2012-01-30 Assigned to TERRALUX, INC. reassignment TERRALUX, INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: CATALANO, ANTHONY, HARRISON, DANIEL J.
In various embodiments, an illumination device includes a primary light emitter for providing direct illumination and a secondary light emitter for illuminating a shade, thereby providing decorative illumination.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/093,197, filed on Apr. 25, 2011, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/546,377, filed on Aug. 24, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,946,730, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/868,406, filed on Oct. 5, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,597,456, which is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/893,727, filed on Jul. 16, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,296,913, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/517,130, filed on Nov. 4, 2003. The entire disclosure of each of these applications is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
In various embodiments, the present invention relates generally to illumination systems and methods incorporating light emitting diodes (LEDs), and more specifically to such systems and methods that provide both direct illumination and decorative illumination.
Currently lighting applications are dominated by incandescent lighting products. Because they use hot filaments, these products produce considerable heat, which is wasted, in addition to visible light that is desired. Halogen-based lighting enables filaments to operate at a higher temperature without premature failure, but again considerable non-visible infrared light is emitted, and this heat is directed away from the lamp to the extent feasible. This is conventionally done by using a dichroic reflector shade that preferentially passes the infrared as well as a portion of the visible light. The nature of this dichroic reflector is such that it passes several different visible colors as well as the infrared radiation, giving a somewhat pleasing appearance. This has led to numerous decorative applications for such halogen lights. These lights consume substantial current and dissipate considerable unwanted heat. Halogen bulbs are designed to operate at a variety of voltages between 12 volts (V) to as high 15 V or greater.
Light emitting diodes have operating advantages compared to ordinary incandescent and halogen lights. LEDs typically emit a narrow range of wavelengths, thereby eliminating, to a large degree, wasted non-visible energy. White light can be created by combining light colors. LEDs can also emit in the ultraviolet wavelength range, in which case white light (as well as certain colors) can be created by excitation of a phosphor.
LEDs have an extremely long life compared to incandescent and halogen bulbs. Whereas incandescent and halogen bulbs may have a life expectancy of 2000 hours before the filament fails, LEDs may last as long as 100,000 hours, and 5,000 hours is fairly typical. Moreover, unlike incandescent and halogen bulbs, LEDs are not shock-sensitive and can withstand large forces without failure, while the hot filament of an incandescent or halogen bulb is prone to rupture.
Halogen bulbs, incandescent bulbs, and LEDs all typically require a fixed operating voltage and current for optimal performance. Too high an operating voltage causes premature failure, while too low an operating voltage or current reduces light output. Also, the color of incandescent and halogen lights shifts toward the red end of the visible spectrum as current and voltage are reduced. This is in contrast to LEDs, in which only the intensity of the light is reduced. Furthermore, as the voltage to an incandescent or halogen light is reduced, its temperature drops; as a result, its internal resistance decreases, leading to higher current consumption but without commensurate light output. In cases where batteries are used as the source of energy, they can be drained without producing visible light.
Incandescent and halogen bulbs require a substantial volume of space to contain the vacuum required to prevent air from destroying the filament, to keep the glass or silica envelope from overheating, and to insulate nearby objects from the emitted heat. In contrast, LEDs, as solid-state devices, require much less space and generate much less heat. If the volume of an incandescent or halogen bulb is allocated to a solid-state LED light, considerably more functions may be incorporated into the lighting product.
Unlike incandescent and halogen lights, LEDs ordinarily produce light in a narrow, well-defined beam. While this is desirable for many applications, the broad-area illumination afforded by incandescent and halogen lights is also often preferred. This is not easily accomplished using LEDs. The light produced by incandescent and halogen lights that is not directed towards the target performs a useful function by providing ancillary illumination and a decorative function. Halogen lights with their dichroic reflectors do this necessarily, but ordinary incandescent lights can employ external shades, not part of the light bulb, in a variety of artistic designs to make use of this otherwise misdirected light.
Embodiments of the present invention overcome the limitations of halogen or incandescent light sources, and combine their desirable properties with the advantages afforded by LEDs into a unique system. Various embodiments include systems and methods that provide direct illumination as well as decorative illumination distinct from the direct illumination.
Embodiments of the present invention therefore include an LED-based light emitter (which includes one or more LEDs) for replacing standard incandescent and halogen bulbs for a wide variety of purposes. In accordance with various embodiments, lighting systems have enhanced functionality compared to that of conventional incandescent- or halogen-based lighting systems, and typically include a decorative illumination element that provides, e.g., decorative illumination distinct from the direct illumination from the light emitter.
Some embodiments include an electrical connector or base the same as or equivalent to a standard bulb base, a printed circuit board (or other circuit substrate or module) electrically connected to the base, a driving circuit that may be mounted on or embodied by the printed circuit board, and/or one or more LEDs of one or more colors that may be attached to the printed circuit board. The driving circuit may include or consist essentially of a solid-state circuit that regulates the voltage and current available from the electrical source (e.g., a power socket) and regulates the output to a constant value utilized by the LEDs. The available source voltage may be either greater than or less than that utilized by the LEDs.
Various embodiments of the present invention include an LED lamp that replaces incandescent and/or halogen lamps as well as their decorative shades by including LEDs on both sides of a printed circuit (PC) board, where the decorative LEDs may be on the opposite side of that intended for direct illumination. Similarly, embodiments of the present invention may incorporate decorative LEDs that are "aimed" in a direction different from those intended for direct illumination. The decorative LEDs may, for example, illuminate an envelope or shade around the lamp. The terms "envelope" and "shade" are utilized herein interchangeably; the envelope or shade may be, unless otherwise indicated, substantially transparent or translucent. One or more portions of the shade may incorporate a phosphor for converting at least a portion of the light emitted by one or more of the LEDs (i.e., decorative LED(s), direct-illumination LED(s), or both) to another wavelength. As used herein, "phosphor" refers to any material that shifts the wavelength of light irradiating it and/or that is luminescent, fluorescent, and/or phosphorescent.
Lighting systems in accordance with various embodiments may also include additional circuitry, e.g., to allow remote control of lighting functions via an infrared or wireless device; to change the color of either or both of the (decorative) shade illumination and the direct-illumination LEDs; to impart a time-varying color and/or intensity to the (decorative) shade illumination and/or the direct illumination; to enable external switching via mechanical action of color, pattern, and/or intensity on either the shade or direct illumination; and/or to enable the switching of the various functions of color, intensity, and/or pattern by interrupting the power to the circuit within a predetermined time interval.
Mechanisms such as mechanical actuators that alter the pattern and color of light to the shade for the purpose of decorative illumination may also be included. Such mechanisms may be or include a shadow screen, a multi-faceted mirror, or other reflective or diffractive optical component or components either fixed within the envelope of the lighting unit or which are configured to move in order to vary the pattern and/or color of the resulting light for decorative and/or direct-illumination purposes.
Various embodiments of the present invention feature one or more additional light emitters such as LEDs disposed within the envelope (housing) of the light bulb to provide the decorative illumination. A separate, secondary circuit may be used to produce a constant current for the additional, decorative light emitter(s) and control their decorative illumination characteristics such as intensity, color, pattern, and/or frequency. The secondary circuit may be connected to the main source of power. Light generated from the decorative light emitter(s) may be guided along at least a portion of the length of an optical component and exit the housing through openings on the shade of the housing. Such embodiments may include a secondary optical element to direct light generated by the light emitter for direct illumination (e.g., the primary-illumination LED(s)) to provide the decorative illumination. A heat sink may be thermally connected to any or all of the light emitters for regulation of their temperature. A circuit may provide remote control of lighting functions of the lighting system (e.g., the decorative light emitter(s)) via, e.g., an infrared or wireless device.
One or more optical components may be disposed within the housing, and may direct a first, larger (e.g., more intense) portion of light generated by the light emitter(s) for direct illumination and direct a second, smaller (e.g., less intense) portion of light for decorative illumination. The second portion of light may be guided along the length of a secondary optical component and exit the housing through one or more openings on the shade of the housing. In an alternative embodiment, the decorative illumination is achieved by light emission through a plurality of light paths connecting the housing and the optical component that directs the second portion of light from the light emitter.
In an aspect, embodiments of the invention feature an illumination device including or consisting essentially of a primary light emitter for providing direct illumination, a secondary light emitter (different from the primary light emitter) for providing decorative illumination in a direction different from a direction of the direct illumination, and an envelope spaced away from and disposed around at least the secondary light emitter. The envelope receives light emitted by the secondary light emitter, the received light forming the decorative illumination.
Embodiments of the invention include one or more of the following in any of a variety of combinations. The device may include an electrical connector for receiving power from an external source. A circuit may regulate the power from the external source and provide the regulated power to the primary and/or secondary light emitters. The shape of the envelope may correspond to at least a portion of the shape of an incandescent or halogen light bulb the illumination device is designed to replace. The primary light emitter may include or consist essentially of one or more light-emitting diodes. The secondary light emitter may include or consist essentially of one or more light-emitting diodes. The direct illumination may be distinct from the decorative illumination in terms of intensity and/or color. The envelope may incorporate an optical element for modifying light from the secondary light emitter. The optical element may include or consist essentially of a mask for blocking a portion of the light from the secondary light emitter, a reflective element for reflecting light from the secondary light emitter, and/or a diffractive element for diffracting light from the secondary light emitter.
