The technical field of the present disclosure is an LED security light configured with a passive infrared sensor installed inside a lamp housing of an LED lamp and structurally integrated with a light diffuser and an LED light emitting unit for performing a motion activated illumination.
A security light based on motion sensing with PIR (passive infrared) motion sensor is traditionally configured with three operating units to perform its function and provides a motion activated illumination. The three operating units are a light emitting unit, a PIR motion sensing unit and a power control unit. The power control unit is typically installed inside a wall mounted junction box which is further installed on an electric outlet. The light emitting unit and the PIR motion sensing unit are externally and separately installed on the junction box, both are electrically coupled to the power control unit inside the junction box.
The PIR motion sensing unit includes a condensing lens and a PIR motion sensor. The condensing lens may be a Fresnel lens, a dot lens or others. The Fresnel lens through its dimension and structural design collects and remotely converges IR (infrared) ray signals into a focal point where the PIR motion sensor is positioned to receive the focused IR ray signals generated from a moving body. The PIR motion sensor in conjunction with an IR ray signal processing circuitry detects and decides if the IR ray signals received represents a motion signal and outputs a voltage signal to the power control unit to turn on the light emitting unit for performing an illumination mode for a preset time duration before being turned off. The PIR motion sensing unit is typically connected to the junction box through an angle adjustable structure, such that it can be adjusted to a direction requiring detection of motion intrusion occurrence and the light emitting unit is accordingly turned on to achieve a purpose of security protection. A PIR motion sensing security light configured as above is characterized with a wide and adjustable detection angle, a capacity to perform a high lumens output and a long detection distance. One shortage is that, when the PIR motion sensing security light is used for indoor applications, such as in a storage room or in a basement, the assembly of the PIR motion sensing security light is a bit too bulky and may not be conveniently used for indoor applications as for outdoor applications. In addition, people generally do not need very high illumination level for security protection like the outdoor living need.
A related art U.S. Pat. No. 7,327,254B2 disclosed a PIR light bulb with sensing function to improve an installation convenience, however it reduced detection scope, loss of detection direction adjustable feature and lower lumens output for application of small space automatic lighting control. Further, the related art packaged three operating units together to form a convenient single compact piece in a shape of a light bulb design while keeping their functions independently performed with a reduced capacity. The three operating units, which include an LED (light emitting diode) light emitting unit, a PIR motion sensing unit and a power control unit, are scaled down to a mini scale and installed inside a hollow light bulb housing made of a glass or a plastic material. The light bulb housing also serves as a light diffuser for scattering and transmitting light emitted from the LED light emitting unit and is further constructed with a metallic screw-in lamp cap for adapting to an AC power source. The PIR motion sensing unit is positioned along a central space of the light bulb housing. The bottom of the PIR motion sensing unit is surrounded by LEDs ( light emitting diodes) of the light emitting unit, and the top of the PIR motion sensing unit is configured with a small Fresnel lens slightly protruding out of the shell surface of the light bulb housing for receiving IR ray signals generated from an intruder. The detection angle and detection distance of the PIR motion sensor are determined by the curvature and surface area of the Fresnel lens designed. Since the Fresnel lens of the related art is substantially sized down to become a mini PIR motion sensing unit, the PIR light bulb is configured and limited to a much smaller detection angle and much shorter detection range. In addition, the PIR motion sensing unit is an opaque packaged component which is positioned along the central line of the light bulb housing, and therefore it creates a shadow effect in the center of the PIR light bulb. When the PIR light bulb is triggered to be turned on by the PIR motion sensing unit to emit LED light, the LED light therefore is partially blocked by the body of the PIR motion sensing unit. This arrangement in fact is a dilemma between optimizing a detection capacity and optimizing an illumination capacity. The larger the Fresnel lens is designed, the larger the shadow area blocks the illumination of the PIR light bulb.
To remedy the loss of the adjustable feature of the detection direction, the inventor of the above related art further disclosed a technology in U.S. Pat. No. 8,123,379B2 granted Feb. 28, 2012 in which a Fresnel lens detection head is redesigned to become an eyeball construction such that the Fresnel lens detection head becomes angle adjustable. It only improves the detection capacity of the PIR light bulb to a limited extent because the fundamental issue is still the conflicting constraint of choosing an adequate dimension of the Fresnel lens between maximizing a detection scope and minimizing the shadow effect blocked by the PIR motion sensing unit positioned in the central space of the PIR light bulb.
