U.S. patent application number 16/256496 was filed with the patent office on 2019-05-23 for ceiling-based led auditorium pathway lighting apparatus.
This patent application is currently assigned to Tempo Industries, LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is Tempo Industries, LLC. Invention is credited to Michael D. Bremser, David Kim, Thomas Lueken, Dennis Pearson, Mark Shurtleff.
Application Number | 20190154217 16/256496 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 59053973 |
Filed Date | 2019-05-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20190154217 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kim; David ; et al. |
May 23, 2019 |
CEILING-BASED LED AUDITORIUM PATHWAY LIGHTING APPARATUS
Abstract
Auditorium pathways, such as vertical and horizontal aisle ways,
are illuminated by light fixtures located above the pathways, the
light fixtures comprising a plurality of LEDs whose light is
focused into a light beam of a width selected to illuminate the
pathway. In one embodiment, the light beam is configured such that
it may be disposed between a plurality of patrons and a stage or
screen to illuminate a pathway while remaining invisible to the
patrons.
Inventors: |
Kim; David; (Garden Grove,
CA) ; Lueken; Thomas; (Beaumont, CA) ;
Bremser; Michael D.; (Seal Beach, CA) ; Shurtleff;
Mark; (Huntington Beach, CA) ; Pearson; Dennis;
(Foothill Ranch, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Tempo Industries, LLC |
Irvine |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Tempo Industries, LLC
Irvine
CA
|
Family ID: |
59053973 |
Appl. No.: |
16/256496 |
Filed: |
January 24, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
15466864 |
Mar 23, 2017 |
10222012 |
|
|
16256496 |
|
|
|
|
62372161 |
Aug 8, 2016 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F21W 2131/406 20130101;
G02B 27/30 20130101; F21V 11/02 20130101; F21V 3/02 20130101; F21V
11/08 20130101; F21W 2131/407 20130101; F21S 4/28 20160101; F21V
13/02 20130101; F21Y 2103/10 20160801; F21V 5/007 20130101; F21V
5/045 20130101; F21W 2111/02 20130101; F21Y 2115/10 20160801; F21S
8/04 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F21S 8/04 20060101
F21S008/04; F21S 4/28 20060101 F21S004/28; F21V 5/00 20060101
F21V005/00; F21V 11/08 20060101 F21V011/08; G02B 27/30 20060101
G02B027/30; F21V 11/02 20060101 F21V011/02; F21V 13/02 20060101
F21V013/02 |
Claims
1. Auditorium or theatre lighting apparatus configured to
illuminate an aisle way and comprising: a light fixture located
above an aisle way of an auditorium; the light fixture comprising a
plurality of LEDs and a light focusing lens and being configured to
focus light from the plurality of LEDs in a beam of a width
selected to illuminate a floor of the aisle way and which beam,
when disposed between a plurality of patrons and a stage or screen
located in a front of the auditorium, is invisible to those
patrons.
2. The lighting apparatus of claim 1 wherein the light fixture is
configured to be located 30 feet or more above the aisle way.
3. The lighting apparatus of claim 1 wherein the light fixture is
configured to provide light to a floor of an aisle way, which floor
is between three and five feet in width.
4. The lighting apparatus of claim 1 wherein the light fixture is
configured to provide light to a floor of the aisle way which is at
a level of 0.25 foot candles or less.
5. The lighting apparatus of claim 1 wherein the light fixture is
configured to be located 30 feet or more above the aisle way; to
illuminate an aisle way floor which is between three and five feet
in width; and to provide light to the floor of the aisle way which
is at a level of 0.25 foot candles or less.
6. A method of illuminating a pathway in a theatre or auditorium,
the pathway being located between a plurality of patrons and a
screen or stage to be viewed by the patrons, the method comprising:
positioning a light fixture comprising a plurality of LEDs above
the pathway; and generating illumination from the light fixture in
the form of a light beam of a width selected to light a floor of
the pathway while at the same time being invisible to said
patrons.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein the light fixture is positioned 30
feet or more above the aisle way.
8. The method of claim 6 further comprising configuring the light
fixture to illuminate a floor of a pathway which is between three
and five feet in width.
9. The method of claim 6 further comprising configuring the light
fixture to provide light to the floor of said pathway which is at a
level of 0.25 foot candles or less.
10. The method of claim of claim 6 further comprising: positioning
the light fixture 30 feet or more above the aisle way; configuring
the light fixture to illuminate an aisle way floor which is between
three and five feet in width; and further configuring the light
fixture to provide light to the floor of the aisle way which is at
a level of 0.25 foot candles or less.
