Patent Application
20120300437
The present invention generally relates to overhead lighting systems and more particularly to lighting systems that can be used with grid ceilings.
Grid ceilings are widely used, commonly in office buildings. They provide a false or secondary ceiling (also called a “dropped ceiling”) below the structural ceiling of the building and create a plenum space above the secondary ceiling for hiding HVAC ducts, pipes, electrical wiring and the like. In a typical grid ceiling, a T-bar structure suspended from the structural ceiling provides a grid of rectangular openings, commonly 2′ by 2′ or 2′ by 4′ openings, into which ceiling tiles are set to produce a finished ceiling for a space.
Overhead lighting for grid ceiling systems is typically provided in the form of recessed lighting or ceiling suspended lighting fixtures. In the case of recessed lighting, suitably sized rectangular fixtures called “troffers” are placed in selected gird openings of the T-bar grid in the place of ceiling tiles. Recessed troffers typically are relatively deep and cumbersome fixtures that use fluorescent lamps as a light source. They have large bottom fixture openings flush with the grid ceiling that are either uncovered, as in parabolic troffers, or covered by a lens. The recessed troffers provide a pattern of large area sources of light on the ceiling grid.
An example of suspended lighting fixtures in common use with grid ceiling systems are linear fluorescent lighting fixtures, wherein elongated fixtures having a uniform cross-sectional shape are suspended below the ceiling by stems or cables. Suspended linear fluorescent lighting systems can provide direct or indirect lighting, or a combination of both, and typically come in standard length sections, such as 4, 8 or 12 foot sections, that can be suspended beneath the ceiling as stand-alone fixtures or in a system of fixtures joined together by connectors in continuous runs. The stems or cables that suspend the linear fluorescent lighting system are normally tied into the T-bar grid of the grid ceiling at suspension points, and power cords for each section or selected sections are normally dropped through the ceiling to the sections along the suspension cables or the inside of a hollow stem.
In the above-described conventional approaches to providing overhead lighting in spaces with grid ceilings, the overhead lighting is a fixed installation that is relatively labor intensive to install. Such systems cannot be readily modified or re-configured to meet particular or changing application requirements. Also, the light fixtures themselves each provide relatively large lumen packages which illuminate relatively large areas within the space. They do not lend themselves to versatile placement or to the clustering of sources of light for fine tuning lumen placement at particular task and non-task areas within the space. Instead, they follow the conventional lighting design paradigm, which is to uniformly light spaces based on the requirement from the most demanding visual task, resulting in wasted energy through over-lighting of the less visually demanding areas.
Ceiling spot lighting systems are also used to provide lighting within a space. Spot lighting may be built into a ceiling or may be ceiling mounted, such as on ceiling mounted tracks. Spot lighting systems are often used for accent lighting and have no or limited adjustability. In the case of track lighting, positional adjustment of the spot lights is limited to the orientation and range of the track. The tracks can also be unsightly and are not easily installed. Spot lighting can produce excessive shadows and does not provide enough illumination on most vertical surfaces when aimed at illuminating a horizontal work surface. Thus, spot lighting is not generally employed to provide the majority of illumination in an indoor space such as offices, schools, hospitals or retail environments.
The present invention provides a flexible, easily installed ceiling lighting system that allows lumen packages, and particularly relatively small lumen packages, to be readily configured on a ceiling, and particularly a grid ceiling, for satisfying various lighting requirements of a space. Lumen packages in the form of discrete light modules can be connected or “plugged” into or removed from the ceiling to create different lighting environments and to satisfy different lighting needs. Light modules can be spaced apart or clustered together in arrays that achieve relatively high application efficiencies. A high degree of flexibility in the placement of the light modules on the ceiling will allow a more precise amount of lumens to be directed to designated areas below the ceiling, with the amount of lumens being tailored to different visual tasks to be performed within the space. For example, lumen packages can be clustered to direct more lumens to work surfaces such as on desktops and the work surfaces of office furniture systems, and can be configured in less dense placements for circulation areas requiring fewer lumens.
