OPTOMECHANICAL SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE PHOTOMETRIC DISTRIBUTION OF LUMINAIRES AND CORRESPONDING LUMINAIRES

Abstract

The present invention relates to an optomechanical system (1), for dynamically controlling the photometric distribution of a luminaire, comprising a static frame (10), a light emitting substrate (50) with one or more light emitting elements (51) capable of emitting incident light (80), an optical layer (40) comprising one or more optical elements (41) capable of capturing incident light (80) and transmitting transmitted light (90), and a shifting mechanism (60) for translationally moving along at least one direction a movable element, which is chosen from either the optical layer (40) or the light emitting substrate (50). The shifting mechanism (60) comprises further one or more guiding elements (61), capable of maintaining the inclination angle between the light emitting substrate (50) and the optical layer (40) while moving the movable element (40,50). The optomechanical system is configured in such a way that the photometric distribution of the luminaire is dynamically controllable by adjusting the relative positon of the light emitting elements (51) with respect to the optical elements (41). The present invention relates also to luminaires comprising such an optomechanical system (1) and to a related method for adjusting the photometric distribution of luminaires.

Claims

1. Optomechanical system (1) for dynamically controlling a photometric distribution of a luminaire comprising: a static frame, a light emitting substrate with one or more light emitting elements adapted to emit incident light, an optical layer comprising one or more optical elements adapted to capture incident light and to transmit transmitted light, a shifting mechanism adapted to translationally move along at least one direction a movable element which is chosen from either the optical layer or the light emitting substrate, wherein the shifting mechanism comprises one or more guiding elements, said one or more guiding elements being adapted to maintain an inclination angle between the light emitting substrate and the optical layer while moving the movable element, and wherein the optomechanical system is configured in such a way that a photometric distribution of the luminaire is dynamically controllable by adjusting a relative position of the one or more light emitting elements with respect to the one or more optical elements.

2. The optomechanical system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more guiding elements are arranged in such a way that a relative position of the optical layer and the light emitting substrate can accurately be adjusted by shifting elements while specifically avoiding or minimizing relative rotations between the optical layer and the light emitting substrate.

3. (canceled)

4. The optomechanical system according to claim 2, wherein at least two of the one or more guiding elements and two said shifting elements are provided, said two shifting elements being arranged to shift the movable element along different directions.

5. The optomechanical system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more guiding elements are arranged in a single planar module.

6. The optomechanical system according to claim 5, wherein a distance between the light emitting substrate and the optical layer is controllable via a mechanical cam system comprising an inner shell and an outer shell, wherein the cam system is attached to a planar guiding module by means of the inner shell, in such a way that a horizontal translation of the outer shell produces a horizontal translation of the optical layer, and a rotation of the outer shell, translates into a vertical translation of the optical layer.

7. The optomechanical system according to claim 1, wherein the shifting mechanism further comprises a planar module, one or more shifting elements, one or more position sensors and an electronic board.

8. The optomechanical system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more guiding elements is a flexible guiding elements integrated in the light emitting substrate.

9. The optomechanical system according to claim 6, wherein the planar guiding module is integrated into the light emitting substrate and is configured in such a way that the movement of the one or more light emitting elements relative to the one or more optical elements is dependent on the position of the one or more light emitting elements on the light emitting substrate.

10. (canceled)

11. The optomechanical system according to claim 1, further comprising one or more sliders arranged between the light emitting substrate and the optical layer, and one or more pre-constraining elements.

12. The optomechanical system according to claim 11, wherein the sliders are integrated into the optical layer.

13. The optomechanical system according to claim 11, wherein the optomechanical system further comprises a sliding pad between a said slider and a surface it is sliding on.

14. The optomechanical system according to claim 11, wherein the one or more pre-constraining elements are flexible pre-constraining elements arranged between the light emitting substrate and a static frame.

15. The optomechanical system according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting substrate is directly attached to the optical layer by means of guiding elements selected from the group consisting of double cardan joints, double ball joints, linear guiding rails with carriage elements, leaf springs, cables, wires and ropes.

16. The optomechanical system according to claim 15, wherein the guiding elements are integrated into the optical layer.

17. (canceled)

18. (canceled)

19. The optomechanical system according to claim 2, wherein the shifting elements comprises a lead screw that is at least partially positioned in the optical layer.

20. The optomechanical system according to claim 2, wherein the shifting elements comprise a rack/pinion system comprising a rack element and a pinion element, wherein the pinion element is adapted to be manually or electromechanically rotated.

