Patent Publication Number: US-2022227287-A1

Title: Lighting unit with electronically modulated beam configuration

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     High luminosity lighting units are provided for utility vehicles and emergency vehicles to illuminate areas at night, such as emergency sites, construction sites and other work sites. Such lighting units are generally configured to provide high luminosity, for example in the range of 5,000 to 10,000 lumens, or greater. Multiple lighting units may be required for different illumination applications, the size of the area to be illuminated, and the required light intensity. For example, a spotlighting unit may be used to generate a tightly focused intense light beam on a relatively small area, a work lighting unit may be used to generate a wider light beam than a spotlight, e.g., a light beam on the order of about 10 degrees, and a flood lighting unit may be used to generate a wider light beam than a work light. An example spotlight is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,560, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     SUMMARY 
     In general terms, the present disclosure is directed to vehicle-mountable lighting units having various light beam adjustability features. 
     According to certain aspects of the present disclosure a lighting unit includes: a base; a cover couplable to the base to define an interior volume of the lighting unit, the cover being configured to transmit light from the interior volume to an exterior of the lighting unit; a subunit positioned within the interior volume and arranged to pivot relative to the base and the cover about two pivot axes that are perpendicular to each other, the subunit defining a central optical axis and including: a light emitter; and an optics arrangement, including an electronically adjustable refractive element; and a controller configured to electronically modify refractive properties of the refractive element to modulate a beam spread, about the central optical axis, of a light beam emitted by the light emitter. 
     The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of these embodiments will be apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the disclosure and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the disclosure as claimed. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The following figures, which form a part of this application, are illustrative of described technology and are not meant to limit the scope of the disclosure as claimed in any manner, which scope shall be based on the claims appended hereto. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of an example lighting unit system according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an example lighting unit of the system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a further perspective view of the lighting unit of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the lighting unit of  FIG. 3 , with the cover removed. 
         FIG. 5  is a partially exploded view of a portion of the lighting unit of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 6  is a partially exploded view of a further portion of the lighting unit of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 7  is a partially exploded view of the lighting unit of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 8  is a further partially exploded view of the lighting unit of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a portion of the lighting unit of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a subunit of the lighting unit of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 11  is a partially exploded view of the subunit of  FIG. 10 . 
         FIG. 12  schematically shows example computing components of the system of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various embodiments of the present inventions will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views. Reference to various embodiments does not limit the scope of the inventions, which are limited only by the scope of the claims attached hereto. Additionally, any examples set forth in this specification are not intended to be limiting and merely set forth some of the many possible embodiments for the claimed inventions. 
     In general terms, a lighting unit of the present disclosure is configured to illuminate work sites and other areas. The lighting unit can be mounted to a vehicle, such as a construction vehicle, utility vehicle, or emergency vehicle. The beam configuration of the lighting unit is electronically adjustable without requiring mechanical or moving parts, which can provide for a more robust and compact lighting unit that is less likely to require repair of mechanical parts. The beam configuration is electronically adjustable to increase and decrease the spread of the light beam propagating from the lighting unit. The spread can be adjusted to a specific application or use requirement. 
     For example, a narrow beam can be used to shine light on a relatively small area or a particular object (e.g., another vehicle that requires towing), while a wider beam can be used as a flood light to illuminate a larger area, such as a construction site. In some examples, the beam configuration is electronically adjustable to also adjust the direction of the beam propagating from the lighting unit, the direction of the beam being defined by the center of the beam spread. In some examples, the lighting unit includes one or more mechanical drivers to mechanically adjust the beam direction. 
     A command interface can be provided to provide control commands to a controller of the lighting unit to control the beam configuration and the beam direction. The interface can be operatively connected to the lighting unit through a wired or wireless connection. In some examples, one or more predefined beam directions and/or one or more predefined beam configurations can be stored in a memory. The memory is accessed (e.g., via a selection provided by the command interface) to automatically adjust the beam configuration and/or beam direction to the predefined beam configuration and/or beam direction. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of an example lighting unit system  10  according to the present disclosure. 
