Lighting system including time of flight ranging system

A lighting system comprising:

• a light emitting diode array;
• a ranging light source;
• a reflected light detector comprising a photodetector capable of operating in Geiger mode;
• a logic circuit configured to
• selectively activate the ranging light source to cause the ranging light source to emit ranging light,
• supply a voltage to the photodetector at a level sufficient to operate the photodetector in Geiger mode when the light emitting diode array is not activated, and to supply the voltage to the photodetector at a level insufficient to operate the photodetector in Geiger mode when the light emitting diode array is activated;
• monitor output from the reflected light detector to detect reflected ranging light that has reflected off an object and back to the reflected light detector,
• determine a distance to the object based upon time elapsed between activating the ranging light source and detecting the reflected ranging light,
• control the light emitting diode array based upon the distance to the object.

A lighting system, comprising

• a light emitting diode array;
• a ranging light source;
• a reflected light detector;
• a logic circuit configured to
• activate the ranging light source to cause the ranging light source to emit ranging light,
• monitor output from the reflected light detector to detect reflected ranging light that has reflected off an object and back to the reflected light detector,
• determine a distance to the object based upon time elapsed between activating the ranging light source and detecting the reflected ranging light, and
• control the light emitting diode array based upon the distance to the object;
• and
• a logic block coupled between the reflected light detector and the logic circuit, the logic block configured to block signals from the reflected light detector from reaching the logic circuit when the light emitting diode array is activated.

A lighting system, comprising

• a light emitting diode array;
• a ranging light source;
• a reflected light detector;
• a logic circuit configured to
• activate the ranging light source to cause the ranging light source to emit ranging light,
• monitor output from the reflected light detector to detect reflected ranging light that has reflected off an object and back to the reflected light detector,
• determine a distance to the object based upon time elapsed between activating the ranging light source and detecting the reflected ranging light, and
• control the light emitting diode array based upon the distance to the object;
• and
• a first supply node configured to supply a first voltage to the light emitting diode array, and a second supply node configured to supply a second voltage less than the first voltage to the time of flight ranging system.

A method of operating a lighting system comprising:

• emitting ranging light from a ranging light source comprising a vertical cavity surface emitting laser;
• detecting reflected ranging light that has reflected off an object and back to a reflected light detector comprising a Geiger mode avalanche photodetector;
• determining a distance to the object based upon time elapsed between emitting the ranging light and detecting the reflected ranging light, using a logic circuit;
• and
• controlling a light emitting diode array based upon the distance to the object, using the logic circuit.