US 11,778,715 B2
Apparatus and method for powerline communication control of electrical devices
William Tousignant Gendron, Quebec (CA); Mario Lepage, Quebec (CA); Greg Campbell, Walpole, MA (US); and Guillaume Boucher, Quebec (CA)
Assigned to LMPG INC., Quebec (CA)
Filed by LMPG Inc., Longueuil (CA)
Filed on Dec. 21, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/557,238.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/129,881, filed on Dec. 23, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0201826 A1, Jun. 23, 2022
Int. Cl. H05B 47/185 (2020.01); H05B 47/10 (2020.01); H05B 41/38 (2006.01); H04B 3/54 (2006.01); H05B 45/10 (2020.01)
CPC H05B 47/185 (2020.01) [H04B 3/54 (2013.01); H05B 45/10 (2020.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A powerline communication control system for controlling a lighting fixture, comprising a microcontroller, the microcontroller comprising a master controller and a plurality of lighting fixture controllers;
the master controller, comprising:
a conventional dimmer interface configured to interconnect with a plurality of different conventional dimmer controllers;
a lighting control processor in communication with the dimmer interface, the lighting control processor generates a lighting unit command output in a lighting unit system command format in response to an indication of a user-adjusted setting of any interconnected plurality of different conventional dimmer controllers received from the conventional dimmer interface; and
a power distribution system interface in communication with the lighting control processor and configured to interconnect with a power distribution system, the power distribution system interface superimposes the lighting unit system command output onto the power distribution system when connected thereto; and
each of the plurality of lighting fixture controllers comprising:
a command receiving interface configured to interconnect with the power distribution system, the command receiving interface separates the lighting unit system command output from the power distribution system when connected thereto;
a slave control processor in communication with the command receiving interface and converts the received lighting unit system command output into a corresponding lighting unit control command; and
a lighting unit interface for providing the lighting unit control command to its respective lighting unit to control the respective lighting unit in response to the user-adjusted setting of any one of the interconnected conventional dimmers;
wherein the master controller and the plurality of lighting fixture controllers comprise a modem embedded in the microcontroller, wherein the modem receives and outputs one or more signals from a single interface external to the microcontroller.