The configurable ceiling lighting system of the invention is particularly adapted for use in grid ceilings. The system comprises at least one and preferably a plurality of easily installed driver panels having a bottom with an observable bottom surface and a defined perimeter sized to allow the driver panel to be set into and be retained within a grid opening of a ceiling grid such that the bottom surface of the driver panel becomes a part of the observable grid ceiling. Each of the driver panels has at least one and preferably a plurality of electrical connector means, such as banana plug sockets, which are accessible from the bottom of the driver panel, and which define connection points on the bottom of the panel. These electrical connector means are powered from an electrical power source such as an external source available the AC wiring in a building. The driver panels may have a planar low profile form factor to simulate the form of a ceiling tile.
The configurable ceiling lighting system of the invention further comprises at least one and preferably a plurality of light modules having a light source. The light modules have an electrical connector means complimentary to the electrical connector means of the driver panels, wherein the light module can be operatively connected to the bottom of the driver panels at any defined connection point. This allows the light modules to be operatively positioned at selectable points on a grid ceiling. The more connection points that are provided on the driver panel the more selectable positions there will be. Also, different driver panels can be provided with different patterns of connection points over the bottoms of the panels to expand the configurability of the system.
The electrical connector means of each panel driver are preferably recessed into the bottom of the driver panel and can be capped with removable and suitably unobtrusive cover means when unused. However, the invention contemplates the possibility of driver panel connector means that project from or recess into the bottom surface of the panel. The bottom surface of the driver panel can be textured to resemble the observable surfaces of other ceiling tiles of the grid ceiling in which they are installed, or it could be provided with other surface treatments for a desired aesthetic effect. The bottom surface of the driver panel could be presented by the bottom wall of a panel box or by one or more cover plates covering the bottom of the panel box.
In another aspect of the invention the light module has a footprint that is smaller than the size or footprint of the driver panel. The footprint of the light module would be small enough to allow more than one, and preferably a plurality of light modules, to be clustered on a single driver panel. For example, the driver panel could be a square or rectangular panel having a perimeter dimension of approximately two feet and the light module could have a footprint of no greater than about one foot square.
In still another aspect of the invention, the light sources for the light module are comprised of at least one, and preferably a cluster of diffuse area light sources, such as OLED panels. Preferably, the cluster of diffuse area light sources includes OLED panels that lie in different planes for providing a desired light distribution from a compact lumen package. The materials of the light module can be light weight materials having desired properties for providing a light module that is light in weight and easily connected to a driver panel at a selected connection point.
Other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and claims.
Referring now to the drawings,
As shown in
The panel box cover 25 fits over and covers the open top 33 of the panel box to form an interior compartment 35 within the driver panel for housing the connector means 21 and the hereinafter described electronic components and wiring of the driver panel. More specifically, the panel box cover is sized such that its perimeter edges 37 extend over the inwardly-turned edges of the open panel box. The inwardly-turned edges 31 of the open panel box and the perimeter edges 37 of the panel box cover can have overlapping screw holes, such as the illustrated screw holes 39 shown in
As illustrated, the ceiling driver panels 13 are most suitably square or rectangular in shape to fit within the grid opening of a conventional grid ceiling. Nominal edge-to-edge dimensions for the panel drivers, denoted by the letter “S” in
It will be understood that it is not intended that the invention be limited to the use of driver panels having a particular perimeter shape or having particular dimensions. Driver panels in accordance with the invention could be provided with different perimeter shapes or dimensions that allow the panels to be adapted to different grid ceiling design options that might be presented, including but not limited to circular and triangular shapes.
The driver panel box and panel box cover can be fabricated of metal or of another suitable material. For example, fiberglass could be advantageously used to produce a driver panel that is relatively light in weight. Also, wire cable holes can be placed in the panel box cover in locations other than the angled walls of the raised portion of the cover, for example, in the raised top wall of the cover. A flat box cover could also be used, provided that electrical connectors and components for the driver panel can be selected which do not extend above the perimeter height of the panel.
