threshold as the radius where the intrusion detection sensors and distance measuring sensors are pointing at, Preferably the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein in order to enable the user to set the threshold distance for the * active monitoringzone using the said electronic device of second type, the * said electronic device of second type is equipped with the necessary control * buttons&eys and both electronic devices of first type and second are made up of the associated electronjc circujtrjes.

It is preferred that the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein the said distance measuring unit is essentially made up of components comprising: 1) a plurality of infrared emitting devices which are arranged in various directions in order to cover a given monitoring-zone; and 2) a position sensing device to receive all the infrared ray that traverses from the intruding object's body after having been reflected.

Preferably the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein for the said method to work one of the said set predefined criteria is the ambient light condition such that the said lighting fixtures are turned ON in the event of an intrusion only when the ambient light intensity is below a given threshold, and for this purpose the said electronic device of the first type employs a dawn-dusk control unit.

It is preferred that the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein the said dawn-dusk control unit of the said outdoor lighting apparatus is equipped with one or plurality of photocells being controlledlactuated by a predetermined increase in ambient lighting such that the said dawn-dusk control unit will allow the said electronic device of first type of the said outdoor lighting apparatus to turn on one or plurality of lighting fixtures in the event of an intrusion only when the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below a given threshold.

Preferably the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein the said lighting fixtures are turned on only for a limited time period when the preset criteria are met.

It is preferred that the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein for the said method to work the said electronic device of first type allows the user to set a timeout in terms of a day, hour, minutes and/or seconds using the said electronic device of second type such that when one or plurality of lighting fixtures once has come to life, they will be automatically turned off after the elapse of the set timeout. * 15

Preferably the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein in order to enable the user to set the timeout using the said * electronic device of second type, the said electronic device of second type is equipped with the necessary control buttonsIkeys and both electronic devices of first type and second are made up of the associated electronic circuitries.

* ft is preferred that the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, * wherein the said electronic device of first type of the said outdoor lighting, apparatus will trigger an alarm in the said electronic device of second type on detecting an intrusion and the alarm will last for a time-period being set by the user or until the user manually turns off the alarm.

Preferably the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein for the said method to work the said electronic device of first type incorporates a dimming circuitry such that the user is able to control the intensity of the lumen output of the said lighting fixtures using the said electronic device of second type, wherein for this purpose the said electronic device of second type has the necessary control buttons/keys.

It is preferred that the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein for the said method to work the said electronic device of first type incorporates an audio/video surveillance unit that captures the live multimedia streams (e.g., live video footage) pertaining to the monitoring-zone (i.e., the theatre of interest) and transmits them to the user whenever the said preset criteria are met.

Preferably the said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein the live multimedia streams being transmitted by the said audio/video surveillance unit are renderedlviewed on the said electronic device of second type, wherein for this purpose the said electronic device of second type has the necessary software/hardware functionalities and has the ability to let a user perform such video/image processing operations as changing the contrast, brightness, zooming in, zooming out and the like.

It is preferred that the method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein the said electronic device of first type is subject to one predefined operational procedure of first type in connection with intrusion detection such that on detecting an intrusion, the said intrusion detection unit notifying the said electronic device of first type which in turn will alert the user and the said operational procedure of first type comprising the steps of: a) on receiving an intrusion notification from the said intrusion detection unit, getting the said. distance measuring unit to measure the distance of the intruding object from the location of the said electronic device of first type; and, b) on noticing that the intrusion is well within the active monitoring-zone and the dawn-dusk control determining that the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below the threshold, turning the lights of the said outdoor IS lighting apparatus on and alerting the user remotely of a possible intrusion via the communication interface of first type.

Preferably the method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system, wherein the said electronic device of first type is subject to another pre-set operational procedure of second type that can be triggered either by an intrusion or by a user settings input, and the said operational procedure of second type comprising the steps of: 1) simultaneously monitoring an intrusion or user settings input and acting upon (i.e., executing steps 2-6 on detecting an intrusion or executing step 7 on detecting a user settings input) depending on the event being taking place; 2) if an intrusion is detected, getting the intrusion detection device to alarm the said electronic device of first type which in turn getting the distance measuring unit to determine whether the intrusion has taken place well within the monitoring-zone in order to minimise the occurrence of false alarm; 3) on receiving the confirmation from the distance measuring unit that the intruder is well within the monitoring-zone, the said electronic device of first type turning the lights on and simultaneously triggering the timer, only when the ambient light intensity is below the set threshold (i.e., at nights) as reported by the said photocell; 4) the said electronic device of first type triggering an alarm in the said electronic device of second type; 5) in case the said outdoor lighting system is equipped with a security camera enabling video surveillance in the monitoring-zone and the user indicates using the said electronic device of second type that the user wants to view the live video/audio footage of the monitoring-zone, the security camera will be activated and will capture and transmit the video/audio to the said electronic device of second type for the user to view; 6) on detecting a timeout, the said electronic device of first type turning off the lights and stopping any attempt to alert/alarm the user for a given intrusion, 7) on the other hand, on detecting a user settings input, the said electronic device of first type coordinates with the relevant electronic circuitry executing volume control, turning on/off the lighting, timer setting, dimming operation, video image processing, manipulation of the security camera enabling video surveillance in the monitoring zone and the like.

Description of the Drawings

Non-limited and non-exhaustive embodiments are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference will be made to the following detailed description of the invention, which is to be read in association with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is an illustrative elevation view of one embodiment of the remotely controlled outdoor light system comprising an electronic device of second type (i.e., a remote-controller) and an LED lighting apparatus consisting of one or plurality of lighting fixtures, various kinds of power supply, and an electronic device of first type (i.e., a control unit) incorporating electronic circuitries for an intrusion (especially pet-immune human) detection unit employing a combination of both pyroelectric-type and microwave sensing, video/audio surveillance unit, short-range wireless transceiver, dimming unit, timer settings unit and other components to provide additional security according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 exemplarily depicts the front view of the basic/preliminary version of the electronic device of second type (i.e., in its basic configuration! arrangement) according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 shows the exemplary front view of the enhanced version of the electronic device of second type consisting of an electronic visual display for rendering the live video footage captured and transmitted by one or plurality of said security cameras of the light system, speaker, short-range wireless transceiver, a number of settings button and the associated electronic circuitries to communicate with the control unit of the said outdoor light system for the purpose of setting the timer, changing the lumen output of the lighting fixtures, controlling the trajectory of the security camera and manipulating video/audio received locally according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3A shows the exemplary user interface of first type that is used by the user to associate an existing mobile-phone, smart-phone, notepad, PDA or similar device having the necessary hardware/software functionalities with the control unit of the outdoor lighting apparatus in the capacity of an electronic device of second type according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a block schematic diagram of the circuitry of the LED lighting apparatus of the outdoor light system essentially depicting the high-level functional components making up the electronic device first type according to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5 is an exemplary schematic block diagram illustrating the internal components of the control logic of the LED lighting apparatus being implemented as a System on Chip (SoC) operating on a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) microprocessor according to one embodiment of the present invention Figure 6 illustrates the normal operational behaviour of the outdoor light system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 shows an exemplary warning message that will appear on the enhanced version of the electronic device of first type (i.e., the remote-controller) in case an intrusion is detected according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8 is an exemplary illustration of the various components of the software stack of a RISC microprocessor according to one another embodiment of the present invention.

The figures are provided for ease of explanation of the basic proposals of the present invention only; the extensions of the figures with reference to number, 20.. . position, relationship and dimensions of the parts to form the preferred embodiment will, be explained or will be within the skill of the art after the following proposals/findings of the present invention have been read and understood.

iciption of Specific Embodiments Fig. I is an illustrative elevation view of one embodiment of the remotely controlled outdoor light system 100 comprising an electronic device of first type 190, an electronic device of second type 180 and an LED lighting apparatus 110 consisting of one or plurality of lighting fixtures 144, various types of power supplies such as solar-cell 104, wind-turbine 108 and a conventional house power supply 124. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the electronic device of first type 190, which is referred to as control unit 190 from here onwards, incorporates such electronic circuitries for master settings and control logic, an intrusion (especially pet-immune human) detection unit employing a combination of both pyroelectric-type and microwave sensing (e.g., PS-6609 outdoor motion detector by Posonic Security Systems International Ltd.), distance measuring unit, and a short-range wireless transceiver 136 in its basic arrangement. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 190 (i.e., the electronic device of first type) may additionally include optional units such as a video/audio surveillance unit 140 being connected to one or plurality of microphone built-in security cameras, dimming unit, timer unit and other components to provide additional features. These additional units help the remotely controlled outdoor light system 100 to have extra functionalities as it will be described later.

The electronic device of second type 180 is in fact a user carried remote-controller. In this respect both terms refer to the same piece of electronic equipment and hence can be used inter-changeably throughout this present invention. Similarly the terms such as the control unit and the electronic device of first type are used interchangeably here onwards.

