JP2003517705A - System and method for generating and adjusting lighting conditions - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a lighting fixture (300, 5000) for generating white light, said fixture comprising a plurality of component illumination sources (320, 5007), said plurality including component illumination sources arranged to produce electromagnetic radiation of at least two different spectrums (1201, 1301) and a mounting (5005) holding said plurality, said mounting designed to allow said spectrums of said plurality to mix and form a resulting spectrum (2201, 2203) that is continuous within the photopic response of the human eye and/or continuous in the region from 400 nm to 700 nm. The plurality of component illumination sources consists of only LEDs, the LEDs including a first white LED, including a phosphor, to produce a first spectrum (1201) of the at least two different spectrums, and a second white LED, including a phosphor, to produce a second spectrum (1301) of the at least two different spectrums. The lighting fixture further comprises a processor (316) responsive to data and configured to independently control the first white LED and the second white LED based on the data such that an intensity of the first white LED and the second white LED may be varied thereby to vary a color temperature of the resulting spectrum within a preselected range of color temperatures and the lighting fixture is adapted to be connected to a data network and provided with a data connection (350) of the data network over which data from an external device is received by the processor of the lighting fixture.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Humans have grown accustomed to controlling their environment. Nature provides conditions that are unpredictable and often far away from ideal living conditions for humans. Therefore, mankind has for many years tried to manipulate the environment within structures to mimic the external environment in a perfect set of conditions. This includes temperature control, air quality control and lighting control.

It is easy to understand the desire to control the properties of light in an artificial environment. Humans are by nature visual animals and much of our communication is done visually. We can identify friends and family based essentially on visual cues, and we communicate through many visual media such as this printed page. At the same time, the human eye requires light for viewing thereby, and our eyes (unlike some other animal eyes) are particularly sensitive to color.

Due to the ever-increasing working hours and time constraints today, the average person is spending less and less time outdoors in natural sunlight. Moreover, humans spend about one-third of their lives sleeping, and as the economy grows against 24/7/365, many employees no longer have the luxury of spending time walking during the day. I can't have it. Therefore, most average human lives are spent indoors illuminated by artificial light sources.

Visible light is a collection of electromagnetic waves (electromagnetic radiation) of different frequencies, each wavelength representing a particular “color” of the light spectrum. Visible light is generally about 400 nm and about 700 nm
It is believed to consist of those light waves with wavelengths between and. Each wavelength in this spectrum has a distinct color of light from dark blue / purple at about 400 nm to dark red at about 700 nm. The mixture of these light colors produces additional colors of light. The individual colors of the neon sign result from a number of individual wavelengths of light. These wavelengths are
Combine additively to produce the resulting wave or spectrum that creates a color.

Because of the importance of white light, and because white light is a mixture of multiple wavelengths of light, there are multiple techniques for characterizing white light that are related to how humans interpret a particular white light. Occurred. The first of these is the use of color temperature associated with the color of light in white.
The correlated color temperature is characterized in the field of color reproduction according to the Kelvin (K) temperature of a blackbody radiator which emits light of the same color as the light in question. FIG. 1 shows that the Planckian locus (or blackbody locus or white line) (104) is approximately 700K (generally considered to be the first visible to the human eye) to essentially a white end point. It is a chromaticity diagram which gives temperature. The color temperature of the light being viewed (hereinafter referred to as "visible light") depends on the color content of the visible light, as indicated by the line (104). Thus, early morning daylight has a color temperature of about 3000K, while a cloudy daytime sky is about 10,000.
It has a white color temperature of K. A fire has a color temperature of about 1,800K, and an incandescent light bulb has about 2
Holds 848K. The color image seen at 3,000K has a relatively reddish tint, while the same color image seen at about 10,000K has a relatively bluish tint. All of this light is called "white", but it has varying spectral content.

The second class of white light concerns its quality. In 1965, the International Commission on Illumination (CI
E) recommended a method for measuring the color rendering of a light source based on the test color sample method. This method has been revised and described in the CIE 13.3-1995 technical report "Methods for measuring and specifying color rendering of light sources", the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In essence, this method involves spectroscopic measurements of a light source under test. This data is multiplied by the reflectance spectra of the 8 color swatches. The resulting spectrum is converted to tristimulus values based on the CIE1931 standard observer. The deviation of these values with respect to the reference light is the uniform color space (1960) recommended by the CIE.
UCS). The average of the eight color excursions is calculated to generate a general color rendering index known as CRI. Within these calculations, the CRI is scaled so that a perfect score equals 100. However, the "
"Perfect" will use a source that is spectrally equal to the reference source (often sunlight or full spectrum white light). For example, a tungsten-halogen source comparable to full spectrum white light would have a CRI of 99, while a warm white fluorescent lamp would have a CRI of 50.

Artificial lighting generally uses standard CRI to determine the quality of white light. If the light produces a high CRI compared to full spectrum white light, it produces better quality white light (light that is more "natural" and allows for better colored surfaces) It is thought that. This method has been used as a point of comparison for all different types of light sources since 1965.

The correlated color temperature and CRI of visible light affects the way an observer perceives a color image. An observer will perceive the same color image differently when viewed under light having different correlated color temperatures. For example, a color image that looks normal when viewed in the early morning daylight will appear bluish and faded when viewed under a cloudy midday sky. In addition, white light with a small CRI can cause the colored effect to appear distorted.

Color temperature and / or CRI of light is important for image creators such as photographers, film and television producers, painters, etc., as well as for viewers of paintings, photographs and other such images. is there. Ideally, both the creator and the viewer should utilize the same color of ambient light to ensure that the image aspect to the viewer matches that of the creator.

In addition, the color temperature of ambient light is determined by fruits and vegetables, clothes, furniture, articles such as automobiles,
And by changing the perceived color of other products, including visual elements that can greatly affect the way people see and react to such exhibits, viewers may experience retail and marketing implications. Affects how you perceive an exhibit, such as an exhibit. As an example, a strong green light on the human body can make a human look unnatural, creepy, and often a bit disgusting (even if the overall lighting effect is white light). There is a teaching of drama lighting design that tends to do. Therefore,
Changes in the color temperature of the lighting can affect how such exhibits appeal to or attract customers.

Further, furniture covered with fabric (fabric-covered furniture)
e), such as clothing, paintings, wallpapers, curtains, etc., by virtue of their ability to be viewed in a lighting environment or color temperature conditions that match or are very close to the conditions under which they are viewed. It allows more precise matching or adjustment of the items. Typically, the lighting used in an exhibition environment such as a showroom is
The color of an article that cannot be changed and, in many cases, leaves the buyer to speculate as to whether the article in question will retain its attractive appearance under the lighting conditions in which it is ultimately placed. Selected to highlight a particular aspect of the. The difference in lighting also leaves the customer wondering if the color of the article does not look chromatically in harmony with other articles that cannot be conveniently viewed or otherwise directly comparable under the same lighting conditions. There is a case.

In addition to white light, the ability to generate specific colors of light is also highly sought after.
Because of the sensitivity of humans to light, visual arts and similar professions desire identifiable and reproducible colored light. Elementary film (movie) research classes are taught that movie enthusiasts typically have more orange or red light indicating morning, while generally more blue light indicating night or evening. teach. We have also been taught that sunlight filtered through water has a certain color, while sunlight filtered through glass has a different color. For all these reasons, it is desirable for people involved in visual arts to be able to produce the exact colors of light and to reproduce them later.

Current lighting technology makes such coordination and control difficult. It ’s a halogen,
This is because a common light source such as an incandescent lamp and a fluorescent light source produces a fixed color temperature and spectrum of light. Moreover, changing the color temperature or spectrum will usually undesirably change other lighting variables. For example, increasing the voltage applied to the incandescent bulb light can raise the color temperature of the resulting light, but results in an overall increase in brightness. Similarly, placing a front dark blue filter on a white halogen lamp would significantly reduce the overall brightness of the light. The filter itself will also be extremely hot (and potentially meltable) as it absorbs a large percentage of the light energy from white light.

Moreover, achieving certain conditions with an incandescent lamp source is difficult or impossible because it rapidly burns out the filament with the desired color. For fluorescent illumination sources, the color temperature is controlled by the composition of the phosphor, which composition varies from illumination source to illumination source, but is usually not changeable for a given illumination source. Therefore, adjusting the color temperature of light is often a complex procedure to avoid in scenarios where such adjustments may be beneficial.

In artificial lighting, control over the range of colors that can be produced by a luminaire is desirable. Many luminaires known in the art can only produce a single color of light instead of a range of colors. The color can vary across the luminaire (eg, fluorescent luminaires produce a different color of light than sodium lamps). The use of a filter in a luminaire does not allow the luminaire to produce a range of colors, thereby simply allowing the luminaire to produce that single color, which is then , Partially absorbed and partially transmitted by the filter. Once the filter is in place, the luminaire only produces a single (now different) color of light, which still cannot produce a range of colors.

In controlling artificial lighting, it is further desirable to be able to specify a point within the range of colors that can be generated by the luminaire, which will be the highest intensity point. Even for state-of-the-art luminaires that can change color, the maximum intensity point cannot be specified by the user, but is usually determined by the irrevocable physical characteristics of the luminaire. Thus, incandescent luminaires can produce a range of colors, but
However, the intensity always increases as the color temperature increases, which does not allow control of the color at the point of maximum intensity. Since both filters absorb some of the intensity, the filter also lacks control of the maximum intensity point because the maximum intensity point of the luminaire is an unfiltered color.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a system and method for generating and / or adjusting illumination conditions to produce light of a desired controllable color, for producing light in a desired reproducible color. Systems and methods for making luminaires and for adjusting the color temperature or shade of the light produced by the luminaires within a pre-specified range after the luminaires have been configured. In one embodiment, an LED lighting device capable of producing a range of colors of light is used to provide light or supplemental ambient light to provide lighting conditions suitable for a wide range of applications.

The following first embodiment with a luminaire producing white light is disclosed. The luminaire includes a plurality of elemental illumination sources (such as LEDs) and produces electromagnetic radiation of at least two different spectra (including embodiments having exactly two or exactly three). And each of the spectra has a region 510n
Having a maximum spectral peak outside m to 570 nm, the illumination source is attached to a fixture that allows the spectra to be mixed, so that the resulting spectrum is substantially visible to the human eye. In the visual response and / or 4
It is continuous at wavelengths from 00 nm to 700 nm.

In one embodiment, the luminaire may include a non-LED illumination source, perhaps with a maximum spectral peak in the region 510 nm to 570 nm. In another embodiment, the luminaire includes, but is not limited to, the area 500K.
To 10,000 K, and within a range of color temperatures, such as the region 2300 K to 4500 K, white light can be produced. The specific color in that range can be controlled by the controller. In one embodiment, the luminaire includes a filter on at least one of the plurality of luminaires, which filter may possibly be selected from a range of filters such that the luminaire produces a particular range of colors. Allows you to generate. The luminaire also includes, in one embodiment, the 400 nm to 7 nm described above.
Illumination sources with wavelengths outside the range up to 00 nm may be included.

In another embodiment, the luminaire produces a plurality of spectra of electromagnetic radiation having a maximum spectral peak outside the region 530 nm to 570 nm (eg, such as 450 nm and / or 592 nm). An LED comprising a plurality of LEDs whose additive interference in the spectrum results in white light. Lighting fixtures include, but are not limited to, areas 500K to 10,000K and area 23.
White light may be produced within a range of color temperatures, such as 00K to 4500K.
The luminaire may include a controller and / or processor that controls the intensity of the LEDs to produce various color temperatures in the above range.

Another embodiment is a luminaire for use in a luminaire designed to employ a fluorescent light, wherein the luminaire comprises at least one elemental illumination source (often 2 One or more) and is attached to a fixture that is coupled to a fluorescent lamp and is capable of receiving power from the lighting device. It also includes control or electrical circuits that allow the LED voltage to be supplied or controlled using the ballast voltage of the lighting device. The control circuit may include a processor and / or may control the lighting provided by the luminaire based on the power provided to the lighting device. The luminaire, in one embodiment, is housed in a housing, which can be generally cylindrical in shape,
Filters can be included and / or can be partially transparent or translucent. The luminaire can produce white or other colored light.

