Method and apparatus for the zonal transmission of data using building lighting fixtures

one or more lamps;

a power supply comprising a rectifier, a filter, and a dual voltage power supply, the power lines electrically connected to the power supply to provide AC electrical energy;

a power line carrier transceiver connected to the power lines adapted to receive a variable message including lamp fixture identification information transmitted by the base station over the power lines;

a switching circuit, the power supply electrically connected to the switching circuit to supply high voltage electrical energy to the switching circuit, the switching circuit electrically connected to each lamp to provide electrical energy to each lamp to cause each lamp to produce light; the switching circuit capable of encoding a second variable message as an optical signal by generating a plurality of frequencies to modulate the high voltage electrical energy supplied to each lamp to frequency shift the light produced by each lamp to generate an optical signal;

a microprocessor control circuit having memory circuitry and programmed with lamp fixture identification information, the microprocessor control circuit coupled to the power line carrier transceiver and the switching circuit, the microprocessor control circuit receiving the variable message from the power line carrier transceiver, the microprocessor capable of decoding the variable message, and, in response to identifying the lamp identification information and the decoded variable message, encoding a second variable message, including at least one remote device address and the identification information of the fixture, by controlling the switching rate of the switching circuit to generate a plurality of frequencies to modulate the high voltage electric energy supplied to each lamp to modulate the light produced by each lamp to encode and transmit the second variable message as an optical signal; and

a radio transceiver that receives modulated radio signals from a remote device positioned to receive the modulate light from the lamps one or more of the fixtures, the remote device capable of decoding the second variable message encoded in the optical signal and responding to its address and the second variable message in the decoded optical signal by transmitting a radio signal to the radio transceiver, the radio signal including the identification information of the fixture from which the remote device received the optical signal.

transmitting a command signal with unique identification information for one or more lamp fixtures to a plurality of lamp fixtures;

receiving and decoding the command signal in the lamp fixtures with the unique identification information and encoding a message in an optical signal by modulating the light produced by lamps in the fixtures in response to the command;

receiving the optical signal from at least one of the lamp fixtures by a remote device, the modulated light received by the remote device including the encoded message in the optical signal responsive to the command and including the address of the remote device and the identification information of the lamp fixture from which the movable device receives the optical signal; and

transmitting a radio signal from the remote device to a radio receiver in the lamp fixture with the unique identification information, the radio signal including the identification information of the lamp fixture transmitting the optical signal received by the remote device to thereby identify the lamp fixture.

one or more lamps;

a power supply comprising a rectifier, a filter, and a dual voltage power supply, the power lines electrically connected to the power supply to provide AC electrical energy;

a power line carrier transceiver connected to the power lines adapted to receive a variable message including lamp fixture identification information transmitted by the base station over the power lines;

a switching circuit, the power supply electrically connected to the switching circuit to supply high voltage electrical energy to the switching circuit, the switching circuit electrically connected to each lamp to provide electrical energy to each lamp to cause each lamp to produce light; the switching circuit capable of encoding a second variable message as an optical signal by generating a plurality of frequencies to modulate the high voltage electrical energy supplied to each lamp to frequency shift the light produced by each lamp to generate an optical signal;

a microprocessor control circuit having memory circuitry and programmed with lamp fixture identification information, the microprocessor control circuit coupled to the power line carrier transceiver and the switching circuit, the microprocessor control circuit receiving the variable message from the power line carrier transceiver, the microprocessor capable of decoding the variable message, and, in response to identifying the lamp identification information and the decoded variable message, encoding a second variable message, including at least one remote device address and the identification information of the fixture, by controlling the switching rate of the switching circuit to generate a plurality of frequencies to modulate the high voltage electric energy supplied to each lamp to modulate the light produced by each lamp to encode and transmit the second variable message as an optical signal; and

a radio transceiver that receives modulated radio signals from a remote device positioned to receive the modulate light from the lamps one or more of the fixtures, the remote device capable of decoding the second variable message encoded in the optical signal and responding to its address and the second variable message in the decoded optical signal by transmitting a radio signal to the radio transceiver, the radio signal including the identification information of the fixture from which the remote device received the optical signal.