A track lighting system having a lighting track to which fixtures can be connected to provide illumination, and corresponding lighting fixtures

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a track lighting system having a power supply connectable to an alternating current (AC) main power supply voltage and configured to convert the AC main power supply voltage to a safety voltage lower than the AC main power supply voltage, a lighting track electrically connectable to the power supply and configured to receive lighting fixtures and distribute the safety voltage to the received lighting fixtures, and a lighting fixture including an adapter for mechanically and electrically connecting the lighting fixture to the lighting track, a lamp socket configured to receive an AC main power supply driven lamp, and an upconverter configured to upconvert the safety voltage received from the lighting track to an upconversion voltage higher than the safety voltage for supplying the upconversion voltage to electrical contacts in the lamp socket.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of lighting, and more specifically to a track lighting system having a lighting track to which lighting fixtures can be connected.

Background Art

[0002] Track lighting systems can be considered a versatile and flexible option for illuminating environments such as your home. Track lighting systems have been around since the 1980s. People would likely think that track lighting systems were, in most cases, a practical way to provide lighting rather than an actually aesthetically pleasing way. However, due to their flexibility and simplicity, track lighting has seen a certain resurgence in recent years.

[0003] Generally, track lighting systems have several components. First, a power supply is provided to convert the AC main power voltage to a safe voltage. The safe voltage is a low voltage that is considered harmless. The safe voltage is supplied to the lighting track. The lighting track can be attached to the ceiling, wall, or the like. The lighting track can provide several functions. First, the lighting track can be configured to receive one or more lighting fixtures. Second, the lighting track can distribute the safe voltage to the received lighting fixtures. The lighting fixtures can be connected to the lighting track at any desired location on the lighting track such that the lighting fixture is securely connected to the lighting track and such that the lighting fixture connects the lamp received in the lighting fixture to the safe voltage distributed by the lighting track.

[0004] Finally, a specific lamp is provided in the lighting fixture to provide light.

[0005] One of the disadvantages of the above lighting tracks is that they may not have sufficient versatility or flexibility to accommodate various types of lamps.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a more versatile or more flexible track lighting system that can accommodate various types of lamps. A further object of the present disclosure is to provide a lighting fixture connectable to a lighting track included in the lighting system.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, - A power supply connectable to an alternating current (AC) main power supply voltage, the power supply being configured to convert the AC main power supply voltage to a safety voltage lower than the AC main power supply voltage; - A lighting track electrically connectable to the power supply, the lighting track being configured to receive a lighting fixture and distribute the safety voltage to the received lighting fixture; - A lighting fixture, - An adapter for mechanically and electrically connecting the lighting fixture to the lighting track, - A lamp socket configured to receive an AC mains powered lamp, and - An upconverter configured to upconvert the safety voltage received from the lighting track to an upconversion voltage higher than the safety voltage to supply the upconversion voltage to electrical contacts in the lamp socket. A track lighting system having the lighting fixture is provided.

[0008] The inventor has realized that it may be beneficial to adapt a known track lighting system to be able to accommodate AC mains powered lamps as well. This makes the track lighting system more versatile or more flexible.

[0009] Propose a solution where it may not be necessary to change the voltage distributed by the lighting track. The power supply can continue to supply a safety voltage, so there are no safety concerns related to the track lighting system.

[0010] The underlying concept of this disclosure is that the lighting fixture includes an upconverter, and the upconverter is configured to upconvert the safety voltage received from the lighting track to an upconverted voltage suitable for powering an AC main power driven lamp.

[0011] The upconverter does not necessarily have to upconvert the safety voltage to exactly the same AC main power voltage, but may need to upconvert the safety voltage to a voltage level such that the AC main power driven lamp can operate properly.

[0012] Therefore, the user only needs to simply attach the AC main power driven lamp to the lamp socket, and can be guaranteed that the AC main power driven lamp can operate properly.

[0013] The safety voltage supplied by the power supply can be regarded as Separated Extra Low Voltage (SELV), and SELV is an extra low voltage electrical circuit that is electrically separated from other circuits transmitting higher voltages and insulated from the earth and the protective earth wires of other circuits.

[0014] In an SELV system, the voltage must not exceed the extra low voltage, either in the normal state or in a single fault state such as from a ground fault in another circuit. The SELV system is separated from the earth so that a single fault cannot cause electric shock to a person in contact with the system. This makes the system extremely safe.