     The system  10  includes a lighting unit  12  connected to a power supply  26 . The power supply  26  can be configured to provide alternating electrical current or direct electrical current. In some examples, the lighting unit  12  includes a converter for converting alternating current to direct current for powering components of the lighting unit  12 , such as a step motor. In some examples, the power supply  26  includes a battery of a vehicle to which the lighting unit  12  is mounted. In some examples, the power supply  26  includes a battery positioned within the housing of the lighting unit. 
     The lighting unit  12  can receive control commands from a command interface  28  via a wired connection, or via a wireless network, such as the network  2 . The network  2  can include one or more of a local area network, a wide area network, a near field communication network, such as a Bluetooth® enabled network, an ethernet enabled network, a cellular enabled network, a satellite enabled network, etc. 
     In some examples, information from the lighting unit  12  can be supplied to the command interface  28  via the network  2 . Such information can include, for example, operating status information, fault information, beam spread and beam direction information, etc. 
     The lighting unit  12  includes a controller  22  that receives commands from the command interface  28  for controlling beam configuration and beam direction of the lighting unit  12 . The controller  22  is also configured to access the memory  20 , which can be an integrated component of the lighting unit  12  (as shown) or, alternatively, positioned remotely from the lighting unit  12  and accessed using the network  2 . The controller  22  can include one or more processors that process computer-readable instructions, and firmware for generating control signals that can be sent by the controller  22 , and received by the driver(s)  24 , the light emitter  14 , the adjustable mount  16 , and the electronically adjustable refractive element  18 . 
     The memory  20  stores software that the controller executes to provide control signals to other components of the lighting unit  12 . 
     The memory  20  can also store predefined beam spread configuration and beam directions. The controller  22  can access a predefined spread configuration or beam direction to generate control signals that cause the adjustable mount  16  to move to a predefined position corresponding to the predefined beam direction, and/or to cause the electronically adjustable refractive element  18  to adjust the spread of the beam emitted by the light emitter  14  to the corresponding predefined spread configuration. 
     The electronically adjustable refractive element  18  is configured to be electronically controlled to adjust a beam configuration of a beam emitted by the light emitter  14 . The light emitter  14  can be a solitary light generator a plurality of light generators. The light generator(s) can include any suitable light generator, such as a halogen bulb, an incandescent bulb, a fluorescent bulb, or a light emitting diode (LED). The light emitter  14  can be configured to generate light of any desired intensity. In some examples, the light emitter  14  is configured to emit light having an intensity in a selectable range, or at predefined values within a range, the range being between 5,000 to 10,000 lumens, or outside of this range (e.g., 1,000 to 20,000 lumens). The light emitter  14  can be configured to generate a single light color or multiple selectable light colors. One or more filters and/or other optical elements can also be provided to alter the color and/or polarization of the light propagating from the lighting unit  12 . The light emitter  14  can include an array of multiple light sources which can be selectively activated to generate a beam of a desired configuration, color, polarization and intensity. In some examples, the light emitter  14  includes one or more LEDs and is configured to generate light of different selectable colors and different selectable intensities in a range of 0 to 10,000 lumens, or more. 
     The light emitter  14  can be configured to emit a default beam configuration. For example, the default beam configuration can span about a 3 degree arc (about 1.5 degrees on either side of the beam direction). When the refractive element  18  is uncharged, the beam is not refracted (or is refracted by a deminimus amount) as it passes through the refractive element  18 , such that the default beam configuration is unchanged or substantially unchanged by the refractive element  18 . 
     The controller  22  sends beam modulation signals to the refractive element  18 , which cause the refractive element  18  to refract and/or redirect the incident default beam from the light emitter  14 . The refractive element  18  can cause the beam to spread and/or deflect. For example, the refractive element  18  can cause the default beam to at least double in spread, or at least triple in spread, or at least quadruple in spread. The number of selectable spread configurations between minimum and maximum spread can be virtually infinite. Likewise, the number of selectable beam deflections away from the default direction can be virtually infinite. 