It is noted that in the illustrated embodiment the bottom wall 27 of the open panel box 23 provides the exposed bottom surface 19 of the panel driver and that this bottom surface becomes part of the observable grid ceiling when the driver panel is installed in a ceiling grid. As above-mentioned, this bottom surface can be provided with different surface treatments to provide a desired appearance, including the look of a ceiling tile. Such surface treatments could be provided directly on the bottom wall of the panel box, or, alternatively, they could be provided by a separate bottom cover (not shown) placed under the bottom wall, in which case the bottom cover would be considered part of the bottom of the panel driver whose exposed bottom surface becomes the bottom of the cover. The bottom cover could, for example, be a thin ceiling tile. The bottom cover would have accommodations for the electrical connector means that are accessible from the bottom of the driver panels.
As above-mentioned, the edge-to-edge dimensions, S, of the panel will preferably be slightly less than the T-bar-to-T-bar spacing of the ceiling's T-bar grid, leaving a small gap between the panel's perimeter side walls 29 and the vertical walls 63 of the T-bar. To provide positive engagement between the sides of the panel and the T-bar's vertical wall, the vertical wall of the panel box can be provided with spring detents 73 (shown in
The panel driver is locked onto the T-bars using locking clips 75 and thumb screw 77 in connection with the selected ones of the tabs 32 provided along the inwardly-turned edges 31 of the panel box 25. Prior to attaching the panel box cover 25 to the panel box, selected ones of the inset tabs are bent from their inset position within the inwardly-turned edges to an upright position as show in
It is noted that the bent-up tabs 32 of the panel box of the driver panel can also advantageously be used as attachment points for tie wires (not shown) that run to the overhead structural ceiling and that may be required by local building codes.
The components contained within the driver panel include the light module connector means 21, which can comprise at least one, and preferably a pre-figured array of banana plug sockets 79 mounted to the bottom wall 27 of panel box 25. As will be later described, the banana plug sockets can be located at different positions in the driver panel, and can be provided in regular or irregular patterns.
In
Other components contained in the driver panel can include voltage supply means such as ballast transformers for delivering the required voltage to the electrical sockets. The versions of the driver panels shown in
While the above-described approach to electrically interconnecting panels and making connection to a building's electrical power is considered the best mode of the invention, other approaches are possible. For example, a driver panel, designated a master panel, could have its own power cord, instead of a male end pigtail, that can be plugged directly into the power outlet of the building. Other driver panels, designated slave panels, would then be daisy chained together as above-described and connected to the master panel. Other approaches to electrifying each panel would be possible, such as, for example, providing one or more power strips above the grid ceiling, which are connected to the building's electrical lines and into which each driver panel can be plugged. The driver panels could also be used in and powered by an integrated ceiling system such as the TechZone® ceiling system by Armstrong.
As above-mentioned, OLEDs can advantageously be used as light sources for the light modules that are connectable to the driver panels of a configurable ceiling lighting system in accordance with the invention. While the use of other light sources in the light modules of a configurable ceiling lighting system as described above are possible and within the scope of the invention, it has been discovered that OLEDs can be used to create a light module which is very light in weight and which presents a very compact lumen package that is well adapted to meeting different and varied lighting needs within a space through different clustering of the modules on a ceiling. A new and innovative OLED light module for use with the configurable ceiling lighting system is now described with reference to
The OLED light modules 15, 17 each comprise a plurality of OLED cassettes 111, 113 attachable to and held in a tight cluster by a spider bracket 115 having a substantially flat center hub section 117 and radial arms 119 extending from the center hub section. In the illustrated embodiments of the light modules, the spider bracket has four radial arms with a ninety degree separation between arms for holding four outboard OLED cassettes 111 at ninety degrees to each other. A fifth center OLED cassette 113 is held to the center hub section of the spider bracket between the outboard OLED cassettes to form a cluster of OLED cassettes with planar OLED light sources that face and emit light into the space below the driver panel to which the light module is connected. The outboard OLED cassettes can be angled relative to the center cassette, either down as in light module 15 or up as in light module 17. It can be seen that this causes each of the OLED cassettes, and thus the OLED panels, contained therein to lie in a different plane. By providing a light module with clustered OLED panels in different planes, light distributions can be achieved that allow spaces below the light module to be efficiently illuminated.
