LUMINAIRE SYSTEM

• US 20120229048A1
• Filed: 03/11/2011
• Published: 09/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telelumen, LLC
• Original Assignee: Telelumen, LLC
• Inventors: Archer, Ross D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,922,570 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 315/297
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/10 Controlling the intensity of the light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/12 using optical feedback
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/11 by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/12 by detecting audible sound
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/155 Coordinated control of two or more light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/16 by timing means
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/175 by remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/18 via data-bus transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/195 the transmission using visible or infrared light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/1965 using handheld communication devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

A luminaire produces lighting as a series of frames of constant spectral content. The luminaire includes an interpreter for executing scripts that describe the spectral contents of respective frames. The scripts may include spectral data and executable code for altering the spectral data. In particular, a frame descriptor may include data for a frame, a repeat count indicating a number of frames, and an identifier for a subroutine to be called for each frame described by the frame descriptor. One or more luminaires can be network connected to one or more computers running applications providing user interfaces for script generation. A standardized interface can control communications with the luminaires and convert scripts from applications to a format that luminaires can interpret.

Claims

1. A lighting system comprising a luminaire that includes:

a plurality of light channels that operate to produce different spectral distributions of light;

a drive circuit coupled to the light channels and programmable to control relative intensities of light output from the light channels; and

an interpreter module that processes a script to generate operating parameters for the drive circuit, wherein programming the drive circuit with the operating parameters results in the light channels producing a lighting scenario represented by the script.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the script comprises one or more descriptors, wherein each descriptor includes data representing a spectral distribution and a first parameter indicating a duration of lighting described by the frame descriptor.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the script further comprises program instructions that are executable by the interpreter.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein one or more of the descriptors comprises a second parameter identifying a section of the program instructions that the interpreter executes during the duration of the lighting described by the descriptor.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first parameter is a repeat count indicating a number of frames of lighting described by the frame descriptor, the second parameter identifies a subroutine in the program instructions, and the interpreter operates to execute the subroutine once for each of the frames described by frame descriptor.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the interpreter has an executable instruction set including mathematical operations, storage operations, and branch operations.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the luminaire further comprises a communication interface through which scripts can be sent to the luminaire.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the communication interface comprises an interface for communication through a network.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a computer in communication with the lighting system, wherein the computer is adapted to provide the script to the luminaire.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the computer stores and executes a script compiler that generates the script from a source file.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the luminaire further comprises a processor that executes the interpreter module and is coupled to provide the operating parameters to the drive circuit to thereby control time variation of the relative intensities of the light output from the light channels.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor provides the operating parameters to the drive circuit at a fixed rate while the light channels produce light.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the luminaire further comprises memory storing calibration data, wherein the processor executes a module that uses the calibration data and the script to produce the operating parameters, which are specific to the luminaire.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the luminaire further comprises a co-processor module adapted to execute subroutines in the script.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the co-processor module comprises a virtual machine executed by the processor.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein execution of the subroutines changes the operating parameters.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the co-processor has an instruction set including floating-point mathematical operations.

18. A lighting apparatus comprising:

a plurality of light channels that operate to produce different spectral distributions of light;

a drive circuit coupled to the light channels and programmable to control relative intensities of light output from the light channels;

a processor; and

a timing circuit coupled to provide to the processor a first signal having a first period and a second signal having a second period that is shorter than the first period, wherein the processor outputs a partial set of parameters for programming of the drive circuit in synchronization with the second signal and provides a complete set of the parameters for programming the drive circuit in synchronization with the first signal.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the second period is equal to the first period divided by the number of light channels.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein:

the apparatus produces lighting as a series of frames;

each frame has a duration equal to the first period;

the lighting has a spectral distribution that remains constant during each of the frames; and

the spectral distribution changes in synchronization with the first signal.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the first period is less than about 1 ms.

22. A lighting system comprising:

one more luminaires, each of which is capable of producing lighting having a programmable spectral distribution; and

a computing system that includes;

one or more applications executed in the computing system, wherein each of the applications is adapted to produce descriptions representing lighting scenarios; and

an interface executed in the computing system, wherein the interface is adapted to receive and process descriptions from the applications, and wherein processing of a description converts that description into a format that at least one of the luminaires can interpret to produce lighting according to the lighting scenario represented by the description processed.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the one or more luminaires comprises a plurality of luminaires, wherein the interface processing of a description converts that description into a format that the luminaires can interpret to produce respective portions of lighting according to the lighting scenario represented by the description processed.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the one or more applications comprises a plurality of applications that are adapted to produce descriptions representing lighting scenarios, wherein the interface controls which of the applications can provide descriptions for operation of the luminaires.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein the computing system comprises:

a plurality of computers; and

a network through which the computers can communicate with each other and with the luminaires, wherein the interface controls network communication with the luminaires.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the interface comprises a plurality of application interfaces that are respectively executed on the plurality of computers.

27. The system of claim 22, wherein the interface comprises a tracking module that monitors operating states of the luminaires.

28. The system of claim 22, wherein the interface comprises an access control module that determines based on a current state of the luminaires whether one of the applications can currently provide descriptions for operation of the luminaires.

29. The system of claim 22, wherein the interface further comprises a discovery module adapted to detect a characteristic of the luminaires in the system, wherein the characteristic is selected from a group consisting of how many of the luminaires are in the system and a spectral range of the luminaire.

30. The system of claim 22, wherein the interface comprises a compiler, wherein the descriptions produced by the applications are scripts that the compiler converts to compiled scripts having a format that the luminaires can interpret.

31. A non-transient media containing:

a descriptor adapted for a luminaire to process in order to produce lighting represented by the descriptor, wherein the descriptor comprises;

data representing a spectral distribution for lighting;

a time parameter indicating a duration of the lighting represented by the descriptor; and

a call parameter identifying a procedure for the luminaire to execute during the duration of the lighting represented by the descriptor, wherein execution of the procedure alters lighting produced by the luminaire.

32. The media of claim 31, wherein the media further contains a plurality of descriptors, the descriptors comprising:

respective data representing respective spectral distributions for lighting;

respective time parameter indicating respective duration of the lighting respectively represented by the descriptors; and

respective call parameter identifying respective procedures for the luminaire to execute during the duration of the lighting respectively represented by the descriptors.

33. The media of claim 32, wherein the media further contains instruction code that is executable by the luminaire, wherein execution of the instruction code by the luminaire causes performance of at least one of the procedures identified by the call parameters in the frame descriptors.

34. The media of claim 31, wherein the data representing a spectral distribution comprises a plurality of sets of channel data, wherein each set of channel data indicates an intensity of light to be output from a corresponding light-producing channel in the luminaire.

35. The media of claim 34, wherein each set of channel data comprises:

a first parameter indicating a duty cycle of a drive signal for a light-producing channel corresponding to the set; and

a second parameter indicating an amplitude of the drive signal for the light-producing channel corresponding to the set.

36. The media of claim 31, wherein the time parameter comprises a number of frames of lighting represented by the descriptor.

37. The media of claim 36, wherein a luminaire executes the procedure identified by the call parameter once for each frame.