Track lighting system comprising lighting track to which device can be connected to provide light and corresponding lighting device

Abstract

A track lighting system comprising: a power supply connectable to an alternating current (AC) mains voltage, the power supply being arranged for converting the AC mains voltage to a safety voltage lower than the AC mains voltage; a lighting track electrically connectable to the power source and arranged to receive a lighting device and to distribute the safety voltage to the received lighting device; a lighting device comprising an adapter for mechanically and electrically connecting the lighting device to the lighting track; a lamp socket arranged for accommodating an AC mains powered lamp; and an up-converter arranged for up-converting the safety voltage received from the lighting track to an up-converted voltage higher than the safety voltage to provide the up-converted voltage to an electrical contact in the lamp socket.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of lighting, and more particularly to a track lighting system having a lighting track to which lighting devices may be connected. Background Art

[0002] Track lighting systems can be thought of as a versatile, flexible option for lighting environments such as your home. Track lighting systems have been around since the 80s. One should think of track lighting systems as being largely a utilitarian way to provide illumination rather than actually being aesthetically pleasing. However, track lighting has been experiencing something of a comeback over the past few years due to its flexibility and simplicity.

[0003] Typically, a track lighting system includes several components. First, a power supply is provided for converting the AC mains voltage to a safe voltage. A safe voltage is a low voltage that is considered harmless. The safe voltage is provided to a lighting track. The lighting track can be mounted on a ceiling, a wall, or anything similar. The lighting track can provide several functions. First, the lighting track can be arranged to accommodate one or more lighting devices. Second, the lighting track can distribute the safe voltage to the accommodated lighting devices. The lighting devices can be connected to the lighting track at any desired position thereof, so that the lighting devices are securely connected to the lighting track and so that the lighting devices connect the lamps accommodated in the lighting devices to the safe voltage distributed by the lighting track.

[0004] Finally, a specific lamp is provided in the lighting device for providing light.

[0005] One of the disadvantages of the above-mentioned lighting tracks is that they may not be versatile or flexible enough so that they can accommodate different types of lamps. Summary of the invention

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a track lighting system which is more versatile or flexible such that it can cope with different types of lamps. Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a lighting device which can be connected to a lighting track consisting of a lighting system.

[0007] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a track lighting system, comprising:

[0008] a power supply connectable to an alternating current (AC) mains voltage, the power supply being arranged to convert the AC mains voltage into a safe voltage lower than the AC mains voltage;

[0009] a lighting track electrically connectable to said power supply and arranged to receive lighting devices and to distribute said safety voltage to the received lighting devices;

[0010] Lighting equipment, including:

[0011] an adapter for mechanically and electrically connecting the lighting device to the lighting track;

[0012] a lamp socket arranged to receive an AC mains powered lamp;

[0013] An up-converter is arranged to up-convert the safety voltage received from the lighting track into an up-converted voltage higher than the safety voltage to provide the up-converted voltage to electrical contacts in the lamp socket.

[0014] The inventors have found that it may be beneficial to retrofit a known track lighting system in such a way that it can also accommodate AC mains powered lamps. This makes the track lighting system more versatile or flexible.

[0015] A solution is proposed in which the voltage distributed by the lighting track may not need to be changed. The power supply can continue to provide a safe voltage so that there are no safety issues related to the track lighting system.

[0016] The basic concept of the present disclosure is that a lighting device comprises an up-converter arranged for up-converting a safety voltage received from a lighting track to an up-converted voltage suitable for powering an AC mains powered lamp.

[0017] The up-converter does not necessarily need to up-convert the safety voltage to exactly the same AC mains voltage, but may need to up-convert the safety voltage to such a voltage level that an AC mains powered lamp can operate normally.

[0018] In this way, a user can simply install an AC mains powered lamp into a lamp socket and can be assured that the AC mains powered lamp will operate adequately.

