LIGHTING CONTROL BASED ON ONE OR MORE LENGHTS OF FLEXIBLE SUBSTRATE

Abstract

Illumination systems, flexible lighting apparatus and/or lighting control methods are described herein. In various embodiments, one or more signals indicative of a shape formed by a flexible substrate (104, 204,304, 504, 604) of a flexible lighting apparatus (100, 200, 300, 600) may be obtained from a plurality of sensors (110, 210, 310) associated with the flexible lighting apparatus. One or more lengths of the flexible substrate along the one or more axes may be detected based on the one or more signals provided by the plurality of sensors. One or more LEDs (or more generally, light sources) (102, 202, 302, 502) disposed along the one or more axes of the flexible substrate may be energized to emit light having one or more lighting properties selected based on the detected one or more lengths.

Claims

1. An illumination system, comprising: a flexible substrate; a plurality of light-emitting diodes disposed along one or more axes of the flexible substrate; a plurality of sensors configured to provide one or more signals indicative of a shape formed by the flexible substrate; and a controller communicably coupled with the plurality of LEDs and the plurality of sensors, the controller to: detect one or more lengths of the flexible substrate along the one or more axes based on the one or more signals provided by the plurality of sensors; and energize one or more LEDs of the plurality of LEDs to emit light having one or more lighting properties selected based on the detected one or more lengths.

2. The illumination system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to detect that the flexible substrate has been stretched based on a change in resistance detected at one or more of the plurality of sensors.

3. The illumination system of claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to calculate a distance between two or more of the plurality of LEDs based on the detected change in resistance, and to select the one or more lighting properties based on the calculated distance between the two or more of the plurality of LEDs.

4. The illumination system of claim 3, wherein the controller is further configured to select an intensity of light emitted by one or more of the two or more of the plurality of LEDs based on the calculated distance.

5. The illumination system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors comprise a plurality of strain gauges.

6. The illumination system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine that the flexible substrate has been severed across an axis based on the one or more signals provided by the plurality of sensors.

7. The illumination system of claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to determine that the flexible substrate has been severed across the axis based on detection that a resistance associated with one or more sensors has increased above a predetermined threshold.

8. The illumination system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of LEDs and the plurality of sensors are spatially coextensive.

9. The illumination system of claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to identify a terminal LED along a particular axis of the flexible substrate based on the one or more signals provided by the plurality of sensors.

10. The illumination system of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to identify the terminal LED along the particular axis of the flexible substrate based on an amount of current detected through one or more of a plurality of LEDs disposed along the particular axis.

11. The illumination system of claim 10, wherein the controller is configured to identify the terminal LED along the particular axis of the flexible substrate based on detected alteration of a control packet passed along one or more of the plurality of sensors or plurality of LEDs disposed along the particular axis.

12. A computer-implemented method, comprising: obtaining, from a plurality of sensors associated with a flexible lighting a pparatus, one or more signals indicative of a shape formed by a flexible substrate of the flexible lighting apparatus; detecting, based on the one or more signals provided by the plurality of sensors, one or more lengths of the flexible substrate along one or more axes; and energizing one or more LEDs of a plurality of LEDs disposed along the one or more axes of the flexible substrate to emit light having one or more lighting properties selected based on the detected one or more lengths.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising detecting that the flexible substrate has been stretched based on a change in resistance detected at one or more of the plurality of sensors.

14. (canceled)

15. (canceled)

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising detecting that the flexible substrate has been severed across an axis based on the one or more signals provided by the plurality of sensors.

17. (canceled)

18. (canceled)

19. (canceled)

20. (canceled)

21. A flexible lighting apparatus, comprising: a flexible substrate; a plurality of light-emitting diodes (“LEDs”) disposed along one or more axes of the flexible substrate; a plurality of sensors configured to provide one or more signals indicative of one or more distances between neighboring LEDs of the plurality of LEDs; and a controller communicably coupled with the plurality of LEDs and the plurality of sensors, the controller to energize one or more LEDs of the plurality of LEDs to emit light having an amount of a particular lighting property that is proportional to a distance between one or more neighboring LEDs.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. Also, the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.

