Patent Application
20050276044
The present invention relates generally to the field of illumination, and, more particularly, to a submersible color light. Although the present invention is subject to a wide range of applications, it is especially suited for use in a pool lighting system, and will be particularly described in that context.
Pool lights illuminate the water at night for the safety of swimmers and for aesthetic purposes. The illumination emanates from underwater lights affixed to the wall of the pool. As used herein, a pool is used generically to refer to a container for holding water or other liquids. Examples of such containers are recreational swimming pools, spas, and aquariums.
To enhance the aesthetics, some current underwater pool lights use a transparent color filter or shade affixed to the front of the lens of the pool light to filter the light emanating from the lens of the pool light and thus add color to the pool. The color filters come in a variety of colors but only one of these color filters can be affixed to the pool light at a given time. Thus, the color of the pool stays at that particular color that the color filter passes. In order to change the color of the pool, the color filter must be removed from the pool light and a different color filter installed across the lens of the pool light.
As a alternative to these fixed colored filters, a system has been devised whereby a rotating wheel having filters of several colors is provided, such as the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,216 and incorporated herein by reference. In this arrangement, white light is provided from a single source to at least one fiber optic lens through an optical fiber. Colored light is emitted from each fiber optic lens by passing white light through the color filter wheel which is selectively rotated by a motor in the illuminator. The color of light emitted by multiple illuminators is synchronized by independent circuitry within each illuminator that responds to digital signals in the form of manually interrupted supply current.
However, fiber optic underwater illumination systems have several limitations that lead to the need for the present invention. The first is that their performance is relative to the skill of the installer. Only a well-trained technician is capable of installing a fiber optic system that can adequately illuminate a swimming pool. The availability of qualified training is limited thus the availability of trained installers is limited. Rushed fiber termination or fiber termination performed by an untrained installer can result in more than a 30% decrease in fiber optic system performance and can ultimately result in a costly failure of the total fiber optic system.
The second disadvantage of underwater fiber optic illumination is the limited amount of light delivered to the pool. This results from the light attenuation over distance that is inherent in the fibers' composition and the inefficiencies of focusing available light into the optical fiber at the light source.
A further drawback of fiber optic underwater illumination is in the possibility of retrofitting the millions of existing pools having traditional submersible incandescent lighting fixtures. The feasibility of installing adequately sized fiber optic cable in the existing conduits is limited. These conduits are commonly ½ inch in diameter and are rarely over one inch in diameter. The minimum conduit diameter to carry a single fiber optic cable capable of delivering minimally acceptable light to a pool is one inch and the recommended size is 1½ inches.
An additional limitation of fiber optic systems is the additional cost of the materials and professional installation.
The alternative to colored fiber optic systems, providing colored lenses to submersible incandescent lighting fixtures, can be troublesome as well. These fixtures can be supplied with a colored glass lens to deliver that specific color to the pool. These colored glass lenses are typically limited to how richly they can color the light because the darker (or richer) the lens color, the more light in the form of heat that is trapped in the lens and the fixture. As the lens becomes too hot by absorbing too much light it can break due to thermal expansion or due to the differences in thermal expansion on the hot interior surface of the glass and the cool exterior surface that is in contact with the water. Further, as a result less light is emitted and it may be insufficient to illuminate the pool.
As an alternative to glass lenses, snap on or twist lock plastic colored lenses can be installed over an existing clear glass lens for a considerably simpler method to changing the color of the pool lighting. This method still requires physically lying or kneeling on the edge of the pool an reaching below the water to remove the existing plastic lens and then reaching again into the water to install the next colored plastic lens. Economical transparent colored plastics are also inefficient light transmitters reducing the amount of colored light reaching the pool.
A need therefore exists for pool lights that can easily replace existing self-contained, incandescent lighting fixtures, but having synchronized color wheels without the additional cost of installing fiber optic cables and other drawbacks associated with fiber optic underwater illumination systems. Further, a need exists for colored lenses to be used with incandescent fixtures that do not trap excessive amounts of light and heat.
