Patent Application
20070256340
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of embodiments of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of embodiments of the invention. In the drawings:
a is an exploded view of a light-emitting diode shelf according to an embodiment of the invention;
b is an assembled view of the light-emitting diode shelf shown in
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the thicknesses of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements.
a is an exploded view of a light-emitting diode shelf according to an embodiment of the invention.
The bottom diffuser 105 covers a first side of the light guide panel 102 and diffuses light from the light guide panel 102. The top reflector 103 covers a second side of the light guide panel 102 and reflects light from the light guide panel 102 back through the light guide panel 102 toward the bottom diffuser 105. If the top reflector 103 partially mirrors instead of fully mirroring, some of the light from the light guide panel 102 transmits through the partially-mirrored top reflector 103 toward the top diffuser 104, which covers the top reflector 103. The top diffuser 104 diffuses light via the partially-mirrored top reflector 103 from the light guide panel 102. In an alternative embodiment, the top diffuser 104 can be omitted if the top reflector 103 is fully mirrored for complete reflection.
The LED strip 106 includes a plurality of light-emitting diodes 106a along the length of the LED strip 106. The light-emitting diodes 106a can be one of white light-emitting diodes, blue light-emitting diodes, ultraviolet light-emitting diodes, and a combination of red, green and blue light-emitting diodes. If the light-emitting diodes 106a are either blue light-emitting diodes or ultraviolet light-emitting diodes, the panel assembly 101 is configured to change the blue light or ultraviolet light into visible light. Examples of such configurations include a visible light conversion film between the LED strip 106 and the top edge 102a of the a light guide panel 102, visible light conversion films between the light guide panel 102 and the bottom diffuser 105 as well as between the light guide panel 102 and the top diffuser 104, and the light guide panel 102 itself can have a visible light conversion capability. Power is provided to the LED strip 106 through wires 109 attached to a connector 110.
The base 108 receives the LED strip 106 within the base 108 such that internal surfaces of the base 108 act as a reflector that reflects light from the light-emitting diodes 105a toward the top edge 102a of the light guide panel 102. Further, the base 108 receives the top edge 102a of the light guide panel 102. As shown in
The downward planar light fully illuminates items on surfaces under each of the light-emitting diode shelves without glare and reduces shadows from the items. The upward planar light illuminates items on the light-emitting diode shelf without glare and prevents shadows from the items. Accordingly, items illuminated by either the upward planar light or downward planar light can be comfortably viewed without shadows at the sides of the items. Further, items on one light-emitting diode shelf having upward planar light emission and under another light-emitting diode shelf having downward planar light emission are fully illuminated in all viewing directions and can be comfortably viewed without shadows.
The base 208 receives the inside edge 202a of the light guide panel 202 and the inside edge 203a of the reflector 203. Although an adhesive (not shown) can be used to attach the light guide panel 202 to the base 208, protrusions 207 on the internal surfaces 208a of the base 208 are used to assist in retaining the light guide panel 202 and the reflector 203 within the base 208. Similarly, the base 108 of
Outside surfaces 204a of the diffuser 204 can be substantially coplanar with the external surfaces 208b of the base 208. More specifically, a step difference between the external surfaces 208b of the base 208 and the outside surfaces 204a of the diffuser 204 or the lack of a step difference between the external surfaces 208b of the base 208 and the outside surfaces 204a of the diffuser 204 allows items to be slid onto the light-emitting diode shelf 200 across the base 208. Further, the diffuser 204 can abut the base 208 so as to create a seal to the base 208.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the embodiments of the invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that embodiments of the invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
This invention claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/797,676 filed on May 5, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60797676 | May 2006 | US |