[0029] FIG. 1 illustrates an example illumination system, in accordance with various embodiments.

[0030] FIG. 2 illustrates another example illumination system, in accordance with various embodiments.

[0031] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates another example illumination system, in accordance with various embodiments.

[0032] FIG. 4 depicts a light source and sensor paired as an intelligent node, in accordance with various embodiments.

[0033] FIG. 5 depicts examples of how a gradient rendered by a plurality of light sources of a flexible lighting apparatus may be affected by stretching or tearing, in accordance with various embodiments.

[0034] FIG. 6 depicts an example user interface, in accordance with various embodiments

[0035] FIG. 7 depicts an example method, in accordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] Flexible lighting apparatus such as lighting tape, lighting strips or lighting ropes may include one or more light sources disposed on or within a flexible substrate. The flexible substrate may be stretched and/or cut, e.g., for artistic effect and/or for custom installation. While independent control of one or more properties of light emitted by one or more light sources of a flexible lighting apparatus may be possible, there is a need in the art to provide other means for lighting control, as well as for adaptively controlling light emission based on a shape of the flexible substrate itself. In view of the foregoing, various embodiments and implementations of the present invention are directed to a flexible lighting apparatus that includes one or more sensors that provide signals indicative of a shape of a flexible substrate of the flexible lighting apparatus, and a controller that is configured to select one or more properties of light emitted by a plurality of light sources of the flexible lighting apparatus based on the one or more signals provided by the sensors.

[0037] Referring to FIG. 1, in one embodiment, an illumination system 10 may include a flexible lighting apparatus 100, which itself may include a plurality of light sources 102a-f (referred to generically as “light sources 102”) disposed on or within a flexible substrate 104. In this example, flexible substrate 104 is nominally shaped as an elongate strip, but as noted above, other nominal shapes are contemplated. Light sources 102 may come in various forms, such as LED, incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, and so forth. In some embodiments, more than one type of light source may be employed on a single flexible substrate 104. In various embodiments, one or more properties of light emitted by light sources 102, such as hue, saturation, brightness, intensity, color temperature, etc., may be controllable. Flexible substrate 104 may have various dimensions, and various numbers of light sources 102 may be secured along those dimensions at various intervals and/or densities, on one or more surfaces, or even within flexible substrate.

[0038] Light sources 102 may be communicably coupled with a controller 106 via one or more communication links 108. In some embodiments, controller 106 may be integral with flexible substrate 104, in which case communication link 108 may take the form of one or more buses (e.g., I.sup.2C), wires, conductors, or other transmission means that may be found, for instance, on a printed circuit board. In other embodiments, controller 106 may be separate from flexible substrate 104. In such embodiments, communication link 108 may take the form of a wireless or wired communication link that employs various communication technologies, such as WiFi, BlueTooth, near field communication (“NFC”), Ethernet, coded light, or ad hoc communication technologies such as ZigBee.

[0039] Controller 106 may also be communicably coupled with a plurality of sensors 110a-e (referred to generically as “sensors 110”). Sensors 110 may be configured to provide one or more signals indicative of a shape formed by flexible substrate 104. Based on these signals, in various embodiments, controller 106 may make one or more determinations about one or more lengths of flexible substrate 104 along various axes. Based on these length determinations, controller 106 may energize light sources 102 to emit light having various selected lighting properties (e.g., hue, saturation, intensity, gradient, dynamic lighting effects, etc.).

[0040] For example, in some embodiments, a degree of a stretch along a first axis (e.g., a longitudinal axis of flexible lighting apparatus 100 in FIG. 1) may dictate an intensity (or a degree of another lighting property) of light emitted by one or more light sources 102. As another example, controller 106 may determine that flexible substrate 104 has been torn or otherwise severed so that one or more light sources 102 have been trimmed from the end. For example, controller 106 may utilize various techniques described below to identify a terminal light source 102 (e.g., the last light source 102 before a tear) along a particular axis of flexible substrate 104 based on the one or more signals provided by the plurality of sensors. Controller 106 may select one or more properties of light emitted by one or more light sources 102 based on identification of the terminal light source 102, the location of the tear, and/or a remaining length of flexible substrate 104 post-tear.

