Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 1 of 25
`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 1 of 25
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`EXHIBIT D
`
`EXHIBIT D
`
`

`

`Case 1:16-cv-ozsgo-AT Documiiiflilfllillliliifliflliilyflmiw llllliiluilllllll
`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 2 of 25
`Umted States Patent
`[19]
`[11] Patent Number:
`5,726,644
`
`
`Jednacz et al.
`[45] Date of Patent:
`Mar. 10, 1998
`
`[54] LIGHTING CONTROL SYSTEM WITH
`PACKET HOPPING COMMUNICATION
`
`[75]
`
`Inventors: Thomas E. Jednacz: Rancho Pallace
`Verdes; Yongplng Xla, Torrance, both
`of Caljfl; Sfinagesh Satyanarayana,
`Tarrytown. N.Y_
`
`[73] Assignee: Philips Electronics North America
`Corporation. New York, NY.
`
`[21] APP1- No.: 493,715
`.
`FflCd:
`
`[22]
`
`Jun. 30, 1995
`
`Int. Cl.6 ....................................................... H04Q 7/00
`[51]
`[52] US. Cl. ................................ Mil/825.52; 340/825.06;
`315/294
`[5 8] Field of Search ....................... 340/825.064, 825.37,
`340/825.52. 825.57, 825.58; 315/294, 295.
`323; 307/29, 39
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`TE
`[H [E
`NTS
`NT DOC
`U'S’ P
`.................... 340/825.06
`7/1988 Pezzolo et a].
`4,755,792
`
`----- 340/825-06
`7/1989 BIOWmmet 31-
`4,347,281
`
`9/1991 Messenger ............
`. 340/825.06
`5,046,066
`
`""" 315/294
`11/1991 Beamsmw 6‘ 31-
`'
`5,066,896
`
`' 340/8333?
`3233: £233: littedeifim
`23333;:
`""""" 375/1
`5:263’046 ”/1993 Vander Mey
`'
`1,1994 Vander Mai """" 375/1
`5278:862
`
`
`______ 375/1
`. 5,355,525 10/1994 Vander Mey a 31.
`
`. 340/82506
`........
`5,385,297
`1/1995 Rein et a1.
`...... 315/294
`5,471,119 11/1995 Ranganath
`
`......................... 315/294
`5,530,322
`6/1996 Ference et a1.
`
`5,537,104
`5,565,855
`5,572,438
`
`7/1996 Van Dort et a].
`.................. 340/825.52
`
`10/1996 Knibbe .............
`.. 340/825.06
`11/1996 Ehlers et a]. .............................. 307/39
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`F. William Gutzwiller. Control Networks for the Home, Oct.
`1983. Machine Design Magazine, vol. 55. No. 24, pp.
`109—112.
`
`V-R- Hohman, “900-MHZ Radio Provides TWO—Way Path
`Control & Return”, Transmission & Distribution (Jun. 1984)
`pp. 33—36.
`G.W. Kelly, “Sona/ECS a Decentralized Environmental
`Control System”. Proc. IEEE Comp. Soc. Workshop on
`Computing Aid to the Handicapped, Nov. 4—5, 1982, p. 103.
`
`Primary Examiner—Michael Horabik
`Assistant Examiner-Edward Merz
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Anne E. Barschall; David R.
`Treacy
`[57]
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`Building lights are master controlled to reduce power con-
`sumption under building master control, or in response to
`electric utflity commands to the building computer. Each
`lighting wall control unit includes a transceiver which can
`communicate to at least one neighbor transceiver, thereby
`forming a distributed communication network extending
`back to the building computer. The transceivers operate
`asynchronously with low data rate FSK signals. using carrier
`frequencies between 900 and 950 MHz. Different commu-
`nications protocols control packet forwarding and aclmowl—
`edgement so that messages reach their destination but are
`not forwarded in endless circles, and so that collisions are
`minimized.
`
`24 Claims, 8 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`
`ELECTRIC
`UTILITY
`
`

`

`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 3 of 25
`Case 1:16—cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 3 of 25
`
`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 10, 1998
`
`Sheet 1 of 8
`
`5,726,644
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 4 of 25
`Case 1:16—cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 4 of 25
`
`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 10, 1998
`
`Sheet 2 of 8
`
`5,726,644
`
`BUILDING PERSONNEL
`
`I
`
`USER INTERFACE
`
`I
`
`APPLICATION PROGRAM
`
`I
`
`BUILDING COMPUTER H UTILITY COMPUTER
`
`I
`
`IN—BUILDING NETWORK
`
`I
`
`CONTROL UNIT
`
`T
`
`lN—ROOM USER
`
`FIG. 3
`
`

