Light Fixture Microcontroller Frame Interpolation for Bandwidth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Digital lighting systems with LED sources face challenges in maintaining high refresh rates as the number of light fixtures increases, leading to choppy transitions and visual artifacts due to limited data bus bandwidth, especially in large installations.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a frame resampling process in light fixtures that receives low frame rate data from a controller, generates output frames using a lookup table-based scaling scheme, and transmits them at a higher frame rate to ensure smooth lighting effects, reducing data bus bandwidth usage while minimizing visual artifacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If the controller sends data to light fixtures at high frame rates to ensure smooth transitions, then visual quality is improved, but data bus bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the frame rate requirement into two parts: the controller operates at a lower frame rate while the light fixture internally generates additional intermediate frames through interpolation. This segmentation allows the controller to send fewer frames (reducing bandwidth usage) while the fixture maintains high output frame rates (preserving visual quality).
Solution Approach 2:
The light fixture pre-generates intermediate frames between received controller frames using interpolation algorithms stored in lookup tables. This preliminary action of creating intermediate frames locally eliminates the need for the controller to send every frame at high rate, reducing bandwidth consumption while maintaining smooth visual transitions.
2Quantity of substance
If the number of light fixtures on the data bus increases, then system coverage is improved, but refresh rate decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the frame generation task between the controller and individual light fixtures. The controller sends frames at a manageable rate regardless of the number of fixtures, while each fixture independently generates additional intermediate frames locally. This allows system coverage to expand with more fixtures without degrading the refresh rate at any individual fixture.
3Productivity
If the controller operates at low frame rate to reduce bandwidth usage, then data transmission efficiency is improved, but visual artifacts increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary interpolation process within the light fixture that generates intermediate frames between the controller's low-rate frames. This intermediary action fills in the gaps between controller frames, maintaining visual smoothness and eliminating artifacts while allowing the controller to operate at low frame rates for improved data transmission efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The light fixture performs preliminary interpolation to generate intermediate frames before actual display. This advance generation of intermediate content prevents visual artifacts by ensuring smooth transitions are already prepared, allowing the controller to send frames at lower rates without compromising visual quality.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for interpolating low frame rate transmissions in lighting systems. A method (100) includes, in a microcontroller (22) of a light fixture (14), receiving (102) input data frames at a low frame rate from a light controller (12) over a data bus (16), generating (104) output data frames from any two adjacent input data frames according to a scaling scaling in a lookup table (LUT), and transmitting (106) the output data frames at a frame rate greater than the frame rate of the received input data frames to control a lighting effect of a light-emitting unit (24).