[0041] In some embodiments, an orientation sensor 112 may be configured to provide signals indicative of an orientation of flexible substrate 104, e.g., relative to gravity or magnetic north. In some embodiments, orientation sensor 112 may include an accelerometer and/or a compass. In some embodiments, controller 106 may be configured to determine, based on the signal provided by orientation sensor 112, that a stretch in flexible substrate 104 is at least partially attributable to gravity (e.g., as would occur to a portion of flexible substrate 104 that is draped over a top corner of a rectangular picture frame). In some embodiments, orientation sensor 112 may include a gyroscope that provides a signal that can be used by controller 106 to determine, for example, a yaw of flexible substrate 104. In some embodiments, a signal from both an accelerometer and a gyroscope may be combined, e.g., using a Kalman filter, to determine the yaw.

[0042] Sensors 110 may be implemented in various ways. In some embodiments, sensors 110 may be implemented using one or more strain gauges. In some embodiments, sensors 110 may be positioned between light sources 102. In some embodiments, sensors 110 may be coextensive with light sources 102. For example, in some embodiments, each light source 102 may be an “intelligent” LED that includes logic (e.g., any combination of hardware or software executable by one or more processors) configured to detect one or more aspects of a shape of flexible substrate 104. As another example, in some embodiments, a light source 102 and an adjacent sensor 110 may collectively be considered a “node,” and operation of the light source may be tied directly to a state of the corresponding sensor 110.

[0043] FIG. 2 depicts another illumination system 20. Similar to flexible lighting apparatus 100 of FIG. 1, a flexible lighting apparatus 200 may include a plurality of light sources 202 (only some of the light sources are labeled for simplicity's sake) disposed on or within a flexible substrate 204. Light sources 202 may be communicably coupled with a controller 206, e.g., via communication path 208. Controller 206 may also be communicable coupled with a plurality of sensors 210 (only some of the sensors are labeled for simplicity's sake). In this example, flexible substrate 204 is rectangular, rather than elongate like flexible substrate 104 in FIG. 1. Accordingly, rather than light sources/sensors being disposed along a single axis, a two-dimensional array of light sources 202 and sensors 210 is provided. Based on signals from sensors 210, controller 206 may be configured to detect one or more lengths of flexible substrate 204 along a plurality of axes in either of the two dimensions, as well as a change in those one or more lengths due to, for instance, stretching or tearing. Illumination system 20 also includes an orientation sensor 212 that may operate and/or include similar components as orientation sensor 112 of FIG. 1.

[0044] While FIGS. 1 and 2 demonstrate the capability to determine lengths in one and two dimensions, respectively, this is not meant to be limiting. In some embodiments where sensors are distributed within a flexible substrate in three-dimensions, one or more lengths of a flexible substrate due to stretching or tearing may be determined along an axis for any of those dimensions. Additionally, while stretching (i.e., increasing flexible substrate length) is described repeatedly herein, disclosed techniques for determining lengths may be equally applicable to instances where a length of a flexible substrate along a particular axis is decreased, e.g., due to smashing or squeezing (in which case one or more light sources may end up closer together).

[0045] FIG. 3 depicts schematically and in greater detail than FIGS. 1 and 2 example components that may be included in an illumination system 30, which may be similar to illumination systems 10 and 20, that is configured with selected aspects of the present disclosure. At the top of FIG. 3 is a flexible lighting apparatus 300 that includes a controller 306 communicably coupled with a plurality of LEDs 302a-302n and a plurality of sensors 310a-310n. In this example, LEDs 302 and sensors 310 are part of a roll 320, with those LEDs 302 and sensors 310 that have already been “unrolled” being visible. In some embodments, the LED 302 nearest roll 320 may be considered the “first” (or “last,” depending on the nomenclature used) LED 302, and the terminal LED may be the “reachable” LED (e.g., that has not been severed) that is furthest from the “first” LED. At the top of FIG. 3, for instance, LED 302a may be considered the first “reachable” LED and LED 302n may be considered the “terminal” LED. Each sensor 310 in FIG. 3 takes the form of a strain gauge 322, but other types of sensors that incorporate resistive paths may be employed. A strain gauge 322 may include a resistive path that has a nominal known resistance, R.sub.normal.

