Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
LIGHT FIXTURE
This invention relates to a light fixture according to
the preamble of claim 1.
In particular, it concerns a building light fixture that,
for example, can be mounted on the ceiling of a room. Similarly,
the light fixture also_may be an outdoor light fixture.
Preferably, the light fixture serves to illuminate areas of the
f..
building. Basically, it is desirable to achieve a homogenous
distribution of light, and, in the case of light fixtures of
varying color, to achieve, if possible, a homogenous color mixirig.
A light fixture of the applicant, which obviously became
known through prior use, comprises a generally trough-shaped
reflector with a reflecting inside face. The applicant's light
fixtures, which became known under the name "focal flood," have
three fluorescent lamps of different colors inside the reflector
that may be selected for the purpose of realizing different mixed
colors. The one-piece trough-shaped reflector has two side walls
and a floo.r wall, in the walls.being oriented in such a way that
overall this essentially produces a parabolic cross-section. 'The
top of the reflector forms the floor of the reflector.
.Fu.rthermore, two narrow side walls are provided at the end of the
reflector. A diffuser element is provided in the light outlet, and
mixes the light components of the basic colors of the three light
sources.
On the basis of the known light fixture, it is the object
of the present invention to provide a light fixture by using LED's
(.light emitting diodes) as a light source, which largely prevents
- 1 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
the structures of the individual light sources from melting and, by
providing a compact style, offers the option of a simple assembly.
The invention achieves this object with the features of
claim 1, especially with the features of the charactering clause
and, accordingly, is characterized in that at least the first side
wall and the second side wall located opposite the first side wall,
have at least a section aligned along a plane on which several
LED's are provided, the light fixture having LED's of varying
colors, and the LED's being provided in such a way that the
predominant portion of the light emitted by the LED provided on one
side wall, reaches the diffuser element only after reflection off
another side wall.
The principle of the invention initially consists in
providing side wall sections of the reflector that are oriented
flat or two-dimensionally, that is, along one plane. The sections
enable a particularly simple fixing of the LED's that, for example,
can be supported by a printed-circuit board on the reflector. By a
particularly simple method, lying flat, the printed-circuit board
may be fixed on the planar section,so that a simple and secure
mounting is possible with simple fixing means. Mounting the
pr.znted-circuit board as flush as possible in the planar section
thus enables the stable mounting of the printed-circuit board on.
the reflector element. The provision of a planar section makes it
possible to provide for a large positioning surface for the
printed-circuit board.
For example, the LED's may project through openings in
the section into the inside area of the reflector, while the
printed-circuit b,oard on an outside face of the section lies flat
against the reflector. By mounting the printed-circuit boarci
- 2 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
outside the interior of the reflector, the printed-circuit board is
unable to influence the distribution of light and the transmission
of light within the reflector.
The flat design of a section of a side wall of the
reflector, apart from fixing flat printed-circuit boards with LED's
and the simple mounting of the printed-circuit boards, also enables
the simple fixing of a heat sink to the ou-tside of the printed-
circuit board, so that the cooling element does not influence the
mixing of light and the transmission of light inside the reflector.
The cooling element or the heat sink thus may also be designed in
.an advantageous manner, in that it is flat or voluminous, securely
mounted, and stable on the reflector housing, directly on or above
the printed-circuit board.
Another major aspect of the invention is that at least on
the first side wall and at least on the second side wall of the
reflector located opposite the side wall, LED's are provided on the
walls. In principle, this produces at least one array of LED's in
the: reflector, the array being distributed around the interior of
the reflector, which means that the LED's are spaced at a distance
from one another. Furthermore, it is provided that the predominant
portion of the light emitted by the LED reaches the diffuser
element only after reflection off another side wall, especially
only after reflection off the side wall located opposite the side
wall on which the LED is fixed. This ensures that in any case only
a small portion of the light emitted by the LED's reaches the
diffuser element directly. Preferably, this is the case when the
dominant portion of the light emitted by the LED is reflected off
the opposite side wall, there is the possibility that this portion
- 3 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
of light impinges on a planar inside surface, so that at the point
a reflection occurs which can be predetermined particularly well.
