Patent Application
20210123589
The present disclosure is related to lighting fixtures, and in particular to lighting fixtures including a color changing component that may be used to improve the aesthetics of the lighting fixtures, simulate an outdoor environment, and/or convey information from the lighting fixtures.
Modern lighting devices such as lighting fixtures may include intelligent features such as network connectivity, programming capability, detection of environmental conditions via a number of sensors, and the like. However, there has thus far been a limitation in lighting fixtures in their ability to convey information to a person in the vicinity thereof. While previous approaches have focused on changing a characteristic (e.g., color) of light provided from a lighting fixture to convey information, these approaches have been significantly disruptive in terms of the effect they have on individuals near the lighting fixture. For example, if a lighting fixture were to change the color of the light provided therefrom from typical white to red to convey some kind of information, such a drastic change in the color of the light may be highly disruptive to individuals near the lighting fixture and may thus cause interruptions in the activities of these individuals. Similarly, flashing the light from a lighting fixture to convey information is also disruptive in many circumstances. Accordingly, there is a need for lighting fixtures and methods for operating the lighting fixtures in order to convey information without disruption to individuals surrounding the lighting fixtures.
In addition to the above, there has been recent work on lighting fixtures that simulate outdoor environments. Simulating outdoor environments using lighting fixtures may provide certain health benefits and improvements in the mood of individuals in an indoor space. However, current lighting fixtures have difficulty simulating a full range of outdoor conditions such as overhead clouds and night skies. Accordingly, there is a need for lighting fixtures and methods for operating the lighting fixtures in order to more accurately simulate outdoor environments.
In one embodiment, a lighting fixture includes a housing, a light source, and a diffuser. The light source is mounted in the housing. The diffuser is also mounted in the housing such that light emitted from the light source is provided through the diffuser towards an area of interest. The diffuser is configured such that a color of the diffuser is based on one or more characteristics of the light emitted from the light source. Providing the diffuser such that the color thereof is based on one or more characteristics of the light emitted from the light source allows the aesthetic appearance of the lighting fixture to be changed. Further, it allows the lighting fixture to better simulate outdoor environments. Finally, it allows the lighting fixture to convey information to individuals near the lighting fixture without being disruptive.
In one embodiment, the lighting fixture includes an additional light source and control circuitry. The control circuitry is coupled to the light source and the additional light source and configured to individually adjust one or more characteristics of the light provided by the light source and the additional light source. In one embodiment, the control circuitry is configured to adjust one or more characteristics of the light provided by the light source in order to change a color of the diffuser and adjust one or more characteristics of the light provided by the additional light source such that one or more characteristics of a combination of the light provided by the light source and the light provided from the additional light source remain constant. Accordingly, the color of the diffuser can be changed to change an aesthetic appearance of the lighting fixture, simulate an outdoor environment, or convey information while simultaneously providing light suitable for general illumination.
In one embodiment, a method includes the steps of providing light from a light source through a diffuser towards an area of interest and changing one or more characteristics of the light provided from the light source in order to change a color of the diffuser. The method may further include providing light from an additional light source towards the area of interest and changing one or more characteristics of the light provided by the additional light source to offset the change in the one or more characteristics of the light source such that one or more characteristics of a combination of the light provided by the light source and the light provided by the additional light source remains constant. This method allows for the adjustment of the color of the diffuser to change an aesthetic appearance of a lighting fixture, simulate an outdoor environment, or convey information while simultaneously providing light suitable for general illumination.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present disclosure and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing figures.
The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
It will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being “on” or extending “onto” another element, it can be directly on or extend directly onto the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” or extending “directly onto” another element, there are no intervening elements present. Likewise, it will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being “over” or extending “over” another element, it can be directly over or extend directly over the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly over” or extending “directly over” another element, there are no intervening elements present. It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.
Relative terms such as “below” or “above” or “upper” or “lower” or “horizontal” or “vertical” may be used herein to describe a relationship of one element, layer, or region to another element, layer, or region as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that these terms and those discussed above are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including” when used herein specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
Notably, the diffuser 16 comprises a color changing material such that when the diffuser 16 is primarily front-lit from a light source outside of the housing 12, the diffuser 16 appears to be a first color and when the diffuser is primarily back-lit from the light source 14 in the housing 12, the diffuser 16 appears to be a second color that is different from the first color. For example, the diffuser 16 may appear to be black or dark grey when it is primarily front-lit and appear to be white or light grey when it is primarily back-lit. The color of the diffuser 16 may not be binary, such that the color of the diffuser 16 may vary between the first color and the second color depending on the amount of front-lighting and back-lighting of the diffuser 16. Examples of the color changing material of the diffuser include Acrylite 9K004 GT, the datasheet of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, and Acrylite 9H04 SC, the datasheet of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any number of materials may be used to provide the color changing effect of the diffuser 16, all of which are contemplated herein.
