阅读说明：本技术 利于阅读的照明设备 (Lighting device facilitating reading ) 是由 阿尔贝·勒弗洛克 居伊·罗帕尔 于 2018-08-03 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及用于对呈现在任何介质上特别是是纸质介质上的图形和/或文本内容进行照明的设备(LIGHT)。照明设备(LIGHT)被配置成根据以预设频率Fd执行的连续循环周期性地启用和停用所述照明光束。每个循环具有持续时间T,并且包括具有持续时间T1的光束启用时段,在该光束启用时段之后是具有持续时间T2的光束停用时段,或者反之亦然。频率Fd被包括在范围从60Hz至90Hz的值区间内,并且光束启用时段的持续时间T1被包括在范围从循环的持续时间T的15％至30％的值区间内。(The invention relates to a device (LIGHT) for illuminating graphical and/or textual content presented on any medium, in particular paper media. The lighting device (LIGHT) is configured to periodically activate and deactivate said illumination beam according to successive cycles performed at a preset frequency Fd. Each cycle has a duration T and includes a beam on period having a duration T1 followed by a beam off period having a duration T2, or vice versa. The frequency Fd is comprised in a value interval ranging from 60Hz to 90Hz, and the duration T1 of the beam activation period is comprised in a value interval ranging from 15% to 30% of the duration T of the cycle.)

1. A lighting device (LIGHT) comprising a control unit (CTRLU) and a lighting module (LIMOD) adapted to generate a LIGHT beam in the visible LIGHT spectrum,

characterized in that the lighting device (LIGHT) is configured to periodically activate and deactivate the lighting beam according to successive cycles performed at a predetermined frequency Fd, each cycle having a duration T and comprising a beam activation period having a duration T1, before or after which a beam deactivation period having a duration T2,

wherein said frequency Fd is comprised within a value interval ranging from 60Hz to 90Hz,

and wherein the duration T1 of the beam activation period is comprised within a value interval ranging from 15% to 30% of the duration T of the cycle.

2. The lighting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the frequency Fd varies with time.

3. A lighting device as recited in claim 2, wherein the frequency Fd is varied up to a maximum value by increasing in successive steps according to a first speed referred to as an increasing speed and then varied up to a minimum value by decreasing in successive steps according to a second speed referred to as a decreasing speed, the increasing and decreasing variations being iteratively repeated over time.

4. A lighting device as recited in claim 3, wherein the rate of decrease is equal to the rate of increase.

5. A lighting device as recited in claim 4, wherein the successive steps are of equal duration.

6. A lighting device as recited in claim 4, wherein the successive steps vary in duration such that the value of the frequency Fd varies between the maximum value and the minimum value according to a waveform that is triangular, saw-tooth, or sinusoidal.

7. A lighting device as recited in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the duration T1 of the light beam activation period varies with time.

8. A lighting device as recited in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the beam is generated using one or more elements of the LED type.

9. A lighting device as recited in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lighting device is of a type included in the following list: a desk lamp, a flashlight, a headlamp, a pen lamp, a pocket lamp, a telephone lamp, a smartphone lamp, a flashlight watch, a key ring lamp, a dome lamp, a floor lamp, a bulb, a lighting tube, a searchlight, a motor vehicle searchlight, an overhead searchlight, a luminescent wall coating, a lighted carpet, a lighted bracelet, a lighted frame, a miniature lamp to be positioned on a book, a device configured for interior lighting, or a device configured for exterior, urban or non-urban lighting.

10. A lighting device as recited in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the frequency Fd is defined by a user of the device.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a lighting device. More particularly, the present invention relates to lighting devices that facilitate reading of content, particularly textual content, by persons suffering from dyslexia.

Background

Dyslexia is generally defined as a series of dyslexia that occur during childhood. They are specific learning barriers whose causes seem complex and have been and continue to be the subject of numerous studies in various fields.

It is generally not possible to believe that the cause of dyslexia may be merely sensory, social or psychological in nature.

Research conducted in the field of neuroscience allows for the recognition that it may be a specific neurological disorder.

Advances in the field of medical imaging have enabled the disclosure of the role of certain regions of the brain in reading and mastering language.

The protocols provided to treat dyslexia disorders are based on work and play activities based on difficulties specific to each subject. The purpose of this support is to provide independence in reading to the subject suffering from the disorder. The known methods are for example developed around work in areas such as psychology, psychomotor education and orthopaedics.

