Patent Grant
10851974
This invention relates to lighting and, more particularly, to light emitting diode (LED) illumination as well as tubular lighting assemblies.
Over the years various types of illuminating assemblies and devices have been developed for indoor and/or outdoor illumination, such as torches, oil lamps, gas lamps, lanterns, incandescent bulbs, neon signs, fluorescent bulbs, halogen lights, and light emitting diodes. These conventional prior art illuminating assemblies and devices have met with varying degrees of success.
Incandescent light bulbs create light by conducting electricity through a thin filament, such as a tungsten filament, to heat the filament to a very high temperature so that it glows and produces visible light. Incandescent light bulbs emit a yellow or white color. Incandescent light bulbs, however, are very inefficient, as over 98% of its energy input is emitted and generated as heat. A standard 100 watt light bulb emits about 1700 lumens, or about 17 lumens per watt. Incandescent lamps are relatively inexpensive and have a typical lifespan of about 1,000 hours.
Fluorescent lamps (light bulbs) conduct electricity through mercury vapor, which produces ultraviolet (UV) light. The ultraviolet light is then absorbed by a phosphor coating inside the lamp, causing it to glow, or fluoresce. While the heat generated by fluorescent lamps is much less than its incandescent counterpart, energy is still lost in generating the UV light and converting UV light into visible light. If the lamp breaks, exposure to mercury can occur. Linear fluorescent lamps are often five to six times the cost of incandescent bulbs but have life spans around 10,000 and 20,000 hours. Lifetime varies from 1,200 hours to 20,000 hours for compact fluorescent lamps. Some fluorescent lights flicker and the quality of the fluorescent light tends to be a harsh white due to the lack of a broad band of frequencies. Most fluorescent lights are not compatible with dimmers.
Light emitting diode (LED) lighting is particularly useful. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) offer many advantages over incandescent light sources, including: lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved robustness, smaller size, faster switching, and excellent durability and reliability. LEDs emit more light per watt than incandescent light bulbs. LEDs can be tiny and easily placed on printed circuit boards. LEDs activate and turn on very quickly and can be readily dimmed. LEDs emit a cool light with very little infrared light. LEDs come in multiple colors which are produced without the need for filters. LEDs of different colors can be mixed to produce white light. Other advantages of LEDs include: high efficiency; low energy consumption; higher outputs at higher drive currents; shock resistant with no filament, glass or tube to break, contain no toxic substances, hazardous mercury or halogen gases.
The operational life of some white LED lamps is 100,000 hours and 11 years of continuous operation. The long operational life of an LED lamp is much longer than the average life of an incandescent bulb, which is approximately 5000 hours. If the lighting device needs to be embedded into a very inaccessible place, using LEDs would minimize the need for regular bulb replacement. With incandescent bulbs, the cost of replacement bulbs and the labor expense and time needed to replace them can be significant especially where there are a large number of incandescent bulbs. For office buildings and high rise buildings, maintenance costs to replace bulbs can be expensive and can be substantially decreased with LED lighting.
An important advantage of LED lighting is reduced power consumption. An LED circuit will approach 80% efficiency, which means 80% of the electrical energy is converted to light energy; the remaining 20% is lost as heat energy. Incandescent bulbs, however, operate at about 20% efficiency with 80% of the electrical energy is lost as heat. Repair and replacement savings can be significant, as most incandescent light bulbs burn out within a year and require replacements whereas LED light bulbs can be used easily for a decade without burning out.
LED light (lighting) bars are considered to be much better than incandescent lights. Incandescent light bulbs do not last for a long time and the filament burns out. An LED light bar consumes less energy and has a longer life. LED light output is much brighter than that of an incandescent light bulb.
An assortment of colors and flash patterns are available with LED light bars for emergency vehicles such as police cars, fire trucks and ambulances. Emergency vehicles such as ambulances and police cars prefer mounting a LED light bar on the top for easy recognition and visibility. LED light bars can be used on the interior as well as on the exterior of the emergency vehicles as it emits sufficient light even in the darkest of areas. Furthermore, since the heat produced by LED light bars is small, it won't adversely affect the interior of the vehicle.
LEDs are used in applications as diverse as aviation lighting, traffic signals and automotive lighting such as for brake lights, turn signals and indicators. LEDs have a compact size, fast switching speed and good reliability. LEDs are useful for displaying text and video and for communications. Infrared LEDs are also used in the remote control units of many commercial products including televisions, DVD players and other domestic appliances.
Solid state devices such as LEDs have excellent wear and tear if operated at low currents and at low temperatures. LED light output actually rises at colder temperatures (leveling off depending on type at around −30 C°). Consequently, LED technology may be a good replacement for supermarket freezer lights and will often last longer than other types of lighting.
Large-area LED signs and displays are used as stadium displays and as decorative displays. LED message displays are used at airports and railway stations, and as destination displays for trains, buses, trams, and ferries.
With the development of efficient high power LEDs, it has become more advantageous to use LED lighting and illumination. High power white light LED lighting is useful for illumination and for replacing incandescent and/or fluorescent lighting. LED street lights are used on posts, poles and in parking garages. LED's are now used in stores, homes, stage and theaters, and public places. Furthermore, color LED's are useful in medical and educational applications such as for mood enhancement. In many countries incandescent lighting for homes and offices is no longer available and building regulations require new premises to use LED lighting.
Conventional prior art LED lighting which is powerful enough for room lighting, however, is relatively expensive and requires more precise current and heat management than fluorescent lamp sources of comparable output. Furthermore, conventional LED lighting can have a higher capital cost than other types of lighting and LED light tends to be directional with small areas of illumination. Moreover, conventional LED luminaries suffer from drawbacks due to a lack of lumen output and less than desirable light dispersion. Individually and combined, these aspects of conventional LED lighting can detract from efficient utilization of LED luminaries.
One problem that has plagued the lighting industry is associated with how conventional, elongate, tubular lighting components are operatively mounted through end connectors. As described in greater detail below, conventional tubular lighting, having a source of illumination that is an LED, a gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light, or another known source on, or within, a tubular body, typically utilizes a bi-pin/2-pin means on the tubular body that mechanically supports the body in an operative state and effects electrical connection of the illumination source to a power supply.
Typically, the body has a cylindrical shape with a central axis. The pins making up the bi-pin means project in cantilever fashion from the body ends. The body must be situated in a first angular orientation to direct the pins into spaced connectors on a support/reflector and is thereafter turned to effect mechanical securement and electrical connection.
Installation requires a precise initial angular orientation of the body and subsequent controlled repositioning thereof to simultaneously seat the pins at the opposite ends of the body. Often one or more of the pins are misaligned during this process so that electrical connection is not established. The same misalignment may cause a compromised mechanical connection whereupon the body may escape from the connectors and drop so that it is damaged or destroyed.
Further, the connectors on the support/reflector are generally mounted in such a fashion that they are prone to flexing. Even a slight flexing of the connectors on the support might be adequate to release the pins at one body end so that the entire body becomes separated. Furthermore, the conventional bi-pin means for mechanically holding the body in place, while also allowing power to be distributed to the illumination source, was created for very lightweight fluorescent lighting and not designed for LED tubular lighting that has additional weight due to the required heat sink and PCB boards. The weight of the body by itself may produce horizontal force components that wedge the connectors on the support/reflector away from each other so that the body becomes precariously situated or fully releases.
A still further problem with this type of lighting configuration, particularly with an LED illumination source, is that the end connectors joined to the body are by their nature difficult to consistently assemble. Typically, the manufacturing process will involve steps of soldering conductive components on, and cooperating between, the end connectors and illumination source. Wires are commonly used in these designs, with the ends thereof soldered during the assembly process. If the conductive components are not properly connected, the system may be inoperable. Soldered connections are also prone to failing when subjected to forces in use. Generally, it is difficult to maintain a high level of quality control, regardless of the care taken in assembling these types of components. Aside from the quality issue, the assembly steps that involve the electrical connection of the conductors are inherently time consuming and may require relatively skilled labor, and/or expensive automated systems. Disassembly of such lamps presents similar difficulties and expense. As a result of these difficulties associated with assembly and disassembly, refurbishing such lamps to replace defective or worn out components is difficult to justify economically. In most cases, the entire lamp assembly will simply be discarded and replaced with a new lamp assembly, and as a result, lamp components that have significant useful life remaining are wasted.
Still another problem in the lighting industry are the difficulties and costs associated with proper design and control of emergency lighting circuits. Emergency lighting systems are required by a myriad of municipal, state, federal or other codes and standards. These systems are intended to automatically supply illumination to designated areas and equipment in the event of failure of the normal power supply, to protect people and allow safe egress from a building, and to provide lighting to areas that would aid rescuers or repair crews. These systems are typically required by regulation to be available within a short time (e.g. 10 seconds) after failure of normal power, and emergency circuits must be physically separated from all other circuits all the way to the terminations and the source. Other standby systems, although not legally required, may be desirable to provide lighting to prevent discomfort or serious damages to a product or process.
The proper design and control of emergency lighting circuits in compliance with the many standards and codes that may apply to a given site installation has long presented difficult challenges for manufacturers, systems integrators and electricians and engineers. As a result, a number of approaches to the designing emergency or standby lighting circuits have been attempted. One known approach involves providing a number of emergency-only luminaires dedicated to providing minimum illumination levels and powered by a dedicated emergency breaker panel fed from a generator or uninterruptable power supply (UPS). An uninterruptible power supply is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source, typically mains power, fails. A UPS differs from an auxiliary or emergency power system or standby generator in that it will provide near-instantaneous protection from input power interruptions, by supplying energy stored in batteries or a flywheel. Regardless of the source of back-up power, the emergency fixtures remain dark when normal power is present, and are energized when the control circuit detects failure of the normal power supply. This approach entails the potentially high cost of the emergency system equipment and may be visually unappealing as result of excess luminaries which are not illuminated during normal conditions.
