Lighting Fixture With Obtuse Sidewalls For Uniform Batwing Illumination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lighting fixtures fail to provide uniform illumination in sterile environments, such as clean rooms, and often compromise the sterile seal during maintenance, leading to potential contamination.
Innovation Solution
A lighting fixture design featuring a housing with obtusely extending sidewalls, a plurality of LEDs, and a lens that redirects light internally to create a uniform batwing light distribution, maintaining a clean room seal and reducing glare.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If light sources direct light directly to and through the lens to maximize efficiency, then lighting efficiency is improved, but uniformity of illumination deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting fixture segments the light path into multiple directional components using multiple LEDs positioned at different angles, each directing light through different portions of the lens to achieve both efficiency and uniformity
Solution Approach 2:
Different LEDs are positioned to provide different local illumination characteristics, with each LED directing light through specific zones of the lens, creating varied local light distributions that combine to form uniform overall illumination
2Reliability
If conventional lighting fixtures are designed to maintain clean room seal, then sterile environment is maintained, but access for maintenance becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting fixture uses a nested design where the lens can be removed to provide access to the LED array and driver components, allowing maintenance while maintaining the clean room seal when assembled
Solution Approach 2:
The fixture incorporates a removable lens design that transitions the seal from static to dynamic, allowing the seal to be opened for maintenance and closed for sterile operation, balancing accessibility with contamination prevention
3Illumination intensity
If direct LED viewing is allowed, then maximum light output is achieved, but glare increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fixture uses asymmetric positioning of multiple LEDs at different angles relative to the lens, creating a light distribution pattern where no single direct LED view dominates, reducing glare while maintaining overall light output
Solution Approach 2:
The design transitions from a single direct light path to multiple angular light paths by positioning LEDs in different spatial dimensions, distributing light across multiple angles to eliminate concentrated glare spots
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 achieves more uniform brightness and maintains a sterile environment by redirecting light internally, reducing the need for direct LED viewing and minimizing luminous flux at nadir, while requiring less input power and increasing product lifetime.
Implementation Method 1
at least one of the first sidewall or the second sidewall includes a reflective coating disposed on an interior surface thereof
Implementation Method 2
The lens is operably coupled to at least one of the sidewalls and cooperates with the sidewalls to define an interior cavity
Data Source
AI summary
A lighting fixture includes a housing, a light source, and a lens. The housing includes a base and first and second sidewalls. Each of the sidewalls extend obtusely from the base. The light source is operably coupled to the base and includes a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs). The lens is operably coupled to at least one of the sidewalls and cooperates with the sidewalls to define an interior cavity. The plurality of LEDs are arranged such that light emitted therefrom is directed from the base toward at least one of the first or second sidewalls and is redirected to the interior cavity a first time.