Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DIGITALLY CONTROLLED ILLUMINATION METHODS AND SYSTEMS
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
Light emitting diodes are known which, when disposed on a circuit, accept
electrical
impulses from the circuit and convert the impulses into light signals. LEDs
are energy efficient,
they give off virtually no heat, and they have a long lifetime.
A number of types of LED exist, including air gap LEDs, GaAs light-emitting
diodes
(which may be doubled and packaged as single unit offer greater reliability
than conventional
single-diode package), polymer LEDs, and semi-conductor LEDs, among others.
Most LEDs in
current use are red. Conventional uses for LEDs include displays for low light
environments, such
as the flashing light on a modem or other computer component, or the digital
display of a
wristwatch. Improved LEDs have recently been used in arrays for longer-lasting
traffic lights.
LEDs have been used in scoreboards and other displays. Also, LEDs have been
placed in arrays
and used as television displays. Although most LEDs in use are red, yellow or
white, LEDs may
take any color; moreover, a single LED may be designed to change colors to any
color in the color
spectrum in response to changing electrical signals.
It is well known that combining the projected light of one color with the
projected light of
another color will result in the creation of a third color. It is also well
known that three commonly
used primary colors--red, blue and green--can be combined in different
proportions to generate
almost any color in the visible spectrum. The present invention takes
advantage of these effects by
combining the projected light from at least two light emitting diodes (LEDS)
of different primary
colors. It should be understood that for purposes of this invention the term
"primary colors"
encompasses any different colors that can be combined to create other colors.
Computer lighting networks that use LEDs are also known. U.S. Pat. No.
5,420,482,
issued to Phares, describes one such network that uses different colored LEDs
to generate a
selectable color, primarily for use in a display apparatus. U.S. Pat. No.
4,845,481, issued to Havel,
is directed to a multicolored display device. Havel uses a pulse width
modulated signal to provide
current to respective LEDs at a particular duty cycle. U.S. Pat. No.
5,184,114, issued to Brown,
shows an LED display system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,387, issued to Smith et al.,
is directed to an
LED matrix display.
Illumination systems exist in which a network of individual lights is
controlled by a central
driver, which may be a computer-controlled driver. Such illumination systems
include theatrical
lighting systems. The USITT DMX-512 protocol was developed to deliver a stream
of data from a
theatrical console to a series of theatrical lights.
The DMX-512 protocol was originally designed to standardize the control of
light
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dimmers by lighting consoles. The DMX-512 protocol is a multiplexed digital
lighting control
protocol with a signal to contro1512 devices, such device including dimmers,
scrdlers, non-dim
relays, parameters of a moving light, or a graphical light in a computerized
virtual reality set.
DMX-512 is used for control for a network of devices. The DMX-512 protocol
employs digital
signal codes. When a transmitting device, such as a lighting console, sends
digital codes, a
receiving device, such as a dimmer, transforms these codes into a function
command, such as
dimming to a specified level. With digital systems, signal integrity is
compromised less over long
cable runs, relative to analog control. When a coded string of 0/1 digits are
sent and received, the
device will perform the desired task.
In hardware terms, DMX-512 protocol information is transferred between devices
over
metal wires using the RS-485 hardware protocol. This involves the use of two
wires, known as a
twisted pair. The first wire is referred to as a data + wire, and the second
wire is referred to as a
data-wire. The voltage used on the line is typically positive five volts. By
way of example, to
transmit a logical one, the data+wire is taken to positive five volts, and the
data-wire to zero volts.
To transmit a logical zero, the data+wire goes to zero volts, and the data-
wire to positive five volts.
This is quite different from the more common RS-232 interface, where one wire
is always kept at
zero volts. In RS-232, a logical one is transmitted by putting between
positive six and positive
twelve volts on the line, and a logical zero is transmitted by putting a
voltage between negative six
and negative twelve volts onto the line. RS-485 is generally understood to be
better for data
transmission than RS-232. With RS-232, the receiver has to measure if the
incoming voltage is
positive or negative. With RS-485, the receiver only needs to determine which
line has the higher
voltage on it.
The two wires over which RS-485 is transmitted are preferably twisted.
Twisting means
that disturbances on the line tend to affect both lines simultaneously, more
or less by the same
amount, so that the voltage on both lines will fluctuate, but the difference
in voltage between the
lines remains the same. The result is that noise is rejected from the line.
Also, the drive capability
of RS-485 drivers is higher than RS-232 drivers. As a result, the RS-485
protocol can connect
devices over distances hundreds of times further than would be possible when
using RS-232. RS-
485 also increases the maximum data rate, i.e., the maximum amount of data
which can be
transmitted over the line every second. Communication between devices using RS-
232 is normally
about nine thousand six hundred baud (bits per second). Faster communication
is possible, but the
distances over which data can be transmitted are reduced significantly if
communication is faster.
By comparison, DMX-512 (using RS-485) permits data to be sent at two hundred
fifty thousand
baud (two hundred fifty thousand bits per second) over distances of hundreds
of meters without
problems. Every byte transmitted has one start bit, which is used to warn the
receiver that the next
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character is starting, eight data bits (this conveys up to two hundred fifty
six different levels) and
two stop bits, which are used to tell the receiver that this is the end of the
character. This means
that every byte is transmitted as eleven bits, so that the length of each
character is forty-four micro
seconds.
The receiver looks at the two incoming signals on a pair of pins and compares
the
differences. A voltage rise on one wire and the inverse on the other will be
seen as a differential
and therefore deciphered as a digit. When both signals are identical, no
difference is recognized
and no digit deciphered. If interference was accidentally transmitted along
the line, it would impart
no response as long as the interference was identical on both lines. The
proximity of the two lines
assist in assuring that distribution of interference is identical on both
wires. The signal driver sends
five hundred twelve device codes in a continual, repetitive stream of data.
The receiving device is
addressed with a number between one and five hundred twelve so it will respond
only to data that
corresponds to its assigned address.
A terminator resistor is typically installed at the end of a DMX line of
devices, which
reduces the possibility of signal reflection which can create errors in the
DMX signal. The ohm
value of the resistor is determined by the cable type used. Some devices allow
for self termination
at the end of the line. Multiple lines of DMX data can be distributed through
an opto-repeater. This
device creates a physical break in the line by transforming the electrical
signals into light which
spans a gap, then it is restored to electrical signals. This protects devices
from damaging high
voltage, accidentally travelling along the network. It will also repeat the
original IZvIX data to
several output lines. The input data is recreated at the outputs, eliminating
distortion. The signal
leaves the opto-repeater as strong as it left the console.
DMX messages are typically generated through computer software. Each DMX
message is
preceded with a "break," which is a signal for the receiver that the previous
message has ended and
the next message is about to start. The length of the break signal (equivalent
to a logical zero on
the line) has to be eighty-eight micro seconds according to the DMX
specification. The signal can
be more than eighty-eight micro seconds. After the break signal is removed
from the line, there is a
period during which the signal is at a logical one level. This is known as the
"Mark" or 'Mark
After Break' (MAB) time. This time is typically at least eight micro seconds.
After the Mark
comes the first character, or byte, which is knows as the "Start" character.
This character is rather
loosely specified, and is normally set to the value zero (it can vary
betweenzero and two hundred
fifty five). This start character may be used to specify special messages. It
is, for example, possible
to have five hundred twelve dimmers which respond to messages with the start
character set to
zero, and another five hundred twelve dimmers which respond to messages with
the start character
set to one. If one transmits data for these one thousand twenty-four dimmers,
and one sets the start
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character to zero for the first five hundred twelve dimmers, and to one for
the second set of five
hundred twelve dimmers, it is possible to control one thousand twenty four
dimmers (or more if
one wishes, using the same technique). The disadvantage is a reduction in the
number of messages
sent to each of the set of dimmers, in this example by a factor two. After the
start character there
are between one and five hundred twelve characters, which normally correspond
to the up to five
hundred twelve channels controlled by DMX. Each of these characters may have a
value between
zero (for 'off, zero percent) and two hundred fifty five (for full, one
hundred percent). After the
last character there may be another delay (at logic one level) before the next
break starts. The
number of messages which are transmitted every second are dependent on all the
parameters listed
above. In one case, where the break length is eighty-eight microseconds, the
make after break
length is eight micro seconds, and each character takes exactly forty-four
micro seconds to
transmit there will be forty-four messages per second, assuming that all five
hundred twelve
channels are being transmitted. Many lighting desks and other DMX sources
transmit less than
five hundred twelve channels, use a longer break and make after break time,
and may have a
refresh rate of seventy or eighty messages per second. Often, there is no
benefit to be had from
this, as the current value is not necessarily recalculated for each of the
channels in each frame. The
'standard' DMX signal would allow for a lamp to be switched on and off twenty-
two times per
second, which is ample for many applications. Certain devices are capable of
using sixteen-bit
DMX. Normal eight bit messages allow two hundred fifty-six positions, which is
inadequate for
the positioning of mirrors and other mechanical devices. Having sixteen bits
available per channel
increases that quantity up to sixty-five thousand five hundred thirty-six
steps, which removes the
limitation of 'standard' DMX.
A significant problem with present lighting networks is that they require
special wiring or
cabling. In particular, one set of wires is needed for electrical power, while
a second set of wires is
needed for data, such as DMX-512 protocol data. Accordingly, the owner of an
existing set of
lights must undertake significant effort to rewire in order to have a
digitally controlled lighting
environment.
A second significant problem with present lighting networks is that particular
lighting
applications require particular lighting types. For example, LED based lights
are appropriate for
some applications, while incandescent lamps or halogen lamps may be more
appropriate for other
applications. A user who wishes to have a digitally controlled network of
lights, in addition to
rewiring, must currently add additional fixtures or replace old fixtures for
each different type of
light. Accordingly, a need has arisen for a lighting fixture that permits use
of different types of
digitally controlled lights.
Use of pulse width modulated signals to control electrical devices, such as
motors, is also
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known. Traditional methods of providing pulse width modulated signals include
hardware using
software programmed timers, which in some instances is not cost effective if
not enough timer
modules are available, and one interrupt per count processes, in which a
microprocessor receives
periodic interrupts at a known rate. Each time through the interrupt loop the
processor compares
the current count with the target counts and updates one or more output pins,
thus creating a pulse
width modulated signal, or PWM. In this case, the speed equals the clock speed
divided by cycles
in the interrupt routine divided by desired resolution. In a third method, in
a combination of the
first two processes, software loops contain a variable number of instructions.
The processor uses
the hardware timer to generate a periodic interrupt, and then, depending on
whether the pulse is to
be very short or not, either schedules another interrupt to finish the PWM
cycle, or creates the
pulse by itself in the first interrupt routine by executing a se-ies of
instructions consuming a
desired amount of time between two PWM signal updates. The difficulty with the
third method is
that for multiple PWM channels it is very difficult to arrange the timer based
signal updates such
that they do not overlap, and then to accurately change the update times for a
new value of PWM
signals. Accordingly, a new pulse width modulation method and system is needed
to assisting in
controlling electrical devices.
Many conventional illumination applications are subject to other drawbacks.
Conventional
light sources, such as halogen and incandescent sources may produce
undesirable heat. Such
sources may have very limited life spans. Conventional light sources may
require substantial lens
and filtering systems in order to produce color. It may be very difficult to
reproduce precise color
conditions with conventional light sources. Conventional light sources may not
respond quickly to
computer control. One or more of these drawbacks may have particular
significance in particular
existing lighting applications. Moreover, the combination of these drawbacks
may have prevented
the development of a number of other illumination applications. Accordingly, a
need exists for
illumination methods and systems that overcome the drawbacks of conventional
illumination
systems and that take advantage of the possibilities offered by overcoming
such drawbacks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Illumination methods and systems are provided herein that overcome many of the
drawbacks of conventional illumination systems. In embodiments, methods and
systems are
provided for multicolored illumination. In an embodiment, the present
invention is an apparatus
for providing an efficient, computer-controlled, multicolored illumination
network capable of high
performance and rapid color selection and change.
In brief, disclosed herein is a current control for a lighting assembly, which
may be an
LED system or LED lighting assembly, which may be a pulse width modulated
("PWM") current
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control or other form of current control where each current-controlled unit is
uniquely addressable
and capable of receiving illumination color information on a computer lighting
network. As used
herein, "current control" means PWM current control, analog current control,
digital current
control, and any other method or system for controlling current.
As used herein, the term "LED system" means any system that is capable of
receiving an
electrical signal and producing a color of light in response to the signal.
Thus, the term "LED
system" should be understood to include light emitting diodes of all types,
light emitting polymers,
semiconductor dies that produce light in response to current, organic LEDs,
electro-luminescent
strips, and other such systems. In an embodiment, an "LED system" may refer to
a single light
emitting diode having multiple semiconductor dies that are individually
controlled.
An LED system is one type of illumination source. As used herein "illumination
source"
should be understood to include all illumination sources, including LED
systems, as well as
incandescent sources, including filament lamps, pyro-luminescent sources, such
as flames, candle-
luminescent sources, such as gas mantles and carbon arch radiation sources, as
well as photo-
luminescent sources, including gaseous discharges, fluorescent sources,
phosphorescence sources,
lasers, electro-luminescent sources, such as electro-luminescent lamps, light
emitting diodes, and
cathode luminescent sources using electronic satiation, as well as
miscellaneous luminescent
sources including galvano-luminescent sources, crystallo-luminescent sources,
kine-luminescent
sources, thermo-luminescent sources, triboluminescent sources, sonoluminescent
sources, and
radioluminescent sources. Illumination sources may also include luminescent
polymers capable of
producing primary colors.
The term "illuminate" should be understood to refer to the production of a
frequency of
radiation by an illumination source. The term "color" should be understood to
refer to any
frequency of radiation within a spectrum; that is, a "color," as used herein,
should be understood to
encompass frequencies not only of the visible spectrum, but also frequencies
in the infrared and
ultraviolet areas of the spectrum, and in other areas of the electromagietic
spectrum.
In a further embodiment, the invention includes a tree network configuration
of lighting
units (nodes). In another embodiment, the present invention comprises a heat
dissipating housing,
made out of a heat-conductive material, for housing the lighting assembly. The
heat dissipating
housing contains two stacked circuit boards holding respectively a power
module and a light
module. In another embodiment, the LED board is thermally connected to a
separate heat spreader
plate by means of a thermally conductive polymer and fasteners and should be
considered
substantially the same as an LED board with metal in center. The light module
is adapted to be
conveniently interchanged with other light modules having programmable
current, and hence
maximum light intensity, ratings. Such other light modules may include organic
LEDs, electro-
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luminescent strips, and other modules, in addition to conventional LEDs. Other
embodiments of
the present invention involve novel applications for the general principles
described herein.
Disclosed herein is a high performance computer controlled multicolored
lighting
network, which may be an LED lighting network. Disclosed herein is a LED
lighting network
structure capable of both a linear chain of nodes and a tree configuration.
Disclosed herein is a
heat-dissipating housing to contain the lighting units of the lighting
network. Disclosed herein is a
current-regulated LED lighting apparatus, wherein the apparatus contains
lighting modules each
having its own maximum current rating and each conveniently interchangeable
with one another.
Disclosed herein is a computer current-controlled LED lighting assembly for
use as a general
illumination device capable of emitting multiple colors in a continuously
programmable twenty-
four-bit spectrum. Disclosed herein are a flashlight, inclinometer,
thermometer, general
environmental indicator and lightbulb, all utilizing the general computer
currenteontrol principles
of the present invention. Other aspects of the present disclosure will be
apparent from the detailed
description below.
The present invention provides applications for digitally controlled LED based
lights.
Systems and methods of the present invention include uses of such lights in a
number of technical
fields in which illumination technology is critical. Systems and methods of
the present invention
include systems whereby such lights may be made responsive to a variety of
different signals.
Systems and methods of the present invention include improved data and power
distribution
networks.
Systems and methods of the present invention include use of LEDs as part of or
on a wide
range of items to provide aesthetically appealing or function effects. The
digitally controlled light
emitting diodes (LEDs) of the present invention may be used in a number of
technological fields in
inventions more particularly described below.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 depicts a light module of the present invention.
FIG. 2 depicts a light module of FIG. I in data connection with a generator of
control data
for the light module.
FIG. 3 depicts a schematic of an embodiment of light module.
FIG. 4 depicts an array of LEDs in an embodiment of a light module.
FIG. 5 depicts a power module in an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6 depicts a circuit design for an embodiment of a light module.
FIG. 7 depicts a circuit design for an array of LEDs in a light module in an
embodiment of
the invention.
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FIG. 8 depicts an array of LEDs that may be associated with a circuit such as
that of
FIG. 6.
FIG. 9 depicts a schematic of the electrical design of an embodiment of a
light module.
FIG. 10 depicts a power module for a light module of the invention.
FIG. 11 depicts another view of the power module of FIG. 10.
FIG. 12 depicts a circuit for a power supply for a light module of the
invention.
FIG. 13 depicts a circuit for a power/data multiplexor.
FIG. 14 depicts a circuit for another embodiment of a power/data multiplexor.
FIG. 15 depicts flow charts depicting steps in a modified pulse width
modulation software
routine.
FIG. 16 depicts a data delivery track lighting system.
FIG. 17 depicts a circuit design for a data driver for the track system of
FIG. 16.
FIG. 18 depicts a circuit design for a terminator for a track system of FIG.
16.
FIG. 19 depicts an embodiment of a light module in which a cylindrical housing
houses
the light module.
FIG. 20 depicts a modular light module.
FIG. 21 depicts a modular light module constructed to fit a halogen socket.
FIG. 22 depicts a circuit design for an embodiment of a light module.
FIG. 23 depicts a modular housing for a light module.
FIG. 24 is a schematic illustration of a modular LED unit in accordance with
one
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 25. illustrates a light module in accordance with one embodiment of the
present
invention.
FIG. 26 illustrates a light module in accordance with another embodiment of
the present
invention.
FIG. 27 illustrates a light module in accordance with a further embodiment of
the present
invention.
FIGS. 28A-C illustrate a plurality of LEDs arranged within the various
configurations for
use with the modular LED unit of the present invention.
FIGS. 29-68 illustrate the various environments within which the modular LED
unit of the
present invention may illuminate.
FIG. 69 depicts a smart light bulb embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 70 depicts the embodiment of FIG. 69 in data connection with another
device.
FIG. 71 depicts the embodiment of FIG. 69 in connection with other smart light
bulbs.
FIG. 72 depicts a network of smart light bulbs in data connection with each
other.
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FIG. 73 depicts a light buffer sensor/feedback application using a smart light
bulb.
FIG. 74 depicts an EKG sensor/feedback environment using a smart light bulb.
FIG. 75 depicts a schematic diagram of a sensor/feedback application.
FIG. 76 depicts a general block diagram relevant to a color thermometer.
FIG. 77 depicts a color speedometer.
FIG. 78 depicts a color inclinometer.
FIG. 79 depicts a color magnometer.
FIG. 80 depicts a smoke alert system.
FIG. 81 depicts a color pH meter.
FIG. 82 depicts a security system to indicate the presence of an object.
FIG. 83 depicts an electromagnetic radiation detector.
FIG. 84 depicts a color telephone indicator.
FIG. 85 depicts a lighting system using a light module of the present
invention in
association with an entertainment device.
FIG. 86 depicts a schematic of the system of FIG. 85.
FIG. 87 depicts a schematic of an encoder for the system of FIG. 85.
FIG. 88 depicts a schematic of an encoding method using the encoder of FIG.
87.
FIG. 89 depicts a schematic of a decoder of the system of FIG. 85.
FIG. 90A depicts an embodiment of a system for precision illumination.
FIG. 90B depicts a block diagram of a control module for the precision
illumination
system of FIG. 90A.
FIG. 91 depicts an embodiment comprising a precision illumination system held
in an
operator's hand.
FIG. 92A depicts fruit-bearing plants illuminated by an array of LED systems.
FIG. 92B depicts fruit-bearing plants illuminated by natural light.
FIG. 93A is a generally schematic view illustrating the anatomy of the porta
hepatis as
illuminated by an embodiment of an LED system affixed to a medical instrument.
FIG. 93B depicts an embodiment of an LED system affixed to a medical
instrument.
FIG. 93C depicts an embodiment of an LED system affixed to an endoscope.
FIG. 93D depicts an embodiment of an LED system affixed to a surgical
headlamp.
FIG. 93E depicts an embodiment of an LED system affixed to surgical loupes.
FIG. 94 depicts a method for treating a medical condition by illuminating with
an
embodiment of an LED system.
FIG. 95 depicts changing the perceived color of colored objects by chancing
the color of
the light projected thereon.
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FIG. 96 depicts creating an illusion of motion in a colored design by changing
the color of
the light projected thereon.
FIG. 97 depicts a vending machine in which an illusion of motion in a colored
design is
created by changing the color of the light projected thereon.
FIG. 98 depicts a vending machine in which objects appear and disappear in a
colored
design by changing the color of the light projected thereon.
FIG. 99 depicts a system for illuminating a container.
FIG. 100 depicts an article of clothing lit by an LED system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The structure and operation of various methods and systems that are
embodiments of the
invention will now be described. It should be understood that many other ways
of practicing the
invention herein are available, and the embodiments described herein are
exemplary and not
limiting.
Referring to FIG. 1, a light module 100 is depicted in block diagram format.
The light
module 100 includes two components, a processor 16 and an LED system 120,
which is depicted
in FIG. 1 as an array of light emitting diodes. The term "processor" is used
herein to refer to any
method or system for processing in response to a signal or data and should be
understood to
encompass microprocessors, integrated circuits, computer software, computer
hardware, electrical
circuits, application specific integrated circuits, personal computers, chips,
and other devices
capable of providing processing functions. The LED system 120 is controlled by
the processor 16
to produce controlled illumination. In particular, the processor 16 controls
the intensity of different
color individual LEDs, semiconductor dies, or the like of the LED system 120
to produce
illumination in any color in the spectrum. Instantaneous changes in color,
strobing and other
effects, more particularly described below, can be produced with light modules
such as the light
module 100 depicted in FIG. 1. The light module 100 may be made capable of
receiving power
and data. The light module 100, through the processor 16, may be made to
provide the various
functions ascribed to the various embodiments of the invention disclosed
herein.
Referring to FIG. 2, the light module 100 may be constructed to be used either
alone or as
part of a set of such light modules 100. An individual light module 100 or a
set of light modules
100 can be provided with a data connection 500 to one or more external
devices, or, in certain
embodiments of the invention, with other light modules 100. As used herein,
the term "data
connection" should be understood to encompass any system for delivering data,
such as a network,
a data bus, a wire, a transmitter and receiver, a circuit, a video tape, a
compact disc, a DVD disc, a
video tape, an audio tape, a computer tape, a card, or the like. A data
connection may thus include
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any system of method to deliver data by radio frequency, ultrasonic, auditory,
infrared, optical,
microwave, laser, electromagnetic, or other transmission or connection method
or system. That is,
any use of the electromagnetic spectrum or other energy transmission mechanism
could provide a
data connection as disclosed herein. In embodiments of the invention, the
light module 100 may be
equipped with a transmitter, receiver, or both to facilitate communication,
and the processor 16
may be programmed to control the communication capabilities in a conventional
manner. The light
modules 100 may receive data over the data connection 500 from a transmitter
502, which may be
a conventional transmitter of a communications signal, or may be part of a
circuit or network
connected to the light module 100. That is, the transmitter 502 should be
understood to encompass
any device or method for transmitting data to the light module 100. The
transmitter 502 may be
linked to or be part of a control device 504 that generates control data for
controlling the light
modules 100. In an embodiment of the invention, the control device 504 is a
computer, such as a
laptop computer. The control data may be in any form suitable for controlling
the processor 16 to
control the LED system 120. In embodiment of the invention, the control data
is formatted
according to the DMX-512 protocol, and conventional software for generating
DMX-512
instructions is used on a laptop or personal computer as the control device
504 to control the light
modules 100. The light module 100 may also be provided with memory for storing
instructions to
control the processor 16, so that the light module 100 may act in stand alone
mode according to
pre-programmed instructions.
Turning to FIG. 3, shown is an electrical schematic representation of the
light module 100
in one embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 4 and 5 show the LED-
containing side and the
electrical connector side of an exemplary embodiment of such a light module
100. Light module
100 may be constructed, in an embodiment, as a self-contained module that is
configured to be a
standard item interchangeable with any similarly constructed light module.
Light module 100
contains a ten-pin electrical connector 110 of the general type. In this
embodiment, the connector
110 contains male pins adapted to fit into a complementary ten-pin connector
female assembly, to
be described below. Pin 180 is the power supply. A source of DC electrical
potential enters light
module 100 on pin 180. Pin 180 is electrically connected to the anode end of
light emitting diode
(LED) sets 120, 140 and 160 to establish a uniform high potential on each
anode end.
LED system 120 includes a set 121 of red LEDs, a set 140 of blue LEDs, and a
set 160 of
green LEDs. The LEDs may be conventional LEDs, such those obtainable from the
Nichia
America Corporation. These LEDs are primary colors, in the sense that such
colors when
combined in preselected proportions can generate any color in the spectrum.
While use of three
primary colors is preferred, it will be understood that the present invention
will function nearly as
well with only two primary colors to generate a wide variety of colors in the
spectrum. Likewise,
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while the different primary colors are arranged herein on sets of uniformly
colored LEDS, it will
be appreciated that the same effect may be achieved with single LEDs
containing multiple color-
emitting semiconductor dies. LED sets 121, 140 and 160 each preferably
contains a serial/parallel
array of LEDs in the manner described by Okuno in U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,869. In
the present
embodiment, LED system 120 includes LED set 121, which contains three parallel
connected rows
of nine red LEDs (not shown), as well as LED sets 140 and 160, which each
contain five parallel
connected rows of five blue and green LEDS, respectively (not shown). It is
understood by those
in the art that, in general, each red LED drops the potential in the line by a
lower amount than each
blue or green LED, about two and one-tenth V, compared to four volts,
respectively, which
accounts for the different row lengths. This is because the number of LEDs in
each row is
determined by the amount of voltage drop desired between the anode end at the
power supply
voltage and the cathode end of the last LED in the row. Also, the parallel
arrangement of rows is a
fail-safe measure that ensures that the light module 100 will still function
even if a single LED in a
row fails, thus opening the electrical circuit in that row. The cathode ends
of the three parallel rows
of nine red LEDs in LED set 121 are then connected in common, and go to pin
128 on connector
110. Likewise, the cathode ends of the five parallel rows of five blue LEDs in
LED set 140 are
connected in common, and go to pin 148 on connector I 10. The cathode ends of
the five parallel
rows of five green LEDs in LED set 160 are connected in common, and go to pin
168 on connector
110. Finally, on light module 100, each LED set in the LED system 120 is
associated with a
programming resistor that combines with other components, described below, to
program the
maximum current through each set of LEDS. Between pin 124 and 126 is resistor
122, six and
two-tenths ohms. Between pin 144 and 146 is resistor 142, four and seven-
tenths ohms. Between
pin 164 and 166 is resistor 162, four and seven-tenths ohms. Resistor 122
programs maximum
current through red LED set 121, resistor 142 programs maximum current through
blue LED set
140, and resistor 162 programs maximum current through green LED set 160. The
values these
resistors should take are determined empirically, based on the desired maximum
light intensity of
each LED set. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3, the resistances above
program red, blue and
green currents of seventy, fifty and fifty mA, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 6, a circuit 10 for a digitally controlled LED-based light
includes an
LED assembly 12 containing LED output channels 14, which are controlled by the
processor 16.