Another embodiment is a luminaire that produces white light, comprising a plurality of elemental lighting sources (eg, such as LEDs, lighting devices that include phosphors, or LEDs that include phosphors), And a luminaire that includes a component illumination source that produces a spectrum of electromagnetic radiation.
The element illumination source is attached to a fixture designed to allow the spectra to be mixed and the resulting spectra formed. Note that the resulting spectrum has an intensity greater than the background noise at its lowest valley. The lowest spectral valley in the visible region may also have an intensity of at least 5%, 10%, 25%, 50% or 75% of the intensity of its maximum spectral peak. The luminaire may include a controller and / or processor capable of producing white light in a range of color temperatures and capable of making a particular color selection in the range.

Another embodiment of the luminaire may include a plurality of elemental illumination sources (such as LEDs), the plurality of elemental illumination sources producing at least two different spectrums of electromagnetic radiation, the plurality of elemental illumination sources. The illumination source is mounted in a fixture designed to allow mixing of the spectra and formation of the resulting spectrum, the resulting spectrum being within the photopic response of the human eye and / Or have no spectral valleys at wavelengths longer than the wavelength of the maximum spectral peak in the 400 nm to 700 nm range.

Another embodiment provides a plurality of elemental illumination sources that produce electromagnetic radiation of at least two different spectra in such a way that the spectra are mixed, and the background of the spectrum mixing is at its lowest spectral valley. Selecting the spectrum in such a way that it has an intensity greater than the noise.

Another embodiment is a system for controlling a lighting condition that includes a luminaire that provides illumination of any of a range of colors, the luminaire comprising a plurality of elemental lighting sources ( The system further comprises a processor coupled to and controlling the luminaire, and a processor coupled to the luminaire, comprising, for example, an LED and / or potentially three different color element sources. A controller that specifies a lighting condition to be provided. The controller can be computer hardware or computer software, a sensor (such as, but not limited to, a photodiode, radiometer, photometer, colorimeter, spectral radiometer and camera), or manually. Interface (such as but not limited to sliders, dials, joysticks, trackpads and trackballs). The processor may include an interface providing mechanism that provides a user interface, which may include a memory of a given color state (eg, such as a database) and / or potentially includes a color spectrum, a color temperature spectrum or a chromaticity diagram. Can be included.

In another embodiment, the system includes, but is not limited to, a fluorescent lamp, an incandescent lamp, a mercury lamp, a sodium lamp, an arc discharge lamp, sunlight, moonlight, an incandescent lamp, an LED display. A second illumination source, such as a device, an LED, or a lighting system controlled by pulse width modulation can be included. The second illumination source is
The combined light from the luminaire and the second illumination source can be used by the controller to specify a lighting condition for the luminaire based on the illumination of the luminaire and the second illumination source. Can be any desired color temperature.

Another embodiment produces light of color and brightness using a luminaire capable of producing light of any of a range of colors, measuring lighting conditions, and A method comprising adjusting the color and brightness of the generated light to achieve a target lighting condition. The above steps to measure lighting conditions are:
Without limitation, photodiodes, radiometers, photometers, colorimeters,
Detecting the color characteristics of the lighting condition using a light sensor such as a spectral radiometer and a camera, visually assessing the lighting condition, and adjusting the color or brightness of the light generated. The adjusting step may include changing the color or brightness of the generated light using a manual interface. Alternatively, the step of measuring the lighting condition includes a step of detecting a color characteristic of the lighting condition using an optical sensor, and a step of adjusting the color or brightness of the generated light, the adjusting step comprising: , Changing the color or brightness of the generated light with a processor until the color characteristics of the lighting condition detected by the light sensor match the color characteristics of the target lighting condition. The method may include, but is not limited to, selecting a target color temperature, and / or providing an interface with a description of the color range, and selecting a target within the color range. The step of selecting a lighting condition may be included. The method also includes, but is not limited to, fluorescent lamps, incandescent lamps, mercury lamps, sodium lamps, arc discharge lamps, sunlight, moonlight, incandescent lamp light,
It may comprise the step of providing a second illumination source, such as an LED display, an LED and a lighting system controlled by pulse width modulation. The method can measure the lighting condition by detecting the light generated by the luminaire and the second lighting source.

In another embodiment, adjusting the color or brightness of the generated light comprises changing the lighting conditions to achieve the target color temperature, or the luminaire comprises:
It may comprise one of a plurality of luminaires capable of producing a range of colors.

In yet another embodiment, a method of designing a luminaire is provided, the method comprising selecting a desired range of colors to be produced by the luminaire, the luminaire being of maximum intensity. When selecting a selected color of the light to be produced by the luminaire, a plurality of luminaires being capable of producing a range of colors and producing a selected color at maximum intensity. Designing the luminaire from an illumination source (such as an LED).

The drawings depict certain exemplary embodiments of the invention, in which like reference numbers indicate like components. It should be understood that these illustrated embodiments are illustrative of the invention and are not limiting in any way. The present invention will be fully understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Detailed Description of Exemplary Embodiments The following description relates to some exemplary embodiments of the invention. While many variations of the present invention can be envisioned by one of ordinary skill in the art, such variations and improvements are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following description in any way.

As used in this specification, the following terms generally have the following meanings: However, these definitions are not intended to limit the scope of terms that will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art.

The term “LED” generally includes light emitting diodes of all types, and also, but is not limited to, light emitting polymers, semiconductor dies that produce light in response to electrical current, organic LEDs, electronic luminescent strips (electron)
luminescent strips, super luminescent diodes (SLDs) and other such devices. The term "LED" does not limit any of the above physical or electrical packaging, and the packaging includes, but is not limited to, surface mount, chip-on-board, or T-packages. -Can include mount LEDs.

“Illumination sources” include, but are not limited to, LEDs, incandescent sources including incandescent bulbs, pyro-luminous sources such as flames.
candle luminescent sources, candle luminescent sources such as gas mantle and carbon arc radiation sources, photoluminescent sources including air discharge, fluorescent sources, phosphorous sources, lasers, electroluminescent lamps such as electroluminescent lamps Sources, cathode luminescent sources using electronic saturation, and a variety of luminescent sources (eg, galvanoluminescent sources, crystal luminescent sources, kinetic-luminescent sources).
nescent source), a thermoluminescent source, a triboluminescent source, a sonoluminescent source, and a radiation luminescent source. )including. The illumination source may also include a luminescent polymer. The illumination source can produce electromagnetic radiation within the visible spectrum, outside the visible spectrum, or a combination of both. The elemental illumination source is any illumination source that is part of the luminaire.

A “luminaire” or “luminaire” is any device or housing containing at least one illumination source for the purpose of providing illumination. "Color", "temperature", or "spectrum" are used interchangeably herein unless otherwise indicated. These three terms generally refer to the resulting combination of wavelengths of light that result in the light produced by the luminaire. The combination of wavelengths defines the color or temperature of light. Color is commonly used for light that is not white, while temperature is used for light that is white. However, either term can be used for any type of light. White light can have color and non-white light can have temperature. Spectrum generally refers to the spectral composition of a combination of individual wavelengths, while color or temperature generally refers to the human perceptible characteristic of that light. However, the above uses are not intended to limit the scope of these terms.

The recent emergence of colored LEDs that are bright enough to provide illumination has prompted a revolution in lighting technology as the color and brightness of these light sources can be easily adjusted. One method of such adjustment is US Pat. 6,016,038, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein. The systems and methods described herein describe methods of using and making LED luminaires or systems, or other luminaires or systems that utilize elemental lighting sources. These systems have certain advantages over other luminaires. In particular, the system disclosed herein allows previously unknown control over the light that can be generated by a luminaire. In particular, the following disclosure utilizes systems and methods for pre-determining the range and type of light that can be produced by a luminaire, and the pre-determined range of the luminaire in various applications. Systems and methods are described.

To understand these systems and methods, it is helpful to first understand the luminaire that can be made and used in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a lighting module that may be used in one embodiment of the present invention, where the luminaire (300) is shown in block diagram form. The luminaire (300) includes two components, a processor (316) and a set of elemental lighting sources (320), which is shown in FIG. 2 as an array of light emitting diodes. ing. In one embodiment of the invention, the set of elementary illumination sources comprises at least two illumination sources that produce different spectra of light. The set of elemental illumination sources (320) is a fixture (350) within the luminaire (300).
Are arranged to allow light from different element illumination sources to be mixed to produce a resulting spectrum of light that is essentially the additive spectrum of the different element illumination sources. In FIG. 2, this is done by arranging the element illumination sources (320) in a generally circular area, which is also in any other manner that would be understood by a person skilled in the art, eg 1 It can be done as an array of element illumination sources, or another geometry of element illumination sources. The term "processor" as used herein means any method or system for processing, for example a method or system for processing in response to signals or data and / or a method or system for processing automatically. Used for. Processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, programmable digital signal processors, integrated circuits, computer
Software, computer hardware, electrical circuits, application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic devices, programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, personal computers, chips, and discrete analog, digital or programmable configurations. It should be understood to include any other combination of elements, or other apparatus capable of providing processing functionality.

The set of elementary illumination sources (320) is controlled by the processor (316) to produce controlled illumination. In particular, the processor (316) controls the intensity of individual LEDs of different colors in the array of LEDs. It should be noted that the array of LEDs constitutes a collection (320) of elemental illumination sources, and any color within the range bounded by the spectrum of the individual LEDs and any filters or other spectral modifiers associated therewith. To generate lighting in. Instant color changes, strobing and other effects can also be produced using a luminaire (300) such as the lighting module shown in FIG. In one embodiment of the invention, the luminaire (300) may be capable of receiving power and data from an external source. Such data is received via the data line (330) and power is received via the power line (340). The luminaire (300) can be made to provide various functions via the processor (316) according to various embodiments of the invention disclosed herein. In another embodiment, the processor (316) may be replaced by hard wiring or another type of controller, thereby providing the luminaire (300).
Produces only monochromatic light.

With reference to FIG. 3, the luminaire (300) may be configured to be used either alone or as part of a set of such luminaires (300). Each luminaire (300) or set of luminaires (300) is provided with a data connection (350) to one or more external devices, or in some embodiments of the invention other luminaires (300). ) Can be provided. As used herein,
The term "data connection" refers to data such as networks, data buses, wires, transmitters and receivers, circuits, video tapes, compact discs, DVD discs, audio tapes, computer tapes, cards, etc. It should be understood to encompass any system of supply. Thus, the data connection may include any system and method for providing data by radio frequency, ultrasound, audio, infrared, light, microwave, laser, electromagnetic wave, or other transmission or connection method or system. That is, any use of the electromagnetic spectrum or other energy transmission mechanism can provide the data connections disclosed herein. In one embodiment of the invention, the luminaire (300) may be provided with a transmitter, a receiver, or both to facilitate communication, and the processor (316) may include:
It can be programmed to control its communication capabilities in the usual manner. Lighting equipment (30
0) may receive data from the transmitter (352) via the data connection. It should be noted that the transmitter (352) may be an ordinary transmitter of communication signals, or the luminaire (30).
0) may be part of the circuit or network connected to it. That is, the transmitter (352)
Should be understood to include any device or method for transmitting data to the luminaire (300). The transmitter (352) may be, or may be part of, a controller (354) that generates control data for controlling the lighting module (300). In one embodiment of the invention, the controller (354) is a computer such as a laptop computer. The control data may be in any form suitable for controlling the processor (316) to control the set of elemental illumination sources (320). In one embodiment of the present invention, the control data is DM
Formatted according to the X-512 protocol, and DMX-51
Conventional software that generates two instructions is used on a laptop or personal computer as a controller (354) for controlling the luminaire (300). The luminaire (300) may also be provided with memory that stores instructions for controlling the processor (316) so that the luminaire (300) may operate stand-alone and in accordance with pre-programmed instructions. .

