Illumination devices including enclosure panels with luminaire modules

• US 9,746,173 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2013
• Issued: 08/29/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quarkstar LLC
• Original Assignee: Quarkstar LLC
• Inventors: Dau, Wilson, Speier, Ingo, Schinagl, Ferdinand, Velasquez, Edgar R.
• Primary Examiner(s): MAY, ROBERT J
• Application Number:
  US14/427,956
• Publication Number:
  US 20150247633A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,447 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 8/024 intended to be recessed in a wall or like vertical structure, e.g. building facade
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 8/033 the surface being a wall or like vertical structure, e.g. building facade
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 13/04 the elements being reflectors and refractors for vehicle rear lights F21S43/40
• 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 33/006 General building constructions or finishing work for buildings, e.g. roofs, gutters, stairs or floors; Garden equipment; Sunshades or parasols
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 7/0008 providing for indirect lighting
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 7/0033 with successive reflections from one reflector to the next or following
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2131/402 for working places
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2103/10 comprising a linear array of point-like light-generating elements
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0031 Reflecting element, sheet or layer
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0045 by shaping at least a portion of the light guide
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0076 Stacked arrangements of multiple light guides of the same or different cross-sectional area
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0095 Light guides as housings, housing portions, shelves, doors, tiles, windows, or the like

Abstract

Devices used for workspace illumination include, for example, a panel and a solid-state based optical system arranged inside an enclosure of the panel. The panel can be a cubicle divider. In one aspect, an illumination device includes a mount; a panel including a first face and a second opposing face. The panel is vertically supported by the mount along a horizontal dimension of the first and second faces. Further, the panel forms an enclosure between the first and the second face. Additionally, the illumination device includes a first luminaire module arranged in the enclosure and configured to output light in a first output angular range. The light output in the first output angular range has a prevalent propagation direction with a vertical component towards a first target area.

Claims

1. An illumination device comprising:

amount;

a panel comprising a first face and a second opposing face forming an enclosure, the first and second faces extending in a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein, when mounted to a floor, the mount supports the panel so that the first direction is a vertical direction and the second direction is a horizontal direction; and

a first luminaire module arranged within the enclosure and configured to direct light from the panel in a first output angular range, wherein the light in the first output angular range has a prevalent propagation direction with a component in the first direction towards a first target area,

the first luminaire module comprising;

first light-emitting elements (LEEs) distributed along the second direction, the first LEEs configured to emit light in a first emission angular range;

first primary optics coupled with the first LEEs and configured to redirect light emitted by the first LEEs as redirected light in a first collimated angular range;

a first solid light guide elongated along the second direction and disposed between the first primary optic and a first secondary optic, the first solid light guide configured to receive the redirected light and guide at least some of the received light along the first direction of the first solid light guide and provide the guided light at a distal end of the first solid light guide to the first secondary optic; and

the first secondary optic elongated along the second direction and comprising a first redirecting surface and a first output surface, the first redirecting surface arranged and configured to reflect the guided light received from the first solid light guide as reflected light in a first reflected angular range, and the first output surface arranged and configured to transmit the reflected light and to output the transmitted light towards the first target area.

2. The illumination device of claim 1, further comprising:

a second luminaire module arranged in the enclosure and configured to output light in a second output angular range, wherein the light output in the second output angular range has a prevalent propagation direction with a component in the first direction towards a second target area,

the second luminaire module comprising;

second LEEs distributed along the second direction, the second LEEs configured to emit light in a second emission angular range;

second primary optics coupled with the second LEEs and configured to redirect light emitted by the second LEEs as redirected light in a second collimated angular range;

a second solid light guide elongated along the second direction and disposed between the second primary optic and a second secondary optic, the second solid light guide configured to receive the redirected light and guide at least some of the received light along the first direction and provide the guided light at a distal end of the second solid light guide to the second secondary optics; and

the second secondary optic elongated along the second direction and comprising a second redirecting surface and a second output surface, the second redirecting surface arranged and configured to reflect the guided light received from the second solid light guide as reflected light in a second reflected angular range, and the second output surface arranged and configured to transmit the reflected light and to output the transmitted light towards the second target area.

