Patent Application
20180177030
This application claims priority from European Patent Application No. 16306683.0 entitled “APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING LIGHTING CONDITIONS IN A ROOM”, filed on Dec. 15, 2016, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to the domain of lighting and more precisely describes an apparatus and a method for controlling the lighting conditions in a room, particularly when the room comprises a screen displaying images or videos.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art, which may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure that are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Lighting conditions can impact greatly the quality of experience in a home, particularly while some programs are watched on a screen. Bad lighting conditions can ruin the experience. This is particularly true when external lighting induces perturbations inside a viewing room and for example reaches a screen that is displaying images. These perturbations also include light reflection on walls, floor, ceiling and furniture. One solution in such situation requires the user to close manually the shutters or curtains in order to block external light. Perturbations may also be generated inside the room by artificial lighting. In this case, the user must switch the lamps off to suppress the perturbation.
Multiple techniques have been experimented in the domain of dynamic ambient lighting with the goal of controlling automatically the lighting conditions of a room to facilitate the user's life. A common technique is to use a light sensor to sense the overall lighting conditions of the room and control some lighting equipment to conform the lighting conditions into an acceptable range by increasing the intensity of lights. These proposals are not able to adapt when a light beam comes through a window and shines onto the screen, preventing the viewer to see the images. An automated system controlling shutters or curtains does not solve the problem either since only the closing of the appropriate shutter or curtain, i.e. the one receiving the light beam, will reduce the incoming light. A possible solution would be to install multiple light sensors at different places in the room to sense the different lighting directions but would be cumbersome on an installation point of view.
It can therefore be appreciated that there is a need for a solution for controlling the lighting conditions in a room that addresses at least some of the problems of the prior art. The present disclosure provides such a solution.
The present disclosure describes device and a method for controlling lighting conditions of a room. The room comprises at least one adjustable element that impacts the lighting conditions of the room. One example of adjustable element is a remote controllable shutter being associated with a window, the shutter being remotely controllable for adjusting the amount of natural light entering the window. Another example is a lamp or lighting equipment being remotely controllable for adjusting the amount of artificial light that is emitted. A multidirectional light sensor comprises a plurality of light sensors arranged to capture the light intensity from a plurality of directions. The device obtains measures from the multidirectional light sensor and adjusts the lighting conditions of the room. When the light in direction of the screen is higher than a first threshold, the device decreases the lighting conditions by sending a command to the adjustable element located in opposite direction to the screen. When the average value of light is lower than a second threshold, the device increases the lighting conditions by sending a command to at least one adjustable element of the room.
In a first aspect, the disclosure is directed to a device for controlling lighting conditions of a room, the room comprising a screen to display an image and at least one adjustable element whose adjustment impacts the lighting conditions of the room, the device comprising: a multidirectional light sensor comprising a plurality of light sensors arranged in order that each light sensor measures a light intensity from a direction among a plurality of directions; a network interface adapted to control lighting conditions of the room by sending commands to the at least one adjustable element; a memory configured to store at least an impact table determining, for each adjustable element, an impact value representing the impact of the adjustable element on the lighting conditions for each one of the plurality of directions; a processor configured to obtain a direction of the screen, obtain light intensity measurement in a plurality of directions, when the light intensity measured in the direction opposite to the direction towards the screen meets a criterion, select an adjustable element to be adjusted, based on the lighting conditions and the impact table and reduce the lighting conditions of the room by sending a command to adjust the selected adjustable element. In a variant of first aspect, the criterion is met when the light intensity measured in a direction opposite to the direction towards the screen is higher than a threshold.