The PIR motion sensor reacts only to a moving IR source or a moving heat radiation object. A fixed heat source, even with a time variation in its intensity, does not trigger the PIR motion sensor to generate a PIR motion signal. For such reason, when the PIR motion sensor and an LED array are arranged together behind a light diffuser, the heat generated from LEDs will not affect a normal function of the PIR motion sensor in principle. Since there is no virtual need to maintain a direct touch connection between the Fresnel lens and the PIR motion sensor, it is hence feasible to knock down conventional one-piece structure of the PIR motion sensing unit into two mutually separated and remotely located components without affecting the functional performance of the PIR motion sensor. The Fresnel lens can be designed to integrate with the light diffuser or can be designed as a separate piece located behind the light diffuser, and on the other hand, the PIR motion sensor can be remotely located at a focal point on which the focused IR ray signals collected by the Fresnel lens are converged and surrounded by the LEDs. With such arrangement, the size and curvature of the Fresnel lens can be enlarged to maximize detection scope and detection distance, and there is no more solid body to block the LED light to cause a shadow problem. This is the technical background of the present disclosure which can release the constraint of Fresnel lens design and also eliminate the shadow problem.
In response to the above-referenced technical inadequacies, the present disclosure provides a technology to eliminate the drawbacks of the above mentioned two related arts related to a construction of a PIR light bulb. The application of the present disclosure to a light bulb based construction is only one embodiment of the present disclosure. Regardless applications in any PIR based lighting devices, the key technology of the present disclosure is the knock down of a traditional PIR motion sensing unit into two separated components, namely, the Fresnel lens and the PIR motion sensor, which do not need to be packaged together as one operating component. The PIR motion sensor is managed to be surrounded by the LEDs of an LED light emitting unit and is located at a focal point where the IR ray signals collected by the Fresnel lens are converged and focused on. The Fresnel lens is either integrated with a light diffuser to become a part of the light diffuser or a separate piece located right behind the light diffuser to perform IR ray signal collecting function. The Fresnel lens, the PIR motion sensor, the LEDs and a power control unit are all accommodated in a lamp housing to become a compact design. The PIR light bulb is designed with a screw-in lamp cap for directly adapting to an AC power source to perform a motion activated illumination. While the PIR light bulb so configured provides an advantage of convenience, it remains not being able to communicate with other PIR light bulb in an assembly of two or more PIR light bulbs being configured to perform a multi-directional motion detection to synchronously turn on all PIR light bulbs at once. However, this can be improved by using a three-way socket configuration in which a third wire can transmit a turn-on message to a central controller to synchronously turn on all other PIR light bulbs in the assembly. With such arrangement, one motion intrusion detected by one of a plurality of PIR light bulbs pointing to different directions can trigger all PIR light bulbs to be turned on synchronously.
According to the present disclosure, an LED lamp housing accommodating a Fresnel lens, a PIR motion sensor, an LED light emitting unit and a power control circuitry is configured with a two-piece housing construction divided into a first part housing and a second part housing. The first part housing serves both as a light diffuser and as a cover to protect the operating components inside the LED lamp housing. The Fresnel lens is designed to incorporate with the first part housing in two ways. The first way is to build the Fresnel lens in the light diffuser to integrate with the surface of the first part housing to collect IR ray signals generated from an intruder. The second way is to install a separate piece of Fresnel lens positioned behind the first part housing. The Fresnel lens positioned behind the first part housing can be made with a clear IR ray receptive material to avoid any shadow effect, preferably using HDPE (high density polyethylene) which performs an excellent physical reception feature to an infrared ray. Both ways can successfully collect and converge IR ray signals remotely on a focal point in a central space of the second part housing where PIR motion sensor is positioned to receive condensed IR ray signals. The second part housing accommodates all other operating components except the Fresnel lens. The PIR motion sensor is positioned in the center space of the second part housing at the focal point to receive converged IR ray signals collected by the remotely located Fresnel lens in the first part housing space and is further surrounded by light emitting LEDs with a heat dissipating sink, the PIR motion sensor together with an IR ray signal processing circuitry is packaged with a heat insulating material to protect the PIR motion sensor from exposing to an unexpected high temperature environment which could affect the sensitivity of the PIR motion sensor and the signal processing circuitry. The PIR motion sensor is not much taller in construction than the surrounding LEDs, and therefore, it does not create any shadow effect.
