Luminaire comprising a control unit configured to control an indication of the remaining lifetime of an electrical component of the luminaire via a light emission of the luminaire

Abstract

The invention relates to a Luminaire comprising lighting means configured to provide a light emission of the luminaire by emitting light, a driver, and a control unit configured to control the light emission of the luminaire by controlling an electrical supply of the lighting means from the driver. The control unit is configured to obtain a remaining lifetime of one or more electrical components of the luminaire, and control an indication of the remaining lifetime of an electrical component of the one or more electrical components via the light emission of the luminaire to outside the luminaire by determining one or more parameters, optionally a light intensity, a flashing, and / or a frequency of the flashing, of the light emission of the luminaire dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component, generating one or more control signals according to the one or more parameters, and providing the one or more control signals to the driver.

Description

[0001] LUMINAIRE COMPRISING A CONTROL UNIT CONFIGURED TO CONTROL AN INDICATION OF THE REMAINING LIFETIME OF AN ELECTRICAL COMPONENT OF THE LUMINAIRE VIA A LIGHT EMISSION OF THE LUMINAIRE

[0002] Description:

[0003] The present invention relates to a luminaire comprising a control unit configured to control an indication of the remaining lifetime of an electrical component of the luminaire via a light emission of the luminaire, a method and a control unit for controlling light emission of lighting means of a luminaire, a user device, a system comprising the luminaire and the user device, and a computer program.

[0004] Electrical components of a luminaire, such as the lighting means, a driver for electrically supplying the lighting means etc., may age over time so that at one point in time after having been operated over a certain time period they may fail causing malfunction or failure of the luminaire, such as malfunction or failure of the luminaire’s function of providing a light emission. A time for which the electrical component is designed to function properly under certain environmental parameters may be referred to as nominal lifetime. The nominal lifetime may be provided by the producer of the respective electrical components, such as the lighting means, the driver etc. Thus, the nominal lifetime of an electrical component may refer to an operating life time or service life during which a proper function of the component can be expected. The nominal lifetime may be expressed by a number of operating hours for which the proper function is expected.

[0005] Accordingly, herein, the remaining lifetime of an electrical component may refer to a remaining operating lifetime or service life during which a proper function of the component can be expected. The remaining lifetime may be expressed by the number of remaining operating hours for which the proper function is expected. Optionally, the remaining lifetime of the electrical component may be expressed as a percentage value with regard to the nominal lifetime (i.e. as a percentage value of the nominal lifetime) of the electrical component. For example, in case the remaining life time equals 50% then the remaining lifetime equals 50% of the nominal lifetime. In other words, half of the nominal lifetime has passed already. Thus, when the end of lifetime is reached, the remaining lifetime is zero or 0%. At the end of lifetime the electrical components can be expected to malfunction or not function at all. The remaining lifetime of a luminaire may be the shortest remaining lifetime of its electrical components used for providing the function of theluminaire, such as providing a light emission. Especially, the lighting means and the driver may be such electrical components. Other electrical components, such as the control unit of the luminaire for controlling the luminaire (e.g. the driver of the luminaire) etc., may also have an impact on the remaining lifetime of the luminaire.

[0006] Knowing the remaining lifetime of electrical components of luminaires allows improving maintenance and repairing of the luminaires. Especially, when in an area, such as a building, manufacturing site etc., multiple luminaires (e.g. more than hundred luminaires) are installed, the electrical components of the different luminaires may age differently due to the different installation locations of the luminaires and, thus, environmental influences the luminaires are exposed to. For example, heat may cause electrical components to age faster. Thus, luminaires that are installed in areas with temperatures outside an optimal temperature range for operation of the luminaires will age faster compared to luminaires that are installed in areas with temperatures within an optimal temperature range. In addition, luminaires that are activated to emit light more often than other luminaires will age faster than the other luminaires. Especially for emergency luminaires it may be desired to know the remaining lifetime of the electrical components and, thus, the remaining lifetime of the emergency luminaire.

[0007] There are different methods of obtaining the remaining lifetime of electrical components of a luminaire. For example, a driver for electrically supplying the lighting means typically comprises one or more power converters (e.g. actively switched power converter(s), such as flyback converter(s), resonant converter(s), buck converter(s), boost converter(s) etc.) for the electrical supply, wherein such power converter(s) typically comprise electrolytic capacitors (e.g. aluminum electrolytic capacitors) in their power stage design. The aging of the electrolytic capacitor has a main impact on the aging of the driver and, thus, the remaining lifetime of the electrolytic capacitor may be used as the remaining life time of the driver. The remaining life time of an electrolytic capacitor may be obtained based on the temperature of the electrolytic capacitor during operation. Alternatively, the remaining lifetime of the electrolytic capacitor may be obtained by measuring an electrical characteristic of the electrolytic capacitor over time when a constant current load is supplied by the electrolytic capacitor; calculating a capacitance of the electrolytic capacitor based on the measured electrical characteristic; and estimating the remaining lifetime of the electrolytic capacitor based on the calculated capacitance. That is, the remaining lifetime of the electrolytic capacitor may be an remaining lifetime estimate. Thus, the remaining lifetime of an electrical component of the luminaire and, thus, the remaining lifetime of the luminaire may be a remaining lifetime estimate. The electrical characteristic of thecapacitor maybe a voltage drop across the electrolytic capacitor. The voltage drop maybe a linear voltage drop. The capacitance of the electrolytic capacitor reduces over time when the electrolytic capacitor ages, which makes it a good measure for the degree of degradation of the electrolytic capacitor. Thus, the remaining lifetime of the electrolytic capacitor (and thus the driver) may be obtained based on a decrease of its capacitance.

[0008] Optionally, the remaining lifetime of the lighting means or the driver of a luminaire may be obtained based on the temperature of the lighting means or the driver, respectively. Especially, based on a temporal course of the temperature of the lighting means or the driver the remaining lifetime of the lighting means or driver, respectively, may be computed. The temperature of a respective electrical component of a luminaire, such as the lighting means or the driver (e.g. an electrolytic capacitor of the power supply circuit of the driver), may be estimated using a plurality of parameters comprising one or more physical parameters and / or one or more operation parameters of the luminaire. For example, the plurality of parameters may comprise at least two of: a temperature of a control unit of the luminaire for controlling the driver; a temperature of a substrate, optionally printed circuit board, at which the electrical component is arranged; a temperature inside a housing of the luminaire; a supply voltage received by the electrical component, a supply current received by the electrical component; a frequency of the supply voltage and / or current received by the electrical component, an output voltage output by the driver; an output current output by the driver; a power loss of the electrical component; an energy conversion efficiency of the driver; a value for setting an operation state of the luminaire etc.

[0009] The present invention is not limited to a specific method for obtaining (e.g. estimating and / or computing) the remaining lifetime of electrical components, e.g. the lighting means, the driver etc., of a luminaire. Therefore, any method known in the art may be used for computing and / or estimating the remaining lifetime of electrical components of the luminaire. Thus, the above described method for obtaining the remaining lifetime of electrical components, such as the lighting means and the driver, of a luminaire are merely examples and do not limit the present invention.

[0010] Once the data on the remaining lifetime of the electrical components of the luminaire are obtained by the luminaire, especially by a control unit of the luminaire for controlling the function of the luminaire, e.g. the light emission of the luminaire, the data is desired to be provided to a user outside the luminaire so that the user can replace electrical components for which the remaining lifetime is near the end of lifetime, e.g. shorter than a critical remaining lifetime threshold. Usinga wired communication (e.g. via a wired bus, such as a DALI bus) or a wireless communication (e.g. via Bluetooth, near filed communication (NFC), wireless local area network (WLAN) etc.) results in the luminaire having the respective communication means. Especially, for hundreds of luminaires this may increase costs and represent a complex implementation, e.g. with data connectivity and dashboards to get access to the data.

[0011] Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide means that allows providing information on a remaining lifetime of electrical components of a luminaire to the outside of the luminaire without causing additional costs and high effort for such function. It is in particular an object of the present invention to provide a luminaire that allows providing information on a remaining lifetime of its electrical components to an outside without increased costs and additional effort with regard to hardware and communication management.

[0012] These and other objects, which become apparent upon reading the following description, are solved by the subject-matter of the independent claims. The dependent claims refer to preferred embodiments of the invention.

[0013] According to a first aspect of the invention a luminaire is provided. The luminaire comprises lighting means configured to provide a light emission of the luminaire by emitting light.

