Patent Grant
10557599
The present invention relates to a lighting apparatus that comprises a reflector and a cone.
In the field of lighting apparatus, a downlight that comprises a reflector and a cone is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1 indicates that an object of an invention according Patent Document 1 is “to provide a downlight, in which a light transmission opening has a smaller diameter, and which can make the presence as a lighting apparatus less noticeable, and with which excellent designability can be obtained.”
Patent Document 1 describes a means for achieving this object as follows: “The downlight of the present invention comprises: an elliptical reflection plate (reflector) having an ellipsoidal shape; a light source lamp disposed in an internal space of the elliptical reflection plate; a substantially cylindrical structure disposed at a lower portion of the elliptical reflection plate, and having a shape whose diameter is gradually decreased from its upper end to its lower end; and a cone portion (cone) disposed at a lower portion of a light transmission opening at a lower end of the substantially cylindrical structure, and having a substantially cylindrical shape whose diameter is gradually increased toward its lower portion.”
Patent Document 1: JP-A-2008-16417
In the invention according to Patent Document 1 described above, the light that goes out from the light source lamp and is reflected by the elliptical reflection plate is effectively used for lighting purpose as controlled (controllable) light, but the light that goes out from the light source and then hits the substantially cylindrical structure is not be used for lighting purpose, and thus efficiency is reduced accordingly.
The present invention is provided in view of the issues described above, and an object is to provide a lighting apparatus having a structure, in which controlled reflection light is efficiently emitted from the lighting apparatus, and in which the controlled reflection light does not hit a cone, thereby glare in the cone is suppressed.
The invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a lighting apparatus comprises: a light source; a reflector having a first reflection surface with a shape of a surface of revolution, and having a downward light emission outlet through which direct light from the light source and reflection light from the first reflection surface being emitted; and a cone having a substantially truncated conical second reflection surface, an upper opening opposing the light emission outlet, and a lower opening having a larger diameter than the upper opening, wherein the cone is disposed outside optical paths of controlled reflection light from the first reflection surface.
The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the lighting apparatus according to claim 1, the second reflection surface has a shape being linear or curved concave toward the optical axis of the light source, in a cross section cut along a plane including the optical axis.
The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the lighting apparatus according to claim 1, the light source has a planar light-emitting surface, and when a line that connects an inner periphery edge of the upper opening and an inner periphery edge of the lower opening, which are respectively located on one side with respect to the optical axis in the cross section cut along a plane including the optical axis of the light source, is defined as a first reference line, and when a line that connects an inner periphery edge of the upper opening and an inner periphery edge of the lower opening, which are respectively located on the other side with respect to the optical axis in the cross section cut along a plane including the optical axis of the light source, is defined as a second reference line, then the light-emitting surface is disposed in a region interposed between the first reference line and the second reference line after these reference lines intersect with each other.
The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that, in the lighting apparatus according to claim 3, the first reflection surface has a spheroidal shape that is obtained by revolving a portion of an ellipse that has its major axis on the optical axis, wherein its upper first focal point is disposed at the center of the light-emitting surface, and its lower second focal point is disposed lower than the upper opening of the cone.
The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that, in the lighting apparatus according to claim 1, the diameter of an inner periphery edge of the light emission outlet of the reflector and the diameter of an inner periphery edge of the upper opening of the cone are set to be substantially the same.
The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that, in the lighting apparatus according to claim 5, the cone comprises: a cone body having the second reflection surface; and a ring shaped light-shielding member covering an inner periphery edge at an upper end of the cone body, wherein the diameter of the inner periphery edge of the light emission outlet is smaller than the diameter of the inner periphery edge at the upper end of the cone body, and greater than the diameter of an inner periphery edge of the light-shielding member that configures an inner periphery edge of the upper opening.
According to the invention of claim 1, the cone does not require a portion that corresponds to the substantially cylindrical structure that was needed in the prior art. An area for the first reflection surface thus can be increased accordingly. As a result, the reduction in the amount of the controllable reflection light reflected by the first reflection surface can be prevented.
In addition, the cone is disposed outside the optical paths of the controlled reflection light from the first reflection surface, and thus the controlled reflection light from the first reflection surface does not hit the cone, and glare in the cone can be suppressed.
In addition, the cone can reduce spread reflection. Therefore a larger glare cut-off angle for the whole lighting apparatus can be obtained.
Controlled reflection light herein refers to reflected light as designed (intended). Uncontrollable reflection light herein refers to reflected light that may be called unintended reflection light (spread reflection light), for example, the light reflected by a defect in the first reflection surface or reflected by a lower edge of the first reflection surface of the reflector, or the light reflected by the first reflection surface multiple times.
