HK1129520A - Procedure for addressing remotely-located radio frequency components of a control system - Google Patents

Description

Procedure for addressing remotely located radio frequency components in a control system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a load control system for controlling an electrical load. More particularly, the present invention relates to a procedure for addressing remotely located control devices in a Radio Frequency (RF) lighting control system.

Background

Control systems for controlling electrical loads, such as electric lamps, power window treatments, and fans, are well known. Such control systems often use Radio Frequency (RF) transmissions for wireless communication between control devices of the system. Some examples OF radio frequency lighting CONTROL SYSTEMs are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,442, issued on 18.5.1999, "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING ANDDETERMINING THE STATUS OF ELECTRICAL DEVICES FROM REMEMOTE LOCATIONS," AND commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,803,728, issued on 12.10.2004, "SYSTEM FOR CONTROL OF DEVICES. The entire disclosures of these two patents are incorporated herein by reference.

The rf lighting control system of the above 442 patent includes wall-mounted load control devices, desktop and wall-mounted master controllers, and repeaters. The control device of the radio frequency lighting control system comprises a radio frequency antenna. The radio frequency antenna is used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals so as to communicate between the control devices of the lighting control system. The control devices all transmit and receive radio frequency signals at the same frequency. Each load control device has a user interface and an integrated dimmer circuit for controlling the intensity of a connected lighting load. The user interface has a push button actuator for on-off control of the connected lighting load and a raise-lower actuator for adjusting the intensity of the connected lighting load. The desktop and wall-mounted master controllers have a plurality of buttons that can transmit radio frequency signals to the load control devices to control the intensity of the lighting loads.

The rf lighting control system of the above 442 patent makes full use of the house code (i.e., the house address) in order to prevent interference with other nearby rf lighting control systems. Each control device stores the house code in a memory. In applications such as high-rise apartments and condominiums, it is particularly important that adjacent systems each have their own separate house code to avoid the adjacent systems attempting to operate as a single system rather than separate and distinct systems. Thus, during installation of the rf lighting control system, a house code selection program is employed to ensure that the appropriate house code is selected. To accomplish this, one transponder per system is selected as the "master" transponder. The house code selection procedure is initiated by holding down the "home" button on a selected transponder in one of the rf lighting control systems. The repeater randomly selects one of the 256 available house codes and then verifies that no other nearby radio frequency lighting control systems are using this house code. This transponder lights a Light Emitting Diode (LED) to indicate that the house code has been selected. This procedure is repeated for each radio frequency lighting control system that is adjacent. In the addressing procedure described below, the house code is transmitted to each control device in the lighting control system.

When two or more control devices attempt to transmit at the same time, collisions between the transmitted radio frequency communication signals in the radio frequency lighting control system may occur. Thus, each control device of the lighting control system is assigned a unique device address (typically one byte long) for use during normal operation. The device address is a unique identifier that is used by the devices of the control system to distinguish the control devices from each other during normal operation. These device addresses cause the control device to transmit radio frequency signals at predetermined times in accordance with the communication protocol to avoid collisions. In addition, by repeating the radio frequency communication signals, the signal repeater helps to ensure error-free communication so that each component of the system receives the radio frequency signals intended for it.

The house code and the device address are typically included in each radio frequency signal transmitted in the lighting control system. After the house code selection procedure is completed during installation of the lighting control system, the addressing procedure is performed. This addressing procedure supports the assignment of a device address to each control device. In the rf lighting control system described in the' 442 patent, an addressing procedure is initiated at the transponders of the lighting control system (e.g., by holding down an "addressing mode" button on the transponders), which places all of the transponders of the system in an "addressing mode". The main repeater is responsible for assigning device addresses (e.g., main controller, wall-mounted load control devices, etc.) to the rf control devices of the control system. The main repeater assigns a device address to the radio frequency control device in response to an address request sent by the control device.

