Patent Application
20250102133
The present invention pertains to the field of lighting luminaires designed to faithfully replicate the visual and spectral qualities of sun and the sky within indoor spaces. Specifically, the invention encompasses a lighting system and luminaire engineered to closely mimic the appearance and spectral characteristics of the Sun and Sky throughout the day.
Contemporary indoor environments often lack access to natural sunlight and the dynamic visual and spectral experiences it provides. This deficiency can have adverse effects on human health and well-being, leading to a demand for lighting systems capable of reproducing the Sun's and Sky's visual and non-visual effects.
The present invention addresses this need by introducing a lighting system and luminaire designed to simulate the visual and spectral qualities of the Sun and Sky, enhancing the indoor environment's health benefits.
This innovation utilizes a multitude of light emitters arranged to emit light closely resembling natural sunlight. The emitted light has an adjustable correlated color temperature (CCT) spanning from 1900 K to 6500 K, replicating the Sun's appearance at different times of the day.
To achieve accuracy in spectral matching, the lighting system operates within a limited wavelength range of 400 nm to 1400 nm, emulating the Sun's spectral output. Furthermore, at least one light emitter with a wavelength falling within the range of 760 nm to 1400 nm is integrated into the system to ensure faithful representation.
The invention also includes a luminaire equipped with a panel that interacts with the plurality of light emitters. This panel is adept at emitting color-tunable light and simulating a variety of sky scenes, effectively expanding the lighting system's capabilities to encompass the Sky's appearance.
To facilitate control and customization, a dedicated control system is integrated into the luminaire, enabling precise adjustment of the correlated color temperature and spectral power distribution. This control system provides the capability to replicate the appearance and spectrum of the Sun and Sky throughout the day.
Additionally, to cater to user preferences and specific indoor environments, the luminaire is equipped with a user interface for adjusting its settings. This user-friendly interface ensures that the lighting experience can be tailored to meet individual needs.
Further aspects and embodiments of the invention are detailed in the accompanying drawings and subsequent description. These aspects and embodiments are illustrative and not limiting, representing various potential applications of the invention.
Reference will now be made in detail to specific embodiments of the present invention. Examples of these embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. While the embodiments will be described in conjunction with the drawings, it will be understood that the following description is not intended to limit the present invention to any one embodiment. On the contrary, the following description is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
The disclosed embodiments provide lighting systems to provide simulated natural sunlight in rooms, offices, and other indoor locations. As natural sunlight is essential for human beings and provides important benefits to human physical and mental health, indoor lighting systems according to the disclosed embodiments are crucial for those who do not go outdoors much due to their work or lifestyle, or those who live in regions where the day is shorter or the climate does not provide enough sunlight. According to the disclosed embodiment, the color temperature and intensity of the lighting system's light may vary based on the time of day or year and the geographic locations according to settings selected by users. For example, a user may program the lighting system to function like natural sunlight in a tropical place, even if they actually live at a high-latitude location.
In addition, the lighting systems and luminaires according to the disclosed embodiments are capable of reproducing natural light without emitting harmful ultraviolet radiation. They can simulate a sunny sky scene throughout the day, encompassing both visual and non-visual effects. This capability allows users to perceive sunny sky scenes indoors, fostering a sense of connection to nature, happiness, and overall well-being.
Additionally, the lighting system 100 includes an optical element 101, strategically positioned in front of the light engine 104. The color-tunable light-emitting panel 102, whether edge-lit or back-lit, features an aperture 105. The tunable white light engine 104 can be attached to or inserted into this aperture 105.
The control device 106 serves as the central coordinator for the light emitters, ensuring the creation of the desired color, intensity, and pattern to effectively replicate the characteristics of sunlight at any given time of day or year.
As depicted in
Moreover, the controlling device 106 can be a separate entity, capable of wireless and remote connectivity with both the light engine 104 and light emitting panel 102, without being an integral part of the lighting system 100. Essentially, any combination of these elements that forms a lighting system and luminaire with the ability to replicate natural light and simulate sunny sky scenes throughout the day, encompassing both visual and non-visual effects, falls under the purview of the disclosed embodiments.
The tunable light source is engineered using multiple controllable channels of white LEDs to precisely regulate the color temperature of the white light output within a range spanning from 1900 K to 6500 K. These channels in a tunable white light source may all emit white light but with varying color temperatures, or in combination with one channel of amber LEDs. The tunable light source 303 can be constructed from various combinations of multi-channel colored LEDs.
