Lutron Technology Company LLC

Lutron Electronics Company, Inc.

Galen Edgar Knode

Ankit Bhutani

Rhodes B Baker

Jeffrey Karc

Jordan H Crafts

Richard M Walsh, Iii

Sanjeev Kumar

William Bryce Fricke

Erica L Clymer

Jonathan T Lenz

Richard S Camden

John B Nill

Daniel Curtis Raneri

Jamie Steffie

Steven J Kober

Brent Protzman

Brian Michael Courtney

Christopher James Salvestrini

Craig Alan Casey

Bryan Robert Barnes

Jeffrey S Hayes

Sandeep Mudabail Raghuram

Stephen M Ludwig, Jr

Ryan S Bedell

Kyle Thomas Barco

Theodore F Economy

John C Browne, Jr

James P Steiner

Daniel L Twaddell

Donald R Mosebrook

Justin J Mierta

Thomas M Shearer

Ethan Charles Biery

Stuart W Dejonge

Andrew Karl Cooney

Michael J Zizza

Maureen E Flowers

Jason A King

Matthew V Harte

Jaykrishna A Shukla

Vidur Garg

Prasad Pramod Kulkarni

Matthew J Swatsky

Jr Ludwig Stephen M

Iii Walsh Richard M

Joel S Spira

Jason C Killo

Robert Charles Newman

Chris Lloyd Dimberg

John H Bull

Timothy Mann

Greg Edward Sloan

Sean R Pearson

James Mathias Weber

Richard M Walsh

Sriram Gopalakrishnan

Clive Lopez

John F Yamrick

Jr Stephen M Ludwig

Iii Richard M Walsh

John T Lenz

A load control system may include control devices configured to communicate via a network. The network may include router devices for enabling communication of messages throughout the network. A control device may operate as a router device in the network. The control device may receive advertisement messages from a leader device in the network. When the leader device fails to communicate advertisement messages within a predefined period of time to other control devices that are operating as router devices in the network, one or more router devices may be identified as backup-leader devices to take over operation as the leader device in the network. When a control device that has the role of a leader device or router device is intentionally deactivated, the control device may perform a deactivation process that is specific to the role of the control device on the network.

Handling loss or removal of devices in a mesh network

A load control system may include control-target devices for controlling an amount of power provided to an electrical load. The control-target devices may be capable of controlling the amount of power provided to the electrical load based on control instructions. The control-target devices and/or the control-instructions may be determined based on a gesture performed by a user. The user may wear a wearable control device capable of measuring movements performed by the user and transmit digital messages that may be used to control an electrical load. The wearable control device may identify gestures performed by the user for controlling a control-target device and/or provide control instructions to the control-target device based on the identified gestures. A gesture may be associated with a scene that includes a configuration of one or more control devices in a load control system.

Gesture-based load control via wearable devices

A control module is able to be installed with electrical devices, such as, for example electrical loads (e.g., lighting loads) and/or load regulation devices. The control module may determine whether an LED driver for an LED light source is responsive to one or more of a plurality of control techniques. The control module may be able to automatically determine an appropriate control technique to use to control the connected LED driver and/or LED light source. The control module may sequentially attempt to control the LED driver and/or LED light source using each of the plurality of control techniques and determine if the LED driver and/or LED light source is responsive to the present control technique. The plurality of control techniques may include one or more analog control techniques and one or more digital control techniques.

Automatic configuration of a load control system

A wall-mounted assembly may include one or more host devices which receive line voltage and generate low voltage power on one or more contacts for powering one or more modular devices. The one or more modular devices may be installed adjacent to the host device and may share a faceplate with the host device, such as a standard decorator faceplate. The modular devices may receive power from the host device via a power bus between the host device and the one or more modular devices. Further, the power bus may include a communication bus for communication between the host device and the modular devices. The faceplate may be a smart faceplate, which may include circuitry, such as a battery backup, occupancy sensing, a charging dock for a mobile phone, etc.

Device for powering a modular assembly

Described herein is an audio device with a microphone which may adapt the audio output volume of a speaker by either increasing or decreasing output volume based on an audio input volume from a user and a distance from the user to the audio device. The audio device may also adapt its output volume to lower the audio output based on detecting one or more interruptions including occupancy and acoustic sounds.

Audio device with dynamically responsive volume

A load control device is able to receive radio-frequency (RF) signals from a Wi-Fi-enabled device, such as a smart phone, via a wireless local area network. The load control device comprises a controllably conductive device adapted to be coupled in series between an AC power source and an electrical load, a controller for rendering the controllably conductive device conductive and non-conductive, and a Wi-Fi module operable to receive the RF signals from the wireless network. The controller controls the controllably conductive device to adjust the power delivered to the load in response to the wireless signals received from the wireless network. The load control device may further comprise an optical module operable to receive an optical signal, such that the controller may obtain an IP address from the received optical signal and control the power delivered to the load in response to a wireless signal that includes the IP address.

Method of programming a load control device

A state change device may be electrically connected to a switched receptacle, or to both the switched and unswitched receptacles, of an outlet. The state change device may generate a change of state signal when power is applied to, or removed from, the switched receptacle. The state change device may wirelessly communicate the signal. The state change device may include a load control circuit that may be configured to control the amount of power delivered to an electrical load that is electrically connected to the state change device. The state change device may receive commands directed to the load control circuit. The state change device may be deployed in a load control system and may operate as a control entity, such that the state change device may issue commands to one or more load control devices, responsive to the application or removal of power at the switched receptacle.