The present invention, which tends to address these needs, resides in a pool lighting system. The pool lighting system described herein provides advantages over known pool lighting systems in that it is less difficult and less costly to install than existing pool lighting systems that can provide a variety of synchronized colors to the pool water and can be easily retrofitted to existing incandescent lighting systems. According to the present invention, each lighting fixture of the pool lighting system comprises a color wheel and an incandescent lamp, wherein the lighting fixture places the color wheel at a predetermined position after a predetermined time subsequent to an alternating-current (AC) source of power being applied to the lighting fixture.
Further, according to the present invention, an underwater lighting fixture includes a lamp housing which is adapted to be installed in a lamp receiving recess in the wall of a swimming pool. The housing has an interior cavity, an open mouth defined by a rim, and a rear opening. A plate is mounted within the housing and is transverse to a longitudinal axis of the housing. The plate has a pair of diametrically opposed openings. A pair of incandescent lamps are positioned at each of the plate openings on one side of the plate and each lamp is provided with a reflector directed toward its plate opening. Secondary reflectors are positioned on the other side of the plate so that the reflectors have mouths at one end which are directed toward the plate openings. Each secondary reflector has a portal at its other end which is directed toward the mouth of the housing. A color wheel which is mounted for rotation in the housing about the longitudinal axis of the housing. The color wheel has a plurality of radial dichroic filter segments which are arranged so that identically colored segments are diametrically opposed on the wheel. The wheel is driven by a motor to sequentially position successive filter segments over each reflector portal. A transparent cover is sealed to the open mouth of the housing and an electrical supply conduit extends through a fluid seal in the rear housing opening.
a is a cross-sectional view, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 2a-2a in
a is a detail of the engagement between a worm gear and a ring gear in the present lighting fixture;
b is a detail of the engagement between a conventional worm gear and a ring gear; and
As shown in the drawings, and with particular reference to
Referring to
The contact areas between the lamps 18, a copper plate retainer 25, the copper plate 22, and the metal housing 12 allow heat generated by the lamps 18 to be efficiently transferred to the housing 12 and dissipated into the pool water. Thus, the lighting fixture operates at a cooler temperature and the life of its components, including the lamps 18, is increased.
Referring to
Referring now to
Referring again to
Each of the pairs of dichroic glass filters, the red filters 42, the blue filters 44 and the red/magenta filters 46, allow the passage of a specific wavelength of light: green, blue and red/magenta, respectively. A pair of openings 51 are also provided on the color wheel 36 to allow for the passage of white light. When a combination of two adjacent filters of different colors, or a filter and an opening 51, are simultaneously positioned over a single lamp 18, the light emitted from the lighting fixture 10 has the appearance of being a mixture between the two colors being passed through, the particular hue being determined by the relative proportions of light passing through each filter or opening 51. For example, the blue filter 44 and red/magenta filter 46 could be combined to produce light at nearly any hue of purple. The dichroic glass filters 42, 44 and 46 are sequentially arranged in spectral order, with the green filters 42 isolated from the red/magenta filters 46. Thus, rotation of the color wheel 36 gives the appearance of a subtle, nearly indistinguishable transition from one hue to the next.
It should be noted that the portals 23 provided between the lamps 18 and the color wheel 36 serve a variety of purposes. The portals 23 limit the light that is emitted to the area with the greatest flux density (the primary focus spot), minimizing the size of the dichroic glass filters 42, 44 and 46 and the color wheel 36 and thus reducing the cost and overall size of the lighting fixture 10. Additionally, it is necessary to mask the light emitted so that it does not pass through unintended adjacent filters. As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, dichroic filters require light to strike them in a generally perpendicular fashion in order to produce predictable results. The farther in either direction from perpendicular that light strikes a dichroic filter, the greater the variance from the desired hue will the light be that passes through. Thus, the small size of the portals 23 is necessary to prevent scattered light from striking the dichroic filters at shallow angles and tainting the desired hue.