The aforementioned embodiment of the luminaire (300) is generally present in one of a number of different housings. However, such a housing is not absolutely necessary and the luminaire (300) can be used without a housing for still forming the luminaire. The housing may provide lensing of the resulting light produced and provide protection for the luminaire (300) and its components. A housing may be included in a luminaire as the term is used throughout this specification. FIG. 4 shows an exploded view of an embodiment of the lighting fixture of the present invention. The illustrated embodiment shows a substantially cylindrical body (362), a luminaire (36).
4), conductive sleeve (368), power module (372), second conductive sleeve (374) and shroud (378). Here, lighting equipment (364
) And power module (372) are known from the art or are incorporated into US patent application no. 09/215, 624, luminaire (300), different power module and luminaire (300).
The electrical structure and software of Screws (382), (384), (386
), (388), the entire device can be mechanically connected. Body (36
2), conductive sleeves (368) and (374), and shroud (378) are preferably made from a heat conducting material such as aluminum. Body (362)
Has an emitting end (361), a reflective inner part (not shown) and an illuminating end (363). A lighting module (364) is mechanically attached to the lighting end (363). The discharge end (361) may be open or in one embodiment it may be fitted with a filter (391). The filter (391) is
It may be a transparent filter, a blur filter, a tinted filter, or any other type of filter known in the art. In one embodiment, the filter is permanently attached to the body (362), but in other embodiments the filter can be removably attached. In yet another embodiment, a filter (
391) need not be attached to the discharge end (361) of the body (362),
However, it may be inserted anywhere in the direction of light emission from the luminaire (364). The luminaire (364) may be disc shaped with two sides. The illumination side (not shown) comprises multiple element illumination sources that produce different spectra of light of a given selection. The connecting side may carry the male pin assembly (392) of the electrical connector. Both the lighting side and the connection side can be coated with an aluminum surface, which allows better conduction of heat outward from the multiple element lighting sources to the body (362). Similarly, the power module (372) is generally disk-shaped and may have all usable surfaces covered with aluminum for the same reason. The power module (372) is an electrical connector female pin assembly () adapted to mate with pins from the assembly (392).
394). The power module (372) is AC or D
It has a power terminal surface that holds a terminal (398) for connection to a power source, such as a C power source. Any standard AC or DC jack may be used as appropriate.

A conductive aluminum sleeve (368) is interposed between the luminaire (364) and the power module (372), and the conductive aluminum sleeve (368).
Substantially enclose the space between modules (364) and (372). As shown, disk shaped shroud (378) and screws (382), (384)
, (386) and (388) can seal all components together, and the conductive sleeve (374) thus allows the shroud (378) and the power module (37).
It is inserted between 2). Alternatively, screws (382), (384), (386
) And (388) connection methods can be used to seal the structures together. Once sealed together as a unit, the luminaire (364) can be connected to the aforementioned data network and mounted in any convenient manner to illuminate an area.

5a and 5b show an alternative luminaire including a housing that can be used in another embodiment of the invention. The illustrated embodiment has a lower body portion (5001),
An upper body part (5003) and a lighting fixture (5005) are provided. Again, the luminaire can include the luminaire (300), a different luminaire known in the art, or the luminaire described elsewhere herein. The luminaire (5005) shown here is designed to have a linear track element lighting device, in this case an LED (5007), although such a design is not required. However, such a design is desirable for one embodiment of the present invention. Further, although the linear track elemental illumination source is illustrated in FIG. 5a as a single track, multiple linear tracks can be used as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. In one embodiment of the present invention, the upper body portion (5003
) May comprise a filter as described above, or may be semi-transparent, transparent, semi-transparent, or semi-transparent. Additionally, FIG. 5a illustrates an optional holder (5010) that may be used to hold the luminaire (5000). This holder (501
0) comprises a clip attachment (5012) which is used to frictionally engage the luminaire (5000) to provide a specific attachment to the luminaire (5000) holder (5010). Allows alignment. The fixture also includes an attachment plate (5014), which may be permanent, removable or temporary, with any type of attachment known in the art for attachment to the clip attachment (5012). )
Can be attached to. The attachment plate (5014) can then be used to mount the entire device to a surface such as, but not limited to, a wall or ceiling.

In one embodiment, the luminaire (5000) is generally cylindrical in shape when assembled (as shown in FIG. 5b) and is therefore capable of moving or “rolling” over the surface. Further, in one embodiment, the luminaire (5000) can emit light only through the upper body (5003), not through the lower body (5001). Without a holder (5010), such a luminaire (5
000) can be difficult to direct and the movement can change the directivity of the light in an undesired direction.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a pre-specified range of usable colors is desirable, and it is also desirable to make the luminaire to maximize the illumination of the luminaire for a particular color. Is recognized. This is best shown through a numerical example. The luminaire is assumed to include 30 elemental illumination sources (eg, such as individual LEDs) in three different wavelengths: three primary colors red, three primary colors blue, and three primary colors green. Further, assume that each of these elemental illumination sources produces light of the same intensity and they produce different colors. Here, 30 for any given luminaire
There are many different ways in which individual element illumination sources can be selected. There could be 10 of each of the multiple element illumination sources, or alternatively 30 of the three primary blue colors. It will be readily apparent that these luminaires are useful for various types of lighting. The second lighting device has only the first illumination source (which has 10 trichromatic blue illumination sources, the remaining 20 illumination sources must be turned off to produce trichromatic blue light). ) Producing stronger three-primary blue light (there are thirty light sources of blue light), but is not limited to producing three-primary blue light. The second luminaire can produce more colors of light.
This is because the spectrum of the elementary illumination sources can be mixed in different percentages, but cannot be produced as intense blue light. From this example, it will be readily apparent that the choice of individual element illumination sources can change the resulting spectrum of light that the luminaire can produce. It will also be apparent that the same selection of elemental illumination sources can produce light that can produce the same colors, but those colors can produce different intensities. In other words, the total on-point of the luminaire (the point where all elemental illumination sources are largest) will differ depending on what the elemental illumination source is.

Therefore, the lighting system can be specified with a total on-point and a selectable range of colors. This system has potential applications such as, but not limited to, retail display lighting and theater lighting. Often, multiple luminaires of different colors are used to provide the shade or desired features of interest to the stage or other area. However, problems can arise. It is noted that regularly used luminaires have similar intensities before using lighting filters to specify the color of their luminaires, and thus the difference in transmission of various filters (e.g. blue filters increase their intensity). , The light fixture must be controlled to compensate for their intensity. For this reason, luminaires are often operated below their full capacity (to allow mixing) which requires the use of additional luminaires. By using the luminaires of the invention, it is possible to design luminaires which, when operating in their full potential, produce a particular color with the same intensity of the chosen color, which results in It allows for easier mixing of the generated light and provides more choice for lighting design schemes.

Such a system provides a light that allows a person making or designing a luminaire to produce a preselected range of colors while still maximizing the intensity of the light at a certain most desirable color. To generate. Therefore, these luminaires will allow the user to select a certain color of the luminaire for applications that are independent of relative intensity. The luminaire can then be made to be similar in intensity in these colors. Only the spectrum can be changed. It also allows the user to have the ability to select a luminaire that produces a particular high intensity color of light and, in a range, a color in the immediate vicinity of the light.

The range of colors that can be produced by the luminaire can be specified instead of or in addition to the total on-point. The luminaire can then be provided with a color control system that allows the user of the luminaire to intuitively and easily select a desired color from the available range.

One embodiment of such a system operates by storing the spectrum of each of the plurality of element illumination sources. In this example embodiment, the illumination source is an LED. By choosing different element LEDs with different spectra, the designer can define the color range of the luminaire. A simple way to visualize the color gamut is to use a CIE diagram showing the entire lighting gamut for all colors of light that can be present. One embodiment of the system includes a light-authoring interface such as an interactive computer interface.
ace) is provided. FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of an interactive computer interface that allows a user to view a CIE diagram (508) that displays the spectrum of colors that the luminaire can generate. In FIG. 6, individual LED spectra can be saved to and recalled from memory and used to calculate the combined color control range. The interface has several channels (502) for selecting LEDs. Once selected, changing the intensity slide bar (504) can change the relative number of LEDs of that type in the resulting luminaire. The color of each LED is CI
It is represented as a point (for example, a point (506)) on a color chart such as the E diagram (508). The second LED is selected on a different channel and the second LED on the CIE chart is selected.
Points (eg, point (509)) can be generated. The line connecting these two points represents the extent to which the colors from these two LEDs can be mixed to produce additional colors. Range (510) when using the third and fourth channels
Can be plotted on a CIE diagram representing possible combinations of selected LEDs. Although the range (510) shown here is a four-sided polygon, the range (510) is a point or line or a polygon with any number of sides, depending on the selected LED. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that there can be.

In addition to specifying a color range, the intensity at any given color can be calculated from the LED spectrum. By knowing the number of LEDs for a given color and the maximum intensity of any of these LEDs, the total light output for a particular color is calculated. A diamond-shaped symbol or other symbol (512) may be plotted on the CIE diagram to represent the color when all LEDs are at full brightness, or that point may represent the current intensity setting.

Since the luminaire can be made from multiple element luminaires, when designing the luminaire, one can choose the most desirable color and design the luminaire to maximize the intensity of that color. be able to. Alternatively, a luminaire can be selected and the maximum intensity point can be determined from this selection. Tools can be provided that allow the calculation of a particular color at maximum intensity. FIG. 6 shows such a tool as a symbol (512) in which the CIE diagram has already been placed on the computer and is needed to automatically perform the calculations to produce a particular intensity. Total number of LEDs as well as LEs with different spectra to produce a particular color
The ratio of D can be calculated. Alternatively, a set of LEDs may be selected and the maximum intensity point determined, where both directions of calculation are included in embodiments of the invention.

In FIG. 6, where the number of LEDs is varied, the maximum intensity point moves so that the user can design the light with maximum intensity at the desired point. Thus, the system in one embodiment of the present invention comprises a collection of spectra of a number of different LEDs, providing an interface for the user to select an LED that will produce a range of colors surrounding the desired range, and It makes it possible to select the number of each of the LED types, so that the target color is produced when the device is fully on. In an alternative embodiment, the user may simply need to provide the desired spectrum, or color and intensity, and the system produces a luminaire that can generate light on demand. Could be

Once the light has been designed, in one embodiment it is further desirable to allow the user of the luminaire to easily access the spectrum of the light. As previously mentioned, the luminaire may be selected to have a particular array of elemental illumination sources such that a particular color is obtained with maximum intensity. However, there may be other colors that can be produced by changing the relative intensities of the element illumination sources. The spectrum of the luminaire can be controlled within a predetermined range specified by the range (510). It will be appreciated that each color within the polygon is an additive mixture of element LEDs having each color contained in the element LEDs having different intensities to control the color of the illumination within that range. That is to move from one point in FIG. 6 to a second point in FIG. 6, which requires changing the relative intensities of the element LEDs. This is less intuitive to the end user of the luminaire, who simply wants a particular color or a particular transition between colors and does not know the relative intensities to shift. This is the LED used
It is especially true if does not have a spectrum with a single well-defined color peak. The luminaire can produce 100 shades of orange, but the way in which each of those shades is reached can require control.

To enable performing such control of the spectrum of light, in one embodiment a system and method can be created that links the color of the light to a controller that controls the color of the light. desirable. Since the luminaire can be custom designed, in one embodiment it is possible to "map" to the desired obtained spectrum of light and to select points on the map by the controller. It is desirable to have the intensity of each element illumination source. That is the method by which the controller has a specific color specification of light, and the luminaire can turn on the appropriate illumination source at the appropriate intensity to produce that color of light. In one embodiment, the luminaire design software shown in FIG. 6 provides a mapping between the desired color that can be generated (within range (510)) and the intensity of the element LEDs that make up the luminaire. It can be configured in such a way that software can be generated. This mapping generally takes two forms: 1) a look-up table, or 2) a parametric equation, although other forms will be known to those skilled in the art. Will take one. (The above processor (3
Software embedded in the luminaire (as in 16) or software incorporated in the lighting controller, such as those known in the art or one of the foregoing, selects the color and the desired color. It can be configured to accept user input to generate light.

This mapping can be performed in various ways. In one embodiment,
Statistics are known for each of the individual elemental illumination sources within the luminaire, where mathematical calculations can be performed to generate the relationship between the resulting spectrum and the component spectra. Such calculations will be well understood by those skilled in the art.

In another embodiment, an external calibration system may be used. One layout of such a system is shown in FIG. Here, the calibration system includes a luminaire (2010) connected to a processor (2020) that receives input from a lighting sensor or transducer (2034). Processor (2020) may be processor (316) or may be an additional or alternative processor. A lighting sensor (3034) measures color characteristics of light output by the lighting fixture (2010), and optionally brightness, and / or ambient light, and a processor (2020) outputs the lighting fixture (2010). change. The luminaire can be calibrated between these two devices, a device for adjusting the brightness or color of the output and a device for measuring the brightness and color of the output, in which the elemental lighting source The relative setting (or processor setting (2020)) is directly related to the output of the luminaire (2010) (light sensor (2034) setting). Since the light sensor (2034) is capable of detecting the net spectrum produced by the luminaire, it is used to provide a direct mapping by relating the luminaire output to the setting of the element LEDs. You can

Once the mapping is complete, other methods or systems may be used to control the luminaire. Such a method or system allows the determination of the desired color and the production of that color by the luminaire.

