Patent Publication Number: US-10760779-B2

Title: Lighting fixture with auxiliary bay

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure is related to lighting fixtures, and in particular to lighting fixtures for installation into a drop ceiling that provides an extensible platform for the integration of other devices and allows the resources of the lighting fixture to be used to support additional building services and building accessories. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Drop ceilings are nearly ubiquitous in commercial spaces such as office buildings. As the technology infrastructure of many businesses continues to increase in complexity and breadth, these drop ceilings have become crowded with devices such as lighting fixtures, speakers, wireless networking access points, security cameras, emergency lighting, and the like. In some cases, the large number of devices results in an undesirable appearance of the ceiling. Often, devices need to be added to or removed from a drop ceiling as the technology infrastructure of a business changes. These changes may require permitting, evacuation, and other special accommodations such as tenting. Further, adding new devices may require significant expenditures to deliver power and a data connection to the devices. Accordingly, there is a need for improved ways for incorporating devices into the ceiling of commercial spaces. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one embodiment, a lighting fixture includes a fixture body, a lighting bay, a light source, and an auxiliary bay. The lighting bay is in a first portion of the fixture body. The light source is in the lighting bay, and is configured to provide light suitable for general illumination. The auxiliary bay is adjacent to the lighting bay in a second portion of the fixture body. The auxiliary bay includes a mounting surface suitable for mounting an auxiliary device in the auxiliary bay and an auxiliary bay frame surrounding the auxiliary bay, which supports and therefore allows for the installation of a removable auxiliary bay cover over the auxiliary bay. Providing the auxiliary bay in the fixture body allows auxiliary devices to be installed in a ceiling without any changes to the ceiling. When not in use, the auxiliary bay may be covered by the auxiliary bay cover such that the appearance of the ceiling is not disturbed. 
     In one embodiment, the auxiliary bay includes an auxiliary device connector, which provides power to the auxiliary device. In another embodiment, the auxiliary device connector provides both power and a data connection to the auxiliary device. By providing power and data to the auxiliary device, the auxiliary device may be installed without any changes to the ceiling. 
     In one embodiment, the lighting fixture further includes driver circuitry and a power source. The driver circuitry provides a drive signal to the light source, which controls one or more characteristics of the light provided from the light source. The power source provides power to the driver circuitry. In one embodiment, the power source also provides power to the auxiliary device via the auxiliary device connector. The power source may be a Power over Ethernet (PoE) switch, an alternating current (AC) power source, or an alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) converter. In another embodiment, the driver circuitry provides power to the auxiliary device via the auxiliary device connector or through a standard AC receptacle. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present disclosure and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing figures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  is a functional schematic illustrating details of a lighting fixture according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIGS. 2A through 2D  illustrate the exterior of a lighting fixture according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  illustrate a cross-sectional view of an auxiliary bay for a lighting fixture according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIGS. 4A and 4B  illustrate details of a lighting fixture according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims. 
     It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 
     It will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being “on” or extending “onto” another element, it can be directly on or extend directly onto the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” or extending “directly onto” another element, there are no intervening elements present. Likewise, it will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being “over” or extending “over” another element, it can be directly over or extend directly over the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly over” or extending “directly over” another element, there are no intervening elements present. It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. 
     Relative terms such as “below” or “above” or “upper” or “lower” or “horizontal” or “vertical” may be used herein to describe a relationship of one element, layer, or region to another element, layer, or region as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that these terms and those discussed above are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including” when used herein specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. 
       FIG. 1  shows a functional schematic of a lighting fixture  10  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The lighting fixture  10  includes driver circuitry  12 , a lighting bay  14 , a light source  16 , an auxiliary bay  18 , a number of auxiliary devices  20  (shown individually as  20 A through  20 N), communications circuitry  22 , sensor circuitry  24 , and a power source  26 . The light source  16  is in the lighting bay  14 . The auxiliary devices  20  are in the auxiliary bay  18 . The light source  16 , the communications circuitry  22 , and the sensor circuitry  24  are coupled to the driver circuitry  12 . The auxiliary devices  20  are optionally coupled to the driver circuitry  12 . The driver circuitry  12  is coupled to the power source  26 . The auxiliary devices  20  are optionally coupled to the power source  26 . 
