LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR A TUNNEL OR SIMILAR STRUCTURES

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an LED lighting system.

[0002] The use of LED light strips is tending to grow due to their luminous efficiency and ease of installation.

[0003] An LED strip typically consists of a flexible printed circuit board carrying LED diodes, arranged inside a flexible plastic casing, transparent at least in the area covering the LED diodes to allow light to escape.

[0004] The LEDs are arranged in identical modules that repeat along the strip, all modules being powered by a common two-conductor power bus at the same supply voltage. The power bus extends the entire length of the strip, allowing strips to be connected end-to-end.

[0005] Typically, the tape is powered by an unfiltered full-wave rectified voltage from the mains, or for shorter tapes by a direct current voltage such as 24V DC.

[0006] The strips are usually installed in galleries such as tunnels, but can also illuminate car parks, staircases, etc.

[0007] Operation on a backup battery is generally planned in case of a power outage.

[0008] The need to maintain emergency lighting for a sufficient duration generally necessitates the use of high-capacity, bulky and heavy batteries.

[0009] Furthermore, in some situations, the illuminated area is deserted and would not need to be lit so intensely, thus saving energy.

[0010] Application EP2894393 discloses an LED panel system capable of operating in an emergency mode in which not all LEDs are illuminated. In normal operating mode, the LEDs are powered by a bus. In emergency operating mode, the LEDs are powered by a separate "emergency bus," which is battery-powered. This emergency bus is short-circuited in normal operating mode.

[0011] US patent application US2014 / 334142 describes an LED strip that can be colored. All the LEDs are powered by the same bus.

[0012] The invention aims to remedy these problems and relates to an LED lighting system according to claim 1, comprising: At least one LED lighting strip, with at least one set of LED modules, the modules of a set being divided into subsets of one or more modules powered by respective power buses, an electronic power supply system for the strip, allowing all power buses to be powered in a first operating mode and only a part of the power buses in a second operating mode in order to reduce the electrical consumption of the strip.

[0013] Thanks to this invention, it is possible to reduce the strip's power consumption while still producing light, thus saving on the backup battery capacity. Furthermore, in other situations where maximum illumination is not required, such as when no personnel are present at the illuminated site, power consumption can be reduced without interrupting the site's lighting for safety reasons.

[0014] The module set may include one module powered by a specific power bus and at least one other module powered by a different power bus. Preferably, the module set includes one module powered by a specific power bus, and all other modules in the set are powered by the same other power bus. This reduces the number of electrical conductors required to power the strip. For example, in reduced lighting mode, every other module (1 out of 2, 1 out of 3, 1 out of 4, or even 1 out of 6 or 1 out of 8) remains illuminated, depending on the desired result for reduced or "emergency" lighting.

[0015] Each set of modules can contain between 2 and 20 modules, ideally between 2 and 10 modules, or even better, between 2 and 5 modules. The number of modules can be chosen based on the length of each module, ensuring that even in low-light mode, the spacing between the powered modules along the strip still provides sufficient illumination.

[0016] Each module contains, for example, between 30 and 100 LEDs. Not all modules may be identical. For example, a module intended for continuous power supply may contain LEDs powered by a significantly lower electrical current than their rated power, for example, less than half, in order to extend the lifespan of the LEDs due to the continuous power supply. The modules may have different printed circuit boards, if applicable. Preferably, the illumination level is uniform between modules at maximum brightness.

[0017] The modules in the same set are preferably arranged end-to-end along the strip. The length of a module is usually between 25 and 100 cm. The modules can also correspond to rows of LEDs extending along the strip. For example, the first module corresponds to the first row, and the other modules to the remaining rows. A more complex arrangement of modules along the strip is also possible, for example, with printed circuit boards carrying several rows of LEDs, where a module illuminated during low-light conditions corresponds to only a portion of the rows on a portion of the printed circuit boards.

[0018] The system may include at least one human presence sensor (via infrared, radar, or other detection), and the switch between the first and second operating modes will also occur depending on whether or not a human presence is detected. For example, the system may include an active RFID tag sensitive to the proximity of an active RFID badge worn by site personnel, and the mode change may occur based on the distance at which the badges are detected. Alternatively, a simple timer could control the switching to reduced lighting at certain times.