Data and power are fed to the circuit 10 via power and data input unit 18. The
address for the
processor 16 is set by switch unit 20 containing switches which are connected
to individual pins of
pin set 21 of processor 16. An oscillator 19 provides a clock signal for
processor 16 via pins 9 and
of the same.
In an embodiment of the invention, data and power input unit 18 has four pins,
including a
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power supply 1, which may be a twenty-four volt LED power supply, a processor
power supply 2,
which may be a five volt processor power supply, a data in line 3 and a ground
pin 4. The first
power supply 1 provides power to LED channels 14 of LED assembly 12. The
second processor
power supply 2 may be connected to power supply input 20 of processor 16 to
provide operating
power for the processor 16 and also may be connected to a pin 1 of the
processor 16 to tie the reset
high. A capacitor 24, such as a one-tenth microfarad capacitor, may be
connected between the
processor power supply 2 and ground. The data line 3 may be connected to pin
18 of processor 16
and may be used to program and dynamically control the processor 16. The
ground may be
connected to pins 8 and 19 of the processor 16.
LED assembly 12 may be supplied with power from the LED power supply 1 and may
contain a transistor-controlled LED channel 14. The LED channel 14 may supply
power to at least
one LED. As shown in FIG. 1, the LED assembly 12 may supply multiple LED
channels 14 for
different color LEDs (e.g., red, green and blue), with each LED channel 14
individually controlled
by a transistor 26. However, it is possible that more than one channel 14
could be controlled by a
single transistor 26
As shown in FIG. 7, LEDs 15 may be arrayed in series to receive signals
through each of
the LED channels 14. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 7, a series of LEDs of
each different
color (red, green and blue) is connected to an output LED channel 14 from the
circuit 10 of FIG. 6.
LEDs 15 may also be arrayed to receive data according to a protocol such as
the DMX-512
protocol, so that many individual LEDs 15 may be controlled through
programming the processor
16.
Referring again to FIG. 6, gates of transistors 26 are controlled by processor
16 to thereby
control operation of the LED channels 14 and the LEDs 15. In the illustrated
example, the output
of the microprocessor appears on pins 12, 13 and 14 of processor 16, which are
then connected to
the gates of the LED channels 14 of the LEDs 15. Additional pins of processor
16 could be used to
control additional LEDs. Likewise, different pins of processor 16 could be
used to control the
illustrated LEDs 15, provided that appropriate modifications were made to the
instructions
controlling operation of processor 16.
A resistor 28 may be connected between transistor 26 and ground. In the
illustrated
example, resistor 28 associated with the red LED has a resistance value of
sixty-two ohms, and the
resistors associated with the green and blue LEDs each have a resistance of
ninety ohms. A
capacitor 29 may be connected between the first LED power supply 1 and ground.
In the
illustrated embodiment, this capacitor has a value of one-tenth of a
microfarad.
Processor 16 may be connected to an oscillator 19. One acceptable oscillator
is a crystal
tank circuit oscillator which provides a twenty megaHertz clock. This
oscillator may be connected
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to pins 9 and 10 of processor 16. It is also possible to use an alternative
oscillator. Primary
considerations associated with selection of an oscillator are consistency,
operating speed and cost.
In an embodiment of the invention, processor 16 is a programmable integrated
circuit, or
PIC chip, such as a PIC 16C63 or PIC 16C66 manufactured by Microchip
Technology, Inc.
Although the PIC 16C66 is currently the preferred microprocessor, any
processor capable of
controlling the LEDs 15 of LED assembly 12 may be used. Thus, for example, an
application
specific integrated circuit (ASIC) may be used instead of processor 16.
Likewise, other
commercially available processors may also be used without departing from this
invention.
In an embodiment of the invention depicted in FIG. 8, a total of eighteen LEDs
15 are
placed in three series according to color, and the series are arranged to form
a substantially circular
array 37. The processor 16 can be used to separately control the precise
intensity of each color
series of the LEDs 15, so that any color combination, and thus any color, can
be produced by the
array 37.
The responsiveness of LEDs to changing electrical signals permits computer
control of the
LEDs via control of the electrical impulses delivered to the LEDs. Thus, by
connecting the LED to
a power source via a circuit that is controlled by a processor, the user may
precisely control the
color and intensity of the LED. Due to the relatively instantaneous response
of LEDs to changes in
electrical impulses, the color and intensity state of an LED may be varied
quite rapidly by changes
in such impulses. By placing individual LEDs into arrays and controlling
individual LEDs, very
precise control of lighting conditions can be obtained through use of a
microprocessor. The
processor 16 may be controlled by conventional means, such as a computer
program, to send the
appropriate electrical signals to the appropriate LED at any given time. The
control may be digital,
so that precise control is possible. Thus, overall lighting conditions may be
varied in a highly
controlled manner.
With the electrical structure of an embodiment of light module 100 described,
attention
will now be given to the electrical structure of an example of a power module
200 in one
embodiment of the invention, shown in FIG. 9. FIGS. 10 and 11 show the power
terminal side and
electrical connector side of an embodiment of power module 200. Like light
module 100, power
module 200 may be self contained. Interconnection with a male pin set 110 is
achieved through
complementary female pin set 210. Pin 280 connects with pin 180 for supplying
power, delivered
to pin 280 from supply 300. Supply 300 is shown as a functional block for
simplicity. In actuality,
supply 300 can take numerous forms for generating a DC voltage. In the present
embodiment,
supply 300 provides twenty-four volts through a connection terminal (not
shown), coupled to pin
280 through transient protection capacitors (not shown) of the general type.
It will be appreciated
that supply 300 may also supply a DC voltage after rectification and/or
voltage transformation of
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an AC supply, as described more fully in U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,869.
Also connected to pin connector 210 are three current programming integrated
circuits,
ICR 220, ICB 240 and ICG 260. Each of these may be a three terminal adjustable
regulator, such
as part number LM317B, available from the National Semiconductor Corporation,
Santa Clara,
Calif. Each regulator contains an input terminal, an output terminal and an
adjustment terminal,
labeled I, 0, and A, respectively. The regulators function to maintain a
constant maximum current
into the input terminal and out of the output terminal. This maximum current
is pre-programmed
by setting a resistance between the output and the adjustment terminals. This
is because the
regulator will cause the voltage at the input terminal to settle to whatever
value is needed to cause
one and twenty-five hundredths volts to appear across the fixed current set
resistor, thus causing
constant current to flow. Since each functions identically, only ICR 220 will
now be described.
First, current enters the input terminal of ICR 220 from pin 228. Pin 228 in
the power module is
coupled to pin 128 in the light module and receives current directly from the
cathode end of the red
LED system 121. Since resistor 122 is ordinarily disposed between the output
and adjustment
terminals of ICR 220 through pins 224/124 and 226/126, resistor 122 programs
the amount of
current regulated by ICR 220. Eventually, the current output from the
adjustment terminal of ICR
220 enters a Darlington driver. In this way, ICR 220 and associated resistor
122 program the
maximum current through red LED system 120. Similar results are achieved with
ICB 240 and
resistor 142 for blue LED set 140, and with ICG 260 and resistor 162 for green
LED set 160.
The red, blue and green LED currents enter another integrated circuit, ICI
380, at
respective nodes 324, 344 and 364. ICI 380 may be a high current/voltage
Darlington driver, such
as part no. DS2003, available from the National Semiconductor Corporation,
Santa Clara, Calif.
ICI 380 may be used as a current sink, and may function to switch current
between respective LED
sets and ground 390. ICI contains six sets of Darlington transistors with
appropriate on-board
biasing resistors. As shown, nodes 324, 344 and 364 couple the current from
the respective LED
sets to three pairs of these Darlington transistors, in the well known manner
to take advantage of
the fact that the current rating of ICI 380 may be doubled by using pairs of
Darlington transistors
to sink respective currents. Each of the three on-board Darlington pairs is
used in the following
manner as a switch. The base of each Darlington pair is coupled to signal
inputs 424, 444 and 464,
respectively. Hence, input 424 is the signal input for switching current
through node 324, and thus
the red LED set 121. Input 444 is the signal input for switching current
though node 344, and thus
the blue LED set 140. Input 464 is the signal input for switching current
through node 364, and
thus the green LED set 160. Signal inputs 424, 444 and 464 are coupled to
respective signal
outputs 434, 454 and 474 on microcontroller IC2400, as described below. In
essence, when a high
frequency square wave is incident on a respective signal input, ICI 380
switches current through a
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respective node with the identical frequency and duty cycle. Thus, in
operation, the states of signal
inputs 424, 444 and 464 directly correlate with the opening and closing of the
power circuit
through respective LED sets 121, 140 and 160.
The structure and operation of microcontroller IC2400 in the embodiment of
FIG. 9 will
now be described. Microcontroller IC2400 is preferably a MICROCHIP brand
PIC16C63,
although almost any properly programmed microcontroller or microprocessor can
perform the
software functions described herein. The main function of microcontroller
IC2400 is to convert
numerical data received on serial Rx pin 520 into three independent high
frequency square waves
of uniform frequency but independent duty cycles on signal output pins 434,
454 and 474. The
FIG. 9 representation of microcontroller IC2400 is partially stylized, in that
persons of skill in the
art will appreciate that certain of the twenty-eight standard pins have been
omitted or combined for
greatest clarity. Further detail as to a similar microcontroller is provided
in connection with FIG.
12 for another embodiment of the invention.
Microcontroller IC2400 is powered through pin 450, which is coupled to a five
volt source
of DC power 700. Source 700 is preferably driven from supply 300 through a
coupling (not
shown) that includes a voltage regulator (not shown). An exemplary voltage
regulator is the
LM340 3-terminal positive regulator, available from the National Semiconductor
Corporation,
Santa Clara, Calif. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that most
microcontrollers, and many
other independently powered digital integrated circuits, are rated for no more
than a five volt
power source. The clock frequency of microcontroller IC2400 is set by
crysta1480, coupled
through appropriate pins. Pin 490 is the microcontroller IC2400 ground
reference.
Switch 600 is a twelve position dip switch that may be alterably and
mechanically set to
uniquely identify the microcontroller IC2400. When individual ones of the
twelve mechanical
switches within dip switch 600 are closed, a path is generated from
corresponding pins 650 on
microcontroller IC2400 to ground 690. Twelve switches create twenty-four
possible settings,
allowing any microcontroller IC2400 to take on one of four thousand ninety-six
different IDs, or
addresses. In the embodiment of FIG. 9, only nine switches are actually used
because the DMX-
512 protocol is employed.
Once switch 600 is set, microcontroller IC2400 "knows" its unique address
("who am "),
and "listens" on serial line 520 for a data stream specifically addressed to
it. A high speed network
protocol, such as a DMX protocol, may be used to address network data to each
individually
addressed microcontroller IC2400 from a central network controller (not
shown). The DMX
protocol is described in a United States Theatre Technology, Inc. publication
entitled
"DMX512/1990 Digital Data Transmission Standard for Dimmers and Controllers".
Basically, in
the network protocol used herein, a central controller (not shown) creates a
stream of network data
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consisting of sequential data packets.
Each packet first contains a header, which is checked for conformance to the
standard and
discarded, followed by a stream of sequential characters representing data for
sequentially
addressed devices. For instance, if the data packet is intended for light
number fifteen, then
fourteen characters from the data stream will be discarded, and the device
will save character
number fifteen. If as in the preferred embodiment, more than one character is
needed, then the
address is considered to be a starting address, and more than one character is
saved and utilized.
Each character corresponds to a decimal number zero to two hundred fifty five,
linearly
representing the desired intensity from Off to Full. (For simplicity, details
of the data packets such
as headers and stop bits are omitted from this description, and will be well
appreciated by those of
skill in the art.) This way, each of the three LED colors is assigned a
discrete intensity value
between zero and two hundred fifty-five. These respective intensity values are
stored in respective
registers within the memory of microcontroller IC2400 (not shown). Once the
central controller
exhausts all data packets, it starts over in a continuous refresh cycle. The
refresh cycle is defined
by the standard to be a minimum of one thousand one hundred ninety-six
microseaDnds, and a
maximum of one second.
Microcontroller IC2400 is programmed continually to "listen" for its data
stream. When
microcontroller IC2400 is "listening," but before it detects a data packet
intended for it, it is
running a routine designed to create the square wave signal outputs on pins
434, 454 and 474. The
values in the color registers determine the duty cycle of the square wave.
Since each register can
take on a value from zero to two hundred fifty five, these values create two
hundred fifty six
possible different duty cycles in a linear range from zero percent to one
hundred percent. Since the
square wave frequency is uniform and determined by the program running in the
microcontroller
IC2400, these different discrete duty cycles represent variations in the width
of the square wave
pulses. This is known as pulse width modulation (PWM).
In one embodiment of the invention, the PWM interrupt routine is implemented
using a
simple counter, incrementing from zero to two hundred fifty-five in a cycle
during each period of
the square wave output on pins 434, 454 and 474. When the counter rolls over
to zero, all three
signals are set high. Once the counter equals the register value, signal
output is changed to low.
When microcontroller IC2400 receives new data, it freezes the counter, copies
the new data to the
working registers, compares the new register values with the current count and
updates the output
pins accordingly, and then restarts the counter exactly where it left off.
Thus, intensity values may
be updated in the middle of the PWM cycle. Freezing the counter and
simultaneously updating the
signal outputs has at least two advantages. First, it allows each lighting
unit to quickly pulse/strobe
as a strobe light does. Such strobing happens when the central controller
sends network data
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having high intensity values alternately with network data having zero
intensity values at a rapid
rate. If one restarted the counter without first updating the signal outputs,
then the human eye
would be able to perceive the staggered deactivation of each individual color
LED that is set at a
different pulse width. This feature is not of concern in incandescent lights
because of the
integrating effect associated with the heating and cooling cycle of the
illumination element. LEDS,
unlike incandescent elements, activate and deactivate essentially
instantaneously in the present
application. The second advantage is that one can "dim" the LEDs without the
flickering that
would otherwise occur if the counter were reset to zero. The central
controller can send a
continuous dimming signal when it creates a sequence of intensity values
representing a uniform
and proportional decrease in light intensity for each color LED. If one did
not update the output
signals before restarting the counter, there is a possibility that a single
color LED will go through
nearly two cycles without experiencing the zero current state of its duty
cycle. For instance,
assume the red register is set at 4 and the counter is set at 3 when it is
frozen. Here, the counter is
frozen just before the "off part" of the PWM cycle is to occur for the red
LEDS. Now assume that
the network data changes the value in the red register from four to two and
the counter is restarted
without deactivating the output signal. Even though the counter is greater
than the intensity value
in the red register, the output state is still "on", meaning that maximum
current is still flowing
through the red LEDS. Meanwhile, the blue and green LEDs will probably turn
off at their
appropriate times in the PWM cycle. This would be perceived by the human eye
as a red flicker in
the course of dimming the color intensities. Freezing the counter and updating
the output for the
rest of the PWM cycle overcomes these disadvantages, ensuring the flicker does
not occur.
The microprocessors that provide the digital control functions of the LEDs of
the present
invention may be responsive to any electrical signal; that is, external
signals may be used to direct
the microprocessors to control the LEDs in a desired manner. A computer
program may control
such signals, so that a programmed response to given input signals is
possible. Thus, signals may
be generated that turn individual LEDs on and off, that vary the color of
individual LEDs
throughout the color spectrum, that strobe or flash LEDs at predetermined
intervals that are
controllable to very short time intervals, and that vary the intensity of
light from a single LED or
collection of LEDs. A variety of signal-generating devices may be used in
accordance with the
present invention to provide significant benefits to the user. Input signals
can range from simple
on-off or intensity signals, such as that from a light switch or dial, or from
a remote control, to
signals from detectors, such as detectors of ambient temperature or light. The
precise digital
control of arrayed LEDs in response to a wide range of external signals
permits applications in a
number of technological fields in accordance with the present invention.
The network interface for microcontroller IC2400 will now be described. Jacks
800 and
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900 are standard RJ-45 network jacks. Jack 800 is used as an input jack, and
is shown for
simplicity as having only three inputs: signal inputs 860, 870 and ground 850.
Network data enters
jack 800 and passes through signal inputs 860 and 870. These signal inputs are
then coupled to
IC3500, which is an RS-485/RS-422 differential bus repeater of the standard
type, preferably a
DS96177 from the National Semiconductor Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif. The
signal inputs 860,
870 enter IC3500 at pins 560, 570. The data signal is passed through from pin
510 to pin 520 on
microcontroller IC2400. The same data signal is then returned from pin 540 on
IC2400 to pin 530
on IC3500. Jack 900 is used as an output jack and is shown for simplicity as
having only five
outputs: signal outputs 960, 970, 980, 990 and ground 950. Outputs 960 and 970
are split directly
from input lines 860 and 870, respectively. Outputs 980 and 990 come directly
from IC3500 pins
580 and 590, respectively. It will be appreciated that the foregoing assembly
enables two network
nodes to be connected for receiving the network data. Thus, a network may be
constructed as a
daisy chain, if only single nodes are strung together, or as a tree, if two or
more nodes are attached
to the output of each single node.
From the foregoing description, one can see that an addressable network of LED
illumination or display units can be constructed from a collection of power
modules each
connected to a respective light module. As long as at least two primary color
LEDs are used, any
illumination or display color may be generated simply by preselecting the
light intensity that each
color LED emits. Further, each color LED can emit light at any of 255
different intensities,
depending on the duty cycle of PWM square wave, with a full intensity
generated by passing
maximum current through the LED. Further still, the maximum intensity can be
conveniently
programmed simply by adjusting the ceiling for the maximum allowable current
using
programming resistances for the current regulators residing on the light
module. Light modules of
different maximum current ratings may thereby be conveniently interchanged.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a special power supply module
38 is
provided, as depicted in FIG. 12. The power supply module 38 may be disposed
on any platform
of the light module 100, such as, for example, the platform of the embodiment
depicted in FIGS. 4
and 5. The output of the power supply module 38 supplies power to a power and
data input, such
as the power and data input 18 of the circuit 10 of FIG. 6. The power supply
module 38 is capable
of taking a voltage or current input in a variety of forms, including an
intermittent input, and
supplying a steady, clean source of power to the circuit 10. In the embodiment
depicted in FIG. 12,
the power supply module includes inputs 40, which may be incoming electrical
signals that would
typically be of alternating current type. Incoming signals are then converted
by a rectifying
element 42, which in an embodiment of the invention is a bridge rectifier
consisting of four diodes
44. The rectifying element 42 rectifies the alternating current signal into a
clean direct current
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signal. The power supply module 38 may further include a storage element 48,
which may include
one or more capacitors 50. The storage element stores power that is supplied
by the rectifying
element 42, so that the power supply module 38 can supply power to the input
18 of the circuit 10
of FIG. 6, even if power to the input 40 of the power supply module 38 is
intermittent. In the
illustrated example, one of the capacitors is an electrolytic capacitor with a
value of three hundred
thirty microfarads.
The power supply module 38 may further include a boost converter 52. The boost
converter takes a low voltage direct current and boosts and cleans it to
provide a higher voltage to
the DC power input 18 of the circuit 10 of FIG. 6. The boost converter 52 may
include an inductor
54, a controller 58, one or more capacitors 60, one or more resistors 62, and
one or more diodes
64. The resistors limit the data voltage excursions in the signal to the
processor of the circuit 10.
The controller 58 may be a conventional controller suitable for boost
conversion, such as the
LTC 1372 controller provided by Linear Technology Corporation.
In the illustrated embodiment, the boost converter 52 is capable of taking
power at
approximately ten volts and converting it to a clean power at twenty-four
volts. The twenty-four
volt power can be used to power the circuit 10 and the LEDs 15 of FIG. 6.
In certain embodiments of the invention, power and data are supplied to the
circuit 10 and
the LEDs 15 by conventional means, such as a conventional electrical wire or
wires for power and
a separate wire, such as the RS-485 wire, for data, as in most applications of
the DMX-512
protocol. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a separate data
wire may provide
data to control the LEDs 15, if the platform 30 is inserted into a
conventional halogen fixture 34
that has only electrical power.
In another embodiment, electrical power and serial data are simultaneously
supplied to the
device, which may be a lighting device such as the LED-based lighting device
of FIG. 1 or may be
any other device that requires both electrical power and data. Electrical
power and data may be
supplied to multiple lighting devices on a single pair of wires. In
particular, in this embodiment of
the invention, power is delivered to the device (and, where applicable,
through the power supply
module 38) along a two wire data bus such as the type normally used for
lighting in applications
where high power is required, such as halogen lamps.
In an embodiment of the invention, the power supply module 38 recovers power
from data
lines. In order to permit power recovery from data lines, a power data
multiplexer 60 is provided,
which amplifies an incoming data stream to produce logical data levels, with
one or more of the
logical states having sufficient voltage or current that power can be
recovered during that logical
state. Referring to FIG. 13, in an embodiment of the invention, a data input
64 is provided, which
may be a line driver or other input for providing data. In embodiment of the
invention, the data is
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DMX-512 protocol data for control of lighting, such as LEDs. It should be
understood that the
power data multiplexer 60 could manipulate data according to other protocols
and for control of
other devices.
The power data multiplexer 60 may include a data input element 68 and a data
output
element 70. The data output element 70 may include an output element 72 that
supplies combined
power and data to a device, such as the power supply module 38 of FIG. 12, or
the input 18 of the
circuit 10 of FIG. 6. The data input element 68 may include a receiver 74,
which may be an RS-
485 receiver for receiving DMX-512 data, or any other conventional receiver
for receiving data
according to a protocol. The data input element 68 may further include a power
supply 78 with a
voltage regulator 80, for providing regulated power to the receiver 74 and the
data output element
70. The data input element 68 supplies a data signal to the data output
element 70. In the illustrated
embodiment of FIG. 12, a TTL data signal is supplied. The data output element
70 amplifies the
data signal and determines the relative voltage direction of the output. In
the illustrated
embodiment, a chip 82 consists of a high speed PWM stepper motor driver chip
that amplifies the
data signal to a positive signal of twenty four volts to reflect a logical one
and to negative signal of
twenty four volts to reflect a logical zero. It should be understood that
different voltages could be
used to reflect logical ones and zeros. For example, zero volts could
represent logical zero, with a
particular positive or negative voltage representing a logical one.
In this embodiment, the voltage is sufficient to supply power while
maintaining the logical
data values of the data stream. The chip 82 may be any conventional chip
capable of taking an
input signal and amplifying it in a selected direction to a larger voltage. It
should be understood
that any circuit for amplifying data while maintaining the logical value of
the data stream may be
used for the power data multiplexer 60.
The embodiments of FIGS. 12 and 13 should be understood to encompass any
devices for
converting a data signal transmitted according to a data protocol, in which
certain data are
represented by nonzero signals in the protocol, into power that supplies an
electrical device. The
device may be a light module 100, such as that depicted in FIG. 1.
In an embodiment of the invention, the data supplied to the power data
multiplexer 60 is
data according to the USITT DMX-512 protocol, in which a constant stream of
data is transmitted
from a console, such as a theatrical console, to all devices on the DMX-512
network. DMX-512
formats are enforced upon the data. Because of this one can be assured that
the power data
multiplexer 60, either in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 13, or in another
embodiment, can
amplify the DMX-512 signal from the standard signal voltage and/or electrical
current levels to
higher voltages, and usually higher electrical currents.
The resulting higher power signal from the power data multiplexer 60 can be
converted
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back into separated power by the power supply module 38, or by another circuit
capable of
providing rectification with a diode and. filtering with a capacitor for the
power.
The data stream from the power data multiplexor 60 can be recovered by simple
resistive
division, which will recover a standard data voltage level signal to be fed to
the input 18. Resistive
division can be accomplished by the resistors 84 of FIG. 12.
The power data multiplexer 62, when combined with the power supply module 38
and the
array 37 mounted on a modular platform 30, permits the installation of LED-
based, digitally
controlled lighting using already existing wires and fixtures. As the system
permits the device to
obtain power and data from a single pair of wires, no separate data or power
wires are required.
The power data multiplexor 60 can be installed along a conventional data wire,
and the power
supply module 38 can be installed on the platform 30. Thus, with a simple
addition of the power
data multiplexor 60 and the insertion of the modular platform 30 into a
conventional halogen
fixture, the user can have LED based, digitally controlled lights by supplying
DMX-512 data to the
power data multiplexor 60.
It should be understood that the power supply module 38 can be supplied with
standard
twelve volt alternating current in a non-modified manner. That is, the power
supply module can
supply the array 37 from alternating current present in conventional fixtures,
such as MR 16
fixtures. If digital control is desired, then a separate data wire can be
supplied, if desired.
Another embodiment of a power data multiplexor 60 is depicted in FIG. 14. In
this
embodiment, a power supply of between twelve and twenty-four volts is used,
connected to input
terminals 899.
The voltage at 803 is eight volts greater than the supply voltage. The voltage
at 805 is
about negative eight volts. The voltage at 801 is five volts. The power data
multiplexor 60 may
include decoupling capacitors 807 and 809 for the input power supply. A
voltage regulator 811
creates a clean, five volt supply, decoupled by capacitor 813. A voltage
regulator 815, which may
be an LM317 voltage regulator available from National Semiconductor, forms an
eighteen volt
voltage regulator with resistors 817 and 819, decoupled by capacitors 821 and
823. This feeds an
adjustable step down regulator 823, which may be an LT1375 step down regulator
available from
Linear Technology of Milpitas Calif., operated in the voltage inverting
configuration. The
resistances of resistors 817 and 819 have been selected create negative eight
volts, and a diode 844
is a higher voltage version than that indicated in the data sheet, inductor
846 is may be any
conventional inductor, for example, one with a value of one hundred uH to
allow a smaller and
cheaper capacitor to be used for the capacitor 848, supply has been further
bypassed with capacitor
852. Diode 854 may be a plastic packaged version 1N914, and frequency
compensating capacitor
856 sized appropriately for changes in other components according to data
sheet formulas. The
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CA 02314163 2004-07-07
circuit generates negative eight volts at 805.