[0019] The safety voltage provided by the power supply can be considered as a separated extra low voltage (SELV), which is an extra low voltage circuit that is electrically separated from other circuits carrying higher voltages, isolated from ground and isolated from the protective earth conductor of other circuits.

[0020] In a SELV system, the voltage should not exceed the extra low voltage under normal conditions or in a single fault condition (such as a ground fault condition in another circuit). SELV systems are separated from the ground wire so that a single fault will not cause an electric shock to anyone in contact with the system. This makes the system safer.

[0021] One of the benefits of the proposed track lighting system is that AC mains powered lamps can be powered by a track lighting system, wherein the corresponding lighting track distributes a voltage that is considered safe. The high voltage part of the system is arranged in the lighting device, i.e. by an up-converter, which can be designed to provide additional (e.g. mechanical) safety to the user.

[0022] Note that the track lighting system can be arranged to provide system light. The system light can include multiple lighting devices that are the same or different from each other. The lighting devices can be arranged to provide a specific amount of light, a specific color of light, etc. Due to the properties of the track lighting system, the lighting devices can be connected at any desired location of the lighting track, enabling the user to provide lighting at the desired location.

[0023] According to the present disclosure, the lighting track may have an elongated shape. For example, the lighting track may have a length L that is at least 20 times the span of the width of the lighting track. For example, the length of the lighting track may be at least 2 meters. For example, the width of the lighting track may be standardized, or may be any width from 1 cm to 10 cm.

[0024] In an example, the power supply is arranged to convert said AC mains voltage to a direct current DC safety voltage.

[0025] Various options of power supply may be feasible. Firstly, the power supply may convert the AC mains voltage into a DC safety voltage, and the DC safety voltage may be distributed to different lighting devices, which are connected to the lighting track.

[0026] Then, the up-converter consisting of the lighting device may be arranged to up-convert the DC safety voltage into a DC up-conversion voltage or an AC up-conversion voltage.

[0027] The inventors have realised that it may not be necessary to construct a voltage at the output of the up-converter that is exactly the same as the voltage received from the mains supply.

[0028] The above is particularly true when a light emitting diode LED based lamp is connected to a socket. LED based lamps usually comprise a converter for converting the AC mains voltage into a DC voltage, assuming that the LEDs of the LED based lamp operate at DC. Such a converter may be, for example, a diode bridge or anything similar. A diode bridge is an arrangement of four diodes in a bridge circuit configuration, providing the same output polarity for either polarity of the input. One of the insights of the inventors is that such a converter may also work properly when arranged with a DC voltage. Then, the converter consisting of the LED based lamp, i.e. the diode bridge, may become redundant, but this does not affect the correct operation of the LED based lamp.

[0029] One of the above advantages is that the up-converter consisting of the lighting device can be implemented in such a way that it outputs a DC voltage.

[0030] Generally, an up-converter that provides a DC voltage is easier to implement than an up-converter that provides an AC voltage.

[0031] In another example, the power supply is arranged to convert the AC mains voltage to an AC safety voltage.

[0032] The inventors have found that it can be beneficial if the voltage distributed by the lighting track is an AC voltage. This can be achieved by converting the AC mains voltage to an AC safety voltage using an efficient AC to AC converter. Typically a transformer is used in such designs to provide the conversion and the galvanic isolation required from a safety perspective.

[0033] Note that the up-converter may be arranged to up-convert the AC safety voltage to an AC up-converted voltage or a DC up-converted voltage.

[0034] In another example, a lamp socket has accommodated the AC mains powered lamp, wherein the AC mains powered lamp is a light emitting diode (LED) lamp, wherein the LED lamp includes an AC-DC converter and may also include a cover, a sleeve, and an LED light source; wherein the cover is configured to electrically and mechanically connect the LED lamp to the lamp socket, wherein the sleeve at least partially surrounds the LED light source; and wherein the LED light source may be an LED filament.

[0035] The envelope may be translucent, or may have an opening so that the generated light can escape from an AC mains powered lamp.