`

`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 5 of 25
`Case 1:16—cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 5 of 25
`
`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 10,' 1998
`
`Sheet 3 of 8
`
`5,726,644
`
`
`
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`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 6 of 25
`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 6 of 25
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`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 10, 1998
`
`Sheet 4 of 8
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`5,726,644
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`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 7 of 25
`Case 1:16—cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 7 of 25
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`US. Patent
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`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 8 of 25
`Case 1:16—cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 8 of 25
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`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 10, 1998
`
`Sheet 6 of 8
`
`5,726,644
`
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`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 9 of 25
`Case 1:16—cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 9 of 25
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`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 10, 1998
`
`Sheet 7 of 3
`
`5,726,644
`
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`FIG. 10a
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`AMPLIFIER
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`
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`342
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`CIRCUIT
`
`

`

`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 10 of 25
`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 10 of 25
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`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 10, 1998
`
`Sheet 3 of 8
`
`5,726,644
`
`
`
`'
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`314
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`313 MIXER
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`
`

`

`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 11 of 25
`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 11 of 25
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`5,726,644
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`2
`
`1
`LIGHTING CONTROL SYSTEM WITH
`PACKET HOPPING COMMUNICATION
`
`CROSS—REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`This application is related to concurrently filed
`application, Ser. No. 08/498286 by Srinagesh Satya-
`narayana for PACKET HOPPING SYSTEM WITH SLID-
`ING FREQUENCY. AND TRANSCEIVER FOR THE
`SYSTEM. and concurrently filed application, Ser. No.
`08/498,285 by Srinagesh Satyanarayana for TRANSMIT-
`TER CONTROL SYSTEM FOR LOW DATA RATE FSK
`MODULATION.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`
`The invention relates to centralized control of building
`systems having many devices or elements distributed
`throughout
`the building. For example,
`the invention is
`applicable to centralized control of artificial lighting systems
`in buildings where each room or area has an individual local
`control, or to heating and/or air conditioning systems having
`many individually controllable heating devices, heat pumps
`(heating or cooling) or heat exchangers. The invention is
`also applicable to occupancy-sensing, security. or fire detec-
`tion systems requiring sensed-data transmission from a
`multiplicity of sensor locations to a central location. as well
`as control signals transmitted back to selected locations, and
`systems for improving energy conservation by providing a
`combination of individual and central control of lighting
`levels or temperatures at many or all locations within a
`building, or permitting temporary reduction of energy con—
`sumption on a most effective basis in the event the supply
`system or utility is overloaded or limited in capacity.
`More particularly. in lighting applications this invention
`relates to methods and apparatus for communication
`between a building computer and dozens or hundreds of
`modules which each control one or more lamps or luminar—
`ies within a room or area.
`
`For convenience, this specification and the claims refer
`extensively to a “building” or “building computer.” It should
`be clear that the term “building” should be interpreted as
`including a portion of a building, or a building complex
`having two or more structures or portions thereof under
`common control, and sharing one network; and might be
`applicable to an amusement park or other outdoor situation.
`Other applications not directed at energy conservation
`might include centralized override of volume or channel