FIG. 8 a illustrates one embodiment of the system (2000), where the control system (2030) is used in conjunction with the luminaire (2010).
Enables control of 10). The control system (2030) may be automatic, may accept input from a user, or may be a combination of the two. The system (2000) may also include a processor (2020), which may be the processor (316) or another processor to allow the light to change colors.

FIG. 9 is more specific of a system (2000) in which a user computer interface control system (2032) is used as a control system (2030) by which a user can select a desired color of light. An embodiment is shown. This may be the user interface (401) or could be a separate interface. The interface can allow any kind of user interaction in color determination. For example, the interface may be a palette, a chromaticity diagram or other color scheme from which the user may select a color, such as clicking on the appropriate color or color temperature on the interface with a mouse, or using a keyboard to change variables. And so on. The interface may include a display screen, computer keyboard, mouse, trackpad or any other suitable system for interaction between the processor and the user. In some embodiments, the system selects one of a set of preset colors by providing a simple code, such as a letter or number, or via an interface as described above. Doing so allows the user to select a set of colors for repeated use and quick access. In some embodiments, the interface can also correlate the name of the color with the appropriate shade, or color coordinates in one scheme (eg RGB, CYM, YIQ, YU.
V, HSV, HLS, XYZ, etc.) to a different color coordinate system or a look-up table capable of converting to a display or lighting color, or any other conversion function to assist the user in manipulating the lighting color. May be included. The interface can also be, for example,
Luminaire (2010) from user-specified color temperature (associated with a particular color of white light)
May include one or more closed form equations that convert to appropriate signals for different element illumination sources. The system is further described below for providing information to the processor (2020), eg, for automatically calibrating the emitted light color of the luminaire (2010) to achieve the color selected by the user on the interface. Sensor.

In another embodiment, for example, dials, sliders, switches, multi-pole switches, consoles to allow a user to change lighting conditions until the lighting condition or the appearance of the illuminated object is desired. Control system (2036), such as a lighting control unit, other lighting control unit, or any other control or combination of controls (2036)
Are used in the system (2000), as shown in FIG. 10a. For example,
A dial or slider may be used in the system to adjust the net color spectrum produced, or to adjust the illumination along the color temperature curve, or to make any other adjustment to the color of the luminaire. Alternatively, a joystick, trackball, trackpad, mouse, thumbwheel, touch-sensitive surface, or console with two or more sliders, dials or other controls may be used to adjust color, temperature or spectrum. These manual controls may be used with the computer interface control system (2032) as described above, or independently, perhaps with associated markings, to scan over a range of colors available to the user.

One such manual control system (2036) is shown in detail in FIG. 10b. The control unit shown has a color temperature range, for example 3000K to 10,50.
It features a dial marked to indicate up to 0K. The device may be useful in luminaires used to produce a range of white light temperatures (“colors”), such as those described below. Wider, narrower or overlapping ranges can be used, and similar systems can be used to control luminaires capable of producing light in the spectrum above or without white. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Provided as part of a processor, coupled to the processor, for controlling the array of luminaires, a remote control device capable of transmitting signals, such as infrared signals or microwave signals, to a system for controlling the lighting device. A manual control system (2036) may be included as a peripheral component of a lighting control system that is adapted or adapted in any other manner as would be readily understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Further, instead of a dial, the manual control system (2036) may use a slider, mouse or any other control or input device suitable for use with the systems and methods described herein.

In another embodiment, the calibration system shown in FIG. 7 may function as or as part of a control system. For example, the selected color can be entered by the user, and the calibration system measures the spectrum of ambient light, compares the measured spectrum to the selected spectrum, and the luminaire (
The color of the light produced by 2010) can be adjusted and the procedure repeated to minimize the difference between the desired spectrum and the measured spectrum. For example, if the red spectrum is lacking in wavelength when the measured spectrum is compared to the target spectrum, the processor minimizes the difference between the measured spectrum and the target spectrum and also potentially the target brightness ( Increase the brightness of the red LED of the luminaire, or reduce the brightness of the blue and green LEDs of the luminaire, in order to achieve the maximum possible brightness of that color). Alternatively, both can be done.
The system can also be used to match the colors produced by a luminaire to those that are naturally present. For example, a movie director can find light where shooting does not occur and does not measure that light with sensors, which in turn can give the desired color to be produced by the luminaire. Ah In one embodiment, these tasks can be performed simultaneously (potentially with two separate sensors). In yet another embodiment, the director remotely measures a lighting condition using a sensor (2034) and measures the lighting condition by the sensor (2034).
2034) and associated memory. The memory of the sensor can then be subsequently transferred to the processor (2020), which
2020) may be set to mimic the light recorded by the luminaire. This allows the director to create a "memory for the desired lighting".
The “desired lighting memory” is stored by the luminaire, such as the luminaire described above,
It can be reproduced later.

The sensor (2034) used to measure the lighting condition is a combination of two or more of a photodiode, a phototransistor, a photoresistor, a radiometer, a photometer, a colorimeter, a spectral radiometer, a camera and the above device. , Or any other system capable of measuring the color or brightness of lighting conditions. An example of a sensor is the IL20 marketed by International Light.
00 Spectro Cube Spectrophotometer (IL2000 SpectroCube
Spectroradiometer), but any other sensor may be used. Colorimeters or spectral radiometers are advantageous because they can detect the number of wavelengths at the same time, allowing accurate simultaneous measurement of color and brightness. A color temperature sensor that may be employed in the present system and method is described in US Pat. 5,
521,708.

In an embodiment where the sensor (2034), including, for example, a camera or other video capture device, detects the image, the processor (2020) causes the illuminated object to be as in the previously recorded image. The lighting conditions may be adjusted with the luminaire (2010) until they appear to be substantially the same, for example substantially the same color. Such a system reproduces the lighting conditions, for example by a cinematographer trying to create a consistent appearance of the object to promote continuity between scenes in a movie, or from a previous shoot, for example. Simplify the procedure adopted by photographers trying to.

In certain embodiments, the luminaire (2010) is used as the only source of illumination, while in other embodiments, the luminaire (2010) is similar to that illustrated in FIG. 8b. Incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps, halogens, other LED sources, or elemental illumination sources (including those with and without controls), light emitters controlled using pulse width modulation, sunlight, moonlight, It can be used in combination with a second illumination source (2040), such as candlelight. This use may be complementary to the output of the second illumination source. For example, weak fluorescent emission illumination in the red portion of the spectrum can be supplemented with luminaires that emit the primary red wavelengths to provide illumination conditions that more closely resemble natural sunlight. Similarly, such a system may also be useful in outdoor image capture situations, as the color temperature of natural light changes as the position of the sun changes. A lighting device (2010) is a sensor (2) as a controller (2030).
034) can be used in conjunction with to compensate for changes in sunlight to maintain constant lighting conditions for the duration of the session.

Any of the above systems could be deployed in the system disclosed in FIG. A lighting system for a location may comprise a plurality of luminaires (2301) controllable by a central control system (2303). Illumination within a location (or on a particular location, such as the stage (2305) shown here) is desired here to mimic another type of light, such as sunlight. The first sensor (2307) is placed outdoors and natural sunlight (2309) is measured and recorded. This record is then provided to the central control system (2303). A second sensor (which may be a similar sensor in one embodiment) (2317) resides on stage (2305). Central control system (
2303) here controls the intensity and color of the plurality of luminaires (2301) and matches the input spectrum of the second sensor (2317) with the pre-recorded spectrum of natural sunlight (2309). I try to make it. In this way, the internal lighting design can be significantly simplified as the desired color of light can be reproduced or simulated in a closed setting. This can be in a theater (as shown here) or in a home, office, sound stage, retail store, or any other place with artificial lighting. Such a system could also be used with other secondary illumination sources to produce the desired lighting effect.

The system described above makes it possible to generate luminaires with virtually any kind of spectrum. In many cases, it is desirable to produce light that looks "natural" or that is of high quality, especially white light.

A luminaire that produces white light according to the invention described above comprises any set of elemental illumination sources, whereby the range defined by the elemental illumination sources can include at least a portion of a blackbody curve. The blackbody curve (104) in FIG. 1 is a physical configuration showing white light of different colors with respect to the temperature of the white light. In a preferred embodiment,
The entire blackbody curve that allows the luminaire to produce any temperature of white light will be included.

For white light of various colors with the highest possible intensity, a significant part of the blackbody curve can be surrounded. The intensities in different colors of white along the blackbody curve can then be simulated. The maximum intensity produced by this light could be located along the black body curve. By changing the number of LEDs of each color (red, blue, amber and blue-green in FIG. 6), the full-on point (symbol (51 in FIG. 6
It is possible to change the position of 2)). For example, the color of full on is about 5400
K (midday sun indicated by point (106) in FIG. 1) but can be located at any other point (fire glow and incandescent light bulb corresponding to the two other points shown in FIG. 1). Points) could be used. Such a luminaire would then be able to produce 5400K of light with high intensity, and further, the light would move around within a defined range (for example against cloudy sunlight). It can be adjusted for temperature differences.

Although this system produces white light with a variable color temperature, it is not necessarily a high quality white light source. Many combinations of illumination source colors surrounding the blackbody curve can be selected, and the quality of the resulting luminaire can vary depending on the selected illumination source.

Since white light is a mixture of different wavelengths of light, it is possible to characterize white light based on the component color of the light used to generate it. Red, green and blue (RG
B) can combine to form white, as can light blue, amber and lavender, or cyan blue, magenta and yellow to form white. . Natural white light (sunlight) contains a substantially continuous wavelength spectrum over (and beyond) the human visible band. This can be seen by looking at the sunlight through the prism or looking at the rainbow. Many artificial white lights are technically white to the human eye, however, they are quite different when presented on a colored surface because they lack a virtual continuous spectrum. May be visible.

As an extreme case, two lasers (or other narrowband light source) with complementary wavelengths
Could be used to produce a white light source. These light sources are probably 1 nm
It will have an extremely narrow spectral width. To illustrate this, we
The wavelengths of 635 nm and 493 nm are selected. They are considered complementary because they combine additively to produce light that the human eye perceives as white light. The intensity levels of these two lasers can be adjusted to some power ratio that produces white light that appears to have a color temperature of 5000K. If this light source is aimed at a white surface, the reflected wave will appear as 5000K of white light.

The problem with this kind of white light is that it looks extremely artificial when displayed on a colored surface. Colored surface (as opposed to colored light)
Is generated because its surface absorbs and reflects different wavelengths of light. When illuminated by white light with a full spectrum (light with reasonable intensity and all wavelengths in the visible band), the surface absorbs and reflects completely. However, the above white light does not give a perfect spectrum. To use the extreme case again, if the surface reflects only light between 500 nm and 550 nm, it appears quite dark green in the full spectrum light, but black in the artificial white light produced by the aforementioned laser ( It will absorb all the spectra that are present).

Moreover, there are mathematical loopholes in the method because the CRI index relies on a limited number of observations. High CRI because spectra for CRI color swatches are known
It is a relatively straightforward exercise to determine the optimum wavelength of the narrowband light source and its minimum number needed to achieve This light source fools CRI measurements, but does not fool human observers. At best, the CRI method is an estimator of the spectrum that the human eye can see. A common example is the latest compact fluorescent lamps. It has a very high CRI of 80 and a color temperature of 2980K, but still looks unnatural. The spectrum of a compact fluorescent lamp is shown in FIG.

Due to the desirability of high quality light (especially high quality white light) that can be varied over different temperatures or spectra, yet another embodiment of the present invention provides multiple, such as multiple LEDs. Systems and methods for producing higher quality white light by mixing electromagnetic radiation from the elemental illumination sources. This is accomplished by the human eye's interpretation of light, as well as by choosing an LED that provides white light targeted for a mathematical CRI index. The light can then be maximized in intensity using the system. Moreover, since the color temperature of the light can be controlled, therefore, this high quality white light can still have the control described above and can produce high quality light over a range of colors. Can be high quality light that is controllable.

In order to produce high quality white light, it is necessary to look at the light of different wavelengths and to examine the human eye's ability to determine what makes the light high quality. In its simplest definition, high quality white light imparts low distortion to a colored object when it is viewed underneath. Therefore, it is understood that it begins by examining high quality light based on what the human eye sees. In general, the highest quality white light is because sunlight or full spectrum light is the only source of "natural" light.
Considered to be sunlight or full spectrum light. For the purposes of this disclosure, it will be accepted that sunlight is a high quality white light.

The sensitivity of the human eye is known as the photopic response. The photopic response can be thought of as the spectral transfer function to the eye, which means that it shows how many of each wavelength of the light input is seen by a human observer. This sensitivity can be graphed as a spectral luminosity function Vλ (501), which is represented in FIG.

