U.S. patent application number 17/171671 was filed with the patent office on 2021-06-03 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 | 20210164627 17/171671 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005399997 |
Filed Date | 2021-06-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20210164627 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kim; David ; et al. |
June 3, 2021 |
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: |
1000005399997 |
Appl. No.: |
17/171671 |
Filed: |
February 9, 2021 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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16256496 |
Jan 24, 2019 |
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17171671 |
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15466864 |
Mar 23, 2017 |
10222012 |
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16256496 |
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62372161 |
Aug 8, 2016 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F21V 13/02 20130101;
F21V 5/045 20130101; F21S 8/04 20130101; F21V 11/08 20130101; F21Y
2115/10 20160801; F21W 2111/02 20130101; F21Y 2103/10 20160801;
F21S 4/28 20160101; F21V 5/007 20130101; F21W 2131/406 20130101;
F21W 2131/407 20130101; G02B 27/30 20130101; F21V 11/02 20130101;
F21V 3/02 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F21S 8/04 20060101
F21S008/04; F21V 11/02 20060101 F21V011/02; F21V 13/02 20060101
F21V013/02; F21V 11/08 20060101 F21V011/08; F21V 5/00 20180101
F21V005/00; G02B 27/30 20060101 G02B027/30; F21S 4/28 20160101
F21S004/28 |
Claims
1. Auditorium or theatre lighting apparatus configured to
illuminate an aisle way, the aisle way being positioned above the
aisleway and between a plurality of patrons seated closest to the
aisle way and a stage or screen located in a front of the
auditorium or theatre, the lighting apparatus comprising: a light
fixture located above the aisle way of the auditorium or theatre
and above the level of a seating area located in the auditorium or
theatre; the light fixture comprising a plurality of LEDs and a
light focusing lens, the light fixture being so structured as to
generate a beam of light from the plurality of LEDs which has a
width selected to illuminate a floor of the aisle way and which is
invisible to said plurality of patrons when viewing said stage or
screen wherein the aisle way is between three and five feet wide
and wherein the light provided to the aisle way is at a level of
0.25 foot candles or less.
2. The lighting apparatus of claim 1 further configured to be
located 30 feet or more above the aisle way.
3. A method of illuminating a pathway in a theatre or auditorium,
the pathway being located between a plurality of patrons seated
nearest the pathway 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 above the
plurality of patrons; 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
plurality of patrons when viewing said stage or screen.
4. The method of claim 3 further comprising positioning the light
fixture 30 feet or more above the aisle way.
5. The method of claim 3 further comprising configuring the light
fixture to illuminate a floor of a pathway which is between three
and five feet in width.
6. The method of claim 3 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.
7. The method of claim 3 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.
8. Auditorium or theatre lighting apparatus configured to
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 and the light fixture being further
structured so as to generate a beam of light from the plurality of
LEDs which is of a width selected to illuminate a floor of the
aisle way from said ceiling level and, which, when disposed between
a plurality of patrons seated closest to the aisle way and viewing
a stage or screen located in a front of the auditorium or in a
front of the theatre, is invisible to those patrons.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 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.
10. Light fixture apparatus for illuminating an auditorium or
theatre aisle way, the aisle way being positioned between a
plurality of patrons and a screen or stage of the auditorium or
theatre, the light fixture comprising: a plurality of LEDs; a
surface located above the LEDs which is continuous and opaque with
the exception of a plurality of apertures located in the surface
and a plurality baffles each positioned to project vertically from
the surface; each aperture being disposed between a pair of the
vertical baffles and over a respective one of the LEDs such that
light from each LED passes through its respective aperture; a lens
disposed above the plurality of apertures and the plurality of
LEDs; wherein the lens is configured to focus the light generated
by the plurality of LEDs and wherein the plurality of vertical
baffles are configured to limit the exiting angle of light from the
plurality of apertures; the light fixture apparatus further being
configured to produce a beam width selected to illuminate the aisle
way; wherein the baffles and lens are configured to generate a
primary beam angle which is three to five feet wide at a surface of
said aisle way; and wherein the light level provided to a said
aisle way is in the range of 0.2 to 0.25 foot candles.
11. The light fixture apparatus of claim 10 further configured such
that said beam is invisible to said patrons when viewing said
screen or stage.
12. The light fixture apparatus of claim 10 wherein the plurality
of LEDs are mounted in a row on a circuit board.
13. The light fixture apparatus of claim 12 wherein said row is a
linear row.
14. The light fixture apparatus of claim 10 wherein the light
fixture apparatus is located at a ceiling level of the theatre or
auditorium.
15. The lighting apparatus of claim 14 wherein the lighting
apparatus is configured to be located 30 feet or more above the
aisle way.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S.
non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 16/256,496, filed Jan.
24, 2019, which 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,
all three 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 applications Ser. No. 14/750,407 and Ser. No.
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.
* * * * *