[0019] The ribbon includes a quick connector with at least three conductors, including one common conductor and at least two conductors specific to respective subsets of modules.

[0020] The description also discloses a lighting strip for a system according to the invention, as defined above, comprising: a flexible envelope, at least one set of LED diode modules arranged inside the flexible envelope and repeating for example along it, the modules of a set being divided into subsets of one or more modules powered by N respective power buses, a connector having at least N-1 poles, allowing to selectively power said buses. The invention also relates to a method of lighting a structure, in particular a tunnel, in which a system according to the invention is used by simultaneously supplying all the modules from the network to maximize the lighting of the structure, and supplying only a part of them in the event of a network outage or when the need for light is less.

[0021] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, a non-limiting example of its embodiment, and an examination of the accompanying drawing, in which [ Fig 1 ] there figure 1 schematically represents a lighting system according to the invention; [ Fig 2 ] there figure 2 schematically represents in cross-section the ribbon of the figure 1 , [ Fig 3 ] there figure 3 illustrates a strip whose modules correspond to respective rows of LED diodes, and [ Fig 4 ] there figure 4 illustrates a ribbon whose modules lit in reduced lighting correspond only to certain rows of modules belonging to sets of modules that repeat along the ribbon.

[0022] We represent at the figure 1 a lighting system 1 according to the invention, comprising a strip 10 intended to illuminate a tunnel for example.

[0023] Ribbon 10 includes, as can be seen on the figure 2 , a flexible casing 50, for example made of silicone, inside which is arranged a flexible printed circuit 51 carrying LED diodes 52.

[0024] The LED diodes are arranged in a succession of identical sets P1, P2, .... Each set Pk of modules, with k an integer between 1 and the total number of sets in the strip, comprises at least two subsets of modules M1 and M2.

[0025] In the example considered, subset M1 has a single module 11 and subset M2 has three modules 12, 13 and 14.

[0026] All the modules 11 of the strip are powered by the same power bus 20, 21. Thus, at the terminals of each of them, we find the same supply voltage, for example about 200 V DC in average voltage, when the voltage corresponds to the full-wave rectification of the 230V AC network, the invention not being limited to a particular power supply.

[0027] All other modules are powered by another power bus 20, 22, conductor 20 being common to both buses. Thus, each of modules 12, 13 and 14 receives the same supply voltage, for example approximately 200 V DC average voltage.

[0028] The conductors 20, 21 and 22 are connected at one end by a plug connector 60 to an electronic power supply system 30 which is itself connected to the mains, for example 230 V AC as illustrated, but other mains voltages are possible, for example 110V AC, or DC voltages such as 24V DC.

[0029] The 10-strip can have the same type of connector, male or female, at the other end, so as to allow several strips to be connected one after the other.

[0030] The electronic power supply system 30 is arranged to selectively power one or more of the buses depending on the desired operating mode.

[0031] In the example considered, in a first operating mode, corresponding to maximum lighting, the power supply buses 20, 21 on the one hand, and 20, 22 on the other hand, are supplied, for example, under the same full-wave rectified DC voltage.

[0032] For example, bus 20 is connected to - and buses 21 and 22 are connected to +, at the output of a diode bridge used to produce the DC power supply. All modules 11 to 14 are powered on.

[0033] The second operating mode corresponds to power supply from an emergency electrical source 40, comprising for example an electric battery and an associated inverter, if necessary.

[0034] The switch to this second mode of operation occurs, for example, in the event of a network outage.

[0035] The power supply system 30 is arranged to supply only bus 20, 21 in this second operating mode, so that only modules 11 are lit along the strip.

[0036] The power consumption of the strip is then reduced, and it provides minimal lighting.

[0037] The power supply system 30 includes, for example, an electromechanical relay that is powered by the 230 V AC network and which, when energized, connects all buses 20, 21, and 22 to the rectifier bridge. In the event of a network failure, this relay switches to a resting state where it connects only buses 20 and 21 to the backup power supply 40.

[0038] The power supply system 30 can still switch, in one example of an implementation of the invention, to an operating mode where only the bus 20, 21 is powered, but by the network instead of the backup source.

[0039] The switch to this mode of operation takes place, for example, in certain circumstances where the network is present but the need for lighting is lower, for example due to the absence of personnel on the site lit by the strip.

