611results about "Light control" patented technology

A vehicle imaging system includes an imaging array sensor having a field of view directed outwardly from the vehicle and toward an external scene, first and second optic elements, and a control responsive to an output of the imaging array sensor. The imaging array sensor has at least first and second portions, with the first optic element positioned along a first optic path between the first portion of the imaging array sensor and the external scene, and the second optic element positioned along a second optic path between the second portion of the imaging array sensor and the external scene. The control processes the output and distinguishes the first image and the second image in order to identify objects of interest in the external scene. The control generates a control output in response to the processing.

A control system for allowing remote control of a load. The control system includes a command controller for running a control program that provides a command signal. The command controller has a first wireless interface for transmitting the command signal on a first wireless network. A remote controller has a second wireless interface for receiving the command signals from the command controller via the first wireless network. The remote controller includes a controller for adapting the received command signals for communication on a second wireless network. The remote controller has a third wireless interface for transmitting the adapted command signals via a second wireless network to the load.

A wireless lighting control system comprises a daylight sensor for measuring a light intensity in a space and a dimmer switch for controlling the amount of power delivered to a lighting load in response to the daylight sensor. For example, the daylight sensor may be able to transmit radio-frequency (RF) signals to the dimmer switch. The system provides methods of calibrating the daylight sensor that allow for automatically measuring and / or calculating one or more operational characteristics of the daylight sensor. One method of calibrating the daylight sensor comprises a “single-button-press” calibration procedure during which a user is only required to actuate a calibration button of the daylight sensor once. In addition, the daylight sensor is operable to automatically measure the total light intensity in the space at night to determine the light intensity of only the electrical light generated by the lighting load.

To reduce energy costs in buildings where there is an input of natural light, a method of maintaining an ambient light intensity in a building area at a predetermined level is proposed. It comprises obtaining an ambient light intensity level for the building area; comparing the ambient level to the predetermined level of light intensity; if the ambient level differs from the predetermined level, calculating an artificial lighting input to be generated in the building area to attain the predetermined level. It can further comprise generating the artificial lighting input in the building area and carrying out the steps of obtaining, comparing and calculating a second time to determine a quality of the calculating and modify the generating.

A light source and method for controlling the same. The light source utilizes a light generator that generates a light signal of a wavelength at an intensity that is set by a control signal. The control signal is controlled by a servo that monitors the light output of the light generator and compares the monitored value with a target value. When the target value is changed, the control signal is initially replaced by a predicted control signal based on the new target value rather than the error signal generated in the servo. This provides time for the servo to adjust to the new target value. In one embodiment, the control signal includes a periodic signal that switches between a value that causes the light generator to generate light of the wavelength and a second value at which the light generator does not generate light of the wavelength.

A system and method for generating white light involves using a combination of white, red, green, and blue LEDs to produce white light and adjusting the emitted light in response to feedback signals. A light system has a light source that includes at least one white LED and multiple color LEDs and a spectral feedback control system configured to detect light that is output from the light source and to adjust the light that is output from the light source in response to the light detection. The spectral feedback control system may include a color sensor configured to provide color-specific feedback signals, a controller configured to generate color-specific control signals in response to the color-specific feedback signals, and a driver configured to generate color-specific drive signals in response to the color-specific control signals.

A line type illuminator comprising a plurality of light sources at a side of one end of a rod-like transparent light guide, wherein an auxiliary light scattering pattern is formed with two (2) spot-like patterns, which are provided at positions being shifted from a center line of a main light scattering pattern in the longitudinal direction and are separate in a width direction, for maintaining evenness or uniformity of illumination intensity in a longitudinal direction. Normal lines of those two (2) spot-like patterns and the center line of any one of the plurality of light sources, extending in the longitudinal direction, intersect each other. Specifically, the longitudinal center lines of the red-color light sources and the green-color light source intersect the respective normal lines of the spot-like patterns 21a and 21a.

A surgical illumination device for illuminating a surgical field to provide enhanced visual perception of a tissue during a medical procedure. The surgical illumination device includes a surgical light and a tunable light controller. The surgical light includes a first light source providing a first wavelength of light, a second light source providing a second wavelength of light, and a combiner receiving and combining the first and second wavelengths of light. The tunable light controller includes a database and a tuning device. The database is organized by medical procedure and stores an identification of the medical procedure and at least one pre-programmed color setting for each medical procedure. The preprogrammed color setting is adapted to facilitate a first assigned illumination. The tuning device communicates with the database. The tuning device retrieves the pre-programmed color setting from the database and controls the first light source and the second light source such that the first wavelength and the second wavelength combine to provide the first assigned illumination.

