U.S. patent application number 10/913144 was filed with the patent office on 2006-03-09 for systems and methods for color changing device and enclosure.
This patent application is currently assigned to Color Kinetics, Inc.. Invention is credited to Kevin J. Dowling, Ihor A. Lys, George G. Mueller.
Application Number | 20060050509 10/913144 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36048414 |
Filed Date | 2006-03-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060050509 |
Kind Code |
A9 |
Dowling; Kevin J. ; et
al. |
March 9, 2006 |
Systems and methods for color changing device and enclosure
Abstract
A color-changing device which includes an enclosure at least a
portion of which is material which is desired to change color.
There is also included an illumination device, such as an LED or
collection of LEDs which can illuminate the material. There can
also be included a controller which can take some form of input,
such as from a network, or a sensor, and can convert that input
into a signal to control the illumination. There is also included a
method for performing such color change.
Inventors: |
Dowling; Kevin J.;
(Westford, MA) ; Mueller; George G.; (Boston,
MA) ; Lys; Ihor A.; (Boston, MA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FOLEY HOAG, LLP;PATENT GROUP, WORLD TRADE CENTER WEST
155 SEAPORT BLVD
BOSTON
MA
02110
US
|
Assignee: |
Color Kinetics, Inc.
Boston
MA
|
Prior
Publication: |
|
Document Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20050047132 A1 |
March 3, 2005 |
|
|
Family ID: |
36048414 |
Appl. No.: |
10/913144 |
Filed: |
August 6, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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09917246 |
Jul 27, 2001 |
6888322 |
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10913144 |
Aug 6, 2004 |
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09215624 |
Dec 17, 1998 |
6528954 |
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10913144 |
Aug 6, 2004 |
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09213607 |
Dec 17, 1998 |
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09917246 |
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09213189 |
Dec 17, 1998 |
6459919 |
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09917246 |
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09213581 |
Dec 17, 1998 |
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09917246 |
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09213540 |
Dec 17, 1998 |
6720745 |
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09333739 |
Jun 15, 1999 |
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09917246 |
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09742017 |
Dec 20, 2000 |
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09917246 |
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09213548 |
Dec 17, 1998 |
6166496 |
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09742017 |
Dec 20, 2000 |
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09815418 |
Mar 22, 2001 |
6577080 |
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09917246 |
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09213548 |
Dec 17, 1998 |
6166496 |
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09815418 |
Mar 22, 2001 |
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09626905 |
Jul 27, 2000 |
6340868 |
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09917246 |
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09213659 |
Dec 17, 1998 |
6211626 |
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09626905 |
Jul 27, 2000 |
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09805368 |
Mar 13, 2001 |
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10913144 |
Aug 6, 2004 |
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60221579 |
Jul 28, 2000 |
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60071281 |
Dec 17, 1997 |
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60068792 |
Dec 24, 1997 |
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60078861 |
Mar 20, 1998 |
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60079285 |
Mar 25, 1998 |
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60090920 |
Jun 26, 1998 |
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60199333 |
Apr 24, 2000 |
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60211417 |
Jun 14, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
362/231 ;
362/240; 362/800; 362/802 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 1/1605 20130101;
H04M 1/22 20130101; G06F 1/181 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
362/231 ;
362/240; 362/800; 362/802 |
International
Class: |
F21V 9/00 20060101
F21V009/00 |
Claims
1. A color-changing device, comprising: an enclosure including at
least a piece of material which is to be illuminated; and an
illumination device, disposed within the enclosure, to illuminate
said material, the illumination device capable of generating at
least two colors.
2. The color-changing device of claim 1, wherein said device is a
computer.
3. The color-changing device of claim 1, wherein said device
includes one or more of the following: a disk drive, a mouse, a
pointing device, a printer, a scanner, a keyboard, a cable, a
modem, a media player, a DVD player, a DVD recorder, a CD player, a
CD recorder, a tape player, a tape recorder, a stereo receiver, a
self contained stereo system, a television, a television remote
control, a television peripheral, a cable TV decoder box, a
projection system, a speaker, a landline telephone, a wireless
telephone, a radio frequency (RF) transmission device, an RF
communication device, a personal digital assistants (PDA), a toy, a
watch, an appliance, a refrigerator, a stove, an oven, a
dishwasher, a trash compactor, and a hand-held device.