State change devices for switched electrical receptacles

A load control system may include control devices for controlling power provided to an electrical load. The control devices may include a control-source device and a control-target device. The control-target device may control the power provided to the electrical load based on digital messages received from the control-source device. The control devices may include a load control discovery device capable of sending discovery messages configured to discover control devices within a location. The discovered control devices may be organized by signal strength and may be provided to a network device to enable association of the discovered control devices within a location. The discovery messages may be transmitted within an established discovery range. The discovery range may be adjusted to discover different control devices. Different control devices may be identified as the load control discovery device for discovering different control devices.

Commissioning load control systems

A wireless device may receive packets according to a protocol, such as Bluetooth, and may rapidly react to receive an interfering RF packet instead of dropping the first RF packet and the interfering RF packet, to decrease message delay due to collisions in high device density environments. When a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) difference between the interfering RF packet and the first RF packet exceeds a threshold, the device may detect the interfering packet and resync a portion of its circuitry to lock on to and receive the interfering packet. The wireless receiver may detect the interfering RF packet by detecting one or more of: a specific resync byte sequence, an increase in RSSI, or a phase shift. Additionally, a wireless device may add the specific resync byte sequence to an RF packet of a standard protocol.

Collision detection method

A load control system may include control devices configured to communicate via a network. The network may include router devices for enabling communication of messages throughout the network. Networks may enter a router optimization mode to optimize the locations of the router devices in the network. During a router optimization mode, the control devices that are communicating over the network may transmit optimization messages. In order to generate optimized network data for optimizing the network and the roles of devices on the network, potential connections may be analyzed between devices and roles of the router devices in the network may be established based on the potential connections between devices.

Assigning router devices in a mesh network

A control device may be configured to delay an attachment procedure while attachment messages are being transmitted over the network. The control device may be configured to initiate an attachment procedure with a router device on a network at the end a back-off period of time. The attachment procedure may include transmitting attachment messages (e.g., parent request messages) that enable the control device to transmit and receive messages over the network through the router device. During the back-off period of time, the control device may determine an attachment message is received from another control device on the network. And, if an attachment message (e.g., a parent request messages and/or a link request message) is received from another control device, the control device may increase the back-off period of time (e.g., delaying when the control device initiates its attachment procedure).

Network formation for a load control system

A visible light sensor (VLS) may be configured to sense environmental characteristics using images of a space. The VLS may be controlled in one or more modes, including a daylight glare sensor mode, a daylighting sensor mode, a color sensor mode, and/or an occupancy/vacancy sensor mode. In the daylight glare sensor mode, the VLS may be configured to decrease or eliminate glares. In the daylighting sensor mode and/or color sensor mode, the VLS may be configured to provide a preferred amount of light and color temperature, respectively, within the space. In the occupancy/vacancy sensor mode, the VLS may be configured to detect an occupancy/vacancy condition within the space and adjust one or more control devices according to the occupation or vacancy of the space. The visible light sensor may be configured to protect the privacy of users within the space via software, a removable module, and/or a special sensor.

Load control system having a visible light sensor

A control device may be configured to form a network at a unique coordinated startup time. The control device may identify a role assigned to the control device in a previously-formed network that the control device was attached to. The control device may determine a unique coordinated startup time for the control device based on the role assigned to the control device in the previously-formed network. The control device may initiate a network formation procedure at the unique coordinated startup time for the device. For example, the network formation procedure may cause the control device to attach to another control device in the network. The network formation procedure is configured to enable the control device to assume the role assigned to the control device in the previously-formed network in the new network.

Coordinated startup routine for control devices of a network

A low-power radio-frequency (RF) receiver is characterized by a decreased current consumption over prior art RF receivers, such that the RF receiver may be used in control devices, such as battery-powered motorized window treatments and two-wire dimmer switches. The RF receiver uses an RF sub-sampling technique to check for the RF signals and then put the RF receiver to sleep for a sleep time that is longer than a packet length of a transmitted packet to thus conserve battery power and lengthen the lifetime of the batteries. The RF receiver compares detected RF energy to a detect threshold that may be increased to decrease the sensitivity of the RF receiver and increase the lifetime of the batteries. After detecting that an RF signal is being transmitted, the RF receiver is put to sleep for a snooze time period that is longer than the sleep time and just slightly shorter than the time between two consecutive transmitted packets to further conserve battery power.

Low-power radio-frequency receiver

A control device may communicate messages with devices in a network through a parent device, and receive messages from auxiliary parent devices. The control device may store a respective communication metric associated with each of the parent device and the one or more auxiliary parent devices. The control device may set an auxiliary parent device of the one or more auxiliary parent devices as the parent device of the control device, e.g., when a respective communication metric of the auxiliary parent device determined to be set as the parent device indicates a stronger communication link than the parent device. The control device may determine that the respective communication metric of the auxiliary parent device indicates a stronger potential communication link than the parent device when the average received signal strength indicator of auxiliary parent device is greater than the average received signal strength indicator of the parent device.

Attachments in a network

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Macungie, PA, United States of America

Galen Edgar Knode