     In some examples, the refractive element  18  includes a layer of liquid crystal molecules that change orientation upon introduction of an electric field. The refractive element  18  can include electrodes sandwiching the layer of liquid crystal molecules and generating a spatially differentiated electric field across the layer of liquid crystal molecules, thereby changing the refractive index of at least portions of the layer of liquid crystal molecules, which in turn causes the beam configuration or direction to change. For example, to modify the beam spread, a differentiated electric filed is generated such that the refractive index of the refractive element  18  increases with radial distance from the center of the default incident beam on the refractive element. 
     Examples of functionality and composition of such refractive elements are described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0090415, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Non-limiting examples of the refractive element  18  are any of the LensVector® dynamic beam shaping lenses provided by LensVector of San Jose, Calif. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2-11 , example structural components of the lighting unit  12  from the system  10  of  FIG. 1  will be described. 
     The lighting unit  12  defines a central axis  42 . Typically, the central axis  42  will be perpendicular to the surface to which the lighting unit  12  is affixed, such as a roof of a vehicle on an exterior of a vehicle or above a dashboard in an interior of a vehicle. The lighting unit extends from a bottom  44  to a top  46  along the central axis  42 . 
     The lighting unit  12  includes a base  48 , and a cover  50  that mounts to the base  48 , e.g., in a rotationally locking manner. For example, ratchet teeth  56  of the cover  50  can lockingly engage a pawl  58  of the base  48 . The base  48  and the cover  50  define an interior volume  49  in which are housed various components of the lighting unit  12 . A sealing element  61  (e.g., an elastomeric ring) can be positioned to form a seal between the cover  50  and the base  48  to inhibit ingress of potentially damaging contaminants into the interior volume  49 , such as dust or moisture. In the example shown, the central axis  42  runs parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the cover  50 . In some examples, the central axis of the lighting unit coincides with the longitudinal dimension of the cover, which coincides with a central longitudinal axis defined by the cover, which in turn coincides with the rotation position axis. 
     The cover  50  is a domed structure with a cylindrical or frusto-conical side wall  52  circumferentially surrounding the central axis  42 . At least a portion of the cover  50  is transparent such that light from the lighting unit&#39;s light emitter housed within the interior volume can propagate through the side wall  52  to the lighting unit&#39;s exterior. 
     The base  48  can be configured to be mounted to a vehicle. For example, a threaded coupler  59  can be threadably secured to a stand that is mounted to a vehicle surface. 
     One or more wires  54  extend through the base  48 . The one or more wires  54  can provide power and/or carry signals to a controller of the lighting unit  12 . The controller can be a locally positioned component within the interior volume defined by the cover and base. Alternatively, the controller can be a remotely positioned component. The one or more wires  54  can be operably coupled to a remote power supply (such as a vehicle&#39;s battery). The one or more wires  54  can be operatively coupled to a command interface, such as the command interface  28  ( FIG. 1 ). 
     A subunit  60  is mounted to the base  48  and housed within the interior volume  49 . The subunit  60  includes a stand  62 . The stand  62  includes a base portion  64  and arm portions  66  and  68  extending from the base portion  64 . The arm portion  66  houses cogwheels  74  and  76  that are operatively coupled to a worm screw  70  of a first motor  72 , e.g., a step motor. The first motor  72  is mounted to a control board  78  of a control unit  80  that is housed in the base portion  64  of the stand  62 . The cogwheel  76  is operably coupled to the cogwheel  82  of the light emission assembly  84 . For example, a belt  87  operatively couples the cogwheels  76  and  82  such that rotation of the cogwheel  76 , which is caused by rotation of a driver driven by the motor  72 , causes the light emission assembly  84  to pivot about the pivot axis  86 . 
     In this example, the driver is a worm screw  70 . The pivot axis  86  is perpendicular to the central axis  42 . The pivot axis  86  is a tilt position axis for the light emission assembly  84 . In this manner, the tilt direction of the light beam generated by the light emission assembly  84  can be adjusted relative to the central axis  42 . Discrete selectable positions for the tilt direction of the light beam can be stored in the memory  20  ( FIG. 1 ). A stored tilt position can be selected via the command interface, causing the motor  72  to drive the light emission assembly  84  to the selected, predefined and stored tilt position. 
