EP4124177A1 - Indoor or outdoor lighting system - Google Patents

Abstract

In a system (1) for the interior lighting of a building (7), in particular a room or the exterior lighting of a square (8), several lamps (2) are provided which can be arranged on an immovable object (7), at least one lamp (2) comprises a light source (3) with a downstream PDLC layer and the lights (2) are connected to a control unit which comprises interfaces for communication with at least one external control signal generator moving in the building (7) or on the square (8), so that the lighting of individual lights (2) or groups (4) of lights (2) can be controlled by the control unit as a function of a control signal from the signal transmitter.

Description

The invention relates to a system for interior or exterior lighting with a number of lights and at least one light source having a PDLC layer, the lights being controllable by an external control signal generator.

Numerous configurations of lights are known in the prior art, which are used, for example, to illuminate living and working spaces, buildings, streets and squares. Different requirements are placed on the luminaires, such as brightness, colors, color temperature as well as direct and indirect lighting.

In principle, scattering, absorbing or calming elements can be used to modify the lighting, such as mechanical devices such as movable screens or slats, which can be used to adjust the direction of emission or the proportion of scattered light. The disadvantage of such mechanical elements is that the manufacture of such systems is expensive and the mechanical elements themselves are susceptible to the effects of force. In addition, this incurs high costs.

DE 94 18 816 U1 discloses a light source and an illuminable planar optical element that is transparent or opaque by scattering or by absorption. The optical element consists of an electro-optical material or at least contains such a material, so that the state of the optical element can be changed by an electrical field that can be applied thereto. The optical element consists of a polymer disperse liquid crystal film (PDLC film) or at least contains one. The PDLC film can be sandwiched between two glass plates coated with transparent electrodes. The PDLC films are milky white and opaque in the absence of an applied electric field because incident light is diffractive due to the different refractive indices of the droplets and the Polymer matrix is scattered. By applying an electric field, the liquid-crystalline molecules are reoriented and the refractive indices adjusted so that the films are no longer scattering but transparent. There is also a second type of PDLC film which, in an inverse manner, is transparent in the absence of an electric field and opaque by scattering when the electric field is on.

DE 10 2008 022 795 A1 describes a motor vehicle headlight with an optical element whose focal length can be changed by applying a voltage.

DE 197 41 616 A1 discloses an adaptive lighting device having a light source and an optical element with a PDLC film.

EP 3 105 498 B1 describes a portable electric lamp having a diffusion polymer liquid crystal electro-optical device.

DE 10 2014 213 179 A1 discloses a vehicle lamp having an optical element with a liquid crystal.

EP 0 902 314 B1 describes a lamp (e.g. of a vehicle) with a diffuser that can be influenced electrically and includes a liquid crystal embedded in a polymer, which can be aligned by applying an electrical voltage and can therefore be changed to be transparent or opaque.

The object of the invention is to provide a system that provides illumination that is dependent on external conditions or a signal.

The object is solved by the features of claim 1. Preferred configurations are described in the dependent claims.

The object is achieved according to the invention by providing a system for the interior lighting of a building, in particular a room, in particular a substantially closed room or exterior lighting of a square with a plurality of lights which are arranged on an immovable object, with at least one light having a light source a downstream PDLC layer and the lights are connected to a control unit that includes interfaces for communication with at least one external control signal generator moving in the building or on the square, so that the lighting of individual lights or groups of lights depends on a control signal from the Signal generator can be controlled by the control unit.

In particular, the invention relates to the use of a system for interior lighting of a building used to house pets or a part thereof, in particular a stable, with several lamps that are arranged on an immovable object in the stable, wherein at least one lamp is a light source with a downstream PDLC layer and the lights are connected to a control unit that includes interfaces for communication with at least one external control signal transmitter moving in the building, so that the lighting of individual lights or groups of lights can be controlled by the control unit as a function of a control signal from the signal transmitter.

