WO2016079308A1 - Programmable motorised lighting device - Google Patents

Programmable motorised lighting device Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2016079308A1
WO2016079308A1 PCT/EP2015/077239 EP2015077239W WO2016079308A1 WO 2016079308 A1 WO2016079308 A1 WO 2016079308A1 EP 2015077239 W EP2015077239 W EP 2015077239W WO 2016079308 A1 WO2016079308 A1 WO 2016079308A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
lighting device
motorised
programmable
housing
signal
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2015/077239
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Peter Johansen
Original Assignee
Sgm Light A/S
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Sgm Light A/S filed Critical Sgm Light A/S
Publication of WO2016079308A1 publication Critical patent/WO2016079308A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
    • G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
    • G05B19/04—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers
    • G05B19/042—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers using digital processors
    • G05B19/0421—Multiprocessor system
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B47/00—Circuit arrangements for operating light sources in general, i.e. where the type of light source is not relevant
    • H05B47/10—Controlling the light source
    • H05B47/155—Coordinated control of two or more light sources
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21V—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F21V21/00—Supporting, suspending, or attaching arrangements for lighting devices; Hand grips
    • F21V21/14—Adjustable mountings
    • F21V21/15—Adjustable mountings specially adapted for power operation, e.g. by remote control
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21V—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F21V21/00—Supporting, suspending, or attaching arrangements for lighting devices; Hand grips
    • F21V21/14—Adjustable mountings
    • F21V21/30—Pivoted housings or frames
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21V—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F21V23/00—Arrangement of electric circuit elements in or on lighting devices
    • F21V23/04—Arrangement of electric circuit elements in or on lighting devices the elements being switches
    • F21V23/0442—Arrangement of electric circuit elements in or on lighting devices the elements being switches activated by means of a sensor, e.g. motion or photodetectors
    • F21V23/045—Arrangement of electric circuit elements in or on lighting devices the elements being switches activated by means of a sensor, e.g. motion or photodetectors the sensor receiving a signal from a remote controller
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21W—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS
    • F21W2131/00—Use or application of lighting devices or systems not provided for in codes F21W2102/00-F21W2121/00
    • F21W2131/10—Outdoor lighting
    • F21W2131/105—Outdoor lighting of arenas or the like
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21W—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS
    • F21W2131/00—Use or application of lighting devices or systems not provided for in codes F21W2102/00-F21W2121/00
    • F21W2131/40—Lighting for industrial, commercial, recreational or military use
    • F21W2131/406—Lighting for industrial, commercial, recreational or military use for theatres, stages or film studios
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F21—LIGHTING
    • F21Y—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO THE FORM OR THE KIND OF THE LIGHT SOURCES OR OF THE COLOUR OF THE LIGHT EMITTED
    • F21Y2115/00—Light-generating elements of semiconductor light sources
    • F21Y2115/10—Light-emitting diodes [LED]
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/20—Pc systems
    • G05B2219/26—Pc applications
    • G05B2219/2664—Audio light, animation, stage, theatre light
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/30—Nc systems
    • G05B2219/36—Nc in input of data, input key till input tape
    • G05B2219/36463—Manual switch to drive motor to wanted position, store, memorize position