Also included may be a step up voltage regulator 825, which may be an LT1372
voltage
regulator available from Linear Technology of Milpitas, Calif. The step up
voltage regulator may
be of a standard design. Diode 862 may be a diode with higher voltage than
that taught by the data
sheet. Inductor 864 and capacitor 839 may be sized appropriately according to
data sheet formulas
to generate eight volts more than input voltage over the range between input
voltages of twelve
and twenty-four volts. Capacitor 866 may be sized for frequency compensation
given values of
inductor 864 and capacitor 868 as per data sheet guidelines. A set of
resistors 827, 833, 837, along
with transistors 829 form the voltage feedback circuit. Resistors 833 and 837
form a voltage
divider, producing a voltage in proportion to the output voltage 803 at the
feedback node pin 835.
Resistors 827 and transistors 829 form a current mirror, drawing a current
from the feedback node
at 835 in proportion to the input voltage. The voltage at feedback pin 835 is
thus proportional to
the output voltage minus the input voltage. The ratio of resistor 833 to that
of iesistor 837, which
may need to be equal to resistor 827 for the subtraction to work, is chosen to
produce eight volts.
Capacitors 839 may be used to further bypass the supply.
Incoming data, which may be in the form of an incoming RS-485 protocol data
stream, is
received by a receiver chip 841 at the pins 843 and 845, buffered, and
amplified to produce true
and complement data signals at pins 847 and 849 respectively. These signals
are further buffered
and inverted by element 851 to produce true and complement data signals with
substantial drive
capabilities at pins 853 and 855, respectively.
Each of the signals from the pins 853 and 855 is then processed by an output
amplifier.
There are two output amplifiers 857 and 859, which may be substantially
identical in design and
function. In each case, the data signal entering the amplifier connected to
two switched cascode
type current sources 861 and 863, the first composed of resistor 865 and
transistor 867, the second
composed of resistor 869 and transistor 871, at the junction of the two
resistors 865 and 869. The
current source 863 will sink a current of approximately 20 milliamps when the
signal entering the
amplifier is low, such as at zero volts, and will sink no current when the
signal is high, for example
at positive five volts. The other current source 861 will source approximately
twenty milliamperes
when the signal is high, but not when low. These currents are fed to two
current mirrors 873 and
875, composed of transistors 877 and 879 and resistors 881 and 883 for current
source 863 and
transistors 885 and 887 and resistors 889 and 891 for current source 861,
which are of a standard
design, familiar to analog circuit designers. The collectors of transistors
877 and 885 are connected
together, forming a current summing node. The net current delivered to this
node by these
transistors will be about twenty milliamps in either the sourcing direction
(flowing into the node) if
the input signal is low, or the sinking direction (flowing out of the node) if
the signal is high.
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CA 02314163 2004-07-07
When a transition from the low state to the high state occurs at the input
signal, the resulting
twenty milliampere sinking current will cause capacitor 893 (and the parasitic
capacitance at this
node) to discharge at a controlled rate of approximately fifty volts per
microsecond, until the
voltage at the node reaches approximately negative five volts, at which time
diodes 895 and 897
will begin to conduct, clamping the negative excursion of the node voltage at
negative five volts,
and preventing the saturation of transistor 885. Transistors 899 and 901 form
a bi-directional Class
B voltage follower of a standard design, and the voltage at the junction of
their emitters follows the
transition at the node connected to capacitor 893. Specifically transistor 899
turns off and
transistor 901 conducts, causing the voltage at the gates of transistors 903
and 907 to decrease,
switching off transistor 903 and slowly turning on transistor 907, causing
current to flow from the
output pin 909 to ground. Field effect transistors 903 and 907, which may be
of the type available
from National Semiconductor of Santa Clara, Calif., also form a Class B
Voltage follower, of
standard design. When the voltage at the current summing node is clamped at
negative five volts,
the voltage at the gate of 903 will reach negative four and four-thenths
volts, and transistor 907
will remain on so long as the input signal remains high.
Once the input signal goes low, the current at the summing node will change
direction, and
capacitor 893 will charge at the same rate, eventually being clamped to a
value of the input voltage
plus five volts. Transistor 899 will cause the voltage at the gates of
transistor 903 and transistor
905 to rise, turning off transistor 903 and turning, on transistor 907,
sourcing current from the
input supply to the output through resistor 911. It will take approximately
five hundred
nanoseconds for the voltage at the summing node, and hence the output, to
fully switch between
zero and twenty-four volts (if the power input is the maximum of twenty four
volts), or
approximately two hundred fifty nanoseconds to move between zero and twelve
volts (if the power
input is twelve volts). Transistor 905 and resistor 911 form a short circuit
protection circuit,
limiting the current flowing through 903 to approximately six amperes. Diode
913 isolates the
short circuit protector circuit when transistor 903 is not on. No protection
is provided for transistor
907, because the expected short circuit paths would be either to ground or to
the other amplifier
channel. In the first case no current could flow through transistor 907, while
in the second, the
other amplifier's short circuit protection would protect transistor 907.
Because of the bridge rectifier at the input to the device, as disclosed in
connection with
the description of the embodiment of FIG. 6, the power data multiplexor
circuits depicted in FIGS.
13 and 14 supply power to the device during both the data=l and data=0 states
and does not rely
on any data format at the input to maintain sufficient power to the device.
The data is extracted as
in other embodiments of the invention.
The circuit of FIG. 14 produces a controlled slew rate; that is, the power and
data
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CA 02314163 2004-07-07
generated have relatively smooth transitions between a logical zero state and
a local one state. The
controlled slew rate produced by the circuit of FIG. 14 decreases the
magnitude of the radio
frequency interference generated, as described more particularly below in
connection with the data
track embodiment of the invention.
The lamps themselves auto terminate the line, as their input looks
substantially similar to
the terminating circuit in the track embodiment described below, having the
same effect as that
terminating circuit. This eliminates any need for terminators on the line.
Additional termination is
only needed in the case of a device that is commanded to be off, with actual
data wire impedance
low, with a long wire, and where there are many transitions going by. Since
this is a very unlikely
combination of factors, the configuration with an additional terminator is not
needed as a practical
matter.
For the embodiment of FIG. 14, six amperes of power runs forty eight lights at
twenty-
four volts or twenty four lights at twelve volts.
In an embodiment of the invention, a modified method and system is provide to
provide
multiple simultaneous high speed pulse width modulated signals. The method may
be
accomplished by computer software coding of the steps depicted in the flow
charts 202 and 205 of
FIG. 15, or by computer hardware designed to accomplish these functions. To
generate a number,
N, of PWM signals, in a step 204 the processor schedules an interrupt of at
least N possibly equal
(as in this embodiment) sub-periods. In this embodiment this interrupt is
generated by a counter,
interrupting the processor every two hundred fifty-six processor clock cycles.
In step 208 each
sub-period's coarse PWM values are computed. In step 212, the vernier value
for each PWM
channel is computed. The sub-periods may be denoted Pi where the first sub-
period is one, etc.
In each sub-period, which begins with an interrupt at a step 213, the
interrupt routine
executes the steps of the flow chart 205. In a step 214, all PWM signals are
updated from pr&
computed values corresponding to this specific sub-period. In most cases this
entails a single read
from an array of pre-computed values, followed by a single write to update the
multiple I/O pins
on which the PWM signals are generated.
In a step 218, one of the PWM signals is then modified. The step 218 is
accomplished by
executing a write to the I/O pins, executing a series of instructions
consuming the desired amount
of time, and then executing another update (I/O) write.
In a step 222, the processor advances the sub-period bookkeeping value to
point to the
next sub-period.
The vernier in the step 218 can reduce or increase the amount of time that the
PWM signal
is on, by changing the state of the signal for up to one-half of the sub-
period. There are two
possible cases. Either the coarse update places the signal in the "off' state
and the vernier routine
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CA 02314163 2004-07-07
turns it "on" for a time period of up to one-half of the sub period, or the
coarse update is "on" and
the vernier routine turns the signal "off' for a period of time of up to one-
half of the sub period.
Using this method, each PWM signal can change multiple times per PWM period.
This is
advantageous because software can use this property to further increase the
apparent PWM
frequency, while still maintaining a relatively low interrupt rate.
The method disclosed thus far consumes a maximum of approximately half of the
processor time compared to conventional PWM routines.
As an example: consider two signals A and B with a resolution of twenty counts
programmed to seven and fourteen counts respectively. These signals could be
generated as
follows:
A: I+v_v++++++1 I
B:j ++++++++++1_~++~ I
Pi: ~ 1 ~2
In this example the pre-computed update value at Pi =1 is both signals on.
Signal A then
spends some time in the on state, while the interrupt routine continues to
execute. A then goes off
in the vernier step at the first "v", and the interrupt routine executes time
delay code during the
time before restoring the signal to the on state at the second "v".
The actual time between the multiple update at the beginning of the sub period
and the
vernier update need not be known, so long as the time spent between the
vernier updates is the
desired time. While the vernier updates are occurring, signal B, which was
switched on, remains
on and unaffected. When the second interrupt occurs, both signals are switched
off, and the vernier
routine now adds four additional counts to the period of signal B. In this
example only thirty-five
percent of the processor time plus the time required for two interrupts has
been consumed.
Since only one vernier period is required per signal generated, increasing the
number of
periods per PWM cycle can generate non-uniform PWM waveforms at frequencies
higher than
those possible on most microprocessors' dedicated hardware PWM outputs for a
large number of
possible PWM channels. The microprocessor still executes interrupts at fixed
intervals.
To change the duty cycles of the signals produced, the software can
asynchronously
update any or all of the coarse or vernier values, in any order, without
having to worry about
synchronization with the interrupt routine, and more importantly, without
stopping it. The interrupt
routine never changes any variables which the main code changes or vice-versa.
Thus there is no
need for interlocks of any kind.
This software routine can thus utilize a single timer to generate multiple PWM
signals,
with each signal ultimately having the resolution of a single processor cycle.
On a Microchip PIC
microprocessor, this allows three PWM signals to be generated with a
resolution of two hundred
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CA 02314163 2004-07-07
fifty-six counts, each corresponding to only a four instruction delay. This
allows a PWM period of
just one thousand twenty four instruction cycles, i.e fotr thousand eight
hundred eighty two Hertz
at a twenty megaHertz clock.
Furthermore, for counts between sixty-four and one hundred ninety-two, the PWM
waveform is a non-uniform nine thousand seven hundred sixty-five Hertz signal,
with much lower
noise than a conventional PWM generator in such a processor.
As described above, the LED arrays of the present invention are responsive to
external
electrical signals and data. Accordingly, it is desirable to have improved
data and signal
distribution mechanisms in order to take full advantage of the benefits of the
present invention. In
an embodiment of the invention, the data connection 500 can be a DMX or
lighting data network
bus disposed in a track on which conventional lights or LEDs are located.
Thus, a track capable of
delivering data signals may be run inside a track lighting apparatus for LEDs
or conventional
lights. The data signals may then be controlled by a microprocessor to permit
intelligent individual
control of the individual lamps or LEDs. It is within the scope of the present
invention to provide
distributed lights that are responsive to both electrical and data control.
The LEDs of the present invention are highly responsive to changes the input
signal.
Accordingly, to take advantage of the features of the invention, rapid data
distribution is desirable.
In embodiment of the invention, a method for increasing the communication
speed of DMX 512
networks is provided. In particular, DMX 512-networks send data at two hundred
fifty-thousand
baud. All receivers are required by the DMX standard to recognize a line break
of a minimum of
eighty-eight microseconds. After the mark is recognized, all devices wait to
receive a start code
and ignore the rest of the packet if anything other than zero was received. If
a non-zero start code
is sent prior to sending data at a higher baud rate, the devices are able to
respond more quickly to
the higher baud rate. Alternatively channels above a certain number could be
assigned to the high
baud rate, and other devices would not be deprived of necessary data as they
would already have
received their data from that frame. It may be desirable to frame several
characters with correct
stop bits to prevent loss of synchronization.
The present invention may also include an automation system chassis that
consists of a
mother board that communicates with a network and/or bus using the DMX,
Ethernet or other
protocol to control a wide range of electrical devices, including the LED
arrays of the present
invention.
In another embodiment of the invention, the input signals for the
microprocessor can be
obtained from a light control network that does not have a direct electrical
circuit connection. A
switch that is mounted on a wall or a remote control can transmit a programmed
infrared, radio
frequency or other signal to a receiver which can then transmit the signal to
the microprocessor.
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CA 02314163 2004-07-07
Another embodiment provides a different track lighting system. Present track
lighting
systems use both the physical and electrical properties of a track of
materials, which typically
consist of an extruded aluminum track housing extruded plastic insulators to
support and house
copper conductors. A conventional track lighting system delivers power and
provides a mechanical
support for light fixtures, which can generally be attached to the "track" at
any location along its
length by a customer without tools.
In the simplest form, a track provides only two conductors, and all fixtures
along the track
receive power from the same two conductors. In this situation, all fixtures
attached to the track are
controlled by a single control device. It is not possible to control remotely
(switch on or off, or
dim) a subset of the fixtures attached to the track without affecting the
other fixtures.
Track systems have generally included more than two conductors, primarily
because of the
requirements of the Underwriters Laboratories for a separate ground conductor.
Many systems
have also endeavored to provide more than just two current-carrying
conductors. The purpose of
additional current-carrying conductors is typically either to increase the
total power carrying
capacity of the track, or to provide separate control over a subset of
fixtures. Tracks with up to four
"circuits," or current-carrying conductors, are known.
Even with four circuits however, full flexibility may not be achieved with
conventional
tracks, for a number of reasons. First, a fixture is assigned to a subset at
the time of insertion into
the track. Thus, that fixture will be affected by. signals for the particular
subset. If there are more
lights than circuits, it is not possible to control lights individually with
conventional systems. Also,
the fixture typically only receives power, which can be modified somewhat
(i.e. dimmed), but
cannot easily be used to send substantial quantities of data. Further,
information cannot be returned
easily from the fixtures.
The track embodiment disclosed herein provides individual control of a large
number of
lighting fixtures installed on a track and allows robust bi-directional
communication over that
track, while complying with regulatory requirements pertaining to both safety
and pertaining to
elimination of spurious radio frequency emissions. Disclosed herein are
methods and systems for
creating electrical signals for delivering data to a multitude of lighting
fixtures attached to a track,
a track capable of delivering the signals to the fixtures, and specialized
termination devices for
ensuring that the signals do not cause excessive spurious reflections.
Referring to FIG. 16, in an embodiment, a user may wish to send lighting
control data over
a track 6002 to a fixture 6000, preferably using an industry standard. The
fixture 6000 could be a
light module 100, such as that disclosed herein, or it could be any other
conventional fixture
capable of connection to a conventional track lighting track. In an
embodiment, the data control
standard is the DMX-512 standard described herein.
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CA 02314163 2004-07-07
DMX-512 specifies the use of RS-485 voltage signaling levels and input/output
devices.
However, use of RS-485 presents certain problems in the track lighting
applications described
herein, because it requires that the network to which the fixture 6000 is
attached be in the form of a
bus, composed of lengths of controlled impedance media, and it requires that
the network be
terminated at each bus endpoint. These properties are not provided in typical
track lighting
systems, which generally do not contain controlled impedance conductor
systems. Furthermore,
track installations often contain branches or "Ts" at which one section of
track branches to multiple
other sections, and it is undesirable to electrically regenerate signals at
such points, for cost,
reliability and installation reasons. Because of this, each section cannot be
"terminated" with its
characteristic impedance to achieve a properly terminated network for purposes
of RS-485.
It is possible however, through the present invention, to send signals
conforming to a
modification of the RS-485 specification, which can be received by currently
available devices that
conform to the RS-485 specification.
To deliver data effectively in this environment, a new data transmitter 6004
is needed. In
order to negate the transmission line effect created by the multiple sections
of track, a controlled
waveshape driver is utilized as the data transmitter 6004. The design of this
driver may be further
optimized to minimize the amount of unintended radio frequency radiation, to
allow conformance
to FCC and CE regulatory requirements. To further ensure signal integrity, a
specialized
termination network may be utilized.
Certain characteristics of the track system are relevant. First, multiple
sections of track can
be viewed as a collection of individual transmission lines, each with some
(generally unknown)
characteristic impedance, and with some unknown length. Fixtures attached to
the track present
some load along the transmission line's length. The RS-485 standard specifies
that the minimum
impedance of such loads shall be not less than ten and five-tenths kilo-ohms,
and that the added
capacitance must not exceed fifty picofarads. In a large lighting network, it
is possible to envision
a track system comprised of several dozen sections, each up to several meters
long. The total
number of fixtures can easily exceed two hundred in just a single room. Thus
the total load
presented by the controlled devices alone can be below fifty ohms and contain
an added ten
thousand picofarads of capacitance. Furthermore, crosstalk between the power
conductors and
signal conductors in the track can also occur. The track itself may present
upwards of twenty4'ive
picofarads per foot of additional capacitance.
It is generally understood that transmission lines shorter than one-fourth of
the wavelength
of the highest frequency signal transmitted on them can be analyzed and viewed
as a lumped load;
i.e., their transmission line effects can be effectively ignored. Thus any
combination of loads and
track sections can be viewed as a single lumped load, so long as the maximum
length from any one
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CA 02314163 2004-07-07
terminus to any other terminus is less than one-fourth of the wavelength of
the highest frequency
signal delivered to it. For a digital signal, the highest frequency component
is the edge, at which
the signal transitions between the two voltage states representing a logical
one and a logical zero.
The DMX-512 lighting control protocol specifies a data transmission rate of
two hundred fifty
thousand bits per second. The signal edge transition time required to reliably
transmit such a signal
is at least five times faster than that rate; i.e., the transition must occur
in no longer than eight
hundred nanoseconds, in order to assure reliable data transmission. If we
assume that a data driver
capable of creating electrical signals which transition at this rate can be
constructed, that the speed
of light is three times ten to the eighth meters per second, and that the
velocity of propagation in
track is approximately seventy percent of the speed of light, then a
conservative limit on the
maximum network length is about forty-two meters. This is an adequate length
for most
applications. Assuming that the total length of a branched network might be as
much as two such
forty-two meter track sections, a total capacitance added by the track itself
could be as much as
another seven thousand picofarads, for a total load of seventeen thousand
picofarads.
In order to effectively transmit data into such a network, a driver with
significantly more
power than a driver for the current RS-485 standard is required. To achieve a
five volt transition,
for a highly loaded network as described above, the driver is preferably
capable of supplying at
least one hundred milliamps continuously for the resistive portion of the
load, and at least one
hundred milliamps additionally during the transition period, which will be
absorbed by the
capacitive load. Thus the driver output current is preferably at least two
hundred milliamps to
ensure adequate margin. A circuit design for a driver 6004 which meets these
criteria is illustrated
in FIG. 17. It is important to note that transitions faster than eight hundred
nanoseconds will still
not cause the network to fail, but will cause the current needed during the
transient to increase, will
cause excessive ringing at lightly loaded track endpoints, and will
substantially increase the
spurious radio frequency generated from the system. All of these effects are
undesirable. At an
eight hundred nanosecond transition time, most spurious harmonics generated by
the system fall
well below the thirty megahertz starting frequency for CE testing, and higher
order harmonics do
not have sufficient energy to violate the requirements.
In order to effectively propagate signals along the length of a track, the
track's data
conductors should have a low resistance per unit length, ideally less than
that needed to deliver one
and one-half volts of signal to all receivers as specified in the RS-485
standard. In a highly loaded
network (with all loads being at the end), this is approximately nine one-
hundredths ohms per foot.
This includes the intermediate connectors, so the track conductor's resistance
should ideally be
much lower than this figure. The track's inductive effect will also contribute
to signal degradation.
In order to compensate for the inductive effect of the track, limited
termination may be
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CA 02314163 2004-07-07
provided at the endpoint of each branch. This termination is preferably not
purely resistive, but
rather compensates only for the inductive effect of the track. A circuit
design for a suitable
terminator 6008 is shown in FIG. 18. This circuit effectively clamps the
voltage between the
data+and data-connections to plus or minus five volts. Any overshoot of the
signal may thus be
absorbed by a shunt regulator 6148 of FIG. 18. The terminator 6008 effectively
terminates the line,
without drawing power constantly from the data lines.
Recovering data from the track then becomes a matter of attaching (using any
of the
commonly used attachment methods, e.g., spring clips) to the electrical and
mechanical attachment
points of the track itself Many examples of track lighting attachment are well
known to those of
ordinary skill in the art. One example is the Halo Power Track provided by
Cooper Lighting.
Once both the power and data are available on a wire, for example, we can use
the network
version of the light modules 100 described above, or any digitally controlled
dimmer, to achieve
individual control over the lighting unit. The data can correspond not only to
light intensity, but
also to control effects, such as moving a yoke, gobo control, light focus, or
the like. Moreover, the
system can be used to control non-lighting devices that are RS-485 compliant.
It is further possible, by using this embodiment, to create devices which can
respond over
the same data conductors or over a separate pair, using substantially similar
drivers, possibly with
added circuitry to allow the driver(s) to be electrically disconnected from
the data conductors
during times when the device is not selected for a response, i.e., to allow
bus sharing. Units can
send status inforniation to the driver, or information can be provided to the
units through other
means, such as radio frequency, infrared, acoustic, or other signals.
Referring again to FIG. 17, a circuit design for the data driver 6004 includes
a connector
6012 through which power, which may nominally be positive twelve volts of
unregulated power, is
delivered to the data driver 6004. The power may be split into positive eight
and one-half volts of
unregulated supply and negative three and one-half volts of regulated supply
by a shunt regulator
6014 consisting of a resistor 6016, a resistor 6018, and a transistor 6020.
Decoupling may be
provided by capacitors 6022, 6024 and 6028. The shunt regulator 6014 may be of
a standard
design familiar to analog circuit designers. The eight and one-half volt
supply is further regulated
to produce a five volt supply by a voltage regulator 6030, which may be an
LM78LO5ACM
voltage regulator available from National Semiconductor Corporation, Santa
Clara, Calif., and
may be decoupled by capacitor 6032.
The incoming RS-485 data stream may be received by the RS-485 receiver chip
6034 at
pins 6038 and 6040. The data stream may be further buffered by the receiver
chip 6034 to produce
a clean, amplified true and complement data signals at pins 6042 and 6044,
respectively. These
signals are further buffered and inverted by buffer 6048 to produce true and
complement data
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CA 02314163 2004-07-07
signals with substantial drive capabilities at pins 6050 and 6052
respectively. Each of these signals
is then processed by an output amplifier. There are two output amplifiers 6054
and 6058, identical
in design and function.
Each amplifier 6054 and 6058 draws power from the previously described power
supplies,
and both amplifiers share the bias voltage generator network composed of
resistors 6060, 6062 and
6064. Amplifier 6054 is composed of all parts to the left of this network on
FIG. 17, while
amplifier 6058 is composed of all parts to the right of this bias network.
Only amplifier 6054 will
be described, as amplifier 6058 is substantially identical, with the exception
that its input is an
inverted copy of the input to amplifier 6054.
The bias network generates two bias voltages, nominally positive six and four-
tenths volts,
and negative one and four-tenths volts, appearing at the base of transistors
6068 and 6070,
respectively. Transistor 6068 and resistor 6072 form a constant current source
6074, sourcing a
current of approximately twenty milliamps from the collector of transistor
6068. Similarly
transistor 6078 and resistor 6080 provide a current sink 6082 to sink a
current of twenty milliamps
from the collector of transistor 6078. Diodes 6010, 6084, 6088, 6090, 6092 and
6094 form a
current steering network 6098 and steer the twenty milliamp currents
alternately into the incoming
data line, or capacitor 6100 (through the one volt shunt regulator composed of
transistor 6102,
resistor 6104 and resistor 6108 if the current is from transistor 6068). If
the incoming data line
switches from the low state of zero volts to the high state of positive five
volts, current sink 6082
will sink current from the incoming data line, through diodes 6090 and 6092,
because the voltage
at the anode of 6090 will be greater than the voltage at the anode of diode
6094. Diodes 6084 and
6088 will be reverse-biased, and current will flow through 6010 and the shunt
regulator 6110
comprised of transistor 6102 and resistors 6104 and 6108. The circuit node at
the anode of diode
6094 will not immediately follow the transition, as capacitor 6100 must slowly
charge from the
current provided by transistor 6068. Capacitor 6100 will charge at a rate of
approximately six and
sixty-seven hundredths volts per microsecond, and will reach approximately
four volts
approximately seven hundred fifty nanoseconds later. At that time the voltage
at the collector of
transistor 6068 will become large enough to forward bias diodes 6084 and 6088,
causing the
current source 6074 to be steered into the input data line. As long as this
data line is held in a high
state (at five volts), no more current will flow through diode 6010, the shunt
regulator 6110 and
into capacitor 6100. The cathode of diode 6010 will remain at approximately
five and fivetenths
volts until the data line changes state to the low state of zero volts. During
the switching as
described, transistor 6112 acts as a common collector current buffer and will
source as much
current as is required into resistor 6114. This current will flow into the
output at pin 6118 of output
device 6120. The voltage at the output will thus be a slowly rising signal,
whose slope is regulated
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by the charging of capacitor 6100 from current source 6074. A small base
current will be drawn
from transistor 6068 by transistor 6112, but its effect on the transition
timing will be negligible.
When the incoming data line transitions to the low state, diodes 6084, 6088
and 6094 will
be forward-biased, diodes 6090, 6092 and 6010 will be reverse-biased, and
capacitor 6100 will
discharge through diode 6094 through the current sink 6082 at similar rates to
the positive
transition described above. Current from current source 6074 will flow into
the data line, now held
at zero volts. The voltage at the anode of diode 6094 will reach negative five-
tenths volts, and
current will again flow through 6090 and 6092, instead of diode 6094 and
transistor 6078,
completing the downward transition. During this period transistor 6129 will
sink as much current
as necessary through resistor 6128, from the output at pin 6118 of device
6120, to cause it to
follow the voltage at the anode of diode 6094. A small base current will be
drawn by transistor
6129 from transistor, but its effect on the transition timing will be
negligible. Transistors 6130 and
6132 in combination with resistors 6114 and 6128 protect transistors 6112 and
6129 respectively
in case of a short circuit at the output, limiting the maximum possible output
current (and hence
the current through transistors 6112 and 6130) to approximately two hundred
fifty milliamps.
The wave-shaping performed by this circuit can be implemented by a variety of
different
circuits. The embodiment depicted in FIG. 17 is only one example of a circuit
for producing a
desirable wave shape. Any circuit which slows the rising and falling
transitions of the data signal
can be considered to be an implementation of a wave-shaping circuit as
disclosed herein.
Referring to FIG. 18, the terminating circuit is composed of a bridge
rectifier 6134
composed of diodes 6138, 6140, 6142 and 6144 and a shunt regulator 6148
composed of resistors
6150, 6152 and transistors 6154 and 6158. This circuit is a bi-directional
voltage limiter and
clamps the voltage between the input terminals at approximately five and three-
tenths volts,
regardless of the polarity of the applied input. Both the shunt regulator 6148
and the bridge
rectifier 6134 are of a standard design, known by those familiar with analog
circuit design.
