Solid-State Luminaire Beam Control via Electronic Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional adjustable lighting fixtures rely on mechanical components and require manual adjustment by technicians, which is costly, complex, and poses safety risks, especially in hard-to-reach areas, and existing digital systems need to address each LED individually, making them cumbersome to control.
Innovation Solution
A system with a graphical user interface on a computing device that allows wireless or wired control of solid-state luminaires, enabling electronic adjustment of light beam distribution without needing to know the number or address of LEDs, using controllers to manage light output and spatial information for customizable lighting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If mechanical components (actuators, motors, gimbal mounts) are used to adjust light distribution, then the lighting fixture achieves adjustable beam direction, but the device complexity increases and safety risks arise in hard-to-reach areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical adjustment systems (actuators, motors, gimbal mounts) with solid-state LED arrays that can be electronically controlled to achieve beam direction adjustment. This substitution eliminates complex mechanical components while maintaining the adaptability of beam direction control through electronic means.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting system is divided into multiple individually controllable LED segments or groups. Each LED or group of LEDs can be controlled independently to achieve precise beam direction and distribution adjustment without requiring mechanical movement of the entire fixture.
2Ease of operation
If manual adjustment by lighting technicians is required, then the lighting fixture achieves proper positioning, but safety risks increase in hard-to-reach areas and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting fixture incorporates automated control capabilities that allow it to adjust its own beam distribution and direction electronically without requiring manual intervention. The system can be controlled remotely via wireless communication or pre-programmed to automatically adapt to different lighting scenarios, eliminating the need for technicians to physically access hard-to-reach areas.
3Measurement precision
If digital multiplexer interfaces are used to control each LED individually, then precise control is achieved, but the ease of operation decreases due to the need to enter individual LED addresses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary control system that sits between the user and the individual LED addresses. This intermediary layer (such as a graphical user interface or wireless control system) automatically manages the complex addressing and control of individual LEDs, allowing users to control lighting with simple commands without needing to know or enter individual LED addresses.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates an abstract representation or model of the physical LED array in the control interface. This virtual model allows users to control lighting configurations through intuitive graphical representations rather than dealing with the underlying complexity of individual LED addresses and DMX signaling.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A~2B
AI summary
Techniques and user interfaces (UIs) are disclosed for controlling a solid-state luminaire (100) having an electronically adjustable light beam distribution. The disclosed UI may be configured, in accordance with some embodiments, to provide a user with the ability to control, by wireless and/or wired connection, the light distribution of an associated solid-state luminaire (100) in a given space. The UI may be hosted by any computing device (300), portable or otherwise, and may be used to control any given light distribution capability provided by a paired luminaire (100). In accordance with some embodiments, the user may provide such control without need to know details about the luminaire (100), such as the quantity of solid-state lamps, or their individual addresses, or the address of the fixture itself. In some cases, the disclosed techniques may involve acquiring spatial information of the space that hosts the luminaire (100) and/or providing user-selected distribution of light within that space.