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to a moto sed lighting device, and more particularly to a programmable motohsed lighting device, for professional illumination, for example to be used to illuminate a given environment.
  • the present invention further relates to a method of position determination of one or more light sources of a programmable motorised lighting device for professional illumination.
  • Lighting devices of various types for professional illumination of a given environment are generally known.
  • One or more of such lighting devices may e.g. be used to illuminate a stage or other during events like a music concert, a fashion show, a sport event, a convention, or the like.
  • One or more of such lighting devices may e.g. also be used to illuminate at least a part of a building, a landmark, a sporting field, a monument, or the like.
  • one or more of such lighting devices may e.g. also be used to illuminate an environment or one or more parts thereof e.g. in connection with an event. This may e.g. be illuminating air by light in particular if the air contains moisture, dust, smoke, or other.
  • the one or more lighting devices may be installed and used more or less permanently or for a longer period of time, e.g. for illumination of a building, landmark, or the like, or for a shorter period of time, e.g. for illumination of a stage during a concert, sport event, or the like.
  • one or more of such professional lighting devices may be used to illuminate basically any environment or parts thereof, and/or object(s) either permanently or temporarily.
  • Professional lighting devices may normally have some characteristics that set them further apart (than just being another use) from lighting devices for personal/home use, such as minimum durability, illuminance and luminous emittance, reliability, etc.
  • Lighting devices which comprise a light source that can be moved in more or less any desired orientation, so that a light beam emitted by a light source can be directed along basically any desired direction (there may be one or more blind spots or areas but then normally of no practical
  • the light source is supported by the lighting device and may be rotated about one or two axes by use of suitable motors or similar.
  • Such lighting devices are within the professional lighting segment sometimes referred to as moving heads.
  • the illumination need not only be static (although it can be) but will quite often be dynamic, e.g. as often used during concerts, sports events, etc., where the light source(s) of the lighting device(s) is/are moved over time in a controlled and/or pre-determined or programmed but potentially quite complex manner.
  • colour wheels with colour filters of various colours, gobos (see later), etc. may also be used to change the emitted light (e.g. the colour of it, the light pattern being emitted, etc.).
  • DMX channels e.g. 16 channels
  • a single channel may be used for one function or perhaps a number of related functions.
  • the given function to carry out may be
  • the channels may e.g. control pan movement, fine pan movement, tilt movement, fine tilt movement, speed of movement (pan/tilt), what colour of a plurality of colours to use, rotation/no rotation of a colour wheel, what gobo (of a plurality) to use, movement of a gobo at selected static or dynamic speed (e.g. shake slow to fast or shake fast to slow), shutter open/closed, strobe effect, pulse effect, light on/off, focus, zoom, macros, internal programs, etc.
  • static or dynamic speed e.g. shake slow to fast or shake fast to slow
  • shutter open/closed strobe effect, pulse effect, light on/off, focus, zoom, macros, internal programs, etc.
  • a given 8 bit channel controlling use of an associated colour wheel of a lighting device may e.g. be controlled according to: bit values 0 - 13: Open/White colour; 14 - 27: Colour 1 ; 28 - 41 : Colour 2; 42 - 55: Colour 3, 1 12 - 127: Colour 8; 128 - 187: Forwards rainbow effect from fast to slow; 188 - 193: No rotation; and finally 194 - 255: Backwards rainbow effect from slow to fast.
  • Some of the programming of the light sources' movement may very well depend on the actual event (e.g how big is the stage, where is it and/or parts of it located more precisely, what part of the environment should be illuminated and when, etc.) and/or actual location whereby it may not be possible to rely fully on pre-programmed settings, macros, programs, etc. as they may have to be modified or changed completely to accommodate a specific event and/or location.
  • the professional lighting setup involved may be quite complex and the number of used lighting devices may also be quite significant adding further to the complexity.
  • testing or final placement of certain items may be dependent on the completion of other items, e.g. the stage should be more or less in place before a final placement and potentially programming of the lighting devices is made, and so on.
  • a location for an event like a fashion show may e.g. be a beach in Dubai.
  • a programmable motorised lighting device for professional illumination comprising
  • a housing comprising a light source adapted, during use, to emit a light beam through an opening of the housing in order to illuminate an environment
  • the programmable motorised lighting device further comprises - a first position determination unit adapted, during use, to provide a first signal representing a current position of the housing, and
  • control units adapted to register the first signal as at least one position data value in response to a predetermined user initiated action.
  • any number of position data values may be provided (stored locally and e.g. transmitted externally) simply by directing or pointing the housing with the light source in the desired directions and selecting what position(s) the lighting device should register. This makes it easy and intuitive to determine precise position points for a program for the lighting device. Furthermore, it decreases the time necessary for programming the specific lighting device.
  • This enables time and/or manual work savings especially when setting up many lighting devices. This is especially advantageous for temporary or onetime events (including an event happening at different locations over time), e.g. like a music concert, a fashion show, a sport event, a convention, etc. where preparation time can be quite limited.
  • the order of the registered positions also provides a time wise ordering of the positions.
  • the programmable motorised lighting device is further adapted to store the at least one, preferably a plurality, position data value in a memory of the programmable motorised lighting device as part of a program.
  • Such a program may e.g. involve a number of segments where the segments together form the program.
  • a segment may comprise at least one position data value or pair of position data values and specification of further functions and/or parameters such as the ones mentioned later to be carried out by the lighting device running the program.
  • the next segment could then comprise another position and same or other functions/parameters to carry out and so on.
  • a segment may comprise several position data values and in some embodiments it could comprise enough position data values to provide virtually real-time or near real-time movement of the lighting device using these position data values.
  • Such position data values could e.g. be obtained and stored as described and by a user freely moving the lighting device while the associated position data values are sampled at a suitable time/sampling interval suiting a given need. Additionally, a user can in this way actually see precisely what is being illuminated at a given position, which is different than setting up positions remotely on a computer and display.
  • the current position of the housing is determined according to a relative reference frame, e.g. in relation to the lighting device itself.
  • the current position of the housing is determined according to an absolute reference frame.
  • the programmable motorised lighting device further comprises - a further motor adapted, during use, to change orientation of the light source by moving the housing about a further predetermined axis, and - a second position determination unit adapted, during use, to provide a second signal representing a current position of the housing in relation to the further predetermined axis, wherein the one or more control units is further adapted to register the second signal as at least one position data value in response to the predetermined user initiated action.
  • the programmable motorised lighting device is further adapted to store at least one, preferably a plurality, position data value pairs in a memory of the programmable motorised lighting device as a program, where at least some but preferably all of the position data value pairs each comprises one value obtained in response to the first signal and one value obtained in response to the second signal.
  • the current position of the housing is determined in relation to the predetermined axis and/or in relation to the further
  • the one or more control units is further adapted to store and/or transmit, to an external electrical device, one or more registered position data values.
  • the one or more control units is/are adapted, during use, to control the at least one electric motor and/or the further motor to change the orientation of the light source by moving the housing about the predetermined axis and/or the further predetermined axis according to a control signal comprising one or more stored and/or received position data values determined earlier.
  • the programmable motorised lighting device further comprises a base supporting a supporting element, wherein the supporting element is generally U-shaped and supports the housing and wherein one motor is located in an arm of the U-shaped supporting element.
  • the supporting element may e.g. be a yoke or be yoke-shaped.
  • the further motor is located, e.g. centrally, at a bottom part of the U-shaped supporting element.
  • the light source comprises one or more light emitting diodes.
  • the programmable motorised lighting device further comprises one or more re-chargeable power sources, e.g. one or more batteries, adapted, during use, to supply electrical power to the light source, the one or more control units, at least one position determination unit and/or the at least one electric motor.
  • one or more re-chargeable power sources e.g. one or more batteries, adapted, during use, to supply electrical power to the light source, the one or more control units, at least one position determination unit and/or the at least one electric motor.
  • a lighting device that will have its own independent power supply. This provides a lighting device that does not (necessarily) have to connected to external power lines, etc.
  • the one or more re-chargeable power sources can function as a backup with respect to power should regular power from the supply lines fail or be interrupted, i.e. a lighting device will have its own specific local power back-up.
  • the one or more re-chargeable power sources are one or more batteries.
