Illumination Control Device Reducing Storage Capacity

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing illumination systems require large storage capacities to store color tables for adjusting luminance and color of LEDs, which increases the size and cost of the microcomputer.

Innovation Solution

The illumination system reduces storage capacity by storing only a color table and a fade table in the ROM, where the duty ratios for each color and reference duty ratios for each brightness stage are used to calculate output duty ratios, thereby minimizing the storage requirements.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If color tables for all colors and brightness stages are stored in the illumination control device, then the luminance and color adjustment resolution is improved, but the storage unit capacity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveduty ratio resolutionVSAvoidstorage unit capacity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the duty ratio control into two independent dimensions: color selection (selecting base duty ratios from color table) and brightness adjustment (applying independent brightness coefficients). This segmentation allows the system to achieve fine-grained duty ratio control without storing complete duty ratio values for every color-brightness combination, thereby reducing storage requirements while maintaining resolution.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the control parameters from storing complete duty ratio values to storing base duty ratios and brightness coefficients separately. By changing how the data is structured and stored, the system achieves the same control resolution with significantly reduced storage capacity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Manufacturing precision

If complete color tables are stored in the illumination control device, then the color and brightness control precision is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecolor control precisionVSAvoidstorage unit capacity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the color control data into two segments: base duty ratios for each color (stored in color table) and brightness coefficients (stored in brightness table). This segmentation reduces the complexity of storing complete color tables while maintaining color control precision through the combination of these two smaller data sets.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Measurement precision

If the frame length of transmitted signals is increased to include complete duty ratio information, then the control precision is improved, but the signal transmission efficiency decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveduty ratio precisionVSAvoidsignal transmission speed
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the essential color information (base duty ratios) from the complete duty ratio control data, separating it from the brightness control information. This extraction allows transmission of shorter frames while maintaining the ability to achieve precise duty ratio control through the combination of transmitted and locally stored data.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary action by pre-storing brightness coefficients in the illumination control device. This allows the transmitted signal to be shorter since the brightness adjustment data is already available locally, improving transmission efficiency while maintaining control precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4156863B1Illumination control device and illumination system
Publication Date: 2025.02.26 YAZAKI CORP
  • EP4156863B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4156863B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4156863B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An illumination control device includes a first acquisition unit that acquires color information and brightness information, a first storage unit that stores duty ratios of a red light emitting element, a green light emitting element, and a blue light emitting element for each piece of color information, a second storage unit that stores a reference duty ratio for each piece of brightness information, a second acquisition unit that acquires the duty ratios of the red, green and the blue light emitting elements corresponding to the color information, a third acquisition unit that acquires the reference duty ratio corresponding to the brightness information, a calculation unit that calculates the output duty ratios by multiplying the duty ratios by the reference duty ratio, and an output unit that outputs the pulse signals with the output duty ratios to the red, green and the blue light emitting elements.