4. The color-changing device of claim 1, wherein said piece of
material is at least one of transparent, semi-transparent,
translucent, and semi-translucent.
5. The color-changing device of claim 1, wherein said piece of
material contains imperfections.
6. The color-changing device of claim 1, wherein said illumination
device includes an LED.
7. The color-changing device of claim 1, further comprising a
controller for controlling the lighting device.
8. The color-changing device of claim 7, wherein said controller
receives input from a network.
9. The color-changing device of claim 7, wherein said controller
receives input from a user of the color-changing-device.
10. A method for changing the color of a device, the method
comprising acts of: providing a device having an illumination
device disposed therein, the illumination device capable of
generating at least two colors; illuminating at least a portion of
said device, via the illumination device; and changing the color of
said illumination.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein, said act of illuminating is
performed by at least one LED.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein said act of illuminating the
portion of said device includes illuminating an enclosure of the
device.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein the act of illuminating is
performed by at least two LEDs; and the act of changing the color
of the illumination is accomplished by controlling at least one of
the at least two LEDs.
14. A method for changing the color of a device, the device having
an enclosure, the method comprising acts of: generating an input
signal; generating a control signal in response to the input
signal; communicating the control signal to a lighting system; and
arranging the lighting system to illuminate at least a portion of
the device enclosure.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the act of generating the input
signal is accomplished through a user interface.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the user interface is at least
one of a switch, dial, button, key, and key board.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein the user interface is a
graphical user interface.
18. The method of claim 14, wherein the act of generating the input
signal is accomplished through at least one of a sensor and
transducer.
19. The method of claim 14, wherein the act of generating the input
signal is accomplished by receiving a signal.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the signal is at least one of a
network signal, database signal, and information signal.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.120 as a continuation (CON) of U.S. Non-provisional
application Ser. No. 09/917,246, filed Jul. 27, 2001, entitled
"Systems and Methods for Color Changing Device and Enclosure."
[0002] Ser. No. 09/917,246 in turn claims the benefit under 35
U.S.C. .sctn.119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.
60/221,579 filed Jul. 28, 2000, entitled "Color Changing Device and
Enclosure."
[0003] Ser. No. 09/917,246 also claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.120 as a continuation-in-part (CIP) of co-pending U.S.
Non-provisional application Ser. No. 09/669,121, filed Sep. 25,
2000, entitled "Multicolored LED Lighting Method and Apparatus",
which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/425,770, filed Oct. 22,
1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,150,774, which is a continuation of U.S.
Ser. No. 08/920,156, filed Aug. 26, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No.
6,016,038.
[0004] Ser. No. 09/917,246 also claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.120 as a continuation-in-part (CIP) of the following
co-pending U.S. Non-provisional applications:
[0005] Ser. No. 09/215,624, filed Dec. 17, 1998, entitled "Smart
Light Bulb", now U.S. Pat. No. 6,528,954, which claims the benefit
of the following provisional applications:
[0006] Ser. No. 60/071,281, filed Dec. 17, 1997, entitled
"Digitally Controlled Light Emitting Diodes Systems and
Methods";
[0007] Ser. No. 60/068,792, filed Dec. 24, 1997, entitled
"Multi-Color Intelligent Lighting";
[0008] Ser. No. 60/078,861, filed Mar. 20, 1998, entitled "Digital
Lighting Systems";
[0009] Ser. No. 60/079,285, filed Mar. 25, 1998, entitled "System
and Method for Controlled Illumination"; and
[0010] Ser. No. 60/090,920, filed Jun. 26, 1998, entitled "Methods
for Software Driven Generation of Multiple Simultaneous High Speed
Pulse Width Modulated Signals."
