Cross-Reference to Related Applications

[0001] This application is related to and claims priority benefits from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/242,964 filed October 16, 2015 entitled "Lighting System With A Node For Independently Controlling More Than One Light." The '964 application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Field of the Invention

[0002] The present application relates to lighting system with a node for independently controlling more than one light. More particularly, the system comprises a lighting system for a vehicle and the node comprises a transceiver for receiving multiplexed command signals, which are processed by an electronic controller to control light brightness and color.

[0003] The emergence of light emitting diodes (LEDs) as an economical and effective light source for vehicle lighting needs has also enabled features and lighting effects that could not be practical or even possible with more conventional light sources. LEDs are relatively inexpensive, have a long life span, offer low power consumption compared to alternative light sources, and beyond simply being turned on or off, LED lights can be controlled to achieve certain effects such as changing light intensity, and/or with RGB LED lights, changing colors. RGB LEDs consist of three LEDs with one red, one green and one blue light, and the intensity of each light can be individually controlled to blend the three lights, resulting in a light source capable of producing a broad spectrum of colors. The long life span of LED lights allows them to be installed in locations where servicing is less convenient because they can be expected to not require user maintenance for the typical lifetime of the vehicle. Some of the opportunities for improving the user experience in ways that are functional and/or aesthetic are only just now being imagined, and now light sources are being desired in more locations within a vehicle.

[0004] In automotive lighting systems each lighting point is called a "node", with each node having a unique address. Each of these nodes is connected to a communication network. By way of example, a common type of

communication network using a standardized protocol is known as a Local Interconnect Network (LIN). The unique address allows the connected Light Emitting Diodes (LED) to be controlled in intensity /brightness and/or color by a controller using the network to send command signals. While the cost of the LED and drive electronics is low, the cost of the LIN interface circuitry and the wiring harnesses between the controller and each of the nodes is relatively high. Vehicle manufacturers wish to increase the number of lighting nodes in a vehicle to give effect to vehicle lighting strategies, but the cost of

implementation is prohibitively high because of the high cost associated with adding more nodes. Prior attempts to reduce costs have focused on reducing the cost of the LIN interface electronics and control of the LEDs. An alternative approach that uses fewer nodes would be advantageous for reducing costs.

[0005] With reference to FIG. 1, lighting system 100 is an example of a lighting system, which can be used in vehicles for controlling LED and other light sources. Electronic control unit 110, such as, for example, a Body Control Module (BCM) or a dedicated lighting control module, is connected by communication network 120 to a plurality of light engines 130, 132, 134 and 136. Each light engine controls a respective light source 140, 142, 144 and 146, which can be an LED, RGB LED, OLED, or other type of light source. An RGB LED is representative of an LED light source that can generate different colors by controlling the intensity of different colored LEDs to change the blended color that is observed as the light source. An RGB LED consists of a red LED, a green LED and a blue LED, and while it is a common example of this kind of LED light source, other examples could use different colors and/or a different number of LEDs, with two and four also being commercially available. Herein, an RGB LED is considered a single light source, since it generates a single light source, and because once the desired color is chosen, the intensity of each colored LED is predetermined and not independently determined.

[0006] A block diagram shown in FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a known node design that could be used for nodes 130, 132, 134 and 136 shown in FIG. 1. With reference to FIG. 4, node 430 comprises an electrical circuit to which are connected transceiver 428, power regulator 432, microprocessor 442 and LED light source 460. Three wires 470, 472 and 474 are connected to node 430 for respective connections to power, ground and command signals from the master controller. If node 430 is connected to the master controller by a communication network (as shown in the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 1), each node has a unique address so that multiplexed signals can be sent over the communication network to specific nodes to control the light source associated with that node.

Summary of the Invention

[0007] A node in a vehicle lighting system includes electrical circuits controllable to deliver power to more than one light source and for transmitting command signals to components connected thereto. Connected to the electrical circuits is a power regulator that is operable to regulate power delivery to each one of the light sources. An input transceiver is also connected to the electrical circuit and connectable to a communication network for receiving multiplexed signals. An electronic processor is also connected to the electrical circuits and programmed to recognize command signals directed to each one of the light sources and to control the power regulator to deliver a current to each one of the light sources that correlates to the command signals.

[0008] In one embodiment, the electronic processor is a slave controller that receives command signals from a master controller. In some embodiments, the electronic processor can be programmed to control current delivered to activate other electrical components in addition to light sources. For example, if the light source is part of an integrated multifunctional module it can be more efficient for the microprocessor to also be multifunctional. For example, one of the other electrical components can be a switch or an electronically controlled actuator. In some embodiments, the present lighting system is well suited for controlling light sources that are illuminated by current flowing through a light emitting diode, such as a monochromatic LED or a polychromatic LED, such as, by way of example, a RGB LED. The present lighting system can be used to control other types of light sources.

[0009] The present node can further comprise an output transceiver connected to at least one of the light sources. The output transceiver can have an output connector that is connectable to activate light sources external to the node.

[0010] The lighting system associated with the present node comprises an electronic master control unit that processes data inputs and determines commands and generates command signals for controlling the operation of a plurality of light sources; a communication network for transmitting the command signals from the master control unit to a light engine for each one of the plurality of light sources; a node in communication with the communication network through a single transceiver that recognizes command signals for independently controlling at least two of the light engines; wherein the node comprises an electronic slave controller and a power regulator whereby the electronic slave controller is programmable to process the command signals and control the power regulator to deliver a current to one of the light sources that correlates to the command signals. In a particularly well-suited application the plurality of light sources are lights for a vehicle.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a lighting system.

