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Filing Information

Inventor(s)	George G. Mueller · Ihor Lys ·
Assignee(s)	Color Kinetics, Incorporated ·  View assignee updates
Attorney/Agent(s)	Lowrie, Lando & Anastasi, LLP ·
Primary Examiner	Haissa Philogene ·
Application Number	US9669121
Filing date	09/25/2000
Issue date	10/19/2004
Predicted expiration date	08/26/2017
U.S. Classifications	315/295  · 315/362  · 315/360  · 315/315  ·
International Classifications	--
International Classifications	315291 · 315292 · 315295 · 315300 · 315302 · 315308 · 315315 · 315360 · 315362 · 315 76 · 315324 ·
Related U.S. Application Data	This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/425,770 filed on Oct. 22, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,150,774, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/920,156 filed on Aug. 26, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,038.

Patent Family

Abstract

Illumination apparatus and networks of the same including a number of different embodiments. In one embodiment, the illumination apparatus comprises a plurality of LEDs including at least two different colors; a switching device, interposed between the LEDs and a common potential reference, including at least two switches corresponding to current paths of the two different color LEDs; a controller that opens and closes the switches according to a predetermined duty cycle; and a hand-held housing with a compartment for containing a power source and the common reference potential, as well as a lens assembly for reflecting light from the LEDs. Another embodiment is directed to a lighting network including a controller and a plurality of uniquely-addressable illumination units, each including two different color LEDs. Each illumination unit includes a network interface that receives from the controller data comprising LED intensity values, a memory that stores the intensity values, a controller that generates pulse width modulated signals having duty cycles corresponding to the intensity values and a switch that directs current to the LEDs based on the pulse width modulated signals.

Independent Claims | See all claims (26)

