Patent Application
20210293399
The present application claims priority to and the benefit of Lacey, United Kingdom Patent Application No. GB 2004041.6, filed Mar. 19, 2020, and entitled “Lighting Panel.” The entire contents of this application are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an apparatus for providing a light source to a building, a method of manufacturing an apparatus for providing a light source to a building, and a cover securable to a lighting panel.
Lighting panels are used in commercial and residential buildings to provide lighting to the inside of the building. Conventional lighting panels typically comprise a housing which forms the panel and supports a light source, such as a plurality of LEDs. Conventional LED panels of this type typically only meet basic fire safety standards and do not meet the standards required for certification under BS-476-22:1987—“Fire tests on building materials and structures” or EN-1364-2:2018—“Fire resistance tests for non-load bearing elements, Part 2: Ceilings”.
The housing of conventional lighting panels of this type is usually painted white, which provides an operational advantage of enabling deflection of the light from the light source to provide a necessary output. However, in the event of a fire, the paint provides a flammable material which leads to a flash fire meaning that conventional lighting panels are unsuitable while failing to meet preferred standards.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for providing a light source to a building, as claimed in claim 1.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an apparatus for providing a light source to a building, as claimed in claim 13.
Embodiments of the invention will be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The detailed embodiments show the best mode known to the inventor and provide support for the invention as claimed. However, they are only exemplary and should not be used to interpret or limit the scope of the claims. Their purpose is to provide a teaching to those skilled in the art. Components and processes distinguished by ordinal phrases such as “first” and “second” do not necessarily define an order or ranking of any sort.
An example building having a ceiling comprising a plurality of lighting panels is shown in
The building of
Lighting panel 103 is configured to provide a light source to the inside of a building in a conventional manner. Thus, one of more lighting panels may be arranged to form part of ceiling 101 to provide appropriate lighting in line with requirements.
While it is conventional to test and provide ceiling tiles and ceiling materials that meet high fire safety standards, often, conventional lighting panels do not meet the same standards as the ceiling tiles. In this way, the ceiling as a whole may not meet the appropriate fire safety standards due to the inclusion of the lighting panels.
An example lighting panel in accordance with the present invention will now be described. An example lighting panel comprises a housing 201, such as that as depicted in
Housing 201 comprises an outer wall 202 having a front surface 203 and a rear surface 204. Front surface 203 is substantially opposite to rear surface 204.
In the embodiment, front surface 203 comprises a cavity 205 which, as shown, comprises a light source. In the embodiment, the light source comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs), such as LED 206 and LED 207, which are formed on a lighting strip. It is appreciated that in further embodiments, alternative light sources may be utilised. For example, in an embodiment, the light source comprises a plurality of LEDs, but these are arranged in an alternative manner rather than as a lighting strip. In a further embodiment, the light source may comprise a bulb. It is appreciated therefore that any suitable light source may be used.
In the embodiment, front surface 203 and rear surface 204 comprises a painted material having light-reflecting properties. Thus, for example, the painted material comprises a paint which is substantially white in colour so as to provide reflection of light from the light source provided in the cavity, such as the light from LEDs 206 and 207. This allows for the required luminosity from the light source to be achieved in line with the require applications.
In the embodiment shown, cavity 205 is shown in an open configuration, however, in use, the lighting panel comprises additional components including, but not limited to diffusers, light guide plate(s) and reflector plate(s) to ensure a desirable light output from the lighting panel. In addition, housing 201 is typically fitted to a frame which supports each of the additional components in housing 201.
The lighting panel of
Rear surface 204 comprises a painted material having light-reflecting properties. In practice, light-reflecting properties are not required on rear surface 204. However, in terms of manufacture of housing 201, it important that the housing, which is typically made from steel, is coated in paint to prevent rust. Thus, as the inside cavity requires a surface having light-reflecting properties, the painted coating for both front surface 203 and rear surface 204 is substantially similar and usually applied at the same point in manufacture. Alternative methods, such as galvanising the housing and therefore front surface 203 and rear surface 204 is not appropriate, as the front surface 203 would further require painting or otherwise to ensure a surface which can appropriately reflect light from the light source. In this way, ensuring fire-resistant properties of the lighting panel and housing in particular can be difficult to achieve without losing luminosity and functionality.
In an embodiment, lighting panel 302 is an LED panel comprising a standard size of one thousand one hundred and ninety-five millimetres (1195 mm) by five hundred and ninety-five millimetres (595 mm). In a further embodiment, lighting panel 302 is an LED panel comprising a standard size of five hundred and ninety-five millimetres (595 mm) by five hundred and ninety-five millimetres (595 mm). It is appreciated that any suitable lighting panel of other dimensions may be utilised in other embodiments.