[0046] In various embodiments, controller 306 may be configured to determine that flexible substrate 304 has been severed across an axis 324 based on one or more signals provided by plurality of sensors 310. For instance, at the bottom of FIG. 3, flexible lighting apparatus 300 is has been cut or severed at the location of sensor 310b. This also cuts or severs the corresponding strain gauge 322, thus severing the resistive path at that location. In various embodiments, controller 306 may be configured to determine that flexible substrate 304 has been severed across axis 324 based on detection that a resistance associated with one or more sensors, e.g., sensor 310b in this example, has increased above a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold of resistance may be selected as a very high value that may approach infinity. For example, the threshold may be selected so that noise created by passage of a trivial number of electrons across the tear or severance (e.g., through a medium such as air or water) would effectively be ignored by controller 106 as insufficient to constitute an intact resistive path.

[0047] As noted above, in various embodiments, controller 306 (or 106 or 206) may be configured to identify a terminal LED 302 along axis 324 of flexible substrate 304 based on one or more signals provided by plurality of sensors 310. This may be accomplished in various ways. In some embodiments, controller 306 may be configured to identify the terminal LED—e.g., which at the bottom of FIG. 3 is now 302b—along axis 324 of flexible substrate 304 based on an amount of current detected through one or more of plurality of LEDs 302 disposed along axis 324. For example, controller may energize LEDs 302 one at a time, one after another, starting at LED 302a. In each instance, current may pass from controller 306 (which may channel power from a power source (not depicted) such as a battery or mains) through the respective LED. However, due to the tear, controller 306 attempts to energize LED 302c (and any subsequent LED), no current may flow, which may indicate that that LED 302 is no longer “reachable.” Additionally or alternatively, LEDs 302 may be energized progressively, so that as each LED 302 is added the total current increases. When an attempt is made to energize another LED 302 but the total current does not increase, controller 306 may determine that the last LED 302 successfully energized is the terminal LED.

[0048] FIG. 4 depicts one example of how a light source 402a and sensor circuitry 410a may collectively form a node 430. Sensor circuitry 410a (which may be repeated at every node) may include a voltage controlled switch 433. Creation of a tear 434 may sever a wire 432 that controls the gate of switch 433. This in turn may pull a gate voltage of switch 433 high, closing a control output of LED A 402a to the return path. Control packets may then pass through a return path 438 back to a controller (not depicted in FIG. 4). Based on an amount of control packets received via return path 438, the controller may determine the existence of tear 434, and may act accordingly (e.g., by identifying a new terminal LED 402a).

[0049] Referring back to FIG. 3, in some embodiments, controller 306 (or an individual intelligent node) may detect an alteration of control data passed along sensors 310, LEDs 302, and/or nodes (generically referred to as an “LED/sensor/node”) disposed along axis 324. In some such embodiments, each LED/sensor/node may have built in “intelligence” (e.g., microcontroller, circuitry, etc.) configured to alter control data received from a previous LED/sensor/node (e.g., one step closer to controller 306), e.g., by adding an identifier associated with the LED/sensor/node, removing one or more packets or bytes from the control data, etc. The LED/sensor/node may then pass the altered control data onto a subsequent LED/sensor/node (e.g., one step further from controller 306).