According to one embodiment, it is preferred that the said outdoor lighting fixtures 144 and the associated electronic circuitries are powered by renewable energy sources such as one or plurality of Solar panels 104 and/or a wind4urbine 108. In case the power supply is of alternative current (AC) type, it needs to be subject to appropriate downlup conversion with a use of step-down}-up transformer and converted to appropriate direct current (DC) voltage, if needed. This is true for ordinary household power supply 124 and electricity generated by a wind turbine 108. Accordingly, modules such as -15 112 and 128 perform appropriate up/down conversion whereas modules 116 and 132 convert AC to DC. In case the outdoor lighting fixtures 144 and the * associated electronic circuitries of the outdoor light system 100 is powered only by renewable energy sources, a rechargeable battery unit 120 is needed so that the lighting fixtures 144 can be powered even when the renewable energy sources cease to operate due to insufficient day-light (i.e., at nights) or wind-flow.

* Although a pair of lighting fixtures 144 is shown in ig. 1, it will become * apparent that as many of such lighting fixtures along with a sufficient number of solar panels 104 and/or wind-turbines 108 can be connected in parallel as are needed to illuminate a given monitoring-zone (i.e., the theatre of interest).

Active monitoring-zone is defined as being part of a circular area that takes the location of the control unit 190 as the centre and the user set distance threshold as the radius where the intrusion detection sensors and distance measuring sensors are pointing at. In case a user set distance threshold is not available a default value will be considered for the radius of the active monitoring-zone. Each Solar panel 104 consists of a plurality of solar cells for generating electricity. Each Solar panel 104 generates direct electrical current from the Solar energy and that is transmitted by wire to the rechargeable battery 120 being housed in the battery compartment as shown in Fig. 1.

Hence, the battery is charged by one or plurality of solar panels during the day and helps to power up the lighting fixture 144 at dusk, only if needed.

The relative position of the solar panel 104 with respect to the position of the lighting fixtures 144 can be changed depending on the intensity of solar light being available in a particular place where the outdoor light system 100 is to be installed. Similarly, the relative position of the wind-turbine 108 can be either automatically or manually altered in order to gain much out of the normal ambient wind-flow.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the electronic device of first type (i.e., the control unit) 190 of the LED lighting apparatus 110 takes a very elementary/basic version that consists only of electronic circuitries for namely the master settings and control logic, a short-range wireless transceiver 136 providing a communication interface of first type, an intrusion (especially pet-immune human) detection unit employing a combination of both pyroelectric-type and microwave sensing (e.g., PS-6609 outdoor motion detector by Posonic Security Systems International Ltd.), a lighting control unit and for getting basic user inputs in connection with turning onloff the lighting fixtures 144 via the remote-controller 180. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 190 of the LED lighting apparatus 110 takes an enhanced version that includes a distance measuring unit, a video/audio surveillance unit 140 being connected to one or plurality of security cameras, dimming unit, timer unit and for getting additional user settings input via the remote-controller 180 in addition to the components that the basic version of control unit comprises. Also, according to one embodiment of the present invention, all the elements of the control unit are preferably housed together as a single unit, and the said control unit 190 has to be then connected in between one or plurality of appropriate power supplies and one or plurality of lighting fixtures 144. This way the control unit 190 exerts a total control over the operation of the LED lighting apparatus 110.

As many number of power supplies of different types as required can be connected with or without the need of rechargeable battery compartment 120 to the control unit 190 while making sure that the power being input to the control unit adheres to the stipulated power rating. Similarly as many lighting fixtures 144 as required can be connected in parallel to the control unit 190 while making sure that the control unit 190 is connected to the right power supply being capable of providing the required electrical energy.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, in order to conserve energy, the control unit 190 can be equipped with a photocell that helps the lighting fixtures 144 to be turned on for short time duration only at dusk on detecting an intrusion.

More importantly, from a user convenience point of view, the described outdoor light system 100 can be quickly assembled and installed by first getting the control unit 190 and connecting the requiredlavailable power supply type and as many number of lighting fixtures 144 as needed to it. This enhances the plug and playability of the said light system 100.

Hence, each user has to buy the control unit 190 and one or more lighting fixtures 144, along with a single or more solar panels 104 and/or a wind turbine 108 depending on the intensity of sunlight the user gets on average during the months when the days tends to be much shortest (i.e., considering the worst-case scenario). With this arrangement, the complete assembly is robust such that in case a single element develops a fault, it can be replaced.

The control unit 190 will be available in different versions depending on the functionalities it supports as it will be explained shortly.

As mentioned before the control unit 190 can accept commands from the user wirelessly. According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a purpose-built remote-controller 180 is used for this purpose. According to another embodiment, an ordinary handheld device such as a smart-phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA) can be transformed to function as a remote controller by running purpose-developed software -a mobile client. For this purpose the purpose-developed mobile client has to be installed in the smart-phone or the like as long as it has the necessary hardware and software functionalities in addition to being equipped with a transceiver being cable of supporting one or plurality of short-range wireless communication standards.

It is important to note that the control unit 190 should also support the same short-range wireless technology providing the same communication interface of first type as supported by the remote-controller 180. Once installed, the said mobile client will interface with the control unit 190 via the communication interface of first type (preferably wireless). The purpose-built software has to be highly portable and hence can be developed using J2ME or similar language. In addition the purpose-built software provides the required user interface for a user to manipulate the said LED lighting apparatus 110 in the intended way. The present invention proposes the remote-controller 180 and the control unit 190 to exchange control commands and/or multimedia as it will be described in the following few pages via the communication interface of first type. The communication interface of first type can preferably be wireless and implemented accccording to DECT, Zigbee (i.e., IEEE 802.15.4), Bluetooth (i.e., IEEE 802.15.1) or a similar short-range wireless standard.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the outdoor light system 100 is equipped with an intrusion detection mechanism such that on detecting an intrusion (especially a human intrusion), it triggers an alarm remotely in a handheld device (i.e., the electronic device of second type or the remote-controller) 180 that is used to control/manipulate the said lighting apparatus 110 remotely. With an addition of security camera enabling video surveillance of the preferred monitoring-zone (i.e., the theatre of interest) along with a built-in microphone, the outdoor light system 100 can be made multifunctional.

Fig. 2 exemplarily depicts the front view of the basic/preliminary version of the electronic device of second type (i.e., in its basic configuration! arrangement) 180 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Accordingly, the electronic device of second type 180 has very elementary functionalities and provides a very basic user interface in terms of the control buttons/keys being possessed for the user to manipulate the remotely controlled outdoor lighting fixtures 144. In this basic arrangement, the electronic device of second type mainly consists of power-on buttonlkey 250 to switch itself on/off, a speaker 210 for the electronic device of first type to alert the user in case of any intrusion, two buttons/keys 220 and 230 to switch off and on the remotely controlled outdoor lighting fixtures 144 respectively.

It also has the wireless transceiver and the associated antenna 240 to interact with the electronic device of first type 190 via the communication interface of first type. In this basic arrangement, the electronic device of first type (i.e., the control unit) 190 of the LED lighting apparatus 110 takes a very elementary/basic version that consists only of electronic circuitries for namely the master settings and control logic, a short-range wireless transceiver 136 providing a communication interface of first type, an intrusion (especially pet-immune human) detection unit, a lighting control unit and for getting basic user inputs in connection with turning onfoff the lighting fixtures 144 via the remote-controller 180. Accordingly, this basic arrangement allows the user to turn off/on the outdoor lighting fixtures 144 using the elementary version of the electronic device of second type by pressing 220 and 230 respectively arid to get an audible alert on the speaker 210 in case of an intrusion.

l'ig. 3 depicts the exemplary front view of the enhanced version of the purpose-built remote-controller 180 (i.e., electronic device of second type).

According to one embodiment of the present invention, in its basic arrangement the remote-controller 180 needs to be equipped with a wireless transceiver 136 supporting the same communication interface of first type as that of.the control unit 190, an electronic toggle button to turn the lighting fixtures 144 on/off and an electronic circuitry to sound an audible alarm when triggered by the control unit 190 on detecting a human intrusion. When the remote-controller 180 takes its basic configuration, the corresponding control unit 190 of the lighting apparatus 110 can have only the intrusion (especially pet-immune human) detection unit employing a combination of both pyroelectric-type and microwave sensing, distance measuring unit, and a short-range wireless transceiver 136 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the remote-controller 180 takes an enhanced version and functionalities that consists of an electronic visual display 354 and a pair of speakers 320 to alert the user in case of an intrusion. The electronic visual display 354 and a pair of speakers 320 can also be used to view/render real-time multimedia content (i.e., live video footage) being captured and transmitted by one or plurality of security cameras of the audio/video surveillance unit 140 of the outdoor light system 100, and a number of settings buttons 310, 314, 324, 374, 380, and 390, for setting the timer and the threshold distance of the active monitoring-zone, manipulating video/audio received locally and controlling the trajectory of one or plurality of security cameras of the audio/video surveillance unit 140 to change the focusing angle according to one embodiment of the present invention. Similarly the control unit 190 shall possess the additional units and the associated electronic circuitries to make use of the extra functionalities of the remote-controller 180.