     In operation, the driver circuitry  12  acts as the primary controller of the lighting fixture  10 . In this capacity, the driver circuitry  12  may communicate with one or more other devices via the communications circuitry  22 , receive sensor data via the sensor circuitry  24 , and control one or more light output characteristics (e.g., brightness, color, color temperature, color rendering index, or any other light output characteristic) of the light source  16 . Further, the driver circuitry  12  may receive power from the power source  26  and provide conditioning thereto in order to power the light source  16 , the auxiliary devices  20 , the communications circuitry  22 , and the sensor circuitry  24 . In some embodiments, this may include performing power conversion or signal conditioning. For example, the power source  26  may be an alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) converter, and the driver circuitry  12  may suitably condition a DC output signal from the power source  26  to provide a desired light output from the light source  16  as well as power the auxiliary devices  20 , the communications circuitry  22 , and the sensor circuitry  24 . In another embodiment, the power source  26  may be an AC power source, and thus the driver circuitry  12  may perform AC-to-DC conversion and appropriate signal conditioning to accomplish the same task, or in the case that the auxiliary devices  20  are AC powered, the AC power from the power source  26  may be passed directly to the auxiliary devices  20 , for example, via a standard AC outlet. In yet another embodiment, the power source  26  may be a Power over Ethernet (PoE) switch, and the driver circuitry  12  may thus suitably condition a PoE output signal from the power source  26  to accomplish the same task. The driver circuitry  12  may provide power to the auxiliary devices  20 , or the auxiliary devices  20  may be powered directly from the power source  26 . Further, the driver circuitry  12  may regulate the power provided to the auxiliary devices  20 , either directly or through the power source  26  or other intermediary device. 
     In addition to powering the auxiliary devices  20  (in some embodiments), the communications circuitry  22 , the sensor circuitry  24 , and the driver circuitry  12  also communicate therewith. Such communication may be accomplished in any suitable manner, for example, via an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I 2 C) bus, a serial bus, or any other suitable communications bus, wired or otherwise. The driver circuitry  12  may thus receive input from the auxiliary devices  20 , the communications circuitry  22 , and the sensor circuitry  24 , which may be used to change one or more light output characteristics of the light source  16  or perform any other desired function. Further, the driver circuitry  12  may control the behavior of the auxiliary devices  20 , the communications circuitry  22 , and the sensor circuitry  24  to perform any number of desired functions. In one embodiment, the communications circuitry  22  may include Bluetooth communications circuitry such that the lighting fixture  10  is capable of communicating with Bluetooth devices, acting as a Bluetooth beacon, detecting nearby Bluetooth beacons, or all of the above. 
     In some embodiments, the driver circuitry  12  may act as a gateway to the auxiliary devices  20 , providing a data connection to the auxiliary devices  20  so that they may communicate with other devices in a network to which the driver circuitry  12  is connected (via the communications circuitry  22 ). This may be accomplished by effectively sharing a communications interface in the communications circuitry  22  with one or more of the auxiliary devices  20  as desired. In other embodiments, a separate data connection is provided to one or more of the auxiliary devices  20  that does not run through the driver circuitry  12 . Such embodiments may be used, for example, when the power source  26  is a PoE switch as discussed above. In still other embodiments, one or more of the auxiliary devices  20  communicates with one or more other devices via the driver circuitry  12  but still maintains a separate data connection that does not run through the driver circuitry  12  for other communications. 
     The light source  16  may include any suitable light output devices, but preferably includes a number of light emitting diodes (LEDs). In particular, the light source  16  may include a number of LEDs arranged in strings or otherwise such that one or more light output characteristics can be changed by adjusting a voltage across or current through one or more subsets of the LEDs. 