A suitable angulation of the outboard OLED cassettes relative to the center cassettes is about 25 degrees, and a suitable size for the OLED cassettes is approximately 4 inches square. The resulting light module produces a lightweight lumen package that that can weigh less than one pound, that can fit within a 1×1 foot footprint, and that can be configured on a ceiling having driver panels in accordance with the invention to address a wide variety of space illumination requirements. All of the OLED cassettes can be structurally identical or substantially identical so that any OLED cassette can be used interchangeably with another OLED cassette of the light module.
The spider bracket of the light modules 15, 17 can be a thin unitary bent part, which is preferably fabricated of a strong, lightweight sheet material that holds its shape after bending. A thin spider bracket having these characteristics and a thickness of about 50 mils (0.050 inches) can be can be fabricated of a plastic-aluminum composite sheet material such as Reynobond® manufactured by Alcoa Inc. The radial arms 119 of the spider bracket include end connector members for holding the outboard OLED cassettes, and extension sections, which are denoted by the numeral 121 in the case of light module 15 and the numeral 123 in the case of light module 17. In the illustrated embodiment, the end connector members are in the form of flat connector plates 120, which can slide into the OLED cassettes as hereinafter described for easy attachment of the outboard OLED cassettes to the spider bracket. The extension sections of the radial arms can be bent to place the bracket's radial arms in a different plane than the center hub section. (Knock-outs, not shown, can be punched into the extension sections to facilitate bending.) They can also be designed to hide wires running between the center of the light modules and the outboard OLED cassettes. For example, in the arm-down version 15 of the light module, the bent extension section 121 provides an upward projecting arch 122 into which wires can be tucked so that they cannot be easily seen through the small gaps between panels. The radial arms can be identical to each other for holding any one of the identical OLED cassettes. However, the use of a spider bracket having differently sized or configured radial arms for holding differently sized or configured OLED cassettes is considered within the scope of the invention.
As best seen in
As above mentioned, the OLED cassettes 111, 113 of the illustrated light modules 15, 17 are substantially identical so that they can be interchanged one for the other at any position within the light module. As best seen in
In the illustrated embodiment, the OLED panel retention means of the cassette frame includes a base wall 141 and a bottom perimeter rim 143 that extends beyond a front edge 145 of the base wall. The base wall and perimeter rim form a slide channel 147 in the bottom side of the cassette frame. The bottom slide channel has an open front extending end 149 formed between the front edge 145 of the base wall and the front edge 146 of the frame's bottom perimeter rim 143.
As illustrated in
As indicated by dashed lines 163, recesses can be provided on the undersurface of the cover strip surrounding the extension slots to accommodate the short sections of wire that run beneath the cover strip and thin contactor pads on the back of the OLED. It is noted that all OLED wire connections and connectors are positioned entirely within the foot print of the OLED cassette thereby preventing any protrusions from the edge of the cassette that might interfere with adjacent cassettes or distract from the clean lines and aesthetic appearance of the cassette.
The bottom perimeter rim 143 of the cassette frame defines the overall size and shape of the cassette frame and hence of the OLED cassette, which, as above-mentioned, suitably can be about four inches square. The cassette frame's perimeter rim also provides a bottom opening 165 in the frame sized in correspondence with the light emitting surface 134 of OLED panel 133.
It is noted that opening and closure of the OLED cassette frame for inserting an OLED panel could be accomplished by means other than the use of a separate cover strip as above described. For example, a flat flexible hinge could be used to open and close the bottom of the cassette for insertion and removal of the OLED cassette.