Capacitor 6150 improves the transient response of the voltage limiter.
Excess energy stored in a transmission line would normally cause voltage
excursions
above five and three-tenths volts. The termination circuit 6008 of FIG. 18
will absorb the excess
energy as it clamps the voltage at the terminus of the transmission line to
five and three-tenths
volts. Approximately ninety-five percent of the reflected energy may be
absorbed by the circuit,
and the resulting oscillation will be of insignificant amplitude.
The transistors disclosed herein may be of a conventional type, such as those
provided by
Zetex. The diodes may be of industry standard type. Buffer 6048 may be of
industry standard type,
and may be 74HC04 type. The receiver chip 6034 may be a MAX490 receiver chip
made by
Maxim Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif. Other receiver chips may be used.
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The foregoing embodiments may reside in any number of different housings.
Turning now
to FIG. 19, there is shown an exploded view of an illumination unit of the
present invention
comprising a substantially cylindrical body section 602, a light module 604, a
conductive sleeve
608, a power module 612, a second conductive sleeve 614, and an enclosure
plate 618. It is to be
assumed here that the light module 604 and the power module 612 contain the
electrical structure
and software of light module 100 and power module 200, described above, or
other embodiments
of the light module 100 or other power modules disclosed herein. Screws 622,
624, 626, 628 allow
the entire apparatus to be mechanically connected. Body section 602,
conductive sleeves 604 and
614 and enclosure plate 618 are preferably made from a material that conducts
heat, such as
aluminum. Body section 602 has an open end, a reflective interior portion and
an illumination end,
to which module 604 is mechanically affixed. Light module 604 is disk-shaped
and has two sides.
The illumination side (not shown) comprises a plurality of LEDs of different
primary colors. The
connection side holds an electrical connector male pin assembly 632. Both the
illumination side
and the connection side are coated with aluminum surfaces to better allow the
conduction of heat
outward from the plurality of LEDs to the body section 602. Likewise, power
module 612 is disk
shaped and has every available surface covered with aluminum for the same
reason. Power module
612 has a connection side holding an electrical connector female pin assembly
634 adapted to fit
the pins from assembly 632. Power module 612 has a power terminal side holding
a terminal 638
for connection to a source of DC power. Any standard AC or DC jack may be
used, as appropriate.
Interposed between light module 602 and power module 612 is a conductive
aluminum
sleeve 608, which substantially encloses the space between modules 602 and
612. As shown, a
disk-shaped enclosure plate 618 and screws 622, 624, 626 and 628 seal all of
the components
together, and conductive sleeve 614 is thus interposed between enclosure plate
618 and power
module 612. Once sealed together as a unit, the illumination apparatus may be
connected to a data
network as described above and mounted in any convenient manner to illuminate
an area. In
operation, preferably a light diffusing means will be inserted in body section
602 to ensure that the
LEDs on light module 604 appear to emit a single uniform beam of light.
Another embodiment of a light module 100 is depicted in FIG. 20. One of the
advantages
of the array 37 is that it can be used to construct an LED-based light that
overcomes the problem
of the need for different fixtures for different lighting applications. In
particular, in an embodiment
of the invention illustrated in FIG. 20, an array of LEDs 644, which can be
the circular array 37
depicted in FIG. 8 or another array, may be disposed on a platform 642 that is
constructed to plug
into a fixture, such as an MR-16 fixture for a conventional halogen lamp. In
other embodiments of
the invention, the platform 642 may be shaped to plug, screw or otherwise
connect into a power
source with the same configuration as a conventional light bulb, halogen bulb,
or other
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illumination source. In the embodiment of FIG. 20, a pair of connectors 646
connect to a power
source, such as an electrical wire, in the same manner as connectors for a
conventional halogen
bulb in an MR-16 fixture.
In an embodiment of the invention depicted in FIG. 21, the platform 642
bearing the LED
array 644 can be plugged into a conventional halogen fixture. Thus, without
changing wiring or
fixtures, a user can have LED based lights by simply inserting the modular
platform 642. The user
can return to conventional lights by removing the modular platform 642 and
installing a
conventional halogen bulb or other illumination source. Thus, the user can use
the same fixtures
and wiring for a wide variety of lighting applications, including the LED
system 120, in the
various embodiments disclosed herein.
Referring to FIG. 22, a schematic is provided for a circuit design for a light
module 100
suitable for inclusion in a modular platform, such as the platform 642 of FIG.
20. An LED array
644 consists of green, blue and red LEDs. A processor 16 provides functions
similar to the
processor 16 described in connection with FIG. 6. Data input pin 20 provides
data and power to
the processor 16. An oscillator 19 provides clock functions. The light module
100 includes other
circuit elements for permitting the processor 16 to convert incoming
electrical signals that are
formatted according to a control protocol, such as a DMX-512 protocol, into
control signals for the
LEDs of the array 644 in a manner similar to that disclosed in connection with
other embodiments
disclosed above.
In a further embodiment of the invention, depicted in FIG. 23, a modular
platform 648 is
provided on which a digitally controlled array 37 of LEDs 15, which may be an
LED system 120
of a light module 100 according to the other embodiments disclosed herein, is
disposed. The
modular platform 648 may be made of clear plastic or similar material, so that
the platform 648 is
illuminated to whatever color is provided by the array 37. The modular
platform 648 may include
extrusions 652 and intrusions 654, so that modular blocks can be formed that
interconnect to form
a variety of three-dimensional shapes. A wall, floor, ceiling, or other object
can be constructed of
blocks, with each block being illuminated to a different color by that block's
array 37 of LEDs 15.
The blocks 648 can be interconnected. Such an object can be used to create
signage; that is, the
individual blocks of such an object can be illuminated in the form of symbols,
such as letters,
numbers, or other designs. For example, a wall can be used as a color display
or sign. Many
different shapes of modular blocks 648 can be envisioned, as can many
different interlocking
mechanisms. In fact, light modules 100 may be disposed in a variety of
different geometric
configurations and associated with a variety of lighting environments, as
further disclosed herein.
In another embodiment of the present invention, an arrayed LED is mounted on a
pan or
tilt platform, in a manner similar to conventional theater lights. Known
robotic lights shine a
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CA 02314163 2004-07-07
conventionally produced light beam from a bulb or tube onto a pan or tilt
mirror. The arrayed
LEDs of the present invention may be placed directly on the pan or tilt
platform, avoiding the
necessity of precisely aligning the light source with the pan or tilt mirror.
Thus, an adjustable
pan/tilt beam effect may be obtained similar to a mirror-based beam, without
the mirror. This
embodiment permits pan/tilt beam effects in more compact spaces than
previously possible,
because there is not a need for a separation between the source and the
mirror.
Also provided is an LED based construction tile, through which a wall, floor
or ceiling
may be built that includes an ability to change color or intensity in a manner
controlled by a
microprocessor. The tile may be based on modularity similar to toy plastic
building blocks.
Multicolor tiles can be used to create a multicolor dance floor or shower, or
a floor, wall or
bathroom tile.
Also provided is a modular lighting system which allows the creation of
various
illuminating shapes based on a limited number of subshapes. In this embodiment
of the present
invention, a plurality of light emitting squares (or other geometric shapes)
may be arranged into
larger shapes in one, two or three dimensions. The modular blocks could
communicate through
physical proximity or attachment. Modular multicolor lighting blocks can be
configured into
different formats and shapes.
As described above, embodiments of the present invention may be utilized in a
variety of
manners. By way of examples, the following discussion provides different
environments within
which the LEDs of the present invention may be adapted for lighting andlor
illumination.
Looking now at FIG. 24, a modular LED unit 4000, is provided for illumination
within an
environment. Modular unit 4000 comprises a light module 4002, similar to item
120 discussed in
connection with FIG. 1, and a processor 4004, similar to item 16 discussed in
connection with
FIG. 1. The light module 4002 may include, as illustrated in FIG. 25, an LED
4006 having a
plurality of color-emitting semiconductor dies 4008 for generating a range of
radiation within a
spectrum, for example, a range of frequencies within the visible spectrum.
Each color-emitting die
4008 preferably represents a primary color and is capable of individually
generating a primary
color of varying intensity. When combined, the primary colors from each of
dies 4008 can produce
a particular color within the color spectrum. The processor 4004, on the other
hand, may be
provided for controlling an amount of electrical current supplied to each of
the semiconductor die
4008. Depending on the amount of electrical current supplied to each die, a
primary color of a
certain intensity may be emitted therefrom. Accordingly, by controlling the
intensity of the
primary color produced from each die, the processor 4004, in essence, can
control the particular
color illuminated from the LED 4006. Although FIG. 25 shows three color-
emitting semiconductor
dies 4002, it should be appreciated that the use of at least two color
emitting dies may generate a
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CA 02314163 2004-07-07
range of radiation within a spectrum.
The modular unit 4000 may further include a mechanism (not shown) for
facilitating
communication between a generator of control signals and the light module
4002. In one
embodiment, the mechanism may include a separate transmitter and receiver, as
discussed above
in connection with FIG. 2. However, it should be appreciated that the
transmitter and receiver may
be combined into one mechanism. The modular unit 4000 may also include a power
module 4010,
as discussed in connection with FIG. 9, for providing an electrical current
from a power source, for
example, an electrical outlet or a battery, to the light module 4002. To
permit electrical current to
be directed from the power module 4010 to the light module 4002, an electrical
connector, similar
to complementary male pin set 632 and female pin set 634 in FIG. 19, may be
provided. In this
manner, the electrical connector may be designed to removably couple the light
module 4002 to
the power module 4010.
In an alternate embodiment, the light module 4002, as shown in FIG. 26, may
include a
plurality of LEDs 4006 illustrated in FIG. 25. Each LED 4006 may be part of a
light module 4002,
which may be provided with a data communication link 4014, similar to item 500
described above
in connection with FIG. 2, for communication with a control signal generator,
or, in certain
embodiments of the invention, with other light modules 4002. In this manner,
data such as the
amount of electrical current controlled by processor 4004 may be supplied to
the plurality of
semiconductor dies 4008 in each of the LEDs 4006, so that a particular color
may be generated.
In another embodiment, the light module 4002, as shown in FIG. 27, may include
a
plurality of conventional light emitting diodes (LEDs) 4016. The conventional
LEDs 4016 may be
representative of primary colors red, blue and green. Thus, when the primary
color from each of
the LED 4016 is generated, the combination of a plurality of LEDs 4016 can
produce any
frequency within a spectrum. It should be understood, that similar to the
semiconductor dies 4008,
the intensity and/or illumination of each LED 4016 may be varied by processor
4004 to obtain a
range of frequencies within a spectrum. To facilitate communication amongst
the plurality of
LEDs 4016 and with the processor 4004, data communication link 4014 may be
provided.
The modular LED unit 4000, in certain embodiments, may be interconnected to
form
larger lighting assemblies. In particular, the light module 4002 may include
LEDs 4006 or 4016
arranged linearly in series within a strip 4020 (FIG. 28A). The LEDs 4006 or
4016 may also be
arranged within a two dimensional geometric pane14022 (FIG. 28B) or to
represent a three-
dimensional structure 4024 (FIG. 28C). It should be appreciated that the strip
4020, the geometric
panel 4022 or the three-dimensional structure 4024 need not adhere to any
particular design, and
may be flexible, so as to permit the light module 4002 to conform to an
environment within which
it is placed.
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In one embodiment of the invention, the strip 4020, the geometric panel 4022
and the
three-dimensional structure 4024 may be provided with a coupling meclanism
(not shown) to
permit coupling between modular LED units 4000. Specifically, the coupling
mechanism may
permit a plurality of strips 4020 to be stringed together, or a plurality of
geometric panels 4022 to
be connected to one another, or a plurality of three-dimensional structures
4024 to be coupled to
one another. The coupling mechanism may also be designed to permit
interconnection of one of a
strip 4020, a geometric panel 4022, and a three-dimensional structure 4024 to
another of a strip
4020, a geometric panel 4022, and a three-dimensional structure 4024. The
coupling mechanism
can permit either mechanical coupling or electrical coupling between the
modular LED units 4000,
but preferably permits both electrical and physical coupling between the
modular LED units 4000.
By providing an electrical connection between the modular LED units 4000,
power and data
signals may be directed to and between the modular LED units 4000. Moreover,
such connection
permits power and data to be provided at one central location for distribution
to all of the modular
LED units 4000. In an embodiment of the invention, data may be multiplexed
with the power
signals in order to reduce the number of electrical connections between the
modular LED units
4000. The mechanical coupling, on the other hand, may simply provide means to
securely connect
the modular LED units 4000 to one another, and such function may be inherent
through the
provision of an electrical connection.
The modular LED unit 4000 of the present invention may be designed to be
either a
"smart" or "dumb" unit. A smart unit, in one embodiment, includes a
microprocessor incorporated
therein for controlling, for example, a desired illumination effect produced
by the LEDs. The smart
units may communicate with one amther and/or with a master controller by way
of a network
formed through the mechanism for electrical connection described above. It
should be appreciated
that a smart unit can operate in a stand-alone mode, and, if necessary, one
smart unit may act as a
master controller for other modular LED units 4000. A dumb unit, on the other
hand, does not
include a microprocessor and cannot communicate with other LED units. As a
result, a dumb unit
cannot operate in a stand-alone mode and requires a separate master
controller.
The modular LED unit 4000 may be used for illumination within a range of
diverse
environments. The manner in which the LED unit may be used includes initially
placing the
modular LED unit 4000 having a light module 4002, such as those provided in
FIGS. 25-27,
within an environment, and subsequently controlling the amount of electrical
current to at least one
LED, so that a particular amount of current supplied thereto (i.e., the
semiconductor dies 4008 or
the plurality of conventional LEDs) generates a corresponding frequency within
a spectrum, for
instance, the visible spectrum.
An environment within which the modular LED unit 4000 may illuminate includes
a
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handheld flashlight 4029 (FIG. 29) or one which requires the use of an
indicator light. Examples of
an environment which uses an indicator light include, but are not limited to,
an elevator floor
button, an elevator floor indication display or panel, an automobile
dashboard, an automobile
ignition key area, an automobile anti-theft alarm light indicator, individual
units of a stereo
systems, a telephone pad button 4030 (FIG. 30), an answering machine message
indicator, a door
bell button, a light status switch, a computer status indicator, a video
monitor status indicator, and
a watch. Additional environments within which the modular LED unit 4000 may
illuminate can
include (i) a device to be worn on a body, examples of which include, an
article of jewelry, an
article of clothing, shoes, eyeglasses, gloves and a hat, (ii) a toy, examples
of which include, a
light wand 4031 (FIG. 31), a toy police car, fire truck, ambulance, and a
musical box, and (iii) a
hygienic product, examples of which include, a tooth brush 4032 (FIG. 32) and
a shaver.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a modular LED unit
4000 having
a plurality of LEDs 4006 or 4016 arranged linearly in series within a strip
4020 may be also be
used for illumination within an environment. One such environment, illustrated
in FIG. 33,
includes a walkway 4033, for instance, an airplane aisle, a fashion show
walkway or a hallway.
When used in connection with a walkway, at least one strip 4020 of LEDs 4006
or 4016 may be
positioned along one side of the walkway 4033 for use as a directional
indicator.
Another such environment, illustrated in FIG. 34, includes a cove 4034. When
used in
connection with a cove, at least one strip 4020 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be
positioned adjacent
the cove 4034, such that the strip of LEDs may illuminate the cove. In one
embodiment, the strip
4020 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be placed within a housing 40345, which housing
is then placed
adjacent the cove 4034.
Another such environment, illustrated in FIG. 35, includes a handrai14035.
When used in
connection with a handrail, such as that in a dark movie theater, at least one
strip 4020 of LEDs
4006 or 4016 may be positioned on a surface of the handrail 4035 to direct a
user to the location of
the handrail.
Another such environment, illustrated in FIG. 36, includes a plurality of
steps 4036 on a
stairway. When used in connection with a plurality of steps, at least on strip
4020 of LEDs 4006 or
4016 is positioned at an edge of a step 4036, so that at night or in the
absence of light, a user may
be informed of the location of the step.
Another environment, illustrated in FIG. 37, includes a toilet bow14037. When
used in
connection with a toilet bowl, at least one strip 4020 of LEDs 4006 or 4016
may be positioned
about a rim of the bowl 4037 or the seat 40375, so that in the absence of
light in the bathroom, a
user may be informed of the location of the bowl or the seat.
Another environment, illustrated in FIG. 38, includes an elevated brake light
4038 located
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in the rear of an automobile. When used in connection with an elevated brake
light, at least one
strip 4020 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned within a previously provided
housing 40385
for the brake light.
Another environment, illustrated in FIG. 39, includes a refrigerator door
4039. When used
in connection with a refrigerator door, at least one strip 4020 of LEDs 4006
or 4016 may be
positioned on a refrigerator door handle 40395, so that in the absence of
light in, for example, the
kitchen, a user may quickly locate the handle for opening the refrigerator
door 4039.
Another environment, illustrated in FIG. 40, includes a tree 4040. When used
in
connection with a tree, at least one strip 4020 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be
positioned on the tree
4040, so as to permit illumination thereof. The tree 4040 could be a Christmas
tree or other
ornamental tree, such as an artificial white Christmas tree. By strobing the
LEDs 4006 between
different colors, the tree 4040 can be caused to change color.
Another environment, illustrated in FIG. 41, includes a building 4041. When
used in
connection with a building, at least one strip 4020 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may
be positioned along
a surface of the building 4041, so that illumination of the LEDs may attract
attention from an
observer.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a modular LED unit
4000 having
a plurality of LEDs 4006 or 4016 arranged within a geometric panel 4022 may be
also be used for
illumination within an environment. One such environment, illustrated in FIG.
42, includes a floor
4042. When used in connection with a floor, at least one geometric panel 4022
of LEDs 4006 or
4016 may be positioned within at least one designated area in the floor 4042
to provide
illumination thereof.
Another environment within which a geometric pane14022 of LEDs 4006 or 4016
may be
used includes a ceiling 4043, as illustrated in FIG. 43. When used in
connection with a ceiling, at
least one geometric panel 4022 may be positioned within at least one
designated area on the ceiling
4043 to provide illumination thereof.
Another environment within which a geometric pane14022 of LEDs 4006 or 4016
may be
used includes a vending machine 4044, as illustrated in FIG. 44. When used in
connection with a
vending machine, at least one geometric pane14022 may be positioned posterior
to a frontal
display 40445 of the vending machine, so as to provide illumination of
illustration on the frontal
display.
Another environment within which a geometric pane14022 of LEDs 4006 or 4016
may be
used includes an illuminating surface 4045, as illustrated in FIG. 45. When
used in connection
with an illuminating surface 4045, at least one geometric pane14022 may be
positioned posterior
to the surface to provide illumination of a graphical illustration on the
surface or illumination of an
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CA 02314163 2004-07-07
object placed on the surface. Examples of such an illuminating surface may
include an
advertisement sign of the type typically seen at an airport, or a transparent
surface of a stand 40455
for displaying an object 40458.
Another environment within which a geometric pane14022 of LEDs 4006 or 4016
may be
used includes a displayment sign 4046, as illustrated in FIG. 46. When used in
connection with a
displayment sign, such as a billboard or a advertisement board, at least one
geometric panel 4022
may be positioned within a housing 40465 located, for example, in front of the
sign to provide
illumination of illustration thereon.
Another environment within which a geometric panel 4022 of LEDs 4006 or 4016
may be
used includes a traffic light 4047, as illustrated in FIG. 47. When used in
connection with a traffic
light, at least one geometric panel 4022 may be positioned within a housing
40475 for at least one
of the lights. It should be noted that on a conventional traffic light, a
geometric pane14022 may be
needed for each of the three lights. However, since the modular LED unit of
the present invention
may generate a range of colors, including red, yellow and green, it may be
that a new traffic light
might be designed to include placement for only one modular LED unit. A
variety of different
colors could be provided within each signal light, so that an adequate signal
is provided for
different users, including those with red/green color blindness.
Another environment within which a geometric panel 4022 of LEDs 4006 or 4016
may be
used includes a directional display sign 4048, as illustrated in FIG. 48. When
used in connection
with a directional display sign, at least one geometric panel 4022 may be
positioned within a
housing 40485 for the directional display sign.
Another environment within which a geometric pane14022 of LEDs 4006 or 4016
may be
used includes an information board 4049, as illustrated in FIG. 49. When used
in connection with
an information board, at least one geometric pane14022 may be positioned on a
front side of the
board 4049, so that informational data may be provided to the reader. In one
embodiment of the
invention, the information board includes, but is not limited to, a traffic
information sign, a silent
radio 40495, a scoreboard, a price board, an electronic advertisement board,
and a large public
television screen.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a modular LED unit
4000 having
a plurality of LEDs 4006 or 4016, arranged to represent a three-dimensional
structure 4024, may
be also be used for illumination within an environment. One such environment,
illustrated in FIG.
50, includes a toy construction block 4050. When used in connection with a toy
construction
block, at least one three-dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may
be positioned on
or within the toy construction block 4050 to provide illumination thereof It
should be appreciated
that the three-dimensional structure of LEDs can be design to represent any
desired three-
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CA 02314163 2004-07-07
dimensional object.
A further environment within which the three-dimensional structure 4024 of
LEDs 4006 or
4016 may be utilized includes, as shown in. FIG. 51, an ornamental display
4051. Since the threa
dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs, as indicated, can be designed to represent
any threa-
dimensional object, the structure may be formed into the ornamental display
4051 of interest, so
that illumination of the LEDs provides an illuminated representation of the
object. Examples of an
ornamental display 4051 can include a Christmas tree ornament, an animal-
shaped figure, a
discotheque ball 40515, or any natural or man-made object capable of being
represented.
A further environment within which the three-dimensional structure 4024 of
LEDs 4006 or
4016 may be utilized includes an architectural glass block 4052, as shown in
FIG. 52, or large
letters 4053, as shown in FIG. 53. To utilize the three-dimensional structure
4024 in connection
with the glass block, at least one three-dimensional structure 4024 may be
positioned within the
glass block 4052 for illumination thereof. To utilize the threo=dimensional
structure 4024 in
connection with the large letter 4053, at least one three-dimensional
structure 4024 may be
positioned on the letter, or if the letter 4053 is transparent, within the
letter.
A further environment within which the three-dimensional structure 4024 of
LEDs 4006 or
4016 may be utilized includes a traditional lighting device 4054, as shown in
FIG. 54. To utilize
the three-dimensional structure 4024 in connection with the traditional
lighting device 4054, at
least one three-dimensional structure 4024, in the shape of, for example, a
conventional light bulb
40545, may be positioned within a socket for receiving the conventional light
bulb.
A further environment within which the three-dimensional structure 4024 of
LEDs 4006 or
4016 may be utilized includes a warning tower 4055, as shown in FIG. 55. To
utilize the three-
dimensional structure 4024 in connection with the warning tower, at least one
threadimensional
structure 4024 may be positioned on the tower 4055 to act as a warning
indicator to high flying
planes or distantly located vessels.
A further environment within which the three-dimensional structure 4024 of
LEDs 4006 or
4016 may be utilized includes a buoy 4056, as shown in FIG. 56. To utilize the
three-dimensional
structure 4024 in connection with the buoy, at least one threedimensional
structure 4024 may be
positioned on the buoy 4056 for illumination thereof.
A further environment within which the three-dimensional structure 4024 of
LEDs 4006 or
4016 may be utilized includes a ba114057 or puck 40571, as shown in FIG. 57.
To utilize the three-
dimensional structure 4024 in connection with the ball or puck, at least one
threedimensional
structure 4024 may be positioned within the ba114057 or puck 40571 to enhance
visualization of
the ball or puck.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, two or more of the
modular LED
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unit 4000 having a plurality of LEDs 4006 or 4016, an-anged linearly in a
strip 4020, in a
geometric pane14022 or as a three-dimensional structure 4024, may be used for
illumination
within an environment. One such environment, illustrated in FIG. 58, includes
an ornamental
display 4058. When used in connection with an ornamental display, at least one
strip 4020 of
LEDs 4006 or 4016 and one of a geometric pane14022 and three-dimensional
structure 4024 of
LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned along a surface to provide illumination of
the ornamental
display. Examples of an ornamental display 4058 can include a Christmas tree
ornament 40585, an
animal-shaped figure, a discotheque ball, or any natural or man-made object
capable of being
represented.
Another such environment, illustrated in FIG. 59, includes a bowling alley
4059. When
used in connection with a bowling alley, one of a strip 4020, a geometric
panel 4022, and a three-
dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned along a lane
40595, and one
of a strip 4020, a geometric panel 4022, and a three-dimensional structure
4024 of LEDs 4006 or
4016 may be positioned on a ceiling, a floor or a wall of the bowling alley.
Another such environment, illustrated in FIG. 60, includes a theatrical
setting. When used
in connection with a theatrical setting, one of a strip 4020, a gaometric
pane14022, and a three-
dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned on a
ceiling, a floor, or a
wall of a theater 4060, and one of a strip 4020, a geometric pane14022, and a
three-dimensional
structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned on the remainder of the
ceiling, the floor
or the wall of the theater.
Another such environment, illustrated in FIG. 61, includes a swimming
poo14061. When
used in connection with a swimming pool, one of a strip 4020, a geometric
paie14022, and a
three-dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned on a
floor or a wall of
the swimming poo14061, and one of a strip 4020, a geometric panel 4022, and a
three-dimensional
structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned on the other of the
floor or the wall of the
swimming pool.
Another such environment, illustrated in FIG. 62, includes a cargo bay 4062 of
a
spacecraft 40625. When used in connection with the cargo bay of a spacecraft,
one of a strip 4020,
a geometric pane14022, and a three-dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or
4016 may be
positioned on a ceiling, a floor, or a wall of the cargo bay 4062, and one of
a strip 4020, a
geometric pane14022, and a three-dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or
4016 may be
positioned on the remainder of the ceiling, the floor or the wall of the cargo
bay 4062.
Another such environment, illustrated in FIG. 63, includes an aircraft hangar
4063. When
used in connection with an aircraft hangar, one of a strip 4020, a geometric
pane14022, and a
three-dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned on a
ceiling a floor, or
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a wall of the hangar 4063, and one of a one of a strip 4020, a geometric
pane14022, and a three-
dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned on the
remainder of the
ceiling, the floor or the wall of the hangar.
Another such environment, illustrated in FIG. 64, includes a warehouse 4064.
When used
in connection with a warehouse, one of a strip 4020, a geometric pane14022,
and a three-
dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned on a
ceiling, a floor, or a
wall of the warehouse 4064, and one of a one of a strip 4020, a geometric
pane14022, and a three-
dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned on the
remainder of the
ceiling, the floor or the wall of the warehouse.