According to one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, on detecting an intrusion, the control unit 190 of the outdoor light system 100 will trigger an audible alarm in the remote-controller 180 (i.e., in its basic arrangement). According to another preferred embodiment, on detecting an intrusion, the control unit 190 of the outdoor light system 100 will capture and send the live video footage to the remote-controller 180 in real-time (i.e., in its enhanced arrangement).

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the said remote-controller 180 can be lightweight such that it is not equipped with an electronic visual display 354 (i.e.. in its basic arrangement). In this particular case on being alerted by an intrusion, the user will get an audible alarm in the user's remote-controller 180 that is equipped with a speaker 210.

In its enhanced arrangement, the remote-controller 180 has a power-on switch 364 to turn the remote-controller on and off, and a different on-off toggle svitch 340 to turn on/off the outdoor lighting fixture 144 at the discretion of the user. It has its own power supply.

20.. According to one embodiment of the present invention, in case a mobile phone, smart-phone, notepad, laptop or similar device having the touch-screen functionality is installed with the said purpose-built mobile client to operate as the remote-controller 180, the said purpose-built mobile client will provide the required on-screen UI for the user to exert control over the said LED lighting apparatus 110 in a similar way a purpose-built remote-controller 180 does.

The remote-controller 180 is equipped with a short-range wireless transceiver being implemented based on DECT, Zigbee (i.e., IEEE 802.15.4), Bluetooth (i.e., IEEE 802.15.1) or a similar short-range wireless standard demanding low-power in order to provide a communication interface of first type. In other words, the communication interface of first type is provided by DECT, Zigbee (i.e., IEEE 802.15.4), Bluetooth (i.e., IEEE 802.15.1) or a similar short-range wireless standard. This wireless transceiver provides a communication interface of first type for the remote-controller 180 to talk directly with the control unit 190 of the LED lighting apparatus 110.

In its enhanced arrangement according to one embodiment of the present invention, the remote-controller 180 also includes an integrated control chip which may be programmed to transmit control signals to the LED lighting apparatus 110 and receive real-time video/audio via the communication interface of first type in case of an intrusion via the control unit 190. The electronic toggle switch 330 is used to wirelessly signal to the control unit 190 of the said LED lighting apparatus 110 to transmit the live video footage captured by one or plurality of security cameras of the audio/video surveillance unit 140 along with the audio. Electronic buttons 350 and 368 are used to zoom-in and zoom-out the instantaneous video footage being viewed on the electronic visual display 354. When buttons 350 and 368 are pressed, appropriate commands will be given to one or plurality of security cameras of the audio/video surveillance unit 140 via the control unit 190 in order to enable optical zooming. Electronic toggle switch 370 is used to activate/deactivate muting.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, in its enhanced version, the remote-controller 180 has a plurality of setting keys that allow the user to locally change the brightness, contrast and colour depth of the video footage being viewed in the electronic visual display 354, to change the lumen output of the lighting fixture 144 through a dimming circuitry of the control unit 190, to manipulate the volume control oca11y, to manipulate the trajectory of one or plurality of security cameras of the audio/video surveillance unit 140, to set the threshold for the active monitoring-zone and to set the timer for an automatic shutdoi of the lighting fixture 144 after a timeout once it has been switched on. In other words, the timer helps any user set as to how. long the lighting fixture 144 has to remain being on once switched on upon detecting an intrusion. On the other hand, the threshold of the active monitoring-zone will help the control unit 190 to decide when to act * * upon on detecting an intrusion as it will be explained later. The user-set threshold of the active monitoring-zone is subject to a maximum value as the transmitterslsensors attached to the distance measuring unit dnd intrusion detection unit can cover only a given area without changing their transmit pwër, receiver threshold, mounted height/elevation angle and the like.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, in case the remote-controller 180 is equipped with a touch-screen, keys such as 310, 314, 324, 330, 340, 350, 368, 370, 380 and 390 can be on-screen soft-keys.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the continuous short pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key of 374 of the enhanced version of will cycle through all these setting operations, and this can be viewed on the electronic visual display 354. Once a particular setting is selected with the use of a middle button 390, the user's preferred values for each chosen setting are set with the help of up-and-down arrow keys 324 and 310-again this can be viewed on the electronic visual display 354. For instance, in order to set the brightness, the user has to continuously short-press the right-hand side- arrow key of 374 until the brightness setting mode is selected with the short-press of the middle button 390 and subsequently the user-preferred value for the chosen mode can be set using the down-up arrow keys of 374. Once the preferred value is set, it can be stored locally with the long-press of the middle button 390.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the side arrow keys 314 and 380 and down-up arrow keys 310 and 324 of the enhanced version of can also be used to manipulate the trajectory of one or plurality of security cameras of the audio/video surveillance unit 140 in order to change the focusing region/angle/direction of the security camera of the said LED lighting apparatus 110. Hence, with the help of a remote-controller 180, the user is able to manipulate the trajectory of one or plurality of security cameras of the audio/video surveillance unit 140 (the associated control unit for 140 is shown by 414 in Fig. 4) in order to change the focusing direction of the security camera to the required place/direction and to get the full view of S certain areas of the monitoring-zone.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the middle key 390 and, side/up/down arrow keys 374 of the enhanced version of 180, which has the purpose-built firmware running locally liaising with other hardware and software drivers, enable the user to adjust the picture quality, by varying brightness, colour, and contrast, to manipulate the volume control, to perform zoom-in and zoom-out operations, to control the said outdoor lighting apparatus 110 remotely, to perform timer, active monitoring-zone threshold and dimming settings and to manipulate the trajectory of the security camera as. many times as preferred depending on how these middle button 390 and down/up/side arrow keys are pressed by the user and this is governed by the following preset setting process: i) the first short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key of 374 will let user perform network setup procedure in order to associate the remote-controller 20.. 180 with the control unit 190 of the said outdoor lighting apparatus; ii) the Second short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key of 374 will let user set a timeout in terms of a day, hour, minutes and/or seconds using down/up arrow keys and the middle enter button, wherein one or plurality of lighting fixtures 144 of the said light system, once has come to life, will be automatically turned off after the elapse of the set timeout; iii) the third short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key of 374 will let user set the threshold distance (which is subject to a maximum value) for the active monitoring-zone (i.e., theatre of interest) using down/up arrow keys and the middle enter button; iv) the fourth short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key of 374 will let user adjust contrast using down/up arrow keys and the middle enter button; v) the fifth short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key of 374 will let user adjust brightness using down/up arrow keys and the middle enter button; vi) the Sixth short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key of 374 will let user adjust the volume using down/up arrow keys and the middle enter button; and, vii) if supported, the Seventh short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key of 374 will let user manipulate the trajectory of the video cameras of the said audio/video surveillance unit 140.

The continuous short pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key 380 of 374 rotates through all the setting options (i.e., the setting sequence goes through a cycle) and this sequence cycle enables any user to skip any of these setting options and get/revisit to the preferred setting sequence with a continuous short pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key 380, and once the required setting mode is chosen with the short-pressing the middle button 390, the user preferred value can be set using the up/down arrow keys 324/310, and once the middle enter button 390 is long-pressed some settings are locally stored whereas some other settings pertaining to timer, active monitoring-zone threshold, network setup, and security camera trajectory passed on to the said outdoor light system 100, actuated and stored therein in a non-volatile memory for them to be effective in every subsequent power cycle. It has to be noted however that the order of the sequence can be altered.

As mentioned above, the first short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key 380 will let user perform network setup procedure in order to associate the remote-controller 180 with the said outdoor lighting apparatus 110. In case the wireless transceiver 136 is implemented based on Bluetooth. the remote-controller 180 has to be paired with the control unit 190 of the LED lighting apparatus 110. According to one embodiment of the present invention, where the electronic device of first type 190 and the electronic device of second type takes their elementary versions. the association between 180 and 190 is hardwired at the time of manufacturing. In other words, only a particular device of 180 can control the a given device of 190. On the other hand, according to another embodiment of the present invention, an existing mobile phone, smart-phone,:notepad, laptop or similar device (all these devices are commonly referred to as a mobile device here onwards) can be transformed to function as the electronic device of second type 180 through software/hardware solutions, as long as the existing mobile device has the following harware/software features: a) a touch-screen functionality; b) for it to be capable enough to be installed and run a special purpose-built client software (also referred to as a mobile client) providing one or plurality of necessary user interfaces on the said touch-screen for the user to manipulate the said outdoor lighting fixtures in the intended way; and, c) the short-range wireless transceiver supporting a communication interface of first type.