11. Auditorium or theatre lighting apparatus configured illuminate
only an aisle way of the theatre or auditorium and comprising: a
light fixture configured to mount at a ceiling level of an
auditorium or theatre and comprising a plurality of LEDs and a
light focusing lens, the light fixture being further configured to
focus light from the plurality of LEDs in a beam of a width
selected to illuminate a floor of the aisle way and configured to
produce a beam, which, when disposed between a plurality of patrons
and a stage or screen located in a front of the auditorium or in a
front of the theatre, is invisible to those patrons.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the light fixture is
configured to be located 30 feet or more above the aisle way; to
illuminate an aisle way floor which is between three and five feet
in width; and to provide light to the floor which is at a level of
0.25 foot candles or less.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S.
non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 15/466,864, filed Mar.
23, 2017, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S.
Provisional Patent Application No. 62/372,161, filed Aug. 8, 2016,
both applications entitled, "Ceiling-Based Auditorium Pathway
Lighting Apparatus," the contents of each of which is incorporated
by reference herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] The subject disclosure relates to LED light fixtures and
more particularly to ceiling-based LED lighting apparatus for
lighting pathways or aisle ways in, for example, auditoriums and
motion picture theatres.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
[0003] Auditorium lighting apparatus has been provided in the past,
for example, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 9,596,740, assigned to
Tempo Industries, LLC, Irvine, Calif., the assignee of the subject
application.
SUMMARY
[0004] According to illustrative embodiments, auditorium pathways,
such as vertical and horizontal aisle ways, are illuminated by
light fixtures located above the pathways, the light fixtures
comprising a plurality of LEDs whose light is focused into a light
beam of a width selected to illuminate the pathway. According to an
illustrative embodiment, the light beam is configured such that it
may be disposed between a plurality of patrons and a stage or
screen to illuminate a pathway while remaining invisible to the
patrons.
[0005] According to an illustrative embodiment, the light fixtures
may comprise a plurality of LEDs, a plurality of vertical baffles,
and a plurality of first apertures, each first aperture being
disposed between a pair of the vertical baffles and over a
respective one of the LEDs. A glare shield is mounted over the
plurality of baffles and has a plurality of second apertures
therein, each second aperture overlying a respective one of the
first apertures, and a lens is disposed between the second
apertures and the LEDs.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a ceiling-based
LED light fixture according to an illustrative embodiment;
[0007] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an illustrative
embodiment in an assembled state;
[0008] FIG. 3 is a side view of an illustrative embodiment;
[0009] FIG. 4 is a light output plot of an illustrative
ceiling-based LED light fixture;
[0010] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative theatre
aisle way arrangement.
[0011] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment;
and
[0012] FIG. 7 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] An illustrative ceiling-based LED light fixture 11 is shown
in FIG. 1. The light fixture 11 includes a wiring rail platform or
fixture base 13, and an LED circuit board mounting platform 15,
which mounts an LED circuit board 17 carrying one or more LEDs,
e.g. 19. In one embodiment, there may be twenty one LEDs 19. The
illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1 further includes an LED
horizontal baffle/aperture component 21, an LED glare shield 23,
and a collimator lens 25.
[0014] The baffle component 21 has a plurality of rectangular
vertical baffles, e.g. 22, with an aperture 26 for passing light
located between each pair of vertical baffles 22. In one
embodiment, the height H1, width W, and thickness T of the baffles
22 are, respectively, 0.5 inches high by 0.75 inches wide by 0.125
inches thick. In one embodiment, the baffles 22 are spaced 0.535
inches apart from one another to correspond with the spacing of the
LEDs 19. In one embodiment, the apertures 26 are rectangular slits
of width 0.064 inches, but could have other widths or other shapes
in other embodiments.
[0015] In one embodiment, the glare shield 23 is trapezoidal in
cross section and has dimensions A, B, C, D, E, as shown in FIG. 2
respectively of: 0.75, 1.00, 1.38 0.99 and 2.00 inches. The glare
shield 23 has a plurality of apertures or slits 24 in its generally
rectangular top surface 30. In one embodiment, these slits 24 are
equally spaced apart from one another, and each slit 24 has
dimensions of 0.375 inches wide by 0.75 inches long. In one
embodiment, each aperture 24 is centrally positioned over one of
the apertures 26 in the baffle 21. The apertures 24 may have other
shapes in other embodiments, for example, such as circular.
[0016] In one embodiment, the collimator lens 25 is a Fresnel lens.
In one embodiment, the collimator lens 25 is eleven inches long and
slides into a horizontal slit 28 in the glare shield 23. In such an
embodiment, the circuit board 17 may be 11.13 inches long.
Different dimensions of course may be used in other
embodiments.
