Patent Application
20190323693
The present disclosure is related to lighting fixtures, and in particular to lighting fixtures for installation into a drop ceiling that provides an extensible platform for the integration of other devices and allows the resources of the lighting fixture to be used to support additional building services and building accessories.
Drop ceilings are nearly ubiquitous in commercial spaces such as office buildings. As the technology infrastructure of many businesses continues to increase in complexity and breadth, these drop ceilings have become crowded with devices such as lighting fixtures, speakers, wireless networking access points, security cameras, emergency lighting, and the like. In some cases, the large number of devices results in an undesirable appearance of the ceiling. Often, devices need to be added to or removed from a drop ceiling as the technology infrastructure of a business changes. These changes may require permitting, evacuation, and other special accommodations such as tenting. Further, adding new devices may require significant expenditures to deliver power and a data connection to the devices. Accordingly, there is a need for improved ways for incorporating devices into the ceiling of commercial spaces.
In one embodiment, a lighting fixture includes a fixture body, a lighting bay, a light source, and an auxiliary bay. The lighting bay is in a first portion of the fixture body. The light source is in the lighting bay, and is configured to provide light suitable for general illumination. The auxiliary bay is adjacent to the lighting bay in a second portion of the fixture body. The auxiliary bay includes a mounting surface suitable for mounting an auxiliary device in the auxiliary bay and an auxiliary bay frame surrounding the auxiliary bay, which supports and therefore allows for the installation of a removable auxiliary bay cover over the auxiliary bay. Providing the auxiliary bay in the fixture body allows auxiliary devices to be installed in a ceiling without any changes to the ceiling. When not in use, the auxiliary bay may be covered by the auxiliary bay cover such that the appearance of the ceiling is not disturbed.
In one embodiment, the auxiliary bay includes an auxiliary device connector, which provides power to the auxiliary device. In another embodiment, the auxiliary device connector provides both power and a data connection to the auxiliary device. By providing power and data to the auxiliary device, the auxiliary device may be installed without any changes to the ceiling.
In one embodiment, the lighting fixture further includes driver circuitry and a power source. The driver circuitry provides a drive signal to the light source, which controls one or more characteristics of the light provided from the light source. The power source provides power to the driver circuitry. In one embodiment, the power source also provides power to the auxiliary device via the auxiliary device connector. The power source may be a Power over Ethernet (PoE) switch, an alternating current (AC) power source, or an alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) converter. In another embodiment, the driver circuitry provides power to the auxiliary device via the auxiliary device connector or through a standard AC receptacle.
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.
In operation, the driver circuitry 12 acts as the primary controller of the lighting fixture 10. In this capacity, the driver circuitry 12 may communicate with one or more other devices via the communications circuitry 22, receive sensor data via the sensor circuitry 24, and control one or more light output characteristics (e.g., brightness, color, color temperature, color rendering index, or any other light output characteristic) of the light source 16. Further, the driver circuitry 12 may receive power from the power source 26 and provide conditioning thereto in order to power the light source 16, the auxiliary devices 20, the communications circuitry 22, and the sensor circuitry 24. In some embodiments, this may include performing power conversion or signal conditioning. For example, the power source 26 may be an alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) converter, and the driver circuitry 12 may suitably condition a DC output signal from the power source 26 to provide a desired light output from the light source 16 as well as power the auxiliary devices 20, the communications circuitry 22, and the sensor circuitry 24. In another embodiment, the power source 26 may be an AC power source, and thus the driver circuitry 12 may perform AC-to-DC conversion and appropriate signal conditioning to accomplish the same task, or in the case that the auxiliary devices 20 are AC powered, the AC power from the power source 26 may be passed directly to the auxiliary devices 20, for example, via a standard AC outlet. In yet another embodiment, the power source 26 may be a Power over Ethernet (PoE) switch, and the driver circuitry 12 may thus suitably condition a PoE output signal from the power source 26 to accomplish the same task. The driver circuitry 12 may provide power to the auxiliary devices 20, or the auxiliary devices 20 may be powered directly from the power source 26. Further, the driver circuitry 12 may regulate the power provided to the auxiliary devices 20, either directly or through the power source 26 or other intermediary device.