In this particular arrangement, it is proposed that the electronic device of first type 190 has a globally unique alphanumeric being assigned preferably at the time of manufacturing and this transformation procedure comprises the steps of: i) the user noting down the globally unique alphanumeric being assigned to the electronic device of first type 190; and, ii) the user installing, running the said purpose-built client software on the mobile device that is going to be transformed into an electronic device of second type 180 and pairing mobile device with the electronic device of first type by entering the said globally unique alphanumeric in the user interface of first type 392 as shown in Fig. 3A. The user is expected to enter the said globally unique alphanumeric in 396 and subsequently press 394 to activate the association/pairing between the said mobile device and the control unit 190. This transformation procedure will make sure that a given existing mobile phone, smart-phone, notepad, laptop or similar device being transformed to function as the electronic device of second type 180 can be used to ëontrol the said outdoor lighting fixtures. Once paired/associated, the special purpose-built client software (also referred to as a mobile client) running on the mobile device will provide the user interface of second type (not shown) having soft-keys that are equivalent to 310, 314, 324, 330, 340, 370 380, and 390 of the purpose-built remote-controller 180 in terms of the functionalities. The user interface of second type also provides a video panel for the purpose of supporting the video surveillance operation.

Fig. 4 depicts the schematic circuit diagram of the complete outdoor light system 100 that consists of a remote-controller 180 and the LED lighting apparatus 110. Here a block diagram enlisting all the necessary electronic components required for the lighting system 100 to have its full multi-functional features is shown. Referring to Fig. 4, the required circuitries to connect the electrical energy to the LED lighting apparatus 110 are shown by 428, 432 and.436 for potential electrical energy sources such as solar cells 104, a wind turbine 108 or a conventional household power supply 124 respectively -however, pre-adjustment of the input voltage such as down/up conversion andlor AC/DC conversion is required before being connected to the control unit 190. As mentioned before, if household power supply is used, the rechargeable batteries 120 may not be needed. On the other hand, in case renewable energy supplies are used, the rechargeable batteries 120 shall be needed.

The outdoor light system 100 as proposed in the preferred embodiment of the present invention mainly consists of one or different types of power supplies 104, 108 and 124, a remote-controller 180, LED lighting fixture 144, and the control unit 190. As it can be seen from Fig. 4, the enhanced version of the electronic device of first type (i.e., the control unit 190) further comprises the Master Settings an Control Logic 446, and electronic circuitries 136 for controlling low-cost low-power short-range wireless transceiver, 414 for manipulating one or plurality of security cameras with built-in microphone for the purpose of audio/video surveillance, intrusion detection unit 420 employing a combination of both pyroelectric-type and microwave sensing, a distance measuring unit 460, the timer settings unit 454, dimming unit 458, lighting control unit 480 and dawn-to-dusk switch 490. It should be appreciated that this control unit 190 may include additional components such as a firmware/software as understood by those of skill in the art. These additional components are not described herein so as not to obscure the embodiments described herein.

The master settings and control logic 446 is a logic circuit within the said control unit 190 that manages the overall control of the various functional elements that make up the said outdoor LED light system 100. The master settings and control logic 446 is part of the control unit 190 as depicted in Fig. 4. In this respect all functional elements such as an intrusion detection unit 420 employing a combination of both pyroeleetric-type and microwave sensing and the like output its results to the master settings and control logic 446, which in turn acts upon it. For instance, when an intrusion is detected in the monitoring-zone, the intrusion detection unit 420 employing a combination of both pyroelectric-type and microwave sensing will notify this event to the master settings and control logic 446 and which in turn triggers the distance measuring unit 460 to determine the actual distance of the detected intruder or intruding object from the physical location of the control unit 190 before the master settings and control logic 446 decides whether to raise the alarm in the user's remote-controller 180 and/or to generate a signal to the lighting control unit 480 to turn the lights 144 on.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the * intrusion detection mechanism 420 of the outdoor light system 100 can also * be connected to the general house alarm system via the control unit 190 (although not shown in Fig. 4). This will ensures that the police or other law-enforcement officials will be alerted by the control unit 190 of the said 20. outdoor light system 100 via a fixed landline or cellular connectivity on * detecting a possible intrusion (especially a human intrusion) As described before, the master settings and control logic 446 handles the main settings of the LED lighting apparatus 110 and accepts control commands from a user through a remote-controller 180. The remote-controller 180 and the control unit 190 are equipped with the same type of wireless transceivers providing a communication interface of first type being implemented based on low-cost and low-power short-range wireless standard S such as Zigbee (i.e., IEEE 802.15.4) standard or Bluetooth (i.e., IEEE 802.15.1) standard, DECT or the like. Such a wireless transceiver provides a suitable interface for the remote-controller 180 and the control unit 190 to exchange control commands and user-traffic such as live video/audio footage.

The timer setting circuitry 454 of the control unit 190 is used to turn off the lighting fixtures 144 after the set timeout. For this purpose, the timer setting unit 454 allows any user to set the timer in terms of days, hours, minutes and/or seconds using the remote-controller 180. This process enables the lighting fixtures 144 to go off after the elapse of the set time-period once powered on manually or on detecting an intrusion. In order to save energy, the lighting fixtures 144 can be powered on only at dusk upon detecting an intrusion. In order to achieve this, the control unit 190 is equipped with a dawn-dusk control unit 490 consisting of one or plurality of photocell that outputs a signal to the control unit 190 depending on whether the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) decreases below a pre-determined threshold or not. In the enhanced version of the outdoor lighting system 100, the dimming control circuitry 458 is used to change the intensity of the lumen output of the lighting fixtures 144 -the user has a control over this aspect using the enhanced version of the remote-controller 180.

One or plurality of security cameras of the audio/video surveillance unit 140 of 100 are controlled/manipulated through the associated circuitry 414 of the control unit 190. It is preferred that the audio/video surveillance unit 140 has a built-in microphone. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the security cameras of the audio/video surveillance unit 140 of 100 has mechanical means and the associated electronic circuitry 414 is empowered such that the said security cameras can be mechanically turned up/down and side-ways (i.e., manipulation of its trajectory) as a way to change the focusing direction with a help of arrow keys of 374 of the remote-controller 180.

Given that house burglary is on the rise even when the house is fitted with indoor burglar alarm system, one of the objective of the present invention is to enhance/empower the functionalities of the outdoor light system such that it can trigger an alarm to the user in the event of an intrusion. For this purpose, a combination of pyroelectric and microwave sensors is used to detect possible intrusion.

On detecting an intrusion, the intrusion detection unit 420 of the control unit will notify the master settings and control logic 446. In order to minimise the occurrence of triggering unnecessary intrusion alarms, it is preferred that control unit 190 of the envisaged outdoor light system 100 contains a distance measuring unit 460. Accordingly, on receiving an intrusion alert from the intrusion detection device 420, the master settings and control logic 446 will trigger the distance measuring unit 460 to determine the distance of the detected intruder or the intruding object from the physical location of the control unit 190. If the intruder is found to have been trespassing the active monitoring-zone, then the distance measuring unit 460 will notify this to the master settings and control logic 446 which in turn will trigger an alert in the user's remote-controller 180. At the same time, the master settings and control logic 446 will send an appropriate signal to the Lighting control unit 480 to turn on the lighting fixtures 144 only at dusk (i.e., when the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below a given threshold as decided by the dawn-dusk control unit 490). At the same time, depending on the input received from the timer unit 454, the master settings and control logic 446 will trigger the timer and when the timeout occurs the Lighting Control unit 480 will be notified to turn off the lighting fixture 144.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the intrusion detection unit 420 may employ one or plurality of active infra-red (IR) beams with the associated transmitter/receiver arrangements that are sufficiently dispersed from one another in order to minimise the false alarm.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the threshold for the distance measuring unit 460 can be input at the discretion of the user, and for this purpose the master settings and control logic 446 is augmented to accept user-preferred threshold value. However, this value is subject to a maximum and cannot be increased arbitrarily without changing the focusing angle, transmission power, receiver threshold, elevation and the like of transmitters/receivers attached to the intrusion detection unit 420 and distance measuring unit 460. The remote-controller 180 and the associated settings procedure as described previously can be used for this purpose.

Although the intrusion detection and distance measuring techniques are known arts, they are combined with other functional elements of the outdoor LED light system in a novel way to enhance the functionality of an outdoor LED light system 100.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the distance measuring unit 460 comprises the following: 1) a plurality of infrared emitting devices which are arranged in various directions in order to cover a given monitoring-zone; and 2) a position sensing device to receive all the infrared ray that traverses from the intruding object's body after having been reflected.

In this arrangement, the position sensing device measures the distance and outputs it to the master settings and control logic 446 of the said electronic device of first type 190 to act upon it. Given that the distance measuring unit 460 employs infrared, it comprises a plurality of infrared ray emitting devices and a position sensing device to receive the reflected infrared rays from an intruding object.