The envelope may include a phosphor (e.g., either therein or thereon, for example in the form of a layer applied to the envelope) for converting a wavelength of light from the secondary light emitter to a different wavelength. The decorative illumination may include or consist essentially of only light converted by the phosphor. The decorative illumination may include or consist essentially of a mixture of unconverted light emitted by the secondary light emitter and light converted by the phosphor. The envelope may define an opening through which at least a portion of the direct illumination is emitted. A portion of the envelope may be configured to receive light from the primary light emitter, and the received light from the primary light emitter may form the direct illumination exiting the envelope. The portion of the envelope configured to receive light from the primary light emitter may be substantially transparent. The portion of the envelope configured to receive light from the primary light emitter may include a phosphor for converting a wavelength of light from the primary light emitter to a different wavelength. The direct illumination may include or consist essentially of only light converted by the phosphor and exiting the envelope. The direct illumination may include or consist essentially of, exiting the envelope, a mixture of unconverted light emitted by the primary light emitter and light converted by the phosphor. At least a portion of the envelop may be removable from the primary and secondary light emitters, thereby enabling replacement with at least a portion of a second envelope having a different light-transmission property (e.g., transmissivity, opacity, and/or presence of an optical element for blocking, reflection, and/or refraction).
In another aspect, embodiments of the invention feature a method of illumination from a light source including a primary light emitter and a secondary light emitter different from the primary light emitter. Direct illumination is provided from the primary light emitter, and a shade is illuminated with light from the secondary light emitter, thereby forming decorative illumination emitted in a direction different from a direction of the direct illumination.
Embodiments of the invention include one or more of the following in any of a variety of combinations. The shade may be disposed around and spaced apart from the secondary light emitter. The shade may be disposed around and spaced apart from the primary light emitter. The shade may include a phosphor. Illuminating the shade may include or consist essentially of converting a wavelength of light from the secondary light emitter to a different wavelength, the converted light exiting the shade and forming at least a portion of the decorative illumination. The decorative illumination may consist essentially of the converted light (i.e., rather than incorporating any unconverted light). The decorative illumination may include or consist essentially of a mixture of the converted light and unconverted light from the secondary light emitter. Illuminating the shad may include or consist essentially of blocking a portion of the light from the secondary light emitter, reflecting a portion of the light from the secondary light emitter, or diffracting a portion of the light from the secondary light emitter.
Providing direct illumination may include or consist essentially of illuminating a portion of the shade with light from the primary light emitter. The portion of the shade illuminated with light from the primary light emitter may be substantially transparent, and the direct illumination may include or consist essentially of light transmitted through the portion of the shade. The portion of the shade illuminated with light from the primary light emitter may include a phosphor, and illuminating the portion may include or consist essentially of converting a wavelength of light from the primary light emitter to a different wavelength, the converted light exiting the shade and forming at least a portion (or even all) of the direct illumination. The direct illumination may consist essentially of the converted light exiting the shade. The direct illumination may include or consist essentially of, exiting the shade, a mixture of the converted light and unconverted light from the primary light emitter. Providing direct illumination may include or consist essentially of emitting at least a portion of light from the primary light emitter through an opening in the shade. The primary light emitter may include or consist essentially of one or more light-emitting diodes. The secondary light emitter may include or consist essentially of one or more light-emitting diodes. The direct illumination may be distinct from the decorative illumination in terms of intensity and/or color.
These and other objects, along with advantages and features of the invention, will become more apparent through reference to the following description, the accompanying drawings, and the claims. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the features of the various embodiments described herein are not mutually exclusive and can exist in various combinations and permutations. As used herein, the terms "substantially" and "approximately" mean±10%, and, in some embodiments, ±5%. The term "consists essentially of" means excluding other materials that contribute to function, unless otherwise defined herein. Nonetheless, such other materials may be present, collectively or individually, in trace amounts. Unless otherwise indicated, herein the terms "envelope" and "shade" are utilized interchangeably.
FIG. 1 illustrates various views of an exemplary halogen illumination device referred to commonly as an MR-16.
FIG. 2 illustrates various view of an embodiment of the present invention that can retrofit the halogen illumination device and contains LEDs for illumination on one side and LEDs for direct illumination on the other. Circuitry to enable regulation and other features is also shown.
FIG. 3 illustrates various views of an embodiment of the present invention in which high intensity LEDs are placed on both sides to produce shade illumination and direct illumination. A switch and circuitry for changing the attributes of the lighting is also shown.
FIG. 4 illustrates various views of another embodiment of the present invention in which a movable, multifaceted mirror is included on the shade side of the illumination unit to provide a variable pattern on the shade.
FIG. 5A illustrates various views of another embodiment of the present invention in which an internal fixture containing apertures is included to pattern illumination to the shade.
FIG. 5B is a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention in which an additional LED is disposed within the housing to produce decorative illumination.
FIG. 5C is a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention in which decorative illumination arises from an optical component that directs light generated from the primary light emitter.
FIG. 5D is a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention in which a plurality of the light paths, connecting the housing and the optical component, direct a portion of the light from the primary light emitter for decorative illumination.
FIG. 5E is a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention in which decorative illumination arises from the illumination of a shade featuring a phosphor.
FIG. 6 shows elevational and top views of a means for producing a series/parallel circuit comprised of individual LED semiconductor chips on a circuit board that results in a high-density lighting array.
FIG. 7 shows elevational and top views of an embodiment of the high-density LED array coupled with an integrated lens array that is movable to produce variable-directional lighting.
FIGS. 8( a) and 8(b) schematically illustrate a constant-current implementation of a compact dc/dc boost converter with a feature that enables current regulation of LEDs based on the thermal environment.
FIGS. 9( a) and 9(b) schematically illustrate a compact constant-current buck/boost circuit for current regulation based on the thermal environment in accordance with various embodiments of the invention.
FIG. 1 illustrates an incandescent halogen-type bulb commonly available. The features of this bulb derive from its operating characteristics: it operates at high temperatures; it requires an evacuated envelope separated from the hot filament; it emits large quantities of infrared radiation experienced by the user as heat; and it consumes large quantities of electrical power. Nonetheless, these devices are in common usage and fixtures and appliances have been constructed to accommodate the form, fit, and function of these bulbs. This particular unit is a model MR-16.
The essential components of the bulb include a connector 101 that attaches to a standard source of electrical power (e.g., a power socket) that has a mating adapter; an evacuated transparent capsule 102 containing the hot filament 105; an envelope 103 that acts as a shade and filter to allow infrared radiation to pass, while reflecting a portion of the desirable visible light to the objects below; and a transparent front cover 104 that allows the radiation to pass, while protecting the evacuated capsule 102 from breakage.
FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the current invention. This illuminating device preferably has the same form, fit and function as the incandescent illumination device of FIG. 1 and as such has a similar electrical connector 201 and similarly shaped transparent or translucent envelope 202. The envelope 202 will generally act to scatter light emitted from inside the envelope and be visible from the outside. As such, the envelope 202 may serve as a screen onto which are projected and displayed images, colors or other decorative or information-containing light either visible to humans or at shorter or longer wavelengths. The decorative or informational content may be generated by circuitry contained on one or more circuit boards 206 within the envelope of the bulb 202. This circuit 206 in its simplest form controls other illumination devices such as, e.g., the LEDs 207 located on the back of the circuit board 204. Another circuit 205 may be used to control high-power LEDs 209 in an array 208 for direct illumination of objects outside the envelope of the lighting device. However, this circuit or circuits may enable several useful features, including (i) a timer to adjust the color and illumination level according to some preset or user-adjustable schedule, (ii) a photocell to turn the light on or off depending on the ambient light level and or a proximity sensor, (iii) a signaling function that communicates with other lights, and/or (iv) a user-accessible switch that enables switching of illumination characteristics such intensity, color, and/or continuous or flashing illumination modes.
Also typically located on circuit board 204 is a power-conditioning circuit 205 that regulates power to the high-intensity LEDs 208 located on the underside of the board. This circuit adapts and controls the power available via the connector 201 and conducted to the board via wires 203. The circuit 205 may contain storage features including a battery to enable the lighting device to act as an emergency light source in the event of a power failure. The circuit may rectify AC power to DC to suit the desired current and voltage required by the series and/or parallel array of LEDs and provide power to other on-board circuitry.
In this embodiment, the LEDs 207 on the backside of the PC board 204 may serve the function of communication and/or decoration. For decorative purposes, the shade 202 is preferably made of a colored or white transparent (or preferably translucent) material such as plastic or glass that is textured to scatter light. In this manner light from the LEDs 207 impinges on this surface and is made more visible to the user, and may serve the function of decoration. The shade 202 may also contain penetrations 210 to allow heat to exit the LED enclosure.
