US 8197079 B2
A low-voltage LED lighting system and method for installation thereof in which the system includes: (a) at least one LED lighting fixture each having one or more LEDs; (b) at least one remotely-located power driver; and (c) interconnections between the at least one LED fixture and the at least one driver using communication network cabling and standard 8P8C network connectors. Preferred lighting fixtures are recessed lighting fixtures adapted for ceiling mounting.
1. In a low-voltage LED lighting system having a plurality of power drivers, a plurality of LED lighting fixtures remote from the power drivers, communication network cabling having plural conductor pairs, and standard network connectors having plural contact pairs, the improvement comprising:
the communication network cabling being connected to the power drivers such that each of the plurality of power drivers is connected to one of the plural conductor pairs;
each of the fixtures having one of the standard network connectors as an input connector; and
at least one of the LED lighting fixtures including internal wiring and one of the standard network connectors such that the at least one fixture is a shift-module fixture functioning as a shift module or a star-module fixture functioning as a star module, the at least one fixture having one or more of the standard network connectors as output connectors.
2. The low-voltage lighting system of
3. The low-voltage lighting system of
4. The low-voltage lighting system of
5. The low-voltage LED system of
6. The low-voltage LED system of
7. The low-voltage LED system of
8. The low-voltage lighting system of
9. The low-voltage LED system of
10. The low-voltage LED system of
11. The low-voltage LED system of
12. The low-voltage LED system of
13. The low-voltage LED system of
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/950,567, filed Jul. 18, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This invention is related generally to lighting systems, and more particularly to LED-based low-voltage lighting systems and fixtures for such systems.
There is continuing pressure for the reduction of overall power consumption and movement toward “green” technologies within the lighting industry. This invention is directed toward meeting the demands of both of these ideals in the area of general lighting through the use of LED-based luminaire systems. The invention is a complete LED lighting system that makes innovative use of new LED technology and low-voltage, remotely-located power drivers/controllers and commonly-available communication network cabling and the corresponding standard connectors used with such cabling. Communication network cabling, typically comprising four twisted pairs of conductors, has become a low-cost commodity item as have the standard connectors used with such cabling. Because the voltage used in such cabling (and power units connected thereto) is low-voltage, the skill level (and cost per hour) of the installers is low, providing strong incentive for utilization of such a cost-effective system. Also, the ease of interconnection available with the standard network connectors further reduces the time required for installation.
The resultant lighting systems can provide at least 50% reduction in power consumption aggregately over current lighting systems, with an efficient, consistent and uniform realized lumen output. Adoption of this approach by an end-user reduces initial installation costs by using simple cable feeds without the need of conduit and by exploiting the quick-connection aspects of the standard connectors. By using LEDs with, for example, a 50,000 hour (minimum) maintenance-free life, the inventive lighting system provides superior installation simplicity and system performance using a comparatively “green” technology with a substantial reduction in “total-cost-of-ownership per unit area of application space” for the end-user.
It is an object of this invention, in the field of lighting systems, to provide LED lighting systems which substantially reduce the total-cost-of-ownership per unit area of application space served for the end-user.
Another object of this invention is to provide LED lighting systems which utilize only communication network cabling and standard network connectors for system connections.
Another object of this invention is to provide LED lighting systems which limit the power driver output voltage and power to the limits prescribed by the Class 2 power supply standards.
Another object of this invention is to provide LED lighting systems which are flexible and reconfigurable.
Another object of this invention is to provide LED lighting systems which utilize only a small number of elements which, when interconnected, permit a wide variety of lighting system architectures.
Another object of this invention is to provide LED lighting systems which require a low skill level for the installers of the systems.
These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following descriptions and the drawings.
The term “shift module” as used herein describes a building block used within the inventive LED lighting system to shift the connections of an input network connector of a shift module in order to enable the driver initially connected to one conductor pair within a connected cable to be connected to another position in an output network connector of the shift module. Details of a shift module are further described below.