As described before, the monitoring-zone shall be illuminated only at dusk by turning on the lights 144 automatically on detecting an intrusion, and this is especially beneficial if the outdoor LED light system includes a security video surveillance camera.

Fig. 5 depicts the basic components of a multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip (SoC) 510 using one or plurality of microprocessors 512 according to one embodiment of the present invention that can be configured in any form as those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate. According to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention, the essential functionalities of the electronic device of first type 190 can be realised potentially by the system on a chip (S0C) 510 with its microprocessor containing the software stack as shown in Fig. 8. In other words, any electronic device of first type 190 for the purpose of controlling the outdoor lighting fixtures 144 in the intended way is made up of the SoC 510.

The multi-functional outdoor lighting SoC 510 is connected to one or plurality of lighting fixtures 144 and one or plurality of power supplies such as solar panel 104, wind-turbine 108, or conventional house-hold power supply 124.

In case the power supply is of alternative current (AC) type, it needs to be subject to appropriate downlup conversion with a use of step-down/-up transformer and converted to appropriate direct current (DC) voltage, if needed. This is true for ordinary household power supply 124 and electricity generated by a wind turbine 108.

Any outdoor light system 100 includes the SoC 510 with its microprocessor containing the software stack as shown in Fig. 8, which is in fact the electronic device of first type, for the light system 100 to be controlled/manipulated remotely and to trigger an alarm on detecting an intrusion. Various described embodiments provide multi-functional outdoor lighting system 100 that is realised as purpose-developed software executed on a general purpose microprocessor, such as a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) microprocessor. The multi-functional outdoor light SoC 510 (in its enhanced version) includes one or plurality of microprocessors 512, system peripheral controller 520, system memory controller 524, audiofvideocodec 522 and a short-range wireless transceiver 528 providing a -communication interface of first type all of which are communicatively coupled over bus 518. It should be appreciated that the multi-functional outdoor lighting SoC 510 may include additional components. as understood by those of skill in the art. These additional components are not described herein in order not to obscure the embodiments described herein.

The multi-functional outdoor lighting SoC 510 is connected to an intrusion detection unit 532 employing a combination of both pyroelectric-type and microwave sensing, a distance measuring unit 544, a dimming control unit 548, a lighting control unit 552, and a dawn-dusk control unit 556 and additional/optional units such as an audio/video surveillance unit 536 being connected to one or plurality of security cameras 568, a timer settings unit 540 via the system peripheral controller 520. As it can be perceived, the intrusion detection unit 532, the audio/video surveillance unit 536, the timer settings unit 540, the distance measuring unit 544, the dimming control unit 548, the lighting control unit 552, and the dawn-dusk control unit 556 of the multi-functional outdoor lighting SoC 510 are similar in terms of functionalities to 420, 414, 454, 460, 458, 480, and 490 of the control unit 190 respectively.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the multi-functional outdoor lighting SoC 510 can preferably be connected to a removable storage 560 and non-removable storage 564 via the memory controller 424. In case the multi-functional SoC 510 is expected to be used for video/audio surveillance, the said SoC 510 should liaise with the audio/video surveillance unit 536 to capture and transmit live video footage to the user, and for this purpose, the SoC 510 uses appropriate audio/video codec 522. In case, live video footage needs to be recorded locally by the audio/video surveillance unit 536 in addition to being transmitted to the remote-controller 180, removable storage 560 or non-removable storage 564 can be used.

As mentioned before the multi-functional outdoor lighting SoC 510 with its microprocessor containing the software stack as shown in Fig. 8 can accept commands from the user wirelessly. According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a purpose-built remote-controller 180 is used for this purpose. In order to exchange control commands and for the SoC 510 to capture and transmit live video footage to the remote-controller 180, both the SoC and the remote-controller 180 are equipped with a same type of short-range wireless transceiver that is implemented based on either Bluetooth standard (572) or Zigbee standard (576) or similar short-range wireless standard (580) -the interface provided by any of the current or future short-range wireless standards is referred to generally in this present invention as a communication interface of first type.

In one embodiment the multi-functional outdoor light SoC 510 is operable to accept all user setting commands being exchanged via the communication interface of first type that is provided by the short-range wireless transceiver 528 and constantly monitor for an intrusion. Whenever an intrusion is detected by the intrusion detection unit 532 will notifj the intrusion detection module 840 of the software stack 800 running on 512 of 510. Subsequently, the master settings and control logic module 830 of the software stack 800 being executed in the microprocessor 512 of the SoC 510 will be alarmed of the intrusion by 840. The said master settings and control logic module 830 running in the microprocessor 512 of the SoC 510 will subsequently get the distance measuring unit 544 to determine whether the intrusion has taken place well within the active monitoring-zone in order to minimise the occurrence of false alarm. The distance measuring module 860 of the software stack 800 liaises with 544 to provide the results of the measured distance of the intruding object to 830. On receiving the confirmation from the distance measuring unit module 860 that the intruder is well within the active monitoring-zone, the said control logic 830 running in the microprocessor 512 of the SoC 510 will turn the lights on and simultaneously trigger the timer, only when the ambient light intensity is below the set threshold (i.e., at nights) as reported by dawn-dusk control unit 556 that employs one or plurality of photocells. The dawn-dusk control module 866 of the software stack 800 liaises with 556 to provide the results of whether the ambient light intensity is below a certain threshold or not to 830. At the same time, the said control logic 830 running in the microprocessor 512 of the SoC 510 will trigger an alarm in the remote-controller 180. In case the said outdoor lighting SoC 510 incorporates an audio/video surveillance unit 536 being equipped with one or plurality of security cameras enabling video surveillance in the monitoring-zone and the user indicates using the remote-controller 180 that the user wants to view the live video/audio footage of the monitoring-zone, the security camera will be activated and will capture and transmit the video/audio to the remote-controller 180 for the user to view. This task is coordinated and controlled by the audio/video surveillance module 860 of the software stack 800 running the microprocessors 512 of the SoC 510. On detecting a timeout, the timer setting module 856 will notify such an event to the master settings and control logic 830 running in the microprocessor 512 of the SoC 510. The master settings and control logic 830 will give the signal to the dimming/lighting control module 870 in order to turn off the lights. 144. The dimming/lighting control module 870 will then coordinate with the lighting control unit 552 to turn off the lights 144. Also, the master settings and control logic 830 will stop any attempt to alert/alarm the user for a given intrusion.

On the other hand, on detecting a user settings input, the the master settings and control logic 830 running in the microprocessor 512 of the SoC 510 coordinates with the relevant electronic circuitry to execute volume control.

associating one or plurality of remote-controllers 180 to the SoC 510, turning on/off the lighting, timer setting, threshold distance settings, dimming operation, video image processing, manipulation of the security camera enabling video surveillance in the monitoring-zone and the like.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the multi-functional outdoor light SoC 510 is operable to maintain IP connectivity via the short-range wireless transceiver that is implemented based on IEEE 802.1 1/WiFi.

With this arrangement, on detecting an intrusion, the live video footage can be viewed remotely via the WiFi/Internet 580.

The flow-chart 600 of Fig. 6 illustrates the normal operational procedure (of second type) of the outdoor light system 100. This operational procedure of second type can be triggered either by an intrusion or by a user settings input.

After the outdoor light system 100 has been assembled/installed, this pre-set operational procedure starts with 610. It is run in the master settings and control logic 446 of 190 or 830 of SoC 510, and this normal operational behaviour of the outdoor LED light system will then senses either the monitoring-zone for any intrusion or user settings input. With the help of decision making stages 614 or 630, the said procedure senses whether the master settings and control logic 446 of 190 or 830 of SoC 510 has received any user settings input or whether any intrusion has been detected respectively.

In case an intrusion is detected by the intrusion detection unit 420/532 employing a combination of both pyroelectric-type and microwave sensing or the like, the master settings and control logic 446 of 190 or 830 of SoC 510 will be alarmed and it will get the distance measuring unit 460/544 in the processing step of 640 to determine whether the intrusion has taken place well within the active monitoring-zone (i.e., whether the intrusion is well within the distance threshold set by the user) in order to minimise unnecessary false alarm occurrences. If an intrusion is detected well within the active monitoring-zone boundaries, at step 644 the master settings and control logic 446 of 190 or 830 of SoC 510 will turn the lights on and simultaneously trigger the timer in step 650, only when the ambient light intensity is below the threshold (i.e., at nights) -this is possible with the help of a dawn-dusk control unit 490/556. If, on the other hand, the ambient light-intensity is above a given threshold, the lighting fixtures 144 will not be turned on upon detecting an intrusion.

At the same time, the master settings and control logic 446 of 190 or 830 of SoC 510 will trigger an alarm in the remote-controller 180 in step 654. This alarm may consist of an audible beep together with/without the warning message as shown in 710 of Fig. 7 depending on whether the lighting system supports video(audio surveillance or not. It will stop triggering an alarm in the remote-controller 180 only when the timeout has occurred or until the user disables the alarm using the remote-controller 180 depending on which happens first. Also it is possible that the snooze operation will make sure that the user will periodically receive alerts until the timeout has occurred or user has disabled the snooze operation being triggered on a given intrusion.

