Solid-state luminaires for general illumination

• US 9,605,835 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2015
• Issued: 03/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brightplus Ventures LLC (IPValuation Partners, LLC)
• Original Assignee: CREE Incorporated (Wolfspeed, Inc.)
• Inventors: Roberts, John K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Legasse, Jr., Francis M
• Application Number:
  US14/611,800
• Publication Number:
  US 20160010830A1
• Time in Patent Office: 785 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F21K 9/68 Details of reflectors forming part of the light source
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 13/04 the elements being reflectors and refractors for vehicle rear lights F21S43/40
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 13/10 the elements being reflectors and screens
• 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 7/10 Construction
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 11/28 Structurally-combined illuminating devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/32 adapted for automatic variation of the measured or reference value regulation of light intensity G05D25/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/3026 Video wall, i.e. stackable semiconductor matrix display modules video wall control systems G06F3/1446, G09G2300/026
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/32 semiconductive, e.g. using light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3406 Control of illumination source illumination devices structurally associated with liquid crystal cells G02F1/1336
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/315 Modulator illumination systems general applications of lighting devices F21V; general optical systems G02B; lamp houses for projectors not peculiar to the presence of an electronic spatial light modulator G03B21/20

Abstract

A lighting panel includes a tile having a first side parallel to a principal plane of the lighting panel, a plurality of solid state lighting devices arranged on the first side of the tile and configured to emit light, a reflector sheet on the first side of the tile, and a brightness enhancement film on the reflector sheet. The reflector sheet may be arranged between the tile and the brightness enhancement film and the brightness enhancement film may be configured to increase the on-axis intensity of emitted light. A luminaire adapted for general illumination includes a lighting panel as described above, a current supply circuit configured to supply an on-state drive current to a string of lighting devices in response to a control signal, a photosensor arranged to receive light from one of the solid state lighting devices, and a control system configured to receive an output signal from the photosensor and to adjust the control signal responsive to the output signal of the photosensor.

Claims

1. A lighting panel, comprising:

at least one substrate having a first side parallel to a principal plane of the lighting panel;

a plurality of solid state lighting devices arranged on the first side of the at least one substrate and configured to emit light;

a reflector on the first side of the at least one substrate;

a brightness enhancement film on the reflector, wherein the reflector is arranged between the at least one substrate and the brightness enhancement film and the brightness enhancement film is configured to preferentially emit light having a first orientation from the lighting panel and to preferentially reflect light having a second orientation, different from the first orientation, back into the lighting panel, and

a generally planar diffuser sheet between the reflector and the brightness enhancement film, wherein the light having the second orientation that is reflected back into the lighting panel is recycled within at least the diffuser sheet.

2. The lighting panel of claim 1, wherein the reflector comprises a coating on the substrate that is configured to reflect and scatter light incident thereon.

3. The lighting panel of claim 1, wherein the reflector comprises a reflector sheet that is configured to reflect and scatter light incident thereon.

4. The lighting panel of claim 1, further comprising at least one additional layer on the brightness enhancement film configured to diffuse, polarize, collimate and/or reflect light.

5. The lighting panel of claim 3, wherein the reflector sheet includes a plurality of apertures therethrough, wherein respective ones of the plurality of apertures aligned with corresponding ones of the plurality of solid state lighting devices.

6. The lighting panel of claim 5, wherein respective ones of the apertures include angled sidewalls to thereby form reflective optical cavities around the corresponding ones of the plurality of solid state lighting devices.

7. The lighting panel of claim 3, wherein the reflector sheet comprises a plastic foam.

8. The lighting panel of claim 1, further comprising a diffuser sheet between the reflector sheet and the brightness enhancement film.

9. The lighting panel of claim 1, wherein the brightness enhancement film comprises a plurality of three dimensional light extraction features configured to bend at least some light rays passing through the brightness enhancement film toward the direction normal to the principal plane of the lighting panel.

10. The lighting panel of claim 9, wherein the light extraction features are random features.

11. The lighting panel of claim 9, wherein the brightness enhancement film is configured to limit direct emission from the lighting panel of light emitted by the plurality of solid state light emitting devices to thereby encourage light recycling/diffusion in the lighting panel.

12. The lighting panel of claim 9, wherein the light extraction features comprise fresnel-type lenses.

13. The lighting panel of claim 9, wherein the brightness enhancement film is configured to substantially collimate light emitted by the lighting panel.

14. The lighting panel of claim 1, further comprising a heatsink panel on a second side of the at least one substrate opposite to the first side and configured to draw heat away from the at least one substrate in a direction opposite to a direction of light emission from the at least one substrate.

15. The lighting panel of claim 14, wherein the heatsink panel comprises black anodized aluminum.

16. The lighting panel of claim 15, wherein the heatsink panel comprises a plurality of heatsink features configured to reduce a thermal resistance of the heatsink panel.

17. The lighting panel of claim 16, wherein the plurality of heatsink features comprise cooling fins.

18. A luminaire adapted for general illumination, the luminaire comprising:

a lighting panel including at least one substrate, a plurality of solid state lighting devices electrically connected in a string and arranged on a first side of the at least one substrate and configured to emit light at a dominant wavelength, a reflector on the first side of the at least one substrate, wherein the reflector is configured to reflect and scatter light incident thereon, and a brightness enhancement film on the reflector, wherein a longitudinal side of the at least one substrate defines a principal plane of the lighting panel, and the reflector is arranged between the at least one substrate and the brightness enhancement film such that a longitudinal side of the reflector extends along the principal plane of the lighting panel;

a current supply circuit configured to supply an on-state drive current to the string in response to a control signal;

a photosensor arranged to receive light from at least one of the plurality of solid state lighting devices; and

a control system configured to receive an output signal from the photosensor and to adjust the control signal responsive to the output signal of the photosensor to thereby adjust an average current supplied to the string by the current supply circuit.

19. The luminaire of claim 18, wherein the reflector comprises a coating on the substrate that is configured to reflect and scatter light incident thereon.

20. The luminaire of claim 18, wherein the reflector comprises a reflector sheet that is configured to reflect and scatter light incident thereon.