`settings for an existing hard-wired background music and
`public address system. and in particular would allow control
`on a group or zone basis where this had not been provided
`in the hard-wiring layout.
`2. Description of the Prior Art
`The need to reduce electric power consumption during
`emergencies, or as a result of simple excessive demand on
`an electric power system, has led to increasingly sophisti-
`cated solutions and proposals. In the past, when an electric
`utility needed to reduce consumption, it could only reduce
`distribution voltages or request (in some cases demand) that
`users reduce their consumption. However, voltage reduction
`is undesirable, in part because it reduces the efficiency of
`many of the devices consuming power. and in part because
`many of the energy consuming devices respond non-linearly
`to voltage reduction.
`
`10
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`15
`
`20
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`25
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`30
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`35
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`55
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`Reduction of power consumption involved two kinds of
`problems: communication, and actual reduction. The first
`depended largely on announcements over public radio
`channels, and telephone calls to operators of large busi-
`nesses and buildings. The second problem was handled with
`mixed success. Raising temperature settings or turning off
`selected air conditioning units reduced this aspect of system
`power consumption without blocldng use of buildings.
`However, because individual light switches were either “on”
`or “off.” and lighting circuits were not arranged to permit
`effective reduction of lighting while maintaining safe opera—
`tions in the buildings, significant reductions in this major
`aspect of energy use often impaired work output or building
`usability. Within a building, compliance often required send-
`ing maintenance personnel to each switchboard or oflice to
`turn off “unnecessary” lighting circuits.
`With the development of centralized building computer
`systems for control of heating, ventilating and air condition—
`ing (HVAC). direct communication between electric power
`distribution system computers and building computers
`became a possibility. However, this did little to improve the
`effectiveness of power consumption for artificial lighting.
`At the same time, innovations in the control of individual
`fluorescent luminaires, and groups of luminaires on the same
`circuit, have opened the door to dimming artificial lighting
`levels efficiently without making task performance impos—
`sible in the affected areas of rooms or buildings. The
`Varitron® system is an example of fluorescent lighting
`control systems which allow highly responsive control in an
`area large enough to require a number of luminaires, but
`sufficiently uniform in use or light need so that one control
`regime provides satisfactory illumination for the entire area.
`This system provides a remotely controllable ballast in each
`lurninaire, and controls all the ballasts in this area by low
`frequency amplitude modified signals transmitted over the
`AC power line from one wall unit. Dimming of lurninaire
`output to a number of discrete levels, such as 110%, 75%,
`50%, 25% and 9% of normal, provides suflicient versatility
`while at the same time simplifying the control signalling and
`responding functions. Within the area local control may be
`provided by a user operable infrared based “dimming
`mouse” and/or an occupancy sensor; and a programmable
`wall unit can be used to change settings automatically at
`preselected times of day or days of the week.
`Central “on-ofl” building control of lighting has been
`possible for many years, through use of low voltage wiring
`from a central office or computer to operate relays control-
`ling local power circuits. However, this technique does not
`lend itself well to dimming control, because of the large
`numbers of conductors which are required to carry signals
`for different dimmer control relays, and the special adapta-
`tion of the individual room lighting controls which is
`required. Such a system is very difficult to retrofit in an
`existing building. A further difliculty with this type of
`system is that correction of wiring failures is often diflicult
`because wiring drawings are inaccurate or non—existent, and
`tracing these low voltage cables is time consuming and
`expensive.
`A low-power radio control system for receivers up to 75
`feet away is described in a paper “SONA/ECS. a decentral-
`ized environmental control system (for disabled)” published
`as part of the Proceeding of the IEEE Computer Society
`Workshop on Computing to Aid the Handicapped. Nov. 4-5.
`1982.
`
`Another system for building control makes use of the
`existing AC power wiring in the building to carry control
`
`