In the present embodiment the lamps 18 utilized are 75-watt, 12-volt lamps having integral reflectors. The lamps 18 are selected to have optimal characteristics, such that a sufficient amount of light can be generated but the lamps still have an acceptable life and efficiency. The dichroic glass filters 42, 44 and 46 and the openings 51 are arranged with bilateral symmetry on the color wheel 36, such that the same filter/opening combination and proportion appears in front of each lamp 18 at any given moment.
To further enhance the efficiency of the lighting fixture 10, the use of secondary reflectors 20 allows much of the light that does not directly pass from one of the lamps 18 through the corresponding portal 23 to be reflected back into the primary reflector 19 and finally out through the portal 23. Thus, the secondary reflectors 20 take otherwise wasted light that is outside the primary focus spot and reflect it back to the primary reflectors 19 where it is then reflected forward to the useable primary focus spot.
Referring now to
Referring again to
The interior of the cavity 15a is sealed from fluid by the lens or transparent cover 60 and a sealing grommet 62. The grommet 62 is seated in a peripheral lip 64 of the housing 12 and is covered by a trim seal ring 66. The seal ring 66 has a plurality of depending hooks 68 which are pivotally connected to the ring 66 and which receive an annular tensioning wire 70. The wire 70 is tensioned by a tensioning bolt (not shown) which, upon tightening, draws the hooks into contact with the lip 64 to compress the grommet 62. The sealed housing 12 is retained in the recess 11 by a screw 72 located at the top of the housing 12, as mounted in the recess 11, and by a tab 74 located at the bottom of the housing 12. The interior of the recess is flooded with water for cooling purposes by providing a plurality of openings 76 in the seal ring 66. The colored or white light admitted through the color wheel is further dispersed by a lens texture 60a molded into the cover 60.
A synchronization circuit is provided on the circuit board 30. The circuit operates in a way that allows multiple light fixtures 10 to be synchronized without the need for additional wiring between units.
In the present invention, the synchronization circuit uses the 60 Hz alternating-current supply voltage to generate a master pulse. Thus, the same master pulse is generated by every lighting fixture that is connected to the same power source. Accordingly, there are no slave units and no need for wiring from a master unit to slave unit in order to transmit the master reference signal to each slave unit.
The synchronization circuits are controlled by timed interruptions in the alternating-current supply voltage. Each power interruption is used as a reference point by the synchronization circuits allowing all of the color wheels to be synchronized and the same accent color from each of the light fixtures to be provided to the pool water.
The synchronization circuit of each light fixture synchronizes the color wheel by controlling the driver mechanism to place the color wheel at a predetermined position subsequent to the alternating-current source of power being interrupted in a predetermined sequence. This assures that the color wheels are synchronized.
After a predetermined time, the synchronization circuits begin stepping the motors that rotate the color wheel. If the power to the light fixtures is applied at the same instant, then each color wheel will begin stepping at the exact same time and the wheels will step at the same rate, being determined by the sine waves of the alternating-current source of power. Thus, the color wheels remain synchronized.
Referring to
A parts list for the synchronizer circuit 100 follows:
The power supply circuit 120 receives the alternating-current supply voltage from the integral transformer 52 and provides a regulated 5 volt output 122. In this particular embodiment, power supply 120 comprises a bridge rectifier including diodes D1, D2, D5, and D6, capacitor C1, and resistor R1. The rectified signal is provided to a step-down voltage regulator 126 that, in conjunction with diode D4, inductor L1 and capacitor C2, regulates the output voltage to 5 V and filters unwanted frequency components of the regulated 5 V output 122. When the alternating-current supply voltage is not applied to the transformer, the output 122 goes to 0 volts. An uninterrupted 5 volt output 128 is also provided which continues to supply power for approximately 4 seconds, depending upon the load, after the alternating-current supply voltage is interrupted. This power is stored in capacitor C3 and when the supply power is interrupted the capacitor C3 provides a limited supply of current at the output 128. Diode D3 is provided to prevent capacitor C3 from being discharged by the power supply circuit 120.