In one embodiment, a 2-channel white LED array is employed within light engine 204. Such a two-color LED array comprises numerous LEDs of a first color temperature (warm white) and multiple LEDs of a second color temperature (cool white). The white LEDs in the first channel emit white light with a color temperature of approximately 2700K, remaining within five MacAdams ellipses of the Black Body Curve. In the second channel, the white LEDs emit white light with a color temperature of approximately 6500K, also within five MacAdams ellipses of the Black Body Curve.
In another embodiment, a 3-channel (three-color LED array) configuration is used. This includes an array of greenish-white LEDs with a peak wavelength around 550 nm (which may vary from about 505 nm to about 550 nm), several cool white LEDs featuring a color temperature of approximately 6500K within five MacAdams ellipses of the Black Body Curve, and a third group of amber LEDs with a peak wavelength of about 625 nm added to the mix, thus expanding the gamut sufficiently to encompass the Black Body Curve over the desired range.
Tunable white light engine 204 is integrated into aperture 205 from the rear side of light emitting panel 202, while optical element 101 is affixed to the front surface of light engine 204, serving as the light-emitting surface. Within the light engine 204's optical cavity 207, multiple controllable channels of white LEDs from tunable white light source 303 are positioned to emit light towards the light-emitting surface 101.
Given that the color-tunable light emitting panel 202 is designed in an edge-lit style, it incorporates a multitude of LEDs 302 positioned along the edges of a light guide 301. These LEDs 302 function as light sources for the color-tunable light emitting panel 202. Additionally, the color-tunable light emitting panel 202 includes a light output window, denoted as light out-coupling structures 304, on its front (or top) side, a light input window 312 adjacent to the LEDs 302, and a reflective surface or reflector 314 on its rear (or bottom) side.
The light guide receives light emitted by the plurality of LEDs 302 via the light input window 312, and this light propagates in guided mode within the guide 301. The plurality of LEDs 302 may consist of, for example, a linear stripe of color-tunable RGB or RGBA or RGBW LEDs. These LEDs 302 can be individually adjusted in output to create the desired color, intensity, and pattern. The light guide can be constructed from light-transmitting materials such as glass, silicone, or polycarbonate (PC).
The out-coupling structure, also known as the light output window 304, may have a rough surface or can be formed by applying diffusely reflective paint onto the surface of the light guide 301. This allows for the uniform distribution of light received from the light guide 301 along the surface of the light output window 304. In an alternative configuration, the surface of the light output window 304 may be adorned with surface microstructures, such as dot patterns, designed to diffuse the light emitted from the light guide 301.
In another alternative embodiment, the out-coupling structure 304, combined with the reflector 314, can be implemented on the rear surface of the light guide 301. In this scenario, the lighting system 200 includes an additional diffusing film attached to the front surface of the color-tunable light emitting panel 202.
In yet another alternative embodiment, a linear stripe of color-tunable RGB or RGBA or RGBW LEDs may be positioned adjacent to the tunable white light engine 204, affixed to an inner edge of the light guide 301.
Furthermore, the color-tunable light emitting panel 202 may be constructed using OLED (organic LED) technology. An OLED panel has the capability to generate diffused light with controlled color, intensity, and pattern.
Diffuser 305 can take the form of a volumetric element, or its surface may be textured or coated with a diffusely reflective paint to scatter the light, achieving a diffuse illumination effect. The surface corresponding to the light guide 301 may also feature surface microstructures, such as dot patterns, to scatter the light received from the light guide 301.
Additionally, diffuser 305 can also function as an optical element 101. Consequently, the surface of diffuser 305 that corresponds to the light engine 204 may incorporate similar microstructures as those found in optical element 101, as illustrated in
The specific structure of diffuser 305 outlined above is provided for illustrative purposes and is not limited to those details. Any combinations of microstructures and materials capable of achieving the light-diffusing functions described in the disclosed embodiments fall within the scope of the present invention.
Tunable white light engine 204, featuring optical element 101 on its front side, is inserted into aperture 205. The tunable white light engine 204 and optical element 101 share the same functions and structures as those depicted in
The purpose of diffuser 502 is twofold: it facilitates uniform light emission and prevents the visibility of hot spots to viewers. While the attributes of diffuser 502 have been mentioned earlier, a detailed description is omitted here for conciseness.
