Patent Application
20060203726
The invention relates to the field of wireless, radio frequency remote control of actuators driving a moving device of the building of closure (door, gate or window), solar protection, multimedia projection screen, or ventilation door type.
More specifically, the invention relates to a synchronized control method for actuators driving a moving device of the building of closure (door, gate or window), solar protection, multimedia projection screen, or ventilation flap type, a control correction method, a programming method and an installation for controlling such actuators.
The object of the invention is to provide a faster and more uniform reaction of the actuators, including in situations of radio environments disturbed by stray signals or by a range limit distance.
The invention applies in particular to the case of remote control transmitters and receivers for which pressing a control key on the transmitter provokes the repeated sending of a signal containing, in a frame, a number of information items including that of the control activated. The sending duration conditions an action performed by the remote control receiver. The other information items contained in the frame are, for example, an identifier enabling the remote control receiver to recognize the transmitter, and therefore to interpret and/or execute the command if it is an authorized transmitter. It can also be a rolling code.
An example of operation by prolonged pressing on a radio remote control key is given in U.S. Pat. No. 6,359,399, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference, column 5, lines 33-48: the activation of the actuator by the receiver takes place when the latter receives a signal, and for its part, the transmitter transmits said signal as long as the user is pressing on a control button.
However, one problem associated with radio transmission is the possibility of interference resulting in poor reception of a signal sent. It appears that patent application JP 2002-97879 (Sanwa) describes a similar issue.
Furthermore, and without it being an interference issue, there is also the problem in such installations of a transmitter intended for overall control of a number of receivers. Some of these remote receivers can be at the range limit, and the likelihood of failure to receive certain repeated frames becomes high.
The most significant consequences of poor reception are then particularly apparent in the case of operation of a set of products: for example, all the actuators do not start simultaneously if those connected to receivers remote from the transmitter do not correctly receive the first frame or frames. Similarly, probably the same products risk being switched off prematurely if the last frames are not received correctly. Whereas the problem is virtually imperceptible in the case of a unitary control, it is clearly revealed by the differences in positioning between moving products in a general control situation. The result is a source of visual dissatisfaction for users, and even more so for architects, with their keen desire for facade harmony.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,152, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference, discloses a control device of an audio system in which a press on a control key is interpreted differently according to whether it is pressed for less than two seconds or longer than two seconds.
By remedying the abovementioned drawbacks, the invention also presents the advantage of enabling the installation to be programmed more quickly, when a professional installer has a dedicated programming tool.
The control method comprises:
The time information item can be a frame number or a number representative of the control generation duration.
The step for computing the application start and/or application end instant of a control using the time information item can include a step for computing the theoretical control generation start instant and the control application start instant can be determined by applying a predetermined time offset to this instant.
The step for inserting into the frame sent a time information item representative of the control generation duration can also include the insertion of a control generation end indication and the step for computing the application start and/or application end instant of a control using the time information item can comprise:
Depending on the result of the comparison step:
The duration of the extension step or the duration of the correction step is equal to the absolute difference of the quantities compared in the comparison step.
The method of programming for a unit for programming actuators driving a moving device of the building of closure (door, gate or window), solar protection, multimedia projection screen, or ventilation flap type includes the steps of the control method according to the invention, and the time information item contained in the initial frame presents a particular value.
In the programming method, the particular value can correspond to at least the duration of generation of a control needed to validate the reception of a programming control.
The installation comprises a radio frequency remote control transmitter, a radio frequency remote control receiver connected to an actuator driving a moving device of the building of closure (door, gate or window), solar protection, multimedia projection screen, or ventilation flap type, in which the prolonged press on a control key of the transmitter provokes the repeated sending of a frame containing the code of the control key pressed and in which the reception of said frames provokes an action of the receiver on the actuator related to the frame reception duration, wherein the transmitter includes a program inserting a time information item relating to the press duration in each frame relating to one and the same press on a control key of the transmitter and wherein the receiver includes a program extracting this time information item and using it to create the control to be applied to the actuator according to the method of the invention.
