Light bulb, intelligent lighting device and method and system for use in configuring same

• US 9,713,235 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2016
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gecko Alliance Group Inc.
• Original Assignee: Gecko Alliance Group Inc.
• Inventors: Brochu, Christian, Laflamme, Benoit
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang, Daniel D
• Application Number:
  US15/228,183
• Publication Number:
  US 20160345416A1
• Time in Patent Office: 348 Days
• Field of Search: 315294, 315131, 315297
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 3/02 characterised by the shape
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/042 using digital processors G05B19/05 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/124 using tapes, cards or discs with optically sensed marks or codes G05B19/128, G05B19/14 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25112 Using firmware stored in processor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10861 sensing of data fields affixed to objects or articles, e.g. coded labels postal sorting B07C3/14, conveying articles B65G47/48
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/10 Controlling the intensity of the light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/20 Controlling the colour of the light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/3577 Emulating the dimming characteristics, brightness or colour temperature of incandescent lamps
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/165 following a pre-assigned programmed sequence; Logic control [LC]
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/1965 using handheld communication devices
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/29 Circuits providing for substitution of the light source in case of its failure
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/30 Semiconductor lamps, e.g. solid state lamps [SSL] light emitting diodes [LED] or organic LED [OLED]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

An intelligent light bulb is provided as well as a method, devices and computer program product of configuring such an intelligent light bulb. The intelligent light bulb comprises an LED lighting element and a programmable controller. The programmable controller comprises a memory module having stored therein firmware including instructions for controlling operations of the LED lighting element, where the memory module including a passive memory on which at least a portion of the firmware is stored. The passive memory component of the memory module is responsive to a signal carrying firmware update information received over a wireless communication link from a device external to the intelligent light bulb for causing a firmware update process to be performed to modify the instructions of the firmware based on the update information carried by the signal. The programmable controller also includes a processing unit in communication with the memory module for operating the LED lighting element at least in part in accordance with the instructions of the firmware. Advantageously, the proposed intelligent light bulb can be configured using the signal carrying the firmware update information. In some embodiments, this may allow modifications of certain operating characteristic of the intelligent light bulb to be performed after manufacturing, including modifications pertaining to light color emitted and/or manner of operating the light bulb.

Claims

1. An intelligent lighting device comprising:

a) an LED lighting element;

b) a programmable controller in communication with said LED lighting element, said programmable controller comprising;

i) a memory module having stored therein firmware including instructions for controlling operations of the LED lighting element, said memory module including a passive memory on which at least a portion of the firmware is stored, the passive memory component of the memory module being configured to be responsive to a signal carrying firmware update information received over a wireless communication link from a device external to the intelligent lighting device for;

(1) drawing energy from said signal to activate the passive memory component; and

(2) causing a firmware update process to be performed to modify the instructions of the firmware based on the update information carried by the signal, at least part of said firmware update process being performed while the passive memory component remains activated using energy drawn from said signal;

ii) a processing unit in communication with said memory module, said processing unit being programmed for operating the LED lighting element at least in part in accordance with the instructions of the firmware.

2. The intelligent lighting device defined in claim 1, wherein the passive memory component includes a near field communication memory (NFC memory).

3. The intelligent lighting device defined in claim 1, wherein said passive memory component is configured to be responsive to the signal carrying firmware update information received from the external device for causing at least part of the firmware update process to be performed in the absence of electrical power being supplied to the intelligent lighting device by a source of electrical power external to the intelligent lighting device.

4. The intelligent lighting device defined in claim 3, wherein said passive memory component is configured to be responsive to the signal carrying firmware update information received from the external device for causing at least part of the firmware update process to be performed using said signal as the sole source of electrical energy.

5. The intelligent lighting device defined in claim 4, wherein the firmware update information includes program code for implementing one of a first configuration and a second configuration.

6. The intelligent lighting device defined in claim 5, wherein said LED lighting element comprises multiple LED light components characterized in that:

a) operating in a specific manner a first subset of said LED light components allows a first light color to be generated by the LED lighting element; and

b) operating in a specific manner a second subset of said LED light components causes a second light color to be generated by the LED lighting element, wherein said first light color is visually distinguishable from said second light color.

7. The intelligent lighting device defined in claim 6, wherein said first light color is a first white light color associated with a first color temperature and where said second light color is a second white light color associated with a second specific color temperature.

8. The intelligent lighting device defined in claim 5, wherein said processing unit is programmed for:

a) operating the first subset of the LED light components when operating the LED lighting element in accordance with the first configuration; and

b) operating the second subset of the LED light components when operating the LED lighting element in accordance with the second configuration.