FIG. 3 illustrates a similar incandescent replacement product. This product also contains an electrical connector 301, a shaped translucent or transparent envelope 302 with holes 310 to remove heat, one or more printed circuit boards 304 within the enclosure, and means such as wires 303 to conduct electrical power to these board(s). This embodiment has high-intensity illumination LEDs 307 on the top surface and other high-intensity LEDs 309 in an array 308 on the bottom surface. Unlike the product of FIG. 2, which had small LEDs with a narrow exit beam and low intensity, these high intensity LEDs 309 and 307 have a higher light output (generally greater than 10 lumens), and the exit angle of the light may range from a narrow angle to a very broad beam as desired. To control these LEDs, additional circuitry may be required as shown in the figure. In addition to the power-transforming circuit 305 and the control circuits 306, additional power handling circuits 311 may be included. The high-power LEDs may have one or more colored light outputs other than white, and have different orientations other than vertical to provide decorative illumination above the lighting product. A switch 311 that is accessible by the user may be used to control characteristics of operation of the lighting product.
FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention. Unlike the previous examples in which modification of the color, intensity and pattern is performed by electrically controlling the electrical power to individual devices of one or more orientations and/or color, this embodiment contains a mechanical feature for varying the intensity and/or pattern with time. Variation is accomplished by, for example, a multi-faceted mirror 420, operated by a miniature electric motor 421 that changes the orientation and position of the mirror. In this way light is reflected or diffracted to form a pattern of shapes and/or color on the translucent or transparent envelope 402.
FIG. 5A illustrates another embodiment that includes a patterned mask 520 (or other suitable means) that casts a shadow or other predetermined pattern by blocking or otherwise modifying the pattern of light emanating from the internal LEDs 507 located on the back side of the circuit board 504. Other features from other embodiments discussed herein may also be incorporated.
FIG. 5B illustrates another embodiment in which an additional, separate light emitter 531 (such as, e.g., one or more LEDs) is controlled and/or powered by a main illumination circuit 532. The light emitter 531 may be coupled to separate and dedicated optics 533 to provide flexibility in design, as light emitter 531 is generally meant to provide decorative illumination that is distinct from and that complements the direct illumination from the primary illumination source 534. For example, the decorative illumination may be different from the direct illumination at least in terms of illumination direction, color, and/or intensity. Power is provided via connection of a power connector 535 to an input power source, which, for example, may be either 115 VAC or 12 VAC.
A circuit 532 is preferably used to convert the alternating voltage to an approximately constant DC current.
Light generated by the primary illumination source 534 may be directed by an optical component 536 (e.g., a total-internal-reflection (TIR) optic) and exit a substantially transparent cover 537 attached to the housing (envelope) 538 to provide direct illumination. Electrical connector (or circuit) 539 typically connects the light emitter 531 to the circuit 532, which may produce a smaller constant current for the decorative light emitter 531 than that for the primary illumination source 534. Electrical connector 539 may be connected to the main power source; it may include or consist essentially of a resistor that limits current to the decorative light emitter 531 and that is in parallel to the primary illumination source 534. The circuit 539 may contain other suitable electronics that modulate or adjust the decorative illumination, such as the intensity, color, and/or frequency of the decorative light emitter 531. The light from the decorative light emitter 531 may be emitted in substantially the same direction as light from the primary illumination source 534, but separate optics may be utilized to accomplish the desired decorative illumination. For example, light-guiding optics 533 may include an optical light guide or a solid plastic pipe that directs light along its length, creating a linear "stripe" of light down the outside of the device.
A heat sink 540 may be thermally connected to the thermal path of the illumination device and thus regulate the temperature of the primary illumination source 534; the heat sink 540 may be co-linear with the light-guiding optics 533. Characteristics of the decorative illumination arising from light emitter 531, such as the intensity, color, frequency, and/or pattern of the light, may be responsive to a remote control that may be either optical (e.g., infrared), wireless (e.g., radio-frequency), or wired (Ethernet, RS-232, etc.).
As described above, a backward-facing LED sharing a PCB with a primary illumination source may be used for decorative illumination. Furthermore, a separate light emitter, e.g., with dedicated control and/or power circuitry, in the housing may provide decorative illumination. In both cases, decorative illumination is formed actively from a secondary light emitter providing its own light.
In another embodiment of the present invention, decorative illumination is created passively via utilization of a portion of the light from the primary illumination source. Reflecting optics may be used to direct light from light sources such as LEDs for direct illumination. Such reflecting optics may be aluminized reflectors that may have a parabolic shape to enhance the directionality of the forward light. The optics may also include TIR optics, which utilize the refractive index difference between two different media to yield a reflective internal surface. TIR optics are often very high efficiency (85-90%) compared to ordinary metal-coated reflectors. The design of both types of reflectors is generally intended to maximize optical efficiency with the goal of providing the highest degree of illumination.
To provide illumination for decorative or other purposes not involving direct illumination, embodiments of the present invention use TIR and other reflecting optics to divert a portion of the light from its otherwise intended path by modifying the optical design of the TIR and other reflecting optics. A portion of light may be "siphoned off" in a controlled way and by means of reflection and refraction be redirected to create the decorative or other non-direct-illumination function. The redirected light may then be used to achieve the desired shape and color for decorative purposes.
FIG. 5C illustrates another embodiment of the present invention in which a drive circuit 551 converts the mains voltage into a constant current for a primary illumination source 552 (e.g., one or more LEDs). An optic 553 (which may include or consist essentially of, e.g., a TIR lens) may be used to direct light generated by the primary illumination source 552. A first portion of light generated by the primary illumination source 552 is guided for direct illumination, and a second portion of light is guided for decorative illumination. The first portion of the light is usually larger (i.e., more intense) than the second portion of the light. The first portion of the light generated by the primary illumination source 552 may be directed by the optic 553 and exit a substantially transparent cover 554 attached to the housing (envelope) 555 to provide direct illumination. The housing 555 may include a shade (which may be substantially translucent) and one or more openings 556 in an optical component 557 (e.g., an optical waveguide that may be completely or partially transparent) through which light may exit as decorative illumination. Other approaches such as diffusion and filtering of the light by the optical component 557 may be employed to further condition the light to meet specific decorative or secondary illumination purposes.
FIG. 5D illustrates another embodiment of the invention operating via similar principles. One or more light channels 581 may connect a housing 582 to an optical component 583 and be utilized to produce decorative illumination therethrough. The light channels 581 may be, e.g., substantially empty passages through the housing, or they may be partially or substantially filled with an optical waveguide material. A portion of the light generated by a primary illumination source 584 (e.g., one or more LEDs) may be directed through the light channels 581 and exit the housing 582 through complementary openings 585 on the shade of the housing 582, rather than or in addition to exiting through cover 587 (which may be substantially transparent). The primary illumination source 584 may be disposed on a heat sink 586 and connected to an external source of power via an electrical connector 588.
FIG. 5E illustrates another embodiment of the present invention in which decorative illumination is formed actively from a secondary light emitter providing its own light. As shown, a primary light emitter 590 (such as, e.g., one or more LEDs) emits light to form direct illumination in one or more specified directions. For example, the direction of direct illumination may be substantially aligned with and/or opposite the direction of connection between an electrical connector 591 and an external source of power (e.g., the AC mains). The electrical connector 591 may be a screw-in-type connector, as shown, or may have other suitable forms (as shown in, e.g., FIG. 5D).
A secondary light emitter 592 (such as, e.g., one or more LEDs) emits light to form decorative illumination in one or more specified directions, preferably in one or more directions different from (or even opposite to, in the manner shown in FIG. 5A) the direction of direct illumination. In a preferred embodiment, the secondary light emitter 592 illuminates at least a portion of the envelope (or shade) 593 to form the decorative illumination. As shown, the envelope 593 is preferably disposed around at least the secondary light emitter 592 (therefore facilitating its illumination thereby), and envelope 593 may even be disposed around the primary light emitter 590. In other embodiments, the primary light emitter 590 may protrude from the envelope 593 and/or substantially not illuminate the envelope 593. A front surface 594 of the envelope 593 may, as shown, be a portion of a unified envelope 593, but may have properties different from other portions of the envelope 593 (as described below). Alternatively, the front surface 594 may correspond to the substantially transparent cover 554 described above, and may even be removable from the remainder of envelope 593. In some embodiments of the invention, the front surface 594 defines one or more openings therethrough (e.g., through which light from the primary light emitter 590 is emitted) or is absent entirely or in part. The envelope 593 preferably has a shape corresponding to at least a portion (or even all) of the shape of, e.g., an incandescent or halogen bulb being replaced. All or portions of the envelope 593 may be configured to be removable from a module 595 housing the primary light emitter 590, secondary light emitter 592, and/or electrical connector 591, thereby enabling the replacement of the envelope 593 (or, e.g., front surface 594) with another envelope 593 (or, e.g., front surface 594) having different light-transmission properties (e.g., different level of opacity, more or less translucent, incorporating one or more different optical elements, and/or incorporating one or more different phosphors). The module 595 may also incorporate various circuitry for supplying power to and/or controlling various features of the light emitters, as described above. The module 595 may also incorporate a heat sink to conduct heat away from the light emitters during operation.
As described above with respect to various embodiments of the invention, all or portions of the envelope 593 may be substantially translucent and/or may incorporate one or more masks (for, e.g., blocking portions of the light from the secondary light emitter 592), diffractive optical elements, and/or reflective optical elements. The secondary light emitter 592 may emit light in one or more colors different from that emitted by the primary light emitter 590. Thus, the decorative illumination may be distinct from the direct illumination in terms of not only direction, but also of color, intensity, and/or pattern.