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`Still a further object of the invention is to provide a
`centralized control system with redundant route capability
`compensating for unreliability of individual links.
`According to the invention a building control system
`includes individual control units in each of the rooms or
`areas to be controlled; a central control unit for generating
`control signals which are directed to a particular one. or a
`group, or all of the individual control units; and a low power
`radio transceiver associated with each of the individual
`control units and with the central control unit. where each of
`the transceivers transmits suflicient power to communicate
`with at least one other of the transceivers. but not all of them;
`and at least some of the transceivers can exercise at least
`some control over settings of the associated individual
`control units, overriding at least the prior settings estab-
`lished by local operation of the individual control units.
`Different levels of priority can be assigned to individual
`control points. to determine to what extent either the central
`or local control can override the other. It is clear that the
`small number of bits needed to transmit dimming informa-
`tion leaves room in a packet. as short as 5 bytes. for
`extensive priority coding.
`According to a preferred embodiment of the invention
`each transmission by the transceiver associated with the
`central control unit, which is intended for a particular
`individual control unit, is a packet of digital information
`including an address of the transceiver associated with that
`control unit. and the control signal. Optionally the packet
`may also include the sender’s address. routing or
`re-transmission infomiation, priority coding. and/or various
`check bits. Instead of a particular address, the packet may
`contain a group address. or be coded as an all-network
`broadcast. The digital information packet may be preceded
`by a burst of unmodulated carrier signal. and/or a synchro-
`nizing signal. These will be selected according to the pre—
`dictability of the carrier frequency, and the type of
`modulation, being used. so that receivers can lock on to a
`transmission before the first information (e.g.. address) bit is
`received.
`
`signals. So-called “carrier current” systems for impressing a
`relatively low radio frequency on AC power wiring have
`been used for telemetering data in power distribution
`systems, and for “Wireless” intercom or music systems. but
`have been prone to excessive noise. To reduce cost. 900
`MHZ radio channels for 2-way communication are described
`in “900 MHz radio provides two—way path for control and
`return” is described in Transm. and Distribution. vol. 36. no.
`6. pp 33-6 for June 1984. This system had the advantage that
`it was claimed to be installable and maintainable by the
`utility’s own workforce.
`Systems using high frequency spread spectrum tech-
`niques for distributing control signals are described in US.
`Pat. Nos. 5.090.024. 5.263.046. 5.278.862 and 5.359.625.
`The last of these approximates a swept frequency waveform
`in which successive square waves are formed by the chirps
`of the sequence. and the frequency of the square waves is
`varied over at least a portion of the sequence. This technique
`is suggested for use in the 900+ MHz band.
`A control system sold under the name Echelon uses
`microprocessors for control of direct link communication to
`each of the individual controls of the network over a
`common channel. This system caters to a wide variety of
`applications. and can have as much as a 1 Mbit/sec com-
`munication capacity. This system uses a communication
`protocol which specifies a packet structure. handshake com-
`mands to set up a communication and acknowledge a
`communication. certain error correction and recovery, and
`retransmission after a time delay if a communication is lost.
`Transmission is possible over various media. such as twisted
`pair. radiated RF. infrared. or high frequency signals carried
`on the power line. between the central source and each of the
`nodes. except where a relay may be provided to a group of
`nodes. As a result. installation of such a system is expensive
`and requires considerable development time. The Echelon
`system can be used in the license—free 49 MHZ band when
`power is less than 1 watt. Especially if an RF signal is
`transmitted over the power lines, this system employs a
`spread spectrum encoding to provide noise immunity.
`As communications systems have become more
`sophisticated, various protocols have been developed to
`improve communication efliciency when it is not practical to
`have a direct link between source and destination. For
`example. a routing code can be transmitted with the
`message. and the entire route is directed by this code.
`Alternatively. in systems such as the telephone networks,
`complex algorithms evaluate the available paths to select the
`one which is optimum at this time. However. such systems
`require substantial computing power at each network node.
`and are not practical for an in-building distributed commu—
`nications system.
`
`SUMIMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`An object of the invention is to provide a central building
`control system which can supplement or override local
`control. and which requires little or no addition to a build—
`ing’s fixed Wiring.
`Another object of the invention is to provide a building
`control system which has a distributed communication sys-
`tem using low cost building blocks.
`Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a
`system which can easily be installed by electricians without
`special training.
`A further object of the invention is to provide a building
`lighting control system which is easily installed by retrofit—
`ting into an existing building.
`
`35
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`45
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`50
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`55
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`65
`
`Each combination of a control unit and transceiver
`includes circuitry for determining. from address information
`in a packet received by that transceiver. whether the packet
`is intended for that transceiver; and if not. whether or not the
`packet should be retransmitted. If the received packet is
`addressed solely to that transceiver. in accordance with any
`control data contained in the packet. the combination will
`provide an appropriate control signal to the devices in that
`room or area.
`
`Where a received packet is addressed to at least one other
`combination. re—transmission decisions are based on routing
`or re-transmitting decisions; that is, if aroute is defined, and
`this transceiver is an intermediate node along the route. this
`transceiver will retransmit the packet. whereas if routing is
`not defined, the decision whether or not to retransmit will be
`based on some other criterion. In a system according to the
`invention the route can. for example. be fully defined by the
`address in the packet. or by the address and routing data in
`the packet, or by a routing table which is stored in the
`combination (in this case. probably two tables. one for
`outgoing packets and one for aclmowledgements). If trans-
`mission is by “flooding” then examples of retransmission
`criteria include comparison of the packet with recently
`transmitted packets. and retransmission codes.
`To eliminate need for pre-determining routing paths and
`to reduce the possibility of collisions. the preferred mode of
`packet hopping is flooding with hop counts. According to a
`
`