Another such environment, illustrated in FIG. 65, includes a subway station
4065. When
used in connection with a subway station, one of a strip 4020, a geometric
pane14022, and a three-
dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned on a
ceiling, a floor, or a
wall of the subway station 4065, and one of a one of a strip 4020, a geometric
pane14022, and a
three-dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned on the
remainder of the
ceiling, the floor or the wall of the subway station.
Another such environment, illustrated in FIG. 66, includes a marina 6066. When
used in
connection with a marina, one of a strip 4020, a geometric pane14022, and a
three-dimensional
structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned on a buoy 40662, a dock
40664, a light
fixture 40666, or a boathouse 40668, and one of a one of a strip 4020, a
geometric pane14022, and
a three-dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned on
the remainder of
the buoy, the dock, the light fixture, or the boathouse.
Another such environment, illustrated in FIG. 67, includes a fireplace 4067.
When used in
connection with a fireplace, one of a strip 4020, a geometric pane14022, and a
three-dimensional
structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned on a simulated fire log
40675, a wall, or a
floor of the fireplace 4067, and one of a one of a strip 4020, a geometric
pane14022, and a three-
dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be positioned on the
remainder of the
simulated log, the wall, or the floor of the fireplace, such that when
frequencies within the
spectrum are generated, an appearance of fire is simulated.
Another such environment, illustrated in FIG. 68, includes an underside 4068
of a car
40685. When used in connection with the underside of a car, one of a strip
4020, a geometric panel
4022, and a three-dimensional structure 4024 of LEDs 4006 or 4016 may be
positioned on the
underside of the car to permit illumination of a road surface over which the
car passes.
Although certain specific embodiments of the light module 4002 in the modular
LED unit
4000 have been discussed in connection with particular environments, it should
be understood that
it would be apparent to those of skilled in the art to use light modules
similar to those discussed
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within many different environments, as well as combinations of light module
and environment not
yet discussed, but readily conceivable.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that PWM current control of LEDs to
produce
multiple colors may be incorporated into countless environments, with or
without networks.
Certain embodiments of the invention are described herein, but it should be
understood that other
embodiments are within the scope of the invention.
Another use of the present invention is as a light bulb. Using appropriate
rectifier and
voltage transformation means, the entire power and light modules may be placed
in any traditional
lightbulb housing, such as an Edison-mount (screw-type) light bulb housing.
Each bulb can be
programmed with particular register values to deliver a particular color bulb,
including white. The
current regulator can be preprogrammed to give a desired current rating and
thus preset light
intensity. Naturally, the lightbulb may have a transparent or translucent
section that allows the
passage of light into the ambient.
Referring to FIG. 69, in one embodiment of the invention a smart light bulb
701 is
provided. The smart light bulb may include a housing 703 in which are disposed
a processor 705
and an illumination source 707. The housing may include a connector 709 for
connection to a
power source. The connection may also serve as a connection to a data source,
such as the data
connection 500 disclosed in connection with certain other embodiments herein.
The processor may
be a processor 16 such as that disclosed elsewhere herein. The smart light
bulb 701 may form one
embodiment of a light module 100 that may be used in the various embodiments
disclosed or
encompassed herein.
In an embodiment the housing 703 may be configured to resemble the shape of
housing
for a conventional illumination source, such as a halogen light bulb. In one
embodiment, depicted
in FIG. 69, connector 709 is configured to fit into a conventional halogen
socket, and the
illumination source 707 is an LED system, such as the LED system 120 disclosed
above in
connection with FIG. 1.
Processor 705 may be similar to the processor 16 disclosed in connection with
the
discussion of FIG. 1 above and further described elsewhere herein. That is, in
one embodiment of
the invention, the smart light bulb 701 consists of a light module 100 such as
that disclosed above.
However, it should be understood that the smart light bulb may take a variety
of other
configurations. For example, the housing 703 could be shaped to resemble an
incandescent light
bulb, in which case the connector 709 could be a set of threads for screwing
into a conventional
incandescent light slot, and the illumination source 707 could be an
incandescent light source. The
housing 703 could be configured to resemble any conventional light bulb or
fixture, such as a
headlamp, a flashlight bulb, an alarm light, a traffic light, or the like. In
fact, the housing 703 could
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take any geometric configuration appropriate for a particular illumination or
display environment.
The processor 705 may be used to control the intensity of the illumination
source, the
color of the illumination source 707 and other features or elements included
in the housing 703
that are capable of control by a processor. In an embodiment of the invention
the processor 705
controls the illumination source 707 to produce any color in the spectrum, to
strobe rapidly
between different colors, and to otherwise produce any desired illumination
condition.
Illumination sources that could disposed in a housing 703 and made subject to
the processor 705
could include any type of illumination source, including the range of such
sources disclosed above.
In an embodiment of the invention depicted in FIG. 70, the smart light bulb
701 may be
equipped with a receiver 711 and/or a transmitter 713, which may be connected
to the processor
705. The receiver 711 may be capable of receiving data signals and relaying
them to the processor
705. It should be understood that the receiver 711 may be merely an interface
to a circuit or
network connection, or may be a separate component capable of receiving other
signals. Thus, the
receiver may receive signals by a data connection 715 from another device 717.
In an embodiment
of the invention, the other device is a laptop computer, the data connection
is a DMX data track,
and the data is sent. according to the DMX-512 protocol to the smart light
bulb 701. Processor 705
then processes the data to control the illumination source 707 in a manner
similar to that described
above in connection with other embodiments of the invention. The transmitter
713 may be
controlled by the processor 705 to transmit the data from the smart light bulb
701 over the data
connection 715 to another device 717. The other device may be another smart
light bulb 701, a
light module 100 such as disclosed above, or any other device capable of
receiving a signal data
connection 715. Thus, the data connection 715 could be any connection of among
the types
disclosed above. That is, any use of the electromagnetic spectrum or other
energy transmission
mechanism for the communication link could provide the data connection 715
between the smart
light bulb 701 and another device 717. The other device 717 could be any
device capable of
receiving and responding to data, such as an alarm system, a VCR, a
television, an entertainment
device, a computer, an appliance, or the like.
Referring to FIG. 71, the smart light bulb 701 could be part of a collection
of smart light
bulbs similarly configured. One smart light bulb could through use of the
transmitter 711 transmit
data to the receiver 713 of one or more other smart light bulbs 701. In this
manner, a plurality of
smart light bulbs 701 may be established in a master/slave arrangement,
whereby the master smart
light bulb 701 controls the operation of one or more other slave smart light
bulbs 701. The data
connection 715 between the smart light bulbs 701 could be any type of data
connection 715,
including any of those described in connection with FIG. 70.
The smart light bulb 701 may be part of a network of such smart light bulbs
701 as
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depicted in FIG. 72. Through use of the transmitter 711 and the receiver 713
of each of the smart
light bulbs 701, as well as the processor 705, each smart light bulb 701 in a
network 718 may send
and receive queries over a data connection 715 similar to that disclosed in
connection with the
description of FIG. 70. Thus, the smart light bulb 701 can determine the
configuration of the
network in which the smart light bulb 701 is contained. For example, the smart
light bulb 701 can
process signals from another smart light bulb 701 to determine which of the
light bulbs is the
master and which is the slave in a master/slave relationship.
Additional processing capabilities may be included in each smart light bulb
701. For
example, each smart light bulb 701 may be made responsive to an external data
signal for
illumination control. For example, in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 73, a
light sensor 719 may
be disposed in proximity to a window 722 for sensing external illumination
conditions. The light
sensor 719 may detect changes in the external illumination conditions and send
a signa1723 to one
or more smart light bulbs 701 to alter the illumination in an interior space
725, to compensate for
or otherwise respond to the external illumination conditions sensed by the
light sensor 719. Thus,
the room lights in the exterior space 725 can be made to turn on or change
color at sunrise or
sunset, in response to changes in the external illumination conditions at
those times. The light
sensor 719 could also be made to measure the color temperature and intensity
of the external
environment and to send a signal 723 that instructs the light module 701 to
produce a similar color
temperature and intensity. Thus, the room lights could mimic an external
sunset with an internal
sunset in the internal space 725. Thus, the smart light bulb 701 maybe used in
a wide variety of
sensor and feedback applications as disclosed in connection with other
embodiments described
herein.
Referring to FIG. 74, in another embodiment a. plurality of smart light bulbs
701 may be
disposed on a data network 727. The data network may carry signals from a
control device 729.
The control device may be any device capable of sending a signal to a data
network 727. The
control device in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 74 is an electrocardiogram
(EKG) machine.
The EKG machine 729 has a plurality of sensors 731 that measure the electrical
activity of the
heart of a patient 733. The EKG machine 729 may be programmed to send control
data over the
network 727 to the smart light bulb 701 in instances in which the EKG machine
729 measures
particular states of the electrical activity measured by the sensors 731.
Thus, for example, the light
bulbs could illuminate with a particular color, such as green, for normal
cardiac activity, but could
change to a different color to reflect particular cardiac problems. For
example, arrhythmia could be
reflected by a flashing red illumination signal to the smart light bulb 701, a
rapid pulse could be
reflected by a yellow signal to the smart light bulbs 701, or the like.
A smart light bulb such as depicted in FIG. 70 can be programmed to operate in
a stand
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alone mode as well. Thus, preprogrammed instructions may cause the smart light
bulb 701 to
change colors at intensities in a designed way, thus, the light may be
designed to shine a particular
color at a particular time of day, or the like. The smart light bulb 701 may
also include algorithms
for altering the illumination from the smart light bulb 701 to reflect the
state of the smart light bulb
701. For example, the light bulb could display a particular illumination
pattern if the LED system
707 is near the end of its life, if there is a problem with the power supply,
or the like.
The present invention may be used as a general indicator of any given
environmertal
condition. FIG. 75 shows the general functional block diagram for such an
apparatus. Shown
within FIG. 75 is also an exemplary chart showing the duty cycles of the three
color LEDs during
an exemplary period. As one example of an environmental indicator, the power
module can be
coupled to an inclinometer. The inclinometer measures general angular
orientation with respect to
the earth's center of gravity. The inclinometer's angle signal can be
converted through an A/D
converter and coupled to the data inputs of the processor 16 in the power
module. The processor
16 can then be programmed to assign each discrete angular orientation a
different color through
the use of a lookup table associating angles with LED color register values.
Another indicator use
is to provide an easily readable visual temperature indication. For example, a
digital thermometer
can be connected to provide the processor 16 a temperature reading. Each
temperature will be
associated with a particular set of register values, and hence a particular
color output. A plurality
of such "color thermometers" can be located over a large space, such as a
storage freezer, to allow
simple visual inspection of temperature over three dimensions.
In another embodiment of the invention, the signal-generating device may be a
detector of
ambient conditions, such as a light meter or thermometer. Thus, lighting
conditions may be varied
in accordance with ambient conditions. For example, arrayed LEDs may be
programmed to
increase room light as the external light entering the room from the sun
diminishes at the end of
the day. LEDs may be programmed to compensate for changes in color temperature
as well,
through a feedback mechanism.
When coupled to transducers, many embodiments of the present invention are
possible
that associate some ambient condition with an LED system. As used herein, the
term "transducer"
should be understood to encompass all methods and systems for converting a
physical quantity
into an electrical signal. Electrical signals, in turn, can be manipulated by
electronic circuits,
digitized by analog to digital converters, and sent for processing to a
processor, such as a
microcontroller or microprocessor. The processor could then send out
information to dictate the
characteristics of the light emitted by the LED system of the present
invention. In such manner,
physical conditions of the environment involving external forces, temperature,
particle number,
and electromagnetic radiation, for example, can be made to correspond to a
particular LED system.
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We also note that other systems involving liquid crystal, fluorescence, and
gas discharge could
also be used.
In a specific embodiment, a temperature transducer such as a thermocouple,
thermistor, or
integrated circuit (IC) temperature sensor and the light module 100 of the
present invention can be
used to make a color thermometer. As mentioned above, such a thermometer would
emit a
particular set of colors from the LED system to indicate the ambient
temperature. Thus the inside
of an oven or freezer having such an LED system could emit different colored
lights to indicate
when certain temperatures have been reached.
FIG. 76 shows a general block diagram relevant to the color thermometer. Item
1000 is an
IC temperature sensor like the LM335. This is a two-terminal temperature
sensor with an accuracy
of approximately f1 C. over the range -55 C. to 125 C. Further information
pertaining to the
LM335 may be found in the monograph The Art of Electronics, by Paul Horowitz
and Winfield
Hill. Item 1001 is an analog to digital (A/D) converter that converts the
voltage signal from the IC
temperature sensor to binary information. As mentioned above, this is fed to a
microcontroller or
microprocessor 1002 such as a MICROCHIP brand PIC 16C63 or other processor,
such as the
processor 16 mentioned above. Output from the microcontroller or
microprocessor 1002 proceeds
to a switch 1003 which can be a high current/voltage Darlington driver, part
no. DS2003, available
from the National Semiconductor Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif as mentioned
above. Element
1003 switches current from LED system 1004. Shown within FIG. 76 as item 1009
is also an
exemplary chart showing the duty cycles of the three color LEDs during an
exemplary period.
The enlargement of FIG. 76 is a general diagram that is also applicable to
other
embodiments that follow. Each of these embodiments are similar to the extent
that they associate
the different environmental conditions mentioned above with an LED system. The
different
embodiments differ from each other because they possess different transducers
appropriate to the
environmental condition that is being indicated. Thus, in the embodiments that
follow, the
temperature sensor 1000 is replaced by another appropriate transducer.
The power module (not shown in FIG. 76) can be included in the color
thermometer. The
signal from the temperature transducer 1000 can be converted by the A/D
converter 1001 and
coupled to the data inputs of the microcontroller 1002 in the power module.
The microcontroller
can then be programmed to assign a range of temperatures to a different color
through the use of a
lookup table associating temperatures with LED color register values.
In another specific embodiment, a force transducer such as a differential
transformer,
strain gauge, or piezoelectric device and the LED system of the present
invention can be used to
associate a range of forces with a corresponding LED system. FIG. 77 shows a
color speedometer
1010 having a force transducer 1011, such as a linear variable differential
transformer (LVDT),
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coupled to an A/D converter 1017 which is in turn coupled to an LED system
1012 of the present
invention. A housing 1013 encloses the force transducer 1011 and the LED
system 1012. The
housing possesses a fastener to affix the housing and contents to a rotating
object like a bicycle
wheel 1015. The fastener shown in FIG. 77 is a clamp 1016, although other
fasteners such as
screws, or rivets could also be used that permit the color speedometer to
become affixed to a wheel
rim 1018.
Such a color speedometer 1010 could be used to "see" the angular speed of
various
rotating objects. Thus, as in the example of FIG. 77, the LED system 1012
coupled to the force
transducer 1011 could be mounted to the bicycle wheel 1015 at a distance r
from the center of the
wheel 1015. A reference mass m in the transducer (not shown) could exert a
force m.omega.2 r
from which the angular speed omega. could be ascertained. Each distinct force
or range of forces
would result in a particular color being emitted from the LED system 1012.
Thus the wheel rim
1018 would appear in different colors depending on the angular speed.
Another specific embodiment comprising a force transducer appears in FIG. 78
where an
color inclinometer 1020 is shown. The inclinometer 1020 possesses a force
transducer 1021 such
as a linear variable differential transformer (LVDT) coupled to an A/D
converter 1027 which is in
turn coupled to an LED system 1022 of the present invention. A housing (not
shown) encloses the
force transducer 1021 and the LED system 1022. The housing possesses a
fastener (not shown) to
affix the housing and contents to an object whose inclination one wants to
determine such as an
airplane. The fastener could, for example, consist of screws, clamps, rivets,
or glue to secure the
inclinometer 1020 to an airplane console, for example.
A power module (not shown) can be coupled to the inclinometer. The
inclinometer 1020
measures general angular orientation with respect to the earth's center of
gravity. The
inclinometer's angle signal can be converted by the A/D converter 1027 and
coupled to the data
inputs of the microcontroller in the power module. The microcontroller can
then be programmed to
assign angular orientations to different color through the use of a lookup
table associating angles
with LED color register values. The color inclinometer may be used for safety,
such as in airplane
cockpits, or for novelty, such as to illuminate the sails on a sailboat that
sways in the water.
In another embodiment, the light module 100 of the present invention can be
used in a
color magnometer as an indicator of magnetic field strength. FIG. 79 shows
such a magnometer
1036 having a magnetic field transducer 1031 coupled to an LED system 1032 via
an A/D
converter 1037. The magnetic field transducer can include any of a Hall-effect
probe, flip coil, or
nuclear magnetic resonance magnometer.
The magnetic field transducer 1031 changes a magnetic field strength into an
electrical
signal. This signal is, in turrrn, converted to binary information by the A/D
converter 1037. The
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information can then be sent as input to the microcontroller controlling the
LED system 1032 to
cause to shine lights of various colors that correspond to the magnetic field
strength. This
embodiment could find wide use in the fields of geology and prospecting, as
well as in the
operation of instruments that rely on magnetic fields to operate such as
magnetic resonance
devices, magnetrons, and magnetically focused electron devices.
In another embodiment, the light module 100 of the present invention can be
used for a
smoke alert system shown in FIG. 80. The smoke alert system 1040 comprises a
smoke detector
1041, either of the ionization or optical (photoelectric) variety,
electrically coupled to an LED
system 1042 of one embodiment of the present invention via an A/D converter
(not shown). The
LED system 1042 need not be proximal to the detector 1041. In particular, the
smoke detector
1041 can be in one room where a fire might ignite, while the LED system 1042
might be in
another room where it would be advantageous to be alerted, the bedroom or
bathroom for example.
As those of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate, the smoke detector
1041 can be of
either of two types: ionization or optical (photoelectric). If the latter is
used, a detection chamber in
the smoke detector 1041 is employed whose shape normally prevents a light
sensitive element
(e.g., a photocell) from "seeing" a light source (e.g., an LED). When smoke
from a fire enters the
chamber, it scatters light so that the light sensitive element can now detect
the light. In a smoke
detector 1041 employing ionization technology, radioactive materials ionize
air molecules between
a pair of electrodes in a detection chamber. The resultant charged air
molecules permit a current to
be conducted between the electrodes. The presence of smoke in the chamber,
however, diminishes
the amount of charged air particles and thus diminishes the current. In both
types of smoke
detectors, therefore, the strength of a current is indicative of the
concentration of smoke particles
in the detection chamber. The strength of this current can be converted by the
A/D converter into
binary information that can be sent to the microprocessor controlling the LED
system 1042. By
using a look-up table, this binary information can dictate the range of
frequencies, corresponding
to various smoke concentrations, that is emitted from the LED system 1042. For
example, a green
or red light can be emitted if the concentration of smoke particles is below
or above a certain
threshold. This invention could alert a person to a potential fire even if
that person is incapable of
hearing the smoke detector's alarm. (The person may be deaf, listening to
music, or in the shower,
for example.) Also, conventional detectors convey only two pieces of
information: the alarm is
either off, or, if sufficient smoke is in the detection chamber, on. The smoke
alert system of the
present invention would also convey information about the amount of smoke
present by emitting
characteristic colors.
Smoke is but one type of particle whose concentration can be indicated by the
light
module 100 of the present invention. With the use of other particle detectors
such as an ionization
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chamber, Geiger counter, scintillator, solid-state detector, surface-barrier
detector, Cerenkov
detector, or drift chamber, concentrations of other types of particles such as
alpha particles,
electrons, or energetic photons represented by x-rays or gamma rays, can be
manifested by
different colored LED lights.
In another specific embodiment of the present invention, the light module 100
of the
present invention can be used to build an electronic pH color meter for
indicating the acidity of
solutions by displaying colored lights. FIG. 81 depicts a color pH meter 1050
comprising a pH
meter 1051 electrically coupled to an LED system 1052 via an A/D converter
(not shown).
The electronic pH meter can be of a variety known to those of ordinary skill
in the art. A
possible example of an electronic pH meter that can be used is Coming pH Bench
Meter Model
430, which provides digital measurements and automatic temperature
compensation. The meter
produces an analog recorder output, which can be converted to a digital signal
by the A/D
converter. The signal can then be sent to a microcontroller controlling the
LED system 1052 which
can emit colors corresponding to various pH levels.
Besides the aforementioned pH meter, meters having ion-specific electrodes
that produce
an analog signal corresponding to the concentration of a particular species in
solution can also be
used. These meters measure voltages developed between a reference electrode,
typically silver-
coated with silver chloride immersed in a concentrated solution of potassium
chloride, and an
indicator electrode. The indicator electrode is separated from an analyte by a
membrane through
which the analyte ions can diffuse. It is the nature of the membrane that
characterizes the type of
ion-specific electrode. Electrode types include glass, liquid-ion exchanger,
solid state, neutral
carrier, coated wire, field effect transistor, gas sensing, or a biomembrane.
The reference electrode
can communicate with the solution whose concentration one is trying to
determine via a porous
plug or gel. As described above, an embodiment of an LED system of the present
invention can be
electrically coupled to such meters to associate a particular ion
concentration with the emission of
light of various colors.
In another specific embodiment, the light module 100 of the present invention
could be
used to produce a security system to indicate the presence of an object. FIG.
82 shows such a
system comprising an identification badge 1060, an LED system 1061 of the
present invention, a
transmitter and receiver 1062 together with an electromagnetic radiation
detector 1066 coupled to
an A/D converter (not shown), and a security clearance network 1063 having a
receiver and
transmitter 1064 of electromagnetic signals to the badge 1060.
The security clearance network 1063 responsive to the transmitter and receiver
1062 may
identify the individual as having the appropriate security clearance for the
room at a given time.
The badge 1060 itself may include the transmitter and receiver 1062, the
electromagnetic radiation
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detector 1066, coupled to the A/D converter, and the LED system 1061
responsive to the security
clearance network 1063, so that the badge 1060 changes color depending on
whether the
individual has clearance to be in proximity to a particular receiver or not.
The ID badge 1060 with
the LED system 1061 on it may change color in response to a control network
depending on
whether the person wearing it is "authorized" to be in a certain area, so that
others will know if that
person is supposed to be there. This could also tell others if the person must
be "escorted" around
the area or can roam freely. The advantages include time of day based control,
zone based control
and the concept of moving control zones or rapid zone modification. For
example, maintenance
staff could be allowed in an area only when another object is not present. For
example, in a
military aircraft hangar, cleaning might be allowed only when the plane is not
there. As another
example, security zones in a factory may be used for the purpose of keeping
people safe, but when
the factory is shut down, much larger areas may be accessible.
In another embodiment, the light module 100 of the present invention can be
used to
change the lighting conditions of a room. FIG. 83 depicts an electromagnetic
radiation detector
1071 such as a photodiode, phototransistor, photomultiplier, channel-plate
intensifier, charg&
coupled devices, or intensified silicon intensifier target (ISIT) coupled to
an A/D converter (not
shown), which in turn is electrically coupled to an LED system 1072.
The light module 100 may be programmed to increase room light as the external
light
entering the room from the sun diminishes at the end of the day and to
compensate for changes in
color temperature as well, through a feedback mechanism. In particular, a user
may measure the
color temperature of particular lighting conditions with the electromagnetic
radiation detector
1071, identify the signal from the electromagnetic radiation detector 1071
under desired
conditions, connect the microprocessor of the present invention to the
electromagnetic radiation
detector 1071 and strobe the LED system 1072 of the present invention through
various lighting
conditions until the signal from the electromagnetic radiation detector 1071
indicates that the
desired conditions have been obtained. By periodically strobing the LED system
1072 and
checking the signal from the electromagnetic radiation detector 1071, the
light module 100 may be
programmed to maintain precise lighting conditions in a room.
In another embodiment, room or telephone lights could help identify the source
or intent
of a telephone call. FIG. 84 shows a color telephone indicator 1080 comprising
an LED system
1082 of the present invention, an output port 1083 that can be either serial
or parallel and a
connection wire 1084 connecting the system to a caller ID box 1085.
By emitting a characteristic color, it would be possible to determine whence a
telephone
call is being placed. Thus, one could program the light module 100 to cause
the LED system 1082
to emit a red light, for example, if the call is being placed from a certain
telephone. Alternatively, a
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caller's wish to designate a call as being urgent could be conveyed to a
receiver by a particular
color display. Thus, one could program the light module 100 to cause the LED
system 1082 to
emit a red light, for example, if a caller has designated the call to be an
emergency. Still another
telephone application involves displaying a range of colors to indicate to the
receiver the length of
time that a caller has been on hold. For example, the LED system 1082 could
emit a green, amber,
or red light depending on whether the caller has been on hold for less than
one minute, between
one and two minutes, and more than two minutes, respectively. This last
feature would be
especially useful if the telephone has more than one line, and it is important
to keep track of
various people who have been put on hold.
The foregoing disclosure has dealt with physical conditions that could be
indicated by
using the LED system of the present invention. Also capable of being indicated
in this manner are
other such conditions which include acceleration, acoustic, altitude,
chemical, density,
displacement, distance, capacitance, charge, conduction, current, field
strength, frequency,
impedance, inductance, power, resistance, voltage, heat, flow, friction,
humidity, level, light,
spectrum, mass, position, pressure, torque, linear velocity, viscosity, wind
direction, and wind
speed.
In an embodiment of the invention, the signal-generating device is a remote
control of a
conventional type used to control electronic devices through radio frequency
or infrared signals.
The remote control includes a transmitter, control switches or buttons, and a
microprocessor and
circuit responsive to the controls that causes the transmitter to transmit a
predetermined signal. In
this embodiment of the invention, the microprocessor or microprocessors that
control the LEDs is
connected to a receiver via a circuit and is capable of processing and
executing instructions from
the remote control according to the transmitted signal. The remote control may
include additional
features, such as illuminated buttons or controls that are formed of LEDs and
that change color or
intensity in correspondence to the change in the signal sent from the remote
control. Thus a lever
that is depressed to cause the color of a controlled room light to strobe from
red to violet may itself
strobe in correspondence to the room light. This effect permits the user to
control lights in
conditions where the actual LEDs may not be visible, or where interference
from other sources
makes the true color of the controlled LED difficult to see.
