Wavelength sensing lighting system and associated methods for national security application

• US 8,818,202 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2013
• Issued: 08/26/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Environmental Light Technologies Corporation
• Original Assignee: Environmental Light Technologies Corporation
• Inventors: Maxik, Fredric S., Bartine, David E., Medelius, Pedro, Bretschneider, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Hanh
• Application Number:
  US13/901,169
• Publication Number:
  US 20130294764A1
• Time in Patent Office: 460 Days
• Field of Search: 398/172, 398/130, 398/128, 398/118, 398/119, 398/127, 398/135, 398/169, 398/170, 398/33, 398/34, 398/25, 398/103, 398/183, 398/189, 398/202, 398/208, 398/209, 398/136, 315/291, 315/294, 315/307, 315/308, 315/312, 315/185.R, 315/185.S, 315/224, 315/292, 362/231, 362/545, 362/555, 362/234, 362/253
• US Class Current: 398/172
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 9/08 for producing coloured light, e.g. monochromatic; for reducing intensity of light with provision for controlling the colour F21V9/40
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/07 Arrangements for monitoring or testing transmission systems; Arrangements for fault measurement of transmission systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/116 Visible light communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/43 using a single component as both light source and receiver, e.g. using a photoemitter as a photoreceiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/56 provided with illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/10 Controlling the intensity of the light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/22 using optical feedback
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/24 using electrical feedback from LEDs or from LED modules
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/11 by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/115 by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/195 the transmission using visible or infrared light
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

A wavelength sensing lighting system may include a light source, a sensor and a controller. One or more light sources and sensors may be included in an array. The light source may emit an illuminating light and the sensor may sense an environmental light. The illuminating light may include data light. The lighting system may include a plurality of nodes connected in a network. The nodes may communicate by emitting and receiving the data light, which may be analyzed by the controller. The light source and the sensor may be provided by a light emitting semiconductor device that is capable of emitting illuminating light and receiving environmental light. A conversion material may convert the wavelength of a source light into a converted light. The conversion material may increase the wavelength range of light emittable and detectable by the lighting system.

Claims

1. A lighting system comprising:

a light source included in an array to emit illuminating light;

a sensor included in the array to sense environmental light from an environment;

a controller operatively connected to the sensor to analyze the environmental light that is sensed and operatively connected to the light source to control emitting the illuminating light;

wherein the controller analyzes the environmental light to detect or generate data relating to a condition of the environment, the data being transmittable in data light defined by at least one data wavelength, wherein the at least one data wavelength is defined relative to the illuminating light;

wherein the data is transmittable by the light source included in the array;

wherein the sensor selectively senses a dominant wavelength in the environmental light that is defined by the controller;

wherein the sensor selectively senses a plurality of dominant wavelengths in the environmental light;

wherein at least a part of the plurality of dominant wavelengths are concatenated to define the data relating to the condition in the environment;

wherein the controller receives the data using the sensor;

wherein the controller analyzes the data;

wherein the controller controls transmitting the data light from the light source;

wherein the light source is selectively operable;

wherein the sensor is selectively operable;

wherein the illuminating light is selectively emitted from the light source in a plurality of directions; and

wherein the environmental light is received by the sensor from the plurality of directions.

2. A lighting system according to claim 1 wherein the data relating to the condition in the environment includes an image.

3. A lighting system according to claim 2 wherein the image is included in a series of images;

and wherein the series of images are concatenated to create a video.

4. A lighting system according to claim 2 wherein the data includes a plurality of images;

and wherein the plurality of images are compared to determine a proximate variance of an object among the plurality of images.

5. A lighting system according to claim 4 wherein the proximate variance is analyzed by the controller to determine movement of the object.

6. A lighting system according to claim 1 wherein the array includes a plurality of sensors;

wherein each sensor included in the plurality of sensors is sensitive to at least one wavelength respective to the each sensor;

wherein each sensor is selectively operable.

