How Smart Light Networks Coordinate Without a Central Controller
A system where individual smart lights talk to each other to make lighting decisions based on sensors, rather than relying on a single master computer.
Original patent title: “USRE49480E1 - Illumination control network”
A system where individual smart lights talk to each other to make lighting decisions based on sensors, rather than relying on a single master computer. Granted to Ideal Industries Lighting LLC in 2023 with 39 claims.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent describes a lighting system where each light fixture acts as a small, independent computer. Instead of a central hub telling every light what to do, these lights share data about what they sense—like motion, sound, or ambient light—with their neighbors. By using a distributed processing method, they collectively decide how to adjust their brightness or patterns. For example, if one light detects a person walking down a hallway, it can signal nearby lights to brighten in anticipationanticipationA 102 rejection: a single prior art reference discloses every element of the claim. Stronger than obviousness (which can combine references).Read more → of the person's movement, creating a responsive, energy-efficient environment.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover lighting systems that rely exclusively on a central server or master controller to process all sensor data.
- Does not cover simple motion-activated lights that operate in isolation without communicating with other fixtures.
- Does not cover non-networked lighting systems that lack inter-device communication interfaces.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The system uses a polling algorithm to weight stimuli across the network, allowing the lights to reach a consensus on illumination levels without needing a central brain to manage the logic.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Smart office lighting systems
Networked street lighting for smart cities
Adaptive warehouse illumination
Why it matters
The bigger picture
As buildings become smarter, the demand for energy-efficient, automated lighting has grown. This patent addresses the challenge of scaling these systems without creating a single point of failure or needing complex, expensive central wiring. It is relevant to the development of smart cities and intelligent office buildings where lighting needs to adapt to human behavior in real-time.
Filed
February 9, 2018
Granted
March 28, 2023
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Ideal Industries Lighting LLC, the assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →, is active in the smart lighting space. Major players in the broader smart building and IoT lighting sector, such as Signify (formerly Philips Lighting) and Acuity Brands, are building similar distributed control architectures.
Market impact
This patent reinforces the shift toward decentralized IoT architectures in building management. By enabling local intelligence, it helps reduce the bandwidth and latency issues associated with cloud-based lighting control, making large-scale smart lighting deployments more robust and easier to maintain.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent describes a lighting system where each light fixture acts as a small, independent computer. Instead of a central hub telling every light what to do, these lights share data about what they sense—like motion, sound, or ambient light—with their neighbors. By using a distributed processing method, they collectively decide how to adjust their brightness or patterns. For example, if one light detects a person walking down a hallway, it can signal nearby lights to brighten in anticipation of the person's movement, creating a responsive, energy-efficient environment.
The clever bit
The system uses a polling algorithm to weight stimuli across the network, allowing the lights to reach a consensus on illumination levels without needing a central brain to manage the logic.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover lighting systems that rely exclusively on a central server or master controller to process all sensor data.
- Does not cover simple motion-activated lights that operate in isolation without communicating with other fixtures.
- Does not cover non-networked lighting systems that lack inter-device communication interfaces.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Moderate
Citation count
0/40
No citations yet
Claim breadth
20/20
Very broad protection
Recency
20/20
Granted within 5 years
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$42K – $134K
Midpoint $84K · 11.7 yr remaining · industry ×1.4
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
39 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Sibert, W. O. (2023). How Smart Light Networks Coordinate Without a Central Controller (U.S. Patent No. RE49,480). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/RE49480/google-assistant
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Smart Light Networks Coordinate Without a Central Controller cover?
A system where individual smart lights talk to each other to make lighting decisions based on sensors, rather than relying on a single master computer.
Who owns patent US RE49480?
Ideal Industries Lighting LLC owns this patent, granted in 2023.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on March 28, 2043, when the invention enters the public domain.
What problem does this patent solve?
As buildings become smarter, the demand for energy-efficient, automated lighting has grown. This patent addresses the challenge of scaling these systems without creating a single point of failure or needing complex, expensive central wiring. It is relevant to the development of smart cities and intelligent office buildings where lighting needs to adapt to human behavior in real-time.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover lighting systems that rely exclusively on a central server or master controller to process all sensor data.
Patent monitoring