Stage lighting lamp unit and stage lighting system including such unit

• US 5,769,531 A
• Filed: 05/24/1995
• Issued: 06/23/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Production Resource Group LLC
• Original Assignee: Light and Sound Design Limited
• Inventors: Owen, Keith James, Hunt, Mark Alistair, Hughes, Michael Derek
• Primary Examiner(s): Husar, Stephen F.
• Application Number:
  US08/448,861
• Time in Patent Office: 1,126 Days
• Field of Search: 362/233, 362/285, 362/286, 362/269, 362/271, 362/272, 362/385, 362/386
• US Class Current: 362/233
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2131/406 for theatres, stages or film studios
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/155 Coordinated control of two or more light sources

Abstract

A stage lighting lamp unit includes a processor for receiving control data from a remote console. Beam orientation data for the lamp unit is passed to the lamp in the form of the x, y and z co-ordinates of a point in space through which the beam is to pass. The processor divides the required lamp travel into a number of stages dependent on execution duration data sent with the position data, and calculates, for each stage, a new value for pan and tilt angles for the lamp. These values are passed to pan and tilt controlling co-processors which control servo-motors for pan and tilt operation. The lamp unit also incorporates a rotatable shutter for interrupting the lamp beam when required. The shutters of all the lamps in a system can be instructed from the remote console to open and close in synchronism, thereby providing a stroboscopic effect.

Claims

1. A lighting control apparatus which controls a positioning of a beam of a lamp, comprising:

a main control console accepting user input relating to required beam movements;

at least two independently operable lamp units, each situated in a different location, and each situated remotely from the main control console, wherein each of the lamp units includes a servo-mechanism which operates to automatically move the lamp beam about two mutually transverse axes to a desired angular position responsive to an applied command;

a data communication element coupled to the main control console and to the lamp units and operating to transmit desired position data to said at least two lamp units, wherein the desired position data is transmitted in the form of a set of three-dimensional absolute linear coordinates, defining a point in space through which the lamp beam is required to pass and each of said at least two lamp units receiving the same absolute linear coordinates; and

a calculating device, located in each lamp unit, receiving the absolute linear coordinates and calculating a desired angular position based on relative coordinates and supplying the servo-mechanism with the desired angular position.

2. The lighting control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the desired position data received by the lamp units also includes data defining a time duration over which execution of the movement of the lamp beam to its new position is specified by the desired position data, and said calculating device divides execution of a position change into a number of steps, where the number is inversely related to the execution duration for re-calculating the desired position data at intervals, and subjects the re-calculated data to calculate the desired angular position data for each step.

3. The lighting control apparatus of claim 1, wherein said calculating device in each lamp unit comprises a lamp main cpu programmed to carry out the absolute linear coordinate to angle calculations.

4. The lighting control apparatus of claim 1, wherein said main control console includes a disk drive unit storing set-up data and cue data, said set-up data being transmitted to the lamp units during setting up of the apparatus, and the set-up data being supplemented, when required, by offset data indicating a displacement of the lamp units from normal expected positions relative to a target area.

5. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said calculating device includes an element which linearly transforms the absolute coordinates to the relative coordinates that are relative to the lamp'"'"'s own frame of reference.

6. An apparatus as in claim 5 wherein the calculating device includes a memory storing a ratio between values, and wherein said calculating device uses said ratio to obtain a value for desired angle.

7. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said absolute coordinate system is an x, y, and z coordinate system, and said calculating device includes an element carrying out a transformation of the absolute x, y, and z coordinates into coordinate x'"'"'y'"'"'z'"'"' which are relative to the lamp'"'"'s own frame of reference.

8. A lighting control apparatus, comprising:

a main control console, accepting user input indicating a desired position for a light beam, and producing an output signal indicative of a desired absolute position of the light beam relative to a frame of reference stored in the console;

at least two lamp units, each of said at least two lamp units located at different locations, and each connected to said console to receive a message therefrom, each said message including an indication of said absolute position of said lamp unit within the frame of reference stored in said main console, each of said at least two lamp units including a calculating element, receiving information indicating said position of said lamp unit in said absolute coordinate system, and converting said information into a value which can be used to adjust a position of said lamp unit.

9. An apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said value includes pan and tilt of the lamp unit to provide a spot from the lamp unit to said desired position.

10. An apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said absolute coordinate system is an x, y, and z coordinate system, and said calculating device includes an element carrying out a transformation of the absolute x, y, and z coordinates into coordinate x'"'"'y'"'"'z'"'"' which are relative to the lamp'"'"'s own frame of reference.

11. A method of operating multiple lamps in a multiple lamp system, comprising:

determining a desired position of said lamp units in an absolute coordinate system;

sending an indication of said position in said absolute coordinate system to said lamp units;

calculating, at each of said lamp units, a translation between said absolute coordinate system and a local coordinate system which is local to said each lamp unit; and

moving said lamp unit to a position indicated by said local coordinate system.

12. A method of operating multiple lamps in a multiple lamp automatic system, comprising:

establishing a plurality of prerecorded cues, each said cue including information about positions of more than one lamp;

executing a cue by sending information to said more than one lamp in an absolute coordinate system, said information in said absolute coordinate system being a representation which is stored in said console, and each of said items of information being sent to each of said lamps in said absolute coordinate system;

calculating, in each lamp, a conversion between said absolute coordinate system and a relative coordinate system of said each lamp; and

carrying out an operation to move the lamp to a position indicated by said absolute coordinates system, so that said cue is executed separately by each lamp based on the common data sent to each lamp.

13. A method as in claim 12, wherein said carrying out comprises using a prestored ratio to convert from said absolute coordinate system to said relative coordinate system.