Multicolored LED lighting method and apparatus
AssigneeColor Kinetics Incorporated
InventorsGeorge G. Mueller, Ihor A. Lys
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The systems and methods described herein relate to LED systems capable of generating light, such as for illumination or display purposes. The light-emitting LEDs may be controlled by a processor to alter the brightness and/or color of the generated light, e.g., by using pulse-width modulated signals. Thus, the resulting illumination may be controlled by a computer program to provide complex, predesigned patterns of light in virtually any environment.
Claims144
An illumination apparatus, comprising:
- at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum;
- at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum;
- and
- at least one controller coupled to the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED and configured to respond to user operation of at least one user interface in communication with the at least one controller, the at least one controller further configured to independently control at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to the user operation,
- wherein the at least one controller is configured to implement a pulse width modulation (PWM) technique to control at least the first intensity of the first radiation and the second intensity of the second radiation.
In an illumination apparatus comprising at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum and at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum, an illumination control method, comprising an act of:
- a) independently controlling at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to user operation of at least one user interface,
- wherein the act a) includes an act of:
- b) implementing a pulse width modulation (PWM) technique to control at least the first intensity of the first radiation and the second intensity of the second radiation.
In an illumination apparatus comprising at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum and at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum, an illumination control method, comprising an act of:
- a) implementing a pulse width modulation (PWM) technique to control at least the first intensity of the first radiation and the second intensity of the second radiation such that at least one potentially observable artifact in at least the first radiation and the second radiation is reduced.
An illumination apparatus, comprising:
- at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum;
- at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum;
- at least one controller coupled to the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED and configured to respond to user operation of at least one user interface in communication with the at least one controller, the at least one controller further configured to independently control at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to the user operation;
- and
- at least one sensor to monitor at least one detectable condition,
- wherein the at least one controller is configured to further control the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED in response to the at least one detectable condition.
An illumination apparatus, comprising:
- at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum;
- at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum;
- at least one controller coupled to the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED and configured to respond to user operation of at least one user interface in communication with the at least one controller, the at least one controller further configured to independently control at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to the user operation;
- and
- at least one transceiver coupled to the at least one controller and configured to communicate at least one IR signal or at least one electromagnetic signal.
An illumination apparatus, comprising:
- at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum;
- at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum;
- and
- at least one controller coupled to the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED and configured to respond to user operation of at least one user interface in communication with the at least one controller, the at least one controller further configured to independently control at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to the user operation,
- wherein:
- the at least one controller includes at least one first register associated with the at least one first LED and at least one second register associated with the at least one second LED;
- and
- the at least one controller is configured to program the at least one first register and the at least one second register based on the user operation.
An illumination apparatus, comprising:
- at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum;
- at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum;
- and
- at least one controller coupled to the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED and configured to respond to user operation of at least one user interface in communication with the at least one controller, the at least one controller further configured to independently control at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to the user operation,
- wherein the at least one controller includes at least one adjustable regulator configured to variably regulate power to at least one of the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED.
An illumination apparatus, comprising:
- at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum;
- at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum;
- and
- at least one controller coupled to the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED and configured to respond to user operation of at least one user interface in communication with the at least one controller, the at least one controller further configured to independently control at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to the user operation,
- wherein:
- the at least one controller includes a first switch and a second switch respectively associated with the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED;
- and
- the at least one controller is configured to control the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED by turning the first and second switches on and off at high speeds.
In an illumination apparatus comprising at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum and at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum, an illumination control method, comprising acts of:
- a) receiving at least one signal formatted at least in part using a DMX protocol and including lighting information based at least in part on user operation of at least one user interface;
- and
- b) controlling at least the first intensity and the second intensity based at least in part on the lighting information.
An illumination apparatus, comprising:
- at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum;
- at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum;
- at least one user interface;
- and
- at least one controller coupled to the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED and configured to respond to user operation of the at least one user interface, the at least one controller further configured to independently control at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to the user operation,
- wherein the at least one user interface comprises at least one external adjustment means.
An illumination apparatus, comprising:
- at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum;
- at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum;
- and
- at least one controller coupled to the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED and configured to respond to user operation of at least one user interface in communication with the at least one controller, the at least one controller further configured to independently control at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to the user operation,
- wherein the at least one controller is configured as an addressable controller capable of receiving at least one network signal including lighting information for a plurality of illumination apparatus.
In an illumination apparatus comprising at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum, at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum, and at least one sensor to monitor at least one detectable condition, an illumination control method, comprising acts of:
- independently controlling at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to user operation of at least one user interface;
- and
- controlling the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED in response to the at least one detectable condition.
In an illumination apparatus comprising at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum and at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum, an illumination control method, comprising acts of:
- independently controlling at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to user operation of at least one user interface;
- and
- communicating with the illumination apparatus via at least one IR signal or at least one electromagnetic signal.
In an illumination apparatus comprising at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum and at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum, an illumination control method, comprising an act of:
- a) independently controlling at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to user operation of at least one user interface, wherein the illumination apparatus includes at least one first register associated with the at least one first LED and at least one second register associated with the at least one second LED, and wherein the act a) includes an act of:
- programming the at least one first register and the at least one second register based on the user operation of the at least one user interface.
In an illumination apparatus comprising at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum and at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum, an illumination control method, comprising acts of:
- independently controlling at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to user operation of at least one user interface;
- and
- variably regulating power to at least one of the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED.
In an illumination apparatus comprising at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum and at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum, an illumination control method, comprising an act of:
- a) independently controlling at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to user operation of at least one user interface, wherein each of the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED is associated with a switch, and wherein the act a) includes an act of:
- controlling the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED by turning the respective switches on and off at high speeds.
In an illumination apparatus comprising at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum and at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum, an illumination control method, comprising an act of:
- a) independently controlling at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to user operation of at least one user interface, wherein the act a) includes acts of:
- a1) receiving at least one network signal including lighting information;
- and
- a2) controlling at least the first intensity and the second intensity based at least in part on the lighting information.
An illumination apparatus, comprising:
- at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum;
- at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum;
- and
- at least one controller coupled to the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED and configured to respond to at least one signal formatted at least in part using a DMX protocol, the at least one signal including lighting information based at least in part on user operation of at least one user interface in communication with the at least one controller, the at least one controller further configured to independently control at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to the lighting information.
An illumination apparatus, comprising:
- at least one first LED adapted to output at least first radiation having a first spectrum;
- at least one second LED adapted to output second radiation having a second spectrum different than the first spectrum;
- at least one controller coupled to the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED and configured to respond to user operation of at least one user interface in communication with the at least one controller, the at least one controller further configured to independently control at least a first intensity of the first radiation and a second intensity of the second radiation in response to the user operation;
- and
- at least one modular connection to facilitate coupling of the at least one controller to the at least one first LED and the at least one second LED.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.