Lighting apparatus with proximity sensor

• US 20070008726A1
• Filed: 08/31/2004
• Published: 01/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Richard Brown
• Original Assignee: Richard Brown
• Inventors: Brown, Richard
• Application Number:
  US10/570,167
• Publication Number:
  US 20070008726A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/276
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/20 Controlling the colour of the light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/32 Pulse-control circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/115 by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/125 by using cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/13 by using passive infrared detectors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

There is disclosed a lighting apparatus comprising a light source (502) capable of outputting light in a plurality of different colours, a proximity sensor (501) for generating a proximity signal indicative of the proximity of at least part of a person to the proximity sensor, and a controller for controlling the light source on the basis of said proximity signal to output at least one of a plurality of colours.

Claims

1. Lighting apparatus comprising:

a light source capable of outputting light in a plurality of different colours;

a proximity sensor for generating a proximity signal indicative of the proximity of at least part of a person to the proximity sensor; and

a controller for controlling the light source on the basis of said proximity signal to output at least one of a plurality of colours.

2. Lighting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the proximity sensor is co-located with the light source.

3. Lighting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said controller is configured to control the light sources to output a sequence of two or more of said plurality of colours on the basis of said proximity signal.

4. Lighting apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said sequence is based on said proximity signal over a sensing period.

5. Lighting apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the end of the sensing period is determined by the withdrawal of said part of the person from the proximity of the proximity sensor.

6. Lighting apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said sensing period is a period of time during which said proximity signal is greater than a predetermined threshold.

7. Lighting apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said sensing period is limited to a maximum sensing period the end of which is determined by the withdrawal of said part of the person.

8. Lighting apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the sequence is output over a display period which is longer than the sensing period.

9. Lighting apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the sequence is replayed indefinitely until a new sequence is input.

10. Lighting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller has a memory that stores the sequence of changing values of the proximity signal for the sensing period.

11. Lighting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light source comprises a plurality of LEDs of all colours of a colour separation.

12. Lighting apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein said LEDs are red, green and blue.

13. Lighting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light source is enclosed within a translucent diffuser.

14. Lighting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 that constitutes a light.