[0014] Optionally, the lighting means are or comprise one or more light emitting diodes. The luminaire comprises a driver configured to electrically supply the lighting means with electrical energy. The luminaire comprises a control unit configured to control the light emission of the luminaire by controlling an electrical supply of the lighting means from the driver. The control unit is configured to control the driver by generating one or more control signals and providing the one or more control signals to the driver. The control unit is configured to obtain a remaining lifetime of one or more electrical components of the luminaire. The control unit is configured to control an indication of the remaining lifetime of an electrical component of the one or more electrical components via the light emission of the luminaire to outside the luminaire by determining one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component, generating the one or more control signals according to the one or more parameters, and providing the one or more control signals to the driver. Optionally, the one or more parameters of the light emission are a light intensity of the light emission, a flashing of the light emission, and / or a frequency of the flashing of the light emission. The driver is configured to receive the one or more control signals from the control unit, and electrically supply the lighting means with the electrical energy according to thereceived one or more control signals. The lighting means are configured to emit the light according to the electrical energy supplied from the driver.

[0015] In other words, the first aspect of the present invention proposes using the light emission of the luminaire for indicating and, thus, providing the remaining lifetime of electrical component(s) of the luminaire to outside the luminaire and, thus, informing a user outside the luminaire on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component(s) of the luminaire. Since the light emission of the luminaire is used for informing on the remaining lifetime of the electrical components to the outside of the luminaire no additional hardware is needed. Especially no separate communication unit is required for a wired and / or wireless communication. Moreover, not additional equipment outside the luminaire, such as a monitor or display, is needed for visually representing the remaining lifetime of the electrical component(s) of the luminaire as the light emission represents already a visual indication of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component(s) that maybe perceived by the human eye. In addition, no communication management according to a communication protocol is needed for providing the remaining lifetime of the electrical component(s) to the outside of the luminaire when indicating (i.e. displaying) the remaining lifetime via the light emission of the luminaire, especially via one or more parameters, such as light intensity, a flashing and / or a frequency of the flashing, to outside the luminaire. Therefore, the luminaire of the first aspect allows providing information on a remaining lifetime of electrical components of a luminaire to the outside of the luminaire, especially to a user, without causing additional costs and high effort for such function. By allowing an indication of the remaining lifetime of one or more electrical components of the luminaire the luminaire according to the first aspects allows a visual indication of the health of the luminaire. The greater the shortest remaining lifetime among the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire the healthier the luminaire and vice versa.

[0016] The luminaire of the first aspect allows facility managers or maintenance crews to easily identify luminaires that are getting close to the end of lifetime (i.e. the remaining lifetime of the luminaire approaching zero or 0%) by visualizing the remaining lifetime of one or more electrical components and, thus, of the luminaire using the light emission of the luminaire.

[0017] The luminaire may be an indoor luminaire or an outdoor luminaire. Optionally, the luminaire may be an emergency luminaire configured to provide light in an emergency state or configured to provide light in a normal state and emergency state. The present invention is not limited to a specific type of luminaire.The lighting means may comprise or be one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs). The present invention is not limited thereto and, thus, the lighting means may be or comprise in addition or alternatively a different lighting means type(s). Optionally, the lighting means maybe a LED module comprising one or more LEDs. Multiple LEDs may be electrically connected in series and / or in parallel. The one or more LEDs may be one or more LED types, such as inorganic LEDs (often just referred to by the term “LED”), organic LEDs (OLED(s)), primary excited LED(s), secondary excited LED(s) comprising a fluorescent layer, etc. The present invention is not limited to a specific type of LED. The lighting means emit light in order to provide the light emission of the luminaire. That is, the light emitted by the lighting means is the light emission of the luminaire and, thus, the lighting means are provided in the luminaire for achieving the main function of the luminaire, namely providing a light emission.

[0018] When the lighting means are or comprise one or more LEDs the driver may be referred to as LED driver. For example, the driver maybe configured to electrically supply the one or more LEDs by providing a current to the one or more LEDs. The driver may be or may comprise an electrical supply circuit for electrically supplying the lighting means. The driver may comprise one or more power converters, such as actively switched power converter(s) (e.g. at least one of flyback converter(s), resonant converter(s), buck converter(s), boost converter(s) etc.) The one or more power converters may form or be part of the electrical supply circuit for electrically supplying the lighting means. For example, the one or more power converters may comprise AC-to-DC converter(s) and / or DC-to-DC converter(s). The driver may comprise rectifier circuit(s) and / or filter circuit(s), such as a electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter circuit. The driver may comprise a power factor correction (PFC) stage. The driver may be configured to be electrically powered from an external electrical energy source, such as mains, when the luminaire is electrically connected to the external electrical energy source and / or from one or more internal electrical energy sources, such as one or more batteries (e.g. one or more rechargeable batteries), of the luminaire. The present invention is not limited to a specific driver implementation for electrically supplying the lighting means. The term “operating device” may be used as synonym for the term “driver”. The driver maybe a driver module of the luminaire that is separate to the lighting means, which maybe a separate lighting module, such as a LED module. The lighting means are electrically connected with the driver in order to be electrically suppliable by the driver. The aforementioned electrical connection may be such that the lighting means may be replaced.The control unit may comprise or may be at least one of a controller, a microcontroller, a processor, a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The control unit may be or may be configured to be part of a lighting management system. Optionally, the lighting management system may be configured to trigger the indication of the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire via the light emission of the luminaire. The control unit may be a control module of the luminaire that is separate to the driver being a driver module and the lighting means being a lighting module (e.g. LED module). That is, the control unit, the driver and the lighting means may be separate modules of the luminaire. The control unit, the driver and lighting means may be arranged inside a housing of the luminaire. At least one, optionally each, of them may be arranged in the housing such that the respective one may be replaced from outside the luminaire, i.e. from outside the luminaire. In other words, the control unit, the driver and / or the lighting means may be replaceably arranged in the housing of the luminaire and, thus, may be replaced from outside the luminaire. Optionally, the control unit and the driver may form a driver device. That is they may form together a unit. They may be arrange inside a common housing in the housing of the luminaire. Alternatively, as outlined above, the control unit and the driver maybe separate modules of the luminaire. Optionally, at least one of the control unit, the driver and the lighting means may at least partly protrude outside the housing. Optionally, at least one of them may be arranged on an outside surface of the luminaire. For example, the control unit or the driver may be optionally arranged on an outside surface of the luminaire that is opposite to an light emission outside surface of the luminaire, via which the light emission of the luminaire is provided by the lighting means.

[0019] Optionally, the control unit and the driver may be electrically connected via a wired bus, such as DALI bus, for a wired communication. Herein, DALI stands for “digital addressable lighting interface” and refers to any DALI standard such as DALI Edition 1 (DALI-1), DALI Edition 2 (DALI-2) etc. DALI is well known in the field of lighting and, thus, no further details are provided. For example, the control unit maybe an application controller according to the DALI standard, e.g. DALI-2 standard.

[0020] The one or more control signals maybe for example DALI signals. The one or more control signals maybe pulse width modulated (PWM) signals. The control unit may configured to control the driver by controlling switching of one or more switches of one or more actively switched power converters of the driver. The control unit is configured to control the electrical supply of the lighting means from the driver by generating and providing the one or morecontrol signals to the driver. The greater the amount of electrical energy supplied (e.g. in average during a time period) by the driver to the lighting means the greater the amount of light emitted by the lighting means and, thus, the greater the light intensity of the light emission (e.g. in average during the time period) and vice versa.

[0021] The control unit may obtain the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components, such as the lighting means and / or driver, of the luminaire by computing and / or estimating the remaining lifetime using one or more physical parameters (e.g. one or more temperatures in the luminaire and / or at the luminaire) and / or one or more operation parameters of the luminaire (e.g. current(s), voltage(s), operation mode(s) etc.). For example, the control unit may obtain the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components as described above, e.g. at the beginning of the present application. The present invention is not directed to methods for obtaining the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components, but it is directed to indicating the remaining lifetime of the electrical components to the outside of the luminaire. Thus, the present invention is not limited to a specific implementation of the control unit for obtaining, e.g. computing and / or estimating, the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire. In other words, the control unit may be configured to obtain, e.g. compute and / or estimate, the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components according to any method known in the art. Optionally, the remaining lifetime of the electrical components maybe computed and / or estimated in one of the electrical components (e.g. the driver) and provided to the control unit. The remaining lifetime of an electrical component of the one or more electrical components may be a remaining lifetime estimate. The control unit maybe configured to obtain the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components within the luminaire, e.g. inside the housing. That is, the control unit maybe configured to obtain the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components using information / data from the luminaire itself without using information / data from outside the luminaire, such as information / data from external measuring device(s).