The invention and its various embodiments will be better understood from the description of the latter and of the appended figures in which:
An INS installation in which the method according to the invention is used is first described with reference to
The handheld remote control transmitter constitutes a transmission unit TRU comprising a control keypad KBU, a microcontroller CPU and a radio frequency transmitter RFU, provided with a sending antenna ANT. The keypad KBU has three control keys such as an up key UP, a stop key ST and a down key DN, acting, for example, on electrical contacts that are not shown. The keypad is connected to the microcontroller CPU by a first bus BUS1. The microcontroller is connected to the transmitter RFU by a second bus BUS2. The handheld remote control transmitter is powered by a battery BAT, the negative pole of which is connected to the electrical ground GND of the transmission unit TRU.
The keypad KBU is also connected, via the first bus BUSl, to a wake-up control unit WCU, the purpose of which is to activate the processing means formed by the microcontroller CPU and by the radio frequency transmitter RFU when a key of the keypad is pressed. In the assembly of
In variants of the embodiment, known to those skilled in the art, the control unit is included in the same integrated circuit as the microcontroller or even acts on a microcontroller wake-up signal and/or of the transmitter rather than on their power supply. The transmitter can also be woken up in a second step by the microcontroller.
The signal sent by the antenna ANT constitutes a radio wave or signal RFW, which is sensed and interpreted by a reception unit RCU, which pilots an actuator ACT which drives a moving element of the building MOB. The reception unit is linked to the 230 V 50 Hz alternating current mains supply or to an electrical power source that is not shown.
The reception unit RCU comprises a radio frequency receiver RFR, a clock CK for computing time delays, various computation means CALC1 and CALC2 activated respectively at the start of reception and at the end of reception.
One and the same reception unit RCU can be controlled by different transmission units TRU and, conversely, one and the same transmission unit TRU can control a number of reception units RCU, in particular remote units, which raises the problems stated above.
Certain parameters of a reception unit can be adjusted from the transmission unit. For example, it is possible to enter into a particular programming mode by a particular press on the keys of the keypad. Thus, simultaneously pressing the up and down keys UP and DN provokes the repeated sending of a particular programming control PROG. When the reception unit RCU receives this control PROG for a duration longer than a given threshold (for example, 10 seconds) , it enters into a programming mode. The programming mode relates, for example, to the memorizing of specific positions of the actuator ACT, such as the end-of-travel positions. The duration threshold is explained by the need to exclude any unwanted control (keying error, unit being played with by a child, etc.).
It is advantageous to be able to enter into a programming mode by using a standard transmission unit, such as TRU, that has few keys and is inexpensive to buy. It is, however, possible for the professional installer to have a more sophisticated programming unit, including, for example, dedicated programming keys. Thus, pressing just one of these keys sends the control PROG, via a radio signal. However, since it is the receiver, and not the transmitter, that checks that the duration of the control PROG is longer than the fixed threshold, there is no time saving for the installer. In the installation according to the invention, the installer has a programming unit PRU sending a radio signal RFP to overcome this drawback.
There is at least one operating mode of the installation in which the activation of the actuator is normally continued only as long as a control key is pressed and the signal corresponding to this control is sent, in a continuously repeated fashion.
The control action of the user (pressing the UP key) begins at the instant CAT11 and ends at the instant CAT12 (releasing the UP key). The difference between these two instants represents the press duration CAT. During this duration, a frame containing the code of the up control UPC is sent repeatedly, for example every 140 milliseconds. The frame contains other binary information, such as an identification number ID of the transmission unit.
In
The invention makes it possible to remedy this type of drawback of the installation by appropriate methods and means for the insertion, recognition and operation of a time indication in the frame sent. This time information item is a frame number and/or a number representative of the press duration.