The photopic response of the eye is important because it can be used to describe boundaries for the problem of producing white light (or for any color problem of light). In one embodiment of the invention, high quality white light need only comprise what the human eye can "see". It can be appreciated that in another embodiment of the present invention, high quality white light may include electromagnetic radiation that is invisible to the human eye but may result in a photobiological response. Therefore, high quality white light
It may include only visible light, or it may include visible light and other electromagnetic radiation that may result in a photobiological response. This is generally less than 400 nm (ultraviolet) or 700
Will be electromagnetic radiation larger than nm (infrared).

Using the first part of the description, the light source is not required to have power above 700 nm or below 400 nm. This is because the eye has minimal response only at these wavelengths. A high quality light source is preferably substantially continuous between these wavelengths (otherwise it would be able to distort color), but higher or lower due to eye sensitivity. Can decrease towards wavelength. Moreover, the spectral distribution of white light at different temperatures will be different. To illustrate this, the spectral distributions for the two blackbody curves with 5000K (601) and 2500K (603) are shown in FIG.
13) together with 1).

As seen in FIG. 13, the 5000K curve is smooth and about 555.
Centered at nm, it is only slightly degraded in both the increasing and decreasing wavelength directions. The 2500K curve is significantly weighted towards higher wavelengths. This distribution is intuitive because the lower color temperatures appear to be yellow to reddish. 1 as opposed to the spectral luminosity curves resulting from the observation of these curves
One point is that the photopic response of the eye is "filled". This means that any color emitted by one of these sources will be perceived by a human observer. Any holes, or areas without spectral power, make certain objects look abnormal. This is why many "white" light sources appear to split color. Because the blackbody curve is continuous, even a significant change from 5000K to 2500K shifts the colors only towards red, making them look warmer, but not without color. This comparison shows that an important specification of any high quality artificial luminaire is a continuous spectrum over the photopic response of the human observer.

Examining these relationships in the human eye, a luminaire that produces controllable high quality white light would need to have the following characteristics: The light has a substantially continuous spectrum over the wavelengths visible to the human eye, with any holes or gaps located in areas where the human eye has less response. Furthermore, in order to be able to control high quality white light over a range of temperatures, it is possible to have relatively equal values for each wavelength of light, but also different wavelengths depending on the desired color temperature. It would be desirable to generate an optical spectrum that can be made somewhat more intense with respect to other wavelengths. The clearest waveform that would have such control
waveform) needs to reflect the range of the photopic response of the eye, while
It can still be controlled at a variety of different wavelengths.

As mentioned above, traditional mixing methods that produce white light can produce light that is technically “white”, but still presents an anomalous appearance to the human eye. The CRI rating for these values is usually extremely low or possibly negative. This is because if there is no wavelength of light present in the generation of white light, the colored object cannot reflect / absorb that wavelength. In additional cases, it is possible to obtain a high CRI, even though it does not have a particular high quality light, because the CRI rating relies on eight specific color swatches. That is because white light works well for those particular color swatches specified by the CRI rating. That is, the high CRI index is 8 CR
It could be obtained with white light composed of eight 1 nm sources perfectly aligned with the I-color structure. However, this would not be a high quality light source that illuminates other colors.

The fluorescent lamp shown in FIG. 27 gives a good example of high CRI light which is not of high quality. Even though the light from the fluorescent lamp is white, it consists of many spikes (such as (201) and (203)). The location of these spikes is C
They were carefully designed so that they yield high ratings when measured with RI samples. In other words, these spikes trick the CRI calculation but not the human observer. The result is white light that can be used but is not optimal (ie, it looks artificial). The striking peaks in the fluorescence light spectrum are also clear in FIG. These peaks are part of the reason fluorescent light looks so artificial. Even if light is generated in the valleys of the spectrum, it is dominated by peaks to the extent that the human eye has difficulty seeing it. High quality white light can be produced according to this disclosure without the significant peaks and valleys of fluorescent lamps.

The peak of the spectrum is the point of intensity of a particular color of light, which has smaller intensities at points immediately on either side of it. The largest spectral peak is the highest spectral peak in the range of interest. Therefore, it is possible to have multiple peaks, or only one maximum peak, or no peaks within a selected portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. For example, FIG. 12 has no particular peaks in the range 500 nm to 510 nm, as there are no points in that range with lower points on either side of it.

A valley is the point that is opposite the peak and is the minimum, with higher intensity points on either side of it (the inverted plateau is also a valley). The special plateau can also be a spectral peak, and the plateau associates a series of identical intensity coincident points with multiple points on either side of a series of the same coexisting points with smaller intensity.

It should be clear that high quality white light simulating a black body source does not have significant peaks and valleys within the photopic response of the human eye, as shown in FIG. is there. However, most artificial light has some peaks and valleys in this region as shown in Figure 27, however, the smaller the difference between these points, the better these points. This is especially true for higher temperature light, while for lower temperature light the continuous line has a positive upward slope with no peaks or valleys, and a shorter wavelength range. The shallower valleys would be less noticeable, as would lighten the peaks at longer wavelengths.

To take into account this peak and valley relationship for high quality light, the following is desirable in high quality white light in one embodiment of the present invention. The lowest valley in the visible range should have an intensity much greater than that contributing to background noise, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. It is further desirable to close the gap between the lowest valley and the highest peak, and other embodiments of the invention provide for at least 5%, 10%, 25%, 33%, 50% and 75% of the intensity of the highest peak. Have the lowest valley with%. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other percentages could be used anywhere up to 100%.

In another embodiment, it is desirable to mimic the shape of the blackbody spectrum at different temperatures, for higher temperatures (4,000K to 10,000K),
This may be similar to the peak and valley analysis above. For lower temperatures, another analysis would be that most of the valleys would be at wavelengths shorter than the wavelength of the highest peak. This may be desirable for color temperatures below 2500K in one embodiment. In another embodiment, it would be desirable to have this in the region 500K to 2500K.

Therefore, from the above analysis, high quality artificial white light is 40% without significant spikes.
It should have a spectrum that is substantially continuous between 0 nm and 700 nm. Furthermore, to be controllable, the light should be able to produce a spectrum that resembles natural light at various color temperatures. Because of the use of mathematical models in the industry, the light source has a high CRI which indicates that the reference color is preserved and that the high quality white light of the present invention does not fail previous known tests. Is desirable.

In order to create a high quality white light luminaire using LEDs as the source of illumination, in one embodiment LE with a particular maximum spectral peak and spectral width.
It is desirable to have D. The luminaire also takes into account controllability, that is, the color temperature is controlled to select a particular spectrum of "white" light, or even to have a spectrum of colored light in addition to white light. It is desirable that it can be done. It would also be desirable for each LED to produce equal light intensities to facilitate mixing.

One system that produces white light includes a large number (eg, around 300) of LEDs, each of which has a narrow spectral width, and each of which is
It has a maximum spectral peak over a given portion in the range of about 400 nm to about 700 nm (probably overlapping and probably beyond the boundaries of visible light). This light source can produce essentially white light and can be controllable to produce any color temperature (and also any color). It provides less variation that the human eye can see, and thus the luminaire can be more sophisticated than humans can perceive. Thus, such light is one embodiment of the invention, but other embodiments may use less LEDs when human perception is the focus.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a significantly smaller number of LEDs are used with an increased spectral width of each LED to produce high quality white light. One embodiment of such a luminaire is shown in FIG. FIG. 14 shows the spectra (701) of 9 LEDs with a spectral width of 25 nm, spaced every 25 nm. Here, it should be appreciated that a nine LED luminaire does not necessarily include exactly nine total illumination sources. It contains some number of each of 9 different colored illumination sources. This number is usually the same for each color, but it need not be. High brightness LEDs with a spectral width of about 25 nm are commonly available. The solid line (703) is for all LEDs with equal power as could be produced using the luminaire of the method described above.
The additive spectrum of a spectrum is shown. The power of the LEDs can be adjusted to produce a range of color temperatures (and similarly colors) by adjusting the relative intensities of the nine LEDs. 15a and 15b show a 5000K (801) from this luminaire.
) And 2500 K (803) white light spectrum. This 9 LEDs
The luminaire has the ability to reproduce a wide range of color temperatures as well as a wide range of colors, as the range of CIE diagrams surrounded by the element LEDs covers most of the available colors.
It allows control over the generation of non-contiguous spectra and the generation of certain high quality colors by choosing to use only a subset of the available LED illumination sources. It should be noted that the location of the dominant wavelengths of the 9 LEDs can be moved without significant fluctuation in their ability to produce white light. Furthermore, different colored LEDs can be added. Such an addition may improve resolution as described in the 300 LED example above. Any of these luminaires may meet the above quality standards. They can produce spectra that are continuous or without significant peaks over the photopic response of the eye and that can be controlled to produce white light of multiple desired color temperatures.

The 9 LED white light source is effective because its spectral resolution is sufficient to accurately simulate a spectral distribution within the human perceptual limits. However, fewer LEDs may be used. Subject to specifications that produce high quality white light, a smaller number of LEDs may have an increased spectral width to maintain a substantially continuous spectrum that meets the photopic response of the eye. The reduction is possible with any number of LEDs from 8 to 2. The single LED case does not allow color mixing and is therefore uncontrolled. LEDs with temperature-controllable white light luminaires
At least 2 colors are required.

One embodiment of the present invention includes three different colored LEDs. The three LEDs allow a two-dimensional range (triangle) to be available as the spectrum for the resulting luminaire. One embodiment of a three LED source is shown in FIG.

The additive spectrum (903) of the three LEDs provides less control than the nine LED luminaire, but may meet the criteria for a high quality white light source, as described above.
The spectrum can be continuous without significant peaks. It is also controllable because the available white light triangle surrounds the blackbody curve. This light source may lose fine control over certain colors or temperatures obtained with a larger number of LEDs because the enclosed area is triangular on the CIE diagram, but these LEDs are
Power can still be controlled to simulate light sources of different color temperatures. Such an alternative is shown in FIGS. 17a and 17b for a 5000K (1001) and 2500K (1003) light source. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that alternative temperatures can also be generated.

Both the 9 LED and 3 LED examples demonstrate that a combination of LEDs can be used to produce high quality white light luminaires. These spectra fill the photopic response of the eye and are continuous, which means that they appear more natural than artificial light sources such as fluorescent lamps. Both spectra can be characterized as high quality as they are measured in the 90s with the higher CRI.

In the design of white light luminaires, one obstacle is the lack of current availability for LEDs with a maximum spectral peak of 555 nm. This wavelength is central to the photopic response of the eye and is one of the clearest colors to the eye. The introduction of LEDs having a dominant wavelength at or near 555 nm would simplify the generation of LED-based white light, and white light luminaires equipped with such LEDs would be an embodiment of the present invention. Constitute. In another embodiment of the invention, a non-LED illumination source that produces light with a maximum spectral peak at about 510 nm to about 570 nm could also be used to fill this particular spectral gap. In yet another embodiment, the non-LED source comprises an existing white light source and filter so that the resulting light source has a maximum spectral peak in this general range.

In another embodiment, high quality white light is used with an LED that does not have a spectral peak around 555 nm as it fills the gap in the photopic response left by no green LED. Can be generated. One possibility is to fill the gap with a non-LED illumination source. Another possibility, as described below, is to
A collection of two or more different colored LEDs can be used to generate a high quality controllable white light source. In the set of one or more different colored LEDs, none of the LEDs has a maximum spectral peak in the range of about 510 nm to 570 nm.

In order to make a white light luminaire that is generally controllable over a desired range of color temperatures, it is first necessary to determine the desired temperature criteria. In one embodiment, it is selected to be a color temperature of about 2300K to about 4500K, which is commonly used by industry lighting designers. However, either range can be selected for the other embodiments, which covers most changes in visible white light or any subrange thereof from 500K to 10,0.
Including the range up to 00K. This entire output spectrum of light can achieve CRI comparable to standard light sources already present. In particular, a high CRI at 4500K (greater than 80) and a lower CRI at 2300K (greater than 50) can be specified even though any value can again be chosen. The peaks and valleys can also be minimized as significantly as possible in that range, and in particular to have a continuous curve of non-zero intensity.

In recent years, white LEDs have become available. These LEDs operate using a blue LED to pump the phosphorescent layer. Phosphorescence down-converts a portion of blue light into green and red. The result is a spectrum with a broad spectrum and approximately centered at 555 nm, and it is called "cool white." For such white LEDs (especially Nichia NSPW510BS (bin A
An exemplary spectrum (for LEDs) is shown as spectrum (1201) in FIG.