The direct and/or decorative illumination may arise from transmission of at least a portion of the light emitted by the primary and/or secondary light emitters respectively, as described above. In various embodiments, the envelope 593 may incorporate a phosphor (e.g., a plurality of phosphor particles embedded within the matrix of material forming the envelope 593) that converts at least a portion of the light emitted by the light emitter(s) to another wavelength. In such embodiments, the direct and/or decorative illumination may include or consist essentially of the converted light emitted by the phosphor or of a mixture of the converted light and light transmitted through the envelope 593 (or an opening therein) without being converted (i.e., "unconverted light"). The phosphor may include or consist essentially of materials such as, e.g., yttrium aluminum garnet and/or other materials known to those of skill in the art and that may be selected for a particular application without undue experimentation. In an exemplary embodiment, a light emitter emits blue light, a portion of which excites the phosphor to emit yellow light. The yellow light may be utilized as the illumination or may mix with a portion of the unconverted blue light to form white light.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the decorative illumination is formed via such a phosphor excitation while the direct illumination passes through the envelope 593 substantially unchanged. For example, the front surface 594 of the envelope 593 may be substantially transparent or absent, while one or more remaining portions (e.g., those portions proximate secondary light emitter 592), or even all of envelope 593 except for the all or a portion of front surface 594, incorporate a phosphor for wavelength conversion of light illuminating those portions. As shown in FIG. 5E, the envelope 593 (at least portions incorporating a phosphor) is preferably spaced away from the light emitters illuminating it. The resulting distance between the light emitters and the phosphor in the envelope 593 may result in a reduced operating temperature of the phosphor, higher conversion efficiency, and/or longer lifetime of the phosphor. The distance between the light emitters and the phosphor (and/or other portions of the envelope 593) may be at least partially based on the desired form factor of the bulb; for example, as mentioned above, this form factor may substantially correspond to a form factor of an incandescent bulb or halogen bulb being replaced by an embodiment of the present invention. In some embodiments, the distance between the light emitters and envelope 593 is not constrained by such design choices, and the distance (e.g., a distance greater than that afforded by the form factor of an existing light bulb) may be selected to reduce heat transmission to the envelope 593 and/or to increase the uniformity of illumination.
In various other embodiments of the present invention, only the direct illumination is formed via phosphor excitation, and may thus include or consist essentially of converted light or a mixture of converted and unconverted light, or both the direct and decorative illumination are formed via phosphor excitation. The primary light emitter 590 may primarily or substantially entirely excite a phosphor (e.g., in front surface 594) that is different from one or more phosphors excited by the secondary light emitter 592. Alternatively, the primary and secondary light emitters may excite the same phosphor(s) but may emit different colors of unconverted light. Thus, the converted light and/or the mixture of converted and unconverted light emitted from different regions may be distinct in terms of color and/or intensity. Embodiments of the present invention incorporating one or more phosphors may also incorporate one or more other active and/or passive elements for forming decorative light, as discussed in detail above.
It may be appreciated from these descriptions that the LEDs used in these embodiments, though small, occupy considerable space that limits the overall light output of the product. This is due, at least in part, to the need to provide electrical connections to each of the semiconductor light-emitting chips that are housed in large packages that provide both electrical connections and a facility for removing heat and enabling passage of useful light. The packages also often contain a lens or mirror for shaping and directing this light. While these packages allow some freedom of use, they also limit the density and eliminate the ability to integrate the functions of heat dissipation, light direction and electrical connection. Many of these functions may be accommodated within a printed circuit board of appropriate design for a group of devices at the same time and within the circuit as it is formed.
One way of improving the light density of the overall product is to incorporate the light-emitting dies onto a suitable patterned circuit board that contains the external circuitry needed to power and connect the LED devices without the use of a package. FIG. 6 illustrates such an arrangement. This embodiment includes or consists essentially of a printed circuit board having at least a middle portion 601 that may be the usual fiberglass core or one that contains metals, ceramics or other materials to enhance thermal conductivity, a top metal clad layer 603, and a bottom cladding layer 602. It should be well understood that these top and bottom layers can easily be patterned by such processes as etching. A light-emitting assembly may be attached to the patterned surface of cladding 603 by cementing it with a thermally and electrically conducting compound, by welding it, or using any other suitable attachment technique. The cladding 603 then may act as a thermal or electrical conducting pathway, or both. The light-emitting assembly may include a metal base 604 to which is bonded a semiconductor light-emitting chip 605. This light-emitting chip 605 typically contains a p-n junction that emits light and conducting top and bottom surface layers for electrical and thermal contact. A conducting wire or tab connects the top conducting member of the junction to the opposite conducting pad on the next assembly, thus building up a circuit that is in series. Using a different connection scheme, but the same general approach, a parallel connection may be assembled. By doing this, a relatively dense build-up of light-emitting chips may be assembled using the thermal and electrical transfer characteristics of the printed circuit board. Furthermore, heat sinking, cooling or other components may be attached to the board, improving performance, for example on the back side 602 of the printed circuit board. Although not shown, it should be understood that this connection method may be extended in the two dimensions of the plane of the board.
Such chips as illustrated in FIG. 6 will generally emit light in all directions. Such a distribution of light may not be desired for many lighting applications. Therefore, a matching array of lenses that is positioned over the light-emitting chips may be utilized. This separation of the top lens array from the LEDs allows the lens array to be positioned independently, so that the light directed by the lens may be moved and/or focused by moving the lens array in three dimensions. The movement may be controlled via, for example, stepper motors or piezoelectric-activated motion controllers whose support electronics are also contained on the printed circuit board. The array of lenses may be molded from a transparent clear or colored material with a variety of spherical or hemi-spherical shapes.
FIG. 7 illustrates such an arrangement. A PC board 701 containing patterned metal traces 703 has located on its surface light-emitting portions featuring semiconductor light-emitting devices 705 that are mounted on bases 704. These areas are bonded together with electrically conducting wires or strips to form a series/parallel circuit. Positioned over the top of these light-emitting regions is a lens array 710 into which has been formed (by a method such molding) a matching series of optical elements. Three such elements of two different shapes labeled 711 and 712 are shown. This lens array 710 is spaced apart from the semiconductor array and mounted to facilitate external manipulation in one or more of three dimensions as shown by the opposing pairs of arrows. Hence, by moving the lens array 710, the light emitted from the matching LED array may be directed and focused as required, in essence steering the light beam. This may be controlled by onboard electronics, and via remote control or such other means as required such as proximity sensors, timers and the like.
These lighting products generally require a source of AC or DC current. Although LEDs utilize direct current, it is possible to use the LEDs to rectify AC power provided the number of LEDs is chosen to match the AC voltage. It is well understood how to transform AC power to DC. The use of DC power as supplied by batteries, however, may present some problems because as the battery voltage declines under load, the current drawn by the LEDs rapidly declines, owing to the extremely non-linear current-voltage characteristics of the diodes. Since the light output of a LED is typically directly proportional to current (at least in some regimes), this means the light output rapidly declines. On the other hand, if battery voltage exceeds a predetermined level, heating of the semiconductor junction of the LED is excessive and may destroy the device. Moreover, excess heat in the LED junction may cause a condition called thermal runaway, in which the heat raises the current drawn at a given voltage, leading to further heating, which in turn leads to greater current draw and quickly destroys the device. This may be a particular problem with high-power LEDs and requires careful thermal management.
In order to help avoid this problem it may be useful to fix the current through the LEDs rather than the voltage. Using a battery as the source of current, however, presents a problem because of the differing voltage and current behavior of the battery power source and the LED load. Therefore, a circuit may be utilized to regulate and fix the current independent of the voltage supplied by the battery. In the case where the battery voltage is less than the load voltage required by the series and/or parallel LED circuit, a boost circuit as shown in FIGS. 8( a) and 8(b) may be employed. In these circuits an integrated circuit device, IC1 801, is used to control the charging and discharging of an inductor L1 803. This integrated circuit may be any of several that are available such as the Texas Instruments TPS61040. After a charging cycle, the IC switches the circuit so that the inductor L1 803 is permitted to discharge through the load, which in this case is the light-emitting diodes 805. The current is controlled via a feedback resistor R1 806. The value of the resistor is chosen to fix the maximum current that is permitted to flow through the load, which in this case, is one or more LEDs (LED1, LED2) indicated at 805. This manner of control occurs because the voltage drop across R1 806 is compared to an internally generated reference voltage at pin FB of IC1 801. When the two voltages are equal the current is considered fixed and will be held to that predetermined value. A diode D3 802 is used to ensure protection of the IC1 801 in case the battery source (not shown) is connected backwards. The diode 804 allows current flow through the LEDs 805 in only the forward, or light-emitting direction. In embodiments of this invention, such a circuit may be enclosed within the envelope of the bulb.
The circuit shown in FIG. 8( b) differs from that of FIG. 8( a) in that the former contains an easy and inexpensive means of protecting the LEDs from excessive current flow and the runaway that results from high temperatures. In this circuit a resistor with a positive resistance rate of change with temperature, R2 807 is placed in series with a fixed resistor. Resistor R2 is physically located on the circuit board so as to be in the thermal pathway of heat emanating from the LEDs 805. Therefore, when the temperature of the LEDs 805 increases, the resistance of R2 807 also increases, and its resistance is added to that of R1 806. Since the voltage drop across these combined resistances appears on the feedback pin FB of IC1 801, the increased voltage is interpreted as a request for decreased current. Hence, the natural tendency of the LEDs 805 to draw more current, which would ordinarily lead to the failure of the part, is averted by introducing a self-limiting control function.
