CN110173655B

CN110173655B - Method and device for simulating flame combustion process

Info

Publication number: CN110173655B
Application number: CN201910363455.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 史蒂芬.约瑟夫.郎
Original assignee: Shi Difenyuesefulang
Current assignee: Shi Difenyuesefulang
Priority date: 2019-04-30
Filing date: 2019-04-30
Publication date: 2021-04-06
Anticipated expiration: 2039-04-30
Also published as: CN110173655A

Abstract

The method controls at least three groups of light sources provided with LEDs to simulate the flame combustion process, obtains actuating values of the LEDs in each group of light sources according to fuel values, respectively starts the LEDs in each group of light sources according to the actuating values within set time, wherein each actuating value comprises an intensity value for light output, and each fuel value comprises a parameter simulating the type of flame fuel. The device comprises a control center and at least three groups of light sources which are connected with the control center and provided with LEDs, wherein the control center is respectively connected with the at least three groups of light sources through control and signal transmission lines, obtains the actuating values of the light sources according to preset fuel values, and respectively controls and starts the light sources in set time. The control circuit is adopted to determine the actuating value of each grouping light source according to the fuel value and the like, so that the light emitting effect of the LEDs in each grouping light source is controlled, the lighting effect is good, and the simulation effect is vivid.

Description

Method and device for simulating flame combustion process

[ technical field ] A method for producing a semiconductor device

The present application relates to lighting, and in particular to methods and apparatus for simulating a flame burning process for producing lighting effects that simulate flames or the appearance of flames.

[ background of the invention ]

Artificial lighting continues to evolve. The advent of solid state light sources such as LEDs has spurred further innovation. Light source designs for lighting purposes occupy a large market. The use of artificial light for specific lighting effects is another major commercial area.

One particular area of lighting effect relates to simulating the appearance of flames. There has been a long felt need to do so. This stems from safety issues associated with real flames in candle fixtures, gas lamps, wood burning or gas flame fireplaces, and consumer desirability of flame aesthetics and decorative appearance. One attempt to simulate a candle flame uses an incandescent single candle flame sized bulb having a plurality of filaments. The circuit switches between the filaments to simulate a jumping candle flame. However, they have had limited success in the marketplace. It is difficult to produce realistic flame simulations. It is also difficult to extend the effect beyond a single bulb. Attempts to use artificial light sources for logarithmic flame simulation in applications such as fireplaces have also had limitations.

Many factors are involved in the design of lighting in an attempt to simulate flames or flames. Some of these factors are mutually contradictory, making it more difficult to achieve a good solution and limiting the simulation fidelity.

[ summary of the invention ]

The application aims to provide a method and a device for simulating a flame combustion process, which have good lighting effect and vivid simulation effect.

In order to realize the purpose of the application, the following technical scheme is provided:

the application provides a method for simulating a flame combustion process, which controls at least three groups of light sources provided with LEDs to simulate the flame combustion process, wherein the at least three groups of light sources comprise a lowest grouping light source, a second group of light sources and a third group of light sources, and the method for simulating the flame combustion process comprises the following steps:

(1) obtaining an actuation value A1 of the LED in the lowest grouping of light sources according to the initial fuel value;

obtaining an actuation value B1 of the LEDs in the second group of light sources from the initial fuel value;

obtaining actuation values C1 for the LEDs in the third set of light sources from the initial fuel value;

obtaining an actuation value A2 of the LEDs in the lowest grouping of light sources according to the first fuel value;

obtaining an actuation value B2 for the LEDs in the second group of light sources from the second fuel value;

obtaining an actuation value a3 of the LEDs in the lowest grouping of light sources from the third fuel value;

(2) activating the LEDs in the lowest grouping of light sources according to the actuation value A1 during the time T1;

(3) activating the LEDs in the lowest grouping of light sources according to the actuation value A2 and activating the LEDs in the second group of light sources according to the actuation value B1 during the time T2;

(4) activating the LEDs in the lowest grouping of light sources according to the actuation value A3, and activating the LEDs in the second group of light sources according to the actuation value B2, and activating the LEDs in the third group of light sources according to the actuation value C1 during the time T3,

wherein time T1 occurs before time T2, time T2 occurs before time T3,

each of the actuation values comprising an intensity value for light output, each of the fuel values comprising a parameter simulating a flame fuel type,

the obtaining of the actuation values a1, a2, A3, B1, B2 or C1 for each group according to the initial fuel value or the first fuel value or the second fuel value or the third fuel value, respectively, is set according to the simulated fuel type and the effect of the simulated flame generation, and is obtained by a calculation formula with the input fuel value as a calculation variable thereof.

In particular, in some embodiments, times T1, T2, and T3 are consecutive time intervals.

In some embodiments, the LEDs of the second group of light sources are respectively located upward near the lowermost LEDs of the third group of light sources, and the LEDs of the third group of light sources are opposite to the LEDs of the second group of light sources.

In some embodiments, each of the actuation values a1, a2, A3, B1, B2, and C1 each include a respective intensity value for red, green, and blue light output. Alternatively, each of the actuation values a1, a2, A3, B1, B2, and C1 includes a respective intensity value for red, green, blue, and white light output.

In some embodiments, the initial fuel value, the second fuel value, and the third fuel value are all random numbers. Each random number is randomly generated or manually entered. Each random number may be within parameters corresponding to a fuel type selected from the group consisting of: wax, paraffin, tallow, beeswax, spermaceti, stearin, gasoline, diesel oil, kerosene, gel. In specific embodiments, the parameters of the fuel type may include parameters of luminous color, color temperature, on-off time, duration and intensity.

The application still provides a device of simulation flame combustion process, and it includes control center, the at least three light sources of group that are provided with LED that are connected with control center, control center is used for control at least three light sources simulation flame combustion process, control center connects through control and signal transmission line respectively at least three light sources of group to confirm the actuation value of each light source of group according to predetermineeing the fuel value, control respectively in the settlement time and start each light source of group.

In some embodiments, the apparatus for simulating a flame burning process further comprises a shroud including an emission area, the LEDs of the at least three sets of light sources being enclosed in the shroud for emitting light through the emission area, and a power interface for transmitting power to the LEDs, a control center being connected to each LED.

In a specific embodiment, the device for simulating a flame combustion process further comprises a housing, and the housing comprises the shield and the base.

In particular embodiments, the emission area or the shield may be opaque, or diffusely reflective, or translucent, or transparent.

In some embodiments, the control center is a control chip for activating the LEDs to perform at least one of: pulsing, changing intensity, changing color temperature, and turning off.

Compared with the prior art, the method has the following advantages:

the actuation value of each grouping light source is determined according to the fuel value and the like, so that the light emitting effect of the LEDs in each grouping light source is controlled, the vivid effect of different flames is simulated, and the beneficial effects of good lighting effect and vivid simulation effect are achieved.

[ description of the drawings ]

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of a lighting device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2A is an embodiment of the present application with a three-dimensional substrate LED light bar and a plurality of LEDs mounted in a pattern.

Fig. 2B is an embodiment of a LED light bar enclosure type assembly of three-dimensional substrates with multiple LEDs according to the present application.

Fig. 2C is an embodiment of a perimeter-type assembly of LED light bars with four three-dimensional substrates containing multiple LEDs according to the present application.

Fig. 2D shows an embodiment of a perimeter-type combination of LED light bars with five three-dimensional substrates containing a plurality of LEDs.

Fig. 2E shows an embodiment of an LED light bar emission type assembly of multiple three-dimensional substrates with multiple LEDs according to the present application.

Fig. 2F is an embodiment of a multilayer combination of LED light bars with multiple three-dimensional substrates of multiple LEDs according to the present application.