21. (canceled)

22. (canceled)

23. (canceled)

24. (canceled)

25. (canceled)

26. (canceled)

27. (canceled)

28. (canceled)

29. (canceled)

30. (canceled)

31. (canceled)

32. (canceled)

33. The optomechanical system according to claim 1, wherein static primary ones of said one or more optical elements are arranged directly onto the one or more light emitting elements.

34. (canceled)

35. (canceled)

36. The optomechanical system according to claim 1, wherein the static frame is at least partially open at its bottom and a flexible membrane seals a gap between the light emitting substrate and the static frame while allowing the light emitting substrate to move both laterally and vertically.

37. (canceled)

38. (canceled)

39. (canceled)

40. The optomechanical system according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting substrate comprises at least two different types of said one or more light emitting elements that differ in size, shape, spectra, collimation and/or intensity, at least one of said at least two different types of the one or more light emitting elements being formed as a continuous light emitting surface that is provided with holes in which another of the at least two different types of light emitting elements are placed.

41. The optomechanical system according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting substrate comprises at least two different types of said one or more light emitting elements that differ in size, shape, spectra, collimation and/or intensity, one said type of the one or more light emitting elements being placed on a partially cut or transparent front layer such that the light emitted by another said type of the one or more light emitting elements placed on a back layer is transmitted through the front layer towards the optical layer.

42. A method for dynamically controlling a photometric distribution of a luminaires with the optomechanical system according to claim 1, comprising: capturing incident light and transmitting transmitted light, moving either the optical layer or the light emitting substrate translationally relative to each other, wherein the shifting mechanism moves the optical layer or the light emitting substrate translationally along at least one direction in such a way that a photometric distribution of the luminaire is controlled by adjusting the relative positions of the one or more light emitting elements relative to the one or more optical elements.

43. A luminaire comprising the optomechanical system according to claim 1.

44. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0071] The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in combination with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0072] FIG. 1a is a schematic illustration of the main drawback of the solutions from prior-art;

[0073] FIG. 1b is a schematic illustration of the aim of the present invention;

[0074] FIG. 2a is a schematic bottom view of an optomechanical system according to a first embodiment of the present invention where the optical system is at its neutral position;

[0075] FIG. 2b is a schematic bottom view of an optomechanical system according to the first embodiment of the present invention where the light emitting substrate is in a shifted position;

[0076] FIG. 3a is a schematic bottom view of an optomechanical system according to a second embodiment of the present invention where the optical system is at its neutral position;

[0077] FIG. 3b is a schematic bottom view of an optomechanical system according to the second embodiment of the present invention where the light emitting substrate is at a shifted position;

[0078] FIG. 4 is a schematic top view of an optomechanical system according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

[0079] FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of an optomechanical system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

[0080] FIG. 6 is a schematic top view of an optomechanical system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

[0081] FIG. 7a is a schematic side view of an optomechanical system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention where the light emitting elements are in their neutral position;

[0082] FIG. 7b is a schematic side view of an optomechanical system according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention where the light emitting elements are in a shifted position;

[0083] FIG. 7c is a schematic side view of an optomechanical system according to a variation of the sixth embodiment of the present invention;

[0084] FIG. 8 is a schematic bottom view of an optomechanical system according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention;

[0085] FIG. 9a is a schematic cross-sectional view of a refractive-type optical element according to an eight embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the path of light rays travelling through the central section of the optical element;

[0086] FIG. 9b is a schematic cross-sectional view of a refractive-type optical element according to the eight embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the path of light rays travelling through the peripheral section of the optical element;

[0087] FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a reflective-type optical element according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the path of light rays travelling through the optical element;

[0088] FIG. 11a illustrates the path of the light rays travelling through a refractive-type optical element when the light emitting element and the optical element are centred;

[0089] FIG. 11b illustrates the path of the light rays travelling through a refractive-type optical element when the light emitting element and the optical element are shifted relative to each other along a direction parallel to the light emitting substrate;

[0090] FIG. 11c illustrates the path of the light rays travelling through a refractive-type optical element when the light emitting element and the optical element are shifted relative to each other along a direction perpendicular to the light emitting substrate;

[0091] FIGS. 12a to 12d show some photometric distribution curves achievable with the present invention;

[0092] FIG. 13a is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the optomechanical system according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention when the light emitting elements and the optical elements are centred;

[0093] FIG. 13b is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the optomechanical system according to the tenth embodiment of the present invention when the light emitting elements and the optical elements are shifted relative to each other;