     The motor  72  can be powered by the power supply  26 . For example, the wires  54  can convey electricity to the control board  78 . The wires  54  are terminated in an electrical connector  94  that engages a socket  97  attached to the control board  78 . From the socket  97 , power can be routed to other components mounted to the control board  78 , such as the motors  72  and  88 , and circuitry, as well as electronic control components of the lighting unit  12 , such as processor(s), non-transitory computer readable storage storing software, and firmware. 
     A second motor  88  (e.g., a step motor) is mounted to the control board  78 . The second motor  88  can be powered by the power supply  26 . The second motor  88  drives rotation of a cogwheel  90  that rotationally interfaces with a toothed ring  92  (having teeth  93 ) positioned in the base  48  to thereby rotate the subunit  60  relative to the base  48  about a rotation position axis that coincides with the central axis  42 . In this manner, the radial direction of the light beam generated by the light emission assembly  84  can be adjusted relative to the central axis  42 . Discrete selectable positions for the radial direction of the light beam can be stored in the memory  20  ( FIG. 1 ). A stored radial position can be selected via the command interface, causing the motor  88  to drive the light emission assembly  84  to the selected, predefined and stored radial position. 
     The light emission assembly  84  includes a heat sink  96 . Projecting from the heat sink  96  are pegs  98  and  99 . The cogwheel  82  is attached to the peg  98 . The cogwheel  82  is rotationally received in the socket  100  of the stand  62 . The peg  99  is rotationally received in the opposite socket of the stand  62 . The pegs  98  and  99  project from a heat sink collar  104  attached to the heat sink  96 . The heat sink collar  104  can be constructed of a heat insulative material, such as a polymeric material. Alternatively, the heat sink collar can be integral with the heat sink  96  and/or constructed of the same material (e.g. a metal such as an aluminum alloy) as the heat sink  96 . 
     Additional components of the light emission assembly  84  will now be described. 
     The heat sink  96  defines a cavity  110  that houses a light and optics assembly  112 . Components of the light emission assembly  84  can be assembled using fasteners, such as screws  114 . 
     The light and optics assembly  112  includes a light emitter mount  116 , a light emitter  118 , and an optics arrangement. The optics arrangement includes a reflective element  120 , and an electronically adjustable refractive element  122 . The light and optics assembly  112  also includes a collar  124 . 
     The light emitter  118  is mounted to the light emitter mount  116 , e.g., by inserting legs  128  into receivers  130 , which can receive the legs  128  by interference fit or frictional fit. Sockets  126  are also mounted to the mount  116 . The sockets  126  can receive connectors that terminate wires routed from the control board  78 , as well as wires that are routed from the control board  78  to the light emitter  118  and wires (e.g., the wires  150 ) that are routed from the control board  78  to the refractive element  122 , to thereby provide power and control signals to the light emitter  118  and the refractive element  122 . 
     The light emitter  118  can have any of the properties of the light emitter  14  described above with reference to  FIG. 1 , and can include any number and type of suitable light generators. In some examples, the light emitter  118  include one or more LEDs. 
     The refractive element  122  can have any of the properties of the electronically adjustable refractive element  18  described above. 
     The reflective element  120  includes a parabolically shaped reflective surface  132  configured to focus light emitted by the light emitter  118  into a default beam configuration with a central optical axis  112 . 
     The central optical axis  112  defines the direction of the beam (i.e., the beam direction) generated by the light emitter  118  as it propagates outward from the refractive element  122 . The default beam configuration can span about a 3 degree arc (about 1.5 degrees on either side of the central optical axis  112 ). When the refractive element  122  is uncharged, the beam is not refracted (or is refracted by a deminimus amount) as it passes through the refractive element  122 , such that the default beam configuration is unchanged or substantially unchanged by the refractive element  122 . By controlling the refractive element  122 , the beam configuration can be manipulated by spreading the beam about the central optical axis  112  and/or deflecting the beam. Spreading the beam does not cause the central optical axis to move relative to the assembly  84 . Deflecting the beam causes the central optical axis  112  to rotate relative to the assembly  84 . 