To initiate the address request, the user walks to a wall station or desktop control device and presses a button on the control device (e.g., a switch actuator of the wall station). The control device emits a signal related to the actuation of the button. The main repeater receives this signal and interprets it as an address request. In response to the address request signal, the main repeater assigns the next available device address and transmits it to the requesting control device. The visible indicator is then activated to tell the user that the control device has received a system address from the main repeater. For example, lights connected to wall-mounted load control devices, or LEDs on the master controller, may flash. This addressing mode is terminated when the user holds down the addressing mode button of the repeater. This operation causes the repeater to issue a command to the control system to exit the addressing mode.

The above addressing procedure of the control system of the' 442 patent requires that the control device be located within reach to allow the user to make direct contact with the actuators of the rf control devices to identify each control device that requires an address. Thus, such addressing procedures are directed to addressing radio frequency control devices, such as wall-mounted load control devices and master controllers, that are accessible to a user during the addressing procedure. However, existing addressing procedures are not suitable for addressing rf load control devices that may be installed in locations that are not readily accessible. For example, load control devices (such as electronic dimming ballasts, power window treatments, or remote dimmer modules) may be installed in remote locations and thus may not be accessible during the addressing procedure.

Wired control systems (i.e., control systems employing wired communication links) for remotely-mounted electronic dimming ballasts and motorized window treatments are well known in the art. An example of a LIGHTING CONTROL SYSTEM including a plurality of electronic dimming BALLASTs capable of communicating using the DALI (digital addressable LIGHTING interface) PROTOCOL over a wired communication link is described in more detail in commonly assigned U.S. patent application No. 11/011,933 entitled "DISTRIBUTED intelligent LIGHTING SYSTEM and LIGHTING CONTROL PROTOCOL", filed 12, 2004, 14, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. An example of a CONTROL SYSTEM including multiple MOTORIZED window treatments is issued on 10.1.2006 under the name "MOTORIZED SHADE CONTROL SYSTEM," and is described in more detail in commonly assigned U.S. patent No. 6,983,783. Which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

These control systems use a random addressing procedure to assign device addresses. To perform the random addressing procedure, each control device includes a unique serial number. This serial number is stored in memory at the time of manufacture of the device. The serial number is typically much longer than the device address (e.g., 3 to 6 bytes long) and is used to uniquely identify each control device during an initialization procedure. Because of the long size of the serial number and the large number of control devices that may be present in a system, it is often impractical to communicate between the control devices using the serial number during normal operation. Since a sequence number is typically transmitted with each message, the messages are longer and the communication time is also longer. Therefore, during the random addressing procedure, a shorter address is typically assigned to each control device.

The random addressing procedure is initiated, for example, by the user pressing one or more buttons on a wall-mounted keypad in the control system. The selected keypad sends a query message over the wired link to all unaddressed control devices. All control devices on the wired communication link then respond by sending their serial numbers to the selected keypad. The selected keypad receives serial numbers from all control devices on the link and randomly assigns a unique device address to each control device.

However, since two or more rf lighting control systems may be located in close proximity to each other, such random addressing procedures may cause improper initialization of the rf lighting control systems if both systems have unaddressed control devices. Therefore, there is a need for a method of addressing remotely located inaccessible control devices in an rf lighting control system that does not require physical contact with the rf control devices.

Disclosure of Invention

In accordance with the present invention, a method of assigning a unique device address to a remotely located control device in a lighting control system comprises: (1) powering up the control device; (2) after the power-up step, the control device transmits a signal uniquely identifying the control device for a predetermined length of time; and (3) the control device subsequently receives a unique device address.

The present invention also provides a method for providing an address to a first remote control device in a radio frequency control system. Transmitting a radio frequency control signal from the second device to the first remote control device, the radio frequency control signal including an address, such that the first remote control device is responsive to the radio frequency control signal. The method comprises the following steps: power cycling the first remote control from off to on to designate the first remote control as requiring an address; identifying, at the second device, a first remote control device specifying a desired address; and providing an address to the first remote control device by transmitting a radio frequency addressing signal from the second device to the first remote control device, such that the first remote control device is responsive to the radio frequency control signal transmitted from the second device and including the address.

