Universal lighting network methods and systems

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS The description below pertains to several illustrative embodiments of the invention.
Although many variations of the invention may be envisioned by one skilled in the art, such variations and improvements are intended to fall within the compass of this disclosure.
Thus, the scope of the invention is not to be limited in any way by the disclosure below.
The systems and methods described herein relate to electronic devices such as the device 1 of FIG.
1, referred to herein as smart lighting devices, which include a substrate 10 carrying a lighting element 20 and a processor 30, as well as a plurality of connections 40 for the attachment of additional electronic components, such as sensors, emitters, and actuators.
The lighting element 20 may also be coupled to the processor 30, to permit variation of the emitted light as a function of input from a sensor, or a predetermined program executed by the processor 30, particularly when LED lighting elements are employed.
The lighting element 20 may be an incandescent, halogen, LED, fluorescent, or other lighting element capable of emitting sufficient light to illuminate an area, such as an amount of light similar to at least a 25 W incandescent light bulb.
LED lighting elements are particularly well suited for such networks, because they can be configured to be responsive to electronic signals, including digital data protocols such as DMX.
Additionally, the voltage, current, and control used to operate LED lighting elements can be adapted to more closely resemble those used for conventional electronic and/or digital devices.
See U.
S.
patent application Ser.
Nos.
09/215,624, 09/213,537, 09/213,607, 09/213,189, 09/213,548, 09/213,581, 09/213,659, 09/213,540, as well as U.
S.
Pat.
No.
6,016,038.
Other lighting elements such as incandescent lighting elements may also be controlled to provide, for example, dimming.
The lighting element 20 may also include any system that is capable of receiving an electrical signal and producing a color of light in response to the signal