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US-20260129733-A1 - WORK LIGHT CONTROL BASED ON CONTEXT DETECTION

US20260129733A1US 20260129733 A1US20260129733 A1US 20260129733A1US-20260129733-A1

Abstract

One example provides a portable lighting device with at least two subsets of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that are separately controllable to be illuminated at different brightness levels. The lighting device includes an electronic processor coupled to a thermal camera configured to capture a background image and capture current images of an area of operation of the lighting device. The electronic processor is configured to compare the current image to the background image to determine whether and where one or more people is present in the area of operation. The electronic processor is configured to determine a first section in which the one or more people is located, and control the lighting device to more brightly illuminate the first section in which the one or more people is located than a second section of in which people are not located.

Inventors

  • Seamus J.D. Herson
  • Alexander Yu
  • Dapeng ZHAO

Assignees

  • MILWAUKEE ELECTRIC TOOL CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251104

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A lighting device comprising: a light source including a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), wherein the lighting device is a portable lighting device, and wherein at least two subsets of LEDs of the plurality of LEDs are separately controllable to be illuminated at different brightness levels; a battery pack configured to provide power to the light source; a thermal camera; and an electronic processor coupled to the thermal camera, wherein the electronic processor is configured to: control the thermal camera to capture a background image of an area of operation of the light source, control the thermal camera to capture a current image of the area of operation of the light source after capturing the background image, compare the current image to the background image to determine whether one or more people is present in the area of operation, determine, in response to determining that the one or more people is present in the area of operation, a first section of the area of operation in which the one or more people is located, and control the light source to more brightly illuminate the first section of the area of operation in which the one or more people is located than a second section of the area of operation in which people are not located.
  2. 2 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the electronic processor is configured to control the thermal camera to capture the background image in response to receiving, via a user interface, a user input.
  3. 3 . The lighting device of claim 1 , further comprising an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor, wherein the electronic processor is configured to: determine, based on data received from the IMU sensor, that the lighting device has been moved after the background image has been captured; determine that the lighting device has stopped moving and is stationary; and control the thermal camera to re-capture a second background image in response to determining that the lighting device has stopped moving and is stationary.
  4. 4 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the electronic processor is configured to: compare a current temperature of each pixel of the current image to a background temperature of a corresponding pixel of the background image; determine that the background temperature of a first pixel in the background image is greater than the current temperature of the first pixel in the current image; in response to determining that the background temperature of the first pixel in the background image is greater than the current temperature of the first pixel in the current image, flag the first pixel as not including people, and set the background temperature of the first pixel in the background image to be a value of the current temperature of the first pixel in the current image; determine that the background temperature of a second pixel in the background image is less than the current temperature of the second pixel in the current image by a predetermined threshold; and in response to determining that the background temperature of the second pixel in the background image is less than the current temperature of the second pixel in the current image by the predetermined threshold, flag the second pixel as including the one or more people.
  5. 5 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the electronic processor is configured to control the light source to illuminate the first section of the area of operation in which the one or more people is located regardless of whether the one or more people has remained stationary for a period of time.
  6. 6 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the electronic processor is configured to dynamically control a brightness of the at least two subsets of LEDs to provide light to different sections of the area of operation as the one or more people move within the area of operation by repeatedly: controlling the thermal camera to capture additional current images of the area of operation of the light source; comparing each additional current image to the background image to determine whether one or more people is present in the area of operation; determining, in response to determining that the one or more people is present in the area of operation, the first section of the area of operation in which the one or more people is located; and controlling the light source to more brightly illuminate the first section of the area of operation in which the one or more people is located than a second section of the area of operation in which people are not located.
  7. 7 . The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the thermal camera is mounted adjacent to the light source and is configured such that a field of view of the thermal camera corresponds approximately to the area of operation of the light source.
  8. 8 . The lighting device of claim 1 , further comprising: a housing; a telescopic arm assembly supported by the housing; a light assembly coupled to the telescopic arm assembly and movable relative to the housing, wherein the light assembly includes the light source and the thermal camera; and one or more leg assemblies coupled to the housing and configured to provide stability and support for the housing during operation of the light source.
  9. 9 . A method of controlling a lighting device, the method comprising: controlling, with an electronic processor of the lighting device, a thermal camera of the lighting device to capture a background image of an area of operation of a light source of the lighting device, wherein the light source includes a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), wherein the lighting device is a portable lighting device, wherein at least two subsets of LEDs of the plurality of LEDs are separately controllable to be illuminated at different brightness levels, and wherein a battery pack coupled to the lighting device is configured to provide power to the light source; controlling, with the electronic processor, the thermal camera to capture a current image of the area of operation of the light source after capturing the background image; comparing, with the electronic processor, the current image to the background image to determine whether one or more people is present in the area of operation; determining, with the electronic processor and in response to determining that the one or more people is present in the area of operation, a first section of the area of operation in which the one or more people is located; and controlling, with the electronic processor, the light source to more brightly illuminate the first section of the area of operation in which the one or more people is located than a second section of the area of operation in which people are not located.