In particular, the invention relates to the use of a system for outdoor lighting of a parking lot, with a plurality of lamps that are arranged on an immovable object in the parking lot, at least one lamp comprising a light source with a downstream PDLC layer and the lamps are connected to a control unit, the interfaces for communication with at least one external, located on the Includes space-moving control signal transmitter, so that the lighting of individual lights or groups of lights can be controlled by the control unit depending on a control signal from the signal transmitter.

In the context of the invention, the control signal transmitter is in particular a moving living being or a moving agricultural machine or its attachment or another machine, e.g. B. a vehicle. On the other hand, the lighting is on an immovable, i. H. attached to a non-moving object.

Depending on the control signal from the signal transmitter, the lighting of the system can be varied, i.e. changed, for example by electrically influencing the PDLC layer. This provides an adaptive system which reacts to external signals and can be controlled as a result. In the context of the invention, the object can be, for example, a part of a building, the building itself, a mast or some other immovable means to which lights for illuminating the building, a room or a square can be attached. The system is used for the interior lighting of a building, in particular for a room or several rooms, or for the exterior lighting of a square. A stall is mentioned here as an example of a room. An example of outdoor lighting is an open car park or closed car park, i. H. called a parking lot.

In a preferred embodiment, it is provided that not just one, but rather several, in particular all, light sources of the lamps or of the system have a PDLC layer. For this purpose, the PDLC layer can be applied, for example, to the light sources themselves or to the lamps as a film, ie to each light source or lamp or groups of light sources or lamps or all light sources or lamps. Furthermore, it can also be provided that the PDLC layer in the form of a film on, for example, a translucent plastic layer, for example a plexiglass pane, is applied and this is then connected to several light sources or lamps. This has the advantage that the PDLC layer in the form of a plexiglass pane can be easily supplemented or replaced. This makes it possible, depending on a signal from the external signal transmitter, to control individual lights or groups of lights or light sources by influencing their PDLC layer or layers. By influencing a PDLC layer electrically, for example, its transmission can be changed depending on a control signal, so that, for example, the light cone or the light scattering of a lamp can be changed. In particular, by using a PDLC layer, the stray fields of the light source can be easily and quickly changed steplessly.

In addition, it can be advantageous if a PDLC layer is covered with a prism structure so that the color spectrum can be broken down into its elements in a targeted manner and the color spectra can be changed in areas of the emitted light cone. For this purpose, a prism layer can be applied to the PDLC layer, ie it can be connected downstream.

In this regard, it is advantageous if the PDLC layer is designed in such a way that its emitted light spectrum can be changed electrically. The color spectrum of a light source can be changed depending on the environment and in the composite via the composition of different types of polymers, in particular a polymer mixture. This has the advantage that a suitable light spectrum is used for certain lighting conditions, for example. For example, it has been found that a shift towards red can be advantageous in the case of fog or dust.

It can be provided that the light source is a semiconductor laser or an LED. Depending on the application of the system, semiconductor laser light sources or LED light sources can be advantageous. The light sources can be in one preferred embodiment emit different wavelengths. This means, for example, that the LEDs in the lights are made of different materials so that colors such as red, orange, yellow, green, violet and blue can be displayed. This allows individual light sources or groups of a system to display different colors.

In order to control the system, it can be provided that the system includes sensors connected to the control unit. This can include, for example, but not exclusively, motion sensors that are connected to the control unit for data exchange via wireless or wired connections. As a result, depending on a signal from a sensor, which acts as an external signal transmitter in this embodiment, lights or groups of lights depending on z. B. be triggered by a movement and illuminate the area of the movement.

It can be provided that the control unit includes hardware interfaces for cable-free data and signal transmission. Such hardware interfaces include, for example, Bluetooth, W-Lan, NFC and RFID interfaces and sometimes allow the control unit to communicate with one or more external control signal transmitters. The signal transmitter can be, for example, but not limited to, a pet that is in a stall and carries a transponder chip. A signal generator can also be a vehicle parked in a parking lot.