Fig. 2G is another embodiment of the present application of a multilayer combination of LED light bars with multiple three-dimensional substrates with multiple LEDs.

Fig. 2H shows another embodiment of a multi-layer combination of LED light bars with multiple three-dimensional substrates containing multiple LEDs.

Fig. 2I shows an embodiment of a single layer combination of LED light bars of the present application with multiple three-dimensional substrates of multiple LEDs.

Fig. 2J is an embodiment of the present application of a helical LED light bar with a three-dimensional substrate having a plurality of LEDs.

FIG. 3A is a drawing of an LED strip with eight rows of LEDs according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3B is a diagram illustrating illumination of an LED light bar with a first row of eight rows of LEDs, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3C is a diagram illustrating illumination of an LED light bar with a second row of eight rows of LEDs, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3D is an illustration of an LED light bar with illumination from a third row of eight rows of LEDs, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3E is a diagram illustrating illumination of an LED light bar with a fourth row of eight LEDs, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3F is a diagram illustrating illumination of an LED light bar with a fifth row of eight LEDs, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3G is a diagram schematically illustrating illumination of an LED light bar with a sixth row of eight LEDs, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3H is an illustration of an LED light bar with illumination from a seventh row of eight LEDs, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3I is a diagram schematically illustrating illumination of an LED light bar with an eighth row of LEDs in the eight rows of LEDs, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 shows an embodiment of an LED light bar with a three-dimensional substrate and ten rows of LEDs mounted thereon.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a model of an LED strip in a two-dimensional horizontal plane in the present application.

Fig. 6A is an exemplary control diagram of a first set of LEDs simulating wind effect for a lighting device with four LED light bars according to the present application.

Fig. 6B is an exemplary control diagram of a second and above groups of LEDs simulating wind effect for a lighting device with four LED light bars according to the present application.

Fig. 7A is a simulated schematic view of wind points moving upward in the third row in the present application.

Fig. 7B is a simulated schematic of wind points moving upward in the fourth row in the present application.

Fig. 7C is a simulated schematic view of wind points moving upward in the fifth row in the present application.

FIG. 8A is a graphical representation of a simulated flame in the absence of wind effects in the present application.

FIG. 8B is an illustration of a simulated flame during a typical wind gust in the present application.

FIG. 9A is a schematic view of an embodiment of a light source of the present application simulating the burning of flames in wind.

FIG. 9B is a schematic view of a light source according to the present application simulating the combustion of flames in wind.

FIG. 9C is a schematic view of a third embodiment of a light source of the present application simulating the burning of flames in wind.

FIG. 9D is a schematic view of a light source according to an embodiment of the present application simulating flameless combustion.

FIG. 9E is a schematic view of a light source according to the present application simulating flameless combustion.

[ detailed description ] embodiments

The device for simulating a flame burning process of the present application may take the shape of a bulb with a threaded base that can be screwed into a conventional bulb socket to provide power. Thus, embodiments may replace virtually any light fixture having such a socket. However, it should be understood that embodiments may take various other forms. Embodiments may be scaled up or down within practical limits and may not necessarily be packaged with a conventional (e.g., threaded) bulb base. The embodiment of the application can be installed and used with different power interfaces and different installation seats in the clamp.

Furthermore, the present application is not limited to solid state light sources (which emit light by solid state electroluminescence rather than thermal radiation or fluorescence), other light sources may be driven with similar schemes. And the solid state sources (e.g., LEDs, OLEDs, PLEDs, and laser diodes) themselves may vary. In one embodiment, the light source may be a red, green and blue (RGB) type LED comprising 5 wire connections (+, -, r, g, b). In yet another embodiment, the light source may be a monochromatic type LED, which may be an orange/warm white, with a low color temperature less than or equal to 4000 kelvin, or a blue/cold white, in addition to red/green/blue/white, with a color temperature above 4000 kelvin. In embodiments, one or more individual or combined light sources may be controlled and actuated with a controller, control data lines, power lines, communication lines, or any combination of these components. In another embodiment, two sets of monochromatic light sources (e.g., warm/orange LEDs and cold/blue LEDs) may be arranged in an alternating pattern and may be controlled and activated with or without control data lines. For example, one acceptable type of LED is that of Adafruit corporation

In one embodiment, one or more light sources, alone or in combination, may be mounted on a substrate, which may be rigid or flexible. In another embodiment, one or more light sources, alone or in combination, may be rigidly or flexibly connected by a power cord, a data control cord, a communication cord, or any combination thereof. Thus, although LEDs are used in the examples provided herein, it should be understood that LEDs may be any discrete point of light emission, including but not limited to LEDs or other light sources now known or later developed.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a lighting device 100 for simulating a flame burning process according to the present application. The lighting device 100 includes a shield 110, and the shield 110 may employ a transparent lens having a pattern and used as a lens having an emission area and covering an internal device. The lighting device also includes a translucent diffuser 120, which can disperse the "hot spots" of the LED lamps 132 (light emitting diodes) and whose surface can promote the flame effect. The lighting device 100 may further include an LED light bar 130, and the LED light bar 130 includes a substrate 131 and a plurality of LED lights 132 mounted on the substrate 131 for emitting light through the emission region of the shield 110. Finally, the lighting device 100 also includes a control module 140, which control module 140 itself serves as a base and includes a microprocessor and associated circuitry for controlling the current received from the light socket or battery.

The control module 140 is connected to each of the plurality of LED lights 132 and drives them individually, in combination or in their entirety to cause a lighting effect, such as a simulated flame. The lighting device 100 may also include a power interface for transmitting power to the plurality of LEDs. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the shroud 110 employs a transparent lens and the control module 140 doubles as a base, together forming a housing for the lighting device 100. In another embodiment, the lighting device 100 may further comprise a separate housing shell comprising a shroud having an emission area and a base. In another embodiment, the lighting device 100 may include an LED lamp and a control module with or without a shroud and/or a base, the control module being connected to the LED lamp.

Fig. 2A-2J illustrate different layout options for the LED light bar 130 of the lighting device 100 of the present application that simulates the flame burning process. In fig. 2A to 2J, a plurality of LEDs are mounted on

substrates

210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 290, 300 such as plates or lines, fig. 2A is a single substrate 210, fig. 2B includes three substrates 220 enclosing a cross-sectional triangle, fig. 2C includes four substrates 230 enclosing a cross-sectional quadrangle, fig. 2D includes five substrates 240 enclosing a cross-sectional pentagon, fig. 2E includes a plurality of substrates 250 arranged to radiate outward from the center, fig. 2F includes a plurality of substrates 260 arranged to have a shape of a well in the middle and a substrate extending outward also at a corner, fig. 2G is provided with a layer of substrates 270 arranged to radiate outward from the center in the middle, while a further layer of substrates 270 is arranged to radiate outward in rows at the periphery between adjacent substrates in the middle. These are only some specific embodiments of the present application, and the layout manner of the LED light bar implementation of the device for simulating the flame burning process is not limited thereto, and other layout embodiments evolved according to the present application are also within the scope of the present application. For example, the cross section of the substrate may be defined as any geometric shape, or the substrate may be distributed in multiple layers, each layer of the layout structure may be the same or different, and each layer of the layout structure may be radial, enclosed, discontinuous, etc., and the variations thereof are not described again.

Fig. 2H shows an alternative embodiment in which a plurality of LEDs 280 are directly connected by transparent wires without using any mounting board or lines. It should be understood that various patterns or combinations of patterns may be used to construct working embodiments of the present application. It should be further understood that while only a single LED light bar is shown with a different pattern of substrates and mounted LEDs, multiple LED light bars may further be combined together to serve as a single lighting device.