The spider bracket retention means of the cassette frame can be provided on top of the frame's base wall 141. As best seen in
Alternatively, the slide pocket 175 on the top or back of the OLED cassette frame can be used as retention means for the wire management block 125, which in turn can be used to attach center OLED cassette 113 to the underside of the center hub section 117 of the spider bracket 115. As best seen in
Banana plugs 195 having threaded bases 197 can be mounted to the top of the center hub section of the spider bracket by screwing the threaded bases 197 of the banana plugs into the wire management block through banana plug mounting holes 201 provided in the bracket's center section. The threaded bases of the banana plugs can be screwed directly into the top plate 183 of the wire management block, which can be provided with suitably spaced apart threaded holes 203 for this purpose. (Corresponding holes or recesses 205 can be provided in the base plate 181 to accommodate any portion of the bases of the banana plugs that project below the bottom of the top plate.) As best seen in
The banana plugs 195 on top of the light module 15, 17 provide a means for electrically connecting the light modules 15, 17 to driver panels 13 placed within a grid ceiling. Banana plugs are preferably selected having an extraction force sufficient to hold the lightweight light modules in place once they are plugged in. Additional mechanical connections may be provided, such as a short tie wire (not shown) connected between the top of the spider bracket of the light module and the driver panel into which it is plugged.
It will be understood that electrically and mechanically connecting the light modules to driver panels by means other than the illustrated banana plugs and banana plug sockets is considered within the scope of the invention. For example, a twist connector might be used that combines an electrical connection and a positive mechanical connection when the connection is made.
The wiring of the light modules 15, 17, and the unique organization of the wire leads within the modules is now described in reference to
The wiring of the OLED panels of the illustrated OLED cassettes requires that pairs of lead wires 245, 247, 249, 251, 253 be available for connection to the chosen connector (e.g. connector 139) of each OLED panel 133 of each OLED cassette, namely, of each of the outboard OLED cassettes 111 and of center OLED cassette 113. Each pair of lead wires has a terminal end 255, 257, 259, 261, 263 having a connector that fits into the chosen connector on the OLED panel of an OLED cassette, and each wire of any one of the wire pairs is connected to a wire of a wire pair for another OLED cassette to create a series connection between OLED cassettes. These connecting up of wires along with the containment of the wires can be accomplished within a small space within the center wire management block 125 used to mount the center OLED cassette to the spider bracket.
The wire, or more broadly the conductor organizing functions of the wire management block, can be achieved by providing in the block a central hub cavity 265 (see
As earlier described, the wire management block can be fabricated in two halves, namely, with a base plate 181 and a top plate 183. The central hub cavity is formed internally within the block by providing opposed, suitably cylindrical recesses 265a and 265b on the interior faces 275 and 277 of, respectively, the management block's top plate and bottom plate. These two opposed recesses combine to provide suitable depth to the center hub cavity for accommodating a bundle of wires and wire connectors. The wire organizing channels 271, 273 on the other hand can be shallower than the center hub cavity. Consequently, these channels need only to be provided in one of the interior faces of the two plates of the of the wire management block. In the illustrated embodiment, the wire organizing channels are seen to be provided in the face 275 of the top plate 183.
