Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64F—GROUND OR AIRCRAFT-CARRIER-DECK INSTALLATIONS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH AIRCRAFT; DESIGNING, MANUFACTURING, ASSEMBLING, CLEANING, MAINTAINING OR REPAIRING AIRCRAFT, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; HANDLING, TRANSPORTING, TESTING OR INSPECTING AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B64F1/00—Ground or aircraft-carrier-deck installations
  • B64F1/18—Visual or acoustic landing aids
  • B64F1/20—Arrangement of optical beacons
  • B64F1/205—Arrangement of optical beacons arranged underground, e.g. underground runway lighting units
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64F—GROUND OR AIRCRAFT-CARRIER-DECK INSTALLATIONS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH AIRCRAFT; DESIGNING, MANUFACTURING, ASSEMBLING, CLEANING, MAINTAINING OR REPAIRING AIRCRAFT, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; HANDLING, TRANSPORTING, TESTING OR INSPECTING AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B64F1/00—Ground or aircraft-carrier-deck installations
  • B64F1/18—Visual or acoustic landing aids
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
  • F21S8/00—Lighting devices intended for fixed installation
  • F21S8/02—Lighting devices intended for fixed installation of recess-mounted type, e.g. downlighters
  • F21S8/022—Lighting devices intended for fixed installation of recess-mounted type, e.g. downlighters intended to be recessed in a floor or like ground surface, e.g. pavement or false floor
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21V—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • F21V15/00—Protecting lighting devices from damage
  • F21V15/01—Housings, e.g. material or assembling of housing parts
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21V—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • F21V5/00—Refractors for light sources
  • F21V5/02—Refractors for light sources of prismatic shape
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64D—EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLIGHT SUITS; PARACHUTES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSION TRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT
  • B64D2203/00—Aircraft or airfield lights using LEDs
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21W—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS
  • F21W2111/00—Use or application of lighting devices or systems for signalling, marking or indicating, not provided for in codes F21W2102/00 – F21W2107/00
  • F21W2111/06—Use or application of lighting devices or systems for signalling, marking or indicating, not provided for in codes F21W2102/00 – F21W2107/00 for aircraft runways or the like
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21Y—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO THE FORM OR THE KIND OF THE LIGHT SOURCES OR OF THE COLOUR OF THE LIGHT EMITTED
  • F21Y2105/00—Planar light sources
  • F21Y2105/10—Planar light sources comprising a two-dimensional array of point-like light-generating elements
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21Y—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO THE FORM OR THE KIND OF THE LIGHT SOURCES OR OF THE COLOUR OF THE LIGHT EMITTED
  • F21Y2105/00—Planar light sources
  • F21Y2105/10—Planar light sources comprising a two-dimensional array of point-like light-generating elements
  • F21Y2105/12—Planar light sources comprising a two-dimensional array of point-like light-generating elements characterised by the geometrical disposition of the light-generating elements, e.g. arranging light-generating elements in differing patterns or densities
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21Y—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO THE FORM OR THE KIND OF THE LIGHT SOURCES OR OF THE COLOUR OF THE LIGHT EMITTED
  • F21Y2115/00—Light-generating elements of semiconductor light sources
  • F21Y2115/10—Light-emitting diodes [LED]

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a lighting device included in the ground which can be applied in particular to the marking of runways and airport runways and which has many advantages compared to previous devices.
• airport ground beacons which must be carried out in a standardized limited volume, use one or more light sources combining high-power incandescent lamps, reflectors and prisms, placed in a reinforced housing, to emit standardized light fluxes in one or more directions.
• said lamps do not easily provide illumination strictly in accordance with the required standards without precise positioning of their filaments, positioning difficult to ensure without a tool for measuring illumination.
• the aging of said lamps does not itself guarantee a standard-compliant illumination for a long period of time.
• the efficiency of the lamps is low and this therefore constitutes a source of significant energy expenditure.
• the present invention provides a solution to the problems mentioned above, and which relate to energy saving, service life, reliability, lighting efficiency and compliance with lighting standards over time.
• the lifetime of said light-emitting diodes is itself greater than 100,000 hours, which greatly reduces the risk of failure.
• the diodes can be arranged so that the light mainly comes out through the upper part of the beacon optics, which has the effect of delaying the reduction in efficiency by fouling, and this by strictly respecting the standards of height of said beacons relative at the slopes.
• the invention therefore relates to a ground lighting beacon for an airport of the type comprising:
• At least one light source and preferably two
• At least one optical output device and preferably two, characterized in that the light source is produced by an assembly of light-emitting diodes.
• FIG. 1 is a presentation of the typical distributions of the light intensity which must be provided by an airport beacon
• FIG. 2 is a block diagram, in vertical section, of a beacon according to the invention.