[0022] Optionally, the luminaire may comprise one or more sensors configured to detect or measure environmental condition(s) having an impact on the aging of the luminaire and its electrical components. For example, the one or more sensors may be or may comprise one or more temperature sensors etc. Optionally, the control unit may use the detection results of such one or more optional sensors for obtaining the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components. The one or more optional sensors may be arranged in the housing of the luminaire. At least one of the one or more optional sensors may at least partly protrude outside thehousing. At least one of the one or more optional sensors may be arranged on an outer surface of the luminaire.

[0023] The control unit being configured to control an indication of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component(s) via the light emission of the luminaire means that the control unit is configured to cause such indication. Determining the one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component may mean deciding, setting, changing or selecting a value of each of the one or more parameters of the light emission on the basis of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component. For example, the one or more parameters of the light emission may be at least one of the light intensity of the light emission, a flashing of the light emission and a frequency of the flashing of the light emission.

[0024] Determining the light intensity of the light emission may be understood as deciding on, setting, changing or selecting a value of the light intensity. This may be done by setting, changing or selecting a dim level of the light intensity of the light emission. The passage “dim level of the light intensity of the light emission” and “dim level of the light emission” maybe used as synonyms. The dim level may be between 0% and 100%, wherein a dim level of 100% is a maximum light intensity and a dim level of 0% is no light emission, i.e. the light emission is turned off. Thus, the greater the dim level of the light emission the greater the light intensity and vice versa. Dimming of the light intensity of the light emission, i.e. changing (e.g. reducing) the light intensity, maybe done using amplitude dimming and / or PWM dimming. Amplitude dimming may be achieved by changing an amplitude of a voltage or current (e.g. DC voltage or DC current) electrically supplied by the driver to the lighting means. PWM dimming maybe achieved by electrically supplying the voltage or current (e.g. DC voltage or DC current) in the form of periodic PWM pulses, wherein during an on-state of the PWM pulses (i.e. duration of a respective PWM pulse) the voltage or current, respectively, is electrically supplied to the lighting means and during an off-state of the PWM pulses (i.e. duration between two consecutive PWM pulses) the supply with voltage or current, respectively, is interrupted. The on-state and the off-state equal to the period and, thus, inverse of the frequency of the PWM control. The duty cycle of the PWM control equals to the on-state of the PWM control divided by the period of the PWM control. When keeping the period and, thus, frequency of the PWM control constant, increasing the duty cycle of the PWM control increases the amount of voltage or current and, thus, electrical energy provided to the lighting means during a time period causing the light intensityto increase and vice versa. Changing the light intensity using PWM dimming may be done according to any method known in the art.

[0025] Determining the flashing of the light emission may mean deciding on, setting or selecting whether the flashing of the light emission is to be done or not. The flashing of the light emission may be done with a default frequency. The frequency of the flashing of the light emission is such that the flashing may be perceived by the human eye. The frequency of the flashing of the light emission may be referred to as flashing frequency. Flashing of the light emission means that the light intensity of the light emission is periodically changed, optionally by periodically turning the light emission on and off. The term “blinking” maybe used as a synonym for the term “flashing”. Determining the frequency of the flashing of the light emission may be understood as deciding on, setting, changing or selecting the frequency of the flashing. The term “characteristic” maybe used as a synonym for the term “parameter”.

[0026] When the driver electrically supplies the lighting means with the electrical energy according to the received one or more controls signals, which are generated by the control unit for controlling the driver according to the determined one or more parameters, the one or more parameters of the light emitted by the lighting means in response to said electrical supply equal to the one or more parameters determined by the control unit.

[0027] Optionally, the control unit is configured to determine (as a parameter of the one or more parameters of the light emission) a light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire such that the shorter the remaining lifetime of the electrical component the lower the light intensity of the light emission.

[0028] In other words, the control unit may be configured to determine the light intensity of the light emission of the luminaire dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component such that the shorter the remaining lifetime of the electrical component the lower the dim level of the light emission. This allows a user to visually notice how the remaining lifetime of the electrical component and, thus, the health of the luminaire decreases. Especially, when multiple luminaires according to the first aspect are installed within an area, the user may observe how the light intensity of different luminaires differ from each other. Those luminaires with a lower light intensity of their light emission indicate that their remaining lifetime, e.g. of at least one electrical component of the respective luminaire, is shorter compared to other luminaires that have a light emission with a greater light intensity. The human eye may easily detect relativedifferences in the light intensity of the light emission of different luminaires. This allows the user to know that in the area, where the light emission of several luminaires has a lower light intensity compared to the light emission of luminaires installed in other areas, a stress on the luminaires e.g. by heat is greater compared to the other areas. For example, this maybe the case in a manufacturing site, where machinery may be a heat source that puts stress on neighboring luminaires. Thus, the user may use this information for maintenance of the luminaires as well as for taking countermeasures with regard to the stress on the luminaires in the area. For example, the user may install cooling devices in case a higher temperature is the reason for the faster aging and thus for the decreasing remaining lifetime of the luminaires in the area. Moreover, in case in a group of luminaires of the first aspect installed in a common area one or more luminaires of said group have a light emission with a reduced light intensity comparted to the rest of luminaires of the group, the user may know that these one or more luminaires may have aged faster, e.g. due to production variations, and, thus, may replace these one or more luminaires in order to prevent a malfunction or failure of those luminaires. This allows the user to replace only a certain amount of luminaires in an area instead of replacing the whole group of luminaires for ensuring proper function of the group of luminaires.

[0029] Optionally, the control unit is configured to determine (as a parameter of the one or more parameters of the light emission) the light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to a remaining lifetime boundary a dim level of the light intensity equals a percentage value of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component with regard to a nominal lifetime of the electrical component, or equals a second percentage value associated with the percentage value of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component.

[0030] The term “threshold” may be used as a synonym for the term “boundary”. In above paragraph, the term “boundary” is used in order to distinguish the above-mentioned “remaining lifetime boundary” from a “remaining lifetime threshold” described below. The remaining lifetime boundary, described above, and the remaining lifetime threshold described below may have different values or may have the same value.

[0031] The remaining lifetime threshold may be 100%. That is, the remaining lifetime threshold may equal 100% of the nominal lifetime so that the aforementioned control is done from the beginning of using the one or more components. Optionally, the remaining lifetime threshold isequal to or smaller than 50%. That is, optionally, for the first half of the nominal lifetime a reduction of the remaining lifetime is not indicated to the outside of the luminaire. The second percentage value associated to the percentage value of the remaining lifetime of the one or more component with regard to the nominal lifetime may be smaller than the percentage value of the remaining lifetime of the component with regard to the nominal lifetime, e.g. be smaller by 10%. That is, the second percentage value may equal the percentage value of the remaining lifetime reduced by an offset. This allows visually indicating the reduction of the remaining lifetime using the light intensity of the light emission more clearly. The control unit may receive the information on the percentage value of the remaining lifetime or the second percentage value from a lookup table or may compute this using one or more algorithms.

[0032] Optionally, the control unit is configured to determine (as a parameter of the one or more parameters of the light emission) a light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to a remaining lifetime threshold, a dim level of the light intensity is smaller than 100%, optionally equal to or smaller than 50% or 10%. That is, for example, the control unit is configured to determine the light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to the remaining lifetime threshold a dim level of the light intensity is equal to or smaller than 50% or 10%. Optionally, the remaining lifetime threshold is 50% of a nominal lifetime of the electrical component.

[0033] For example, the control unit is configured to determine the light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to 50% of the nominal lifetime of the electrical component, a dim level of the light intensity is between 50% and 10%, optionally equals 10%. This means, as soon as the remaining lifetime of the electrical component falls below 50% of the nominal lifetime of electrical component, the light intensity is reduced to 50% of the maximum light intensity or a lower dim level. This ensures a clear visual indication of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire being below 50%. The aforementioned is correspondingly valid for a different value of the remaining lifetime threshold. The dim level being set when the remaining lifetime equals to or reduces below the remaining lifetime threshold maybe selected such that the light intensity reduction of the light emission is perceivable by the human eye.Optionally, the control unit is configured to determine the light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is greater than the remaining lifetime threshold the light intensity is not dimmed.