The two plates of the wire management block are suitably fabricated of a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic. PVC plastic offers light weight, desired electrical insulation properties, and strength. The recesses for the center hub cavity and wire organizing channels can be routed into the faces of the PVC blocks or created by other well known manufacturing techniques. Additional recesses 279 can be provided in the interior face 275 of the top plate 183, which extend from the banana plug base holes 203 to the center hub cavity. As seen in
It is contemplated that the wire management block can be provided in the form of the printed circuit board wherein the “wires” within the block are conductor paths of the printed circuit board. Using a printed circuit board, the interior connectors 289 can be eliminated. Connectors, such as side entry connectors, could be provided at the midpoints of the perimeter edges of the management block (where the wire exit 267 are located), to allow lead wires to be connected to the edges of the block. The conductor paths of the printed circuit board would provide the same conductive paths as the wires shown in
Assembly of either of the illustrated arm-down or arm-up light modules 15, 17 is essentially the same. With reference to FIGS. 10C and 18-20, wire management block 125 and center OLED cassette 113, loaded with an OLED panel, can be attached to the spider bracket 115. This can be done by first sliding the base plate 181 into the slide pocket 175 of the cassette frame of one of the OLED cassettes—which becomes the center OLED cassette 113—until the base plate snaps into place on the spring locking tab 171 on the back of the base wall of the OLED cassette frame. The top plate 183 of the wire management block can separately be mounted to the underside of the center hub section of the spider bracket by screwing the threaded bases of the banana plugs 195 into the threaded holes 203 in the top plate. The connector web can then be installed in the recess 265a in the bottom of the top plate by fixing the negative and positive lead wires 291, 293 for the connector web to, respectively, the banana plug negative and positive conductor plates 281, 282. This can be accomplished by screwing the conductor plates 281, 282 down onto the connector web lead wires by screw fasteners 283. The cassette lead wire pairs 245, 247, 249, 251, 253 can then be connected to the connector web and pressed into the wire organizing channels 267, 269 so that, except for the cassette lead wire pair for the center OLED cassette, a different cassette lead wire pair emerges from a different wire exit point 267 at a different edge wall 269 of the wire management block. The lead wire pair 245 for the center OLED cassette can emerge from the same wire exit point as one of the other cassette lead wire pairs, preferably on the edge closest tp the wire interconnector access opening 157 in the edge cover plate 151 of the cassette frame of the center OLED cassette.
The center OLED cassette can then be attached to the underside of the spider bracket by placing the captured bottom plate of the wire management block against and attaching it to the top plate attached to the spider bracket, thereby capturing the connector web and interior ends to the cassette lead wires in wire management block. The outboard OLED connectors, each loaded with an OLED panel, can then be inserted onto the connector plates 120 of the radial arms of the spider bracket until they snap into place on the cassette frames spring tabs. The ends to the cassette lead wire pairs extending from the wire management block can then be connected to the wire interconnectors 139 mounted to the back of the OLED panels through the wire interconnector access openings 157 in cassette frames. Preferably the cassette lead wire pairs will have a length that allows the wires to be pushed up out of view against the upward projecting arch 122 of the bent extension 121 of the brackets' radial arms, with little if any excess wire existing between the wire management block and the OLED cassettes. Cinching of the wire in the narrow irregular slot extensions 161 of the cassette frame's wire interconnector access openings will keep the lead wires centered and prevent them from poking out of the access opening in an unsightly manner.
It will be appreciated that the order of assembly described above could be altered.
Removal of an OLED cassette to, for example, replace a damage or spent OLED panel can readily be accomplished by disconnecting the cassette lead wires from the panel and then removing the panel from the spider bracket by the release mechanism provided, in this case by the pressing the cassette frame's spring tab 171 through the provided access slots. In the case of the center OLED cassette, the outer cassette adjacent to the front 176 of the center cassette's slide pocket 175 can first be removed to allow the center cassette to be slid off to the base plate of the wire management block.
It will be appreciated that, with a few basic driver panels having a few different light module connector configurations, a wide variety of ceiling lighting system configurations can be created to addresses a wide variety of lighting needs. With the small footprint light modules described herein, compact lumen packages can be readily positioned on a grid ceiling in different cluster configurations to produce desired light distribution patterns within spaces. This would include open offices where more lumens may be required for task areas such as desktops than will be required for circulation areas. By deploying selected panel drivers in accordance with the invention in, for example, the grid ceiling of an open office, connection points provided by the driver panels can be selected for positioning compact light modules in accordance with the invention to deliver a different amount of lumens to different locations much more precisely than with conventional ceiling lighting systems. As a result, a system and method can be provided for illuminating a space with improved application efficiency as disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/447,657, which is incorporated herein by reference.
While various aspects of the configurable ceiling lighting system of the invention have been described herein in considerable detail, it is not intended that the invention, or any aspect of the invention, be limited to such detail, except as may be necessitated by the following claims.
This Application Claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/486,698 filed May 16, 2011, which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61486698 | May 2011 | US |