Overall, the inventive embodiment enables the reflector
element and the orientation of the LED's to create a particularly
good color mixing of varying colors of light. Even before all the
light emitted by all LED's impinges on the diffuser element, a
thorough color mixing already has occurred. The mixing is improved
even further by the diffuser element.
A viewer outside the light fixture, when viewing the
diffuser element directly, is unable to differentiate the
individual light sources in terms of their configuration and in
terras of their color. Similarly, a building surface illuminated by
this light fixture is homogeneously illuminated in terms of the
light fixture's intensity and in terms of its mixing color.
The inventive light fixture furthermore allows highly
efficient operation, since the occurrence of loss of electric power
is extremely negligible. The inventive light fixture is able to
achieve a sufficiently homogeneous mixing of color with a
relatively low nuri-ber of reflections. The predominant portion of
the light emitted by an LED impinges on the diffuser element
following a single reflection off a side wall. However, it cannot
be excluded that some components of the light emitted by an LED
reach the diffuser element only after a multiple reflection on
several side walls or possibly also on the floor. In order to
achieve a high luminous efficiency, an excessively high number of
reflections, however, is considered to be a disadvantage, and can
be prevented with the light fixture according to the invention.
- 4 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
The light fixture according to the invention-makes for a
very compact space-saving design with particularly homogeneous
color mixing and simple style.
The trough-shaped reflector within the meaning of the
present patent application in particular is an elongated reflector
comprising a greater longitudinal dimension than a transverse
dimension. With this design, the wording "trough-shaped
reflector," however, is not limited within the meaning of the
present patent application. This term also refers to those
reflectors whose longitudinal dimensions are approximately the same
as their transverse dimensions.
The trough-shaped reflector element has a light outlet in
which a diffuser element is provided. In particular, in the case
of the light fixture being designed as an orientation light
fixture, decorative light fixture, or emergency light fixture, the
reflector element is a severely diffused diffuser element which is
lighted from the back and practically radiates light, for example,
to illuminate a notice graphic. In this case, the' light outlet of
the trough-shaped reflector element also constitutes the light
outlet of the light fixture.
With all other light fixtures, for example, with wall or
ceiling washers, within the path of light behind the light outlet
of the trough-shaped reflector and/or within the path of light
behind the diffuser element, may be provided, another additional
reflector element, for example, a reflector configuration referred
to as a light shovel. This enables the transmission or control of
a light that, in terms of color and luminous intensity, has been
mixed optimally.
- 5 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a
printed-circuit board that carries several LED's is mounted on an
outside face of the section. This enables a particularly simple
assembly, because several LED's can be fixed to the reflector
element simultaneously, that is, during a single assembly phase.
Furthermore, conventional components can be used, since the flat
design of the fixing section by all means allows conventional
fasteners to be used. Ultimately, typical conventional two-
dimensional printed-circuit boards may also be used.
According to another preferred embodiment of the
invention, the printed-circuit board is fixed to the section by
means of screws and/or detents. This enables a particularly
construction method in which one is able to fall back on
conventional fasteners.
According to another preferred embodiment of the
invention, the LED's project from the printed-circuit board into an
.interior of the reflector. This enables a particularly
advantageous light transmission and mixing of the light emitted by
the LED's within the reflector element, and a particularly simple
fixing of the printed-circuit board and possibly of the cooling
elements. Furthermore, the cooling elements and printed-circuit
board do not influence the transmission of light within the
reflector element.
According to another preferred embodiment of the
invention, openings are provided in the section. This enables the
LED's to pass through or alternately for the light emitted by the
LED's to pass through. In the latter case, the LED's may also be
provided outside the - interior of the reflector, for "example,
immediately adjacent the openings.
