Patent ID: 8385735

Claim:
An illumination device comprising: at least one light emitting diode for emitting illuminating light with an illuminating color changeable according to a first drive current applied thereto; a memory for storing a first data table of a first correlation between intensity of said first drive current and said illuminating color and a second data table of a second correlation between the temperature of said light emitting diode and said illuminating color; a temperature sensor for measuring temperature of said light emitting diode; and an illumination control unit for controlling said first drive current according to said illuminating color by referring to said first and second data tables, wherein said light emitting diode includes: a light emitting diode chip for emitting light of a first color at intensity according to said first drive current; and a cover for covering said light emitting diode chip, said cover having a phosphor component for emitting light of a second color by excitation with said light of said first color, wherein said illuminating color is defined according to a relative amount of said light of said first and second colors, wherein said at least one light emitting diode is plural light emitting diodes, and wherein based on said first data table, said illumination control unit sets a first group including a predetermined number of said plural light emitting diodes and a second drive current for said first group to determine a total light amount and said illuminating color, and based on the temperature measured by said temperature sensor and said second data table, said illumination control unit turns off said light emitting diodes in said first group when the temperature of said light emitting diodes in said first group reach a predetermined temperature after turned on, and supplies a third drive current having the same intensity as said second drive current for said first group to said light emitting diodes which are different from those in said first group and belongs to a second group including the same number of said light emitting diodes as said first group.