[0034] The light intensity not being dimmed means that the dim level is equal to 100% and, thus, the lighting means emit light with the maximum light intensity. Herein, the maximum light intensity may be the nominal light intensity of the light emission of the lighting means. The nominal light intensity of the light emission of the lighting means may be the maximum light intensity emittable by the lighting means when operating the lighting means with electrical energy within an electrical energy range (e.g. voltage range or current range) for which the lighting means are designed to properly operate. The control unit maybe configured to change, e.g. reduce, the maximum light intensity for controlling the indication of the remaining lifetime of an electrical component via the light intensity of the light emission of the lighting means. Optionally, when the control unit receives a command for dimming the light emission of the luminaire, e.g. from an external control device, such as a wall switch or a central control device, then the control unit may select the dim level that is set by the command as the maximum light intensity for determining the dim level and, thus, the light intensity of the light emission to indicate the remaining lifetime of an electrical component of the luminaire. In other words, optionally, the dimming of the light intensity of the light emission for indicating the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire may be done with regard to the dim level of the command being the 100% dim level of the dimming for indicating the remaining lifetime of the electrical component.

[0035] Optionally, the control unit is configured to determine (as a parameter of the one or more parameters of the light emission) a flashing of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to a second remaining lifetime threshold the flashing of the light emission occurs. Optionally, the second remaining lifetime threshold is 10% of the nominal lifetime of the electrical component. The second remaining lifetime threshold is smaller than the remaining lifetime threshold.

[0036] For example, the control unit maybe configured to determine the flashing of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire such thatwhen the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to 10% of the nominal lifetime of the electrical component the flashing of the light emission occurs.

[0037] The flashing may occur in addition or alternatively to changing, e.g. reducing, the light intensity of the light emission of the luminaire. The flashing allows a further indication that the remaining lifetime of the electrical component and, thus, of the luminaire is approaching the end of lifetime. The frequency of the flashing is such that the flashing is visually perceivable by the human eye.

[0038] The control unit may be configured to determine (as a parameter of the one or more parameters of the light emission) a flashing of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is greater than the second remaining lifetime threshold no flashing of the light emission occurs.

[0039] Optionally, the flashing has a first frequency when the electrical component is the lighting means, and the flashing has a second frequency when the electrical component is the driver, the first and second frequency being different. In other words, the control unit may be configured to determine (as a parameter of the one or more parameters of the light emission) a frequency of the flashing of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire such that when the electrical component is the lighting means the frequency of the flashing equals the first frequency, and when the electrical component is the driver the frequency of the flashing equals the second frequency.

[0040] Optionally, the control unit maybe configured to determine (as a parameter of the one or more parameters of the light emission) a frequency of the flashing of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component such that the shorter the remaining lifetime of the electrical component the greater the frequency of the flashing.

[0041] The control unit may be configured to obtain as the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire a remaining lifetime of the lighting means, and / or a remaining life of the driver. Optionally, the remaining lifetime of other electrical components, such as the control unit, may be obtained. The remaining lifetime of the luminaire may equal to the shortest remaining lifetime of an electrical component used for providing the light emission of the luminaire. The one or more electrical components may be electrical component(s) thatallow the luminaire to properly function, e.g. that enable the light emission of the luminaire. That is, the one or more electrical components may be electrical component(s) that cause malfunction or failure of the luminaire, when the one electrical component or at least one of the electrical components malfunctions or fails.

[0042] Optionally, the control unit is configured to control the indication of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire via the light emission of the luminaire in response to receiving a signal setting a light scene. The signal may be a DALI signal. In other words, the control unit may be configured to cause the indication of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire via the light emission of the luminaire in response to receiving the signal that set the light scene. The scene may be referred to as “luminaire health check” or “remaining lifetime indication”. Thus, optionally, a DALI scene may be reserved for causing the indication of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component(s) of the luminaire via the light emission of the luminaire. The signal setting the scene may trigger obtaining (e.g. reading) of the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire by the control unit.

[0043] Optionally, the control unit is configured to control the indication of the remaining lifetime of the lighting means via the light emission of the luminaire in response to receiving a command for indicating the remaining lifetime of the lighting means. The control unit may be configured to control the indication of the remaining lifetime of the driver via the light emission of the luminaire in response to receiving a command for indicating the remaining lifetime of the driver. In other words, the control unit may be configured to cause the indication of the remaining lifetime of the lighting means via the light emission of the luminaire in response to receiving the command that instructs to indicate the remaining lifetime of the lighting means, and cause the indication of the remaining lifetime of the driver via the light emission in response to receiving the command that instructs to indicate the remaining lifetime of the driver.

[0044] Optionally, the control unit is configured to control the indication of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component having a shortest remaining lifetime among multiple electrical components of the luminaire when obtaining the remaining lifetime of the multiple electrical components of the luminaire, or for which the command for indicating the remaining lifetime has been obtained. In other words, the control unit may be configured to cause the indication via the light emission of the luminaire of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component having a shortest remaining lifetime among multiple electrical components of the luminairewhen obtaining the remaining lifetime of the multiple electrical components of the luminaire, or for which the command for indicating the remaining lifetime has been obtained.

[0045] The control unit may be programmed or updated by software to be configured to perform the features described above. Thus, the control unit for controlling the light emission of a conventional luminaire may be updated by such a software to achieve the luminaire according to the first aspect of the present invention. For this, the computer program according to the sixth aspect and the computer-readable medium according to the seventh aspect maybe used.

[0046] In order to achieve the luminaire according to the first aspect of the present invention, some or all of the above described optional features may be combined with each other.

[0047] According to a second aspect of the invention a method for controlling light emission of lighting means of a luminaire is provided. Optionally, the lighting means are or comprise one or more light emitting diodes. The method comprises obtaining a remaining lifetime of one or more electrical components of the luminaire. The method comprises controlling an indication of the remaining lifetime of an electrical component of the one or more electrical components via the light emission of the luminaire to outside the luminaire by determining one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component, generating one or more control signals according to the one or more parameters, and providing the one or more control signals to a driver of the luminaire for electrically supplying the lighting means of the luminaire. Optionally, the one or more parameters of the light emission are a light intensity of the light emission, a flashing of the light emission, and / or a frequency of the flashing of the light emission.

[0048] The above description with regard to the luminaire according to the first aspect of the present invention is also valid for the method of the second aspect of the present invention.

[0049] Optionally, the method comprises determining (as a parameter of the one or more parameters of the light emission) a light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire such that the shorter the remaining lifetime of the electrical component the lower the light intensity of the light emission.

[0050] Optionally, the method comprises determining (as a parameter of the one or more parameters of the light emission) the light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetimeof the electrical component of the luminaire such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to a remaining lifetime boundary a dim level of the light intensity equals a percentage value of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component with regard to a nominal lifetime of the electrical component, or equals a second percentage value associated with the percentage value of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component.

[0051] Optionally, the method comprises determining (as a parameter of the one or more parameters of the light emission) a light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to a remaining lifetime threshold, a dim level of the light intensity is smaller than 100%, optionally equal to or smaller than 50% or 10%. Optionally, the remaining lifetime threshold is 50% of a nominal lifetime of the electrical component.

[0052] Optionally, the method comprises determining the light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is greater than the remaining lifetime threshold the light intensity is not dimmed.

[0053] Optionally, the method comprises determining (as a parameter of the one or more parameters of the light emission) a flashing of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to a second remaining lifetime threshold the flashing of the light emission occurs. Optionally, the second remaining lifetime threshold is 10% of the nominal lifetime of the electrical component,

[0054] Optionally, the flashing has a first frequency when the electrical component is the lighting means, and the flashing has a second frequency when the electrical component is the driver, the first and second frequency being different.

[0055] The method may comprise obtaining as the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire a remaining lifetime of the lighting means, and / or a remaining life of the driver.Optionally, the method comprises controlling the indication of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire via the light emission of the luminaire in response to receiving a signal setting a light scene. The signal may be a DALI signal.

[0056] Optionally, the method comprises controlling the indication of the remaining lifetime of the lighting means via the light emission of the luminaire in response to receiving a command for indicating the remaining lifetime of the lighting means. The method may comprise controlling the indication of the remaining lifetime of the driver via the light emission of the luminaire in response to receiving a command for indicating the remaining lifetime of the driver.

[0057] Optionally, the method comprises controlling the indication of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component having a shortest remaining lifetime among multiple electrical components of the luminaire when obtaining the remaining lifetime of the multiple electrical components of the luminaire, or for which the command for indicating the remaining lifetime has been obtained.

[0058] In order to achieve the method according to the second aspect of the present invention, some or all of the above described optional features may be combined with each other.