The present invention also provides a method for selecting a first remotely located control device from a plurality of control devices in a lighting control system. The method comprises the following steps: a subset of the plurality of control devices, the subset including the first control device, is powered, the subset including the first control device. This method also includes the steps of: receiving a signal requesting a serial number at each control device within the subset for a predetermined length of time after the step of interrupting and resuming power; transmitting a serial number of at least one control device within the subset; generating a list of serial numbers; and selecting the first control device from the list of serial numbers.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of the RF lighting control system of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an addressing procedure of the RF lighting control system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a remote device discovery procedure of the RF lighting control system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of an addressing procedure according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5A is a flowchart of a first beacon process in the addressing procedure shown in fig. 4; and

fig. 5B is a flowchart of a second beacon process in the addressing procedure shown in fig. 4.

Detailed Description

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings an embodiment which is presently preferred. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the particular methods and apparatus disclosed herein.

Fig. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a radio frequency lighting control system 100 of the present invention. The rf lighting control system 100 is used to control the power delivered from an ac power source to a plurality of electrical loads, such as lighting loads 104, 106 and motorized roller shades 108. The radio frequency lighting control system 100 includes a HOT (HOT) connection 102 to an ac power source for powering the control devices and the electrical loads of the lighting control system. The radio frequency lighting control system 100 uses a radio frequency communication link to communicate radio frequency signals 110 between the control devices of the system.

The lighting control system 100 includes a wall-mounted dimmer 112 and a remote dimming module 114 that are capable of controlling the intensity of the light loads 104, 106, respectively. The remote dimming module 114 is preferably on the ceiling, i.e., near the lighting fixture, or at another remote location that is not accessible to the average user of the lighting control system 100. A Motorized Window Treatment (MWT) control module 116 is connected to the Motorized roller shades 108 for controlling the position of the roller shade and the amount of sunlight entering the room. The MWT control module 116 is preferably located within the roller tube (roller tube) of the motorized roller shade 108 and is therefore inaccessible to a user of the system.

The first wall-mounted master controller 118 and the second wall-mounted master controller 120 each have a plurality of buttons that enable a user to control the intensity of the lighting loads 104, 106, as well as the position of the motorized roller shades 108. In response to actuation of one of the buttons, the first and second wall-mounted master controllers 118, 120 transmit radio frequency signals 110 to the wall-mounted dimmer 112, the remote dimming module 114, and the MWT control module 116 for controlling the associated load.

The control devices of the lighting control system 100 are preferably capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals 110 over multiple channels (i.e., frequencies). The repeater 122 is used to select one channel from a plurality of channels for use by all control devices. The repeater 122 also receives and retransmits the radio frequency signals 110 to ensure that all control devices of the lighting control system 100 receive the radio frequency signals. Each control device in the rf lighting control system includes a serial number, preferably 6 bytes in length, and is programmed in memory at the production stage. As in prior art control systems, each control device is uniquely identified during an initial addressing procedure using a serial number.

The lighting control system 100 also includes a first circuit breaker 124 connected between the HOT connection 102 and a first power wire 128, and a second circuit breaker 126 connected between the HOT connection 102 and a second power wire 130. The wall-mounted dimmer 112, the first wall-mounted master controller 118, the remote dimming module 114, and the MWT control module 116 are all connected to a first power cord 128. The repeater 122 and the second wall-mounted master controller 120 are connected to a second power line 130. The repeater 122 is connected to a second power line 130 by a power supply 132 that plugs into a wall-mounted electrical outlet 134. The first and second circuit breakers 124, 126 allow the power source to be disconnected from the control devices and electrical loads of the radio frequency lighting control system 100.

The first and second circuit breakers 124, 126 preferably include manual switches that allow the circuit breakers to be returned from the open position to the closed position. The manual switching of the first and second circuit breakers 124, 126 also allows the circuit breakers to be selectively switched from a closed position to an open position. The construction and operating principles of circuit breakers are well known and need not be discussed further.