In itself, the technique of numbering frames for sending is known in the state of the art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,029, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference, uses such a numbering in a communication method sharing one and the same network resource with time slots allocated to the different participants, which is the specific feature of the so-called CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) systems. The latter get their bearings from the frame number. As for U.S. patent application No. 2002/0164029 (corresponding to the U.S. Pat. No. 6,870,932, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference), it uses the frame number for encrypting or decrypting information, or quite simply to correctly reconstruct a complete message when it is divided into packets on transmission via different channels.
Also known from the state of the art is to provide a time indication (sending time or “time stamp”) in a frame, in particular in packet-mode telecommunication cases. U.S. Pat. No. 6,449,290, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference, combines frame counting with time-oriented content. U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,823, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference, cited in the above patent, describes a network in which each packet of frames contains a start frame containing a time indication of entry into the node of the network and updated when forwarded by the network node.
According to a first embodiment, the invention is first used to enable good synchronization of all the actuators on startup. To overcome a possible transmission failure, the designer has provided for the startup of any actuator to take place at the end of the fourth frame sent (for a frame of 140 ms, this amounts to supporting a delay of around half a second). A time delay DLY is associated with this value.
At the instant T1, the receiver has therefore received its first frame. Based on the time indication contained in this frame, it computes the theoretical instant of the start of sending TSTART, close to the actual instant CAT21 of pressing on the control key. From the value of the time delay duration DLY, it computes the time remaining before activating the control UPC to be applied to the actuator. The durations can be expressed as a number of frames: for example, the duration DLY corresponds to an integer number NSTART of frame periods, in this case NSTART=4, but it is also possible to take a non-integer value. In practice, the time delay corresponds to a counter, the initial content of which is fixed not by the theoretical value of DLY but by this value minus the time already elapsed between TSTART and the instant T1 of processing of the first frame received.
In the step 503, the step 502 is repeated as long as the control key is pressed. In the frames sent, only the frame number and/or the press duration therefore change from one frame to the next. Simply, the frame number is incremented by units, but another variation law is applicable, provided that it can be interpreted by the receiver.
A new action UA2 on the part of the user is to release the control key (at the instant CAT12 or CAT22). In a simple case, the transmission unit then goes directly to the step 506 which stops powering the processing means or switches to sleep mode.
However, a preferred embodiment of the invention consists in applying the step 504 in which a specific control frame is sent. This specific control frame contains a particular control code (X, Y) which is substituted for the code of the control sent (UPC, DNC), the code X being substituted for the code UPC and the code Y being substituted for the code DNC, to indicate that the key is released. Alternatively, the specific control frame maintains the code of the control previously activated, but contains a status change indicator SB. For example, the frame contains a bit SB in the 1 state as long as the key is pressed, and in the 0 state when the key is released.
The frame also contains an end of press frame number FN*. The number FN* can be set to 1, but it can also be equal to the frame number FN, counted from the start of sending. The end of press frame can also contain the press duration information item CAT.
In the step 505, the preceding step is repeated one or more times, with the end frame number FN* incremented. The press duration information item no longer changes in these repeated sendings. After a predetermined number M of sendings, the transmission unit goes to the step 506, which terminates the sending.
The invention, in its first embodiment, therefore favors the sending of one and preferably several frames after the control key has been released. This sending appears in
In a step 601, the control contained in this first frame is extracted, decoded and interpreted. However, it is not immediately executed.
In the next step 602, the reception unit. RCU extracts from the frame the time information formed either by the frame number FN or the press duration information CAT.
The step 603 activates the computation of the theoretical sending start instant TSTART described previously. The reception unit then knows what duration must be measured between the current instant and the control activation instant.
In the step 604, the reception unit waits for the above duration to elapse. If necessary, other frames received during this time delay confirm or correct the duration.