The term “star module” as used herein describes a building block used within the inventive LED lighting system to distribute the connections of an input network connector of a star module to multiple output network connectors of a star module in order to enable the drivers initially connected to the conductor pairs of the connected input cable to each be connected to a separate output network connector. Details of a shift module are further described below.
The term “terminated” as used herein describes an LED fixture in which the pair of conductors which is connected to the LEDs of the fixture is shorted, e.g., with a jumper or switch, at the output side of the LED fixture to allow electrical current to flow through the conductor pair. Further detail on such termination is described below.
The term “communication network cabling” as used herein refers to the commonly-available network cabling consisting of multiple pairs of conductors. For example, very commonly used Category 5 (and Category 5e) cabling includes four twisted pairs of conductors. Other communication network cabling, such as Category 2 and Category 6 cabling, is also intended to be described by the term “communication network cabling” as used herein, as is other low-voltage, multi-pair cabling with either twisted or non-twisted pairs. The most common standard cable, Category 5 (or 5e) cabling, is often referred to as Cat 5 cable.
The term “standard network connectors” as used herein refers to the network cable connectors used as connectors for communication network cabling. For example, connectors typically used with Cat 5 cabling are often referred to as RJ45 connectors. More generally, four-conductor-pair cabling uses connectors referred to as 8P8C connectors. The standard shape and dimensions of standard 8P8C network connectors are specified by the Administrative Council for Terminal Attachment (ACTA) in national standard ANSI/TIA-968-A. Standard 8P8C network connectors come in two forms, a male plug and a female socket. The connectors used with communication network cabling having other than four conductor pairs are also intended to come under the descriptor “standard network connectors” as used herein.
The term “DIP switches” as used herein refers to dual in-line package switches well known to those skilled in the art of circuit design.
The invention disclosed herein is a low-voltage LED lighting system comprising (a) at least one LED lighting fixture each having one or more LEDs, (b) at least one power driver remote from the fixture(s), and (c) interconnections between the at least one fixture and the at least one power driver using communication network cabling and standard network connectors.
In preferred embodiments of the inventive LED lighting system, the at least one fixture has a plurality of LEDs connected in series.
In some preferred embodiments, the interconnections include at least one shift module paired with a fixture. In other preferred embodiments, the interconnections include at least one star module paired with a fixture.
Some embodiments of the inventive LED lighting system include at least one fixture which is terminated.
In highly preferred embodiments of the inventive LED lighting system, each of the power drivers has a Class 2 output voltage limit of 60 volts and a Class 2 output power limit of 100 watts.
In other preferred embodiments of the inventive LED lighting system, at least one of the fixtures further includes an input standard network connector having input connector contacts, a plurality of output standard network connectors each having output connector contacts, and an array of switches which are configured to selectively interconnect the input contacts and output contacts. In some preferred embodiments, the array of switches comprises DIP switches.
In highly preferred embodiments of the inventive LED lighting system, the fixture(s) are recessed fixtures adapted for ceiling mounting.
The present invention is also a method of installing a low-voltage LED lighting system, the method comprising (a) providing at least one LED lighting fixture each having one or more LEDs, (b) providing at least one power driver, (c) installing the driver(s) at positions remote from the fixture(s), and (d) interconnecting the fixture(s) and the driver(s) using communication network cabling and standard network connectors, thereby facilitating efficient lighting system installation with low man-hour requirements and low installer skill levels. In highly preferred embodiments of the inventive method, the providing of fixture(s) is providing recessed fixtures adapted for ceiling mounting.
The basic features of the inventive LED lighting system are the use of communication network cabling with standard network connectors as the interconnecting elements of the system and the use of power drivers which are Class 2 units (i.e., having output of low voltage and low power).
