Reliable and self-sufficient lighting system and method therefor

Abstract

A lighting device has: a lighting member; an energy storage unit; a photovoltaic (PV) panel for at least one of powering the lighting component and charging the energy storage unit; a wind turbine having a plurality of rotatable blades coupled to a generator for at least one of powering the lighting component and charging the energy storage unit; and a housing in which at least the lighting component, the energy storage unit, and the PV panel are accommodated. The wind turbine is physically coupled to the housing.

Description

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 356,121, filed on June 28, 2022, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to lighting devices and systems, and more particularly, to light-emitting diode (LED) devices and systems having a power converter, and methods of controlling the LEDs and powering the LEDs. Background Art

[0004] Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are well known and have been widely used in industry, mainly as low-power light indicators. In recent years, LEDs with increased power output or increased luminous intensity have been developed and used for lighting. For example, LED lights offer improved energy efficiency, safety, and reliability, and are replacing other types of lights in the market, such as incandescent lights, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), etc. Since daily lighting significantly increases the burden on the power grid and greatly increases the overall demand for power generation, the energy efficiency of LEDs will play a crucial role in future energy conservation. LEDs are likely to dominate the lighting market due to their excellent energy efficiency.

[0005] High-efficiency LEDs have gradually replaced traditional street lighting solutions. Therefore, LED street lights have become a rapidly growing industry due to various advantages such as high intensity, high efficiency, and high reliability. Moreover, LED street lights need to be able to operate outdoors for long periods under harsh weather conditions. Therefore, their reliability and robustness are very important.

[0006] To reduce the power consumption of street lights and make them more "green", the integration of renewable energy systems and energy storage systems has been used. For example, solar or photovoltaic (PV) panels are commonly used to collect solar energy, and batteries are employed to provide storage capacity. During the day, the battery stores the solar energy collected by the PV panel, and at night, the battery powers the LED lights.

[0007] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a prior art LED street light system 10 having a PV panel 12 and a battery 14. As shown, the LED street light system 10 includes an LED light 16 mounted on a pole 18. The LED light 16 is typically connected to the battery 14 through a power converter (not shown). The PV panel 12 is also connected to the battery 14 to charge the battery 14 during the day. The LED street light system 10 may also include an alternating current (AC) power input, such as an AC utility grid (not shown) for powering the LED light 16.

[0008] Battery 14 requires low temperature variations. In addition, due to its heavy weight, battery 14 is usually placed on the ground or underground. However, this arrangement requires long wiring between battery 14 and LED lamp 16 and between battery 14 and PV panel 12. The long wiring may result in increased resistance and increased power consumption waste caused by the long wiring. This problem is particularly evident for high-power LED lamps (such as highway lights) because of their low battery voltage and large current.

[0009] Figure 2 Yes Figure 1 is a block diagram of the prior art LED street lamp system 10 shown. As shown, the LED street lamp system 10 includes a plurality of power converters. Specifically, the first direct current (DC) to direct current converter (DC / DC converter) 24 converts the output of the PV panel 12 into DC power suitable for charging the battery 14. The first DC / DC converter 24 can use maximum power point tracking (MPPT) to collect the maximum available power from the PV panel 12 under applicable conditions.

[0010] The battery 14 is connected to the LED street lamp 16 via the second DC / DC converter 26. The second DC / DC converter 26 converts the DC output of the battery 26 into a voltage / current suitable for the LED 16.

[0011] In the case where the energy stored in the battery 14 is insufficient, the LED street lamp 16 is also powered by the AC power supply 22 via an AC to DC (AC / DC) converter 28.

[0012] The prior art LED street lamp system has various challenges and difficulties. For example,

[0013] · The long wiring between the battery 14 and other components (such as the LED lamp 16 and the PV panel 12) results in a large amount of power loss. Therefore, the overall energy efficiency of the street lamp system is usually poor;

[0014] · The system requires multiple power converters, such as Figure 2 the power converters 24, 26 and 28 shown, resulting in increased system complexity, increased cost and reduced reliability; and

[0015] · When the battery 14 does not have enough stored energy, the public power grid 22 is required to power the system,

[0016] thus imposing an energy demand burden on the public power grid 22.