Fig. 2 is a flow chart of an addressing procedure 200 of the lighting control system 100 of the present invention. The addressing procedure 200 is used to assign a device address to a remotely located control device. These remotely located control devices include, for example, a remote dimming module 114 and an MWT control module 116. Since the unaddressed control devices do not know which of the available communication channels has been selected by the repeater 122 for use during normal operation, all unaddressed control devices communicate on a predetermined addressed channel that is different from the selected channel. Each remote device includes a plurality of flags for use in the addressing procedure 200. The first flag is a POWER _ CYCLED flag. When the remote device has recently been power cycled, it is set. As used herein, a "power cycling" is defined as a process in which a control device is powered down and then power is restored to the control device to allow the control device to restart or reboot. The second flag is the FOUND flag, which is set when the remote device discovery program 216 "finds" a remote device. This will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 3.

The addressing procedure 200 begins when the lighting control system 100 enters the addressing mode in step 210. For example, in response to the user holding down an actuator on the transponder 122 for a predetermined length of time. In step 212, the user manually selects to activate the non-remote devices, i.e., the wall-mounted dimmer 112 and the first and second wall-mounted master controllers 118, 120 (as in the addressing procedure of the prior art lighting control system disclosed in the' 442 patent). In response to actuation of the button, the non-remote device transmits a signal associated with the actuation of the button to the repeater 122 on the predetermined addressing channel. Accordingly, the repeater 122 receives this signal, interprets it as an address request, and transmits the next available device address to the activated non-remote control device.

Next, the device address is assigned to the remote control device, i.e., the remote dimming module 114 and the MWT control module 116. To prevent inadvertent assignment of addresses to unaddressed devices in an adjacent rf lighting control system (e.g., an rf lighting control system installed within about 60 feet of the system 100), the user cycles power to all remote devices at step 214. For example, the user switches the first circuit breaker 124 to the open position, disconnects the power source from the first power line 128, and immediately switches the first circuit breaker back to the closed position to restore power. Thus, the power provided to the remote dimming module 114 and the MWT control module 116 is cycled. Upon power up, these remotely located control devices enter a "power cycled" state. Specifically, the remote device sets the POWER _ CYCLED flag in memory indicating that it has recently been powered up. Further, the remote device begins to count down the "power cycled" timer. The "POWER CYCLED" timer is preferably set to stop timing after about 10 minutes, after which the remote device clears the POWER _ CYCLED flag.

At this point, the repeater 122 executes the remote device discovery procedure 216, as shown in fig. 3. The remote device discovery procedure 216 is executed on all "appropriate" control devices. These "appropriate" control devices refer to devices that are not addressed, have not been discovered by the remote device discovery procedure (i.e., have not set the FOUND flag), and have recently gone through a POWER cycle (i.e., have set the POWER cycle flag). Thus, the remote device discovery procedure 216 must be completed before the "power cycled" timer in each available control device stops.

Referring to fig. 3, the remote device discovery procedure 216 begins in step 300. The variable M is set to zero in step 305. This variable is used to determine the number of times one of the control loops of the remote device discovery program 216 is repeated. In step 310, the repeater 122 transmits a "clear found flag" message to all appropriate devices. When the unaddressed control device with the POWER _ CYCLED flag set receives the "clear FOUND flag" message, the control device reacts to this message by clearing the FOUND flag. In step 312, the repeater 122 polls, i.e., transmits, a query message to a subset of the appropriate remote devices. This subset may be, for example, half of the appropriate remote device. Such as those not found, most recently power cycled, and having even serial numbers. The inquiry message contains a request for the receiving control device to transmit an Acknowledgement (ACK) message containing a random data byte in a random one of a predetermined number of ACK transmission slots. The predetermined number of ACK transmission slots is preferably, for example, 64 ACK transmission slots. The appropriate remote device responds by transmitting an ACK message, including a random data byte, to the repeater 122 in a random ACK transmission slot. If at least one ACK message is received, the repeater 122 stores the number of the ACK transmission slot and the random data byte from each ACK message in memory at step 316.