Moving to
As depicted in
An exemplary spectral profile, as depicted in
The heart of the innovative lighting system, as illustrated in
In accordance with the disclosed embodiments, LED luminaire 500 encompasses a lighting unit 502, which comprises LED-based light-emitting elements, including variations such as lighting systems 200 or light engines 204 as elucidated in
Controlling device 506 itself can take the form of an embedded computing device, augmented with intrinsic wired or wireless communications capabilities. This embedded computing device manifests in various incarnations, potentially serving as a dedicated computer or processor. Its primary function entails assimilating input from a wired or wireless module and then issuing control signals to other modules and the driver.
Conversely, remote device 520 emerges as a versatile counterpart, spanning personal computers, smartphones, and similar entities. This device is endowed with a CPU 522 and a memory 524, where executable software resides, facilitating the regulation of remote device 520's operations. Additionally, a communication unit 526 stands ready, facilitating seamless interaction with the communication unit 512 of controlling device 506. This bidirectional communication empowers remote device 520 to issue commands to controlling device 506. These commands range from the elementary, such as turning LED luminaire 500 on or off, to the sophisticated, such as altering the time zone or regions represented by LED luminaire 500. Remote device 520 can also harness these communications to acquire various shades of natural sunlight, each characterized by distinct colors and temperatures, in line with user preferences and specific requirements.
As appreciated by those skilled in the art, the present invention can manifest in multiple embodiments, including a system, method, or computer program product. These embodiments encompass entirely hardware-based configurations, entirely software-based implementations (comprising firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or hybrid embodiments that amalgamate software and hardware elements, generically referred to as a “circuit,” “module,” or “system” herein. Furthermore, this innovation can exist as a computer program product, residing in any tangible medium of expression possessing computer-usable program code.
In practice, various computer-usable or computer-readable media may find application, including electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices, apparatuses, or propagation mediums. Exemplary media comprise electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), optical fibers, portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, transmission media supporting the Internet or an intranet, or magnetic storage devices. Notably, the computer-usable or computer-readable medium might even include paper or another suitable substrate onto which the program is printed. These tangible forms facilitate the electronic capture of the program, for instance through optical scanning, and subsequent compilation, interpretation, or processing, as needed, followed by storage in a computer memory.
Computer program code tasked with executing the operations of the present invention can be composed in a variety of programming languages. This span encompasses object-oriented languages such as Java, Smalltalk, C++, or similar choices and conventional procedural languages like the “C” programming language and its analogs. The program code can execute exclusively on a user's computer, partially on a user's computer, serve as a stand-alone software package, partially run on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or operate entirely on a remote computer or server. In this latter scenario, the remote computer may connect with the user's computer via various networks, encompassing local area networks (LANs) or wide area networks (WANs), or through external computers, such as via the Internet facilitated by an Internet Service Provider.
It is vital to underscore that the terms “comprises” and “comprising,” when employed in this context, specify the presence of declared features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the inclusion or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. In summary, embodiments might materialize as a computer process, a computing system, or an article of manufacture, such as a computer program product on computer-readable media. This computer program product could be a computer storage medium, readable by a computing system, and encoding program instructions for executing a computer process. Once accessed, these instructions instruct a processor to facilitate the functionalities disclosed herein.
Finally, it should be understood that the structure, materials, acts, and equivalents of all elements referred to as “means” or “steps” in the claims below encompass any structure, material, or act to perform the specified function, either in conjunction with other claimed elements or as stand-alone entities. This description, while comprehensive, is intended for illustrative and explanatory purposes and does not exhaustively detail all possible modifications or variations. Modifications and variations apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, without straying from the essence and scope of the invention, are deemed to fall within the appended claims.
Without further elaboration, it is believed that one skilled in the art can, using the preceding description, utilize the present invention to its fullest extent. The preceding preferred specific embodiments are, therefore, to be construed as merely illustrative, and not limitative of the remainder of the disclosure in any way whatsoever.
In the foregoing and in the examples, all temperatures are set forth uncorrected in degrees Celsius and, all parts and percentages are by weight, unless otherwise indicated.
The entire disclosures of all applications, patents and publications, cited herein and of corresponding Finnish application No. 20237160, filed Sep. 24, 2023, are incorporated by reference herein.
The preceding examples can be repeated with similar success by substituting the generically or specifically described reactants and/or operating conditions of this invention for those used in the preceding examples.
From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention and, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20237160 | Sep 2023 | FI | national |