[0036] As mentioned above, the AC-DC converter can be a rectifier, such as a diode bridge or anything similar. Although the LED lamp can include an AC-DC converter, this does not necessarily mean that the voltage supplied to the LED lamp is an AC voltage. The up-converted voltage can still be a DC voltage, because the AC-DC converter can also operate normally when a DC voltage is arranged at its input.

[0037] In another example, the power supply is arranged to convert the AC mains voltage (i.e., any voltage between 120V and 230V) into the safety voltage, and wherein the up-converter is arranged to up-convert the safety voltage into the up-conversion voltage, which is any voltage between 120V and 230V.

[0038] In this particular example, the up-conversion voltage may be equal to the AC mains voltage. However, according to the present disclosure, this is not required. The up-conversion voltage may also be a lower voltage than the AC mains voltage, because the AC-DC converter composed of the LED lamp can also adapt to this lower voltage. For example, the up-conversion voltage may be any voltage of 150Vdc or 200Vac or any similar voltage.

[0039] In another example, the power supply is arranged to convert the AC mains voltage to the safety voltage, which is any one of 24V or 48V.

[0040] There are different standards that are publicly available with their own definitions of safe voltages. For example, if the voltage does not exceed 48Vdc or 24Vac, it is considered safe.

[0041] In yet another example, the lighting device further includes:

[0042] A detection mechanism is used to detect the type of AC mains powered light emitting diode (LED) lamp received in the lamp socket and is arranged to adjust the up-conversion voltage to suit the type of AC mains powered LED lamp received in the lamp socket.

[0043] For example, the detection mechanism can detect the current flowing to the LED lamp and can adjust the up-converter accordingly. In another example, the detection mechanism can detect the surge current or surge voltage of the mains powered LED lamp and can accordingly correlate the surge current or voltage with a known surge current or voltage.

[0044] In another example, the detection mechanism is arranged to detect the type of mains powered LED lamp received in the lamp socket by detecting any of the following:

[0045] Detecting a tapped linear power converter included in the mains-powered LED lamp;

[0046] Detecting a switching power supply SMPS included in the LED lamp powered by the mains;

[0047] A linear power converter included in the mains-powered LED lamp is detected.

[0048] If the detection mechanism detects a low voltage powered lamp in the lamp socket, it may simply ensure that the up-converter is bypassed so that a safe voltage itself is provided to the low voltage powered lamp.

[0049] In another example, the track lighting system further includes: additional lighting devices including:

[0050] a further adapter for mechanically and electrically connecting the further lighting device to the lighting track;

[0051] A low voltage lamp socket is arranged to accommodate a low voltage powered LED lamp.

[0052] The track lighting system may comprise a plurality of further lighting devices, wherein each lighting device of the plurality of further lighting devices is intended to be connected to the lighting track.

[0053] The additional lighting device or lighting devices may provide spotlight, downlight, omnidirectional light or any similar light.

[0054] Track lighting systems can be used for lighting fixtures arranged to accommodate AC mains powered lamps, but can also be used for lighting fixtures arranged to accommodate low voltage powered LED lamps. Low voltage powered LED lamps can be supplied by the safe voltage distributed by the lighting track.

[0055] The upconverter may be included in the adapter, or may be included in the light socket.

[0056] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a lighting device, comprising:

[0057] an adapter for mechanically and electrically connecting the lighting device to a lighting track of a track lighting system according to any one of the preceding claims;

[0058] a lamp socket arranged to receive an AC mains powered lamp;

[0059] An up-converter is arranged to up-convert the safety voltage received from the lighting track into an up-converted voltage higher than the safety voltage to provide the up-converted voltage to electrical contacts in the lamp socket.

[0060] Note that the advantages explained in relation to the first aspect of the present disclosure being a track lighting system also apply mutatis mutandis to the second aspect of the present disclosure being a lighting device.

[0061] In the example, the lamp socket has accommodated a mains powered LED filament lamp.