Next, the repeater 122 transmits a "request sequence number" message to each device stored in memory (i.e., each device having the random slot number and random data byte stored in memory in step 316). Specifically, in step 318, the repeater transmits this message to the "next" device, e.g., the first device in memory when the "request sequence number" message was first transmitted. The repeater 122 uses this information to transmit a "request sequence number" message since it simply stores the number of the ACK transmission slot and the associated random data byte for each device that transmits the ACK message. For example, the repeater 122 may transmit a "request sequence number" message to a device that transmitted an ACK message with a random data byte of 0xA2 (hexadecimal) in the slot number 34. In step 320, the repeater 122 waits for a sequence number to be received from the device. When the serial number is received by the repeater 122, the serial number is stored in memory at step 322. In step 324, the repeater transmits a "set found flag" message to the current control device (i.e., the control device with the sequence number received in step 320). Upon receipt of the set FOUND flag message, the remote device sets the FOUND flag in memory so that the device no longer responds to the inquiry message in the remote device discovery procedure 216. If not all serial numbers have been collected in step 326, the process loops back to request the serial number of the next control device in step 318.

Since it is likely that a collision has occurred when the remote device transmits an ACK message (in step 314), the same subset of devices is polled again in step 312. Specifically, if all sequence numbers have been collected in step 326, the process loops back to poll the same subset of devices in step 312. If an ACK message is not received in step 314, the process proceeds to step 328. If the variable M is less than the constant M in step 328_MAXLet the variable in step 330And M is added with one. To ensure that all devices in the first subset have transmitted ACK messages to the query in step 312 without collision, the constant M is preferably set_MAXSet to two (2), it is preferred that the repeater 122 respond to the two transmissions of the query in step 312 in step 314 without receiving any ACK message. If the variable M is not less than the constant M in step 328_MAXThen a determination is made in step 332 as to whether there are more devices to poll. If so, the variable M is set to zero in step 334 and the subset of devices (polled in step 312) is changed in step 336. For example, if devices with even sequence numbers were previously polled, the subset is changed to those with odd sequence numbers. If no devices remain to poll in step 332, the remote device discovery procedure exits in step 338.

Returning to fig. 2, in step 218, the repeater 122 compiles a list of serial numbers for all remote devices found in the remote device discovery program 216. In step 220, the user is given the option to address the remote devices either manually or automatically. If the user does not want to manually address the remote devices, the remote devices are automatically assigned addresses in step 222, for example, in the order in which the devices appear in the serial number list of step 218. Otherwise, the user can manually assign an address to the remote device in step 224. For example, a user may use Graphical User Interface (GUI) software provided on a Personal Computer (PC) capable of communicating with the radio frequency lighting control system 100. Thus, the user can process each device in the serial number list and assign a unique address one by one. After the remote device has been automatically addressed in step 222 or manually addressed in step 224, the address is transmitted to the remote control device in step 226. Finally, the user causes the lighting control system 100 to exit the addressing mode in step 228, for example by holding down an actuator on the transponder 122 for a predetermined length of time.

The step of cycling the remote device, step 214, prevents unaddressed devices in the neighboring system from being addressed. The step of cycling power to the remote device is important when many rf lighting control systems are being installed and configured simultaneously in close proximity (e.g., in an apartment building or in a condominium building). Since two adjacent units or condominiums each have their own circuit breaker, it is possible to have the remote devices of each system separately power cycling. However, this step is optional, as the user may be able to determine that the current lighting control system 100 is not close to any other unaddressed radio frequency lighting control system. If the step of cycling power is omitted from the process 200, the repeater 122 may poll all unaddressed devices in the remote device discovery process 216 at step 312 instead of polling only unaddressed devices that have just been power cycled. Still further, the power cycling step need not be performed after step 212, but may be performed at any time prior to the execution of the remote device discovery procedure, i.e., at step 216, so long as the remote device discovery procedure is completed before the "power cycled" timer expires.

