Light-emitting acoustic panel with duct

Abstract

There is provided a light-emitting acoustic panel that may be mounted in a ceiling. The light-emitting acoustic panel comprises a sound-absorbing layer and a light-transmissive layer arranged in parallel such that a space is formed in-between. In the space a light source and a reflector are arranged such that light emitted by the light source is redirected by the reflector and emitted towards a reflective side of the sound-absorbing layer. There is further a duct arranged through the light-emitting acoustic panel. In the duct, devices providing functionalities such as sensing, sound, lighting may be arranged. The outer surface of the duct, facing the space between the sound-absorbing layer and the light-transmissive layer comprises a specularly reflective surface.

Claims

1. A light-emitting acoustic panel, comprising: a light source; a sound-absorbing layer having an optically reflective side facing the light source; a light-transmissive layer arranged in parallel with and spaced apart from the sound-absorbing layer, such that the light source is arranged in a space between the sound-absorbing layer and the light-transmissive layer, and the light source is arranged on a carrier spaced apart from the light-transmissive layer by an inclined member; and a duct through the light-emitting acoustic panel, wherein a surface of the duct facing the space between the sound-absorbing layer and the light-transmissive layer is a specularly reflective surface.

2. The light-emitting acoustic panel according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the duct, facing the space between the sound-absorbing layer and the light-transmissive layer, has a reflectance higher than 50%.

3. The light-emitting acoustic panel according to claim 1, wherein the duct extends through the sound-absorbing layer and the light-transmissive layer perpendicular to the sound-absorbing layer.

4. The light-emitting acoustic panel according to claim 1, further comprising a reflector arranged to receive light from the light source and to redirect the received light towards the optically reflective side of the sound-absorbing layer, wherein the light source is arranged offset from a focal point of the reflector.

5. The light-emitting acoustic panel according to claim 4, wherein a cross-section of the reflector in a plane perpendicular to the sound-absorbing layer comprises a parabolic line segment.

6. The light-emitting acoustic panel according to claim 1, wherein the light source comprises a plurality of lighting units arranged along an edge portion of the light-emitting acoustic panel.

7. The light-emitting acoustic panel according to claim 1, wherein the duct is cylindrical.

8. The light-emitting acoustic panel according to claim 1, wherein the light source comprises at least one solid state lighting unit.

9. The light-emitting acoustic panel according to claim 1, wherein the light-transmissive layer is an optically diffusive layer.

10. The light-emitting acoustic panel according to claim 1, wherein the light-transmissive layer is air permeable to allow acoustic pressure waves to reach the sound-absorbing layer.

11. A method of manufacturing a light-emitting acoustic panel according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises the steps of: providing a light-emitting acoustic panel comprising a light source; a sound-absorbing layer having an optically reflective side facing the light source; and a light-transmissive layer arranged in parallel with and spaced apart from the sound-absorbing layer, the light source being arranged in a space between the sound-absorbing layer and the light-transmissive layer; forming a hole through the light-emitting acoustic panel; providing a duct having a specularly reflective outer surface; and inserting the duct in the hole through the light-emitting acoustic panel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) These and other aspects of the present invention will now be described in more detail, with reference to the appended drawings showing an exemplary embodiment of the invention, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 schematically shows an exemplary application for an embodiment of the light-emitting acoustic panel according to the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective and partly cut-out view of the light-emitting acoustic panel in FIG. 1; and

(4) FIG. 3 is a flow chart for illustration of an exemplary method according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

(5) In the following description, the present invention is mainly described with reference to an acoustic ceiling panel with integrated LED strips arranged along the edges of the panel and reflectors directing light from the LEDs towards a reflective side of the sound-absorbing layer.

(6) It should, however, be noted that this by no means limits the scope of the invention, which is equally applicable to other applications, such as light-emitting wall panels etc. Furthermore, the light source may be any other light source such as another semiconductor light source or a fluorescent light source.

(7) FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an exemplary application for embodiments of the light-emitting acoustic panel 1 according to the present invention, arranged in a ceiling among other, conventional, ceiling panels 2 in a room 3. In the light-emitting acoustic panel 1 there is a duct 4 arranged through the panel 1. Inside the duct, there is a sprinkler 5. The duct 4 in the light-emitting acoustic panel 1 is arranged such that the duct is aligned with the sprinkler when the light-emitting acoustic panel 1 is mounted in the ceiling. The configuration of the light-emitting acoustic panel 1 will now be described with reference to FIG. 2.