A tubular light source having a semiconductor light source and a tube is disclosed. The tube includes a transparent medium, the tube having a side tube surface, a center curve, one end surface, a length, and a maximum cross-sectional dimension. The tube includes scattering centers that cause light traveling in the tube to be reflected at angles such that the reflected light leaves the tube through the side tube surface. The semiconductor light source is positioned to emit light into the tube within a cone of angles such that the light will not leave the side tube surface in the absence of the scattering centers. The scattering centers can be dispersed in the transparent medium or located on the side tube surface. The transparent medium can be rigid or flexible.

A method and apparatus for controlling and providing force feedback using an interface device manipulated by a user. A microprocessor is provided local to the interface device and reads sensor data from sensors that describes the position and / or other information about an object grasped and moved by the user, such as a joystick. The microprocessor provides the sensor data to a host computer that is coupled to the interface device by a communication bus that preferably includes a serial interface. In a “host-controlled” embodiment, the host computer calculates force values using the sensor data and other parameters of a host application program and sends the force values to the local microprocessor, which directly provides the force values to actuators to apply forces to the user object. In a “reflex” embodiment, the host computer sends high level supervisory commands to the local microprocessor, and the microprocessor independently implements a local process based on the high level command for reading sensor data and providing force values to the actuators using sensor data and other parameters.

There is provided a system and method for controlling a tracking device to follow a location of a performer on a stage. The tracking device may comprise a lighting fixture such as a high output video projector or an automated mechanical moving light such as a DMX lighting fixture to provide a followspot, or a microphone to record audio from a particular performer. The method comprises capturing a video feed of the stage using a camera, presenting the video feed on a display of a control device, receiving input data indicating a position of the performer in the video feed, translating the input data into the location of the performer on the stage, and adjusting the tracking device to follow the location of the performer on the stage. The control device thereby provides lighting operators with an intuitive interface readily implemented using cost effective commodity hardware.

A force feedback mouse interface device connected to a host computer and providing realistic force feedback to a user. The mouse interface device includes a mouse object and a linkage coupled to the mouse that includes a plurality of members rotatably coupled to each other in a planar closed-loop linkage and including two members coupled to ground and rotatable about the same axis. Two actuators, preferably electromagnetic voice coils, provide forces in the two degrees of freedom of the planar workspace of the mouse object. Each of the actuators includes a moveable coil portion integrated with one of the members of the linkage and a magnet portion coupled to the ground surface through which the coil portion moves. The grounded magnet portions of the actuators can be coupled together such that a common flux path between the magnet portions is shared by both magnets. At least one sensor is coupled to the ground surface that detects movement of the linkage and provides a sensor signal including information from which a position of the mouse object in the planar workspace can be determined.

A system and a conversion element for power conversion. The power conversion system includes a power conversion device which produces electric power upon illumination and includes a light conversion device which down-converts and up-converts a radiant source of energy into a specific energy spectrum for the illumination of the power conversion device. The conversion element includes a first plurality of particles which upon radiation from a first radiation source radiate at a higher energy than the first radiation source, and includes a second plurality of particles which upon radiation from the first radiation source radiate at a lower energy than the first radiation source. At least one of the first plurality of particles and the second plurality of particles can be at least partially metal coated.

A system and method for generating white light involves using a combination of phosphor-converted white LEDs and non-phosphor-converted color LEDs to produce white light and adjusting the emitted light in response to feedback signals. Generating white light using a combination of phosphor-converted white LEDs and non-phosphor-converted color LEDs produces white light with an improved CRI and a wide SPD. Adjusting the emitted light in response to feedback allows luminance and chrominance characteristics of the white light to be controlled as the performance of the LEDs changes over time. The emitted light can be adjusted on a per-color basis and / or on a per-group basis, where a group of LEDs includes a combination of at least one phosphor-converted white LED and at least one non-phosphor-converted color LED.

A method and apparatus for controlling and providing force feedback using an interface device manipulated by a user. A microprocessor is provided local to the interface device and reads sensor data from sensors that describes the position and / or other information about a user object moved by the user, such as a joystick. The microprocessor controls actuators to provide forces on the user object and provides the sensor data to a host computer that is coupled to the interface device. The host computer sends high level host commands to the local microprocessor, and the microprocessor independently implements a local reflex process based on the high level command to provide force values to the actuators using sensor data and other parameters. A provided host command protocol includes a variety of different types of host commands and associated command parameters. By providing a relatively small set of high level host commands and parameters which are translated into a panoply of forces, the protocol further shifts the computational burden from the host computer to the local microprocessor and allows a software developer to easily create force feedback applications.

