MULTI-FACET LIGHT ENGINE
A lighting assembly includes a plurality of LEDs configured as a multi-facet light engine. A first group of LEDs are arrayed as a main light source and the remaining LEDs are angled relative to the first group of LEDs to generate an intended lighting pattern. The first group of LEDs are arrayed on a first planar surface of a first substrate, and the remaining LEDs are arrayed on second planar surfaces of additional substrates positioned around the first substrate. The planar surfaces of the additional substrates are angled relative to the planar surface of the first substrate. The angles of the second planar surfaces to the first planar surface can be application specific and can be acute or obtuse.
This Patent Application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (e) of the co-pending U.S. provisional application, Ser. No. 61/665,179, filed Jun. 27, 2012, and entitled “LED LIGHTING” and U.S. provisional application, Ser. No. 61/673,660, filed Jul. 19, 2012, and entitled “HIGH BAY LED LIGHTING AND HEAT DISSIPATION”, both by these same inventors. This application incorporates U.S. provisional application, Ser. No. 61/665,179 and U.S. provisional application, Ser. No. 61/673,660 in their entireties by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is generally directed to the field of light emitting diode (LED) lighting. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a LED device configured as a multi-facet light engine.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONA light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are increasingly being used in a wide variety of lighting applications. LEDs continue growing in popularity due in part to their efficiency and extended lifetimes. However, due to the directional nature of the output light, LED lighting produces shadowing effects when the LED lighting is used to directly illuminate an intended area. The shadowing effects increase as the LED lighting is increasingly separated from an intended illumination area. High bay lighting applications are those light structures designed for use in buildings with high ceilings, or “high bays” such as warehouses, manufacturing facilities, or the like where the ceilings can be 30-40 feet high. High bay facilities typically mount lighting devices at or near the ceiling. When used as a direct lighting source, LED lighting used in high bay facilities results in greater shadowing effects than used in standard offices or homes that have 8-10 feet ceilings.
To offset the shadowing effect, lighting assemblies that use LED lighting also include secondary optical elements, such as reflectors and/or lenses, to disperse the light output from the LED lighting. In this manner, the light output from the LED lighting is indirectly provided to the intended illumination source via the secondary optical elements. Although useful to reduce shadowing effects, the additional optical elements reduce efficiency and add cost and complexity to the lighting assembly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA lighting assembly includes a plurality of LEDs configured as a multi-facet light engine. A first group of LEDs are arrayed as a main light source and the remaining LEDs are angled relative to the first group of LEDs to generate an intended lighting pattern. In some embodiments, the first group of LEDs are arrayed on a first planar surface of a first substrate, and the remaining LEDs are arrayed on second planar surfaces of additional substrates positioned around the first substrate. The planar surfaces of the additional substrates are angled relative to the planar surface of the first substrate. The angles of the second planar surfaces to the first planar surface can be application specific and can be acute or obtuse. In some embodiments, the substrates are printed circuit boards.
In an aspect, a lighting assembly includes a first substrate having a first planar surface and a first plurality of light emitting diodes coupled to the first planar surface, and a plurality of second substrates each second substrate having a second planar surface and a second plurality of light emitting diodes coupled to the second planar surface. Each second substrate is positioned at an angle to the first substrate such that each of the second planar surfaces are angled relative to the first planar surface. The first planar surface and the plurality of second planar surfaces are aligned to provide illumination from the first and second plurality of light emitting diodes directly onto an external illumination surface.
In some embodiments, the first planar surface and the plurality of second planar surfaces form a concave shape. In other embodiments, the first planar surface and the plurality of second planar surfaces form a convex shape. In some embodiments, directional light is output from the first and second plurality of light emitting diodes at converging angles. In other embodiments, directional light is output from the first and second plurality of light emitting diodes at diverging angles. In some embodiments, each second planar surface forms an acute angle with the first planar surface. In other embodiments, each second planar surface forms an obtuse angle with the first planar surface.