(8) Referring to FIG. 2, the light-emitting acoustic panel 1 comprises a first 10a and a second light source 10b, a first 13a and a second reflector 13b, a sound-absorbing layer 11, a light-transmissive layer 12, and a duct 4.

(9) The sound-absorbing layer 11 and the light-transmissive layer 12 are arranged in parallel such that an intermediate space 19 is formed between the sound-absorbing layer 11 and the light-transmissive layer 12. The light sources 10a-b and the reflectors 13a-b are arranged in the intermediate space 19.

(10) The sound-absorbing layer 11, which may advantageously be formed from a sound-absorbing material such as glass wool, has an optically reflective side 14 facing the light sources 10. The duct 4 is arranged through the sound-absorbing layer 11 and the light-transmissive layer 12. In this embodiment, the duct 4 is arranged perpendicular to both the sound-absorbing layer 11 and the light-transmissive layer 12. The duct comprises an optically reflective surface 18 on the side of the duct 4 that faces the space 19 between the sound-absorbing layer 11 and the light-transmissive layer 12.

(11) In the presently illustrated example embodiment, each of the light sources 10a-b is an elongated light source. The first light source 10a comprises a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) 21 (only one of these is indicated by a reference numeral to avoid cluttering the drawing) arranged on a carrier 15a. Analogously, the second light source 10b comprises a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) 22 (only one of these is indicated by a reference numeral to avoid cluttering the drawing) arranged on a carrier 15b. The carriers 15a-b may, for example, be printed circuit boards, wire arrays or meshes.

(12) Each of the reflectors 13a, 13b has a specularly reflective surface 20a, 20b facing the light sources 10a, 10b and is arranged to redirect light emitted from the light sources 10a, 10b towards the optically reflective side 14 of the sound-absorbing layer 11.

(13) The light-transmissive layer 12 is schematically shown in FIG. 2 as a light-diffusing sheet, which may, for example, be made of a textile or paper. It should, however, be noted that the light-transmissive layer 12 may be configured to perform other or further functions than to diffuse the light emitted by the LEDs 21, 22. For example, the light-transmissive layer 12 may be a prism sheet for controlling the spatial distribution of the light output by the light-emitting acoustic panel 1. It may, for example, be desirable to avoid glare.

(14) The optically reflective outer surface 18 of the duct 4 may, for example, be a specularly reflective surface made from a metal, which may, for example, be provided as an adhesive metal foil. Various ways of achieving a specular reflector are well known to those skilled in the relevant art.

(15) Finally, the light-emitting acoustic panel 1 comprises a frame 28 for fixing the relative positions of the sound-absorbing layer 11, the light-transmissive layer 12 and the light sources 10a-b, and for holding the light-emitting acoustic panel 1 together. The frame 28 may, for example, be metallic or may be made of a suitable plastic material.

(16) Having now described an exemplary configuration of the light-emitting acoustic panel 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, an exemplary method of providing a light-emitting acoustic panel 1 will now be described with reference to the flow-chart in FIG. 3 as well as to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

(17) In a first step 100 a hole is formed through the light-emitting acoustic panel 1. The hole is a though-hole which means it allows a direct view through the light-emitting acoustic panel 1. The through-hole is aligned with a location of a functional component already installed in the ceiling, or with a location where a functional component will be installed, if the location coincides with a location of a light-emitting acoustic panel 1. A through-hole is made using any appropriate tool depending on the material of the light-emitting acoustic panel 1.

(18) In a second step 101, a duct 4 with a reflective outer surface 18 is provided. It is made sure that the size of the through-hole is similar to the outer diameter of the duct 4. Naturally, the size of the though-hole and the duct is adapted to the size of the functional component to be arranged in the duct 4. The functional component may be a sprinkler 5 as shown in FIG. 1, or it may be a spotlight or a sensor such as a fire alarm or a motion sensor.

(19) In a final step 102, the duct 4 is inserted into the hole of the light-emitting acoustic panel 1. The duct 4 may be connected to the rest of the light-emitting acoustic panel 1, for instance, through press-fit or by gluing, or through any other appropriate method.

(20) Additionally, variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by the skilled person in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. For example, the shape of the duct may be different from the described cylindrical shape. It may for example have a rectangular, or a hexagonal cross-section, or any other type of cross-section. The duct may furthermore extend in a non-straight/non-perpendicular manner from the sound-absorbing layer to the light-transmissive layer depending on the shape of the functional component to be incorporated in the acoustic panel. The materials of any reflective surfaces may be made from other materials than mentioned herein, that may fulfill the same purpose.

(21) In the claims, the word comprising does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article a or an does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.