- 6 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
Preferably, the LED's at least in part project through
the openings and thus into the interior of the reflector element.
Furthermore, it is preferable if a heat sink is provided
on an outside face of the printed-circuit board. This enables the
use of conventional components in which the components are mounted
within the reflector element outside the reflector, without an
interfering influence on the transmission of light.
According to another preferred embodiment of the
invention, at least one printed-circuit board is provided on which
at least six LED's are spaced apart frorn one another. This enables
a particularly preferred homogeneous distribution of light, as a
certain differentiation of the structure of the sources of light
can be achieved by the orientation of the LED's that are spaced
along the interior of the reflector elements. Furthermore, the
spaced orientation may preferably be such that the LED's are
distributed evenly over the area of the printed-circuit board.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the dimension of the
printed-circuit board essentially.corresponds to a large section of
the area and/or also preferably to a large section of the area of
the side wall. Consequently, this enables a particularly even
distribution of the array of the LED's across the entire interior
of the reflector, which ensures a further improved homogenous color
mixing.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the
invention, at least one printed-circuit board is provided on which
at least two red, two blue, and two green LED's are spaced apart
from one another. This enables a further preferred homogeneous
color mixing with simple design, in which one is able to fall back
on conventional printed-circuit boards.
- 7 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
According to a further preferred embodiment of the
invention, the reflector has four side walls and particularly one
floor. This enables a particularly simple design of the reflector
element consisting of five components, in which each component may
consist of a disk-shaped body.. Another preferred embodiment is
that the two side walls, especially both side walls, possibly also
the floor, extend along a pl-ane. This makes it possible to provide
a particularly simple design and enables a particularly good
predetermination from the distribution of light of the light
fixture.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the
invention, the LED's are individually controllable in order to
achieve a changeable mixing color of the light fixtures
individually or as a group. Typically, the light fixtures are
connected to a central controller from which the fixture is able to
receive control signals, for example, according to the DALI
protocol. Individual LED's are selectable in terms of their
intensity and generate different mixing colors of the light
fixture.
According to another preferred embodiment of the
invention, the trough-shaped reflector extends or broadens or
flares toward the light outlet exit. This enables a particularly
good transmission of the overall flow of light from the LED's to
the light outlet with a very small number of reflections, so that
overall a high degree of light efficiency, that is, luminous
efficiency, can be realized.
According to another preferred embodiment of the
irivention, the reflector element is generally of trapezoidal cross
section. This enables a,particularly simple.design and a
- 8 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
particularly good color mixing of the various colors emitted by the
LED's.
According to another preferred embodiment of the
invention, the reflector element is generally of triangular cross
section. Such a cross-section enables a simple design.
According to another preferred embodiment of the
invention, the reflector element is of a generally rectangular
cross-section. Such a cross-section enables a particularly simple
design of the light fixture.
According to another preferred embodiment of the
invention, a second reflector element is provided in the path of
light behind the diffuser element and/or in the path of the light
behind the light outlet of the trough-shaped reflector. This
embodiment enables one, in a particularly advantageous manner, to
provide a light fixture that, for example, is designed as a wall
washer or ceiling washer that transmits the light that is optimally
mixed in the trough-shaped reflector in terms of color and
distribution of light, and thus is able to cast this light, for
example, on a surface of the building. This embodiment, for
example, enables the construction of a compact light fixture with a
high degree of non-glare.