  • the one or more re-chargeable power sources are internal to the programmable motorised lighting device. This enables the lighting device to be water proof or at least water repellent or water resilient. This may be a further advantage for use at humid locations, during poor weather conditions like rain or fog, in connection with special effects involving water (e.g. for a music concert, a movie location, etc.), and/or the like.
  • the programmable motorised lighting device further comprises an AC power supply, or alternatively another traditional wired power supply.
  • the one or more re-chargeable power sources work particularly well together with the position determination of one or more light sources of a
  • programmable motorised lighting device for professional illumination, especially in relation to setting up temporary events where a given
  • a use of a programmable motorised lighting device to illuminate at least a part of a given environment.
  • the given environment e.g. comprises or is part of a music concert, a fashion show, an outdoor event, a convention, a sporting event, a theatre performance, a TV show or
  • a method of position determination of one or more light sources of a programmable motorised lighting device for professional illumination comprising the steps of: - providing a first signal, by a first position determination unit, and/or a second signal, by a second position determination unit, the first signal and/or the second signal representing a current position of a housing of the programmable motorised lighting device, wherein the housing comprises a light source adapted, during use, to emit a light beam through an opening of the housing in order to illuminate an
  • the current position of the housing is determined in relation to a predetermined axis and/or in relation to a further predetermined axis.
  • a user has directed the housing in a desired direction prior to initiating the predetermined user initiated action.
  • Figure 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating one embodiment of a professional programmable motorised lighting device
  • Figure 2 schematically illustrates a block diagram of a programmable motorised lighting device
  • Figure 3 schematically illustrates a flow chart of an embodiment of a method of position determination of one or more light sources of a programmable motorised lighting device for professional illumination.
  • Figure 1 schematically illustrates a professional lighting device 1 that may be used to illuminate e.g. an environment, a stage or the like, etc. during an event such as a music concert, a fashion show, a sport event, a convention, etc.
  • the lighting device may also be used to illuminate at least a part of a building, a landmark, a sport field, a monument, etc.
  • the lighting device may e.g. also be used to illuminate an environment or one or more parts thereof. This may e.g. be illuminating air by light in particular if the air contains moisture, dust, smoke, or other. In general, one or more of such professional lighting devices may be used to illuminate basically any environment or parts thereof, and/or object(s) either permanently or temporarily.
  • the illumination may be static but will quite often be dynamic.
  • the lighting device 1 may e.g. also be called a lighting fixture, a projector, a moving head, etc.
  • the lighting device 1 comprises a light source (not shown; see e.g. 20 in Figure 2) for emitting, during use, a light beam in a given direction.
  • the light source may e.g. be a lamp, for example a halogen lamp, a fluorescent lamp, a discharge lamp, or a light emission diode (LED).
  • More than one light source may be used in a single lighting device, as is the case of a lighting device comprising a plurality of LEDs.
  • the light source(s) may be housed inside a housing 2 made of one or more suitable materials, e.g. made of polymeric material(s).
  • the housing 2 is provided with an opening 3 from which the light beam emitted, during use, by the light source may exit.
  • the opening 3 may be provided with lenses and/or other optics in order to control the light beam.
  • the housing 2 is supported by a supporting arrangement 4 that may be rested on a substantially flat or horizontal surface or used to suspend the lighting device 1 from an appropriate frame, rack, stand, support, or the like.
  • the supporting arrangement 4 may comprise a base 5 that supports a supporting element 6 that in turn supports the housing 2.
  • the supporting element 6 generally has a U- or yoke shape (forth simply referred to as U-shape).
  • U-shape a shape of the supporting element 6
  • other shapes of the supporting element 6 are also possible.
  • the base 5 houses one or more control units 7 for controlling operation of the lighting device 1 as explained further in connection with Figures 2 and 3.
  • a user may interact with the control unit(s) through a user interface 8 e.g. in the form of a plurality of push-buttons, knobs and/or other operating elements e.g. provided on the base 5 or through remote control.
  • the housing 2 may be rotated about a predetermined axis X preferably being an at least substantially horizontal axis relative to the supporting element 6 and the base 5. This may be done by a given motor (not shown; see e.g. 21 in Figure 2) of the lighting device 1 e.g. located in one of the 'arms' of the U- shaped supporting element 6.
  • the motor is preferably an electric motor such as a stepper motor.
  • the rotation about the axis X may alternatively be accomplished using two electrical motors with one motor being located in each 'arm' of the U-shaped supporting element 6.
  • the light source By rotating the housing 2 about the horizontal axis X, the light source will accordingly also be rotated about the horizontal axis X, in order to allow different points or areas to be illuminated, with a motion often referred to as a "tilt motion" of the light source.
  • the supporting element 6 (and thereby the housing 2) may be rotated about an additional predetermined axis Y preferably being an at least substantially vertical axis relative to the base 5. This rotation of the
  • supporting element 6 may e.g. be performed by a further motor (not shown; see e.g. 21 in Figure 2) provided in the supporting element 6, e.g. centrally at the bottom of the U-shape.
  • the motor may as an alternative be located inside the base 5.
  • the further motor is preferably an electric motor, particularly a stepper motor.
  • the light source By rotating the supporting element 6 about the vertical axis Y, the light source will accordingly be rotated about the vertical axis Y, in order to allow different points or areas to be illuminated. This motion is often referred to as a "pan motion" of the light source.
  • the motors controlling rotation about the vertical axis Y and about the horizontal axis X allows the light source to be positioned in virtually any desired angle both about the horizontal axis X and about the vertical axis Y.
  • the light beam emitted by the light source can thus be controlled to be directed in virtually any desired direction.
  • the motors are controlled themselves by the one or more control units 7.
  • the lighting device 1 comprises at least a first position determination unit 10 adapted, during use, to provide a first signal (not shown; see e.g. 30 in Figure 2) representing a current position of the housing 2.
  • a current position of the housing will have a corresponding current direction or orientation of the emitted light.
  • the one or more control units 7 is/are adapted to register the first signal as at least one position data value in response to a predetermined user initiated action.
  • a user can simply direct the lighting device 1 , or more specifically the housing 2, in a wanted direction e.g. making minor adjustments until the user is satisfied and initiate the proper action thereby causing the one or more control units 7 to register at least one position data value representing and corresponding to the actual current position of the housing 2 (with a corresponding direction/orientation of the emitted light).
  • the user could direct the housing 2 in the wished direction manually e.g. by physically moving the housing or by operating an appropriate user interface or panel or similar, like 8 in Figure 1 and 2.
  • the user may direct the housing remotely.
  • This may e.g. be done using an external electrical device like a remote central control unit (e.g. a laptop, PC, or the like) in wired or preferably wireless (WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, GSM, GPRS, LTE, etc.) communication with the one or more control units 7 of a lighting device 1 .
  • a remote central control unit may e.g. communicate with several lighting devices.
  • the external electrical device/remote central control unit may be a suitable handheld unit e.g. a smart phone, a tablet, or the like running a suitable application program. This external device may also be used to active the predetermined user initiated action.
  • the one or more control units 7 may store the one or more registered position data values locally in a suitable memory and e.g. transmit it/them to an external electrical device for storage and potential use there. If the user wants to determine further positions, i.e. the lighting device 1 should illuminate another point or area, then the steps are simply repeated.
  • the user may then afterwards use the one or more registered position data values to program the lighting device.
  • the program may also specify further functions and/or parameters to be carried out by the given lighting device at various time instances.
  • Such further functions/parameters may e.g. be selection of a colour out of a plurality of available colours (e.g. provided by rotating the selected colour part of a colour wheel in front of the light opening of the housing), what specific gobo pattern should be used (if any), the speed of moving the housing from a given position to a next position, what movement pattern to use from a given position to a next position in the sequence of position, what independent movement pattern to use for a given time period, etc.
  • a program may e.g. involve a number of segments where the segments together form the program.
  • a segment may comprise at least one position data value or pair of position data values and specification of further functions and/or parameters such as the ones mentioned above to be carried out by the lighting device running the program.
  • the next segment could then comprise another position and same or other functions/parameters to carry out and so on.
  • a segment may comprise several position data values and in some embodiments it could comprise enough position data values to provide virtually real-time or near real-time movement of the lighting device using these position data values.
  • Such position data values could e.g. be obtained and stored as described and by a user freely moving the lighting device while the associated position data values are sampled at a suitable time/sampling interval suiting a given need. If an external electrical device/remote control unit is used, that may also be used in selecting the further functions/parameters to carry out, whereby the user can make (and e.g. test) a complete program or a part thereof near the lighting device.
  • a flow chart of a corresponding exemplary method of position determination of one or more light sources of a programmable motorised lighting device is shown and explained further in connection with Figure 3.