[0094] FIG. 14a is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the optical layer according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention;

[0095] FIG. 14b is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the optical layer according to a further embodiment;

[0096] FIG. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the optomechanical system according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention;

[0097] FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the optomechanical system according to a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention;

[0098] FIG. 17 is a schematic illustration of a control system for the optomechanical system according to a fourteenth embodiment of the present invention;

[0099] FIG. 18 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the optomechanical system according to a fifteenth embodiment of the present invention;

[0100] FIG. 19a is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the optomechanical system according to a sixteenth embodiment of the present invention where a flexible membrane is arranged between the bottom part of the static frame and the light emitting substrate;

[0101] FIG. 19b is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the optomechanical system according to the sixteenth embodiment of the present invention where a flexible membrane is arranged between the top part of the static frame and the light emitting substrate;

[0102] FIG. 20 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the optomechanical system according to a seventeenth embodiment of the present invention where the linear actuators provided for the translational movement of the optical layer comprises a lead screw male part, which cooperates with a lead screw female thread integrated in the optical layer;

[0103] FIG. 21 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the optomechanical system according to an eighteenth embodiment of the present invention where the optomechanical system comprises a shifting mechanism in the form of a mechanical cam system;

[0104] FIG. 22 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the optomechanical system according to a nineteenth embodiment of the present invention where the light emitting layer is composed of light emitting elements of at least two different types; and

[0105] FIG. 23 is a schematic top view of the optomechanical system according to a twentieth embodiment of the present invention where the shifting element takes the form of a rack/pinion system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0106] FIGS. 2a and 2b display schematic bottom views, i.e. views from the light emitting elements towards the optical layer, of an optomechanical system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The optomechanical system 1 comprises a static frame 10, an optical layer 40 comprising a plurality of optical elements 41 (not shown in these Figures), a light emitting substrate 50 comprising a plurality of lights sources like LEDs, OLEDs, lasers or optical fibers (not shown here as well) and a shifting mechanism 60, which comprises in this embodiment guiding elements 61 and shifting element 62.

[0107] In the following, first details of several embodiments of the shifting mechanism 60 are presented, followed by details of several embodiments of the optical layer 40.

[0108] While FIG. 2a displays a first preferred embodiment of the optomechanical system 1 in its neutral position, i.e. with the light emitting substrate 50, the optical layer 40 and the static frame 10 centred with respect to each other, FIG. 2b shows the optomechanical system 1 with light emitting substrate 50 translationally displaced along the direction of the arrow A with respect to the static frame 10 and the optical layer 40 by means of the shifting mechanism 60. More precisely, the shifting element 62 pushed the light emitting substrate 50 and the guiding elements 61 ensured that the displacement of the light emitting substrate 50 is only translational, i.e. they blocked any spurious rotational movement of the light emitting substrate 50 around an axis perpendicular to the optical layer 40. In this embodiment of the present invention, the guiding elements 61 are preferably leaf springs and the light emitting substrate 50 and the optical layer 40 are parallel. Of course, it is also possible to have an optomechanical system 1 with a different inclination angle between the light emitting substrate 50 and the optical layer 40.

[0109] While in this first preferred embodiment of the present invention the light emitting substrate 50 is movable and the optical layer 40 is fixed, it shall be understood that the optomechanical system could feature a shifting mechanism 60 acting on a movable optical layer 40 with a fixed light emitting substrate 50 without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0110] A movable light emitting substrate 50 and a fixed optical layer 40 is particularly appropriate in applications where the optical layer 40 would be visible to an observer/user and the shifting mechanism 60 should be hidden from his view (e.g. luminaire integrated into a ceiling). In other applications, however, it can be more advantageous to have a static light emitting substrate 50 and a movable optical layer 40, for instance in high power applications where a movable light emitting substrate 50 would make it difficult to properly dissipate heat.

[0111] As mentioned above, the relative motion of the light emitting substrate 50 and the optical layer 40 is preferably only translational along one or two directions parallel to the optical layer 40 and/or along one direction perpendicular to the optical layer 40. The shifting mechanism 60 is advantageously arranged in such a way that it suppresses any possible rotation and to make sure that the optical layer 40 and the light emitting substrate 50 remain parallel to each other at all time. This ensures that the distance between the light emitting elements 51 and the corresponding optical elements 41 is the same on the entire surface of the luminaire.

