3591results about "Photometry electrical circuits" patented technology

An LED area illumination source/display (10) such as an electronic billboard is made up of a number of individual pixels with each pixel including a number of LEDs, e.g., a red (18), blue (19) and green LED (20), with each LED representing a primary color being arranged to be energized separately. At least one light sensor (22) is incorporated into the display for providing a measure of the light emitted from each LED representing a primary color in each pixel. The source/display (10) is susceptible of being self-calibrated by initially energizing the LEDs (18, 19, 20) at less than a maximum level and increasing the energization level as necessary during use to restore the original light output of degraded LEDs.

Many electrical sensing devices include an array of transducer elements for converting external stimuli to electrical indications. Novel technologies to realize improvements in low power consumption, low noise, and analog output path which occupies minimal die area while maintaining certain data rates are disclosed. A two stage pipeline architecture of the invention in the analog output path maintains fast pixel rates with minimal ADC (analog digital converter) arrangement. A novel power supply and the use of differential amplifiers in connection with a black signal level as a reference voltage are also described.

The present invention relates to an electronic circuit and an array of such circuits for precisely measuring small amounts or small changes in the amount of charge, voltage, or electrical currents. One embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic circuit for measuring current or charge that can be used with a variety of sensing media (including high impedance sensing media) that produce a signal by either charge or current production or induction in response to physical phenomena occurring within the sensing media. In another embodiment, the voltage level (bias) of either the sensing or reference electrode can be switched relative to the other upon receipt of a triggering pulse. This changes the polarity of the electric field to cause charge of the opposite polarity to be driven to the sensing electrode, thereby eliminating the need to electrically connect a discharge path to the sensing electrode to clear the charge accumulated at the sensing electrode. This can be supplemented by capacitively coupling a compensation signal to the sensing electrode to cause the amplifier output signal to lessen in magnitude below a threshold level that permits additional charge or current measurements of the same polarity before performing bias reversal. Alternately or in combination with bias reversal and capacitive compensation, sensor performance can be improved by minimizing inaccuracies caused by leakage currents or current drawn from the sensor. Other described methods of reducing leakage currents that can be used alone or in combination with the aforementioned features include the use of guard rings, physical switches or relays, the controlled creation of charges or currents of a specific polarity in a specific region of the sensing medium, controlled leakage over the surface of an insulator, and controlling the environment in which the circuit operates.

To reduce energy costs in buildings where there is an input of natural light, a method of maintaining an ambient light intensity in a building area at a predetermined level is proposed. It comprises obtaining an ambient light intensity level for the building area; comparing the ambient level to the predetermined level of light intensity; if the ambient level differs from the predetermined level, calculating an artificial lighting input to be generated in the building area to attain the predetermined level. It can further comprise generating the artificial lighting input in the building area and carrying out the steps of obtaining, comparing and calculating a second time to determine a quality of the calculating and modify the generating.

Provided is a light emitting device improved in safety to an eye. The light emitting device includes: a semiconductor laser element for emitting laser light; an optical conversion member for converting coherent laser light which is emitted from the semiconductor laser element into incoherent light, and for emitting the incoherent light; and a safety device for preventing the coherent laser light from exiting to an outside.

Remote control systems that can distinguish predetermined light sources from stray light sources, e.g., environmental light sources and/or reflections are provided. The predetermined light sources can be disposed in asymmetric substantially linear or two-dimensional patterns. The predetermined light sources also can output waveforms modulated in accordance with one or more signature modulation characteristics. The predetermined light sources also can output light at different signature wavelengths.

An electrically-adjustable light transmitter changes its light transmissivity responsive to an electric signal. By applying the electrically-adjustable light transmitter to a window and thereafter changing the electric signal to it, a window can be tinted and un-tinted. Jurisdictions that prohibit tinted vehicle windows are listed in a data base. A current location determined by a GPS is compared to data base entries. If the location is within an area where tinted windows are prohibited, a controller automatically un-tints the windows, or reduces the window tint to comply with applicable local laws.

An ultraviolet area sterilizer or disinfector is incorporated into a building structure where concern exists regarding the presence of pathogenic bacteria on environmental surfaces. Ultraviolet C (UV-C) generators generate UV-C that is directed to architectural partitions of an enclosed area. The architectural partitions reflect UV-C to kill pathogens in the enclosed area. The device transmits a calculated dose of UV-C from a fixture mounted to an architectural partition in the enclosed area. Once an effective cumulative dose of UV-C has been reflected to radiation sensors, as measured by the sensors, the device shuts down. The device allocates power to specific UV-C emitters so as to direct UV-C radiation more uniformly throughout the area, as measured by the sensors.