  • any number of position data values may be provided simply by directing or pointing the housing in the desired directions and selecting what position(s) the lighting device should register. This makes it easy and intuitive to determine position points for a program for the lighting device thereby decreasing the time necessary for programming the specific lighting device.
  • the order of the registered positions also implies the time wise ordering of the positions. Additionally, a user can in this way actually see precisely what is being illuminated at a given position, which is different than setting up positions remotely on a computer and display.
  • the first position determination unit 10 can be embodied in many different ways. What is significant is that it can determine the position of the housing according to one or more parameters in a reliable way. It may determine the position only by one parameter, e.g. in a given plane for lighting devices only having one degree of freedom with respect to movement (e.g. a lighting device capable only of tilt movement) or by two parameters e.g. for lighting devices capable of both tilt and pan movement.
  • the first position determination unit 10 is adapted, during use, to provide the first signal representing a current position of the housing in relation to the predetermined axis X.
  • the lighting device 1 further comprises a second position determination unit 1 1 adapted, during use, to provide a second signal (not shown; see e.g. 30 in Figure 2) representing a current position of the housing 2 preferably in relation to the further predetermined axis Y.
  • the one or more control units 7 may then be further adapted to register and store and e.g. transmit the second signal as at least one position data value in response to a predetermined user initiated action.
  • a predetermined user initiated action Preferably, only a single user initiated action will trigger registration of both signals.
  • the first signal will represent the position of the housing 2 about the predetermined axis X while the second signal will represent the position of the housing 2 about the further predetermined axis Y. So for each user action a pair of position data values will be obtained. This determines the current position of the housing in a relative reference frame, i.e. the position is determined in relation to a part of the lighting device itself.
  • the first and the second position determination units 10, 1 1 may be a single device.
  • the current position of the housing 2 may alternatively be determined according to an absolute reference frame.
  • Patent application EP 2 690 357 by the same application discloses different embodiments to enable this.
  • the first and/or the second position determination units 10, 1 1 may as an example be a gyroscope, particularly an electronic gyroscope.
  • the first and/or the second position determination units 10, 1 1 may as an example be an accelerometer. They could in principle be any device capable of determining an actual position of the light source.
  • the gyroscope and the accelerometer may also determine the position in relation to the predetermined and the further predetermined axes X, Y.
  • the first and the second position determination units 10, 1 1 may also receive input from the motor(s) in order to determine the position.
  • the one or more control units 7 may also be adapted, during use, to control the at least one electric motor 21 to change the orientation of the light source 20 by moving the housing 2 about the predetermined axis X and/or the further predetermined axis Y according to a control signal comprising one or more position data values e.g. determined earlier. These may be stored locally and/or received remotely.
  • the lighting device 1 may also comprise so-called gobos.
  • a gobo is a physical template that can be placed in front of the light source of the lighting device in order to control the shape of the emitted light beam.
  • a gobo can be conformed as a piece of material with patterned holes through which light can pass, so that the light beam exiting the lighting device forms a desired pattern.
  • a lighting device may comprise a plurality of gobos, each
  • a user may select a certain gobo by acting, for example, on a keyboard of the lighting device or a given gobo may be selected according to a program. Thereafter, the control unit will cause the selected gobo to be brought in front of the light source, so that a desired pattern is obtained.
  • a gobo may also be moved in front of the light source, e.g. to generate an effect like a 'shaking' movement of the emitted light.
  • the lighting device 1 may comprise one or more re-chargeable power sources 9 adapted, during use, to supply electrical power to the light source(s) and the electric motor(s).
  • the one or more power sources may also supply power to the control unit(s) 7, the first and second position determination units 10, 1 1 , and/or (if needed) the operating elements 8.
  • the one or more power sources may be located in the base 5 of the lighting device 1 . This adds to the weight of the base 5 and may therefore increase the stability of the lighting device further, especially for when the housing 2 is moved rapidly.
  • the one or more re-chargeable power sources are one or more batteries.
  • the lighting device will have its own independent power supply. This provides a lighting device that does not (necessarily) have to be connected to external power lines, etc.
  • This is especially advantageous for temporary events, one-time events, and/or events where the location is changed, e.g. like a music concert, a fashion show, a sport event, a convention, etc. where preparation time can be quite limited, as there is no need to necessarily connect it to existing or ad-hoc power lines.
  • the savings are even more significant for challenging locations where a regular (power) infrastructure may not even be readily available, e.g. for a fashion show on a beach.
  • the lighting device 1 further comprises an AC power supply or another traditional wired power supply. This provides versatility, as the lighting device then may operate on its own power source(s) when useful and on traditional AC power supplied by regular power lines when available.
  • the re-chargeable one or more power sources or batteries can function as a local backup with respect to power should regular power from the supply lines fail or be interrupted.
  • the one or more re-chargeable power sources or batteries preferably are internal, i.e. comprised by the lighting device 1 , e.g. as shown in Figure 1 .
  • the lighting device 1 to be water proof or at least water repellent or water resilient. This may be a further advantage for use at humid locations, during poor weather conditions like rain or fog, in connection with special effects involving water (e.g. for a music concert, a movie location, etc.), and/or the like.
  • the power sources may in principle also be external but then needs to be adequately sealed (if still needing to be water proof or at least water repellent or resilient).
  • the one or more re-chargeable power sources 9 work particularly well together with the position determination of one or more light sources 20 of a motorised lighting device 1 for professional illumination, especially in relation to setting up temporary events where a given environment is to be
  • Figure 2 schematically illustrates electrical components of a lighting device.
  • a lighting device 1 Illustrated is a lighting device 1 , corresponding to the ones explained in connection with Figure 1 , comprising at least one light source 20, at least one electric motors 21 , one or more control units 7, and one or more power sources 9.
  • the lighting device 1 further comprises a first and optionally a second position determination unit 10, 1 1 and a user interface 8.
  • the one or more power sources 9 supplies, during use, electrical power to the motor(s) 21 , the light source(s) 20, the position determination unit(s) 10, 1 1 , the control unit(s) 7, and the user interface 8 if necessary.
  • the control unit(s) 7 are connected to the motor(s) 21 and provides
  • control unit(s) 7 may also be connected to control e.g. what colour filter to use, what gobo to use, etc.
  • control unit(s) 7 are connected to receive a first and/or second signal 30, representing a current position and by extension the direction of the housing (not shown; see e.g. 2 in Figure 1 ) and thereby the light source(s), from the the position determination unit(s) 10 and user input signal(s) from the user interface 8 or alternatively as already described from a remote external electrical device whereby the user interface 8 is not required (at least for this purpose).
  • the first and the second position determination units 10, 1 1 may optionally receive input (as indicated by the hashed arrow) from the motor(s) 21 in order to determine the position.
  • the one or more control units 7 will register the first and/or second signal 30 as position data value(s) in response to a predetermined user initiated action.
  • the position data value(s) is then stored locally and/or transmitted to an external electrical device as previously described.
  • the one or more control units 7 comprises a memory and/or is connected to an internal memory of the professional lighting device 1 .
  • the one or more control units may also be adapted to receive, via a wired and/or wireless connection (not shown), a control signal comprising one or more stored and/or received position data values determined earlier. These can then be used to control the motors and the movement of the housing and light source(s) accordingly.
  • Figure 3 schematically illustrates a flow chart of an embodiment of a method of position determination of one or more light sources of a programmable motorised lighting device for professional illumination. Shown is an example of a method of position determination of one or more light sources of a programmable motorised lighting device for professional illumination, e.g. as the device(s) shown and explained in connection with Figures 1 and 2. The method and variations correspond to the way of operation and variations discussed also in connection with Figures 1 and 2.
  • the method initiates and starts at step 301 .
  • a lighting device is positioned in a desired position by a user, e.g. as described earlier in connection with Figure 1 .
  • the user can continue to adjust the position until step 303 is carried out.
  • Step 303 awaits a predetermined user initiated action signifying that the lighting device is positioned satisfactorily before continuing to step 304 where the position is registered as one or more position data values, as described earlier.
  • the position data values are then stored locally and e.g. transmitted at step 305.
  • step 306 it is determined, e.g. by user indication, whether more positions should be registered. If not, the method ends at step 307 and if yes the method loops back to step 302 where the lighting device may be positioned in the next desired position. The user may then afterwards use the one or more registered position data values to program the lighting device e.g. including further functions and/or parameters to be carried out by the given lighting device as described in connection with Figure 2.