The fundamental features and the performance parameters of LED light sources translate into certain limitations imposed on the configuration of the fixtures and systems. For example, with a voltage drop of about 3.15 volts across each LED, a maximum of 18 LEDs in series are able to be driven by a driver limited by the Class 2 voltage limit of 60 volts. (A small line voltage drop is assumed in this calculation.) 18 LEDs in series consume about 20 watts (@350 ma current), well below the 100 watt Class 2 power limitation. On the other hand, 18 LEDs with a luminous efficacy of, say, 90 lumens per watt, will provide illumination of about 1780 lumens. In many applications, such a fixture may have much higher light output than the specific application requires in a single fixture. Fixtures having both fewer or more LEDs than the exemplary fixture are possible without bumping up against the Class 2 limitations, and it is, of course, also possible to drive fixtures at a higher current level than the example of 350 ma.
LED lighting systems which include recessed lighting fixtures adapted for ceiling mounting are particularly well suited to benefit from the advantages provided by this inventive LED system. Recessed lighting fixtures mounted in or on ceilings require considerable amount of skilled electrical work for installation. With the inventive system, power drivers and fixtures are simply interconnected with standard communication network cabling and standard network connectors which snap in and out easily and quickly and are held positively in place. The inventive system dramatically reduces the amount of electrical work requiring skilled electricians when compared to the installation of standard recessed lighting systems.
The general structure of the inventive LED lighting system is described below, referring to the figures which have been described briefly above.
Power supply and controller 14 provides power of up to 100 watts per channel (per conductor pair in the cabling), with a voltage limit of 60 volts for dry applications and 30 volts for wet applications. However, for a variety of design reasons, it is unlikely that any single driver 12 will be operating at this maximum allowable Class 2 power level.
Power supply and controller 14 may include the ability to dim each LED fixture 20 connected thereto individually with separate manual dimmer controls (not shown) or all together with a single manual dimmer control. Control of fixtures 20 may also be carried out through a programmable portion of power supply and controller 14.
In the embodiments used to illustrate the inventive LED lighting systems herein, standard connectors 18 each have four pairs of contacts indicated as a1a2, b1b2, c1c2, and d1d2, respectively. In each of the figures herein (except in the embodiment of alternative fixture 64 of
Each of these building blocks includes a single standard network connector as an input connector and a single standard network connector as an output connector. Input connectors are indicated by appending an “i” to the corresponding reference number. An “o” is similarly appended to indicate an output connector. Such a single-input, single-output connector embodiment is only by way of example and not intended to limit the variations of building block possible under the inventive system disclosed herein. For example, LED fixture 20 of
The second of the two building blocks is called a star module 24 (
Arrays of lighting fixtures 20 can be configured using these building block elements which can also represent physical building blocks for the lighting systems. The functions which are achieved by the use of these building blocks are illustrated in
One example of an LED lighting system configured by combining these building blocks and operational modes is illustrated schematically in
A second embodiment of an LED fixture 34 according to this invention is shown in
This second embodiment is illustrated schematically in
A third embodiment, a variation of fixture 20, involves the addition of electronics into each fixture, indicated as fixture 76 in
These general embodiments do not form the complete set of alternatives but simply illustrate the possibilities which an LED lighting system with remote drivers and simple interconnection cabling and connectors may utilize.
As mentioned above,
Fixtures A and B are controlled as a group and are driven by a1a2 (in connector 18 a) of top chain 60 t. Fixture A is operating in Mode 1, and Fixture B is operating in Mode 3. Fixture C is driven and controlled by b1b2 of a top driver set 61 t and is also operating in Mode 3. Fixtures D and E are driven by the driver and conductors connected to c1c2 and d1d2 of connector 18 a, respectively, and are operating in Mode 2 as terminated fixtures 28. From a bottom set of drivers 61 b, connected through connector 18 b, fixtures F, G and H are each controlled by their own driver channels, as is clearly seen in
While the principles of this invention have been described in connection with specific embodiments, it should be understood clearly that these descriptions are made only by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.