Recently, studies have been conducted to establish a correlation between uniqueness specific to the visual mechanism and the presence of specific dyslexia disorders. The publication "Left-right asymmetry of Maxwell spot centroids in addusts with out and with dyslexia in adults without dyslexia (Left-right asymmetry of the Maxwell spot centroids in addusts with out and with dyslexia) (Le Floch A, Ropars G.2017, Proc.R.Soc.B 284:20171380, http:// dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.1380) mentions the role of fovea located in the human eye in constructing images perceived in the brain, and the following facts: the same or substantially the same characteristics of both eyes of the same subject cause dysfunction of the subject during visual and acoustic processing in the brain. For example, the transmission of a mirror image from one hemisphere to another substantially disturbs the process of reading graphical elements or textual content by subjects characterized by dyslexia. Visual crowding, such as a mirror image effect, may also be caused by disorders associated with focus instability and/or postural instability or defects in binocular convergence associated with the oculomotor muscles.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention allows to improve at least some of the drawbacks of the prior art by proposing an illumination device suitable for facilitating the reading of content, such as graphic content, on any type of support, in particular on a paper support. The proposed device performs successive activation periods and successive deactivation or elimination periods of the light beam in the visible spectrum. Thus, the light beam is periodically activated and deactivated (extinguished) by the lighting device via the adjustable system according to successive cycles performed at a predetermined frequency and included within a value interval ranging from 60Hz to 90Hz, the adjustable system thus acting as an anti-congestion device. This system takes advantage of the Hebbian mechanism in cortical neurons. Each successive activation period has a duration comprised within a value interval ranging from 15% to 30% of the total duration of the executed cycles.

The invention relates more particularly to a lighting device comprising a control unit and a lighting module adapted to generate a light beam in the visible spectrum, characterized in that said lighting device is configured to periodically activate and deactivate said lighting light beam according to successive cycles performed at a predetermined frequency Fd, each cycle having a duration T and comprising a light beam activation period having a duration T1, preceded or followed by a light beam deactivation period having a duration T2, wherein the frequency Fd is comprised within a value interval ranging from 60Hz to 90Hz, and wherein the duration T1 of the light beam activation period is comprised within a value interval ranging from 15% to 30% of the duration T of the cycle.

In accordance with the present invention, "deactivation" of the light beam refers to either the complete absence of emission of the light beam, or emission at a level of power well below that of the activation phase such that the resulting difference in perception causes an effect on dyslexia subjects similar to that found due to the absence of the light beam according to the cycle described above. Thus, the deactivation of the light beam may be complete (the light beam is completely absent after deactivation) or partial.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the predetermined frequency Fd of the light beam is defined by a user of the lighting device.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the predetermined frequency of the light beam is selected discretely, that is to say from a plurality of predetermined frequencies in the above-mentioned frequency interval.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the frequency Fd varies over time in order to even more facilitate in some cases the removal of visual congestion and to facilitate binocular stability.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the frequency Fd is varied up to a maximum value by increasing according to a first speed, called increasing speed, in successive steps, and then up to a minimum value by decreasing according to a second speed, called decreasing speed, in successive steps, the increasing and decreasing variations being iteratively repeated over time.

According to one embodiment of the invention, said decreasing speed is equal to said increasing speed.

According to one embodiment of the invention, said successive steps have equal duration.

According to one embodiment of the invention, said successive steps vary in duration so that the value of said frequency Fd varies between said maximum and said minimum according to a waveform in a triangular, saw-tooth or sinusoidal shape.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the duration of the beam activation period T1 varies over time.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the light beam in the visible spectrum produced is generated using one or more elements of the LED type.

Advantageously, the use of a frequency range starting at 60Hz allows to eliminate the effect of glints perceptible to the human eye, for which (irrespective of animal species and insects) the limit of perception of glints by the eye lies at about 60 Hz.

Advantageously, the alternation of activation periods and deactivation periods (or elimination or substantial attenuation or suppression) established of the light beam in the visible spectrum and applied to (towards) the support allows the brain of the subject looking at the illuminated support to "focus" on the image representative of the content displayed on the observed support, then the same image vanishes almost from the visual field of the subject before it is transmitted in mirror image form between one hemisphere of the brain and the other hemisphere of the brain of the subject looking at the illuminated support. The delay required for the brain to transmit the eye-perceived image between one hemisphere and the other in the form of a mirror image of the eye-perceived image is about 10 ms.

Thus, the confusion present in subjects who transmit an image relative to a mirror image of the image and whose two foveal features have strong similarities, especially when the content represents one or more textual contents, is less or substantially reduced in the content displayed on the reading support.

Advantageously, the use of a switch configured to selectively obtain a permanent light beam (normal illumination) and a non-permanent light beam (illumination according to the invention) allows users suffering from dyslexia disorders to compare their usual reading performance (obtained under normal illumination) with the performance they obtain under electronic control of the light beam according to the invention, after optionally optimizing their own parameters (parameters of frequency and duty cycle that allow the user to obtain better reading comfort).