9. The intelligent lighting device defined in claim 1, wherein the instructions stored in the memory module include program code implementing a set of configurations, said set of configurations including at least a first configuration and a second configuration.

10. The intelligent lighting device defined in claim 9, wherein the firmware update information conveys an access code, the access code being associated with a specific configuration from said set of configurations, and wherein, following the performance of the firmware update process, the processing unit operates the intelligent lighting device in accordance with the specific configuration associated with the access code.

11. The intelligent lighting device defined in claim 10, wherein the processing unit is programmed for selecting the specific configuration from said set of configurations at least in part by processing the access code to select a portion of the instructions stored on the memory module, where the selected portion of the instruction implements the specific configuration.

12. The intelligent lighting device defined in claim 11, wherein said LED lighting element comprises multiple LED light components characterized in that operating in specific manners specific subsets of the LED light components allow respective distinct light colors to be generated by the LED lighting element and wherein the instructions of the firmware enable operating at least one specific subset of the LED light components in at least one specific manner.

13. The intelligent lighting device defined in claim 12, wherein at least some configurations in said set of configurations are associated with respective subsets of the LED light components.

14. The intelligent lighting device defined in claim 13, wherein:

a) the firmware update process includes storing the firmware update information carried by the signal on the passive memory component; and

b) wherein the processing unit of the controller is programmed for;

i) selecting a specific configuration from the set of configurations implemented by the program code stored in the memory module of the firmware at least in part by processing the firmware update information stored on the passive memory component; and

ii) operating the LED light components in accordance with the selected specific configuration implemented by the program code stored in the memory module of the controller.

15. The intelligent lighting device defined in claim 1, wherein the passive memory component is configured for communicating with the device external to the intelligent lighting device over a short range radio frequency (RF) communication link.

16. An auxiliary device suitable for configuring a programmable controller comprising a memory module having stored thereon firmware including instructions for controlling operations of a plurality of LED lighting components, said memory module including a passive memory component on which at least a portion of the firmware is stored, the programmable controller being programmed for operating the plurality of LED lighting components at least in part in accordance with the instructions stored on the memory module, said auxiliary device comprising:

a) a communication interface suitable for communicating with the programmable controller over a wireless communication link;

b) a processing unit in communication with the communication interface programmed for transmitting a signal over the wireless communication link to the programmable controller carrying firmware update information, the signal being configured for;

i) causing the passive memory component of the programmable controller to be activated by drawing energy from said signal; and

ii) causing a firmware update process to be performed by the programmable controller to modify the instructions of the firmware based on the update information carried by the signal, at least part of said firmware update process being performed by the programmable controller while the passive memory component remains activated using said signal as a source of electrical energy.

17. The auxiliary device defined in claim 16, wherein the auxiliary device is embodied in an NFC enabled smartphone and wherein the passive memory component including a near field communication memory (NFC memory).

18. The auxiliary device defined in claim 16, wherein the firmware update information carried by the signal includes program code implementing a specific operating configuration associated with the plurality of LED lighting components, and wherein the firmware update process causes the program code implementing the specific operating configuration to be stored on the memory module of the programmable controller to enable the programmable controller to operate the plurality of LED lighting components based on the specific operating configuration implemented by the program code.

19. The auxiliary device defined in claim 18, wherein the plurality of LED lighting components are characterized in that operating in specific manners specific subsets of the plurality of LED lighting components allow respective distinct light colors to be generated by the plurality of LED lighting components and wherein the specific operating configuration implemented by the firmware update information is associated with at least one specific distinct subset of the plurality of LED lighting components to generate a corresponding specific light color when operated in a specific manner.

20. A method for configuring a programmable controller comprising a memory module having stored thereon firmware including instructions for controlling operations of a plurality of LED lighting components, said memory module including a passive memory component on which at least a portion of the firmware is stored, the programmable controller being programmed for operating the plurality of LED lighting components at least in part in accordance with the instructions stored on the memory module, said method comprising:

a) using an auxiliary device, obtaining firmware update information;

b) using the auxiliary device, transmitting a signal carrying the firmware update information to the programmable controller over a wireless communication link, the signal being configured for;

i) causing the passive memory component of the programmable controller to be activated by drawing energy from said signal; and

ii) causing a firmware update process to be performed to modify the instructions of the firmware based on the update information carried by the signal, at least part of said firmware update process being performed by the programmable controller while the passive memory component remains activated using said signal as a source of electrical energy.