[0059] The method according to the second aspect of the present invention achieves the same advantages as the luminaire according to the first aspect of the present invention

[0060] According to a third aspect of the invention a control unit for controlling light emission of lighting means of a luminaire is provided. Optionally, the lighting means are one or more light emitting diodes. The control unit is configured to control a driver of the luminaire for electrically supplying the lighting means of the luminaire by generating one or more control signals and providing the one or more control signals to the driver. The control unit is configured to obtain a remaining lifetime of one or more electrical components of the luminaire. The control unit is configured to control an indication of the remaining lifetime of an electrical component of the one or more electrical components via the light emission of the luminaire to outside the luminaire by determining one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component, generating the one or more control signals according to the one or more parameters, and providing the one or more control signals to the driver. Optionally, the one or more parameters of the light emission are a lightintensity of the light emission, a flashing of the light emission, and / or a frequency of the flashing of the light emission.

[0061] The control unit may be a lighting management system or may be configured to be part of a lighting management system. Optionally, the control unit may be an external control unit / device for controlling one or more luminaires according to the first aspect. Optionally, a lighting management system, such as the aforementioned lighting management system, may trigger execution of the method of the second aspect of the present invention.

[0062] The above description with regard to the luminaire according to the first aspect of the present invention, especially with regard to the control unit of the luminaire according to the first aspect, is also valid for the control unit of the third aspect of the present invention.

[0063] The control unit according to the third aspect of the present invention achieves the same advantages as the luminaire according to the first aspect of the present invention.

[0064] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention a user device is provided. Optionally, the user device is a smart phone. The user device comprises one or more photodetectors, a processing unit, and a user interface for providing information to a user. The one or more photodetectors are configured to detect a light emission of a luminaire according to the first aspect of the present as described above. The processing unit is configured to receive a detection result of the one or more photodetectors. The processing unit is configured to analyze on the basis of the detection result of the one or more photodetectors one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire. Optionally, the one or more parameters of the light emission are a light intensity of the light emission, a flashing of the light emission, and / or a frequency of the flashing of the light emission. The processing unit is configured to obtain on the basis of the one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire a remaining lifetime of one or more electrical components of the luminaire The processing unit is configured to provide the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire to the user interface. The user interface is configured to output the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire to the user.

[0065] The user device may be a portable device. The user device may be one of a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, a specifically designed reading device (i.e. a proprietary device) etc. The one or more photodetectors may be or may be part of a camera. A conventional user device (i.e. a non-proprietary user device), such as a smart phone, may be used that is programmed using a software for analyzing the one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire and obtaining based on the one or more parameters of the light emission the remaining lifetime of one or more electrical components of the luminaire. The software may be an application (app), e.g. that maybe downloaded from an app store.

[0066] The detection results of the one or more photodetectors maybe image data. The processing unit maybe configured to perform image processing on the detection results (e.g. image data) of the one or more photodetectors for analyzing and, thus, recognizing the one or more parameters of the light emission. For this, the processing unit may perform any method known in the art. The processing unit may obtain the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components using lookup tables storing different values of the one or more parameters of the light emission in associated with different remaining lifetimes of respective electrical component(s) and / or compute the remaining lifetime using one or more algorithms.

[0067] The user interface may configured to visually and / or acoustically output the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire to the user. The user interface may be or may comprise at least one of a display, a touch display, loudspeaker(s) etc. The user interface may be implemented according to any known implementation.

[0068] The user device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention achieves the same advantages as the luminaire according to the first aspect of the present invention.

[0069] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention a system is provided. The system comprises a luminaire according to the first aspect of the present invention as described above, and a user device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention as described above. The control unit of the luminaire is configured to control an indication of the remaining lifetime of an electrical component of the one or more electrical components via the light emission of the luminaire to outside the luminaire by determining one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component, generating the one or more control signals according to the one or more parameters, and providing the one or more control signals to the driver. Optionally, the one or more parameters of the light emission are a light intensity of the light emission, a flashing of the light emission, and / or a frequency of the flashing of the light emission. The driver of the luminaire is configured to receive the one or more control signals from the control unit, and electrically supply the lightingmeans of the luminaire with the electrical energy according to the received one or more control signals. The lighting means of the luminaire are configured to emit the light according to the electrical energy supplied from the driver. The one or more photodetectors of the user device are configured to detect the light emission of the luminaire. The processing unit of the user device is configured to receive a detection result of the one or more photodetectors. The processing unit of the user device is configured to analyze on the basis of the detection result of the one or more photodetectors the one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire. The processing unit of the user device is configured to obtain on the basis of the one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire. The processing unit of the user device is configured to provide the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire to the user interface. The user interface is configured to output the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire to the user.

[0070] The description of the luminaire according to the first aspect and the user device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is correspondingly valid for the system according to the fifth aspect of the present invention. The system according to the fifth aspect of the present invention achieves the same advantages as the luminaire according to the first aspect of the present invention and the user device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention.

[0071] According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a computer program is provided. The computer program comprises instructions which, when the program is executed by a control unit for controlling a luminaire, causes the control unit to carry out the method according to the second aspect of the present invention as described above. Optionally, the control unit for controlling a luminaire may be or may be part of a lighting management system. Optionally, the control unit for controlling the luminaire may be a control unit of the luminaire. The term “computer program product” maybe used as a synonym for the term “computer program”. Thus, the computer program allows programming or updating the control unit of a conventional luminaire, which is configured to control the light emission of the luminaire, so that the luminaire becomes the luminaire of the first aspect. For example, the computer program may be an application (app).

[0072] According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium comprises instructions which, when executed by a control unit for controlling a luminaire, cause the control unit to carry out the method accordingto the second aspect of the present invention as described above. Optionally, the control unit for controlling a luminaire may be or may be part of a lighting management system. Optionally, the control unit for controlling the luminaire may be a control unit of the luminaire. The term “computer-readable storage medium” may be used as a synonym for the term “computer-readable medium”. The computer-readable medium maybe a non-transitory storage medium. Thus, the computer-readable medium allows programming or updating the control unit of a conventional luminaire, which is configured to control the light emission of the luminaire, so that the luminaire becomes the luminaire of the first aspect.

[0073] The description of the luminaire according to the first aspect and the method according to the second aspect of the present invention is correspondingly valid for the computer program according to the sixth aspect and the computer-readable medium according to the seventh aspect of the present invention. The computer program according to the sixth aspect and the computer-readable medium according to the seventh aspect of the present invention achieve the same advantages as the luminaire according to the first aspect of the present invention.

[0074] Herein, the terms “lower”, “smaller” and “shorter” may be used as synonyms. The terms “higher”, “greater” and “longer” may be used as synonyms.

[0075] All steps which are performed by the various entities described in the present application as well as the functionalities described to be performed by the various entities are intended to mean that the respective entity is adapted to or configured to perform the respective steps and functionalities.

[0076] In the following, the invention is described exemplarily with reference to the enclosed figures (FIGs.), in which

[0077] FIG. 1 shows an example of a luminaire, a control unit, a user device and a system according to the present invention,

[0078] FIG. 2 shows an example of a method according to the present invention,

[0079] FIG. 3 shows an example of an implementation form of the method of FIG. 2, and

[0080] FIG. 4 shows an example of an implementation form of the method of FIG. 2.In the FIGs. (FIGs.), corresponding elements have the same reference signs. The size of elements in the Figures is not to scale and may be different compared to a real life implementation in order to highlight details of the embodiments.

[0081] FIG. 1 shows an example of a luminaire, a control unit, a user device and a system according to the present invention. The luminaire of FIG. 1 is an example of the luminaire according to the first aspect of the present invention. Thus, the description of the luminaire according to the first aspect of the present invention is correspondingly valid for the luminaire of FIG. 1. The control unit of FIG. 1 is an example of the control unit according to the third aspect of the present invention. Thus, the description of the control unit according to the third aspect of the present invention is correspondingly valid for the control unit of FIG. 1. The user device of FIG. 1 is an example of the user device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention. Thus, the description of the user device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is correspondingly valid for the control unit of FIG. 1. The system of FIG. 1 is an example of the system according to the fifth aspect of the present invention. Thus, the description of the system according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is correspondingly valid for the system of FIG. 1.

[0082] As shown in FIG. 1, the luminaire 10 comprises lighting means 13 configured to provide a light emission of the luminaire by emitting light. The light emission by the lighting means 13 and, thus, the light emission of the luminaire 10 is indicated in FIG. 1 by dashed lines. Optionally, the lighting means 13 maybe or may comprise one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs). The lighting means 13 may be implemented as outlined above with regard to the luminaire of the first aspect of the present invention. For example, the lighting means 13 maybe a LED module comprising one or more LEDs. For the following description, it is assumed that the lighting means 13 are the LED module. This is only by way of example and, thus, the following description is correspondingly valid in case of the lighting means 13 being differently implemented.

