Acoustic panel having lighting properties

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9792891-B2
Application number	US-201314409004-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 17, 2013
Priority date	Jun 20, 2012
Publication date	Oct 17, 2017
Grant date	Oct 17, 2017

Abstract

The invention provides an acoustic panel comprising a plurality of parallel-arranged elongated cavities, wherein each cavity has a first cavity wall and a second cavity wall tapering to a cavity back end and defining a cavity opening angle (γ) having a value in the range of 0°<γ<90°, wherein the first cavity wall and the second cavity wall comprise a light-reflective material, wherein each elongated cavity at the cavity back end of the elongated cavity accommodates a light source having a light exit surface, wherein the first cavity walls hide the light exit surfaces of the light sources when the acoustic panel is viewed along a normal to the acoustic panel, and wherein the acoustic panel further comprises sound reducing material.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An acoustic panel comprising:
one or more elongated cavities, wherein each cavity of the one or more elongated cavities has a first cavity wall, a second cavity wall, a cavity opening between the first cavity wall and the second cavity wall, and a cavity back end, wherein the cavity back end opposes said opening, the cavity back end is disposed farther from said opening than said first cavity wall and the cavity back end is disposed farther from said opening than said second cavity wall,
wherein at least one given cavity of the one or more elongated cavities accommodates a light source having a light exit surface, wherein the light source is configured to provide light source light emanating from the cavity opening of the at least one given cavity,
wherein the first cavity wall or the second cavity wall hides the light exit surface of the light source when the acoustic panel is viewed along a normal to the acoustic panel, and wherein the acoustic panel further comprises sound reducing material; and
a support frame which holds the light source at the cavity back end of the at least one given cavity, wherein the first cavity wall and the second cavity wall of the at least one given cavity taper to the cavity back end of the at least one given cavity and define a cavity opening angle (γ) having a value in the range of 0°<γ<90°.

2. The acoustic panel according to claim 1 , wherein the first cavity wall and the second cavity wall of the at least one given cavity comprise a diffusely reflective material.

3. The acoustic panel according to claim 2 , wherein the one or more elongated cavities form a continuous area, substantially without vertical facets of the sound reducing material in between the one or more elongated cavities.

4. The acoustic panel according to claim 3 , wherein 35°≦γ≦75°.

5. The acoustic panel according to claim 4 , wherein the one or more elongated cavities are arranged in parallel.

6. The acoustic panel according to claim 5 , wherein parallel-arranged elongated bars are connected to the support frame, said elongated bars comprising the sound reducing material, said elongated bars further being configured to provide at least one of the one or more elongated cavities between two adjacent elongated bars of the parallel-arranged elongated bars, wherein the one or more elongated cavities is a plurality of elongated cavities.

7. The acoustic panel according to claim 6 , wherein the first cavity wall of the at least one given cavity has a first cavity wall angle (α) with the normal to the acoustic panel in the range of 15-65°, the second cavity wall has a second cavity wall angle (β) with the normal to the acoustic panel in the range of 25-80°, wherein the first cavity wall angle (α) is smaller than the second cavity wall angle (β).

8. The acoustic panel according to claim 7 , wherein the first cavity wall of the at least one given cavity has a first cavity wall angle (α) in the range of 15-35° and wherein the second cavity wall of the at least one given cavity has a second cavity wall angle (β) in the range of 35-55°.

9. The acoustic panel according to claim 8 , wherein the at least one given cavity is a plurality of given cavities that have a pitch (p) in the range of 2-25 cm.

10. The acoustic panel according to claim 9 , wherein one or more of the given cavities comprise a plurality of light sources.

11. The acoustic panel according to claim 10 , wherein the acoustic panel comprises a panel element of sound reducing material comprising said one or more of the given cavities or elongated cavity sections.

12. The acoustic panel according to claim 11 , further comprising reflection-glare reducing bars, configured perpendicularly to the plurality of elongated cavities and configured to block and/or redirect direct lighting of an item in front of the acoustic panel with light rays from the plurality of light sources in a plane perpendicular to the acoustic panel and parallel to the reflection-glare reducing bars.

13. The acoustic panel according to claim 12 , comprising said one or more elongated cavities on two opposing sides of the frame, and wherein light emanates from the two opposing sides of the acoustic panel.

14. The acoustic panel according to claim 1 , wherein the acoustic panel is configured as an office divider wall configured to delineate work spaces.

15. A lighting system for a work space, the lighting system comprising:
a desk for being disposed on a floor; and
a divider wall positioned to block a view of said desk from a person seated and/or standing on said floor and outside of said work space in which the lighting system is disposed, wherein the divider wall comprises at least one acoustic panel including:
one or more elongated cavities, wherein each cavity of the one or more elongated cavities has a first cavity wall, a second cavity wall, a cavity opening between the first cavity wall and the second cavity wall, and a cavity back end, wherein the cavity back end opposes said opening, the cavity back end is disposed farther from said opening than said first cavity wall and the cavity back end is disposed farther from said opening than said second cavity wall,
wherein at least one given cavity of the one or more elongated cavities accommodates a light source having a light exit surface, wherein the light source is configured to provide light source light emanating from the cavity opening of the at least one given cavity and the light source is disposed at the cavity back end of the at least one given cavity,
wherein the first cavity wall or the second cavity wall hide the light exit surface of the light source when the acoustic panel is viewed along a normal to the acoustic panel, and wherein the acoustic panel further comprises sound reducing material.

16. The lighting system of claim 15 , wherein the divider wall is configured such that said light source provides task lighting that illuminates the desk directly from the light exit surface.

17. The lighting system of claim 16 , wherein the at least one acoustic panel comprises:
a support frame which holds the light source at the cavity back end of the at least one given cavity, wherein the first cavity wall and the second cavity wall of the at least one given cavity taper to the cavity back end of the at least one given cavity and define a cavity opening angle (γ) having a value in the range of 0°<γ<90°.

18. The lighting system of claim 16 , wherein the divider wall is a desk divider or a room divider.

Assignees

• Philips Lighting Holding Bv

Inventors

• Swinkels Stefan Henricus
• Vissenberg Michel Cornelis Josephus Marie

Classifications

• F21V7/005

  with an elongated shape to cooperate with linear light sources · CPC title

• F21Y2115/30

  Semiconductor lasers · CPC title

• F21V7/24

  characterised by the material · CPC title

• F21V7/0083

  Array of reflectors for a cluster of light sources, e.g. arrangement of multiple light sources in one plane (combination of two or more reflectors F21V7/0025) · CPC title

• E04B2/7405

  with free upper edge, e.g. for use as office space dividers · CPC title