The multiple groups of LED light bars 290 in fig. 2I are encircled to form a circle in cross section, and the substrate 300 provided with the LEDs in fig. 2J is designed in a spiral manner.

Fig. 3A-3H illustrate an operating method for simulating flame production from a particular type of fuel source, in this example gasoline. Fig. 3A shows a lighting device with eight rows of LED lamps, the eight rows of LED lamps are arranged in sequence along the vertical direction and are divided into three groups of LEDs, the first group of LEDs 310 displays blue light micro-flashing, the second group of LEDs 320 displays red light flash, and the third group of LEDs 330 displays red light slow-flashing. As further shown in fig. 3B, the initial fuel value of the first row of LEDs 301 is determined according to the specific type of fuel source, and the initial fuel values of the other rows of LEDs are determined, i.e., the initial fuel values are sequentially transmitted from the first row of LEDs 301 to the other rows of LEDs. The initial fuel value may be automatically generated or manually entered by a user, and it may be a number (e.g., 175) between predetermined ranges (e.g., 35 and 256) for a particular fuel source. In one embodiment, each LED is of the RGBW type and has respective red, green, blue and white illumination components. Each illumination portion is assigned a value between 0 and 256, with 0 corresponding to off or zero illumination and 256 corresponding to maximum brightness or illumination. According to the present application, the illumination portion of each LED in the LED strip may be selectively activated by assigning a value thereto. The designated values for each illumination portion of each LED may be based on desired aesthetics, as will be described in more detail below. Further, each LED in the LED light bar can be activated individually (e.g., independently of the other LEDs), or can be activated as part of a group of LEDs.

For example, fig. 3B-3I illustrate the process of the LED light bar ultimately illuminating eight rows of LEDs, which occurs over a period of time to simulate a gas flame. As shown in FIG. 3B, at time T1, the first row of LEDs 301 is lit to indicate a blue color at the bottom of the gas flame. To illuminate the LED, the LED is assigned an initial fuel value (e.g., 175). A1 represents actuation values for the first row of LEDs, including brightness values for each illumination portion of each LED (e.g., red, green, blue, and white portions of the LEDs). The actuation value for each row of LEDs can be preset in its calculation from the input fuel value according to the effect of the particular type of fuel source on simulating flame production. For example, in this embodiment, the actuation value a1 for the first row of LEDs may be calculated using the following code:

r＝0；

g＝fuel*0.8；

b＝fuel*0.8；and

w＝0.

in the above formula, r represents the brightness value of the red part of the first row of LEDs, g represents the brightness value of the green part of the first row of LEDs, b represents the brightness value of the blue part of the first row of LEDs, w represents the brightness value of the white part of the first row of LEDs, and fuel is the fuel value input to the first row of LEDs. The above numerical values can be obtained by controlling the current and/or frequency and/or amplitude of each LED light-emitting chip.

The actuation value a1 activates the LEDs in the lowermost first row, which generally corresponds to the desired characteristics (e.g., intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause, and flicker) of the bottom of a simulated gas flame for which the LEDs of the first row output light.

Continuing, as shown in FIG. 3C, at time T2 (e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T1), the raw fuel value 175 is passed up from the first row of LEDs 301 to the adjacent second row of LEDs 302 to generate a second fuel value, which may optionally be generated by a random data generator or manually entered into the first row of LEDs by the user. Thus, the second row of LEDs has a fuel value of 175. The initial fuel value is passed row by row for a period of time to the eighth row of LEDs, so the previous fuel value for the second row of LEDs 302 now belongs to the third row of LEDs, and so on. Fig. 3C shows the illumination of a second row of LEDs 302, which represents the transition between a blue gas color and an orange/yellow flame color. To represent the transition between the blue gas color and the flame color, the actuation value B1 represents a second row of LEDs that includes receiving an initial fuel value using the following code for calculating the value for each lighting component:

r＝fuel*0.06；

g＝fuel*0.1；

b＝fuel*0.1；and

w＝fuel*0.06.

in the above formula, r represents the brightness value of the red part of the second row of LEDs, g represents the brightness value of the green part of the second row of LEDs, b represents the brightness value of the blue part of the second row of LEDs, w represents the brightness value of the white part of the second row of LEDs, and fuel is the fuel value input into the second row of LEDs. The actuation value B1 activates the second row of LEDs and corresponds to a characteristic of the output light of the second row of LEDs (such as intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause and blink).

At substantially the same time, the first row of LEDs is activated according to the above described process in accordance with the new second fuel value A2. The second fuel value a2 may be generated automatically or manually entered by a user.

FIG. 3D shows the illumination of the third row of LEDs 303 at time T3 (e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T2), which represents the onset of a warm flame. As described above, the initial fuel value is passed from the second row of LEDs up to the adjacent third row of LEDs 303. In this case, the third row of LEDs 303 should be more biased toward developing an orange hue than white. A new integer value (dim light) may be introduced into the third row of LED303 actuation value calculation mode to provide a blinking effect. Thus, the actuation value C1 is characterized by a third row of LEDs, which includes a value for each of the third row of LEDs, and can be calculated according to the following code:

dim＝(fuel-64)*1.32；

r＝1+dim*0.2；

g＝r*0.19；

if(fuel<＝90){w＝0}；

if(fuel>90){w＝fuel*0.1}；and

b＝w*0.15.

in the above formula, r represents the brightness value of the red part of the third row of LEDs, g represents the brightness value of the green part of the third row of LEDs, b represents the brightness value of the blue part of the third row of LEDs, w represents the brightness value of the white part of the third row of LEDs, fuel is the value of fuel input to the third row of LEDs, and dim is a newly added integer value.

As the code above shows, if the selected fuel value is less than 64, the third row of LEDs will be completely off, as the dim light equals 0, depending on the selection of the fuel source type. However, if the selected fuel value is greater than 64, the newly added integer value (dim) is used to calculate the values of the red and green portions of the third row of LEDs.

The actuation value C1 activates the third row of LEDs and generally corresponds to the characteristics of the output light of the third row of LEDs (such as intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause, and blink).

Substantially simultaneously with activation of the third row of LEDs, the second fuel value is transferred from the first row of LEDs to the second row of LEDs and a third fuel value is generated for the first row of LEDs. The first row of LEDs is now actuated by a new actuation value a3 determined by the third fuel value, and the second row of LEDs is now actuated by a new actuation value B2 determined by the second fuel value.

FIG. 3E illustrates illumination of the fourth row of LEDs 304 at time T4 (e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T3), which is very similar to the third row of LEDs. Here, the calculation of the integer value (dim) may require a fuel value greater than 96 so that the flame can rise above the third row of LEDs. The actuation value D1 is characterized by a fourth row of LEDs 304, which includes the value of each illumination portion in each fourth row of LEDs, which can be calculated by the following code:

dim＝(fuel-96)*1.6；

r＝1+dim*1.2；

g＝r*0.19；

if(fuel<＝108){w＝0}；

if(fuel>108){w＝fuel*0.35}；and

b＝w*0.1.

where r represents the brightness value of the red portion of the fourth row of LEDs, g represents the brightness value of the green portion of the fourth row of LEDs, b represents the brightness value of the blue portion of the fourth row of LEDs, w represents the brightness value of the white portion of the fourth row of LEDs, fuel is the value of the fuel input to the fourth row of LEDs, and dim is the integer value added by the flicker effect.

The actuation value D1 activates the fourth row of LEDs and generally corresponds to the characteristics of the light output by the fourth row of LEDs (such as intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause, and blink).