[0017] In one illustrative embodiment, the circuit board mounting
platform 15 may be mounted in conforming channels in the wiring
rail platform 13. The horizontal baffle/aperture component 21 is
positioned above the circuit board mounting platform 15 and the
LEDs 19, and the LED glare shield 23 with collimator lens 25 in
place is mounted down over the baffle/aperture component 21 so as
to encase it.
[0018] In the alternate embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the
baffle/aperture component 21 and glare shield 23 may be formed as a
single component 130, for example, by a 3D printing process. The
single component 130 has baffles 122 and a slit 128 for receiving a
lens such as lens 25 of FIG. 1. Apertures are formed between the
baffles 122 as discussed in connection with FIG. 1. Bosses 133 for
receiving screws or other mechanical fasteners are formed at each
end of the component 130 to facilitate attachment of the component
130 to a mounting platform such as mounting platform 15 of FIG. 1.
An optional shield 131 is also formed along a top edge of the
component 130 in one embodiment.
[0019] In one embodiment, the wiring rail platform 13 may be an
extruded metal material such as aluminum, and the circuit board
mounting platform 19 is cast from aluminum. The horizontal
baffle/aperture 25 may be formed, for example, of thermoplastic,
and the glare shield 23 may be fabricated of polycarbonate. The
collimator lens 25 may also be formed of polycarbonate. Other
suitable materials can of course be used for all these components
in other embodiments.
[0020] As noted above, in one embodiment, the baffle/aperture
component 21 includes a plurality of rectangular baffle elements
22. In between each baffle element 22 is an aperture 26, each of
which is positioned to allow passage of light generated by a
respective one of the LEDs 19. In one embodiment, an aperture 26 is
positioned over each LED 19. In one embodiment, the LED glare
shield 23 includes a plurality of slits 24, which are each
positioned over a respective one of the LEDs 19.
[0021] In operation, the collimating lens 25 focuses the light
generated by the LEDS 19 into a narrow beam, the baffles 22 serve
to cut-off or limit the exiting angle of light from the apertures,
which would result in undesirable lateral spread of light, and the
glare shield 23 blocks light reflected from the internal surfaces
of the baffles 22 and the lens holder from being visible to an
observer on the ground or floor when located more than a few feet
from the resulting light pattern on the ground or floor.
[0022] In one embodiment, the circuit board 17 may be attached to
the circuit board mounting platform 15 by thermal adhesive. In one
embodiment, the circuit board mounting platform 15 pivotally
engages one side of the wiring rail platform 13, rests on the other
side, and is fastened with screws, for example, as illustrated in
U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 14/750,407 and 15/217,546, both
incorporated by reference herein.
[0023] As shown in FIG. 4, the light fixture apparatus 11 may be
mounted or positioned at a height of, for example, forty feet above
a surface 37 to be illuminated. In one such embodiment, the
baffle/aperture 21, glare shield 23, and collimator lens 25 are
constructed to generate a narrow primary beam angle which is three
feet wide at the surface 37 (an angle of 4.3 degrees), while having
a limited stray light "spill zone" 61 of about six inches. With
such an embodiment, theatre pathways three to five feet wide may be
illuminated from a fixture 11 positioned forty feet above the
theatre pathway. Other embodiments may be constructed to light
similar width pathways from different heights, for example, such as
thirty feet.
[0024] The light provided at the surface 37 in various embodiments
may be of such an intensity that the light beam 60 may be
positioned between patrons and a movie screen or stage, for
example, to illuminate horizontal aisle ways, while not being
visible to those patrons. In one embodiment, the fixture 11 may
provide illumination of 0.025 foot candles (fc) at the surface 37.
In one embodiment, full power on a 12 inch module 11 puts out 10
fc, and using appropriate electronic dimmers, can be adjusted down
to 0.1 fc with a preferred level of >0.2 fc to achieve light
levels compliant with National Building Code and similar
requirements for egress and safety illumination within movie
theater auditoriums and similar public spaces.
[0025] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of the arrangement of aisle
ways in an auditorium or theatre where illustrative embodiments may
find application. Such an arrangement may include first and second
up and down aisle ways 41, 43 at respective sides of the auditorium
and a horizontal aisle way 45 connecting the respective up and down
aisle ways 41, 43. In typical cases, these aisle ways, e.g. 41, 43,
may have widths in the range of three to five feet, and a length L
of, for example, sixty feet, while the width of the horizontal
aisle way 45 may be, for example, forty-five feet with a ceiling
height of 30 to 40 feet. Light fixtures according to illustrative
embodiments may be positioned or mounted in or at the ceiling of
such an auditorium and employed to illuminate such pathways without
disturbing the view of the stage or screen by patrons seated in the
auditorium or theatre.
[0026] Thus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various
adaptations and modifications of the just described illustrative
embodiments can be configured without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that,
within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be
practiced other than as specifically described herein.
* * * * *