[0015] One advantage of the track lighting system is that the AC main power driven lamp can be powered by a track lighting system that distributes a voltage at which the corresponding lighting track is considered safe. The high voltage part of this system is provided in the lighting fixture, i.e., by the upconverter, which can be designed to provide additional, e.g., mechanical, safety to the user.

[0016] It should be noted that the track lighting system may be configured to provide system lighting. The system lighting may have a plurality of lighting fixtures that are different from each other or the same. The lighting fixture may be configured to supply a specific amount of light, light of a specific color, etc. Due to the characteristics of the track lighting system, the lighting fixture can be connected at any desired position of the lighting track, so that the user can supply lighting at the desired position.

[0017] 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 width of the lighting track. The length of the lighting track may be, for example, at least 2 meters. The width of the lighting track may be uniform or, for example, any of 1 to 10 cm.

[0018] In an example, the power supply is configured to convert the AC main power voltage to a direct current (DC) safety voltage.

[0019] A plurality of options for the power supply may be feasible. First, the power supply may convert the AC main power voltage to a DC safety voltage, and the DC safety voltage may be distributed to various lighting fixtures connected to the lighting track.

[0020] In that case, the upconverter included in the lighting fixture may be configured to upconvert the DC safety voltage to either a DC upconverted voltage or an AC upconverted voltage.

[0021] The inventor has noticed that there may be cases where it is not necessary to interpret the voltage at the output of the upconverter as exactly the same as the voltage received from the main power supply.

[0022] The above is particularly true when a light-emitting diode (LED)-based lamp is connected to a socket. Considering that the LEDs of the LED-based lamp operate on DC, the LED-based lamp generally has a converter for converting the AC main power supply voltage into a DC voltage. Such a converter may be, for example, a diode bridge or the like. A diode bridge is a configuration in which four diodes are arranged in a bridge circuit to supply an output of the same polarity for any polarity of the input. It was one of the insights of the inventor that such a converter can also operate properly when a DC voltage is supplied. The converter included in the LED-based lamp, i.e., the diode bridge, may then become unnecessary, but this does not affect the correct function of the LED-based lamp.

[0023] One of the advantages of the above is that the upconverter included in the lighting fixture can be implemented to output a DC voltage. Generally, an upconverter that supplies a DC voltage is easier to implement than an upconverter that supplies an AC voltage.

[0024] In another example, the power supply is configured to convert the AC main power supply voltage into an AC safety voltage.

[0025] The inventor has noticed that it may be beneficial when the voltage distributed by the lighting track is an AC voltage. This can be achieved by using an efficient AC / AC converter to convert the AC main power supply voltage into the AC safety voltage. Generally, in such a design, a transformer is used to provide the conversion and the galvanic insulation required from a safety perspective.

[0026] It should be noted that the upconverter may be configured to upconvert the AC safety voltage to an AC upconverted voltage or a DC upconverted voltage.

[0027] In another example, the lamp socket receives the AC main power supply driven lamp, the AC main power supply driven lamp is a light emitting diode (LED) lamp, the LED lamp may have an AC / DC converter and may further have a base, an envelope and an LED light source, the base is configured to electrically and mechanically connect the LED lamp to the lamp socket, the envelope at least partially surrounds the LED light source, and the LED light source may be an LED filament.

[0028] The envelope may be translucent or may have an opening such that the generated light can be emitted from the AC main power supply driven lamp.

[0029] As described above, the AC / DC converter may be a rectifier such as a diode bridge or the like. The LED lamp may have an AC / DC converter, but this does not necessarily mean that the voltage supplied to the LED lamp is an AC voltage. Since the AC / DC converter can function properly even when a DC voltage is supplied at its input, the upconverted voltage may still be a DC voltage.

[0030] In a further example, the power supply is configured to convert the AC main power supply voltage, which is either 120V or 230V, to the safety voltage, and the upconverter is configured to upconvert the safety voltage to the upconverted voltage, which is either 120V or 230V.

[0031] In this particular example, the up-converted voltage may be equal to the AC main power supply voltage. However, according to the present disclosure, this is not essential. The up-converted voltage may be a voltage lower than the AC main power supply voltage. This is because the AC / DC converter included in the LED lamp may be able to handle such a lower voltage in some cases. The up-converted voltage may be, for example, either 150Vdc or 200Vac, or something similar.

[0032] In a further example, the power supply is configured to convert the AC main power supply voltage to the safety voltage, which is either 24V or 48V.

