Reconfigurable optical fiber spectrometer in a lighting device

• US 10,458,844 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2017
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ABL IP Holding LLC (Acuity Brands, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ABL IP Holding LLC (Acuity Brands, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ramer, David P., Rains, Jr., Jack C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Geisel, Kara E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cook, Jonathon
• Application Number:
  US15/668,246
• Publication Number:
  US 20180058930A1
• Time in Patent Office: 817 Days
• Field of Search: 356326
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0218 using optical fibers
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0264 Electrical interface; User interface
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0291 Housings; Spectrometer accessories; Spatial arrangement of elements, e.g. folded path arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/10 Arrangements of light sources specially adapted for spectrometry or colorimetry
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/28 Investigating the spectrum using colour filters G01J3/51
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/42 Absorption spectrometry; Double beam spectrometry; Flicker spectrometry; Reflection spectrometry beam switching arrangements G01J3/08
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0006 Coupling light into the fibre in general G02B6/4298

Abstract

A spectrometer-equipped lighting device detects substances in an environment around the device. A fiber detector is optically coupled to receive light from a light source. The fiber detector has a bare area from which emanates an evanescent wave of light surrounding an exterior of the fiber detector to interact with the environment in which the fiber detector is exposed. The spectrometer, optically coupled to an opposite end of the fiber detector, detects the light output and in response, generates signals representative of the spectral power distribution of the light of the evanescent wave that has interacted with the surrounding environment. A controller analyzes the spectrometer generated signals and initiates action based on the analysis of the generated signals or outputs a report indicating an environmental condition detected by the spectrometer-equipped device.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a lighting device configured to output light for general illumination in an environment, the lighting device comprising a light source;

a fiber detector optically coupled to the light source to receive a portion of light from the light source at a first end of the fiber detector, the fiber detector having a bare area exposed to air in the environment in which the lighting device is located such that an evanescent wave of the received light emanates and surrounds an exterior of the fiber detector to interact with the air in the environment in which the bare area of the fiber detector is exposed;

a spectrometer optically coupled to a second end of the fiber detector to receive light outputted from the fiber detector after the interaction of the evanescent wave with the air in the environment, the spectrometer configured to;

detect the light outputted from the fiber detector, and

generate signals representative of a spectral power distribution of the detected light, the generated signals corresponding to the interaction of the evanescent wave with the air in the environment;

a memory storing spectral reference data and program instructions; and

a processor operatively coupled to the memory, the light source and the spectrometer, wherein in response to executing the stored program instructions, the processor is configured to process the generated signals based on the stored spectral reference data.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the interaction of the evanescent wave of the light with the air in the environment diminishes spectral characteristics of the light.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the spectral reference data includes a reference spectral power distribution uniquely identifying a chemical composition, a biological material, or an environmental material, for comparison to one or more of the signals generated by the spectrometer.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein to process the signals, the processor is to:

control operation of the light source;

analyze the signals generated by the spectrometer in response to detecting the light outputted from the fiber detector in relation to the spectral reference data to detect an environmental condition in the environment in which the lighting device is located; and

generate a report of the detected environmental condition.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising:

a communication interface, wherein the processor is coupled to the communication interface;

a wireless transceiver coupled to the communication interface and to a wireless network, wherein the wireless transceiver is configured to;

transmit the report of the detected environmental condition output by the processor to a device external to the environment in which the lighting device is located.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive an updated spectral reference data, wherein the updated spectral reference data changes one or more of a number of the reference spectral power distributions uniquely identifying one of a chemical composition, a biological material, or an environmental material.

7. The system of claim 3, wherein:

the spectral reference data stored in the memory is stored as spectral reference data file containing data directed to a particular substance having one of a specific chemical composition, a specific biological material, or a specific environmental material identifiable from the spectrometer generated signals, and

the data includes an identifier corresponding to one of the specific chemical composition, the biological material or the environmental material.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive a spectral reference data file, wherein the spectral reference data file includes spectral power distribution data related to one or more substances present in the environment;

store the received data file in the memory;

access the stored data file in the memory, and

based on the analysis of the signals generated by the spectrometer in relation to the spectral power distribution data of the stored data file, identify one or more identifiers associated with one or more substances.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein to analyze the signals, the processor is to:

compare the signals generated by the spectrometer to the spectral power distribution data in the spectral reference data stored in the memory; and

based on the results of the comparison, identify one or more of identifiers in the spectral reference data that correspond to the spectrometer generated signal.

10. The system device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

in response to a predetermined output report, adjust an output of the light source.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the light source comprises a spectrometer light source having known light emission characteristics that emits light detectable by the spectrometer, and

the spectrometer light source is coupled to the first end of the fiber detector to transmit the light from the spectrometer light source to the spectrometer through the fiber detector.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the lighting device further comprises an additional source configured to output the light for general illumination in the environment.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a fan positioned relative to the lighting device, and configured to;

move the air from the environment in which the lighting device is located through a space in which the fiber detector is exposed to facilitate the interaction of the moved air with the bare area of the fiber detector.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the fiber detector is further configured to:

pass through a ceiling plane into an occupiable space in the vicinity of the environment in which the lighting device is installed.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the fiber detector is further configured to:

sample the air in the environment within a ceiling plenum in the vicinity of the space in which the lighting device is installed toward the spectrometer.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the optical coupling is configured to:

direct ambient sunlight from the environment in which the lighting device is installed towards the first end of the fiber detector.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the fiber detector is an optical fiber cable, the optical fiber cable further comprising:

a number of linear feet of the bare area along a length of the optical fiber cable that is exposed to the air from the environment in which the lighting device is located.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein the fiber detector is a waveguide.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the fiber detector is tangential to the lighting device such that the bare area of the fiber detector is tangential to an output surface of the lighting device.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the fiber detector comprises a shape resembling one of a sphere, a rectangle, a polygon or combinations thereof.

21. The system of claim 1 wherein to process the signals, the processor is configured to:

analyze the generated signals to detect presence of an environmental condition in the environment in which the lighting device is located; and

control the light source based on the detected environmental condition.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the light source further outputs the light for general illumination in the environment.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the lighting device comprises a light output surface such that the light source is aligned with the light output surface, wherein upon transmission of the light through the light output surface, the light source is configured to emit the general illumination light into the space.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the lighting device further comprises a light input surface configured to receive the light from outside the lighting device, wherein:

the light output surface is configured to output at least a portion of the general illumination light;

wherein the first end of the fiber detector is coupled to the light output surface.