The first part housing and the second part housing are fastened together through a connection mechanism. For a bulb housing construction, the first part housing and the second part housing could be coupled and fastened by twisting a threaded construction respectively designed on the connecting edges of the first part housing and the second part housing or by using an ultrasonic welding technology. For a non-bulb shaped lamp housing, the first part housing and the second part housing could be coupled and fastened together by screws or any similar means. However, the connection mechanism can be any other method which can fasten the first part housing and the second part housing together without restriction. So configured the present disclosure has advantages compared with the above two related arts in terms of much wider detection scope, longer detection range and a high illumination output without a shadow effect. The present disclosure when compared with a traditional PIR motion sensing security light also has two advantages; the first advantage is a more compact product structure without a bulky PIR motion sensing unit, wherein the PIR motion sensor instead is built inside a lamp housing of the PIR motion sensing security light. The second advantage is a multi-directional detection capacity when an assembly of two or more such PIR built-in lamps are configured and integrated as a security lighting system with each member sensing lamp designed and connected to an individual angle adjustable means, the security lighting system can effectively detect multi-directional motion intrusion(s) and synchronously turn on and turn off all security lamps at once. The detection capacity of such security lighting assembly is quite enormous, which is virtually impossible for a traditional security light configured with two or more light emitting units as it has only one external PIR motion sensor installed and it can only be adjusted to one direction for detection with an angle coverage. It is virtually impractical or functionally inefficient to install a second or a third conventional external PIR motion sensor to achieve same functional performance besides being too bulky looking.
The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present disclosure is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Like numbers in the drawings indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference, and the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on”. Titles or subtitles can be used herein for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence on the scope of the present disclosure.
The terms used herein generally have their ordinary meanings in the art. In the case of conflict, the present document, including any definitions given herein, will prevail. The same thing can be expressed in more than one way. Alternative language and synonyms can be used for any term(s) discussed herein, and no special significance is to be placed upon whether a term is elaborated or discussed herein. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the present disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the present disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given herein. Numbering terms such as “first”, “second” or “third” can be used to describe various components, signals or the like, which are for distinguishing one component/signal from another one only, and are not intended to, nor should be construed to impose any substantive limitations on the components, signals or the like.
Referring to
With such configuration, the PIR LED light bulb 3 of the present disclosure does not have the two drawbacks of the U.S. Pat. No. 7,327,254 B2. The Fresnel lens 13A can be expanded to a sizable portion of the surface of the light diffuser 23A to perform a large scope and long-range motion detection, therefore the shadow effect of the two related arts caused by the PIR motion sensing unit 13 located along the center of the PIR LED light bulb can be eliminated. According to such configuration, when the PIR motion sensor 13B operating with the signal processing circuitry determines that the IR ray signals collected by the Fresnel lens 13A represent a motion intrusion, the signal processing circuitry consequently outputs a motion sensing signal to a controller of the power control unit 33 which in turn generates a control signal to conduct a switching device to transmit an electric power to the LED module of the light emitting unit 63 to turn on the PIR LED light bulb 3 for a predetermined time duration. In the absence of further motion intrusion detected, the security light is then automatically shut off.
With such configuration, the light diffuser 23A is constructed with two portions. The first portion is the Fresnel lens 13A being located in the center of the light diffuser 23A, and the second portion is the remaining surface 13C surrounding the Fresnel lens 13A. The Fresnel lens 13A is made of a material which is both IR ray and LED light penetrable to serve a dual function of IR ray collection and LED light diffusion. Presently, HDPE (high-density polyethylene) is the most popularly used plastic material in the industry for making the Fresnel condensing lens because it has the best penetration feature for IR ray. The HDPE is also LED light penetrable, though such feature has not been recognized and utilized by the industry for an application other than motion detection purpose. It is one important innovation of the present disclosure that the HDPE can be used for both condensing the IR ray and diffusing the LED light. The light diffuser 23A can be constructed with two configurations. The first configuration is a direct forming construction wherein the whole light diffuser 23A is made of HDPE with a pattern of the Fresnel lens being stamped on or printed on the first portion of the light diffuser 23A. The second configuration is a hybrid construction, wherein the first portion 13A of the light diffuser 23A is made of HDPE while the second portion 13C of the light diffuser 23A is made of PC (poly-chloride) plastic for performing light diffusion. The first portion 13A of the light diffuser 23A and the second portion 13C of the light diffuser 23A are integrated through a binding mechanism. In constructing the second configuration a gasket may be further used to reinforce the binding structure and protect the Fresnel lens from being damaged. Because the HDPE plastic is softer than the PC plastic, the second configuration is often used to offer a more sturdy structure for forming the light diffuser 23A. In addition, because the first portion 13A and the second portion 13C of the light diffuser 23A are respectively made with different plastic materials with different light penetration rates, the light intensities could be different between the two portions of the light diffuser 23A. Such effect may be mitigated through an adequate layout management of the LED module of the light emitting unit 63.
Similar to the above-cited conventional arts, the PIR LED bulb 3 of the present disclosure is also designed with a screw-in head 93 for directly adapting to an AC power socket.