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`further aspect of the preferred embodiment. each packet
`which is transmitted includes a code signal indicative of a
`maximum number of times that packet should be retrans-
`mitted; and prior to retransmitting the packet. a transceiver
`decrements that code signal. In a still further preferred
`embodiment of this aspect of the invention. a transceiver/
`control unit contains a memory for storing a previously
`retransmitted packet, and a circuit for comparing the latest
`received packet with that stored packet to determine if a
`retransmission criterion is met.
`
`According to another aspect of the preferred embodiment.
`when a transceiver/control unit combination has received a
`
`channel. In this embodiment the receiver section is capable
`of detecting transmission at any frequency within that rela—
`tively broad band, and locking on to that frequency to detect
`the digital signal. Upon receiving a packet which it should
`retransmit. each transceiver will wait for a period of time,
`and will then retransmit at whatever in-band frequency its
`transmitter is then ready to produce, unless the transceiver
`detects presence of a carrier signal within the frequency
`band being used for communication. Again, this period of
`time is preferably obtained from a random number table
`stored or generated in the transceiver/control unit combina-
`tion.
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`packet for which it is the “destination”(address of combi— _
`nation is the address in the packet) upon providing the
`appropriate control signal to its control unit, the transceiver
`will transmit an acknowledgement signal. Ifflooding is used
`in both directions, any transceiver receiving the acknowl—
`edgement signal will attempt to retransmit the acknowledge-
`ment signal. If routing information is transmitted and kept
`with a packet.
`then this would be used in the reverse
`direction for acknowledgement. If a re-transmission limit is
`used for outgoing packets, then a similar scheme may be
`used for acknowledgement packets, or acknowledgements
`may be treated diiferently.
`Where the system being controlled is a building’s artifi-
`cial fighting, the control units may provide local on-oflE
`and/or dimming control, and central control of dimming or
`dimming and on-ofi. or other combinations. Different pri-
`ority levels can permit local users greater or lesser control
`overriding the central control signal. For example, top local
`priority can permit resetting to any light level by local
`control; second priority allows two steps of brightness
`increase but not above 100%; third priority allows one step
`of increase but not above 100%; and lowest priority allows
`no increase under local control. Preferably the priority is
`provided as a code with the central control signal and will
`vary according to the room or area being controlled. and the
`circumstance causing the control signal to be transmitted.
`Preferably, most or all the transceivers are interchange—
`able and transmit with approximately the same power level
`in a frequency band which provides good penetration of
`structural walls and floors, but without radiating substan-
`tially into other buildings or suffering severe interference.
`This frequency can be any available commercial transmis-
`sion band which has suitable propagation characteristics.
`However, it is also advantageous to select a band, such as an
`“ISM” band, which permits unlicensed operation if the
`power output is less than a certain figure, such as one watt.
`A desirable band meeting those qualifications, and for which
`relatively low cost RF equipment is readily available, is the
`900 to 950 MHz band; but other bands such as ISM bands
`near 49 MHZ, 470MHz, and 2.4 and 4.5 GHZ may be
`considered. In one embodiment, the transceivers are closely
`regulated for transmitting frequency, to fall with one Chan-
`nel; and the receiver section monitors only that channel.
`Upon receiving a packet which it should retransmit, the
`transceiver will wait for a period of time, and will then
`retransmit in that same channel unless the transceiver detects
`presence of a carrier signal within that channel. This period
`of time is preferably obtained from a random number table
`stored or generated in the transceiver/control unit combina-
`tion; but the delay may be a selected value pre-assigned to
`that combination.
`
`Preferably, all the transceivers are interchangeable and
`transmit with approximately the same power level, using a
`carrier frequency which is between 900 and 950 MHz; and
`still more preferably, within a nominal band approximately
`10 MHz wide, such as approximately 905 to 915 MHz. If
`transmission is controlled to fall within one channel, this is
`preferably a channel of approximately 30 kHz bandwidth.
`Further, according to the invention a method of control-
`ling at least one parameter at a plurality of control points
`distributed throughout at
`least a portion of a building
`includes the following steps:
`transmitting a first radio signal. having a first power level
`sufficient to be received reliably at least one of the
`control points, and insufficient to be received reliably at
`all control points within the building, from a trans-
`ceiver associated with a central control point,
`modulating the first radio signal with a packet of digital
`information including address information relating to at
`least a second control point, and a control signal
`relating to the controllable parameter for all control
`points defined by that address information,
`receiving the first radio signal at the one of the control
`points,
`transmitting a second radio signal, having a second power
`level sufficient to be received reliably at another of the
`control points, and insufficient to be received reliably at
`all control points within the building, from that one of
`the control points,
`modulating the second radio signal with a packet of
`digital information including address information relat-
`ing to at least the second control point, and the control
`signal,
`continuing reception and retransmission of packets con-