[0050] In the event of a tear, the last LED/sensor/node to receive the control data may alter it and then return the altered control data to controller 306 (e.g., along return path 438). Controller 306 may then determine which LED/sensor/node is the last one that is reachable, and/or determine how many LEDs/sensors/nodes are reachable, based on the detected alteration (e.g., a “fingerprint” of the last LED/sensor/node, or a count of packets remaining in the control data), and may classify that LED/sensor/node as “terminal.” In some embodiments wherein each LED/sensor/node removes a portion (e.g., one or more bytes, a packet) of the control data, controller 306 may adapt to a new number N of reachable nodes (e.g., remaining after a tear) by transmitting out control data with N+1 portions and, for instance, expecting control data with one portion back. If no control data is returned, controller 306 may increase the amount of data portions it transmits until something is received in return.

[0051] In various embodiments, a controller (e.g., 106, 206, 306) may be configured to determine a distance d between two or more (e.g., neighboring) light sources (e.g., 102, 202, 302) based on one or more signals provided a plurality of sensors (e.g., 110, 210, 310). For example, in some embodiments, change in resistance from a nominal known resistance, R.sub.meas-R.sub.normal, may be detected by a controller. The controller may determine based on the detected change that the flexible substrate has been stretched at a particular location. The controller may then select one or more lighting properties to be emitted by one or more light sources based on the calculated distance between the two or more of the plurality of light sources and/or the determined location of the stretch. For example, the controller may increase an intensity of light emitted by one or more LEDs based on the calculated distance d and location, e.g., to make up for the LEDs being spread further apart due to a stretch.

[0052] In some embodiments, intelligent nodes (e.g., a light source/sensor pair described above) may be configured to report various locally-sensed values, such as resistance, back to a controller. For example, suppose each node reports back to the controller with a resistance value measured at the sensor of the node. The controller may then have at its disposal a number N (N ∈ ) of nodes that are reachable and a set of N−1 resistance values, R.sub.meas[N−1]. Using this information, in some embodiments, the controller may calculate a distance d[x] between nodes x and x+1 using a formula such as the following:

[00001]$\begin{array}{cc}d\left[x\right]={\mathrm{distance}}_{\mathrm{normal}}\times \frac{R_{\mathrm{meas}}\left[x\right]}{R_{\mathrm{normal}}}& \left(1\right)\end{array}$

In various embodiments, the controller may also calculate a total length L of the flexible substrate along the particular axis under examination by using a formula such as the following:

L=Σ.sub.x=1.sup.x=N−1d [x]  (2)

[0053] One or more of these various pieces of information may be usable by a controller, alone or in combination, to select various properties of light to be emitted by one or more light sources. For example, in some embodiments, the controller may select a gradient of a particular lighting property (e.g., color, saturation, brightness) that is to be collectively emitted by a plurality of light sources along a particular axis. If an overall length L of a flexible substrate along a particular axis is increased due to stretching but the number of reachable nodes is decreased due to tearing, the controller may cause the remaining nodes to collectively render a gradient of a particular lighting property differently than if, say, the overall length L of the flexible substrate is not increased from a nominal length and no nodes are removed by tearing.

[0054] Examples of how lighting may be effected by a distance d[x] between nodes, an overall length L of a flexible substrate along a particular axis, and/or a location of a tear (and hence, a terminal light source), are depicted in FIGS. 5a-c. An illumination system 50 includes a flexible lighting apparatus 500, which may include the same components that were depicted in FIGS. 1-3, and therefore those components are in large part unlabeled for the sake of brevity. In FIG. 5a, a flexible substrate 504 is depicted in its nominal shape (i.e., unstretched, untorn). A plurality of LEDs 502a-h are depicted, each emitting light having a particular level of a particular lighting property (e.g., color, brightness, saturation, etc.), such that the plurality of LEDs 502a-h collectively emit a gradient. In FIG. 5b, flexible substrate 504 has been cut or torn between LEDs 502d and 502e. This leaves LEDs 502a-d to render the entire gradient, which means there are less intermediate steps of the gradient rendered. In FIG. 5c, flexible substrate 504 has been cut or torn after LED 502e, and then stretched back to its original length L. That leaves five LEDs, 502a-502e, to render the entire gradient.