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
  • Circuit Arrangement For Electric Light Sources In General (AREA)
  • Non-Portable Lighting Devices Or Systems Thereof (AREA)

Abstract

The present invention relates to a programmable motorised lighting device (1) for professional illumination, the programmable motorised lighting device (1) comprising a housing (2) comprising a light source (20) adapted, during use, to emit a light beam through an opening (3) of the housing (2) in order to illuminate an environment, and at least one electric motor (21) adapted, during use, to change orientation of the light source (20) by moving the housing (2) about a predetermined axis (X), so that the light beam can be emitted in a desired direction, wherein the programmable motorised lighting device (1) further comprises a first position determination unit (10) adapted, during use, to provide a first signal (30) representing a current position of the housing (2), and one or more control units (7) adapted to register the first signal (30) as at least one position data value in response to a predetermined user initiated action. The present invention also relates to a method of position determination of one or more light sources (20) of a programmable motorised lighting device (1) for professional illumination.

Description

PROGRAMMABLE MOTORISED LIGHTING DEVICE
Field of the invention
The present invention relates generally to a moto sed lighting device, and more particularly to a programmable motohsed lighting device, for professional illumination, for example to be used to illuminate a given environment. The present invention further relates to a method of position determination of one or more light sources of a programmable motorised lighting device for professional illumination. Background
Lighting devices of various types for professional illumination of a given environment are generally known.
One or more of such lighting devices may e.g. be used to illuminate a stage or other during events like a music concert, a fashion show, a sport event, a convention, or the like.
One or more of such lighting devices may e.g. also be used to illuminate at least a part of a building, a landmark, a sporting field, a monument, or the like.
Additionally, one or more of such lighting devices may e.g. also be used to illuminate an environment or one or more parts thereof e.g. in connection with an event. This may e.g. be illuminating air by light in particular if the air contains moisture, dust, smoke, or other.
The one or more lighting devices may be installed and used more or less permanently or for a longer period of time, e.g. for illumination of a building, landmark, or the like, or for a shorter period of time, e.g. for illumination of a stage during a concert, sport event, or the like. In general, one or more of such professional lighting devices may be used to illuminate basically any environment or parts thereof, and/or object(s) either permanently or temporarily.
Professional lighting devices may normally have some characteristics that set them further apart (than just being another use) from lighting devices for personal/home use, such as minimum durability, illuminance and luminous emittance, reliability, etc.
Lighting devices are known which comprise a light source that can be moved in more or less any desired orientation, so that a light beam emitted by a light source can be directed along basically any desired direction (there may be one or more blind spots or areas but then normally of no practical
consequence given a sufficient distance between the lighting device and the environment to be illuminated).
To this end, the light source is supported by the lighting device and may be rotated about one or two axes by use of suitable motors or similar.
Such lighting devices are within the professional lighting segment sometimes referred to as moving heads.
They are during use normally placed on a substantially flat or horizontal surface and/or suspended from or mounted on an appropriate frame, rack, stand, support, or the like.
The illumination need not only be static (although it can be) but will quite often be dynamic, e.g. as often used during concerts, sports events, etc., where the light source(s) of the lighting device(s) is/are moved over time in a controlled and/or pre-determined or programmed but potentially quite complex manner. Furthermore, colour wheels with colour filters of various colours, gobos (see later), etc. may also be used to change the emitted light (e.g. the colour of it, the light pattern being emitted, etc.).
It is generally known, that a user can program a given (programmable) lighting device. However, many current programming tools are not very user- friendly or very intuitive. For example, some lighting devices are programmed using more or less standardised so-called DMX channels (e.g. 16 channels) where the signals on different channels control different aspects of the lighting device. A single channel may be used for one function or perhaps a number of related functions. The given function to carry out may be
represented by sending a specific bit signal on that channel. The channels may e.g. control pan movement, fine pan movement, tilt movement, fine tilt movement, speed of movement (pan/tilt), what colour of a plurality of colours to use, rotation/no rotation of a colour wheel, what gobo (of a plurality) to use, movement of a gobo at selected static or dynamic speed (e.g. shake slow to fast or shake fast to slow), shutter open/closed, strobe effect, pulse effect, light on/off, focus, zoom, macros, internal programs, etc.
As an example a given 8 bit channel controlling use of an associated colour wheel of a lighting device may e.g. be controlled according to: bit values 0 - 13: Open/White colour; 14 - 27: Colour 1 ; 28 - 41 : Colour 2; 42 - 55: Colour 3, 1 12 - 127: Colour 8; 128 - 187: Forwards rainbow effect from fast to slow; 188 - 193: No rotation; and finally 194 - 255: Backwards rainbow effect from slow to fast.
When illuminating an environment on a temporarily basis (perhaps only for a single evening or afternoon, a couple of hours, etc., e.g. for an event like a concert, a fashion show, etc.) important aspects are how easy and time efficient it is to put a given lighting device in place at its proper location and making it functional, e.g. including any needed programming, as the preparation time for certain temporary events usually may be fairly limited. If one or more lighting devices also need to be programmed in relation to the event it may be even more time consuming. Some of the programming of the light sources' movement may very well depend on the actual event (e.g how big is the stage, where is it and/or parts of it located more precisely, what part of the environment should be illuminated and when, etc.) and/or actual location whereby it may not be possible to rely fully on pre-programmed settings, macros, programs, etc. as they may have to be modified or changed completely to accommodate a specific event and/or location.
There should also be adequate time for testing, rehearsals, etc. to ensure that the event will run according to plan as much as possible.
The professional lighting setup involved may be quite complex and the number of used lighting devices may also be quite significant adding further to the complexity.
Additionally for certain events, many other aspects than lighting needs to prepared and/or checked or tested, e.g. the sound setup, setting up a stage and/or props, preparing seating or areas for the audience, etc.
Therefore, it may be a fairly complex operation involving many people and lots of different equipment. Furthermore, the testing or final placement of certain items may be dependent on the completion of other items, e.g. the stage should be more or less in place before a final placement and potentially programming of the lighting devices is made, and so on.
Some events only take place at a given location once after which everything needs to be packed down again and perhaps moved to a new location starting all over. So it should be ensured that every aspect of the event runs as smoothly and perfectly as possible as there may be no second chances. Additionally, it may also be of importance how quickly equipment, like the lighting devices, can be disconnected and securely packed down again e.g. for transport and/or storage.
In addition, the specific location of an event may present some further challenges. As an example, a location for an event like a fashion show may e.g. be a beach in Dubai.
There is therefore a need for a professional lighting device that alleviates one or more of the above mentioned drawback at least to some extent.
Summary According to a first aspect, disclosed herein is a programmable motorised lighting device for professional illumination, the programmable motorised lighting device comprising
- a housing comprising a light source adapted, during use, to emit a light beam through an opening of the housing in order to illuminate an environment, and
- at least one electric motor adapted, during use, to change orientation of the light source by moving the housing about a predetermined axis, so that the light beam can be emitted in a desired direction, wherein the programmable motorised lighting device further comprises - a first position determination unit adapted, during use, to provide a first signal representing a current position of the housing, and
- one or more control units adapted to register the first signal as at least one position data value in response to a predetermined user initiated action. In this way, any number of position data values may be provided (stored locally and e.g. transmitted externally) simply by directing or pointing the housing with the light source in the desired directions and selecting what position(s) the lighting device should register. This makes it easy and intuitive to determine precise position points for a program for the lighting device. Furthermore, it decreases the time necessary for programming the specific lighting device.
This enables time and/or manual work savings especially when setting up many lighting devices. This is especially advantageous for temporary or onetime events (including an event happening at different locations over time), e.g. like a music concert, a fashion show, a sport event, a convention, etc. where preparation time can be quite limited. One can simply place a lighting device at is proper location and simply obtain position data values from actual positions of the lighting device.
Furthermore, the order of the registered positions also provides a time wise ordering of the positions. In one embodiment, the programmable motorised lighting device is further adapted to store the at least one, preferably a plurality, position data value in a memory of the programmable motorised lighting device as part of a program.
Such a program may e.g. involve a number of segments where the segments together form the program. A segment may comprise at least one position data value or pair of position data values and specification of further functions and/or parameters such as the ones mentioned later to be carried out by the lighting device running the program. The next segment could then comprise another position and same or other functions/parameters to carry out and so on.
A segment may comprise several position data values and in some embodiments it could comprise enough position data values to provide virtually real-time or near real-time movement of the lighting device using these position data values. Such position data values could e.g. be obtained and stored as described and by a user freely moving the lighting device while the associated position data values are sampled at a suitable time/sampling interval suiting a given need. Additionally, a user can in this way actually see precisely what is being illuminated at a given position, which is different than setting up positions remotely on a computer and display.
In some embodiments, the current position of the housing is determined according to a relative reference frame, e.g. in relation to the lighting device itself.
In alternative embodiments, the current position of the housing is determined according to an absolute reference frame.
In some embodiments, the programmable motorised lighting device further comprises - a further motor adapted, during use, to change orientation of the light source by moving the housing about a further predetermined axis, and - a second position determination unit adapted, during use, to provide a second signal representing a current position of the housing in relation to the further predetermined axis, wherein the one or more control units is further adapted to register the second signal as at least one position data value in response to the predetermined user initiated action.
In some embodiments, the programmable motorised lighting device is further adapted to store at least one, preferably a plurality, position data value pairs in a memory of the programmable motorised lighting device as a program, where at least some but preferably all of the position data value pairs each comprises one value obtained in response to the first signal and one value obtained in response to the second signal.
In some embodiments, the current position of the housing is determined in relation to the predetermined axis and/or in relation to the further
predetermined axis.
In some embodiments, the one or more control units is further adapted to store and/or transmit, to an external electrical device, one or more registered position data values.
In some embodiments, the one or more control units is/are adapted, during use, to control the at least one electric motor and/or the further motor to change the orientation of the light source by moving the housing about the predetermined axis and/or the further predetermined axis according to a control signal comprising one or more stored and/or received position data values determined earlier.