After having triggered an alarm in the user's remote-controller 180, the decision making stage of 660 will check to see whether the user has requested via the remote-controller 180 for a live video/audio footage to be captured and transmitted to the user this is possible only when the lighting system 100 possesses the video/audio surveillance unit 4 14/536. If it is the case (i.e., the user has pressed the electronic toggle button 330), in step 664 the master settings and control logic 446 of 190 or 830 of SoC 510 will turn the microphone builtin security camera of the audio/video surveillance unit 140 through the associated electronic circuitry 414/536 on (in case previously it was not turned on), get it to capture the live video/audio footage of the monitoring-zone and transmit it to the remote-controller 180. The audio/video surveillance unit 414/536 should support appropriate audio/video codec in order to capture audio/video signal and transmit the captured multimedia signal to the remote-controller 180 for the latter to render it locally.

The decision making stage of 670 will check whether the timeout has occurred for it to switch off the lamp and stop alerting the user after a given intrusion detection. The value for the timeout is learnt from the Timer Settings unit 454/540 by the master settings and control logic 446 of 190 or 830 of SoC 510, and as mentioned before, the timer is set by the user at the user's discretion or it may take a default value.

In the mean time, if the master settings and control logic 446 of 190 or 830 of SoC 510 senses any user input, it will act upon it as illustrated by the processing step 620. Continuous short pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key of 374 on the remote-controller 180 will enable the user to navigate through different user settings. As described before in connection with Fig. 3, the continuous short-pressing of right-hand side-arrow key of 374 cycles through such settings mode as volume control, brightness/colour/contrast management, timer, active monitoring-zone threshold setting, light dimming and the security camera trajectory control and the like. This sequence cycle enables any user to skip any of these settings and get/revisit to the preferred setting sequence with a continuous short pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key of 374.

Some of the settings such as volume control, and zoom-inizoom..out settings are local to the remote-controller 180. On the other hand, timer setting, dimming control, active monitoring-zone threshold setting and the user's intention to move the security camera's focusing angle/direction (i.e., manipulation of its trajectory) in side-ways or up/down using the enhanced version of the remote-controller iSO needs the remote-controller to communicate with the respective circuitries of the control unit via the master settings and control logic 446 of 190 or 830 of SoC 510.

Each setting is stored by the processing step 624 in an internal non-volatile memory as depicted in Fig. 6. and for this purpose the master settings and control logic 446 of 190 or 830 of SoC 510 possesses an internal non-volatile memory as described in relation to Fig. 5.

Given that the present invention can allow the envisaged outdoor light system to operate on low voltage, it leads to less operational cost. More over the installation may not be subject to mandatory inspection and/or regulations which are normally applicable to high voltage light systems. Another benefit is that this outdoor LED light system 100 can be standalone meaning that it can be powered by renewable energy sources. if that is the case, it does not have to be connected to the household power supply and hence the installation can be straight-forward even to a layman.

Fig. 7 shows an exemplary warning message that will appear on the enhanced version of the remote-controller in case an intrusion is detected according to one embodiment of the present invention. If the outdoor light system 100 has a video/audio surveillance unit 140 being connected to one or plurality of microphone built-in security cameras, the user has the option to have a thorough view of the monitoring-zone by turning the security cameras on by pressing the toggle switch 330 of Fig. 3/7. With this, the user can get the live video footage on the local remote-controller 180 having enhanced functionalities.

Fig. 8 exemplarily illustrates the various components of the software stack of a RISC microprocessor according to one another embodiment of the present invention. The microprocessor can be multipurpose such as a Cpu or in contrary it can be a RISC microprocessor. The software stack 800 demonstrates the operations and applications executed by one RISC microprocessor, e.g., 512 of Fig. 5. As it can be seen, according to one embodiment, the basic functionalities of the software stack 800 comprise one or plurality of applications 810 (e.g., multimedia surveillance application), streaming server or associated functionalities 820, a master settings and overall control 830, an intrusion detection module 840, a timer settings module 856, a distance measuring module 860, a dawn-dusk control module 866, a diming and lighting control module 870, a multimedia surveillance 850 and a connection manager 876, a connection manager 876, Os. abstraction layer 884, MAC control layer 888, and the physical layer configurations 890.

The connection manager 876 is responsible for establishing the necessary connection with the remote controller 180 in case of an intrusion or in case the remote controller 180 is used to manipulate the outdoor lighting apparatus 110.

