Patent Grant
8888332
The disclosure relates to the field of LED illumination and more particularly to techniques for active accessories for LED lamps.
Although the “Edison Bulb” has been prevalent for decades, the function of Edison bulb has been limited to providing one or another type of light. The introduction of halogen lamps and compact fluorescent lamps, has provided yet additional choices for consumers to choose one or another type of lamp/light, but the advances have remained limited to providing one or another type of light. With the advances in light emitting diode (LED) illumination, LED lamps offer much longer lifetimes, much more efficient lighting and other attributes that improve function and reduce overall cost of ownership. This situation provides a baseline for introducing features into LED lamps in order to still further improve the utility of LED lamps. For example, LED lamps can be fitted with passive accessories (e.g., lenses, filters, polarizers, etc.).
Accessories for standard halogen lamps such as MR16 lamps include, for example, diffusers, color filters, polarizers, linear dispersion, and baffles. Such accessories are commercially available from companies such as Abrisa, Rosco, and Lee Filters. These accessories can be used to control the quality of light including elimination of glare, to change the color temperature of the lamp, or to tailor a beam profile for a particular application.
Generally, accessories for halogen lamps are required to withstand high temperature and may be made of glass, and often require special mechanical holders or fixtures to incorporate with the halogen lamp. Often, such halogen lamp accessories require disassembly of the lamp from the fixture to incorporate into the fixture. This set of disadvantages results in the accessories having high costs and being cumbersome to install.
At the same time, miniaturized electronics have become very small, and relatively inexpensive (e.g., a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera), thus setting up opportunity to deploy miniaturized electronics adapted as active accessories in conjunction with LED lamps.
Therefore, there is a need for improved approaches and accessories for LED lamps.
This disclosure relates to apparatus allowing for simple and low cost implementation of accessories for LED lamps that can be used to retrofit existing fixtures. In other words, the accessories disclosed herein are compatible with fixtures that may not have been designed to be used with such accessories. In certain embodiments, disassembly of LED lamps is not necessary for installation of the accessories.
Many of the embodiments herein address use of an active electronic component that is integrated into or used with an LED lamp. Some implement electronic circuitry in a base, and some implement electronic circuitry (including connectivity) in a “smart” adapter. Examples of such embodiments are included in the appended figures and in the description.
Those skilled in the art will understand that the drawings, described herein, are for illustration purposes only. The drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The term “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the word exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.
The term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise, or is clear from the context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A, X employs B, or X employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or is clear from the context to be directed to a singular form.
“Accessory” or “Accessories” includes any mechanical or electro-mechanical component or electrical component or fixture to be mated to a lamp. In certain embodiments, an accessory comprises a thin, optically transparent film, sheet, or plate.
Reference is now made in detail to certain embodiments. The disclosed embodiments are not intended to be limiting of the claims.
In some embodiments, the housing has an inner volume (center cross-hatched area) suited for situating electronic components such as power conditioning circuitry and/or microprocessors and sensors.
A plurality of contacts can be positioned atop the lens, and the contacts can be configured to provide an electrical connection to electronic components such as power conditioning circuitry and/or microprocessors and sensors. In some embodiments, an adapter uses magnetic forces to hold an accessory in place.
A home or business may have several lamp types installed. Creating a set of smart accessories that fit any/all of these lamp types, and communicate with each other and with a central computer, in a consistent manner enables the consumer or business owner to monitor and control their environment efficiently and effectively. The accessories can have unique identifications and communicate with each other and a central computer using standard protocols such as uPnP, DLNA, or other interoperable or interoperability protocols. By using an expandable approach (e.g., using smart buttons versus a pre-integrated one that has the smarts built into each lamp) allows the lamps to be integrated into any operational environment of building management systems or smart lighting systems using a choice of smart buttons, and without having to replace the lamps.
A standard interface like USB can be implemented using a simple connector with 4 or 5 terminals that carry power and data. USB provides the opportunity to leverage the vast ecosystem of systems and devices that have been built for the past few decades for PCs, CE devices, smartphones, etc., as well as the continuous evolution of the interface to accommodate new usages for consumers and businesses.
A lamp can be built with a standard microcontroller or microprocessor with associated software, and with or without persistent connectivity to other devices or a central computer. The microcontroller or microprocessor can be used for internal lamp functions like controlling the LED driver, storing operational data like hours of usage, current and temperature data, etc. By attaching a smart USB Slave button, the functionality of the lamp can be extended to include wireless communication to other lamps and a central computer for lamp monitoring and control, connection to peripheral devices like a camera and sensors.
A lamp can be built with even without a microcontroller or microprocessor, yet supporting a simple USB-based readable storage that stores operational data of the lamp like hours of usage, current and temperature data, etc. Once a smart USB Master button that has a microcontroller or microprocessor is connected to the lamp, that USB device can be read by the microcontroller or microprocessor on the smart button. The smart button can also integrate wireless networking to implement lamp monitoring and control, and can communicate with other lamps and/or can communicate with a central computer. It may also contain a camera and/or other sensors.
A lamp can be built with a device that provides power to the smart button connector. When a smart USB Master button that has a microcontroller or microprocessor is connected to the lamp, the lamp can be turned into a smart lamp. The smart button can integrate wireless networking to implement lamp monitoring and control, and communication with other lamps and a central computer. It may also contain a camera and sensors. It may also contain readable storage that stores operational data of the lamp such as hours of usage, current and temperature data, etc.
One embodiment disposes accessories on the face of the lamp, in a proximity that is thermally isolated from the heat source and high temperatures of the LED. In certain embodiments, the face of the lamp is open to the environment so as to facilitate heat dissipation of any electronics. Such a face-mounting further facilitates antenna placement (e.g., for wireless radio operation), and for camera and sensor operation. It also makes it easy to connect and disconnect accessories.
In certain embodiments, an LED lamp comprises a lens having a center and a diameter; a first magnet attached to the center of the lens; a first accessory disposed on the lens; and a second magnet attached to the center of the first accessory; wherein the first magnet and the second magnet are configured to retain the first accessory against the lens.
In certain embodiments as shown in
There are many configurations of LED lamps beyond the depicted MR-16 lamp. For example, Table 1 gives standards (see “Designation”) and corresponding characteristics.
Additionally, a base member (e.g., shell, casing, etc.) can be of any form factor configured to support electrical connections, which electrical connections can conform to any of a set of types or standards. For example, Table 2 gives standards (see “Type”) and corresponding characteristics, including mechanical spacings.
Additionally, a lens may comprise a bulb or remote member used in forming the LED lamp. The aspect of a center can mean a center from the perspective of any center, or even a centroid (from any view) as in the case of an irregularly shaped lens.
Accessories and methods of attached accessories disclosed herein may be used with any suitable LED lamp configuration such as any of those disclosed in Table 1.
Finally, it should be noted that there are alternative ways of implementing the embodiments disclosed herein. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the claims are not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents thereof.
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/776,173 filed on Mar. 11, 2013, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/655,894 filed on Jun. 5, 2012, each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20130322089 A1 | Dec 2013 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61776173 | Mar 2013 | US | |
| 61655894 | Jun 2012 | US |