• FIG. 3 is a block diagram in top view of the tag of FIG. 3,
• FIG. 4 is a presentation of the various possible arrangements of light-emitting diodes in a first variant of the tag of FIGS. 2 and 3,
• FIG. 5 is a presentation in three views of an arrangement of light-emitting diodes in a preferred variant of the tag of FIGS. 2 and 3, and
• FIG. 6 is a presentation in two views of a variant of the light source of the beacon in FIGS. 2 and 3.
• FIG. 7 is a presentation of a wide field variant of the light source of the beacon of FIGS. 2 and 3.
• Figure 1 shows five illumination diagrams to be provided in one direction by the various airport beacons. These diagrams are each characterized by two domains angular, one at high power where the illumination must have a minimum value I and a minimum average value Im, the other at lower power where only a minimum value I is specified. Each of these domains is defined by an angle ⁇ in a horizontal field and by an angle ⁇ in a vertical field.
• the five areas are characterized as follows.
• the tag according to the invention notably comprises:
• a housing 1 produced in two parts, a lower part 2 and an upper part 3, - at least one, and preferably two light sources, 4 and 5 having an emission axis 34 and 35 respectively,
• the upper part 3 of the housing of generally substantially circular shape and with a vertical axis, comprises:
• a central bulge 11 having an upper surface 12 also substantially planar, of elongated shape, bordered by two large rectilinear sides,
• the central bulge 11 is located approximately 12 mm above the upper surface 17 of the outer crown.
• the openings 13 and 14 are intended to receive the light sources 4 and 5 as well as the prisms 6 and 7. They are preferably inclined symmetrically towards the outside and have two parts:
• Each of these two openings opens onto the outside on each side of the bulge 11, one of the long sides of their outer parts 18 and 19 forming a stop, respectively 24 and 25, with one of the long sides of said bulge 17, the two other long sides of said outer parts 18 and 19 forming a stop, respectively 26 and 27, with the upper face 17 of the outer ring 10.
• the prisms 6 and 7 have an entry face, respectively 28 and 29, and an exit face, respectively 30 and 31, which form between them an angle ⁇ whose imaginary edges 32 are substantially parallel to the edges 24 and 25 of the upper part 3 of the housing 1.
• prisms 6 and 7 are mounted in prism holders 36 and 37 respectively, by means of a flexible material 33 so that their entry face is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the corresponding light source, respectively 34 and 35.
• the prism holders 36 and 37 have dimensions such that they are housed in the external parts, respectively 18 and 19 of the openings 13 and 14, and come to bear on the countersinks 22 and 23 of said openings. They carry, on their periphery, near their bearing face on the counterbores 22 and 23, a groove 38 in which is placed a seal 39.
• Sources 4 and 5 are introduced into the interior parts, respectively 20 and 21, of the openings 13 and 14 and fixed by means adapted to the upper part 3 of the housing 1.
• the inclination ⁇ of the openings 13 and 14 relative to the horizontal plane therefore determines the inclination of the axes 34 and 35 of the sources 4 and 5.
• This inclination results from an optimization between: - the angle ⁇ of the prism formed by the two input and output faces of said prism, - the refractive index of the glass constituting said prism,
• the inclination ⁇ of the openings 13 and 14, relative to the horizontal is between 30 and 40 degrees for an angle ⁇ of the prism between 25 and 40 degrees and for a refractive index of glass between 1.4 and 1.85.
• the inclination ⁇ of the openings 13 and 14 relative to the horizontal is substantially equal to 35 degrees with an angle ⁇ of the prisms substantially equal to 28 degrees and an index of the glass constituting the neighboring prism of 1.8.
• the light sources 4 and 5 are constituted by an assembly of light-emitting diodes 41 which can be of any shape.
• the light sources 4 and 5 are constituted by an assembly of light-emitting diodes 41 which can be of any shape. In the preferred embodiment of
• the selected diodes comprise a body 42 substantially cylindrical or elliptical with axis 43, terminated at one of its ends by a surface 44 substantially hemispherical or ellipsoidal and at the other by a substantially planar surface 45.
• the light is emitted by a radiating source 66 placed substantially from said hemispherical or ellipsoidal surface 44 from which it exits in a cone 45 whose shape depends on the construction characteristics of the diode and whose axis 47 is substantially parallel to axis 43 of the body 42 of said diode.
• the electrical supply is made by connections 48 which exit from the flat face 45.
• the light-emitting diodes 41 can be placed in numerous arrangements on one or more levels.
• FIG. 4 shows the possible arrangements on a level, arrangements generally usable when the light power to be supplied for the beacon is not too large compared to the power of the light-emitting diodes available. These arrangements may include, for example, a single row of at least two diodes, Figure 4a, two parallel rows, side by side, Figure 4b, or nested, Figure 4c.
• the number of diodes and the number of rows, placed side by side or nested can be adapted so as to fill the available space as best as possible, without departing from the scope of the invention.
• the light emitting diodes can be mounted so that they are tangent to each other by generatrices of the cylinders which constitute them. They can also be kept apart to promote cooling.