In some embodiments, the programmable motorised lighting device further comprises a base supporting a supporting element, wherein the supporting element is generally U-shaped and supports the housing and wherein one motor is located in an arm of the U-shaped supporting element. The supporting element may e.g. be a yoke or be yoke-shaped.
In some embodiments having the further motor, the further motor is located, e.g. centrally, at a bottom part of the U-shaped supporting element.
In some embodiments, the light source comprises one or more light emitting diodes.
In certain embodiments, the programmable motorised lighting device further comprises one or more re-chargeable power sources, e.g. one or more batteries, adapted, during use, to supply electrical power to the light source, the one or more control units, at least one position determination unit and/or the at least one electric motor.
Accordingly, a lighting device is provided that will have its own independent power supply. This provides a lighting device that does not (necessarily) have to connected to external power lines, etc.
This further enables time and/or manual work savings especially when setting up many lighting devices. This is especially advantageous for temporary or one-time events (including an event happening at different locations over time), e.g. like a music concert, a fashion show, a sport event, a convention, etc. where preparation time can be quite limited, as there is no need to necessarily connect it to existing or ad-hoc power lines. One can simply place a lighting device at its proper location and start using or testing it.
The savings are even more significant for challenging locations where a regular (power) infrastructure may not even be readily available, e.g. for a fashion show on a beach.
Furthermore, the one or more re-chargeable power sources can function as a backup with respect to power should regular power from the supply lines fail or be interrupted, i.e. a lighting device will have its own specific local power back-up.
In some embodiments, the one or more re-chargeable power sources are one or more batteries.
In some embodiments, the one or more re-chargeable power sources are internal to the programmable motorised lighting device. This enables the lighting device to be water proof or at least water repellent or water resilient. This may be a further advantage for use at humid locations, during poor weather conditions like rain or fog, in connection with special effects involving water (e.g. for a music concert, a movie location, etc.), and/or the like.
In some embodiments, the programmable motorised lighting device further comprises an AC power supply, or alternatively another traditional wired power supply.
This provides versatility, as the lighting device then may operate using its own power source(s) when useful and using traditional AC power supplied by regular power lines when available.
This also provides a readily available way of re-charging the power source(s). The one or more re-chargeable power sources work particularly well together with the position determination of one or more light sources of a
programmable motorised lighting device for professional illumination, especially in relation to setting up temporary events where a given
environment is to be dynamically illuminated as both simplifies and reduces setup time.
Some of the different components may only be disclosed in relation to a single embodiment of the invention, but may be included in other
embodiments without further explanation.
According to another aspect is disclosed a use of a programmable motorised lighting device, according to any one of the disclosed embodiments, to illuminate at least a part of a given environment. The given environment e.g. comprises or is part of a music concert, a fashion show, an outdoor event, a convention, a sporting event, a theatre performance, a TV show or
production set, a club, an architectural landmark, etc. According to another aspect is a method of position determination of one or more light sources of a programmable motorised lighting device for professional illumination, the method comprising the steps of: - providing a first signal, by a first position determination unit, and/or a second signal, by a second position determination unit, the first signal and/or the second signal representing a current position of a housing of the programmable motorised lighting device, wherein the housing comprises a light source adapted, during use, to emit a light beam through an opening of the housing in order to illuminate an
environment,
- registering, by one or more control units, the first signal and/or the second signal as at least one position data value in response to a predetermined user initiated action, and
- locally storing and/or transmitting one or more registered position data values to an external electrical device.
In some embodiments, the current position of the housing is determined in relation to a predetermined axis and/or in relation to a further predetermined axis.
In some embodiments, a user has directed the housing in a desired direction prior to initiating the predetermined user initiated action.
The present aspects relate to professional lighting devices and specifically not to non-professional lighting devices such as devices for in-home use. Brief description of the drawings
Figure 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating one embodiment of a professional programmable motorised lighting device;
Figure 2 schematically illustrates a block diagram of a programmable motorised lighting device; and Figure 3 schematically illustrates a flow chart of an embodiment of a method of position determination of one or more light sources of a programmable motorised lighting device for professional illumination. Detailed description
Various aspects and embodiments of a programmable motorised lighting device (forth only referred to as lighting device) for professional illumination and a method of position determination of the same disclosed herein will now be described with reference to the figures.
Figure 1 schematically illustrates a professional lighting device 1 that may be used to illuminate e.g. an environment, a stage or the like, etc. during an event such as a music concert, a fashion show, a sport event, a convention, etc. The lighting device may also be used to illuminate at least a part of a building, a landmark, a sport field, a monument, etc.
Additionally, the lighting device may e.g. also be used to illuminate an environment or one or more parts thereof. This may e.g. be illuminating air by light in particular if the air contains moisture, dust, smoke, or other. In general, one or more of such professional lighting devices may be used to illuminate basically any environment or parts thereof, and/or object(s) either permanently or temporarily.
The illumination may be static but will quite often be dynamic.
The lighting device 1 may e.g. also be called a lighting fixture, a projector, a moving head, etc. The lighting device 1 comprises a light source (not shown; see e.g. 20 in Figure 2) for emitting, during use, a light beam in a given direction. The light source may e.g. be a lamp, for example a halogen lamp, a fluorescent lamp, a discharge lamp, or a light emission diode (LED).
More than one light source may be used in a single lighting device, as is the case of a lighting device comprising a plurality of LEDs. The light source(s) may be housed inside a housing 2 made of one or more suitable materials, e.g. made of polymeric material(s).
The housing 2 is provided with an opening 3 from which the light beam emitted, during use, by the light source may exit. The opening 3 may be provided with lenses and/or other optics in order to control the light beam.
The housing 2 is supported by a supporting arrangement 4 that may be rested on a substantially flat or horizontal surface or used to suspend the lighting device 1 from an appropriate frame, rack, stand, support, or the like.
The supporting arrangement 4 may comprise a base 5 that supports a supporting element 6 that in turn supports the housing 2.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 1 , the supporting element 6 generally has a U- or yoke shape (forth simply referred to as U-shape). However, other shapes of the supporting element 6 are also possible.
The base 5 houses one or more control units 7 for controlling operation of the lighting device 1 as explained further in connection with Figures 2 and 3. A user may interact with the control unit(s) through a user interface 8 e.g. in the form of a plurality of push-buttons, knobs and/or other operating elements e.g. provided on the base 5 or through remote control.
The housing 2 may be rotated about a predetermined axis X preferably being an at least substantially horizontal axis relative to the supporting element 6 and the base 5. This may be done by a given motor (not shown; see e.g. 21 in Figure 2) of the lighting device 1 e.g. located in one of the 'arms' of the U- shaped supporting element 6. The motor is preferably an electric motor such as a stepper motor. The rotation about the axis X may alternatively be accomplished using two electrical motors with one motor being located in each 'arm' of the U-shaped supporting element 6. By rotating the housing 2 about the horizontal axis X, the light source will accordingly also be rotated about the horizontal axis X, in order to allow different points or areas to be illuminated, with a motion often referred to as a "tilt motion" of the light source. Furthermore, the supporting element 6 (and thereby the housing 2) may be rotated about an additional predetermined axis Y preferably being an at least substantially vertical axis relative to the base 5. This rotation of the
supporting element 6 may e.g. be performed by a further motor (not shown; see e.g. 21 in Figure 2) provided in the supporting element 6, e.g. centrally at the bottom of the U-shape. The motor may as an alternative be located inside the base 5. The further motor is preferably an electric motor, particularly a stepper motor.
By rotating the supporting element 6 about the vertical axis Y, the light source will accordingly be rotated about the vertical axis Y, in order to allow different points or areas to be illuminated. This motion is often referred to as a "pan motion" of the light source.
The motors controlling rotation about the vertical axis Y and about the horizontal axis X allows the light source to be positioned in virtually any desired angle both about the horizontal axis X and about the vertical axis Y. The light beam emitted by the light source can thus be controlled to be directed in virtually any desired direction. The motors are controlled themselves by the one or more control units 7.
According to an aspect, the lighting device 1 comprises at least a first position determination unit 10 adapted, during use, to provide a first signal (not shown; see e.g. 30 in Figure 2) representing a current position of the housing 2. A current position of the housing will have a corresponding current direction or orientation of the emitted light. The one or more control units 7 is/are adapted to register the first signal as at least one position data value in response to a predetermined user initiated action.
This makes programming of what direction the lighting device 1 should illuminate very easy and intuitive. A user can simply direct the lighting device 1 , or more specifically the housing 2, in a wanted direction e.g. making minor adjustments until the user is satisfied and initiate the proper action thereby causing the one or more control units 7 to register at least one position data value representing and corresponding to the actual current position of the housing 2 (with a corresponding direction/orientation of the emitted light).
It is to be noted, that the user could direct the housing 2 in the wished direction manually e.g. by physically moving the housing or by operating an appropriate user interface or panel or similar, like 8 in Figure 1 and 2.
Alternatively, the user may direct the housing remotely. This may e.g. be done using an external electrical device like a remote central control unit (e.g. a laptop, PC, or the like) in wired or preferably wireless (WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, GSM, GPRS, LTE, etc.) communication with the one or more control units 7 of a lighting device 1 . Such a remote central control unit may e.g. communicate with several lighting devices. Alternatively, the external electrical device/remote central control unit may be a suitable handheld unit e.g. a smart phone, a tablet, or the like running a suitable application program. This external device may also be used to active the predetermined user initiated action.
The one or more control units 7 may store the one or more registered position data values locally in a suitable memory and e.g. transmit it/them to an external electrical device for storage and potential use there. If the user wants to determine further positions, i.e. the lighting device 1 should illuminate another point or area, then the steps are simply repeated.
The user may then afterwards use the one or more registered position data values to program the lighting device. In addition to making a program comprising a number of position data values at different time instances the program may also specify further functions and/or parameters to be carried out by the given lighting device at various time instances.