Similarly, at time T4 (or substantially at time T4), the first row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value A4 determined by the fourth fuel value, as described above. The second row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value B3 determined by a third fuel value. The third row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value C2 determined by the second fuel value.

FIG. 3F illustrates illumination of the fifth row of LEDs 305 at time T5 (e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T4). Here, the calculation of the integer value (dim) may require a fuel value greater than 128 so that the flame can rise above the fourth row of LEDs. The actuation value E1 is characterized by a fifth row of LEDs, which comprises the value of each illumination portion of each fifth row of LEDs, which can be calculated by the following code:

dim＝(fuel-128)*2；

r＝1+dim*1.4；

g＝r*0.19；

if(fuel<＝150){w＝dim*0.1}；

if(fuel>150){w＝fuel*0.35}；and

b＝w*0.3.

where r represents the red portion brightness value of the fifth row of LEDs, g represents the green portion brightness value of the fifth row of LEDs, b represents the blue portion brightness value of the fifth row of LEDs, w represents the white portion brightness value of the fifth row of LEDs, fuel is the fuel value input to the fifth row of LEDs, and dim is the integer value added by the flicker effect.

The actuation value E1 activates the fifth row of LEDs and generally corresponds to the characteristics of the light output by the fifth row of LEDs (such as intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause and blink).

Similarly, at time T5 (or substantially at time T5), the LEDs of the first row are activated by an actuation value A5 determined by the fifth fuel value; the second row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value of B4 determined by a fourth fuel value. The third row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value C3 determined by a third fuel value. The fourth row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value D2 determined by the second fuel value.

FIG. 3G illustrates illumination of the sixth row of LEDs 306 at time T6 (e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T5). Here, the calculation of the integer value (dim) may require a fuel value greater than 160 so that the flame can rise above the fifth row of LEDs. The actuation value F1 is characterized by a sixth row of LEDs, which includes the value of each illumination portion of each sixth row of LEDs, which can be calculated by the following code:

dim＝(fuel–160)*2.66；

r＝lim(dim*1.2)；

g＝r*0.19；

if(fuel<＝172){w＝dim*0.1}；

if(fuel>172){w＝fuel*0.5}；and

b＝w*0.2.

where r represents the red-part brightness value of the sixth row of LEDs, g represents the green-part brightness value of the sixth row of LEDs, b represents the blue-part brightness value of the sixth row of LEDs, w represents the white-part brightness value of the sixth row of LEDs, fuel is the fuel value input to the sixth row of LEDs, and dim is the integer value added by the flicker effect.

The newly introduced "lim" is a simple function, in this case an absolute value function of the programming language, whose value or r is greater than 0 and less than 255. The actuation value F1 activates the sixth row of LEDs and corresponds to the characteristics of the light output by the sixth row of LEDs (such as intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause, and blink).

Generally, the top of the simulated flame is warm light, the middle of the simulated flame is white light, the bottom of the simulated flame is warm light, and a group of blue light (depending on the simulated flame object) can be arranged at the bottom.

Similar to the above, at time T6 (or substantially at time T6), the first row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value A6 determined by the sixth fuel value; the second row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value of B5 determined by a fifth fuel value; the third row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value C4 determined by a fourth fuel value; the fourth row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value D3 determined by the third fuel value; and the fifth row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value E2 determined by the second fuel value.

Fig. 3H illustrates the illumination of the seventh row of LEDs 307 at time T7 (e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T6). Here, the calculation of the integer value (dim) may require that the fuel value be greater than 192 so that the flame can rise above the sixth row of LEDs. The actuation value G1 is characterized by a seventh row of LEDs, e.g., a fuel value greater than 192, such that the flame rises above the sixth row of LEDs. The actuation value G1 is characterized by a seventh row of LEDs, which includes the value of each illumination portion of each row of LEDs, which can be calculated by the following code:

dim＝(fuel–192)*4；

r＝dim；

g＝r*0.19；

if(fuel<＝205){w＝dim*0.08}；

if(fuel>205){w＝fuel*0.2}；and

b＝w*0.2.

where r represents the red portion brightness value of the seventh row of LEDs, g represents the green portion brightness value of the seventh row of LEDs, b represents the blue portion brightness value of the seventh row of LEDs, w represents the white portion brightness value of the seventh row of LEDs, fuel is the fuel value input to the seventh row of LEDs, and dim is the integer value added by the flicker effect.

The actuation value G1 activates the seventh row of LEDs and generally corresponds to the characteristics of the output light of the seventh row of LEDs (such as intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause and blink).

At time T7 (or substantially within time T7), the first row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value A7 determined based on the seventh fuel value; the second row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value B6 determined based on the sixth fuel value; the third row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value C5 determined based on the fifth fuel value; the fourth row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value D4 determined based on the fourth fuel value; the fifth row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value E3 determined based on the third fuel value; and, the sixth row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value F2 determined based on the second fuel value.

FIG. 3I illustrates the illumination of the eighth row of LEDs 308 at time T8 (e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T7). Here, the calculation of the integer value (dim) may require a fuel value greater than 224 so that the flame can rise above the seventh row of LEDs. The actuation value H1 is characterized by an eighth row of LEDs, which includes the value of each illumination portion of each row of LEDs, which can be calculated by the following code:

dim＝(fuel–224)*8；

r＝dim；

g＝r*0.19；

if(fuel<＝240){w＝dim*0.05}；

if(fuel>240){w＝fuel*0.1}；and

b＝w*0.1.

where r represents the red LED brightness value of the eighth row, g represents the green LED brightness value of the eighth row, b represents the blue LED brightness value of the eighth row, w represents the white LED brightness value of the eighth row, fuel is the fuel value input to the eighth row of LEDs, and dim is the integer value added by the flicker effect.

The actuation value H1 activates the eighth row of LEDs and generally corresponds to the characteristics of the output light of the eighth row of LEDs (such as intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause and blink).

Substantially at time T8, the first row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value A8 determined based on the eighth fuel value; the second row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value of B7 determined by a seventh fuel value; the third row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value of C6 determined by a sixth fuel value; the fourth row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value D5 determined by a fifth fuel value; the fifth row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value E4 determined by the fourth fuel value; the sixth row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value F3 determined by the third fuel value; and the seventh row of LEDs is activated by an actuation value G2 determined by the second fuel value.

As described above, to simulate a flame with a lighting device, a fuel value is generated and transmitted all the way up to each row of LEDs. In an embodiment, the fuel value is a number between 35 and 256, and is randomly generated by a random fuel value generator. Within this range, different amounts may produce different effects simulating flames based on different environmental conditions (e.g., in the wind). This different effect may help to simulate a real flame, as a real flame is susceptible to environmental conditions, such as wind. For example, if the random fuel value generator creates a value between 230 and 256 for the first row of LEDs, the flickering effect of the flame will be very low because the intensity of the "flame" is very high; however, if the random fuel value generator generates values between 100 and 256 for the first row of LEDs, the flickering effect of the flame may be greatly increased because the intensity of the "flame" is less. In other words, a high random fuel value number (e.g., 240-.

In an embodiment, the different types of simulated fuel sources may correspond to different quantity ranges within the 35 to 256 fuel range described above. Such simulated fuels may be selected from: waxes, paraffins, tallow, beeswax, spermaceti, stearin, gasoline, diesel, kerosene and gels. For example, the fuel value range for a gas will be different from the fuel value range for a paraffin.

It should be understood that the present application is not limited to the use of a random data generator to generate the fuel value. While in alternate embodiments the user may manually enter each new fuel value, the fuel value may also be generated by using a random data generator or by manual entry, among other methods.

