Aisle Lighting Optic with Refractive Cavity for Glare Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional light fixtures, particularly those using incandescent bulbs, struggle to provide targeted and efficient lighting for aisles while minimizing glare and energy waste, especially in retail settings where lighting needs to be directed upwards to avoid discomfort for customers.
Innovation Solution
A linear optic with a specific cross-sectional profile, featuring a cavity bounded by upward and downward-facing surfaces that refract and redirect light into multiple beams, allowing for focused illumination away from the nadir, thereby reducing light on the floor and enhancing visibility on shelves.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If conventional light fixtures use incandescent bulbs to provide general lighting, then the lighting coverage is wide, but energy efficiency is poor and much energy becomes waste heat
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces incandescent bulbs with LED light sources, substituting a less efficient thermal radiation system with a more efficient electroluminescence system. LEDs convert electrical energy directly to light with minimal heat generation, resolving the energy efficiency contradiction while maintaining wide lighting coverage through optical design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental operating parameters of the light source from incandescent (thermal radiation at high temperature) to LED (electroluminescence at low temperature). This parameter change enables superior energy efficiency by eliminating the thermal conversion step that generates waste heat in incandescent bulbs.
2Illumination intensity
If light fixtures direct light downward to illuminate floors, then floor illumination is adequate, but glare and discomfort occur for customers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the single downward light beam into multiple redirected beams using prismatic optical elements. The cavity contains multiple refractive faces that split incoming light from LEDs into separate beams directed at different angles, allowing illumination of shelves and aisles without direct downward glare to customers' eyes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different optical properties to different regions of the light fixture. The cavity structure creates zones with specific refraction angles, directing light locally to different targets (shelves vs. floor vs. aisle) based on the required illumination quality for each zone, eliminating glare while maintaining adequate illumination.
3Use of energy by moving object
If LED light sources are used to improve energy efficiency, then energy consumption is reduced, but optical arrangements require greater flexibility in light placement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the LED light source with an integrated optical cavity structure. The optical elements are incorporated directly into the fixture housing, combining lighting and optical redirection functions into a single unit. This integration achieves the required optical flexibility without proportionally increasing device complexity, as the optical path is built-in rather than added as separate components.
4Illumination intensity
If light is directed straight down at nadir, then maximum illumination intensity is achieved, but light concentration on the floor causes glare and inadequate shelf illumination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional lighting approach by redirecting light away from the traditional downward nadir direction. Instead of allowing light to travel straight down, the optical cavity refracts light at various angles to illuminate shelves and aisles from above, eliminating floor glare while maintaining adequate illumination intensity through angular redistribution rather than direct concentration.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables targeted and efficient lighting for aisles by redirecting light away from the floor, providing adequate illumination on shelves without causing discomfort or glare, while maintaining a compact and cost-effective design suitable for retail environments.
Implementation Method 1
the light is separated at the interior angles, and refracted by the faces of the optical material, into a plurality of separate light beams
Implementation Method 2
Each of the two upwardly-facing surfaces is configured to internally reflect respective ones of the separate light beams downwardly, as compared with their original directions
Data Source
AI summary
An optic for aisle lighting includes a portion of an optical material defined by a length and a cross-sectional profile. The cross-sectional profile is characterized by a cavity within the optical material, two upwardly-facing surfaces of the optical material on opposite sides of the cavity from one another, and downwardly-facing surfaces of the optical material. The cavity is bounded by an upward facing aperture, and at least three faces of the optical material that meet at interior angles. Light received through the upward facing aperture is separated at the interior angles, and refracted by the faces of the optical material, into separate light beams equal in number to the faces. The two upwardly-facing surfaces internally reflect the separate light beams downwardly. The downwardly-facing surfaces intercept respective portions of the separate light beams, and refract the portions as they exit the optic.