Lighting system for accenting regions of a layer and associated methods

• US 8,754,832 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2013
• Issued: 06/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lighting Science Group Corporation (Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P.)
• Original Assignee: Lighting Science Group Corporation (Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P.)
• Inventors: Maxik, Fredric S., Bartine, David E., Soler, Robert R., Oostdyk, Mark Andrew, Widjaja, Addy S., Regan, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Sajous, Wesner
• Application Number:
  US13/753,890
• Publication Number:
  US 20130278173A1
• Time in Patent Office: 503 Days
• Field of Search: 345/426, 345/428, 345/589, 345609-691, 345/204, 345/207, 345/211, 345/214, 345/22, 345 45- 46, 345/48, 345 63- 64, 345 76- 77, 345/84, 345/581, 340/870.17, 340/870.18, 340/870.25, 340/870.26, 340/815.75, 315/82, 315/151, 315154-156, 315/291, 315/307, 398/79, 398 90- 95, 398/98, 398196-197, 348/44, 348 54- 55, 348 68- 70, 348/269, 348/798, 348/801, 349/8, 349/61, 349 68- 71, 359/282, 359237-238, 359/292, 359/298, 359309-310, 359/577
• US Class Current: 345/46
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 10/00 Lighting devices or systems producing a varying lighting effect
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 10/02 changing colors F21S10/002 - F21S10/007, F21S10/04 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/001 Texturing; Colouring; Generation of texture or colour inpainting G06T5/77
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/02 characterised by the way in which colour is displayed details of colour display specific for CRTs G09G1/28; specific for flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/20 Controlling the colour of the light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/155 Coordinated control of two or more light sources

Abstract

A system and method for accenting regions of a layer including a lighting system including a plurality of light sources operable to emit polychromatic light and a layer having two or more regions configured to diffusively scatter light within a wavelength range while absorbing light not within the wavelength range. The regions may be configured to represent recognizable characters or images, and may form a sequence. The lighting system may highlight the regions individually or simultaneously. The layer may be attachable to a surface and may further include non-highlighted regions. The system may also include appliqués applied to a surface and a cover layer transparent to certain wavelengths of light that the appliqués scatter.

Claims

1. A system for accenting a region of a layer comprising:

a lighting system comprising a plurality of light sources; and

a layer configured to be applied to a surface of a structure, the layer comprising a first region having a first surface scatter profile and a second region having a second surface scatter profile;

wherein the light emitted by the plurality of light sources combines to form a polychromatic combined light;

wherein the first surface scatter profile is configured to diffusively scatter a combined light including a first wavelength;

wherein the second surface scatter profile is configured to diffusively scatter a combined light including a second wavelength; and

wherein the combined light is at least one of a first polychromatic light including the first wavelength and excluding the second wavelength and a second polychromatic light including the second wavelength and excluding the first wavelength.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein the layer comprises a pseudo-random pattern including the first region and the second region.

3. A system according to claim 1 wherein the first region is configured to depict a first image;

and wherein the second region is configured to depict a second image.

4. A system according to claim 3 wherein the second image is a sequential image of the first image.

5. A system according to claim 1 wherein the layer is a sheet of material configured to be applied to the surface.

6. A system according to claim 1 wherein the layer comprises a base material that is applied to the surface, and wherein each of the first region and second region are a topical material that is applied to the base material.

7. A system according to claim 1 wherein each light source comprises a plurality of light-emitting diodes.

8. A system according to claim 1 wherein the combined light is a white light.

9. A system according to claim 1 wherein the layer further comprises a third region positioned generally adjacent to the first region and having a third surface scatter profile and a fourth region positioned generally adjacent to the second region and having a fourth surface scatter profile;

wherein the third surface scatter profile is configured to diffusively scatter a combined light including a third wavelength;

wherein the fourth surface scatter profile is configured to diffusively scatter a combined light including a fourth wavelength wherein the first polychromatic light further includes the third wavelength; and

wherein the second polychromatic light includes the fourth wavelength.

10. A system according to claim 1 further comprising a computerized device operably coupled to each of the plurality of light sources and configured to individually operate each of the plurality of light sources;

wherein the plurality of light sources comprises a first light source positioned generally adjacent to the first region and a second light source positioned generally adjacent to the second region;

wherein light emitted by the first light source is not incident upon the second region and light emitted by the second light source is not incident upon the first region; and

wherein the computerized device is programmable to selectively operate the first light source and the second light source such that only one of the first light source and the second light source emits light comprising the first scattering wavelength at a time.

11. A system according to claim 10 wherein the layer further comprises a third region and a fourth region;

wherein each of the third region and the fourth region have a surface scatter profile configured to diffusively scatter a combined light including a second scattering wavelength;

wherein the third region is positioned generally adjacent to the first region such that light emitted by the first light source is incident thereupon and light emitted by the second light source is not incident thereupon;

wherein the fourth region is positioned generally adjacent to the second region such that light emitted by the second light source is incident thereupon and light emitted by the first light source is not incident thereupon; and

wherein the computerized device is programmable to selectively operate each of the first light source and the second light source such that only one of the first light source and the second light source emits a polychromatic light comprising each of the first scattering wavelength and the second scattering wavelength at a time.