     The auxiliary devices  20  may be any type of devices. For example, the auxiliary devices  20  may include networking equipment (e.g., routers, switches, wireless access points), speakers, sensors, safety equipment (e.g., exit signs, emergency sirens, emergency lights), or any other devices that are normally installed in a ceiling. The auxiliary bay  18  provides a reserved space for such auxiliary devices  20 , while the lighting fixture  10  provides power and data to these auxiliary devices  20  as necessary. Since the lighting fixture  10  is pre-installed in the ceiling, the cost for adding the auxiliary devices  20  to the infrastructure of the building in which the lighting fixture  10  is installed may be minuscule. In one embodiment, there is no difference between the lighting bay  14  and the auxiliary bay  18 , and the light source  16  is provided as an auxiliary device  20  the same as any other type of auxiliary device  20 . In such an embodiment, the lighting fixture  10  becomes a ceiling mounted dock in which any number of auxiliary devices  20 , including a light source  16  may be provided. 
       FIGS. 2A through 2D  show details of the exterior of the lighting fixture  10  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The lighting fixture  10  includes a fixture body  28 , which is meant to be installed in a drop ceiling. The fixture body  28  includes an upper portion  30 A, which, when the lighting fixture  10  is installed in a drop ceiling, resides above the drop ceiling (in a plenum of the drop ceiling), and a lower portion  30 B, which, when the lighting fixture  10  is installed in the drop ceiling, resides below the drop ceiling (below the plenum of the drop ceiling). The upper portion  30 A of the fixture body  28  includes an electronics housing  32  in which electronics such as the driver circuitry  12  and the communications circuitry  22  for the lighting fixture  10  are stored. The lower portion  30 B of the fixture body  28  includes the lighting bay  14  located in a first portion of the fixture body  28 , a first auxiliary bay  18 A located adjacent to the lighting bay  14  in a second portion of the fixture body  28 , and a second auxiliary bay  18 B located adjacent to the lighting bay  14  in a third portion of the fixture body  28 . 
     The lighting bay  14  includes a diffuser  34  and a sensor covering  36 . The diffuser  34  is optional, but when provided, covers the light source  16  and may help to diffuse the light provided therefrom to provide a desirable light pattern. The sensor covering  36  may include one or more openings through which one or more sensors in the sensor circuitry  24  can monitor the environment surrounding the lighting fixture  10 . For example, the sensor covering  36  may include appropriate openings and covers for a passive infrared (PIR) occupancy sensor, an ambient light sensor, a camera, a microphone, or any other sensors. Measurements from the sensors in the sensor circuitry  24  may be used by the driver circuitry  12  to change one or more light output characteristics from the light source  16  as discussed above. 
