Abstract:
The invention relates to a lighting system and more specifically a wireless, remote controlled, and synchronized lighting system. In one embodiment, the present invention is a wireless lighting system including a first signal transmission unit, and a first wireless lighting module, wherein the first wireless lighting module illuminates according to a signal from the first signal transmission unit.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/955,707 entitled WIRELESS, REMOTE CONTROLLED, AND SYNCHRONIZED LIGHTING SYSTEM filed on Aug. 14, 2007. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The invention relates to a lighting system and more specifically a wireless, remote controlled, and synchronized lighting system. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Millions of families celebrate holidays by using illuminated decorations. For example, many homes decorate a Christmas tree with Christmas lights or include Christmas lights outside their homes. Families also put up large illuminated ornaments on the roof or on the lawn in the shape of characters such as Santa Clause, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the reindeer, etc. These large illuminated ornaments could also be mechanized, for example, to allow the Santa Clause to wave his arm. 
         [0006]    However, the drawback with these illuminated decorations is that there is a plethora of cables. For example, the Christmas lights are all strung together on a cable. Also, the large illuminated ornament can have cables. This can be hazardous because cables can cause people to trip and/or fall. This is especially hazardous if the illuminated ornaments are placed outside in the winter with snow or other water elements and/or the cables become frayed and expose the copper connections. Furthermore, by leaving the cables connected to a power outlet, the illuminated decoration can continue to drain power from its electrical source and waste lots of energy. Furthermore, these illuminated decorations oftentimes illuminate or mechanically move independently of any other illuminated decorations. 
         [0007]    Thus, there is a need for a lighting system which can reduce cable connections and synchronize the illuminated decorations. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The present invention seeks to solve the problems describe above. 
         [0009]    In one embodiment, the present invention is a wireless lighting system including a first signal transmission unit, and a first wireless lighting module, wherein the first wireless lighting module illuminates according to a signal from the first signal transmission unit. 
         [0010]    In another embodiment, the present invention is a wireless lighting system including a first signal transmission unit, and a first wireless lighting module including a bulb, a microchip, and a cap, wherein the first wireless lighting module illuminates according to a signal from the first signal transmission unit. 
         [0011]    In yet another embodiment, the present invention is a wireless lighting system including a first signal transmission unit, a first wireless lighting module including a first bulb, a first microchip, and a first cap, wherein the first wireless lighting module illuminates according to a signal from the first signal transmission unit, and a second wireless lighting module including a second bulb, a second microchip, and a second cap, wherein the second wireless lighting module illuminates according to a signal from the first signal transmission unit. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    The exact nature of this invention as well as its objects and advantages will be readily understood upon consideration of the following specification as related to the attendant drawings wherein like reference numerals throughout the drawings indicate like parts, and wherein: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a wireless lighting module; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  depicts a lighting system including a wireless lighting module; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3A  is an embodiment of a lighting system; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3B  is an embodiment of a lighting system; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3C  is an embodiment of a lighting system; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3D  is an embodiment of a lighting system; 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  depicts a lighting system including multiple wireless lighting modules; 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  depicts a lighting system including multiple wireless lighting modules; 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  depicts a lighting system including a wireless lighting module; 
           [0022]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a storage unit for a wireless lighting system; 
           [0023]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a storage unit for a wireless lighting system; 
           [0024]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a storage unit for a wireless lighting system; and 
           [0025]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a storage unit for a wireless lighting system. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0026]    Methods and systems that implement the embodiments of the various features of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention. Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” is intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least an embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Throughout the drawings, reference numbers are re-used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements. 
         [0027]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a wireless lighting module. Wireless lighting module  2  is a light emitting diode (LED) and can have a bulb  4 , a battery  8 , a microchip  14 , a cap  16 , and a hanging device  6  attached to the cap  16 . Bulb  4  can house battery  8  and microchip  14  and can be sealed by cap  16 . Hanging device  6  can, for example, be a wire, hook, or other device for securing wireless lighting module  2  to an object. Hanging device  6  is optional and can be substituted with fasteners, securing mechanisms, or omitted altogether. Wireless lighting module  2  can also be a variety of lighting emitting devices aside from an LED and can be in various shapes and sizes. Microchip  14  can be, for example, a microprocessor. 