In a first embodiment of the first aspect, the processor is further configured to generate the impact table by learning the directions of the screen and directions impacted by the adjustable elements. In a second embodiment of the first aspect, the processor is further configured to learn the direction of the screen by performing successive light measurements from the plurality of directions while the screen displays animated images, determine for each direction the difference between minimal and maximal values measured and select the direction with highest difference as being the direction of the screen. In a third embodiment of first aspects, the processor is further configured to learn the direction of the adjustable elements by performing a first light measurement from the plurality of directions with the adjustable element in a first position and a second measurement from the plurality of directions with the adjustable element in a second position, determine for each direction the difference between both measures, determine for each direction the percentage of the cumulated differences and store the value in the impact table. In a fourth embodiment of first aspect, when the average value of light is lower than a second threshold, the processor is further configured to select an adjustable element to be adjusted based on the impact table and the lighting conditions and to increase the lighting conditions of the room by sending at least a command to the selected adjustable element. In a fifth embodiment of the first aspect, the device is a light bulb. In a sixth embodiment of the first aspect, the device is a voice-controlled home assistant device. In a seventh embodiment of the first aspect, the device is a screen and one of the light sensor is realized by a camera integrated in the screen, the camera capturing images that are analysed by image processing algorithms to determine the lighting measurements.
In a second aspect, the disclosure is directed to a method for controlling lighting conditions of a room, the room comprising a screen to display an image and at least one adjustable element whose adjustment impacts the lighting conditions of the room, the method comprising: measuring light intensity in a plurality of directions, when the light intensity measured in the direction opposite to the direction towards the screen is higher than a first threshold, selecting an adjustable element to be adjusted based on the lighting conditions and an impact table determining, for each adjustable element, an impact value representing the impact of the adjustable element on the lighting conditions for each one of the plurality of directions, and reducing the lighting conditions of the room by sending a command to adjust the selected adjustable element.
In a first embodiment of the second aspect, the impact table is generated by learning the directions of the screen and directions impacted by the adjustable elements. In a second embodiment of the second aspect, the direction of the screen is learnt by performing successive light measurements from the plurality of directions while the screen displays animated images, determine for each direction the difference between minimal and maximal values measured and select the direction with highest difference as being the direction of the screen. In a third embodiment of the second aspect, the direction of the adjustable elements is learnt by performing a first light measurement from the plurality of directions with the adjustable element in a first position and a second measurement from the plurality of directions with the adjustable element in a second position, determine for each direction the difference between both measures, determine for each direction the percentage of the cumulated differences and store the value in the impact table. In a fourth embodiment of the second aspect, when the average value of light is lower than a second threshold, an adjustable element is selected, based on the impact table and the lighting conditions, and the lighting conditions of the room are increased by sending at least a command to the selected adjustable element.
In a third aspect, the disclosure is directed to a computer program comprising program code instructions executable by a processor for implementing any embodiment of the method of the first aspect.
In a fourth aspect, the disclosure is directed to a computer program product which is stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprises program code instructions executable by a processor for implementing any embodiment of the method of the first aspect.
Preferred features of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Communication interfaces using X10, ZigBee or Z-Wave constitute examples of the home automation interface 130 used to control the adjustable elements that impact the lighting conditions of the room. Other network interfaces may be used. These interfaces are conventionally complemented by higher level protocols such as those proposed by the AllSeen Alliance or the Open Interconnect Consortium to achieve interoperability between devices from different providers. Conventionally, a discovery phase allows each device of a household to discover the other devices of the household, each device announcing its presence along with some information such as a device type or capabilities information. After this discovery, a first device is able to control a second device by sending commands, according to its type or capabilities, and is able to know the state of a device by querying status information.
In the exemplary setup illustrated by
The light control device can be a standalone device, for example fixed on the ceiling of the room or on a furniture but can also be integrated into another device such as a light bulb or an electronic device (set top box, television, home automation controller, voice controlled home assistant devices, etc.).
In such setup, when the sun shines from the west through the window 261, the image displayed on the screen 210 is not perceived correctly. Indeed, the solar light beam projects directly onto the screen 210 and the wall 211 behind the screen. In both cases, the user experience of the viewer is not satisfactory since this bright lighting prevents the user from seeing colour and brightness variations of the image displayed on the screen 210. In this situation, the light control device 100 detects that the intensity of light in the direction of the screen 210 is too high and therefore, through the home automation interface 130, requests the shutter 161 to close. In another situation where the sun shines from the north through the window 262, the beam does not interfere with the image displayed on the screen 210 that is still perceived correctly so that it is not necessary to close the shutter 162. In another situation the lamp 152 is lit and induces a perturbation on the screen, independently from any external lighting. In this case, the light control device 100 first detects that the lamp 152 is lit and turns it off before trying to operate the shutters. The decision of which adjustable element to be controlled, for example a lamp or a shutter, is taken by the light control device 100 according to the light measured from a plurality of directions and in relation to the position of the screen 210 within the room. Control of multiple adjustable element may be necessary to reach satisfying lighting conditions.