It is also understood that T1, T2, T3, etc. are consecutive time intervals. Although 25 milliseconds are used as time intervals in the above example, such consecutive time intervals may be any length of time longer than 1 nanosecond. Further, the time intervals may, but need not, be equal. For example, T1 may be 25 milliseconds, T2 may be 30 milliseconds, and so on. Alternatively, T1 may be 25 milliseconds and T2 may be 10 milliseconds.

It should be further understood that although only eight rows of LEDs are listed here, the present application is not limited to only eight rows of LEDs, and that such lighting devices may include other numbers of LEDs, alone or in combination, to achieve similar functionality.

Fig. 4 illustrates another method of operating a simulated flame produced by a particular type of fuel source, in this case a gas, to affect the flickering effect of the flame. Fig. 4 shows an exemplary lighting device 200 comprised of 11 vertically arranged rows of LED lamps, where row 0 represents the bottom row of LEDs and row 10 represents the top row of LEDs. In contrast to the embodiments shown in fig. 3A-3I, the embodiment of fig. 4 may include some or all of the functions described above, including but not limited to generating fuel values for the lowermost row of LEDs, the subsequent row of LEDs receiving fuel values communicated from the preceding lower row of LEDs, and/or turning on the LEDs for successive periods of time. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the midpoint of the simulated flame is identified as a "hot zone" of the simulated flame. In FIG. 4, row 4 is the midpoint of the simulated flame at a given time and is considered to be a "hot zone" of the simulated flame, and therefore may appear whiter and brighter than the other rows. The rows of LEDs at the top and bottom of the midpoint are configured to display darker and warmer colors than the midpoint. Generally, the farther a row is from the midpoint, the warmer the color, the darker the brightness, and the row is aligned along the row's central axis. For example, the LEDs in rows 0 and 8 appear hottest in color, but darkest in brightness along the axis. As will be described in detail below, in one embodiment, an additional function "setHzone" is introduced into the process during flame simulation in order to find the midpoint of the final height of flame rise, and the distance between them. And the distance between the given row and the midpoint to set the appropriate actuation value for each row. The function "setHzone" may be defined as follows:

where b is the number of fuels for a given LED row (which may be assigned to that row or passed from a previous row as described herein); c is the height of a given row of LEDs, which ranges from 1 to 255; the hZone is a percentage value that is the distance of a given row from the midpoint of the simulated flame. A larger "hZone" value corresponds to a given row being closer to the midpoint, while a smaller "hZone" value corresponds to a given row being further from the midpoint. In this case, "warmScale" is used to narrow the "hZone" value, making the smaller (shorter) flame more orange (warmer) in color, while the larger (taller) flame is more blue (cooler). In this case, if the fuel value is low (e.g., 50), "warmScale" causes the flame to add no white color to any row, thereby making the flame more orange (warmer) in color; if the fuel value is high (e.g., 250), then "warmScale" does nothing, causing the flame to become larger (higher) and the color to turn blue (cooler).

The additional function refers to the situation that the color temperature value of each LED lamp bead changes along with the height change of flame in each group from the 0 th row to the 11 th row of dynamic expression, and is not a pure constant color temperature change rule. For example, when the flame height is low, namely small flame, the value of the LED lamp transmitted from the bottom to the top is constant, and each function value is stable (for example, the change of color temperature, lighting time length, flicker frequency, brightness and the like is not large), but when the flame height becomes higher or higher, namely medium flame or larger flame, the color temperature, lighting time length, flicker frequency and brightness of each LED on the bottom, middle and top of the flame are obviously changed, so that the change situation of the flame is simulated more truly.

The function "setHzone" is a pointer function, and is a function defining the value of the function and the condition for returning the parameter, "setHzone" itself is the name of the variable. "wartscale" is also a variable name used for: when each function changed due to the change of the fuel value of each row and the height of the flame is changed on the premise of meeting the calling condition of the pointer function, the function is changed continuously.

The device shown in fig. 4 is a process of simulating flames using wind force generated on the flames. At time T0', the actuation value A0' is used to determine the LEDs in row 0. The actuation value a0' includes values of the brightness of the red, green, blue and white portions in each LED in row 0, and "setRows" can be calculated by the following code:

the variable "bri" is simply the initial fuel value for row 0. "0" in parentheses of the "setRows" function indicates the row number, and "200" in parentheses of the "setRows" function indicates the wheal of row 0. In an embodiment, the values of the windband are predetermined for row 0 and row 1, and are calculated for rows 2-10. In this case, a smaller value indicates a small radius of the windband with a given row, and a larger value indicates a larger radius of the windband with a given row. How different windband radii affect the illumination of different rows of LEDs will be discussed in more detail below with reference to fig. 8A-8B. In this case, at substantially time T0', the actuation value a0' activates the row 0 LEDs and generally corresponds to the characteristics of the output light of the row 0 LEDs (e.g., intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause, and blink).

Row 1 is disposed up and adjacent row 0. At time T1' (e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T0 '), the actuation value B0' is for the LED in row 1. The actuation value B0' includes the brightness values of the red, green, blue and white portions of each LED in row 1, and "setRows" can be calculated by the following code:

bri＝fuel[1]；

setHzone(bri,46)；

dim＝lim(bri-46)*1.2；

r＝dim；

g＝r*.5；

b＝dim*.08；

if(dim>0){w＝warmScale*15}；and

setRows(r,g,b,w,1,150).

the actuation value B0' activates the LEDs in row 1 and generally corresponds to the characteristics of the output light of the row 1 LEDs (such as intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause and flicker). At the same time as T1, the LEDs in row 0 are activated by an actuation value A1' determined by the second fuel value.

Row 2 is disposed upwardly adjacent row 1. At time T2' (e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T1), the actuation value C0 is for the LEDs in row 2. The actuation value C0' includes values representing the brightness of the red, green, blue and white portions in each LED in row 2, and "setRows" can be calculated by the following code:

bri＝fuel[2]；

setHzone(bri,67)；

dim＝lim(bri-67)*1.35；

r＝dim*1.5；

g＝r*.19；

b＝0；

if(dim>0){w＝warmScale*120}；and

setRows(r,g,b,w,2,hZone*250).

the actuation value C0 activates the LEDs in row 2 and corresponds to the characteristics of the LEDs output light in row 2 (e.g., intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause, and blink). At the same time as T2', the LED in row 1 is activated by an actuation value B1' determined by the second fuel value, and the LED in row 0 is activated by an actuation value a2' determined by the third fuel value.

Row 3 is disposed upwardly and adjacent to row 2. At time T3' (e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T2 '), the actuation value D0' is for the LED in row 3. The actuation value D0' includes values representing the brightness of the red, green, blue and white portions in each LED in row 3, and "setRows" can be calculated by the following code:

bri＝fuel[3]；

setHzone(bri,88)；

dim＝lim(bri-88)*1.5；

r＝dim*1.5；

g＝r*.19；

b＝0；

if(dim>0){w＝warmScale*140}；and

setRows(r,g,b,w,3,hZone*250).

the actuation value D0' activates the LEDs in row 3 and corresponds to the characteristics of the output light of the LEDs in row 3 (e.g., intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause, and blink). At the same time as T3', the LEDs in row 2 are activated by an actuation value C1' determined by the second fuel value; the LED in row 1 is activated by an actuation value A2' determined by the third fuel value; and the LED in row 0 is activated by an actuation value a3' determined by the fourth fuel value.