According to the invention of claim 2, the second reflection surface has a shape being linear or curved concave toward the optical axis, when viewed in a cross section cut along a plane including the optical axis of the light source. As a result, among the spread reflection light (unintended reflection light), the light that hits the second reflection surface is more readily directed downward (for example, a direction to a floor surface) and less likely to cause glare than a case where the second reflection surface has a shape being curved convex toward the optical axis.
According to the invention of claim 3, the planar light-emitting surface of the light source is disposed in a region (angle range) interposed between the first reference line and the second reference line after these reference lines intersect with each other. Therefore, the direct light from the light-emitting surface will not hit the second reflection surface. In other words, the cone will not undesirably reduce the amount of direct light.
According to the invention of claim 4, the second focal point is disposed lower than the upper opening of the cone. As a result, the angle of light, which goes out from the light-emitting surface and is reflected by the first reflection surface and is then emitted from the lower opening of the cone, with respect to a level surface can be increased, and thus the light is less likely to hit the cone than a case where the second focal point is disposed in the upper opening, for example.
According to the invention of claim 5, the diameter of the inner periphery edge of the light emission outlet of the reflector and the diameter of the inner periphery edge of the upper opening of the cone are set to be substantially the same. The cone therefore will not undesirably reduce the direct light from the light source.
According to the invention of claim 6, the diameter of the inner periphery edge of the light emission outlet of the reflector is smaller than the diameter of the inner periphery edge at the upper end of the cone body, and greater than the diameter of the inner periphery edge of the light-shielding member that configures the inner periphery edge of an upper opening. Therefore, the cone can control light by shielding direct light near the outer periphery, without undesirably reducing the amount of direct light.
Embodiments, to which the present invention is applied, are described in detail with reference to drawings. In the drawings, elements designated by a same numerical reference have a same or similar configuration, and duplicate explanation thereof is omitted. In addition, in the drawings, elements that are not necessary for explanation are omitted as appropriate.
A lighting apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1, to which the present invention is applied, is described with reference to
As illustrated in
The lighting apparatus 1 comprises a socket 10, a light source 20, a body 30, a reflector 40, and a cone 50.
As illustrated in
A planar light source having a planar light-emitting surface 20d can be used for the light source 20. Examples of the planar light source may include: for example, a COB (chip-on-board) type light source in which multiple LED elements are disposed in a planar arrangement; or multiple LED lamps disposed in a planar arrangement. The light source 20 is mounted to a lower surface of the heat sink 13. The light-emitting surface 20d is substantially circular, with its center 20a disposed on the optical axis L. In
The shape of the light-emitting surface 20d of the light source 20 is not limited to the substantially circular shape as described above, and may be any other shape, such as a square. In addition, the light source 20 may be a point light source. Examples of the point light source may include, for example, a halogen lamp, an HID, or the like.
The body 30 comprises a cylindrical outer wall 31, a cylindrical inner wall 32, and multiple heat dissipation fins 33 disposed between the outer wall 31 and inner wall 32. A lower end of the socket 10 described above is secured to an upper end of the body 30.
The reflector 40 has a spheroidal (substantially a barrel-like) shape. The reflector 40 is accommodated, positioned, and secured inside the inner wall 12 of the socket 10 and the inner wall 32 of the body 30.
In the present embodiment, the reflector 40 comprises an upper block 40A and a lower block 40B, which are combined and secured at a junction surface 40S to configure the whole reflector 40. The position of the junction surface 40S coincides with the minor axis (not shown) of an ellipse described later that is used as a base. The reflector 40 in the present embodiment comprises the upper block 40A and the lower block 40B combined at the junction surface 40S as described above, for convenience in manufacturing. However, theoretically, the reflector 40 may be integrally formed as a whole.
The reflector 40 has a light incidence inlet (opening) 40a at an upper end (base end side), and a downward light emission outlet (opening) 40b at a lower end (tip end side). The light from the light source 20 enters through the light incidence inlet (opening) 40a, and the light is emitted from the downward light emission outlet (opening) 40b.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The light, which goes out from the center 20a of the light source 20 and is reflected by the first reflection surface 41, results in controlled reflection light (intended reflection light as designed). The controlled reflection light is emitted from the light emission outlet 40b, and goes into the upper opening 50a of the cone 50 described below, and passes through the second focal point f2, and is emitted from a lower opening 50b of the cone 50. Among the light that goes out from the center 20a of the light source 20, the light that hits a lower portion of the first reflection surface 41 exhibits a greater emission angle with respect to the optical axis L, after its reflection. In other words, the emission angle of reflection light is maximized for light incident in close proximity to an inner periphery edge d at a lower end (the lower end of the first reflection surface 41) of the reflector 40 in
The cone 50 is now described in detail with reference to
The cone 50 comprises a substantially truncated conical second reflection surface 52, the upper opening 50a opposing the light emission outlet 40b of the reflector 40, and the lower opening 50b having a larger diameter than the upper opening 50a.