Another approach involves self-contained battery pack emergency lights, which contain a battery, a charger, and a load control relay. These units are connected to normal power, which provides a constant charging current for the battery. During a power failure, the load control relay energizes the emergency lights. This approach avoids the need to deploy physically separated emergency circuits, but is typically implemented in aesthetically unpleasing forms resembling a car headlight battery pack unit.
Still another approach uses the same light fixture for both normal an emergency use. The lights are fed using the normal breaker panel and wall mounted switch during normal operation. When power fails, an emergency transfer circuit transfers the breaker panel feed to an emergency power source, and bypasses the wall switch to force the load on the lights regardless of the wall switch position. Although such systems offer aesthetic advantages, they are expensive and complex to design and install. Other known approaches suffer similar drawbacks.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide an improved LED illuminating assembly, which overcomes some, if not all, of the preceding problems and disadvantages.
The disclosure of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/440,423 is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. An improved light emitting diode (LED) illuminating assembly is provided with a novel multiple sided LED lighting bar, also referred to as a multi-sided LED light bar, comprising a non-curvilinear LED luminary for enhanced LED lighting. Advantageously, the inventive LED illuminating assembly with the novel multi-sided light bar is efficient, effective, economical, convenient and safe. Desirably, the user friendly LED illuminating assembly with the compact multi-sided light bar produces outstanding illumination, is easy to manufacture and install, and has a long life span. The improved LED illuminating assembly and attractive multi-sided light bar are also reliable, durable and impact and breakage resistant.
The improved LED illuminating assembly can feature: a multi-sided light bar, such as with two, three, four or five sides; an internal non-switching driver; a scalable length; and an emitter count optimized for efficiency. The improved LED luminary assembly can also feature: parallel-series wiring; a no-wire design using a unique end cap design; a lens cover cap per design requirements to modify the beam angle; and redundancy in the driver.
There are many advantages of the inventive LED illuminating assembly with a novel multi-sided LED lighting bar comprising a non-curvilinear LED luminary versus conventional LED lighting.
1. The use of a multi-sided light bar allows for a much wider distribution of light. A standard solution has about 100-110 degree light beam to half brightness. The inventive LED illuminating assembly with the novel multi-sided LED lighting bar, however, can reach a full 360 degrees with little or no loss of brightness. Furthermore, the illustrated two-sided design can reach over 180 degrees to half-brightness. Another advantage is near-field use; lighting something just a few inches from the light source.
2. The internal driver of the improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar is less expensive, uses less labor, is simpler and has lower chance of failure over conventional lighting.
3. The non-switching driver of the improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar provides a boost of efficiency on the scale of 4-7 magnitude. A typical switching driver which is used on conventional LED lighting bars has a typical efficiency of 80-85% or 15-20% loss. In contrast, the improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar can have an efficiency of 95-97% (3-5% loss), and is four to seven times more efficient than conventional lighting. This improvement results in about 20% overall efficiency gain. Since much of the power is spent on the LEDs it takes an increase of 5 times improvement in driver efficiency to net a 20% gain in overall efficiency. Desirably, the improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar can achieve greater than 90% efficiency, an impossibility with conventional switching drivers.
The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar desirably can optimize the emitter count to the voltage source and can advantageously utilize wiring of the emitters in a parallel-series arrangement in the appropriate numbers.
In the improved LED illuminating assembly with the novel multi-sided lighting bar, the diffuser comprising the lens can be modified to change the output of the beam. By use of this arrangement, dark spots can be eliminated so that a much higher illuminating output can be attained. The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar example can emit a 360 degree beam without visible hot or cold spots.
The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar can also have scalable length since there is no theoretical limit to the length of the novel arrangement and design. The length may be governed, however, by customer needs, costs, available space, and production capabilities.
The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar further has driver redundancy using parallel and multiple driver sub-circuits for even better reliability. This achieves two other important goals:
1. The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar attains even, accurate power levels to all emitters. In contrast, conventional LED designs do not control the current to all the emitters evenly, but apply a metered amount of current to all parallel circuits, typically as many as three to eight of them, and the current can vary on each parallel circuit because there is no control per sub-circuit. The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar can control each sub-circuit independently so that every emitter in the entire light assembly gets exactly the same current.
2. The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar achieves reliability of output even in the event of sub-circuit failure.
In a conventional LED design with output 300 mA to three branches or sub-circuits, when one fails, then two sub-circuits will share that same 300 mA so they will go from 100 mA to 150 mA, which is a huge change in current that is not desirable and is likely to cause a cascading failure. In the improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar, if one sub-circuit has a failure, the remaining circuits operate exactly as they were, and can operate like that indefinitely.
Furthermore, in the improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar, the sub-circuits can be spread out so that no one portion of the light assembly goes completely dark, but will just dim. This can be very important when lighting up a sign so that although it may be a little darker in one spot, the sign will still be lit up and readable.
In conventional LED illumination, all the emitters are in series with each other so in the event of a single LED failure that entire row blinks out (think of Christmas tree lights) and that entire portion of the light assembly will go dark. In the improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar, the strings or set of emitters are aligned and connected in parallel with every other emitter so that in the event of failure of one sub-circuit, the LED lamp of the LED illuminating assembly goes to 50% brightness but is evenly lit from edge to edge.
The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar also achieves efficiency over initial capital costs. Conventional LED designs attempt to maximize lumens per emitter and are designed according to the specification (“spec”) of the emitter. Emitters operating ‘at spec’ tend to net about 80 Lumen/watt total.
The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar can be specifically under-driven to achieve some very valuable goals:
1. Longer life span. For example, an emitter operating at 70% of rated capacity will last 70-80,000 hours when specified at 50,000 hours. That's a difference of 8.6 to 5.7 years when run 24 hours per day at seven days a week.
2. Higher efficacy. The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar can achieve over 100 L/W system total by de-tuning the current drive of the emitter. The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar can achieve the same total output by adding more emitters. This may make the initial cost higher but the operational cost will be much lower. This is shown in the illustrated operational costs chart which compares the high output 3600 L LED light bar to the high efficiency 3000 L LED light bar with the exact same design just set to different drive operating levels because the LEDs that are more efficient and last longer when driven below spec.
3. Higher reliability. Within their expected lifespan, LED emitters will maintain lumen longer and maintain color temperature longer when they are cooler, if the temperature is directly proportional to LED drive current. An over-driven LED will lose color temp accuracy quicker than one driven at ‘spec’. An under-driven LED can maintain lumen and color temperature longer than even one driven to ‘spec’.
The improved LED illuminating assembly can have a no-wire design such that the novel light bar of the improved LED luminary assembly has no electrical wires. This arrangement can decrease assembly problems and lower failure rate associated with complexity in a manual labor portion of the assembly. A conventional LED light bar can have at least twelve hand-made solder joints. The new design can include only two hand-made solder joints as well as eliminating 100% of the electrical wiring. Elimination of standard electrical wires can increase both initial and long term reliability.
The improved light emitting diode (LED) illuminating assembly can comprise a multiple sided modular LED lighting bar, which is also referred to as a multi-sided modular LED light bar, comprising a non-curvilinear LED luminary with a multi-sided elongated tubular array having multiple, server, numerous or many sides comprising modular boards which can define panels with longitudinally opposite ends. The tubular array preferably has a non-curvilinear cross-sectional configuration (cross-section) without and in the absence of a circular cross-sectional configuration, oval configuration, elliptical cross-sectional configuration and a substantially curved or round cross-sectional configuration. Each of the sides of the multi-sided tubular array can have a generally planar flat surface as viewed from the ends of the array, and adjacent sides can intersect each other and converge at an angle of inclination. Operatively positioned and connected to the multi-sided array can be an internal non-switching printed circuit board (PCB) driver comprising a driver board. The driver, which is optional, as described below, can be an interior or inner diver board positioned within an interior of the tubular array or can be an exterior or outer driver board comprising and providing one of the sides of the tubular array. Desirably, at least two or some of the sides comprise modular LED emitter boards which can provide elongated LED PCB panels. The internal drive comprising the driver board can drive the LED emitter boards and can comprise one or more modular driver boards that are connected in series and/or parallel to each other.
The improved LED illuminating assembly comprising a multi-sided light bar providing a non-curvilinear (LED) luminary can have an optimal count of LED emitters comprising a group, set, matrix, series, multitude, plurality or array of light emitting diodes (LEDs) securely positioned, mounted and arranged on each of the emitter boards for emitting and distributing light outwardly from the emitter boards in a light distribution pattern for enhanced LED illumination and operational efficiency.
One or more end cap PCB connectors providing connector end boards which are also referred to as end cap boards can be positioned at one or both of the ends of the tubular array and connected to the internal driver board and the emitter boards. The connector end boards can have connector pins which can extend longitudinally outwardly for engaging at least one light socket. One or more end caps can be positioned about the end cap PCB connectors. The end caps can have bracket segments which provide clamps that can extend longitudinally inwardly for abuttingly engaging and clamping the emitter boards.
The boards can have matingly engageable male and female connectors such that the connectors on the connector end boards matingly engage, connect and plug into matingly engageable female and male connectors on the driver board and on the emitter boards.
The boards comprising the emitter boards and driver board can be generally rectangular. Each of the sides of the multi-sided array comprising emitter boards can comprise a single emitter board or a set, series, plurality, or multiple elongated emitter boards that are longitudinally connected end to end. The sides comprising emitter boards can include all of the sides of the tubular array or all but one of the sides of the tubular array with the one other side comprising the driver board. The driver board can comprise a single driver board or multiple driver boards that are longitudinally connected end to end.