The spectrum (1201) shown in FIG. 18 differs from the Gaussian-like spectrum for some LEDs. This is because not all of the pump energy from the blue LED is downconverted. This has the effect of cooling the entire spectrum, as the higher part of the spectrum is considered to be warm. The resulting CRI for this LED is 84, but it has a color temperature of 20,000K. Therefore, the LEDs by themselves do not meet the above lighting criteria. This spectrum (12
01) contains the largest spectral peak at about 450 nm and does not exactly fill the photopic response of the human eye. A single LED also does not allow control of the color temperature, so a system with a desired range of color temperatures cannot be produced using this LED alone.

Nichia Chemistry currently has three bin (A, B and C) white LEDs available. The LED spectrum (1201) shown in FIG. 18 is the coolest of these three bins. The warmest LED is bin C (its spectrum (1301) is presented in Figure 19). CRI of this LED
Is also 84, it has a maximum spectral peak around 450 nm, and it has a CCT of 5750K. By using a combination of bin A or C LEDs, the light source allows to fill the spectrum around the center of the photopic response, 555 nm. However, the lowest achievable color temperature is (bin C
5750K, which does not cover the entire range of color temperatures previously described. This combination still has an additive spectrum of 4
It will appear unusually warm (blue) by itself, as it has a significant peak at around 50 nm.

The color temperature of these LEDs can be shifted using an optical high pass filter placed over the LEDs. It is essentially a transparent component of glass or plastic tinted to allow only higher wavelength light to pass through. An example of the transmittance of such a high pass filter is shown in FIG.
1401). Optical filters are known in the art, and high pass filters generally consist of a translucent material such as plastic, glass or other transmissive media, which is similar to the high pass filter shown in FIG. It is colored to form a high pass filter. One embodiment of the invention involves creating a filter of the desired material (to obtain a particular physical property) given the desired optical properties. This filter can be placed directly on the LED or can be a filter (391) extending from the housing of the luminaire.

One embodiment of the present invention allows existing luminaires to have a pre-selection of element LEDs and selection of various filters. These filters can shift the resulting color range without modification of the LEDs. Thus, the filter system can be used with selected LEDs to fill the range of CIEs (range (510)) enclosed by the luminaire being moved with respect to the LEDs, and thus add an additional degree of Allow control. In one embodiment, this series of filters produces white light of any temperature by specifying a series of ranges for the various filters that surround the white line when a single luminaire is combined. Enable One embodiment of this is shown in FIG. 30, where the range of selection (3001, 3011, 3
021, 3031) depends on the selection of a filter that shifts the enclosed range.

This spectral transmission measurement shows that the high pass filter in FIG. 20 absorbs spectral power below 500 nm. It is also expected to be about 1
It shows an overall loss of 0%. The dotted line (1403) in FIG. 20 shows the transmission loss often associated with a standard polycarbonate diffuser used in luminaires. It is expected that light passing through any substance will result in some reduction in intensity.

A filter whose transmission is shown in FIG. 20 can be used to shift the color temperature of two Nichia LEDs. The filtered spectra ((1521) and (1531)) and the unfiltered spectra ((1201) and (1301)) for the LEDs of bins A and C are shown in FIGS. 21a and 21.
It is shown in b.

The addition of a yellow filter increases the color temperature of the LEDs in bin A from 20,000K to 474K.
Shift to 5K. The chromaticity coordinates are from (0.27, 0.2A) to (0.35
, 0.37). LEDs on Bin C range from 5750K to 3935
To K and from the chromaticity coordinates (0.33, 0.33) to (0.40, 0.43).

The importance of chromaticity coordinates becomes apparent when the colors of these sources are compared on the CIE1931 chromaticity map. FIG. 22 is a close-up of the chromaticity map around the Planckian locus (1601). This locus shows the perceived color of an ideal light source called a blackbody. The thicker line (1603) emphasizes the selection of trajectories corresponding to the range 2300K to 4500K.

FIG. 22 illustrates how to achieve a large shift with a single high pass filter. Effectively "warming up"Nichia's LED set
By doing so, they fall into the chromaticity range that is valid for the specified color temperature control range and are suitable for one embodiment of the present invention. The original position was the dashed line (1605), but the new color is represented by the line (1607) in the correct range.

However, in one embodiment, the color temperature in the non-linear range is three or more L
It can be generated using an ED. It could be argued that even a linear variation that closely approximates the desired range would be sufficient. This recognition, however, is close to 2300K LEDs and 4500K
Would want an LED close to. This can be accomplished in two ways.
The first method could use different LEDs with a color temperature of 2300K. The second method could pass the output of the Nichia Bin C LED through an additional filter, shifting it even closer to the 2300K point. Each of these systems comprises additional embodiments of the present invention. However, the following example uses a third LED to meet the desired criteria.

This LED should have chromaticity to the right of the 2300K point on the blackbody locus. Ag
ilent's HLMP-EL18 amber LED is 592n
It has a dominant wavelength of m and has chromaticity coordinates (0.60, 0.40). Nichia white L
The addition of an Agilent amber LED to the set of EDs results in the range (1701) shown in FIG.

The range (1701) generated using these three LEDs has a black body locus of 2
Full envelopment over the range 300K to 4500K. Luminaires made with these LEDs can meet the requirements of producing white light with the correct chromaticity values. 2300K (2203) and 5000K in FIGS. 26a and 26b
The spectrum of the light at (2201) shows a spectrum that meets the desired criteria for high quality white light, both spectra are continuous, and the spectrum at 5000K shows the peaks present in other luminaires. Not shown, with reasonable intensity at all wavelengths. The 2300K spectrum has no troughs at wavelengths below its maximum peak wavelength. The light is also controllable over these spectra. However, to allow for high quality white light by the lighting community, the CRI should be above 50 for low color temperatures and above 80 for high color temperatures. According to the software program that accompanies the CIE13.3-1995 specification, the CRI for the simulated spectrum of 2300K is 52.
And is similar to an incandescent light bulb with a CRI of 50. The CRI for the 4500K simulated spectrum is 82, and is considered to be high quality white light. These spectra are also similar to the shape of the spectrum of natural light as shown in Figures 26a and 26b.

FIG. 24 shows the CRI plotted for CCT for the white light source. This comparison shows that a high quality white light luminaire will produce higher quality white light than the three standard fluorescent lights (1803), (1805) and (1809) used in FIG. Show. Moreover, the light source is significantly more controllable than fluorescent lamps. This is because the light sources are chosen for their color temperature as any of those points on the curve (1801), whereas fluorescent lamps are limited to the particular points shown. The emission output of the white light luminaire was also measured. The emission output plotted against color temperature is shown in FIG. 25, and although the graph of FIG. 25 depends on the type and level of power used in fabrication, the ratio was selected. It remains constant for the relative number of different outer LEDs. Full on point (
The point of maximum intensity) can be moved by changing the color of each of the LEDs present.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above embodiments of white light luminaires and methods can also include LEDs or other elemental illumination sources that produce light invisible to the human eye. Therefore, any of the above embodiments are below 400 nm or 700 n
It would be possible to include an illumination source with a maximum spectral peak above m.

High quality LED based light can be configured to replace fluorescent lights. In one embodiment, a replacement high quality LED light source useful for replacing fluorescent lights will work with existing equipment designed for use with fluorescent lights. Such a device is shown in FIG. FIG. 28 illustrates a typical fluorescent light fixture or other device (2402) configured to receive a fluorescent light. The luminaire (2402) is a ballast (2410).
) May be included. Ballast (2410) may be a magnetic or electronic ballast that powers at least one tube (2404), which was traditionally a fluorescent lamp. The ballast (2410) includes a power input connection (2414) to be connected to an external power source. The external power source can be a building AC source or any other power source known in the art. The ballast (2410) has tubing connections (2412) and (2416) which connect to a tubing coupler (2408) for easy insertion and removal of tubing (2404). It is installed. These connections are
Supply the necessary power to the fluorescent lamp. In the magnetic stabilization system, the ballast (24
10) may be a transformer with a given impedance to supply the required voltage and current. The fluorescent lamp (2404) acts like a short circuit,
Therefore, the ballast impedance is used to set the fluorescent lamp current. This means that the wattage of each fluorescent lamp requires a particular ballast. For example, 40
A watt fluorescent lamp will only work with a 40 watt ballast because the ballast is matched to the fluorescent lamp. Other fluorescent luminaires use electronic ballasts with a high frequency sinusoidal output to the fluorescent lamp. Even in these systems, the internal ballast impedance of the electronic ballast still regulates the current through the fluorescent lamp.

FIG. 29 illustrates one embodiment of a luminaire according to this disclosure, which can be used as a replacement fluorescent light in a housing such as the fluorescent light in FIG.
The luminaire comprises, in one embodiment, a luminaire (500 in FIGS. 5a and 5b).
0) with a variant. The luminaire has a generally rounded bottom surface (110
3) and a bottom portion (1101) with a generally flat connecting surface portion (1105). The luminaire also includes a generally rounded upper portion (1113).
) And a top portion (1111) with a generally flat connecting surface portion (1115). The top portion (1111) is generally made of a translucent, transparent or similar material that allows light transmission and may include a filter similar to the filter (391). The flat connecting surfaces (1105) and (1115) can be placed together to form a generally cylindrical luminaire and can be mounted by any method known in the art. You can Top part (1111)
There is a luminaire (1150) between the luminaire (1150) and the bottom portion (1101).
150) comprises a generally rectangular mount (1153) and a strip array of at least one elemental illumination source (1155) such as an LED.
This configuration is by no means necessary, and the luminaire need not have a housing with it, or can have any type of housing known in the art. Let's do it. Although only one strip is shown, those skilled in the art will appreciate that multiple strips or other pattern arrangements of illumination sources could be used. The strip generally has a series of component LEDs that separate the colors of the LEDs, if there are multiple color LEDs, but such an array is not required. The luminaire will generally have a lamp connection (2504) for connecting the luminaire to an existing lighting lamp coupler (2008). LED system is also a control circuit (2510)
Can be included. This circuit can convert the ballast voltage to a DC voltage for LED operation. The control circuit (2510) may control the LED with a constant DC voltage, or the control circuit (2510) may generate a signal to operate the LED. In the preferred embodiment, the control circuit (2510) will include a processor that generates pulse width modulated control signals or other similar control signals for the LEDs.

Therefore, these white lights are emitted by the light sources of 530 nm to 570 nm even if their light sources are 530 nm to 570 nm.
Is an example of how high quality white light luminaires can be generated with a component illumination source, even though they have a dominant wavelength outside the range.

The white light may include programming that allows the user to easily control the white light and select any desired color temperature that is available in the white light. it can. In one embodiment, the ability to select a color temperature can be included in a computer program using, for example, the following mathematical formula.

[0118]

[Numerical formula 1] Amber LED intensity (T) = (5.6 * 10 ^-8 ) T ^3- (6.4 * 10 ^-4 ) T ² + (2.3) T-2503.7 [1] Worm-Nichia LED intensity (T ) = (9.5 * 10 ^-3 ) T ^3- (1.2 * 10 ^-3 ) T ² + (4.4) T-5215.2 [2] Cool Nichia LED intensity (T) = (4.7 * 10 ^-8 ) T ³ -(6.3 * 10 ^-4 ) T ² + (2.8) T-3909.6 [3] where T = temperature (unit: K).

These equations can be directly applied or used to generate a look-up table, which can rapidly determine the binary value corresponding to a particular color temperature. This table can be stored in any form of programmable memory used to control color temperature (such as, but not limited to, the controller described in US Pat. No. 6,016,038). Can be resident. In another embodiment, the light may have a selection of switches, for example a DIP switch, which allows it to operate in a stand-alone mode, where the desired color temperature is the switch. Can be selected with and modified by modification of the standalone product. The light could also be remotely programmed to operate in stand-alone mode as described above.

The luminaire in FIG. 29 may also include a program controlled switch (2512). The switch can be a selector switch that selects color temperature, LED system color, or any other lighting condition. For example, the switch may have multiple settings for different colors. LED system is 3200K at position "1"
Caused to generate white light, position "2" produces 4000K white light, position "3" is for blue light, and a fourth position allows the system to control color or other lighting control. It may allow receiving external signals. This external control could be provided by any of the controllers described above.

