Abstract:
A plurality of LED light fixtures are mounted in a ceiling of an auditorium and a power control system is positioned in an area separate from a seating area of the auditorium for supplying power to the LED light fixtures. Each LED light fixture comprises an extrusion carrying one or more ambience light LED modules for providing ambient light and one or more high intensity LED modules for providing full level lighting. The power control system is configured to collectively switch the ambience light LED modules “on” and “off” and to separately and collectively switch the high intensity LED modules “on” and “off” to thereby provide either low level ambient light or high intensity full level lighting to the auditorium.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The subject application is a continuation-in-part of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/330,409 filed Jul. 14, 2014, the contents of which is incorporated herein by this reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Field of the Disclosure 
     The subject disclosure relates to electrical lighting systems and more particularly to a lighting system employing LED light fixtures to illuminate an auditorium or similar venue. 
     Related Art 
     Incandescent lighting systems for illuminating theatres, auditoriums and the like have been used in the past. 
     SUMMARY 
     An illustrative auditorium lighting system embodiment comprises a plurality of LED light fixtures mounted in a ceiling of an auditorium, each fixture including a plurality of LED modules. In one embodiment, a power control system for supplying power to the LED modules is positioned in an area separate from the seating area of the auditorium. 
     In one embodiment, each LED light fixture includes an extrusion which carries a plurality of LED modules including one or more ambience light LED modules for providing ambient light and one or more high intensity LED modules for providing full level lighting. In one embodiment, the high intensity light provided by the high intensity LED modules is achieved by employing high output LED&#39;s (&gt;100 Lumens each) in combination with optics producing a light beam having a full width half maximum angle of 12 degrees or 35 degrees. 
     In one embodiment, the power control system is configured to collectively switch the one or more ambience light LED modules “on” and “off” and to separately and collectively switch the one or more high intensity LED modules “on” and “off” to thereby selectively provide either low level ambient light or high intensity full level lighting to the auditorium. The power control system may further provide dimming of all or selected ones of the modules by means of phase or low voltage dimming. 
     In one embodiment, the low level lighting is used during intermission periods and the high intensity lighting is used during cleaning periods. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side schematic view illustrating an auditorium lighting system according to an illustrative embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the lighting system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a lighting fixture employable in the system of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a first cross-sectional view of the fixture taken at IV-IV of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a second cross-sectional view of the fixture taken at V-V of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a detail view illustrating cooperation of the fixture of  FIG. 3  with adjacent sealing tile; and 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective end view showing an illustrative installation of the fixture of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An auditorium lighting system  11  according to an illustrative embodiment is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . It should be understood that as used here, the term “auditorium” encompasses theaters such as conventional “movie” theaters. 
     The lighting system  11  employs a plurality of light fixtures  13  installed in or attached to a ceiling  15  above a floor  21 . These light fixtures  13  can be installed at regular or irregular spacing intervals so as to achieve uniform illumination of the floor  21 , which typically slopes downwardly in a multi-level, “stadium style” arrangement and on which a number of seats are positioned, typically separated by one or more aisles. In other applications, the floor  21  may be flat. 
     A junction box  16  containing a plurality of LED drivers, for example, three drivers, is shown attached to the front interior wall  17  of a projection booth  18 . The junction box  16  may be positioned elsewhere in the projection booth  18  in various embodiments or in another easy-to-access location, such as, for example, above a T-bar grid at the cross aisles. The junction box  16  may include controls, dimmers, surge protection, emergency back-up equipment and supplies electrical power to the light fixtures  13 , as well as dimming capability. 
       FIG. 2  schematically illustrates the power feeds  23  to the fixtures  13  from the junction box  16  as three dashed lines. Remote positioning of the power system as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  makes wiring, dimming, and maintenance easier to manage. 
     An illustrative light fixture  13  is shown in  FIG. 3 . The fixture  13  includes an elongated extrusion  29 , which provides a mounting surface or surfaces  30  for a plurality of LED modules  31 ,  33 ,  35 ,  37 ,  39 ,  41 . The extrusion  29  further has respective junction boxes  43 ,  45  and horizontal flanges  47 ,  49 ;  51 ,  53  at each end. The junction or “splice” boxes  43 ,  45  provide faster and easier wiring, while the flanges  47 ,  49 ;  51 ,  53  assist in mounting the fixtures  13  to cooperate with adjacent ceiling tile.  FIG. 6  illustrates the manner in which the flanges  47 ,  49 ;  51 ,  53  accommodate ceiling tile  81  in one illustrative embodiment. 