A multiple sided tubular heat sink comprising multiple metal sides can be positioned radially inwardly of the multi-sided tubular array for supporting and dissipating heat generated from the emitter boards and drive board. The heat sink can have a tubular cross-section which is generally complementary or similar to the cross-sectional configuration of the multi-sided tubular array. The cross-section of the heat sink preferably can have a non-curvilinear cross-section without and in the absence of a circular cross-section, oval cross-section, elliptical cross-section and a substantially or round curved cross-section.
The improved LED illuminating assembly comprising a multi-sided light bar providing a non-curvilinear (LED) luminary can have emitter traces for connecting the LED emitters in parallel and/or in series and can have alternating current (AC) and/or direct current (DC) lines. The emitters can comprise at least one row of substantially aligned aliquot uniformly spaced LED emitters. Desirably, the multi-sided light bar provides a no-wire design in the absence of electrical wires.
The improved LED illuminating assembly comprising a multi-sided light bar providing anon-curvilinear (LED) luminary can also have a diffuser comprising an elongated light diffuser cover which provides a light transmissive lens positioned about and covering the LED emitters for reflecting, diffusing and/or focusing light emitted from the LED emitters.
In one embodiment, the lighting bar comprises: a two sided lighting bar; the array comprises a two sided array; the heat sink comprise a heat sink with at least two sides; the emitter boards are arranged in a generally V-shaped configuration at an angle of inclination ranging from less than 180 degrees to an angle more than zero degrees; and the driver is positioned in proximity to an open end of the V-shaped configuration.
In another embodiment, the lighting bar comprises: a three sided lighting bar; the array comprises a three sided delta or triangular array; the heat sink comprises a tubular three sided heat sink with a delta or triangular cross-section; and the angle of inclination can range from less than 180 degrees to an angle more than zero degrees, and is preferably about 120 degrees. The driver can be positioned within the interior of the delta or triangular cross-section of the three sided heat sink.
In a further embodiment, the lighting bar comprises: a four sided lighting bar; the array comprises a square or rectangular array; the heat sink comprises a tubular four sided heat sink with a square or rectangular cross-section; and the angle of inclination can be a right angle of about 90 degrees.
In still another embodiment, the lighting bar comprises: a five sided lighting bar; the array comprises a pentagon array; the heat sink comprises a tubular five sided heat sink with a pentagon cross-section; and the angle of inclination of the intersecting sides of the pentagon can comprise an acute angle, preferably at about 72 degrees.
Light bars, arrays and heat sinks with more than five sides can also be used.
The improved LED illuminating assembly can comprise an illuminated LED sign, such as an outdoor sign or an indoor sign. The outdoor sign can comprise an outdoor menu board, such as for use in a drive-through restaurant. The indoor sign can comprise an indoor menu board such as for use in an indoor restaurant. The indoor signs can also be provided for other uses. The illuminated LED sign can comprise: a housing with light sockets; at least one light transmissive panel providing an illuminated window connected to the housing; multiple sided LED lighting bars, which are also referred to as multi-sided light bars, of the type previously described, connected to the light sockets for emitting light through the illuminated window; and the illuminated window can be movable from a closed position to an open position for access to the LED lighting bars. The lighting bars can extend vertically, horizontally, longitudinally, transversely or laterally along portions of the housing. The illuminated window can be covered by a diffuser.
The improved LED illuminating assembly can also comprise an overhead LED lighting assembly providing overhead ceiling lighting with: translucent ceiling panels comprising light transmissive ceiling tiles; at least one drop ceiling light fixture comprising light sockets; and at least one multiple sided LED lighting bar (multi-sided light bar) of the type previously described, connected to the light sockets and positioned above the ceiling panels for emitting light downwardly through the translucent ceiling panels into a room. At least one concave light reflector can be positioned above the LED lighting bar.
In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the luminary is provided in a non-curvilinear or rectilinear shape. In a more preferred aspect, the luminary has a triangular elongated shape. The individual LEDs, a power source, and a mount board are capable of being within or along any of the elongate sides of the luminary.
Advantageously, the improved LED illuminating assembly with a novel multi-sided LED lighting bar comprising a non-curvilinear LED luminary as recited in the patent claims produced unexpected surprisingly good results.
The term “non-curvilinear” as used in this application means that the sides are generally flat or planar even if portions of the end caps, end cap connectors or heat sink are curved or rounded.
In one form, the invention is directed to an elongate tubular lighting assembly having a body with a length between spaced first and second ends. The term “tubular” encompasses elongate forms of any cross sectional shape having an interior that is at least partially hollow. The tubular lighting assembly has: a source of illumination on or within the body; and first and second connectors respectively at the first and second body ends that are configured to maintain the body in an operative state on a support for the tubular lighting assembly. The first connector has cooperating first and second parts. The first connector part is at the first end of the body. The second connector part is configured to be on a support for the tubular lighting assembly. The first and second connector parts respectively have first and second surfaces. The first and second connector parts are configured so that the first and second surfaces are placed in confronting relationship to prevent separation of the first and second connector parts with the body in the operative state as an incident of the first connector part moving relative to the second connector part from a position fully separated from the second connector part in a substantially straight path that is transverse to the length of the body into an engaged position.
In one form, the source of illumination is at least one of: a) an LED; and b) a gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light.
In one form, the second connector has third and fourth connector parts that are respectively structurally the same as the first and second connector parts and interact with each other at the second end of the body in the same way that the first and second connector parts interact with each other at the first end of the body.
In one form, the first and second connector parts are configured so that the first connector part moves against the second connector part as the first connector part moves toward the engaged position, thereby causing a part of at least one of the first and second connector parts to reconfigure to allow the first and second surfaces to be placed in confronting relationship.
In one form, the first connector part has an opening bounded by an edge. The second connector part has a first bendable part on which the second surface is defined. The second connector part is configured so that the first bendable part: a) is engaged by the edge of the opening and progressively cammed from a holding position, in which the first bendable part resides with the first connector part in the fully separated position, towards an assembly position as the first connector part is moved up to and into the engaged position; and b) moves from the assembly position back towards the holding position with the first connector part in the engaged position.
In one form, the first bendable part is joined to another part of the second connector part through a live hinge.
In one form, the first connector part has a wall through which the opening is formed. The first surface is defined by the wall. The wall has a third surface facing oppositely to each of the first surface and a fourth surface on the second connector part. The wall resides captively between the second and fourth surfaces with the first connector part in the engaged position.
In one form, the second connector part has an actuator. The second connector part is configured so that with the first connector part in the engaged position, the actuator can be repositioned to thereby move the first bendable part towards its assembly position to allow the first connector part to be separated from the second connector part.
In one form, the edge extends fully around the opening.
In one form, the opening and second connector part are configured so that the edge and a surface on the second connector part cooperate to consistently align the second connector part with the opening as the second connector part is directed into the opening as the first connector part is changed between the fully separated position and the engaged position.
In one form, the second connector part has a second bendable part that is configured the same as the first bendable part and cooperates with the edge in the same way that the first bendable part cooperates with the edge in moving between corresponding holding and assembly positions. The first and second bendable parts are movable towards each other in changing from their holding positions into their assembly positions.
In one form, the first connector part is part of a first end cap assembly that is at the first end of the body.
In one form, the first end cap assembly has a first cup-shaped component which defines a first receptacle opening towards the second end of the body into which the first end of the body extends.
In one form, the first end cap assembly further includes at least a first connector board. The source of illumination and at least first connector board are configured to be electrically connected (i.e., connected through a conductive path over which current may flow when the assembly is connected to a power supply) as an incident of the first end of the body and first end cap assembly being moved towards each other in a direction substantially parallel to the length of the body into a connected relationship.
In one form, the first end cap assembly includes a first cup-shaped component which defines a first receptacle opening towards the second end of the body into which the first end of the body extends with the first end of the body and first end cap assembly in the connected relationship.
In one form, the elongate tubular lighting assembly is provided in combination with a power supply electrically connected to the second connector part. There are electrical connector components on the at least first connector board and the second connector part that are configured to be electrically connected as an incident of the first connector part moving from the fully separated position into the engaged position.
In one form, the elongate tubular lighting assembly is provided in combination with a support for the body that has a reflector on which the second connector part is located.
In one form, the second connector part is a component separate from the reflector. The second connector part and reflector are configured so that the second connector part and reflector can be press connected.
In one form, the source of illumination consists of at least one LED emitter panel.
In one form, the first connector part is part of a first end cap assembly that is at the first end of the body. The first end cap assembly includes a first cup-shaped component which defines a first receptacle opening towards the second end of the body into which the first end of the body extends. The third connector part is part of a second end cap assembly that is at the second end of the body. The second end cap assembly has a second cup-shaped component which defines a second receptacle opening towards the first end of the body into which the second end of the body extends.
In one form, the first end cap assembly includes at least a first connector board. The second end cap assembly includes at least a second connector board. The source of illumination and at least first connector board are configured to be electrically connected as an incident of the first end of the body and first end cap assembly being moved towards each other in a direction substantially parallel to the length of the body into a connected relationship. The source of illumination and at least second connector board are configured to be electrically connected as an incident of the second end of the body and second end cap assembly being moved towards each other in a direction substantially parallel to the length of the body into a connected relationship.
In one form, the elongate tubular lighting assembly is provided in combination with a support, on which the second and fourth connector parts are located, and a power supply. The end cap assemblies and first and third connector parts are configured so that as an incident of the first connector part moving from the separated position into the engaged position and the third connector part moving relative to the fourth connector part from a corresponding fully separated position into an engaged position, the second and fourth connector parts secure each of the first and second end cap assemblies and the body in connected relationship.