         [0028]      FIG. 2  depicts a lighting system including a wireless lighting module. The lighting system includes the wireless lighting module  2  and a remote control  10 . Remote control  10  can have a plurality of buttons  12  and can be used to control the wireless lighting module  2 . Remote control  10  can send a signal  24  to wireless lighting module  2  indicating that bulb  4  should illuminate and stay illuminated, or should illuminate in a certain pattern such as to flash repeatedly according to a predetermined pattern. Remote control  10  can also send a signal  24  to wireless lighting module  2  indicating that bulb  4  should cease illuminating and/or turn off completely to conserve energy. Microchip  14  can receive the signal by itself or through some other signal reception module such as an RF module (not shown) and interpret the signal  24  to determine bulb  4  should do. Furthermore, battery  8  can supply electrical power for so that microchip  8  may operate and bulb  4  may illuminate. Signal  24  can be a radio wave, a light wave, a sound wave, a Bluetooth signal, Wi-Fi signal, or other types of signals. 
         [0029]      FIGS. 3A to 3D  depict various embodiments of a lighting system.  FIG. 3A  depicts a wireless lighting module  28  which is an alternative embodiment to wireless lighting module  2 . Wireless lighting module  28  is an ornament that can be illuminated. Thus, remote control  10  with a plurality of buttons  12  can send a signal  24  to control wireless lighting module  28 . Microchip  14  can then determine based on the signal  24  by itself or through some other signal reception module such as an RF module (not shown) whether bulb  4  should illuminate, what pattern to illuminate, or cease illuminating. 
         [0030]      FIG. 3B  depicts a master wireless lighting module  20  and a slave wireless lighting module  22  which are alternative embodiments to wireless lighting module  2 . Remote control  10  with a plurality of buttons  12  can send a signal  24  to control master wireless lighting module  28 . Microchip  14  in the master wireless lighting module  20  can then determine based on the signal  24  by itself or through some other signal reception module such as an RF module (not shown) whether bulb  4  should illuminate, what pattern to illuminate, or cease illuminating. Master wireless lighting module  20  and slave wireless lighting module  22  can be hung on support structure  18 , which in this case is a tree. Support structure  18  can also be a Christmas tree, a wall, a box, a table, a house, etc. 
         [0031]    Furthermore, master wireless lighting module  20  can use a signal transmission module (not shown) to transmit a signal to a plurality of slave wireless lighting modules  22 . Microchip  14  in the slave wireless lighting module  22  can then determine based on the signal from master wireless lighting module  20  by itself or through some other signal reception module such as an RF module (not shown) whether bulb  4  should illuminate, what pattern to illuminate, or cease illuminating. 
         [0032]      FIG. 3C  depicts a wireless lighting module  26  which is an alternative embodiment to wireless lighting module  2 . Wireless lighting module  26  is an ornament that can be illuminated by a bulb (not shown) inside the shell  62 . Shell  62  is in a shape of a star, but can be a variety of other shapes such as an angel, a snowman, etc. Thus, remote control  10  with a plurality of buttons  12  can send a signal  24  to control wireless lighting module  26 . Microchip  14  can then determine based on the signal  24  by itself or through some other signal reception module such as an RF module (not shown) whether bulb  4  should illuminate, what pattern to illuminate, or cease illuminating. Microchip  14  can be a microprocessor. Wireless lighting module  26  can be hung on support structure  18 , which in this case is a tree. Support structure  18  can also be a Christmas tree, a wall, a box, a table, a house, etc. 
         [0033]      FIG. 3D  depicts wireless lighting modules  48  and  30  which are alternative embodiments to wireless lighting module  2 . Wireless lighting modules  48  and  30  are large ornament that can be illuminated by a bulb (not shown) inside their shells  64  and  66  respectively. Both wireless lighting modules  48  and  30  can also be mechanized so that they can move their respective shells  64  and  66 . For example, shell  64  can wave its arm while shell  66  can rotate its body. Shells  64  and  66  can also perform a variety of other movements. Remote control  10  with a plurality of buttons  12  can send signals  24   a  and  24   b  to control wireless lighting modules  48  and  30 . A microchip (not shown) in each of the wireless lighting modules  48  and  30  can then determine based on the signals  24   a  and  24   b  by itself or through some other signal reception module such as an RF module (not shown) whether a bulb (not shown) should illuminate, what pattern to illuminate, or cease illuminating. Furthermore, the microchip can also synchronize or coordinate the movements of shells  64  and  66  to some sort of music, illumination pattern, etc. Also, the movements of shells  64  and  66  can be synchronized or coordinated with each other, or they could also move entirely in different patterns at different times. 