12. A system according to claim 1 further comprising:

a computerized device operably coupled to each of the plurality of light sources and configured to individually operate each of the plurality of light sources; and

a memory associated with the computerized device comprising a sequence of the first wavelength and the second wavelength;

wherein the computerized device is programmable to determine a first set of wavelengths including the first wavelength and excluding the second wavelength and a second set of wavelengths including the second wavelength and excluding the first wavelength; and

wherein the computerized device is programmable to operate the plurality of light sources to produce the first set of wavelengths for a first period of time and the second set of wavelengths for a second period of time.

13. A system according to claim 1 wherein the plurality of light sources are arrangable to form an array;

wherein the array of the plurality of light sources is configured to be positioned adjacent a ceiling;

wherein the layer is configured to be disposed upon a wall surface; and

wherein the layer is positionable such that light emitted by the plurality of light sources is incident upon the layer.

14. A method of accenting a region of a layer using a system comprising a lighting system including a plurality of light sources operable to emit polychromatic light and a layer positioned on a surface of a structure comprising a first region having a first surface scatter profile and a second region having a second surface scatter profile, wherein light emitted by the plurality of light sources combines to form a combined light, the method comprising the steps of:

emitting a first combined light including a first wavelength equal to a diffuse scattering wavelength of the first region and excluding a second wavelength equal to a diffuse scattering wavelength of the second region;

diffusively scattering the first combined light from the first region;

emitting a second combined light including the second wavelength and excluding the first wavelength; and

diffusively scattering the second combined light from the second region.

15. A method according to claim 14 wherein the lighting system further comprises a computerized device operably connected to the plurality of light sources, wherein the computerized device is programmable to individually operate each of the plurality of light sources, and wherein the computerized device comprises a memory comprising a sequence of a first wavelength and a second wavelength, the method further comprising the steps of:

reading the first wavelength and the second wavelength from the sequence of wavelengths;

determining a first set of wavelengths to be included in the first combined light, the first set of wavelengths including the first wavelength and excluding the second wavelength, wherein the first combined light is a white light; and

determining a second set of wavelengths to be included in the second combined light, the second set of wavelengths including the second wavelength and excluding the first wavelength, wherein the second combined light is a white light;

wherein the step of emitting the first combined light comprises the step of operating the plurality of light sources to produce each of the wavelengths of the first set of wavelengths; and

wherein the step of emitting the second combined light comprises the step of operating the plurality of light sources to produce each of the wavelengths of the second set of wavelengths.

16. A method according to claim 14 wherein the layer further comprises a third region adjacent to the first region and having a third surface scatter profile and a fourth region adjacent to the second region and having a fourth surface scatter profile;

wherein the step of emitting a first combined light further comprises including in the first combined light a third wavelength equal to a diffuse scattering wavelength of the third region and excluding a fourth wavelength equal to a diffuse scattering wavelength of the fourth region; and

wherein the step of emitting a second combined light further comprises including in the second combined light the fourth wavelength and excluding the third wavelength;

the method further comprising the steps of;

diffusively scattering the first combined light from the third region; and

diffusively scattering the second combined light from the fourth region.

17. A method of accenting a region of a layer comprising the steps of:

providing a layer comprising a pseudo-random pattern having embedded therein a plurality of regions, each region having an individual surface scatter profile configured to diffusively scatter an individual light wavelength, and each region depicting one image of a sequential series of images; and

emitting a sequence of polychromatic light by a lighting device configured to emit polychromatic light having varying spectral power distributions, wherein each polychromatic light includes one individual light wavelength that is diffusively scattered by one of the plurality of regions;

wherein the sequence of polychromatic light is configured to correspond to the sequential series of images.

18. A method according to claim 17 wherein the polychromatic light is a white light.

19. A method according to claim 17 wherein each of the images of the sequential series of images is adjacent to at least one other image of the sequential series of images, the method further comprising the step of emitting a sequence of polychromatic light including at least two individual wavelengths associated with non-adjacent images.

20. A system for accenting a region of a layer comprising:

a lighting system comprising;

a plurality of light sources; and

a computerized device operably connected to each of the plurality of light source and configured to individually operate each of the plurality of light sources; and

a layer configured to be applied to a surface of a structure, the layer comprising a first region and a second region, wherein each of the first region and the second region have a surface scatted profile configured to diffusively scatter a combined light including a first scattering wavelength;

wherein the plurality of light sources comprises a first light source positioned generally adjacent to the first region and a second light source positioned generally adjacent to the second region;

wherein light emitted by the first light source is not incident upon the second region and light emitted by the second light source is not incident upon the first region;

wherein the computerized device is programmable to selectively operate the first light source and the second light source such that only one of the first light source and the second light source emits light comprising the first scattering wavelength at a time.

21. A system according to claim 20 wherein the layer further comprises a third region and a fourth region;

wherein each of the third region and the fourth region have a surface scatter profile configured to diffusively scatter a combined light including a second scattering wavelength;

wherein the third region is positioned generally adjacent to the first region such that light emitted by the first light source is incident thereupon and light emitted by the second light source is not incident thereupon;

wherein the fourth region is positioned generally adjacent to the second region such that light emitted by the second light source is incident thereupon and light emitted by the first light source is not incident thereupon; and

wherein the computerized device is programmable to selectively operate each of the first light source and the second light source such that only one of the first light source and the second light source emits a polychromatic light comprising each of the first scattering wavelength and the second scattering wavelength at a time.