In other embodiments of the invention, the input device for the signals that
control the
microprocessor may be a light switch for control and mood setting. In
particular, the physical
mechanism of the light switch, such as a dial, slide bar, lever or toggle, may
include one or more
LEDs that are responsive to the external signal generated by the switch, so
that using the switch to
change a microprocessor controlled array of LEDs, such as room lights, causes
the switch itself to
change colors in a way that matches the changes in the room. The signal could
be used to control a
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multi-color light, monitor, television, or the like. Any control switch, dial,
knob or button that
changes color in association with the output light that is controlled by the
same is within the scope
of the present invention.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the input control device may
constitute a
badge, card or other object associated with an individual that is capable of
transmitting a radio
frequency, infrared, or other signal to a receiver that controls the
microprocessor that controls the
arrayed LEDs of the present invention. The badge thus constitutes an interface
to the color settings
in a room. The badge or card may be programmed to transmit signals that
reflect the personal
lighting preferences of the individual to the microprocessor, so that room
lights or other
illumination may be changed, in color or intensity, when the person is in
proximity to the receiver
for the lights. The desired lighting environment conditions are automatically
reproduced via the
lighting network in the room. The badge could also include other data
associated with the
individual, such as music preferences, temperature preferences, security
preferences and the like,
so that the badge would transmit the data to receivers associated with
networked electronic
components that are responsive to the signals. Thus, by walking into a room,
the individual could
cause the lights, music and temperature to be changed automatically by
microprocessors
controlling arrayed LEDs or other lights, a compact disc player or similar
music source, and a
thermostat.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the arrayed LEDs may be placed
in the
floor, ceiling or walls of an elevator, and the LEDs may be made responsive to
electrical signals
indicating the floor. Thus, the color of the light in the elevator (or of a
floor, ceiling or wall lit by
the light) may be varied according to the floor of the elevator.
In another embodiment of the present invention, depicted in FIG. 85, the
signal-generating
device 504 may be a generator of a television, stereo, or other conventional
electronic
entertainment signal. That is, the lighting control signal can be embedded in
any music, compact
disc, television, videotape, video game, computer web site, cybercast or other
broadcast, cable,
broadband or other communications signal. Thus, for example, the signal for
the microprocessor
may be embedded into a television signal, so that when the television signal
is processed by the
receiver, a microprocessor processes certain portions of the bandwidth of the
television signal for
signals relating to the room lights. In this embodiment, the color and
intensity of room lights, as
well as other lighting effects, may be directly controlled through a
television signal. Thus, a
television signal may instruct the room lights to dim at certain points during
the presentation, to
strobe to different colors at other points, and to flash at other points. The
signals are capable of
controlling each LED, so that a wide variety of effects, such as those more
particularly described
herein, may be obtained. Among other things, selected color washes may enhance
visual effects
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during certain television or movie scenes. For example, the explosion scene in
a movie or on a
computer game, could cause lights in the room to flash a sequence or change to
a specified color.
A sunset in a movie scene could be imitated by a sunset generated by the room
lights.
Alternatively, a music CD, DVD disk, audio tape, or VHS tape could contain
room color, intensity
or lighting positional data. The present invention may be embodied not only in
television signals,
but in any other signal-based source, such as music, film, a website, or the
like, so that the lighting
enviromnent, or specific lights, whether in the home, at work, or in a
theater, can be matched to the
entertainment source.
Referring to FIG. 85, a signal generator 504 may be any device capable of
generating an
entertainment signal, such as a television broadcast camera. Referring to FIG.
86, lighting control
data may be added to the signal generated by the signal generator through use
of a data encoder or
multiplexor 508. Methods and systems for adding data to television signals and
other
entertainment signals are known to those or ordinary skill in the art; for
example, standards exist
for insertion of closed-captioning data into the vertical blanking interval of
a television broadcast
signal, in order to have captioned text for the hearing-impaired appear on a
portion of a television
screen. Similar techniques can be used to insert lighting control data into
the same or similar
portions of the television signal. In an embodiment of the invention, a
multiplexor may detect a
horizontal sync pulse that identifies the beginning of the television line,
count a pre-determined
amount of time after the pulse, and replace or supplement the television
signal data for a pre-
determined amount of time after the pulse. Thus, a combined signal of control
data superimposed
on the television signal may be produced. Similar techniques may be used for
other types of
signals.
Once the signal is encoded, the signal may be transmitted by a data connection
512, which
may be a transmitter, circuit, telephone line, cable, videotape, compact disk,
DVD, network or
other data connection of any type, to the location of the user's entertainment
device 514. A decoder
518 may be designed to separate the lighting control data from the
entertainment signal. The
decoder 518 may be a decoder box similar to that used to decode closedl-
captioning or other
combined signals. Such a decoder may, for example, detect the horizontal sync
pulse, count time
after the horizontal sync pulse and switch an output channel between a channel
for the
entertainment device 514 and a different channel dedicated to lighting control
data, depending on
the time after the horizontal sync pulse. Other techniques for reading or
decoding data from a
combined signal, such as optical reading of black and white pixels
superimposed onto the
television screen, are possible. Any system adding and extracting lighting
control data to and from
an entertainment signal may be used. The entertainment signal may then be
relayed to the
entertainment device 514, so that the signal may be played in a conventional
manner. The lighting
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control data, once separated from the entertainment signal by the decoder 518,
may be relayed to a
lighting module or modules 100 for controlled illumination. The signal may be
relayed to the light
modules 100 by a data connection 522 by any conventional data connection, such
as by infrared,
radio, or other transmission, or by a circuit, network or data track.
Systems and methods provided herein include an system for combining
illumination
control with another signal. One such embodiment is an entertainment system,
which is disclosed
herein. It should be understood that other signals, such as those used for
informational,
educational, business or other purposes could be combined with illumination
control signals in the
manner described herein, and are within the scope of the disclosure,
notwithstanding the fact that
the depicted embodiment is an entertainment system.
The entertainment system may include an illumination source 501, which may be
part of a
group of such illumination sources 501. The illumination source 501, in this
embodiment of the
invention, may be a light module 100 such as that disclosed above. Referring
to FIG. 85, the
illumination source 501 may be disclosed about a space 503 in which an
entertainment system 561
is located. The illumination system may include the illumination sources 501,
as well as an
entertainment device 514. The illumination source 501 may include a receiver
505 for receiving a
control signal to control the illumination source 501. The control signal can
be any type of control
signal capable of controlling a device, such as a radio frequency signal, an
electrical signal, an
infrared signal, an acoustic signal, an optical signal, or any other energy
signal.
The entertainment system 561 may include a decoder 518 that is capable of
decoding an
incoming signal and transmitting the signal by a transmitter 522 to the
illumination sources 501.
The illumination system may further include a signal generator 504, which is
depicted in
schematic form in FIG. 86 and FIG. 85. The signal generator 504 may generate
any form of
entertainment signal, whether it be a video signal, an audio signal, a data
packet, or other signal. In
an embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 85, a signal generator 504 generates a
television signal that is
transmitted to a satellite 507. Referring to FIG. 86, the signal generator 504
may be associated
with an encoder 508 which may include a multiplexor and which may combine a
signal from a
signal generator 504 with control data from a control data generator 509. The
encoded signa1508
may then be transmitted by a transmitter 512 to the decoder 518. Once decoded
by the decoder
518, the signal may be split back into the entertainment signal component and
the illumination
control data component. The entertainment signal may be sent to the
entertainment device 514 by a
circuit or other conventional means. The control data may be sent by a
transmitter, circuit, network
or other conventional connection 522 to the illumination sources, which in the
embodiment
depicted in 86 are light modules 100 such as disclosed above. As a result,
illumination control may
be associated with an entertainment signal, so that the illumination produced
by the illumination
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sources 501 can be matched to the entertainment signal played on the
entertainment device 514.
Thus, for example, the room lights may be synchronized and controlled to
create different
conditions simultaneously with events that occur in programs that are being
displayed on a
television.
It should be recognized that any type of entertainment signal could be
combined or
multiplexed with the control signal to permit control of the illumination
sources 501 with the
entertainment device 514. For example, the entertainment device could be a
television, a computer,
a compact disc player, a stereo, a radio, a video cassette player, a DVD
player, a CD-ROM drive, a
tape player, or other device. It should be understood that the entertainment
device 514 could be a
device for display for one or more of the above signals for purposes other
than entertainment.
Thus, educational, informational, or other purposes and devices should be
understood to be within
the scope disclosed herein, although the embodiment depicted is an
entertainment device 514. It
should be understood that the particular system for ccmbining the data,
transmitting the data, and
decoding the data for use by the device 514 and the illumination sources 501
will depend on the
particular application. Thus, the transmitter used in the embodiment depicted
in FIGS. 85 and 86
could be replaced with a circuit, a network, or other method or system for
connecting or
transmitting a decoded signal. Similarly the connection between the decoder
518 and the
illumination sources 501 could be a transmitter, circuit, network, or other
connection method of
delivering data to the illumination sources 501.
The illumination control driver 509 that generates control data can be any
data generator
capable of generating data for controlling the illumination sources 501. In an
embodiment of the
invention, the control driver is similar to that disclosed in connection with
FIG. 6 hereof, and the
illumination sources a light module 100. In this case, the data would be sent
according to the
DMX-512 protocol.
In an embodiment of the invention depicted in FIG. 87, an encoder 508 is
depicted in
schematic form in an embodiment where the signal is a television signal. In
this embodiment, a
video signa1511 enters the device at 513 from the signal generator 504.
Control data 515 may
enter the encoder 508 at 517 from the illumination control driver 509. Other
data or signals may
enter at 519 and 521. These other signals may be used to control the encoder
508, to change the
operation mode of the controller 508, or for other purposes. The other
signa1521 could also be
some other form of piggyback signal that is related to the video signa1511.
For example, the other
signa1521 could be closed-caption or teletext data that would be multiplexed
with the video signal.
The encoder 508 may include a sync detector 523. The sync detector 523 may
detect the horizontal
sync pulse in the video signal 511. The sync detector may then send a signal
525 to a timing and
control circuit 527.
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The timing and control circuit 527 may count a predetermined amount of time
after the
horizontal sync pulse detected by the sync detector 523 and control a series
of gates or switches
529, 531, 533 and 535. In particular, the timing and control circuit 527 may
be used to open one of
the gates 529, 531, 533 and 535 while keeping the other gates closed. Thus,
the signal at the node
537 of FIG. 87 represents the particular selected signal among the signals
511, 515, 519 and 521
that has an open gate among the gates 529, 531, 533 and 535. By opening and
closing different
gates at different times, the timing and control circuit 527 can generate a
combined signal at 537
that captures different data at different points of the output signal.
In an embodiment the invention may include an analog to digital converter 539,
an
amplifier 541, or other component or components to convert the signal to
appropriate format or to
provide an adequate signal strength for use. The end result is an output
combined signal 543 that
reflects multiple types of data. In an embodiment, the combined signal
combines a video signal
511 with illumination control data 515 that is capable of controlling the
illumination sources 501
depicted in FIG. 85.
Referring to FIG. 88, a depiction of the operation of the timing and control
circuit 527 is
provided. For each of the signals 511, 519, 515 and 521 the gate for the
signal may be kept on or
off (i.e., open or closed) at a predetermined time after detection of the sync
pulse by the sync
detector 523. The timing and control circuit may thus allocate the time
periods after detection of
the sync pulse to be different signals, with only one of the gates 529, 531,
533 and 535 open at any
particular time. Thus, the gate for the video signal 511 is open for the time
immediately after
detection of the sync pulse and for a time after the gates have been opened
and closed. The gate for
the data signa1519, the control data 515 and the other signa1521 can be opened
in sequence, with
no single gate open at the same time as any other gate. This approach, as
reflected by the
schematics of FIG. 87 and FIG. 88, establishes a combined signal without
interference between the
constituent signals 511, 519, 515 and 521.
Referring to FIG. 89, an embodiment of a decoder 518 is provided. In this
embodiment,
the decoder 518 is a decoder box for a video signal. The incoming signal at
545 may be the
combined signal produced by the encoder 508 of FIG. 87. A detector 547 may
detect the horizontal
or other sync pulse in the combined signa1545 and send a signa1549 to a
control circuit 551 to
establish the timing of the control circuit 551. The combined signa1545 may be
also be sent to the
timing and control circuit 551, which may process the incoming combined signal
545 according to
the time of arrival, or using other information. In one embodiment, the
decoder may separate the
incoming signal according to the time of arrival as determined by the sync
detector 547. Therefore,
by coding the timing of the opening of the gates as depicted in FIG. 88, the
timing and control
circuit 551 can separate video, control data, and other data according to the
time of arrival. Thus,
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the timing and control circuit 551 can send a video signa1553 to the
entertainment device 514. The
timing and control circuit 551 can similarly send control data 555 to the
illumination source 501,
which may be a light module 100 such as that depicted above. The other data
can be sent to
another device 557.
Other elements can be included between the timing and control circuit 551 and
the
respective device; for example, a digital to analog converter 559 could be
disposed between the
timing and control circuit 551 and the entertainment device 514 to permit use
of an analog signal
with the entertainment device 514. It should be understood that the timing and
control approach
depicted in the schematic FIG. 89 is only one of many approaches of decoding a
combined signal.
For example, the signal could be a data packet, in which case the packet could
include specific
information regarding the type of signal that it is, including information
that specifies which
illumination source 501 it is intended to control. In this case the timing and
control 551 could
include a shift register for accepting and outputting data packets to the
appropriate devices.
The embodiments depicted in FIGS. 85-89 are merely illustrative, and many
embodiments
of circuits or software for producing such a system would be readily apparent
to one of ordinary
skill in the art. For example, many systems and methods for inserting data
into signals are known.
For example, systems are provided for including closed-caption data, vertical
interval time code
data, non-real time video data, sample video data, North American Basic
Teletex specification
data, World System Teletex data, European broadcast union data and Nielsen
automated,
measurement and lineup data, and entry video signals. One such system is
disclosed in U.S. Pat.
No. 5,844,615 to Nuber et al. Systems and methods for nesting signals within a
television signal
are also known. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,689 to
Small. Other
applications include surround sound, in which certain sound data is combined
with a signal, which
may be a motion picture, music, or video signal. Such surround sound systems
are known to those
skilled in the art. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,708,718 to
Amboum et al. Any
system for superimposing data onto a signal or combining data with a signal
for controlling a
device wherein the system is capable of also carrying illumination control
information produced
by an illumination control driver for controlling an illumination source
should be understood to be
within the scope of the invention.
In the television embodiment, different portions of the television signal are
used for
different purposes. One portion of the signal is used for the visible image
that appears on the
screen. Another portion is used for audio signals. Another is the overscan
area. Another portion is
the vertical blanking interval. Another portion is the horizontal blanking
interval. Any portion of
the signal can be used to carry data. In an embodiment, the data is located in
one of the portions,
such as the horizontal blanking interval or the vertical blanking interval,
that does not interfere
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with the display on the screen. However, it is known that a typical television
does not display all of
the display portion of the television signal. Therefore, the initial part of
the television display
signal could also be replaced with the illumination control data without
substantially interfering
with the appearance of the picture to the user of the entertainment device
514.
In embodiments, a user may measure the color temperature of particular
lighting
conditions with a light sensor, identify the signal from the light sensor
under desired conditions,
connect the processor of the present invention to the light sensor and strobe
the arrayed LEDs of
the present invention through various lighting conditions until the signal
from the light sensor
indicates that the desired conditions have been obtained. By periodically
strobingthe LEDs and
checking the signal from the light sensor, the arrayed LEDs of the present
invention may thus be
programmed to maintain precise lighting conditions in a room. This light
compensation feature
may be useful in a number of technological fields. For example, a photographer
could measure
ideal conditions, such as near sunset when warm colors predominate, with a
light sensor and
reestablish those exact conditions as desired with the arrayed LEDs of the
present invention.
Similarly, a surgeon in an operating theater could establish ideal lighting
conditions for a particular
type of surgery and reestablish or maintain those lighting conditions in a
controlled manner.
Moreover, due to the flexible digital control of the arrayed LEDs of the
present invention, any
number of desired lighting conditions may be programmed for maintenance or
reestablishment.
Thus, a photographer may select a range of options, depending on the desired
effect, and the
surgeon may select different lighting conditions depending on the surgical
conditions. For
example, different objects appear more or less vividly under different colors
of light. If the surgeon
is seeking high contrast, then lighting conditions can be preprogrammed to
create the greatest
contrast among the different elements that must be seen in the surgery.
Alternatively, the surgeon,
photographer, or other user may strobe the lighting conditions through a wide
range until the
conditions appear optimal.
The ability to vary lighting conditions, continuously or discretely, at short
time intervals
and over a wide range of colors, permits a number of technological advances in
fields that depend
on controlled illumination. Certain embodiments of the invention in the area
of controlled
illumination are set forth as follows.
In the embodiments depicted below, LED systems are used to generate a range of
colors
within a spectrum. "LED system," as the term is used herein, refers to an
array of color-emitting
semiconductor dies. Color emitting semiconductor dies are also termed light
emitting diodes or
LEDs. The array of color-emitting semiconductor dies can include a plurality
of color-emitting
semiconductor dies grouped together in one structural unit. Alternatively, the
array of color-
emitting semiconductor dies can comprise a plurality of structural units, each
comprising at least
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one color-emitting semiconductor die. An LED system can further comprise a
plurality of
structural units, each unit comprising a plurality of color-emitting
semiconductor dies. It is
understood that as long as at least two primary color LEDs are used, any
illumination or display
color may be generated simply by preselecting the light intensity that each
color LED emits.
Further, as described in part in the foregoing specification, each color LED
cai emit light at any of
a large number of different intensities, depending on the duty cycle of PWM
square wave, with a
full intensity pulse generated by passing maximum current through the LED. The
term brightness,
as used herein, is understood to refer to the intensity of a light. As an
example, described in part
above, the maximum intensity of an LED or of the LED system can be
conveniently programmed
simply by adjusting the ceiling for the maximum allowable current using
programming resistances
for the processors residing on the light module.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a multicolor illuminating system
is provided
for illuminating a material. The terms "illumination" and "illuminate" as used
herein can refer to
direct illumination, indirect illumination or transillumination. Illumination
is understood to
comprise the full spectrum radiation frequencies, including, visible,
ultraviolet, and infrared, as
well as others. Illumination can refer to energy that comprises any range of
spectral frequencies.
Illumination can be viewed or measured directly, whereby the reflected light
regarded by the
viewer or sensor is reflected at an angle relative to the surface
substantially equivalent to the angle
of the incident light. Illumination can be viewed or measured indirectly,
whereby the reflected
light regarded by the viewer or sensor is reflected at an angle relative to
the surface that is different
than the angle of the incident light. Direct or indirect illumination can be
directed at the surfaceof
a material. A surface can be a naturally occurring surface such as a body part
or a geological
formation. Alternatively, the surface can be a face of an apparatus. A surface
can have a three-
dimensional topography. A surface can have a plurality of objects affixed to
it.
The term "material" as used herein encompasses the full range of materials
that can be
targets for illumination. The term "transillumination" refers to an
illumination method whereby
light is directed at least in part through a material, wherein the
characteristics of the light are
regarded by a viewer or a sensor after the light has passed through the
material. As an example of
transillumination, illumination from a gastroscope can be directed through the
wall of the stomach
and through the overlying soft tissues so that a site can be identified for
placement of a
percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube. As another example of
transillumination, a light can be
directed at a surface of a tissue mass to determine whether it is cystic or
sDlid. A cystic mass is
said to transilluminate, this term referring to the fact that light passes
through the mass to be
perceptible by an observer at a site remote from the site of the incident
light.
FIG. 90A depicts an embodiment of an illumination system 2020. The embodiment
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illustrated in FIG. 90A shows a positioning system 2010, a control module
2012, an LED assembly
2014 and a target materia12018. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 90A, the
target material
2018 is represented as a surface of an apparatus. It will be apparent to those
of ordinary skill in the
relevant arts that the target materia12018 can be any material, and is not
limited to the illustrated
embodiment. In FIG. 90A, an embodiment of the illumination system 2020 is
shown directing
incident light 2022 at materia12018. FIG. 90A further illustrates a LED
assembly 2014,
comprising a sensor system 2024 and an LED system 2028. In one embodiment, a
plurality or an
array of LEDs comprises the LED system 2028, each LED being controlled by the
control module
2012. An LED system 2028 is understood to comprise a plurality of color-
emitting semiconductor
dies for generating a range of colors within a spectrum. The LED system 2028
can comprise the
light module 100 or the smart light bulb 701 disclosed above. In the
embodiment illustrated in
FIG. 90A, the sensor system 2024 is capable of providing a signal related to
the characteristics of
the light reflected to the sensor system 2024 from the materia12018. In an
alternate embodiment, a
sensor system 2024 can be responsive to other features of the materia12018. A
sensor system 2024
can be affixed to the LED system housing, or a sensor system 2024 can be
positioned in
juxtaposition to the LED system 2028. Other placements of the sensor system
2024 relative to the
LED system 2028 can be readily envisioned by those of ordinary skill in these
arts. Alternately, an
embodiment can provide no sensor system.
FIG. 90A further depicts a positioning arm 2032, a control module 2012 and a
LED cable
2034 through which can pass the electrical signal to the LED system 2028, and
the data signal to
the LED system 2028. Optionally, a data signal can pass to the sensor module
(not shown) from
the sensor system 2024. The LED cable 2034 can carry these sensor signals. The
control module
2012 in the illustrated embodiment can contain the processor for the LED
system, the power
source for the LED system, the sensor module for the sensor system and a
processor for relating
the signals received by the sensor system 2024 to the processor, so that
signals received by the
sensor module affect the output characteristics of the LED system 2028. The
control module can
further include a position controller (not shown). In the illustrated
embodiment the positioning
system 2010 comprises the positioning arm 2032, the position controller and a
positioning cable
2038. This depiction of a positioning system is merely illustrative. As the
term is used herein, a
positioning system is understood to include any system capable of positioning
the LED system in a
spatial relationship with the material being illuminated whereby the LED
system illuminates the
material. A positioning system, therefore, can include an apparatus of any
kind capable of
positioning the LED system. A positioning system can comprise a human operator
who is capable
of positioning the LED system in a spatial relationship with the material
being illuminated
whereby the LED system illuminates the material. A positioning system can
further comprise the
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LED cable if the LED cable is adapted for positioning the LED system in a
spatial relationship
with the material being illuminated.
A plurality of positioning systems can be envisioned by practitioners in these
arts that will
conform to the features of the particular material being illuminated. For
example, a positioning
system adapted for microsurgery can be mounted on an operating microscope and
can be
controlled by a control module suitable for receiving positioning input from
the microsurgeons. As
one option for a positioning system to be used in microsurgery or other
surgical procedures, a foot
pedal system can provide positioning input, either using a foot-operated
button, pedal or slide. As
an alternative option, a manual control can be adapted for placement in the
sterile field by
convering the manual control with a sterile plastic bag or sheet so the
microsurgeon can
manipulate the control manually without compromising sterile technique.
As an example of a positioning system, a standard surgical light fixture can
be equipped
with an LED system as disclosed herein. The standard surgical light fixture is
capable of
positioning the LED system in a spatial relationship with the material being
illuminated whereby
the LED system illuminates the material. This positioning system can be
adjusted manually in the
standard fashion well-known to surgical practitioners. Alternatively, the
positioning system can be
controlled in response to signals input from a separate control module. The
positioning system can
change its position to illuminate materials designated by the operator, either
in response to direct
input into the control module or as a response to signals transmitted to a
sensor apparatus. Other
embodiments of positioning systems can be envisioned by those skilled in these
arts. The scope of
the term "positioning system" is not to be limited by the embodiment
illustrated in this figure. A
plurality of other positioning systems can be envisioned consistent with the
systems and methods
described herein.
FIG. 90A illustrates an embodiment of a positioning system 2010 where the LED
assembly 2014 is located at the distal end of the positioning arm 2032. In
this embodiment, the
position controller can transmit signals to the positioning arm 2032 to adjust
its spatial position.
These signals can be carried through the positioning cable 2038.
Alternatively, the signals can be
transmitted by infrared, by radio frequency, or by any other method known in
the art. Remote
access to the control module 2012 can permit the illumination system 2020 to
be controlled from a
great distance, for example in undersea or aerospace applications. Remote
access also permits
control of the illumination system 2020 when the illumination system 2020 is
operating in hostile
or inhospitable environments. Remote access to the control module is
understood to comprise
remote control. Techniques for remote control are familiar to practitioners in
these arts.
In the illustrated embodiment, the positioning arm 2032 has a plurality of
articulations
2040 permitting its three-dimensional motion. In the illustrated embodiment,
the articulations 2040
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are arranged to provide the flexibility required by a particular technical
application. Positioning
can be accomplished with other mechanisms besides those depicted in FIG. 90A.
These
mechanisms will be familiar to practitioners in the art. As depicted in FIG.
90A, the proximal end
of the positioning arm 2032 is anchored to a base 2026. The articulation
connecting the positioning
arm 2032 to the base 2026 can be arranged to permit motion along an axis
parallel to or
perpendicular to the axes of motion permitted by the other articulations 2040.
The positioning system depicted in FIG. 90A is merely one embodiment of the
systems
described herein. A plurality of other embodiments are available, as will be
realized by
practitioners of ordinary skill in the relevant arts. In one embodiment, the
positioning system 2010
can be configured for large-scale applications, such as the evaluation of
sheet metal or structural
steel. Alternatively, the positioning system 2010 can be adapted for
microscopic adjustments in
position. It is understood that the light provided by the illumination system
can be used for a
plurality of precision applications. Fine three-dimensional control of the
illumination pattern can
direct the light to an exact three-dimensional position. In an alternate
embodiment, signals from
the sensor module can be used to control or to activate the position
controller, so that the
positioning system 2010 can be directed to move the LED assembly 2014 in
response to received
sensor data. The illumination system comprising the LED system 2028 allows the
selection of a
colored light predetermined to facilitate visualization of the target material
2018. The strobing
effect provided by an embodiment of the illumination system can permit freeze-
frame imaging of
dynamic processes, or can enhance the resolution of images acquired using
conventional imaging
modalities.
An embodiment of the illumination system can be used for taking
photomicrographs. In
another embodiment of the present invention, the illumination system 2020 may
be used to
improve the quality of robotic vision applications. In many robotic vision
applications, such as
location of semiconductor chips during the manufacturing process, reading of
bar code matrices,
location of robotic devices during manufacturing, or the like, a robotic
camera is required to
identify shapes or contrasts and to react accordingly. Different lighting
conditions can have a
dramatic effect on such vision systems. A method for improving the accuracy of
such systems
includes creating a color image via a sequence of multiple black and white
images taken under
multiple different strobed illuminating sequences. For example, the user may
strobe a red strobe to
get the red frame, a green strobe to get the green frame, and a blue strobe to
get the blue frame.
The strobing effect permits a higher resolution by the robotic camera of the
image required for
robotic vision. Other embodiments can be envisioned by those of ordinary skill
in the art without
departing from the scope of the present invention.
FIG. 90B shows in more detail a schematic diagram of the control module 2012.
In the
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illustrated embodiment, the control module 2012 provides a housing 2042 that
contains a power
source 2044, a first microprocessor 2048 for the LED, a sensor module 2050
adapted for receiving
signals from the sensors affixed to the distal end of the position arm, and a
position controller
2052. The illustrated embodiment features a second microprocessor 2054 for
relating data received
by the sensor module 2050 to data for controlling the LED system. The position
controller 2052 is
adapted for adjusting the three-dimensional position of the positioning arm.
The position controller
2052 can include an input device 2058 for receiving signals or data from an
outside source. As an
example, data can be input through a control panel operated by an operator.
Data can be in the
form of 3-D coordinates to which the position system is directed to move, or
in any other form that
can be envisioned by practitioners of these arts. Data can also be provided
through computer
programs that perform calculations in order to identify the 3-D coordinates to
which the position
system is directed to move. The input device 2058 can be configured to receive
data received
through a computer-based 3-dimensional simulator or virtual reality apparatus.
Further examples
of input devices 2058 can be envisioned by those of ordinary skill in the art
without departing from
the scope of this invention. The control module 2030 depicted in FIG. 90B
further shows a sensor
module 2050 adapted for receiving signals from the sensors affixed to the
distal end of the position
arm. The sensor module 2050 can be configured to receive any type of signal,
as described in part
above. A sensor module 2050 can comprise a light meter for measuring the
intensity of the light
reflected by the surface being illuminated. A sensor module 2050 can comprise
a calorimeter, a
spectrophotometer or a spectroscope, although other sensor modules and sensor
systems can be
employed without departing from the scope of the invention. A
spectrophotometer is understood to
be an instrument for measuring the intensity of light of a specific wavelength
transmitted or
reflected by a substance or a solution, giving a quantitative measure of the
amount of material in
the substance absorbing the light. Data received in the sensor module 2050 can
be used to evaluate
features of a material. In one embodiment, sensor module 2050 can be
configured to provide data
output to an output device 2060. The output data can include values that can
be compared to a set
of known values using algorithms familiar to those skilled in these arts. The
relationship between
the output data and the set of known values can be determined so as to yield
meaningful
information about the material being illuminated by the illumination system.
FIG. 91 depicts an embodiment of an illumination system 2056 capable of being
directed
by a part of an operator's body. The embodiment shown in FIG. 91 depicts an
illumination system
2056 held in the operator's hand 2062. In the illustrated embodiment, the LED
system 2064 is
positioned at the distal end of a handheld wand 2068 that can be disposed in
the operator's hand
2062 and directed towards a materia12070. The LED cable 2072 connects the LED
system 2064 to
a power source (not shown). The LED cable 2072 transmits power signals and
data signals to the
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LED system 2064. In an alternate embodiment, sensors can be positioned at the
distal end of the
handheld wand 2068 to provide sensing data as described above. The signals
from the sensors can
be transmitted through the LED cable 2072 in one embodiment. In yet another
embodiment, the
handheld wand 2068 can include an imaging system for video imaging. This
imaging system can
permit display of real-time images, for example on a video screen.
Alternatively, this imaging
system can permit capture of still or motion images through appropriate
software and hardware
configurations. Illuminating the materia12070 with a variety of colors can
result in significantly
different images, as described in part above. Strobing the light provided by
the illumination system
2056 can allow capture of still images and can allow improved improved
resolution. The handheld
system can be used for any application where using an operator's hand 2062 is
advantageous in
positioning the illumination system. In an embodiment, the system can be
entirely handheld, as
illustrated in FIG. 91. In an alternate embodiment, a wand bearing the LED can
be affixed to a
framework that supports it, whereby the positioning of the wand is facilitated
by direct
manipulation by the operator's hand. In yet another embodiment, the
illumination system can be
borne on the operator's hand by a band or a glove, so that the position of the
illumination system
can be directed by the movements of the operator's hand. In other embodiments,
the illumination
system can be affixed to or retained by other body parts, to be directed
thereby.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the LEDs are displayed in
proximity to
the workpiece that requires illumination. Thus, an improved flashlight, light
ring, wrist band or
glove may include an array of LEDs that permit the user to vary the lighting
conditions on the
workpiece until the ideal conditions are recognized. This embodiment of the
invention may be of
particular value in applications in which the user is required to work with
the user's hands in close
proximity to a surface, such as in surgery, mechanical assembly or repair,
particularly where the
user cannot fit a large light source or where the workpiece is sensitive to
heat that is produced by
conventional lights.
In one practice of a method for illuminating a material, a LED system, as
described above,
can be used. According to this practice, an LED system and a processor are
provided. The practice
of this method can then involve positioning the LED system in a spatial
relationship with the
material to be illuminated. The positioning can take place manually or
mechanically. The
mechanical placement can be driven by input from an operator. Alternately,
mechanical placement
can be driven by a data set or a set of algorithms provided electronically. A
first microprocessor
can be provided for controlling the LED system. In an embodiment, a second
microprocessor can
be provided for positioning the positioning system in relation to the material
to be illuminated. In
yet another embodiment, a third microprocessor can be provided for processing
data input from a
sensor system or input from a control panel. Each microprocessor can be
related to each other
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microprocessor, so that changes in one function can be related to changes in
other functions.
In one practice, the method can further comprise providing an image capture
system for
recording an image of the material. An image capture system, as the term is
used herein, comprises
techniques using film-based methods, techniques using digital methods and
techniques using any
other methods for image capture. An image capture system further comprises
methods that record
an image as a set of electronic signals. Such an image can exist, for example,
in a computer
system. In the current arts, images can be captured on film, on magnetic tape
as video or in digital
format. Images that are captured using analog technologies can be converted to
digital signals and
captured in digital format. Images, once captured, can be further manipulated
using
photomanipulative software, for example Adobe Photoshop.TM.. Photomanipulative
software is
well-known in the art to permit modification of an image to enhance desirable
visual features. An
image once captured can be published using a variety of media, including
paper, CD-ROM, floppy
disc, other disc storage systems, or published on the Internet. The term
recording as used herein
refers to any image capture, whether permanent or temporary. An image capture
system further
includes those technologies that record moving images, whether using film-
based methods,
videotape, digital methods or any other methods for capturing a moving image.
An image capture
system further includes those technologies that permit capture of a still
image from moving
images. An image, as the term is used herein, can include more than one image.
As one
embodiment, a photography system can be provided whereby the material being
illuminated is
photographed using film-based methods. In this embodiment, the LED system can
be strobed to
permit stop-action photography of a moving material.
In an alternative embodiment, a sensor system can be arranged to identify the
characteristics of light reflected by a material and the LED system can be
controlled to reproduce a
set of desired light characteristics so that the material will be optimally
illuminated to achieve a
desired photographic effect. This effect may be an aesthetic one, although
industrial and medical
effects can be achieved. For example, a set of characteristics for ambient
light in the operating
room can be identified by surgical personnel and replicated during surgery.
Certain types of
lighting conditions can be more suitable for certain operations. As another
example, photography
can be carried out using the LED system to provide certain characteristics for
the photographic
illumination. As is well-known in the art, certain light tones and hues
highlight certain colors for
photography. Different light systems used for photography can cause different
tones and hues to be
recorded by the photograph. For example, incandescent light is known to
produce more reddish
skin tones, while fluorescent light is known to produce a bluish skin tone.
The LED system can be
used to provide consistent tones and hues in a photographic subject from one
lighting environment
to another. Other desired photographic effects can be envisioned by those
skilled in the relevant
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arts.
As one practice of a method for illuminating a material, a predetermined range
of colors
can be selected within the spectrum. The LED system can then be controlled to
generate these
colors and to illuminate the material thereby. The material to be illuminated
can be an inanimate
entity. In one embodiment, a chemical reaction or its component reagents can
be illuminated
according to this method, whereby the illumination is understood to influence
the characteristics of
the chemical reaction. In another embodiment, the method of illumination can
be directed to a
biological entity. The term biological entity as used herein includes any
entity related to biology.
The term biology refers to the science concerned with the phenomena of life
and living organism.
Hence, a biological entity can comprise a cell, a tissue, an organ, a body
part, a cellular element, a
living organism, a biological product, a chemical or an organic material
produced by a biological
entity or through biotechnology, or any other entity related to biology.
Further, though, the term
biological entity can refer to a substance that was once part of a living
organism, including a
substance extracted from a living organism and including a substance that is
no longer alive.
Pathological specimens are encompassed by the term biological entity. A living
organism is called
out as a particular embodiment of a biological entity, but this usage is not
intended to narrow the
scope of the term biological entity as it is used herein. In one practice of a
method for illuminating
a biological entity, that biological entity can be a living organism. A living
organism can include
cells, microorganisms, plants, animals or any other living organism.
As a practice of a method for illuminating a material, a predetermined desired
illumination
condition can be selected, and a material can be illuminated with a range of
colors until the desired
condition is attained. A range of colors can be selected according to this
method, whereby the
selected colors are capable of producing the desired condition. Optionally, an
additional step of
this practice comprises illuminating the material with the selected colors, so
as to bring about the
desired effect. This method can be applied to non-living or biological
entities.
It is understood that a method for illuminating a living organism can have
specific effects
upon its structure, physiology or psychology. As embodiments of a method for
illuminating a
living organism, these technologies can be directed towards cells,
microorganisms, plants or
animals. These practices can comprise, without limitation, microbiological
applications, cloning
applications, cell culture, agricultural applications, aquaculture, veterinary
applications or human
applications. As an example, plant growth can be accelerated by precisely
controlling the spectrum
of light they are grown in. FIG. 92A shows a practice of this method, whereby
a plurality of LED
systems 2074 provide illumination to fruitbearing plants 2078 being grown in a
greenhouse
environment. The size and number of fruit 2080 on these plants 2078 are
understood to compare
advantageously to the results of the method illustrated in FIG. 92B, wherein
the fruitbearing plants
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2078 illuminated with natural light 2082 are observed to bear smaller and
fewer fruits 2080. As a
further example, cellular growth in culture can be improved by illuminating
the cells or the media
with light having certain spectral qualities. As another example, optimal
breeding and animal
health can be achieved by illuminating the subjects with a range of colors
within the spectrum. As
yet another example, replicating for a marine species in an aquarium the
spectrum of light in its
waters of origin can significantly increase its lifespan in captivity. For
example, it is understood
that the spectrum in the Red Sea is distinctly different from the spectrum in
the waters of Cape
Cod. According to a practice of this method, the illumination conditions of
the Red Sea can be
reproduced in an aquarium containing Red Sea species, with salubrious effect.
As an additional
example, an organism's circadian rhythms can be evoked by illuminating the
subject creature with
light of varying spectral characteristics.
As a practice of a method for illumination, a material can be evaluated by
selecting an area
of the material to be evaluated, illuminating that area with an LED system,
determining the
characteristics of the light reflected from that aiea and comparing those
characteristics of color
and/or intensity with a set of known light parameters that relate to a feature
of the material being
evaluated. The feature being evaluated can be a normal feature or an abnormal
feature of the
material. As an example, the integrity of a tooth can be evaluated by
directing light of a particular
color at the tooth to identify those areas that are carious. Structural
conditions of materials can be
evaluated by illuminating those materials and looking for abnormalities in
reflected light. A
practice of this method can be applied to biological entities. In forensic
pathology, for example,
various kinds of fillings for teeth can be distinguished by the way in which
they reflect light of
particular spectra. This allows identifications to be made based on dental
records for forensic
purposes. An embodiment of this method related to biological entities is
adapted for use in a
variety of medical applications, as will be described in more detail
hereinafter.
In another embodiment of the present invention, as described in part above, a
multicolor
illuminator is provided for surgical illumination. Different body organs are
typically low in relative
color contrast. By changing color conditions in a controlled manner, the
surgeon or assistant can
increase this relative contrast to maximize the visibility of important
surgical features, including
internal organs and surgical instruments. Thus, if the surgeon is trying to
avoid nerve tissue in a
surgery, a light that is designed to create the maximum apparent contrast
between nerve tissue
color and other tissue will permit the greatest precision. Surgical lights of
the present invention can
be of any conventional configuration, such as large theater lights, or can be
attached to surgical
instruments, such as an endoscope, surgical gloves, clothing, or a scalpel.
FIG. 93A depicts one embodiment of a system for illuminating a body part
according to
the present invention. This illustration shows a medical instrument for
positioning the LED system
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in proximity to a body part, here a conventional surgical retractor 2084 with
the LED system 2088
affixed to the anterior aspect of its retracting face 2090. The illustrated
surgical retractor 2084
resembles a Richardson-type retractor, well-known in the art. Other medical
instruments can be
employed to bear the LED system 2088 without departing from the scope of these
systems and
methods. Medical instruments bearing LED systems can be used for illuminating
a body part.
In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 93A, a conventional surgical retractor 2084
is shown
elevating a segment of body tissue, here depicted as the edge of the liver
2104. The illumination
from the LED system 2088 is directed at a body part, here the gallbladder 2110
and porta hepatis
2112. As used herein, the term body part refers to any part of the body. The
term is meant to
include without limitation any body part, whether that body part is described
in anatomic,
physiologic or topographic terms. A body part can be of any size, whether
macroscopic or
microscopic. The term body part can refer to a part of the body in vivo or ex
vivo. The term ex
vivo is understood to refer to any body part removed from body, whether that
body part is living or
is non-living. An ex vivo body part may comprise an organ for transplantation
or for replantation.
An ex vivo body part may comprise a pathological or a forensic specimen. An ex
vivo body part
can refer to a body part in vitro. The term body part shall be further
understood to refer to the
anatomic components of an organ. As an example, the appendix is understood to
be an anatomic
component of the organ known as the intestine.
In the illustrated embodiment, the porta hepatis 2112 is an anatomic region
that is a body
part. The porta hepatis 2112 is understood to bear a plurality of other body
parts, including the
portal vein 2114, the hepatic artery 2118, the hepatic nerve plexus, the
hepatic ducts and the
hepatic lymphatic vessels. The hepatic ducts 2120 from the liver 2104 and the
cystic duct 2124
from the gallbladder 2110 converge to form the common bile duct 2128; all
these ducts are body
parts as the term is used herein. Distinguishing these body parts from each
other can be difficult in
certain surgical situations. In the depicted embodiment, the LED system 2088
is directed at the
porta hepatis 2112 during a gallbladder procedure to facilitate identification
of the relevant body
parts. Directing lights of different colors at the discrete body parts can
allow the operator more
readily to decide which body part is which, a decision integral to a surgical
operation.
A plurality of other applications of these illumination systems can be readily
envisioned
by those of ordinary skill in the relevant arts. While the embodiment depicted
in FE. 93A shows a
handheld retractor 2084 being used in an open surgical procedure, the
illumination systems
described herein can also be applied to endoscopic surgery, thoracoscopy or
laparoscopy.
Discrimination among the various body parts in a region such as the porta
hepatis 2112 can be
particularly difficult during a laparoscopic procedure. As an alternate
embodiment, the relevant
anatomic structures can be illuminated using an LED system affixed to the
instrumentation for
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laparoscopy, thereby facilitating the identification of the structures to be
resected and the structures
to be preserved during the laparoscopic procedure.
Other endoscopic applications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. As
illustrative
embodiments, an LED system can be combined with endoscopic instrumentation for
the evaluation
of intraluminal anatomy in gastrointestinal organs, in cardiovascular organs,
in tracheobronchial
organs or in genitourinary organs. A lumen is understood to be a body part,
within the meaning of
the latter term. The term lumen is understood to refer to a space in the
interior of a hollow tubular
structure. The term body part further comprises the wall of a hollow tubular
structure surrounding
the lumen. Subcutaneous uses of the illumination system can be envisioned to
allow identification
of body parts during endoscopic musculocutaneous flap elevation. Such body
parts identified can
include nerves, blood vessels, muscles and other tissues. Other embodiments
can be readily
envisioned by skilled practitioners without departing from the scope of the
systems disclosed
herein.
In FIG. 93A, the LED system 2088 is shown arrayed at the distal edge of the
retractor
2084 mounted on the undersurface of the retracting face 2090 of the retractor
2084. This
arrangement interposes the retracting face 2090 of the retractor 2084 between
the body tissue, here
the edge of the liver 2104, and the LED system 2088 so that a retracting force
on the body tissue,
here the edge of the liver 2104, does not impinge upon the LED system 2088.
The LED system
2088 in the illustrated embodiment is arranged linearly along the retracting
face 2090 of the
retractor. Here the power cord 2108 is shown integrated with the handle 2106
of the retractor 2084.
The systems described herein can be adapted for a plurality of medical
instruments without
departing from the scope of the invention. For example, a malleable retractor
or a Deaver retractor
can bear the LED system. Other types of retractors for specialized surgical
applications can
similarly be adapted to bear the LED system in any arrangement with respect to
the retracting face
that fits the particular surgical need. As an example, an LED system can be
mounted on a flexible
probe for illuminating a particular tissue where the probe does not serve the
function of retraction.
In an embodiment, an LED system can be directed at lymph nodes in the axilla
or in the inguinal
region following percutaneous access and subcutaneous dissection, illuminating
these lymph nodes
with a light color selected to illuminate a feature of the lymph nodes
preferentially, such as their
replacement with the melanotic tissue of malignant melanoma; the illumination
of the lymph nodes
can be simultaneously evaluated through endoscopy or videoendoscopy using
minimally invasive
techniques, thereby reducing the need for full operative lymphadenectomy with
its consequent
sequelae. This example is offered as an illustration of an embodiment of an
application of the
technologies described herein, but other examples and illustrations can be
devised by those of
ordinary skill in these arts that fall within the scope of the invention.
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A plurality of arrangements of LEDs can be envisioned by those of ordinary
skill in these
arts without departing from the scope of the invention. The LED array is
capable of being placed
in proximity to the target organ by a surgical instrument. The term proximity
as used herein refers
to the degree of propinquity such that the illumination directed at the target
body part is effective
in accomplishing the clinical purpose intended by the operator. Thus, the
proximity to the target
body part is determined by the medical judgment of the operator. Since the LED
system does not
produce heat, it can be positioned extremely close to the target body parts
and other body parts
without damaging the tissues. In an embodiment, the illumination assembly is
capable of being
directed at microsurgical structures without causing heat damage. The
intensity of the light
available from an LED system is a feature that influences how close the LED
system needs to be
positioned in order to accomplish the operator's clinical purpose.
As an alternative embodiment, the LED system can be combined with other
features on a
medical instrument. The term medical instrument as uTd herein comprises
surgical instruments.
For example, the LED system can be combined with a cautery apparatus or a
smoke aspirator to be
used in surgery. FIG. 93B depicts one embodiment of a surgical instrument that
combines several
other pieces of apparatus with the LED system. In FIG. 93B, a Bovie cautery
assembly 2132 is
depicted, well-known in the surgical art. The cautery assembly 2132 includes a
cautery tip 2134
and a handheld wand 2138. Imbedded in the wand 2138 in standard fashion is an
array of control
buttons 2140, an arrangement familiar to those in the art. At the distal tip
of the handheld wand
2138 is a LED system 2144. The power and data signals to the LED system 2144
are carried
through a LED cable 2148 affixed to the superior aspect of the handheld wand
2138. The LED,
cable 2148 joins with the Bovie power cord 2152 at the proximal end of the
instrument to form a
single united device cable 2150. In an alternate embodiment, the LED cable can
be contained
within the Bovie wand housing 2136 in proximity to the Bovie power cord 2152.
The depicted embodiment permits the surgeon to direct LED light at a
particular structure
to identify it anatomically as part of cautery dissection. The spectral
capacity of the LED system
2144 is useful in identifying blood vessels, for example. Blood vessels
embedded in tissues can be
especially difficult to identify. The surgeon can dissect with the cautery tip
2134 of the illustrated
embodiment while directing a light from the LED that is selected to highlight
vascular structures.
The tissues themselves would be distinguishable from the vascular structures
based on the
response of each set of structures to the light illumination from the LED
system 2144. The contrast
between tissues requiring dissection and blood vessels to be preserved would
be highlighted by the
light illumination from the LED system 2144. The surgeon, therefore, would be
able to identify
what structures are safe to transgress with cautery dissection. In this way,
the surgeon could
preserve blood vessels more readily, as required by the surgical procedure.
Altematively, the
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surgeon could identify blood vessels imbedded in tissues and take precautions
to coagulate or
ligate them effectively before transgressing them. The illustrated embodiment
represents only one
possible arrangement of combined surgical instrumentation that employs an LED
system. Other
arrangements can be envisioned by those of ordinary skill in these arts. For
specialized surgical
applications, specialized combinations can be required. For example,
particular instruments are
employed in neurosurgery and in microsurgery. The same principles illustrated
in the depicted
embodiment of FIG. 93B can be applied in the fabrication of surgical
instruments appropriate for
these purposes.
As an alternate embodiment, the LED system can be combined with a sensor
system that
provides signals that correlate with some characteristic of the body part
being illuminated. As an
example, FIG. 93C shows an LED assembly 2100 affixed to a nasal endoscope 2092
being
inserted transnasally 2094 to evaluate an intranasal or a pituitary tumor
2098. The endoscope 2092
is shown in this figure entering through the naris 2096 and being passed
through the nasal airway
2086. The tumor 2098 is here shown at the superior aspect of the nasal airway
2086. The LED
assembly 2100 can comprise an LED system (not shown) and a sensor system (not
shown). The
LED system can illuminate the intranasal and intrasellar structures with a
range of colors, while
the sensor system can provide data relating to the characteristics of the
reflected light. The tumor
2098 can be identified by how it reflects the range of light being used to
illuminate it. The sensor
system can provide information about the characteristics of the reflected
light, permitting the
operator to identify the tumor 2098 in these remote locations. Further, such
an endoscope 2092 can
be combined with means familiar to practitioners in these arts for resecting
or ablating a lesion.
The illumination system described herein is available for both direct
illumination and
transillumination. Transillumination is understood to refer to the method for
examining a tissue, an
anatomical structure or a body organ by the passage of light through it. For
example,
transilluminating a structure can help determine whether it is a cystic or a
solid structure. One
embodiment of an illumination system can employ LEDs to direct light of
differing colors through
a structure, whereby the appearance of the structure when subjected to such
transillumination can
contribute to its identification or diagnosis. Transillumination using LED
light can be directed to a
plurality of structures. In addition to soft tissues and organs, teeth can be
transilluminated to
evaluate their integrity. An additional embodiment can employ a LED as an
indwelling catheter in
a luminal structure such as a duct. Illuminating the structure's interior can
assist the surgeon in
confirming its position during surgery. For example, in certain surgical
circumstances, the position
of the ureter is difficult to determine. Transilluminating the ureter using an
LED system placed
within its lumen can help the surgeon find the ureter during the dissection
and avoid traumatizing
it. Such an LED system could be placed cystoscopically, for example, as a
catheter in a retrograde
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manner before commencing the open part of the operative procedure. In this
embodiment, the LED
system is particularly useful: not only can the color of the LED be varied in
order to maximize the
visibility of the transilluminated structure, but also the LED avoids the
tissuebeating problem that
accompanies traditional light sources.
Evaluation of a tissue illuminated by an embodiment of the illuminating system
described
herein can take place through direct inspection. In an alternative embodiment,
evaluation can take
place through examining the tissues using videocameras. In an illustrative
embodiment, the tissues
would be visualized on a screen. Color adjustments on the video monitor screen
can enhance the
particular effect being evaluated by the operating team. As an alternative
embodiment, the
illuminating system can be combined with a sensor module, as partially
described above, whereby
the intensity of the reflected light can be measured. As examples, a sensor
module could provide
for spectroscopic, colorometric or spectrophotometric analysis of the light
signals reflected from
the illuminated area. Other types of sensor modules can be devised by those
skilled in the relevant
arts. A sensor module can be combined with direct inspection for evaluating
tissues. Alternatively,
a sensor module can provide a means for remote evaluation of tissues in areas
not available for
direct inspection as a substitute for or as an adjunct to video visualization.
Examples of su;h areas
are well-known in the surgical arts. Examples of such areas can include
transnasal endoscopic
access to the pituitary, endoscopic evaluation of the cerebral ventricles, and
intraspinal endoscopy,
although other areas can be identified by those familiar with the particular
anatomic regions and
relevant methods of surgical access. In addition to the abovementioned
embodiments for use in
living tissues, embodiments can be devised to permit evaluation of forensic
tissues or pathology
specimens using the illuminating systems disclosed herein.
FIG. 93D depicts an embodiment of the illumination system wherein the LED
system
2154 is mounted within a traditional surgical headlamp 2158 apparatus. In the
illustrated
embodiment, the LED system 2154 is affixed to the headband 2160 using methods
of attachment
well-known to practitioners. Advantageously, however, the LED system 2154 of
the illustrated
embodiment can be considerably lighter in weight than traditional headlamps.
This reduces strain
for the wearer and makes the headlamp apparatus more comfortable during long
procedures. As
depicted herein, the LED system 2154 is connected to a power cord 2156. In
distinction to
traditional headlamp apparatus, however, the power cord 2156 for the LED
system 2154 is
lightweight and non-bulky. The power cord 2156 can therefore be deployed
around the headband
2160 itself, without having to be carried above the surgeon's head in a
configuration that
predisposes to torquing the headband and that collides with pieces of overhead
equipment in the
operating room. Furthermore, the power cord employed by the LED system avoids
the problems
inherent in the fiberoptic systems currently known in the surgical arts. In
the traditional surgical
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headlamp as employed by practitioners in these arts, light is delivered to the
lamp through a
plurality of fiberoptic filaments bundled in a cable. With the systems known
presently in the art,
individual fiberoptic filaments are readily fractured during normal use, with
a concomitant
decrease in the intensity of the light generated by the headlamp. By contrast,
the power cord 2156
for the LED system 2154 does not contain fiberoptic elements but rather
contains a wire carrying
power to the LED system 2154. This provides a more durable illumination unit
than those known
in the present art. Furthermore, the LED system 2154 is sufficiently
lightweight that it is capable
of being integrated with the surgeon's magnifying loupes 2164.
Although the LED system in the illustrated embodiment is affixed to aheadband
2160, an
alternative embodiment can permit eliminating the headband 2160 entirely and
integrating the
LED system 2154 in the surgeon's spectacles or magnifying loupes 2164. FIG.
93E depicts an
embodiment of this latter arrangement. In this embodiment, an LED system 2166
is shown
integrated with the frame 2168 of the loupes 2164. The LED system 2166 can be
situated
superiorly on the frame 2168 as depicted in this figure, or it can be arranged
in any spatial relation
to the frame 2168 that is advantageous for illuminating aspects of the
surgical field. In this
embodiment, the power cord 2162 can be positioned to follow the templepiece
2170 of the loupes
2164.
The methods of the present invention comprise methods for diagnosing a
condition of a
body part. The methods for diagnosing a condition of a body part comprise
selecting an area of the
body part for evaluation, illuminating the area with an LED system,
determining characteristics of
the light reflected from the body part, and comparing the characteristics with
known
characteristics, wherein the known characteirstics relate to the condition of
the body part. These
methods can be applied to normal, nonpathological conditions of a body part.
Alternatively, these
methods can be used to identify pathological conditions of the body part.