Row 4 is disposed upwardly and adjacent row 3. At time T4 '(e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T3'), one actuation value is for the LED in row 4. The actuation value E0' includes values representing the brightness of each of the red, green, blue and white colors in each of the LEDs in row 4, and "setRows" can be calculated by the following code:

bri＝fuel[4]；

setHzone(bri,109)；

dim＝lim(bri-109)*1.7；

r＝dim*1.5；

g＝r*.19；

b＝0；

if(dim>0){w＝warmScale*165}；and

setRows(r,g,b,w,4,hZone*250).

the actuation value E0' activates the LEDs in row 4 and corresponds to the characteristics of the output light of the LEDs in row 4 (such as intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause and blink).

At substantially the same time as time T4', the LEDs in row 3 are activated by an actuation value D1' determined by the second fuel value; the LEDs in row 2 are activated by an actuation value C2' determined by the third fuel value; the LED in row 1 is activated by an actuation value B3' determined by the fourth fuel value; and the LED in row 0 is activated by an actuation value a4' determined by the fifth fuel value.

Row 5 is disposed upwardly and adjacent row 4. At time T5' (e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T4 '), the actuation value F0' is for the LED in row 5. The actuation value F0' includes values representing the brightness of each of the red, green, blue, and white portions of each of the LEDs in row 5, and "setRows" can be calculated by the following code:

the actuation value F0' activates the LEDs in row 5 and corresponds to the characteristics of the output light of the row 5 LEDs (such as intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause and blink).

Similar to that described above, at the same time as time T5', the row 4 LED is activated by an actuation value E1' determined by the second fuel value; the row 3 LEDs are activated by an actuation value D2' determined by the third fuel value; the row 2 LEDs are activated by an actuation value C3' determined by a fourth fuel value; row 1, the LEDs are activated by an actuation value B4' determined by a fifth fuel value; the row 0 LEDs are activated by an actuation value a5' determined by the sixth fuel value.

Row 6 is oriented adjacent and disposed to row 5. At time T6' (e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T5 '), the actuation value G0' is for the LED in row 6. The actuation value G0' includes the value of the brightness of each of the red, green, blue and white portions of each of the LEDs in row 6, and "setRows" can be calculated by the following code:

bri＝fuel[6]；

setHzone(bri,151)；

dim＝lim(bri-151)*2.4；

r＝dim；

g＝r*.19；

b＝0；

if(dim>0){w＝warmScale*200}；and

setRows(r,g,b,w,6,hZone*250).

the actuation value G0' activates the LEDs in row 6 and corresponds to the characteristics of the LEDs output light in row 6 (such as intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause and blink).

Similarly, as described above, at the same time as time T6', the row 5 LED is activated by an actuation value of F1' determined by the second fuel value; the LED of row 4 is activated by an actuation value E2' determined by the third fuel value; the row 3 LEDs are activated by an actuation value D3' determined by a fourth fuel value; the row 2 LEDs are activated by an actuation value C4' determined by a fifth fuel value; the row 1 LED is activated by an actuation value B5' determined by the sixth fuel value; the LED of row 0 is actuated by an actuation value A6' determined based on the seventh fuel value.

Row 7 is upward and disposed adjacent to row 6. At time T7' (e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T6 '), the actuation value H0' is for the LED in row 7. The actuation value H0' includes the brightness values of each of the red, green, blue and white portions of the LEDs in row 7, and "setRows" can be calculated by the following code:

bri＝fuel[7]；

setHzone(bri,172)；

dim＝lim(bri-172)*3.04；

r＝dim；

g＝r*.19；

b＝0；

if(dim>0){w＝warmScale*190}；and

setRows(r,g,b,w,7,hZone*250).

the actuation value H0' activates the row 7 LEDs and corresponds to the characteristics of the row 7 LEDs output light (such as intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause and blink).

Substantially simultaneously with time T7', the row 6 LEDs are activated by an actuation value G1' determined by the second fuel value; the row 5 LED is activated by an actuation value F2' determined by the third fuel value; the LED of row 4 is activated by an actuation value E3' determined by the fourth fuel value; the row 3 LEDs are activated by an actuation value D4' determined by a fifth fuel value; the row 2 LEDs are activated by an actuation value C5' determined by a sixth fuel value; the row 1 LED is activated by an actuation value B6' determined by the seventh fuel value; and the row 0 LED is activated by an actuation value a7' determined by the eighth fuel value.

Row 8 is disposed upwardly and adjacent row 7. At time T8 '(e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T7'), the actuation value I0 'is for the LEDs in row 8'. The actuation value I0' includes values of the brightness of each of the red, green, blue and white portions of the LEDs in row 7, and "setRows" can be calculated by the following code:

the actuation value I0' activates the row 8 LEDs and corresponds to the characteristics of the output light of the row 8 LEDs (such as intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause and blink).

At the same time as T8', the row 7 LEDs are activated by an actuation value H1' determined by the second fuel value; row 6 LEDs are activated by an actuation value G2' determined by the third fuel value; the row 5 LED is activated by an actuation value F3' determined by the fourth fuel value; row 4 LEDs are activated by an actuation value E4' determined by a fifth fuel value; row 3 LEDs are activated by an actuation value D5' determined by a sixth fuel value; row 2 LEDs are activated by an actuation value C6' determined by a seventh fuel value; row 1 LEDs are activated by an actuation value of B7' determined by an eighth fuel value; and row 0 LEDs are activated by an actuation value A8' determined by the ninth fuel value.

Row 9 is disposed upwardly and adjacent row 8. At time T9' (e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T8 '), the actuation value J0' is for the LED in row 3. The actuation value J0' includes the values of the brightness of each of the red, green, blue and white portions of the LEDs in row 9, and "setRows" can be calculated by the following code:

bri＝fuel[9]；

setHzone(bri,214)；

dim＝lim(bri-214)*6.19；

r＝dim；

g＝r*.19；

b＝0；

if(dim>0){w＝warmScale*180}；and

setRows(r,g,b,w,9,hZone*200).

the actuation value J0' activates the LEDs in row 9 and corresponds to the characteristics of the LEDs output light in row 9 (such as intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause and blink).

At substantially the same time, the row 8 LEDs are activated by an actuation value I1' determined by the second fuel value; row 7 LEDs are activated by an actuation value H2' determined by the third fuel value; row 6 LEDs are activated by an actuation value G3' determined by a fourth fuel value; row 5 LEDs are activated by an actuation value F4' determined by a fifth fuel value; row 4 LEDs are activated by an actuation value E5' determined by a sixth fuel value; row 3 LEDs are activated by an actuation value D6' determined by a seventh fuel value; row 2 LEDs are activated by an actuation value C7' determined by an eighth fuel value; row 1 LEDs are activated by an actuation value of B8' determined by a ninth fuel value; and row 0 LEDs are activated by an actuation value a9' determined by the tenth fuel value.

Row 10 is disposed upwardly and adjacent row 9. At time T10' (e.g., 25 milliseconds after time T9 '), the actuation value K0' is for the LED in row 3. The actuation value K0' includes values of the brightness of each of the red, green, blue and white portions of the LEDs in row 10, and "setRows" can be calculated by the following code:

bri＝fuel[10]；

setHzone(bri,235)；

dim＝lim(bri-235)*12.19；

r＝dim；

g＝r*.19；

b＝0；

if(dim>0){w＝warmScale*130}；and

setRows(r,g,b,w,10,hZone*250).

the actuation value K0' activates the LEDs in row 10 and corresponds to the characteristics of the light output by the LEDs in row 10 (such as intensity, color temperature, size, diameter, pause and blink).

