Abstract:
A method of experimenting on aquatic life in an indoor facility and a lighting assembly for accomplishing the same. The lighting assembly includes a lighting device that emits light at a predetermined wavelength that provides a minimum water penetration depth and is positioned in a manner to provide uniform lighting at the air and water interface within a containment unit housing the aquatic life. The on and off functions are also controlled by the lighting assembly to provide a gradual turn on and turn off to prevent interference of effects of lighting with experimental results.

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
     This application is based upon and claims benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/034,490 filed Aug. 7, 2014, entitled “Lighting System and Control for Experimenting in Aquaculture,” which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Lighting can be used to affect the physiology of aquatic animals. Specifically, light is needed for growth of most animal species and can substantially affects the animals&#39; feeding, reproduction, and location in the water column, among other processes. Further, studies have shown that different living organisms are both behaviorally and psychologically affected by light and in particular the wavelength of light they receive. This holds true whether the living organism is a plant or animal as is discussed in several patent applications by the present inventor, including U.S. provisional patent applications 61/669,825 entitled “Light Sources Adapted to Spectral Sensitivity of Plants” by Grajcar and 61/698,074 entitled “Aquatic System for Manipulating Psychological and Physiological Effects in Aquatic Life” by Grajcar, both of which are incorporated in full herein. 
     In addition, in the field of aquaculture as issues with pollution and transportation costs continue to rise outdoor aquaculture facilities are starting to have significant drawbacks. In particular there is a desire in the aquaculture industry to have indoor aquaculture facilities. For example, in Las Vegas, in an attempt to reduce transportation cost and to ensure the freshest ingredients, some restaurants receive their fish, lobster, shrimp, etc. from local indoor aquaculture facilities. 
     One of the main differences between indoor aquaculture and covered units, and outdoor aquaculture is the use of artificial lighting as opposed to use of the sun for light. In particular artificial lighting does not provide the same spectrum or wavelength as the sun where many living organisms have both psychological and physiological responses to certain wavelengths as discussed above. As a result of this, companies and universities alike are doing experiments on not just indoor aquaculture, but also the effect of artificial lighting, including in the tank and underwater lighting. 
     A problem exists at these facilities however, in that the artificial lighting in these facilities themselves affects test results. Specifically, workers turning artificial lighting on and off, and the suddenness of lighting that goes on and off, is not natural in nature and is typically shown as presenting a negative effect on the aquatic animal. Similarly, the amount of secondary lighting from artificial lighting also effects experiments and makes repeatability of experiments difficult at best, thus minimizing scientific relevance of results. 
     OVERVIEW 
     This invention is related to LED Lighting Assemblies. More specifically, this invention relates to an LED lighting system and control system for use when experimenting in indoor or covered aquaculture units. These and other objects, advantages and features will become apparent from the specification and claims. 
     The present inventors have recognized, among other things, that a need in the art exists for lighting products that minimize variations and effects of artificial lighting for workers on experiments and lighting within an experiment in an indoor or covered unit. 
     Thus a principle object of the present invention is to provide a lighting method that minimizes the effect of lighting on aquatic life. Another object of the present invention is to provide a cost effective lighting system that reduces stress of aquatic life. 
     The present subject matter can help provide a solution to these problems, such as by a method of experimenting on aquatic life in an indoor facility by proving a lighting system that emits uniform lighting across a containment unit. The uniform lighting is provided at the air and water interface within the containment unit. In addition the light emitted is at a predetermined wavelength that does not penetrate the surface of the water to illuminate the aquatic life and gradually turned on and off. In this manner the aquatic life within the containment unit is least effected by the above the water lighting to ensure results of experiments are not skewed. 
     This overview is intended to provide an overview of subject matter of the present patent application. It is not intended to provide an exclusive or exhaustive explanation of the invention. The detailed description is included to provide further information about the present patent application. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numerals may describe similar components in different views. Like numerals having different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. The drawings illustrate generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, various embodiments discussed in the present document. 
         FIG. 1  is a side plan view of an aquaculture facility. 
         FIG. 2  is a side plan view of a lighting device of a lighting system. 
         FIG. 3  is a side perspective view of a lighting device of a lighting system. 
         FIG. 4  is a top perspective view of a lighting device of a lighting system. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of a control system for a lighting system. 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of circuitry of a lighting system; 
         FIG. 7  is a top plan view of a substrate with circuitry of a lighting device of a lighting system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  depicts an indoor aquaculture facility  10  that includes a dwelling  12  such as a building. The dwelling  12  either has a plurality of containment units  14  such as tanks, pools and the like for housing aquatic life  16 , or the dwelling  12  can be a singular covered unit filled with water that houses the aquatic life  16 . 
     The figures also show a lighting system  28  that in an example embodiment includes a plurality of electrical conduit bodies that receive and electrical input from an electrical source. The electrical conduit bodies house wiring that extend to provide an electric excitation signal to different areas in the dwelling. In an embodiment the wiring is electrically connected to a socket to receive a lighting assembly  38 . 