The filter 140 prevents unwanted high-frequency components of the alternating-current supply voltage applied to it from passing to the control circuit 160. The filter 140 comprises resistor R2 and capacitor C4 in a low-pass filter configuration. In addition, resistors R2 and R3 arranged in a voltage divider configuration reduce the voltage of the alternating-current supply voltage passed to the control circuit 160.
The index point sensing circuit 180 comprises the sensor 34 and resistor R7. When the magnet 40 on the color wheel 36 is aligned with the sensor 34, the sensor 34 outputs a logical “0” to input GP2 of the microcontroller 170; otherwise GP2 remains at 5 V, or logical “1”. One of skill in the art will appreciate that resistor R7 is required for the present application of the sensor 34 because the sensor 34 has an open collector output. To this end, the resistor would normally connect the open collector output of the sensor 34 to a positive 5 V supply to pull the output up. However, to prevent the sensor 34 from drawing power from microcontroller 170 when the alternating-current supply voltage is interrupted, node GP1 on the microcontroller 170 is programmed to provide 5 V to the resistor R7 only when supply voltage is present.
The control circuit 160 comprises a reset circuit 162 and a microcontroller 170. Reset circuit 162 provides a reset signal on its output that assists in resetting the microcontroller 170 when the alternating-current supply voltage is initially applied to the light fixture 10. Reset circuit 162 comprises undervoltage sensor U5 and resistor R4.
The low-impedance output driver circuit 200 comprises two dual high-speed MOSFET drivers U2 and U6. The outputs of U2 and U6 are coupled to two coils, A and B, of the stepper motor 48 and provide sufficient current, in response to outputs from the microcontroller 170, for driving the motor 48. Power is provided to U2 and U6 from the 5 volt output 122.
Coupled to the reset circuit 162, the filter 140, and the driver circuit 200 is the microcontroller 170. The microcontroller 170 receives the reset signal provided by the reset circuit 162, the alternating-current supply voltage filtered by the filter 140, and an index signal from the index point sensing circuit 180. In response to these inputs, the microcontroller 170 provides control signals at outputs GP4 and GP5 in the form of a Gray code to driver circuit 200. The alternating-current provided by filter 140 provides an input signal 190 for the microcontroller 170. The microcontroller 170 is preprogrammed to provide control signals according to the following scheme.
In the initial state of the synchronizer circuit 100 there is no alternating current applied from the transformer 52 and no current stored in capacitor C3. When power is applied, the microcontroller 170 is placed in “state 0” and no control signals are provided to the driver circuit 200, and thus the color wheel 36 remains stationary. To control the input signal 190, a user must interrupt power provided to the transformer 52. However, power must be reapplied within 4 seconds or capacitor C3 will completely discharge, bringing the 5 volt output 128 to 0 volts and causing the reset circuit 162 to return the microcontroller 170 to “state 0.” From “state 0,” when input signal 190 is sequentially interrupted and reengaged (within 4 seconds), the microcontroller 170 is advanced to “state 1.”
Once placed in “state 1” the microcontroller 170 generates cycling outputs at GP4 and GP5 causing the driver circuit 200 to step the stepper motor 48 very quickly (“fast stepping”) until the microcontroller 170 receives a logical “0” input from the sensing circuit 180. This positive input is caused by the alignment of the magnet 40 with the sensor 34. Once they are aligned, the controller waits for a predetermined period of time, t, and then the microcontroller 170 advances to “state 2.” This predetermined period of time, t, allows any other lighting fixtures that are being synchronized using the same power source to become aligned, so that all of the lighting fixtures. The predetermined time, t, is selected in this embodiment to be twenty-one seconds, the time required for a full revolution of the color wheel during fast stepping of the motor 48, twenty seconds, plus an additional second to account for the possibility of error. This is the longest possible time it should take to return the color wheel to alignment of the magnet 40 with the sensor 34.