[0017] Due to the above challenges, existing LED street lamps may not provide the best lighting solution. Due to the exponential growth of street lamps and their impact on the public power grid system, sub-optimal operation has a significant and adverse impact on the power system. Summary of the Invention

[0018] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a lighting device, comprising: a lighting component; an energy storage unit; a photovoltaic (PV) panel for powering the lighting component and / or charging the energy storage unit; a wind turbine having a plurality of rotatable blades coupled to a generator for powering the lighting component and / or charging the energy storage unit; and a housing in which at least the lighting component, the energy storage unit, and the PV panel are housed; the wind turbine being physically coupled to the housing.

[0019] In some embodiments, the lighting component is a light-emitting diode (LED).

[0020] In some embodiments, the lighting device further comprises a reflector coupled to the housing for reflecting light towards the PV panel.

[0021] In some embodiments, the wind turbine comprises a gyroscopic structure; and the plurality of rotatable blades are coupled to the gyroscopic structure to align the direction of the plurality of rotatable blades along the wind direction.

[0022] In some embodiments, the gyroscopic structure comprises: an outer frame coupled to a support and rotatable about a first axis; and an inner frame coupled to the outer frame and rotatable about a second axis perpendicular to the first axis; the plurality of rotatable blades are coupled to the inner frame.

[0023] In some embodiments, the inner frame comprises a wind diffuser structure in which the plurality of rotatable blades are housed.

[0024] In some embodiments, the wind diffuser structure has a conical shape.

[0025] In some embodiments, the gyroscopic structure comprises a coupling structure for supporting the generator; the outer frame comprises a plurality of conductive parts separated by a pair of electrical isolators; the coupling structure is coupled to the plurality of conductive parts and extends between the plurality of conductive parts; and each of the conductive parts is electrically connected to the generator via a first electrical wiring of the coupling structure to receive power from the generator, and is also electrically connected to a second electrical wiring of the support to output the power received from the generator.

[0026] In some embodiments, the coupling structure comprises a plurality of first conductive arms for serving as the first electrical wiring; and the support comprises a plurality of second conductive arms for serving as the second electrical wiring.

[0027] In some embodiments, the gyroscopic structure comprises an alignment tail for tracking the wind direction.

[0028] In some embodiments, the energy storage unit comprises an energy storage capacitor.

[0029] In some embodiments, the energy storage unit includes an energy storage capacitor.

[0030] In some embodiments, the energy storage capacitor includes at least one capacitor unit.

[0031] In some embodiments, the energy storage capacitor includes a plurality of stacked capacitor units.

[0032] In some embodiments, each capacitor includes a plurality of stacked layers of the following: a dielectric film; and two conductive layers of two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) materials sandwiching the dielectric film therebetween; the plurality of stacked layers extend along the rear side of the PV panel without wrapping.

[0033] In some embodiments, the 2D or 3D material includes graphene and / or graphite.

[0034] In some embodiments, the lighting device further includes a thermoelectric unit housed in a housing, the thermoelectric unit being coupled to the lighting component or the PV panel to convert heat emitted from the lighting component or the PV panel into electricity for at least one of powering the lighting component and charging the energy storage unit.

[0035] In some embodiments, the thermoelectric unit includes: a first heat conducting plate coupled to the lighting component or the PV panel; a second heat conducting plate; and a thermoelectric layer sandwiched between the first heat conducting plate and the second heat conducting plate.

[0036] In some embodiments, the thermoelectric layer includes 2D perovskite.

[0037] In some embodiments, the thermoelectric layer includes a plurality of hot electron layers extending between the first heat conducting plate and the second heat conducting plate, with each adjacent pair of hot electron layers sandwiching a film therebetween.

[0038] In some embodiments, the lighting device further includes one or more sensors.

[0039] In some embodiments, the one or more sensors include at least one of one or more light sensors, one or more temperature sensors, one or more humidity sensors, and one or more motion sensors.

[0040] In some embodiments, the lighting device further includes a power supply circuit electrically coupled to the lighting component, the energy storage unit, the PV panel, the wind turbine, and one or more sensors; and a supervisory control module electrically coupled to the power supply circuit to adjust the operation of the lighting device based on the output of the one or more sensors.

[0041] In some embodiments, the supervisory control module includes one or more artificial intelligence (AI) models for predicting the operating conditions of the lighting device based on the outputs of one or more sensors to adjust the operation of the lighting device.