The lighting panel described with respect to
Cover 401 is configured to be securable to rear surface 204 of housing 201, as will be described in further detail in particular with reference to
In the embodiment, cover 401 comprises galvanised steel. In a particular embodiment, the galvanised steel is zinc-dipped. In further embodiments, it is anticipated that alternative metallic materials may be utilised, however, it is noted that the galvanised steel embodiment described herein has been tested to meet fire-safety standards in line with BS-476-22:1987 and EN-1364-2:2018.
In the embodiment, cover 401 is sized to conform to conventionally available lighting panels. Thus, in an embodiment, cover 401 has a cross-sectional area of five hundred and ninety-five millimetres (595 mm) by five hundred and ninety-five millimetres (595 mm) and a depth of fifty millimetres (50 mm). In an alternative embodiment, cover 401 has a cross-sectional area of one thousand one hundred and ninety-five millimetres (1195 mm) by five hundred and ninety-five millimetres (595 mm) and a depth of fifty millimetres (50 mm).
Cover 401 comprises an inner surface 402 and an outer surface 403 and is manufactured by means of a sheet metal pressing process in line with conventional practice. Cover 401 is therefore formed by application of a pressure such that an outer wall 404 extends around the edge of both inner surface 402 and outer surface 403 as will be described further with respect to
A cross sectional diagrammatic view of cover 401 and lighting panel 302 is shown in
In the embodiment, cover 401 comprises a substantially similar cross-sectional profile to outer wall 502 and rear surface 204 as shown. In this way, inner surface 402 of cover 401 is configured to conform to the rear surface 204 of housing 201.
Cover 401 comprises outer wall 404 which comprises a second wall thickness 504. In the embodiment, first wall thickness 503 and second wall thickness 504 are substantially similar in dimension. In use, cover 401 fits over lighting panel 302 so as to provide increased fire protection. Thus, when fitted to a ceiling as per the example of
A plan view of cover 401 depicting outer surface 403 is shown in
In the embodiment, outer surface 403 of cover 401 is imprinted with a visual indentation 601. In manufacture therefore, cover 401 is manufactured by means of a conventional sheet metal pressing process which stamps visual indentation 601 onto cover 401. In this way, branding or other indications can be incorporated onto outer surface 403. In further embodiments, this includes instructions for fitting cover 401 to existing lighting panels.
An illustration of a lighting panel fitted to a ceiling with a cover in place is shown in
Ceiling 101 comprises a plurality of ceiling boards 701 which surround lighting panel 302 and cover 401 in situ. Ceiling 101 is arranged such that support frames 702 are attached to building 703. Support frames 702 therefore provide support to ceiling boards 701 to hold in place.
In the embodiment, lighting panel 302 is further attached to ceiling boards 701 and cover 401 is attached to lighting panel 302 in place. Thus, in the event of fire in building 101, and in particular in area 704, cover 401 provides protection of lighting panel 302 by encasing rear surface 204 of lighting panel 302. This may further prevent fire escaping through lighting panel 302 in a room 705.
An initial prototype of cover 401 has been tested in line with fire safety standards of BS-476-22:1987 and EN-1364-2:2018.
Graph 801 provides a maximum temperature limit of one hundred and eighty degrees Celsius (180°) which a lighting panel of this type may be subjected to. Graphs 802, 803 and 804 provide three separate results highlighting the variation of temperature of the lighting panel when subjected to a conventional fire test in accordance with BS-476-22:1987 and EN-1364-2:2018 for sixty minutes.
Cover 401 is securable to rear surface 204 of housing 201 of lighting panel 302 in the manner as will now be described with respect to
In the embodiment, cover 401 is provided with a securing means 901 configured to secure cover 401 to housing 201. In the embodiment shown, securing means 901 comprises at least one flexible tab, and in this embodiment, comprises a plurality of flexible tabs 902. The plurality of flexible tabs 902 are spaced around an outer edge of cover 401 at desired intervals. Each flexible tab 902 is resiliently biased such that, when fitted to housing 201, each tab 902 grips the housing 201. This will be described further with respect to
Referring to
Lighting panel 302 is secured to cover 401 by moving lighting panel 302 in the direction of arrow 1003 such that the rear surface 204 is pushed closer to cover 401 such that it comes into contact with inner surface 402 of cover 401.
Thus,
It is appreciated that, in alternative embodiments, other securing means are utilised. For example, in a further embodiment, the securing means comprises a fastener. In an embodiment, the fastener comprises a clip mechanism and may include conventional clips configured to slide onto cover 401 and lighting panel 302 to hold cover 401 and lighting panel 302 together. In a further embodiment, the fastener comprises a plurality of screws which are utilised to secure cover 401 and lighting panel 302 together in a conventional manner.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004041.6 | Mar 2020 | GB | national |