In some embodiments, the first planar surface is parallel to the external illumination surface. In some embodiments, the first planar surface and the plurality of second planar surfaces are angled to provide a determined lighting pattern on the external illumination surface. In some embodiments, each second substrate is rotatably coupled to the first substrate so as to enable change of the angle at which the second substrate is coupled to the first substrate. In some embodiments, the angle that each second substrate is positioned relative to the first substrate is the same. In other embodiments, the angle that one or more of the second substrates is positioned relative to the first substrate is different. In some embodiments, the first substrate includes a plurality of first outer edges and each second substrate includes at least a second outer edge, further wherein the second outer edge of each second substrate is coupled to a corresponding one first outer edge of the first substrate. In some embodiments, a number of first outer edges equals a number of second substrates. In other embodiments, a number of first outer edges is not equal to a number of second substrates.
Several example embodiments are described with reference to the drawings, wherein like components are provided with like reference numerals. The example embodiments are intended to illustrate, but not to limit, the invention. The drawings include the following figures:
Embodiments of the present application are directed to a lighting assembly. Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following detailed description of the lighting assembly is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments of the lighting assembly will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure.
Reference will now be made in detail to implementations of the lighting assembly as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same reference indicators will be used throughout the drawings and the following detailed description to refer to the same or like parts. In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of the implementations described herein are shown and described. It will, of course, be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made in order to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with application and business related constraints, and that these specific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from one developer to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
The cooling system is configured to enable the dissipation of a large amount of energy in the form of heat without heating surrounding components, such as the one or more power supply units and device electronics. In some embodiments, the cooling loop is configured as a thermal siphon that uses a boiling fluid to transport heat between the evaporator and the radiators. In some embodiments, the evaporator also functions as a device chassis, which reduces the overall part count. In some embodiments, the light source is a plurality of LEDs. LEDs have a well defined thermal performance and therefore operate properly within a defined temperature range. The cooling system is designed to maintain the LED temperatures within the defined temperature range. The one or more power supply units are arranged such that heat generated by the one or more power supply units does not negatively impact the thermal performance of the LED light source.
The evaporator 14 is a fluid-based heat exchanger that conceptually functions as a boiling unit. In some embodiments, the evaporator 14 includes a fluid reservoir that is filled, or partially filled, with a fluid or fluid mixture, herein referred to collectively as a fluid. The evaporator 14 is thermally coupled to the light source such that heat generated by the light source is transferred to the fluid within the evaporator 14. The heat causes fluid in the evaporator 14 to evaporate. The resulting vapor rises through the vertically ascending pipes 16, 26 to the radiators 18, 28. In some embodiments, each pipe 16, 26 includes a first portion that extends straight up from the evaporator 14 and a second portion that bends at an angle from completely vertical, but not horizontal, which is coupled to the radiator 18, 28. In some embodiments, the angle of the second portion is 45 degrees relative to vertical. The portion of pipes 16, 26 shown in
The radiator 18 is aligned at a decline, or downward angle relative to horizontal, such that one end is higher than the other end. The pipe 16 is coupled to a top portion of the radiator 18 and the return pipe 20 is coupled to a bottom portion of the radiator 18. In some embodiments, the pipe 16 is coupled to an end of the top portion of the radiator 18. In some embodiments, the return pipe 20 is coupled to an end of the bottom portion of the radiator 18. Vapor entering the radiator 18 from the pipe 16 condenses and the liquid flows downward through the radiator 18 to the return pipe 20. Due to the declining orientation of the radiator 18, liquid within the radiator is gravity fed toward the bottom end and to the return pipe 20. The return pipe 20 is aligned at a decline such that one end is higher than the other end such that liquid received from the radiator 18 is gravity fed to the evaporator 14.
The second cooling loop is configured similarly as the first cooling loop. The radiator 28 is aligned at a decline, or downward angle relative to horizontal, such that one end is higher than the other end. The pipe 26 is coupled to a top portion of the radiator 28 and the return pipe 30 is coupled to a bottom portion of the radiator 28. In some embodiments, the pipe 26 is coupled to an end of the top portion of the radiator 28. In some embodiments, the return pipe 30 is coupled to an end of the bottom portion of the radiator 28. Vapor entering the radiator 28 from the pipe 16 condenses and the liquid flows downward through the radiator 28 to the return pipe 30. Due to the declining orientation of the radiator 28, liquid within the radiator is gravity fed toward the bottom end and to the return pipe 30. The return pipe 30 is aligned at a decline such that one end is higher than the other end such that liquid received from the radiator 28 is gravity fed to the evaporator 14.
