U.S. Utility Patents — Available for License or Sale

Intellectual Property for Automated Window Shading

Give your automated shading product a compelling competitive advantage — with patented technology that delivers superior glare control, thermal management, and circadian health benefits at lower cost.

Why license from DCT
Unmatched capabilities for health & wellness,
comfort, and energy savings
Health & Wellness
Circadian rhythm reinforcement — shading automation that actively supports occupants’ natural biological rhythms throughout the day
Near-infrared metabolic enhancement — responsive shading that optimizes beneficial NIR exposure for occupant health and wellbeing
Illumination-quality monitoring — multi-spectral sensing that characterizes the healthiness of ambient light, enabling health-oriented automation of both shading and lighting systems
Energy & Performance
Responsive glare control — multi-spectral sensing perceives glare as humans do; fluctuation mitigation makes continuous responsive control practical without nuisance adjustments
Thermal management — responds to actual heat transfer across the window, reducing HVAC loads without any interface to the HVAC system or thermostat
Daylight maximization — immune to LED and fluorescent interference, enabling aggressive daylighting strategies without coordination with the lighting system
Product Advantages
Reduced cost — commodity smartphone sensor technology, simplified mechatronics, and reduced parts count lower BOM and production costs
Easier installation and set-up — magnetic headrail mount, tool-free installation, and modular power options including battery, hardwired, and photovoltaic
Optional connectivity — full capabilities without any app, hub, or cloud dependency; compatible with all major smart-home and building-automation platforms when desired
Privacy and cybersecurity — no cloud dependency means no cloud attack surface, no behavioral data harvesting, and no exposure to third-party service outages
Current IP Portfolio
  • IntelliBlind smart blind actuator on host blind
IP Type: product reference design
IntelliBlind™ – turns any blind into the smartest smart blind
  • Leverages all of the IP in our automated shading portfolio
  • Instantly converts any wand-operated blind into an inexpensive, state-of-the-art automated shading system
  • Offers energy-savings and glare-control capabilities far beyond those of any other blind-automation product
  • Can operate fully autonomously, but is also compatible with virtually all building-automation systems and smart-home platforms

IP available for license or sale​

  • IntelliLux headrail and window thumbnails
IP Type: product reference design
IntelliLux™ – the smartest smart sensors for smart shading
  • Wireless sensors leverage patented and patent-pending innovations in sensors, algorithms, and electronics
  • Enable existing RF-enabled automated shading products to provide advanced glare control and thermal management capabilities for increased occupant comfort and energy savings
  • Compatible with a wide range of building-automation systems and smart-home platforms

IP Available for license or sale​

  • A responsive daylight-control system using our multi-spectral sensor
IP Type: U.S. Utility Patent 11,041,752
Multi-spectral glare sensor for automated shading
  • Senses daylight glare far more reliably than conventional sensors; enables highly effective responsive daylight control
  • Leverages inexpensive sensor technology developed for smartphones; costs little more than a conventional daylight sensor
  • Optionally insensitive to LED and fluorescent illumination; enables use in both open-loop and closed-loop control applications
  • Applicable to a wide range of automated shading products and systems

IP available for license or sale​

  • Retrofittable motorized actuator
IP Type: U.S. Utility Patent 11,414,927
Retrofittable motorized actuator for wand-operated blinds
  • Compatible with virtually all wand-operated blinds
  • Easy tool-free installation
  • Enables all moving parts to be concealed behind cover
  • More amenable to integration of sensors, batteries, RF modules, solar cells, and other electronics than alternative retrofit motorization approaches
  • Offers lower BOM and production costs than alternative motorization approaches

IP available for license or sale​

  • Illustration of applications of our thermal-gradient sensing technology
IP Type: U.S. Utility Patent 11,913,281
Thermal gradient sensor and algorithm for automated shading
  • Enables an automated shading system to respond to the actual thermal energy transfer across its host window
  • Enables greater reduction in HVAC loads than alternative sensing and control approaches at minimal added cost
  • Requires no interface to the HVAC system, making it interoperable with all thermostats and HVAC systems regardless of design or vintage
  • Can be applied to many automated shading installations as a software update without need for hardware modifications
  • Applicable to a wide range of automated shading devices and systems

IP available for license or sale​

  • Our fluctuation-mitigation technology is both simple and highly effective
IP Type: Pending U.S. Utility Patent 18/764,113
Fluctuation-mitigation technology for responsive daylight control with automated shading
  • Sensing and control algorithm for automated daylight control with motorized window coverings
  • Eliminates annoying shading adjustments due to sustained irradiance fluctuation caused by moving clouds
  • Maintains responsiveness to isolated daylight fluctuations
  • Maximizes occupant satisfaction while also increasing the energy savings achievable through daylighting
  • Applicable to a wide range of automated shading products and systems
  • Can be applied to many existing products as a software update without need for hardware modifications

IP available for license or sale​

  • Block diagram of a representative implementation of our correction algorithm technology for closed-loop daylight control with a horizontal blind
IP Type: Pending U.S. Utility Patent 18/608,923
Closed-loop daylight sensing algorithm for horizontal venetian blinds
  • Overcomes unique challenges associated with closed-loop daylight control with horizontal venetian blinds
  • Enables better control of the perceived daylight level—with simpler and cheaper hardware—than open-loop or alternative closed-loop approaches
  • Applicable to a wide range of automated shading products and systems
  • Can be applied to many existing products as a software update without need for hardware modifications

IP available for license or sale​

  • Modular headrail-mounted power system thumbnail
IP Type: Pending U.S. Utility Patent 18/823,597
Modular headrail-mounted power system for smart blinds
  • Gives purchasers of headrail-mounted blind-automation products a choice of easy-to-install power sources
  • Separate, easy-to-install battery module reduces size and cost of host module by eliminating need for integrated battery holder
  • Choice of either right or left-side connection of battery module and power cable ensures compatibility with all blinds
  • Photovoltaic panel can be integrated into headrail-mounted host module, eliminating need for separate window-mounted panel and associated wiring
  • Potentially applicable to any headrail-mounted smart blind product

IP available for license or sale​

  • A block diagram of the TempoLux sensor, which includes a multi-spectral sensor and an MCU which hosts algorithms for calibration, illumination-quality assessment, and health-oriented automation of lighting and shading systems.
IP Type: Pending U.S. Utility Patent 63/882,277
Illumination Healthiness Sensor for Human-Centric Shading and Lighting Automation
  • Enables a compelling new health-and-wellness value-proposition for automated shading
  • Measures the healthiness of ambient illumination, including its influence on the circadian rhythm and other important biologic processes
  • Enables health-and-wellness-oriented automation of window shading and lighting systems
  • Easy to integrate in automated shading, lighting, and sensor products; also includes algorithms that enable new health-and-wellness-oriented apps

IP available for license or sale​

Intellectual Property for Automated Window Shading

Give your automated shading product a compelling competitive advantage!

Contact