1. 1. Light apparatus comprising: a power terminal; at least one LED coupled to the power terminal; a switch coupled to the at least one LED, the switch comprising an input responsive to an activation signal to enable flow of current through the switch; an addressable controller having an alterable address, the controller coupled to the input and the controller generating the activation signal for a portion of a timing cycle; the addressable controller further comprising a network interface that receives data corresponding to the alterable address, the portion of the timing cycle responsive to the received data; a second LED coupled to the power terminal and the switch; the switch comprising a second input corresponding to the second LED and responsive to a second activation signal; and the addressable controller generating the second activation signal for a second portion of the timing cycle, and further receiving data from the network interface corresponding to the alterable address, the second portion of the timing cycle responsive to the received data.
2. 4. A lighting network comprising a controller and a plurality of uniquely addressable illumination units, each unit comprising a first color LED and a second color LED, and each unit further comprising: a network interface that receives from the controller network data comprising LED intensity values addressed to one of the uniquely addressable illumination units and corresponding to respective ones of the first color and the second color LED; a memory that stores intensity values within the network data corresponding to the first color LED and to the second color LED; a controller that generates a first pulse width modulated signal and a second pulse width modulated signal, both first and second signals having a duty cycle corresponding to the respective intensity values, whereby each of the first and second pulse width modulated signals is alternately in high voltage or a low voltage state; a switch that directs current to the first color LED when the first pulse width modulated signal is in one of either the high voltage or the low voltage state, and that directs current to the second color LED when the second pulse width modulated signal is in one of either the high voltage or the low voltage state.
3. 11. An illumination apparatus comprising: a plurality of LEDs of at least two different colors adapted to be coupled to a power source and to a common potential reference; a switching device interposed between the plurality of LEDs and the common potential reference, the switching device comprising at least two switches corresponding to respective current paths of the at least two different color LEDs; a controller that opens and closes the at least two switches according to a predetermined duty cycle; a hand-held housing comprising a compartment for containing the power source and common reference potential, and further comprising a lens assembly for reflecting the light emitted from the plurality of LEDs, which housing substantially encloses the plurality of LEDs, the switching device, and the controller; and an adjustment device that receives user input, the adjustment device coupled to the controller and providing to the controller, in response to the user input, information to program respective duty cycles, for each color of the at least two different color LEDs, wherein the duty cycle ranges from a minimum to a maximum, and the adjustment device is adapted to generate a range of duty cycles between the minimum and the maximum.
4. 12. An illumination apparatus comprising: a plurality of LEDs of at least two different colors; a switch coupled to the plurality of LEDs, the switch including an input corresponding to each one of the plurality of LEDs, the switch controllably coupling each of the plurality of LEDs between a DC power source and a common potential reference in response to an activation signal applied to the input; a controller that generates the activation signal for the input corresponding to each one of the plurality of LEDs; a housing comprising a compartment for containing the DC power source and the common reference potential, and the housing substantially enclosing the plurality of LEDs, the switch, and the controller; and an adjustment device that receives user input, the adjustment device coupled to the controller and providing to the controller, in response to the user input, signals to program the activation signal for the input corresponding to each one of the plurality of LEDs.
5. 13. An illumination apparatus comprising: a plurality of LEDs of at least two different colors adapted to be coupled to a power source and to a common potential reference; a switching device interposed between the plurality of LEDs and the common potential reference, the switching device comprising at least two switches corresponding to respective current paths of the at least two different color LEDs; a controller that opens and closes the at least two switches according to a predetermined duty cycle; and a hand-held housing comprising a compartment for containing the power source and common reference potential, and further comprising a lens assembly for reflecting the light emitted from the plurality of LEDs, which housing substantially encloses the plurality of LEDs, the switching device, and the controller.
6. 14. An illumination apparatus comprising: a plurality of LEDs of at least two different colors adapted to be coupled to a power source and to a common potential reference; a switching device interposed between the plurality of LEDs and the power source, the switching device comprising at least two switches corresponding to respective current paths of the at least two different color LEDs; a controller that opens and closes the at least two switches according to a predetermined duty cycle; and a hand-held housing comprising a compartment for containing the power source and common reference potential, and further comprising a lens assembly for reflecting the light emitted from the plurality of LEDs, which housing substantially encloses the plurality of LEDs, the switching device, and the controller.
7. 15. A light apparatus comprising: a power terminal; at least one LED coupled to the power terminal; a switch coupled to the at least one LED, the switch comprising an input responsive to an activation signal that enables flow of current through the at least one LED; and a controller having an alterable address, the controller coupled to the input and having a timer that generates the activation signal for a predefined portion of a timing cycle, the controller further including a network interface that receives data corresponding to the alterable address and indicative of the predefined portion of the timing cycle.
8. 17. An illumination apparatus comprising: a plurality of LEDs of at least two different colors adapted to be coupled to a power source and to a common potential reference; a switching device interposed between the plurality of LEDs and the common potential reference, the switching device comprising at least two switches corresponding to respective current paths of the at least two different color LEDs; a controller that opens and closes the at least two switches and that generates one or more duty cycles thereby; and a user input coupled to the controller that programs the controller to generate the one or more duty cycles.
9. 22. A light apparatus comprising: a voltage regulator that converts an AC potential into a DC power source; a plurality of LEDs of at least two different colors adapted to be coupled to the DC power source and to a common potential reference; a light-transmitting enclosure surrounding the plurality of LEDs; a current sink interposed between the plurality of LEDs and the common potential reference, the current sink comprising at least two switches corresponding to respective current paths of the at least two different color LEDs; a controller that opens and closes the at least two switches and generates a duty cycle thereby.
10. 24. A light apparatus comprising: a voltage regulator that converts an AC potential into a DC power source; a plurality of LEDs of at least two different colors adapted to be coupled to the DC power source and to a common potential reference; a light-transmitting enclosure surrounding the plurality of LEDs; a switching device in series with the plurality of LEDs and between the common potential reference and the DC power source, the switching device including at least two switches corresponding to respective current paths of the at least two different color LEDs; and a controller that opens and closes the at least two switches according to a duty cycle.
11. 25. A light apparatus comprising: a plurality of LEDs of at least two different colors adapted to be coupled to a power source and to a common potential reference; a switching device interposed between the plurality of LEDs and the common potential reference, the switching device comprising at least two switches corresponding to respective current paths of the at least two different color LEDs; a controller that opens and closes the at least two switches according to a predetermined duty cycle; and a housing adapted for use as an underwater light, the housing comprising a compartment for containing the power source and common reference potential, and further comprising a lens assembly for reflecting the light emitted from the plurality of LEDs, which housing substantially encloses the plurality of LEDs, the switching device, and the controller.
12. 26. A light apparatus comprising: a plurality of LEDs of at least two different colors adapted to be coupled to a power source and to a common potential reference; a switching device interposed between the plurality of LEDs and the power source, the switching device including at least two switches corresponding to respective current paths of the at least two different color LEDs; a controller that opens and closes the at least two switches according to a predetermined duty cycle; and a housing adapted for use as an underwater light, the housing comprising a compartment for containing the power source and common reference potential, and further comprising a lens assembly for reflecting the light emitted from the plurality of LEDs, which housing substantially encloses the plurality of LEDs, the switching device, and the controller.