Such further functions/parameters may e.g. be selection of a colour out of a plurality of available colours (e.g. provided by rotating the selected colour part of a colour wheel in front of the light opening of the housing), what specific gobo pattern should be used (if any), the speed of moving the housing from a given position to a next position, what movement pattern to use from a given position to a next position in the sequence of position, what independent movement pattern to use for a given time period, etc. Such a program may e.g. involve a number of segments where the segments together form the program. A segment may comprise at least one position data value or pair of position data values and specification of further functions and/or parameters such as the ones mentioned above to be carried out by the lighting device running the program. The next segment could then comprise another position and same or other functions/parameters to carry out and so on.
As mentioned, a segment may comprise several position data values and in some embodiments it could comprise enough position data values to provide virtually real-time or near real-time movement of the lighting device using these position data values. Such position data values could e.g. be obtained and stored as described and by a user freely moving the lighting device while the associated position data values are sampled at a suitable time/sampling interval suiting a given need. If an external electrical device/remote control unit is used, that may also be used in selecting the further functions/parameters to carry out, whereby the user can make (and e.g. test) a complete program or a part thereof near the lighting device. A flow chart of a corresponding exemplary method of position determination of one or more light sources of a programmable motorised lighting device is shown and explained further in connection with Figure 3.
In this way, any number of position data values may be provided simply by directing or pointing the housing in the desired directions and selecting what position(s) the lighting device should register. This makes it easy and intuitive to determine position points for a program for the lighting device thereby decreasing the time necessary for programming the specific lighting device.
Furthermore, the order of the registered positions also implies the time wise ordering of the positions. Additionally, a user can in this way actually see precisely what is being illuminated at a given position, which is different than setting up positions remotely on a computer and display.
The first position determination unit 10 can be embodied in many different ways. What is significant is that it can determine the position of the housing according to one or more parameters in a reliable way. It may determine the position only by one parameter, e.g. in a given plane for lighting devices only having one degree of freedom with respect to movement (e.g. a lighting device capable only of tilt movement) or by two parameters e.g. for lighting devices capable of both tilt and pan movement. In some embodiments, the first position determination unit 10 is adapted, during use, to provide the first signal representing a current position of the housing in relation to the predetermined axis X. In some further embodiments, the lighting device 1 further comprises a second position determination unit 1 1 adapted, during use, to provide a second signal (not shown; see e.g. 30 in Figure 2) representing a current position of the housing 2 preferably in relation to the further predetermined axis Y.
The one or more control units 7 may then be further adapted to register and store and e.g. transmit the second signal as at least one position data value in response to a predetermined user initiated action. Preferably, only a single user initiated action will trigger registration of both signals. In this way, the first signal will represent the position of the housing 2 about the predetermined axis X while the second signal will represent the position of the housing 2 about the further predetermined axis Y. So for each user action a pair of position data values will be obtained. This determines the current position of the housing in a relative reference frame, i.e. the position is determined in relation to a part of the lighting device itself.
In certain embodiments, the first and the second position determination units 10, 1 1 may be a single device.
The current position of the housing 2 may alternatively be determined according to an absolute reference frame. Patent application EP 2 690 357 by the same application discloses different embodiments to enable this.
The first and/or the second position determination units 10, 1 1 may as an example be a gyroscope, particularly an electronic gyroscope. Alternatively, the first and/or the second position determination units 10, 1 1 may as an example be an accelerometer. They could in principle be any device capable of determining an actual position of the light source.
The gyroscope and the accelerometer may also determine the position in relation to the predetermined and the further predetermined axes X, Y. The first and the second position determination units 10, 1 1 may also receive input from the motor(s) in order to determine the position.
The one or more control units 7 may also be adapted, during use, to control the at least one electric motor 21 to change the orientation of the light source 20 by moving the housing 2 about the predetermined axis X and/or the further predetermined axis Y according to a control signal comprising one or more position data values e.g. determined earlier. These may be stored locally and/or received remotely.
The lighting device 1 may also comprise so-called gobos. A gobo is a physical template that can be placed in front of the light source of the lighting device in order to control the shape of the emitted light beam. A gobo can be conformed as a piece of material with patterned holes through which light can pass, so that the light beam exiting the lighting device forms a desired pattern. A lighting device may comprise a plurality of gobos, each
corresponding to a different pattern. A user may select a certain gobo by acting, for example, on a keyboard of the lighting device or a given gobo may be selected according to a program. Thereafter, the control unit will cause the selected gobo to be brought in front of the light source, so that a desired pattern is obtained. A gobo may also be moved in front of the light source, e.g. to generate an effect like a 'shaking' movement of the emitted light.
According to another aspect, the lighting device 1 may comprise one or more re-chargeable power sources 9 adapted, during use, to supply electrical power to the light source(s) and the electric motor(s). The one or more power sources may also supply power to the control unit(s) 7, the first and second position determination units 10, 1 1 , and/or (if needed) the operating elements 8.
As shown in Figure 1 , the one or more power sources may be located in the base 5 of the lighting device 1 . This adds to the weight of the base 5 and may therefore increase the stability of the lighting device further, especially for when the housing 2 is moved rapidly.
Preferably, the one or more re-chargeable power sources are one or more batteries. In this way, the lighting device will have its own independent power supply. This provides a lighting device that does not (necessarily) have to be connected to external power lines, etc.
This enables time and/or manual work savings especially when setting up many lighting devices. This is especially advantageous for temporary events, one-time events, and/or events where the location is changed, e.g. like a music concert, a fashion show, a sport event, a convention, etc. where preparation time can be quite limited, as there is no need to necessarily connect it to existing or ad-hoc power lines. One can simply place a lighting device at is proper location and start using or testing it. The savings are even more significant for challenging locations where a regular (power) infrastructure may not even be readily available, e.g. for a fashion show on a beach.
In some preferred embodiments, the lighting device 1 further comprises an AC power supply or another traditional wired power supply. This provides versatility, as the lighting device then may operate on its own power source(s) when useful and on traditional AC power supplied by regular power lines when available.
This also provides a readily available way of re-charging the power source(s).
Furthermore, the re-chargeable one or more power sources or batteries can function as a local backup with respect to power should regular power from the supply lines fail or be interrupted. In some embodiments, the one or more re-chargeable power sources or batteries preferably are internal, i.e. comprised by the lighting device 1 , e.g. as shown in Figure 1 .
This enables the lighting device 1 to be water proof or at least water repellent or water resilient. This may be a further advantage for use at humid locations, during poor weather conditions like rain or fog, in connection with special effects involving water (e.g. for a music concert, a movie location, etc.), and/or the like.
The power sources may in principle also be external but then needs to be adequately sealed (if still needing to be water proof or at least water repellent or resilient).
The one or more re-chargeable power sources 9 work particularly well together with the position determination of one or more light sources 20 of a motorised lighting device 1 for professional illumination, especially in relation to setting up temporary events where a given environment is to be
dynamically illuminated as both simplifies and reduces setup time.
Figure 2 schematically illustrates electrical components of a lighting device.
Illustrated is a lighting device 1 , corresponding to the ones explained in connection with Figure 1 , comprising at least one light source 20, at least one electric motors 21 , one or more control units 7, and one or more power sources 9. The lighting device 1 further comprises a first and optionally a second position determination unit 10, 1 1 and a user interface 8.
The one or more power sources 9 supplies, during use, electrical power to the motor(s) 21 , the light source(s) 20, the position determination unit(s) 10, 1 1 , the control unit(s) 7, and the user interface 8 if necessary.
The control unit(s) 7 are connected to the motor(s) 21 and provides
respective control signals in order to control the light source(s) 20 as wished e.g. according to pre-determined or pre-programmed instructions. The control unit(s) 7 may also be connected to control e.g. what colour filter to use, what gobo to use, etc.
Furthermore, the control unit(s) 7 are connected to receive a first and/or second signal 30, representing a current position and by extension the direction of the housing (not shown; see e.g. 2 in Figure 1 ) and thereby the light source(s), from the the position determination unit(s) 10 and user input signal(s) from the user interface 8 or alternatively as already described from a remote external electrical device whereby the user interface 8 is not required (at least for this purpose).
The first and the second position determination units 10, 1 1 may optionally receive input (as indicated by the hashed arrow) from the motor(s) 21 in order to determine the position.
As already described in connection with Figure 1 and as will be elaborated upon in connection with Figure 3, the one or more control units 7 will register the first and/or second signal 30 as position data value(s) in response to a predetermined user initiated action. The position data value(s) is then stored locally and/or transmitted to an external electrical device as previously described. The one or more control units 7 comprises a memory and/or is connected to an internal memory of the professional lighting device 1 .
The one or more control units may also be adapted to receive, via a wired and/or wireless connection (not shown), a control signal comprising one or more stored and/or received position data values determined earlier. These can then be used to control the motors and the movement of the housing and light source(s) accordingly.
Figure 3 schematically illustrates a flow chart of an embodiment of a method of position determination of one or more light sources of a programmable motorised lighting device for professional illumination. Shown is an example of a method of position determination of one or more light sources of a programmable motorised lighting device for professional illumination, e.g. as the device(s) shown and explained in connection with Figures 1 and 2. The method and variations correspond to the way of operation and variations discussed also in connection with Figures 1 and 2.
The method initiates and starts at step 301 .
At step 302, a lighting device is positioned in a desired position by a user, e.g. as described earlier in connection with Figure 1 . The user can continue to adjust the position until step 303 is carried out. Step 303 awaits a predetermined user initiated action signifying that the lighting device is positioned satisfactorily before continuing to step 304 where the position is registered as one or more position data values, as described earlier.
The position data values are then stored locally and e.g. transmitted at step 305.
At step 306 it is determined, e.g. by user indication, whether more positions should be registered. If not, the method ends at step 307 and if yes the method loops back to step 302 where the lighting device may be positioned in the next desired position. The user may then afterwards use the one or more registered position data values to program the lighting device e.g. including further functions and/or parameters to be carried out by the given lighting device as described in connection with Figure 2.
In the claims enumerating several features, some or all of these features may be embodied by one and the same element, component or item. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims or described in different embodiments does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.
It should be emphasized that the term "comprises/comprising" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, elements, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, steps, components or groups thereof.

