Patents by Inventor Brendan Upton
Brendan Upton has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
-
Patent number: 10684406Abstract: In accordance with embodiments of this disclosure a light guide includes a flexible substrate having two outer surfaces with at least one of the two outer surfaces defining a light emitting area. At least one edge of the flexible substrate is configured to receive light from a light source coupled to the edge. The light guide further includes a plurality of light extraction features formed within the flexible substrate in between the two outer surfaces. The light extraction features may be arranged according to a controlled distribution that affects a propagation of light in between the two outer surfaces and an emission of light from the light emitting area.Type: GrantFiled: March 16, 2018Date of Patent: June 16, 2020Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc.Inventors: Jameson R. Mauzy, Brendan Upton, Christian D. Trapani
-
Publication number: 20190285792Abstract: In accordance with embodiments of this disclosure a light guide includes a flexible substrate having two outer surfaces with at least one of the two outer surfaces defining a light emitting area. At least one edge of the flexible substrate is configured to receive light from a light source coupled to the edge. The light guide further includes a plurality of light extraction features formed within the flexible substrate in between the two outer surfaces. The light extraction features may be arranged according to a controlled distribution that affects a propagation of light in between the two outer surfaces and an emission of light from the light emitting area.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 16, 2018Publication date: September 19, 2019Inventors: Jameson R. Mauzy, Brendan Upton, Christian D. Trapani
-
Patent number: 10141533Abstract: An aircraft lighting system includes quantum dot light-emitting diodes (“QLEDs”), including a first QLED of a first color and a second QLED of a second color. The system also includes logic circuitry configured to control the QLEDs to emit light in a first brightness ratio to create a light of a first metamer of a color and control the QLEDs to emit light in a second brightness ratio to create a light of a second metamer of the color.Type: GrantFiled: August 30, 2017Date of Patent: November 27, 2018Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.Inventors: Luis Sam, Eric Johannessen, Brendan Upton
-
Patent number: 10128654Abstract: A light-emitting diode (“LED”) lighting unit includes an operational, a sense resistor electrically connected to the input of the operational amplifier, a first field effect transistor (“FET”) whose gate is electrically connected to the output such that the input voltage at the gate of the first FET rises and falls with the output voltage, a second FET whose gate is electrically connected to the output such that the input voltage at the gate of the second FET rises and falls with the output voltage, and a string of LED lights connected such that when the voltage across the string drops below a level to operate, the voltage across a sense resistor drops, causing the operational amplifier to increase its output until the input voltage at the gate of the second FET increases allowing one bank of LED lights to operate.Type: GrantFiled: August 22, 2017Date of Patent: November 13, 2018Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.Inventors: Eric Johannessen, Brendan Upton, Luis Sam
-
Patent number: 10118701Abstract: The present disclosure is generally directed to an aircraft cabin LED lighting system and lighting assembly, in which each LED light is paired with and controlled by a separate microcontroller, which is individually addressable. In various embodiments, a lighting control device (e.g., a control panel for flight attendants) transmits pixel data to various lighting assemblies around the cabin. These lighting assemblies include the microcontroller-LED light pairs. Each LED light is multicolor and includes multiple LEDs (e.g., one for each color). The pixel data defines a color scheme and/or animation sequence. Each pixel maps to one of the microcontroller-LED pairs. The microcontroller controls the intensity of each LED of the LED light according to the pixel data it receives.Type: GrantFiled: March 8, 2017Date of Patent: November 6, 2018Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.Inventors: Eric Johannessen, Brendan Upton, Luis Sam, Jeremy Fredrich
-
Patent number: 10104730Abstract: Described is an LED replacement bulb having the same physical shape and appearance as a fluorescent bulb, but having the superior illumination characteristics of LED lights (e.g., the ability to dim, the absence of flicker) and the ability to switch (with or without transition) from a first color to a second color while the LED lighting assembly undergoes a dimming or brightening procedure. Furthermore, because the bulb uses the output of the light fixture (e.g., the output of the ballast of a fluorescent light fixture) as the cue for whether to change colors, no retrofitting of the lighting system is required (as might be the case if more modern, network-addressable light units were required).Type: GrantFiled: March 7, 2017Date of Patent: October 16, 2018Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.Inventors: Luis Sam, Brendan Upton, Eric Johannessen, Denis Velis
-
Patent number: 10099787Abstract: The present disclosure is generally directed to a harmonics correction method and apparatus. In an embodiment, the method and apparatus are carried out in a light-emitting diode (“LED”) lighting unit that includes a set or string of LED lights. According to an embodiment, the LED lighting unit is a line-replaceable unit (“LRU”).Type: GrantFiled: January 18, 2017Date of Patent: October 16, 2018Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.Inventors: Brendan Upton, Eric Johannessen
-
Publication number: 20180263086Abstract: Described is an LED replacement bulb having the same physical shape and appearance as a fluorescent bulb, but having the superior illumination characteristics of LED lights (e.g., the ability to dim, the absence of flicker) and the ability to switch (with or without transition) from a first color to a second color while the LED lighting assembly undergoes a dimming or brightening procedure. Furthermore, because the bulb uses the output of the light fixture (e.g., the output of the ballast of a fluorescent light fixture) as the cue for whether to change colors, no retrofitting of the lighting system is required (as might be the case if more modern, network-addressable light units were required).Type: ApplicationFiled: March 7, 2017Publication date: September 13, 2018Inventors: Luis Sam, Brendan Upton, Eric Johannessen, Denis Velis