In one form, the elongate tubular lighting assembly is provided in combination with a light diffuser cover for reflecting, diffusing, and/or focusing light from the source of illumination.
In one form, the invention is directed to an elongate tubular lighting assembly having a body with a length between spaced first and second ends. The tubular lighting assembly has: a source of illumination on or within the body; and first and second connectors respectively at the first and second body ends that are configured to maintain the body in an operative state and the illumination source operatively connected to a power supply. The first connector has cooperating first and second connector parts, one each on the body and a support for the body. Conductive connector components on the first and second connector parts are configured to electrically connect between the source of illumination and a power supply. The first and second connector parts are configured to be held together independently of the conductive connector components to thereby maintain the body in the operative state.
In one form, the elongate tubular lighting assembly is provided in combination with a power supply for the source of illumination.
In one form, the first and second connector parts are configured to be snap-connected to each other and held together as an incident of relatively moving the first and second connector parts towards and against each other.
In one form, the second connector includes third and fourth connector parts that are respectively structurally the same as the first and second connector parts and interact with each other at the second end of the body in the same way that the first and second connector parts interact with each other at the first end of the body.
In one form, the third and fourth connector parts are configured to be snap-connected to each other and held together as an incident of relatively moving the third and fourth connector parts towards and against each other.
In one form, the first and second connector parts and third and fourth connector parts are configured to be snap-connected as an incident of the body with the first and third connector thereon moved transversely to the length of the body.
In one form, the first and second connector parts are configured so that the conductive connector components on the first and second connector parts are electrically connected to each other as an incident of the first and second connector parts being snap-connected to each other.
In one form, the first connector part is part of a first end cap assembly. The first end cap assembly and illumination source are configured so that one of the conductive components on the first connector part is electrically connected to the source of illumination as an incident of the first connector part and first end of the body being moved against and relative to each other in a direction substantially parallel to the length of the body.
In one form, the first end cap assembly has a first cup-shaped component into which the first end of the body extends.
In one form, the invention is directed to an elongate tubular lighting assembly having a body with a length between spaced first and second ends. The tubular lighting assembly has: a source of illumination on or within the body; and first and second connectors respectively at the first and second body ends that are configured to maintain the body in an operative state on a support for the tubular lighting assembly. The first connector has cooperating first and second parts. The first connector part is at the first end of the body. The second connector part is configured to be on a support for the tubular lighting assembly. At least one conductive component on each of the first and second connector parts is configured to electrically connect to each other and between the illumination source and a power supply. The illumination source has at least one conductive component. The first connector part, body, and illumination source are configured so that the at least one conductive component on the illumination source is electrically connected to the at least one conductive component on the first connector part as an incident of the first connector part and first end of the body moved from an initially fully separated state towards and against each other.
In one form, the second connector has third and fourth connector parts that are respectively structurally the same as the first and second connector parts and interact with each other at the second end of the body in the same way that the first and second connector parts interact with each other at the first end of the body.
In one form, the first and second connector parts, body, and illumination source are configured so that: a) the at least one conductive component on the illumination source is electrically connected to the at least one conductive component on the first connector part; and b) at least another conductive component on the illumination source is electrically connected to at least another conductive component on the third connector part as an incident of the body and first and third connector parts being moved towards and against each other in a direction substantially parallel to the length of the body.
In one form, the first connector part is part of a first end cap assembly having a first cup-shaped component opening towards the second end of the body into which the first end of the body extends.
In one form, the third connector part is part of a second end cap assembly having a second cup-shaped component opening towards the first end of the body into which the second end of the body extends.
In one form, the elongate tubular lighting assembly is provided in combination with a support on which the second and fourth component parts are located. With the body in the operative state, the first and second cup-shaped components reside captively between the second and fourth connector parts so that the first and second cup-shaped components are blocked from being separated respectively from the first and second ends of the body.
A more detailed explanation of the principles of the invention is provided in the following detailed descriptions of example embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, briefly described above.
The following is a detailed description and explanation of the preferred embodiments of the invention and best modes for practicing the invention.
Referring to the drawings,
AC traces 410 (
The end cap PCB connector can have DC power terminals 416 (
The end cap board can have power pins directly soldered without wires. The driver board can be directly socketed and positioned inside the tube (tubular array). Each of the emitter boards can be directly socketed without wires. Extra traces are utilized when necessary to eliminate the need for a main power wire running thought the tube (heat sink).
The wiring diagram of
The wiring diagram shows an example with three strings of three emitter boards: driver portion “a” running the top three emitter boards, driver portion “b” the middle three emitter boards and driver portion “c” the bottom three emitter boards, however for ultimate in redundancy, they can actually be wired such that the driver is responsible for three boards and will not light up emitter boards next to each other.
Example. In this case, the emitter board: driver combination:
Parallel traces can be used in the preferred arrangement. The boards can be made with the traces pre-fabricated. Parallel traces are utilized when needed to get the power to the emitters in an electrically efficient way. The advantage of using parallel traces means is the emitters are all driven at exactly the same current and power level. That is not the case in most conventional designs. A further advantage of the arrangement of parallel-series wiring is that we can run our lighting at higher voltage and lower current so that it is more efficient regardless of which driver is used. This is an important aspect of this arrangement. Furthermore, a multiple channel driver that has multiple channels can be used. In one particular model, six boards were wired three different ways.
Light distribution patterns are shown in
When referring to relative brightness to power, the correct term is efficacy or illuminating efficacy and it can be expressed in lumen per watt. Electrical efficiency when referring to the light bar or its components can be expressed in watts of power going into the system versus how many are delivered to the emitters themselves. Lifespan can be expressed in thousands of hours. Typically, a fluorescent tube will last 8 to 10,000 hours. A conventional LED can last about the same when driven hard as they are when used as fluorescent replacements. A high-quality SMD high-power LED will last about 50,000 hours when driven to spec and over 70,000 hours when under-driven. The models of lighting described by this patent application can be optimized to be nearly 100% efficient from the light bars themselves, that is to say, 100% of the watts going to the light-bar are delivered to the emitters. This is because the wiring goes directly to the emitters and there is not a lot of power loss on the traces. There is a tremendous gain in overall system efficiency when the emitter count is optimized to the input voltage so an extremely high-efficiency electrical driver can be utilized. Four to five time improvements in conventional efficiency can be achieved with the inventive LED light bars.
In describing the preferred embodiments of the invention, which are illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology has been resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the specific terms so selected and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose. For example, the word “connected,” “attached,” or terms similar thereto are often used. They are not limited to direct connection but include connection through other elements where such connection is recognized as being equivalent by those skilled in the art.
The present invention and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments described in the detailed description of the invention. The present invention can relate to aspects of providing electrical housings, device frame work, and a lightweight luminary body for a luminary whose illumination is provided by light emitting diodes (LEDs). The present invention can also addresses issues related to thermal management, heat sink, and power source integration. The more compact LED orientation can be achievable with improved management of the thermal operating loads.
Referring back to
A number of conductors or electrical connectors 522 and 524 can communicate electrical power, which are indicated by exemplary power supply 526 and/or switch 527 to the socket. The conductors 522 and 524 can extend through the optional post 516 to the support. The support 518 can be provided with a number of wire traces that are distributed about the support and electrically connect to each LED to the power source 526. As explained further below, it is appreciated that one or more power modifying devices such as converters or drivers may be disposed between LEDs and power source. The LEDs 520 can be oriented on each of the opposite sides 528 and 530 of the generally planar shape of support 518 of the luminary.
As shown in
Referring to
The shape of the frame work, housing configuration, and considerations of thermal management can allow the placement of LEDs on a broader surface area than known conventional luminaries. This dispersed placement of the LEDs can allow greater degree of light dissipation and greater lumen output. In one preferred embodiments, the non-circular or rectilinear orientation of the LEDs can allow up to three surface points for placement of the individual light sources. The preferred embodiment can includes a frame work housing and thermal management channel that also allows for selective internal or external placement of a power source that powers the light source. Regardless of the proximate orientation of the power source, the luminary can allow greater thermal management for heat dissipation. In a preferred embodiment, the luminary has a three-sided, triangular or delta cross-sectional shape. It is appreciated that the lumen can have any number of generally non-curvilinear shapes including a square or virtually any number of planar side members. When provided in a delta or triangular shape, it is appreciated that the lumen can be provided in virtually any shape including equilateral and/or isosceles triangular shapes. The multiple planar surface structures allows for greater variation in the lumen orientation and position and a broader lumen mounting area to provide greater light.
It is envisioned that the socket of the lumen (luminary) can be configured to cooperate with virtually any base receptacle including, but not limited to, those shown in
The disclosed luminary can provide for greater surface area for LED light source than any known conventional luminary having a comparable footprint. The luminary construction can also allow for internal or external placement of a power supply source while allowing thermal management and greater lumen output and greater degree of light spread. The luminary can be configured to be a suitable plug and play configuration to provide enhanced LED lighting that suitable for operation with conventional fluorescent type lighting.
This invention can allow more surface area for placement of LEDs for the purpose of increased lumen output and greater degree of light dispersion. This can allow provisions for an internal or an external power supply, source, controllers, connections, and/or thermal control devices. The triangular shape can allow up to three points for light surface and thermal management to provide a luminary with a greater operating range and improved power management.
The improved light emitting diode (LED) illuminating assembly can comprise a multiple sided modular LED lighting bar, which is also referred to as a multi-sided LED light bar, comprising a non-curvilinear (LED) luminary with a multi-sided elongated tubular array having multiple, several, numerous or many sides comprising modular boards which can define panels with longitudinally opposite ends. The tubular array preferably can have a non-curvilinear cross-sectional configuration (cross-section) without and in the absence of a circular cross-sectional configuration, oval cross-sectional configuration, elliptical cross-sectional configuration and a substantially or rounded curved cross-sectional configuration. Each of the sides of the multi-sided tubular array can have a generally planar flat surface as viewed from the ends of the array, and adjacent sides which intersect each other and converge at an angle of inclination. Operatively positioned and connected to the multi-sided array can be an internal non-switching printed circuit board (PCB) driver comprising a driver board. The driver can be an interior or inner driver board positioned within an interior of the tubular array or can be an exterior or outer driver board which comprises and provides one of the sides of the tubular array. Desirably, two or some of the sides comprise modular LED emitter boards which can provide elongated LED PCB panels. The internal driver comprising the driver board can drive the LED emitter boards and can comprise one or more modular driver boards that are connected in series and/or parallel with each other.
The improved LED illuminating assembly comprising a multi-sided light bar providing a non-curvilinear (LED) luminary can have an optimal count of LED emitters comprising a group, set, matrix, series, multitude, plurality or array of light emitting diodes (LEDs) securely positioned, mounted and arranged on each of the emitter boards for emitting and distributing light outwardly from the emitter boards in a light distribution pattern for enhanced LED illumination and operational efficiency.
End cap PCB connectors providing connector end boards which are also referred to as end cap boards can be positioned at the ends of the tubular array and connected to the internal driver board and the emitter boards. The connector end boards can have power connector pins which can extend longitudinally outwardly for engaging and providing an electrical power connection with at least one light socket. End caps can be positioned about the end cap PCB connectors. The end caps can have bracket segments which can provide clamps that can extend longitudinally inwardly for abuttingly engaging, grasping and clamping the emitter boards.
The boards comprising the emitter boards and driver board can be generally rectangular and modular. Each of the sides of the multi-sided array comprising emitter boards can comprise a single emitter board or a set, series, plurality, multitude or multiple elongated emitter boards longitudinally connected end to end. The sides comprising the emitter boards can include all of the sides of the tubular array or all but one of the sides of the tubular array with the one other side comprising the driver board. The driver board can comprise a single driver board or multiple driver boards that are longitudinally connected end to end. The boards can have matingly engageable male and female connectors such that the connectors on the connector end boards matingly engage, connect and plug into matingly engageable female and male connectors on the driver board and/or on the emitter boards.
A multiple sided tubular heat sink comprising multiple metal sides can be positioned radially inwardly of the multi-sided tubular array for supporting and dissipating heat generated from the emitter boards and driver board(s). The heat sink can have a tubular cross-section which can be generally complementary or similar to the cross-sectional configuration of the multi-sided tubular array. The cross-section of the heat sink preferably has a non-curvilinear cross-section without and in the absence of a circular cross-section, oval cross-section, elliptical cross-section and a substantially curved or rounded cross-section.
The improved LED illuminating assembly comprising a multi-sided light bar providing a non-curvilinear (LED) luminary can have emitter traces for connecting the LED emitters in parallel and in series and can have alternating current (AC) and/or direct current (DC) lines. The emitters can comprise at least one row of substantially aligned aliquot uniformly spaced LED emitters. Desirably, the multi-sided light bar provides a no wire design in the absence of electrical wires.
The improved LED illuminating assembly comprising a multi-sided light bar providing a non-curvilinear (LED) luminary can also have a diffuser comprising an elongated light diffuser cover which can provide a light transmissive lens that can be positioned about and cover the LED emitters for reflecting, diffusing and/or focusing light emitted from the LED emitters.
In one embodiment, the lighting bar comprises: a two sided modular LED lighting bar; the array comprises a two sided array; the heat sink comprises a heat sink with at least two sides; and the emitter boards are arranged in a generally V-shaped configuration at an angle of inclination ranging from less than 180 degrees to an angle more than zero degrees; and the driver is positioned in proximity to an open end of the V-shaped configuration.
In another embodiment, the lighting bar comprises: a three sided modular LED lighting bar; the array comprises a three sided delta or triangular array; the heat sink comprises a tubular three sided heat sink with a delta or triangular cross-section; and the angle of inclination can range from less than 180 degrees to an angle more than zero degrees, and is preferably 120 degrees. The driver can be positioned within the interior of the delta or triangular cross-section of the three sided heat sink.
In a further embodiment, the lighting bar comprises: a four sided modular LED lighting bar; the array comprises a square or rectangular array; the heat sink comprises a tubular four sided heat sink with a square or rectangular cross-section; and the angle of inclination can be a right angle of about 90 degrees.
In still another embodiment, the lighting bar comprises: a five sided modular LED lighting bar; the array comprises a pentagon array; the heat sink comprises a tubular five sided heat sink with a pentagon cross-section; and the angle of inclination of the intersecting sides of the pentagon can comprise an acute angle such as at about 72 degrees.
Multi-sided LED light bars, arrays and heat sinks with more than five sides can also be used.
The improved LED illuminating assembly can comprise an illuminated LED sign, such as an outdoor sign or an indoor sig. The outdoor sign can comprise an outdoor menu board, such as for use in a drive through restaurant. The indoor sign can comprise an indoor menu board such as for use in an indoor restaurant. LED signs can also be provided for displays and other uses. The illuminated LED sign can comprise: a housing with light sockets; at least one light transmissive panel providing an illuminated window connected to the housing; multiple sided modular LED lighting bars, which are also referred to as multi-sided light bars, of the type previously described, can be connected to the light sockets for emitting light through the illuminated window; and the illuminated window can be moved from a closed position to an open position for access to the LED lighting bars. The lighting bars can extend vertically, horizontally, longitudinally, transversely or laterally along portions of the housing. The illuminated window can be covered by a diffuser.
The improved LED illuminating assembly can also comprise: an overhead LED lighting assembly providing overhead ceiling light with: translucent ceiling panels comprising light transmissive ceiling tiles; at least one drop ceiling light fixture comprising light sockets; and at least one multiple sided modular LED lighting bar (multi-sided light bar) of the type previously described, connected to the light sockets and positioned above the ceiling panels for emitting light through the translucent ceiling panels in a general downwardly direction and diverging toward a floor or room. One or more concave light reflector can be positioned above the LED lighting bar to reflect light downwardly through the translucent ceiling panel into the room.
Among the many advantages of the light emitting diode (LED) illuminating assemblies provided with a multi-sided LED light bar comprising a non-curvilinear LED luminary are:
1. Superior product.
2. Outstanding performance.
3. Superb illumination.
4. Improved LED lighting.
5. Excellent resistance to breakage and impact.
6. Long useful life span.
7. User friendly.
8. Reliable.
9. Readily transportable.
10. Lightweight.
11. Portable.
12. Convenient.
13. Easy to use and install.
14. Less time needed to replace the light bar.
15. Durable
16. Economical.
17. Attractive.
18. Safe.
19. Efficient.
20. Effective.
There are many other advantages of the inventive LED illuminating assembly with a novel multi-sided LED lighting bar comprising a non-curvilinear LED luminary versus conventional LED lighting.
1. The use of multi-sided light bar allows for a much wider distribution of light. A standard solution has about 100-110 degree light beam to half brightness. The inventive LED illuminating assembly with the novel multi-sided LED lighting bar, however, can reach a full 360 degrees with little or no loss of brightness. Furthermore, the illustrated two-sided design can reach over 180 degrees to half-brightness. Another advantage is near-field use; lighting something just a few inches from the light source.
2. The internal driver of the improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar is less expensive, uses less labor, is simpler and has lower chance of failure over conventional lighting.
3. The non-switching driver of the improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar provides a boost of efficiency on the scale of 47 magnitude. A typical switching driver which is used on conventional LED lighting bars has a typical efficiency of 80-85% or 15-20% loss. In contrast, the improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar can have an efficiency of 95-97% (3-5% loss), and is four to seven time more efficient than conventional lighting and this improved results in about 20% overall efficiency gain. Desirably, the improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar can achieve greater than 90% efficiency, which is practically impossible with conventional switching drivers.
The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar desirably can optimize the emitter count to the voltage source and can advantageously utilize wiring of the emitters in the appropriate numbers in a parallel-series arrangement.
In the improved LED illuminating assembly with the novel multi-sided lighting bar, the diffuser comprising the lens can be modified to change the output of the beam. By use of this arrangement, dark spots can be eliminated so that a much higher illuminating output can be attained. The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar example can emit a 360 degree beam without visible hot or cold spots. The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar can also have scalable length since there is no theoretical limit to the length of the novel arrangement and design. The actual length may be limited, however, by customer needs, costs, available space, and production capabilities.
The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar further can have driver redundancy using parallel and multiple driver sub-circuits for even better reliability. This can achieve two other important goals:
1. The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar can attain even, uniform accurate power levels to all emitters. In contrast, conventional LED designs do not control the current to all the emitters evenly, but apply a metered amount of current to all parallel circuits, typically as many as three to eight of them, and the current can vary on each parallel circuit because there is no control per sub-circuit. The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar can control each sub-circuit independently so that every emitter in the entire light assembly gets exactly the same current.
2. The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar achieves reliability of output during normal operating conditions and in the event of sub-circuit failure.
In a conventional LED design with output 300 mA to three branches or sub-circuits, when one branch fails, then two sub-circuits will share that same 300 mA so they will go from 100 mA to 150 mA, which is a huge change in current that is not desirable and is likely to cause a cascading failure. In the improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar, if one sub-circuit fails, the remaining circuits operate exactly as they were before the failure.
Furthermore, in the improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar, the sub-circuits can be spread out so that no one portion of the light assembly goes completely dark, but will just dim. This can be very important when lighting up a sign so that although it may be a little darker in one spot, the sign will still illuminate brightly and be readable.
In conventional LED illumination, all the emitters are typically in series with each other so in the event of a single LED failure that entire row blinks out and that entire portion of the light assembly will go dark. In the improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar, the strings or set of emitters are aligned and connected in parallel with the other emitter so that in the event of failure of one sub-circuit, the LED lamp of the LED illuminating assembly goes to 50% brightness but is evenly lit from edge to edge.
The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar also achieves efficiency over initial capital costs. Conventional LED designs attempt to maximize lumens per emitter and are designed according to the specification (“spec”) of the emitter. Emitters operating ‘at spec’ tend to net about 80 Lumen/watt total.
The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar can be specifically under-driven to achieve some very valuable goals:
1. Longer life span. For example, an emitter run at 70% of rated capacity will last 70-80,000 hours when specified at 50,000 hours. That's a difference of 8.6 to 5.7 years when operating at 24 hours per day at seven days a week.
2. Higher efficacy. The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar can achieve over 100 L/W system total by de-tuning the current drive of the emitter. The improved LED illuminating assembly with the multi-sided lighting bar can achieve the same total output by adding more emitters. The initial cost maybe higher but the operational cost will be much lower. This is shown in the illustrated operational costs chart which compares the high output 3600 L LED light bar to the high efficiency 3000 L LED light bar with the exact same design but at different drive operating levels because the LEDs are more efficient and last longer when driven below spec.
3. Higher reliability. Within their expected lifespan, LED emitters will maintain lumen longer and maintain color temperature longer when they are cooler, if the temperature is directly proportional to LED drive current. An over-driven LED will lose color temperature accuracy quicker than one driven at spec. An under driven LED can maintain lumen and color temperature longer than even one driven to ‘spec’.
The improved LED illuminating assembly can have a no-wire design such that the novel light bar of the improved LED luminary assembly has no electrical wires. This arrangement can decrease assembly time and problems and lower failure rate associated with complexity in a manual labor portion of the assembly. A conventional LED light bar can have 12 or more hand-made solder joints. The new inventive light bar design can include only two hand-made solder joints as well as eliminating 100% of the electrical wiring. Elimination of standard electrical wires can increase both initial and long term reliability and expenses.
The embodiments described above use a driver board including circuitry which converts AC to DC for driving the LEDs that use a DC supply of the correct electrical polarity. The driver board adds to the overall component cost, assembly cost and design cost of tubular LED lighting assemblies and requires additional space in the assembly. Power loss in the range of 15% or higher typically result from the conversion from AC to DC. The driver components, such as rectifiers to convert AC into pulsed DC and filters to smooth the signal to a constant DC voltage, have high failure rates compared to other longer lasting components of tubular LED lighting assemblies. The use of highly reliable components is important, but can add substantial cost and may entail complex designs.
LED-based solid state lighting provides the opportunity for significant reduction in the carbon footprint of the electrical power grid due to the dramatic reduction in real power consumption. However, if power factor is not managed, the grid will still need to be able to provide a much higher power level than is actually needed at the load, eliminating a significant portion of the benefits of moving to solid state lighting. Power factor is a unit-less ratio of real power to apparent power. Real power is the power used at the load measured in kilowatts (kW). Apparent power is a measurement of power in volt-amps (VA) that the grid supplies to a system load. In a highly reactive system, the current and voltage, both angular quantities, can be highly out of phase with each other. This results in the power grid needing to supply a much larger reactive power to be able to supply the actual real power at any given time. Incandescent bulbs have historically had a very high power factor. LEDs have a non-linear impedance as do their drivers, causing the power factor to be inherently low. In order to combat this, the drivers typically include power factor correction circuitry to increase that ratio to as close to 1 as possible. However, as mentioned above, significant power is still typically lost in converting AC to DC current, resulting in less than ideal power factor ratios.
The LEDs, being diodes, conduct current in only a single direction. However, AC driven LEDs are also available as an alternative to DC solutions. AC LEDs do not require an AC to DC driver circuit. With AC LED technology an LED is directly connected to AC power, or through a limiting resistor circuit. A rectifier diode may be used to prevent reverse bias. With AC as a driving source, the LED will only illuminate about fifty percent of the time. However, the noticeable effect of this can be minimized through circuitry design. For general illumination, AC LED technology can sometimes allow simpler form factors to enhance manufacturing or aesthetics and have the benefit of eliminating the converter and driver components. AC LEDs also allow the lamp to dim and to shift the spectrum of the lamp as it dims to mimic an incandescent light or other colors. Lighting using AC LEDs can also achieve a higher power factor because the power loss associated with DC LED driver circuits is avoided.
AC LED technology has been deployed in some lighting applications, such as street lighting and conventional screw in type bulbs. Despite the potential advantages of AC LED technology, tubular LED lighting assemblies have traditionally deployed only DC LEDs, and the applicant is not aware of any such tubular LED lighting assemblies using AC LEDs. One challenge associated with tubular lighting applications is that the intensity and consistency of the light distribution pattern is particularly important. Conventional LED tubular lamps, utilizing one or more LED emitter panels oriented in the same plane within a cylindrical tubular diffuser lens, are typically operated at a high percentage of the LED power rating and rely on the resulting intensity and overspill of light towards the sides to improve the light distribution pattern. AC LEDs operate at a lower efficiency when driven at higher power levels, and this presents an obstacle to a high-efficiency tubular lamp of optimal light intensity and distribution performance.
The present invention, however, can readily be adapted to provide tubular lighting forms utilizing AC powered LEDs as an illumination source, thus permitting the elimination of the driver circuit and providing other advantages associated with AC LED technology. In particular, embodiments employing a multi-sided luminary formed of multiple LED emitter boards oriented in intersecting planes provide for a greater number of LEDs and direct the emitted light over a wider angle. AC LEDs can thus be deployed in these embodiments and operated at lower, more efficient power levels while still achieving substantial light intensity and consistent light distribution patterns over a wide area. As explained in more detail below, elimination of the driver circuit also enables other forms such as embodiments which utilize a single AC LED emitter panel that is positioned on a lower profile heat sink and spaced further from a curved diffuser cover to capture a wider angle of light emanating from the LEDs and disburse the light evenly and consistently.
Embodiments of the invention employing AC LED technology eliminate power loss associated with the conversion of AC to DC voltage and can achieve a higher power factor compared to DC LED designs. These embodiments of the invention can be provided as a less complex design in simpler form factors to enhance manufacturing and/or aesthetics, and are potentially more reliable and longer lasting due to a reduction in the number of components that can fail. This is significant advantage to customers who require longer life bulbs to offset the greater up front cost of solid state LED lighting compared to conventional tube lighting. These embodiments further provide for diming control and the ability to shift the spectrum of the lamp as it dims to mimic an incandescent or other colors.
Referring to
The body 602 has first and second end connectors 606, 608, respectively at first and second lengthwise ends of the body 602. The end connectors 606, 608 respectively mechanically and electrically interconnect with connectors 610, 612 mounted on a support 614, that may define a reflector for controllably dispersing light generated by the illumination source 604 and directed thereat. The interaction of the connectors 606, 610 and 608, 612 is substantially the same and thus description herein will be limited to the interaction of the exemplary connectors 606, 610 through which one tube end is mechanically supported and the illumination source 604 is electrically connected to a power supply 616.
The connector 606 has a bi-pin/2-pin arrangement with separate power lead pins 618, 620, which have substantially the same construction and project in cantilever fashion from diametrically opposite locations relative to the body axis 622.
The connector 610 is what is conventionally referred to in the industry as a “tombstone” connector, since it generally resembles a tombstone in terms of its shape. The connector 610 has a mounting portion 624 from which a “tombstone”-shaped portion 626 depends. The mounting portion 624 is designed to slide into its operative position along rails defined by a pair of tabs 628, 630 struck from the support 614. The connectors 610 may be permanently or releasably fixed with respect to the support 614.
The depending connector portion 626 has a pair of non-conductive tabs 632, 634, that project in generally parallel, spaced relationship to define a slot 636 therebetween. The tubular lighting assembly 600 will be described herein as being in an orientation wherein the axis 622 of the body 602 is substantially horizontal. With this arrangement, the slot 636 extends in a substantially vertical line. The tabs 632, 634 project from the base of a cup-shaped receptacle 638 so that there is an annular pathway 640 surrounding the tabs 632, 634 within the receptacle 638. A bottom opening 642 is defined for introducing the pins 618, 620.
To operatively position the connector 606, the body 602 is angularly oriented so that the axes of the power leads/pins 618, 620 reside in the same vertical plane. With the body 602 in this orientation, the pins 618 can be directed, one after the other, through the opening 642, with the leading pin 618 advanced to and through the slot 636 so that the pins 618, 620 reside in diametrically opposite regions of the annular pathway 640. By then turning the body 602 around its axis through 90°, the pin 618 becomes wedged between the tab 634 and a first conductive component 644 within the receptacle 638. The pin 620 wedges in the same manner between the tab 632 and a second conductive component 646 that is generally diametrically opposite to the first conductive component 644 within the receptacle 638. Through the conductive components 644, 646, the pins 618, 620 establish electrical connection between the illumination source 604 and the power supply 616. An electrical circuit is completed by power leads/pins 618′, 620′ on the connector 608 that have the same bi-pin arrangement and cooperate with the connector 612 in the same manner that the pins 618, 620 cooperate with the connector 610.
Installation of the body 602 requires controlled movement between the connectors 606, 608 at the ends and the cooperating connectors 610, 612. If the pins 618, 620, 618′, 620′ are not all consistently aligned and appropriately moved, electrical connection of the illumination source 604 may not be established. Improper alignment and movement of the pins 618, 620, 618′, 620′ during the assembly process may also result in one or more of the pins 618, 620, 618′, 620′ not appropriately seating. Since the integrity of the mechanical connection of the body 602 relies on stable securing of the pins 618, 620, 618′, 620′, improper pin seating may allow the body 602 to be inadvertently released, which may cause it to be damaged or destroyed.
Aside from the inconvenience of installing the body 602, the body 602 may still be prone to releasing, even after proper installation. As seen in
Further, after repetitive force application to the connectors 610, 612, as during installation and removal of the body 602, the support 614, which is typically light gauge sheet metal, may progressively deform at the locations where the connectors 610, 612 are joined thereto.
Still further, the connectors 610, 612 may slide away from each other under typical forces applied during installation and replacement of the body 602. Those designs, which require a sliding movement of the connectors 610, 612 during assembly, are particularly prone to this problem. That is, one or both of the connectors 610, 612 might move oppositely to its installation direction adequately that the free ends of the pins 618, 620, 618′, 620′ are not firmly and positively supported. Significantly, there may be no positive blocking of a slight movement of the connectors 610, 612, or a deflection thereof adequate to inadvertently release the body 602 either during, or after, installation.
One preferred form of elongate tubular lighting assembly, according to the present invention, is shown at 654 in
As seen in
The source of illumination 662 could be any structure that is provided in a generally tubular form and is capable of generating visible light. While the particular embodiment described in
A first connector 664 at the first end 658 of the body 656 is made up of a first connector part 666 and a second connector part 668. A second connector 670 is provided at the second end 660 of the body 656 and is made up of a third connector part 672 and a fourth connector part 674. The first and second connectors 664, 670 are configured to maintain the body 656 in an operative state on a support 676 that may be in the form of a reflector, or otherwise configured. The first connector part 664 is part of a first end cap assembly 678 that is provided at the first body end 658. The second connector part 668 is provided on the support/reflector 676. The third connector part 672 is provided at the second end 660 of the body 656, with the fourth connector part 674 provided on the support/reflector 676. The source of illumination 662 is electrically connected to a power supply 680 through the first connector 664.
Referring now to
As described above, the first connector 664 is provided at the first end 658 of the body 656, with the second connector 670 provided at the second end 660 of the body 656. The first connector 664 consists of the first connector part 666, that is part of the first end cap assembly 678, and the second connector part 668. The first end cap assembly 678 consists of a first, cup-shaped component 684 defining a first receptacle 686 opening towards the body 656 and into which the first end 658 of the body extends.
The receptacle 686 receives an end connector board 688 which overlies a separate board 690 having L-shaped electrical connector components 692 thereon that cooperate with connector components 694, 696 within wires that extend into the second connector part 668 to establish electrical connection between the boards 688, 690 and the power supply 680.
In this embodiment, the first connector part 666 has three like mounting posts 698 projecting from within the receptacle 686. The posts 698 have stepped diameters to produce shoulders 700 to bear simultaneously against one side 702 of the board 690. The opposite side 704 thereof facially engages a surface 706 on the connector board 688 to positively support the same.
The conductive components 682 on the emitter panel terminals 302 are designed to electrically connect to conductive components 708 on the terminals 324 through a press fit operation. More specifically, the source of illumination 662 and connector boards 688, 690 are configured to be electrically connected as an incident of the first end 658 of the body 656 and first end cap assembly 678 being moved towards each other in a direction substantially parallel to the length of the body 656. As this occurs, the first end 658 of the body 656 extends into the receptacle 686 to thereby place the first end 658 of the body 656 and first end cap assembly 678 in mechanically and electrically connected relationship.
A single board 697, as shown schematically in
As seen in
The detailed description hereinbelow will be focused on the exemplary embodiment shown in
In
To make this interaction possible, the first connector part 666 has an opening 716 bounded by an edge 718. The second connector part 668 has a first bendable part 720. The second connector part 668 is configured so that the first bendable part 720 is engaged by the edge 718 of the opening 716 and progressively cammed from a holding position, as shown in solid lines in
In this embodiment, the first connector part 666 has a wall 722 through which the opening 716 is formed. The first surface 710 is a portion of the inner surface of this wall 722. The second surface 712 is defined by a boss 724 on the bendable part 720.
The wall 722 has a third surface 726 on its opposite surface that faces towards a fourth surface 728 on the second connector part 668. The wall 722 resides captively between the second and fourth surfaces 712, 728 with the first connector part 666 in the engaged position to maintain this snap-fit connection.
In this embodiment, the first bendable part 720 is joined to another part 730 of the first connector part 666 through a live hinge 732. The second connector part 668 has an actuator 734, in this embodiment on the first bendable part 720 remote from the hinge 732, that is engageable and can be pressed in the direction of the arrow 736 in
In the depicted embodiment, the second connector part 668 has a second bendable part 720′ that is configured the same as the first bendable part 720 and cooperates with the edge 718 in the same way that the first bendable part 720 cooperates with the edge 718 in moving between corresponding holding and assembly positions. An actuator 734′ is situated so that the installer can grip and squeeze the actuators 734, 734′, as between two fingers, towards each other, thereby changing both bendable parts 720, 720′ from their holding positions into their assembly positions.
As seen in
Also, this arrangement keys the connector parts 666, 668 together as a unit so that they do not move any substantial distance along the length of the body 656. As seen in
The third and fourth connector parts 672, 674, that make up the second connector 670, may be respectively structurally the same or similar as the first and second connector parts 666, 668 and interact with each other at the second end 660 of the body 656 in the same way that the first and second connector parts 666, 668 interact with each other at the first end 658 of the body 656. Accordingly, the first and third connector parts 666, 672 are held positively captively against their respective body ends 658, 660 by the second and fourth connector parts 672, 674, thereby avoiding inadvertent separation of the connector parts 666, 672 from the body ends 658, 660, respectively.
The second connector part 668 has oppositely opening slots 744, 746 that cooperate with the reflector tabs 628, 630 in the same manner that the connectors 626 (see
With the above described arrangement, the first and second connector parts 666, 668 can be mechanically snap-connected through a simple movement of the first connector part 666 from its fully separated position into its engaged position. The connector components 692, 694, 696 are also configured so that the connector components 694, 696 are press fit into electrical connection with the connector components 692 as an incident of the first connector part 666 moving from its fully separated position into its engaged position.
The third connector part 672 is part of a second end cap assembly 748 at the second end 660 of the body 656. The second end cap assembly 748 has a second cup-shaped component 750 defining a receptacle 752 that receives the second body end 660 in substantially the same manner as the first cup-shaped component 684 receives the first end 658 of the body 656. The oppositely opening cup-shaped components 684, 750 captively engage the body ends 658, 660 which reside in their respective receptacles 686, 752. The receptacles 686, 752 are deep enough that the body ends 658, 660 penetrate an adequate distance to be securely held within the receptacles 686, 752.
In this embodiment, the second end cap assembly 748 includes at least one, and in this case two, connector boards 688′, 690′, corresponding to the boards 688, 690, described above.
The source of illumination 662 and connector boards 688′, 690′ are configured to be electrically connected as an incident of the second end 660 of the body 656 and second end cap assembly 748 being moved towards each other in a direction substantially parallel to the length of the body 656 into connected relationship.
The light diffuser cover 328, previously described, is optionally used to deflect, diffuse, and/or focus light from the source of illumination 662.
With the above-described construction, the first and second connector parts 666, 668 are configured to be structurally held together, independently of the conductive connector components 692 and 694, 696 that electrically connect between the source of illumination 662 and power supply 680, to thereby maintain the body 656 in its operative state. This avoids stressing of conductive components that effect electrical connection on the lighting assembly 654 and also permits rigid and maintainable mounting of the body 656 in its operative state. This ability becomes particularly significant with long body constructions, typically up to eight feet, with an LED source of illumination. These bodies may have a significantly heavier construction than their fluorescent bulb counterparts.
With the above-described construction, the first and second connector parts 666, 668 and third and fourth connector parts 672, 674 can be simply aligned and snap-connected to each other to thereby be held together as an incident of relatively moving the connector parts towards and against each other. Supplemental fasteners (not shown) could be used for further securing these connections, but ideally no supplemental fasteners are required.
The above-described construction lends itself to pre-assembling the first and third connector parts 666, 672 to their respective body end 658, 660 by a simple press fit step. The resulting unit U (
The use of the boards 688, 688′, 690, 690′ and press connection of the end cap assemblies 678, 748 potentially avoids certain, and in a preferred form all, wire connecting operations, that may be labor intensive, difficult to perform, and often lead to operational failures. That is, as seen at one exemplary body end 658, the electrical connection of the emitter boards 293 can be effected through cooperation between the terminals 302, 324 and connector board 688 up to the connector components 692 without the use of any wire that would have to be soldered or otherwise connected at its ends.
Further, the body ends 658, 660 can project adequately into their respective receptacles 686, 752 that there is little risk of separation of the body 656 from its operative state.