The system can include a control unit that controls all the lamps or light sources. However, it can also be provided that the system comprises a plurality of control units, each of which controls a group of lamps or light sources. Furthermore, it can be advantageous that each lamp or light source includes a control unit and is controlled by it. The control unit can, for example, be designed as a chip and be part of the lights. This has the advantage that this makes it possible to provide a compact system that includes individually controllable lights and that is also easy to disassemble and assemble.

In particular, the control unit has at least one interface for connecting to a machine's own bus system. Machines usually have a bus system via which the various components and parts of the machine communicate with one another and exchange data. The interfaces of the control unit can be designed in such a way that the control unit accesses a secure machine-specific bus system via a data-transmitting connection, such as W-LAN, and gains access via authorization protocols. As a result, the system can receive data or signals from the machine's own bus system or can also transmit them to the bus system, so that the system can be controlled by the machine. The machine can be, for example, a machine that z. B. communicates with the system arranged in a room and in which the lighting is changed depending on the work step. This means that by accessing the machine's own bus system, the system can be controlled by the machine as an external signal generator.

Furthermore, it is advantageous that the control unit includes at least one hardware interface for establishing a W-Lan, Bluetooth or NFC or wired connection according to ISO 11783. As a result, the system or the control unit can communicate with an agricultural machine and receive data or signals from it and send it to it. This sometimes enables the system to be controlled automatically or manually by, for example, the driver of the agricultural machine and depending on the work steps carried out by the agricultural machine. As an example, an agricultural machine driving through a barn is mentioned here, the activities or movements of which take place there a control of Lighting initiated so that, for example, the areas of activity or the movement patterns are illuminated.

Buildings can also have a bus system, commonly known as a smart home. In this regard, it is advantageous for the control unit to have an interface for connecting to a bus system in a building. The interface, which is designed as a W-Lan interface, for example, enables a data-exchanging connection, ie the exchange of data or signals via a particularly cable-free connection between a building and a system. As a result, the system installed, for example, in or on a building can be individually controlled in a simple manner. The building can be a stable or a parking garage, for example.

Depending on the application, the lights in the system can be controlled manually or automatically. Provision can also be made for manual intervention to always be set up so that the system can still be operated manually in emergency situations.

In one configuration, a polarization filter is connected downstream of at least one light source or one lamp. The polarization filter can be part of the light source or lamp or, for example, be glued onto it as a film. As a result, the light emission can be polarized in a targeted manner.

Figur 1 bis Figur 4

Ausgestaltungen eines Systems mit mehreren Leuchten,

Figur 5

ein Innenraum eines Gebäudes mit einem System

Figur 6 bis Figur 8

weitere Innenräume von Gebäuden mit Systemen

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments of the invention, which are illustrated in the drawing. Show it

Figure 1 to Figure 4

Configurations of a system with several lights,

figure 5

an interior of a building with a system

Figure 6 to Figure 8

other interiors of buildings with systems

Figure 1 to Figure 4 show configurations of a system with several lights. As the figures illustrate by way of example, the system 1 can comprise a plurality of luminaires 2 which are connected to one another and, for example, form a convex overall shape. The lights 2 can have a common power supply or individual separate power supplies. Each lamp 2 includes, in particular, a light source 3, which can be in the form of an LED, for example. At least one light source 3 has a PDLC layer (not shown) arranged in its beam path, with each light source 3 or lamp 2 having an upstream PDLC layer in a preferred embodiment. The PDLC layer can be glued onto the lights 2 as a foil. The properties of the light source 3 or of the lamps 2 can be changed by the PDLC layer by electrically controlling the PDLC layer and thus changing its transmission. The power supply of the system 1 can also be connected to the PDLC layer. However, a separate power supply can also be provided for the PDLC layer or layers. The PDLC layer enables the light emitted by the lamps 2 or light sources 3 to be changed, in particular, but not exclusively, luminous intensity, polarization, scattering angle, but also wavelength (color).