Using a color changing material for the diffuser 16 may provide several benefits. First, the aesthetic appearance of the lighting fixture 10 may be improved. Second, the diffuser 16 may allow the lighting fixture 10 to better simulate outdoor environments that were previously difficult to simulate using a lighting fixture 10, for example, overhead clouds and night skies. This may be especially useful, for example, in lighting fixtures that are configured to provide a simulated skylight experience such as the lighting fixtures described in co-assigned and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/972,176, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Finally, the diffuser 16 may allow the lighting fixture 10 to convey information to individuals around the lighting fixture 10 without disrupting the individuals. That is, the diffuser 16 may allow the lighting fixture 10 to convey information to individuals around the lighting fixture 10 while continuing to provide light suitable for general illumination.
The light source 14 may be a solid-state light source including one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs). The one or more LEDs may be arranged in an array or in groups such that different ones of the LEDs provide different light output characteristics. The control circuitry 20 may control one or more characteristics of the light emitted from each one of the LEDs in order to provide a combined light output with desired characteristics. While shown having a particular shape for purposes of illustration, the housing 12 may comprise any suitable shape. For example, the housing 12 may be used to provide a troffer lighting fixture, a recessed lighting fixture, or any other desired lighting fixture.
While the diffuser 16 is shown as a continuous sheet in the lighting fixture 10 depicted in
In some embodiments, the control circuitry 20 may be capable of independently controlling the first light source 14A and the second light source 14B. Breaking the diffuser 16 into the first diffuser section 16A and the second diffuser section 16B and independently controlling the light provided through the first diffuser section 16A and the second diffuser section 16B may allow the lighting fixture 10 to more easily continue to provide light suitable for general illumination while also conveying information to individuals around the lighting fixture 10 by changing the color of the second diffuser section 16B. For example, light for general illumination can be provided from the first light source 14A through the first diffuser section 16A, while the second light source 14B can be used to change the color of the second diffuser section 16B by changing one or more characteristics of the light emitted therefrom in order to convey information to individuals around the lighting fixture 10.
The control circuitry 20 may be configured to adjust one or more characteristics of light provided from the first light source 14A along with the one or more characteristics of the light provided from the second light source 14B in order to maintain one or more characteristics of the overall light provided by the first light source 14A and the second light source 14B within the area of interest at a constant level. For example, if a brightness of the light provided from the second light source 14B is reduced to darken the second diffuser section 16B in order to change the appearance of the lighting fixture 10 and/or convey information to individuals around the lighting fixture 10, a brightness of the light provided from the first light source 14A may be increased to compensate for the reduction in the light output from the second light source 14B and thus maintain the overall brightness of the light within the area of interest at a constant level. In this way, the appearance of the lighting fixture 10 can be changed for aesthetic purposes or to convey information while maintaining light suitable for general illumination and thus not disrupting individuals around the lighting fixture 10.
In some embodiments, the diffuser 16 may comprise an array of diffusers and the light source 14 may comprise an array of LEDs. Accordingly,
In particular,
In some embodiments, the lighting fixture 10 may include a diffuser overlay 32 on the diffuser 16 as illustrated in
As discussed above, the concepts discussed herein may be useful for communicating information via a lighting fixture while still providing light suitable for general illumination from the lighting fixture. Accordingly, individuals around the lighting fixture may not be disrupted. Any desired information can be conveyed from the lighting fixtures discussed herein. For example, binary information can be conveyed simply by changing a color of all or a portion of a diffuser as discussed above. Non-binary information may also be conveyed by changing the color of all or a portion of a diffuser in a linear or non-linear manner. Further, additional information can be conveyed when using an array of diffusers or a diffuser overlay as discussed above.
Exemplary information that may be conveyed from a lighting fixture or lighting fixtures includes information regarding the availability of a resource such as a cashier in a grocery store, a bathroom stall, a table at a restaurant, a parking spot in a parking garage, and the like, information regarding an emergency situation such as the location of an exit, the occurrence of an emergency, or the like, information related to directions within a space such as directions through a space (leading an individual to a desired location in a space by changing the color diffusers within several lighting fixtures along a desired path), controlling foot traffic (e.g., in a crowded public space such as a theme park, museum, hospital, etc.), information related to a request for services (e.g., the presence of an individual at a help desk, a flight attendant call), or any other information. In some embodiments, the information is determined by the lighting fixture 10 itself (e.g., via the control circuitry 20). The information may be determined using sensor data from the one or more sensors 22, which is processed by the control circuitry 20. In other embodiments, the information is received by the lighting fixture 10 from a remote device.
Further as discussed above, the concepts discussed herein may be useful for simulating outdoor environments with a lighting fixture. In particular, a color of a diffuser on the lighting fixture may be changed to better simulate certain outdoor environments such as overhead clouds and night skies. In various embodiments, these changes may be made in order to change the look of a lighting fixture throughout the day in order to align with circadian rhythms.
Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.