• the light-emitting diodes 41 are arranged on two levels, an upper level 49 and a lower level 50 so that the light emitted by the diodes of the lower level passes through a space 76 where the diodes of the upper level are located.
• the upper level 49 comprises at least one row 77, having an axis 78, and preferably two or more rows, of at least two diodes 41, placed in parallel, two adjacent diodes being separated by a pitch 79, at least equal to their width and preferably less than twice their width, the rows 77 being separated by a center distance 80.
• the lower level 50 preferably comprises the same number of rows of diodes 81 as the upper level, of at least one diode each and placed below the diodes 41 of the upper level, their axes 78 being substantially superimposed, so that the diodes 81 of the lower level are offset substantially by one half pitch 79, along the axis 78, with respect to the diodes 41 of the upper level and thus their apex 51 is opposite a zone 52 where two diodes 41 of the upper level are close or tangent, this arrangement allows to pass the connections 48 of the upper level diodes on each side of a zone 53 where the lower level diodes are close or tangent.
• the diodes of the upper level 49 can be chosen with an output beam 56 forming a wide angle ⁇ and it is advantageous to use diodes whose output beam is elliptical and to orient them so that the greatest width of the beam is substantially parallel to the largest dimension of the field to be covered.
• the diodes of the lower level 50 are advantageously chosen with a narrower output beam 54.
• the body 42 and the hemispherical or ellipsoidal end 44 diodes of the upper level thus constitute an additional optical element for shaping the light emitted by the diodes of the lower level.
• This arrangement can obviously be applied with any number of rows and any number of diodes on each of the two levels.
• the upper level comprises two rows of 15 diodes having a beam elliptical output covering 70 degrees in width and 30 degrees in height, while the lower level has two rows of 14 diodes having a circular beam covering 15 degrees.
• the diodes 41 are also arranged on at least two levels.
• the upper level 49 also has at least two rows 77 of at least two diodes 41 placed in parallel, FIG. 6a, two adjacent diodes 41 being separated by a pitch 79 at least equal to their width and preferably less than twice their width , the rows 77 being separated by a center distance 80.
• the lower level 50 comprises at least one row 82 of at least one diode 64, offset by a half pitch 79 along the axis 78 and by a half inter-axis 80 perpendicular to said axis, so that said diode 64 emits most of its light in a space 65 delimited by four quarter circles and left free between four diodes 30, 31, 32 and 33 for example, adjacent two two in two rows 77 of the upper level 49.
• This arrangement can be applied with any number of rows of any number of diodes at the upper level.
• Figure 6b shows the application with three rows on the upper level and two on the lower level. It is obvious that it is possible to place at the lower level a number of rows of light-emitting diodes equal or greater than that of the upper level, as shown in FIG. 6c for example and without departing from the scope of the invention.
• All the diodes of each of the sources are placed in a dust-tight enclosure consisting of a transparent window 78, a wall of substantially rectangular shape 82 and a printed circuit 60 on which said diodes are fixed and welded.
• These printed circuits 60 provide the electrical connections and the supply of said diodes. They also make it possible to position and fix the corresponding sources 4 and 5 in the upper part 3 of the housing 1 so that they are placed as high as possible in the internal parts 20 and 21 of the openings 13 and 14, so that the light which they emit mainly comes out by the upper part of the diodes and thus the tag retains its quality despite the fouling of the lower part of the prisms located closest to the upper surface 17 of the crown 10.
• the printed circuit of one or two sources can be broken down into two or more planes, three for example, 61, 62 and 63, inclined with respect to each other, as shown by the FIG. 7, so as to orient the light-emitting diodes of said source in at least two different directions and thus to provide illumination over an angle ⁇ wider than the angles ⁇ or ⁇ obtained with a plane printed circuit 60.
• a curved molded printed circuit in the form of a portion of a cylinder, a portion of a sphere or of any other shape, makes it possible to obtain very varied light distributions and therefore to respond easily. to any kind of lighting specification.
• the lower part 2 of the housing 1 is formed by a cylinder 67, of substantially vertical axis, the upper end 68 of which is open and the lower end of which is closed by a bottom 69.
• the upper end 68 is surrounded by a ring 70, substantially horizontal.
• the bottom 69 is arranged to receive a connector 71 for connection and, for this purpose, includes a bulge 72 adapted to said connector.
• the crown 70 has on its upper part a circular groove 73 in which a gasket 74 is placed. This lower part 2 is fixed by the crown 70 in the circular recess 16 of the upper part 3 of the housing 1 using screws 75.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
• Non-Portable Lighting Devices Or Systems Thereof (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

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ID=9542862

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

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• 1999
  • 1999-03-05 FR FR9902751A patent/FR2790443B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2000
  • 2000-03-02 AU AU29231/00A patent/AU2923100A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-03-02 EP EP00907753A patent/EP1159193A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-03-02 WO PCT/FR2000/000518 patent/WO2000053494A1/fr not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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