[0112] In a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b, two pairs of guiding elements 61, 61′ and two shifting elements 62, 62′ are combined to guide the movement of the movable element, the light emitting substrate 50 in this embodiment, along two perpendicular axes. The first pair of guiding elements 61 and the first shifting element 62 are arranged to move a translation element 63 along a first direction. The second pair of guiding elements 61′ and the second shifting element 62′ are arranged inside the translation element and are configured to move the light emitting substrate 50 along a second direction perpendicular to the first one. With the combination of two pairs of guiding elements 61, 61′ and two shifting elements 62, 62′, a displacement of the light emitting substrate 50 along any direction B parallel to the light emitting substrate 50 can be achieved. The amplitude/range of the translation along each axis can be adapted to the requirements of the application. The movement is typically proportional and of the same order of magnitude as the size (diameter) of the optical elements.

[0113] FIG. 4 shows a third preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, two leaf spring pairs 61, 61′ are arranged along two perpendicular in-plane axes and are formed a planar leaf spring module 64, which can be machined from a single piece of material to minimize assembly costs and tolerances. A light emitting substrate 50 can be mounted onto the central region of the planar module 64, which it is attached to the static frame 10 (not shown here) of the optomechanical system 1. By doing so, the light emitting substrate 50 can be displaced in any direction parallel to the plane of the planar module 64 with respect to the static frame 10 and to the optic layer 40 (not shown here as well). The arrangement of the leaf spring pairs 61, 61′ permits to minimize or fully cancel spurious movement along the leaf spring axis.

[0114] In a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, a planar leaf spring module 64 is actuated by two shifting elements 62, which here take the form of linear actuators. The actuators are directly attached to the planar module as shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the leaf spring module 64 and the linear actuators 62 are furthermore surrounded by an electronic board 70 for the control of the actuator. The electronic control board 70 includes also two switches 71, which provide a feedback signal when the planar leaf spring 64 module reaches its maximum displacement position. This embodiment is particularly advantageous when the space dedicated to the guiding and actuation system is limited. A light emitting substrate 50 or an optical layer can be attached onto the planar module 64 of this preferred embodiment to allow their movement.

[0115] In a fifth embodiment of the present invention, illustrated in FIG. 6, the light emitting substrate 50 itself is a planar leaf spring module. More specifically, leaf springs 61 are machined directly into the light emitting substrate 50, so that the light emitting substrate 50 itself can contribute to guide the movement of the light emitting elements 51 relative to the optical elements 41 (not shown in this Figure). This embodiment is advantageous to reduce the number of components, to simplify assembly and reduce costs.

[0116] In a sixth embodiment of the present invention, the planar leaf spring module 64 machined into the light emitting substrate 50 is designed in such a way that the displacement of the light emitting elements 51 relative to their respective optical elements 41 is not constant on the entire surface but is rather dependant on their position on the light emitting substrate 50 or the leaf spring module 64 respectively, as illustrated by the arrows of different length in FIG. 7b.

[0117] FIGS. 7c illustrates a variation of the sixth embodiment of the present invention wherein the optical layer 40 or the optical elements 41 comprise some attachment elements 40b, such as pins, in order to create a direct attachment between the optical layer 40 and the leaf spring module 64.

[0118] As illustrated in FIG. 21, the optomechanical system can comprise a shifting mechanism 62 in the form of a mechanical cam system with an outer shell 62e and an inner shell 62d, where the inner shell 62d is mounted a planar guiding module 64. The cam system is configured such that a horizontal translation along direction X of the outer shell 62e produces a horizontal translation X′ of the optical layer 40, and a rotation R of the outer shell 62e, translates into a vertical translation Z of the optical layer 40. By means of the cam system, it is therefore possible to control in a simple manner the distance between the emitting layer 50 and the optical layer 40.

[0119] It is of course possible to have the light emitting substrate 50 attached to the planar guiding module 64, or the light emitting elements 51 can be directly mounted in the planar guiding module as shown in FIG. 6.

[0120] The optomechanical system according to FIG. 21 is advantageous where both the direction of transmitted light and its divergence should be adjustable. A horizontal translation along X or along the out-of-plane axis Y (not shown on the figure), will change the lateral position of the optical layer 40 relatively to the light emitting substrate 50, which will change the direction of the transmitted light 90.