The lamps 2, in particular the light sources 3, are connected to a control unit (not shown) or to a plurality of control units which, for example, can be in the form of a chip and can be part of the lamps 2. However, it can also be advantageous not to couple each lamp 2 to a control unit, but rather to define groups 4 of lamps which are then in turn controlled by a control unit. This means that the lights 2 can be controlled in groups 4 or individually, depending on the requirement or application. The control unit is preferably controlled via an external control signal generator 5, which transmits a control signal to the control unit via interfaces present in the control unit. This makes it possible, for example, as outlined in figure 1 shown at the left edge of System 1 to control arranged lights 2 in group 4 and to form a defined combined beam path, whereas the groups 4 of lights 2 in the central area of the system 1 are controlled differently and have, for example, a different wavelength or a different radiation intensity. The lights 2 arranged on the outer right edge of the system 1 are not in use.

A similar picture shows figure 3 , The groups 4 of lights 2 arranged here in the edge region of the system 1 being synchronously controlled and having a substantially identical radiation intensity or wavelength. In contrast, a group 4 of lamps 2 that is present in the center has a weaker radiation intensity or, for example, a different wavelength than the two flanking groups 4 . This allows different areas - depending on the application and needs - to be illuminated with different intensities or wavelengths.

In figure 4 is basically the inverse of figure 3 shown, in which the two outer groups 4 at the edge are controlled in such a way that they produce a weaker radiation intensity or different wavelength than the group 4 of lights 2 that is central and flanked by the two outer groups 4.

In figure 5 the system 1 is shown as a building 7 in the form of, for example, three rows of lamps 2 in a stable. The system 1 or the control units of the system 1 have hardware interfaces with which communication takes place with an external control signal generator 5 and can be set individually or in groups 4 according to the control of the lights. In modern farms, for example, cows wear transmitters that can be used to control various processes in the barn. For example, the milking system can recognize the cow and adjust itself accordingly. The same applies to feeders. The system 1 or the control unit of the system 1 can receive a signal from a cow as a signal generator 5 received and control according to individual groups 4 of the lights 2 or individual lights 2, so that, for example, the light follows the movement of the cow. Other areas of the barn where there are no important devices or cows, for example, can remain unlit by the system 1, since the system 1 does not receive a signal from there. The size of the irradiation, that is to say the light level, can also be set by the system 1 depending on the number of cows located in a defined area. If, for example, there are several cows in the feeding area, the area can be more strongly illuminated by the system since the system controls the illumination via the signal received from the signal generator 5 .

The lighting intensity can also be controlled accordingly, so that, for example, the areas where there are no cows are illuminated indirectly, i.e. with a weak light. The same can apply to quiet areas in which only indirect lighting of the system 1 takes place. Rest areas for the cows can also be equipped with e.g. B. be irradiated with an infrared light, if there are signal generators 5, ie cows. On the other hand, areas of the building, in particular the barn, which are worked on by an agricultural machine 6, can be illuminated more intensely by the system 1, in particular the control unit, via interfaces with the in figure 5 Illustrated agricultural machine 6 communicates as a signal transmitter 5 and is thus informed about the path or location and quasi follows the lighting of the movement of the agricultural machine 6 or adapts its activity.