At substantially the same time, the row 9 LEDs are activated by an actuation value J1' determined by the second fuel value; row 8 LEDs are activated by an actuation value I2' determined by the third fuel value; row 7 LEDs are activated by an actuation value H3' determined by a fourth fuel value; row 6 LEDs are activated by an actuation value G4' determined by a fifth fuel value; row 5 LEDs are activated by an actuation value F5' determined by a sixth fuel value; row 4 LEDs are activated by an actuation value E6' determined by a seventh fuel value; row 3 LEDs are activated by an actuation value D7' determined by an eighth fuel value; row 2 LEDs are activated by an actuation value of C8' determined by a ninth fuel value; row 1 LEDs are activated by an actuation value of B9' determined by a tenth fuel value; and row 0 LEDs are activated by an actuation value a10' determined by the eleventh fuel value.

It should be appreciated that the process described herein may iterate for a long time when the lighting device 100 has power supplied. It is also understood that T0', T1', T2', etc. may be consecutive time intervals. Although 25 milliseconds are used as time intervals in the above example, such consecutive time intervals may be any length of time longer than 1 nanosecond. For example, T0 'may be 25 milliseconds, T1' may be 30 milliseconds, etc. Alternatively, T0 'may be 25 milliseconds and T1' may be 10 milliseconds.

In the example provided herein, 11 rows of LEDs are presented, the present application is not limited to only 11 rows of LEDs, and such lighting devices may include other numbers of rows of LEDs, alone or in combination, to achieve similar functionality.

In addition to the flickering effect, the simulated flames may also be configured as flames that are bent in the wind to more realistically simulate flames. To do so, the two-dimensional coordinates (X, Y) of the discrete wind points in a particular row are introduced into the aforementioned simulation, and are described in further detail below.

Fig. 5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an LED light bar in a two-dimensional plane. Similar to the fuel values delivered per row per cycle, the X and Y values of the wind point are also delivered upward per row per cycle. In addition, at each new row, a new discrete wind point (e.g., X and Y coordinates) drop is assigned to that row, which may be randomly generated (e.g., optionally by a random number generator). The X and Y values passed from the previous row are added or subtracted (depending on the X and Y values) with the X and Y values of the new discrete wind point. For example, in one embodiment, the row 1 LEDs may have a wind point where X is 0 and Y is 0. The LEDs in row 2 may be assigned wind points with coordinates X-1 and Y-2. And the LEDs in row 3 are assigned wind points with coordinates X-2 and Y-1. The X and Y values from row 2 are passed to row 3, so the X and Y coordinates from row 3 are X-3 and Y-1. These X and Y values are then passed to row 4 and added to (or subtracted from) the X and Y values assigned to the discrete wind points of row 4. Thus, the top row of LEDs must have the greatest movement due to the influence of the simulated wind, because the values of the X and Y coordinates add up as the vertically aligned row of LEDs progresses upward.

The location of the wind point is directly related to the illumination intensity of a particular row of LEDs. The intensity may be output as brightness or color (e.g., more white light than warm light). As will be shown below, a wind point equidistant from all LEDs in a particular row will result in equal or substantially equal intensity for each LED in the row. However, as the wind point moves closer to or further from certain LEDs, the LED closest to the wind point will exhibit a higher intensity than the LED further from the wind point.

6A-6B illustrate exemplary control diagrams for alignment of 4 LEDs in a two-dimensional horizontal plane or "row". The two dimensional coordinates (X, Y) represent the relative position of the wind points and also represent the wind effect in a two dimensional plane. Fig. 6A shows 4 LED columns in 1 row of LEDs. The wind point has two-dimensional coordinates X-0 and Y-0 and is equidistant from all LEDs (311-. In other words, each of the LEDs 311,312,313 and 314 has an equal or substantially equal intensity. Furthermore, in this case, no digits are passed to subsequent rows to add or subtract new wind values.

Fig. 6B shows another row of LEDs. As shown in fig. 6B, the wind point has two-dimensional coordinates (3,1) that sets the wind point closest to the LED 322, next to the next LED321, to the opposite LED323, and farthest from the LED 324. In this case, the intensity of the LED 322 is the greatest, and the intensity of the LED 324 is the smallest of the 4 LEDs shown. Similarly, the intensity of the LEDs in the other rows is selectively activated in the same manner, creating the effect of the flame bending in the wind.

It should be understood that only rows of LEDs in a two-dimensional horizontal plane are shown in fig. 6B. The rows of LEDs on other planes may have their own two-dimensional coordinates, exhibiting their own effect of simulating wind bending, which may be the same or different from the wind bending effect shown in fig. 6B.

Fig. 7A-7C show examples of how wind points pass from row 3 to row 5 along a horizontal axis, and how such movement would affect each row of LEDs along a row. As described above, in embodiments, at each successive time interval, the fuel value is passed up from the lower row. At each successive time interval, the fuel value is passed up from the lower row. The wind point (X, Y) is denoted by (window X, window Y) in the simulation, and similarly moves upward. In addition, at each successive time interval, all of the windows x and y values are varied by addition or subtraction of a random number (or semi-random number) to simulate the effects of wind. Referring to fig. 7A to 7C, the wind point moves away from the LED pillar. During this simulation process, LED 331 is brighter than LED 341, its LED 341 itself is brighter than LED 351 due to the movement of the wind point location as the process moves the LED column upward. Likewise, LED 332 is brighter than LED 342, which LED 342 itself is brighter than LED 352 due to the movement of the wind point location as the process moves the LED column upward.

More specifically, in one embodiment, the iteration of the window X and window Y values is performed as follows. At each successive time interval, wind point coordinate values (wind x, wind y) are calculated as a "wind move" function by:

here, the window X [ i ] and window Y [ i ] values are iterated during the calculation of line i. In this embodiment, windows x [ i ] and windows y [ i ] in row 0 have initial values of windows x [0] ═ 0 and windows y [0] ═ 0. During the iteration of row i, a random or semi-random number generates a row i wind point value (windX [ i ], windY [ i ]) from the row i wind point value (windX [ i-1], windY [ i-1 ]). In other words, the iteration of the wind point values of row I (window X [ I ], window Y [ I ]) is based on the previous wind point values of row I-1 (window X [ I-1], window Y [ I-1]), and the dependency of such wind point values is passed from row I up to row 0, whose initial wind point value is (0, 0).

Further, the distance between the wind point and each LED in a given row is calculated as a "dist" function by the following code:

here, "double x 1" and "double y 1" are coordinate values of the local LED, and "double x 2" and "double y 2" are coordinate values of the wind point in the two-dimensional horizontal plane where the local LED is located.

Similar to the previously mentioned, in this embodiment, the stroke point coordinates are iterated for each calculation of a given row. For example, row 0 will always have a (0,0) wind point. And the wind point of row 3 (window x (3), window y (3)) would be repeated three times from the original (window x (0), window y (0)) wind point. Similarly, the wind point of row 5 (window x (5), window y (5)) would be repeated five times from the original (window x (0), window y (0)) wind point.

In view of the above-described simulation of wind power, the LED initiates a drive value by being calculated as a "setRows" function by the following code:

in addition to the above calculation of red/green/blue/white values, the wind point moves, and the distance between the wind point and the LED, "cooler" is a variable that dims the LED as the distance between the LED and the wind point increases. The local "rad" variable is passed in by the previous "hZone" value. As described above, a small "rad" value indicates a small radius of the windband in a particular row, and a large "rad" value indicates a large radius of the windband in a particular row. This is further illustrated in fig. 8A-8B.