21. The method defined in claim 20, wherein the auxiliary device is embodied in an NFC enabled computing device.

22. An intelligent light bulb comprising:

a) a light bulb body having;

i) a translucent envelop; and

ii) a connector for securing the light bulb body to an external electrical socket, the connector including an electrical contact for establishing an electrical connection with a source of electrical power through the external electrical socket;

b) an LED lighting element encapsulated within said light bulb body, wherein in operation light generated by the LED lighting element shines through the translucent envelop of the light bulb body, wherein said LED lighting element includes multiple LED light components characterized in that operating specific subsets of the LED light components causes respective distinct light colors to be generated by the LED lighting element, wherein the respective distinct light colors are selected amongst a set of at least two distinct light colors that the multiple LED light components are configured to generate;

c) a programmable controller encapsulated within said light bulb body and in communication with said LED lighting element, said programmable controller comprising;

i) a memory module having stored therein firmware including instructions for controlling operations of the LED lighting element, said memory module including a passive memory on which at least a portion of the firmware is stored, the passive memory component of the memory module being configured to be responsive to a signal carrying firmware update information received over a wireless communication link from a device external for causing a firmware update process to be performed to modify the instructions of the firmware based on the update information carried by the signal;

ii) a processing unit in communication with said memory module, said processing unit being programmed for operating the LED lighting element at least in part in accordance with the instructions of the firmware, wherein the instructions of the firmware configure the processing unit for;

(1) operating a first subset of said multiple LED light components to cause a first light color to be generated by the LED lighting element; and

(2) operating a second subset of said multiple LED light components to cause a second light color to be generated by the LED lighting element, wherein said first light color is visually distinguishable from said second light color.

23. An intelligent light bulb as defined in claim 22, wherein the connector of the controller body is a screw cap.

24. An intelligent light bulb as defined in claim 23, wherein the translucent envelop is comprised at least in part of at least one of glass and plastic.

25. An intelligent light bulb as defined in claim 24, wherein the light bulb body is shaped to resemble a conventional incandescent light bulb.

26. The intelligent light bulb defined in claim 22, wherein said first light color is a first white light color associated with a first color temperature and where said second light color is a second white light color associated with a second specific color temperature.

27. The intelligent lightbulb defined in claim 22, wherein the passive memory component includes a near field communication memory (NFC memory).

28. The intelligent light bulb defined in claim 22, wherein said passive memory component of the memory module is responsive to the signal carrying firmware update information received over the wireless communication link from the device external to the intelligent light bulb for:

(1) drawing energy from said signal to activate the passive memory component; and

(2) causing the firmware update process to be performed to modify the instructions of the firmware based on the update information carried by the signal, at least part of said firmware update process being performed while the passive memory component remains activated using energy drawn from said signal.

29. The intelligent light bulb defined in claim 22, wherein the passive memory component is configured for communicating with the device external to the intelligent light bulb over a short range radio frequency (RF) communication link established between the passive memory component and the device external to the intelligent light bulb.

30. The intelligent light bulb defined in claim 22, wherein said processing unit is programmed to control an intensity of operation of the multiple LED light components at least in part based upon the instructions in the firmware.

31. The intelligent light bulb defined in claim 30, wherein said processing unit is programmed to control the intensity of operation of the multiple LED light components to achieve a lighting intensity resembling that of at least one of:

a 40 W incandescent light bulb, a 60 W incandescent light bulb and a 100 W incandescent light bulb.

32. An intelligent light fixture comprising:

a) an LED lighting element including multiple LED light components characterized in that operating specific subsets of the multiple LED light components causes respective distinct light colors to be generated by the LED lighting element, wherein the respective distinct light colors are selected amongst a set of at least two distinct light colors that the multiple LED light components are configured to generate;

b) a programmable controller electrically connected to the LED lighting element, said programmable controller being configured for establishing a communication link with a remote auxiliary device over a wireless communication, said programmable controller comprising;

i) a memory module having stored therein firmware including instructions for controlling operations of the LED lighting element, said memory module including a passive memory on which at least a portion of the firmware is stored, the passive memory component of the memory module being configured to be responsive to a signal carrying firmware update information received over the wireless communication link from the remote auxiliary device for causing a firmware update process to be performed to modify the instructions of the firmware based on the update information carried by the signal;

ii) a processing unit in communication with said memory module, said processing unit being programmed for operating the LED lighting element at least in part in accordance with the instructions of the firmware, wherein the instructions of the firmware configure the processing unit for;

(1) operating a first subset of said multiple LED light components to cause a first light color to be generated by the LED lighting element; and

(2) operating a second subset of said multiple LED light components to cause a second light color to be generated by the LED lighting element, wherein said first light color is visually distinguishable from said second light color.

33. The intelligent light fixture defined in claim 32, wherein said distinct light colors include at least a first white light associated with a first specific color temperature and a second white light color associated with a second specific color temperature.