The second and fourth connector parts 668, 674 can be configured to replace conventional fluorescent bi-pin bulb connectors, as shown at 610 and 612 in
Once the connector parts 668. 674 are in place, either through initial assembly or as replacements for the connectors 610, 612, the body 656 and pre-joined connector parts 666, 672, that cooperatively define the unit U in
The above design, while described with a body 656 having a generally delta- or triangularly-shaped cross section, taken transversely to the length of the body 656, can be adapted to any body shape by conforming the end cap receptacle to be complementary to the peripheral body shape. For example, embodiments described above have different cross-sectional shapes with different numbers of sides (see, for example, the four-sided luminary in
Still further, the connecting structures can be adapted to connector parts that are used on conventional round/cylindrical luminary shapes, typical of conventional fluorescent bulbs and many LED tubular bulbs. As seen in
As depicted generally in
In this manner, the disadvantages described above associated with conventional bi-pin bulbs and connectors may be overcome by retrofitting such bulbs with end connectors of the type disclosed in accordance with the invention, thereby permitting such bulbs to be installed on and mechanically and electrically connected to connectors of the type described as the second and fourth connector parts herein.
As explained above, the driver 300, including the driver board 380, may be eliminated. To depict this form of the invention, the driver 300 is shown in dotted lines in
Another variation from the embodiments described above relates to how the LED panels/emitter boards 293 are designed to be electrically connected to the power supply 680. Referring again to
In an alternative design, as shown schematically in
The body 6564′ is otherwise mechanically connected to the first connector part 6664′, and electrically connected through the first connector part 6664′ to the second connector part 668, as with the earlier-described embodiments. For example, the electrical connection of the emitter panels 2934′ may be effected through a connector board 6884′ having associated connector components 6924′. Terminals 3024′ on the emitter panels 2934′ are used to effect this connection.
An example of such an embodiment corresponding to the embodiment of
Additional potential modifications are shown in
In
The heat sink 2975′ may be extrusion-formed to define elongate receptacles 766, 768 of like construction. Exemplary receptacle 768 is defined by a flat surface 770 with widthwise ends that blend into spaced, “U” shapes that define slots 772, 774 that open towards each other. The emitter panels 2935′ are configured to slide lengthwise, one each, into the receptacles 766, 768. The emitter panels 2935′ (one shown in the receptacle 766) are dimensioned so that the opposite emitter panel edges 776, 778, spaced widthwise of each other, seat simultaneously in the slots 772, 774. The relative dimensions of the emitter panels 2935′ and receptacles 766, 768 are selected so that the emitter panels 2935′ can be assembled to the heat sink without requiring imparting of potentially damaging forces thereto. At the same time, the fit is preferably sufficiently snug so that the emitter panels 2935′ do not shift so easily that they are prone to becoming misaligned lengthwise of the heat sink 2975′ as the body 6565′ is normally handled, either during shipping or assembly.
This design may simplify the assembly of the components on the body 6565′ by permitting the union of the heat sink 2975′ and emitter panels 2935′ without the need for any separate fasteners or adhesive or the use of ribs, tabs or other structures extending from the inner surface of the diffuser cover to prevent the emitter panels from separating from the heat sink.
The relationship of the assembled emitter panels 2935′ to the heat sink 2975′ and diffuser cover 3285′, as depicted in
Regardless of the light transmissive properties of the material defining the diffuser cover 3285′, a certain amount of light from the LED emitters 2985′ reflects back towards the emitter panels and will impact the emitter panels and the bottom surface 784 of the heat sink 2975′ to be re-directed thereby within the space 786 outwardly towards the diffuser cover 3285′. This reflected light, following the exemplary path indicated by the arrows A. The additional spacing between the lower regions of the heat sink 2975′ and diffuser cover 3285′, and removing the apex of the otherwise triangular heat sink cross section, as depicted, facilitates a more even distribution of the light reflected by the diffuser cover 3285′ and intensifies the overall light pattern and may also enhance the uniformity of the light distribution pattern. Also, the receptacles 768, 766 described above secure the emitter panels 2935′ without the need for additional structure such as the elongated rib shown at the base region of the diffuser cover 354 of
In
In both embodiments shown in
Alternatively, the undeformed diffuser cover 3286′ can be aligned under the heat sink 2976′ and pressed upwardly. As this occurs, the legs 788, 790, through a camming interaction between the rails 794, 796 and heat sink 2976′, are urged away from each other. Once the rails 794, 796 vertically align with the slots 798, 800, the legs 788, 790 spring back towards, or into, their undeformed state, seating the rails 794, 796 in the slots 798, 800.
It may be desirable to maintain a certain level of the restoring forces in the legs 788, 790 once the diffuser cover 3286′ is assembled so that the diffuser cover 3286′ embraces the heat sink 2976′ and thus maintains its assembled position.
Alternatively, each of the diffuser covers 3285′, 3286′ may be slid into its assembled state by aligning the ends of the rails 788, 790 and slots 798, 800, as seen in the embodiment in
In
The depending heat sink sides 2947′, 2957′ terminate at offset ends 808, 810, that project towards each other to define ledge portions 812, 814, respectively, that cooperatively support an emitter panel 2937′ with LED emitters 2987′. A horizontal wall 816 spans between the sides 2947′, 2957′ and bounds in conjunction with the offset ends 808, 810, a receptacle 818 into which the emitter panel 2937′ can be directed. The emitter panel 2937′ can be aligned at one end of the receptacle 818 and translated into a coextensive lengthwise relationship with the heat sink 297.
This design may accommodate emitter panels 2937′ with a greater width W than is permitted within the same peripheral geometry of the embodiments depicted in
As mentioned above, modern building codes and ordinances require that each public facility have a stand-alone emergency battery backup lighting system. This is to ensure the safety of the occupant of any said space that may be impacted by catastrophic power failure. Most buildings run the emergency lighting (EM) circuit from a designated EM lighting and or power panel. The circuits that are utilized from that panel cannot be interrupted and or shared with common circuits and must run in a dedicated conduit system and routed to only the intended EM light for the space that it is supporting. This can involve significant cost to install dedicated battery backup lights, especially in a preexisting building. The EM circuit must be customized to each space to insure that EM lights are located by all exits and in rooms with no means of outside ambient light.
As a way to overcome these and other problems associated with conventional EM lighting systems, the multi-sided LED light bar of the invention may also be provided in the form of a self-contained LED luminary with its own internal stand-alone UPS battery backup system.
As described above, the first connector 664 is provided at the first end 658 of the body 656, with the second connector 670 provided at the second end 660 of the body 656. The first connector 664 consists of the first connector part 666, that is part of the first end cap assembly 678, and the second connector part 668. The first end cap assembly 678 consists of a first, cup-shaped component 684 defining a first receptacle 686 opening towards the body 656 and into which the first end 658 of the body extends. The receptacle 686 receives an end connector board 688 which overlies a separate board 690 having L-shaped electrical connector components 692 thereon that cooperate with connector components 694, 696 within wires that extend into the second connector part 668 to establish electrical connection between the boards 688, 690 and the power supply 680. The power supply 680 powers the lighting assembly during normal operations.
In this form, the lighting assembly of the invention further includes UPS battery circuit 900 mounted on an internal PCP 901 as shown within the hollow region defined by multi-sided heat sink 297. As discussed in connection with other embodiments, an internal driver (not shown) may also be mounted internal to the heat sink 297 for converting AC power to DC and directing it the LED emitters 298 of the emitter boards 293. The UPS battery backup circuit is operatively positioned and connected to the driver and includes a charging circuit which provides a charging current to the one or more batteries thereof when power source 680 is in normal operation. In the event that power from power source 680 is interrupted, a control sub-circuit of the UPS battery backup circuit switches the load to the battery back for powering the LEDs 298 of the lighting assembly as emergency lighting. In other embodiments, the circuits may be designed such that the lighting assembly is a dedicated emergency light which is dark during periods of normal power supply but receiving a charging current, and which illuminates under power of the UPS battery backup circuit 900 when the normal power supply is lost.
The available space within heat sink 297 will permit mounting a sufficient number of backup batteries to power the LEDs and provide the required illumination for durations required to meet applicable emergency lighting codes. Currently available UPS batteries sources should provide power for 15 minutes and up to at least 2 hours and potentially longer depending on the number and type of batteries mounted within the hollow void of heat sink 297. It will be understood that this approach may be implemented in numerous other forms of the multi-sided heat sink of the invention, including, for example, four-sided and five-side heat sinks other particular forms.
By providing a tubular lighting assembly with a concealed UPS that can sustain its own source of power in the event of a power outage, this aspect of the invention provides numerous additional benefits. For example, an entire pathway of lighting can be generating to insure the most direct route out of a powerless building simply by installing the UPS emergency lights in conventional ballasts at strategically chosen locations. Because the UPS backup circuit is implemented internal to the lighting assembly, the exiting mounting fixture does not require any additional wiring or foreign components to be installed into the fixture. This aspect of the invention thus allows for buildings to be equipped with emergency safety lighting without the increase of cost of installing dedicated breakers, circuits, emergency lights, specialized ballasts, outside battery sources, generators and other equipment throughout the building, making it easier and more likely that building owners and property managers an abide by the codes requiring adequate lighting in the event of a power loss. Because the UPS is concealed internal to the heat sink, aesthetics are not adversely affected.
Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that various modifications, substitutions, and rearrangements of parts, components, and/or process (method) steps, as well as other uses, shapes, features and arrangements of light emitting diode (LED) illuminating assemblies provided with a multi-sided LED light bar comprising a non-curvilinear LED luminary, other heat sink designs disclosed herein, luminaries utilizing AC-driven LEDs, UPS back-up and/or novel end cap connector assemblies can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the novel spirit and scope of this invention. Furthermore, one or more of the disclosed features of any of the disclosed embodiments can be combined with, added, or substituted for, one or more features of any of the other disclosed embodiments.
The foregoing disclosure of specific embodiments is intended to be illustrative of the broad concepts comprehended by the invention.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/290,955, filed Oct. 11, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/982,513, filed Dec. 29, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/256,066, filed Apr. 18, 2014, which are all hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Child | 16215312 | US | |
| Parent | 14982513 | Dec 2015 | US |
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