In addition to powering the auxiliary devices 20 (in some embodiments), the communications circuitry 22, the sensor circuitry 24, and the driver circuitry 12 also communicate therewith. Such communication may be accomplished in any suitable manner, for example, via an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) bus, a serial bus, or any other suitable communications bus, wired or otherwise. The driver circuitry 12 may thus receive input from the auxiliary devices 20, the communications circuitry 22, and the sensor circuitry 24, which may be used to change one or more light output characteristics of the light source 16 or perform any other desired function. Further, the driver circuitry 12 may control the behavior of the auxiliary devices 20, the communications circuitry 22, and the sensor circuitry 24 to perform any number of desired functions. In one embodiment, the communications circuitry 22 may include Bluetooth communications circuitry such that the lighting fixture 10 is capable of communicating with Bluetooth devices, acting as a Bluetooth beacon, detecting nearby Bluetooth beacons, or all of the above.
In some embodiments, the driver circuitry 12 may act as a gateway to the auxiliary devices 20, providing a data connection to the auxiliary devices 20 so that they may communicate with other devices in a network to which the driver circuitry 12 is connected (via the communications circuitry 22). This may be accomplished by effectively sharing a communications interface in the communications circuitry 22 with one or more of the auxiliary devices 20 as desired. In other embodiments, a separate data connection is provided to one or more of the auxiliary devices 20 that does not run through the driver circuitry 12.
Such embodiments may be used, for example, when the power source 26 is a PoE switch as discussed above. In still other embodiments, one or more of the auxiliary devices 20 communicates with one or more other devices via the driver circuitry 12 but still maintains a separate data connection that does not run through the driver circuitry 12 for other communications.
The light source 16 may include any suitable light output devices, but preferably includes a number of light emitting diodes (LEDs). In particular, the light source 16 may include a number of LEDs arranged in strings or otherwise such that one or more light output characteristics can be changed by adjusting a voltage across or current through one or more subsets of the LEDs.
The auxiliary devices 20 may be any type of devices. For example, the auxiliary devices 20 may include networking equipment (e.g., routers, switches, wireless access points), speakers, sensors, safety equipment (e.g., exit signs, emergency sirens, emergency lights), or any other devices that are normally installed in a ceiling. The auxiliary bay 18 provides a reserved space for such auxiliary devices 20, while the lighting fixture 10 provides power and data to these auxiliary devices 20 as necessary. Since the lighting fixture 10 is pre-installed in the ceiling, the cost for adding the auxiliary devices 20 to the infrastructure of the building in which the lighting fixture 10 is installed may be minuscule. In one embodiment, there is no difference between the lighting bay 14 and the auxiliary bay 18, and the light source 16 is provided as an auxiliary device 20 the same as any other type of auxiliary device 20. In such an embodiment, the lighting fixture 10 becomes a ceiling mounted dock in which any number of auxiliary devices 20, including a light source 16 may be provided.
The lighting bay 14 includes a diffuser 34 and a sensor covering 36. The diffuser 34 is optional, but when provided, covers the light source 16 and may help to diffuse the light provided therefrom to provide a desirable light pattern. The sensor covering 36 may include one or more openings through which one or more sensors in the sensor circuitry 24 can monitor the environment surrounding the lighting fixture 10. For example, the sensor covering 36 may include appropriate openings and covers for a passive infrared (PIR) occupancy sensor, an ambient light sensor, a camera, a microphone, or any other sensors. Measurements from the sensors in the sensor circuitry 24 may be used by the driver circuitry 12 to change one or more light output characteristics from the light source 16 as discussed above.