[0121] FIG. 8 displays a seventh embodiment of the present invention, in which the optomechanical system 1 comprises two or more linear actuators 62 disposed in parallel on the same translational axis but at opposite ends of the movable element, and one or more actuators 62 disposed in a direction perpendicular to the first two. This arrangement allows for cancelling any spurious rotation around an axis perpendicular to the light emitting substrate 50, in order to ensure that there is no relative rotation between the light emitting substrate 50 and the optical layer 40. Preferably, the attachment elements 69 at one or both ends of the actuators 62 (from each actuator to the frame and to the movable element) are single or double universal joints, cardan joints or ball joints, in order to allow the actuators to rotate around the axes perpendicular to their own movement, such as to minimize shear forces on the actuator axis. In this embodiment, the actuators 62 themselves are acting as guiding elements that cancel any rotation of the movable element 40, 50.

[0122] As can be seen from FIG. 23, the linear displacement of the optical layer 40 and/or of the light emitting substrate can be obtained by means of shifting element 62 in form of a rack/pinion system. Advantageously, the rack element 62b is directly formed in the element to be moved, i.e. the light emitting substrate 50 in this Figure. Nevertheless, the rack element 62b could be as well be formed in the optical layer. The pinion element 62c is, advantageously, attached to the frame 10 (not shown here). Important to note is that two or three pinion/rack systems can be combined to achieve linear translations along three different directions.

[0123] Details of several embodiments of the optical layer 40 comprising the optical elements 41 will now be presented. Light from quasi-punctual light emitting elements 51 such as LEDs is usually emitted with a near Lambertian profile, i.e. over a very large range of angles, with energy distributed evenly on a half-sphere profile. Due to fundamental physical limitations (numerical aperture), a single optical element 41 cannot capture all the light emitted by this type of source, unless it is located infinitely close to it, or is infinitely larger than it. However, by designing optical elements 41 with several discontinuous sections/profiles, it is possible to increase the amount of light collected and redirected by the optical layer 40.

[0124] In an eight preferred embodiment of the present invention, the optical elements 41 are of refractive type and they are composed of two main sections: a central section 41a and a peripheral section 41b, as shown in FIGS. 9a and 9b. The central section 41a is arranged to collect the central portion of the emitted light 80 by the light emitting element 51 (i.e. the light emitted at smaller angles). The central section 41a can have one or two patterned faces, each with either positive or negative curvature (plano-convex, plano-concave, bi-convex, bi-concave or meniscus type), although it has preferably two surfaces for more design flexibility. The curvature of each surface can be a portion of sphere (i.e. spherical lens), but it is preferably aspherical with higher order polynomials (for instance third order or higher). The higher order polynomials are advantageous to introduce inflexion points (changes in curvature polarity), in order to increase optics efficiency, and correct for optical aberrations. The curvature can even be free-form, with small segments or facets connected to each other to form a profile that cannot be exactly described by a continuous function (polynomials). The lens profile can be rotationally symmetrical or just mirror symmetrical on one or two axes (e.g. bi-conic profile), depending on the desired contour or pattern of the illuminated area at the output of the luminaire

[0125] The peripheral section 41b is arranged to collect the outer portion of the emitted light 80 by the light emitting element 51 (i.e. the light emitted at larger angles). The peripheral section 41b is composed of one or a plurality of triangular, rectangular or more complex polygon cross-section extruded in revolution around the central lens of the central section 41b and completely surrounding it. The peripheral section 41b can be composed of several concentric rings, each with different cross-sections and diameters, meshed into each other to form a more complex revolution shape with a discontinuous profile. The light collected by the peripheral section 41b is refracted at least once and may also experience total internal reflection one or more times against the walls of the peripheral section 41b′ before exiting with the desired angle, as illustrated in FIG. 9b. The light rays traveling through the peripheral section 41b can cross each other paths one or more time before exiting, so that they exit the optical element with the desired tilt angle. While the contour of the peripheral section 41b is preferably circular, it can also have other shapes (such as a rectangular shape) depending on the desired pattern of the illuminated area at the output of the luminaire.

[0126] The combination of a central section 41a and a peripheral section 41b allows for a finer control of the light distribution (or photometric distribution) at the output of the luminaire than a single continuous optical element 41. Reflective coating can be added to at least some of the external walls 41b′ of the peripheral section 41b of the optical element 41 in order to increase the angles at which incident light rays 80 can be reflected (i.e. without the angular limitations of total internal reflection) and increase optical efficiency.

[0127] FIG. 10 illustrates a tenth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the optical element 41 comprises a fully reflective optical element 41c, i.e. a “cavity” with reflective walls surrounding the light emitting element 51 and a refractive optical element 41d, for instance a lens that is placed inside this cavity. Using a combination of reflective and refractive optics reduces the optical aberrations and especially chromatic aberrations, leading to better homogeneity of the light output (more homogeneous color-over-angle distribution).

