Philips

About: Philips is a company organization based out in Vantaa, Finland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Signal & Layer (electronics). The organization has 68260 authors who have published 99663 publications receiving 1882329 citations. The organization is also known as: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. & Royal Philips Electronics.

Methods and apparatus for providing lighting via a grid system of a suspended ceiling

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for providing sources of light, or mechanical and/or electrical connections for light sources, via a grid system of a suspended ceiling. All or a portion of a grid system for a suspended ceiling may be configured to support the generation of light. Lighting units may be coupled to various portions of the grid system in a removable and modular fashion, so as to be completely or substantially recessed above the ceiling surface, or as pendant components hanging below the ceiling surface. Lighting interface components of the grid system also may be configured to facilitate significant thermal dissipation from lighting units. In one exemplary implementation, one or more LED-based lighting units may be coupled to one or more lighting interface components of the grid system so as to provide controllable multi-color an/or essentially white light.

Automatic system for monitoring person requiring care and his/her caretaker

Abstract: A monitoring system for an infant, child, invalid, or other person requiring care uses computer vision and hearing, and inputs of other modalities, to analyze the status of a caretaker and/or cared-for person and its environment. The conditions are classified as normal or alarm conditions and an informative alarm signal is generated which may include records of the vision audio and other inputs. The system also has the ability to solicit responses from the occupants to stimulate a classifiable input to reduce ambiguity in its state signal.

Experimental measurement of the photonic properties of icosahedral quasicrystals

Abstract: Quasicrystalline structures may have optical bandgap properties — frequency ranges in which the propagation of light is forbidden — that will make them well suited for applications in which photonic crystals are normally used. Previous work has focused on one- and two-dimensional quasicrystals for which exact theoretical calculations can be made. But when it comes to three dimensions, computation of the optical properties remains a tough challenge. Man et al. tackled the three-dimensional case experimentally using a large photonic quasicrystal made of plastic. They find that the periodic structure yields surprisingly simple spectra, and the resulting structural insights confirm that quasicrystals are excellent candidates for photonic bandgap materials. Quasicrystalline structures may have optical bandgap properties—frequency ranges in which the propagation of light is forbidden—that make them well-suited to the scientific and technological applications for which photonic crystals1,2,3 are normally considered4. Such quasicrystals can be constructed from two or more types of dielectric material arranged in a quasiperiodic pattern whose rotational symmetry is forbidden for periodic crystals (such as five-fold symmetry in the plane and icosahedral symmetry in three dimensions). Because quasicrystals have higher point group symmetry than ordinary crystals, their gap centre frequencies are closer and the gaps widths are more uniform—optimal conditions for forming a complete bandgap that is more closely spherically symmetric. Although previous studies have focused on one-dimensional and two-dimensional quasicrystals4,5,6,7, where exact (one-dimensional) or approximate (two-dimensional) band structures can be calculated numerically, analogous calculations for the three-dimensional case are computationally challenging and have not yet been performed. Here we circumvent the computational problem by doing an experiment. Using stereolithography, we construct a photonic quasicrystal with centimetre-scale cells and perform microwave transmission measurements. We show that three-dimensional icosahedral quasicrystals exhibit sizeable stop gaps and, despite their quasiperiodicity, yield uncomplicated spectra that allow us to experimentally determine the faces of their effective Brillouin zones. Our studies confirm that they are excellent candidates for photonic bandgap materials.

Passive display device

Abstract: A passive display device comprising a first and a second supporting plate at least one of which is transparent, a number of display elements for controlling the reflection or transmission of light each having at least one fixed electrode and an electrode which is movable with respect to said electrode by electrostatic forces and which is kept separated from the fixed electrode by means of at least one electrically insulating oxidic layer, the insulating oxidic layer comprising a layer of a compound which comprises a polar and a non-polar group and the polar group of which is adsorbed or linked to the surface of the insulating oxidic layer.