In step 400, the directions of the screen and of the adjustable elements are learned. This step is further detailed in the description of
In step 410, the light is measured on all sensors. A table M[i] represents the light intensity measurements performed by each of the sensors in each direction i, for example M[1] for sensor 311, M[2] for sensor 312, M[3] for sensor 313 and M[4] for sensor 314.
In step 420, the processor 110 compares the light measurement of sensor identified by oppoDir, i.e. M[4] corresponding to the sensor 314 in the example, to a first threshold, T1. If the measure is higher than the threshold, then it is considered that too much light is arriving onto the screen and the lighting conditions needs to be reduced by controlling the adjustable elements in step 430, as described in
In step 440, the light measurement of each sensor is compared with a second threshold. In one embodiment, the values of all sensors are averaged. In another embodiment, the values of the sensor or sensors in direction of the screen have a higher weighting than the values from the lateral sensors, which in turn have a higher weighting than the values from the sensor in the opposite direction. If the measure is lower than the second threshold, T2, then it is considered that the room lighting is too dark and the lighting needs to be increased by controlling the adjustable elements in step 430, as described in
The steps 410 to 450 are iterated continuously to enable satisfying lighting conditions in the room. The first and second thresholds may be determined as absolute values but can also be determined relatively according to the overall lighting measurements.
In one embodiment, the learning operation is performed as an intrusive operation comprising a first step of closing all shutters and turning off all lamps, therefore putting the room into the dark. The steps 401, 402, 403, are then performed to learn the directions of the screen and adjustable elements of the room. After this learning phase, the lighting conditions are restored according to the previous state. In such embodiment, the environment is well controlled so that the direction impacted by an adjustable element is easy to determine since the other elements do not impact the lighting conditions. In another embodiment, the learning operation is performed in a less intrusive operation that does not put the room completely in the dark and acts on a single adjustable element at a time. With such technique, the impact of one adjustable element is less visible since the light sensors are impacted also by the overall lighting and therefore by the other adjustable elements. The example below uses the intrusive technique.
In step 401, the direction of the screen 210 is detected. As a prerequisite, the screen 210 must be powered on and an image or preferably a video sequence comprising animated images with subsequent variations of light intensity is displayed. In one embodiment, the user is asked to power on the screen 210 and to select a program or input providing animated images. In an alternate embodiment, the screen 210 can be remote controlled and is waken up when it is in standby mode. This can be done for example by using the High-Definition Multimedia Interface Consumer Electronics Control (HDMI CEC) commands. A test video test is preferably displayed. Such video includes a pre-determined pattern that is easy to detect using the light sensors, such as a blinking effect between a white and a black screen at a pre-determined rate. To detect the screen direction, the processor 110 accumulates measures of the intensity of incoming light on each unitary sensor over a period of time, say a few seconds. A table M[i] represents the light intensity measurements performed by each of the sensors in each direction i, for example M[1] for sensor 311, M[2] for sensor 312, M[3] for sensor 313 and M[4] for sensor 314. The processor 110 performs successive measurements, leading for example to the values of Table 1, measured for each sensor in lux, for a series of 10 measurements taken each second:
The processor then determines the variations of the light signal for each sensor, for example by taking the distance between the minimal and maximal value. If no variation is detected or if the variations are insignificant, further measures are performed until sufficient variations are detected. The processor determines values for each direction proportionally to the measures performed. For examples, with the values of Table 1, the processor first computes the variations for each sensor (respectively 45, 375, 55 and 25) and divides theses values by the cumulated variations (45+375+55+25=500) to determine for each sensor a proportional impact as a percentage of the cumulated variations (respectively 45/500, 375/500, 55/500 and 25/500), therefore leading to the Table 2 that represents the impact of the light coming from the screen for each of the four unitary sensor, and therefore for each of the corresponding direction (in percentage):
From this table, the processor determines the direction of the screen as corresponding to the sensor with highest value.