[0062] The above and other aspects of the disclosure will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the examples described hereinafter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0063] Figure 1 A track lighting system according to the present disclosure is disclosed;

[0064] Figure 2 Another track lighting system according to the present disclosure is disclosed;

[0065] Figure 3 Various voltage-current characteristics of light emitting diode (LED) based lamps are disclosed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0066] Note that in the description of the drawings, the same reference numerals refer to the same or similar components performing the same or substantially similar functions.

[0067] Figure 1A track lighting system according to the present disclosure is disclosed.

[0068] Track lighting can be considered a type of lighting fixture that has individual lights along a lighting track (also called a bar or rail). The lights (called track heads, track lighting fixtures, or lighting fixtures) slide or attach along the track. In some cases, the lighting fixture can be adjusted to fit the desired angle and position.

[0069] The track lighting system 001 comprises a power supply 013 which can be connected to an alternating AC mains voltage 010. For example, the AC mains voltage 010 is a 230Vac mains voltage or a 110Vac mains voltage. The power supply 013 is arranged to convert the AC mains voltage 010 into a safety voltage 014 which is lower than the AC mains voltage 010.

[0070] The power supply 013 may include any form of converter for achieving a safe voltage. In an example, the power supply 013 includes a flyback converter. The flyback converter may be used to convert the AC mains voltage 010 into a safe DC voltage with galvanic isolation between the input and any output. Galvanic isolation provides an additional safety measure so that the safe DC voltage may be considered a safe voltage.

[0071] A flyback converter is often viewed as a buck-boost converter with the inductor split to form a transformer, doubling the voltage ratio and having the added advantage of isolation.

[0072] Furthermore, the track lighting system 001 comprises a lighting track 012 which can be electrically connected to a power source 010 and which is arranged for accommodating lighting devices 030 , 020 and for distributing a safe voltage to any accommodated lighting device.

[0073] The lighting track 102 is visually depicted as a rectangle. The skilled person will appreciate that the lighting track 012 may have mechanical properties that facilitate connecting lighting devices thereto. For example, the lighting track 012 may include an H-shaped track, a J-shaped track, and an L-shaped track.

[0074] The lighting track 012 can be constructed using metal, such as aluminum. The lighting track 012 can also be constructed using any other material, such as a material that can be bent, etc. The advantage of the latter is that the lighting track 012 can be constructed into any form or track required. Alternatively, the track can be composed of two wires, one of which receives power from the power supply 013, and the other wire serves as a return path back to the power supply 013. The lighting devices 030, 020 can then be mechanically and electrically connected to the two wires.

[0075] In addition to the mechanical properties disclosed above, the lighting track 012 is equipped with electrical conductors for distributing the received safe voltage to any housed or connected lighting devices. The lighting track can be electrically connected to the power supply 010, which means that the output of the power supply 010 is electrically connected to the electrical conductors of the lighting track for distributing the safe voltage provided by the power supply 010.

[0076] The track lighting system 001 further includes at least one lighting device 030 , including an adapter 032 , a lamp socket 034 , and an upconverter 031 .

[0077] The adapter 032 is used to mechanically and electrically connect the lighting device 030 to the lighting track 012. Thus, the adapter 032 is used, among other things, to ensure that a distributed safe voltage is received by the lighting device 030.

[0078] A lamp socket 034 is provided for receiving an AC mains powered lamp. For example, the lamp socket 034 may be any of the E27, B22, E14, GU10 types. In this particular case, an LED based filament lamp 30 is received in the lamp socket 030. The filament is indicated by reference numeral 033. The LED based lamp 30 includes a converter, more specifically an AC to DC converter, for converting the received up-converted voltage into a DC voltage to be provided to the LED filament 033. The lamp socket 034 may be connected to the adapter 032 via an electrical wire indicated by reference numeral 035.

