Luminaire Assemblies with Composite Housings

• US 20170198881A1
• Filed: 05/28/2015
• Published: 07/13/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quarkstar LLC
• Original Assignee: Quarkstar LLC
• Inventors: McCreary, JR., Charles R., Schinagl, Ferdinand
• Granted Patent: US 10,386,039 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: F21K 9/61 using light guides
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 15/01 Housings, e.g. material or assembling of housing parts F21V15/02 takes precedence housings forming signs or letters G09F13/04
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/70 characterised by passive heat-dissipating elements, e.g. heat-sinks
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/85 characterised by the material liquid coolants F21V29/56
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/87 Organic material, e.g. filled polymer composites; Thermo-conductive additives or coatings therefor
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 7/0008 providing for indirect lighting
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 7/0016 on lighting devices that also provide for direct lighting, e.g. by means of independent light sources, by splitting of the light beam, by switching between both lighting modes
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2103/10 comprising a linear array of point-like light-generating elements
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/00 Light-generating elements of semiconductor light sources
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0023 provided by one optical element, or plurality thereof, placed between the light guide and the light source, or around the light source
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0031 Reflecting element, sheet or layer
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0055 Reflecting element, sheet or layer
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0068 Arrangements of plural sources, e.g. multi-colour light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0085 Means for removing heat created by the light source from the package heat extraction or cooling elements for semiconductor light sources in general H01L33/64
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0088 of the light guide or other optical sheets in the package
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0091 of the light source relative to the light guide G02B6/0021 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0093 Means for protecting the light guide

Abstract

A luminaire assembly includes a substrate; light emitting elements (LEEs) secured to the substrate; optical couplers arranged along the substrate, each optical coupler being positioned to receive light emitting from a corresponding one of the LEEs and to direct the light in a forward direction orthogonal to the substrate; a redirecting surface spaced apart from the couplers along the forward direction to reflect the light from the optical couplers to an ambient environment in a backward angular range; a housing comprising a support structure and a layer of a heat conducting material disposed on the support structure, where a thermal conductivity of the layer of heat conducting material is greater than a thermal conductivity of a material forming the support structure; and a heat coupling layer arranged between the substrate and the housing, the heat coupling layer being adjacent to the heat conducting material of the housing.

Claims

1-21. -21. (canceled)

22. An illumination system comprising:

a housing extending along a first direction, and including a dielectric core and a layer comprising a metal disposed on the dielectric core, wherein a portion of the housing is configured as a substrate including traces;

a plurality of light-emitting elements (LEEs) secured to the substrate, the light emitting elements being arranged along the first direction; and

one or more optical couplers extending in a forward direction orthogonal to the first direction, the optical couplers positioned to receive light emitted by the LEEs and configured to collimate the received light,

wherein the optical couplers are mechanically connected with the housing, and

wherein the LEEs are operatively connected to power via the traces.

23. The illumination system of claim 22, further comprising:

a redirecting surface spaced apart from the one or more optical couplers at a first distance along the forward direction, the redirecting surface configured to reflect the collimated light to an ambient environment as output light in a backward angular range.

24. The illumination system of claim 23, further comprising:

a light guide that includes

a receiving end arranged and configured to receive the collimated light from the one or more optical couplers,

an output end optically coupled with the redirecting surface, and

two opposing side surfaces extending from the receiving end to the output end, the two opposing side surfaces arranged and configured to guide the collimated light from the receiving end in the forward direction toward the output end of the light guide; and

an optical extractor that includes

the redirecting surface, and

an output surface with a curved cross-section, the output surface arranged and configured to transmit the output light to the ambient environment in the backward angular range.

25. The illumination system of claim 23, wherein

the housing comprises a support structure and the layer comprising the metal is disposed on the support structure, and

the illumination system further comprises a reflector arranged and configured to reflect the output light in the backward angular range as reflected light in a forward angular range, where an edge of the reflector is supported by the support structure of the housing.

26. The illumination system of claim 24, wherein the housing is further configured to support the light guide.

27. The illumination system of claim 24, wherein the opposing side surfaces of the light guide are planar.

28. The illumination system of claim 24, wherein the opposing side surfaces of the light guide are parallel.

29. The illumination system of claim 22, wherein the light emitting elements are light-emitting diodes.

30. The illumination system of claim 29, wherein the light-emitting diodes are white light-emitting diodes.

31. The illumination system of claim 22, wherein the illumination system extends between about six inches and 48 inches in the first direction.