This circuit has the advantage of being very efficient and compact and having built into it a temperature regulation that allows the resulting system to automatically adapt to the thermal environment in which it is placed. Because of these attributes, it may, for example be put into a miniature lamp base of the kind used for flashlights (e.g., a PR-type flange base).
However, one possible limitation of the circuit is that it may only boost voltage from a lower value to a higher value required by the LED load. Therefore, in situations where only one LED is required, but a higher input voltage is all that is available, the excess voltage will generally appear across the LED even if one of the circuits in FIG. 8 are used. This may cause an excessive current to be drawn, leading to premature failure of the LED and/or premature draining of the battery. To solve this problem, embodiments of the invention feature a circuit that is preferably still compact enough to fit into a bulb or bulb base, and that is capable of either raising or lowering the output voltage above or below the voltage of the incoming battery or other DC supply in order to maintain the desired current through the LED load. The circuit will either boost the voltage if the input voltage is lower than required by the LED or reduce the voltage if it is higher than that required to sustain the necessary constant current through the LED. It is understood that references to an LED connote one or more LEDs in a series, parallel or series/parallel circuit. Furthermore, because of the deleterious effects of temperature, this circuit typically has the ability to regulate the current through the LED depending on the ambient temperature. The ambient temperature may be determined by the environment as well as heat dissipated by the circuit and the LED.
Such a circuit is depicted in FIG. 9. This circuit utilizes a so-called Cuk converter that is ordinarily used as an inverting-switching voltage regulator. Such a device inverts the polarity of the source voltage and regulates the output voltage depending on the values of a resistor bridge. In the illustrated embodiment, the inverter circuit has been altered so that it acts to boost the voltage output or buck the voltage input in order to maintain a constant current through the load represented by one or more LEDs 905. The circuit incorporates an integrated circuit IC1 901 such as the National Semiconductor LM2611 Cuk Converter or equivalent. In this circuit, the internal transistor of IC1 is closed during the first cycle charging the inductor L1 902 from the battery source indicated as Vbat. At the same time the capacitor C2 904 charges inductor L2 903, while the output current to the LEDs 905 is supplied by inductor L2 903. In the next cycle the IC1 901 changes state to permit the inductor L1 902 to charge capacitor C2 904 and L2 903 to discharge through the LEDs 905. The control of the charging power and current through the load is performed by the resistor network including or consisting essentially of R2 906 a and R3 907 a. The overall value of these resistors together with the current passing through the LEDs 905 from ground, sets a voltage that appears on the feedback pin (FB) of IC1 901. Resistor 907 a has a positive temperature coefficient so that its resistance increases with temperature.
The current may also be altered to accommodate thermal effects such as heat dissipation by the LEDs, heat produced by the IC1 or other circuit components and/or the ambient environmental conditions. This is effected by a temperature-dependent resistor R3. In FIG. 9( a), resistor R3 907 a has a positive temperature coefficient in which the resistance increases with temperature. The additive effect of the series circuit with R2 906 a means that as temperature rises, the overall resistance of the combination does also, leading to an increase in voltage drop. This in turn causes IC1 to decrease the output current to the LEDs 905. In FIG. 9( b) the resistor network includes resistors in parallel and series. In this instance, resistors R2 and R4 906 b, 908 are fixed and resistor R3 907 b is temperature-dependent with a positive temperature coefficient. The use of a parallel arrangement allows a greater freedom of choice of temperature dependence than a simple series arrangement.
an envelope (i) spaced away from and disposed around at least the secondary light emitter, (ii) comprising a first portion for receiving light emitted by the primary light emitter and transmitting the received light from the primary light emitter, substantially without modification thereof, as direct illumination through the first portion of the envelope in a first direction, and (iii) comprising a second portion, different from the first portion, (a) for receiving light emitted by the secondary light emitter, and (b) incorporating an optical element for modifying received light, the received light from the secondary light emitter being modified by the optical element and forming decorative illumination transmitted through the second portion of the envelope in a second direction different from the first direction.
2. The illumination device of claim 1, further comprising an electrical connector for receiving power from an external source.
3. The illumination device of claim 1, further comprising a circuit for regulating the power from the external source and providing the regulated power to the primary and secondary light emitters.
4. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein a shape of the envelope corresponds to at least a portion of a shape of an incandescent or halogen light bulb the illumination device is designed to replace.
5. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein the primary light emitter comprises at least one light-emitting diode.
6. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein the secondary light emitter comprises at least one light-emitting diode.
7. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein the direct illumination is distinct from the decorative illumination in terms of at least one of intensity or color.
8. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein the optical element comprises at least one of a mask for blocking a portion of the light from the secondary light emitter, a reflective element for reflecting light from the secondary light emitter, or a diffractive element for diffracting light from the secondary light emitter.
9. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein the optical element comprises a phosphor for converting a wavelength of light from the secondary light emitter to a different wavelength.
10. The illumination device of claim 9, wherein the decorative illumination comprises only light converted by the phosphor.
11. The illumination device of claim 9, wherein the decorative illumination comprises a mixture of unconverted light emitted by the secondary light emitter and light converted by the phosphor.
12. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the envelope defines an opening through which at least a portion of the direct illumination is emitted.
13. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the envelope is substantially transparent.
14. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first or second portions of the envelope is removable from the primary and secondary light emitters, thereby enabling replacement with at least a portion of a second envelope having a different light-transmission property.


1) Investigations of this order are necessarily intense, comprehensive and thus, scary. That's not new. However, they're newsworthy because of so many interviewed and to what degree. Look at any prior special counsel, and you'll see the same, for Republicans or Democrats.
2) That said, expect Sean Spicer to be a central figure. Not because he's a Commie. He was just in so many important meetings as the president's spokesman.
3) Paul Manafort will likely be indicted. There is a lot of focus on him at the moment, and none of it is good. However, the lingering question is whether or not Manafort will look to make a deal. If he does, what are the implications for The White House?
It is clear that this investigation isn't going anywhere and I can only hope that things don't get any worse for the American people.


The course was built by the prestigious Golf Works, Inc., 2001 National Large Builder of the Year as selected by Golf Course News. In an effort to raise the bar of the public golf experience in Central Texas, Golf Works created what some are calling the premier golf experience at any price, public or private. Once you play it, you'll understand these accolades. The TifEagle greens are undulating and meant to be speedy while the TifSport Bermuda provides the finest fairways available. The new Y2 zoysia grass, usually reserved for the finest private courses, lines the bunker walls.


Which of this year's beauty products really stood out? From the perfect perfume to the cleverest new lip product, Vogue beauty and health director Nicola Moulton makes her personal selection of 2016's best launches.
This whole collection is an absolute triumph, but the Moisture Balm, £30, and the Blushing Lip and Cheek Crème in Peachy Keen, £19, are now absolute mainstays of my make-up bag. When you want to look polished but still dewy and glowy, reach for these.
After 20 years of never really finding the right mascara (I seem genetically predisposed to end up with mascara halfway down my face within two hours of application), this has turned me from a non-mascara wearer into a mascara wearer. It's that good. It's doesn't give you the full-fat, false lash-effect lashes that many people love, but if you're just looking for soft, fluttery lashes that don't crumble or smudge, I honestly don't think this can be beaten.
The launch of the seven Louis Vuitton fragrances was a big moment this year, and each one is an absolute work of art. However, I'm a sucker for a good rose scent and what's beautiful about this one is that it's big, bold and feminine without ever smelling sickly or blousy. It's on my desk and my current scent addiction.
Many candles have tried to capture the warm, dark, comforting elegance of an old library, but for me this is the first one that really brought that evocative scent of old books to life. I burn it all the time at home and have bought it as presents all year, too.
Discovering that Rodin was bringing out a new face oil was like discovering Jane Austen was about to publish a new novel. Too unexpected and exciting for words. The addition of lavender gives the experience of using it a much more calming and therapeutic effect than the original, but the oil itself is just as refined and elegant. Perfect night product.
It takes a lot for me to change cleanser and I normally rotate two (Philosophy Purity and Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Shea Butter), but when Skin Laundry launched into Liberty this summer, I added this into my highly-edited selection. Sometimes it's nice to have a cleanser that makes your skin feel squeaky clean, and yet you don't want to strip your skin and leave it feeling dry or tight. The gel is not too runny so it doesn't slide straight off your face, giving you time to work it into its gentle lather. These days when I get home from work I run straight upstairs and wash my face with this to remove all that pollution and tube grime. (Sometimes I say hello to my kids first).
Utterly brilliant new lip product from the maestro of lip colours. A creamy lip liner at one end, and a matching creamy lipstick at the other, thus removing the headache of colour-matching a lip liner to a lipstick and the hassle of carrying around two products.


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Yesterday, Metro released their initial Quality of Life Report, which provides a snapshot of key metrics for how the agency's investments since Measure R have affected Los Angeles County residents.
