Illumination – With heater or refrigerator
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-12
2004-04-27
Cariaso, Alan (Department: 2875)
Illumination
With heater or refrigerator
C362S133000, C362S231000, C362S295000, C362S555000, C362S562000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06726341
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to LED illumination, and more particularly to LED illumination of cold storage compartments, for example commercial freezer cabinets.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY
Large commercial freezer cabinets are used to show and store products in food markets and elsewhere. Usually the types of freezer cabinets found in supermarkets have transparent doors, and the products inside are illuminated. Currently, fluorescent lighting usually is used to illuminate these products. The fluorescent lamps are usually positioned at the door posts of the cabinets.
This type of illumination system has several drawbacks. For one thing, the light source is generally inside the freezer, and therefore it produces heat. This requires extra cooling power to compensate for heat production caused by lighting.
Another problem is that due to the low temperatures within the cabinets, efficiency of the fluorescent lamps decreases. For example, at an ambient temperature of 0° Centigrade (C.), efficiency can be half of what it would be at an ambient temperature of 25° C.
Also, starting the fluorescent lamps can be a problem that due to low temperatures. In order to avoid these problems, users of the cabinets often leave the freezer lighting on continually, even during hours when no one is likely to be looking into the cabinets—for example when a store is closed for the evening. This wastes energy.
Another problem is that low temperatures negatively impact fluorescent tube gas discharge stability, resulting in flickering of the lamp.
Additionally, fluorescent lighting requires high-voltage inside the freezer, which could cause safety problems, particularly while cleaning the lamp.
Further, lifetime of fluorescent lamps is generally limited to 10,000 hours. If a single lamp in the freezer fails, immediate replacement is necessary.
Further, light distribution with fluorescent lighting is not optimal for providing even vertical illumination. Products nearer the lamps will be illuminated more brightly then products in between the lamps.
To address at least some of these problems, the present invention provides a storage compartment equipped with a light emitting diode (LED) light source for illuminating contents inside the compartment. The LED light source comprises an LED light engine outside the compartment and a light guide inside the compartment. The light is optically coupled to be LED light engine for bringing light illumination from the LED light engine into the compartment via the light guide.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4706169 (1987-11-01), Bussan et al.
patent: 5301090 (1994-04-01), Hed
patent: 5836669 (1998-11-01), Hed
patent: 6016038 (2000-01-01), Mueller et al.
patent: 6210013 (2001-04-01), Bousfield
patent: 6217188 (2001-04-01), Wainwright et al.
patent: 6637924 (2003-10-01), Pelka et al.
patent: 2002/0051357 (2002-05-01), Truttmann-Battig
patent: 2003/0012035 (2003-01-01), Bernard
patent: 2000258052 (2000-09-01), None
U.S. patent application “Side-Emitting Rod for Use with an LED-Based Light Engine”, Ser. No. 09/749,139, filed Dec. 27, 2000, pp. 1-11.
Marshall Thomas M.
McColloch Larry
Pashley Michael D.
Saalberg Ans
Bram Eric M.
Cariaso Alan
Koninklijke Philips Electronics , N.V.
LandOfFree
LED illumination for cold storage compartments does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with LED illumination for cold storage compartments, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and LED illumination for cold storage compartments will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3240780