IP Library Granted Patent US 11,147,281
Granted Patent B2
US 11,147,281 · App. 15/129,966 · Granted Oct 19, 2021

Freshness of fruit and/or vegetables

Inventors: Céline Catherine Sarah Nicole (Eindhoven, NL); Daniel Willem Elisabeth Schobben (Eindhoven, NL)
Assignee: SIGNIFY HOLDING B.V.
A23B7/015A23B7/04A23L3/26F25D27/005A23V2002/00
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,147,281
App. No.
15/129,966
Granted
Oct 19, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

A system to illuminate fruit and/or vegetables in the food storage facility, comprising a lamp ( 8 ) and a controller ( 12 ). The lamp is operable to provide the illumination with a first light output and a second light output, the first light output having a higher intensity and at least a red-bias spectrum relative to the second light output. Further, the system comprises a controller for controlling the illumination of the fruit and/or vegetables in the food storage facility by controlling the lamp. The controller is configured to apply the illumination in a sequence comprising a period of darkness, followed by the first light output for a first period, then followed by the second light output for a second period.

Claims (24)

1. A lighting system comprising:

a lamp for illuminating plant items in a storage facility, wherein the lamp is arranged to provide said illumination with a first light output and a second light output, the first light output having a higher intensity and at least a red-bias spectrum relative to the second light output, wherein the second light output is white; and

a hardware processor configured to produce, by controlling the lamp, a light sequence, the sequence comprising an off period, in which said lamp is off, followed by the first light output for a first period, then followed by the second light output for a second period,

wherein the first period lasts 1 to 2 hours and wherein the second period lasts at least two hours,

wherein a total of 15 to 50 μmol/s/m 2 of photons are emitted by the system for the first light output throughout the first period, and

wherein a total of 2 to 15 μmol/s/m 2 of photons are emitted by the system for the second light output throughout the second period, wherein said total of the second light output is less than said total of the first light output.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first light output has a spectrum with a peak wavelength of 660 nm.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the hardware processor is configured to apply said sequence in a daily cycle.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein:

the off period lasts 10 to 12 hours and

the second period lasts the remainder of the daily cycle following the first period, or lasts a period of 2 to 6 hours.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the plant items are food items and wherein the storage facility is a food storage facility.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein said plant items comprise fruit and/or vegetables and wherein the hardware processor is configured to time said sequence to cumulate at a designated consumption time, designated by a user, for consumption of at least some of the fruit and/or vegetables disposed in the storage facility.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the second period lasts 2 to 4 hours up until the consumption time, and the first period lasts 1 to 2 hours up until the second period.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the plant items are food items and wherein the storage facility is a food storage facility.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second light outputs are discrete channels of the lamp with discrete spectra and intensity being applied for the first period and second period respectively.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second light outputs have constant spectra within the respective period.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the off period of darkness, the first period and the second period are contiguous.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein said total of said second light output is at least 7.5 times less than said total of said first light output.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plant items are food items and wherein the storage facility is a food storage facility.

14. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a user interface, wherein the controller hardware processor is configured to determine an initiation time of said sequence based on a designated consumption time received from a user such that said second period sequence culminates cumulates at the designated consumption time, wherein the consumption time is designated by a user, through the user interface, as being a time for consumption of at least some of said items.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the second period lasts 2 to 4 hours up until the consumption time, and the first period lasts 1 to 2 hours up until the second period.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein said total of said second light output is at least 7.5 times less than said total of said first light output.

Assignments (3)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded May 7, 2019
From: PHILIPS LIGHTING HOLDING B.V.
To: SIGNIFY HOLDING B.V.
Reel/Frame 049096/0733 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 7, 2019
From: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.
To: PHILIPS LIGHTING HOLDING B.V.
Reel/Frame 049096/0826 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 6, 2018
From: NICOLE, CÉLINE CATHERINE SARAH; SCHOBBEN, DANIËL WILLEM ELISABETH
To: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.
Reel/Frame 044836/0789 →
Priority Claims (1)
EP 14162545 · Mar 31, 2014 · regional
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20170135359A1 · May 18, 2017