In step 402, the directions impacted by the shutters are learned and an association table S[ ] is generated, indicating for each shutter S[i] got the room its impact on each of the sensors and corresponding direction. The list of shutters is first obtained through the home automation interface 130. In the example of
The processor determines the difference between both values, for each unitary light sensor, and computes for each sensor a percentage of the cumulated differences similarly to the previous percentage computation of step 401, representing the proportional impact of each shutter for each direction as illustrated in Table 4.
In step 403, the directions impacted by the lamps are learned and an association table L[ ] is generated, indicating for each lamp L[i] of the room its impact on each of the sensors and corresponding direction. The process is very similar to the process used for the shutters, except that the lamps are turned on and off. It results in the table 5 that represent the proportional impact of each lamp for each direction.
The processor preferably concatenates the tables together into a unique table, named the impact table illustrated in table 6 and preferably stored in memory 140. This table will form the basis for the decision further taken during the adjustment of the lighting conditions.
In step 431, the best candidate for adjustment is chosen. The choice is done according to the impact table and to the current setting of the adjustable elements. It has to be decided if a light must be dimmed or a shutter closed. In one embodiment, the processor first determines the direction opposite to the screen, for example using the following formula:
oppoDir=(((screenDir−1)+(nbSensors/2)) modulo nbSensors)+1
with screenDir being the number of the light sensor in direction of the screen in Table 6 as determined in step 401, and nbSensors being the total number of light sensors. In the above mentioned example, the screen direction has been detected as corresponding to sensor 302 in
Therefore, the fourth colon of the impact table is analysed. The processor selects the element with the biggest impact form this colon as being the element to be adjusted. In the example of impact table above, the biggest impact is related to the first shutter 161, as can be seen in
In step 433, the selected shutter is then closed. Closing the shutter is preferably done in multiple lowering steps allowing to make small variations before iterating the measurements step 410 again, each step corresponding to a fraction of the total shutter range, for example 10% of the total shutter range, or to a distance of shutter movement, for example 20 centimetres or to a duration of shutter movement, for example 3 seconds. This is done for example by sending the appropriate commands through the home automation interface 130 to lower the shutter. The same principle apply to the lamps that are dimmed progressively, in step 435 when a lamp is selected.
Several heuristics can be defined for the selection step 431 of the element to be adjusted. In one embodiment, the state of each of the adjustable elements is taken into account. If the shutter are nearly closed but lamps are still turned on, then the lamp could be selected to be dimmed before closing the shutter completely. In another embodiment, the adjustable element with biggest impact on the direction opposite toward the direction of the screen is selected. In another embodiment, the adjustable element with biggest impact and adjustable elements with secondary impacts but whose impact is greater than a threshold are selected alternatively for the adjustments. In another embodiment, multiple tentative of adjustments are performed on different adjustable elements among the elements with highest impacts, the real impact of the adjustments are measured and finally the element providing the best result is chosen.
In a particular embodiment the screen 210 is a television and the methods described here above are implemented in an application running on the television, the application being either provided by the television manufacturer or downloaded by the user from an “app store”.
One advantage of the device described in this disclosure is that it permits to adapt automatically the room lighting conditions to directional lighting perturbations such as a sun beam entering a window, without requiring the installation of sensors all over the room, on each wall, which is costly and brings some constraints on the interior.
Although the disclosure describes an automatic learning process for the screen direction, shutter impact and lamp impact, the person skilled in the art will appreciate that some parts of the learning process could also be done by a manual configuration phase or interactive setup where the directions are provided by the user, for example by placing the different elements (screen, shutter, lamp) on a map of the room that is displayed to the user.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16306683.0 | Dec 2016 | EP | regional |