Other advantages of the invention are revealed in the
uncited sub-claims and by means of the following description of the
embodiments presented in the drawings. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic presentation of a room of a
building with an embodiment of a light fixture according to the
invention provided on a ceiling of the room and illuminating a side
wall of the room;
- 9 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
FIG. 2 is a detailed presentation of a schematic,
sectional view of the reflector element of the first embodiment of
the light fixture shown in FIG. 1 with a generally trapezoidal
reflector element;
FIG. 3 is the embodiment of FIG. 2 in a sectional view
according to arrow III in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is the embodiment of FIG. 2 in top view according
to arrow IV in FIG. 3, the diffuser having been omitted for the
sake of clarity of view;
FIG. 5 is a second embodiment of a light fixture
according to the invention with a reflector element with a
triangular cross-section as shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is a third embodiment of a light fixture according
to the invention as shown in FIG. 2 with a reflector element with a
generally rectangular cross-section; and
FIG. 7 is a fourth embodiment of a light fixture
according to the invention as shown in FIG. 2 with a second
reflector element provided in the path of light behind the light
outlet of the trough-shaped reflector element. The light fixture according to
FIG. 1, which in all the
figures is designated as 10, is provided on a ceiling 11 of a
building. It serves to illuminate the wall surface 12, but
similarly may be used in a manner not shown in the drawings for
illuminating a floor surface 14 or an item which is not shown or an
outdoor surface. The person 13 shown in the drawing illustrates
the layout of the room.
According to FIG. 1, the light fixture only has a
diagrammatically shown housing of the light fixture 15 with an
interior of the light fixture L in which a reflector element 16 is
- 10 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
provided, which hereinafter is described in detail. In FIG. l, the
light fixture 15 is shown only in the form of a diagrammatic sketch
and can, for example, also be provided with a glass cover (not
shown) in the light outlet of the light fixture. Similarly, the
housing 15 of the lamp, which is not shown in the drawing, may be
very similar or adapted to the shape of the reflector element 16.
The dimensions of the housing 15 of the light fixture 10 must not
considerably exceed the dimensions of the reflector element 16.
Overall, this enables the provision of a very compact design of the
light fixture 1Ø On the other hand, FIG. 1 shows a light fixture
housing 15 whose dimensions are considerably greater than those of
the reflector element 16.
Preferably inside the light fixture L, but outside the
reflector 16, connections are provided, such as operating devices
for the light source, for example, transformers or control devices,
and connecting lines, etc. The light fixture may be connected via
a signal line with a control unit, which is not shown, and, of
course, is connected with voltage supply lines.
According to the invention, inside.the lamp 15 are
various colored light sources in the form of LED's. The light
fixture 10 is intended to transmit a homogenous light in terms of
its intensity and color mixing, so that the wall surface 12 in the
area of the cone of light 17 is illuminated as homogeneously as
possible. Similarly, it is the object of the invention that the
user 13, when looking at the light fixture 15 from various viewing
angles is unable to differentiate the light sources contained
therein.
FIG. 2 shows in a detailed highly diagrammatic view in a
partial cross-section a first embodiment of an inventive reflector
- 11 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
element 16 of the light fixture 10. The reflector element 16 is
generally trough-shaped and is trapezoidal in cross-section and in
longitudinal section, and, as shown, in FIG. 4, has a maximum
longitudinal dimension 1, and a maximum transverse dimension q in
the area of a light outlet 23 of the reflector 16. The actual
light outlet 23 thus has an area equal to 1 x q.
The reflector element 16 has a first side wall 18 and a
second side wall 19 located opposite the wall. The two side walls
18 and 19 are interconnected via a third side wall 20 and a fourth
side wall 21. The respective upper areas of the four side walls,
18, 19, 20, 21, are interconnected via a floor 22.
When analyzing the sectional views in the embodiment of
FIGS. 2 and 4 a generally trapezoidal basic shape is shown in the
cross section according t'o FIG. 2 and in the longitudinal section
according to FIG. 3. The interior J of the reflector element 16
thus flares conically from the base plate 22 toward the light
outlet 23.
In the area of the light outlet 23 of the reflector
element 16, a diffuser element 24 is provided that can be formed by
a conventional, disk-shaped element, for example, in the form of a
frosted, for example, sand-blasted glass body, a film or the like.
