THERMALLY DISSIPATIVE UNIBODY LIGHTING STRUCTURE
A self-supporting luminaire housing that can additionally support additional housings mounted for mounting to a support pole without any cross arms. The housing has a mounting plate for an illumination source, a spine spaced apart from the mounting plate, triangular fins extending between the mounting plate and the spine, and a set of braces coupled to and extending from the mounting plate to the spine. The mounting plate is rectangular, and the spine extends longitudinally relative to the mounting plate. Some of the braces extend perpendicularly from the mounting plate, and some of the braces extend obliquely from the mounting plate to form a supporting truss with the spin and the mounting plate. The housing may be formed as an integral unit to improve thermal dissipation via two thermal pathways from the illumination source to the fins.
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The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/940,644, filed on Nov. 26, 2019, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to sports lighting systems and, more specifically, to a modular luminaire having a thermally dissipative housing.
2. Description of the Related ArtConventional sports lighting systems rely on individual luminaires that are mounted to support pole. Each luminaire contains the requisite power conversion and supply electronics and is individually oriented to direct a generally circular beam of light across the area to be illuminated, such as a sporting field or similar venue. Luminaires are typically mounted to a support pole in cluster using cross-arms that are mounted to an extend laterally from the support pole to allow for a wider range of illumination, thereby requiring the use of specialized supporting structure and equipment. In addition, the lighting elements of the luminaires generate heat that must be dissipated in order to protect the components from damage or decay. Accordingly, there is the need in the art for a luminaire that can be mounted to a support pole without the need for support arms and that can provide for thermal dissipation of heat generated by the lighting elements.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a luminaire housing that is self-supporting and that can additionally support additional housings mounted thereto and to a support pol without the need for cross arms. The housing comprises a mounting plate, a spine spaced apart from the mounting plate, and a plurality of fins extending between the mounting plate and the spine, and a set of braces coupled to and extending from the mounting plate to the spine. A first plurality of the set of braces extend perpendicularly from the mounting plate and are coupled to the spine and a second plurality of the set of braces extend obliquely from the mounting plate and are coupled to the spine to form a supporting truss arrangement. The plurality of fins are generally triangular and extend from a base that is coupled to the mounting plate to an apex that is coupled to the spine. The mounting plate is rectangular and extends along a plane that is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the housing. The spine extends longitudinally from the first coupler to the second coupler and may be curved. The set of braces are aligned along the mounting plate to intersect the longitudinal axis of the housing. The mounting plate, the set of braces, and the spine may be formed as an integral unit to improve thermal dissipation.
The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reading the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to the figures, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, there is seen in
Referring to
As seen in a comparison of
Fins 24 are generally triangular with a base 34 coupled to mounting plate 12 and an apex 36 coupled to spine. One or more fins 24 may have a truncated apex to define a handle opening 40 at one or more locations along housing 10 to make it easier for a user to manipulate housing 10, such as to perform a reorientation of housing 10 when mounted to a support pole, thereby changing the direction of the beam of light emitting by the illumination source coupled to mounting plate.
Housing 10 dissipates heat along two thermal pathways. First, fins 24 will directly conduct heat away from mounting plate 12 due to the direct contact between the base 34 of each fin 24 being in contact with mounting plate 12. Second, first plurality of braces 20 and second plurality of braces 22 are also in direct contact with mounting plate 12 and thus will also conduct heat away from mounting plate 12. As fins 24 are also in contact with spine 16, the heat conducted by first plurality of braces 20 and second plurality of braces 22 will flow through a second pathway to the apex 36 of fins 24. As a result, fins 24 effectively receive heat from two directions, thereby improving the thermal distribution across the surface of fins 24 and improving the thermal dissipation provided by fins 24. As noted below, the use of two thermal pathways significantly reduces the thermal gradient across fins 24, thereby significantly improves the effectiveness of fins 24 in dissipating heat generated by the illumination source.