[0011] Ser. No. 09/917,246 also claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.120 as a continuation-in-part (CIP) of the following
co-pending U.S. Non-provisional applications:
[0012] Ser. No. 09/213,607, filed Dec. 17, 1998, entitled "Systems
and Methods for Sensor-Responsive Illumination";
[0013] Ser. No. 09/213,189, filed Dec. 17, 1998, entitled
"Precision Illumination", now U.S. Pat. No. 6,459,919;
[0014] Ser. No. 09/213,581, filed Dec. 17, 1998, entitled "Kinetic
Illumination";
[0015] Ser. No. 09/213,540, filed Dec. 17, 1998, entitled "Data
Delivery Track";
[0016] Ser. No. 09/333,739, filed Jun. 15, 1999, entitled "Diffuse
Illumination Systems and Methods";
[0017] Ser. No. 09/742,017, filed Dec. 20, 2000, entitled "Lighting
Entertainment System", which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.
09/213,548, filed Dec. 17, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,166,496;
[0018] Ser. No. 09/815,418; filed Mar. 22, 2001, entitled "Lighting
Entertainment System", which also is a continuation of U.S. Ser.
No. 09/213,548, filed Dec. 17, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,166,496;
and
[0019] Ser. No. 09/626,905, filed Jul. 27, 2000, entitled "Lighting
Components", which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/213,659,
filed Dec. 17, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,211,626.
[0020] Each of the foregoing applications is incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0021] 1. Field of the Invention
[0022] The invention relates to systems and methods for the design
of devices and enclosures, in particular for the design of
enclosures that can change color.
[0023] 2. Description of Related Art
[0024] Computers have recently been introduced where the computer
enclosure is a color other than the conventional beige. These
computers are offered in a variety of colors. The enclosures are
formed of a semi-transparent plastic of a particular color, such as
blue, red or green. The enclosures are slightly translucent to
allow the user to see the internal components of the computer. The
use of brightly and interestingly colored enclosures for various
different types of devices is becoming more and more popular.
Cellular phones can now have covers or button sets produced in a
variety of different colors that can be transparent or
semi-transparent or can be decorated with figures or symbols.
Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) have also recently been
introduced that have a transparent or semi-transparent enclosure in
a variety of colors.
[0025] A problem with these enclosures is that they only come in a
static color. Once you have bought a blue computer you keep a blue
computer unless you want to purchase a new enclosure in a different
static color. This is an upgrade that can be expensive and require
significant time to install. In addition, the color cannot easily
change in response to computer states or digital information. A
single enclosure capable of color changing would be desirable to
eliminate the static color requirements of the present
enclosure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0026] One embodiment of the present invention is a color-changing
device. The color changing device may include an enclosure; a piece
of material which is to be illuminated which makes up at least a
portion of said enclosure; and an illumination device for
illuminating said material.
[0027] Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a
method for changing the color of a device. The method involves the
acts of providing a device; illuminating at least a portion of said
device; and changing the color of said illumination.
[0028] A further embodiment of the present invention is directed to
a method for changing the color of a device. The method involves
the acts of generating an input signal; generating a control signal
in response to the input signal; communicating the control signal
to a lighting system; and arranging the lighting system to
illuminate at least a portion of the device enclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0029] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a process according to one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0030] FIG. 2 illustrates a device with a lighted enclosure
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0031] FIG. 3 illustrates various components of an illumination
system according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0032] FIG. 4 illustrates a lighted refrigerator according to one
embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0033] In one embodiment of the invention an illumination system
such as an LED system of one or more LEDs is arranged to edge light
or backlight an enclosure to provide a colored enclosure or a color
changing enclosure. One possible technology for implementing color
changing illumination systems is described in U.S. Pat. No.
6,016,038, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by
reference. In addition, color changing illumination systems need
not be LED based and in other embodiments of the invention the
color changing illumination devices could comprise, but are not
limited to, fiber optic strands, incandescent lighting, fluorescent
lighting, or other solid-state technology such as
Electro-luminescent (EL) or organic LED-based devices (OLED).
[0034] The enclosure could be an enclosure for any type of device
such as, but not limited to; a desktop, laptop, server, hand-held,
web-access, or any other type of computer, computer peripherals or
accessories (such as, but not limited to, disk drive, mouse or
other pointing device, printer, scanner, keyboard, cables, or
modem) media players; DVD players and recorders; CD players and
recorders; tape players and recorders; stereo receivers; self
contained stereo systems; televisions; television remote controls
or other peripherals; cable TV decoder boxes; projection systems;
speakers and speaker systems; landline or wireless telephones;
radio frequency (RF) transmission or communication devices;
personal digital assistants (PDAs); toys; watches; appliances;
refrigerators; stoves; ovens; dishwashers; trash compactors; hand
held devices; or any other device or article with an enclosure.