[0083] Further, the luminaire 10 comprises a driver 12 configured to electrically supply the lighting means 13 with electrical energy. For this, the lighting means 13 are electrically connected with the driver 12, as shown in FIG. 1. For example, the driver 12 may be configured to provide the LED module 13 with a current. The driver 12 may be implemented as outlined above with regard to the luminaire of the first aspect of the present invention. The driver 12 may be a driver module. For the following description, it is assumed that the driver 12 is a driver module. This isonly by way of example and, thus, the following description is correspondingly valid in case of the driver 12 being differently implemented.

[0084] Furthermore, the luminaire 10 comprises a control unit 11 configured to control the light emission of the luminaire 10 by controlling an electrical supply of the lighting means 13 from the driver 12. In other words, the control unit 11 is configured to control the driver 12 in order to control the electrical supply of the lighting means 13 by the driver 12 and, thus, the light emission by the lighting means 13. The control unit 11 is configured to control the driver 12 by generating one or more control signals and providing the one or more control signals to the driver 12. For this, the control unit 11 and the driver 12 may be electrically connected with each other, as shown in FIG. 1. For example, they may communicate with each other via a wired bus, e.g. a DALI bus. The control unit 11 may be implemented as outlined above with regard to the luminaire of the first aspect of the present invention. The control unit 11 may be a control module. For the following description, it is assumed that the control unit 11 is a control module. This is only by way of example and, thus, the following description is correspondingly valid in case of the control unit 11 being differently implemented.

[0085] For example, as shown in Figure 1, the control module 11, the driver module 12 and the LED module 13 maybe separate modules that are arranged in a housing of the luminaire 10.

[0086] Optionally, at least one of the aforementioned modules may at least partly protrude out of the housing. Optionally, at least one of the aforementioned modules may be arranged on an outside surface of the luminaire’s housing. This implementation of the control unit 11, driver 12 and lighting means 13 is only by way of example and, thus, maybe different. For example, the control unit 11 and the driver 12 may be part of a common unit, e.g. a driver device or driver module (not shown in FIG. 1). The description of FIG. 1 is correspondingly valid for such different implementation forms.

[0087] The control unit 11 is configured to obtain a remaining lifetime of one or more electrical components of the luminaire. For example, the control unit 11 may obtain the remaining lifetime of the lighting means 13 and the driver 12. Since the lighting means 13 and the driver 12 are electrical components of the luminaire that are involved in providing the light emission of the luminaire 10, which is a main function of the luminaire 10, the luminaire 10 malfunctions or fails when one of the lighting means 13 and the driver 12 malfunctions or fails, respectively. Thus, the remaining lifetime of the luminaire 10 may be represented by the remaining lifetime of the driver 12 and the lighting means 13. The shortest remaining lifetime among the remaininglifetime of the driver 12 and the lighting means 13 maybe or may represent the remaining lifetime of the luminaire 10. Namely, as soon as one of the driver 12 and the lighting means 13 fails, the luminaire 10 may malfunctions or fail irrespective of whether the other one of the driver 12 and the lighting means 13 functions. For the following description, it is assumed that the one or more electrical components are the driver 12 and the lighting means 13. This is only by way of example and, thus, the following description is correspondingly valid in case of the one or more electrical components comprising additional component(s) and / or different electrical component(s) of the luminaire 10. For details on how the control unit 11 may be configured to obtain the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire 10 reference is made to the description above, e.g. the description of the luminaire according to the first aspect of the present invention and the description at the beginning of the present application. Optionally, the luminaire may comprise one or more sensors configured to detect or measure environmental condition(s) having an impact on the aging of the luminaire and its electrical components (not shown in FIG. 1). For example, the one or more sensors may be or may comprise one or more temperature sensors etc. Optionally, the control unit 11 may use the detection results of such one or more optional sensors for obtaining the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire 10.

[0088] The control unit 11 is configured to control (i.e. cause) an indication of the remaining lifetime of one of the driver 12 and the lighting means 13 via the light emission of the luminaire 10 to outside the luminaire by determining one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire 10 dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component, generating the one or more control signals according to the determined one or more parameters, and providing the one or more control signals to the driver. Optionally, the one or more parameters of the light emission are a light intensity of the light emission, a flashing of the light emission, and / or a frequency of the flashing of the light emission. That is, the control unit 11 may be configured to control an indication of the remaining lifetime of the driver 12 or the lighting means 13 via the light emission of the luminaire 10 to outside the luminaire by determining at least one of light intensity of the light emission, a flashing of the light emission, and / or a frequency of the flashing of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the driver 12 or the lighting means 13, respectively.

[0089] The driver 12 is configured to receive the one or more control signals from the control unit 11, and electrically supply the lighting means 13 with the electrical energy according to the receivedone or more control signals. The lighting means 13 are configured to emit the light according to the electrical energy supplied from the driver 12.

[0090] The control unit 11 is configured to perform the method of FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows an example of a method according to the present invention. The description of the method of the second aspect of the invention is correspondingly valid for the method of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the method comprises a step Si of obtaining a remaining lifetime of one or more electrical components of the luminaire 10 and a step S2 of controlling (i.e. causing) an indication of the remaining lifetime of an electrical component of one or more electrical components of the luminaire 10 via the light emission of the luminaire 10 to outside the luminaire 10 by performing the steps S10, S20 and S30. In the step S10, one or more parameters of the light emission (e.g. the light intensity of the light emission, the flashing of the light emission, and / or the frequency of the flashing of the light emission) of the luminaire are determined dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component. In step S20, one or more control signals are generated according to the one or more parameters determined in step S10, and in step S30, the one or more control signals (generated in step S20) are provided to a driver of the luminaire for electrically supplying the lighting means of the luminaire.

[0091] With regard to FIG. 3, which shows an example of an implementation form of the method of FIG. 2, an example is described, on how the control unit 11 of the luminaire 10 of Figure 1 may be configured to determine at least one of the light intensity of the light emission, the flashing of the light emission, and / or the frequency of the flashing of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the driver 12 or the lighting means 13 in order to control the indication of the remaining lifetime of the driver 12 or the lighting means 13, respectively, via the light emission of the luminaire.

[0092] In a step S11, the control unit 11 may check whether the obtained remaining life time of the electrical component, i.e. the driver 12 or the lighting means 13, is smaller than or equal to a remaining lifetime threshold. The remaining lifetime threshold may be for example 50% of the nominal lifetime of the electrical component. When the remaining life time of the electrical component is greater than the remaining lifetime threshold (i.e. “NO” at step S11), the control unit 11 controls no dimming of the light intensity of the light emission of the luminaire 10 and, thus, the light intensity is not reduced and equals a maximum light intensity. In this case, the control unit 11 determines the light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component such that the light intensity is not dimmed (i.e. the dim levelis 100%). This corresponds to the step S12 of FIG.3. In other words, the control unit 11 is configured to determine the light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire 10 such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is greater than the remaining lifetime threshold the light intensity is not dimmed.

[0093] As shown in FIG.3, when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to the remaining lifetime threshold (i.e. “YES” at step S11), the control unit 11 controls a dimming, i.e. reduction, of the light intensity of the light emission of the luminaire 10. In this case, the control unit 11 determines the light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component such that the light intensity is dimmed and, thus, the dim level of the light intensity is smaller than 100%. Optionally, the control unit 11 determines in the aforementioned case the light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component such that the light intensity is dimmed to a dim level being smaller than or equal to 50% or 10 %. This corresponds to the step S13 of FIG.3. In other words, the control unit 11 is configured to determine the light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire 10 such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to the remaining lifetime threshold a dim level of the light intensity is smaller than 100%, optionally equal to or smaller than 50% or 10%.

[0094] Optionally, the dimming, i.e. reduction, of the light intensity may be controlled such that the shorter the remaining lifetime of the electrical component the lower the light intensity of the light emission. In other words, optionally, the control unit 11 is configured to determine the light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire 10 such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to the remaining lifetime threshold the shorter the remaining lifetime of the electrical component the lower the light intensity of the light emission.

[0095] Optionally, the dimming, i.e. reduction, of the light intensity may be controlled such that the dim level of the light intensity equals a percentage value of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component with regard to the nominal lifetime of the electrical component, or a second percentage value associated with the percentage value of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component. In other words, optionally, the control unit 11 is configured to determine the light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electricalcomponent of the luminaire 10 such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to the remaining lifetime threshold a dim level of the light intensity equals a percentage value of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component with regard to the nominal lifetime of the electrical component, or equals a second percentage value associated with the percentage value of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component.