     For example, by controlling the refractive element  122  using a spatially differentiated electric field, the default beam can be adjusted to at least double in spread, or at least triple in spread, or at least quadruple in spread, or more. For example, the beam spread can be increased from about 3 degrees or less to at least 10 degrees, at least 15 degrees, or more. The number of selectable spread configurations between minimum and maximum spread can be virtually infinite. Likewise, the number of selectable beam deflections away from the default direction can be virtually infinite. In some examples, one or more predefined beam directions and/or one or more predefined beam configurations can be stored in a memory as described herein. As described herein, the memory is accessed (e.g., via a selection provided by the command interface) to automatically adjust the beam configuration and/or beam direction to the predefined beam configuration and/or beam direction. 
     The collar  124  serves to secure other components of the light and optics assembly  112  to the heat sink  96 . The collar  124  interfaces with the attachment surface  144  of the heat sink  96 . 
     As illustrated in the example of  FIG. 12 , additional details about the example computing subsystem  200  of the lighting unit  12  of  FIG. 1  are shown. All components or some components of the computing subsystem  200  can physically reside on the control board  78  ( FIG. 9 ) and/or remote therefrom and accessed via the network  2 . 
     The computing subsystem  200  provides the computing resources to run the system  10  ( FIG. 1 ). Via the network  2 , the computing subsystem  200  can interact with other computing equipment, such as the command interface  28  ( FIG. 1 ). 
     The computing subsystem  200  includes at least one central processing unit (“CPU”)  201  that is at least one component of the controller  22  ( FIG. 1 ), a system memory  206 , and a system bus  222  that couples the system memory  206  to the CPU  201 . The system memory  206  includes a random access memory (“RAM”)  208  and a read-only memory (“ROM”)  210 . A basic input/output system that contains the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computing subsystem  200 , such as during startup, is stored in the ROM  212 . The computing subsystem  200  further includes a mass storage device  20 . The mass storage device  20  is able to store software instructions and data, such as software instructions and data required to operate the lighting unit  12  ( FIG. 1 ). 
     The mass storage device  20  is connected to the CPU  22  through a mass storage controller (not shown) connected to the system bus  222 . The mass storage device  20  and its associated computer-readable data storage media provide non-volatile, non-transitory storage for the computing subsystem  200 . Although the description of computer-readable data storage media contained herein refers to a mass storage device, such as a hard disk or solid state disk, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that computer-readable data storage media can be any available non-transitory, physical device or article of manufacture from which the central display station can read data and/or instructions. 
     Computer-readable data storage media include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable software instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Example types of computer-readable data storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROMs, digital versatile discs (“DVDs”), other optical storage media, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the computing subsystem  200 . 
     According to various embodiments of the invention, the computing subsystem  200  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to remote network devices through the network  2 , such as a wireless network, the Internet, or another type of network, as described herein. The computing subsystem  200  may connect to the network  2  through a network interface unit  202  connected to the system bus  222 . It should be appreciated that the network interface unit  202  may also be utilized to connect to other types of networks and remote computing systems. The computing subsystem  200  also includes an input/output unit  204  for receiving and processing input from a number of other devices, including a touch user interface display screen, or another type of input device such as the command interface  28  ( FIG. 1 ). 
     As mentioned briefly above, the mass storage device  20  and the RAM  208  can store software instructions and data. The software instructions include an operating system  216  suitable for controlling the operation of the computing subsystem  200 . The mass storage device  20  and/or the RAM  208  also store software instructions and applications  214 , that when executed by the CPU  201 , cause the computing subsystem  200  to provide the functionality of the lighting units described herein. 
     The description and illustration of one or more embodiments provided in this application are not intended to limit or restrict the scope of the inventions as claimed in any way. The embodiments, examples, and details provided in this application are considered sufficient to convey possession and enable others to make and use the best mode of claimed inventions. The claimed inventions should not be construed as being limited to any embodiment, example, or detail provided in this application. Regardless whether shown and described in combination or separately, the various features (both structural and methodological) are intended to be selectively included or omitted to produce an embodiment with a particular set of features. Having been provided with the description and illustration of the present application, one skilled in the art may envision variations, modifications, and alternate embodiments falling within the spirit of the broader aspects of the claimed inventions and the general inventive concept embodied in this application that do not depart from the broader scope.