LED light fixture with uninterruptible power supply

• US 7,771,087 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2007
• Issued: 08/10/2010
• 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: Walczak, Steve, Guillien, Wayne, Wilcox, Kurt S.
• Primary Examiner(s): TON, ANABEL
• Application Number:
  US11/744,732
• Publication Number:
  US 20080080162A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,194 Days
• Field of Search: 362/800, 362/249.02, 362/373, 362/249, 362/294, 362/183
• US Class Current: 362/294
• 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. An LED light fixture comprising:

a housing including a substantially closed chamber having two chamber portions including a first chamber portion enclosing an electronic normal-operation LED-driver(s) receiving power from a general off-location power source during normal operation, and at least one second chamber portion enclosing a backup battery/batteries capable of providing power during a power outage, the backup LED-driver unit drawing battery power during a power outage; and

an LED assembly outside the chamber to permit ambient-fluid flow over the LED assembly, the LED assembly including an elongate heat sink and an LED-array module connected to the heat sink for heat transfer from the LED-array module.

2. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the first chamber portion and the at least one second chamber portion each form separate enclosures.

3. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the first chamber portion includes:

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

4. The LED light fixture of claim 3 wherein the chamber is substantially water/air-tight.

5. The LED light fixture of claim 3 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.

6. The LED light fixture of claim 5 wherein the subset is a single LED-array module.

7. The LED light fixture of claim 3 wherein the backup LED-driver unit is configured to sense whether power is being provided by the general off-location power source.

8. The LED light fixture of claim 7 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.

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

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

11. The LED light fixture of claim 3 wherein the backup LED-driver unit is configured for charging the backup battery/batteries from the general off-location power source during normal operation.

12. The LED light fixture of claim 11 wherein the backup LED-driver unit includes a charge-level sensor for determining whether there is a need for battery charging.

13. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the housing is a perimetrical structure such that the chamber is perimetrical and substantially surrounds the LED assembly.

21. 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 during power outage.

22. The LED light fixture of claim 21 wherein the subset is a single LED-array module.

26. The LED light fixture of claim 4 further including substantially water/air-tight wire-access(es) along the side of the border structure for receiving wire(s) from the LED assembly into the chamber.

27. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the housing and the heat sink defining an air gap permitting ambient-fluid flow to and from the heat sink.

28. The LED light fixture of claim 27 further including an interlock of a side of the housing with at least one of the heat-sink ends to secure the LED assembly to the housing, the interlock forming the air gap between the heat-sink end and the housing.

14. An LED light fixture comprising:

a housing which is a perimetrical structure including a substantially closed perimetrical chamber, the housing including

a border structure forming a border-portion of the chamber, and

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

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;

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

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

an LED assembly outside the chamber to permit ambient-fluid flow over the LED assembly, the chamber substantially surrounding the LED assembly, the LED assembly including an elongate heat sink and an LED-array module connected to the heat sink for heat transfer from the LED-array module, the LED-array module being electrically connected to the border structure.

15. The LED light fixture of claim 14 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.

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

17. The LED light fixture of claim 16 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.

18. The LED light fixture of claim 14 wherein the housing is a substantially perimetrical rectangular structure and includes a pair of the frame structures and a pair of the border structures, each border structure being secured to each of the frame structures.

19. The LED light fixture of claim 18 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).

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

23. An LED light fixture comprising:

a housing which is a perimetrical structure including a substantially closed perimetrical chamber, the housing including a border structure forming a border-portion of the chamber, and a frame structure forming a frame-portion of the chamber and secured to the border structure;

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 outside the chamber to permit ambient-fluid flow over the LED assembly the chamber substantially surrounding the LED assembly, the LED assembly including an elongate LED heat sink and an LED-array module connected to the heat sink for heat transfer from the LED-array module, the LED-array module being electrically connected to the border structure.

24. The LED light fixture of claim 23 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.

25. The LED light fixture of claim 24 wherein the electronic LED-driver unit includes at least one backup LED-driver drawing battery power during a power outage.