[0055] In some embodiments, a flexible lighting apparatus may be stretched in a non-uniform manner. For instance, a portion of a flexible substrate may be glued to a surface during installation, and then an adjacent portion may be stretched to accommodate further installation. A controller (e.g., 106, 206, 306) may be configured to take this non-uniformity in d[x] values into account. Suppose a first portion of a flexible substrate is stretched along a particular axis to a greater extent than a second portion. Without any adjustment, the intensity at the first portion may be perceived as lower simply because the light sources will be further apart. In various embodiments, the controller may increase intensity in the first portion to compensate for this effect. More generally, in various embodiments, a controller may energize one or more light source of a plurality of light sources to emit light having an amount of a particular lighting property (e.g., intensity, saturation, a particular hue, etc.) that is proportional to a distance between one or more neighboring light sources.

[0056] In some embodiments, in addition to or instead of a central controller compensating emitted light, nodes (i.e., light source/sensor pairs) themselves may compensate one or more properties of light they emit based on a stretch sensed nearby in a flexible substrate. For example, a node may include circuitry to adjust a pulse width modulated (“PWM”) signal provided to the node's light source based on a detected resistance. Various timing mechanisms, such as a 555 timer integrated chip (“IC”), may be employed to generate the PWM signal at a duty cycle that varies based on a voltage across a strain gauge and/or a current buffer. If the resistance sensed at the strain gauge increases, a charge time of one or more capacitors in the 555 timer IC may increase, which in turn may increase the duty cycle of the PWM signal. Increasing the duty cycle may, in some embodiments, cause a corresponding increase in light output of the node's light source. In some embodiments, this increase in light output may compensate for an increase in space between light sources of the flexible lighting apparatus due to the detected stretch. In other embodiments, each node may transmit an indication of a resistance sensed in a strain gauge to a controller (e.g., 106, 206, 306), e.g., using an I.sup.2C bus, and the controller may adjust light output by the node's light source accordingly.

[0057] FIG. 6 depicts another aspect of the present disclosure. A user interface 650 may be rendered on a display 652 of a computing device 654 to facilitate user control of a nearby flexible lighting apparatus 600 configured with selected aspects of the present disclosure. For the sake of clarity and brevity, many components of flexible lighting apparatus 600 that are similar to components of other embodiments describe herein are not labeled. In various embodiments, computing device 654 may come in various forms, including but not limited to a smart phone, tablet computer, wearable computing device (e.g., smart watch, smart glasses), a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a set top box, and so forth. Display 652 may take various forms as well, such as a touch screen display or a separate display.

[0058] In this example, flexible substrate 604 of flexible lighting apparatus 600 has been severed as shown. A controller (not depicted in FIG. 6) associated with flexible lighting apparatus 600 (e.g., communicably coupled with one or more light sources and/or sensors of flexible lighting apparatus 600) may detect this severance, e.g., using one or more methods described above. In response, the controller may provide computing device 654 with data that computing device 654 may use to render interface 650. Interface 650 may include a depiction 600′ of a remaining portion flexible lighting control apparatus.

[0059] In various embodiments, a user may operate interface 650 to generate one or more lighting control commands to control one or more properties of light emitted by one or more light sources of flexible lighting apparatus 600. Those lighting control commands may be transmitted to the controller of flexible lighting apparatus 600, e.g., using various wired or wireless techniques such as WiFi, BlueTooth, ZigBee, coded light, and so forth. In some embodiments, instead of transmitting lighting control commands directly to flexible lighting apparatus 600, computing device 654 may transmit lighting control commands to a lighting system bridge (not shown). The lighting system bridge may be configured to cause one or more light sources of flexible lighting apparatus 600 to emit light having the user-selected properties.