In “state 2” the microcontroller generates slowly cycling outputs at GP4 and GP5 causing the driver circuit 200 to step the stepper motor 48 slowly (slow stepping), resulting in the color wheel 36 to rotate its dichroic glass filters 42, 44 and 46 slowly past the lamps 18, which will allow a user time to view each hue produced and make a selection. This slow stepping continues indefinitely until the input signal 190 is interrupted. From “state 2,” when the input signal 190 is sequentially interrupted and reengaged (within 4 seconds), the microcontroller 170 returns to “state 0,” and the color wheel 36 stops rotating. In this way, a user can choose a desired hue of light and cause the light fixture to halt.
The following table summarizes the control scheme described above:
As mentioned above, if at any time the power to transformer 52 is interrupted for longer than 4 seconds, the 5 volt output 128 will go to 0 volts and when reengaged, the microcontroller 170 will be reset to “state 0”. Thus, a user may select a position for the color wheels of one or more lighting fixtures that produces a desired hue of light and then turn off the lights at the source. When the source power is restored, the color wheels will remain stationary and the light will remain the chosen hue. Likewise, an unintentional interruption of source power, such as a power outage, will not cause the selected hue to change.
It should be appreciated that multiple light fixtures will step at precisely the same rate as long as they are connected to the same source of power. This is because the microcontroller 170 generates output signals at GP4 and GP5 that step a Gray code to the driver circuit 200 once for every N sine wave transition of the alternating-current supply voltage. N is a number determined by the microcontroller 170 depending upon how quickly the stepper motor 48 must be advanced. For fast stepping N=1, which causes the color wheel 36 to make one full rotation every twenty seconds. For slow stepping N=6, causing the color wheel 36 to make one full rotation in 120 seconds.
Further, when synchronizing multiple light fixtures, one fixture may become misaligned with respect to the others if it its power is independently interrupted for some reason or if there is mechanical slippage. For this reason, a master reference pulse is generated by the microcontroller 170 by counting the number of alternating-current transitions (120 transitions per second for a 60 Hz supply) after current is initially applied and generating a pulse every 120 seconds or 14,400 transitions, which is the normal (slow stepping) full rotation period. To correct the synchronization, the master reference pulse is compared to an index pulse received from the sensor 34. The index pulse is generated every time the output of the sensor 34 is a logical “0”, indicating that the magnet 40 is aligned with the sensor 34.
If the master reference pulse is generated before the index pulse, then the microcontroller 170 determines that the color wheel 36 is lagging behind and the microcontroller 170 then begins to cause the motor to begin fast stepping until the index pulse is received from the sensor 34. Since the fast stepping is six times faster than the slow stepping, the lag time will then be reduced by a factor of six for every complete rotation of the color wheel 36.
If the index pulse is received before the master reference pulse is generated, then the microcontroller 170 determines that the color wheel 36 is ahead in its rotation and the microcontroller causes the color wheel 36 to stop rotating until the master reference pulse is generated. When the color wheel 36 resumes its rotation, it will be correctly aligned with the master reference pulse.
It should also be appreciated that, to conserve power, the sensor 34 and the driver circuit 200 are supplied power by 5 volt output 122, instead of output 128, so that when no power is being supplied by transformer 54 to power supply circuit 120, the sensor 34 and the driver circuit 200 do not unnecessarily draw power from the capacitor C3 and exhaust the limited supply of current from the capacitor C3 too quickly.
The subject application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/844,847 filed on May 13, 2004, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/128,041 filed on Apr. 22, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,811,286 issued on Nov. 2, 2004, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/540,080 filed on Mar. 31, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,025 issued on Apr. 30, 2002.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10844847 | May 2004 | US |
| Child | 11206407 | Aug 2005 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10128041 | Apr 2002 | US |
| Child | 10844847 | May 2004 | US |
| Parent | 09540080 | Mar 2000 | US |
| Child | 10128041 | Apr 2002 | US |