A method of configuring one or more illumination states for illuminating at least two user interface devices of a mobile device, the method comprising assigning a first illumination state to first and second user interface devices, when intensity of ambient light is greater than a first threshold; assigning the first illumination state to the first interface device, and a second illumination state to the second interface device, when the intensity of the ambient light is between the first threshold and a second threshold; and assigning the second illumination state to the first and the second user interface devices, when the intensity of the ambient light is less than the second threshold.

A mini-blind actuator has a motor and a housing that holds the motor and a dc battery. The rotor of the motor is coupled to the baton of the mini-blind for rotating the baton and thereby opening or closing the slats of the mini-blind. Alternatively, the rotor is coupled to the tilt rod of the blind to rotate the tilt rod and thereby open or close the slats of the mini-blind. A control signal generator generates a control signal for completing the electrical circuit between the battery and the motor. The control signal can be generated in response to a predetermined amount of daylight or in response to a user-generated remote command signal. The actuator can be used to rotate the slats of horizontal or vertical blinds, or the sections of a pleated shade. Or, the actuator can be used to rotate the hollow rotatable tube of a roll-up shade.

An interface device for use with a computer that provides locative data to a computer for tracking a user manipulatable physical object and provides feedback to the user through output forces. The physical object is movable in multiple degrees of freedom and is tracked by sensors for sensing the location and orientation of the object. A device processor can be responsive to the output of the sensors and can provide the host computer with information derived from the sensors. The host computer can provides images on a display, where the computer responds to the provided sensor information and force feedback is correlated with the displayed images via force feedback commands from the host computer.

A light fixture converts source light from one or more solid state light emitting elements to a virtual light source output. An optical element receives and diffuses light from the solid state emitters to form a processed light for the virtual source output. The optical element forms light that is relatively uniform, for example having a substantially Lambertian distribution and / or having a maximum-to-minimum intensity ratio of 2 to 1 or less over the optical area of the virtual source. In the examples, the diffuse optical processing element comprises a cavity having at least one diffusely reflective surface, and the emitting elements supply light into the cavity at locations that result in reflection and diffusion before emission through an aperture of the cavity. The aperture or a downstream processing element appears as the virtual source of the processed light from the cavity.

In one method of and apparatus for varying the luminosity of illumination, each of a plurality of light sources has an on state in which it emits light and an off state in which it does not emit light. Each of the plurality of light sources is switched cyclically between the on state and the off state in a sequence over a cycle period. The switching sequence is selected such that the number of said light sources that are on is uniform over the cycle. The luminosity of the illumination is varied by varying the proportion of each cycle for which each light source is switched on.

The present invention provides a lighting device, comprising a first light guide adapted to guide light and output the light in a first direction; a second light guide adapted to guide light and output the light in another, second direction; a dividing structure adapted to receive light from a light source and guide the light into the first light guide and into the second light guide, wherein the dividing structure comprises controllable dividing means for guiding a first percentage of the light from the light source into the first light guide, and a second percentage of the light from the light source into the second light guide.

A light emitting device includes: a light emitting element; a substrate including a groove-like light guide extending along a first direction, emission light emitted from the light emitting element and introduced into the light guide being reflected by an inner wall surface of the light guide, spreading along the first direction, and being turned into upward light directed upward above the substrate; and a lens provided above the light guide and configured to collect the upward light and control light distribution characteristic in a plane generally perpendicular to the first direction.

Light is mixed within a mixing cavity. Light is transported from the mixing cavity, through an optical cable, to a color sensor. The transported light is sampled by the color sensor. Light color within the mixing cavity is controlled based on information from the transported light sampled by the color sensor.

An electronic device is prepared as receiving discoloration trigger event by event trigger module and sending said event to discoloration processing module being used to obtain potential D-value corresponding to discoloration trigger event and being used to control potential D-value on shell to be corresponded shell potential D-value, setting electrochromism layer between partial shell and substrate and electric-connecting said electrochromism to discoloration processing module. The method for controlling shell discoloration of electronic device is also disclosed.

In one method of and apparatus for varying the luminosity of illumination, each of a plurality of light sources has an on state in which it emits light and an off state in which it does not emit light. Each of the plurality of light sources is switched cyclically between the on state and the off state in a sequence over a cycle period. The switching sequence is selected such that the number of said light sources that are on is uniform over the cycle. The luminosity of the illumination is varied by varying the proportion of each cycle for which each light source is switched on.