[0033] There are various published standards with their own definitions of safety voltage. For example, a voltage may be considered safe if it does not exceed 48Vdc or 24Vac.

[0034] In yet another example, the lighting fixture - further includes a detection mechanism for detecting the type of an AC main power supply driven light emitting diode (LED) lamp received in the lamp socket, the detection mechanism being configured to adjust the up-converted voltage according to the type of the AC main power supply driven LED lamp received in the lamp socket.

[0035] The detection mechanism may, for example, detect the current flowing through the LED lamp and adjust the up-converter accordingly. In another example, the detection mechanism may detect the inrush current or the inrush voltage of the main power supply driven LED lamp and associate the inrush current or the inrush voltage with a known inrush current or inrush voltage accordingly.

[0036] In another example, the detection mechanism determines the type of the main power supply driven LED lamp received in the lamp socket - A tapped linear power converter included in the main power supply driven LED lamp, - A switch mode power supply (SMPS) included in the main power supply driven LED lamp, - It is configured to detect by detecting any one of the linear type power converters included in the main power supply driven LED lamp.

[0037] When the detection mechanism detects a low voltage driven lamp in the lamp socket, it may simply ensure that the upconverter is bypassed so that the safety voltage itself is supplied to the low voltage driven lamp.

[0038] In still other examples, the track lighting system - Is a further lighting fixture, - A further adapter for mechanically and electrically connecting the further lighting fixture to the lighting track, - And further has a further lighting fixture including a low voltage lamp socket configured to receive a low voltage driven LED lamp.

[0039] The track lighting system may have a plurality of these further lighting fixtures, and each of the plurality of further lighting fixtures is intended to be connected to the lighting track.

[0040] The further lighting fixture, or the lighting fixture, may supply a spotlight, a downlight, an omnidirectional light or the like.

[0041] The track lighting system may be used for lighting fixtures configured to receive the AC main power supply driven lamp, but may also be used for lighting fixtures configured to receive a low voltage driven LED lamp. The low voltage driven LED lamp may be supplied by the safety voltage distributed by the lighting track.

[0042] The upconverter may be included in the adapter or may be included in the lamp socket.

[0043] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, - an adapter for mechanically and electrically connecting the lighting fixture to a lighting track of the track lighting system according to any one of claims 1 to 13; - a lamp socket configured to receive an AC main power driven lamp; - an upconverter configured to upconvert the safety voltage received from the lighting track to an upconversion voltage higher than the safety voltage to supply the upconversion voltage to electrical contacts in the lamp socket. A lighting fixture having an upconverter is provided.

[0044] It should be noted that the advantages described above for the first aspect of the present disclosure, which is the track lighting system, also apply mutatis mutandis to the lighting fixture, which is the second aspect of the present invention.

[0045] In an example, the lamp socket receives a main power driven LED filament lamp.

[0046] The above and other aspects of the present disclosure will be described and clarified with reference to the following examples.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0047]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0048] Note that in the description of the figures, the same reference signs refer to the same or similar components that perform the same or essentially similar functions.

[0049] FIG. 1 discloses a track lighting system according to the present disclosure.

[0050] Track lighting can be considered a type of lighting fixture having individual lights along a lighting track, also called a bar or rail. The track head, track lighting fixture, or light known as a lighting fixture slides or connects along the track. In some cases, the lighting fixture can be adjusted to suit the desired angle and position.

[0051] The track lighting system 001 has a power supply 013 that can be connected to an alternating current (AC) main power supply voltage 010. The AC main power supply voltage 010 is, for example, 230 Vac main power supply voltage or 110 Vac main power supply voltage. The power supply 013 is configured to convert the AC main power supply voltage 010 to a safety voltage 014 lower than the AC main power supply voltage 010.

[0052] The power supply 013 can include any form of converter for realizing a safety voltage. In an example, the power supply 013 has a flyback converter. The flyback converter can be used to convert the AC main power supply voltage 010 to a safe DC voltage with galvanic insulation between the input and any output. Galvanic insulation provides an additional safety measure such that the safe DC voltage can be regarded as a safety voltage.

[0053] The flyback converter is generally regarded as a buck-boost converter with an inductor divided to form a transformer, so the voltage ratios are multiplied, providing the further advantage of insulation.

[0054] Furthermore, the track lighting system 001 has a lighting track 012, which is electrically connectable to the power supply 010, receives lighting fixtures 030, 020, and is configured to distribute the safety voltage to any received lighting fixture.