[0060] In various embodiments, a user may be able to operate user interface 650 to select a lighting property for which a gradient will be rendered by the remaining uncut portion of flexible lighting apparatus 600 (e.g., the portion on the left). For example, in some embodiments, a user may select from a color gradient (e.g., a rainbow), a brightness gradient, a saturation gradient, and so forth. The user may also be able to select lighting property values at one or both extremes of the rendered gradient. For example, a user may operate interface 650 to cause a gradient of colors rendered by a plurality of light sources of a remaining portion of flexible lighting apparatus 600 to extend between red and green, instead of all the way across the rainbow from red to violet.

[0061] In various embodiments, user interface 650 may be rendered to depict one or more stretches in flexible lighting apparatus 600 as well. For example, the controller may provide data described above (e.g., distance d[x] between light sources x and x+1, total length L of a flexible substrate along a particular axis, etc.) to computing device 654. Computing device 654 may then use this data to render flexible lighting apparatus 600 to includes stretches. A user may then operate depictions of individual light sources or groups of light sources to, e.g., manually compensate for an increase in distance between two or more light sources caused by a stretch.

[0062] A controller (e.g., 106, 206, 306) may determine the various data points described herein (e.g., d[x] between light sources, total length L of a flexible substrate along a particular axis, location of one or more tears, identity of a terminal node/light source/sensor, etc.) at various points in time. In some embodiments, signals may be obtained from sensors (e.g., 110, 210, 310) during or after a power up of a flexible lighting apparatus. In some embodiments, signals may be obtained from sensors periodically (e.g., every few seconds, every few milliseconds), or even continuously. In the latter cases, one or more properties of light emitted by light sources of the flexible lighting apparatus may be periodically or continuously altered. In some embodiments, signals may be obtained from sensors at the behest of a user.

[0063] FIG. 7 depicts an example method 700 for lighting control, in accordance with various embodiments. At block 702, one or more signals may be obtained, e.g., by a controller (e.g., 106, 206, 306), from one or more sensors (e.g., 110, 210, 310). Those one or more signals may be indicative of a shape of a flexible substrate (e.g., 104, 204, 304, 504, 604) of a flexible lighting apparatus (e.g., 100, 200, 300, 500, 600).

[0064] At block 704, one or more lengths of the flexible substrate along one or more axes (in one, two or three dimensions) may be detected, e.g., by the controller, based on the one or more signals obtained from the sensors at block 702. Lengths of various types may be detected at block 704. For example, at block 706, one or more distances d between one or more neighboring LEDs (or nodes) along a particular axis may be calculated, e.g., based on a change in resistance using equation 1, above. At block 708, a tear may be detected, e.g., between two LEDs along a particular axis based on a sharp increase in resistance (e.g., approaching infinity) detected at a sensor at that location. At block 710, a terminal LED may be identified, e.g., immediately before the tear detected at block 708, using various techniques described above (e.g., polling). At block 712, one or more total lengths L of the flexible substrate along one or more axes may be calculated, e.g., based on a sum of distances d calculated at block 706 and/or a location of a tear detected at block 708.

[0065] At block 714, a user interface (e.g., 650) may be rendered, e.g., on a computing device (e.g., 654). The user interface may depict a flexible lighting apparatus in whatever shape it has been altered to (or its nominal shape if unaltered). The user interface may be operable to select one or more properties of light emitted by one or more LEDs of the flexible lighting apparatus. For instance, and as described above, a user may choose what type of gradient they'd like to render, as well as what the end values of the gradient should be.

[0066] At block 716, LEDs at one or more locations on the flexible substrate may be energized to emit light having one or more selected properties. Those properties may be selected based on the one or more signals from the sensors (or based on lengths determined based on the one or more signals), as well as based on user commands received at the user interface rendered at block 714.

[0067] While several inventive embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the inventive teachings is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific inventive embodiments described herein.

[0068] It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventive embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive scope of the present disclosure.

[0069] All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.

[0070] The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”

[0071] The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.

[0072] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e. “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

[0073] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

[0074] It should also be understood that, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, in any methods claimed herein that include more than one step or act, the order of the steps or acts of the method is not necessarily limited to the order in which the steps or acts of the method are recited.

[0075] In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures, Section 2111.03.