It is understood that different body parts reflect light differently,
depending upon their
anatomic or physiological condition. For example, when subjected to room
light, an ischemic body
part can be perceived to be a purplish color, a color termed "dusky" or
"cyanotic" by practitioners
in these arts. Ischemia can therefore be at times diagnosed by direct
inspection under room light.
However, a multitude of situations exist where the vascular status of a body
part cannot be
evaluated by inspection under room light. For example, ischemia can be hard to
see in muscles or
in red organs. Further, skin ischemia is difficult to evaluate in room light
in people with dark skins.
The methods of the present invention include practices that permit the
diagnosis of ischemia to be
made by illuminating a body part with an LED system and comparing the
reflected light with
known light characteristics indicative of ischemia. These methods further can
permit this diagnosis
to be made at an earlier stage, when room light may not reveal color changes
but when LED
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system illumination can permit the perception of more subtle color changes. A
spectrometer or
another sort of sensor system can be optionally employed to evaluate the color
and/or the intensity
of the light reflected from the illuminated body part. For example, the
systems and methods of the
present invention can be adapted for the diagnosis of early circulatory
compromise following
vascular procedures. Common vascular procedures which can be complicated by
circulatory
compromise include surgical vascular reconstructions or revascularizations,
surgical replantations,
free tissue transfers, embolectomies, percutaneous angioplasties and related
endovascular
procedures, and medical thrombolytic therapies. The systems and methods
disclosed herein can be
adapted for the evaluation of tissues within the body by providing an LED
system capable of
implantation and removal and by providing a sensor system capable of
implantation and removal,
the former system adapted for directing illumination at a body part within the
body and the latter
system adapted for receiving color data from the light that is reflected or
absorbed by the target
body part. Systems and methods adapted for the evaluation of internal body
parts can be
advantageous in the monitoring of buried free flaps, for example. The lack of
heat generated by the
LED system makes it feasible to implant it without subjecting the surrounding
tissues to heat
trauma. Practitioners skilled in the relevant arts can identify other
conditions besides ischemia that
can be diagnosed using the methods disclosed herein. The full spectrum of
light available from the
LED systems disclosed herein is particularly advantageous for diagnosis of a
plurality of
conditions.
As a further example of the methods described herein, the LED system can be
used to
illuminate the retina for ophthalmological examination. Variation in light
color can facilitate
ophthalmological examination, for example the diagnosis of ietinal hemorrhage
or the evaluation
of the retinal vessels. Practitioners of these arts will be able to envision
other forms of retinopathy
that are suitable for diagnosis using these methods. In one embodiment, an LED
system can be
integrated in a slit lamp apparatus for ophthalmological examination. In an
additional embodiment,
the LED system can be adapted for use in ophthalmological surgery. As an
example, the LED
system is capable of assisting in the localization of mature and hypermature
cataracts, and is
capable of assisting in the surgical extraction of cataracts.
One practice of these methods for diagnosing a condition of a body part can
comprise
administering an agent to the patient that will be delivered to the body part,
whereby the agent
alters the characteristic of the light reflected from the body part. An agent
is any bioactive
substance available for administration into the patient's tissues. An agent
can include a drug, a
radioisotope, a vitamin, a vital dye, a microorganism, a cell, a protein, a
chemical, or any other
substance understood to be bioactive. An agent can be administered by any
route which will permit
the agent to be delivered to the body part being evaluated. Administration can
include intravenous
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injection, intramuscular injection, intraarterial injection, ingestion,
inhalation, topical application,
intrathecal delivery, intraluminal or intravesical delivery, subcutaneous
delivery or any other route.
The full spectrum of light provided by the systems and methods disclosed
heiein is advantageously
employed in conjunction with certain administered agents.
An example of an agent known to alter the characteristic of light reflected
from a body
part is fluoroscein, a vital dye applied topically for ophthalmic purposes or
injected intravenously
to evaluate vascular perfusion. When illuminated by a Wood's lamp, fluoroscein
glows green.
Wood's lamp, though, is not adaptable to many surgical situations because of
its physical
configuration. Fluoroscein administered to remote body parts cannot be
illuminated by a Wood's
lamp, nor can the fluorescence be seen in a body part too remote to inspect.
Illuminating the
tissues with an LED system after the administration of a vital dye such as
fluoroscein can produce
a characteristic pattern of reflected light. This reflected light can be
evaluated by direct
visualization, by remote visualization or by a light sensor system. Other
agents will be familiar to
those of skill in these arts, whereby their administration permits the
evaluation of a body part
subjected to LED illumination.
As one example, gliomas are understood to have a different uptake of vital dye
than other
brain tissues. Directing an LED system at a glioma after the administration of
vital dye can permit
more complete excision of the tumor with preservation of surrounding normal
brain tissue. This
excision can be performed under the operating microscope, to which can be
affixed the LED
system for illuminating the brain tissues. The lack of heat generation by the
LED system makes it
particularly advantageous in this setting. As an additional example, the LED
system can be
combined with fluoroscein dye applied topically to the surface of the eye for
ophthalmological
evaluation. As yet another example, the LED system combined with fluoroscein
can permit
diagnosis of ischemia in patients whose skin pigmentation may prevent the
evaluation of skin
ischemia using traditional methods such as Wood's lamp illumination. As
disclosed in part above,
these systems and methods can advantageously be directed towards body parts
within the human
body for evaluation of those body parts after the administration of an agent
taken up by the body
part.
The methods according to the present invention can be directed towards
effecting a change
in a material. In a practice of these methods, a change in a material can be
effected by providing an
LED system, selecting a range of colors from the spectrum that are known to
produce the change
in the material being illuminated, and illuminating the material with the LED
system for a period
of time predetermined to be effective in producing that change. The methods
disclosed herein are
directed to a plurality of materials, both non-biological materials and
biological entities. A
biological entity can include a living organism. A living organism can include
a vertebrate. A
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living organism can include an invertebrate. A biological entity can be
treated with light exposure
in order to effect a change in its structure, physiology or psychology. For
example, persons
afflicted with the depressive syndrome termed seasonal affective disorder are
understood to be
benefited psychologically by exposure to illumination with light of known
characteristics for
predetermined periods of time. The illumination can be provided directly to
the living organism,
for example to the person with seasonal affective disorder. Alternatively, the
illumination can be
provided to the environment surrounding the person. For example, illumination
can be provided by
a room light comprising an LED system that can provide light with the
predetermined
characteristics.
As a practice of these methods, a condition of a patient can be treated. This
practice can
comprise providing an LED system, selecting a set of colors that produce a
therapeutic effect and
illuminating an area of the patient with the set of colors. A therapeutic
effect is understood to be
any effect that improves health or well-being. According to this practice, a
pathological condition
can be treated. Alternatively, a normal condition can be treated to effect an
enhanced state of well-
being. The area being illuminated can include the extemal surface of the
patient, to wit, the skin or
any part of the skin. The external surface of the patient can be illuminated
directly or via ambient
illumination in the environment. These methods can be likewise applied to
internal body parts of a
patient.
FIG. 94 shows a practice of these methods. This figure depicts a patient 2180
afflicted
with a lesion 2172 on an external surface, here shown to be his cheek 2174. A
LED system 2178 is
directed to provide direct illumination to the lesion 2172. Here the LED
system 2178 is shown
affixed to the distal end of a positioning system 2182. Other arrangements for
positioning the LED
system can be envisioned by those of ordinary skill in these arts. It is
understood that illumination
of dermatological lesions with different spectra of light can have therapeutic
effect. For example,
acne, Bowen's disease of the penis and certain other skin cancers have
responded to treatment with
illumination. As another example, certain intranasal conditions are understood
to respond to
illumination therapies. In one practice of these methods, an agent can be
administered to the
patient that alters or increases the therapeutic effect of the set of colors
of light directed towards
the area being treated.
A variety of agents are familiar to practitioners in the arts relating to
phototherapy and
photodynamic therapy. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is understood to comprise
certain procedures
that include the steps of administering an agent to a patient and illuminating
the patient with a light
source. Laser light is typically involved in PDT. Since the illumination
provided by the LED
system can provide full spectrum lighting, including infrared, visible and
ultraviolet light spectra,
the LED system is available for those therapeutic applications that rely on
norfvisible light
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wavelengths. A number of applications of topical illumination have been
described in the relevant
arts. LED technology has the additional advantage of avoiding heat generation,
so prolonged
illumination can be accomplished without tissue damage.
Although the practice depicted in FIG. 94 shows an LED system 2178 directed
towards
the skin of a patient 2180, various practices of this method can apply an LED
system for
illuminating body parts. Treatment can be directed towards internal or
external body parts using
modalities familiar to practitioners for accessing the particular body part.
As described above,
open surgical techniques or endoscopic techniques can be employed to access
internal body parts.
For example, an intraluminal tumor can be treated using these methods as
applied through an
endoscope such as a colonoscope or a cystoscope. Alternatively, illumination
therapy can be
provided following or during a surgical procedure. For example, following
surgical extirpation of a
tumor, an agent can be administered that is taken up by the residual
microscopic tumor in the field
and the surgical field can be illuminated by an LED system to sterilize any
remaining tumor
nodules. These methods can be employed palliatively for reducing tumor burden
after gross
excision. As another practice, these methods can be directed towards
metastatic lesions that can be
accessed directly or endoscopically.
These embodiments described herein are merely illustrative. A variety of
embodiments
pertaining to precision illumination can be envisioned by ordinary skilled
practitioners in these arts
without departing from the scope of the present invention.
In other embodiments of the present invention, LEDs are used to create
attractive and
useful ornamental or aesthetic effects. Such applications include disposition
of the LEDs in various
environments, such as those disclosed above, including multicolor, LED-based
eyeglass rims, an
LED-lit screwdriver, a multi color light source for artistic lamps or
displays, such as a multicolor
LED source for a Lava lamp, and LED-based ornamental fire or fire log with a
simulated fire
flicker pattern and coloring, a light-up toothbrush or hairbrush using LEDs or
other lighting
devices. LEDs may also be disposed on ceiling fan blades for to create unusual
lighting patterns
for artistic effects or display. In particular, pattern generation may be
possible with addition of
LEDs to the blades of a fan. Also in accordance with the present invention are
an LED-based
ornamental simulated candle, a multicolor, LED-based light rope, an LED
battery charge indicator
and an LED color sensor feedback mechanism, through which an LED may respond
to tension,
temperature, pressure, cavitation, temperature, or moisture. Thus, an LED
disposed near the body
can serve as a skin temperature and skin moisture feedback color mechanism.
Also provided is an
LED-based multicolor hand held wand or indicator light. In particular, wands
are provided that are
similar to the popular glow sticks, which are widely used in the modern
dance/night clubs and for
dance expression. Multicolor electronic versions allow color control features
as well as remote
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synchronization via a master lighting controller, provided that the LEDs are
connected to a
receiver and the master controller includes a transmitter. The LED-based
personal devices are
reusable, unlike chemically based current devices. The master controller may
also control other
LED items, such as drink coasters made of LEDs, in a controlled, synchronized
manner. Such
controllers can be used to control an LED disco ball, in which LEDs are
disposed on the exterior
or a sphere or other three-dimensional shape and may be controlled to simulate
the flashing of a
conventional disco ball. For example, effect simulated by the ball include
ball strobe, spot
movement, color changing, line lighting and plane lighting.
The present invention permits the user to control LEDs at the individual diode
level. The
effects that may be produced by generating light of a range of colors within
the spectrum permit a
number of useful applications in a wide range of technological fields. Among
other effects, the
controlled LEDs can produce color washes that can be instantly varied
discretely or continuously
over a wide range of colors and intensities, and that can flash or strobe with
a wide range of
frequencies. Applying a continuous range of color washes results in a number
of unusual effects,
some of which are aesthetically appealing, functionally valuable, or both. For
example, affecting
the same object with light of different colors may yield a very different
appearance, as is readily
apparent when, for example, a white object is shown under a so-called "black
light." An observer
viewing the object will perceive a change of color in the object being
observed. Thus, a red object
illuminated with a red light appears very different from a red object
illuminated with a blue light.
The former may be a vivid red, whereas the latter may appear purple or black.
When objects
having color contrast are viewed under colored lights, quite different effects
may result. For
example, a red and white checkerboard pattern may appear completely red under
a red light, while
the checkerboard pattern is evident under a white light. By strobing red and
white light in an
alternating time sequence over such a pattern, the white squares on the
checkerboard will seem to
appear and disappear. More complex patterns, such as those in multi-color
paintings, can result in
remarkable effects, such as disappearing and reappearing figures, or figures
that undergo dramatic
color changes to an observer. The appearance of movement, color change and
appearance and
disappearance can result in animation-like effects from a single still
photograph, painting, design,
or image, merely as a result of controlled lighting changes. Similarly,
selecting appropriate light
conditions can result in dramatic changes in the relative contrast of
different-colored items. Items
that have little contrast under certain lighting conditions may be perceived
to have dramatic
contrast under different color conditions. Furthermore, the spectrum of the
light produced
according to embodiments of the present invention extends to infrared and
ultraviolet light,
allowing the incorporation of effects such as fluorescence into the display.
The lighting changes
employed may be pre-programmed, or may be responsive to the environment of the
lighting
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system, such as to the proximity of people, to the ambient lighting
conditions, to the location of the
display, or to the time of day.
As an example, in FIG. 95 at the top, the numeral 88 is intended to represent
such a
numeral that is colored with green in the top half of the eights (3100) and
red in the bottom half of
the eights (3150). When lit with white light, the numera188 so colored will
appear to have green in
the top half (3100) and red in the bottom half (3150). When lit with green
light, as shown in the
middle of FIG. 95, the top half of the 88 (3100) still will appear green, but
the bottom half (3150),
originally red, will appear black. When lit with red light, as shown at the
bottom of FIG. 95, the
top half of the 88 (3100), originally green, will appear black, and the bottom
half (3150) will
appear red. Thus, by Gradually changing the color of the illumination, the
different portions of the
numeral will alternately stand out and fade to black. As will be apparent to a
person of ordinary
skill in the art, this technique can be used to create images designed to
appear and disappear as the
color of the illuminating light is altered. In addition, other color effects
can be produced. For
example, shining blue light on the two halves of the numeral would produce a
blu&green color in
the top half 3100 of the numeral and a purple color in the bottom half 3150.
As a second example, FIG. 96 at the top shows a pair of interlocking circles
(left 3200,
right 3205). When lit with white light, as shown at the. top, the drawing is
intended to represent the
following colors: the left crescent (3210) represents green, the right
crescent (3220) represents red,
the overlapping area (3230) is black, and the background (3240) is white. When
lit with green
light, as shown in the middle of FIG. 96, the left crescent (3210) appears
green, the right crescent
(3220), originally red, is now black, the overlapping area (3230) remains
black, and the
background (3240), originally white, appears green. Thus, the left crescent
(3210) can no longer be
distinguished from the background (3240), and the entire rightmost circle
(3205) now appears
black. When lit with red light, as shown at the bottom of FIG. 96, the left
crescent (3210),
originally green, now appears black, the right crescent (3220) appears red,
the overlapping area
(3230) appears black, and the background (3240), originally white, now appears
red. Thus, the
right crescent (3220) can no longer be distinguished from the background
(3240) and the leftmost
circle (3200) appears black. By changing the color of the illumination from
green to red over time,
the circle appears to move from right to left, imparting the illusion of
motion to an observer. A
skilled artisan will appreciate that variations upon this example will allow
the creation of myriad
displays that function in a like manner, permitting animation effects to be
produced from a single
image or object.
The nature of the lighting system of the present invention permits gradual
chances of color
from one side of a system to another. Furthermore, the color change can
progress gradually along
the system, effectively simulating motion of the color change. Additionally,
the light can be
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delivered in a constant manner, or by flashing or strobing the lights.
Flashing can also be
programmed to occur with simultaneous change of color. These abilities, which
can be directed by
a microprocessor, can grant additional impetus and vitality to the effects
described above.
It will also be apparent that similar effects can be obtained by passing
colored light
through a transparent or translucent colored screen, such as a stained glass
window or a
photographic slide, placed between the light source and an observer.
It will also be obvious to the skilled artisan that these el'fects can be used
in more complex
displays to create eye-catching illusions of motion and phantom objects that
alternately emerge
from and fade into the background. Such effects are particularly advantageous
when used in
applications such as museum exhibits, dioramas, display cases, retail
displays, vending machines,
display signs, information boards (including traffic information signs, silent
radios, scoreboards,
price boards, and advertisement boards), advertising displays, and other
situations where the
attracting the attention of observers is desired. Because the light generated
according to
embodiments of the present invention can include ultraviolet and infrared
light, the objects can
incorporate effects such as fluorescence that are particular to illumination
with such light.
A vending machine, as contemplated by the present invention, is an apparatus
which
dispenses products contained therein, such as a soda machine, a snack machine,
a gumball
machine, a cigarette machine, a condom machine, or a novelty dispenser.
Illumination provided
according to the present invention can be used to attract the attention of an
observer in a variety of
ways. For example, a hypothetical olive-dispensing vending machine (3300)
using a dove as a logo
is depicted in FIG. 97. As seen in standard white light, depicted at the top
of FIG. 97, the backing
of the machine (3310) is white, the body of the dove (3320) is black, an upper
set of wings (3330)
are intended to be green, and a lower set of wings (3340) are intended to be
red. When the color of
the lighting in the machine is changed to red as in the middle of FIG. 97, the
lower set of wings
(3340), originally red, are invisible against the backing (3310) which now
appears red. The upper
set of wings (3330), originally green, appear black under red light, and so
the image of the dove
appears black with wings raised. When the color of the lighting in the machine
is changed to green
as shown in the bottom of FIG. 97, the upper set of wings (3330), originally
green, now are
invisible against the backing (3310), which now appears green. The lower set
of wings (3340),
originally red, now appear black in green light. Thus, the image of the dove
appears black with
wings raised. In this manner, the image of the dove appears to flap its wings,
even though there is
no actual motion. The illusion is created simply by changing the color of the
light. It should be
recognized that much more complicated effects can be produced by using of
objects of many
different colors and illuminating the objects with a wide variety of colors
within the spectrum,
ranging from infrared, to visible, to ultraviolet.
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The vending machine of this and related embodiments may include an LED system
(3370)
illuminating the vending machine. The LED system may, in embodiments, include
a light module
100, a smart light bulb 701, or another embodiment of an LED system, such as
those disclosed
herein. Accordingly, the LED system may have one or more of the
characteristics and provide one
or more of the functions of the various other embodiments disclosed elsewhere
herein. It should be
noted that the light source need not be disposed inside the vending machine,
but may be placed
outside the vending machine in any position that permits the light source to
illuminate the vending
machine. Those skilled in the art will recognize many opportunities for
designing displays to take
advantage of the color-changing attributes of the lighting systems of the
present invention.
As another technique available to the olive distributor of the above example,
objects or
designs may be made to appear and disappear as the color of light is changed.
If the olive
distributor should name its dove 'Oliver', this name might appear in the
vending machine (3300)
as shown in FIG. 98. The backing of the vending machine (3310) is white (FIG.
98, top), and
displayed thereon are a dove (3350) colored red and the dove's name, 'Oliver',
(3360) in green
lettering. When the lighting in the vending machine is changed to green (FIG.
98, center), the
lettering (3360) disappears against the green background (33 10), while the
dove (3350) appears
black. When the lighting is changed to red (FIG. 98, bottom), the dove (3350)
disappears against
the background, which now also appears red, and the lettering (3360) appears
black. Thus, by
changing only the color of the light, the display in the vending machine
varies between a dove, and
the dove's name. This sort of a display is eye-catching, and therefore useful
for advertising
purposes.
Additionally, attention-grabbing effects can be achieved independent of a
specific display
tailored to take advantage of the color-changing properties of the lighting
system of the present
invention. The lights may be positioned within or about the display such that
the color changes of
the lights themselves serve to draw attention to the display. In one
embodiment, the lights are
positioned behind the display, such as behind a non-opaque backing of a
vending machine, so that
changing the color of the light is sufficient to attract attention from
observers.
The above examples are intended for illustration only, and are not limiting
with respect to
the scope of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will readily
devise other ways of using
the lighting systems disclosed herein to achieve a variety of effects which
attract the attention of
observers, and these effects are encompassed by the present invention.
The present invention permits the user to change the lighting environment by
strobing
between different colors while taking feedback or spectrum sensor data from
the surrounding
environment. Such strobes may include a variable-cycle frequency color washing
strobing effect
using arrayed LEDs. The strobes may thus flash rapidly between colors, or may
slowly change
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throughout the spectrum in a programmed order. The strobing effect can make
otherwise
unremarkable objects appear quite distinct and aesthetically appealing.
Moreover, objects such as
paintings may appear to become quite animated when periodically strobed with
different colors of
light. The attractive illumination effects of the variable frequency strobe
permit improved,
dynamic lighting environments in areas where lighting is attractive to
customers, such as in retail
stores, restaurants, museums and the like. The effect may be particularly
useful in conjunction with
the display of art, such as in art galleries, where known works of art may be
radically changed by
different lighting conditions. With works of art, for example, the lighting
conditions may be
controlled to reproduce the light intended by the creator, such as sunlight.
Furthermore, the
lighting system of the present invention can be used to project infrared and
ultraviolet light, in
addition to the more common visible wavelengths, and these uncommon
frequencies can be used
to induce fluorescence and other interesting effects.
In one embodiment of the invention, digitally-controlled, LED-based lights
according to
the present invention are used to illuminate a non-opaque object for display
purposes. In one
aspect of the invention, the object is a container containing a fluid, both of
which may be
substantially transparent. In one aspect, the container is a bottle of gin,
vodka, rum, water, soda
water, soft drink, or other beverage. An example of such a display is depicted
in FIG. 99, wherein
a beverage container (3500) is placed on a platform (3510) lit by an LED
system (3370).
Furthermore, the light source may be disposed on a coaster, to illuminate an
individual drink from
below. The LED system may, in embodiments, include a light module 100, a smart
light bulb 701,
or another embodiment of an LED system, such as those disclosed herein.
Accordingly, the LED
system may have one or more of the characteristics and provide one or more of
the functions of the
various other embodiments disclosed elsewhere herein. In another aspect, the
object is a tank of
substantially transparent liquid, such as a fish tank or aquarium. In yet
another aspect, the object is
a non-opaque solid object, such as an ice sculpture, glass figurine, crystal
workpiece, or plastic
statue. In another aspect, the light source is placed into a Lava Lamp to
provide illumination
thereof
The present invention also permits projection of attractive effects or works
of art. In
particular, in an embodiment of the present invention, a LED-based
illumination source is used for
projection images or patterns. This system may utilize an LED light source
with a series of lenses
and/or diffusers, an object containing distinct transparent and opaque areas
such as a pattern,
stencil, gobo, photographic slide, LCD display, micro3nirror device, or the
like, and a final
shaping lens. Only the light source, the patterned object, and a surface to
receive the projection are
necessary for this embodiment. This embodiment, for example, can be used to
project a logo or
sign onto a ceiling, floor, or wall, or onto a sidewalk outside of a business.
In an alternate
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embodiment, the light may be projected on a cloud, a screen, or a fabric
surface. The present
invention is particularly advantageous in this regard, because it permits
variation of the color of the
projection coupled with a light source that does not generate heat.
The color strobe effect of the present invention may be used to create
improved display
case lighting, such as multicolor display case lighting. The lighting may be
provided as part of a
modular lighting system or in a standalone control panel. In general, the
present lighting system
may be used to alter lighting environment, such as work environments, museums,
restaurants and
the like. In certain applications, special lighting is required, such as in
museums, where low UV
lighting or heatless lighting may be needed. In other applications, such as
cooled display cases, or
illuminating edible objects such as food, the heatless light sources of the
present invention offer
advantages over standard incandescent lighting, which emits significant
amounts of heat, while
providing light of variable color. Standard fluorescent lighting, which also
generates little heat, is
often considered to look unappealing. The present invention projects
attractive lighting of a
controlled, variable spectrum without accompanying heat, while maintaining the
flexibility to
change the parameters of the generated light.
LED systems of the present invention may be imbedded in articles of clothing
to permit
light to be projected from the clothing (FIG. 100). The LEDs may be mounted on
a flexible circuit
board and covered with latex, vinyl, plastic, cotton, etc. This embodiment
includes a method for
creating light weight flexible material suited for the construction of
clothing. Sandwich of fabrics
and silicone are provided, which then are lit by an LED. Conventional clothing
using LEDs
includes discrete LEDs in the form of words or patterns formed by the points
of light. The LED-
based clothing of the present invention may light clothing fabric without
protruding. The LED-
based clothing of the present invention may be controlled via a radio
frequency or infrared signal
by a remote control or a master controller having a transmitter element. The
clothing can be made
to fit the wearer in a manner that permits disposition of the LEDs in close
proximity over the body,
permitting the user's external appearance to be modified, for example to
simulate an appearance,
such as nudity or a particular type of clothing. The clothing can be paired
with a sensor to allow
the LED system to display a condition of the user, such as heart rate, or the
like.
The utility of such clothing can be manifested in many ways. An LED display so
disposed
in the clothing can be used purely for effect, to generate dazzling patterns,
visual effects, and the
like. The LED displays can represent real-world images, such as the
surrounding environment, or
may simply reflect surrounding conditions by changing color in response to
external data such as
temperature, lighting conditions, or pressure. These displays might also be
responsive to the
proximity of a similar garment, or might receive data from transmitters in the
environment. In one
embodiment, the display on the clothing is responsive to pressure. Clothing of
this embodiment
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might be worn in a sporting event to provide visual evidence of illegal
contact. For example, in the
game of baseball, a batter who is struck by the ball would have visible
evidence thereof on the
portion of clothing so struck. Furthermore, the clothing could include
appropriate processors to
enable recent data to be repeated on the clothing, effectively creating an
'instant replay' of the
previous event. Clothing of these and related embodiments may include the
sensors required for
such responsive requirements.
In yet another embodiment, the display on the clothing could be a medical
imaging
display. Data from magnetic resonance imaging, for example, could be
represented in three
dimensions on the surface of clothing worn by the patient as an aid to
physicians visualizing the
information. Similarly, such clothing could serve as a wearable video screen
for any application,
such as television, video games, and related displays. The clothing could also
be programmed to
display a series of predetermined images. For example, pictures might be taken
of a person
wearing a series of outfits, the person might put on LED display clothing, the
picture data might be
adjusted for optimal correspondence with the LED clothing, and then the images
might be serially
displayed on the clothing to simulate instantaneous changes of clothing.
Images may also be
controlled remotely. Those skilled in the art will envision many related
applications of this
embodiment.
While the invention has been disclosed in connection with the preferred
embodiments
shown and described in detail, various modifications and improvements thereon
will become
readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the spirit and
scope of the present
invention is to be limited only by the following claims.
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