Imitation candle and flame simulation assembly thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9739432-B2
Application number	US-201615137951-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 25, 2016
Priority date	Jan 27, 2016
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

Imitation candle devices and systems with enhanced features enable simulation of a realistic candle flame using multiple light sources that illuminate a surface area of an imitation flame element in a controlled manner. The disclosed imitation candle devices further allow the candle to be turned on or off by pushing down on the flame element, thus eliminating a need for additional external switches.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An imitation candle device, comprising:
a flame element shaped to resemble a candle flame and protruding from top of the imitation candle device;
a plurality of light emitting elements located within the imitation candle device and positioned to illuminate a plurality of areas on the flame element;
electronic circuitry coupled to the plurality of light emitting elements to selectively modulate an intensity of each of the plurality of light emitting elements to simulate a flame movement in both a vertical and a horizontal direction, wherein selective modulation of the plurality of light emitting elements includes generation of electric signals to modify an intensity of one or more of the plurality of illuminated areas positioned on a lower section of the flame element to simulate a movement of the lower section of the flame element separately from one or more other illuminated areas on the flame element.

2. The imitation candle device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of light emitting elements are positioned to project light onto four areas of the flame element such that a first light emitting element projects light onto a first area of the flame element, a second light emitting element projects light onto a second area of the flame element, a third light emitting element projects light onto a third area of the flame element, and a fourth light emitting element projects light onto a fourth area of the flame element.

3. The imitation candle device of claim 2 , wherein the first area is located at a left section of the flame element, the second area is located at a right section of the flame element, the third area is located at a top section of the flame element, and the fourth area is located at a bottom section of the flame element.

4. The imitation candle device of claim 3 , wherein the electric signals generated by the electronic circuitry modulate the intensity of the first and the second light emitting elements to produce an appearance of flame movement in the horizontal direction.

5. The imitation candle device of claim 3 , wherein the electric signals generated by the electronic circuitry modulate the intensity of the third and the fourth light emitting elements to produce an appearance of flame movement in the vertical direction.

6. The imitation candle device of claim 3 , wherein the electric signals generated by the electronic circuitry modulate the intensity of the first and the second light emitting elements to produce an appearance of flame movement in the horizontal direction, and modulate the intensity of the third and the fourth light emitting elements to produce an appearance of flame movement in the vertical direction.

7. The imitation candle device of claim 2 , wherein:
the first and the second light emitting elements are positioned such that the light projected onto the first area of the flame element partially overlaps with the light projected onto the second area of the flame element, and
the first area and the second area are located on a top section of the flame element.

8. The imitation candle device of claim 7 , wherein:
the third and the fourth light emitting elements are positioned such that the light projected onto the third area of the flame element does not substantially overlap with the light projected onto the fourth area of the flame element, and
the third area and the fourth area are located on a bottom section of the flame element.

9. The imitation candle device of claim 8 , wherein the electric signals generated by the electronic circuitry modulate the intensity of the first and the second light emitting elements separately from the intensity of the third and the fourth light emitting elements to simulate differing flame movements at the top and at the bottom sections of the flame element.

10. The imitation candle device of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of light emitting elements produces an output light having a color temperature in the range 1700-2350° K.

11. The imitation candle device of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of light emitting elements produces light having the same color.

12. The imitation candle device of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of light emitting elements is positioned to illuminate only one area of the flame element with substantially no overlap with other areas of the flame element.

13. The imitation candle device of claim 1 , further comprising a switch positioned below the flame element within the imitation candle device, wherein
the flame element is movably positioned within the imitation candle device such that a vertical movement of the flame element activates the switch to turn the imitation candle device on or off.

14. The imitation candle device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of the light emitting elements are positioned within the imitation candle device to illuminate the plurality of areas that are located on one side of the flame element.

15. The imitation candle device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of the light emitting elements are positioned within the imitation candle device to illuminate the plurality of areas that are located on two sides of the flame element.

16. The imitation candle device of claim 1 , wherein:
at least two of the plurality of the light emitting elements are formed as a first light emitting device (LED) that is oriented in a first direction to project a first set of spots onto the flame element, and
at least two other of the plurality of the light emitting elements are formed as a second light emitting device (LED) that is oriented in a second direction to project a second set of spots onto the flame element.

17. The imitation candle device of claim 1 , further comprising a mounting rack including a cavity, the mounting rack positioned within the imitation candle device to allow the flame element to be mounted in the cavity of the mounting rack.

18. The imitation candle device of claim 17 , wherein the mounting rack includes a pair of grooves to receive the flame element and to allow the flame element to move along the grooves of the mounting rack.

19. The imitation candle device of claim 1 , further comprising a cylindrical outer shell made of a wax-like material to resemble a body of a true candle.

20. The imitation candle device of claim 1 , further comprising a microphone electrically coupled to the electronic circuitry, the microphone positioned within the imitation candle device to detect a sound of a blow of air directed at the flame element and to generate an electrical signal in response to the sound of the blow of air for turning off the imitation candle device.

21. The imitation candle device of claim 1 , wherein a top portion of the flame element is curved away from a vertical axis that passes through top of the imitation candle device.

22. A light-emitting control assembly for use in an electronic candle, comprising
a plurality of light emitting elements positioned at an angle with respect to a vertical axis that passes through center of the light-emitting control assembly, each of the plurality of light emitting elements projecting a spot of light for illuminating a particular area of a flame element, the plurality of light emitting elements positioned to project a set of partially overlapping light spots and a set of substantially non-overlapping light spots; and
a circuit board comprising a microcontroller coupled to the plurality of light emitting elements to produce electrical signals to modulate an int

Assignees

• Li Xiaofeng

Inventors

• Li Xiaofeng

Classifications

• F21W2121/00

  Use or application of lighting devices or systems for decorative purposes, not provided for in codes F21W2102/00 – F21W2107/00 · CPC title

• F21V23/04

  the elements being switches (safety devices F21V25/00) · CPC title

• F21S6/001

  candle-shaped · CPC title

• F21Y2115/10

  Light-emitting diodes [LED] · CPC title

• H05B45/20

  Controlling the colour of the light · CPC title