Sector Light With Detachable LED Source And Obscuring Wall
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sector lights for waterborne traffic face issues with high power requirements, short service life, mechanical inaccuracies, reduced light intensity due to filtering, large size, and laborious maintenance, as well as the need for individualized LED installations and costly sector inspections.
Innovation Solution
A sector light design featuring a detachable light source unit with omnidirectional LEDs and an obscuring wall unit that allows for precise sector boundary control, enabling easy replacement and storage of light sources without re-alignment or re-inspection, using a cover to protect the light source unit and optics to maintain light intensity and precision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If colored glass plates are used as filters to form colored light zones, then the sector light can display different colors for different sectors, but the light intensity of the colored sectors is reduced to as low as 25% compared to white light
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of light generation from filtering white light to emitting colored light directly. By using LEDs that emit different colors (red, green, blue) directly, the system eliminates the need for colored glass filters, thereby restoring light intensity to near-100% while maintaining color differentiation capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/optical filtering system (white light source + colored glass plates) with an electrical/optical emission system (multi-color LEDs). This substitution eliminates the light intensity loss inherent in filtering while achieving the same sector color differentiation function.
2Manufacturing precision
If individualized LED installations are used with intermediate plates for each sector, then sector boundaries can be defined, but the light intensity decreases approaching the sector boundary and the device becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the intermediate plates that caused complexity and light intensity reduction. By using a single continuous LED ring without intermediate blocking plates, the system achieves sector boundary definition through the LED arrangement itself rather than through physical barriers, thereby eliminating the associated complexity and light loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal LED ring structure that serves multiple functions simultaneously: it defines sector boundaries, provides uniform light distribution, and eliminates the need for separate intermediate plates. This multi-functional design reduces device complexity while maintaining manufacturing precision.
3Illumination intensity
If incandescent light sources are used in sector lights, then the lights can provide sufficient illumination, but the power requirement is large and the service life is comparatively short
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the light source technology parameter from incandescent to LED, which fundamentally alters the energy-to-light conversion efficiency. LEDs consume significantly less power to produce the same illumination intensity, thereby resolving the contradiction between sufficient illumination and low power requirement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different colored LEDs (red, green, blue) at different angular positions around the ring, creating local color variations that define sectors. This local differentiation approach allows precise sector definition without requiring additional filtering components that would reduce overall light intensity.
4Manufacturing precision
If sector plates are arranged outside the light device for accuracy, then the sector boundaries can be precise, but the whole light must be installed inside a light housing which is expensive to construct and maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the light source function and sector boundary definition function into a single integrated LED ring structure. By embedding the sector-defining LEDs directly into the light device housing rather than using separate external sector plates, the system achieves precise sector boundaries without requiring complex external mechanical arrangements or expensive specialized housings.
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 provides a precise, reliable, and cost-effective sector light with reduced maintenance needs, allowing for the use of standardized light sources across different sector lights, simplifying maintenance and updates, and maintaining consistent light intensity across sector boundaries.
Implementation Method 1
the light of which light source is refracted with a lens or mirror to be omnidirectional in at least mainly the horizontal direction
Implementation Method 2
an obscuring wall that does not let light pass through
Data Source
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AI summary
Sector light, which comprises a light source unit (100), which comprises light source parts (301, 302, 303) one above another, which form layers one above another, for each color of at least one light source part. A light source part comprises a light source (101, 102, 103), the light of which is refracted with a lens (104, 105, 106) or mirror to be omnidirectional in at least mainly the horizontal direction. The sector light also comprises a cover for the light source unit, which cover is fitted in connection with the light source unit (100), and an obscuring wall unit (110), which comprises a light-impermeable obscuring wall (116). The obscuring wall (116) comprises light apertures (111, 112, 113, 114), from which light is visible in each layer in the desired direction in such a way that the desired sector or sectors of horizontal light remain in each layer. The obscuring wall unit (110) can be fixed to its mounting base (130) and the light source unit (100) can be detachably fixed, with fixing means, inside the obscuring wall unit (110) in such a way that the layers of the light source unit (100) and the layers of the obscuring wall unit (110) are face-to-face. The light source unit (100) can be replaced and/or removed from inside the obscuring wall unit (110) without needing to remove the obscuring wall unit (110) from its mounting base (130).