Some fluorescent ballasts also provide a dimming function, where the dimmer switch on the wall changes the ballast output characteristics, which in turn changes the characteristics of the fluorescent luminaire. LED luminaires can use this as information to change lighting characteristics. The control circuit (2510)
The ballast characteristics can be monitored and the LED control signal adjusted in a corresponding manner. L
The ED system may have a lighting control signal stored in memory within the LED lighting system. These control signals can also be dimming, changing colors, combining effects,
Or it can be programmed to provide any other lighting effect, such as a change in ballast characteristics.

The user may desire different colors in the room at different times. The LED system blinks white light when the dimmer is at the maximum level, blue light when the dimmer is at 90% of maximum, red light when the dimmer is at 80%, and blinks at 70% , Or can be programmed to produce a continuously varying effect when the dimmer is changed. The LED system could change the color or other lighting conditions for the dimmer, or any other input. The user may also desire to reproduce the lighting conditions of incandescent bulb light. One of the characteristics of such lighting is that it reduces the color temperature when its power is reduced. Incandescent light bulb is 2800K at full power
However, the color temperature will decrease when the power is reduced and it can be 1500K when the lamp is highly dimmed. Fluorescent lights
Does not reduce color temperature when dim. Typically, fluorescent lamp colors do not change when power is reduced. The LED system can be programmed to reduce the color temperature when the lighting conditions are dimmed. It uses a look-up table for selected intensities via a mathematical description of the relationship between intensity and color temperature, or any other method known in the art, or any combination of methods. Can be achieved. The LED system can be programmed to provide virtually any lighting condition.

LED systems may include receivers that receive signals, transducers, sensors, or other devices that receive information. Receivers include, but are not limited to, wires, cables, networks, electromagnetic receivers, IR receivers, RF receivers,
It could be any receiver such as a microwave receiver or any other receiver. A remote control device may be provided to remotely change the lighting conditions. Lighting instructions may also be received from the network. For example, a building may have a network where information is transmitted via a wireless system, and the network may control lighting conditions throughout the building. This can be accomplished from remote sites as well as onsite. This may provide added building safety or energy savings or benefits.

The LED lighting system may also include optics to provide evenly distributed lighting conditions from the fluorescent luminaire. The optics may be mounted on or associated with an LED system.

The system has application in environments where changes in available lighting can affect aesthetic choices. In an exemplary embodiment, the luminaire may be used in a retail environment for selling paint or other color sensitive articles. A swatch of paint can be seen under the same lighting conditions present in the retail store where the paint is ultimately used. For example, the luminaire may be tuned for outdoor lighting, or may be more finely tuned for sunny conditions, overcast conditions, and the like. The luminaire may also be tuned for various types of indoor lighting, such as halogen, fluorescent, or incandescent lighting. In yet another embodiment, a handheld sensor (as described above) can be mounted at the location where paint is to be applied and the light spectrum can be analyzed and recorded. Then the same light spectrum is
It can be reproduced by a luminaire so that it can be seen under the same lighting conditions that are present where the paint is to be used. Luminaires can likewise be used for the determination of clothing, where the appearance of a particular type or color of textile can be strongly influenced by the lighting conditions. For example, a wedding dress (and bride) can be seen under the lighting conditions expected at a wedding to avoid any unpleasant surprises. The luminaire may also be used in any application or with any of the systems or methods described elsewhere in this disclosure.

In another embodiment, luminaires can be used to accurately reproduce visual effects. In some visual techniques like photography, cinematography, or theatre,
Makeup is typically done in a dressing room or in a guest room, where the lighting may be different than on the stage or elsewhere. Therefore, the luminaire can be used to reproduce the expected lighting at the place where the picture is taken, or the given performance, whereby appropriate makeup can be selected for the expected result. Similar to the retail application above, the sensor is used to measure the actual lighting conditions, so that the lighting conditions can be reproduced during the application of makeup.

In theatrical or movie publishing, the colored light often corresponds to the color of a particular filter that can be placed on the white lighting device to produce a particular shade that results. In general, there is a large selection of such filters in the particular shades sold by the selected company. These filters often rely on the resulting spectrum of light, on their own numerical classification, and / or
Classified by the name that gives the resulting light connotation, such as the three primary colors blue, straw or chocolate. These filters allow the selection of specific reproducible colors of light, but at the same time limit the director to those colors of filters that are available. Moreover, color mixing is not an exact science that can result in slight changes in color during performance or cinematography (shooting) when the luminaire is moved or further changes temperature. Accordingly, in one embodiment, a system is provided for controlling lighting in a drama environment. In another embodiment, a system is provided for controlling lighting in cinematography.

The wide variety of light sources available creates significant problems, especially for filmmaking. The difference in lighting between adjacent scenes breaks the continuity of the movie and creates a jarring effect on the viewer. Correcting the illumination can be accurate to overcome these differences. This is because the lighting available in some environments is not always under the complete control of the film crew. For example, sunlight is most apparent during the day, at dawn and dusk, and when rich in yellows and reds, the color temperature changes, reducing the color temperature of ambient light. The phosphor's light generally does not fall on the color temperature curve and often has extra intensity in the blue-green region of the spectrum, thus finding the point on the color temperature curve that best approximates the incident light. It is described by the correlated color temperature. Each of these lighting problems can be addressed using the system described above.

The availability of many different fluorescent lamp types, each providing a different color temperature through the use of a particular phosphor, further complicates color temperature prediction and adjustment. High pressure sodium lamps are primarily used for street lighting, but they produce brilliant yellow-orange light that severely distorts the color balance. Mercury lamps, which are sometimes used for large interior areas such as gymnasiums, operate at even higher internal pressures. These yield a distinct greenish blue in videos and movies. Therefore, a system that simulates a mercury lamp and a system that supplements a light source such as a mercury lamp are provided to produce the desired resulting color. These embodiments may have particular use in cinematography.

In order to try and reproduce all of these lighting types, it is often necessary for a filmmaker or theater device to place these particular types of light in their design. At the same time, the need to use these lights may interfere with the director's drama intent. The rapid on / off flashing of the gym lighting in a supernatural thriller is a surprising effect, but it is naturally achieved via a mercury lamp that takes 5 minutes to warm and produce a properly colored light. I can't.

Other areas of visual sensitivity rely on light of a particular color temperature or spectrum. For example, surgeons or dental workers require colored light that enhances the contrast between various tissues, as well as between healthy and unhealthy tissues. Physicians also often rely on tracers or markers that reflect, emit, or fluoresce a color of a particular wavelength or spectrum, allowing them to detect blood vessels or other small structures. They can see these structures by illuminating the tracer with light of a particular wavelength in a certain general range, and see the resulting reflection or fluorescence of the tracer. In many cases, various procedures benefit from using customized color temperatures or specific colors of light tailored to the needs of each specific procedure. Thus, a system for visualization of medical, dentistry or other imaging conditions is provided. In one embodiment, the system uses LEDs to produce a controlled range of light within a given spectrum.

Moreover, in many cases there is a desire to change the lighting conditions during activity, the stage changes color as the sun is supposed to rise, and the change in color changes the color of the fluorescent tracer. Resulting, or rooms could have slowly changed colors to make them uncomfortable as the length of their stay increases.

Lighting systems and methods can be particularly useful in these above applications as well as other applications, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. All articles, patents and other references mentioned above are incorporated herein by reference.
Although the invention has been disclosed in connection with the illustrated and detailed embodiments, various equivalents,
Modifications and improvements will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the above description. Such equivalents, modifications and improvements are intended to be covered by the following claims.

[Brief description of drawings]

[Figure 1]   FIG. 1 is a chromaticity diagram including a black body locus.

[Fig. 2]   FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a luminaire suitable for use with the present invention.

[Figure 3]   FIG. 3 illustrates the use of multiple luminaires according to one embodiment of the invention.

[Figure 4]   FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a housing for use with one embodiment of the present invention.

5a and 5b show another embodiment of a housing for use in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a computer interface that enables a user to design a luminaire that can produce a desired spectrum.

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of using a sensor to calibrate or control a luminaire of the present invention.

FIG. 8a shows a general embodiment of the control of the luminaire of the present invention. FIG. 8b shows an embodiment of the control of the inventive luminaire in relation to a second illumination source.

FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment for controlling a luminaire of the present invention using a computer interface.

FIG. 10a shows another embodiment of controlling a luminaire of the present invention with manual control. FIG. 10b shows a detailed view of a controller such as the controller used in FIG. 10a.

FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of a control system that enables multiple lighting controls to simulate an environment.

[Fig. 12]   FIG. 12 shows the CIE spectral luminosity function V λ indicating the receptivity of the human eye.

FIG. 13 shows the spectral distribution of a blackbody source at 5,000K and 2,500K.

FIG. 14   FIG. 14 shows an embodiment of a 9 LED white light source.

FIG. 15a shows the output of one embodiment of a luminaire with nine LEDs to produce 5,000K white light. Figure 15b shows the output of one embodiment of a luminaire with nine LEDs to produce 2,500K white light.

FIG. 16   FIG. 16 shows an embodiment of the component spectrum of a 3LED luminaire.

FIG. 17a shows the output of one embodiment of a luminaire with three LEDs to produce 5,000K white light. Figure 17b shows the output of one embodiment of a luminaire with three LEDs to produce 2,500K white light.

FIG. 18 shows the spectrum of a white Nichia LED NSP510BS (bin A).

FIG. 19 shows the spectrum of a white Nichia LED NSP510BS (bin C).

FIG. 20   FIG. 20 shows the spectral transmission of one embodiment of a high pass filter.

21 a shows the spectrum of FIG. 18 and the spectrum deviated by passing the spectrum of FIG. 18 through the high pass filter of FIG. 20. 21b shows the spectrum of FIG. 19 and the spectrum deviated by passing the spectrum of FIG. 19 through the high pass filter of FIG.

FIG. 22 is a chromaticity map showing a black body locus (white line) in which a part of the temperature between 2,300 K and 4,500 K is enlarged. Also shown is the light generated by two LEDs in one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 23 shows a chromaticity map further illustrating the gamut of light produced by three LEDs in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 shows a comparative graph of the CRI of the luminaire of the present invention compared to an existing white light source.

FIG. 25   FIG. 25 shows the lighting output of the luminaire of the present invention at various color temperatures.

FIG. 26a shows the spectrum of one embodiment of a white light luminaire according to the invention producing light at 2300K. FIG. 26b shows the spectrum of an embodiment of a white light luminaire according to the invention producing light at 4500K.

FIG. 27 is a graph of the spectrum of a compact fluorescent lighting fixture, with the spectral luminosity function attached with a dotted line.

FIG. 28   FIG. 28 shows a lighting device using a fluorescent lamp known in the art.

FIG. 29 shows one possible LED luminaire that can be used to replace a fluorescent light.

FIG. 30 illustrates one embodiment of how to use a series of filters to surround different parts of a blackbody locus.