At the first side wall 18 of the reflector element 16, a
printed-circuit board 25a is provided, an inside face 28 of which
rests against an outside face 29 of the first side wall 18 or at
least is aligned along it. Since the first side wall 18 is
provided along a plane and therefore, forms a two-dimensional and
disk-shaped body, the printed-circuit board 25a also may be two-
dimensional, that is, be essentially flat. The printed-circuit
board 25a is fixed to the first side wall 18, for example, by means
- 12 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
of-screw elements not shown in FIG. 2, or alternatively by clip
elements, corresponding detents or the like.
As shown best in FIGS. 3 and 4, a total of six LED's 27a,
27b, 27c, 27d, 27e, and 27f is fixed to the printed-circuit board
25a. The LED's, for example, may be so-called side-emitting LED's
or even so-called Lambert LED's. These two types of LED's
basically differ in terms of their radiation characteristics and
are sufficiently known from the prior art.
The LED's are typically soldered onto the printed-circuit
board and supplied with operating voltage via the printed-circuit
board. For this purpose, the printed-circuit boar,d has
corresponding conductor traces, possibly also electronic
components, of which no further details will be provided as to the
selection and the connection means for selecting the LED's.
It will be noted, however, that the side 30 of the
printed-circuit board 25a that faces away from the interior J, is
provided with a heat sink that is able to dissipate the heat
generated by the LED's during operation. The heat sink 26
essentially may be designed in the form of a block or a rectangle,
and possibly even disk-shaped, and thus is able to provide a large
surface necessary for cooling.
The diagrammatic presentation according to FIG. 3 shows
that the individual LED's 27a, 27b, 27c, 27d, 27e, and 27f are
located at a spacing s from one another. Therefore, the LED's 27a,
27b, 27c, 27d, 27e, and 27f are arrayed in a grid-like manner along
the first side wall 18, so that the LED's create a certain,
relatively uniform distribution of light. The LED's 27a, 27b, 27c,
27d, 27e, and 27f, as is shown in FIG. 3, essentially are
distributed uniformly across the area of the side wall 18.
- 13 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
In the first side wall 18, six openings, which are not
shown, are provided through which the LED's 27a, 27b, 27c, 27d,
27e, and 27f project, and, as is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2,
extend into the interior J.
Depending on the type of LED selected, for example, side-
emitting LED's or Lambert LED's, these LED's emit varying
distributions of light. Both types of LED's may be used. The path
of light within the reflector 16 will be described subsequently.
First of all,it will be noted that a printed-circuit
board 25b, which in FIG. 2 only is_indicated diagrammatically, is
provided on the opposite second side wall 19 on which three LED's
27g, 27h, and 27i are fixed (refer to FIG. 4). Similarly, a heat
sink can be provided for the printed-circuit board 25b that,
however, is not shown in FIG. 2. The second side wall 19 also is
oriented on a plane.
In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 4 the first wall 18 has
a printed-circuit board 25 with six LED's and ori the second wall 19
a printed-circuit board 25b with three LED's. Similarly, a larger
printed-circuit board, also comprising more than six LED's, can be
provided on the second side wall 19. Further, on the first side
wall 18, instead of a large printed-circuit board with six LED's, a
smaller printed-circuit board with only three LED's can be
provided.
Preferably, the planar sections of the side walls 18 and
19 can be populated with LED's in order to achieve a compact design
of the reflector element 16, so that the LED's are evenly
distributed across the area of the side walls 18 and 19.
Correspondingly, printed-circuit boards will be used predominantly
that have dimensions like the dimensions of the respective side
- 14 -
CA 02570234 20016-12-05
walls, and, if possible fill a large section of the area of the
side wall.
Instead of a large-area printed-circuit board, such as
printed-circuit board 25a on the side wall 18, several smaller
printed-circuit boards can be mounted next to one another and
similarly have dimensions that total essentially to the dimensions
of the side wall or at least the section of the side wall.