[0079] Finally, the lighting device 030 includes an up-converter 032 for up-converting the safety voltage received from the lighting track 012 into an up-conversion voltage higher than the safety voltage, for providing the up-conversion voltage to an electrical contact 037 in the lamp socket 034 .

[0080] The up-converter 032 may include a DC to DC converter, a DC to AC converter, an AC to DC converter, or an AC to AC converter. In this particular scenario, the up-converter 032 includes a DC to DC converter indicated by reference numeral 031. For example, the DC to DC converter 031 is a boost converter for increasing a DC safety voltage to a higher voltage, such as above 150 Vdc.

[0081] As described above, one of the advantages of the track lighting system 001 according to the present disclosure is that the distributed voltage (i.e., the voltage distributed by the lighting track 012) is a relatively low safety voltage, while due to the presence of the up-converter 031, the mains-powered lamp 033 can still be connected to the track lighting.

[0082] For example, a halogen transformer in the form of a self-oscillating switching power supply SMPS can be used as power supply 013. Such an SMPS can convert the incoming AC mains voltage (i.e. 230Vac) to a safe voltage in the form of 12Vac. For example, 12Vac can be in the range of 40kHz to 120kHz. The main advantage of using such an SMPS is that the up-converter can be implemented using only passive components to convert the incoming 12Vac to, for example, 230Vac. This allows the up-converter to be very compact so as to fit into the socket 034.

[0083] Figure 1 The track lighting system 001 shown further comprises a further lighting device, indicated with reference numeral 020. The further lighting device 020 comprises a further adapter 022 for mechanically and electrically connecting the further lighting device 020 to the lighting track 012. A low voltage lamp socket is implemented in the further adapter 022 and is arranged for accommodating a low voltage powered LED lamp 023.

[0084] Figure 2 Another track lighting system 111 according to the present disclosure is disclosed.

[0085] Figure 2 The track lighting system 51 shown is Figure 1 The track lighting systems 001 shown are substantially identical. The differences between the two track lighting systems 51 , 001 are as follows.

[0086] Figure 2 The track lighting system 51 shown is Figure 1 The differences between the track lighting systems 001 shown relate to the upconverter 031. Figure 2 In the embodiment, the upconverter is embodied in the lamp socket 034 rather than in the adapter 032.

[0087] Figure 3 Various voltage-current characteristics of light emitting diode (LED) based lamps are disclosed.

[0088] The lighting device may comprise a so-called detection mechanism for detecting a specific type of AC mains powered LED lamp accommodated in a lamp socket, and the detection mechanism may be arranged for controlling the upconverter in such a way that the upconverter is adjusted to the detected type of mains powered LED lamp accommodated in the corresponding lamp socket.

[0089] Figure 3 Specific voltage-current characteristics of specific LED filament lamps are disclosed, and more specifically, voltage-current characteristics of converters composed of these LED filament lamps are disclosed.

[0090] The current waveform indicated by reference numeral 101 shows a typical curve of a tapped linear power converter. The current waveform indicated by reference numeral 102 shows a typical curve of a switch mode power supply SMPS. The current waveform indicated by reference numeral 103 shows a typical curve of a linear type power converter.

[0091] The up-converter comprising the lighting device can use this information to control its output voltage so that it better matches the sensed voltage-current characteristic.

[0092] Other variations of the disclosed embodiments may be understood and implemented by those skilled in the art while practicing the claimed invention through a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude the plural. The fact that certain measures are described in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Any reference signs in the claims should not be interpreted as limiting their scope.

Claims

1. A track lighting system (001, 51), comprising: A power supply (013) capable of being connected to an alternating current (AC) mains voltage (010), the power supply (013) being arranged to convert the AC mains voltage (010) into a safety voltage (014) lower than the AC mains voltage (010); a lighting track (012) electrically connectable to the power source (013) and arranged to accommodate lighting devices (030, 020) and to distribute the safety voltage to the accommodated lighting devices; Lighting equipment (030), including: An adapter (032) for mechanically and electrically connecting the lighting device (030) to the lighting track (012); a lamp socket (034) arranged to receive an AC mains powered lamp; An up-converter (031) is arranged to up-convert the safety voltage (014) received from the lighting track (012) into an up-conversion voltage higher than the safety voltage (014), and to provide the up-conversion voltage to an electrical contact (037) in the lamp socket (034).