[0042] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a lighting system including a plurality of the above-described lighting devices; each of the plurality of lighting devices further includes a communication component; and the lighting system is configured to coordinate the operation of the plurality of lighting devices based on the outputs of one or more sensors of the plurality of lighting devices.

[0043] In some embodiments, the lighting system is configured to: predict the operating conditions of the plurality of lighting devices using one or more AI models based on the outputs of one or more sensors of the plurality of lighting devices; and coordinate the operation of the plurality of lighting devices based on the predicted operating conditions of the plurality of lighting devices. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] To more fully understand the present disclosure, reference is made to the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0045] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a prior art street lamp system having a solar panel and a battery assembly;

[0046] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a block diagram of the prior art LED street lamp system shown;

[0047] Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a lighting device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0048] Figure 4 is Figure 3 a schematic plan view of the lighting device shown;

[0049] Figure 5 is a diagram showing Figure 3 the functional structure of the lighting device shown;

[0050] Figure 6 is according to some embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 3 a schematic plan view of the wind turbine of the lighting device shown;

[0051] Figure 7 is Figure 6 a schematic cross-sectional view of the wind turbine shown;

[0052] Figure 8 is according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 3 a schematic perspective view of the wind turbine of the lighting device shown;

[0053] Figure 9 is Figure 8 a schematic side view of the wind turbine shown;

[0054] Figure 10 is Figure 8 a schematic plan view of the wind turbine shown;

[0055] Figure 11 according to still other embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 3 a schematic perspective view of the wind turbine of the lighting device shown;

[0056] Figure 12 is Figure 11 a schematic bottom view of the wind turbine shown;

[0057] Figure 13 is Figure 11 a schematic side view of the wind turbine shown;

[0058] Figure 14 shows according to some embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 3 a schematic diagram of the structure of a thin film supercapacitor having a plurality of capacitor units of the lighting device shown;

[0059] Figure 15 shows Figure 14 a schematic diagram of the structure of a capacitor unit of the thin film supercapacitor shown;

[0060] Figure 16 shows according to some embodiments of the present disclosure coupled to Figure 3 a schematic diagram of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) of the lighting device shown for converting a temperature gradient into electricity;

[0061] Figure 17 shows according to some embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 3 a schematic diagram of the structure of the TEG of the lighting device shown;

[0062] Figure 18 is Figure 17 a schematic diagram of the TEG shown, showing the movement of electrons;

[0063] Figure 19 shows according to some embodiments of the present disclosure coupled to Figure 3 a schematic diagram of a TEG of the lighting device shown coupled to a photovoltaic (PV) panel;

[0064] Figure 20 is Figure 19 a schematic perspective view of the TEG and the PV panel shown;

[0065] Figure 21is a block diagram showing a functional structure of an illumination device using artificial intelligence (AI) supervision control according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 3 shown in the illumination device;

[0066] Figure 22 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an illumination device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0067] Figure 23 is Figure 22 a schematic plan view of the illumination device shown;

[0068] Figure 24 is Figure 22 a schematic side view of an illumination assembly of the illumination device shown;

[0069] Figure 25 is Figure 24 a schematic rear view of the illumination assembly shown;

[0070] Figure 26 is Figure 24 a schematic bottom view of the illumination assembly shown;

[0071] Figure 27 is Figure 24 a schematic front view of a wind turbine of the illumination assembly shown;

[0072] Figure 28 is Figure 27 a schematic side view of the wind turbine shown;

[0073] Figure 29 is Figure 27 a schematic perspective view of the wind turbine shown;

[0074] Figure 30 is a schematic diagram showing an illumination system having a plurality of illumination devices deployed in a site according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0075] Figure 31 is a schematic diagram showing an illumination system having a plurality of illumination devices deployed in a site and using one or more artificial intelligence (AI) models to predict operations of the illumination devices according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0076] The present disclosure generally relates to lighting devices and / or systems, such as light-emitting diode (LED) devices and systems. In some embodiments, the lighting device may be an LED street lamp. The lighting devices disclosed herein include various energy conversion units, electronics, sensors such as light sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, motion sensors, etc., lighting components such as LEDs, mechanical housings, and the like. The lighting device is reliable and self-sufficient and can provide power to the lighting components in an efficient manner without the need for a utility grid.