Each one of the first auxiliary bay 18A and the second auxiliary bay 18B may be surrounded by an auxiliary bay frame 38. The auxiliary bay frame 38 is configured to support a first auxiliary bay cover 40A over the first auxiliary bay 18A and a second auxiliary bay cover 40B over the second auxiliary bay 18B. In one embodiment, the auxiliary bay frame 38 does this by providing a lip surrounding each one of the first auxiliary bay 18A and the second auxiliary bay 18B, the details of which are discussed below. The first auxiliary bay cover 40A and the second auxiliary bay cover 40B may rest in this lip to conceal the first auxiliary bay 18A and the second auxiliary bay 18B, respectively, from view when installed. However, such an embodiment is only one example; the auxiliary bay frame 38 may support the first auxiliary bay cover 40A and the second auxiliary bay cover 40B in any suitable manner without departing from the principles described herein. For example, the first auxiliary bay cover 40A and the second auxiliary bay cover 40B may be installed via a friction fit in some embodiments. The first auxiliary bay cover 40A and the second auxiliary bay cover 40B may be made to resemble the tiles in a drop ceiling such that when in place they are virtually indistinguishable from a drop ceiling and thus do not interrupt the appearance of the ceiling. While not shown, the first auxiliary bay cover 40A and the second auxiliary bay cover 40B may include one or more openings. These openings may be sized to accommodate, for example, one or more antennas such that these antennas may be passed through in order to provide improved wireless signal strength, one or more acoustic covers (e.g., speaker grills) in order to improve sound transmission characteristics for one or more sound transmission devices therein, and one or more indicators (e.g., lights) to provide an individual looking at the indicator with information. In other embodiments, the entire first auxiliary bay cover 40A and second auxiliary bay cover 40B may be replaced with different materials, shapes, and the like to accommodate a particular configuration of auxiliary devices 20 provided in the first auxiliary bay 18A and the second auxiliary bay 18B, respectively. For example, when one or more sound transmission devices are provided in the first auxiliary bay 18A, the first auxiliary bay cover 40A may comprise a material with desirable sound transmission characteristics. As another example, when one or more wireless communications devices are provided in the second auxiliary bay 18B, the second auxiliary bay cover 40B may comprise a material with desirable wireless signal transmission characteristics or may include openings therein to pass antennas from the wireless communications devices through such that the second auxiliary bay 40B does not degrade the wireless performance of the wireless communications devices.
Notably, while two auxiliary bays 18 are shown in the lighting fixture 10, any number of auxiliary bays 18 may be included without departing from the principles of the present disclosure. That is, the lighting fixture 10 may include one auxiliary bay 18, three auxiliary bays 18, or any other number of auxiliary bays 18, each of which may be suited for providing one or more auxiliary devices 20 therein. Further as discussed above, the lighting bay 14 may also be an auxiliary bay in some devices such that it is identical to the other auxiliary bays 18. In these embodiments, the light source 16 is installed in the lighting bay 14 the same as any auxiliary device 20 is installed in the auxiliary bays 18.
While
The auxiliary device connector 46 for each auxiliary bay 18 may be hidden in the auxiliary bay frame 38 when not used, as illustrated in
In some embodiments, the lighting fixture 10 may not include an auxiliary bay 18, but still include an auxiliary device connector 46. In such embodiments, the auxiliary device connector 46 may be hidden in an outer frame of the lighting fixture 10 as shown in
Notably, the auxiliary device connector 46 may be any suitable type of connector. For example, the auxiliary device connector 46 may be a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector of any type (A, B, C), an RJ45 connector (Ethernet, Power over Ethernet), a Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) connector, a standard AC power outlet, or any other type of connector. As discussed above, the auxiliary device connector 46 may provide power, data, or both power and data to the auxiliary devices 20 to which it is connected. Accordingly, a large variety of devices may be provided in the auxiliary bays 18. One advantage of providing a device in the auxiliary bay 18 is that the device does not need to be plenum rated because the auxiliary bay 18 is below and isolated from the plenum space above the ceiling. This may enable the use of an even larger variety of devices in a ceiling mounted configuration than would otherwise be permitted in typical building codes.
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.