The control device of such a lighting control system 100 is capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals 110 on a plurality of channels. Thus, the repeater 122 can determine the quality of each channel (i.e., determine the ambient noise on each channel) and select one of the channels for the system to communicate on. In prior art lighting control systems, unaddressed control devices communicate with the repeater at a predetermined addressing frequency to receive a unique device address and selected channel. However, if there is a large noise at this predetermined addressing frequency, the control device cannot communicate normally with the transponder and the configuration of the control device is hindered. Therefore, there is a need to allow a radio frequency lighting control system to communicate on a selected channel in a configuration procedure.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart of an addressing procedure 400 in a second embodiment of the invention. As in the addressing procedure 200, the control device uses the POWER _ CYCLED flag and the FOUND flag in the addressing procedure 400. The addressing procedure 400 is very similar to the addressing procedure 200 shown in fig. 2, and only the differences between them will be described below. Before the addressing procedure 400 begins, the repeater 122 preferably selects an optimal one of the available channels on which to communicate in order for all control devices to communicate on the selected preferred channel. To find the optimal channel, the repeater 122 randomly selects one of the available radio channels, listens on the selected channel, and determines whether the environmental noise in the channel is unacceptably large. If the received signal strength is above the noise threshold, the repeater 122 does not use this channel and selects a different one. Finally, repeater 122 determines the optimal channel for use in normal operation. The procedure for determining the optimal channel is described in more detail in the' 728 patent.

In step 412, the repeater 122 begins repeatedly transmitting beacon messages to the control devices on the selected channel. Each control device sequentially changes to each of the available channels to listen for beacon messages. Upon receipt of the beacon message, the control device begins communication on the selected channel. Fig. 5A is a flow diagram of a first beacon process 300 performed by repeater 122 in step 212. Fig. 5B is a flowchart of a second beacon process 550 performed by each control device at power-up (i.e., when the control device is first powered up).

Referring to fig. 5A, a first beacon process 500 begins in step 510. The repeater 122 transmits a beacon message in step 512. Specifically, the beacon message includes a command to "stop on my frequency," i.e., to begin transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals on the selected channel. Alternatively, the beacon message may include another control signal, such as a Continuous Wave (CW) signal, i.e., to "block" the selected channel. If the user has not instructed the repeater 122 to exit the beacon process 500 at step 514, for example, by holding down an actuator on the repeater for a predetermined length of time, the process continues to transmit beacon messages at step 512. Otherwise, the beacon process exits at step 516.

The second beacon process 550, which is performed by each control device of the rf lighting control system 100 upon power up, begins in step 560. If control in step 562The device has a unique device address and the process exits at step 564. If, however, the control device is not addressed in step 562, the control device begins communicating on the first channel (i.e., listening for beacon messages on the least available channel) in step 566 and initializes the timer to a constant T_MAXAnd starts the countdown. If the control device hears the beacon message in step 568, the control device maintains the current channel as the communication channel in step 570, and exits the process in step 564.

The control means preferably listens on each available channel for a predetermined length of time (i.e. with a constant T of a timer)_MAXCorresponding time) step by step through successively higher channels until the control device receives the beacon message. This predetermined length of time is preferably substantially equal to the time required to transmit the beacon message twice plus an additional amount of time. For example, if the time required to transmit a beacon message once is approximately 140 milliseconds, and this additional amount of time is 20 milliseconds, then the predetermined length of time for the control device to listen on each channel is preferably 300 milliseconds. Specifically, if the control device does not hear the beacon message in step 568, it is determined whether the timer has stopped counting in step 572. If the timer has not stopped, the process loops until the timer stops. If the current channel is not equal to the maximum channel, i.e., the highest available channel, in step 574, the control device starts communicating on the next higher available channel in step 576 and resets the timer. Then, the control device listens for the beacon message again in step 568. If the current channel is equal to the maximum channel in step 574, the control device starts to communicate again on the first channel in step 578, and resets the timer. Thus, the second beacon process 550 continues to loop until the control device receives a beacon message.

Although the present invention is described with respect to a radio frequency lighting control system, the program of the present invention can also be used with other types of lighting control systems, such as wired lighting control systems, to establish communications with remotely located control devices over a wired communications link using a desired channel.

While the invention has been described with certain embodiments, numerous other variations, modifications, and uses will occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the invention is not limited by the disclosure herein, but is only limited by the claims that follow.