  10. 10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein controlling the thermal camera to capture the background image includes controlling, with the electronic processor, the thermal camera to capture the background image in response to receiving, via a user interface, a user input.
  11. 11 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising: determining, with the electronic processor and based on data received from an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor of the lighting device, that the lighting device has been moved after the background image has been captured; determining, with the electronic processor, that the lighting device has stopped moving and is stationary; and controlling, with the electronic processor, the thermal camera to re-capture a second background image in response to determining that the lighting device has stopped moving and is stationary.
  12. 12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein comparing the current image to the background image to determine whether one or more people is present in the area of operation includes: comparing, with the electronic processor, a current temperature of each pixel of the current image to a background temperature of a corresponding pixel of the background image; determining, with the electronic processor, that the background temperature of a first pixel in the background image is greater than the current temperature of the first pixel in the current image; in response to determining that the background temperature of the first pixel in the background image is greater than the current temperature of the first pixel in the current image, flagging, with the electronic processor, the first pixel as not including people, and setting, with the electronic processor, the background temperature of the first pixel in the background image to be a value of the current temperature of the first pixel in the current image; determining, with the electronic processor, that the background temperature of a second pixel in the background image is less than the current temperature of the second pixel in the current image by a predetermined threshold; and in response to determining that the background temperature of the second pixel in the background image is less than the current temperature of the second pixel in the current image by the predetermined threshold, flagging, with the electronic processor, the second pixel as including the one or more people.
  13. 13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein controlling the light source to more brightly illuminate the first section of the area of operation than the second section of the area of operation includes controlling, with the electronic processor, the light source to illuminate the first section of the area of operation in which the one or more people is located regardless of whether the one or more people has remained stationary for a period of time.
  14. 14 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising dynamically controlling, with the electronic processor, a brightness of the at least two subsets of LEDs to provide light to different sections of the area of operation as the one or more people move within the area of operation by repeatedly: controlling, with the electronic processor, the thermal camera to capture additional current images of the area of operation of the light source; comparing, with the electronic processor, each additional current image to the background image to determine whether one or more people is present in the area of operation; determining, with the electronic processor and in response to determining that the one or more people is present in the area of operation, the first section of the area of operation in which the one or more people is located; and controlling, with the electronic processor, the light source to more brightly illuminate the first section of the area of operation in which the one or more people is located than a second section of the area of operation in which people are not located.
  15. 15 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the thermal camera is mounted adjacent to the light source and is configured such that a field of view of the thermal camera corresponds approximately to the area of operation of the light source.
  16. 16 . A lighting device comprising: a light source including a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), wherein the lighting device is a portable lighting device, and wherein at least two subsets of LEDs of the plurality of LEDs are separately controllable to be illuminated at different brightness levels; a battery pack configured to provide power to the light source; a camera; and an electronic processor coupled to the camera, wherein the electronic processor is configured to: detect, using machine vision to analyze data captured by the camera, one or more objects in an area of operation of the light source, identify, using machine vision to analyze the data captured by the camera, an object type of each of the one or more objects, determine, using machine vision to analyze the data captured by the camera, a location and an orientation of each of the one or more objects, determine, at least partially based on the object type, whether the location and the orientation of each of the one or more objects makes a respective object sensitive to light emitted by the light source, and in response to determining that the location and the orientation of the respective object makes the respective object sensitive to light emitted by the light source, control the light source to (i) decrease a brightness of LEDs illuminating a first section of the area of operation in which the respective object sensitive to light emitted by the light source is located and (ii) maintain a brightness of LEDs illuminating a second section of the area of operation in which the respective object sensitive to light emitted by the light source is not located.
  17. 17 . The lighting device of claim 16 , wherein the electronic processor is configured to: identify, using machine vision to analyze the data captured by the camera, multiple people in the area of operation; determine, using machine vision to analyze the data captured by the camera, that a first gaze direction of a first person of the multiple people is toward the light source; determine, using machine vision to analyze the data captured by the camera, that a second gaze direction of a second person of the multiple people is not toward the light source; determine, based on the gaze direction determinations, that the first person is sensitive to light emitted by the light source and that the second person is not sensitive to light emitted by the light source, wherein the first person is located in the first section of the area of operation, and wherein the second person is located in the second section of the area of operation; and in response to determining that the first person is sensitive to light emitted by the light source and that the second person is not sensitive to light emitted by the light source, control the light source to (i) decrease the brightness of LEDs illuminating the first section of the area of operation in which the first person is located and (ii) maintain the brightness of LEDs illuminating the second section of the area of operation in which the second person is located.
