Patents by Inventor Rhodes B. Baker

Rhodes B. Baker has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240219880
    Abstract: A load control system may control an electrical load in a space of a building based on one or more parameters regarding the physical condition of an occupant. The parameters may be gathered by one or more sensing devices. The sensing devices may be included in a mobile device. A system controller may receive the parameters and may automatically control the electrical loads in response to the parameters. The system controller may control the electrical load to attempt to adjust the physical condition of the occupant in response to the sensed parameters. The system controller may control the electrical load to provide an alert, an alarm, and/or a warning in response to the sensed parameters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2024
    Publication date: July 4, 2024
    Applicant: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, Jason C. Killo, Galen Edgar Knode, Sanjeev Kumar, Brent Protzman, Daniel Curtis Raneri, Greg Edward Sloan
  • Patent number: 12022594
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2024
    Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Jeffrey Karc, Galen E. Knode, Rhodes B. Baker
  • Patent number: 12010772
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for communicating via a communications network with a load control system of a respective user environment, receiving information on the load control system via the communications network, displaying graphical user interfaces based on the received information, and controlling and configuring the load control system via graphical user interfaces by communicating via the communications network messages the load control system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2024
    Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhythm Agarwal, Brad M. Kreschollek, Bryan R. Barnes, Christopher M. Green, Rhodes B. Baker, Jennifer Wong, Gregory S. Altonen, Karelys Alfonzo
  • Patent number: 12010780
    Abstract: A load control system may include control devices capable of being associated with each other at one or more locations for performing load control. Control devices may include control-source devices and/or control-target devices. A location beacon may be discovered and a unique identifier in the location beacon may be associated with a unique identifier of one or more control devices. Upon subsequent discovery of the location beacon, the associated load control devices may be controlled. The beacons may be communicated via radio frequency signals, visible light communication, and/or audio signals. The visible light communication may be used to communicate other types of information to devices in the load control system. The visible light communication may be used to identify link addresses for communicating with load control devices, load control instructions, load control configuration instructions, network communication information, and/or the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2023
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2024
    Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, Kyle Thomas Barco, Bryan Robert Barnes, John H. Bull, Richard S. Camden, Jordan H. Crafts, David J. Dolan, Jason Groller, Sanjeev Kumar, Jonathan T. Lenz, Miguel Aguado Pelaez, Daniel L. Twaddell
  • Publication number: 20240163998
    Abstract: A load control system may comprise an electrical load control device and/or a computing device. The electrical load control device may control, for example, motorized window treatments (e.g., shades), lighting controls, and/or sensors (e.g., occupancy, radio window, daylight, etc.). For example, a load control device comprising a motorized window treatment may control the position of a covering material in the window treatment. The computing device may comprise a processor and/or a graphical user interface (GUI). The computing device may be a server and/or a user device, such as a wireless user device (e.g., a cellular phone, tablet, or laptop computer). The computing device may be configured to provide graphical representations that may be displayed on a GUI based on load control information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2023
    Publication date: May 16, 2024
    Applicant: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, John H. Bull
  • Publication number: 20240155751
    Abstract: A smart lighting device may be configured to be controlled in response to control instructions in messages and/or phase-control signals. The smart lighting device may determine whether to respond to the phase-control signal or the control instructions in messages. The smart lighting device may be configured to recognize whether it is electrically connected to a smart load control device or a non-smart load control device. A load control device may determine whether it is electrically connected to a mixed circuit or a non-mixed circuit. When the load control device determines that the circuit is a mixed circuit, the load control device may transmit phase-control signals and control instructions in messages at the same time. The load control device may determine that a smart lighting device has been added (e.g., electrically connected) to the circuit it is electrically connected to.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2022
    Publication date: May 9, 2024
    Applicant: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, Gerard Darville, Matthew V. Harte, Robert C. Newman, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11960264
    Abstract: A load control system may control an electrical load in a space of a building based on one or more parameters regarding the physical condition of an occupant. The parameters may be gathered by one or more sensing devices. The sensing devices may be included in a mobile device. A system controller may receive the parameters and may automatically control the electrical loads in response to the parameters. The system controller may control the electrical load to attempt to adjust the physical condition of the occupant in response to the sensed parameters. The system controller may control the electrical load to provide an alert, an alarm, and/or a warning in response to the sensed parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, Jason C. Killo, Galen Edgar Knode, Sanjeev Kumar, Brent Protzman, Daniel Curtis Raneri, Greg Edward Sloan
  • Publication number: 20240049375
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2023
    Publication date: February 8, 2024
    Applicant: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, Craig Alan Casey, Galen Edgar Knode, Brent Protzman, Thomas M. Shearer, James P. Steiner
  • Publication number: 20240040338
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2023
    Publication date: February 1, 2024
    Applicant: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, Erica L. Clymer, Galen Edgar Knode, Sanjeev Kumar, John Nill, Daniel L. Twaddell, Michael J. Zizza
  • Publication number: 20230409282
    Abstract: A scalable, distributed load control system for home automation based on a network of microphones may include control devices (e.g., load control devices) that may include microphones for monitoring the system and communicating audio data to a cloud server for processing. The control devices of the load control system may receive a single voice command and may be configured to choose one of the load control devices to transmit the voice command to the cloud server. The load control devices may be configured to receive a voice command, control a connected load according to the voice command if the voice command is a validated command, and transmit the voice command to a voice service in the cloud if the voice command is not a validated command. The voice service to which the load control devices transmit audio data to may be selectable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2023
    Publication date: December 21, 2023
    Applicant: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, Matthew V. Harte, Jeffrey Karc, Galen E. Knode, John B. Nill, Jaykrishna A. Shukla
