LED-based secondary general illumination lighting color slaved to alternate general illumination lighting

• US 9,204,518 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2008
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Enterprise Science Fund, LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Jung, Edward K. Y., Hyde, Roderick A., Ishikawa, Muriel Y., Kare, Jordin T., Myhrvold, Nathan P., Tegreene, Clarence T., Whitmer, Charles, Wood, Lowell L. Jr., Wood, Victoria Y. H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cariaso, Alan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tsidulko, Mark
• Application Number:
  US12/291,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20100110682A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,588 Days
• Field of Search: 362/249.02, 362/641, 362/642, 362/227, 362/236, 362/240
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 23/0464 the sensor sensing the level of ambient illumination, e.g. dawn or dusk sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 35/00 Electric light sources using a combination of different types of light generation
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 41/46 Circuits providing for substitution in case of failure of the lamp
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/22 using optical feedback

Abstract

One aspect relates to combining an at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting with an at least one primary general illumination lighting to at least partially provide an at least one combined general illumination lighting. The aspect further comprises sensing one or more sensed optical characteristics of an at least one alternate general illumination lighting. The aspect further comprises controlling at least one controlled optical characteristics of the at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting to control the at least one combined general illumination lighting at least partially responsive to the sensing the one or more sensed optical characteristics of an at least one alternate general illumination lighting.

Claims

1. A lighting apparatus, comprising:

at least one primary general illumination lighting component having an electrical connection and configured to deliver at least one primary general illumination lighting;

at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting component having an electrical connection and configured to selectively deliver at least one secondary general illumination lighting, the secondary general illumination lighting and the primary general illumination lighting resulting in at least one combined general illumination lighting;

a first sensor configured to detect a first range of optical characteristics from incoming ambient light;

a second sensor configured to detect a second range of optical characteristics from incoming ambient light; and

a controller receiving a first sensor signal from the first sensor and a second sensor signal from the second sensor, the controller including a control algorithm to provide an output signal to the at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting component, the output signal being based on the first sensor signal and the second sensor signal, the control algorithm used to generate the output signal to adjust the at least one combined general illumination lighting closer to a first optical characteristic target in the first range of optical characteristics and to a second optical characteristic target in the second range of optical characteristics.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one primary general illumination lighting fixture that when electrically connected with at least one primary general illumination lighting source is configured to emit the at least one primary general illumination lighting.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising at least one primary general illumination lighting component that includes the at least one primary general illumination lighting fixture and the at least one primary general illumination lighting source configured to produce the at least one primary general illumination lighting.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting component configured to include the at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting fixture or the at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting source, the at least one primary general illumination lighting fixture configured to produce the at least one primary general illumination lighting, and the at least one sensor are included in a modular unit.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting component that includes the at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting fixture and the at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting source.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting fixture and the at least one first sensor and the second sensor forms a modular unit.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the optical characteristics include color.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the optical characteristics include intensity.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the optical characteristics include spectral intensity.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the optical characteristics are time-averaged by the controller.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one spectral feature of the combined general illumination lighting is enhanced relative to the ambient light.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one spectral feature of the combined general illumination lighting is limited relative to the ambient light.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein spectral intensity of the combined general illumination lighting in combination with the ambient light corresponds to a function of one or more sensed optical characteristics of ambient light.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second sensors are configured to sense.

15. A method, comprising:

combining at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting with at least one primary general illumination lighting to at least partially provide an at least one combined general illumination lighting;

sensing, with a first sensor, a first range of optical characteristics from incoming ambient light;

sensing, with a second sensor, a second range of optical characteristics from incoming ambient light; and

receiving, by a controller, a first sensor signal from the first sensor and a second sensor signal from the second sensor, the controller including a control algorithm to provide an output signal to the at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting component, the output signal being based on the first sensor signal and the second sensor signal, the control algorithm used to generate the output signal to adjust the at least one combined general illumination lighting closer to a first optical characteristic target in the first range of optical characteristics and to a second optical characteristic target in the second range of optical characteristics.

16. A system, comprising:

at least one primary general illumination lighting component configured to emit an at least one primary general illumination lighting;

at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting component configured to emit at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting;

wherein the at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting when combined with the at least one primary general illumination lighting at least partially results in at least one combined general illumination lighting;

a first sensor configured to detect a first range of optical characteristics from incoming ambient light;

a second sensor configured to detect a second range of optical characteristics from incoming ambient light; and

a controller receiving a first sensor signal from the first sensor and a second sensor signal from the second sensor, the controller including a control algorithm to provide an output signal to the at least one LED-based secondary general illumination lighting component, the output signal being based on the first sensor signal and the second sensor signal, the control algorithm used to generate the output signal to adjust the at least one combined general illumination lighting closer to a first optical characteristic target in the first range of optical characteristics and to a second optical characteristic target in the second range of optical characteristics.