As illustrated in
The cone body 51 has a substantially truncated conical cylindrical shape. The second reflection surface 52 is formed on an inner periphery surface of the cone body 51 throughout its entire surface. Inner periphery edges a, b are formed at an upper end and a lower end of the cone body 51, respectively. The inner periphery edge b at the lower end of the cone body 51 is an inner periphery edge of the lower opening 50b of the cone 50. The diameter of the inner periphery edge of the cone body 51 is the minimum at the inner periphery edge a at the upper end, and becomes greater at a lower portion, and is the maximum at the inner periphery edge b at the lower end.
In addition, the second reflection surface 52 has a shape slightly curved concave toward the optical axis L, on the cross section. In other words, when a virtual straight line (not shown) is defined that connects the inner periphery edges a and b of the cone body 51, which are located on one side (left side in
As illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the diameter Dd of the inner periphery edge d of the light emission outlet 40b of the reflector 40 and the diameter Dc of the inner periphery edge c of the upper opening 50a of the cone 50 are set to be substantially the same.
In more detail, when the diameter of the inner periphery edge a at the upper end of the cone body 51 is defined as Da, and the diameter of the inner periphery edge c of the light-shielding member 53 is defined as Dc, and the diameter of the inner periphery edge d of the light emission outlet 40b of the reflector 40 is defined as Dd, then the reflector 40 and the cone 50 are configured to satisfy a relation among these diameters Da, Dc, Dd of:
This configuration enables the light-shielding member 53 to control light by shielding the direct light near the outer periphery edge that is irradiated radially from the light-emitting surface 20d of the light source 20, and to prevent light incident on the inner periphery edge a of the cone body 51 which otherwise causes spread reflection. This configuration minimizes the reduction in the amount of direct light as much as possible.
A virtual straight line that connects the inner periphery edge b of the lower opening 50b and the inner periphery edge c of the upper opening 50a, which are respectively located on one side (for example, left side) with respect to the optical axis L illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the point P is located near the junction surface 40S of the reflector 40 (substantially the midpoint between the first focal point f1 and the second focal point f2) in a vertical direction. This means that, in designing the cone 50, the first reference line M1 and the second reference line M2 can be determined, for example by previously determining the point P, a vertical position of the upper opening 50a of the cone 50, and the diameter Dc of the inner periphery edge c. By placing the inner periphery edge b of the lower opening 50b of the cone 50 on the first reference line M1 and the second reference line M2 that are determined as described above, the cone 50 can be basically designed.
In the present embodiment, the planar light-emitting surface 20d of the light source 20 is disposed within a region interposed between the first reference line M1 and the second reference line M2 after these reference lines intersect with each other at the point P (within the range of the angle α whose vertex is the point P).
With this configuration, even when a planar light source is used for the light source 20, the direct light from the light source 20 will not hit the second reflection surface 52, preventing occurrence of glare.
The light that goes out from the light source 20 and is reflected by the first reflection surface 41, which results in controlled reflection light, is described below with reference to
In the present embodiment, the first reflection surface 41 has a spheroidal shape as described above. In
The light that goes out from the center 20a (first focal point f1) of the light source 20 and is reflected by the first reflection surface 41 results in the controlled reflection light. The controlled reflection light is emitted from the light emission outlet 40b of the reflector 40, and goes into the upper opening 50a of the cone 50, and passes through the second focal point f2, and is emitted from the lower opening 50b.
For example, reflection light La′ is the light that goes out from the center 20a of the light source 20 and then hits and is reflected from the highest portion of the first reflection surface 41. Reflection light La is the light that also goes out from the center 20a of the light source 20 and then hits and is reflected from the lowest portion (in close proximity to the inner periphery edge d) of the first reflection surface 41. Reflection light Lb is the light that goes out from the end portion 20b on one side (left side) of the light source 20, and is reflected in a portion in close proximity to the inner periphery edge d. Reflection light Lc is the light that goes out from the end portion 20c on the other side (right side) of the light source 20, and is reflected in a portion in close proximity to the inner periphery edge d.
A virtual straight line that connects the inner periphery edged on one side of the light emission outlet 40b of the reflector 40 and the inner periphery edge b on the other side of the lower opening 50b of the cone 50 is now defined as a third reference line M3. An angle formed by the third reference line M3 and a level surface H (ceiling surface C) is defined as a glare cut-off angle θ.
In the example illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the light source 20, the reflector 40, and the cone 50 are configured to satisfy a relation of θc>θ, so that the light, which goes out from the light source 20 and is reflected by the first reflection surface 41 and thus results in the controlled reflection light, will not hit the second reflection surface 52.