Drawings

The invention will be better understood and other peculiarities and advantages will become apparent upon reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a diagram showing a signal EL for controlling a lighting module according to a specific and non-limiting embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a block diagram of the architecture of a lighting device LIGHT according to a specific and non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In fig. 2, the modules shown are functional units, which may or may not correspond to physically distinguishable units. For example, these modules or some of them are grouped together into a single component. On the other hand, according to other embodiments, some modules are constituted by physically separate entities.

Fig. 1 is an image of the signal EL over time for controlling the activation and deactivation (elimination) of a LIGHT beam in the visible spectrum in a lighting device LIGHT, according to a specific and non-limiting embodiment of the invention. The signal EL varies with time t and periodically assumes two successive states. According to a preferred embodiment, the determined signal EL in high state controls the activation of the illumination beam of the lighting device LIGHT, which is thus able to illuminate, for example in an inconstant manner, the graphic and/or text content on any support, such as a book. When the signal EL is in a low state, it deactivates (eliminates or suppresses) the light beam of the lighting module. The signal EL is a periodic signal having a predetermined frequency Fd, so that Fd is 1/(T1+ T2). T1 is the period of activation of a light beam in the visible spectrum, or the period of illumination of a support carrying a pattern representing graphical and/or textual content towards which the light beam is directed. T2 is a period of time called a deactivation period during which the light beam is eliminated or made inactive, or in other words, T2 is the following period of time: during said period, the graphic and/or text content on the support towards which the light beam is directed is no longer illuminated by the light beam. The term "graphical content" is to be interpreted here as any content displayed on any support, in particular, but not exclusively, in paper form, and which is constituted by elementary elements such as, for example, juxtaposed dots or pixels, so that the content displays elements having various shapes, and in particular displays one or more textual contents built up from symbols or signs of one or more letters.

The text content attached to the support thus corresponds here to content that can be interpreted in one or more languages, that can be read and understood by the subject, the user of the lighting device, positioned so as to view the support thus illuminated for reading or viewing operations. Such devices are for example: a desk lamp, a flashlight, a headlamp, a pen lamp, a pocket lamp, a telephone lamp, a smartphone lamp, a flashlight watch, a key ring lamp, a dome lamp, a floor lamp, a bulb, a lighting tube, a searchlight, a motor vehicle searchlight, an overhead searchlight, a luminescent wall coating, a lighted carpet, a lighted bracelet, a lighted frame, a miniature lamp positioned on a book via an accessory system, a device configured for interior lighting (of a house), or a device configured for exterior, urban or non-urban lighting. This list of examples is not exhaustive. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the duty cycle T1/(T1+ T2) between the activation period and the deactivation (or suppression) period of the light beam, respectively of duration T1 and T2, has a value between 15% and 30% of the cycle, and the variation frequency Fd of the signal EL is between 60Hz and 90 Hz.

Preferably, the signal frequency is equal to 70Hz or 84Hz and the duty cycle T1/(T1/T2) is equal to 20%.

Advantageously, it is possible to easily force the control signal EL in a state associated with the activation of the LIGHT beam for a long time, which corresponds to a departure from the lighting method implemented in the device LIGHT according to the invention. Thus, in the event of visual discomfort due to the non-persistence of activation of the illumination beam for subjects with dyslexia, the method for controlling the beam may not be implemented in the illumination device according to the present invention.

Advantageously, the adjustment of the frequency Fd can be improved within the described value interval, with the aim of adapting the period T within the indicated frequency range to the sensitivity of the user of the lighting device LIGHT. In fact, each individual has a certain sensitivity in vision and more or less perceives frequency changes in the light beam. Thus, fine adjustments may be made by the user through adjustment buttons, cursors, implemented physically or via any given user interface (e.g., graphical elements of a menu on a control screen).

Fig. 2 is a structural representation of a lighting device LIGHT according to a specific and non-limiting embodiment of the present invention. The figure shows the general architecture of the lighting device LIGHT, also commonly referred to as "lamp". The device LIGHT comprises two main modules, which are a control unit CTRLU and a lighting module LIMOD. The control unit CTRLU is the core of the system in terms of control and comprises conventional bistable (or chopping) circuits adapted to generate the signal EL. The bistable chopper circuit of the control unit CTRLU transmits a signal EL characterized by the frequency Fd and by its duty cycle T1/(T1+ T2). Of course, the control unit CTRLU comprises all the usual elements implemented in such an architecture, such as, for example, one or more operational amplifiers, resistors and capacitors, one or more diodes, a power supply, a zeroing circuit, a circuit for monitoring the power supply, a power interface, a current amplifier, the list of these elements not being exhaustive. Since the details of the architecture of the control unit CTRLU are not helpful for understanding the present invention, they will not be described further. According to one embodiment of the invention, the module CTRLU comprises a bi-stable circuit built around the operational amplifier, which bi-stable circuit is coupled to the current amplification circuit. Advantageously, the use of a current amplifier allows obtaining an average energy sufficient for proper illumination, even if the light beam thus generated is not continuous. The lighting module LIMOD is a lighting module adapted to generate a light beam in the visible light spectrum or in a substantially wider spectrum. Advantageously, the light beam may be more or less focused, thereby being configured for illuminating a large surface, which may be larger or smaller. Such focusing can be performed by using optical elements (lenses) or mechanical elements (diaphragms) or both.

Advantageously, the light beam is generated by one or more electroluminescent objects of the LED type, acronym "light-emitting diode". Of course, the light beam may be formed by other light elements, as long as the deactivation of the light beam may be fast enough to follow a cycle comprising illumination periods and inhibition periods (non-illumination periods) of the light beam.

The term "suppression of the light beam" must be interpreted here as a complete disappearance of the light beam or a significant reduction of the illumination level produced by the light beam.

The ability to continuously enable and inhibit the illumination of a support presenting one or more graphic and/or textual contents under the control of the bistable module of the unit CTRLU advantageously allows the brain of the subject to favour the image perceived using the support when the support is illuminated by the lighting device LIGHT according to the invention, rather than the mirror image of this image. Advantageously, this allows subjects suffering from dyslexia disorders to be significantly aided in reading and understanding textual content.

Advantageously, the control unit CTRLU comprises at the output a signal EL for enabling (or for turning off/suppressing) the illumination beam connected at the input of the lighting module limd.

In other words, the variation of the signal EL for controlling the illumination beam, performed by the control unit CTRLU comprising a bistable circuit at the frequency Fd, allows to act on the illumination of the graphical content displayed on any given support, so that it is periodically illuminated continuously and then less (or not at all) on the support according to successive cycles with a total length T, performed at a predetermined frequency Fd. According to the invention, the successive periods of illumination T1 each have a value interval comprised in the range from 15% to 30% of the duration T of the cycle. The frequency Fd of the cycles (each cycle comprising a beam on period and a beam off period) is between 60Hz and 90 Hz.

According to one embodiment, the frequency Fd is fixed.

According to another embodiment, the frequency Fd varies with time.

According to a particular embodiment, the frequency Fd is varied up to a maximum value by increasing according to a first speed, called increasing speed, in successive steps, and then up to a minimum value by decreasing according to a second speed, called decreasing speed, in successive steps, the increasing and decreasing variations being repeated iteratively over time.

According to a particular embodiment, the reduction speed is equal to the increase speed.

According to a particular embodiment, consecutive steps have equal duration.

According to another particular implementation, successive steps vary in duration such that the value of the frequency Fd varies between the maximum and the minimum according to a waveform in a triangular, saw-tooth or sinusoidal shape.

Advantageously, the duration T1 of the activation period varies over time by varying continuously or not continuously between limit values ranging from 15% to 30% of the duration T of the cycle. Here, "continuously" refers to a change that is incremented in successive steps of equal duration.

The wobble phenomenon thus generated and applied to the predetermined frequency Fd (variation of frequency Fd) allows scanning a large number of frequencies between 60Hz and 90Hz, some of which will be more effective in aiding reading. These more effective frequencies vary depending on the dyslexia subject. By scanning all frequencies between 60Hz and 90Hz, the device of the invention does not require any advance adjustment and becomes effective for a large number of users. This wobbling phenomenon therefore allows to reduce in some cases the troubles associated with dyslexia disorders even more.

The same advantage results from the variation in the duration T1 of the beam activation period.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the lighting device LIGHT is configured to generate a first continuous LIGHT beam throughout its duration of use and the controlled or mobile movement or filtering device periodically masks or suppresses this LIGHT beam so that a second LIGHT beam is generated, having frequency and duty cycle characteristics such as those described above (Fd between 60Hz and 90Hz and T1/(T1+ T2) between 15% and 30%. as a non-limiting example, according to this embodiment, the first LIGHT beam may be interrupted cyclically by a rotating element having a solid surface and a hollow surface or an opaque surface and a translucent surface, which is adapted to generate the second LIGHT beam by its rotation, thus having the same effect as described in the first embodiment described above.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above only, but is applicable to any device for illuminating graphic and/or textual content on any known support, periodically effecting the continuous operation of activation of the illuminating light beam and of inhibition of this same light beam according to successive cycles performed at a predetermined frequency Fd between 60Hz and 90Hz, so that successive illumination periods T1 each have a duration comprised within a value interval ranging from 15% to 30% of the duration T of the performed cycle.