FIG. 8A illustrates the simulated effect of the simulated flame device 400 without the wind effect. In this case, the wind point of all rows remains at the central (0,0) position, just like a straight spine. The black line is the wind circle determined based on the wind point coordinates. The LEDs in each row are all equidistant from the wind point on each two-dimensional horizontal plane, so that all LEDs have the same intensity (e.g., brightness) under the wind effect. However, the middle row of LEDs is brighter and whiter than the top or bottom row of LEDs because the middle row of LEDs is closer to the midpoint of the flame. The middle row of LEDs 441 is brighter and whiter, with the

lower LEDs

431, 421, 422, 401 having decreasing brightness from layer to layer.

FIG. 8B illustrates a simulation of flame bending in a typical gust of wind by the flame simulating assembly 400. The wind point in row 0 remains at the center (0,0) point, while the other wind points located upward are offset from the center axis. In the embodiment shown in fig. 8B, LED441 is brightest because it is closest to the wind point in the row, and also closest to the midpoint of the flame. The row 6 and the LED below it are partially or completely within the row's calculated windband and are thus partially or completely activated. The LEDs above row 6 are too far from the wind point that they are outside the row's calculated windband. In this case, the LEDs above row 6 are not activated at all. Thus, by moving the wind point location row by row, bringing the LEDs closer to the wind point, dimming the LEDs further away from the wind point, and turning off the windband of the LEDs to simulate a curved flame caused by a wind gust.

Referring to fig. 9A to 9E, which are schematic views of simulating flames in different states by a light source equipped with a plurality of rows of LEDs, according to the different properties of the simulated flame source, the different parameters of the temperature, size, color temperature, etc. of the flames, and the different flame variations in a windy or windless simulated environment, the flame shapes of these embodiments basically include three groups of flame colors, including a blue flame bottom 501 with a lower temperature at the bottom, a red flame center 502 with a higher temperature at the middle, and a pink or orange flame top 503 with a pink or orange color at the top, and according to the flames of various shapes, the rows of LEDs in the three parts representing the flames are different, and the number of the components is different. In the exemplary embodiment, the flame shape in windy conditions is simulated as in fig. 9A-9C, whereas the flame in fig. 9A is smaller, and in both fig. 9B and 9C, the flame center area 502 of the flame in fig. 9B is larger, the number of LED rows used is 3, the flame brightness and temperature are higher than in fig. 9C, and the bottom 501 of the flame in fig. 9C represents more blue portions. Fig. 9D and 9E simulate the combustion state of the flame in a windless environment, and it is apparent that the flame of fig. 9E is larger than that of fig. 9D, the central area 502 of the flame employs three rows of LEDs, and the top 503 of the flame and the central area 501 of the flame have a fusion area, which shows different characteristics of the combustion of different flame sources.

The above illustration illustrates the simulation of a flame by activating the LEDs by fuel value, distance to the midpoint, and wind effect. However, in alternative embodiments, simulating a flame by activating an LED may be based solely on fuel value, distance to midpoint, or wind effect, or any combination of these factors.

Further, the fuel value, wind value, distance value, or any other initial value may be generated by a random number generator, a semi-random number generator, or a manual input. Alternatively, the values may be generated by a pseudo-random number generator, a deterministic random bit generator, a hardware random number generator, an encryption algorithm, an algorithmic pattern (sine or cosine) number generator.

Additionally, a sensor or sensors (e.g., wind sensors) may be used alone or in combination to measure and determine the initial values. For example, a wind sensor may measure wind in the environment and generate a wind point value based on the measurement. The sensors may be configured to extract weather data (including but not limited to wind data) at different times and locations of the weather broadcast and generate wind values based on the weather data.

It should also be understood that a "row" of lighting units (e.g., LEDs) may refer to a horizontal grouping of a plurality of lighting units, but is not necessarily limited to such horizontal grouping. In embodiments, a "row" may comprise different horizontal or vertical positions of a single lighting unit or a combination of multiple lighting units. In one embodiment, a single lighting unit may include multiple lighting sections arranged vertically and/or horizontally, and these sections may be activated individually or in combination. In this case, different rows may refer to different parts of a single lighting unit, alone or in combination, rather than to different lighting units, alone or in combination. The lighting unit (or the illumination portion of a single lighting unit) may be activated based on positioning relative to other lighting units (or the illumination portion of a single lighting unit). For example, as described herein, a value may be passed from one row "up" to the next. However, in the case where the LEDs are not positioned in a true "row," values may be passed from LEDs having a lower position (e.g., vertical position) to LEDs having a higher position (e.g., vertical position). Each LED may be configured to determine its distance from one or more nearby LEDs, and may pass values from one LED to another based on the relative positioning of the LEDs. When the value increases in height, the X and Y values corresponding to the wind point may be additionally specified.

Many different arrangements of the various components depicted may not be all that is standard or have some components not shown without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The disclosed embodiments of the present application have been described herein, and are intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from its scope. Those skilled in the art may develop alternative ways of implementing the above improvements without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations and are intended to be within the scope of the claims. Not all steps listed in a step need be performed in the particular order described, unless otherwise indicated.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application, and the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any equivalent changes based on the technical solutions of the present application are included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for simulating a flame burning process, wherein the method controls at least three groups of light sources provided with LEDs to simulate the flame burning process, the at least three groups of light sources comprise a lowest grouping light source, a second group light source and a third group light source, and the method for simulating the flame burning process comprises the following steps:

wherein time T1 occurs before time T2, time T2 occurs before time T3,

2. The method of simulating a flame burning process of claim 1, wherein the LEDs of the second group of light sources are respectively positioned upwardly adjacent to the lowermost LEDs of the third group of light sources, and the LEDs of the third group of light sources are opposed to the LEDs of the second group of light sources.

3. A method of simulating a flame burning process as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the actuation values a1, a2, A3, B1, B2 and C1 includes a respective intensity value for red, green and blue light output.

4. A method of simulating a flame burning process as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the actuation values a1, a2, A3, B1, B2 and C1 includes respective intensity values for red, green, blue and white light output.

5. The method of simulating a flame combustion process of claim 1, wherein the initial fuel value, the second fuel value, and the third fuel value are all random numbers.

6. A method of simulating a flame combustion process as claimed in claim 5 wherein each random number is generated randomly or is manually entered.

7. A method of simulating a flame combustion process as claimed in claim 5 wherein each random number is within a parameter corresponding to a fuel type selected from the group consisting of: wax, paraffin, tallow, beeswax, spermaceti, stearin, gasoline, diesel oil, kerosene, gel.

8. The method of simulating a flame combustion process of claim 7, wherein the parameters of the fuel type include lighting color, color temperature, on-off time, duration, intensity parameters.

9. A method of simulating a flame combustion process as claimed in claim 1 wherein times T1, T2 and T3 are successive time intervals.

10. A device for simulating a flame combustion process is characterized by comprising a control center and at least three groups of light sources which are connected with the control center and provided with LEDs, wherein the control center is used for executing the method for simulating the flame combustion process according to any one of claims 1 to 9 and controlling the at least three groups of light sources to simulate the flame combustion process, the control center is respectively connected with the at least three groups of light sources through control and signal transmission lines, the actuating values of the light sources are determined according to preset fuel values, and the light sources are respectively controlled and started within set time.

11. The apparatus for simulating a flame burning process of claim 10, further comprising a shroud including an emission area, the LEDs of the at least three sets of light sources being enclosed in the shroud for emitting light through the emission area, and a power interface for transmitting power to the LEDs, the control center being connected to each LED.

12. An apparatus for simulating a flame combustion process as claimed in claim 11 wherein the emission area or shield is opaque, or diffusely reflective, or translucent, or transparent.

13. The device for simulating a flame combustion process of claim 10, wherein the control center is a control chip for activating the LEDs to perform at least one of: pulsing, changing intensity, changing color temperature, and turning off.