[0128] FIGS. 11a to 11c show that by translating a quasi-punctual light emitting element 51 relative to the optical element 41 (or vice-versa), the distribution of the emitted light 80 over the optical element 41 changes (different portions of the emitted light 80 hit different portions of the optical element 41), such that both the direction (tilt) and distribution (divergence) of the output beam 90 change accordingly. More specifically, moving the light emitting element 51 and the optical element 41 farther from or closer to each other has a direct impact on the degree of divergence of the output beam 90, while a lateral movement (“in-plane” movement) has a direct impact on the orientation of the output beam 90. Combining both movements results in a dynamic control of both divergence and orientation of the luminaire output, i.e. the photometric distribution, as illustrated in FIGS. 11a to 11c.

[0129] The present invention is advantageous to generate dynamic photometric curves. More specifically, the relative movement of the optical layer 40 and the light emitting substrate 50 changes the light distribution at the output of the luminaire, and especially allows to adjust the tilt of the light output beam to almost any desired angle. By adjusting the shape of the optical elements 41, the light output can be adjusted to match almost any desired angular distribution. For instance, a wall washer application typically requires wide light emission angles in order to get a homogeneous light distribution from the ceiling to the floor, while spotlight applications require smaller emission angles for a more focused light output. FIGS. 12a to 12d illustrate some photometric curves achievable with optomechanical systems according to the present invention, in which the radial axes represent the normalized energy intensity and the circular axis represents the inclination angle. Each curve of each plot is a cross-section along a specific azimuthal plane of the 3D light distribution at the output of a luminaire using the present invention. These curves are just a few examples of some of the photometric outputs achievable with the present invention, but many other photometric outputs are possible. The distribution and orientation of the light distribution can be adjusted over a wide range of values depending on the shape of the optical elements and the relative position of the optical layer and the light emitting substrate.

[0130] In an eleventh embodiment of the present invention, shown in FIGS. 13a and 13b, a plurality of light emitting elements 51 are arranged in an array moving relatively to an array of optical elements 41 to form a larger output beam with the combined outputs 90 of all the optical elements 41. The central light beam 90a (substantially collimated beam) has divergence angles preferably within ±25° and more preferably within ±15°. The tilt of the output beam can preferably be controlled within ±25°, more preferably within ±45° and even more preferably within ±60°.

[0131] The optical elements 41 of the optical layer 40 can for instance but not exhaustively be made of glass, acrylic (PMMA), silicone rubber or other transparent polymers. They are preferably made of a material than has high optical transmission and low dispersion (high Abbe number), and which can be easily formed by cheap industrial processes (such as injection moulding), such as PMMA or silicone rubber. Each optical element 41 of the optical layer 40 can be manufactured independently and then assembled (preferably glued) onto a common substrate to form the optical layer 40, or the optical layer 40 can be manufactured directly as a single part (for instance injection moulded within a single mold). A coating or a surface treatment can be applied to the optical elements 41 to either increase reflectivity or diffusivity.

[0132] The diameter of the optical elements 41 is typically in the range 1 to 50 mm, and preferably 10 to 30 mm. The ratio of the thickness divided by the diameter of the optical elements 41 is typically 0.5 to 2, and preferably close to 1.

[0133] The density of optical elements 41 on the optical layer 40 can be adjusted depending on the application requirements. There is typically one optical element 41 per light emitting element 51, but there can be more or less optical elements 41 than light emitting elements 51. For instance, it can be advantageous to have two or more optical elements 41 with different shapes on the same optical layer 40, in order to combine different photometric characteristics in the luminaire output. Alternatively, there can be multiple optical elements 41 per light emitting element 51, so that the light emitting element 51 can be positioned to face any of them, resulting in different photometric outputs.

[0134] While the individual optical elements 41 are preferably transparent, the parts 40a of the optical layer 40 between the optical elements 41 can be partially opaque or translucent. For instance, it can be advantageous to use opaque or slightly translucent parts 40a of optical layer 40 to ensure that the internal structure of the luminaire is hidden from the view of observers located below. In a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention, the parts 40a of the optical layer 40 can be translucent, in order to diffuse the portion of the light emitted 80 by the light emitting elements 51 which is not captured by the optical elements 41, i.e. to improve the homogeneity of the photometric distribution of the luminaire, as shown in FIG. 14. The amount of light transmitted through the optical elements 41 or directly through the parts 40a of the optical layer 40 can then be adjusted by the relative positioning of the light emitting elements 51 by means of the shifting mechanism 60 (not shown here).