  18. 18 . The lighting device of claim 16 , wherein the electronic processor is configured to: identify, using machine vision to analyze the data captured by the camera, a moving vehicle in the area of operation; determine, based on identifying the moving vehicle, that the moving vehicle is sensitive to light emitted by the light source, wherein the moving vehicle is located in the first section of the area of operation; and in response to determining that the moving vehicle is sensitive to light emitted by the light source, control the light source to (i) decrease the brightness of LEDs illuminating the first section of the area of operation in which the moving vehicle is located and (ii) maintain the brightness of LEDs illuminating the second section of the area of operation in which the moving vehicle is not located.
  19. 19 . The lighting device of claim 16 , wherein the electronic processor is configured to: determine, using machine vision to analyze data captured by the camera, that the location, the orientation, or both the location and the orientation of the respective object sensitive to light emitted by the light source has changed such that the respective object is no longer present within the area of operation or such that the respective object is no longer sensitive to light emitted by the light source; and in response to determining that the location, the orientation, or both the location and the orientation of the respective object sensitive to light emitted by the light source has changed such that the respective object is no longer present within the area of operation or such that the respective object is no longer sensitive to light emitted by the light source, control the light source to increase the brightness of LEDs illuminating the first section of the area of operation back to a previous brightness level.
  20. 20 . The lighting device of claim 16 , further comprising a powered pan/tilt/focus mechanism to which a light assembly including the light source and the camera is configured to be mounted, wherein the powered pan/tilt/focus mechanism receives power from the battery pack, and wherein the electronic processor is coupled to the powered pan/tilt/focus mechanism and is configured to control the powered pan/tilt/focus mechanism to mechanically adjust a direction in which light is emitted from the light source to reduce illumination of the first section of the area of operation in which the respective object sensitive to light emitted by the light source is located.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/717,360, filed on Nov. 7, 2024, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. FIELD The present disclosure relates to control of a work light based on context detection performed by the work light. For example, a work light may control one or more light sources in response to detecting one or more users within an area of operation of the work light (e.g., to direct the light toward the one or more users while dimming light output in other directions). As another example, the work light may additionally or alternatively control one or more light sources to reduce or prevent light from being emitted at one or more light-sensitive objects detected by the work light. SUMMARY Work lights, such as free-standing work lights, may be used to illuminate work areas such as construction sites within a building, on a roadway, and/or like. Such work lights may be powered by batteries (e.g., one or more power tool battery packs) to allow for ease of transportation and setup of the work lights. Work lights may be manually turned off by a user when not in use. However, users often forget to turn off work lights or may choose not to turn off a work light if they are temporarily leaving an area but plan to return to the area later. Accordingly, battery power is wasted by continuing to provide light to an area in which work is not being performed and/or in which a user is not present. Additionally, work lights often illuminate a large (e.g., wide) area even though an area in which work is being performed by the user(s) is smaller than (i.e., a fraction of) a maximum area of operation to which the work light is capable of providing light. Accordingly, battery power is wasted by providing light to a larger area than is necessary to allow the user(s) to perform work. The disclosed systems, methods, and devices aim to address the above-noted technological problems by controlling a work light to perform context detection and controlling one or more light sources of the work light based on the context detection. For example, the work light is controlled to detect the presence or absence of a user within an area of operation of the work light. In response thereto, the work light may control one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs) of its light source to turn on, turn off, decrease brightness, increase brightness, etc. as described in greater detail herein. Different light sources of the work light may be controlled in different manners based on the context detection as described herein. The disclosed systems, methods, and devices extend the battery life of batteries used to power the light source (and generally reduce energy consumption) without reducing the functionality of the work light with respect to work to be performed by the user(s). Additionally, by the work light (i) providing light to track the user's location within the area of operation of the work light and/or (ii) automatically turning on and/or off depending on whether the user is detected within the area of operation, the work light provides additional automatic functionality that reduces or eliminates user interaction to control the work light. Accordingly, the user is able to more easily perform their work without having to manually adjust the work light as much as may be required with existing work lights or at all. Additionally or alternatively, the work light may automatically control one or more light sources to reduce or prevent light from being emitted at one or more light-sensitive objects detected by the work light, which again provides enhanced functionality without manual user intervention. One disclosed example provides a lighting device that may include a light source. The light source may include a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The lighting device may be a portable lighting device. At least two subsets of LEDs of the plurality of LEDs may be separately controllable to be illuminated at different brightness levels. The lighting device may also include a battery pack configured to provide power to the light source. The lighting device may also include a thermal camera. The lighting device may also include an electronic processor coupled to the thermal camera. The electronic processor may be configured to control the thermal camera to capture a background image of an area of operation of the light source. The electronic processor may also be configured to control the thermal camera to capture a current image of the area of operation of the light source after capturing the background image. The electronic processor may also be configured to compare the current image to the background image to determine whether one or more people is present in the area of operation. The electronic processor may also be configured to determine, in response to determining that the one or more people is present in the area of operation, a first