Aircraft cabin lighting arrangement for illuminating a common space of an aircraft, aircraft comprising the same, and method of operating an aircraft cabin lighting arrangement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11034451-B2
Application number	US-201816137667-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 21, 2018
Priority date	Sep 22, 2017
Publication date	Jun 15, 2021
Grant date	Jun 15, 2021

Abstract

An aircraft cabin lighting arrangement for illuminating a common space of an aircraft, includes a light output lens for passing light for illuminating said common space of the aircraft, a plurality of light sources having different light emission spectra, the plurality of light sources being arranged for light emission through the light output lens, and a detector for detecting a person's presence in the common space. The aircraft cabin lighting arrangement has at least a nominal day time mode of operation having a first light output, an intermediate mode of operation having a second light output, and a nominal night time mode of operation, and is configured to switch from the nominal night time mode of operation to the intermediate mode of operation as a response to the detector detecting a person's presence in the common space.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An aircraft cabin lighting arrangement for illuminating a common space of an aircraft, comprising:
a light output lens for passing light for illuminating said common space of the aircraft;
a plurality of light sources having different light emission spectra, the plurality of light sources being arranged for light emission through the light output lens; and
a detector for detecting a person's presence in the common space;
wherein the aircraft cabin lighting arrangement has at least a nominal day time mode of operation having a first light output, an intermediate mode of operation having a second light output, and a nominal night time mode of operation,
wherein the aircraft cabin lighting arrangement has a control that is configured to override the nominal night time mode of operation and to switch from the nominal night time mode of operation to the intermediate mode of operation as a response to the detector detecting a person's presence in the common space and wherein the control is configured to switch from the nominal night time mode of operation to the intermediate mode of operation via an up-dimming transition lasting between 0.2 s and 2 s,
wherein the second light output has a lower relative light emission power below a threshold wavelength than the first light output, wherein the threshold wavelength is between 450 nm and 500 nm, and
wherein the common space is a galley area, a wash room, or a wash room waiting area.

2. An aircraft cabin lighting arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the second light output has a lower correlated color temperature than the first light output, wherein the correlated color temperature of the second light output in particular is below 3500 K and wherein the correlated color temperature of the first light output in particular is above 3500 K.

3. An aircraft cabin lighting arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein a first subset of the plurality of light sources is dominant in the nominal day time mode of operation and wherein a second subset of the plurality of light sources, different from the first subset, is dominant in the intermediate mode of operation.

4. An aircraft cabin lighting arrangement according to claim 3 , wherein the first subset of the plurality of light sources comprises at least one neutral white LED and/or wherein the second subset of the plurality of light sources comprises at least one warm white LED.

5. An aircraft cabin lighting arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the detector is a motion detector or an infrared detector or a combined motion and infrared detector.

6. An aircraft cabin lighting arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the control is configured to switch from the intermediate mode of operation to the nominal night time mode of operation via a down-dimming transition, with the down-dimming transition in particular lasting between 2 s and 20 s.

7. An aircraft comprising:
at least one aircraft cabin lighting arrangement in accordance with any claim 1 , wherein the at least one aircraft cabin lighting arrangement is arranged in at least one of: a galley area; a wash room; and a wash room waiting area.

8. An aircraft according to claim 7 , wherein the at least one aircraft cabin lighting arrangement is arranged in a ceiling portion or a wall portion of said at least one of a galley area, a wash room, and a wash room waiting area, with the light output lens being flush with the ceiling portion or the wall portion.

9. A method of operating an aircraft cabin lighting arrangement for illuminating a common space of an aircraft, wherein the common space is a galley area, a wash room, or a wash room waiting area, the method comprising:
emitting a first light output into the common space of the aircraft in a nominal day time mode of operation;
emitting a second light output into the common space of the aircraft in an intermediate mode of operation, wherein the second light output has a lower relative light emission power below a threshold wavelength than the first light output, wherein the threshold wavelength is between 450 nm and 500 nm; and
emitting a third light output into the common space of the aircraft in a nominal night time mode of operation;
wherein the method further comprises the step of:
when operating in the nominal night time mode of operation and detecting a person's presence in the common space of the aircraft, overriding the nominal night time mode of operation and switching from the nominal night time mode of operation to the intermediate mode of operation, wherein the switching from the nominal night time mode of operation to the intermediate mode of operation comprises an up-dimming transition lasting between 0.2 s and 2 s.

10. A method according to claim 9 , wherein the second light output has a lower correlated color temperature than the first light output, and the correlated color temperature of the second light output is below 3500 K and the correlated color temperature of the first light output in particular is above 3500 K.

11. A method according to claim 9 further comprising:
switching from the intermediate mode of operation back to the nominal night time mode of operation, with the switching from the intermediate mode of operation back to the nominal mode of operation in particular comprising a down-dimming transition, with the down-dimming transition lasting between 2 s and 20 s.

Assignees

• Goodrich Lighting Systems Gmbh

Inventors

• Gehle Anica
• Vencato Kerri
• Blake Meghan Elizabeth
• Schulten Robert

Classifications

• B64D2011/0038

  Illumination systems for cabins as a whole · CPC title

• B64D11/00 Primary

  Passenger or crew accommodation; Flight-deck installations not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• B64D2203/00

  Aircraft or airfield lights using LEDs · CPC title

• B64D47/02

  Arrangements or adaptations of signal or lighting devices · CPC title

• H05B47/115

  by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings · CPC title