[0096] Further, in a step S14, the control unit 11 may check whether the obtained remaining life time of the electrical component, i.e. the driver 12 or the lighting means 13, is smaller than or equal to a second remaining lifetime threshold, wherein the second remaining life time threshold is smaller than the remaining life time threshold of step Sil. According to FIG.3, the step S14 is performed after the step S11. This is only by way of example and may be different. That is, the step S14 may be performed before or simultaneously to step S11.

[0097] The second remaining lifetime threshold may be for example 10% of the nominal lifetime of the electrical component. When the remaining life time of the electrical component is greater than the second remaining lifetime threshold (i.e. “NO” at step S14), the control unit 11 controls no flashing of the light intensity of the light emission of the luminaire 10 and, thus, the light emission is not flashing. In this case, the control unit 11 determines the flashing of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component such that no flashing occurs. This corresponds to the step S15 of FIG. 3. In other words, the control unit 11 is configured to determine the flashing of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire 10 such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is greater than the second remaining lifetime threshold no flashing of the light emission of the luminaire 10 occurs.

[0098] When the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to the second remaining lifetime threshold (i.e. “YES” at step S14), the control unit 11 controls a flashing of the light emission of the luminaire 10. In this case, the control unit 11 determines the flashing of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component such that the flashing of the light emission occurs. This corresponds to the step S16 of FIG. 3. In other words, the control unit 11 is configured to determine the flashing of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire 10 such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to a second remaining lifetime threshold the flashing of the light emission occurs.As shown in FIG.4, which shows an example of an implementation form of the method of FIG.

[0099] 2, the flashing in step S16 may occur with different flashing frequencies depending on whether the remaining lifetime of the driver 12 or the lighting means 13 is indicated via the light emission of the luminaire 10. That is, by changing the frequency of the flashing, the type of electrical component for which a remaining lifetime smaller than or equal to the second remaining lifetime threshold is indicated via the light emission of the luminaire may be additionally indicated. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 for indicating a remaining lifetime of the lighting means 12 (that is smaller than or equal to the second remaining lifetime threshold) the frequency of the flashing may equal a first frequency, and for indicating a remaining lifetime of the driver 12 (that is smaller than or equal to the second remaining lifetime threshold) the frequency of the flashing may equal a second frequency that is different to the first frequency. For example, the second frequency may be greater than the first frequency. That is, the flashing (e.g. slow flashing) of the light emission for indicating the remaining lifetime of the lighting means 13 may be a slower flashing compared to a flashing (e.g. rapid flashing) of the light emission for indicating the remaining lifetime of the driver 12. This may be vice versa, i.e. the first frequency may be greater than the second frequency.

[0100] The flashing of the light emission of the luminaire 10 in addition or alternatively to the dimming of the light intensity of the light emission of the luminaire too allows making it more visible (compared to only dimming) that the luminaire 10 requires immediate attention as the remaining lifetime of one of its electrical components approaches end of lifetime and, thus, may be expected to malfunction or fail. Thus, by varying the frequency of the flashing the flashing pattern may vary depending on the type of electrical component of the luminaire 10 that has a remaining lifetime smaller than or equal to the second remaining lifetime threshold.

[0101] According to an example implementation of the luminaire 10 of FIG. 1 and the method of FIGs.

[0102] 2 and 3, the remaining lifetime threshold may equal to 50% of the nominal life time of the respective electrical component and the second remaining lifetime threshold may equal to 10% of the nominal life time of the respective electrical component. Moreover, it is assumed that the control unit indicates the remaining lifetime of the electrical component having a shortest remaining lifetime among multiple electrical components (the driver 12 and the lighting means 13) of the luminaire 10 when obtaining the remaining lifetime of the multiple electrical components of the luminaire 10. The remaining lifetime of the luminaire 10 equals the shortest remaining lifetime among the remaining lifetime of the multiple electrical components. Thus, indicating the remaining lifetime of the electrical component having the shortest remaininglifetime among the multiple electrical components via the light emission of the luminaire 10 equals to indicating the remaining lifetime of the luminaire 10. Therefore, in the aforementioned example, according to the control of FIG.3, the luminaire 10 will emit light with a maximum light intensity (i.e. dim level = 100%) when the luminaire has a remaining life time that is greater than 50% of the nominal lifetime of the luminaire. This informs a user that the remaining lifetime of the luminaire 10 is at least 50% of its nominal lifetime. When the luminaire 10 has a remaining lifetime that is smaller than or equal to 50% of its nominal lifetime and greater than 10% of its nominal lifetime, then the light intensity of the light emission may be dimmed to 10%. Thus, this reduction in light intensity of the light emission informs a user that the remaining lifetime of the luminaire is at most 50% of its nominal lifetime and at least 10% of its nominal lifetime. When the luminaire has a remaining lifetime smaller than or equal to 10%, then a flashing of the light emission of the luminaire occurs, i.e. the luminaire 10 emits flashing light. This informs the user on the critical case of the remaining lifetime of the luminaire 10 being equal to or lower than 10% of its nominal lifetime. Thus, the flashing of the luminaire 10 makes it more visual to the user that the luminaire 10 requires immediate attention. By optionally varying the frequency of the flashing depending on the type of electrical component having a remaining lifetime equal to or smaller than 10%, the user may be informed which electrical component of the luminaire 10 is to be replaced or repaired.

[0103] For further details, e.g. optional implementations and / or features, on how the control 11 unit may control the indication of the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire 10 via the light emission of the luminaire 10 reference is made to the description of the luminaire according to the first aspect of the present invention.

[0104] Optionally, the indication of the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical component of the luminaire 10 and, thus, of the luminaire 10 via the luminaire’s light emission may be triggered by a signal, e.g. DALI signal, that sets a scene, which is selected or reserved for such indication. In other words, the control unit 11 may be configured to control the indication of the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire 10 via the light emission of the luminaire in response to receiving a signal setting a light scene.

[0105] Optionally, the user may select of which electrical component of the luminaire 10 the remaining lifetime is indicated via the light emission of the luminaire 10 by providing a respective command to the luminaire 10. For this, the luminaire 10 may optionally be configured to communicate wirelessly and / or in a wired manner according to any method known in the art.That is, the control unit 10 maybe configured to control (i.e. cause) the indication of the remaining lifetime of the lighting means via the light emission of the luminaire in response to receiving a command for indicating the remaining lifetime of the lighting means. The control unit may be configured to control (i.e. cause) the indication of the remaining lifetime of the driver via the light emission of the luminaire in response to receiving a command for indicating the remaining lifetime of the driver.

[0106] In the light of the above, the luminaire 10 of FIG. 1 allows visually indicating the remaining lifetime of one or more electrical components of the luminaire, such as the driver 12 and the lighting means 13, by dimming the light intensity of its light emission and / or using flashing pattern(s) of its light emission. This gives access to the information on the remaining lifetime to a user without needing extra infrastructure (such as communication interface). Further, this allows a user to check the remaining lifetime and, thus, health of the luminaire on site without the need of technical knowledge. Since no additional infrastructure for the communication of the remaining lifetime is needed, no additional costs, such as costs for a communication interface, a cloud, a gateway etc., arise. Visually indicating the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components, such as the driver 12 and the lighting means 13, of the luminaire via the luminaire’s light emission allows a predictive maintenance of the luminaire. This reduces unplanned interventions and allows optimizing a maintenance in an area where multiple of the luminaires 10 according to FIG. 1 are installed. Moreover this allows providing lighting to an area with reduced or no failures of the luminaires, as critical remaining lifetimes of luminaires may be visually indicated by the light emission of the respective luminaire in advanced of reaching the end of lifetime.

[0107] In addition or alternatively to recognizing by the human eye the changed one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire 10 as an indicator for the remaining lifetime of an electrical component of the luminaire 10, a user device 20 may be used for detecting the light emission of the luminaire 10 and receiving the information on the remaining lifetime indicated by the light emission of the luminaire 10.