     In an illustrative embodiment, the pairs of LED modules  31 ,  33 ;  39 ,  41  at opposite ends of the extrusion  13  are high intensity modules, which provide light for periods of cleaning or other maintenance. As illustrated in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , in one embodiment, the lighting system  11  employs high intensity modules, e.g.,  31 ,  33  which are angled to the horizontal at an acute angle θ of, for example, 20° (degrees) and are aimed in opposing directions in order to increase the spread of light, thereby necessitating fewer fixtures in some embodiments. In addition, lenses or optics, e.g.,  91 , are employed in each high intensity module  31 ,  33  to produce a relatively intense light beam having, for example, a full width half maximum angle of 12 degrees. 
     Additionally, in the illustrative embodiment, the center LED modules  35 ,  37  are ambient lighting modules configured to provide ambient light to illuminate the theater or auditorium, for example, during intermission periods. Other componentry shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5  includes the fixture housing extrusion  61 , a bottom cover  78 , a printed circuit board assembly (“PCBA”) carrier  79 , a PCBA carrier retention screw  75 , a plastic dome lens  77 , splice box  69  and splice box retention tab  67 , electrical connector body  65 , and ceiling tile flange  63 . In one embodiment, the extrusion  61  may be an aluminum extrusion and the bottom cover  78  may be die cast aluminum. In one embodiment, the extrusion  61  and bottom cover  78  may be constructed as illustrated in U.S. Patent Publication 2013/0279180 A1 published Oct. 24, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated in their entirety herein. 
     In one embodiment, each LED module  31 ,  33 ,  35 ,  37 ,  39 ,  41 , may comprise a circuit board with one or more LED emitters mounted thereon. In one embodiment, the high intensity modules  31 ,  33 ;  39 ,  41  employ three emitters e.g.  40 , while the ambience modules  35 ,  37  employ eleven emitters, e.g.  44 . In one embodiment, each emitter  44  of the ambience modules  35 ,  37  may have an output of  40  lumens at a full width half maximum angle of 120°. 
     In one embodiment, the LED modules  31 ,  33 ,  35 ,  37 ,  39 ,  41  are configured in pairs and each may be six inches in length positioned in an extrusion  29  which is  42  inches in length, together with two splice boxes  69 , resulting in a total fixture length of 47¾″. Another embodiment may employ an eighteen inch long extrusion having three LED modules, together with two splice boxes  69 , resulting in a total fixture length of 23¾″. For example, such an embodiment may employ one central ambience LED module, flanked on either side by a high intensity LED module where the high intensity LED modules are angled at 20 degrees to the horizontal and oppositely directed. In one embodiment, the relatively dim ambient intermission lighting may provide 2-4 foot candles of total light, while the full level, high intensity “cleaning” light modules may provide 6-9 foot candles of total light. In various embodiments, the light delivered by the modules may be adjusted based upon the ceiling height at the location where a particular fixture  13  is positioned. 
     In one embodiment, the ambience modules  35 ,  37  may be collectively switched “on” or “off” at the same time, and the high intensity modules  31 ,  33 ;  39 ,  41  may also be collectively switched “on” or “off” at the same time. When the high intensity modules are collectively switched “on”, each module  31 ,  33 ,  39 ,  41  is powered “on” and provides high intensity illumination. Similarly, when the ambience modules  35 ,  37  are collectively switched “on”, each ambience modules  35 ,  37  is powered “on” and provides ambient illumination. In one embodiment, the ambience module  35 ,  37  are collectively switched or turned “on”, while the high intensity modules  31 ,  33 ;  39 ,  41  are held or switched “off” and vice versa. In a dark state of the auditorium, all of the modules  31 ,  33 ,  35 ,  37 ,  39 ,  41  are in the “off” state. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates an attachment eyelet  51  on splice box  43  for attaching a fixture  13  by fasteners, e.g.  52 , to a cooperating ceiling grid structure  84 . Fixtures  13  may also be suspended by wires which terminate at structural elements of the building above the ceiling grid or by other mechanisms.  FIG. 7  further illustrates electrical power cable  85  and cable sheath  87  held in place by a clamp  87 . In one embodiment, two-circuit wiring is provided to enable individual on-off and dimming control of the high intensity modules  31 ,  33 ;  39 ,  41  and the ambient lighting modules  35 ,  37 . In one embodiment, the junction boxes  43 ,  45  permit lead wires from the power supply to be connected by simply “poking” them in, and one fixture can be readily electrically interconnected to the next (“daisy chained”). After electrical connections are made, splice box lids, e.g.  82 , are put in place and secured to the splice box, e.g.  43 , by fasteners, e.g.  83 . Low voltage or line voltage embodiments can be constructed in accordance with the above teachings. 
     Thus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just described preferred embodiment can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.