A method is provided for correcting a quadrature angle error that exists in the coherent receiver hardware of a dual-polarization optical transport system. The receiver hardware that causes the quadrature angle error is a 90 degree optical hybrid mixing device. The method involves generating an estimate of the quadrature angle error and compensating for the quadrature angle error by multiplying the first and second detected baseband signals by coefficients that are a function of the estimate of the quadrature angle error. The method is robust to severe channel distortion encountered within an optical fiber transmission channel as well as temperature effects and ageing of the 90 degree optical hybrid. The method is suited for a digital signal processing implementation in the coherent receiver when a modulation scheme used on a transmitted signal is quadriphase-shift keying (QPSK). In other embodiments, the method can be used to correct for quadrature angle error in modulation schemes such as binary PSK, M-ary PSK where M>4, or Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM). The method can be implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC).

A direct-type backlight device for a non-self-luminous image display panel has a light-emitting area corresponding to a display area of the image display panel. The light-emitting area is arranged by combining a plurality of backlight substrates each of which is provided with (i) a color sensor for detecting an incident light intensity and (ii) red, green, and blue LEDs whose respective light intensities are controlled in accordance with a detection result obtained by the color sensor. This arrangement allows reduction of brightness unevenness entirely in the light-emitting area of the backlight device.

An imaging device includes: a pixel array section having an array of pixels each of which has a photoelectric converting device and outputs an electric signal according to an input photon; a sense circuit section having a plurality of sensor circuits each of which makes binary decision on whether there is a photon input to a pixel in a predetermined period upon reception of the electric signal therefrom; and a decision result IC section which integrates decision results from the sense circuits, pixel by pixel or for each group of pixels, multiple times to generate imaged data with a gradation, the decision result IC section including a count circuit which performs a count process to integrate the decision results from the sense circuits, and a memory for storing a counting result for each pixel from the count circuit, the plurality of sense circuits sharing the count circuit for integrating the decision results.

A photosensor control unit for use in a lighting module has a light sensor and a switch adapted to operably control a light source such as a plurality of LEDs responsive to the light sensor. The light source is adapted to be mounted in the lighting module, and is configured to produce light having wavelengths within a first range of wavelengths. The light sensor is adapted to be mounted on or about the lighting module, and is responsive to light having wavelengths within a second range of wavelengths. The second range of wavelengths is exclusive of the first range of wavelengths. The switch is adapted to operably control the light source responsive to the light sensor such that the light source emits light having wavelengths within the first range of wavelengths responsive to the presence or absence of light within the second range of wavelengths.

Some embodiments include an automotive variable attenuated transmittance device having a predetermined minimum transmittance. Such devices can include a suspended particle device, liquid crystal device, polymer dispersed liquid crystal device, or electrochromic device. Some embodiments also include a manual and/or automatic control system for varying transmittance according to any of a variety of data including, without limitation, position, orientation, transmitted power, and/or the position of an occupant's head.

A method and a system for controlling at least one lighting arrangement (2), in which the lighting arrangement modulates the light (6, 16, 18) it emits by lighting arrangement data, which contains an identification code identifying the lighting arrangement, a user control device (12) is suitable to receive the light from the lighting arrangement and to derive therefrom the lighting arrangement data, the user control device measures a property of the received light, apart from it representing data, to provide additional data which is associated with the lighting arrangement which is associated with the identification code contained in the received data, the user control device transmits the lighting arrangement data and the additional data, and a main control device (10) is suitable to receive the data transmitted by the user control device and to therewith control the operation of the lighting arrangement.

The output of optical computing devices containing an integrated computational element can be corrected when an interferent substance or condition is present. The devices may comprise an optional electromagnetic radiation source; a sample detection unit comprising an integrated computational element and a detector configured to receive electromagnetic radiation that has optically interacted with the integrated computational element and produce a sample signal associated therewith; an interferent monitor located proximal to the sample detection unit, the interferent monitor being configured to produce an interferent signal associated with an interferent substance; and a signal processing unit operable to convert the interferent signal into an interferent input form suitable for being computationally combined with the sample signal, the signal processing unit being further operable to computationally combine the sample signal and the interferent input form to determine a characteristic of a sample in real-time or near real-time.