`taining address information and the control signal until
`the second control point is reached. and
`upon receipt of the packet at the second control point,
`controlling the parameter according to the control sig—
`nal.
`
`In a preferred embodiment, when a control signal relates
`to all the control points in the building. the address infor-
`mation includes an “all network” address or code, and the
`method further includes controlling the at least one param-
`eter at the one of the control points, according to the control
`signal, retransmitting a packet containing that control signal
`from successive control points until all control points have
`received one of these packets, and controlling the at least
`one parameter at each of the control points.
`In still another preferred embodiment the first and second
`radio signals are transmitted in a same frequency band, and
`the method further includes:
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`In another embodiment, to reduce cost the transmitter
`frequency is not highly stabilized, especially with respect to
`temperature. Transmission frequency will fall somewhere
`within a relatively broad band, rather than in a defined
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`after receiving the first radio signal. testing at said one of
`the lighting control point, to determine if a further radio
`signal at some carrier frequency is being received in
`that same frequency band. and
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`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 14 of 25
`Case 1:16-cv-02690-AT Document 109-5 Filed 07/19/16 Page 14 of 25
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`transmitting said second radio signal only after determi—
`nation that no radio signal at approximately the same
`carrier frequency is being received. According to
`another aspect of this embodiment. before testing to
`determine if The band is clear. The method includes
`waiting either a predetermined period of time assigned
`to that transceiver. or a period of time randomly deter-
`mined by that transceiver.
`A further feature of the invention, especially valuable at
`the time of initial installation. provides a method of auto-
`matically detennining usable communication links between
`The different control points. This method uses unique iden—
`tification codes which are (preferably) installed in each
`transceiver by the manufacturer. and which are recorded on
`installation sheets or drawings when the transceiver/control
`unit combinations are physically installed; and acknowl—
`edgement signals which are transmitted from a control point
`whenever it receives a packet which is addressed to it or a
`group of which it is a member. the whole network To
`achieve automatic network evaluation. the building com-
`puter transmits signals successively to each of The nodes. to
`cause Them to transmit test packets. From the patterns of
`acknowledgement signals received the computer can gener-
`ate displays or printouts showing the useable links and the
`locations of the nodes in the building.
`The ability to automatically determine usable links. and
`from This to determine the number of hops which should be
`required to reach any particular node. provides the additional
`benefit that a change in the physical location of The building
`computer. or apparently minor building renovations which
`alfect one or more links. can be accommodated easily. The
`initial installation method can be repeated. so as to re—define
`The system. with very little cost in operator time.
`One of many applications of The above-described method
`embodiments is for controlling lighting levels within a
`building having a plurality of fighting control points. In this
`application. the control points are lighting control points
`from which lights in an area or room can be dimmed or
`turned on and off; and the parameter is a lighting level (e.g.,
`off. dimmed to some level. or normal on). This method
`further includes controlling at least a first luminaire from the
`one of the lighting control points which receives the first
`radio signal. independent of that first radio signal.
`In a preferred embodiment. when a lighting control signal
`relates to all the control points in the building, the method
`further includes controlling at least a first luminaire from the
`one lighting control point. in response to receipt of the first
`radio signal. and
`controlling at least one other respective luminaire from
`each of the other lighting control points. in response to
`receipt of one of the radio signals.
`It will be clear to those or ordinary skill in the art that all
`these features provide low cost wireless communication.
`with a very low cost of installation.
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
`
`FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a system according to the
`invention. showing communication links which are expected
`to be functional between difierent nodes.
`FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a building in which the
`system of FIG. 1 is used.
`FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between
`different levels of control of building fighting.
`FIG. 4 is a node logic diagram for the system of FIG. 1
`communicating over partially pre—planned routing.
`FIG. 5 is a node logic diagram for the system of FIG. 1
`communicating by pseudo-random flooding.
`
`FIGS. 6a—6d are diagrams of packets usable with different
`operational protocols. the packet of FIG. 6c being adapted
`for the system of FIG. 5.
`FIG. 7_ is a block diagram of The lighting control system
`in a room of the building of FIG. 2.
`FIG. 8 is a time diagram showing transmitter frequency
`sliding.
`FIG. 9 is diagram showing receiver lock-on,
`FIGS. 10a and 1017 are block diagrams of The transmitter
`and receiver portions of a transceiver according to the
`invention. with simple sliding frequency. and
`FIGS. 11a and 11b are block diagrams of the transmitter
`and receiver portions of a second transceiver according to
`the invention, having a breakable transmitter phase locked
`loop.
`
`DESCRIPTIO