7. A lighting system according to claim 1 wherein the light source and the sensor are included as a light emitting semiconductor device;

wherein the light emitting semiconductor device is selectively operable between a sensing operation and an emitting operation, the sensing operation being defined by the light emitting semiconductor device sensing the environmental light, and the emitting operation being defined by the light emitting semiconductor device emitting the illuminating light.

8. A lighting system according to claim 7 further comprising a switching circuit to alternate the light emitting semiconductor device between the sensing operation and the emitting operation.

9. A lighting system according to claim 7 wherein the light emitting semiconductor device emits the illuminating light and receives the environmental light substantially simultaneously, the light emitting semiconductor device including a light emitting diode to emit the illuminating light and a photodiode to sense the environmental light, the light emitting diode being operable as the photodiode.

10. A lighting system according to claim 9 wherein the controller analyzes the environmental light by measuring a drive voltage of the light emitting semiconductor device, determining a difference between a measured voltage across the light emitting semiconductor device and the drive voltage, and performing time-domain matching of the measured voltage and the environmental light using cross-correlation.

11. A lighting system according to claim 1 wherein the dominant wavelength is indicative of a substance present in the environment.

12. A lighting system according to claim 1 wherein the controller controls the array to emit an alert upon sensing an event.

13. A lighting system according to claim 1 wherein the array includes a plurality of light sources;

and wherein at least a portion of the light sources included in the array are selected from a group consisting of monochromatic light emitting diodes (LED), white light emitting diodes (LED), and infrared light (IR) emitting diodes (LED).

14. A lighting system according to claim 1 further comprising a network of nodes, each node including the light source, the sensor, and the controller;

wherein the nodes intercommunicate by transmitting and receiving an electromagnetic signal.

15. A lighting system according to claim 14 wherein at least a portion of the nodes in the network perform analysis using distributed computing.

16. A lighting system according to claim 15 wherein feedback regarding an analysis performed by the controller is stored in a memory;

wherein the feedback from the analysis is intercommunicated within the network.

17. A lighting system according to claim 16 wherein the feedback is analyzed using at least one of machine learning and a neural network.

18. A lighting system according to claim 14 wherein at least a portion of the nodes in the network synchronize by including a synchronization signal in the electromagnetic signal.

19. A lighting system according to claim 1 wherein at least a part of the illuminating light selectively includes a biological affective wavelength to affect an object in the environment.

20. A lighting system according to claim 1 wherein the data light is defined by a plurality of data wavelengths;

wherein the data is transmittable at the plurality of data wavelengths; and

wherein a quantity of data wavelengths included in the data light correlates with a bandwidth at which the data is transmittable.

21. A lighting system according to claim 1 further comprising a wavelength conversion material between the array and the environment to absorb at least part of a source light and emit a converted light having a converted wavelength range, the source light being received and absorbed by the wavelength conversion material, and the converted light being emitted by the wavelength conversion material.

22. A lighting system according to claim 21 wherein the converted wavelength range of the converted light includes a variable dominant wavelength respective to the condition in the environment;

wherein the dominant wavelength is indicative of a substance in the environment; and

wherein the controller correlates the dominant wavelength with the substance.

23. A lighting system according to claim 22 wherein the substance is selected from a group consisting of an object, element, compound, particulate, and biological agent.

24. A lighting system according to claim 21 wherein the illuminating light is received by the wavelength conversion material as the source light;

wherein the wavelength conversion material converts the source light to the converted light; and

wherein the converted light is emitted by the wavelength conversion material within the converted wavelength range.

25. A lighting system according to claim 21 wherein the environmental light is received by the wavelength conversion material as the source light;

wherein the wavelength conversion material converts the source light to the converted light; and

wherein the converted light is received by the sensor within the converted wavelength range.

26. A lighting system according to claim 1 wherein a sample rate at which the data is transmitted in the data light is dynamically adjustable by the controller;

and wherein an increased sample rate correlates with an increased resolution sensed by the array.