When the PIR motion sensor 14B operating with the signal processing circuitry determines that the IR ray signals collected by the Fresnel lens 14A represent a motion intrusion, the signal processing circuitry consequently outputs a motion sensing signal to a controller of the power control unit 34 which in turn generates a control signal to conduct a switching device to transmit an electric power to the LED module of the light emitting unit 64 to turn on the LED security light 4. In the absence of further motion intrusion detected, the security light is then automatically shut off.
With such configuration, the light diffuser 24A is constructed with two portions. The first portion is the Fresnel lens 14A being located in the center of the light diffuser 24A, and the second portion is the remaining surface 14C surrounding the Fresnel lens 14A. The Fresnel lens 14A is made of a material which is both IR ray and LED light penetrable to serve a dual function of IR ray collection and LED light diffusion. Presently, HDPE (high-density polyethylene) is the most popularly used plastic material in the industry for making the Fresnel lens because it has the best penetrable feature for infrared ray. The HDPE is also LED light penetrable though such feature has not been recognized and utilized by the industry for an application other than motion detection purpose. It is one important innovation of the present disclosure that the HDPE can be used for both condensing the infrared ray and diffusing the LED light. The light diffuser 24A can be constructed with two configurations. The first configuration is a direct forming construction wherein the whole light diffuser 24A is made of HDPE with a pattern of the Fresnel lens being stamped on or printed on the first portion 14A of the light diffuser 24A. The second configuration is a hybrid construction, wherein the first portion of the light diffuser is made of HDPE while the second portion of the light diffuser is made of PC (polychloride) plastic for performing light diffusion. The first portion 14A of the light diffuser 24A and the second portion 14C of the light diffuser 24A are integrated through a bonding mechanism. In constructing the second configuration a gasket may be further used to reinforce the bonding structure and protect the Fresnel lens. Because the HDPE plastic is softer than the PC plastic, the second configuration is often used in a large size light diffuser to offer a more sturdy structure for forming the light diffuser 24A. In addition, because the first portion 14 A and the second portion 14C of the light diffuser 24A are respectively made with different plastic materials with different light penetration rates the light intensities after diffusion could be different between the two portions of the light diffuser. Such effect may be mitigated through an adequate layout management of the LED module of the light emitting unit 64.
The angle adjustment device 154 provides a capacity for making both a vertical and a horizontal adjustment of detection direction of the eyeballed shaped motion sensing LED lamp. The angle adjustment device is also designed to provide wiring channel for transmission of power supply and sensing signals.
The junction box 44 offers facility to install and fasten the LED security light 4 on a wall electric outlet to perform a lighting solution for security protection. The junction box provides an accommodating space to accommodate a power supply unit to output DC or AC power for operating the LED security light and optionally the power control unit 34 may be located in the junction box incorporating with a few external control devices for adjusting and setting various operating parameters such as a light-on duration activated by the PIR motion sensor 14B, a sensitivity or a detection range of the PIR motion sensor 14B or an illumination level of the LED security light 4 turned on by the PIR motion sensor 14B.
With such configuration, when the PIR motion sensor 15B operating with the signal processing circuitry determines that the IR ray signals collected by the Fresnel lens 15A represent a motion intrusion, the signal processing circuitry consequently outputs a motion sensing signal to a controller of the power control unit which in turn generates a control signal to conduct a switching device to transmit an electric power to the LED module of the light emitting unit 65 to turn on the LED security light 5. In the absence of further motion intrusion detected, the security light 5, is then automatically shut off.
With such configuration, the light diffuser 25A is divided into two portions. The first portion is the Fresnel lens 15A located in the central area of the light diffuser 25A and the second portion is the remaining area 15C surrounding the Fresnel lens 15A. The Fresnel lens 15A is made of a material which is both IR ray and LED light penetrable to serve a dual function of IR ray collection and LED light diffusion. Presently, HDPE (high-density polyethylene) is the most popularly used plastic material in the industry for making the Fresnel lens because it has the best penetration feature for IR ray. The HDPE is also LED light penetrable though such feature has not been recognized and utilized by the industry for an application other than motion detection purpose. It is an important innovation of the present disclosure that the HDPE can be used for both condensing the IR ray and diffusing the LED light. The light diffuser 25A can be constructed with two configurations. The first configuration is a direct forming construction wherein the whole light diffuser 25A is made of HDPE with a pattern of the Fresnel lens being stamped on or printed on the first portion 15A of the light diffuser 25A, the second configuration is a hybrid construction, wherein the first portion of the light diffuser is made of HDPE while the second portion of the light diffuser is made of PC (polychloride) plastic for performing light diffusion. The first portion 15A of the light diffuser 25A and the second portion 15C of the light diffuser 25A are integrated through a binding mechanism. In constructing the second configuration a gasket may be further used to reinforce the binding structure and protect the Fresnel lens. Because the HDPE plastic is softer than the PC plastic, the second configuration is often used in a large size light diffuser to offer a more sturdy structure for forming the light diffuser 25A. In addition, because the first portion 15A and the second portion 15C of the light diffuser 25A are respectively made with different plastic materials with different light penetration rates the light intensities after diffusion could be different between the two portions of the light diffuser 25A. Such effect may be mitigated through an adequate layout management of the LED module of the light emitting unit 65.
The angle adjustment device 155 provides a capacity for making both a vertical and a horizontal adjustment of detection direction of the rectangular shaped LED sensing lamp 25. The angle adjustment device 155 is also designed to provide wiring channel for transmission of power supply and motion sensing signals between the LED sensing lamp 25 and the junction box 45.
The junction box 45 offers facility to install and fasten the LED security light 5 on a wall electric outlet to perform a lighting solution for security protection. The junction box 45 provides an accommodating space to accommodate a power supply unit to output DC or AC power for operating the LED security light and optionally the power control unit may be located in the junction box incorporating with a few external control devices for adjusting and setting various operating parameters such as the light-on duration activated by the PIR motion sensor 15B, the sensitivity or the detection range of the PIR motion sensor 15B or an illumination level of the LED security light 5 turned on by the PIR motion sensor 15B.
So configured, when the PIR motion sensor 17B operating with the signal processing circuitry determines that the IR ray signals collected by the Fresnel lens 17A represent a motion intrusion, the signal processing circuitry consequently outputs a motion sensing signal to a controller of the power control unit 37 which in turn generates a control signal to conduct a switching device to transmit an electric power to the LED module of the light emitting unit 67 to turn on the motion sensing LED light 7. In the absence of further motion or intrusion detected, the motion sensing LED light 7 is then automatically shut off.
With such configuration, the light diffuser 27A is divided into two portions. The first portion is the Fresnel lens 17A located in the central area of the light diffuser 27A and the second portion is the remaining area 17C surrounding the Fresnel lens 17A. The Fresnel lens 17A is made of a material which is both IR ray and LED light penetrable in order to serve a dual function of IR ray collection and light diffusion. Presently, HDPE (high-density polyethylene) is the most popularly used plastic material in the industry for making the Fresnel lens because it has the best penetration feature for IR ray. The HDPE is also LED light penetrable though such feature has not been recognized and utilized by the industry for an application other than motion detection purpose. It is an important innovation of the present disclosure that the HDPE can be used for both condensing the IR ray and diffusing the LED light. The light diffuser 27A can be constructed with two configurations. The first configuration is a direct forming construction wherein the whole light diffuser 27A is made of HDPE with a pattern of the Fresnel lens being stamped on or printed on the first portion 17A of the light diffuser 27A. The second configuration is a hybrid construction, wherein the first portion of the light diffuser 27A is made of HDPE while the second portion of the light diffuser 27A is made of PC (polychloride) plastic for performing light diffusion. The first portion 17A of the light diffuser 27A and the second portion 17C of the light diffuser 27A are integrated through a bonding mechanism. In constructing the second configuration a gasket (not labeled) may be used as a bonding interface between the first portion 17A and the second portion 17C to reinforce the bonding structure and protect the surface shape of the Fresnel lens. Because the HDPE plastic is softer than the PC plastic, the second configuration is often used in a large size light diffuser to offer a more sturdy construction for forming the light diffuser 27A. Because the first portion 17A and the second portion 17C of the light diffuser 27A are respectively made with different plastic materials with different light penetration rates, the light intensities after diffusion could be different between the two portions of the light diffuser 27A. Such effect may be mitigated through an adequate layout management of the LED module of the light emitting unit 67.
The second part housing 26B with a circular pan construction is also used for installing and fastening the motion sensing LED light 7 to an electric outlet in a ceiling space or in a wall space for performing a motion activated illumination.
Referring to
For the above disclosed embodiments including
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the disclosure and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from its spirit and scope.
This application claims priority from the U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/605,525 filed Aug. 17, 2017, which application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Some references, which may include patents, patent applications and various publications, may be cited and discussed in the description of this disclosure. The citation and/or discussion of such references is provided merely to clarify the description of the present disclosure and is not an admission that any such reference is “prior art” to the disclosure described herein. All references cited and discussed in this specification are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties and to the same extent as if each reference was individually incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62605525 | Aug 2017 | US |