Led traffic lamp control system

Abstract

A traffic lamp and a method of controlling the traffic lamp based on a power signal are provided. The traffic lamp can include a controller and a light emitting element. When a plurality of light emitting elements is included in the traffic lamp, each light emitting element is coupled with a separate controller. Each controller can be configured to include a predetermined light emitting timing sequence for the corresponding light emitting element. When the power signal is supplied to the traffic lamp, each controller determines a power signal characteristic such as a frequency or a period of the power signal and controls a light output of the light emitting element based on the power signal characteristic and the light emitting timing sequence. A plurality of light emitting elements can be synchronized using the power signal applied to the traffic lamp.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A traffic lamp comprising:
 a light emitting element configured to emit light; and   a controller disposed inside the traffic lamp and coupled with the light emitting element, wherein the controller is configured to control light emission timing of the light emitting element based on a power signal provided to the traffic lamp.   
     
     
         2 . The traffic lamp as in  claim 1 , wherein the light emitting element is a light emitting diode. 
     
     
         3 . The traffic lamp as in  claim 1 , wherein the light emission timing of the light emitting element is based on a predetermined light emission timing sequence. 
     
     
         4 . The traffic lamp as in  claim 1 , wherein the power signal is an AC power signal. 
     
     
         5 . The traffic lamp as in  claim 4 , wherein the controller controls the light emission timing of the light emitting element based on a frequency or a period of the AC power signal. 
     
     
         6 . The traffic lamp as in  claim 1 , wherein the traffic lamp is a flasher lamp. 
     
     
         7 . A method of controlling a traffic lamp comprising:
 receiving a power signal to power the traffic lamp;   determining a light emission timing of the traffic lamp based on the power signal; and   controlling a light emitting element, with a controller disposed within the traffic lamp, to emit light according to the light emission timing.   
     
     
         8 . The method as in  claim 7 , wherein the light emitting element is a light emitting diode. 
     
     
         9 . The method as in  claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to control the light emitting element based on a predetermined light emission timing sequence. 
     
     
         10 . The method as in  claim 7 , wherein the power signal is an AC power signal. 
     
     
         11 . The method as in  claim 10 , wherein controlling a light emitting element comprises:
 determining a frequency of the AC power signal; and   controlling the light emitting element based on the frequency of the AC power signal.   
     
     
         12 . The method as in  claim 10 , wherein controlling a light emitting element comprises:
 determining a period of the AC power signal; and   controlling the light emitting element based on the period of the AC power signal.   
     
     
         13 . The method as in  claim 7 , wherein controlling a light emitting element comprises:
 controlling a plurality of light emitting elements, wherein each light emitting element is coupled to a separate controller disposed within the traffic lamp.   
     
     
         14 . The method as in  claim 13 , wherein the controller is configured to synchronize the plurality of light emitting elements based on the power signal provided to the traffic lamp. 
     
     
         15 . A traffic lamp comprising:
 a plurality of light emitting elements configured to emit light; and   a plurality of controllers disposed inside the traffic lamp, each controller coupled to a light emitting element, wherein the plurality of controllers are configured to control light emission timing of the light emitting elements based on a power signal provided to the traffic lamp.   
     
     
         16 . The traffic lamp as in  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of light emitting elements includes two light emitting elements and the light emission timing includes alternating light emissions for the light emitting elements. 
     
     
         17 . The traffic lamp as in  claim 15 , wherein the traffic lamp is a flasher. 
     
     
         18 . The traffic lamp as in  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of light emitting elements are light emitting diodes. 
     
     
         19 . The traffic lamp as in  claim 14 , wherein the power signal is an AC power signal. 
     
     
         20 . The traffic lamp as in  claim 19 , wherein each controller is configured to control the light emission timing based on a frequency or a period of the AC power signal.