In the step 605, the delay being reached, the actuator ACT is activated, in the direction corresponding to the control received. All the actuators connected to different units therefore start roughly at the same instant, even for remote units not having received several frames.
In the step 606, the activation is maintained as long as the signal is received.
The next two steps correspond to the case where the method behaves as represented in
The non-radio reception of the signal is represented by the arrow RF2.
This non-reception initiates the step 607 in which a time delay DLN is activated.
The step 608 tests the reception of a signal during this time delay. The non-reception of a new frame during this duration will be considered as an effective stop of sending at the start of the time delay DLN. Also, the reception unit then stops activating the actuator.
Preferably, the duration DLN is chosen to be equal to the duration DLY: thus, the delay taken for starting is automatically compensated.
However, the situation can also be differentiated according to whether the signal received originates from a transmission unit TRU controlled by a logic control system or controlled by a human user.
In the former case, it is preferable to compensate the time delay duration DLY with the time delay duration DLN. In the second case, the user stops pressing on the control key when in the required situation. The delay taken on starting is unimportant with regard to the current situation. It is then preferable simply to compensate DLN, if necessary, with a reverse movement of the same duration.
The step 609 is initiated if, during the time delay DLN, a new valid signal is sensed. The step includes a validity test regarding whether the signal belongs to the preceding stream of frames. This test is applied not only to the code of the control sent, but also, and above all, to the time indication contained in the frame. Based on this time indication (frame number and/or press duration) and the time elapsed in the time delay DLN, the reception unit RCU determines whether the new frame received indeed belongs to the preceding stream of frames, interrupted by poor conditions, or if it is a new control. If it is still the continuation of the same control, the step 606 is repeated. Otherwise, it is a new control, which is processed as such, with, if necessary, the actuator being stopped.
This correction incorporates both the effects of poor reception at the start of sending and of poor reception at the end of sending.
In
In the step 701, the control received is interpreted, as in the step 601.
In the step 702, the frame number is extracted for use in the step 703 to determine the theoretical sending start instant TSTART.
Unlike the method of
In the step 705, a signal interpreted as forming a control end frame (of type F12 or F32) is received. The control end frame number FN* is extracted in the step 706, and used to compute the theoretical end of sending instant TSTOP.
The different phases described above are also represented in the right-hand part of
In the step 707 of the correction method, the reception unit RCU computes the theoretical control duration TCT (difference between the theoretical sending end and sending start instants TSTOP and TSTART) and compares it with the actuator activation duration AAT.
The step 709 is executed if the theoretical control duration is greater than the activation duration. It is then necessary to extend the latter by a value equal to the difference.
The step 710 is executed if the theoretical control duration is less than the activation duration. It is then necessary to stop the current operation and undertake a reverse operation of the actuator of a duration equal to the difference.
After a step 801 for interpretation of the control received in a first frame correctly received, the actuator is directly activated according to the control received, during the next step 802. As in the step 705, this activation of the actuator is accompanied by that of a clock measuring the activation duration AAT.
In the step 803, a new frame is received, this time containing an end of control indication, like the frames F22 or F42 of
In the step 807, if the key press duration CAT is less than the actuator activation duration AAT, then the current control is stopped. The reception unit then activates a reverse direction control of a duration equal to the difference. The steps 806 and 807 therefore include the computation of the instant at which application of the control applied in the step 802 ends.
In the step 902, the time indication introduced into the frame is deliberately offset by a quantity equivalent to the press time needed for confirmation of the control PROG by the receiver. For example, the initial press duration information item is introduced as being equal to 10 seconds, although the press has only just begun. Alternatively, the number of frames is set to the initial value 100 (for frames of 100 ms duration). In the subsequent steps, it is this initial value different from the normal initial value that is incremented.
Thus, the reception unit RCU receiving such a signal and provided with the means and methods described above, considers that the press duration satisfies the required criteria and immediately accepts the programming control PROG.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05 02193 | Mar 2005 | FR | national |