[0035] The enclosure can be made of any transparent,
semi-transparent, translucent or semi-translucent material,
however, for ease of discussion, the material will be referred to
as translucent to mean any of the above properties. The material
can be entirely translucent or a portion of the material can be
translucent. The LEDs can be arranged to edge light the enclosure
such that a portion of the light couples to the enclosure edge and
is transmitted through the material and/or a portion of the light
is transmitted across the surface of the enclosure. Light traveling
along the surface or through the material will be reflected off of
or out of the material by imperfections in the material. These
imperfections can be introduced deliberately or through inherent
properties of the material. Making patterns of imperfections on or
in the material can create surface lighting effects. The
imperfections can also be applied to the entire surface to provide
a glowing surface.
[0036] The LEDs can also be arranged to back light the enclosure or
a surface behind the enclosure. Back lighting can achieve the same
effects as edge lighting, or different effects could be achieved if
a panel within the enclosure was backlit. The LEDs could be
arranged to direct the emitted light at any direction at or near
the enclosure to provide illumination of the enclosure. They could
also be arranged to project patterns or symbols onto the enclosure.
In one embodiment, the LEDs (or other lighting system) are disposed
within the enclosure.
[0037] FIG. 2 illustrates a system according to the principles of
the present invention. In this embodiment, the device 200 is a
computer monitor with an enclosure 202. The system includes an
illumination device 204 that is arranged to illuminate the
enclosure or some portion thereof.
[0038] The illumination system can be controlled with a
microprocessor or with passive circuitry. In an embodiment, the
circuitry or microprocessor can provide a pulse width modulated
signal or other control signals to drive the illumination system.
Previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,038 provides one possible
method for doing this. As shown in FIG. 3, the circuitry or
microprocessor may include a controller 302 to provide one or more
control signals 304 based at least in part on one or more input
signals 306A, 306B, 306C, and 306D from the enclosed device or one
or more other devices (e.g., a sensing device 308, one or more
external signal sources 310 that generate network or Internet
signals, audio signals and/or video signals, and a user interface
312). The controller could be any type of software process,
hardware, or separate device that can receive input signals from a
switch, transducer, processor, sensor, or receiver either directly
as a digital signal or an analog signal through an Analog/Digital
converter. If at least two different colored illumination devices
are used in the illumination system, they can be controlled through
separate control signals, separate sensors, or separate controllers
to provide a variety of colors to the enclosure.
[0039] One embodiment of the invention would be to use the color
changing or lighted enclosure as a computer enclosure or a portion
of the computer enclosure. The color changing effects could be
controlled through the controller to correlate or respond to
signals generated within the enclosed computer, from a computer
network, or from another device. The enclosure may also change
color on demand through external switching or transducers or could
be controlled internal to the computer by user controlled software
or hardware. With the former arrangement, the computer could change
colors as the result of the computer receiving email or other
information, or could change colors with regard to system activity,
for instance a busy computer could be red while a ready computer
was green. The enclosure could also change colors as a result of
changing variables from a network. In one embodiment, it could
change colors based on information received from the World Wide
Web. For example, if stock prices fall according to a particular
website or websites, the enclosure could turn red and if they go up
the enclosure could change to blue. The system could also be used
in conjunction with e-business or Internet advertising allowing an
individual having a site or advertisement on the Internet to
transmit colors they desired the enclosure to be. For example,
Coca-Cola could turn a user's enclosure red (or even Coca Cola's
specific shade of red) when the user views pages posted by
Coca-Cola or when ads for Coca-Cola are presented to the user.
Alternatively, the colors chosen could simply be determined to
encourage the users purchase of certain types of products. For
instance, red and yellow could be presented with food ads or pages
as these colors are believed to promote purchases of food
items.
[0040] In a still further embodiment, the system could be linked
with an external sensing device to determine color. For instance,
the device could be linked to a color sensor designed to detect the
color of the device's surroundings and match, contrast, or
otherwise select a color for the enclosure based on the
surroundings. Alternatively, the device could be linked to a
temperature, pressure, motion or other variable detection device so
the device could function as an indicator of this variables current
value.