[0135] FIG. 14b illustrates that in a further embodiment, the external surfaces of the peripheral sections 41b′ of the optical elements 41 are coated with a reflective coating in order to redirect the light 80′ that is emitted by the light emitting element 51 and that is directly captured neither by the optical element 41 placed directly underneath the light emitting element 51 nor by the portion 40a of the optical layer 40. This reflected beam travels through the portion 40a of the optical layer 40 to form the output light 90′. The latter forms with the output beam 90, which is the result of the refraction of the light emitted 80 directly captured by the optical element 41 placed underneath the light emitting element 51, the overall transmitted light. With the coating of the external surface 41b′ of the peripheral section of the optical elements 41, one can thus easily increase the light intensity transmitted through the optical layer. By adjusting the orientation of the reflective external surfaces 41b′, it is possible to influence the angle under which the beam 90′ is transmitted.

[0136] As illustrated in FIG. 22, it is possible to foresee that the light emitting layer 50 is composed of light emitting elements 51,55 of at least two different types. The light emitting elements 51,55 can, for instance, differ in size, shape, emission spectrum, collimation and/or intensity. As shown in FIG. 22, it is possible to arrange the different light emitting elements 51,55 in a front layer 54 and in a back layer 53 of the light emitting substrate 50. The light emitting elements 55 placed in the back layer 53 emit light that is transmitted through the transparent or translucent front layer 54. With the addition of the optical layer 40 (not shown) comprising the optical elements provided to collect and transmit the light emanating from the light emitting elements 51, it is possible to create an optomechanical system that emits light with both directional and diffusive components. As mentioned above, the light emitting elements 51,55 can also differ in their emitted spectrum. It is therefore possible, to provide an optomechanical system capable of simulating a natural source of light, such as the sun, that comprises both directional and diffusive light components and a combination of colour temperatures.

[0137] Important to note that the back layer 53 could act as a backlight emitting substrate. In this case the light emitting elements 55 are not directly placed in the back layer 53 but advantageously on the side of it. With mirrors or prisms the light can be redirected in direction of the front layer 54.

[0138] Of course it is also possible to foresee that the light emitting elements 51 are placed between the light emitting elements 55 and in the same plane as the latter. In that case, it is possible to foresee holes in the layer comprising the light emitting elements 55 into which the light emitting elements 51 are placed. Furthermore, it is also possible to foresee that the front layer 54 has a variable thickness. In particular, it can be foreseen that the front layer 54 is only provided where a light emitting element 55 is located.

[0139] In a fourteenth preferred embodiment of the present invention, one or a plurality of sliders 65 are arranged between the optical layer 40 and the light emitting substrate 50. The sliders 65 are rigid elongated elements with at least one end designed to slide on another surface. The sliders 65 can be attached to the optical layer 40 and sliding on the light emitting substrate 50, or vice-versa. The surface on which the sliders 65 are sliding can be arranged with a specific layer or coating to decrease friction. With the sliders 65, it is ensured that the distance between the optical layer 40 and the light emitting substrate 50 is constant on their whole surface. Some pre-constraint elements 66 can be added to ensure that the sliders 65 are always in contact with the surface they are sliding on. In FIG. 15, the sliders 65 are pre-constrained by pre-constraint elements 66, which are part of the light emitting substrate 50 or the frame 10 itself. With this embodiment, the number of parts can be reduced by removing the need for additional pre-constraint elements such as springs.

[0140] In a further embodiment of the present invention, presented in FIG. 16, sliding elements 67 can be arranged on the optical layer 40 or the light emitting substrate 50 in front of the sliders 65. The shape of these sliding elements 67 can be designed in such a way that a horizontal movement of the sliders 65 induces a vertical displacement, which changes the distance between the optical layer 40 and the light emitting substrate 50. The sliding elements 67 can therefore advantageous be used to adapt the distance between the optical layer 40 and the light emitting substrate 50 without requiring an additional linear actuator.

