Patent Application
20110210817
The present invention relates to a lamp having at least one LED, a solar module, an accumulator, charging electronics coupled between the solar module and the accumulator, and a drive circuit for the at least one LED, which is coupled to the accumulator. It furthermore relates to a transmitter for generating a radio signal for such a lamp.
A lamp of the species is known. In it, solar energy for the night is stored during the day and, as soon as it is dark, the known lamp switches on automatically and makes it possible for example to identify sidewalks or illuminate house numbers, or is used as a spotlamp or as a floating light or as a garden lamp.
It is an object of the present invention to refine a lamp of the species so as to open up further possible uses.
This object is achieved by a lamp having the features of claim 1. According to a second aspect, the present invention also provides a transmitter as claimed in claim 15 for generating a radio signal for a lamp according to the invention.
The present invention is based on the discovery that the possible uses of LED lamps of the species can be widened when measures are provided to control a lamp wirelessly. To this end, a lamp according to the invention includes a receiver which is coupled to the accumulator and is configured to receive a radio signal, and a processing device which is coupled to the accumulator and the receiver and is configured to form at least one drive signal for the drive circuit from the data received with the radio signal. Depending on the LED or LEDs used, it is thereby possible to generate colored patterns, color animations or script, particularly in a two-dimensional surface, two- or three-dimensional types of artwork in particular also being envisageable here.
Unlike in the prior art, where there is the risk that different lamps will switch on at different times owing to the production-related deviations of the brightness sensors required for switching them on, by wireless driving of an LED lamp according to the invention it is possible to switch one or more LED lamps on and off simultaneously.
The lamp furthermore preferably includes a memory device coupled to the accumulator. This provides the opportunity to transmit a light sequence just once by a radio signal, this light sequence being stored in the memory device and executed either continually or on demand. In particular, the memory device stores instructions that specify which color of light is intended to be emitted by a lamp according to the invention for which duration.
With a view to a large power range of the light to be emitted by the lamp, the lamp preferably includes a voltage transformer, in particular a step-up transformer. The accumulator voltage, which is conventionally of the order of 2.4 V, can thereby be converted to higher values which can then be used to drive the at least one LED.
In this context, it is preferable for the lamp furthermore to include a microcontroller and a current source.
The at least one LED is preferably an RGB LED. As an alternative, it is preferable for the lamp to include at least three differently colored LEDs. This provides the opportunity to drive the lamp in such a way that the light emitted by it varies in color.
The memory device preferably includes an address memory which is configured to store an address in it so as to allocate address-specific data, transmitted with the radio signal, to the lamp. In this way, an assembly of a plurality of lamps according to the invention can be assigned different addresses or the same address, and address-specific light sequences can be transmitted by a transmitter according to the invention and stored in the memory devices of the respective lamps. Individual lamps or different groups of lamps can thereby emit desired light signals at desired times. This furthermore allows subsequent fitting of lamps according to the invention, or replacement of defective lamps according to the invention, inexpensively since a lamp according to the invention does not need to have a transmitter in order to register the corresponding lamp at a control center.
The lamp particularly preferably includes an activation device, in particular a pushbutton. By operating the activation device, the lamp may be put into a state in which an address can be entered into the lamp. An address is preferably input before the lamp(s) is/are installed. The activation device may in particular be configured, after it is activated, to put the lamp into a state in which it is configured to receive an address sent by a radio signal and store it in the address memory. It is particularly advantageous for the lamp furthermore to be configured to acknowledge successful storage of an address, in particular by an optical and/or acoustic signal. In this way, an operator can easily establish whether the transmission and storage of an address has succeeded, or whether the process must be repeated.
The lamp may furthermore be configured, when no address has yet been entered in the address memory, without activation of the activation device to enter a state in which it is configured to receive an address sent by a radio signal and store it in the address memory. This provides the opportunity to allow initial address transmission without activating the activation device.
In a preferred refinement of a lamp according to the invention, the processing device includes a chronometer device, which for its part includes a quartz oscillator. The processing device is then preferably configured to synchronize the chronometer device with corresponding data received with the radio signal, the processing device furthermore being configured to put the drive signal for the drive circuit into a temporal relationship with a signal emitted by the chronometer device, and in particular synchronize it therewith. This measure provides the opportunity to synchronize different lamps according to the invention with one another. For example, synchronization may be carried out every hour, the quartz oscillator internal to the lamp providing the clock signal during the hour. According to experience, the range of deviation of a plurality of lamps from one another during an hour is of the order of 1 to 5 ms and is therefore not conspicuous to an observer.
In a preferred embodiment of a transmitter according to the invention, the transmitter has a memory device for storing the data to be sent with the radio signal. In this case, the data stored in the memory device represent in particular at least one light sequence for at least one lamp.
It is furthermore preferable for the transmitter to include an interface for transmitting data which represent at least one light sequence for at least one lamp.
The interface preferably constitutes an interface to a PC, in particular a WLAN or USB interface. With appropriate software and a graphical user interface, this provides the user with the opportunity to program light sequences on the PC. They are subsequently sent via said interface to the transmitter, where they are buffered in the memory device. These light sequences can subsequently be transmitted to the lamps according to the invention, in particular address-specifically, by radio. It is furthermore preferable for the transmitter to include a solar module and/or a compartment for a battery. In this way, particularly in conjunction with a WLAN interface, the transmitter can also be installed independently of a mains connection.
The transmitter may preferably include an address transmission device, in particular a pushbutton, which is configured after it is activated to send at least one address to at least one lamp. A particularly simple option is for the address to be a sequential address. In particular when subsequently fitting further lamps in an existing assembly, however, the address may also be a predeterminable address.
A preferred refinement of a transmitter according to the invention includes a clock generator. The clock generator is then preferably configured to transmit a synchronization signal to at least one lamp at predeterminable times. This provides the opportunity to synchronize a plurality of lamps combined in an assembly.
Even complex light sequences can thereby be achieved without problems.
It is furthermore preferable for the transmitter to be configured to transmit a switch-on and/or switch-off signal to the at least one lamp. In this way, one or more lamps can be switched on and off in a controlled way. In this context, it is particularly preferable for the transmitter furthermore to include a brightness measuring device and be configured to transmit the switch-on and/or switch-off signal as a function of a brightness measured by the brightness measuring device. In this way, a multiplicity of lamps can be controlled as a function of the brightness, without entailing the risk that lamps respectively equipped with a brightness measuring device, which differ owing to manufacture, may switch on at different times.
Lastly, the transmitter may furthermore include a chronometer device and be configured to transmit the switch-on and/or switch-off signal at predeterminable times. This provides the opportunity to automatically switch a multiplicity of lamps on and off almost simultaneously.
Other advantageous embodiments may be found in the dependent claims.
The invention will be explained in more detail below with the aid of an exemplary embodiment. In the figures:
So long as the address memory 32 is empty, for example during first use, the lamp according to the invention automatically enters the “address search” mode and waits for the allocation of an address by a transmitter 44 according to the invention.
After the address has been given, the lamp 20 according to the invention and the transmitter 44 switch back into normal operation. An existing light system can thus be extended with very little outlay. The limitation of the system resides in the maximum number of addresses which can be delivered, which is limited in particular by the software. Addresses which have been delivered but are no longer required may be erased in the software. If a plurality of lamps 20 according to the invention are simultaneously set to address storage, groups can be formed in the system.
The transmitter 44 transmits the individual control sequences, addressed to the lamps 20a to 20d according to the invention, once. By means of the PC 52, the user can easily send light sequences, the corresponding data, subsequently via the USB interface 50 to the transmitter 44 where they are buffered in a memory device 54. Each lamp 20a to 20d stores the light sequence assigned address-specifically to it in its memory device 30. In the present case, the transmitter 44 has a solar module 56. As an alternative, the transmitter 44 could be operated by means of a battery.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2007/058297 | 8/10/2007 | WO | 00 | 2/10/2010 |