[0012] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a lighting system with nodes that use a single transceiver to receive commands for more than one light source and that independently control the light generated by each light source.

[0013] FIG. 3 is an electrical circuit diagram that illustrates a complementary

LED drive arrangement that can be used in combination with the present lighting system to enable the control of even more light sources with fewer nodes.

[0014] FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates a node.

[0015] FIG. 5 is a block diagram that illustrates another embodiment of a node.

[0016] FIG. 6 is a block diagram that illustrates another embodiment of a node.

Detailed Description of Illustrative Embodimentf s)

[0017] Now described with reference to the schematic view shown in FIG. 2 is lighting system 200 that comprises master electronic controller 210 and a plurality of nodes 230, 234 and 236 that each controls more than one light source, independently controlling the light generated by each light source, using a single transceiver to receive commands for these plurality of light sources from electronic controller 210 through communication network 220.

Communications network 220 can be a LIN bus, but other protocols can be employed to serve the same purpose, such as a CAN bus or a manufacturer's own custom-designed protocol. While each node has one unique address and the node's transceiver recognizes control signals on the communication network that are intended for that address, because a plurality of independently controlled light sources is controlled through one node, the node's slave microprocessor is programed to process each received command signal and determine which one of the controlled light sources to control in response to the received command. In addition to reducing the amount of nodes needed to control a plurality of light sources, compared to lighting systems such as that shown in FIG. 1, another advantage can be realized for nodes that control a plurality of lights that have the same control pattern. That is, if all of the light sources controlled by one node have the same functionality, for example, to change between certain predetermined colors, the microprocessor can use the same programming and commands to control all of the light sources. If the light sources have different functionality, the same lighting system arrangement shown in FIG. 2 can still be employed to advantageously reduce the number of nodes for a given number of light sources, but a more powerful microprocessor and more memory can be needed for one node to handle the additional programming needed to enable more control patterns.

[0018] Lighting system 200 has a few different arrangements for the nodes shown for illustrative purposes, but a lighting system as described herein need not have all of these arrangements in one lighting system. Each one is an example of a node that can independently control more than one light source. Node 230 is an example of an embodiment where all of light sources 240, 241, 242, 243 are mounted on the node electrical circuit. This is advantageous because shorter electrical circuits reduce the effect of EMC noise. Light generated from each light source can be transmitted via light pipe and lenses to direct the light to where it is desired. Node 230 can comprise a circuit board on which the electrical circuits are printed and to which all of the components are mounted. Node 234 is an example of another embodiment wherein light sources

244 and 245 are mounted in remote locations, and not mounted on the same circuit board as the node and its associated components. Light sources 244 and

245 can be connected to node 234 by wires for power and ground. When a light source is mounted remotely from the node a separate regulator can be used for that light source. Node 236 is an example of yet another embodiment where node 236 further comprises an output connection for activating light sources 246, 247, 248 and 249.

[0019] FIG. 2 shows three illustrative examples of nodes that can use a single transceiver to receive commands from a master electronic controller and process such commands to distinguish the intended light source for each command and then control that light source as commanded. In this way, the number of nodes needed to control a given number can be reduced from the 1 : 1 ratio between light sources and nodes that is currently used. FIG. 3 is an electrical circuit diagram that illustrates a complementary LED drive arrangement 300 (generally indicated) that can be used in combination with the present lighting system to enable the control of even more light sources with fewer nodes than there are light sources. A complementary LED drive 300 takes advantage of switch-like characteristics of light emitting diodes 330(a-f), conducting in only one direction and blocking in the reverse direction. In FIG. 3, four input/output (I/O) pins 310(a-d) are employed to control twelve LEDs, but arrangements using this same concept can use a different number of I/O pins to control a different number of LEDs. For example, three I/O pins can be used to control 6 LEDs, four I/O pins can control 12 LEDs, five I/O pins can control 20 LEDs, and so on. The LED drive circuit has other components in some embodiments, such as the resistors 320(a-d) in FIG. 3. Complementary LED drives are known for some applications but it has heretofore been unknown to combine them with the nodes herein described, such as, for example, the nodes shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0020] FIG. 5 is a block diagram that illustrates an embodiment of a node that has one transceiver that receives commands for a plurality of light sources, similar to node 230 described in relation to FIG. 2. Here, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, four LEDs, 560, 561, 562 and 563 are mounted on the same circuit board as node 530, which also comprises transceiver 528, power regulator 532, and microprocessor 542. Transceiver 528 receives command inputs from command signal line 574. Transceiver has a unique address and multiplexed command signals for all of the light sources controlled by node 530 are sent to this address. Microprocessor 542 is programmed to determine which light source each command signal is intended for. Power input is represented by the line and arrow indicated 570, and connection to ground is represented by the line and arrow indicated by 572.

[0021] FIG. 6 is a block diagram that illustrates another embodiment of a node that comprises one transceiver 628 with one address, which receives command signals for more than one light source. Like other embodiments, node 630 has an input transceiver 628, power regulator 632, microprocessor 642, power input 670, connection to ground 672, and control signal input 674. Node 630 can further comprise output transceiver 680 connected to output line 682, which represents electrical wiring to remote light sources, like node 234 in FIG. 2, or a communication network, like node 236 in FIG. 2.

[0022] While particular elements, embodiments and applications of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood, that the invention is not limited thereto since modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings.