Light engines with dynamically controllable light distribution

1. A vehicle interior lighting system comprising:

a light engine configured to provide light within an interior of a vehicle, the light engine comprising:

independently addressable light emitting diode (LED) segments, each of the independently addressable LED segments comprising at least one LED;

a printed circuit board (PCB) having a base and at least one leg extending from the base and configured to provide electrical coupling to the independently addressable LED segments; and

a support structure having an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface defining a hole through the support structure, the independently addressable LED segments attached to the base, the base positioned on the outer surface, the at least one leg extending along the inner surface;

a processor configured to receive information from at least one system within the vehicle and generate a control signal based on the information, the information comprising at least one vehicle characteristic selected from a set of vehicle characteristics including occupancy information within the vehicle, vehicular control information, and environmental information external to the vehicle; and

a controller electrically coupled to the at least one leg, the controller configured to provide, based on the control signal, at least one light control signal to modify at least one emission characteristic of the at least one LED of at least one of the independently addressable LED segments.

2. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 1 , wherein:

the independently addressable LED segments are configured to illuminate different areas of the vehicle, and

the controller is configured to control the independently addressable LED segments configured to independently control illumination of the different areas of the vehicle.

3. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 2 , wherein the independently addressable LED segments are configured to illuminate the different areas of the vehicle using independently controllable horizontal and vertical illumination.

4. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 3 , wherein the at least one system comprises at least one sensor configured to determine the occupancy information by determination of a location of a moving individual in the vehicle and communicate the location to the processor, the processor configured to provide a control signal based on the location to the controller, the controller configured to control the independently addressable LED segments such that the horizontal illumination tracks the moving individual while the vertical illumination remains constant such that same vertical planes of the vehicle are illuminated as the individual moves within the vehicle.

5. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one sensor is disposed within an opening in a light guide in the light engine and aligned with the hole, and a cap disposed at an end of the light guide to protect the at least one sensor.

6. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one sensor is selected from a set of sensors that comprise an infra-red (IR) sensor, a passive infra-red sensor (PIR) to detect body heat, a camera, a motion detection sensor, a microwave sensor, a weight sensor, a pressure sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a capacitive sensor, a photoelectric sensor, an inductive sensor, and a magnetic sensor.

7. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises multiple sensors that operate in spectral areas, the controller configured to combine information from the sensors and generate the control signal only if the sensors are triggered simultaneously.

8. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 2 , wherein:

the different areas of the vehicle include a front row and a back row,

each of the front and back row comprises a sensor to provide occupancy information, and

the information provided to the processor comprises the occupancy information of the front row and the back row.

9. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one emission characteristic is selected from a set of emission characteristics that comprise intensity, brightness, contrast, saturation, hue, color temperature, and polarization of the at least one LED.

10. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control physical adjustment of the at least one of the independently addressable LED segments based on the information, the physical adjustment selected from a set of physical adjustments including moving, shifting, and tilting the at least one of the independently addressable LED segments.

11. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control, based on the information, opening and closing of a cover that shields the at least one of the independently addressable LED segments.

12. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle control information comprises seat position, door position, steering wheel position, and speed of the vehicle from an accelerometer, a speedometer, an onboard central processor unit, a vehicle alert system, a vehicle door sensor, and a vehicle occupancy detector.

13. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one system comprises a gaze sensor located on a dashboard of the vehicle such that the gaze sensor is in line of sight with a driver of the vehicle, the gaze sensor configured to detect a gaze of a user and provide facial recognition data to the processor, the processor configured to generate the control signal based on a user profile determined based on the facial recognition data.

14. The vehicle interior lighting system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one system comprises a vehicle sensor system that is activated based on at least one condition selected from a set of conditions comprising when the vehicle engine is activated, when the vehicle is locked or unlocked, based on proximity of an individual to the vehicle, and a time after a vehicle activity.

15. A light engine comprising:

independently addressable light emitting diode (LED) segments, each of the independently addressable LED segments comprising at least one LED and configured to illuminate different areas of an interior of a vehicle;

a printed circuit board (PCB) having a base and at least one leg extending from the base and configured to provide electrical coupling to the independently addressable LED segments; and

a support structure having an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface defining a hole through the support structure, the independently addressable LED segments attached to the base, the base positioned on the outer surface, the at least one leg extending along the inner surface; and

a processor electrically coupled to the at least one leg, the processor configured to provide, based on vehicle information, at least one light control signal to modify at least one emission characteristic of the at least one LED of at least one of the independently addressable LED segments to independently control illumination of the different areas of the vehicle, the vehicle information comprising at least one vehicle characteristic selected from a set of vehicle characteristics including occupancy information within the vehicle and vehicular control information from one or more sources within the vehicle.

16. The light engine of claim 15 , wherein the vehicular control information comprises seat position and door position.

17. The light engine of claim 15 , wherein the occupancy information is provided by at least one sensor disposed in the light engine and aligned with the hole.

18. The light engine of claim 17 , wherein the at least one sensor is disposed within an opening in a light guide, and a cap disposed at an end of the light guide to protect the at least one sensor.

19. The light engine of claim 17 , wherein the at least one sensor is selected from a set of sensors that comprise an infra-red (IR) sensor, a passive infra-red sensor (PIR) to detect body heat, a camera, a motion detection sensor, a microwave sensor, a weight sensor positioned in each seat of the vehicle, an ultrasonic sensor, a capacitive sensor, a photoelectric sensor, an inductive sensor, and a magnetic sensor.

20. A method of adjusting light in a vehicle, the method comprising:

illuminating different areas of an interior of the vehicle using independently addressable light emitting diode (LED) segments of a light engine, each of the independently addressable LED segments comprising at least one LED, the light engine having:

a printed circuit board (PCB) having a base and at least one leg extending from the base and configured to provide electrical coupling to the independently addressable LED segments, and

a support structure having an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface defining a hole through the support structure, the independently addressable LED segments attached to the base, the base positioned on the outer surface, the at least one leg extending along the inner surface;

receiving, at a processor electrically coupled to the at least one leg, vehicle information comprising at least one vehicle characteristic selected from a set of vehicle characteristics including occupancy information within the vehicle and vehicular control information from one or more sources within the vehicle; and

modifying, by the processor based on the vehicle information, at least one emission characteristic of the at least one LED of at least one of the independently addressable LED segments to independently control illumination of the different areas of the vehicle.