     Each one of the first auxiliary bay  18 A and the second auxiliary bay  18 B may be surrounded by an auxiliary bay frame  38 . The auxiliary bay frame  38  is configured to support a first auxiliary bay cover  40 A over the first auxiliary bay  18 A and a second auxiliary bay cover  40 B over the second auxiliary bay  18 B. In one embodiment, the auxiliary bay frame  38  does this by providing a lip surrounding each one of the first auxiliary bay  18 A and the second auxiliary bay  18 B, the details of which are discussed below. The first auxiliary bay cover  40 A and the second auxiliary bay cover  40 B may rest in this lip to conceal the first auxiliary bay  18 A and the second auxiliary bay  18 B, respectively, from view when installed. However, such an embodiment is only one example; the auxiliary bay frame  38  may support the first auxiliary bay cover  40 A and the second auxiliary bay cover  40 B in any suitable manner without departing from the principles described herein. For example, the first auxiliary bay cover  40 A and the second auxiliary bay cover  40 B may be installed via a friction fit in some embodiments. The first auxiliary bay cover  40 A and the second auxiliary bay cover  40 B may be made to resemble the tiles in a drop ceiling such that when in place they are virtually indistinguishable from a drop ceiling and thus do not interrupt the appearance of the ceiling. While not shown, the first auxiliary bay cover  40 A and the second auxiliary bay cover  40 B may include one or more openings. These openings may be sized to accommodate, for example, one or more antennas such that these antennas may be passed through in order to provide improved wireless signal strength, one or more acoustic covers (e.g., speaker grills) in order to improve sound transmission characteristics for one or more sound transmission devices therein, and one or more indicators (e.g., lights) to provide an individual looking at the indicator with information. In other embodiments, the entire first auxiliary bay cover  40 A and second auxiliary bay cover  40 B may be replaced with different materials, shapes, and the like to accommodate a particular configuration of auxiliary devices  20  provided in the first auxiliary bay  18 A and the second auxiliary bay  18 B, respectively. For example, when one or more sound transmission devices are provided in the first auxiliary bay  18 A, the first auxiliary bay cover  40 A may comprise a material with desirable sound transmission characteristics. As another example, when one or more wireless communications devices are provided in the second auxiliary bay  18 B, the second auxiliary bay cover  40 B may comprise a material with desirable wireless signal transmission characteristics or may include openings therein to pass antennas from the wireless communications devices through such that the second auxiliary bay  40 B does not degrade the wireless performance of the wireless communications devices. 
       FIG. 2A  shows the lighting fixture  10  with the first auxiliary bay cover  40 A and the second auxiliary bay cover  40 B removed therefrom to expose the first auxiliary bay  18 A and the second auxiliary bay  18 B.  FIG. 2B  shows the lighting fixture  10  as viewed from below a ceiling in which the lighting fixture  10  is installed with the first auxiliary bay cover  40 A and the second auxiliary bay cover  40 B covering the first auxiliary bay  18 A and the second auxiliary bay  18 B, respectively.  FIG. 2C  shows the lighting fixture  10  from the same angle as  FIG. 2B , but with the first auxiliary bay cover  40 A and the second auxiliary bay cover  40 B removed therefrom to expose the first auxiliary bay  18 A and the second auxiliary bay  18 B, respectively.  FIG. 2D  shows the lighting fixture  10  with a portion of the auxiliary bay frame  38 , the first auxiliary bay cover  40 A, and the second auxiliary bay cover  40 B removed therefrom to illustrate details of the auxiliary bay frame  38 . 
     Notably, while two auxiliary bays  18  are shown in the lighting fixture  10 , any number of auxiliary bays  18  may be included without departing from the principles of the present disclosure. That is, the lighting fixture  10  may include one auxiliary bay  18 , three auxiliary bays  18 , or any other number of auxiliary bays  18 , each of which may be suited for providing one or more auxiliary devices  20  therein. Further as discussed above, the lighting bay  14  may also be an auxiliary bay in some devices such that it is identical to the other auxiliary bays  18 . In these embodiments, the light source  16  is installed in the lighting bay  14  the same as any auxiliary device  20  is installed in the auxiliary bays  18 . 