Claims

Claims 1. There is provided a multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus comprising: 1) one or plurality of low-voltage lighting fixtures connected to each other electrically in order to be placed in an outdoor location at the discretion of a user; 2) a source of electrical energy providing the needed electrical energy to the said outdoor lighting apparatus; 3) an electronic device of first type and the associated electronic circuitries being interposed between the said source of electrical energy and said lighting fixtures; 4) a user wearable electronic device of second type; Wherein the said electronic devices of first type and second type interacts there between via a communication interface of first type for the purpose of: a) manipulating the said lighting fixtures remotely such that the said outdoor lighting fixtures can be turned onloff using the electronic device of second type which in turn passes the necessary instructions onto the said electronic device of the first type for the latter to execute; b) triggering an audible alert/alarm on the said electronic device of the second type by the said electronic device of the first type and/or turning the said lighting fixtures ON when a set of predefined criteria is met.
2. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim I, wherein the said electronic device of first type is physically attached to the said lighting fixtures and takes the role of a control unit, and the electronic device of second type is a user carried remote-controller, wherein the said electronic devices of the first type and the second type possess a wireless transceiver each.
3. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim I or 2, wherein the said electronic device of first type and the electronic device of second type possess a wireless transceiver each providing the communication interface of first type.
4. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim I or 3, wherein the communication interface of first type is any short-range wireless standard such as Zigbee (i.e., IEEE 802.15.4), DECT, l3luetooth (i.e, IEEE 802.15.1) or the like.
5. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim I, wherein one of the said set predefined criteria is intrusion detection within the monitoring-zone (i.e., theatre of interest) of the said lighting apparatus, and to detect the human intrusion the said electronic device of first type incorporates an intrusion detection functionality.
6. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim I or 5, wherein said intrusion detection functionality employs a combination of both pyroelectric-type and microwave sensing being configured to trigger an alarm to the said electronic device of the first type on detecting an intrusion in the monitoring-zone.
7. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim 1 or 6, wherein in order to minimise false alarm the said intrusion detection functionality works with the distance measuring functionality wherein on receiving an intrusion notification from the said intrusion detection functionality, the said electronic device of first type getting the said distance measuring functionality to measure the distance of the intruding object from the location of itself and only when the intruding object is within a pre-set distance threshold defining the radius of the active monitoring-zone, an alarm/alert will be triggered on the said electronic device of second type.
8. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim 1 or 7, wherein the active monitoring-zone is defined as being part of a circular area that takes the location of the said control unit as the centre and the user set distance threshold as the radius where the intrusion detection sensors and distance measuring sensors are pointing at.
9. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim 1 or 8, wherein the user is able to set the threshold distance for the active monitoring-zone using the said electronic device of second type and for this purpose the said electronic device of second type has the necessary control buttons/keys and both electronic devices of first type and second type have the associated electronic circuitries.
10. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim I or 9, wherein the said distance measuring functionality comprising: 1) a plurality of infrared emitting devices which are arranged in various directions in order to cover a given monitoring-zone; and 2) a position sensing device to receive all the infrared ray that traverses from the intruding object's body afler having been reflected.Wherein the position sensing device measures the distance and outputs it to the said electronic device of first type of the said outdoor lighting apparatus to act upon it.
11. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the said set predefined criteria is the ambient light condition such that the said lighting fixtures are turned ON in the event of an intrusion only when the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below a given threshold, and for this purpose the said electronic device of the first type employs a dawn-dusk control functionality.
12. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim 1 or 11, wherein the said dawn-dusk control functionality of the said outdoor lighting apparatus is equipped with one or plurality of photocells being controlled/actuated by a predetermined increase in ambient lighting such that the said dawn-dusk control functionality will allow the said electronic device of first type of the said outdoor lighting apparatus to turn on one or plurality of lighting fixtures in the event of an intrusion only when the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below a given threshold.
13. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim 1 or any preceding claim, wherein the said lighting fixtures are turned on only for a limited time period when the preset criteria are met.
14. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim I or 13, wherein the said electronic device of first type of the said outdoor lighting apparatus allows the user to set a timeout in terms of a day, hour, minutes and/or seconds using the said electronic device of second type, wherein one or plurality of lighting fixtures, once has come to life, will be automatically turned off after the elapse of the set timeout.
15. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim 1 or 14,, wherein the user is able to set the timeout using the said electronic device of second type, wherein for this purpose the said electronic device of second type has the necessary control buttons/keys and both electronic devices of first type and second type have the associated electronic circuitries.
16. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim I or 15, wherein the said electronic device of first type of the said outdoor lighting apparatus will trigger an alarm in the said electronic device of second type on detecting an intrusion and the alarm will last for a time-period being set by the user or until the user manually turns off the alarm.
17. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the said electronic device of first type of the said outdoor lighting apparatus is connected to the house alarm system, wherein a fixed landline or cellular connection can be used to alert the police, security, other law-enforcement officials or guardian of the property on detecting a possible intrusion:
18. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim I, wherein each set of the said lighting fixtures comprise a plurality of LEDs making up the main lighting source.
19. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the said electronic device of first type incorporates a dimming circuitry such that the user is able to control the intensity of the lumen output of the said lighting fixtures using the said electronic device of second type, wherein for this purpose the said electronic device of second type has the necessary control buttons(keys.
20. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the said electronic device of first type incorporates an audio/video surveillance functionality that captures the live multimedia streams (e.g., live video footage) pertaining to the monitoring-zone (i.e., the theatre of interest) and transmits it to the user whenever the said preset criteria are met.
21. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to claim 1 or 20, wherein the live multimedia streams being transmitted by the said audio/video surveillance functionality are rendered/viewed on the said electronic device of second type, wherein for this purpose the said electronic device of second type has the necessary software/hardware functionalities and has the ability to let a user perform such video/image processing operations as changing the contrast, brightness, zooming in, zooming out and the like.
22. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the said lighting apparatus has a predefined operation procedure, and on detecting an intrusion, the said intrusion detection functionality notifying the said electronic device of first type which in turn will alert the user and this procedure comprising the steps of: a) on receiving an intrusion notification from the said intrusion detection functionality, getting the said distance measuring functionality to measure the distance of the intruding object from the location of the said electronic device of first type; and, b) on noticing that the intrusion is well within the active monitoring-zone and the dawn-dusk control functionality determining that the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below the threshold, turning the lights of the said outdoor lighting apparatus on and alerting the user remotely of a possible intrusion via a communication interface of first type.
23. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein said electronic device of second type has a specific set of keys and the said specific set of keys includes Settings keys and side/up/down arrow keys, wherein the said electronic device of second type has the purpose-built firmware running locally that liaises with other hardware and software drivers enabling the user to adjust the picture quality by varying brightness, colour, and contrast, to manipulate the volume control, to perform zoom-in and zoom-out operations, to control the said outdoor lighting apparatus remotely, to perform timer, monitoring-zone threshold and dimming settings and to manipulate the trajectory of the security camera as many times as preferred depending on how the side-arrow and down/up arrow keys are pressed by the user and this is governed by the following preset setting process: 1) the first short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key will let user *perform network setup procedure in order to associate the electronic device of second type with the said outdoor lighting apparatus; ii) the Second short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key will let user set a timeout in terms of a day, hour, minutes and/or seconds using down/up arrow keys and the middle enter button, wherein one or plurality of lighting fixtures of the said light system, once has come to life, will be automatically turned off after the elapse of the set timeout; iii) the third short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key will let user set the threshold distance for the monitoring-zone (i.e., theatre of interest) using down/up arrow keys and the middle enter button; iv) the fourth short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key will let user adjust contrast using down/up arrow keys and the middle enter button; v) the fifth short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key will let user adjust brightness using down/up arrow keys and the middle enter button; vi) the Sixth short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key will let user adjust the volume using down/up arrow keys and the middle enter button; and, vii) if supported, the Seventh short-pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key will let user manipulate the trajectory of the video cameras of the said audio/video surveillance unit; Wherein continuous short pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key rotates through all the setting options (i.e., the setting sequence goes through a cycle) and this sequence cycle enables any user to skip any of these setting options and get/revisit to the preferred setting sequence with a continuous short pressing of the right-hand side-arrow key, and once the required setting mode is chosen by pressing the middle button, the user preferred value can be set using the up/down arrow keys, and Once the middle enter button is pressed some settings are locally stored whereas some other settings pertaining to timer, active monitoring-zone threshold, network setup, and security camera trajectory passed on to the said outdoor lighting apparatus, actuated and stored therein in a non-volatile memory for them to be effective in every subsequent power cycle.
24. The said multi-functional outdoor lighting apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein various functional elements and the associated circuitries of the said electronic device of first type being existing for the purpose of intrusion detection, distance measuring, timeout settings, dimming, providing communication interface of first type, checking the ambient light intensity and supporting audio/video surveillance operation are housed together to form a single unit
25. There is provided a multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip (SoC) which is connected to one or plurality of lighting fixtures and one or plurality of power supplies for the light system to be controlledlmanjpulated remotely and to trigger an alarm on detecting an intrusion, and the System on a chip comprising: i) abus, ii) a peripheral controUer being coupled to said bus for connecting a multitude of 110 peripheral devices namely an intrusion detection functionality, audio/video surveillance functionality consisting of one or plurality of security video cameras, distance measuring functionality, timer setting functionality, dawn-dusk control functionality, and lighting control functionality; iii) one or plurality of microprocessors being coupled to said bus and said microprocessors configured to perform the required signal processing associated with the video surveillance multimedia traffic and to provide control functions of a multitude of functional elements connected via the said peripheral controller; iv) a wireless transceiver being coupled to said bus for exchanging control commands and multimedia traffic; and, v) a memory that is coupled to said bus into which a plurality of instructions are loaded, wherein the said System on a chip accepts control commands from the user remotely through a communication interface of first type provided by the said wireless transceiver in order to manipulate the said lighting fixtures such that the said lighting fixtures can be turned onloff remotely and the said system on a chip accepts user setting inputs and subsequently coordinates with other * functional units to realise the user settings in the said outdoor light system, and on detecting an intrusion, the said intrusion detection unit notifying the said system on a chip which in turn will alert the user and this procedure comprising the steps of: a) on receiving an intrusion notification from the said intrusion detection functionality, getting the said distance measuring functionality to measure the distance of the intruding object from the location of the said control unit; b) on noticing that the intrusion is well within the active monitoring-zone and S the dawn-dusk control determining that the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below the threshold, turning the lighting fixtures on and alerting the user remotely of a possible intrusion via an interface provided by the said wireless transceiver; and, c) getting the said audio/video surveillance functionality to capture and transmit the live video footage of the monitoring-zone via the said wireless transceiver to the user.
26. The said the multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip with its microprocessor containing the software stack according to claim 25, wherein the said software stack comprising functionalities for: 1) master settings and overall control; ii) intrusion detection handling; iii) timer setting; iv) distance measuring; v) dawri-dusk control; vi) diming and lighting control; vii) multimedia surveillance; and, viii) connection managerSwherein system on a chip with its microprocessor containing the software stack will essentially provide the overall control of the said lighting fixtures and its associated functionalities.
