The present invention relates to ornamental lighting systems, and more particularly to controlling light strings to cause desired lighting effects.
Ornamental lighting systems normally include a plurality of lights combined into a light string. Often times the light string outputs continuous illumination from the plurality of lights.
The invention provides, in one aspect, a lighting system. The lighting system includes a first light string configured to receive a first voltage and output continuous illumination, a second light string, a module electrically connected to the second light string, and a controller electrically connected to the module. The controller is configured to receive a user input and output a control signal based on the user input. The module is configured to selectively control a second voltage to the second light string according to the control signal.
The invention provides, in another aspect, a method of controlling a lighting system. The method includes outputting a first voltage to a first light string, receiving a user input, outputting a control signal based on the user input, and selectively controlling a second voltage to a second light string according to the control signal.
Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways.
With continued reference to
The lights 120 of the second light string 115 are electrically connected in series-type configurations with respective resistors 140. The resistors 140 limit the voltage supplied to the lights 120 of the second light string 115 to thereby cause a dimming effect.
The phrase “series-type configuration” as used herein refers to a circuit arrangement where the described elements are arranged, in general, in a sequential fashion such that the output of one element is coupled to the input of another, but the same current may not pass through each element. For example, in a “series-type configuration,” it is possible for additional circuit elements to be connected in parallel with one or more of the elements in the “series-type configuration.” Furthermore, additional circuit elements can be connected at nodes in the series-type configuration such that branches in the circuit are present. Therefore, elements in a series-type configuration do not necessarily form a true “series circuit.”
The lights 120 of the second light string 115 are further electrically connected to a module 145 (
With continued reference to
The controller 150 includes a combination of hardware and software that is operable, among other things, to control the operation of the module 145 and supply the second voltage to the second light string 115. The controller 150 includes electrical and electronic components that provide power, operational control, and protection to the components within the controller 150 and the lighting system 100. The controller 150 includes, among other components, a processing unit (e.g., a processor), a memory unit (e.g., a memory), a power input 155, and a user-interface 160. The memory unit may include combinations of different types of memory, such as read-only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”) (e.g., dynamic RAM [“DRAM”], synchronous DRAM [“SDRAM”], etc.), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (“EEPROM”), flash memory, a hard disk, an SD card, or other suitable magnetic, optical, physical, or electronic memory devices. The processing unit is electrically connected to the memory and executes software instructions that are capable of being stored in the memory unit. The software includes, but is not limited to, firmware, one or more applications, program data, filters, rules, one or more program modules, and other executable instructions. The controller 150 retrieves from the memory and executes, among other things, instructions related to the control processes and methods described herein. In other embodiments, the controller 150 includes additional, fewer, or different components.
With continued reference to
With continued reference to
With reference to
In some embodiments, such as the embodiment illustrated in
In Step 210, the transformer 105 outputs the first voltage, from the first voltage output 118, to the end connector 185 and the lights 120 of the first light string 110, and outputs the second voltage, from the second voltage output 119, to the controller 150. In other embodiments, the transformer 105 outputs the first voltage and the second voltage to the end connector 185 and the controller 105. In such an embodiment, the controller 105 outputs the first voltage to the lights 120 of the first light string 110. The lights 120 of the first light string 110 output continuous illumination in response to receiving the first voltage (Step 215).
In Step 220, the controller 150 receives a user input via the user-interface 160 or remote user-interface 180. The user input is provided by a user depressing one of the power button 165 (e.g., to turn on or off the system 100), the speed button 170, and/or the mode button 175. By depressing the speed button 170 one or more times, different blinking frequencies of the lights 120 in the second light string 115 and the third light string 190 may be selected. Likewise, by depressing the mode button 175 one or more times, different illumination sequences of the lights 120 in the light strings 115, 190 may be selected. The controller 150 outputs the second voltage to the end connector 185, the module 145, and the second module 145′, and further outputs a control signal through the communication line COMM, based on the received user input, to the module 145 and the second module 145′ (Step 225).
In Step 230, the module 145 selectively controls the second voltage to the lights 120 of the first light group 125, the second light group 130, and the second light group 135 of the second light string 115 according to the received control signal in order to create different lighting effects with the second light string 115. As described above, such lighting effects include continuously illuminating or selectively illuminating or “blinking” the lights 120 in any of the groups 125, 130, 135, making fixed or variable the frequency at which the lights 120 in the second light string 115 blink, or changing the sequence in which the lights 120 within the second light string 115 blink. Such lighting effects give the appearance that the lights 120 in the second light string 115 are “twinkling ” The module 145 selectively controls the second voltage to the lights 120 by selectively connecting the first light group 125, the second light group 130, and the third light group 135 to a common ground GND, thus allowing current to selectively flow through the lights 120 of the light groups 125, 130, 135. In some embodiments, the module 145 selectively controls the second voltage individually to the different groups 125, 130, 135 of the second light string 115. For example, the lights 120 of the first light group 125 may receive the second voltage while the lights 120 of the second group 130 and the lights 120 of the third group 315 do not receive the second voltage.
Also in Step 230, the module 145′ selectively controls the second voltage to the lights 120 of the third light string 190 according to the received control signal in a substantially similar manner as module 145 described above, or in a different manner to yield different sequences and/or frequencies of illumination to thereby provide a different “twinkling” effect as the second light string 115. The lights 120 of the second light string 115 and the lights 120 third light string 190 illuminate upon receiving the second voltage (Step 235).
In Step 240, the end connector 185 outputs the first voltage and the second voltage to a secondary device, such as at least one of a second lighting system like that shown in
Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201310357837.7 | Aug 2013 | CN | national |
201320501688.2 | Aug 2013 | CN | national |