[0108] As shown in FIG. 1, the user device 20 comprises one or more photodetectors 21, a processing unit 22, and a user interface 23 for providing information to a user. The one or more photodetectors 21 are configured to detect a light emission of the luminaire 10. This is indicated in FIG. 1 by the dashed lines going from the lighting means 13 of the luminaire 10 to the one or more photodetectors 21 of the user device 20. The processing unit 22 is configured to receive adetection result of the one or more photodetectors 21. The processing unit 22 is configured to analyze on the basis of the detection result of the one or more photodetectors 21 the one or more parameters of the light emission (e.g. a light intensity of the light emission, a flashing of the light emission, and / or a frequency of the flashing of the light emission) of the luminaire 10. Further, the processing unit is configured to obtain on the basis of the one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire 10 a remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components (the driver 12 and the lighting means 13) of the luminaire 10. The processing unit is configured to provide the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire 10 to the user interface 22. The user interface 22 is configured to output the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire 10 to the user. For further information on the user device 20 reference is made to the description of the user device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention.

[0109] The control unit 11 of the luminaire 10 is an example of the control unit according to the third aspect of the invention. The control unit 11 may be a lighting management system or may be configured to be part of a lighting management system. Optionally, the control unit 11 maybe an external control unit for controlling one or more luminaires.

[0110] The luminaire 10 and the control device 20 may be part of a system too. The system too is an example of the system according to the fifth aspect of the present invention. For further information on the system too reference is made to the description of the system of the fifth aspect of the present invention.

[0111] In the claims as well as in the description the word “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps and the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the functions of several entities or items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in the mutual different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used in an advantageous implementation.

Claims

Claims:

1. A luminaire (10) comprisinglighting means (13), optionally one or more light emitting diodes, configured to provide a light emission of the luminaire (10) by emitting light,a driver (12) configured to electrically supply the lighting means (13) with electrical energy, anda control unit (11) configured to control the light emission of the luminaire (10) by controlling an electrical supply of the lighting means (13) from the driver (12); wherein the control unit (11) is configured tocontrol the driver (12) by generating one or more control signals and providing the one or more control signals to the driver (12),obtain a remaining lifetime of one or more electrical components of the luminaire (10), andcontrol an indication of the remaining lifetime of an electrical component of the one or more electrical components via the light emission of the luminaire (10) to outside the luminaire (10) bydetermining one or more parameters, optionally a light intensity, a flashing, and / or a frequency of the flashing, of the light emission of the luminaire (10) dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component,generating the one or more control signals according to the one or more parameters, andproviding the one or more control signals to the driver (12),the driver (12) is configured to receive the one or more control signals from the control unit (11), and electrically supply the lighting means (13) with the electrical energy according to the received one or more control signals, andthe lighting means (13) are configured to emit the light according to the electrical energy supplied from the driver (12).

2. The luminaire (10) according to claim 1, whereinthe control unit (11) is configured to determine a light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire (10) such that the shorter the remaining lifetime of the electrical component the lower the light intensity of the light emission.

3. The luminaire (10) according to claim 1 or 2, whereinthe control unit (11) is configured to determine a / the light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire (10) such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to a remaining lifetime boundary a dim level of the light intensity equalsa percentage value of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component with regard to a nominal lifetime of the electrical component, ora second percentage value associated with the percentage value of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component.

4. The luminaire (10) according to claim 1, whereinthe control unit (11) is configured to determine a light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire (10) such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to a remaining lifetime threshold, optionally 50% of a nominal lifetime of the electrical component, a dim level of the light intensity is smaller than 100%, optionally equal to or smaller than 50% or 10%.

5. The luminaire (10) according to claim 4, whereinthe control unit (1) is configured to determine the light intensity of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire (10) such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is greater than the remaining lifetime threshold the light intensity is not dimmed.

6. The luminaire (10) according to any one of the previous claims, whereinthe control unit (11) is configured to determine a flashing of the light emission dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire (11) such that when the remaining lifetime of the electrical component is smaller than or equal to a second remaining lifetime threshold, optionally 10% of a / the nominal lifetime of the electrical component, the flashing of the light emission occurs.

7. The luminaire (10) according to claim 6, whereinthe flashing has a first frequency when the electrical component is the lighting means (13), andthe flashing has a second frequency when the electrical component is the driver (12), the first and second frequency being different.

8. The luminaire (10) according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the control unit (11) is configured to obtain as the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire (10)a remaining lifetime of the lighting means (13), and / ora remaining life of the driver (12).

9. The luminaire (10) according to any one of the previous claims, whereinthe control unit (11) is configured to control the indication of the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire (10) via the light emission of the luminaire (10) in response to receiving a signal, optionally DALI signal, setting a light scene.

10. The luminaire (10) according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the control unit (11) is configured to controlthe indication of the remaining lifetime of the lighting means (13) via the light emission of the luminaire (10) in response to receiving a command for indicating the remaining lifetime of the lighting means (13), andthe indication of the remaining lifetime of the driver (12) via the light emission of the luminaire (10) in response to receiving a command for indicating the remaining lifetime of the driver (12).

11. The luminaire (10) according to any one of the previous claims, whereinthe control unit (11) is configured to control the indication of the remaining lifetime of the electrical componenthaving a shortest remaining lifetime among multiple electrical components of the luminaire (10) when obtaining the remaining lifetime of the multiple electrical components of the luminaire (10), orfor which a command for indicating the remaining lifetime has been obtained.

12. A method for controlling light emission of lighting means, optionally one or more light emitting diodes, of a luminaire comprisingobtaining (Si) a remaining lifetime of one or more electrical components of the luminaire,controlling (S2) an indication of the remaining lifetime of an electrical component of the one or more electrical components via the light emission of the luminaire to outside the luminaire bydetermining (S10) one or more parameters, optionally a light intensity, a flashing, and / or a frequency of the flashing, of the light emission of the luminaire dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component, generating (S20) one or more control signals according to the one or more parameters, andproviding (S30) the one or more control signals to a driver of the luminaire for electrically supplying the lighting means of the luminaire.

13. A control unit (11) for controlling light emission of lighting means (13), optionally one or more light emitting diodes, of a luminaire (10), wherein the control unit (11) is configured tocontrol a driver (12) of the luminaire (10) for electrically supplying the lighting means (13) of the luminaire (10) by generating one or more control signals and providing the one or more control signals to the driver (12),obtain a remaining lifetime of one or more electrical components of the luminaire (10), andcontrol an indication of the remaining lifetime of an electrical component of the one or more electrical components via the light emission of the luminaire (10) to outside the luminaire (10) bydetermining one or more parameters, optionally a light intensity, a flashing, and / or a frequency of the flashing, of the light emission of the luminaire (10) dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component, generating the one or more control signals according to the one or more parameters, andproviding the one or more control signals to the driver (12).

14. A user device (20), optionally a smart phone, comprisingone or more photodetectors (21),a processing unit (22), anda user interface (23) for providing information to a user, whereinthe one or more photodetectors (21) are configured to detect a light emission of a luminaire (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 11,the processing unit (22) is configured toreceive a detection result of the one or more photodetectors (21), analyze on the basis of the detection result of the one or more photodetectors (21) one or more parameters, optionally a light intensity, a flashing, and / or a frequency of the flashing, of the light emission of the luminaire (10), obtain on the basis of the one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire (10) a remaining lifetime of one or more electrical components of the luminaire, andprovide the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire to the user interface (23), andthe user interface (23) is configured to output the remaining lifetime of the one or more electrical components of the luminaire (10) to the user.

15. A system (100) comprisinga luminaire (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, anda user device (20) according to claim 14, whereinthe control unit (11) of the luminaire (10) is configured to control an indication of the remaining lifetime of an electrical component of the one or more electrical components via the light emission of the luminaire (10) to outside the luminaire (10) by determining one or more parameters, optionally a light intensity, a flashing, and / or a frequency of the flashing, of the light emission of the luminaire (10) dependent on the remaining lifetime of the electrical component, generating the one or more control signals according to the one or more parameters, andproviding the one or more control signals to the driver (12),the driver (12) of the luminaire (10) is configured to receive the one or more control signals from the control unit (11), and electrically supply the lighting means (13) of the luminaire (10) with the electrical energy according to the received one or more control signals,the lighting means (13) of the luminaire (10) are configured to emit the light according to the electrical energy supplied from the driver (12),the one or more photodetectors (21) of the user device (20) are configured to detect the light emission of the luminaire (10),the processing unit (22) of the user device (20) is configured toreceive a detection result of the one or more photodetectors (21),analyze on the basis of the detection result of the one or more photodetectors (21) the one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire (10), obtain on the basis of the one or more parameters of the light emission of the luminaire (10) the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire (10), andprovide the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire (10) to the user interface (23), andthe user interface (23) of the user device (20) is configured to output the remaining lifetime of the electrical component of the luminaire (10) to the user.

16. A computer program comprises instructions which, when the program is executed by a control unit for controlling a luminaire, causes the control unit to carry out the method according to claim 12.

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