This innovation extends the capabilities of CbyGE lights by adding signaling using their already existing intensity and spectral modulation features.
One of the limitations of the CbyGE smart LED is that it is a "bluetooth only" device. As a result, its wireless communication range is limited. Furthermore, the system is based on 1-to-1 communication between a smartphone and a CbyGE LED. At the same time, this helps keeps system complexity and cost low, making it very easy to use for "non-expert" consumers. The goal of this project is to develop a way to overcome some of the existing limitations of CbyGE without increasing system complexity. One example of this envisioned extended capability would be to turn on or off a secondary device such as a fan or another smart LED by touching a button on the existing CbyGE app. Another example would be to control a device located outside bluetooth range, such as turning on or off a light in the living room from the bedroom. And, of course, these actions should be possible without introducing a hub or wifi connectivity or other such networking complexities.
The central concept behind this invention is to make use of the intensity control (dimming) feature of C-Life and the spectrum control (color transition) feature of C-Sleep that are already available as part of the CbyGE smart LEDs. Control of a secondary appliance is achieved in the following manner, described using the C-Life LED as an example.
Step 1: Smartphone app sends bluetooth command to C-Life smart LED to momentarily modulate its intensity.
Step 2: Upon receiving this command C-Life smart LED modulates its intensity for a very brief period of time. This is essentially a flickering of the light, but if the modulation is small and fast, it will not be perceptible to the human eye.
Step 3: A photodiode (or a suitable light sensor) located within visible range of the C-Life smart LED being modulated picks up the "flicker" in the light and converts it into an electrical signal. In real use a differential arrangement will need to be used to subtract out the effect of ambient light (i.e. better SNR).
Step 4: This electrical signal is then processed by a combination of analog and digital circuitry (e.g. filter, amplify, digitize, decode) and results in a signal which modifies the state of a relay.
Step 5: The state of the relay mentioned in Step 4 determines the on/off state of any appliance connected to an electrical outlet that is switched by the relay.
The items needed in Steps 2 to 5, i.e. the light sensor, signal processing electronics, and relays will constitute the new fixture invention specified in the challenge. Also, as implied earlier, the CbyGE smartphone app will also need to be modified to include icons that trigger the required bluetooth command described in Step 1.
The concept described above can be implemented in practice in various ways. Some alternate possibilities are listed below.
Alternate implementation option 1: Use spectral modulation using C-Sleep smart LED instead of intensity modulation. This will require a sensor that is sensitive to color changes.
Alternate implementation option 2: Use infrared (IR) emitters and sensors. This will require adding a IR emitter to the smart LEDs and use of IR sensors. Signal detection may be easier during daytime hours with IR.
Alternate implementation option 3: Use radio frequency (RF) emitters and sensors. This will require adding a RF emitter to the smart LEDs and use of RF detectors. Signal range will be better and line of sight emitter - sensor arrangement will not be necessary.
Range extension: One significant problem with today's CbyGE smart LEDs is the limited range of Bluetooth communication. It is unlikely that a light in a different room or a different floor can be controlled with today's CbyGE system. This new invention provides a way to work around this limitation without introducing a hub or connecting into a home's wifi network. The way it is intended to work is through signal relaying.
Assume we are in Room A and want to toggle a light in a remote Room B which is outside Bluetooth range. As before, we have our smartphone app issue a command that momentarily modulates the intensity of spectral profile of a CbyGE smart LED in Room A. This is picked up by a sensor fixture located in the vicinity of Room A smart LED. The sensor fixture processes the signal and causes a intensity or spectral profile modulation on a secondary CbyGE smart LED connect to one of its outlets. The secondary modulation event is picked up a sensor fixture that is located further away from Room A. This type of relaying can be made to continue till the signal reaches Room B at which point the final bulb state can be toggled. Figure 2 in the attachments section shows a schematic depiction of this relaying method.
Status Monitoring: Since the newly invented sensor fixture is always able to sense the on/off state of the smart LED bulb with which it is paired, in principle, it will be possible to query the status of every LED. For those LEDs that are outside range, a command requesting status is issued that is relayed through intermediate LEDs and sensors to the target smart LED. The status information is relayed back to the querying smartphone in a reverse chain manner.
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