At this point, it will be noted that the inside faces of
these side walls 18, 19, 20, 21 and the floor 22 of the reflector
16 are designed in accordance with FIGS. 1 to 3 to be reflecting,
preferably highly reflecting.
In the following the preferred color mixing of the light
emitted by the LED's will be explained by means of FIG. 2:
According to FIG. 2, the LED 27a, for example, emits a
ray of light b that is reflected off the second wall 19, and
subsequently impinges on the diffuser 24.
The LED 27b emits a ray of light c that also is reflected
off the second side wall 19, and subsequently impinges on the
diffuser 24.
The LED 27g emits a corresponding ray of light a that is
reflected off the side wall 18 before impinging on the diffuser
element.
Irrespective of whether Lambert LED's or side-emitting
LED's are used, the three beams of light, a, b, c, which are shown
in FIG. 2, are representative. The predominant share of the light
emitted by the LED 27g is reflected by the first side wall 18
before it impinges on the diffuser element 24. Similarly, the
predominant share of the light emitted by the LED 27a and the light
emitted by the LED 28b are reflected off the second side wall 19.
- 15 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
Color-mixed light thus impinges on the diffuser element'
24. The diffuser element is able to further mix the light, as
indicated by the arrows a', b', and c'.
As is shown in FIG. 4, the predominant share of the light
emitted by the LED's is reflected off the opposite side walls.
This is achieved by aligning the LED's and the side walls 18 and
19. In the case of an LED (e.g., LED 27e) provided at the lateral
edge of the printed-circuit board 25a, for example, a light
component, as indicated by the ray of light e, can be reflected off
the opposite wall 19 before the ray emerges through the diffuser
element 24. On the other hand, another light component of this LED
27e, as indicated by the ray of light f, can be reflected off a
narrower side wall 21 of the reflector 16, before the ray emerges
through the rear diffuser element 24 in the direction of viewing of
the viewer of FIG. 4. The arrows d, e and f indicating the path of
light, as shown in FIG. 4, end at those points at which the light
emerges through the diffuser element 24 from the interior J of the
reflector element 16.
Because the=predominant share of all rays of light
initially at least are reflected off a side wall before the rays
impinge on the diffuser element, the total light reaching the
diffuser element 24 is already color-niixed.. The diffuser element
24 can improve the color mixing even further.
It will be noted that the maximum transverse dimension q
of the reflector element 16, for example, may be between 20 mm and
150 mm, preferably in the order of magnitude of 50 mm, and that the
longitudinal dimension 1 of the reflector element 16 may range
between 30 mm and 150 mm, preferably in the order of magnitude of
75 mm. Similarly, the floor 22 may have a longitudinal dimension m
- 16 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
ranging between 30 mm and 90 mm, preferably in the order of
magnitude of 55 mm, and a transverse dimension n, for example, in
the order of magnitude of 10 mm to 50 mm, preferably about 21 mm.
It will be noted that the shown configuration of the
printed-circuit boards 25a and 25b, as well as the corresponding
design of the related side walls 18 and 19 will be taken as an
example only. It is of vital importance that two opposite side
walls 18 and 19 be provided that have at least one planar section
on which one printed-circuit board with LED's can be fixed.
Preferably, as shown in the embodiments, all the side walls 18, 19,
20, 21 will be'planar, that is, two-dimensional.
Furthermore, the specified number of LED's on a printed-
circuit board will be taken as an example only. Preferably,
between 6-and 30 LED's are provided in a trough-shaped reflector
16. The number of LED's, their orientation, which LED is allocated
to which color at which location and how far apart the LED's are
spaced from one another, however, will depend on the intended
purpose, the overall size of the reflector 16 and the desired flow
of light.
The embodiment of FIG. 5 in a view analogous to FIG. 2,
has a generally triangular reflector 16 with a comparable
orientation of LED's. The printed-circuit board and the heat sink
are not shown. Color mixing of the light emitted by the LED's 27a,
27b, and 27g is effected in a comparable manner, similar to the
above-described embodiment.