The framing of the report — discussing transportation in the context of jobs, housing, and economic opportunity — is almost more important than its contents. With this report, Metro broadens its focus from just commutes and congestion to a suite of objectives that provides a more complete understanding of how safe and reliable transportation options enrich our communities. This initial Quality of Life Report will be supplemented by a more comprehensive version at the end of the year.
The 50-page report contains a lot of interesting data and we encourage you to check it out for yourself. Our top takeaways are:
People do a lot more than go to work. Metro is thinking about what it means to build and operate a safe and reliable transportation system that provides access to opportunities for people to live, work, and play. As noted last fall by the LA Times, very few transportation projects actually reduce congestion, but transit has innumerable benefits including a more reliable commute, more affordable mobility, and healthier communities. Transit can spur economic development, including affordable housing and new local businesses, and increase access to job opportunities for low-income residents. As Metro thinks about who it serves and what trips they need to take, this broader view is essential to ensure that the growing transit system serves riders' needs.
Metro does a lot more than people think. The report features data that measures the full range of Metro's planning, funding, building, and operating responsibilities. Stats about transit and highway projects are expected, but Metro also operates the largest vanpool program in the nation and funds fast-growing paratransit services. The report also features information about funding for first/last mile projects to increase access to transit for people walking and biking, and shows that the total mileage of bike facilities has more than doubled since 2008.
Metro is starting to talk about social equity and race. Los Angeles County has diverse communities with diverse mobility needs. In the Quality of Life Report, Metro breaks down access to the transit network (rail and BRT) by socioeconomic indicators, including CalEnviroScreen 2.0 and the Environmental Justice Screening Method, developed by the USC Program on Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) — one of our key partners in our transportation equity technical working group. They also compare bus and rail ridership demographics to the surrounding neighborhoods. This is the start of a much longer conversation about prioritizing the needs of low-income communities and communities of color, but it is a welcome first step.
Transportation affects housing and vice versa. Los Angeles County is in the midst of an intractable housing shortage, which is driving up rents all across the region. As transportation projects increase access to certain neighborhoods, this can have localized impacts on the housing market that put further upward pressure on rents and increase the risk of displacement for longtime residents. Metro has taken steps recently to mitigate the impacts of its projects, and support development without displacement and increase the supply of affordable housing by requiring that 35 percent of new units in Metro's joint development program be reserved for low-income residents. This report begins to look at changes in household incomes and rents near transit stations more holistically to better understand how transit investments can help alleviate or contribute to addressing the region's housing crisis.
Talking about transportation, housing, jobs, and social equity in one report is an encouraging sign of Metro's emerging leadership on all of these interrelated issues. This report benchmarks where we were in 2008 and where we are now.
The next step to place quality of life at the center of Metro's agenda is to set goals on key indicators so that the agency can begin adjusting policy and investment decisions to produce those outcomes. We are eager to see the next iteration of the Quality of Life Report later this year and its impact on the long range transportation plan to be updated in 2017.
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Breaking: LA County voters support safe, walkable neighborhoods and options other than driving

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Are you receiving too little in child support in Delaware? Are you paying too much? In either event the mechanism to correct this is a Petition to Modify Child Support. However, before you file a Petition to Modify Child Support, I recommend you have an appointment with a lawyer. Here is why? Once a Petition to Modify Child Support is filed in Delaware, the court gains the ability to increase or decrease your child support. Delaware Family Court Civil Rule 508(d).
That mean if you file to decrease and you should be paying more, the court and your ex can obtain an order requiring you to pay more. If you file to increase and the ex learns they were paying too much, don't be surprised if they ask to reduce the child support. How do you avoid this without doing nothing?
Determine the answer to these questions. The first question to answer is how old is your order and the second question to ask is what is different in my ex's and my incomes from the time the support order was entered and now? After that, I suggest you get calculations done so you can see what the possible outcomes are from seeking a modification.
Why does this help? First if your order is less than 2 ½ years old, unless you can show a substantial change of circumstances from the time the support order was entered that is not your doing, the order will not be modified, To show a substantial change of circumstances to modify Delaware Child Support Order less than 2 ½ years old, you have to show the change would lead to a greater than 10% change in the amount of child support ordered. Delaware Family Court Civil Rule 508(c). Second, if the order is over 2 ½ years old, modification of child support is easier. However, in either event Delaware uses the Melson Formula to determine Delaware Child Support which for the most part is based on the Mother and Father's income or earning capacity so you can make some estimations as to what the court will do if you set get these calculations done. That way you can determine if it makes sense for you to file.If you want to do this with an attorney, please call me at (302) 655-0900 or email me at garyspritz@garyspritz.com or use the form below to schedule an inexpensive initial consultation appointment.


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Posts tagged: Leitner Center
The Anatomy of a Crackdown: China's Assault on its Human Rights Lawyers
By Elizabeth M. Lynch, October 18, 2015
When the Chinese government detained, harassed and disappeared over 280 human rights lawyers and legal activists in July 2015, the international community took notice. These simultaneous, country-wide, nighttime and early morning raids made front page news in the United States, often described as the Chinese government's attempts to eradicate cause lawyering from its shores.
But as the Leitner Center and the Committee To Support Chinese Lawyers' new and seminal report Plight and Prospects: The Landscape for Cause Lawyers in China reveals, in some ways, these arrests and detentions are the least of the human rights lawyers' worries. Instead, Plight and Prospects makes clear that over the past five years, the Chinese government has quietly and methodically used a more effective means to limit the space for cause lawyers: the law.
Although the Chinese government still relies on extra-judicial measures such a illegal detentions, torture, constant surveillance when "free," and pressures on families, employers and even landlords in an attempt to destroy the lawyer's life, Plight and Prospects underscores that soon these extra-judicial methods will be unnecessary. Through amendments to the Lawyers Law (amended 2007), the Criminal Law (amended 2015), the Criminal Procedure Law (amended 2012), the National Security Law (passed 2015) and through the annual lawyer licensing procedure, the Chinese government can limit the ability of cause lawyers to practice and still pay lip service to "the rule of law."
Chinese President Xi Jinping
As Plight and Prospects points out, under President Xi Jinping (pronounced See Gin-ping) there has been a stepped-up effort to enshrine in law methods that will effectively break the cause lawyering movement. But even before Xi took power in 2012, there were already concrete efforts in the Chinese government to use the law to limit human rights lawyers' advocacy.
Take for example, the Lawyers Law. Amended in 2007 and believed to provide the profession with greater protection to practice law, it has proven to be a double-edged sword. Sure Articles 36 and 37 of the Lawyers Law maintain that the lawyers "rights to debate or a defense shall be protected in accordance with the law," but Article 49, which lists the examples of lawyers' conduct subject to punishment, increased the number of categories from four to nine with the 2007 amendments. Added to the Lawyers Law as Article 49(6) was instances where a lawyers "disrupts the order of a court . . . or interferes with the normal conduct of litigation or arbitration." Vague and unclear, this provision could be used to limit the courtroom advocacy of lawyers who take cases the government just does not like.
Lawyers Liu Wei and Tang Jitian review papers in April 2010
And in 2010, it was. In April 2010, Tang Jitian (pronounced Tang Gee-tee'an) and Liu Wei (pronounced Leo Way), two cause lawyers who had represented a practitioner of the spiritual movement Falun Gong and who both quietly left the courtroom in protest when they were unable to present their client's defense, were hauled before the Beijing Bureau of Justice for a hearing concerning whether they should be disbarred (see China's Rule of Law Mirage: The Regression of the Legal Profession Since the Adoption of the 2007 Lawyers Law). While Tang and Liu both raised Article 37 – that their ability to practice law was being infringed upon – as a defense, both were permanently disbarred under Article 49(6) for "disrupting the courtroom." (Id.).
Further attempts to limit the advocacy of human rights attorneys have been proposed more recently by the All China's Lawyers Association (ACLA), the national bar association that operates under the guidance of the Ministry of Justice. ACLA's draft revisions to the Lawyers Code of Conduct (proposed in 2014), if adopted, could limit methods of advocacy that lawyers must use when representing vulnerable populations, including the use of the media and internet (draft Article 9), organizing demonstrations or "inflaming" public opinion (draft Article 11), or supporting organizations that do cause lawyering (draft Article 13). These draft provisions are in contravention of Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution which provides for freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration.
When your home becomes your prison: residential surveillance
The Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) provides another example. Amended in 2012, it was hoped that the amendments would better protect suspects' rights and ensure a more fair system. But, as Yaqiu Wang at China Change has pointed out, it left one gaping loophole: "residential surveillance at a designated place." Articles 72 through 77 of the CPL deal with residential surveillance. Although this sounds like a more mellow way to be detained than at a detention center, for those investigations that might involve crimes of "endangering state security," "terrorism" or "serious crimes of bribery," residential surveillance does not occur at one's home. (CPL, Art. 73) Instead, it occurs at an undisclosed location – the family is informed of the fact that the person is being detained under residential surveillance (required by CPL, Art. 73), but not necessarily of the location of the residential surveillance. The suspect has a right to retain a lawyer (see CPL, Art. 73, applying CPL, Art. 33). But because "residential surveillance in a designated place" presupposes a possible state security, terrorist, or serious bribery charge, the requirement that a meeting with the lawyer take place within 48 hours (CPL, Art. 37) is suspended for those possible charges. (CPL, Art. 37). Instead, any meeting must be approved by the police. (CPL, Art. 37). Which fits with the rules that the suspect must follow when in residential surveillance: only with permission of the public security agency can the suspect meet or correspond with someone else. (CPL, Art.75(2)). And it is not hard to place someone under residential surveillance at a designated place. All that the police need is approval from the chief of public security above the county level. (see Ministry of Public Security Implementing Regulations of the CPL, Art. 106). Residential surveillance pending investigation is permitted for up to six months. (CPL, Art. 77).