In addition to heat dissipation, the truss arrangement of braces 20, braces 22 and spine 16 provides the structural stability for housing 10 and any additional housing 10 connected thereto. For example, as seen in
With respect to structural performance, in an exemplary housing 10, a total length of 26.375 inches from coupler 30 to coupler 32 may be used. Spine 16 may be configured as a “+” shaped beam with each arm of the “+” having a width of 0.188 inches and thus a total width of 0.625 inches, thereby providing a cross-sectional area of 0.2 square inches. These dimensions provide adequate stiffness for a series of four interconnected housings 10 to self-support ten times (10X) their weight. Four interconnected housings 10 will also provide an arrangement having a fundamental resonant frequency greater than 18 Hz and will be sufficiently stable to resist to hurricane velocity winds of 110 miles per hour.
With respect to thermal performance, in the exemplary housing 10 discussed above, fins 24 having a thickness of 0.125 inches may be used to provide an overall surface area of approximately 2860 square inches. The resulting surface are is sufficient for thermal dissipation of a 500 W heat flux and can maintain a temperature below 75° C. for an LED illumination array attached to mounting plate 12, which provides a surface area of about 156 inches squared. The use of two thermal pathways from mounting plate 12 to fins 24 results in a temperature gradient across fins 24 of less than about 5° C., which is a fifty percent improvement in the temperature gradient from that provided from conventional fins that are coupled only at one end to the illumination source that is generating the heat to be dissipated.
Claims
1. A luminaire housing, comprising:
- a mounting plate defining a plane:
- a spine spaced apart from the mounting plate;
- a plurality of fins extending between the mounting plate and the spine; and
- a set of braces coupled to and extending from the mounting plate to the spine, wherein a first plurality of the set of braces extend perpendicularly from the mounting plate and are coupled to the spine.
2. (canceled)
3. The luminaire housing of claim 2, wherein a second plurality of the set of braces extend obliquely from the mounting plate and are coupled to the spine.
4. The luminaire housing of claim 3, wherein the plurality of fins are triangular and have a base that is coupled to the mounting plate to define a first thermal pathway from the mounting plate to the plurality of fins.
5. The luminaire housing of claim 4, wherein the plurality of fins extent from the base to an apex that is coupled to the spine to define a second thermal pathway from the mounting plate to the plurality of fins.
6. The luminaire housing of claim 5, wherein the mounting plate is rectangular and extends along a plane that is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the luminaire housing.
7. The luminaire housing of claim 6, wherein the spine extends longitudinally from a first coupler to a second coupler.
8. The luminaire housing of claim 7, wherein the spine is curved from the first coupler to the second coupler.
9. The luminaire housing of claim 8, wherein set of braces are aligned along the mounting plate to intersect the longitudinal axis of the housing.
10. The luminaire housing of claim 9, wherein the mounting plate, the set of braces, and the spine comprise an integral unit.
11. A method of dissipating heat generated by luminaire, comprising the steps of:
- attaching an illumination source to a housing having a mounting plate defining a plane a spine spaced apart from the mounting plate, a plurality of fins extending between the mounting plate and the spine, and a set of braces coupled to and extending from the mounting plate to the spine;
- powering the illumination source to produce light and heat; and
- allowing the housing to dissipate heat from the illumination source via the mounting plate, the spine, the set of braces, and the fins.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein a first plurality of the set of braces extend perpendicularly from the mounting plate and are coupled to the spine.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein a second plurality of the set of braces extend obliquely from the mounting plate and are coupled to the spine.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of fins are triangular and have a base that is coupled to the mounting plate to define a first thermal pathway from the mounting plate to the plurality of fins.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the plurality of fins extend from the base to an apex that is coupled to the spine to define a second thermal pathway from the mounting plate to the plurality of fins.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the mounting plate is rectangular and extends along a plane that is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the housing.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the spine extends longitudinally from a first coupler to a second coupler.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the spine is curved from the first coupler to the second coupler.
19. The method of 18, wherein the set of braces are aligned along the mounting plate to intersect the longitudinal axis of the housing.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the mounting plate, the set of braces, and the spine comprise an integral unit.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 13, 2020
Publication Date: May 27, 2021
Applicant: M3 Innovation, LLC (Syracuse, NY)
Inventors: Christopher D. Nolan (Camillus, NY), Joseph R. Casper (Baldwinsville, NY)
Application Number: 16/818,220