2. The track lighting system (001, 51) according to claim 1, wherein the power supply (013) is arranged to convert the AC mains voltage (010) into a direct current (DC) safety voltage.

3. The track lighting system (001, 51) according to claim 2, wherein the upconverter (031) is arranged for any of the following: Up-converting the DC safety voltage into a DC up-conversion voltage; The DC safety voltage is up-converted into an AC up-conversion voltage.

4. The track lighting system (001, 51) according to claim 1, wherein the power supply (013) is arranged to convert the AC mains voltage (010) into an AC safety voltage.

5. The track lighting system (001, 51) according to claim 4, wherein the upconverter (031) is arranged for any of the following: Up-converting the AC safety voltage into an AC up-conversion voltage; The AC safety voltage is up-converted into a DC up-conversion voltage.

6. The track lighting system (001, 51) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprises the AC mains powered lamp, wherein the AC mains powered lamp is a light emitting diode (LED) lamp, wherein the LED lamp comprises an AC-DC converter (036), a cover, a sleeve and an LED light source; wherein the cover is configured to electrically and mechanically connect the LED lamp to the lamp socket, wherein the sleeve at least partially surrounds the LED light source; and wherein the LED light source is an LED filament (000).

7. A track lighting system (001, 51) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the power supply (013) is arranged to convert the AC mains voltage (010) into the safety voltage, the AC mains voltage (010) being any voltage between 120V and 230V, and wherein the up-converter (031) is arranged to up-convert the safety voltage into the up-conversion voltage, the up-conversion voltage being any voltage between 120V and 230V.

8. The track lighting system (001, 51) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the power supply (013) is arranged to convert the AC mains voltage (010) into the safety voltage, which is any one of 24V or 48V.

9. The track lighting system (001, 51) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lighting device (030) further comprises: A detection mechanism is used to detect the type of AC mains powered light emitting diode (LED) lamp received in the lamp socket and is arranged to adjust the up-conversion voltage to suit the type of AC mains powered LED lamp received in the lamp socket.

10. A track lighting system (001, 51) according to claim 9, wherein the detection mechanism is arranged to detect the type of mains-powered LED lamp accommodated in the lamp socket by detecting any of the following: Detecting a tapped linear power converter included in the mains-powered LED lamp; Detecting a switch mode power supply (SMPS) included in the mains-powered LED lamp; A linear power converter included in the mains-powered LED lamp is detected.

11. The track lighting system (001, 51) according to any one of claims 9 to 10, wherein the detection mechanism is arranged for bypassing the up-converter when the detection mechanism detects a low voltage powered lamp in the lamp socket.

12. The track lighting system (001, 51) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the track lighting system further comprises: Additional lighting equipment (020), including: a further adapter (022) for mechanically and electrically connecting the further lighting device (020) to the lighting track (012); A low voltage lamp socket is arranged to receive a low voltage powered LED lamp (024).

13. The track lighting system (001, 51) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the upconverter (031) is included in any one of the adapter (032) and the lamp socket (034).

14. A lighting device (030), comprising: an adapter (032) for mechanically and electrically connecting the lighting device (030) to a lighting track (012) of a track lighting system (001, 51) according to any one of the preceding claims; a lamp socket (034) arranged to receive an AC mains powered lamp; An up-converter (032) is arranged to up-convert the safety voltage received from the lighting track (012) into an up-conversion voltage higher than the safety voltage, and to provide the up-conversion voltage to electrical contacts in the lamp socket (034).

15. The lighting device (030) according to claim 14, comprising a mains-powered LED filament lamp.

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