Ambient light control in solid state lamps and luminaires
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- providing a luminaire comprising;
a cover having a light transmissive portion at least partially formed from a light transmissive material;
a solid-state light source disposed within the cover, the solid-state light source having an illumination path that passes through at least a portion of the light transmissive portion, the solid-state light source operative in an OFF state in which no light is produced and an ON state in which at least some light is produced; and
a photosensitive transducer disposed within the cover, the photosensitive transducer having a detection path that passes through at least a portion of the light transmissive portion and at least partially overlaps with the illumination path of the solid-state light source, the photosensitive transducer operative to provide photosensitive transducer signals each indicative of a light level of the detection path at a respective sampling time;
alternatingly operating the luminaire in a daytime mode wherein the solid-state light source is in the OFF state and a nighttime mode wherein the solid-state light source produces at least some light in the illumination path, operating the luminaire in the daytime mode comprises;
from time to time obtaining a photosensitive transducer signal from the photosensitive transducer;
analyzing a plurality of the obtained photosensitive transducer signals to determine the presence of a turn ON condition; and
in response to determining the presence of the turn ON condition, controlling the solid-state light source to be in the ON state and transitioning the luminaire from the daytime mode to the nighttime mode;
wherein operating the luminaire in the nighttime mode comprises;
from time to time controlling the solid-state light source to be in the OFF state for an OFF period that is imperceptible to a human;
obtaining a photosensitive transducer signal having a sampling time that occurs during the OFF period while the solid-state light source is in the OFF state;
analyzing a plurality of the obtained photosensitive transducer signals to determine the presence of a turn OFF condition; and
in response to determining the presence of the turn OFF condition, controlling the solid-state light source to be in the OFF state and transitioning the luminaire from the nighttime mode to the daytime mode.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A luminaire comprising a solid-state light source and a photosensitive transducer each operatively coupled to a controller. The photosensitive transducer is oriented to be within an illumination path of the solid-state light source. When the solid-state light source is in an ON state in which at least some light is produced, the controller controls the solid-state light source to be in the OFF state in which no light is produced for a brief measurement period imperceptible to a human. During the measurement period the controller obtains an ambient light level measurement from the photosensitive transducer without interference from the solid-state light source, which is in the OFF state. The controller may record turn ON and turn OFF times of the solid-state light source for use in controlling the solid-state light source in various circumstances.
200 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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providing a luminaire comprising; a cover having a light transmissive portion at least partially formed from a light transmissive material; a solid-state light source disposed within the cover, the solid-state light source having an illumination path that passes through at least a portion of the light transmissive portion, the solid-state light source operative in an OFF state in which no light is produced and an ON state in which at least some light is produced; and a photosensitive transducer disposed within the cover, the photosensitive transducer having a detection path that passes through at least a portion of the light transmissive portion and at least partially overlaps with the illumination path of the solid-state light source, the photosensitive transducer operative to provide photosensitive transducer signals each indicative of a light level of the detection path at a respective sampling time; alternatingly operating the luminaire in a daytime mode wherein the solid-state light source is in the OFF state and a nighttime mode wherein the solid-state light source produces at least some light in the illumination path, operating the luminaire in the daytime mode comprises; from time to time obtaining a photosensitive transducer signal from the photosensitive transducer; analyzing a plurality of the obtained photosensitive transducer signals to determine the presence of a turn ON condition; and in response to determining the presence of the turn ON condition, controlling the solid-state light source to be in the ON state and transitioning the luminaire from the daytime mode to the nighttime mode; wherein operating the luminaire in the nighttime mode comprises; from time to time controlling the solid-state light source to be in the OFF state for an OFF period that is imperceptible to a human; obtaining a photosensitive transducer signal having a sampling time that occurs during the OFF period while the solid-state light source is in the OFF state; analyzing a plurality of the obtained photosensitive transducer signals to determine the presence of a turn OFF condition; and in response to determining the presence of the turn OFF condition, controlling the solid-state light source to be in the OFF state and transitioning the luminaire from the nighttime mode to the daytime mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of operating a luminaire including a photosensitive transducer and a solid-state light source, the photosensitive transducer being physically oriented to detect light within an illumination path of the light source, the method comprising:
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controlling the light source to be in an ON state in which at least some light is produced; controlling the light source to be in an OFF state in which no light is produced for an OFF period before controlling the light source to return to the ON state, the OFF period being sufficiently short in duration such that the light source being in the OFF state for the OFF period is imperceptible to a human; obtaining at least one first value from the photosensitive transducer, the at least one first value corresponding to an ambient light level measurement of the illumination path taken while the light source is in the OFF state for the OFF period; determining whether the at least one first value is greater than or equal to a dawn threshold value; and controlling the light source to be in one of the ON state and the OFF state depending on the determining of whether the at least one first value is greater than or equal to the dawn threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A luminaire, comprising:
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a cover having a light transmissive portion at least partially formed from a light transmissive material; a solid-state light source disposed within the cover, the solid-state light source having an illumination path that passes through at least a portion of the light transmissive portion, the solid-state light source operative in an OFF state in which no light is produced and an ON state in which at least some light is produced; a photosensitive transducer disposed within the cover, the photosensitive transducer having a detection path that passes through at least a portion of the light transmissive portion and at least partially overlaps with the illumination path of the solid-state light source, the photosensitive transducer operative to provide photosensitive transducer signals each indicative of a light level of the detection path at a respective sampling time; and a control subsystem communicatively coupled to the photosensitive transducer to receive the photosensitive transducer signals therefrom, and communicatively coupled to the solid-state light source to control the solid-state light source, the control subsystem including a processing unit and a non-transitory storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processing unit, cause the control subsystem to; alternatingly operate the luminaire in a daytime mode wherein the solid-state light source is in the OFF state and a nighttime mode wherein the solid-state light source produces at least some light in the illumination path, wherein, when the instructions cause the control subsystem to operate in the daytime mode, the instructions cause the control subsystem to; from time to time obtain a photosensitive transducer signal from the photosensitive transducer; analyze a plurality of the obtained photosensitive transducer signals to determine the presence of a turn ON condition; and when the presence of the turn ON condition is determined, control the solid-state light source to be in the ON state and transition the luminaire from the daytime mode to the nighttime mode; wherein, when the instructions cause the control subsystem to operate in the nighttime mode, the instructions cause the control subsystem to; from time to time control the solid-state light source to be in the OFF state for an OFF period that is imperceptible to a human; obtain a photosensitive transducer signal having a sampling time that occurs during the OFF period while the solid-state light source is in the OFF state; analyze a plurality of the obtained photosensitive transducer signals obtained during the OFF periods to determine the presence of a turn OFF condition; and when the presence of the turn OFF condition is determined, control the solid-state light source to be in the OFF state and transition the luminaire from the nighttime mode to the daytime mode. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A luminaire, comprising:
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at least one solid-state light source having an illumination path; at least one photosensitive transducer responsive to at least one physical characteristic indicative of at least one light condition, the at least one photosensitive transducer being physically oriented to detect light in the illumination path of the at least one solid-state light source; and a control subsystem communicatively coupled to the photosensitive transducer to receive photosensitive transducer signals indicative of the at least one light condition in the illumination path sensed by the photosensitive transducer, and communicatively coupled to the at least one solid-state light source to control the at least one solid-state light source to be in an OFF state in which no light is produced and an ON state in which at least some light is produced, the control subsystem including a processing unit and a non-transitory storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processing unit, cause the control subsystem to; control the at least one solid-state light source to be in the ON state responsive at least in part to the photosensitive transducer signals; control the at least one solid-state light source to be in the OFF state for an OFF period that is imperceptible to a human; obtain at least one of the photosensitive transducer signals, the at least one of the photosensitive transducer signals indicative of the at least one light condition in the illumination path sensed by the at least one photosensitive transducer during at least a portion of the OFF period while the at least one solid-state light source is in the OFF state; compare the at least one obtained photosensitive transducer signal to a first threshold value; and control the at least one solid-state light source to be in the OFF state responsive at least in part to comparing the at least one obtained photosensitive transducer signal to the first threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification