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Kinetically multicolored light source

  • US 5,844,377 A
  • Filed: 03/18/1997
  • Issued: 12/01/1998
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/18/1997
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A kinetically multicolored light source, comprising:

  • a light source emitting a plurality of primary colors;

    oscillatory means for driving said light source having a frequency, an amplitude, a duty cycle, and a phase corresponding to each of said primary colors; and

    means for moving said light source relative to a field of view of an observer,whereinthe frequently corresponding to at least one of said primary colors is above a critical fusion frequency for the observer, whereby each of said primary colors appears to the observer to emanate from said light source simultaneously and continuously when said light source moves slowly relative to the field of view of the observer and thereby appears to the observer as one total secondary color;

    said moving means moves said light source sufficiently rapidly relative to the field of view of the observer so that said at least one of said primary colors if observed alone would appear to the observer to emanate from a plurality of bright segments of a curvilinear path with intervening dark segments when driven by said oscillatory driving means;

    spatial overlap of dark segments corresponding to each of no said primary colors produces a segment of the curvilinear path which appears dark to the observer;

    spatial overlap of a bright segment corresponding to only one of said primary colors and dark segments corresponding to the others of said primary colors produces a bright segment of the curvilinear path which appears to the observer as said only one of said primary colors;

    spatial overlap of bright segments corresponding to at least two of said primary colors produces a bright segment of the curvilinear path which appears to the observer as a partial secondary color; and

    spatial overlap of bright segments corresponding to each of said primary colors produces a bright segment of the curvilinear path which appears to the observer as the total secondary color.

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