[0055] The lighting track 012 is visually illustrated as rectangular. Those skilled in the art will understand that the lighting track 012 may have mechanical characteristics for easily connecting lighting fixtures to the lighting track 012. The lighting track 012 may have, for example, H-shaped, J-shaped, and L-shaped tracks.

[0056] The lighting track 012 may be constructed using a metal such as aluminum. The lighting track 012 may also be constructed using any other material, for example, a material that can be bent or the like. The advantage of the latter is that the lighting track 012 can be configured in any desired form or track. In other examples, the track may be composed of two wires where one wire receives power from the power source 013 and the other wire serves as a return path back to the power source 013. In that case, the lighting fixtures 030, 020 can be mechanically and electrically connected to these two wires.

[0057] In addition to the mechanical characteristics as disclosed above, the lighting track 012 is provided with a conductor for distributing the received safe voltage to any received or connected lighting fixture. The lighting track is electrically connectable to the power source 010, meaning that the output of the power source 010 is electrically connected to the conductor of the lighting track to distribute the safe voltage supplied by the power source 010.

[0058] The track lighting system 001 further has at least one lighting fixture 030 including an adapter 032, a lamp socket 034, and an upconverter 031.

[0059] The adapter 032 is used to mechanically and electrically connect the lighting fixture 030 to the lighting track 012. Thus, the adapter 032 is used, inter alia, to ensure that the distributed safe voltage is reliably received by the lighting fixture 030.

[0060] The lamp socket 034 is provided to receive an AC main power driven lamp. The lamp socket 034 may be of any type such as, for example, E27, B22, E14, or GU10. 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 filament lamp 30 has a converter, more specifically an AC / DC converter, for converting the received up-converted voltage into a DC voltage for supplying to the LED filament 033. The lamp socket 034 may be connected to the adapter 032 via a wire as indicated by reference numeral 035.

[0061] Finally, the lighting fixture 030 has an up-converter 032 for up-converting the safety voltage received from the lighting track 012 to the up-converted voltage higher than the safety voltage in order to supply the up-converted voltage to the electrical contact 037 in the lamp socket 034.

[0062] The up-converter 032 may have a DC / DC converter, a DC / AC converter, an AC / DC converter, or an AC / AC converter. In this particular scenario, the up-converter 032 has a DC / DC converter as indicated by reference numeral 031. The DC / DC converter 031 is, for example, a boost converter for boosting a DC safety voltage to a higher voltage, for example a voltage higher than 150Vdc.

[0063] As described above, one of the advantages of the track lighting system 001 according to the present disclosure is that while the distribution voltage, i.e., the voltage distributed by the lighting track 012, is a relatively low safety voltage, the presence of the up-converter 031 still enables the connection of the main power driven lamp 033 to the track lighting.

[0064] For example, a halogen transformer in the form of a self-excited oscillation type switched mode power supply (SMPS) may be used as the power supply 013. Such an SMPS can convert the incoming AC main power voltage, i.e., 230 Vac, into a safety voltage in the form of 12 Vac. The 12 Vac can be, for example, within the range of 40 kHz to 120 kHz. The main advantage of using such an SMPS is that the upconverter can be realized using only passive components for transforming the incoming 12 Vac to, for example, 230 Vac. This makes it possible to make the upconverter very compact to fit into the socket 034.

[0065] The track lighting system 001 shown in FIG. 1 further has an additional lighting fixture as shown by reference numeral 020. This additional lighting fixture 020 has an additional adapter 022 for mechanically and electrically connecting the additional lighting fixture 020 to the lighting track 012. The low voltage lamp socket is implemented in the additional adapter 022 and is configured to receive the low voltage driven LED lamp 023.

[0066] FIG. 2 discloses another track lighting system 111 according to the present disclosure.

[0067] The track lighting system 51 shown in FIG. 2 is essentially the same as the track lighting system 001 shown in FIG. 1. The differences between the two track lighting systems 51, 001 will be clarified below.

[0068] The difference between the track lighting system 51 shown in FIG. 2 and the track lighting system 001 shown in FIG. 1 relates to the upconverter 031. In FIG. 2, the upconverter is implemented in the lamp socket 034 instead of the adapter 032.

[0069] FIG. 3 discloses the voltage-current characteristics of a plurality of light emitting diode (LED) based lamps.

[0070] The lighting fixture may have a so-called detection mechanism for detecting a specific type of AC main power supply driven LED lamp received in the lamp socket, and the detection mechanism may be configured to control the upconverter so as to adapt to the detected type of the main power supply driven LED lamp received in the corresponding lamp socket.