Whereabouts Unknown: Lawyer Wang Yu
As Plight and Prospects points out, the use of residential surveillance at a designated place has been used with abandon in the current crackdown. The section entitled "Whereabouts Unknown" highlights that eight of the suspects still being held as a result of the July crackdown are held under residential surveillance at a designated place but no one outside of the police, not even their lawyers, know where. Amnesty International researcher William Nee has pointed out that although a legally-authorized form of detention under the amended CPL, it still carries with it the dangers associated with enforced disappearances: held secretly and without access to a lawyer, these suspects in residential surveillance are vulnerable to torture to force a confession.
By being able to point to the law it is using to crackdown on cause lawyers, the Chinese government likely aspires to punt the international critique of a failure to follow a rule of law. It is following a rule of law, it will say. But as Plight and Prospects notes, it is a hollow one where the Chinese government undermines its own Constitution, other provisions of many of the laws it has used in the crackdown, its international treaty obligations as well as the desires of its own people.
Human Rights, Rule of Law |	 ACLA, China, Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law, Human Rights, Lawyers Law, Leitner Center, Liu Wei, Plight and Prospects, residential surveillance, Rule of Law, Tang Jitian
Chen Guangcheng and the Commandeering of Our China Human Rights Policy
By Elizabeth M. Lynch, June 20, 2013
Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng
Love is a battlefield and so evidently is our China human rights policy. At least that is what the recent developments with blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng demonstrate. Chen made international headlines last April when he bravely escaped his illegal house arrest, fled to Beijing and sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy.
On May 19, 2012, after the U.S. brokered a deal, Chen and his family arrived at Newark International Airport where Chen was to start a fellowship at NYU Law School's U.S.-Asia Law Institute.
Fast forward a year and on Sunday, Chen was again in the news, this time issuing a press release stating that NYU had forced him to leave, alleging that NYU's actions were a result of the Chinese Communist Party's pressure on the University. NYU has denied Chen's allegations.
Chen's story is more than just a page six affair of he-said-she-said. Instead it reflects the ability one group to exert an undue influence on the China human rights agenda.
The Commandeering of the U.S.' Human Rights Policy in China
In very simplistic terms, the politics behind our China human rights policy used to be easy – the left supported human rights in China above all else. The right was more about business ties to China before human rights (or as a way to achieving human rights).
But the rise of the religious right, especially the pro-lifers, within the Republican Party has changed that dynamic. Nothing demonstrates that more clearly than the changing politics behind the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC).
In 2000, after China's WTO entry, Congress created the CECC to monitor China's human rights and rule of law development. It quickly became Capitol Hill's bipartisan think tank on China issues, publishing a detailed annual report on China's human rights and rule of law record and some of the U.S.' best young China hands passed through the CECC.
But over the past six years, the CECC has become dominated by one voice, that of Rep. Chris Smith, a pro-life Republican who became a member of the Commission in 2007, its chairman in 2011 and its current co-chair. Since his membership, the CECC has become increasing politicized.
I first felt this when undergoing an interview for a position covering the CECC's criminal law portfolio back in 2009. I had already cleared interviews with CECC staff, and a political vetting by one of
Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey
Chris Smith's staffers was the final hurdle. It was unclear why this staffer had been chosen as he neither spoke Chinese nor demonstrated any special knowledge of China. He asked only limited questions about my work at NYU's U.S.-Asia Law Institute (the same organization where Chen would land years later) or about my knowledge of Chinese criminal law which I had focused on during my two years at NYU. Instead he asked about my views of Obama's China policy vis-a-vis Bush's (I believe they were pretty much the same); why I wrote for the Huffington Post (because they are willing to publish me); what editorial control did the Huffington Post have over my work (none); and finally, what did I think about China's one-child policy. And that is where much of the interviewed remained – around China's one-child policy.
I told the staffer that forced abortions are wrong and illegal under Chinese law. The staffer probed deeper than just forced abortions, inquiring what I thought about the one-child policy in the abstract and whether the policy alone, regardless of the way it was implemented, was a human rights violation. Of the human rights violations in China, the one-child policy is low on my list, and I said as much. But the questions continued, and at some point I found myself "admitting" that I was fine with contraception. Once those words left my mouth, somehow I knew I did not get the job.
The phone interview ended with the staffer asking about one of my blog posts where I tried to explain why the Chinese Communist Party should not be viewed as a monolith. The line of questioning quickly turned into what felt like a McCarthy-era hearing with the staffer accusing me about not caring about human rights.
After the interview, I was rejected for the job. I was told that Chris Smith's office stated that my rejection was because my blog had typos (which is true). But the line of questioning I underwent suggests another reason to me. That interview was the first glimpse of what I believe is the pro-life contingent's influence on our policy toward China's human rights.
How Does Chen Guangcheng Play Into Chris Smith's China Human Rights Policy?
It didn't surprise me last year when it was Rep. Chris Smith who orchestrated Chen Guangcheng's dramatic phone call from Beijing into the CECC hearing where Chen begged to be allowed into the US, creating a second international crisis that the U.S. had to negotiate. It was even less surprising that Chen's translator on that phone call was Bob Fu, president of the Texas-based evangelical human rights group, ChinaAid. Fu himself has testified a number of times before the CECC, and since Chen's Sunday night press release Fu has made the rounds with the press, alleging that Chen was being forced out of NYU because of Chinese pressure. Expectedly, Rep. Smith has threatened to convene a hearing hauling in NYU officials to testify under oath and prove that they were not pressured by the Chinese government.
Rep. Chris Smith with Bob Fu of ChinaAid, on the phone with Chen Guangcheng
To pro-life advocates like Rep. Smith, Chen is an important figure. Chen, a self-taught lawyer, began his career by fighting for the rights of those with disabilities. Soon, Chen heard of other injustices in his village, especially forced abortions. Although China maintains a one-child policy, forced abortions and sterilizations are illegal under Chinese law. An investigation by Chen and lawyers from Beijing uncovered that forced abortions and sterilizations were common, especially in rural areas. By the summer of 2005, Chen filed multiple lawsuits in his village Linyi on behalf of many of the victims.
It was those forced abortion cases that caused Chen to become a martyr, being arrested and thrown in jail on trumped-up charges. Even after his official release, the Linyi authorities illegally kept him under house arrest. But it was these forced abortion cases that also brought him to the attention of the pro-lifers in the United States. Although Chen has stated that he is against forced abortions and less against abortions themselves (see NPR interview at 9:51), his lawsuits represent an important stepping stone for pro-lifers – ridding China of the one-child policy. And there is always hope that he can be converted to a pro-life stance.
Chen Guangcheng – Only A Pawn in Their Game?
I don't believe that NYU succumbed to Chinese political pressure. Mattie J. Bekink, Chen Guangcheng's special adviser while at NYU, has issued a convincing press release detailing the efforts that NYU went to for Chen and his family and that she was the one who informed him early on in his tenure is that he was on a one-year fellowship.
But more importantly, I question how much the Chinese government actually cares about Chen's existence in the United States. Chen was a public relations disaster for the Chinese government while he was in China – causing protests domestically and internationally and even having Christian Bale attempt to visit. Yes, the Chinese government protested the U.S. government's involvement in the Chen affair, but ultimately they let him go and likely because they wanted to. Activists lose their impact once they leave China.
Chen offers no evidence as to this alleged pressure. Although he ties all of this to NYU's desire to expand its Shanghai campus, that doesn't seem to make sense. NYU accepted Chen in May 2012. That didn't change its plans for the Shanghai campus. The campus is still set to open in fall 2013.
But whether Chen is a pawn in a much bigger game is merely speculation. And maybe Chen isn't even a pawn; maybe he has taken sides and that he has chosen the pro-life camp. News reports have stated that Chen is currently negotiating fellowships with two organizations – the Leitner Center at Fordham Law School focused on international human rights and the Witherspoon Institute, a conservative, pro-life think tank, in Princeton, New Jersey. But it wouldn't surprise me if after Sunday's press release and accusations if Fordham withdraws from negotiations; who would want that headache, ending up in the press like NYU. So in the end, Chen may only be left with one choice – Witherspoon. Which makes one wonder why Chen didn't wait until he signed the contract with whichever organization he chose and then lambast NYU. There was no particular reason to do it now. Unless of course Chen – or the people surrounding him – didn't want a choice.
Ramifications of the Pro-Life's Influence on China's Human Rights Policy
Soon after my interview with Rep. Chris Smith's office, I asked a friend who worked on Capitol Hill how a Congressional commission could be so influenced by one voice. No one cares about China he told me, they care about the Middle East.
