Tempo synchronization system for a moving light assembly

• US 6,029,122 A
• Filed: 03/03/1998
• Issued: 02/22/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Production Resource Group LLC
• Original Assignee: Light and Sound Design Limited
• Inventors: Hunt, Mark A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoff, Marc S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): VO, HIEN XUAN
• Application Number:
  US09/034,045
• Time in Patent Office: 721 Days
• Field of Search: 702/188, 364/132, 362/85, 362/233, 362/239, 340/825.5, 340/825.49
• US Class Current: 702/188
• 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: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

A time synchronizing unit operates to synchronize lamps with various indicia. Each of these indicia are tied to a system clock. The system clock is normally incremented at specified intervals, e.g., every 4 milliseconds. The system is to be synchronized with a stage lighting production such as a song. If the tempo of the song changes, the amount of time between interrupts changes. Hence the time when things occur will be varied as the system clock changes. This enables varying the time when the things occur without actually changing the program: the time is bent to accommodate the new tempo of the program.

Claims

1. A distributed stage lighting system with adjustable tempo, comprising:

a plurality of controlled stage lights, distributed at a plurality of locations; and

a controller for said stage lights, said controller connected to said stage lights and including a system clock that maintains an indication of time;

said controller including a commanding element which sends commands to said plurality of lights at predetermined times that are set by the system clock in the controller and a time varying element which varies said indication of time in a way that causes said predetermined times of operation of said plurality of lights to be varied relative to one another.

2. A system as in claim 1 wherein said controller uses a system which checks at every predetermined interval of time to determine if an action should be taken.

3. A system as in claim 2 wherein said time varying element changes said interval of time to thereby adjust an amount of granularity between actions.

4. The system as in claim 1 wherein said time varying element varies a system clock.

5. The system as in claim 4 wherein said system clock is a clock of the microprocessor.

6. The system as in claim 4 wherein the said system clock is an incremented clock where incrementing occurs every predetermined interval of time, and wherein said interval of time is adjusted by said time varying unit.

7. The system as in claim 2, wherein said system includes interrupt driven routines, one of said routines incrementing a clock value by a specified amount, and wherein said time varying element changes said predetermined interval of time without changing said specified amount.

8. The system as in claim 1, wherein said system clock includes a main part and a fractional part, including lower resolution information than is contained in said main part, and wherein said main part is used to set said times.

9. The system as in claim 8, wherein said time varying element modifies said fractional part.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein said commanding element comprises a manual input device.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein said commanding element comprises an automated system which synchronizes with music being played.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said automated system receives at least one MIDI note stream, and synchronizes with some aspect of said at least one MIDI note stream.

13. The system of claim 12, comprising determining a MIDI event, determining whether said MIDI event fits with a current tempo by a predetermined amount, and if not, adjusting said tempo to synchronize with the MIDI event.

14. A distributed processing varying system, comprising:

first and second distributed processing objects, each including lighting devices which are remotely controllable, said first and second distributed objects each including a processor which is commanded at certain times to carry out certain operations;

a lighting controller, connected to said first and second distributed processing objects, said controller operating to provide commands to carry out said operations to said first and second distributed objects, said controller comprising a controlling system which commands operations to be carried out at determined times, a time changing element, receiving an indication of a new time synchronizing indicia, and a time synchronizing device, responsive to said time changing element, for synchronizing said operations with the predetermined times, said time synchronizing unit being changed by said time changing unit to thereby change the times when operations occur in both said first and second distributed processing units.

15. The system as in claim 14, further comprising a system clock, maintaining a global time, wherein said time changing element includes a first routine that increments said clock each time run, and a second routine that varies times when said first routine is run.

16. The system as in claim 14, further comprising a system clock, maintaining a global time as a highly resolved part and a lower resolved part, wherein said time changing element changes the lower resolved part.

17. The system as in claim 16, wherein said higher resolved part is an integer part used for determining timing, and said lower resolved part is a fractional part.

18. The system as in claim 14, further comprising an element which determines synchronization with an accompanying musical program, and provides said information to said time changing element.

19. A method of changing a timing of a system, comprising:

synchronizing a plurality of lighting events occuring at different separated locations with times that are set in a system clock;

determining if said system clock needs to be modified to cause said lighting events to occur at a desired tempo; and

modifying said system clock if modification is necessary.

20. A method as in claim 19, wherein said modifying comprises changing an amount of time between updates of a system clock without changing an amount that the system clock is updated at each said update.

21. A method as in claim 19, wherein said modifying comprises changing a fractional amount of clock update.

22. A method as in claim 19, wherein said determining comprises a manual action of changing a setting on a manual device.

23. A method as in claim 19, wherein said determining comprises automatically synchronzing said system clock with a musical program.

24. A method as in claim 23, wherein said determining comprises synchronizing with a MIDI stream.

25. A distributed lighting system, comprising:

a plurality of computer controlled lights, each being remotely controllable;

a controller, having controls which control said plurality of computer controlled lights, and having an input representing information in MIDI format from at least one musical instrument, said controller including an element which synchronizes an internal timer with a temp of music represented by said information, and automatically changes controlling said lights according to said internal timer.