The embodiment of FIG. 5 eliminates the need for a floor
22 as shown in FIG. 2. If a floor is provided, the floor 22 also
contributes to the reflection and flow of light toward the light
outlet 23 of the reflector element 16.
- 17 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
A third embodiment according to FIG. 6 has a reflector 16
of a generally rectangular cross-section. In this case, the LED's
27a, 27b, and 27g, of the side wall 16 and/or 19, are at a slight
angle, here the angle shown exaggerated. Similarly, the LED's 27a
and 27b can be provided jointly on a printed-circuit board, not
shown, which may be oriented offset to achieve the desired
configuration of the LED's, as shown in FIG. 6. Alternatively, the
LED's 27a and 27b may also be allocated to different printed-
circuit boards. Ultimately, it is possible to arrange the LED's at
a slight angle, the LED's not being related to the printed-circuit
board shown in FIG. 6, so that the printed-circuit board in
relation to the respective side wall 18 and/or 19 can be fixed flat
to the wall. This again facilitates fixing the printed-circuit
board to the side wall.
It will be noted that the size of the LED's shown in the
figures is exaggerated, and that LED's typically have smaller
dimensions, that the LED's themselves do not influence the color
mix"ing of the light, and especially do not create shadows.
The openings located in the side walls 18 and 19, through
which the LED's 27a, 27b, 27c, 27d, 27e, 27f, 27g that are fixed to
the corresponding printed-circuit board 25a, 25b penetrate and
project into the interior J of the reflector 16, are not shown in
the drawings. From FIG. 3 however it is obvious that the openings
are located in the corresponding side wall on which the LED's are
provided.
As indicated above, the relevant side walls 18 and 19 on
which the LED's are fixed are completely planar and thus form the
planar section in accordance with the invention. With other
reflector shapes that are not shown, the side walls 18 and 19 do
- 18 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
have to be completely planar, but also may have bends or curves,
and merely have a planar section where the printed-circuit board is
mounted.
In an embodiment that is not shown the narrow or end
walls 20 and 21 can be fitted with LED's. Preferably, because of
their larger area, the LED's are provided on the side walls 18 and
19.
Another embodiment of an inventive light fixture 10 will
now be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG..7 shows a light
fixture 10 with a light fixture housing 15 inside which is provided
the reflector element as shown in FIG. 2, which in this case a
secondary reflector element or a second reflector element 31 is
located in the path of light behind the light outlet 23 of the
reflector element 16. The second reflector element 31 is generally
in the form of a diffuser, which means the element is arched or
curved and serves to cast light emitted by the LED's mainly toward
the wall of the building 12 (refer to FIG. 1), which is not shown
in FIG. 7. The second reflector element 31 is directly connected
to the reflector element 16 or the diffuser element 24 and can end;.
for example, at a light opening 32 of the light fixture 10.
Additional reflector elements, like the reflector element 33 shown
in FIG. 7, may be provided as well. The reflector elements 31 and
33 can be permanently fixed to the housing of the light fixture 15
and form a structure for supporting the reflector element 16.
When analyzing FIG. 7, it becomes obvious that only one
part of the light passing through the diffuser element 24 impinges
on the reflector element 31, as illustrated in an exemplary manner
by the arrow of light a'. Other light components, as illustrated
by arrows c' and b', pass through the diffuser element 24 and leave
- 19 -
CA 02570234 2006-12-05
the light fixture 10 through the light opening 32 of the light
fixture 10 without impinging on one of the reflector elements 31 or
33.
As also illustrated by means of FIG. 7, there is the
option of using the trough-shaped reflector element 16 in varying
light fixtures that have varying secondary reflector elements 31.
For example, one can fall back on a compact unit according to
f'.IG. 2 of an identical or comparable shape that has the varying
secondary reflector elements 31 in different light fixtures 10.
This enables the creation of a modular style of light fixtures.
s._
- 20 -