3. The illumination device of claim 2, wherein the first and second LEEs are powered independently.

4. The illumination device of claim 2, wherein the first output angular range and the second output angular range are mirror symmetrical with respect to a plane parallel to and between the first and second faces of the panel.

5. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein

the first luminaire module further outputs light in a second output angular range, wherein the light output in the second output angular range has a prevalent propagation direction with a component towards a second target area, and

the first secondary optic of the first luminaire module further comprises a second redirecting surface and a second output surface, the second redirecting surface arranged and configured to reflect the light received from the first primary optics as reflected light in a second reflected angular range, and the second output surface arranged and configured to refract the reflected light and to output the refracted light towards the second target area.

6. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein

the first face of the panel comprises a first aperture located proximate a distal end of the panel with respect to a portion of the mount along the second direction, and

the light that is output by the first luminaire module passes through the first aperture towards the first target area.

7. The illumination device of claim 6, wherein the first aperture is elongated along the second direction.

8. The illumination device of claim 6, wherein the first aperture comprises a glass cover.

9. The illumination device of claim 2, wherein the second face of the panel comprises a second aperture located proximate a distal end of the panel with respect to a portion of the mount along the second direction, wherein the light that is output in the second output angular range passes through the second aperture towards the second target area.

10. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the panel is smaller than each of the second direction and the first direction of the first and second faces.

11. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein the panel is at least a portion of one of a cubical wall, a desk partition, a room partition, a wall panel, or an element of a piece of furniture.

12. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein a portion of the mount is configured to couple to at least one element for separating spaces along the second direction.

13. The illumination device of claim 12, wherein the illumination device is detachable from adjacent elements for separating spaces.

14. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein a portion of the mount is configured to couple to a top of an element for separating spaces.

15. An illumination device comprising:

a mount;

a panel comprising a first face and a second opposing face forming an enclosure, the first and second faces extending in a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein, when mounted to a floor, the mount supports the panel so that the first direction is a vertical direction and the second direction is a horizontal direction; and

a plurality of luminaire modules arranged in the enclosure, each luminaire module being configured to output light in a prevalent propagation direction with a component towards a respective target area,

each luminaire module comprising;

a plurality of light-emitting elements (LEEs) distributed along the second direction, the plurality of LEEs being configured to emit light;

one or more primary optics coupled with one or more corresponding LEEs of the plurality of LEEs and configured to redirect light emitted by the one or more corresponding LEEs as redirected light;

a solid light guide elongated along the second direction and disposed between the primary optic and a secondary optic, the solid light guide configured to receive the redirected light and guide at least some of the received light along the first direction of the solid light guide and provide the guided light at a distal end of the solid light guide to the secondary optic; and

the secondary optic elongated along the second direction and comprising one or more redirecting surfaces and one or more output surfaces corresponding to the one or more redirecting surfaces, the one or more redirecting surface being arranged and configured to reflect the guided light received from the solid light guide as reflected light towards the corresponding one or more output surfaces, and the one or more output surfaces being arranged and configured to refract the reflected light and to output the refracted light towards the respective target area.

16. The illumination device of claim 15, wherein some luminaire modules of the plurality of luminaire modules are configured and arranged to only output light towards a respective target area proximate to the first face of the panel and some luminaire modules of the plurality of luminaire modules are arranged to only output light towards a respective target area proximate to the second face of the panel.

17. The illumination device of claim 15, wherein at least some luminaire modules of the plurality of luminaire modules are configured and arranged to output light towards respective target areas proximate to the first and the second face of the panel.

18. The illumination device of claim 17, wherein the at least some luminaire modules are configured to output the light towards the respective target area proximate to the first face of the panel in an angular range with different divergence and asymmetric prevalent propagation direction than an angular range of the light output towards the respective target area proximate to the second face of the panel.

19. The illumination device of claim 15, wherein power to the plurality of LEEs of at least some luminaire modules of the plurality of luminaire modules is controlled independently to independently control a light output for each of the at least some luminaire modules.

20. The illumination device of claim 15, wherein at least some of the plurality of luminaire modules are configured to output light downward within +/−

40degrees relative to the panel.