Claims (25)

1. A method of assigning a unique device address to a remotely located unaddressed control device in a control system, the control device coupled to a power source, the method comprising the steps of:

powering up the control device;

transmitting, by the control device, a signal uniquely identifying the control device for a predetermined length of time after the power-up step; and

the control device then receives the unique device address.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting a signal uniquely identifying the control device comprises:

transmitting a serial number of the control device.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

transmitting the unique device address to the control device using the serial number.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of transmitting a signal uniquely identifying the control device further comprises:

the control device receives a query message;

in response to the query message, the control means transmitting a reply message, the reply message being transmitted in a random transmission time slot and containing random data bytes;

identifying the control device by the random transmission time slot and the random data byte; and

requesting to obtain the serial number of the control device prior to the step of transmitting a serial number.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the control device is capable of communicating on a plurality of channels, the method further comprising the steps of:

establishing communication with the control device on a predetermined channel of the plurality of channels.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of establishing communication with the control device further comprises the steps of:

transmitting a beacon signal on the predetermined channel;

the control device listening for the beacon signal on each of the plurality of channels for a predetermined length of time;

the control device receiving the beacon signal on the predetermined channel; and

the control device communicates on the predetermined channel.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of transmitting a beacon signal further comprises:

repeatedly transmitting a beacon message on the predetermined channel.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

a timer is started immediately after the power-up step,

wherein the timer is arranged to stop timing after the predetermined length of time.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

entering a first predetermined state immediately after said powering up step; and

exiting the first predetermined state when the timer stops counting after the predetermined length of time,

wherein said control device completes said step of transmitting a signal uniquely identifying said control device when said control device is in said first predetermined state.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the control system comprises a wireless control system, the step of transmitting a signal uniquely identifying the control device further comprising:

the control device wirelessly transmits a signal uniquely identifying the control device for the predetermined length of time after the powering up step.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the control device comprises a load control device.

12. A method of providing an address to a first remote control device in a radio frequency control system, wherein a radio frequency control signal is transmitted from a second device to the first remote control device, the radio frequency control signal including the address, such that the first remote control device is capable of responding to the radio frequency control signal, the method comprising the steps of:

power cycling the first remote control from off to on to designate that the address is required by the first remote control;

identifying, at the second device, the remote control device designated as requiring the address; and

providing the address to the first remote control device by transmitting a radio frequency addressing signal from the second device to the first remote control device, enabling the first remote control device to respond to a radio frequency control signal transmitted from the second device and including the address.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the power cycling step causes the first remote control device to enter a first predetermined state.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the identifying step further comprises:

receiving a signal at the second device that uniquely identifies the first control device for a predetermined length of time after the power cycling step.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the identifying step comprises:

determining a unique identifier of the remote control device; and

assembling, at the first device, a manifest including the unique identifier.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the identifying step further comprises:

selecting the first remote control device from a list of unique identifiers for the remote control devices.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the second device automatically provides an address to the first remote control device in the first predetermined state.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the identifying step further comprises:

the second device transmitting a polling signal to the first remote control device;

the first remote control device transmits a response signal to the second device;

said second means transmitting a unique identifier signal to said first remote control means to obtain a unique identifier of said remote control means; and

the remote control device transmits the unique identifier to the first device.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

an addressing mode is initiated at the second device.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

exiting the addressing mode.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein cycling the power from off to on comprises:

operating a switch or circuit breaker that provides power to the remote control device.

22. A method of selecting a first remotely located control device from a plurality of control devices in a control system, each of the plurality of control devices being connected to a power source and having a unique serial number, the method comprising the steps of:

powering a subset of said plurality of control devices, the subset including said first control device;

receiving a signal requesting acquisition of the serial number at each control device within the subset for a predetermined length of time after the step of interrupting and resuming power;

transmitting the serial number of at least one control device within the subset;

generating a list of the serial numbers; and

selecting the first control device from the list of serial numbers.

23. The method of claim 17, further comprising the steps of:

interrupting power to the subset of the plurality of control devices prior to the powering step.

24. The method of claim 17, further comprising the steps of:

after the step of selecting the first control device, assigning a unique device address to the first control device.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein the control system comprises a wireless control system.