Intelligent manifold assemblies for a light source, light sources including intelligent manifold assemblies, and methods of operating the same
AssigneeHeraeus Noblelight America LLC
InventorsWilliam E. Johnson, III, Darrin Leonhardt, William Curtis Harper, Mahmood Gharagozloo, Arunachalam Jawahar
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Abstract
A manifold assembly for distribution of a cooling fluid configured for use with a light source is provided. The manifold assembly includes a fluid manifold for providing a cooling fluid to a lamp head assembly of the light source, at least one sensor for sensing at least one characteristic of the cooling fluid in the fluid manifold, and a microprocessor for receiving information related to the at least one characteristic from the at least one sensor.
Claims20
A manifold assembly for distribution of a cooling fluid configured for use with a light source, the manifold assembly comprising:
- (a) a fluid manifold for providing a cooling fluid to a lamp head assembly of the light source;
- (b) at least one sensor for sensing at least one characteristic of the cooling fluid in the fluid manifold;
- (c) a microprocessor for receiving information related to the at least one characteristic from the at least one sensor;
- and
- (d) a static memory device in communication with the microprocessor, the static memory device including at least one of (i) read only data related to the at least one sensor, and (ii) data written by the microprocessor related to operation of the at least one sensor.
A light source comprising:
- (a) a lamp head assembly including at least one light producing device;
- and
- (b) a manifold assembly for distributing a cooling fluid, the manifold assembly being configured for use with the lamp head assembly, the manifold assembly including
- (i) a fluid manifold for providing the cooling fluid to the lamp head assembly,
- (ii) at least one sensor for sensing at least one characteristic of the cooling fluid in the fluid manifold,
- (iii) a microprocessor for receiving information related to the at least one characteristic of the cooling fluid sensed by the at least one sensor, and
- (iv) a static memory device in communication with the microprocessor, the static memory device including at least one of (i) read only data related to the at least one sensor, and (ii) data written by the microprocessor related to operation of the at least one sensor.
A method of operating a manifold assembly for distributing a cooling fluid, the manifold assembly being configured for use with a light source, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a cooling fluid to the manifold assembly for cooling a light source;
- (b) sensing at least one characteristic of the cooling fluid at the manifold assembly using at least one sensor;
- (c) transmitting data including information related to the at least one characteristic sensed by the at least one sensor to a microprocessor included in the manifold assembly, and
- (d) communicating, by the microprocessor, with a static memory device of the manifold assembly, the static memory device including at least one of (i) read only data related to the at least one sensor, and (ii) data written by the microprocessor related to operation of the at least one sensor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.