Lighting control

• US 7,638,953 B2
• Filed: 08/17/2005
• Issued: 12/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: A.C. Entertainment
• Original Assignee: Jands Pty Ltd.
• Inventors: Denville, Nicholas Mathew
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu; David Hung
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le; Tung X
• Application Number:
  US11/573,891
• Publication Number:
  US 20080048585A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,595 Days
• Field of Search: 315/294, 315/299, 315/308, 315/312, 362/227, 362/234, 362/236, 362/238, 362/552
• US Class Current: 315/291
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/155 Coordinated control of two or more light sources

Abstract

A method of applying realtime effects to at least one lighting channel (15) for a lighting fixture or luminaire (11) is disclosed. The method includes the steps of providing a common control means interface (12) which controls the different realtime effects (13/14) to be applied to the one or more lighting channels. The realtime effects include those selected from amongst the following effects: Intensity, Position, Color, Gobo (Pattern) Beam or other controllable attribute of an automated lighting fixture. The method of applying realtime effects making up the combined effect under realtime control is such that each included effects feature of all fixtures is coordinated by a corresponding effects master controller (13/145) for that effect.

Claims

1. A method of applying realtime effects to at least one lighting channel for a lighting fixture or luminaire, the effects being applied in synchronization by a single controller provided by a common control means, said method including the steps of providing a common control means interface which controls the more than one different realtime effects to be applied to the one or more lighting channels, and wherein the light fixtures have combined effects applied thereto, each of the effects making up the combined effect being under realtime control whereby each included effects features of all fixtures are coordinated by a corresponding effects master controller for that effect.

2. A method of applying realtime effects according to claim 1, in which the realtime effects include those selected from amongst the following effects:

Intensity, Position, Color, Gobo (Pattern) Beam or other controllable attribute of an automated lighting fixture.

3. A method of applying realtime effects according to claim 2, wherein each light fixture or luminaire has intensity and position under realtime control whereby all the intensity features of all fixtures are coordinated by an intensity effect master controller and all positions of all fixtures are coordinated by a position effect master controller.

4. A method of applying realtime effects according to claim 3, in which the common control means is achieved by the grouping of the effect master controllers such that a composite effect is achieved.

5. A method of applying realtime effects according to claim 4, wherein a programming interface is used to manipulate particular effect master parameters either in isolation for a specific effect master controller or through the common control means such that the effect is achieved uniformly for the effect master controllers.

6. A method of applying realtime effects according to claim 5, wherein data relating to each particular effect associated with the control means is able to be stored in an effect library and applied to other sets of lights of any quantity as appropriate.

7. A method of applying realtime effects according to claim 2, wherein the attributes associated with the realtime effects include:

overlap, spread, blocking, direction and ordering as defined herein.

8. A method of applying realtime effects according to claim 3, wherein the attributes associated with the realtime effects include:

overlap, spread, blocking, direction and ordering as defined herein.

9. A method of applying realtime effects according to claim 4, wherein the attributes associated with the realtime effects include:

overlap, spread, blocking, direction and ordering as defined herein.

10. A method of applying realtime effects according to claim 5, wherein the attributes associated with the realtime effects include:

overlap, spread, blocking, direction and ordering as defined herein.

11. A method of applying realtime effects according to claim 6, wherein the attributes associated with the realtime effects include:

overlap, spread, blocking, direction and ordering as defined herein.

12. A method of applying realtime effects according to claim 1, wherein the attributes associated with the realtime effects include:

overlap, spread, blocking, direction, and ordering as defined herein.