  • Patent number: 11832365
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, Craig Alan Casey, Galen Edgar Knode, Brent Protzman, Thomas M. Shearer, James P. Steiner
  • Patent number: 11825579
    Abstract: A load control system may comprise an electrical load control device and/or a computing device. The electrical load control device may control, for example, motorized window treatments (e.g., shades), lighting controls, and/or sensors (e.g., occupancy, radio window, daylight, etc.). For example, a load control device comprising a motorized window treatment may control the position of a covering material in the window treatment. The computing device may comprise a processor and/or a graphical user interface (GUI). The computing device may be a server and/or a user device, such as a wireless user device (e.g., a cellular phone, tablet, or laptop computer). The computing device may be configured to provide graphical representations that may be displayed on a GUI based on load control information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, John H. Bull
  • Patent number: 11818627
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, Erica L. Clymer, Galen Edgar Knode, Sanjeev Kumar, John Nill, Daniel L. Twaddell, Michael J. Zizza
  • Publication number: 20230341882
    Abstract: A load control system for controlling an electrical load in a space of a building occupied by an occupant may include a controller configured to determine the location of the occupant, and a load control device configured to automatically control the electrical load in response to the location of the occupant. The load control system may include a mobile device adapted to be located on or immediately adjacent the occupant and configured to transmit and receive wireless signals. The load control device may be configured to automatically control the electrical load when the mobile device is located in the space. The load control system may further comprise an occupancy sensor and the load control device may automatically control the electrical load when the occupancy sensor indicates that the space is occupied and the mobile device is located in the space.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2023
    Publication date: October 26, 2023
    Applicant: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, Richard S. Camden, Sanjeev Kumar
  • Patent number: 11797268
    Abstract: A scalable, distributed load control system for home automation based on a network of microphones may include control devices (e.g., load control devices) that may include microphones for monitoring the system and communicating audio data to a cloud server for processing. The control devices of the load control system may receive a single voice command and may be configured to choose one of the load control devices to transmit the voice command to the cloud server. The load control devices may be configured to receive a voice command, control a connected load according to the voice command if the voice command is a validated command, and transmit the voice command to a voice service in the cloud if the voice command is not a validated command. The voice service to which the load control devices transmit audio data to may be selectable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, Matthew V. Harte, Jeffrey Karc, Galen E. Knode, John B. Nill, Jaykrishna A. Shukla
  • Publication number: 20230284363
    Abstract: A load control system may include control devices capable of being associated with each other at one or more locations for performing load control. Control devices may include control-source devices and/or control-target devices. A location beacon may be discovered and a unique identifier in the location beacon may be associated with a unique identifier of one or more control devices. Upon subsequent discovery of the location beacon, the associated load control devices may be controlled. The beacons may be communicated via radio frequency signals, visible light communication, and/or audio signals. The visible light communication may be used to communicate other types of information to devices in the load control system. The visible light communication may be used to identify link addresses for communicating with load control devices, load control instructions, load control configuration instructions, network communication information, and/or the like.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2023
    Publication date: September 7, 2023
    Applicant: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, Kyle Thomas Barco, Bryan Robert Barnes, John H. Bull, Richard S. Camden, Jordan H. Crafts, David J. Dolan, Jason Groller, Sanjeev Kumar, Jonathan T. Lenz, Miguel Aguado Pelaez, Daniel L. Twaddell
  • Patent number: 11726516
    Abstract: A load control system for controlling an electrical load in a space of a building occupied by an occupant may include a controller configured to determine the location of the occupant, and a load control device configured to automatically control the electrical load in response to the location of the occupant. The load control system may include a mobile device adapted to be located on or immediately adjacent the occupant and configured to transmit and receive wireless signals. The load control device may be configured to automatically control the electrical load when the mobile device is located in the space. The load control system may further comprise an occupancy sensor and the load control device may automatically control the electrical load when the occupancy sensor indicates that the space is occupied and the mobile device is located in the space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, Richard S. Camden, Sanjeev Kumar
  • Publication number: 20230225030
    Abstract: A load control system may comprise an electrical load control device and/or a computing device. The electrical load control device may control, for example, motorized window treatments (e.g., shades), lighting controls, and/or sensors (e.g., occupancy, radio window, daylight, etc.). For example, a load control device comprising a motorized window treatment may control the position of a covering material in the window treatment. The computing device may comprise a processor and/or a graphical user interface (GUI). The computing device may be a server and/or a user device, such as a wireless user device (e.g., a cellular phone, tablet, or laptop computer). The computing device may be configured to provide graphical representations that may be displayed on a GUI based on load control information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2023
    Publication date: July 13, 2023
    Applicant: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, John H. Bull
  • Patent number: 11690157
    Abstract: A load control system may include control devices capable of being associated with each other at one or more locations for performing load control. Control devices may include control-source devices and/or control-target devices. A location beacon may be discovered and a unique identifier in the location beacon may be associated with a unique identifier of one or more control devices. Upon subsequent discovery of the location beacon, the associated load control devices may be controlled. The beacons may be communicated via radio frequency signals, visible light communication, and/or audio signals. The visible light communication may be used to communicate other types of information to devices in the load control system. The visible light communication may be used to identify link addresses for communicating with load control devices, load control instructions, load control configuration instructions, network communication information, and/or the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, Kyle Thomas Barco, Bryan Robert Barnes, John H. Bull, Richard S. Camden, Jordan H. Crafts, David J. Dolan, Jason Groller, Sanjeev Kumar, Jonathan T. Lenz, Miguel Aguado Pelaez, Daniel L. Twaddell
  • Patent number: RE49638
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Rhodes B. Baker, Erica L. Clymer, Benjamin F. Bard