Claims

Claims:
1 . A programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) for professional illumination, the programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) comprising
- a housing (2) comprising a light source (20) adapted, during use, to emit a light beam through an opening (3) of the housing (2) in order to illuminate an environment, and
- at least one electric motor (21 ) adapted, during use, to change
orientation of the light source (20) by moving the housing (2) about a predetermined axis (X), so that the light beam can be emitted in a desired direction, wherein the programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) further comprises
- a first position determination unit (10) adapted, during use, to provide a first signal (30) representing a current position of the housing (2), and
- one or more control units (7) adapted to register the first signal (30) as at least one position data value in response to a predetermined user initiated action.
2. The programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) is further adapted to store the at least one, preferably a plurality, position data value in a memory of the programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) as part of a program.
3. The programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) according to any one of claims 1 - 2, wherein the current position of the housing (2) is determined according to a relative or an absolute reference frame.
4. The programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) according to any one of claims 1 - 3, wherein the programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) further comprises - a further motor (21 ) adapted, during use, to change orientation of the light source (20) by moving the housing (2) about a further
predetermined axis (Y), and
- a second position determination unit (1 1 ) adapted, during use, to provide a second signal (30) representing a current position of the housing (2) in relation to the further predetermined axis (Y), wherein the one or more control units (7) is further adapted to register the second signal (30) as at least one position data value in response to the predetermined user initiated action.
5. The programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) according to claim 4, wherein the programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) is further adapted to store at least one, preferably a plurality, position data value pairs in a memory of the programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) as a program, where at least some but preferably all of the position data value pairs each comprises one value obtained in response to the first signal (30) and one value obtained in response to the second signal (30).
6. The programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) according to any one of claims 1 - 5, wherein the current position of the housing (2) is determined in relation to the predetermined axis (X) and/or in relation to the further predetermined axis (Y).
7. The programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) according to any one of claims 1 - 6, wherein the one or more control units (7) is further adapted to store and/or transmit, to an external electrical device, one or more registered position data values.
8. The programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) according to any one of claims 1 - 7, wherein - the one or more control units (7) is adapted, during use, to control the at least one electric motor and/or the further motor (21 ) to change the orientation of the light source (20) by moving the housing (2) about the predetermined axis (X) and/or the further predetermined axis (Y) according to a control signal comprising one or more stored and/or received position data values determined earlier.
9. The programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) according to any one of claims 1 - 8, wherein the programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) further comprises a base (5) supporting a supporting element (6), wherein the supporting element (6) is generally U-shaped and supports the housing (2) and wherein one motor (21 ) is located in an arm of the U-shaped supporting element (6).
10. The programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) according to claim 9 as being dependent on claim 6 wherein the further motor (21 ) is located, e.g. centrally, at a bottom part of the U-shaped supporting element (6).
1 1 . The programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) according to any one of claims 1 - 10, wherein the light source (20) comprises one or more light emitting diodes.
12. The programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) according to any one of claims 1 - 1 1 , wherein the programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) further comprises one or more re-chargeable power sources (9), e.g. one or more batteries, adapted, during use, to supply electrical power to the light source (20), the one or more control units (7), at least one position
determination unit (10; 1 1 ) and/or the at least one electric motor (21 ).
13. Method of position determination of one or more light sources (20) of a programmable motorised lighting device (1 ) for professional illumination, the method comprising the steps of: - providing a first signal (30), by a first position determination unit (10), and/or a second signal (30), by a second position determination unit (1 1 ), the first signal and/or the second signal (30) representing a current position of a housing (2) of the programmable motorised lighting device (1 ), wherein the housing (2) comprises a light source
(20) adapted, during use, to emit a light beam through an opening (3) of the housing (2) in order to illuminate an environment,
- registering, by one or more control units (7), the first signal and/or the second signal (30) as at least one position data value in response to a predetermined user initiated action, and
- locally storing and/or transmitting one or more registered position data values to an external electrical device.
14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the current position of the housing (2) is determined in relation to a predetermined axis (X) and/or in relation to a further predetermined axis (Y).
15. The method according to any one of claims 13 - 14, wherein a user has directed the housing (2) in a desired direction prior to initiating the
predetermined user initiated action.
16. Use of a programmable motorised lighting device according to any one of claims 1 - 12 to illuminate at least a part of a given environment, the given environment e.g. comprising or being part of a music concert, a fashion show, an outdoor event, a convention, a sporting event, a theatre
performance, a TV show or production set, a club, or an architectural landmark.
PCT/EP2015/077239 2014-11-20 2015-11-20 Programmable motorised lighting device WO2016079308A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DKPA201470723 2014-11-20
DKPA201470723 2014-11-20

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2016079308A1 true WO2016079308A1 (en) 2016-05-26

Family

ID=54601811

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/EP2015/077239 WO2016079308A1 (en) 2014-11-20 2015-11-20 Programmable motorised lighting device

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2016079308A1 (en)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP3499117A1 (en) * 2017-12-15 2019-06-19 Harman Professional Denmark ApS Method of determining the pose of a moving head light fixture
US10718494B1 (en) 2019-02-08 2020-07-21 Harman Professional Denmark Aps Pan/tilt limitation method
WO2020201255A1 (en) * 2019-04-01 2020-10-08 Sgm Light A/S Lighting device with ventilation

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4716344A (en) * 1986-03-20 1987-12-29 Micro Research, Inc. Microprocessor controlled lighting system
US20050243549A1 (en) * 2002-03-13 2005-11-03 Ruston Joseph H Remote position control of lighting unit
WO2006075297A1 (en) * 2005-01-11 2006-07-20 Muvis S.R.L. Remote-controlled lighting system for spaces
EP2690357A1 (en) * 2012-07-25 2014-01-29 Sgm A/S A lighting device

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4716344A (en) * 1986-03-20 1987-12-29 Micro Research, Inc. Microprocessor controlled lighting system
US20050243549A1 (en) * 2002-03-13 2005-11-03 Ruston Joseph H Remote position control of lighting unit
WO2006075297A1 (en) * 2005-01-11 2006-07-20 Muvis S.R.L. Remote-controlled lighting system for spaces
EP2690357A1 (en) * 2012-07-25 2014-01-29 Sgm A/S A lighting device

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP3499117A1 (en) * 2017-12-15 2019-06-19 Harman Professional Denmark ApS Method of determining the pose of a moving head light fixture
CN109931574A (en) * 2017-12-15 2019-06-25 哈曼专业丹麦公司 The method for determining the posture of slip-on head lamps and lanterns
US10859247B2 (en) 2017-12-15 2020-12-08 Harman Professional Denmark Aps Method of determining the pose of a moving head light fixture
CN109931574B (en) * 2017-12-15 2023-02-17 哈曼专业丹麦公司 Method for determining attitude of moving head lamp
US10718494B1 (en) 2019-02-08 2020-07-21 Harman Professional Denmark Aps Pan/tilt limitation method
EP3693658A1 (en) * 2019-02-08 2020-08-12 Harman Professional Denmark ApS Pan/tilt limitation method
WO2020201255A1 (en) * 2019-04-01 2020-10-08 Sgm Light A/S Lighting device with ventilation
US11566782B2 (en) 2019-04-01 2023-01-31 Sgm Light A/S Lighting device with ventilation

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
CN106131075A (en) A kind of Adjustable head lamp based on ICP/IP protocol and control system thereof
US10228113B2 (en) Landscape light
US9404641B2 (en) Theatre light comprising of a plurality of remotely positionable light emitting modules
US20180275500A1 (en) LED Plug-in Outlet or DC Power Light has LED-unit(s)
JP6012009B2 (en) Lighting system
JP6564387B2 (en) Method and apparatus for wirelessly controlling the illumination effect of a networked light source
US10302286B2 (en) Remotely controlled and monitored followspot
JP6097963B2 (en) Lighting system
JP6867032B2 (en) 3D production method, 3D production system and lifting device
WO2016079308A1 (en) Programmable motorised lighting device
WO2016050872A1 (en) A luminaire and a method for providing task lighting and decorative lighting
CN106165538B (en) Method and apparatus for controlling lighting unit based on the actual measurement power of related illuminating equipment and/or movement
KR101270894B1 (en) Stand type lighting device
RU2731365C2 (en) Lighting device control method and system
US20150069916A1 (en) Kinematic light control system
CN105979668A (en) Illumination system
CN109479352B (en) Intelligent light dimming
RU2017135374A (en) METHOD AND SYSTEM OF ZONE LIGHTING
WO2016126658A1 (en) Portable multi-function lighting system
CN104806989B (en) LED remote controlled lanterns and its remote control method
DK2690357T3 (en) lighting device
KR20170133744A (en) Smart lighting control method based on wireless communication
CN210179418U (en) Space lamp
CN110925651A (en) Space lamp
JP7394386B2 (en) Projector and image projection method

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application

Ref document number: 15797363

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

DPE1 Request for preliminary examination filed after expiration of 19th month from priority date (pct application filed from 20040101)
NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: DE

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 15797363

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1