     Alternatively, any style of power source, including but not limited to Edison bases, junction boxes, hanging assemblies or the like can be presented without falling outside of the present disclosure and the disclosure is not considered limited. In an embodiment the lighting system  28  incorporates a junction box that is water resistant or water proof, depending on the requirements of the location of the system. This water resistance is an important feature of the system, allowing application in areas where there is significant humidity and accidental contact with water. In another embodiment the light is secured to the apex of a roof of the dwelling  12 , in a junction box or otherwise, to evenly distribute light. 
       FIGS. 4  depicts the lighting assembly  38  including a base  40  having electrical conducting elements  42  therein that threadably and electrically connects within the socket as is known in the art. The base  40  is either threadably received or compression fit onto a frustroconally shaped body  44  having a hollow interior  46  and a sidewall  48  that extends outwardly and away from a first end  50  having a first diameter to a second end  52  having a second diameter greater than the first diameter. In this manner when waste or feces or water is sprayed on the body  44  the material flows downwardly and off the assembly  38 . At the second end is a ring element  54  that is of size and shape to engage a sealing element  56  that in a preferred embodiment is made from an elastic material that expands upon compression. The sealing element  56  is secured between the ring element  54  and heat sink  58  to provide a water tight seal therebetween. In this manner electrical wiring  60  is electrically connected to the conductive body through the body  44  and heat sink within a water tight assembly  38 . 
     In an example embodiment, depicted in  FIG. 2 , a socket is not presented and instead the wiring is directly provided. In this embodiment the body  44  with the base  40  are not provided and instead the electrical wiring  60  disposed through the heat sink is directly or hard wired to the wiring of the conduit to provide a direct electrical connection. The heat sink is then threadably and/or sealing connected to the conduit again to provide a water tight seal to prevent water from being within the interior of the heat sink  58  and being exposed to the electrical wiring  60 . 
     The heat sink  58  in a preferred embodiment is made of a plastic material and has a plurality of fin elements  62  that assist in conveying heat through the sink  58 . The heat sink  58  extends from a first end  64  adjacent the conduit bodies that receives the sealing element  56  in one embodiment and is sealed to a conduit body in another to second end  66 . The second end  66  is secured to a diffusion element  68  that has a frustroconical shape having a sidewall  69  that extends from a first end  70  outwardly and downwardly from the heat sink  58  to an open second end  72  having a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the first end  70  and terminating in a lip element  74 . By being sloped at an angle and downwardly, again, water, feces and other materials often known to agricultural and aquaculture facilities  10  flow off the diffusion element  68 , yet the lip element  74  keeps a robust design to withstand the harsh environment. 
       FIG. 3  depicts a lens element  110  that is secured to the heat sink  58 , diffusion element  68  or both. In an example embodiment fastening elements  112  are utilized to provide the connection. In particular the lens element  110  is secured to provide a water tight seal so that water cannot encroach the interior of the assembly  38 . 
     When wash down of the facility  10  is required the assemblies  38  are sprayed with water from a power washer, hose or other water supply. The water then envelopes any dirt, dust, feces or other containments and the frustroconical sections of the assembly  38  allow for easy removal of the containments keeping the assembly  38  and facility clean and sanitary. Because of the water tight seals water does not enter the interior of the assembly  38  again ensuring long life of the assembly  38 . 
     A substrate  76  is also secured to the second end  66  of the heat sink  58  and in one embodiment has a generally round shape. The substrate also in one embodiment is a printed circuit board.  FIG. 7  shows the substrate  76  having driving circuitry  78 . The circuitry is similar to that taught in U.S. Pat. No. 8,373,363 entitled Reduction of Harmonic Distortion for LED Loads, by Z. Grajcar and issued on Feb. 12, 2013 and U.S. Patent Application entitled “Color Temperature Shift Control for Dimmable AC LED Lighting,” Ser. No. 12/824,215, which was filed by Z. Grajcar on Jun. 27, 2010, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
       FIG. 6  depicts the circuitry  78  that includes a rectifying device  80  that receives current from an AC source  82  and includes a first group of light emitting diodes  84  arranged in series with a second group of light emitting diodes  86 , both of which comprise diodes emitting white light. A third group of light emitting diodes  88  comprising diodes emitting red light are presented in parallel to the first and second groups of diodes  84  and  86 . Red light emitted is considered any light having a wavelength approximately between 620 nanometers (nm) and 780 nm. Alternatively light emitting diodes having providing blue light, or having a wavelength approximately between 400 nm and 500 nm could be used without falling outside the scope of this invention. A bypass path  90  is presented with a first impedance element  92 , that in one embodiment is a transistor. In a preferred embodiment the first impedance element  92  is a depletion MOSFET, though a p-channel MOSFET, n-channel MOSFET or the like can be used without falling outside the scope of this disclosure, even if an additional transistor is required for functionality purposes. A first resistor  94  is also provided to control the flow of current through the first impedance element  92  to provide smooth and continuous current flow. 
     A second bypass path  96  is also provided with a second impedance element  98  that similarly in one embodiment is a depletion MOSFET. Similar to the first bypass path  90  the second bypass path  96  utilizes a second resistor  100  again to control the impedance element  98 . Similarly also, a third bypass path  102  is provided between the third group of light emitting diodes  88  and first and second groups of light emitting diodes  84  and  86 . Again, this bypass path  102  utilizes a third impedance element  104  and third resistor  106  to provide similar functionality as the other bypass paths. In this manner when a dimming device  108  is electrically connected to the circuit and the voltage begins dropping, current flow to the first group of diodes  84  drops first, dimming out the first group of white diodes. Then as dimming continues and a threshold current is reached the second group of light emitting diodes  86  begin to dim. Thus, again white light is slowly dimmed and eliminated from the output light. In this manner only the third group of light emitting diodes  88  that are red remain providing light. A supplemental resistor  109  optionally is provided to limit current in the system and to improve efficiencies. 
     In addition the LEDs  86  are spaced equidistant about the substrate  76  to provide even or uniform directional lighting. Specifically, light emitted from the diodes equally present the same lumen output such that lighting assemblies  38  can be spaced equidistant to ensure even and uniform lighting throughout a dwelling and onto the tanks  14  housing the aquatic life. In singular covered units  17 , the lighting assembly  38  or assemblies  38  are placed so that there is even illumination (lux) on the surface area of the air/water interface and at the substrate area of the unit. In particular the assembly is designed and assembly or assemblies  38  positioned to provide uniform lux at the air/water interface to minimize effect on the aquatic life  16  as a result of lighting changes or inconsistencies. 
     Consequently, with a programmable dimming device  108  the lighting assembly  38  can provide light throughout a 24-hour period to optimize conditions for experimentation. Specifically, the dimming device  108  can be programmed to gradually turn on at very low intensity levels and gradually over a predetermined time period, such as in one example 2 hours go from darkness to a maximum intensity. Thus, with the uniform lighting and gradual increase of intensity, the lighting assemblies  38  have minimal effect of aquatic life  16  that is being tested within tanks  14 . Similarly, at night, when it is time for individuals to leave the dimming device  108  is programmed to gradually decrease lumen intensity until the assemblies  38  no longer emit light. Again, in this manner, in combination with the even or uniform lighting the least amount of change, effect or stimulus on the aquatic life  16  is realize by the aquatic life  16 . In this manner test results are unlikely to be skewed by effects of general lighting within a dwelling  12 . 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of a control system  118  for a lighting system. The control system  118  is electronically connected to the lighting assemblies  38 . The control system  118  includes an input  119  for actuating a computing system  120  having programming  122  therein associated with a timing device  124 . The control system  118  additionally has a dimming device  126  that is electrically connected to the timing device  124  such that the programming  122  at predetermined periods will automatically dim the lighting assemblies  38  to a predetermined light setting. The control system  118  in one embodiment communicates remotely through over the air communications, via Wi-Fi communications or as is known in the art, to provide lighting and dimming information to an individual having a remote computing device  128  or handheld device  130  having the capability to receive such communication. In an example embodiment the computing device  128  or handheld device  130  may be used to communicate instructions to the control system  118  such that the control system  118  is remotely controlled by the remote device  128  or  130 . Examples of the remote devices include but are not limited to computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, smartphones, mobile phones, remote controls and the like. 
     The dimming process of the lighting system is designed to afford maximum variability in intensity with very little variation in spectral output. Particularly the spectrum of this lighting system is designed so that dimming of the light does not change the spectral curve and there is an evenness or uniformity of spectral output until the lamp is dimmed to 5% output. At the dimming level of 5% the spectral output becomes predominantly red light or approximately between 630 nm and 750 nm. Specifically red light is the light spectrum that has the lowest level of penetration in water compared to the other visible spectral wavelength, thus again minimizing the effect on the aquatic life  16  the dwelling while providing lighting output for humans or workers within the facility  10 . Thus this low lumen level (less than 100 lumens) red light affords an illuminance that is of minimum effect on organisms in the water. 
     In operation a plurality of light assemblies  38  are installed into a facility  10  and electrically connected to a dimming device  108  having a programmable timer. The assembly is connected within the dwelling  12  either directly or the body  44  can be attached to provide a retrofit if needed instead of a hard wire connection. In this manner the assembly  38  is modular in design. The programmable timer can then be programmed to provide gradual increases and decreases of lighting at specific times to minimize unnecessary stimuli on the aquatic life  16 . Thus, at the very least, all of the stated problems have been overcome.