Agricultural machines 6 generally have a machine-specific bus system, via which not only the tractor itself but also any attachments that are also connected to the bus system can be controlled. In addition, data is exchanged between the participants in this way, which data is displayed, for example, via a display in the driver's cab of agricultural machine 6 . The control unit of the system according to the invention 1 in one embodiment has at least one interface for connecting to such a bus system of a machine, in particular an agricultural machine 6 . The connection can be either wireless or wired. As a result, the system 1 is integrated into the bus system of the agricultural machine 6 for data exchange and can be controlled automatically or manually. In this way, the system 1, in particular the lighting of the barn, can be controlled relative to the movement of the agricultural machine 6 or to its activity. If the agricultural machine 6 unloads fodder, for example, the area into which the fodder is to be unloaded can be illuminated more intensively and over a large area by means of a corresponding signal to the system 1 . This means that the agricultural machine 6, its attachment or another machine moving in the barn serves as a signal transmitter 5. Signal transmitter 5 and system 1 are advantageously connected to one another so that they can exchange data.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the system 1 is controlled automatically, so that an action by the signal generator 5, here the agricultural machine or the cows, in principle causes an action by the system 1. Due to the fact that the system 1 can be integrated into the bus system of the agricultural machine 6 via the control unit, corresponding control commands which the agricultural machine 6 receives are also sent to the control unit. Basically, the machine's own bus system or the control device of the agricultural machine 6 serve as a control signal generator.

The system 1 thus enables rooms, in particular a stable, to be illuminated as a function of external control signals from one or more control signal transmitters which communicate with at least one control unit via hardware interfaces. In the figure 5 indicated application is of course also applicable to other buildings. For example, a company hall could be illuminated differently depending on the operation of work machines.

Another application of the system 1 is in the Figures 6-8 shown. The system 1 can be used to illuminate a space 8, in particular a parking lot or a multi-storey car park, and correspondingly communicate with the vehicles as a signal generator. Modern vehicles have numerous connection options that can communicate accordingly with the control unit in the form of control signal transmitters. For example, a free parking space can be indicated to a vehicle by illuminating it. Accordingly, occupied parking spaces are not illuminated and are only illuminated when the parked vehicle is started. The path of a vehicle when driving into the multi-storey car park can also be illuminated by the vehicle transmitting its position to the system 1 and this correspondingly controlling the lights or their PDLC layers. This principle can be applied not only to vehicles, but also to people who move, for example, in a stairwell in a building, as illustrated schematically in FIGS. 15 and 16. The person can carry an external control signal transmitter with them, for example in the form of a smartphone or an NFC transmitter, which communicates with the control units via interfaces and then controls the lighting of individual lights according to the person's location. The light follows the person's movement by controlling the PDLC layers by changing their transmission. Depending on the location or path of the person, individual groups of lights 2 can also be switched off, ie remain deactivated. Of course it would also be possible to determine the position of the vehicle or a free or occupied parking space or a person using sensors such as light barriers or movement sensors and to send a signal to the control unit of the system 1 .

An advantage of the system 1 is that the lights 2 can vary the illumination depending on one or more external signal generators by electrically controlling PDLC layers. This is particularly the case with a data-exchanging communication via bus system with places 8, machines and agricultural machines 6 advantageous.

Claims (13)

System (1) for interior lighting of a building (7), in particular a room or exterior lighting of a square (8) with a plurality of lights (2) which are arranged on an immovable object (7), wherein at least one light (2) has a light source ( 3) with a downstream PDLC layer and the lights (2) are connected to a control unit that includes interfaces for communication with at least one external control signal generator moving in the building (7) or on the square (8), so that the Illumination of individual lamps (2) or groups (4) of lamps (2) can be controlled by the control unit as a function of a control signal from the signal transmitter. System (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the light source (3) is a semiconductor laser or an LED. System (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the system (1) comprises sensors connected to the control unit. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit comprises hardware interfaces for cable-free data and signal transmission. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit is designed as a chip and is part of the lights (2). System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit comprises at least one hardware interface for establishing a W-Lan, Bluetooth or NFC, or wired connection. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit has an interface for connecting to a bus system of a building (7). System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lights (2) can be controlled manually or automatically. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the light sources (3) emit different wavelengths. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a polarization filter is connected downstream of at least one light source (3) or one lamp (2). System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the PDLC layer is connected downstream of the light source (3) as a film. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the PDLC layer is designed in such a way that the emitted light spectrum can be changed electrically. System (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the PDLC layer can be controlled as a function of a control signal in such a way that its transmission changes.

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