27. The said the multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip with its microprocessor containing the software stack according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the user is prompted to set the threshold distance for the active monitoring-zone and this allows the said multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip to determine whether an intrusion is well within the active monitoring-zone as set by the user, where the active monitoring-zone is defined as being part of a circular area that takes the location of the multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip as the centre and the user set distance threshold as the radius where the intrusion detection sensors and distance measuring sensors are pointing at.
28. The said the multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip with its microprocessor containing the software stack according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the communication interface of first type being provided by the said wireless transceiver is any short-range wireless standard such as Zigbee (i.e., IEEE 802.15.4), DECT, Bluetooth (i.e., IEEE 802.15.1 and the like
29. The said the multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip with its microprocessor containing the software stack according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the said intrusion detection functionality employs a combination of both pyroelectric-type and microwave sensing being configured through the associated modules of the said software stack in order to trigger an alarm to the said outdoor lighting system on a chip on detecting an intrusion in the monitoring-zone.
30. The said the multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip with its microprocessor containing the software stack according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the said distance measuring functionality is triggered by the said multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip to determine the distance of the intruding object from the location of the said multi-functionai outdoor lighting system on a chip, and such distance measuring ftmnctionality comprising: 1) a plurality of infrared emitting devices which are arranged in various directions in order to cover a given monitoring-zone; and 2) a position sensing device to receive all the infrared ray that traverses from the human body after having been reflected.Wherein the position sensing device and the associated functionality of the said software stack measures the distance and output it to the said multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip to act upon it.
31. The said the multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip with its microprocessor containing the software stack according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the said dawn-dusk control functionality is equipped with one or plurality of photocells being controlled/actuated by a predetermined increase in ambient lighting such that the said dawn-dusk control unit and the associated functionality of the said software stack will allow the said multi-functional outdoor lighting system on a chip to turn on one or plurality of lighting fixtures in the event of an intrusion only when the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below a given threshold.
32. There is provided a method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system by integrating namely the components comprising: 1) one or plurality of low-voltage lighting fixtures connected to each other electrically in order to be placed in an outdoor location at the discretion of a user; 2) a source of electrical energy providing the needed electrical energy to the said outdoor lighting apparatus; 3) an electronic device of first type being interposed between the said source of electrical energy and said lighting fixtures; 4) an electronic device of second type; Wherein the said electronic devices of first type and second type are made to interact there between via a communication interface of first type for the purpose of: a) manipulating the said lighting fixtures remotely such that the said outdoor lighting fixtures can be turned onloff using the electronic device of second type which in turn passes the necessary instructions onto the said electronic device of the first type for the latter to execute; b) triggering an audible alert/alarm on the said electronic device of the second type by the said electronic device of the first type and/or turning the said lighting fixtures ON when a set of predefined criteria is met.
33. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32, wherein the said electronic device of first type is primarily made up of the following functional elements: a) an intrusion detection functionality for triggering an alarm on detecting any intrusion in the monitoring-zone; b) audio/video surveillance functionality consisting of one or plurality of security video cameras for the purpose of capturing the live multimedia streams (e.g., live video footage) pertaining to the monitoring-zone (i.e., the theatre of interest) and transmitting them to the user whenever the said preset criteria are met; c) distance measuring functionality in order to measure the actual distance of the intruding object from the electronic device of first type; d) timer setting functionality allowing the user to set a timeout in terms of a day, hour, minutes and/or seconds using the said electronic device of second type, wherein one or plurality of lighting fixtures, once has come to life, will be automatically turned off after the elapse of the set timeout; e) dawn-dusk control functionality for the purpose of checking whether the intensity of the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below a certain threshold; and, f) lighting control functionality for the purpose of controlling the lumen output of the said lighting fixtures.
34. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32 or 33, wherein an existing mobile phone, smart-phone, notepad, laptop or similar device being transformed to function as the electronic device of second type through software/hardware solutions, and the existing mobile device should: d) have a touch-screen functionality; e) be capable enough to be installed and run a special purpose-built client software providing the necessary user interface on the said touch-screen for the user to manipulate the said outdoor lighting fixtures in the intended way; has the short-range wireless transceiver supporting a communication interface of first type; wherein the electronic device of first type has a globally unique alphanumeric being assigned and this transformation procedure comprising the steps of: i) noting down the globally unique alphanumeric being assigned to the electronic device of first type; and, ii) installing, rurming the said purpose-built client software on the mobile device that is going to be transformed into an electronic device of second type and pairing mobile device with the electronic device of first type by entering the said globally unique alphanumeric in the user interface of first type when prompted; wherein this transformation procedure will make sure that a given existing mobile phone, smart-phone, notepad, laptop or similar device being transformed to function as the electronic device of second type can be used to control the said outdoor lighting fixtures.
35. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32 or 34, wherein the said electronic device of first type is physically attached to the said lighting fixtures while the electronic device of second type is a user carried remote-controller, wherein the said electronic devices of the first type and the second type possess a wireless transceiver each providing communication of interface of first type and the said wireless transceiver is implemented based on a short-range wireless standard like Zigbee (i.e., IEEE 802.15.4). DECT, Bluetooth (i.e., IEEE 802.15.1) or a similar standard.
36. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32 or 34, wherein for the said method to work one of the said set predefjned criteria is intrusion detection within the monitoring-zone (i.e., theatre of interest) of the said lighting apparatus, wherein in order to detect the human intrusion the said electronic device of first type incorporates an intrusion detection functionality.
37. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32 or 36, wherein said intrusion detection functionality is made up of a combination of both pyroelectric-type and microwave sensing being configured to trigger an alarm to the said electronic device of the first type on detecting an intrusion in the monitoring-zone.
38. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32 or 36, wherein in order to minimise false alarm, intrusion detection functionality is made to work with the distance measuring functionality by the said method such that on receiving an intrusion notification from the said intrusion detection functionality, the said electronic device of first type getting the said distance measuring functionality to measure the distance of the intruding object from the location of itself, wherein only when the intruding object is within a pre-set distance threshold defining the radius of the active monitoring-zone, an alarmlalert will be triggered on the said electronic device of second type.
39. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32 or 38, wherein for the said method to work the active monitoring-zone is defined as being part of a circular area that takes the location of the said control functionality as the centre and the user set distance threshold as the radius where the intrusion detection sensors and distance measuring sensors are pointing at.
40. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32 or 39, wherein in order to enable the user to set the threshold distance for the active monitoring-zone using the said electronic device of second type, the said electronic device of second type is equipped with the necessary control buttons/keys and both electronic devices of first type and second are made up of the associated electronic circuitries.
41. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32 or 40, wherein the said distance measuring functionality is essentially made up of components comprising: 1) a plurality of infrared emitting devices which are arranged in various directions in order to cover a given monitoring-zone; and 2) a position sensing device to receive all.the infrared ray that traverses from the intruding object's body after having been reflected.Wherein the position sensing device measures the distance and outputs it to the said electronic device of first type of the said outdoor lighting apparatus to act upon it.
42. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32, wherein for the said method to work one of the said set predefined criteria is the ambient light condition such that the said lighting fixtures are turned ON in the event of an intrusion only when the ambient light intensity is below a given threshold, and for this purpose the c said electronic device of the first type employs a dawn-dusk control functionality.
43. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32 or 42, wherein the said dawn-dusk control functionality of the said outdoor lighting apparatus is equipped with one or plurality of photocells being controlled/actuated by a predetermined increase in ambient lighting such that the said dawn-dusk control functionality will allow the said electronic device of first type of the said outdoor lighting apparatus to turn on one or plurality of lighting fixtures in the event of an intrusion only when the ambient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below a given threshold.
44. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32, wherein the said lighting fixtures are turned on only for a limited time period when the preset criteria are met.
45. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32 or 44, wherein for the said method to work the said electronic device of first type allows the user to set a timeout in terms of a day, hour, minutes and/or seconds using the said electronic device of second type such that when one or plurality of lighting fixtures once has come to life, they will be automatically turned off after the elapse of the set timeout.
46. The said method to create a multi-functjon outdoor LED light system according to claim 32 or 45, wherein in order to enable the user to set the timeout using the said electronic device of second type, the said electronic device of second type is equipped with the necessary control buttons(keys and both electronic devices of first type and second are made up of the associated electronic circujtrjes.
47. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32 or 46, wherein the said electronic device of first type of the said outdoor lighting apparatus will trigger an alarm in the said electronic device of second type on detecting an intrusion and the alarm will last for a time-period being set by the user or until the user manually turns off the alarm.
48. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32 or 47, wherein the said electronic device of first type is subject to one predefined operational procedure of first type in connection with intrusion detection such that on detecting an intrusion, the said intrusion detection functionality notifying the said electronic device of first type which in turn will alert the user and the said operational procedure of first type comprising the steps of: a) on receiving an intrusion notification from the said intrusion detection functionality, getting the said distance measuring functionality to measure the distance of the intruding object from the location of the said electronic device of first type; and, b) on noticing that the intrusion is well within the active monitoring-zone and the dawn-dusk control determining that the anibient light intensity (or ambient lumen output) is below the threshold, turning the lights of the said outdoor lighting apparatus on and alerting the user remotely of a possible intrusion via the communication interface of first type.
49. The said method to create a multi-functional outdoor LED light system according to claim 32 or 47, wherein the said electronic device of first type is subject to another pre-set operational procedure of second type that can be triggered either by an intrusion or by a user settings input, and the said operational procedure of second type comprising the steps of: 1) simultaneously monitoring an intrusion or user settings input and acting upon (i.e., executing steps 2-6 on detecting an intrusion or executing step 7 on detecting a user settings input) depending on the event being taking place; 2) if an intrusion is detected, getting the intrusion detection device to alarm the said electronic device of first type which in turn getting the distance measuring functionality to determine whether the intrusion has taken place well within the monitoring-zone in order to minimise the occurrence of false alarm; 3) on receiving the confirmation from the distance measuring functionality that the intruder is well within the monitoring-zone, the said electronic device of first type turning the lights on and simultaneously triggering the timer, only when the ambient light intensity is below the set threshold (i.e., at nights) as reported by the said photocell; 4) the said electronic device of first type triggering an alarm in the said electronic device of second type; 5) in case the said outdoor lighting system is equipped with a security camera enabling video surveillance in the monitoring-zone and the user indicates using the said electronic device of second type that the user wants to view the live video/audio footage of the monitoring-zone, the security camera will be activated and will capture and transmit the video/audio to the said electronic device of second type for the usr to view; 6) on detecting a timeout, the said electronic device of first type turning off the lights and stopping any ttempt to alert/alarm the user for a given intrusion, 7) on the other hand, on detecting a user settings input, the said electronic device of first type coordinates with the relevant electronic circuitry executing volume control, turning onloff the lighting, timer setting, dimming operation, video image processing, manipulation of the security camera enabling video surveillance in the monitoring zone and the like.