I don't know if that is exactly true but certainly what happened with the CECC shows that others on Capitol Hill need to start paying attention. Our relationship with China is too important to allow the human rights agenda to be so unduly influenced by one contingent. The one-child policy and abortions can and should be a part of our human rights agenda, but it should not be the exclusive focus. Or if it is, that consensus should be reached in a more democratic process not just by default because no one paid attention.
The CECC has long been an important resource for scholars, journalists and everyday citizens who want to learn more about China. No other organization publishes as well documented an analysis of China's human rights and rule of law developments as the CECC does in its annual report. But if the organization becomes politicized, that annual report will begin to lose its legitimacy. Its work is too important to allow that to happen.
In the present Congress, Rep. Smith is CECC's co-chair, meaning that he will wield less influence than he did as chairman. But he is still on the Commission and he also currently chairs the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Under his tenure, many of the hearings on China focus on these narrow issues with some of the same witnesses testifying.
But more than anything, what is happening with Chen Guangcheng is a sad state of affairs – it appears that he is being used by pro-life advocates in an attempt to commandeer the U.S.' human rights policy in China. To the extent that Chen is not a pawn, well, it didn't have to end this way. What's unfortunate is that Chen's behavior sets the tone for other activists trying to escape China, fearing for their life. Will the United States government be willing to take that risk again, especially if a Democrat is still in the Executive Office? Likely "the Dissident Wears Prada" is not a movie they want to see replayed.
Foreign Policy |	 Bob Fu, CECC, Chen Guangcheng, China, ChinaAid, Chris Smith, Congressional Executive Commission on China, forced abortions, Human Rights, Jerome Cohen, Leitner Center, Mattie Bekink, NYU, pro-life, US-Asia Law Institute, Witherspoon Institute
What's Up with LGBT Rights in China?
By Elizabeth M. Lynch, November 15, 2012
Meg Davis, Executive Director of Asia Catalyst Introduces the Speakers
Photo by Robert Burnett, Jr.
www.rburnettjr.com
Last week, the day after the United States elected its first openly gay Senator and more states extended the right to marry to gay couples, Asia Catalyst and Fordham Law School's Leitner Center co-hosted a fascinating talk about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights in China entitled "China's Comrades."
Featuring two on the ground LGBT activists – Sam Zhao (co-founder of China's only lesbian magazine) and Dan Zhou (a Shanghai lawyer who has taken on some hard-hitting LGBT rights cases) – and John Balzano, a law professor and China expert who provided a more macro view of the movement, the talk broke down some common assumptions about China and the development of individual rights.
Zhou started his talk stating that this discussion was a "queer event" – although talks about Chinese legal development are common, Zhou noted that rarely if ever do these talks discuss LGBT rights development. But while true, what was perhaps most queer about the talk was learning of the Chinese government's response to the LGBT rights movement. Usually the narrative at many of these rights development talks are the same – an authoritarian government trampling over individual rights, fearful that its monopoly on power will be destroyed by such nascent rights movements.
But for LGBT rights, the story seems to be different. Zhao made a joke about how in
Sam Zhao, speaking at "China's Comrades"
1996, a friend called her, excitedly telling her to return to Beijing because there was going to be a "big" lesbian party – eight lesbians were getting together. Fast forward a little over a decade and in 2008, Zhao helped organize a two-day lesbian independent film festival where 600 lesbians attended.
What was interesting about Zhao's story was the fact that the Chinese government even allowed the film festival, and not because it necessarily has an anti-gay bias. Usually, when movements get too large, the Chinese government sees the movement – be it LGBT rights activists organizing a film festival, rural villagers decrying the taking of their lands, or factory workers protesting inhuman working conditions – as an alternative source of power and threat to its rule – events are broken up and email listserves are shut down.
But both Zhao and Zhou discussed the success they have had in creating an LGBT community throughout China, with much of this success a result of the internet. Even Balzano noted that while it is true that when movements in China get too large, too overt or too public, the government seeks to crack down, the LGBT movement thus far has not faced the same kinds of pressure.
Audience listens during China's Comrades
Zhou did point out that the LGBT rights movement is not completely immune. In 2012, some LGBT rights bloggers held a successful conference in a southern city that many activists attended. When they tried to re-create the event in Beijing, the government put a stop to it. But according to Zhao, when the activists asked the Beijing government if the reason was because the event was about LGBT rights, the government said no. According to the authorities, the basis for denying the activists their conference was because it bordered upon a "mass incident" which the law forbids.
But not everything is rosy for LGBT individuals in China. While Balzano remarked that there is no law in China that is overtly discriminatory toward the community, the law is still used at times to harass LGBT individuals. Zhao confirmed this, noting the difficulty in obtaining the proper government approvals for her lesbian film festival because many officials equated lesbian film with pornography.
Zhou also commented that while there is no law that governs sexual relations in a
private place, what is still up for debate, at least with some government officials and courts, is what is private. There have been cases where a hotel room is considered public or a bedroom in an apartment that serves as a business office during the day. Zhou also discussed the prosecution of one of his clients – a gay D.J. who was part of a party in a gay nightclub. He was taken in for "lewd" behavior.
Finally, although only briefly touched upon in the talk but much more fully fleshed out in the readings that Asia Catalyst and the Leitner Center diligently selected (see "Resources" list below) is the societal pressure that all Chinese face but is more acute in the LGBT community – parental pressure for a heterosexual marriage and a grandchild. All of the reading went into depth on this issue, noting that traditionally in China, homosexual conduct has been tolerated so long as that behavior is more "on the side" of a heterosexual marriage that produces children (in this regard, Balzano's article made an important distinction between traditional acceptance of homosexual behavior and not necessarily homosexual identity). This pressure and to some degree behavior is still very much present in the LGBT community in China (the Kam article interviewed a number of Shanghai lesbians to ascertain how they deal with the heterosexual marriage issue).
Although China's LGBT community is still in greater need of protection, especially since vague laws are arbitrarily used to harass some individuals, its movement appears to be on more solid footing than other rights groups. By the end of the talk, Zhou's initial remark – that it is queer that discussions of LGBT rights rarely happen – made one wonder, why isn't Western China watchers especially those who focus on and seek to promote civil society development, examining China's LGBT movement more. The LGBT rights movement is an outlier in the normal course of civil society development in China. What is it that allows it right now to be a bit more immune to traditional government pressure? And is there anything other movements can learn from the LGBT rights movement? China's Comrades proved that more a deeper understanding of the LGBT movement are necessary.
John C. Balzano, Toward a Gay-Friendly China? Legal Implications of Transition for Gays and Lesbians, 16 Tul. J. L. & Sexuality (2007).
Lucetta Kam, Opening up Marriage: Married Lalas in Shanghai, in As Normal as Possible: Negotiating Sexuality and Gender in Mainland China and Hong Kong (Yau China ed., 2010; Hong Kong University Press).
Holning Lau, Grounding Conversations on Sexuality and Asian Law, 44 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 773 (2011).
If you are interested in learning more about Asia Catalyst, its events or how you can support this on-the-ground organization, please visit its website here. For its Fifth Anniversary Campaign, Asia Catalyst's Board of Directors has generously offered to match all individual gifts donated in 2012 (up to $8,000). All donations are tax deductible.
Civil Society, Rule of Law |	 Asia Catalyst, China, civil society, gay marriage, John Balzano, Leitner Center, LGBT, rights, Sam Zhao, Zhou Dan


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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger bullish ahead of Chelsea Carabao Cup clash: 'We feel strong at home'
Layth Yousif
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been talking about Chelsea. Mike Egerton/PA) - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
Layth Yousif was at London Colney on Tuesday morning to hear what Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger had to say about playing London rivals Chelsea at the Emirates on Wednesday – with a chance of silverware at stake for the winner.
Arsenal are set to host Antonio Conte's West Londoners in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final in arguably the biggest match of the season, with the winner reaching Wembley in the only competition Arsene Wenger has yet to win.
Read on for what the long-serving Frenchman had to say ahead of the eagerly-anticipated clash.
Wenger on importance of the Chelsea game
It's an important game and we want to go to the final. We have an opportunity to do it at home against Chelsea. I think the two teams know each other very well. The first leg was very blocked, the second leg will certainly be more open, because at some stage, the teams will have to open up to try to win the game. It should be much more spectacular than the first one.
On knowing how to play Chelsea after playing them six times in just 11 months ahead of a seventh clash on Wednesday
You're always cautious to say that because I think the two teams are very close to each other every time they meet and the form of the day can be a decider. The strength of the motivation on the day can be a decider as well. It has always been very tight, they are two good teams, who know each other very well now, so it's very difficult, it's very unpredictable.
Are Arsenal favourites against Chelsea?
Honestly, I don't see any favourite in that tie. If you look, as we just spoke about, in the last seven games it's always very tight, so what you could say is that what comes out is no real favourite, but we are at home and we feel strong at home and so we want to take advantage of it.
On using academy graduates in the side
Don't forget [Alex] Iwobi, [Hector] Bellerin, we are the only team who plays with four to five players in the starting line up with players who came out of the club.
If you look at the instability now in the Premier League, it doesn't encourage managers to take gambles with young players and when they make their team on Friday night they will go more for security and security is experience, than to give a chance to young players.
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