The cooling loops are described above has having separate pipes 16 and 26 that couple the evaporator to the radiators 18 and 28, respectively. Alternatively, the pipes 16 and 26 can include a common portion that splits for coupling to the radiators 18 and 28. For example, a single vertically ascending pipe can be coupled to the evaporator 14, and at a top portion of the pipe, the pipe branches, such as into two branches, each branch bends at an angle from completely vertical, but not horizontal. One or more branches are coupled to the radiator 18 and one or more branches are coupled to the radiator 28. Still alternatively, multiple separate pipes can be coupled between the evaporator 14 and a single radiator. For example, two or more pipes, each pipe similar to the pipe 16, can be coupled between the evaporator 14 and the radiator 18.
As shown in
In some embodiments, the fluid is a fluid mixture consisting of at least two different types of fluids that each evaporate at a different temperature. The thermal characteristics of the cooling system and fluid mixture are configured such that the heat supplied to the fluid within the evaporator is sufficient to evaporate one of the fluids, but insufficient to evaporate the second fluid. The evaporated fluid forms vapor bubbles within the remaining non-evaporated fluid mixture. In this manner, heat transferred to the fluid mixture results in a boiling fluid, a portion of which is a vapor and another portion of which is a liquid. The configuration of the fluid mixture and the vertically ascending pipes enables a pumping means whereby the boiling fluid, including the vapor and liquid forms of fluid mixture, rises from the evaporator 14, through the pipes 16 and 26, to the radiators 18 and 28. The vapor bubbles within the boiling fluid are used to siphon non-evaporated fluid up the pipes 16 and 26 and into the radiators 18 and 28. In this manner, a pumping means is integral to the cooling loop without including a discrete pumping component such as a powered pump. An example of such a pumping means is a bubble pump found in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0273024, which is hereby incorporated in its entirety be reference. Although the boiling fluid includes a non-evaporated liquid component, this liquid component has been heated and as such the circulating liquid provides additional thermal transport from the evaporator to the radiator. In the case where the pipes 16 and 26 are finned pipes, heat from the rising boiling fluid can be shed during transport through the pipes 16 and 26.
Alternative configurations of the lighting assembly are also contemplated.
As shown in
The lighting assembly includes a mounting structure 110 coupled to the evaporator 114 and positioned in the pathway between the radiators 118 and 128. The mounting structure 110 includes handles 111 for carrying the lighting assembly. In this exemplary configuration, the lighting assembly includes four power supplies 106. The power supplies 106 can be mounted to the mounting structure 110, as shown, the evaporator 114, the vertically ascending pipes 116 and 126 or some combination thereof. An external mounting base 107 is coupled to the mounting structure 110 and/or to the evaporator 114. Bracing elements 113 provide additional support and couple the radiators 118 and 128 to the mounting structure 110, the external mounting base 107, the evaporator 114 or some combination thereof. The external mounting base 107 is used to mount the lighting assembly. In some embodiments, the external mounting base 107 is configured to receive a conduit, which in turn is mounted to an external support, such as a ceiling.
In the configuration shown in
As described above, the evaporator is configured to transfer heat from a light source coupled to the evaporator to fluid within the evaporator.
As shown in
In some embodiments, the upper spherical casing 42 and the lower base 44 are designed with an interface that allows them to be made with different processes to optimize costs. The separation of the upper spherical casing and the lower base allows the upper portion to be cast, for example, while the lower base is machined, for example, to achieve higher precise and more optimal heat transfer.
In some embodiments, the thermal exchanging surface of the evaporator is a non-planar surface. In this alternative configuration, a contour of the thermal exchanging surface is configured to match that of the corresponding thermal exchange surface of the light source. In some embodiments, the light source is configured with a plurality of planar surfaces angled relative to each other. In an exemplary configuration, the light source is a multi-facet LED light source where each facet is a planar surface having a plurality of LEDs. The facets are angled so as to provide a desired lighting pattern and backfilling. Configuring the light source as a multi-facet LED light source reduces shadowing and provides light directly to an external illumination surface without having to use additional secondary optical elements such as a reflector and/or lenses.
In contrast to the planar light source 36 in
In some embodiments, the second substrate 64 is rotatably coupled to the first substrate 62 so as to be able to change an angle between the first planar surface 68 and the second planar surface 70, and the third substrate 66 is rotatably coupled to the first substrate 62 so as to as to be able to change an angle between the first planar surface 68 and the third planar surface 72. These angles are set or changed to achieve a desired lighting pattern generated by the light source 60. In the exemplary configuration shown in
LEDs is provided directly from the LEDs on the planar surfaces to the illumination area, without the light being redirected through any secondary optical elements. The angles at which the light emitting surfaces are positioned relative to each other are determined according to the desired lighting pattern. In the case where the side substrates are rotatably coupled to the main substrate, a given multi-facet LED light source can be adjusted to change the angles of the light emitting surfaces and therefore change the lighting pattern according to a specific application. Configuring the LED light source with LEDs providing illumination from multiple different angels enables backfilling of light and reduction of shadowing.
As shown in
As shown in
The LEDs can be positioned on a planar surface in any desired pattern. The spacing between LEDs is application specific, which when combined with the angles of the light emitting surfaces, is designed to achieve a specific light intensity per unit area. The size of the LEDs impacts this determination as smaller LEDs typically generate less illumination than larger LEDs.
In an exemplary application, the lighting assembly is designed for high bay lighting, such as 40-50 feet high ceilings. In such an application, the lighting assembly generates 100-400 kW. In some applications, the lighting assembly generates more than 400kW. In general, the lighting assembly is useful for those applications requiring lighting solutions with higher wattages than those found in typical office environments having 8-10 feet high ceilings.
The present application has been described in terms of specific embodiments incorporating details to facilitate the understanding of the principles of construction and operation of the multi-facet LED device. Many of the components shown and described in the various figures can be interchanged to achieve the results necessary, and this description should be read to encompass such interchange as well. As such, references herein to specific embodiments and details thereof are not intended to limit the scope of the claims appended hereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications can be made to the embodiments chosen for illustration without departing from the spirit and scope of the application.
Claims
1. A lighting assembly comprising:
- a. a first substrate having a first planar surface and a first plurality of light emitting diodes coupled to the first planar surface; and
- b. a plurality of second substrates each second substrate having a second planar surface and a second plurality of light emitting diodes coupled to the second planar surface, wherein each second substrate is positioned at an angle to the first substrate such that each of the second planar surfaces are angled relative to the first planar surface, further wherein the first planar surface and the plurality of second planar surfaces are aligned to provide illumination from the first and second plurality of light emitting diodes directly onto an external illumination surface.
2. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein the first planar surface and the plurality of second planar surfaces form a concave shape.
3. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein the first planar surface and the plurality of second planar surfaces form a convex shape.
4. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein directional light is output from the first and second plurality of light emitting diodes at converging angles.
5. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein directional light is output from the first and second plurality of light emitting diodes at diverging angles.
6. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein each second planar surface forms an acute angle with the first planar surface.
7. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein each second planar surface forms an obtuse angle with the first planar surface.
8. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein the first planar surface is parallel to the external illumination surface.
9. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein the first planar surface and the plurality of second planar surfaces are angled to provide a determined lighting pattern on the external illumination surface.
10. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein each second substrate is rotatably coupled to the first substrate so as to enable change of the angle at which the second substrate is coupled to the first substrate.
11. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein the angle that each second substrate is positioned relative to the first substrate is the same.
12. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein the angle that one or more of the second substrates is positioned relative to the first substrate is different.
13. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein the first substrate comprises a plurality of first outer edges and each second substrate comprises at least a second outer edge, further wherein the second outer edge of each second substrate is coupled to a corresponding one first outer edge of the first substrate.
14. The lighting assembly of claim 13 wherein a number of first outer edges equals a number of second substrates.
15. The lighting assembly of claim 13 wherein a number of first outer edges is not equal to a number of second substrates.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 18, 2013
Publication Date: Jan 2, 2014
Inventors: Jordon Musser (Coppell, TX), Chris Stratas (Burlingame, CA)
Application Number: 13/921,028
International Classification: F21K 99/00 (20100101);