[0041] Another embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. 4 is
directed to a refrigerator 402 where the front panel or portion of
the front panel is lit and changes colors with response to the
temperature inside the unit by employing a system similar to that
shown in FIG. 3. The refrigerator panel could also be receiving
external signals of outside temperature or stock prices as in the
computer example, or provide colors to a dieter to either encourage
or discourage eating at a particular time.
[0042] Another embodiment would be the entire enclosure or a
portion of an enclosure of an audio speaker or television where the
color changing is linked to the audio or video signal where the
signal may be preconditioned to provide certain lighting effects
associated with the signal.
[0043] Although the changing of color has been described here, it
is also included within the scope of this disclosure that in one
embodiment the system could vary color on a specific scale (as
opposed to generic red or green, a specific shade of red could be
produced) or any other characteristics of the light could be
altered such as, but not limited to, intensity, saturation, hue.
The system could also be programmed with patterns or schemes for
regularly changing colors and any of the characteristics of those
patterns such as, but not limited to, speed or repetition could
also be controlled. In another embodiment multiple pieces of
information could also be provided on different portions of the
enclosure as different colors so, for example a computer enclosure
could indicate that the stock market is falling, and your broker
has sent you e-mail. In still another embodiment, the illumination
of the device could be sufficient to actually provide a light
source for a room or other area.
[0044] In another embodiment the illumination device could provide
a constant color not designed to be changed.
[0045] FIG. 1 illustrates a process 100 according to one embodiment
of the present invention. In this embodiment, an input signal may
be generated at act 102. A control signal may be generated at act
104 in response to the input signal. The control signal 104 may
then be communicated (in act 108) to a lighting system which then
illuminates an enclosure (act 110).
[0046] The input signal 102 may be generated by any number of
sources. For example, the input signal 102 may be generated by a
user interface such as a button, switch, keyboard, mouse, software
interface, graphical user interface, or other user interface, a
sensor or transducer, or another source such as a database,
network, World Wide Web, or other signal generator (e.g. email
alert signal, financial data from the web). The input signal 102
may comprise a combination of signal generators. For example, the
lighting system may be responding to financial data and a user
interface may be used to adjust the settings of the
illumination.
[0047] In one embodiment, the input signal 102 may be converted
into a lighting control signal. For example, the input signal 102
may be generated and or encoded with information corresponding to
its source. Upon receipt of such a signal, a system according to
one embodiment of the invention may generate corresponding lighting
control signals. The generator may analyze the input signal and
find that it originated from a financial database, for example. The
generator may then select or generate control signals based on this
information. The generator may be a processor that selects lighting
control signals from an associated memory, generates a control
signal based on an algorithm, modifies a control signal or program,
selects a table or generates control signals through other methods.
It should be appreciated that there are a number of ways to
generate lighting control signals and the present invention should
not be limited to any particular method.
[0048] In one embodiment, the control signals 104 may be
communicated to a light system 108 arranged to illuminate an
enclosure or portion thereof. In one embodiment, the light system
may include at least one LED. In another embodiment, the light
system may include two or more LEDs of different colors, wherein at
least one of the LEDs is controlled through the control signal in
such a way as to change the color of the emitted light from the
light system. The light system may include three different colored
LEDs (e.g. red, green, and blue) wherein the three colors are
independently controlled through the control signals such that the
emitting light from the light system can be changed.
[0049] As used herein, the term "LED" should be understood to
include light emitting diodes of all types, light emitting
polymers, semiconductor dies that produce light in response to
current, organic LEDs, electro-luminescent strips, and other such
systems. "LED" may refer to a single light emitting diode having
multiple semiconductor dies that are individually controlled. It
should also be understood that the term "LED" does not restrict the
package type of the LED. The term "LED" includes packaged LEDs,
non-packaged LEDs, surface mount LEDs, chip on board LEDs and LEDs
of all other configurations. The term "LED" also includes LEDs
packaged or associated with material (e.g. a phosphor) wherein the
material may convert energy from the LED to a different
wavelength.
[0050] While the invention has been disclosed in connection with
the preferred embodiments shown and described in detail, various
modifications and improvements thereon will become readily apparent
to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the spirit and scope of
the present invention falls within the scope of the following
claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *