LED Light Fixture with Uninterruptible Power Supply

• US 20080080162A1
• Filed: 05/04/2007
• Published: 04/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IDEAL Industries Lighting, LLC (Ideal Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Ruud Lighting Incorporated (Wolfspeed, Inc.)
• Inventors: Guillien, Wayne, Wilcox, Kurt S., Walczak, Steve
• Granted Patent: US 7,771,087 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/20
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 8/086 with lighting device attached sideways of the standard, e.g. for roads and highways
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/75 with fins or blades having different shapes, thicknesses or spacing
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/763 the planes containing the fins or blades having the direction of the light emitting axis
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/83 the elements having apertures, ducts or channels, e.g. heat radiation holes
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/89 Metals
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2131/103 of streets or roads
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/80 Light emitting diode

Abstract

A permanently-installable LED light fixture including a housing including a substantially water-tight chamber, at least one electronic normal-operation LED-driver enclosed within the chamber and receiving power from a general off-location power source during normal operation, an LED assembly secured with respect to the housing, the LED assembly having at least one LED-array module, and at least one backup battery within the chamber capable of providing power during a power outage. In certain preferred embodiments at least one electronic backup LED-driver unit is enclosed within the chamber, the backup LED-driver unit drawing battery power during a power outage.

Claims

1. A permanently-installable outdoor LED light fixture comprising:

a housing including a substantially water-tight chamber;

at least one electronic normal-operation LED-driver enclosed within the chamber and receiving power from a general off-location power source during normal operation;

an LED assembly secured with respect to the housing, the LED assembly having at least one LED-array module;

at least one backup battery within the chamber capable of providing power during a power outage; and

at least one electronic backup LED-driver unit enclosed within the chamber, the backup LED-driver unit drawing battery power during a power outage.

2. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the LED assembly has a plurality of the LED-array modules only a subset of which is being powered by the backup LED-driver unit during power outage.

3. The LED light fixture of claim 2 wherein the subset is a single LED-array module.

4. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the backup LED-driver unit is configured to sense whether power is being provided by the general off-location power source.

5. The LED light fixture of claim 4 wherein the backup LED-driver unit is configured to sense whether the LED light fixture has been turned off and to preclude the drawing of battery power when the LED light fixture has been turned off.

6. The LED light fixture of claim 5 wherein the backup LED-driver unit is configured for charging the backup battery/batteries from the general off-location power source during normal operation.

7. The LED light fixture of claim 6 wherein the backup LED-driver unit includes a charge-level sensor for determining whether there is a need for battery charging.

8. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the backup LED-driver unit is 10 configured for charging the backup battery/batteries from the general off-location power source during normal operation.

9. The LED light fixture of claim 8 wherein the backup LED-driver unit includes a charge-level sensor for determining whether there is a need for battery charging.

10. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the LED assembly is adjacent to the housing and in non-water-tight condition.

11. The LED light fixture of claim 10 wherein in the LED assembly the at least one LED-array module is mounted on an LED heat sink.

12. The LED light fixture of claim 10 wherein the housing is a perimetrical structure such that the substantially water-tight chamber is perimetrical and substantially surrounds the LED assembly.

13. The LED light fixture of claim 12 wherein the housing includes:

a frame structure forming a frame-portion of the chamber having an opening edge thereabout;

a border structure forming a border-portion of the chamber and secured to the frame structure; and

a water-tight seal between the frame structure and the border structure to maintain the water-tight condition of the chamber.

14. The LED light fixture of claim 13 wherein:

the electronic normal-operation LED-driver(s) and the backup LED-driver unit(s) are enclosed within the frame-portion of the chamber; and

the backup battery/batteries is/are enclosed within the border-portion of the chamber.

15. The LED light fixture of claim 14 wherein the border structure has at least one end configured for sealing engagement with respect to the opening edge of the frame structure.

16. The LED light fixture of claim 15 wherein the frame-portion of the chamber includes walls terminating at an open end and a removable cover-plate in substantially water-tight sealing engagement with the open end, the cover-plate including at least a part of the opening edge of the frame structure.

17. The LED light fixture of claim 13 wherein the perimetrical housing structure is a substantially rectangular and includes a pair of the frame structures on opposed rectangular sides and a pair of the border structures on in-between opposed rectangular sides.

18. The LED light fixture of claim 17 wherein:

the electronic normal-operation LED-driver(s) and the backup LED-driver unit(s) are enclosed within the frame-portion of the chamber; and

the backup battery/batteries is/are enclosed within the border structure(s).

19. The LED light fixture of claim 18 wherein there are two of the backup batteries, one in each of the border structures.

20. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the water-tight chamber has two portions including a first portion enclosing the electronic normal-operation LED-driver(s) and the backup LED-driver unit(s), and at least one second portion enclosing the backup battery/batteries.

21. The LED light fixture of claim 20 wherein the first portion and the at least one second portion each form separate enclosures.

22. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the water-tight chamber is also air-tight.

23. A permanently-installable LED light fixture comprising:

a housing including a substantially water-tight chamber;

at least one electronic normal-operation LED-driver enclosed within the chamber and receiving power from a general off-location power source during normal operation;

an LED assembly secured with respect to the housing, the LED assembly having at least one LED-array module;

at least one backup battery within the chamber capable of providing power during a power outage.

24. The LED light fixture of claim 23 wherein the LED assembly has a plurality of the LED-array modules only a subset of which is being powered during power outage.

25. The LED light fixture of claim 24 wherein the subset is a single LED-array module.

26. The LED light fixture of claim 23 wherein the LED assembly is adjacent to the housing and in non-water-tight condition.

27. A permanently-installable LED light fixture comprising:

a housing including a substantially water-tight chamber;

at least one electronic LED-driver unit enclosed within the chamber, the electronic LED-driver unit including at least one backup battery capable of providing power during a power outage; and

an LED assembly secured with respect to the housing, the LED assembly having at least one LED-array module

28. The LED light fixture of claim 27 wherein the electronic LED-driver unit includes at least one normal operation LED-driver receiving power from a general off-location power source during normal operation.

29. The LED light fixture of claim 28 wherein the electronic LED-driver unit includes at least one backup LED-driver drawing battery power during a power outage.