[0071] FIG. 3 discloses the specific voltage-current characteristics of a specific LED filament lamp, more specifically, the voltage-current characteristics of the converters included in those LED filament lamps.

[0072] The current waveform as indicated by reference numeral 101 shows a general curve of a tapped linear power converter. The current waveform as indicated by reference numeral 102 shows a general curve of a switch mode power supply (SMPS). The current waveform as indicated by reference numeral 103 shows a general curve of a linear type power converter.

[0073] The upconverter included in the lighting fixture may utilize the above information to control its output voltage so as to better match the detected voltage-current characteristics.

[0074] Those skilled in the art can understand and achieve other modifications to the disclosed embodiments from the study of the drawings, the description, and the appended claims in the implementation of the invention described in the claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the singular form does not exclude the plural. Merely the fact that certain means are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that these means cannot be used advantageously in combination. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the claims.

Claims

1. A power supply connectable to an AC main power supply voltage, the power supply being configured to convert the AC main power supply voltage to a safety voltage lower than the AC main power supply voltage, and A lighting track electrically connectable to the power supply, the lighting track being configured to receive a lighting fixture and distribute the safety voltage to the received lighting fixture, and A lighting fixture, An adapter for mechanically and electrically connecting the lighting fixture to the lighting track, A lamp socket configured to receive an AC main power supply driven lamp, and A lighting fixture including an upconverter configured to upconvert the safety voltage received from the lighting track to an upconversion voltage higher than the safety voltage to supply the upconversion voltage to an electrical contact in the lamp socket.

2. The track lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the power supply is configured to convert the AC main power supply voltage to a DC safety voltage.

3. The upconverter is configured to perform either upconversion of the DC safety voltage to a DC upconversion voltage or upconversion of the DC safety voltage to an AC upconversion voltage. The track lighting system according to claim 2.

4. The track lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the power supply is configured to convert the AC main power supply voltage to an AC safety voltage.

5. The upconverter is configured to perform either upconversion of the AC safety voltage to an AC upconversion voltage or upconversion of the AC safety voltage to a DC upconversion voltage. The track lighting system according to claim 4.

6. The track lighting system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, having the AC main power supply driven lamp, the AC main power supply driven lamp being an LED lamp, the LED lamp having an AC / DC converter, a base, an envelope, and an LED light source, the base being configured to electrically and mechanically connect the LED lamp to the lamp socket, the envelope at least partially surrounding the LED light source, and the LED light source being an LED filament.

7. The track lighting system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the power supply is configured to convert the AC main power supply voltage, which is either 120V or 230V, into the safety voltage, and the upconverter is configured to upconvert the safety voltage into the upconverted voltage, which is either 120V or 230V.

8. The track lighting system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the power supply is configured to convert the AC main power supply voltage into the safety voltage, which is either 24V or 48V.

9. The track lighting system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a detection mechanism for detecting the type of the AC main power supply driven LED lamp received in the lamp socket, and configured to adjust the upconverted voltage according to the type of the AC main power supply driven LED lamp received in the lamp socket.

10. The detection mechanism is for detecting the type of the main power supply driven LED lamp received in the lamp socket, the tapped linear power converter included in the main power supply driven LED lamp, the switch mode power supply included in the main power supply driven LED lamp, The track lighting system according to claim 9, wherein the detection mechanism is configured to detect by detecting any one of the linear type power converters included in the main power supply driven LED lamp.

11. The track lighting system according to any one of claims 9 to 10, wherein the detection mechanism is configured to bypass the upconverter when detecting a low voltage driven lamp in the lamp socket.

12. The track lighting system is a further lighting fixture, a further adapter for mechanically and electrically connecting the further lighting fixture to the lighting track, and a low voltage lamp socket configured to receive a low voltage driven LED lamp. The track lighting system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising a further lighting fixture.

13. The track lighting system according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the upconverter is included in either the adapter or the lamp socket.

14. A lighting fixture An adapter for mechanically and electrically connecting the lighting fixture to the lighting track of the track lighting system according to any one of claims 1 to 13, A lamp socket configured to receive an AC main power driven lamp, A lighting fixture having an upconverter configured to upconvert the safety voltage received from the lighting track to the upconverting voltage higher than the safety voltage in order to supply the upconverting voltage to electrical contacts in the lamp socket.

15. The lighting fixture according to claim 14, having a main power driven LED filament lamp.

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