SOLID STATE LIGHT FIXTURE WITH A TUNABLE ANGULAR DISTRIBUTION

• US 20120319616A1
• Filed: 06/14/2011
• Published: 12/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fluence Bioengineering, Inc. (Signify N.V.)
• Original Assignee: OSRAM Sylvania Inc. (Ams-Osram AG)
• Inventors: Quilici, Michael, Olsen, Joseph Allen
• Granted Patent: US 8,820,963 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 315/294
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 8/04 intended only for mounting on a ceiling or the like overhead structures F21S8/02 takes precedence; details of ceiling bases F21V21/03
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 23/04 the elements being switches safety devices F21V25/00
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 5/002 using microoptical elements for redirecting or diffusing light
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 5/007 Array of lenses or refractors for a cluster of light sources, e.g. for arrangement of multiple light sources in one plane combination of two or more refractors F21V5/008
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 5/008 Combination of two or more successive refractors along an optical axis
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 5/045 the lens having discontinuous faces, e.g. Fresnel lenses
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2131/205 for operating theatres
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2131/406 for theatres, stages or film studios
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2105/10 comprising a two-dimensional array of point-like light-generating elements
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2113/13 comprising an assembly of point-like light sources
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]

Abstract

A light fixture may include LEDs that each emits light into a particular zone on a lens, where each zone has its own focal properties. Each LED may be grouped into one (or more) subset(s) that corresponds to the zone(s) struck by its emitted light. The LEDs may be selectively electrically controllable, so that the amount of light transmitted through each zone may be controllable by the electrical control system of the fixture. Because light transmitted through different zones emerges from the fixture having different widths, the electrical control system can directly control the amount of light emerging at each width. By mixing relatively narrow light with relatively wide light in the proper proportions, the electrical control system of the fixture may produce light having any desired angular profile between “narrow” and “wide”. One may think of the fixture having a controller that features both a dimmer, which can control the optical power or brightness of the fixture 1, and a “width” controller, which can dial in values between “narrow” and “wide” light. By varying the relative contributions of the different beam widths, the angular profile of the total output may be varied, and may advantageously be varied electronically, without any moving parts.

Claims

1. A light fixture, comprising:

a lens having a lateral area divided into a plurality of zones, each zone having a respective focal length;

a plurality of selectively electrically controllable light emitting diodes (LEDs) disposed longitudinally adjacent to the lens, the plurality of LEDs emitting light in essentially the same direction toward the lens with essentially the same spectral profile, each LED in the plurality emitting light that strikes one of the zones, each LED belonging to a subset of LEDs corresponding to the zone struck by its emitted light, each zone producing a transmitted beam having a respective angular beam width, the transmitted beams from the plurality of zones forming exiting light;

wherein at least two of the zones produce transmitted beams having different respective angular beam widths;

wherein each subset of LEDs is electrically controllable independent of the other subsets; and

wherein a variation in electrical power to one subset of LEDs relative to the other subsets of LEDs produces a change in the angular profile of the exiting light.

2. The light fixture of claim 1, wherein as the electrical power provided to one of the subsets of LEDs is varied, the electrical power provided to the other subsets of LEDs is varied in a complementary manner so that the total optical power of the exiting light remains constant.

3. The light fixture of claim 1, wherein as the electrical power provided to one of the subsets of LEDs is varied, the electrical power provided to the other subsets of LEDs remains constant.

4. The light fixture of claim 1, wherein the zones are concentric.

5. The light fixture of claim 4, wherein the zones are arranged as concentric squares.

6. The light fixture of claim 3, wherein the concentric zones having increasingly wide angular beam widths from a central zone to a peripheral zone.

7. The light fixture of claim 3, wherein the lens has three concentric zones.

8. The light fixture of claim 1, wherein the lens is a microlens array.

9. The light fixture of claim 1,

wherein the distances between the LEDs and the lens are fixed;

and

wherein the focal lengths of the zones are fixed.

10. A light fixture, comprising:

a plurality of selectively electrically controllable light emitting diodes (LEDs), the plurality of LEDs emitting light in essentially the same direction with essentially the same spectral profile; and

a plurality of lenses corresponding to at least some of the plurality of LEDs;

wherein each lens that receives emitted light from a corresponding LED produces a transmitted beam having one of a predetermined number of angular beam widths;

wherein each LED that does not have a corresponding lens produces a transmitted beam having one of the predetermined number of angular beam widths;

wherein the LEDs are grouped into mutually exclusive subsets by the respective angular beam width;

wherein the transmitted beams form exiting light;

wherein at least two of the transmitted beams have different angular beam widths;

wherein each subset of LEDs is electrically controllable independent of the other subsets; and

wherein a variation in electrical power to one subset of LEDs relative to the other subsets of LEDs produces a change in the angular profile of the exiting light.

11. The light fixture of claim 10, wherein as the electrical power provided to one of the subsets of LEDs is varied, the electrical power provided to the other subsets of LEDs is varied in a complementary manner so that the total optical power of the exiting light remains constant.

12. The light fixture of claim 10, wherein as the electrical power provided to one of the subsets of LEDs is varied, the electrical power provided to the other subsets of LEDs remains constant.

13. The light fixture of claim 10,

wherein the transmitted beams have one of three angular beam widths;

and

wherein the LEDs are group into three mutually exclusive subsets by the respective angular beam width.

14. The light fixture of claim 10,

wherein a first subset of LEDs having the narrowest of the angular beam widths is disposed at the lateral center of the plurality;

wherein a second subset of LEDs having an intermediate angular beam width surrounds the first subset of LEDs; and

wherein a third subset of LEDs having the widest of the angular beam widths surrounds the second subset of LEDs.

15. The light fixture of claim 10, wherein the angular beam width of each transmitted beam depends on the focal length of the respective lens and on a distance between the respective lens and the respective LED.

16. The light fixture of claim 15,

wherein the plurality of LEDs have essentially the same emission characteristics;

wherein the plurality of lenses have essentially the same focal lengths; and

wherein the distance between each LED and the corresponding lens is one of a predetermined number of distances.

17. The light fixture of claim 15,

wherein the plurality of LEDs have essentially the same emission characteristics;

and

wherein the plurality of lenses have one of a predetermined number of focal lengths.

18. A method for varying an angular distribution from a light fixture, comprising:

providing a localized plurality of selectively electrically powered light emitting diodes (LEDs), the plurality of LEDs emitting light in essentially the same direction with essentially the same spectral profile, the light from each LED having one of a predetermined number of angular beam widths, the light from the plurality of LEDs forming exiting light;

providing electrical power to a first subset of the plurality of LEDs, the first subset producing light having a first angular beam width; and

varying the electrical power provided to a second subset of the plurality of LEDs, the second subset producing light having a second angular beam width different from the first angular beam width.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein as the electrical power provided to the second subset is varied, the electrical power provided to the first subset is varied in a complementary manner so that a total optical power from the plurality of LEDs remains constant.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein as the electrical power provided to the second subset is varied, the electrical power provided to the first subset remains constant.