Directly viewable luminaire

• US 7,654,703 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2007
• Issued: 02/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Signify Holding B.V. (Signify N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Weston, Adrian, Kan, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Payne; Sharon E
• Application Number:
  US11/695,396
• Publication Number:
  US 20070274084A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,037 Days
• Field of Search: 362/373, 362/294, 362/547, 362/218, 362/362, 362/345, 362/346, 361/714
• US Class Current: 362/362
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 4/20 with light sources held by or within elongate supports
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 23/02 the elements being transformers, impedances or power supply units, e.g. a transformer with a rectifier
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/15 Thermal insulation
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/507 of means for protecting lighting devices from damage, e.g. housings
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/70 characterised by passive heat-dissipating elements, e.g. heat-sinks
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/74 with fins or blades
• 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 29/87 Organic material, e.g. filled polymer composites; Thermo-conductive additives or coatings therefor
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/89 Metals
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 3/02 characterised by the shape
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2131/406 for theatres, stages or film studios
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2103/10 comprising a linear array of point-like light-generating elements
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2105/00 Planar light sources
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2113/13 comprising an assembly of point-like light sources
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/15 Organic light-emitting diodes [OLED]

Abstract

A luminaire comprising a housing having thermally separate compartments for an electronics portion and a lighting portion. These thermally separate compartments can provide thermal isolation between the electronics portion and the lighting portion. The lighting portion comprises a plurality of light-emitting elements and further includes an optical device comprising two linear diffuser elements and can be used to further improve the light emission characteristics of the light-emitting elements thereby providing a directly viewable luminaire wherein the illumination produced by point light sources appears uniform along the length of the luminaire. A power supply for supply of energy to the light-emitting elements and a controller for controlling application of energy from a power source to the light-emitting elements is provided in the electronics portion and can be thermally separated within the electronics portion.

Claims

1. A luminaire comprising:

a housing defining a first internal compartment containing one or more light-emitting elements mounted on a base connected to the housing, the housing further defining a second internal compartment containing electronic driver means coupled to the one or more light-emitting elements for providing controlled electrical energy to the one or more light-emitting elements, the second internal compartment configured to dissipate heat generated by the electronic driver means, said first internal compartment thermally separated from the second internal compartment,

wherein the driver means comprises a controller enclosed by a first enclosure configured to thermally shield the controller within the second internal compartment and a power supply coupled to the controller and enclosed by a second enclosure configured to thermally shield the power supply within the second internal compartment,

wherein the housing further includes a base cover enclosing the second internal compartment, the base cover comprising a heat sink, and

wherein a heat sink of the controller and a heat sink of the power supply are configured such that each of the heat sink of the controller and the heat sink of the power supply form at least a portion of the base cover.

2. The luminaire as set forth in claim 1, wherein the base is in thermal contact with the one or more light-emitting elements.

3. The luminaire as set forth in claim 2, wherein the base is made of a thermally conductive material selected from the group comprising aluminum, copper, silver and a thermally conductive polymer to dissipate the heat from the one or more light-emitting elements.

4. The luminaire as set forth in claim 1, wherein the base includes a finned or undulating surface for heat dissipation.

5. The luminaire as set forth in claim 1, wherein the base is H-shaped and includes at distal ends a plurality of upper and lower elements, the element forming the first and second internal compartments respectively.

6. The luminaire as set forth in claim 5, wherein the first internal compartment is covered by a transmissive cover plate.

7. The luminaire as set forth in claim 6, wherein the transmissive cover plate is hermetically sealed to the first internal compartment.

8. The luminaire as set forth in claim 1, wherein the controller is a microcontroller.

9. The luminaire as set forth in claim 1, wherein the base cover is made of a thermally conductive material selected from the group comprising aluminum, copper, silver and a thermally conductive polymer.

10. The luminaire as set forth in claim 9, wherein the base cover includes a finned or undulating surface.

11. The luminaire as set forth in claim 1, wherein the base includes a plurality of vents.

12. The luminaire as set forth in claim 1, wherein the base further includes first and second barriers at distal ends thereof.

13. The luminaire as set forth in claim 1, wherein the one or more light-emitting elements are selected from the group comprising red, green, blue, amber and white light-emitting diodes.

14. The luminaire as set forth in claim 13, wherein the one or more light-emitting elements are configured and arranged in a linear array layout.

15. The luminaire as set forth in claim 13, wherein the one or more light emitting elements are configured and arranged in a matrix layout.

16. The luminaire as set forth in claim 1, wherein the base cover is configured for removable attachment to the base.

17. A luminaire comprising:

a housing defining a first internal compartment containing one or more light-emitting diodes mounted on a base connected to the housing, the housing further defining a second internal compartment containing electronic driver means coupled to the one or more light-emitting diodes for providing controlled electrical energy to the one or more light emitting diodes, said first internal compartment thermally separated from the second internal compartment, each of said first internal compartment and said second internal compartment configured to dissipate heat,

wherein the driver means comprises a controller coupled to a power supply to provide the controlled electrical energy,

wherein at least one of the controller and the power supply is thermally isolated within the second internal compartment,

wherein the housing further includes a base cover enclosing the second internal compartment, the base cover configured as a heat sink for at least one of the controller and the power supply, and

wherein the base cover is removably attached to the base.

18. The luminaire as set forth in claim 17, wherein the second internal compartment is subdivided into at least two thermally separate sub-compartments.

19. The luminaire as set forth in claim 17, wherein the base cover includes a finned or undulating surface.

20. The luminaire as set forth in claim 19, wherein the base cover is made of a thermally conductive material selected from the group comprising aluminum, copper, silver and a thermally conductive polymer.

21. The luminaire as set forth in claim 19, wherein the base includes openings enabling an entry of air into the second internal compartment.