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] September 11, 2002 (2002.11)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be amended] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

[Claims]

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0016

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

In controlling artificial lighting, it is further desirable to be able to specify a point within the range of colors that can be generated by the luminaire, which will be the highest intensity point. Even for state-of-the-art luminaires that can change color, the maximum intensity point cannot be specified by the user, but is usually determined by the irrevocable physical characteristics of the luminaire. Thus, incandescent luminaires can produce a range of colors, but
However, the intensity always increases as the color temperature increases, which does not allow control of the color at the point of maximum intensity. Since both filters absorb some of the intensity, the filter also lacks control of the maximum intensity point because the maximum intensity point of the luminaire is an unfiltered color. An illuminator assembly for producing white light, comprising a plurality of illumination sources comprising a plurality of LEDs of two types, the plurality of illumination sources being configured to produce visible emissions having different lines or spectra. No. 5,803,579, which discloses the above illuminator assembly. The illuminator assembly also includes a support member that holds a plurality of LEDs, the support member configured to allow mixing of spectra of multiple illumination sources to form a resulting spectrum. . The electronic control circuit controls the operation of the LED. Specifically, it energizes, controls, and protects the LED. The spectra of each of the two different types of LEDs are complementary to each other and, in combination, are metameric.
) Form white illumination.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (31) Priority claim number 60 / 235,678 (32) Priority date September 27, 2000 (September 27, 2000) (33) Priority claiming countries United States (US) (81) Designated countries EP (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, I T, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE, TR), OA (BF , BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG), AP (GH, G M, KE, LS, MW, MZ, SD, SL, SZ, TZ , UG, ZW), EA (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), AE, AG, AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, B Z, CA, CH, CN, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK , DM, DZ, EE, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, J P, KE, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC, LK, LR , LS, LT, LU, LV, MA, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MZ, NO, NZ, PL, PT, R O, RU, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK, SL, TJ , TM, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, US, UZ, VN, YU, ZA, ZW (72) Inventor Rice, Iho Ai             02133, Massachusetts, USA             Boston, Hull Street 5, Aper             Statement number 6 (72) Inventor Dowling, Kevin             Massachusetts, United States 01886,             Westford, Village View ·             Road 23 F term (reference) 3K073 AA02 AA48 AA52 AA74 BA24                       BA26 BA28 BA29 BA32 CA02                       CA05 CC07 CC12 CF11 CF13                       CF16 CG02 CG06 CG10 CG13                       CG41 CJ01 CJ05 CJ14 CJ16                       CJ17 CJ22

Claims (85)

[Claims] 1. A luminaire for producing white light, comprising a plurality of element illumination sources, said plurality of element illumination sources including at least two element illumination sources for producing at least two different spectral electromagnetic radiation. A plurality of element illumination sources each having a maximum spectral peak outside the region 510 nm to 570 nm, and a fixture holding the plurality of element illumination sources, the plurality of element illumination sources A fixture designed to enable mixing of the spectra of and forming of the resulting spectrum, the resulting spectrum being continuous within the photopic response of the human eye. Is a lighting fixture. 2. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the element illumination source comprises an LED. 3. The luminaire according to claim 1, wherein the at least one element illumination source is not an LED. 4. The non-LED at least one element illumination source comprises a region 51.
The luminaire according to claim 3, having a maximum spectral peak in the range of 0 nm to 570 nm. 5. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the white light can be generated at a color temperature within a preselected color temperature range. 6. The luminaire of claim 5, wherein the color temperature range extends from about 500K to about 10,000K. 7. The luminaire of claim 5, wherein the color temperature range extends from about 2,300K to about 4,500K. 8. The controller of claim 5, further comprising a controller that allows a particular color temperature within the color temperature range to be selected to cause the luminaire to generate the particular color temperature.
The described lighting equipment. 9. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the at least two different spectra comprises exactly two different spectra. 10. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the at least two different spectra comprises exactly three different spectra. 11. The resulting spectrum is 400 nm to 700 nm.
The luminaire according to claim 1, which is continuous in the region of. 12. The luminaire of claim 1, further comprising a filter that produces a spectrum of at least one elemental illumination source of the plurality of elemental illumination sources. 13. The luminaire of claim 12, wherein the filter enables the luminaire to generate a preselected range of colors. 14. The luminaire of claim 12, wherein the filter is selected from a plurality of different filters. 15. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein at least one of the component illumination sources has a maximum spectral peak below 400 nm. 16. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein at least one of the element illumination sources has a maximum spectral peak greater than 700 nm. 17. A plurality of LEDs is provided, each of the plurality of LEDs producing one of three preselected spectra, each said spectrum being delimited by 530 nm and 570 nm. A luminaire having a maximum spectral peak outside the defined region, the additive interference of said spectrum resulting in white light. 18. The luminaire of claim 17, wherein at least one of the preselected spectra has a maximum spectral peak at about 450 nm. 19. The luminaire of claim 17, wherein at least one of the preselected spectra has a maximum spectral peak at about 592 nm. 20. The luminaire of claim 17, wherein the white light is controllable to produce the white light within a range of color temperatures. 21. The range of color temperatures is from about 500K to about 10,000K.
21. The luminaire according to claim 20, extending to 22. The luminaire of claim 20, wherein the range of color temperatures ranges from about 2300K to about 4500K. 23. A controller for enabling selection of a particular color temperature within the range of color temperatures and generating a signal representative of the particular color temperature; and a processor in communication with the plurality of LEDs. 21. The luminaire of claim 20, further comprising a processor capable of receiving the signal from the controller and controlling the intensity of each of the plurality of LEDs. 24. An LED luminaire for use with a device designed to hold a fluorescent lamp, comprising: a fixture, an LED attached to the fixture, and a connector attached to the fixture, A connector capable of connecting to a device to provide power from the device to the LED; electrically connected to the LED and the device, the power from a ballast voltage to a DC
An LED lighting fixture comprising: a circuit for converting to a voltage. 25. A luminaire for replacing a fluorescent lamp, comprising: a fixture, at least two element illumination sources attached to the fixture, and a connector attached to the fixture for holding the fluorescent lamp. A luminaire comprising: a connector adapted to receive power from the device and provide power to the at least two component lighting sources; and a control circuit for controlling the at least two component lighting sources. 26. The luminaire of claim 25, wherein the element illumination source comprises an LED. 27. The luminaire of claim 25, wherein the control circuit comprises a processor. 28. The housing of claim 25, further comprising a housing for the fixture.
The described lighting equipment. 29. The luminaire of claim 28, wherein the housing is generally cylindrical in shape. 30. The luminaire of claim 28, wherein the housing includes a filter. 31. The luminaire of claim 24, wherein the housing is at least partially transparent and / or translucent. 32. The luminaire of claim 25, wherein the control circuit is capable of controlling the at least two element lighting sources based on the power provided by the lamp. 33. The luminaire of claim 25, wherein the luminaire produces white light. 34. A luminaire providing illumination in any range of colors, the luminaire comprising a plurality of elemental lighting sources; a processor coupled to the luminaire for controlling the luminaire. A controller coupled to the processor for specifying a lighting condition to be provided by the luminaire. 35. The system of claim 34, wherein the plurality of element illumination sources comprises LEDs. 36. The system of claim 34, wherein the controller comprises at least one of computer hardware and computer software. 37. The system of claim 34, wherein the controller comprises a sensor. 38. The system of claim 37, wherein the sensor comprises any one of a photodiode, a radiometer, a photometer, a colorimeter, a spectral radiometer and a camera. 39. The system of claim 37, wherein the sensor comprises a spectral radiometer or colorimeter. 40. The system of claim 34, wherein the plurality of element illumination sources comprises at least three color element illumination sources. 41. The processor includes a memory for a predetermined color state.
4. The system described in 4. 42. The system of claim 34, wherein the memory comprises a database. 43. The system of claim 41, wherein the processor includes an interface providing mechanism that provides a user interface. 44. The system of claim 43, wherein the user interface comprises one of a color spectrum, a color temperature spectrum and a chromaticity diagram. 45. The system of claim 34, wherein the controller comprises a manual interface. 46. The system of claim 45, wherein the manual interface comprises any of a slider, dial, switch, multi-pole switch, joystick, trackpad and trackball. 47. The system of claim 34, further comprising a second illumination source. 48. The system of claim 47, wherein the controller specifies a lighting condition for the luminaire based on the lighting of the luminaire and the second illumination source. 49. The second illumination source is a fluorescent lamp, incandescent lamp, mercury lamp, sodium lamp, arc discharge lamp, sunlight, moonlight, incandescent lamp light, LED display system, LED, and pulse width modulation. 48. The system of claim 47, comprising any of the controlled lighting systems. 50. The system of claim 47, wherein the combined light from the luminaire and the second illumination source is at a desired color temperature. 51. Using a luminaire capable of generating light from within a range of colors to generate light having color and brightness; measuring lighting conditions; Adjusting the color or brightness of the stored light to achieve a target lighting condition. 52. The step of measuring a lighting condition comprises using an optical sensor,
52. The method of claim 51 including the step of detecting color characteristics of the lighting conditions. 53. The method of claim 52, wherein the step of detecting the color characteristic of the illumination condition comprises using one of a photodiode, a radiometer, a photometer, a colorimeter, a spectral radiometer and a camera. . 54. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of selecting a target lighting condition.
The method described in 1. 55. The method of claim 54, wherein the step of selecting a target lighting condition comprises selecting a target color temperature. 56. The step of selecting a target lighting condition comprises:   Providing an interface with an indication of the color range,   Selecting a color within the color range 55. The method of claim 54, including. 57. The step of measuring a lighting condition comprises the step of visually assessing a lighting condition, the step of adjusting the color or brightness of the generated light using a manual interface. 52. The method of claim 51, including the step of changing the color or brightness of the generated light. 58. The step of measuring a lighting condition comprises using an optical sensor,
Including a step of detecting a color characteristic of an illumination state, the step of adjusting the color or brightness of the generated light, the color characteristic of the illumination state detected by the optical sensor is a color characteristic of the target illumination state. 52. The method of claim 51, comprising using a processor to change the color or brightness of the generated light until 59. The method of claim 51, further comprising the step of providing a second illumination source. 60. The step of measuring an illumination condition comprises detecting light generated by the luminaire and by the second illumination source.
The method described. 61. The second illumination source is a fluorescent lamp, an incandescent lamp, a mercury lamp, a sodium lamp, an arc discharge lamp, sunlight, moonlight, an incandescent lamp light, an LED display system, an LED, and pulse width modulation. 60. The method of claim 59, comprising any of the controlled lighting systems. 62. The method of claim 51, wherein the step of adjusting the color or brightness of the generated light comprises changing illumination conditions to achieve a target color temperature. 63. The method of claim 51, wherein the luminaire comprises one of a plurality of luminaires capable of producing a range of colors. 64. A method of designing a luminaire, selecting a desired range of colors to be produced by the luminaire, the light to be produced by the luminaire when the luminaire is at maximum intensity. Selecting a selected color of the lighting device from the plurality of lighting sources so that the luminaire is capable of producing the range of colors and produces the selected color at maximum intensity. Designing the device. 65. The method of claim 64, wherein the plurality of illumination sources comprises LEDs. 66. A luminaire that produces white light, comprising: a plurality of elemental illumination sources including elemental illumination sources that generate at least two different spectrums of electromagnetic radiation; and a fixture for holding the plurality of elemental illumination sources. A fixture designed to enable mixing the spectra of the plurality of illumination sources and forming a resulting spectrum, the visible portion of the resulting spectrum being at the lowest spectral valley of the spectrum. A luminaire having an intensity greater than the background noise of. 67. The resulting spectrum has an intensity at the lowest spectral valley that is at least 5% of the intensity at its maximum spectral peak.
The lighting fixture according to 6. 68. The luminaire of claim 66, wherein the resulting spectrum has an intensity at the lowest spectral valley that is at least 10% of the intensity at its maximum spectral peak. 69. The luminaire of claim 66, wherein the resulting spectrum has an intensity at the lowest spectral valley that is at least 25% of the intensity at its maximum spectral peak. 70. The luminaire of claim 66, wherein the resulting spectrum has an intensity at the lowest spectral valley that is at least 50% of the intensity at its maximum spectral peak. 71. The luminaire of claim 66, wherein the resulting spectrum has an intensity at the lowest spectral valley that is at least 75% of the intensity at its maximum spectral peak. 72. The luminaire of claim 66, wherein said element illumination source comprises an LED. 73. The luminaire of claim 66, wherein the white light can be generated at a color temperature within a preselected range of color temperatures. 74. A controller is further provided, said controller enabling selection of a particular color temperature within said range of color temperatures to cause said luminaire to generate said particular color temperature. Item 73. A lighting device according to item 73. 75. The luminaire of claim 74, wherein the luminaire has a CRI at 4800K of at least 80. 76. The luminaire of claim 75, wherein the luminaire has a CRI at 2300K of at least 50. 77. The luminaire of claim 66, wherein at least one of said plurality of element illumination sources comprises a phosphor. 78. The luminaire of claim 66, wherein at least one of the plurality of component illumination sources comprises an LED that includes a phosphor. 79. The luminaire of claim 76, wherein said LED produces white light. 80. A luminaire that produces white light, comprising: a plurality of elemental illumination sources, including elemental illumination sources that produce at least two different spectrums of electromagnetic radiation; and a fixture for holding the plurality of illumination sources. A fixture designed to enable mixing the spectra of the plurality of illumination sources and forming a resulting spectrum, the resulting spectrum being the maximum within the photopic response of the human eye. A luminaire that does not have valleys at wavelengths longer than the wavelength of the spectral peak. 81. The luminaire of claim 80, wherein said element illumination source comprises an LED. 82. The resulting spectrum has no troughs at wavelengths longer than the maximum spectral peak in the range 400 nm to 700 nm.
The described lighting equipment. 83. The luminaire of claim 78, wherein the white light can be generated at a color temperature within a preselected range of color temperatures. 84. The luminaire according to claim 81, wherein the color temperature in the range includes at least one color temperature included in the region 500K to 2500K. 85. Mounting a plurality of elemental illumination sources that produce at least two different spectrums of electromagnetic radiation so as to mix the spectra, the mixing of the spectra being greater than the background noise at its lowest valley. And selecting said at least two different spectra.