In other words, the cone 50 is disposed outside the optical paths of the controlled reflection light from the first reflection surface 41. This ensures that the cone 50 will not reduce the amount of the controlled reflection light.
In the description above, the shape of the cone 50 in cross section is slightly concave curved. However, instead of this example, the shape may be linear, or may be convex curved.
The relation between the cone 50 and spread reflection light is described below with reference to
As illustrated in
Spread reflection light L1 in
As described above, in this embodiment, reduction in the amount of the controlled reflection light is prevented and efficient lighting can be achieved, by disposing the cone 50 outside the optical paths of the controlled reflection light. On the other hand, the glare cut-off angle θ is increased, and uncontrollable spread reflection light is reduced as much as possible, by disposing the cone 50 outside the optical paths of the controlled reflection light and also in the vicinity of the optical path.
In the present embodiment, the angle of the entire light emitted from the lighting apparatus 1 (including direct light, controlled reflection light, and spread reflection light) with respect to the level surface H is equal to or greater than the glare cut-off angle θ. The angle θ may be set to be equal to or greater than 30 degrees, for example.
Effects and advantages of the cone 50 described above are summarized below. Note that there is some duplication.
In addition, the cone 50 is disposed outside the optical paths of the controlled reflection light from the first reflection surface 41. Therefore, the reflection light from the first reflection surface 41 will not hit the cone 50, and glare in the cone 50 can be suppressed.
In addition, the cone 50 can reduce spread reflection, and thereby a larger glare cut-off angle θ for the whole lighting apparatus 1 can be obtained.
A lighting apparatus 2 according to Embodiment 2 is now described with reference to
The lighting apparatus 2 in this embodiment comprises a reflector 60 that is different from the reflector 40 in the lighting apparatus 1 in Embodiment 1. The configuration of the lighting apparatus 2 other than reflector 60 is the same as that of the lighting apparatus 1.
The reflector 60 has a spheroidal shape. A spheroidal first reflection surface 61 is formed on an inner periphery surface of the reflector 60 throughout its entire surface.
The first reflection surface 61 is obtained by revolving a portion of an ellipse N, which is used as a base, around the optical axis L. The ellipse N has the major axis Na and the minor axis Nb. The major axis Na is inclined toward the other side (right side) with respect to the optical axis L by an angle 3. The first focal point f1 of the ellipse N coincides with the center 20a of the light-emitting surface 20d of the light source 20.
In this embodiment, a portion of the ellipse N that corresponds to one side (left side) with respect to the major axis Na is used as the portion of the ellipse N. In other words, when the ellipse N is divided into two equal parts along the major axis Na, a portion located in relatively lower side is used.
In this case, the angle, with respect to the level surface H (see
In the present embodiment, even when the major axis Na of the ellipse N is inclined as described above and the angle of reflection light La, Lc with respect to the level surface gets smaller, the controlled reflection light La, Lc will not hit the second reflection surface 52 of the cone 50.
In other words, the light source 20, reflector 60, and the cone 50 are configured so that the cone 50 is located outside the optical paths of the controlled reflection light La, Lc.
Effects and advantages of Embodiment 2 are substantially the same as those of Embodiment 1.
In Embodiment 1 described above, the major axis of the ellipse that is used as a base of the first reflection surface 41 coincides with the optical axis L. In Embodiment 2, the major axis Na of the ellipse N that is used as a base of the first reflection surface 61 is inclined by the angle β with respect to the optical axis L.
The present invention is not limited to these examples. For example, the major axis of an ellipse that is used as a base of the first reflection surface may be parallel to the optical axis L (except the case where the major axis coincides with the optical axis L).
In addition, the shape of the first reflection surfaces 41, 61 are not limited to a spheroid, and may be a similar shape, for example, a shape in which reflection light is collected near a focal point.
In addition, a paraboloid of revolution, for example, may be adopted instead of a spheroid. In that case, the center line of its parabola may be any of: coinciding with the optical axis L; being parallel to the optical axis L; or being inclined with respect to the optical axis L.
In addition, theoretically, the first reflection surfaces 41, 61 may have any shape as long as the cone 50 is disposed outside the optical path of the controlled reflection light that hits the first reflection surface 41 or 61 and is reflected from the first reflection surface 41 or 61.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-006704 | Jan 2016 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2017/001228 | 1/16/2017 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2017/122824 | 7/20/2017 | WO | A |
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| 20170254491 | Terumichi | Sep 2017 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
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| 105180024 | Dec 2015 | CN |
| 2650597 | Oct 2013 | EP |
| H5-15211 | Feb 1993 | JP |
| H11-111017 | Apr 1999 | JP |
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| Entry |
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| The extended European search report (EESR) dated May 10, 2019 in a counterpart European patent application. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20190017666 A1 | Jan 2019 | US |
