Lighting arrangement comprising a carpet with back lighting for providing dynamic light effects with the carpet

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9927115-B2
Application number	US-200913126072-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 27, 2009
Priority date	Nov 4, 2008
Publication date	Mar 27, 2018
Grant date	Mar 27, 2018

Abstract

A lighting arrangement comprises a carpet structure and a control unit. The carpet structure includes a carpet back lighting system comprising a carpet back lighting unit having a lighting unit front face and a plurality of light sources. The carpet structure further includes a light transmissive carpet unit comprising a carpet unit front face and a carpet unit back side. The lighting unit front face and the carpet unit back side are adjacent. The carpet unit is arranged to transmit at least part of the light travelling in a direction from the carpet unit back side to the carpet unit front face. The control unit is configured to receive one or more input signals and is configured to generate, in response to one or more input signals, one or more output signals to control the light generated by the light sources.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A lighting arrangement comprising a carpet structure and a control unit, said carpet structure comprising:
a carpet back lighting system comprising:
a carpet back lighting unit having a lighting unit front face;
a plurality of light sources for controllably generating light;

a carpet unit including a carpet unit front face, a carpet unit back side, a light-permeable primary backing layer, a backing, and an adhesive layer sandwiched between the primary backing layer and the backing, wherein the plurality of light sources are disposed on an opposite side of the light-permeable primary backing from the carpet unit front face;
said carpet back lighting unit front face and said carpet unit back side being adjacent and said carpet unit comprising yarns that penetrate from at least partially within the adhesive layer through the light-permeable primary backing layer to form integrated tufts arranged between the respective front face and back side to allow at least part of said generated light to pass from the carpet unit back side to the carpet unit front face while said individual light sources are concealed from an observer looking at said front face by said light-permeable primary backing and integrated tufts;
said control unit being adapted to receive an input signal and to generate, in response to the input signal, an output signal to control the light generated by the light sources.

2. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1 comprising a user controllable input device for providing said input signal to the control unit.

3. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1 comprising at least one sensor adapted to detect the location of an object and to generate a sensor signal representative of the location of said object, said control unit being adapted to generate said output signal in response to said at least one sensor.

4. The lighting arrangement according to claim 3 where said object is a person.

5. The lighting arrangement according to claim 4 where the control unit is adapted to generate, in response to the sensor signal, an output signal to control the light sources to illuminate a path from the location of the person to an arbitrarily selected location.

6. The lighting arrangement according to claim 3 where the sensor is disposed behind the carpet unit back side of the carpet structure.

7. The lighting arrangement according to claim 3 where the sensor comprises a pressure sensor.

8. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1 comprising at least one of a sensor adapted to generate a sensor signal and a user input device adapted to generate a user input device signal, said control unit being adapted to generate said output signal in response to said at least one of the sensor signal and the user input device signal.

9. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1 where said light-permeable primary backing comprises a substantially non-light-scattering material.

10. The lighting arrangement according to claim 9 , where said carpet unit has a light transmissivity of from 0.5% to 30%.

11. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1 where said tufts are uniformly distributed and have respective tops forming the carpet unit front face.

12. The lighting arrangement according to claim 8 where said output signal controls the light sources to produce a lighting pattern indicating a direction.

13. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1 comprising a sensor adapted to generate a sensor signal, said control unit being adapted to control light generated by the light sources in response to said sensor signal.

14. The lighting arrangement according to claim 13 where the control unit is adapted to derive from the sensor signal a position of a person and to control, in dependence on the position of the person, a pattern of the light generated by the light sources to indicate a direction.

15. The lighting arrangement according to claim 14 where the pattern of the light generated indicates a direction of movement of the person.

16. The lighting arrangement according to claim 13 where said sensor is adapted to detect a tag carried by a user, said sensor signal indicating said detection.

17. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1 including a sensor for detecting the presence of a person in a low visibility environment and for illuminating a path to a preselected location.

18. The lighting arrangement according to claim 17 where the low visibility environment comprises at least one of low light and an emergency situation.

19. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1 where the control unit is adapted to effect illumination of the path dynamically such that at least light sources over which a guided person has passed are then extinguished.

20. The lighting arrangement according to claim 1 where the control unit is adapted to generate an output signal to control the light sources to illuminate a path from a starting location of a person to an ending location of a path followed by said person.

21. The lighting arrangement according to claim 20 where the control unit generates the output signal based on a signal from a sensor measuring a position of said person on said path, wherein the control unit generates the output signal to keep said path illuminated until said person returns to the starting location.

22. A method of displaying a light pattern comprising:
providing a lighting arrangement covering an area where said light pattern is to be displayed, said lighting arrangement comprising:
a carpet back lighting system comprising:
a carpet back lighting unit having a lighting unit front face;
a plurality of light sources for controllably generating light;

a carpet unit including a carpet unit front face, a carpet unit back side, a light-permeable primary backing layer, a backing, and an adhesive layer sandwiched between the primary backing layer and the backing, wherein the plurality of light sources are disposed on an opposite side of the light-permeable primary backing from the carpet unit front face;
said carpet back lighting unit front face and said carpet unit back side being adjacent and said carpet unit comprising yarns that penetrate from at least partially within the adhesive layer through the primary backing layer to form integrated tufts arranged between the respective front face and back side to allow at least part of said generated light to pass from the carpet unit back side to the carpet unit front face while said individual light sources are concealed from an observer looking at said front face by said primary backing unit and integrated tufts;
said control unit being adapted to receive an input signal and to generate, in response to the input signal, an output signal to control the light generated by the light sources; and
providing to the control unit a signal representative of the light pattern to be displayed.

23. The method according to claim 22 where the light pattern guides a first person from a first location to a second person at a second location.

24. The method according to claim 23 where the lighting arrangement comprises a sensor for detecting the location of a tag carried by one of the first and second persons and for providing a signal to the control unit indicating the location of said tag.

25. The method according to claim 22 where the pattern represents at least one of a trademark, a company name and a logo.

Assignees

• Van Herpen Maarten Marinus Johannes Wilhelmus
• Vermeulen Markus Cornelius
• Stuyfzand Joseph L
• Bose Anjalika
• Schaper Sr Thomas
• Dekker Tim
• Philips Lighting Holding Bv

Inventors

• Van Herpen Maarten Marinus Johannes Wilhelmus
• Vermeulen Markus Cornelius
• Stuyfzand Joseph L
• Bose Anjalika
• Schaper Sr Thomas
• Dekker Tim

Classifications

• G01C21/206

  specially adapted for indoor navigation · CPC title

• G09F2013/222

  with LEDs · CPC title

• E04F2290/026

  for lighting · CPC title

• B60Q3/46

  Emergency lighting, e.g. for escape routes · CPC title

• G09F13/22

  electroluminescent (electroluminescent light sources per se H05B33/00) · CPC title