[0040] The power supply system 30 can receive a control signal from a detector 80 which is sensitive to the presence of people within a given perimeter; if no one is detected, the system switches to reduced lighting; in the event of human presence, it switches back to normal lighting mode.

[0041] The arrangement of the modules on the strip can vary, and each module can correspond, for example, to a row of LEDs, with all rows extending in parallel along the strip, as illustrated in the figure 3 .

[0042] In this figure, the strip comprises a subset M1 of modules corresponding to a row of LEDs extending the entire length of the strip, with the remaining LEDs forming a second subset M2 of modules. At low brightness, only the row corresponding to subset M1 is illuminated. At maximum brightness, all rows are powered.

[0043] We can still have, as illustrated in the figure 4 An arrangement of LEDs in several rows, three for example, belonging to sets P1, P2, ... which are repeated along the strip, the grouping of the LEDs within the strip as subsets of modules controlled by respective power buses is such that, in low-light conditions, only a portion of the rows and only a portion of the length of each set is illuminated. In the example illustrated in the figure 4 only the M1 subsets within the P1, P2, ...sets of modules that repeat along the strip are lit up in reduced lighting.

[0044] The number of modules within a set Pk of modules can be different again, as can the number of modules in each subset, the number of subsets, and the number of sets.

Claims

1. Lighting system (1) with LED diodes (52), comprising: - at least one strip (10) of lighting with LED diodes, with at least one set (P1; P2; ...) of LED diode modules, the modules of a set being divided up into subsets (M1; M2; ...) of one or more modules (11; 12, 13, 14) supplied with power by respective power supply buses, - an electronic system (30) for supplying power to the strip making it possible to power up, according to a first mode of operation, all the power supply buses (20, 21; 20, 22) and, in a second mode of operation, only some (20, 21) of the power supply buses, so as to reduce the electrical consumption of the strip, characterized in that the strip comprises a quick connector to at least three conductors, including a common conductor (20) and at least two conductors (21, 22) specific to respective subsets (M1, M2) of modules, the conductors (20, 21, 22) being linked at one end by the quick connector to the electronic power supply system (30) which is itself connected to a mains power supply.

2. System according to Claim 1, each set of modules comprising a first module (11) supplied with power by a respective power supply bus (20, 21) and at least one other module (12, 13, 14) supplied with power by another power supply bus (20, 22), the electronic power supply system (30) being designed to supply power only to the respective power supply bus (20, 21) in the second mode of operation.

3. System according to Claim 2, the set of modules comprising the first module (11) supplied with power by the respective power supply bus and all the other modules (12, 13, 14) of the set being supplied with power by the other power supply bus.

4. System according to Claim 3, the electronic power supply system (30) being supplied with double-alternating rectified AC voltage.

5. System according to any one of the preceding claims, the common conductor (20) being connected to a negative pole of the electronic power supply system (30) and the other conductors (21, 22) being connected to the other positive pole of the electronic power supply system (30) at the output of a diode bridge used to produce the DC voltage for supplying power to the buses.

6. System according to any one of the preceding claims, each set (P1; P2; ...) of modules comprising between 2 and 20 modules, better between 2 and 10 modules, even better between 2 and 5 modules.

7. System according to any one of the preceding claims, each module (11; 12; 13; 14) comprising between 30 and 100 LED diodes.

8. System according to any one of the preceding claims, the modules (11, 12, 13, 14) of one and the same set (P1; P2; ...) being disposed one after the other along the strip.

9. System according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising at least one human presence sensor (80), and the switch from the first mode of operation to the second and vice versa being made also according to whether or not a human presence is detected.

10. System according to any one of the preceding claims, the lighting strip (10) comprising: - a flexible jacket (50), - the at least one set (P1; P2, ...) of LED diode modules disposed inside the flexible jacket, notably being repeated along the latter, the modules of a set being divided up into subsets (M1, M2) of one or more modules (11; 12, 13, 14) supplied with power by N respective power supply buses (20, 21; 20, 22), - the quick connector having at least N-1 poles, making it possible to selectively supply power to said buses.

11. Method for lighting a work, notably a tunnel, in which a system (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 10 is used, by simultaneously supplying power to all the modules (11, 12, 13, 14) from the mains to maximally light the work, and by supplying power to only some (11) of them in the case of a mains outage or when there is a lesser need for light.