Electronically controlled stage lighting system

• US 6,188,933 B1
• Filed: 05/12/1997
• Issued: 02/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Production Resource Group LLC
• Original Assignee: Light and Sound Design Limited
• Inventors: Hughes, Michael, Hewlett, William, Parker, Richard, Clarke, Ian, Evans, Nigel, Hunt, Mark A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bahta, Kidest
• Application Number:
  US08/854,353
• Time in Patent Office: 1,373 Days
• Field of Search: 700/19, 362/284, 359/291
• US Class Current: 700/19
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 13/08 the elements being filters or photoluminescent elements and reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 14/04 by movement of reflectors in vehicle head lamps F21S41/675
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 14/08 by movement of the screens or filters
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2131/406 for theatres, stages or film studios
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0833 the reflecting element being a micromechanical device, e.g. a MEMS mirror, DMD G02B26/0825 takes precedence; micromechanical devices in general B81B
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0841 the reflecting element being moved or deformed by electrostatic means
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/008 using micromirror devices
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/14 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/16 Cooling; Preventing overheating
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/20 Lamp housings
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/28 Reflectors in projection beam in illumination beam G03B21/2066
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 33/04 by four or more separation records
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/155 Coordinated control of two or more light sources

Abstract

A lighting system operating using a digital mirror as its operative device. The digital mirror is used to shape the light which is a passed through advanced optical devices in order to produce an output.

Claims

1. A gobo emulating system, comprising:

a memory storing a graphical representation file indicating a shape of a hardware gobo;

a processor element, converting said shape in said memory into a signal indicative of a desired gobo shape, and outputting said signal as a gobo commanding signal;

a digital light altering device, receiving said gobo commanding signal, and using said gobo commanding signal to produce a control for output light according to said gobo commanding signal; and

a light projection source, projecting a beam of light to said digital light altering device which shapes said beam of light based on said gobo commanding signal, and thereby projects a shape based on said graphical representation file indicating the shape of the hardware gobo.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said graphical representation file in said memory is stored in a compressed format.

3. An apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said compressed format is one of a compressed bitmap form or a vectorized form.

4. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said hardware gobo is a rotating gobo, and wherein said processor element further calculates another signal at a time after said first time, said another signal indicative of a rotated position of said gobo, to simulate the rotating gobo.

5. An apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising a color mechanism, operating to alter a color of light projected, to allow said gobo to be projected in color.

6. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said digital light altering element is a digital mirror, operating based on signals from a controller, and wherein said digital mirror is mounted on a board which is separate from a board mounting said controller.

7. An apparatus as in claim 6 wherein said board mounting said digital mirror is located in a place to receive said beam of light at an incident angle of less than 28°

.

8. An apparatus as in claim 6 wherein said board mounting said digital mirror is located in a place to receive said beam of light at an incident angle of less than 20°

.

9. A light projecting device, comprising:

a source of light;

a light coloring device, optically downstream from said source of light;

a light shape altering device, optically downstream from said source of light;

a zoom lens system, optically downstream from said source of light;

a light sampling device, optically downstream from said color changing device, and said light shape altering device, operating to obtain a sample of light at a location of said light sampling device, to thereby obtain a sample of the light that is received with the same field of view as said other light.