     While  FIG. 1  illustrates the functional relationship between the auxiliary devices  20  and the lighting fixture  10  and  FIGS. 2A through 2D  illustrate the space in which the auxiliary devices  20  may be provided in the lighting fixture  10 , these drawings do not show how the auxiliary devices  20  are mounted and connected when provided in the lighting fixture  10 .  FIG. 3A  thus shows a cross-sectional view of an auxiliary bay  18  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The auxiliary bay  18  includes a mounting surface  42  on which an auxiliary device  20  may be mounted, mounting holes  44  in the mounting surface  42 , and an auxiliary device connector  46 . The mounting holes  44  may be arranged in a standardized format (e.g., Video Electronics Standards Association mount) and configured to accept zero or more fasteners  48  in order to secure one or more auxiliary devices  20  to the mounting surface  42  of the auxiliary bay  18 . Notably, the mounting holes  44  may be replaced by any suitable mounting mechanisms including but not limited to snap-lock mechanisms, magnetic interfaces, adhesive interfaces, hook-and-loop interfaces, or any other mechanical interface suitable for securing one or more auxiliary devices  20  within the auxiliary bay  18 . In addition to the mounting holes  44 , the auxiliary bay  18  may include any number of mechanisms in which to secure one or more auxiliary devices  20  therein in such a way to prevent tampering with and removal of the auxiliary devices  20 . For example, the auxiliary bay may include a locking mechanism such as a Kensington key lock mechanism in order to prevent tampering with and removal of one or more auxiliary devices  20  within the auxiliary device bay  20 . The auxiliary device connector  46  may be secured to the mounting surface  42  of the auxiliary bay  18  and positioned to mate with a complementary connector  50  on the auxiliary device  20  when the auxiliary device  20  is mounted in the auxiliary bay  18 . In other embodiments, the auxiliary device connector  46  may be a cable that is routed through an auxiliary device connector opening  52  in the mounting surface  42  and plugged into the auxiliary device  20  as illustrated in  FIG. 3B . As discussed above, the auxiliary device connector  46  may provide power, data, or both to the auxiliary device  20 . Accordingly, an auxiliary device  20  may be easily installed in a ceiling by providing it in an auxiliary bay  18  of the lighting fixture  10  and connecting the auxiliary device connector  46  thereto. The auxiliary bay  18  may then be covered to maintain the appearance of the ceiling or left open if the auxiliary device  20  therein requires open air access to the surrounding environment. This foregoes the need for any permitting, evacuation, and other special accommodations such as tenting. 
     The auxiliary device connector  46  for each auxiliary bay  18  may be hidden in the auxiliary bay frame  38  when not used, as illustrated in  FIG. 4A , which shows a bottom-up view of the auxiliary bay frame  38  as would be seen looking up at the lighting fixture  10  when installed in a ceiling. As shown, an auxiliary device connector  46  may rest in a lip provided by the auxiliary bay frame  38  and extended as necessary to connect to an auxiliary device  20 . Each auxiliary bay  18  may include multiple auxiliary device connectors  46 .  FIG. 4B  shows a detailed view of a part of the auxiliary bay frame  38 , wherein an auxiliary device connector  46  is hidden in a lip  54  therein. A tab  56  or other securing mechanism such as a magnet attached to the auxiliary device connector  46  may hold the auxiliary device connector  46  in place when it is not being used. The lip  54  shown in  FIG. 4B  is the same one used to hold one of the auxiliary bay covers  40  in place in order to cover the auxiliary bay  18  as discussed above. 
     In some embodiments, the lighting fixture  10  may not include an auxiliary bay  18 , but still include an auxiliary device connector  46 . In such embodiments, the auxiliary device connector  46  may be hidden in an outer frame of the lighting fixture  10  as shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , but extended to a neighboring portion of the ceiling where an auxiliary device  20  is installed in a traditional manner. In this way, the lighting fixture  10  may still provide power, data, or both to the auxiliary device  20  and thus significantly decrease cost and effort in installed said device. 
     Notably, the auxiliary device connector  46  may be any suitable type of connector. For example, the auxiliary device connector  46  may be a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector of any type (A, B, C), an RJ45 connector (Ethernet, Power over Ethernet), a Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) connector, a standard AC power outlet, or any other type of connector. As discussed above, the auxiliary device connector  46  may provide power, data, or both power and data to the auxiliary devices  20  to which it is connected. Accordingly, a large variety of devices may be provided in the auxiliary bays  18 . One advantage of providing a device in the auxiliary bay  18  is that the device does not need to be plenum rated because the auxiliary bay  18  is below and isolated from the plenum space above the ceiling. This may enable the use of an even larger variety of devices in a ceiling mounted configuration than would otherwise be permitted in typical building codes. 
     Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.