Sparkling Lighting Device Lens Array Displacement

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current luminaires lack the ability to create interesting and dynamic light effects while maintaining a simple construction, making it difficult for manufacturers to differentiate their products.

Innovation Solution

A lighting device comprising a lens array, a light engine with light-emitting elements, and a cover layer with light exit areas that distribute light sources in a specific pattern to create a sparkling effect, where the light sources and lenses have displacement lengths and directions that are distributed over subsets, providing a light-emitting surface that coincides with the focal surface of the lens array.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Device complexity

If a luminaire is designed with a spatially uniform luminance appearance, then the construction is simple, but the appearance is uninteresting and lacks dynamic light effects

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconstruction simplicityVSAvoidlight effect variety
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The luminaire is segmented into multiple light sources arranged in a grid pattern, with each light source having associated optical elements (lenses or reflectors) positioned at specific displacements. This segmentation allows each segment to contribute to different light paths and effects, creating dynamic and interesting light patterns while maintaining a relatively simple overall construction through modular repetition of the segmentation unit.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple displacement lengths and directions are used to create sparkling effects, then the light effect becomes dynamic and interesting, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvelight effect varietyVSAvoidstructural complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Different displacement lengths and directions are assigned to different local positions within the luminaire. Specifically, light sources at different grid positions have lenses or reflectors displaced by different amounts and in different directions relative to their respective light sources. This local variation in optical element positioning creates the sparkling and dynamic light effects without requiring complex overall structural changes, as each local position is optimized independently.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

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 a sparkling light effect while maintaining a simple construction, providing a unique and dynamic lighting experience that is difficult to replicate, which can serve as a differentiation for manufacturers.

Implementation Method 1

a lens array having a plurality of lenses... each light source forms a combination with a closest lens... Each such combination of a light source and its associated closest lens has a displacement distance with a displacement length and a displacement direction

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectRefraction: Refraction

Data Source

PatentEP4051957B1Lighting device for providing a sparkling appearance
Publication Date: 2023.12.06 SIGNIFY HOLDING BV
  • EP4051957B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4051957B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4051957B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The invention relates to a lighting device with a relatively simple construction that it is arranged to provide a sparkling light effect. The lighting device comprises (i) a lens array (110) having a plurality of lenses (110a-d) and a focal surface (111) located at a focal distance from the lens array (110), and (ii) a light source array (120) having a plurality of light sources (120a-d), each light source (120a-d) being arranged to emit light towards the lens array (110) with a light output distributed around a primary axis (121a-d), the light sources (120a-d) together defining a light-emitting surface (122) of the light source array (120). The light-emitting surface (122) of the light source array (120) substantially coincides with the focal surface (111) of the lens array (110). In a projection plane (130) perpendicular to the primary axis (121a-d), each light source (120a-d) forms a combination (132a-p) with a closest lens, each combination (132a-p) having a displacement distance (131) with a displacement length (L) and a displacement direction (d) so that the lighting device (100) has a plurality of displacement lengths (L) and a plurality of displacement directions (d). The plurality of displacement lengths (L) comprises at least two different displacement lengths (L), and the plurality of displacement directions (d) comprises at least two different displacement directions (d).