         [0034]      FIG. 4  depicts a lighting system including multiple wireless lighting modules. As can be seen, a signal transmission device  30  can replace a remote control  10 . The signal transmission device  30  is a router, but can be other electronic devices such as a blackberry, an iPod, an iPhone, a cell phone, etc. Signal transmission device  30  can have a microchip  34 , which in this case can be a microprocessor. It can also have an optional cable  36  to connect it to an electrical source  68  which can supply power to the signal transmission device  30 . Signal transmission device can transmit a signal  32  to wireless lighting modules  2 ,  26 , and  28  on support structure  18 . It can also transmit signals to wireless lighting module  30  and  38 . Thus, signal transmission device  30  can control the illumination and/or mechanical movement of wireless lighting modules  2 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30 , and  38 . It is also contemplated that signal transmission device  30  could also send signals to a master wireless lighting module  20 . Master wireless lighting module  20  could then send signals to wireless lighting modules  2 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30 , and  38  to control their illumination and/or mechanical movement. 
         [0035]      FIG. 5  depicts a lighting system including multiple wireless lighting modules. In  FIG. 5 , there are also multiple signal transmission devices including signal transmission devices  56  and  70 . Signal transmission device  70  can be a cable box and can send signal  52  to one or more of the wireless lighting modules  2 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30 , and  48 . Signal transmission device  56  can be a television and can send signal  56  to one or more of the wireless lighting modules  2 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30 , and  48 . Signal  50  can be, for example, visual images, sounds, radio waves, electromagnetic waves, etc. Furthermore, one or more of the wireless lighting modules  2 ,  26 , and  28  can send a signal  54  to wireless lighting modules  30  and/or  48 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 6  depicts a lighting system including a wireless lighting module. As can be seen in  FIG. 6 , signal transmission device  58  is a compact disc (CD) player which can receive a CD  46  and send a signal  60  based wholly or in part on the content of CD  46  to control the illumination and/or movement of a wireless lighting module  62 . Thus, wireless lighting module  62  can illuminate and/or perform mechanical movements based on the sounds from CD  46 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a storage unit for a wireless lighting system. A plurality of wireless lighting modules  2 , remote control  10 , and battery  40  can be stored in a storage unit  38 . Storage unit  38  could allow the plurality of wireless lighting modules  2  and/or remote control  10  to be electrically connected to a battery  40 . Battery  40  can then recharge the plurality of wireless lighting modules  2  and/or remote control  10 . Battery  40  can be a 9V battery, a AA battery, a AAA battery, a C battery, a D battery, etc. Furthermore it is contemplated that more than one battery  40  can be stored in storage unit  38 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a storage unit for a wireless lighting system. In this embodiment, storage unit  38  could also store CD and/or DVD  46 . 
         [0039]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a storage unit for a wireless lighting system. In this embodiment, storage unit  38  includes a solar panel  42 . Storage unit  38  an also have a removable or semi-permanent battery (not shown) inside storage unit  38  to store and transmit the power obtained from solar panel  42 . Solar panel  42  can be electrically connected to the plurality of wireless lighting modules  2  and/or remote control  10  and power from solar panel  42  can be used to recharge the plurality of wireless lighting modules  2  and/or remote control  10 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a storage unit for a wireless lighting system. In this embodiment, storage unit  38  includes a cable  44  to connect storage unit  38  to an electric source  68 . Storage unit  38  an also have a removable or semi-permanent battery (not shown) inside storage unit  38  to store and transmit the power obtained from electric source  68  via cable  44 . Electric source  68  can be electrically connected to the plurality of wireless lighting modules  2  and/or remote control and power from electric source  68  can be used to recharge the plurality of wireless lighting modules  2  and/or remote control. 
         [0041]    While not shown, it is also contemplated that one or more of the wireless lighting modules could have energy replenishment module such as a solar panel, solar ribbon, and/or photovoltaic cell. The energy replenishment module, could for example, aid in recharging the battery of the wireless lighting modules. This could reduce the need for the wireless lighting modules to be recharged and/or connected to storage unit  38 . This could also extend the life of the battery. 
         [0042]    The energy replenishment module could be placed, for example on top of the cap of the wireless lighting module or on a circumference of the cap. It could also be placed in other locations that would aid in converting light into energy to recharge the battery. Furthermore, the energy replenishment module could have a variety of sizes. For example, it could encompass a portion of the cap in lighting module  2  or it could encompass a significant portion of a backside of lighting modules  30  and/or  48  in  FIG. 3D . 
         [0043]    While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments are merely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, and that this invention not be limited to the specific constructions and arrangements shown and described, since various other changes, combinations, omissions, modifications and substitutions, in addition to those set forth in the above paragraphs, are possible. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just described preferred embodiment can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.