-
Publication number: 20180257782Abstract: The present disclosure is generally directed to an aircraft cabin LED lighting system and lighting assembly, in which each LED light is paired with and controlled by a separate microcontroller, which is individually addressable. In various embodiments, a lighting control device (e.g., a control panel for flight attendants) transmits pixel data to various lighting assemblies around the cabin. These lighting assemblies include the microcontroller-LED light pairs. Each LED light is multicolor and includes multiple LEDs (e.g., one for each color). The pixel data defines a color scheme and/or animation sequence. Each pixel maps to one of the microcontroller-LED pairs. The microcontroller controls the intensity of each LED of the LED light according to the pixel data it receives.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 8, 2017Publication date: September 13, 2018Inventors: Eric Johannessen, Brendan Upton, Luis Sam, Jeremy Fredrich
-
Publication number: 20180198279Abstract: A light-emitting diode (“LED”) lighting unit includes an operational, a sense resistor electrically connected to the input of the operational amplifier, a first field effect transistor (“FET”) whose gate is electrically connected to the output such that the input voltage at the gate of the first FET rises and falls with the output voltage, a second FET whose gate is electrically connected to the output such that the input voltage at the gate of the second FET rises and falls with the output voltage, and a string of LED lights connected such that when the voltage across the string drops below a level to operate, the voltage across a sense resistor drops, causing the operational amplifier to increase its output until the input voltage at the gate of the second FET increases allowing one bank of LED lights to operate.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 22, 2017Publication date: July 12, 2018Inventors: Eric Johannessen, Brendan Upton, Luis Sam
-
Patent number: 9999109Abstract: An LED lighting assembly includes, according to various implementations, mechanisms for protecting the LED lights from voltage or current surges, including hardware that absorbs the strike voltage and hardware that provides a bypass path. The provision of a bypass path in the event of the failure of one or LED lights in an LED string allows the string to be, in effect, “turned off” in order to protect the remaining LED lights, thereby allowing the healthy LED lights to stay lit.Type: GrantFiled: October 21, 2016Date of Patent: June 12, 2018Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.Inventors: Luis Sam, Eric Johannessen, Brendan Upton
-
Publication number: 20180123067Abstract: An aircraft lighting system includes quantum dot light-emitting diodes (“QLEDs”), including a first QLED of a first color and a second QLED of a second color. The system also includes logic circuitry configured to control the QLEDs to emit light in a first brightness ratio to create a light of a first metamer of a color and control the QLEDs to emit light in a second brightness ratio to create a light of a second metamer of the color.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 30, 2017Publication date: May 3, 2018Inventors: Luis Sam, Eric Johannessen, Brendan Upton
-
Publication number: 20180116030Abstract: An LED lighting assembly includes, according to various implementations, mechanisms for protecting the LED lights from voltage or current surges, including hardware that absorbs the strike voltage and hardware that provides a bypass path. The provision of a bypass path in the event of the failure of one or LED lights in an LED string allows the string to be, in effect, “turned off” in order to protect the remaining LED lights, thereby allowing the healthy LED lights to stay lit.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 21, 2016Publication date: April 26, 2018Inventors: Luis Sam, Eric Johannessen, Brendan Upton
-
Patent number: 9868390Abstract: An LED lighting assembly onboard an aircraft includes at least one light emitting diode (LED) unit and a controller. The LED unit includes any number of primary LEDs and at least two white LEDs. The controller is configured to supply respective driving signals to each of the LEDs, the respective driving signals individually controlling relative intensity outputs of the respective LEDs. The controller is further configured to display a desired color point by continuously driving the white LEDs while not driving at least one of the other LEDs.Type: GrantFiled: October 31, 2016Date of Patent: January 16, 2018Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.Inventors: Luis Sam, Eric Johannessen, Brendan Upton
-
Patent number: 9800049Abstract: A harmonics correction circuit is implemented as an independent device (such as a SiP or ASIC), and includes (1) a first node, (2) a second node, (3) a first current path extending from the first node to the second node, (4) a second current extending from the first node to ground, (5) a third current path extending from the first node to the second node, (6) a sense resistor electrically connected to the second node and to ground, (7) a differential circuit (e.g., a differential amplifier or other type of operational amplifier (“op-amp”)) that has a first input, a second input, and an output, (8) a transistor comprising a gate that is electrically connected to the output of the differential circuit, a drain that is electrically connected to the third current path, and a source that is electrically connected along the third current path.Type: GrantFiled: January 12, 2017Date of Patent: October 24, 2017Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.Inventors: Luis Sam, Eric Johannessen, Brendan Upton
-
Publication number: 20170210471Abstract: The present disclosure is generally directed to a harmonics correction method and apparatus. In an embodiment, the method and apparatus are carried out in a light-emitting diode (“LED”) lighting unit that includes a set or string of LED lights. According to an embodiment, the LED lighting unit is a line-replaceable unit (“LRU”).Type: ApplicationFiled: January 18, 2017Publication date: July 27, 2017Inventors: Brendan Upton, Eric Johannessen