[0077] Turning now to Figures 3 to 5 , a self-sufficient lighting device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown and generally designated by reference numeral 100 to identify the lighting device, wherein, Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the lighting device 100, Figure 4 is a schematic plan view thereof, and Figure 5 is a block diagram showing its components. As shown, the lighting device 100 includes a support structure 102, such as a pole that extends upwardly from the ground 104 and supports a lighting assembly 106 thereabove.

[0078] The lighting assembly 106 includes a housing or enclosure 108 in which is housed an electronic circuit 110, one or more photovoltaic (PV) panels 112, one or more energy storage units 114, one or more lighting components 116 (such as one or more LEDs), one or more wind turbines 118 (which are small wind turbines (also denoted hereinafter as "nano wind turbines") in these embodiments), and other components and circuits (such as one or more thermoelectric units 120 (also denoted as "thermoelectric generators (TEGs)") and one or more sensors 122. In these embodiments, the lighting assembly 106 also includes one or more reflectors 124 that are coupled to the housing 108 at a suitable angle for reflecting sunlight towards the PV panels 112.

[0079] By integrating the components 110 to 122 into the housing 108, the lighting assembly 106 does not require any external wiring, thereby providing easy deployment and energy savings that might otherwise be wasted on external wiring.

[0080] In these embodiments, the PV panel 112 is connected to the energy storage unit 114 to convert solar energy into electrical energy during the day and store the converted electrical energy in the energy storage unit 114. The nano wind turbine 118 is connected to the energy storage unit 114 to convert wind energy into electrical energy and store the converted electrical energy in the energy storage unit 114. In some embodiments, the PV panel 112 and / or the nano wind turbine 118 are also connected to the LED 116 to power the LED 116 for lighting. The electronic circuit 110 controls the operation of the components 112 to 122.

[0081] Figure 6 and Figure 7 are a schematic plan view and a cross-sectional view of the nano wind turbine 118, respectively. As shown, the nano wind turbine 118 includes a frame structure 132 that supports a set of blades 134 that can rotate therein. The blades 134 are coupled to a generator 136 to drive the generator 136 to convert wind energy into electrical energy.

[0082] In some embodiments, the frame structure 132 of the nano wind turbine 118 includes a gyroscopic structure for collecting the maximum amount of wind energy to be converted into electricity. As Figures 8 to 10 shown, the frame structure 132 includes an outer frame 132A and an inner frame 132B, both of which are of suitable shapes, such as circular shapes. The outer frame 132A is rotatably mounted or otherwise coupled to a support 144 to rotate about a first axis 146. The inner frame 132B is rotatably mounted or otherwise coupled to the outer frame 132A to rotate about a second axis 148 that is substantially perpendicular to the first axis 146. The blades 134 are rotatably coupled to the inner frame 132B via a coupling structure 150. As described above, the blades 134 are also coupled to the generator 136 to drive the generator 136 to convert wind energy into electrical energy.

[0083] By using the gyroscopic structure 132, the blades 134 can rotate about the axes 146 and 148 under the wind pressure applied thereto to align with the wind direction, thereby collecting the maximum amount of wind energy.

[0084] Figures 11 to 13 A nano wind turbine 118 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The nano wind turbine 118 is similar to that shown in Figures 8 to 10 and further includes an alignment tail 154 to ensure that the gyroscopic structure 132 tracks the wind direction.

[0085] The energy storage unit 114 stores the energy collected by the PV panel 112 and the nano wind turbine 118, and powers the LED 116 when needed (e.g., when there is no sunlight). The energy storage unit 114 can be any suitable energy storage component, such as one or more batteries (such as high-density lithium-ion (Li) batteries), one or more so-called supercapacitors (which are energy storage capacitors with large energy storage capacity), etc.

[0086] In some embodiments, the large area provided by the PV panel 112 may be suitable for coupling a supercapacitor thereto through electrical connection to use the supercapacitor as the energy storage unit 114.

[0087] Figure 14 and Figure 15 The structure of a thin-film supercapacitor 114 for effectively storing energy for the lighting device 100 is shown. As Figure 14 shown, the supercapacitor 114 includes one or more capacitor units 172 connected to a pair of conductors or electrodes 174. As Figure 15 shown, each capacitor unit 172 includes a plurality of stacked layers, and the plurality of stacked layers include a dielectric film 182 sandwiched between two layers of conductive two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) materials (such as graphene, graphite, etc.) 184. Each layer 184 is electrically coupled to a conductor 186 located on its outer side. By using the 2D or 3D material layer 184, the capacitor unit 172 can be made very thin and have a very large area. When a plurality of capacitor units 172 are stacked and integrated to form the thin-film supercapacitor 114, the adjacent 2D or 3D material layers 184 of two capacitor units 172 can share the same conductor 186, as Figure 14 shown. As understood by those skilled in the art, the thin-film supercapacitor 114 has several advantages, such as:

[0088] · Compared with a battery, the dynamic behavior of the thin-film supercapacitor 114 is much faster, which is very important for performance lighting applications due to the unstable nature of the energy source;

[0089] · Compared with a battery, the service life of the thin-film supercapacitor 114 is much longer, because different from a battery, the thin-film supercapacitor 114 generally does not undergo an electrochemical reaction, and thus the life of the thin-film supercapacitor 114 can be extended to many years with minimal performance degradation;

[0090] · The thin-film supercapacitor 114 has a wide operating temperature range, which makes it particularly suitable for outdoor applications.

[0091] In addition, the thin-film supercapacitor 114 can extend along the rear surface of the PV panel 112 without wrapping its stacked layers. This layout effectively utilizes the large area of the PV panel 112 and reduces the thickness of the thin-film supercapacitor 114.

[0092] Figure 16 and Figure 17 shows the structure of the TEG 120 for converting a temperature gradient into electricity.

[0093] As shown, the TEG 120 includes a thermoelectric layer 204 (such as a 2D perovskite layer) sandwiched between a pair of thermally conductive plates 206 and 208 (hereinafter referred to as the "hot plate" and the "cold plate" respectively). The hot plate 206 is positioned adjacent to a heat source such as the LED 116 (e.g., directly coupled to the circuit board of the LED 116 or to the circuit board of the lighting component 116 via the metal housing 108), and serves as a heat sink for directing the heat 210 from the LED 116 directly towards the thermoelectric layer 204. The cold plate 208 is positioned away from the LED 116 to maintain a temperature difference from the hot plate 206.

[0094] As Figure 17 shown, in some embodiments, the thermoelectric layer 204 includes a plurality of hot electron layers 212 extending between the hot plate 206 and the cold plate 208. Each adjacent pair of hot electron layers 212 sandwiches a film 214 therebetween. Each hot electron layer 212 includes a thermoelectric material, such as 2D perovskite, which has good electron conductivity and poor thermal conductivity (in other words, conducts electricity and insulates heat), so as to trap the heat 210 emitted from the LED 116 near the hot plate 206, and as Figure 18 shown, generates enough energy to drive electrons 216 to the cold plate 208, thereby converting the temperature gradient between the hot plate 206 and the cold plate 208 into an electric current.

[0095] The TEG 120 provides a highly redundant design for the lighting device 100 and can effectively recover some of the energy generated by the LED 116 as heat. In the high-power lighting device 100, the LED 116 can generate a large amount of heat, which causes the heat sink or the hot plate 206 to be at a high temperature. Therefore, there is a significant temperature gradient between the hot plate 206 and the cold plate 208 for power generation.

[0096] In some embodiments, the thermal energy generated by other components of the lighting device 100 can also be recovered by using the TEG 120. For example, the PV panel 112 is exposed to direct sunlight, which causes its temperature to rise. The higher temperature tends to reduce the efficiency of the PV panel 112.

[0097] As Figure 19 and Figure 20 shown, in some embodiments, one or more TEGs 120 can be coupled to the rear side of the PV panel 112 to convert the heat generated by the PV panel 112 into electricity, which also helps to cool the PV panel 112, thereby resulting in an increase in the efficiency of the PV panel.

[0098] One or more sensors 122 may be one or more light sensors, one or more temperature sensors, one or more humidity sensors, one or more motion sensors, etc., for sensing the environment of the lighting device 100. The electronic circuit 110 uses the output of the sensors 122 to control the operation of the lighting device 100. For example, a light sensor can be used to sense the ambient light intensity and can be used to turn on the LED 116 (e.g., during the day) or turn off the LED 116 (e.g., at night). A motion sensor can be used to turn on and off the LED 116 (e.g., turn on the LED 116 when the motion sensor detects a moving object, or turn off the LED 116 when the motion sensor does not detect a moving object within a predefined time period).

[0099] Thus, the lighting device 100 uses three different energy sources, namely the PV panel 112, the nano wind turbine 118, and the TEG 120 for storing electrical power in the energy storage unit 114 and / or powering the LED 116. Using three different energy sources provides great flexibility and redundancy for the lighting device 100. Therefore, the reliability of the lighting device 100 can be significantly improved.

[0100] In some embodiments as Figure 21 shown, the electronic circuit 110 includes a power supply circuit 222 that is electrically coupled or connected to the PV panel 112, the nano wind turbine 118, the TEG 120, the energy storage unit 114, and the LED 116. The electronic circuit 110 further includes a control unit 224 that is electrically coupled or connected to the power supply circuit 222 for its electrical control. In these embodiments, the electronic circuit 110 further includes an artificial intelligence (AI)-based supervisory control unit 226 that is electrically coupled or connected to the control unit 224. The AI-based supervisory control unit 226 receives the output of the sensors 122 and controls the operation of the components 112 to 120 via the control unit 224.

[0101] In these embodiments, the AI-based supervisory control unit 226 includes one or more AI models that are trained using historical outputs of the sensors 122 (historical data representing, for example, traffic, weather conditions, etc.) and historical operation data of the respective components of the lighting device 100, such as historical operation data of the LED 116, PV panel 112, nano wind turbine 118, TEG 120, and / or energy storage unit 114. The AI-based supervisory control unit 226 uses the one or more trained AI models to intelligently predict the operating conditions of the lighting device 100 based on the outputs of the sensors 122 and adjust the operation of the respective components of the lighting device 100 to optimize its performance, with increased reliability. For example, the AI-based supervisory control unit 226 uses the one or more trained AI models to estimate or predict the amount of available energy and controls the light intensity of the LED 116 by controlling the LED current (via the control unit 224) to achieve a high level of reliability. As another example, motion sensors can be used to turn on and off the LED 116 based on the outputs of one or more light sensors or based on AI predictions using the outputs of one or more motion sensors and the outputs of one or more temperature sensors, one or more humidity sensors, one or more light sensors, etc.

[0102] In some embodiments, the one or more AI models can also be trained by using historical data such as traffic, weather conditions, etc. obtained from other devices.

[0103] In some embodiments, the lighting device 100 can include communication components for receiving relevant data such as traffic, weather conditions, etc. from other devices or one or more computer servers. The AI-based supervisory control unit 226 can use the one or more trained AI models to intelligently predict the operating conditions of the lighting device 100 based on the outputs of the sensors 122 and the data received through the communication components. The AI-based supervisory control unit 226 then adjusts the operation of the respective components of the lighting device 100 based on the predicted operating conditions to optimize its performance, with increased reliability.

[0104] Figure 22 and Figure 23 shows a lighting device 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, wherein, Figure 22 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the lighting device 100 and Figure 23 is its schematic plan view.

[0105] The lighting device 100 in these embodiments is related to Figures 3 to 5Similar to those shown. However, in these embodiments, both the energy storage unit 114 and the TEG 120 utilize the large area of the PV panel 112 and extend along the rear side of the PV panel 112 without wrapping. In addition, the TEG 120 is sandwiched between the PV panel 112 and the energy storage unit 114.

[0106] In these embodiments, one or more wind turbines 118 of the lighting device 100 are not housed in the housing 108 of the lighting assembly 106. As Figures 24 to 26 shown, the wind turbine 118 is coupled to the housing 108 of the lighting assembly 106 via a support 144. As Figures 27 to 29 shown, the wind turbine 118 includes a gyroscopic structure 132 formed by a rotatable outer frame 132A and a rotatable inner frame 132B (both of suitable shapes, such as a circular shape). The outer frame 132A is rotatably mounted or otherwise coupled to the support 144 via a ball bearing 242 to rotate about a first axis 146. The inner frame 132B is rotatably mounted or otherwise coupled to the outer frame 132A via a ball bearing 244 to rotate about a second axis 148 that is substantially perpendicular to the first axis 146.

[0107] Blades (not shown) are rotatably coupled to the inner frame 132B via a coupling structure 150. A generator 136 is coupled to the blades such that rotation of the blades drives the generator 136 to convert wind energy into electrical energy.

[0108] In these embodiments, the outer frame 132A includes or is otherwise formed by a plurality of conductive portions separated by a plurality of electrical isolators 246 (such as Figure 27 the two conductive portions 132A1 and 132A2 separated by a pair of electrical isolators 246 as shown). The coupling structure 150 that supports the generator 136 is coupled to the plurality of conductive portions 132A1 and 132A2 and extends between the plurality of conductive portions. Each of the conductive portions 132A1 and 132A2 is electrically connected to the generator 136 via suitable electrical wiring of the coupling structure 150. Each of the conductive portions 132A1 and 132A2 is also electrically connected to the corresponding wiring of the support 144. Thus, the conductive portions 132A1 and 132A2 act as electrodes for outputting power from the generator 136 through the wiring of the support 144 (e.g., output to the energy storage unit 114 and / or the LED 116).

[0109] In some embodiments, the coupling structure 150 may include a plurality of conductive arms (such as Figure 27 the two conductive arms 150A and 150B as shown), each conductive arm acting as electrical wiring for electrically connecting the corresponding conductive portion 132A1 or 132A2 to the generator 136.

[0110] In some embodiments, the support member 144 may include a plurality of conductive arms 144A and 144B, each conductive arm being physically and electrically coupled to a respective conductive portion 132A1 or 132A2 and serving as electrical wiring for outputting electrical power from the generator 136.

[0111] In these embodiments, the inner frame 132B has a substantially conical shape and serves as a wind diffuser, which can increase the speed of the wind passing through the blades in the inner frame 132B. Thus, the wind turbine 118 can start operating at a lower ambient wind speed and with increased power conversion efficiency.

[0112] Figure 30 Shown is a lighting system 300 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In these embodiments, the lighting system 300 includes a plurality of lighting devices 100 deployed in a site 302 (as an example, Figure 30 along a road). Each of the lighting devices 100 may be Figures 3 to 5 the lighting device shown or Figures 22 to 23 the lighting device shown, and also includes communication components (not shown) for communicating with other lighting devices via suitable wired or wireless means.

[0113] Utilizing the communication between the lighting devices 100, the lighting system 300 can use the sensors 122 of the lighting devices 100 to sense the site 302 and the objects therein, and coordinate the operation of the lighting devices 100. For example, the lighting devices 100 can change their light intensity based on the movement of the objects in the site 302. For example, to enhance reliability, the sensors 122 of the lighting devices 100 can detect the movement of an object and notify adjacent lighting devices of the presence of the object to adjust their light intensity accordingly. In some embodiments, the lighting system 300 can estimate the pace of the object and adjust the light intensity of the lighting devices 100 accordingly. Thus, the lighting system 300 can have higher reliability and reduced energy consumption.

[0114] In some embodiments as shown in Figure 31 the lighting system 300 can collect information etc. from a plurality of sources such as the energy storage unit 114 (such as its state), the sensors 122, the weather information 342, the map 344 of the site 302, the traffic of the site 302, the date and time 346, etc., and use one or more AI models 350 to predict environmental changes in the site 302 (such as changes in weather, ambient light intensity, day / night, object movement (e.g., its pace and direction), etc.), and adjust the operation (such as light intensity) of the lighting devices 100 accordingly. In these embodiments, one or more communication gateways 352 can be used to facilitate communication between the lighting devices 100.

[0115] Although the embodiments have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand that variations and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A lighting device, comprising: a lighting component; an energy storage unit; a photovoltaic (PV) panel for at least one of: powering the lighting component and charging the energy storage unit; a wind turbine having a plurality of rotatable blades coupled to a generator for at least one of: powering the lighting component and charging the energy storage unit; and a housing in which at least the lighting component, the energy storage unit, and the PV panel are accommodated; wherein the wind turbine is physically coupled to the housing.

2. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting component is a light emitting diode (LED).

3. The lighting device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a reflector coupled to the housing for reflecting light towards the PV panel.

4. The lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wind turbine includes a gyroscopic structure; and wherein the plurality of rotatable blades are coupled to the gyroscopic structure to align the direction of the plurality of rotatable blades with the wind direction.

5. The lighting device according to claim 4, wherein the gyroscopic structure comprises: an outer frame coupled to a support and rotatable about a first axis; and an inner frame coupled to the outer frame and rotatable about a second axis perpendicular to the first axis; wherein the plurality of rotatable blades are coupled to the inner frame.

6. The lighting device according to claim 5, wherein the inner frame includes a wind diffuser structure in which the plurality of rotatable blades are accommodated.

7. The lighting device according to claim 6, wherein the wind diffuser structure has a conical shape.

8. The lighting device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the gyroscopic structure comprises: a coupling structure that supports the generator; wherein the outer frame includes a plurality of conductive parts separated by a plurality of electrical isolators; wherein the coupling structure is coupled to the plurality of conductive parts and extends between the plurality of conductive parts; and wherein each of the conductive parts is electrically connected to the generator via a first electrical wiring of the coupling structure to receive power from the generator, and is also electrically connected to a second electrical wiring of the support to output the power received from the generator.

9. The lighting device according to claim 8, wherein the coupling structure includes a plurality of first conductive arms for serving as the first electrical wiring; and wherein the support includes a plurality of second conductive arms for serving as the second electrical wiring.

10. The lighting device according to any one of claims 4 to 9, wherein the gyroscopic structure includes an alignment tail for tracking the wind direction.

11. The lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the energy storage unit includes an energy storage capacitor.

12. The lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the energy storage unit includes an energy storage capacitor.

13. The lighting device according to claim 12, wherein, the energy storage capacitor includes at least one capacitor unit.

14. The lighting device according to claim 12, wherein, the energy storage capacitor includes a plurality of stacked capacitor units.

15. The lighting device according to claim 13 or 14, wherein, each capacitor includes a plurality of stacked layers of the following: a dielectric film; and two conductive layers of two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) materials sandwiching the dielectric film therebetween; wherein, the plurality of stacked layers extend along the rear side of the PV panel without wrapping.

16. The lighting device according to claim 15, wherein, the 2D or 3D material includes graphene and / or graphite.

17. The lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 16, further comprises: a thermoelectric unit, the thermoelectric unit being housed in the housing, the thermoelectric unit being coupled to the lighting component or the PV panel to convert heat emitted from the lighting component or the PV panel into electricity for at least one of the following: powering the lighting component and charging the energy storage unit.

18. The lighting device according to claim 17, wherein, the thermoelectric unit includes: a first heat conducting plate, the first heat conducting plate being coupled to the lighting component or the PV panel; a second heat conducting plate; and a thermoelectric layer, the thermoelectric layer being sandwiched between the first heat conducting plate and the second heat conducting plate.

19. The lighting device according to claim 18, wherein, the thermoelectric layer includes 2D perovskite.

20. The lighting device according to claim 18 or 19, wherein, the thermoelectric layer includes a plurality of hot electron layers extending between the first heat conducting plate and the second heat conducting plate, and each adjacent pair of hot electron layers sandwiches a film therebetween.

21. The lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 20, further includes one or more sensors.

22. The lighting device according to claim 21, wherein, the one or more sensors include at least one of the following: one or more light sensors, one or more temperature sensors, one or more humidity sensors, and one or more motion sensors.

23. The lighting device according to claim 21 or 22, further comprises: a power supply circuit, the power supply circuit being electrically coupled to the lighting component, the energy storage unit, the PV panel, the wind turbine, and the one or more sensors; and a supervision and control module, the supervision and control module being electrically coupled to the power supply circuit to adjust the operation of the lighting device based on the output of the one or more sensors.

24. The lighting device according to claim 23, wherein, the supervision and control module includes one or more artificial intelligence (AI) models for predicting the operating conditions of the lighting device based on the output of the one or more sensors to adjust the operation of the lighting device.

25. A lighting system includes a plurality of lighting devices according to claim 23 or 24; wherein, each lighting device among the plurality of lighting devices further includes a communication component; and Wherein, the lighting system is configured to coordinate the operation of the plurality of lighting devices based on the output of the one or more sensors of the plurality of lighting devices.

26. The lighting system according to claim 25, which depends on claim 24, Wherein, the lighting system is configured to: Based on the output of the one or more sensors of the plurality of lighting devices, use the one or more AI models to predict the operating conditions of the plurality of lighting devices; And Based on the predicted operating conditions of the plurality of lighting devices, coordinate the operation of the plurality of lighting devices.

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