[0141] In a sixteenth preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrated in FIG. 17, one or a plurality of flexible elements 68, for instance double universal joints, cardan joints or ball joints, are arranged between the optical layer 40 and the light emitting substrate 50, in order to guide the relative movement of these two elements on a sphere. More specifically, when a linear actuator 62 moves the optical layer 40 or the light emitting substrate 50 along an in-plane axis the resulting movement has both an in-plane and an out-of-plane component. With this embodiment, it is simple to adapt the distance between the optical layer 40 and the light emitting substrate 50 without requiring an additional linear actuator along a direction perpendicular to the plane of the light emitting substrate 50. A person skilled in the art would understand that the universal joints, cardan joints or ball joints of this embodiment can be substituted with flexible guiding elements such as leaf springs or ropes. By doing so, instead of being guided on a sphere, the movement is guided on an aspherical curvature (e.g. paraboloid or similar).

[0142] In the embodiment of the present invention presented in FIG. 17, the optical layer 40 and the light emitting substrate 50 are completely surrounded by a rigid enclosure comprising the static frame 10 and the cover 100, where the static frame 10 is preferably made of metal or rigid polymers and the cover 100 of glass. This is advantageous to protect the whole system (shifting mechanism 60, optical layer 40, light emitting substrate 50 and electronics 70) from mechanical shocks, as well as from intrusion of various contaminants (such as liquids or dust). In this embodiment, all movable parts are surrounded by the rigid enclosure and moving within its physical boundaries.

[0143] FIG. 20 displays a further embodiment of the present invention, in which the optomechanical system 1 comprises two or more linear actuators 62 mounted on attachment elements 69, which are fixed to the light emitting substrate 50.The linear actuators comprise a lead screw male part 62a, which cooperates with a lead screw female thread 42 integrated in the optical layer 40 for movement in either X and/or Y directions. Advantageously, the actuator 62 only pushes the optical layer 40 and a pre-constraint element, such as a spring, push it back against the actuator. It is possible to foresee a similar shifting mechanism to provide a translation in Z direction.

[0144] As illustrated in FIG. 18, the optomechanical system can advantageously further comprise a control system 110 for the shifting mechanism 60, which can be based on different types of inputs/feedbacks:

[0145] Manual position adjustments with one or more control knobs or other mechanical input means. This embodiment is advantageous for applications where the luminaire output is adjusted occasionally and the luminaire is directly accessible/reachable by end users.

[0146] Commands sent to the control system by a software application 110, through a wired connection (e.g. USB) or wirelessly (e.g. through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi). This embodiment is advantageous for maximum flexibility and applications where direct user input is regularly required, such as office or retail lighting applications. Preferably, the commands can be sent using protocols such as DALI, DMX or KNX, to be compatible with existing luminaire installations and controllable by a centralized interface.

[0147] Autonomous, pre-programmed behavior based on a list of “scenes” or a preset trajectory depending on the time of the day, the date or other environmental parameters. This embodiment is advantageous for applications where little to no user input is expected, such as solar emulators.

[0148] Sensor output (e.g. IR sensors, CCD cameras, accelerometers, gyroscopes, wireless radios, etc.) providing information on the location, orientation or movement of people or objects, combined or not with technologies such as automatic image recognition software. This embodiment is useful for applications where the light output should automatically follow some people, objects or gestures, such as luminaires used in a medical environment.

[0149] In another embodiment of the present invention, there is no control system and the relative position of the light emitting substrate 50 and the optical layer 40 is adjusted during production and does not change during the lifetime of the product. In this embodiment, the luminaire itself is not dynamic, however the assembly process is. This embodiment is advantageous for applications where many different luminaire configurations are required in production, but once the luminaires are installed, their configuration is unlikely to change. Instead of requiring a different design of the optical layer 40 for each configuration (which requires a lot of inventory), the same optical layer 40 can be used for all configurations with a simple positioning adjustment during production.

[0150] FIGS. 19a and 19b display a nineteenth embodiment of the present invention, where at least a part 11 of the enclosure is made of a flexible material, preferably a membrane made of a rubber (such as EPDM or isoprene). More specifically, the flexible membrane 11 can be attached to the movable element (either the optical layer 40 or the light emitting substrate 50), enabling their movement while still providing a barrier to external contaminants. This embodiment is advantageous when some movable parts have to be exposed to the environment, for instance to improve heat dissipation by exposing the back side of the light emitting substrate 50 and the optional heat dissipation element 52 to ambient air (enabling or improving heat dissipation by convection, as schematically illustrated by the curved arrows C).

[0151] It is to be noted that the shape of the luminaire and its casing can be adapted to the requirements of the application. The form factor is preferably flat (“slim”), meaning that the thickness of the luminaire is much smaller than its width and length. The outline (as seen from above or below) can have for instance a square shape, a rectangular or elongated shape, a round or oval shape.